#and I cannot find a Chinese equivalent- or at least the Chinese name | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jacquesthepigeon · 4 months ago

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I have personally seen cases where kids grow up as complete strangers to their heritage especially as is the case with my own cousin in California but that involved multiple factors

1) My aunt was isolated and practically estranged from boricua communities. There is a large latino population in California, yes, but it’s mostly Mexican, not a problem, but it’s drastically different from boricua culture. I cannot describe to you how sad it was to see her express relief at being around her people during holidays for the first time in over a decade.

2) Assimilation and shame was heavily encouraged. My aunt’s MIL, from Mexico, went as far as having her name legally changed to its English equivalent. Over the years since my aunt’s move to the states, there have been multiple incidents where she drastically exaggerated the state of the country and our living conditions (all way before the infrastructure, particularly electricity services, got noticeably Bad) based on sensationalist news articles. It got to the point where she called all of us “idiots” for staying.

Bringing it back to ML

According to a 2019 census, there were 71,500 parisians who reported being born in China, a figure that doesn’t account for descendants of chinese immigrants. That is a far cry from leaving Sabine isolated from her culture. She has ample resources to find and participate in a community of fellow chinese immigrants within the city.

In regards to assimilation and shame, just look at her fucking design and hobbies holy shit. It clearly doesn’t apply to her. As for her english (french?) name, it is a fairly common practice for people from various asian countries to adopt an english name. I’ve seen multiple explanations for this ranging from confucian self naming practices being influenced by exposure to western cultures all the way to workplace culture and convenience. In Sabine’s case, because her chinese name is so similar to her western name, I imagine it’s simply a matter of avoiding the headache of constantly correcting people on the spelling and pronunciation of her chinese name. It sucks that it’s something so many immigrants and even tourists have to do to be addressed respectfully but that’s also worth exploring within the narrative.

Which brings me to why it’s important that we recognize the crew’s intentions and POV when discussing how these characters and dynamics are written. They’re not considering any of these and countless other factors that affect how immigrants and their children interact with their own heritage. They want to be praised and lauded for being “inclusive” and “diverse” simply for commodifying a cultural aesthetic. They have no real concern for the people they’re profiting from or their lives and complexities.

So let’s assume for a moment that despite not being affected by any of the factors that I mentioned influenced my own aunt’s lack of educating my cousin about her culture, that’s still an issue that should be addressed specifically in regards to Sabine’s decisions in raising Marinette rather than pushing the blame onto Marinette for “not expressing interest” and learning on her own. The last few times my cousin has come to visit, we do our best to accommodate her and make her as comfortable as possible but when she inevitably lets it show that she is uncomfortable and would prefer to step away from the situation, my aunt has the nerve to shame her for not liking or participating in her culture. I assure you, my aunt was the only one blaming my cousin as we were all silently judging my aunt as she’s obviously the one responsible for it getting to this point, as we have been doing ever since we knew she wasn’t teaching my cousin spanish. So assuming this is the case with Sabine and Marinette, where Sabine had the means to teach Marinette at the very least the basics, and now Sabine is somewhat resentful of Marinette not figuring it out on her own, that is something that definitely needs to be addressed with close attention and care.

But they won’t.

Sabine is not a chinese immigrant in the interest of other chinese immigrants

Marinette is not a white-passing diaspora child in the interest of other white-passing diaspora children

There is no diversity or representation in this show that isn’t meant to turn them into props to make white men look better, be they fictional or real

That is the issue, not the existence of borderline caricature-esque immigrants or white-passing POC in the real world possibly getting representation. It’s not about them, never has been.

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dkniade · 10 months ago

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Start ID.

