#UPPER SECOND CLASS HONOURS

[cazzyf1]

I GOT MY 2:1 AT UNIVERSITY

[hella1975]

the craziness of this is gonna go over a lot of people's heads bc the uni grading system here is weird but i not only just found out i passed my resit (the one i had like. an actual meltdown about) BUT i also averaged second year with a 2:1 overall. for a degree i hate and am bad at. upper second class honours. i genuinely have resigned myself to an inevitable 2:2 AT BEST with this degree to the point i didnt even LOOK at 2:1. i had to google it to check i had the grade boundaries right bc i was so sure ME of all people couldn't have scraped that. what the fuck

[confusedsiewmai]

God, you know you have *serious* issues if a B grade for an assignment messes you up so badly u're launched into multiple crises at the same time.

The funny thing is: the assignment is a personal essay. But I hate having to put my experiences in neat little boxes because nothing in my life is like that. Every experience is permeated by this constant sense of threat of genuine death and ruin.

Did you know since I was at least 10, I was already taking note of all the 24-hour places, places with free showers, and libraries that I could feasibly walk to because I felt something so deeply wrong with me that it became natural that I will eventually be disowned? I wish I was less fucked up.

I have to keep telling that 10-year-old self that I'm not going to die. That a B grade doesn't spell the end of my entire life even if it feels that way. That I'm going to do fine.

[hadeswearsprada]

I got a first in being bisexual and non-binary

My Bachelor’s thesis is just me projecting my sexuality and gender onto a fictional character for 50 pages and calling it a social science

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Odd question but - I'm looking to study in the UK this fall, and I'm trying to get to grips with the grading system. Could you explain the grading boundaries to me please? It's different from the US, as far as I can see!

I found this handy table which you might find useful - I don't really understand the US system either lol.

Here's what I will say though - I have many times before seen Americans online seeing the percentages for the UK grade boundaries and immediately wax lyrical about how EASY and SIMPLE it must be to do well in the UK because OH MY GOD I could tooootally get 70%!!! In the US that's barely a C!!! Wow education must be soooo simple in the UK -

And uh. I have seen very few Americans in those discussions stop and ask themselves how much harder it might be to hit 70% in the UK. Which, as the international academic office in every university will tell you, is the crucial question you absolutely should be asking. Does an American 70% look the same as a UK 70%?

(It Does Not.)

So don't be fooled by that! Over here, at undergrad the pass mark is 40%. 40-49% gets you a third; 50-59% gets you what's varyingly known as a lower second (formally), a 2:2 (most commonly), or a Desmond (by sad people. It's a reference to Desmond Tutu - two two). A 2:2 is also the most commonly awarded degree classification over here.

60-69% is a 2:1, or upper second class honours. And then the top level is the first - 70% and up. The vast majority of firsts are earned by students who got 70-79%. Exceptional work pushes into the 80s. It is incredibly rare that you ever see a mark in the 90s, and when you do, it's almost always on maths papers where there are right or wrong answers and that's it.

I can't remember how the US's summa cum laude etc stuff maps onto that, though you could probably find that on Google as well. But as a rule of thumb, think first = excellent, 2:1 = good, 2:2 = fair, and third = you need to be careful and see what you can do to improve (although that is still a pass at university and that is not to be sniffed at).

Ooh, as a final point, though, there's also how assessment works, which again, I know is very different over here (again I don't really understand it in the US). Your lecturer cannot set random work here and there to count as summative assessment. Every module is different in how it's set up, but let's give an example:

Module: Coastal and Marine Conservation Two assessments, each worth 50% of the final grade. Assessment 1: A report on the biodiversity of Ramsey Island in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Explore the cause of the lower biodiversity there than nearby Skomer/Skokholm; how was this challenged/rectified? How have species recovered since? What should be done into the future? Assessment 2: A two-hour closed book exam. Half of this exam (50 marks) will be a mix of short and medium length questions; things like "Define these five terms (two marks each)", or "Describe the process of longshore drift and its impact on sedimentation patterns (15 marks)" or what have you. The second half is a 50 mark essay - pick one of three essay questions offered, and off you go. (Essay questions are a staple feature of exams over here, and multiple choice questions are extremely rare and generally frowned on as being Not Sufficiently Academic.)

Now, in the case of this module, these are the only two assessment points. Both the report brief and the exam paper are registered with the academic office in the summer before the academic year even starts, and both are triple verified - by the lecturer who writes/sets them, by an internal verifier in the department, and an external verifier from another university. This is part of quality control.

If, for some reason, you fail one of these, or cannot submit them by their due date, or what have you, you still have to do them. If you claim for Extenuating Circumstances (e.g. "I was made homeless and my cat blew up, so I couldn't do it in time") then you get an extension on it; as long as you submit by the end of the academic period, you're fine. If you don't, you need to resit it. This normally means over the summer after the main term ends.

But, in the UK system what we can't do is go "Okay never mind, how about you submit a write-up of the volunteering you're currently doing with SeaLife instead and we'll count that?" The reason being, under the UK system that is not a quality-controlled solution. That has not been checked and verified as an equivalent assessment to what the rest of the class has done; so if you do that and get a 2:1, there is no assurance that you are actually of the same academic quality as one of your peers who got a 2:1 for that research report on Ramsey's biodiversity.

Which... don't let it scare you! As I say, there are a LOT of systems that can help you if things start going wrong (always, always, always keep Student Support and your lecturers in the loop). But that is a different system from what I understand you might be used to, so heads up on that.

(I am not arguing that one is better than the other, by the way. Last time I explained a difference in the UK university system I got a very hostile and aggressive American in the notes throwing a right strop over how terrible the UK system clearly is because XYZ, right up until I had to actually say "I am literally just describing how it's different, not claiming superiority," and then they went mysteriously quiet and stopped replying. So to forestall that, I am only describing the differences. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

The UK system is certainly more inflexible. But it does, incidentally, at least free you from the tyranny I see reported so often by US students of the dreaded Tenured Professor who deliberately as a matter of pride sets impossible exams that everyone fails. Over here, that shit Does Not Fly. So there's that.)

Anyway - hopefully that answers your question! Any others, hit me up. Good luck, and enjoy your studies!

[tangsakura]

My Response to Sukuna's You Pronouns Post

The post I am responding to was made by @thepersonperson.

So here are my thoughts about the way Sukuna uses the second-person pronoun to people + my other observations. Please read @thepersonperson's post first before reading ahead for a better understanding.

Warning: The following content contains JJK spoilers beyond the anime, so if you aren't caught up with the manga, please DO NOT INTERACT. Also, mentions of homosexuality topic in Edo & Heian periods.

Sukuna's default pronoun is always omae. But the way it's written in the manga tells you how he seriously he is addressing you. When he was talking to Yuta and Haruta, it was written as お前, the hiragana/kanji way, the usual way. Yes, he is talking to you, but he is also nonchalant about you. It carries the connotation of 'okay, he/she is just some person, meh' kind of thing if you get what I mean.

We see this with Ryu, who he wasn't taking seriously because his main priority at that moment was to kill Yorozu, who was in Tsumiki's body. On the other hand, he looked down on Yuta since to him, his curse technique wasn't anything special; if anything, Rika was the one he was paying attention to because Yuta's powers depends on her (I hope I worded this right *sweats*).

Whereas if you look at the way he talks to Maki, Jogo, the Twins, and Yuji, he is using オマエ, the katakana way. I think that he is in the moment and directly talking to them seriously. Obviously, he doesn't see them as equals nor the same level as Gojo, but they got his attention, and he's directly talking to them.

As for Mahoraga, I feel like he is reminding it that its master is him now. He was talking as if Mahoraga is his subordinate and is disappointed that it is not fulfilling its master's wishes.

And here is where it gets interesting for Kisama. The people he used Kisama with are people he sees higher than those he uses Omae with.

Let's take a three-floored pyramid. At the very top is whatever the second person pronoun or whatever he uses to indicate that he considers them as equal, which obvs we will most likely not see him use. At the bottom are the Omae people, and in the middle are the Kisama people. It makes sense that Kisama is higher, since Kisama irl was originally used for respectable people, or even those higher than you in the upper class/ranks.

For Yorozu, I think the reason he used Kisama was because he's trusting her enough to do what is necessary if she ever defeats him. Throughout their fight, Sukuna uses オマエ, the serious Omae, meaning he's taking her seriously but still looking down at her more than Kisama people - Gojo and Kashimo. But when they're talking about what would happen if Yorozu defeats him, he talks as if he was trusting her enough with his 'dead' body (remember, to him, defeat = being no different than dying). Of course, he was not seeing her as his equal nor wants defeat from her, but interacting just enough to indicate to her 'hey, I don't ever want to die (be defeated), but if I ever do, do what you want with me. I trust you to some extent' kind of thing.

For Gojo and Kashimo, he uses Kisama to them because he sees them as someone he would fight with all of his attention, more than the Omae people. The ones who will give him a greater satisfaction, the ones he'll get along with even if it'll only be for a short while. Mind you, these two are the strongest in their era, so you might even think of it as acknowledging them for being at the top of the strength hierarchy in their generations.

Let me first start with Gojo.

In chapter 224, Sukuna calls Gojo "名前をついてない��けの魚" - a fish that merely has no name attached to it.

JJK Chapter 224

Think about it. Sukuna is called many names, including the titles 'King of Curses', 'The Fallen', and 'The Honoured One'. Even Kashimo is called, 'The God of Lightning'. But what about Gojo? In this generation, they call him 'The Strongest Sorcerer', but these two were also called that in their respective generations aside from their famous epithet(s). So what's his name outside of that? This is what Sukuna is telling him - he has no name outside of being 'The Strongest', thus he's just a fish. Don't get me wrong. He still thinks highly of him than those in the Omae level.

(Also, man says 'uo', the older Japanese word for fish, instead of 'sakana' lmao)

Now, in another instance, Sukuna included an English word into his speech and switched to the お前 pronoun. How I interpret this is Sukuna tricking Gojo. Remember, today in Japan, Kisama is a really derogatory second-person pronoun that it might as well be a swear word.

JJK Chapter 231

Sukuna isn't looking down on Gojo that much compared to those in the Omae category - he respects him to a certain extent; but Gojo doesn't see it like that. Gojo definitely thinks that Sukuna is looking down on him so much and that he is insulting him. When Sukuna remarks about the 'countdown until that smirk of yours disappears', Gojo sees it as a sign that Sukuna has elevated Gojo and sees him as an equal in the battlefield, indicating that his attacks dealt a tremendous damage on Sukuna. But about the countdown word, I think it may have also come from Yuji's and Megumi's influences that he uses a few English words here and there, but definitely he talked a bit like a modern person to seem like he was trying to connect to Gojo. We might as well say that he was taking advtange of modern Japan's language and societal norms to play on Gojo's mindset.

Anyways, unfortunately, in Sukuna's view, he was now nonchalant. Remember what I said previously about お前 for him - he's not serious in his interaction to the person he's using that to. So while it might not have been obvious to Gojo, it should be obvious to the readers, assuming they pay attention to how he uses his Omae pronoun..... that there was something strange with him. What's going on? Of course, we eventually find out what he has under his sleeve in ch 236.........

And as for remembering part of Yorozu's words..... it isn't clear when you read it this chapter alone, but once you read chapter 238, it makes sense.

JJK Chapter 238 (English Translation)

In that moment, Sukuna recognized that Gojo is having a hard time with making sense of 'love', that Gojo is dealing with solitude but hasn't come to terms with it. It made sense now as to why Sukuna remember Yorozu's words - chapter 238 confirms this through his dialogue. (I swear, this man knows how to read a person's psyche and personality so well and he uses it against people (e.g. Yuji)

Also, Yorozu's default second-pronoun, at least with Sukuna, is Anata, which is feminine and is the usual female second person pronoun regardless of the female's relationship to the person she's speaking with. Women also uses this to call their spouse or lover, just as how men will use omae or kimi to their spouse or lover (though, if we're talking about Sukuna, I don't think this rule will apply because of how he uses Omae......). Nevertheless, unless we see more of her, I'll consider Anata as her default second person pronoun.

Anyways, after Gojo's death comes Kashimo. Sukuna definitely acknowledges him as 'The Strongest' of his generation, as indicated with his use of Kisama, but he got pissed. He was high at that moment. He was genuinely satisfied. He fought someone who stood his ground and wasn't thrown uselessly around like Jogo did. He got to learn about this unique, calculative and power cursed technique. He was challenged with overcoming infinity, something so difficult to bypass, but overcame it with 10 shadows (shoutout to Mahoraga/Makora), not by his own technique alone. He got a new version of dismantle - World Slash.

He also most likely witnessed probably the most heartwarming afterlife scene for him (I refused to believe that he didn't witness the airport scene with Gojo and co. in their much younger selves - I mean he was there watching Jogo's afterlife scene then goes to interrupt, and does the same thing with Kashimo's afterlife scene), which makes me believe that it was also one of the reasons why he was beaming when he said, 'You are praiseworthy, Satoru Gojo. It seems that I will not forget you for as long as I live.'

JJK Chapter 236

Unlike Jogo and Kashimo, Gojo did not move on to the afterlife full of regrets and disappointment. Sure, he said that he didn't do well enough to reach Sukuna and all, but that was literally inconsequential. Like did you see him with all the people he was with during Inventory Arc, including Riko (no Toji) when he finally passed on? He was all smiles and there was nothing else. He got all the answers and anything else that he needed - the closure - from his peers from the afterlife, understood it all, and came to terms with it. So, there was no reason for Sukuna to intervene and give his two cents to Gojo to give him the closure he needed. That was why, Sukuna must've been happy, because Gojo had a 'proper death', no regrets and disappointment or whatsoever towards the life he led. He nor anybody else alive at the moment weren't needed by Gojo for him to move on.

Anyways, back to the topic of Kashimo.

I believe that if Kashimo had waited for a while for Sukuna to savour the aftermath of his fight with Gojo (I'm not even surprised if he was mourning his death a bit), he would've bothered to 'properly' fight Kashimo. What I mean is fighting him with him knowing about him, including his name. But that didn't happen. Even though he recognized Kashimo as worthy like Gojo Satoru, he entered at the wrong time. Even so, Sukuna entertained him, but if you read their fight, it wasn't the same as the one with Gojo. It felt more rushed and it just felt like Sukuna wasn't doing it for the sake of having fun and learning. It didn't help that Kashimo was being demanding of him for answers to his complications and issues.

Then, in the afterlife scene, when Kashimo was talking to Sukuna, it was noted how Kashimo went from Omae to Anta. I believe this is him not only elevating Sukuna or lowering himself in their interaction, but also letting Sukuna about his feelings for him. Anta is the informal version of Anata and is still feminine enough. When a guy uses feminine language, they are being polite/respectful to whoever they are talking to (unless they don't identify as a male).

Remember, Kashimo was from the Edo period and during that time, believe it or not, homosexuality was rampant among the monastic (monks) and samurai classes. There was this thing called age-structured homosexual relationships. So, basically, somebody young, usually adolescent male, would be in a relationship with their master, a male adult. Until the adolescent one comes of age, they will be in this relationship. Usually the older one is the active and dominant one, while younger one is the one receiving the older one. In the case of the samurai class, the younger one receives the older partner "out of love, loyalty, and affection, rather than sexual desire". There are also male prostitutes, mainly kabuki actors, who are sought by males, as well.

I think Sukuna also recognized Kashimo's attraction to him but he rejects him outright with the words he said to him that love was worthless. I mean, even in Heian era, there were also homosexual relationships. This is evident in Genji Monogatari, where Genji rejected a lady and instead slept with her younger brother. (Also, mind you all, we don't know Sukuna's sexual preferences, so don't make assumptions lmao)

In anycase, this is my two cents regarding Sukuna's second-person pronouns. I hope you had a fun time reading it. Feel free to share your thoughts or let me know what I missed. As usual, I will respond when I feel like it lmao

Until next time!

[killjoygem]

OK checked the grade calculator again and im feeling a bit more reassured. As long as I get at least 11s in my last 15 cred modules then the lowest I can get on my diss to maintain a 2:1 is 8. Which is practically scraping a pass and I think i can at least do that and i have never even got a grade as low as 11

Technically if i get 15s in those two modules (i got 15s last semester) then I could get a failing grade in the dissertation and maintain a 2:1. But obviously that wouldn't be counted 😆

I've been pretty relaxed about my dissertation this week but now i only have 2 days left and suddenly I'm terrified that it's not good enough

[immediatebreakfast]

Lord Godalming, I had the honour of seconding your father at the Windham; I grieve to know, by your holding the title, that he is no more. He was a man loved and honoured by all who knew him; and in his youth was, I have heard, the inventor of a burnt rum punch, much patronised on Derby night. 

I wonder how, and why Renfield ended up at Seward's asylum. He doesn't get any visits, nor seems to have any kind of family, yet he can pay to stay in a private asylum where he is mistreated and dehumanized.

This comment is so sad in general, this old man had a full life before the asylum. One beloging to the upper classes of england in where he probably enjoyed all of the privilegues, and luxuries that come with such position, all freedom within the gentleman status while still having a group of people to confide. It hurts more to think how none of Renfield's friends seem to visit him, which is another kind of prejudice related to his mental illness, and his status as an asylum patient.

However, I think it's very clear that by making explicit that Renfield was not only part of the upper class, but belonged to a circle of lords how it can be implied that victorian would not care for anything you have to offer, nor who you are once you become part of the groups they deemed "undesirable". Whenever it's the working class description of pauper lunatic, or any kind of name they use to diagnose, what society sees is now a non-member in the lowest level of the social spectrum whose pain, and suffering is quite deserved, even if they are in an institution (private or public asylum) which is supposed to care for their well being.

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 23rd birthday to Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant!

Born October 25th 2001, Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne as the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.

Princess Elisabeth received her International Baccalaureate diploma from the UWC Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, Wales in May 2020. She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts degree with upper second class honours in July 2024. In May 2024, the Belgian Royal Court announced that Elisabeth was admitted into Harvard Kennedy School to study for a two year master's degree in public policy; she started her studies at Harvard in September 2024.

On 31 August 2020, Elisabeth entered the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, studying social and military sciences, completing her one-year military training on 9 July 2021. For the next two years, she attended the Royal Military Academy's annual three-week summer camps and other practical and theoretical military classes. Elisabeth had one of the highest grades among her class.

Ten years prior to Elisabeth's birth, a new 1991 amendment of the succession line was implemented which introduced absolute primogeniture, defining her as the first in the line of succession since she is the eldest child. Should she ascend as expected, Elisabeth shall become Belgium's first female monarch.

[ineffectualdemon]

Got my qualification results:

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History, Upper Second-class Honours (2.1)

For context for Americans and other aliens -

English University degrees have 5 potential Ranks:

First class

Upper Second-class (2.1)

Lower Second-class (2.2)

Third class

Pass

These are merit based

So an upper second is pretty damn good!

So I am extraordinarily pleased

Especially as a 2.1 is the minimum required to get into a lot of Masters programs so this makes that dream possible

I am extremely happy about this

[hyunsvngs]

your friendly neighbourhood juno is graduating with upper second class honours (2:1) in history & english literature 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ I KNOW THATS RIGHT!!!!!

[hella1975]

what does it mean to average 2:1 or 2:2? I don’t think we do that in America

okay so the uni grading system here is done based on percentages. the pass mark is 40%, which americans ALWAYS hit me with 'only 40???? easy!!!' so id like to clarify the content/exams are very difficult and the marking is very mean and generally it's really frustrating when people respond this way, like why tf would we have such a low pass grade otherwise it's a dumb assumption to make but anyway. you do about 6 modules a semester (on average, some courses have more/less), and each module will give you a final grade, and then the average of all your modules from both semesters will give you your final year grade. they're all marked by the same system, which is:

grade of less than 40% = fail

grade of 40%-50% = third class honours (called a third)

grade of 50%-60% = lower second class honours (a 2:2, literally said aloud as 'i got a two-two in my exam')

grade of 60%-70% = upper second class honours (a 2:1, said as 'i got a two-one'). this is what im PRAYING for.

grade of 70%+ = first class honours (just called a first). this is the highest you can get, so even if you get 90% you'll have the same grade as someone who got 72%. this is also what i mean by the exam system being really tough here, bc most people are just grateful to get a first.

[greenflamedwriter]

Pronounciation Guide:

Since I keep getting yelled at [kindly, people are actually really nice about it] That I keep getting stuff wrong [Since I keep forgetting] I'm gonna type it all here.

DEMONS: Many demons go by titles instead of personal names, titles styled like XX-Jun are for high ranking demons and some titles are hereditory.

Courtesy Names: A courtesy name is given to an individual when they come of age, usually at the coming age of twenty for their first crowning ceremony, but it can also be presented when an elder or teacher deems the recipitent worthy. Generally a male only tradition. Women adopt a courtesy name after marriage. Courtesy names reserved for the upper class.

Diminitive Nicknames and name tags: Xiao- : A diminitive meaning "Little." always a prefix. [i.e Xiao Jiu, Xiao Yuan]

-ER : A word for 'son' or 'child' added to a name, it expresses affection similair to calling someone 'little' or 'sonny' always a suffix [I.e, Yuan-er, Jiu-er] A- : Friendly diminitive, always a prefix, usually for monosyllabic names, or one syllable out of the two-syllable name. [I.e, A-Yuan, A-Jiu, A-Lou] If the name is longer like Qui JianLOU that last part is the same nickname as Binghe [hence the truama for Shen Qingqiu as he heard that name]

Family: Di : Younger brother or younger male friend, can be used alone or as a honourific.

Didi : younger brother, or male friend. Casual

Xiao-Di : does not mean 'little brother' instead refers to ones lackey or subordinate, someone a leader took under their wing.

Ge : Familair way to refer to an older brother or older male friend, used by someone younger- or lower rank in status.

Gege: Same as Ge, has a cutsier feel than "Ge."

Jie : Older sister, or older female friend.

JieJie :Older sister, or older female friend.

JiuJiu : Uncle (maternal, biological)

Mei : younger sister, or younger female friend,

MeiMei : younger sister or an unrelated younger female friend, casual.

Shufu : Uncle (Paternal, biological) Formal address for one's fathers younger brother.

Shushu : An affectionate version of 'Shufu'

XiaoShu : Little uncle.

Cultivation And Martial Arts:

-Jun : a suffix meaning 'lord' Zhangmen : Leader of a cultivation/martial arts sect. Shizun : teacher/master gender nuetral, meaning "Honoured/venerable master." And is a more respectful name of address Shifu : teacher/master for ones master in ones own sect Shiniang : the wife of a Shifu/ Shizun [Luo Binghe to everyone around "Refer to me as Luo-Shiniang! yes! Good little ducklings!] Shixiong : Older Male disciple ShiJie : Older female disciple Shidi : Younger martial brother, for juniour male disciples Shimei : Younger Martial Sister, for junior female disciples Shishu : The younger martial sibling of ones marital master [Such as Shang Qinghua and Liu Qingge a disciple would refer to them as Shishu as they are lower rank than their Shizun.] Shibo : [As Yue Qingyuan is sect head and his title makes him the older martial sibling would make him Shibo. And so a disciple would refer to him as Shibo, or Yue-Shibo- idk about Zhangmen-Shibo if thats a thing? - Or if disciples of An ding would call Shen Qingqiu Shibo as he's second rank of the sect. Shizhi : [If Shen Yuan was a disciple Yue Qingyuan would call he Shen-Shizhi, or Luo-Shizhi, or just plain call him Shizhi]

Gongzhi : Master/Senior Daozhang : Xiong :

Terms: Manhua: Danmei: XianXia : Qi : Gong : Shou : Chrysanthemum : A flower that is a symbol of health and vitiliaty. In sex scenes it was a metaphor for a mans backdoor entrance.

Chinese Calender: Year dates/era for a story> The Chinese calender uses Tian Gan Di Zhi [Heavenly stems, Earthly Branches] system to mark the year. [Meaning lost] There are ten heavenly stems, and twelve earthly branches [Zodiac adjacent] Each Stem and Branch is associated with either Ying | Yang and one of the elemental properties, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The Stems are and branches are combined in cyclical patterns to create a calender where every unit of time is associated with certain attributes: Analysing such a calender for the stem, branch characters and their elemental associations was considered essential information in divination, fortune telling, wedding dates, and even buiness deals.

Confucianism:

Is a philosophy based on the teaching of confucius, it placed heavily importance on respect for ones elders and family, a concept broadly known as Xiao "Filial piety," the family structure is used in others that have similair behaviours, such as respect of a student to a teacher, or people of a country towards their ruler.

Cores/Golden Core: A good Cultivation base/Core/Foundation: Means learning from the right age, good training and keeping consistent and percevere. A bad Cultivation Base/foundation: Means you were half-assed it/ sabotaged with an improper manual, learned too late/early, can be prone to Qi deviations.

Meridians: Qi travels through the body, like a magical bloodstream, or map/rivers of the body. redirecting, manipulating, or halting qi circulation focus on targeting the meridians at speicific points of the body, known as acupoints. Technqiues that can block qi prevent a cutlivator from using qi until the block is lifted.

Qi Circulation: The metabolic cycle of qi in the body, where it flows from the dantian to the meridians and back. This cycle purifies and refines qi, and good circulation is essential to cultivation. In Xianxia, Qi can be transferred from one person to another through physical contact and can heal someone who is wounded if the donar is trained in the art Qi Deviation:

"To catch fire, and enter demonhood." occurs when ones cultivation becomes unstable. Common causes include: Unstable emotional state, or strong negative emotions, practicing cultivation methods incorrectly. Reckless use of forbidden or high-level arts. or succumbing to the influence, of demons and evil spirits. When qi deviation arises from mental or emotional causes, the person is often said to have succumbed to their inner demons or "Heart demons." Symptoms: Panic, paranoia, sensory halluciantion, and death. Fixes [not cures] : Forced relaxation, voluntary or forced by external party, massage, meditation, or qi transfer, from another individual.

The golden core forms and replaces the lower dantian, becoming an internal source of power for the cultivator. Cultivators who detonate their golden core, almost always die in the end. The destruction/removal of a core is permanent and cannot be recultivated as there is no longer a lower dantian o form it, its destruction stops an individual from ever performing to cultivate qi normally ever again.

Tradtionally cultivating a golden core is in nine stages, but is often simplified in fiction; Qi Condensation/ Qi Refining Foundation establishment Core foundation/Golden Core Nascent Soul. [A cultivation technique where a soul can project it's soul outside its body and travenl indipendently, this can allow them to survive the death of their physical body and advance to a higher state. Deity Transformations Great Ascension Heavenly tribulations

Dantian: Refers to three regions in the body, Navel, Chest, forehead. The lower is three finger widthds below and two finger widths behind the navel. This is where the golden core is formed and is where Qi metabolsim process begins and progresses upward.

Pilles and Elixers: Magic medicines that can heal wounds, improve cultivation, extend life, etc. These are usuallly delivered in pill form and created in speical kilns.

Spirit Stones: Small gems filled with Qi that can be exchanged between cultivations as a form of currency. If so desired the Qi can be axtracted for an extra energy boost.

Currency: In most dynasties was based on the exchange of Silver and Gold, weight was also used to measure the denoniminations of money. i.e: One Liang of Silver."

Daoism: Daoism is a philosophy, of Dao. Involves coming into harmony with the natural order of the universe, which makes someone a "true human." safe from external harm and who can affect the world without intentional action.

Disciples/sect:

Clan and sect members are known as disciples. Disciples live on Sect grounds and have a strict hierchy based on skill and seniority. They are divided into Core, inner and outer. With core being the highest, Higher ranked disciples get better logdgings and other resources. A sect is like a family, hence the name for martial sibling, and teachers are parents.

Incense time: A common way to tell time. One incense time: is roughly 30 minutes.

The Three Realms:

Split into three realms, the heavenly realm, the mortal realm, the Ghost realm. Heavenly realm: Heavens, heavenly officials. A Celestial court where gods reside and rule. Mortal Realm: Realm of humans. Ghost Realm: Refers to realm of the dead or in scum villain/demon realm.

Edit: more to be added later -_- this is a cheat sheet to look back on when I have to use these terms [ps I write fanfics for fun, and I'm more focused on my art etc, so I am half assing this stuff but I'm only making this sheet to be polite, I'll still try to incoporate this stuff and be respectful but I'm not writing an actual properally researched novel here its just for fanfictions]

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Links for meridians/aacipunctures:

We pass qi by this paths, cultivation = qi gong, you can see qi praticioners in youtube^^

Here, qi spinning a paper in real life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKqHm7qs2Fg

I also asked someone online [Cryptidpatriarch] about what would happen if Luo Binghe was given a courtesy name I mean, Shen Yuan would or would've thought of one so this was one suggestion.

when you join a clan, you assume the clan name, because it is your new family and you abandon the original name to be a new person, with a new family, in which case he should take the name of the peak. Cang Qiong = firmament, reach the sky peak... Bing Hé Qiong= ice river through the firmament. 竹河 = bamboo river Hé = river Bing = ice

[eurodyning]

I GOT MY OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF RESULTS AND IM GONNA BE GRADUATING MY MASTERS WITH UPPER SECOND CLASS HONOURS

[ilions-end]

ayyy euripides' electra time (ian johnston transl.)

i really feel i approached the three electra plays in the perfect order. the libation bearers to get me hooked, sophocles to make me frustrated and want more, and now euripides to fullfill all my secret fantasies

that is to say WOW what an initiative electra!! like in aeschylus, her path is so much clearer to her than orestes' is to him, she carries all her hate and resentment on the outside, but while aeschylus only lets her put the plot in motion and then retreat into the shadows, THIS TIME SHE PARTICIPATES. this time HER HAND IS ON THE SWORD!!! oooh delicious

i think this one also balances the weight of both murders (clytemnestra and aegisthus) more evenly than the others. personally i really like how aeschylus underlines how insignificant aegisthus is even as he dies, but now this is kinda my second favourite portioning of revenge

i DON'T MEAN TO COMPARE THE PLAYS SO MUCH, it's just i'm starting to develop LAYERS OF UNDERSTANDING here. whoops

also euripides MAKING FUN of aeschylus' electra comparing her footprint to orestes', by making her go "pshh obviously his footprint would be a different size to mine"?? i want to go back in time and tell euripides "did you think when they said their footprints were alike they were talking about SIZE? bro. omg." i am so annoyed by an ancient playwright misinterpreting another's play it's actually embarrassing.

i did enjoy euripides throwing in "hey, this might be crazy but uhh have we considered that maybe poor people can be noble and rich people can be morally corrupt" every other scene though. i bet that blew the mind of the upper class athenian audience

electra going "you dare imply that my brother would SNEAK into argos and our father's burial place like a COWARD? like a fucking LOSER with NO GUTS?". priceless

WAIT WHAT, that one-line reference to castor once trying to seduce electra. that took me by surprise. EW EW EW THAT'S YOUR SISTER'S DAUGHTER, DUDE. i'm not usually surprised at incest in greek mythology but i want to bap his nose with a rolled-up newspaper. YOU'RE A DIOSCURI, ACT LIKE IT.

yesss we love a despicable aegisthus. the vicious insecurity, the effeminate coding. myrtle flowers in his hair. electra saying whenever he gets drunk he goes to agamemnon's grave to throw stones and kick and shout abuse. oh little man you feel your own inadequacies so strongly, don't you.

but also mmmmm how this version makes the most of out of orestes' abuse of the laws of xenia. he is invited in as a friend! he's honoured with sacrifice, and turns around and commits murder with the sacrifical tools! he does the honourable thing in the most perverted way, OH it's so crunchy

i'm so emotional about electra speaking her grievances, both directly to her mother, and also how orestes encourages her to vocalize all her anger at aegisthus' corpse.

she yells at dead aegisthus what a fucking IDIOT he was to think he could seduce a married woman, marry her, and expect her to be faithful to him. it's so true it's so true

clytemnestra continues to have a point about everyone making a big to-do about her infidelity, when her husband brought back cassandra and was just gonna be like "yeah i'll have two wives (one a mad, enslaved priestess) it's fine it's normal why are you judging me".

augh how electra and clytemnestra's big confrontation made me nauseous, it's so realistically a portrait of an abusive mother who CARES about her daughter, as if that excuses the way she treats her. as if all the abuse is the fault of the child. "Why do you let your husband be cruel to me?" "That's how he is. And you have a stubborn nature." MAKING ME ILL!!!

ELECTRA'S HAND ON THE SWORD. FINALLY SHE'S ALLOWED TO HOLD THE WEAPON, TO KILL HER MOTHER.

and then OF COURSE comes the well of emotion, of bitterness, of sadness, of affection. "There. With this cloak i'm covering up one who was loved and yet not loved." AUGH AUGH AUGH IT HURTS SO GOOD

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 2, Episode 6

Final episode, and we're picking up the morning right after last episode. The curtains are still closed though, good for them!

Subtext: The something Simon needs to take care of is of course the situationship with Marcus.

Subtext: Real subtle music choice there, show. This is where August decides to solve the problem of Simon going to the police in his own twisted ways.

Lost in translation: August meekly asked for some changes to the speech last episode, whereas Wilhelm just changed it without asking for permission. Here's what it says, with his changes: Hillerska 120 years Your Majesty, dear mom. And dear Hillis. It's an honour to be standing here today speaking to you - not only as Crown Prince, but as your classmate. Hillerska welcomed me during a very difficult but meaningful time in my life. (He's scratched out "Eders" at the top, which is an archaic way of saying and spelling "ers", which in turn is a special version of the plural second person possessive pronoun "er", which is only used in a formal address like this.)

Lost in translation: The second cue card has more changes: Hillerska isn't just the place where we are taught to be good citizens so that in the future we can shoulder the responsibilities that has been imposed on us. It is also a home. Hillerska became a home to me, just like it was for my dear mother, and my brother before me... and for many of you. You have become family. The school motto is "take responsibility for your legacy" "feel your responsibility for the legacy", be proud of your history, pass on the traditions to the next generation.

Cinematography: The show normally only uses these fourth wall breaks to bookend each season, but all occasions have been when Wilhelm has been making a public speech or felt observed. Here he's practising a public speech, and the show uses the fourth wall break to really bring home this point.

Culture: The show says that this scene takes place just a couple of days after the Valentine's ball, which puts us in the middle of February. But we can tell by the blooming cherry tree in the background that this scene was actually shot in mid April. This is absolutely not what February looks like in the Stockholm area in Sweden, which made me super confused about the timeline.

Subtext: It absolutely is about Wilhelm, but Marcus got it completely wrong anyway, Simon doesn't like Wilhelm because he is a prince, he likes him despite him being a prince. Oh, and it's a nice touch to separate them physically with an electric fence, to really show their distance.

Subtext: No, the person who feels like a victim here is actually Marcus. He doesn't fit in with the rich kids at the school, and now he thinks that they "stole" Simon away from him. Whatever, who cares, he has served his narrative purpose, byyyeeeeee!

Subtext: Loyalty is a huge theme in this episode, so we start this cursed subplot with a nice long opening shot of the motto of the Forest Ridge house, to remind us of how important loyalty is to the upper classes.

Subtext: Everyone tries to manipulate Wilhelm by invoking his dead brother, of course August does the same.

Subtext: So why does Alexander side with August? Wilhelm actually treated Alexander like shit, he threw him under the bus to protect Simon last season, and he feigned ignorance in the first episode of this season when Alexander came back to school, which means the Forest Ridge oath doesn't mean much to him. Alexander feels completely betrayed, because Wilhelm should have been loyal to his house brothers. August on the other hand promises him loyalty. If Alexander takes the blame, then the future king of Sweden, August, will owe him a huge personal favour, and that's just worth a lot more to him and his family than the minor inconvenience of a criminal trial. He's got money, and the full backing of the royal court, he's never gonna go to jail, jail is for poor people!

Subtext: ...like Simon, and his unemployed substance-abusing dad. Simon would not be treated gently by the justice system for dealing drugs, Wilhelm can't really intervene on his behalf, and the royal court wants Simon gone, so they won't help out either, which is why August's threat is very, very real.

Subtext: August has constantly been trying to impose upper-class values on Wilhelm, all the way since season 1, and that includes all the lies and secrets and cover-ups. He truly believes rug-sweeping is the best way of handling the situation, and can't really understand why Wilhelm won't play the game like the rest of them do.

Subtext: We know that Wilhelm's love language is touch, so August touching him is a violation that he reacts very strongly to, punching his arm away.

Culture: Clay pigeon shooting or trap shooting started evolving as a sport over 150 years ago, when upper class shooting clubs realized what a bother it was having to collect a ton of live pigeons when a gentleman simply wanted to practice hunting for a bit, so they developed cheaper clay targets instead. The birds are made out of an easily breakable hard clay, and the launcher is controlled with a foot pedal. The shotgun is loaded with birdshot, which is pretty harmless for humans at long range.

Subtext: A nice little throwback to S1E1, when August told Wilhelm that they could get away with anything, including murder.

Blink and you miss it: August glances at Sara, so Detective Felice quickly figures out that it was her before she admits it.

Blink and you miss it: Simon is actually smiling and enjoying seeing August humiliated by Wilhelm.

Subtext: Also a throwback to season 1, when Sara gave Simon shit for "always wanting to give people a second chance". Now she's doing the exact same thing, and August is ironically just as unworthy of it as Sara and Simon's dad was.

Subtext: Another theme this season has been about people protecting themselves, while claiming to protect others, so here's Sara accusing August of doing exactly that.

Lost in translation: Simon says "Snälla, jag orkar inte", which can't be directly translated, because English is missing the incredibly useful Scandinavian verb orka. It means having the physical or mental strength or stamina or energy to do something. When it's negated like here, it can range in meaning from not having enough stamina to run a long race, or not having enough strength to lift something heavy, or not being able to eat more food, or not wanting to deal with a person, or not having the energy to handle a stressful situation. If you no longer orkar something, you're done, you're finished, you're too tired, you're too weak, you've had enough.

Subtext: Again, Wilhelm's love language is touch, so he's trying to comfort Simon the only way he knows.

Culture: Kaggeholms Slott, the main shooting location for the show was built in the early 1700's, so this is some kind of detail from the earliest years of the main building.

Blink and you miss it: Simon hasn't eaten a single clementine this season because Rosh has been hogging all of them!!!

Culture: Linda's tag says "Sjuksköterska" - nurse, so she obviously works in healthcare. She's also wearing scrubs, so she must have taken off directly from work to accompany Simon to the police. Also note that being a regular nurse in Sweden is a pretty low status job because you'll just be a grunt worker at some hospital or care home, so this fits the social class of the Eriksson family.

Cinematography: I think this is the last amount of colour Simon has ever worn, signalling that he's not feeling himself, he's completely defeated.

Subtext: Damn, I got hungry just looking at this food. What's going on here is that the school is hosting the royal family and treating them to a nice private fancy dinner, and they've even got their own china monogrammed with the school logo. By the bottle we can also tell that Wilhelm is being served alcohol, it's a cider from Danish Somersby. And from the background dialogue, we also learn that both his parents went to Hillerska at the same time, where they presumably met.

Subtext: If it's so important to be able to talk about your emotions, why is your son so bad at it? It couldn't be the case that he learned to suppress his feelings instead from his parents, right?

Subtext: Oh look, it's the theme of the episode yet again! In Forest Ridge the loyalty is explicit in the house motto, and it's of course a big part of the girls' house as well.

Subtext: Well that's a big fat lie, the most obvious secret is the one Stella is harbouring, but they're all keeping lots of little secrets from each other. Good thing Sara learned to keep her mouth shut at least so as not to out Stella.

Subtext: Colour theory for the show tells us that red symbolizes the love between Wilhelm and Simon, and here Wilhelm is deciding between his love for Simon, or fulfilling his royal duty. Since he's currently facing away from the red light, and looking at Erik's old cigarette case, he's leaning towards duty.

Subtext: Colour theory is in full swing over at Simon's place as well, him and Ayub are having a late night videochat about Simon having to decide between his love for Wilhelm or his principles. However, his lava lamp turns red just as the scene ends, showing us what his final decision is.

Blink and you miss it: Sara cleaned out her room and left the Manor House, but she left behind the riding pants the other girls gave her for her birthday.

Culture: If you've read my post on royal names and titles, you know that Ludvig ought to be a prince, and ought to be styled "His Royal Highness", so I'm not sure why he's consistently being referred to as Duke Ludvig in this season. Oh, and if the reigning monarch is a king, he and his queen are styled "Your Majesties" together. But if the reigning monarch is a queen, only she is styled "Your Majesty", while her husband is styled "Your Royal Highness", because blatant sexism.

Subtext: August really thought he'd be their equal for this event, but he's always being put in place and shown he is less than.

Cinematography: Spot the character who really doesn't want to be in this photo shoot!

Subtext: Back in season 1 when August said he knew everyone's name, he wasn't joking, he actually does remember people's names!

Oh, and there's a little lost in translation here as well. August says "Tack för senast", which is a ubiquitous Scandinavian politeness phrase which means "Thanks for last time". You're supposed to use this every time you talk to someone after having gone to some event together, and especially if it was something that the other person hosted and invited you to.

Blink and you miss it: Nils and Vincent are hilariously taking the absolute piss out of August for enjoying standing in the receiving line for the jubilee.

Subtext: Easy there, Don Corleone! August simply overpaid for the horse, thinking Sara would love him for yet another material thing, but what she really wanted him to do was to change and come clean about the sex tape. The horse isn't gonna sway her from leaving him.

Cinematography: As I was taking screencaps for this post, I stumbled on this scene showing Sara leaving Hillerska, but my only question is who the hell that dude is? Why is he in the shot? Why is he there? Is he an extra who is supposed to be there, or is he a random person who was just happening to wait for the real world bus right here right now? It doesn't make any sense in universe, because every goddamn adult in the vicinity is busy with the jubilee thing. Why is this guy not attending? WHO IS HE? I NEED ANSWERS!

Subtext: Through the magic of literary analysis our couple grew closer and came to understand one another better, so Simon chose to compromise his principles out of love for Wilhelm. Oh, and there totally is another way, but it requires Wilhelm to compromise his duty...

Culture: I've already gushed about how good the costuming is on this show, because Wilhelm is wearing an impeccably tailored school uniform that fits him perfectly, while Simon is wearing an ill-fitting second hand uniform. You can tell because Wilhelm's uniform is showing the correct amount of shirt sleeve outside his jacket, between one and two centimetres, while Simon's jacket is completely covering his shirt sleeves.

Subtext: This piece of perfect poetic cinema is of course a mirror to the ending of season 1 when Wilhelm tells Simon that he loves him. This time, Simon says it back for the first time.

Cinematography: I know it's a coat room and not a closet, but close enough, and when Jan-Olof tries to hurry Wilhelm along and get him to stop talking to Simon, Wilhelm responds by literally coming out of the closetcoat room, foreshadowing the end of the episode.

Subtext: Literally as the next speaker, figuratively as the next crown prince.

Subtext: Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no! Sara hasn't talked to Simon since the shooting range scene, so she doesn't know why Simon never reported August, or that August threatened to take revenge by reporting where the drugs originally came from. I guess we need to setup some season 3 drama?

Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm appears to change his mind at the exact moment the principal says "replace".

Subtext: We've seen Wilhelm struggle all season with his duty, and not being able to put on a public persona, but in this moment it's on full blast, and a look that tells August to sit the fuck down again, because this is his job, he's not gonna be replaced any time soon.

Subtext: This is one of the lines that Wilhelm added to his speech, and it's the complete opposite of what he thought of Hillerska in the very first episode, where he saw it as some kind of punishment to have to live there for three years.

Subtext: Oh look, the tradition theme™! Let's just kick it, stab it, and drown it, while the cameras are rolling!

Cinematography: Cue the camera panning to the people experiencing said mass panic.

Subtext: The MVP of the season, Boris my man, enjoying the fruits of his labour. The unsung hero we all deserved! I bet though he's been secretly plotting the downfall of the monarchy this entire time!

Subtext: Just like this song played at the end of episode 4, showing what Wilhelm was feeling, this time it shows what Simon is feeling for Wilhelm. It's also a nice parallel to season 1, where the Revolution song was used in both episode 4 and 6.

Subtext: The lyrics are a bit on the nose like most of this season, but Simon said the he loved Wilhelm, and in return Wilhelm shows Simon that he loves him, by coming out, and not keeping their relationship a secret any longer, which was the main conflict of the entire season.

Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm is always comparing himself to his brother and trying to live up to his memory, so after making this choice, he quickly glances skywards as if to check in with him. Yeah, you're alright kid. Erik would be so very proud of you. I'm not crying, you're crying! Damn allergies! I swear, this goddamn show. 😭😭😭

Cinematography: Finally we book-end this season as well with Wilhelm breaking the fourth wall and staring at us. But this time we see a hint of a smile as he's doing it, because this time is the first time he's really in control of his life, doing what he wants, and not just doing what he's told or what he's expected to do.