It is hard to imagine how anyone can get the idea that it is possible to translate a Chinese text without knowing Chinese. The requisite hubris is astounding. Chinese people do not attempt to translate Shakespeare without knowing English. In certain cases, such as when a rare text has been translated only into some other language, it may be defensible, as a stop-gap, to publish an indirect English translation that relies on another translation, rather than on the original text. (For instance, the Ming novel Rou putuan 肉蒲團 was unavailable in English for many years, so Grove Press published an English translation of the German translation by Franz Kuhn.) But those are special circumstances that do not apply to the Daode jing. There are plenty of serviceable English translations as it is.

Before considering these books in detail, it is worth observing that the authors justify their publications with apologies that are revealing in themselves. Mitchell, for example, announces that "the most essential preparation for my work was a fourteen-year-long course of Zen training, which brought me face to face with Lao-tzu and his true disciples and heirs, the early Chinese Zen Masters." This devotion may be admirable, but a course of Zen training, however rigorous, does not in itself qualify one to translate the Daode jing. The Daode jing is not a Buddhist text. In any case, it is only in an unclarified metaphorical sense that Mitchell's Zen experience could have brought him "face to face with Lao-tzu and his true disciples and heirs." Who are the "false" heirs? Who, for that matter, is Lao-tzu? (Mitchell seems to believe that there was a man named Lao-tzu who lived long ago and wrote a great book.) Far from allaying concerns, the exposition of his credentials only raises further questions about his peculiar conception of the text's history.

Bynner, for his part, writes: "Though I cannot read Chinese, two years spent in China and eleven years of work with Dr. Kiang in translating The Jade Mountain have given me a fair sense of the 'spirit of the Chinese people' and an assiduity in finding English equivalents for idiom which literal translation fails to convey." It is striking that Bynner felt obliged to put the phrase "spirit of the Chinese people" in quotation marks; his own conscience seems to have balked at such a self-serving platitude. To suggest, moreover, that two years spent in China in the twentieth century should provide an adequate understanding of the Chinese world over two thousand years earlier belittles one of the most vibrant civilizations on the planet. No one would propose in earnest that a sojourn in Italy would constitute sufficient training for an American to discourse on Ovid and Livy. If Mitchell's and Bynner's claims seem less than outrageous, it is only because they manipulate Americans' general unfamiliarity with the cultures of East Asia.

To Miles belongs the most ludicrous pronouncement of all. In his acknowledgments, he thanks "several Chinese students, whom I cannot name because reprisals might be taken against their families on the mainland if their work with me became known. Communist Chinese bureaucrats have, at least since the days of the Red Guards, forbidden the Chinese people to possess or read the Confucian and Taoist classics, as well as most ancient Chinese literature."

This he writes in 1992, long after "the days of the Red Guards," at a time when state-sponsored presses in the People's Republic of China have published thousands of books and articles on "ancient Chinese literature," including every Confucian and Daoist classic, and representing an array of diverse approaches. A writer who contends that helping a foreigner read the Daode jing would make Chinese citizens vulnerable to reprisals is either uninformed or disingenuous.

End ID.

From "Those Who Don't Know Speak: Translations of the Laozi by People Who Do Not Know Chinese" by Paul R. Goldin

#reblog #translation #Chinese #‘though I cannot read Chinese. I’ve spent two years in China so I’m pretty confident in translating #one of the most well known Chinese classical texts’#wow.

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uwumessenger · 4 years ago

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random headcanons i have for each om! character teehee

hi it's been a while since ive posted some hcs bc uni has been kicking my a$$! luckily i only have a few papers to tidy up and im done. here r some hcs for each obey me character that ive accumulated over the past few months wink wonk

most are random but some constants you'll find are what i think they smell like, languages they can speak (other than their native (demon/angel) and eng/jp), and music tastes !

lucifer

i have a strong feeling that he showers twice a day: in the morning after waking up and at night before going to bed

his cologne is probably the type that will last in an elevator for like a week after he uses it once. i dont think this mf ever smells like anything other than his cologne

has a secret folder on his phone of semi-nudes and other scandalous pics from when he felt sexy at the time omg

aside from demon language/eng/jp he can speak french and knows latin

listens to classical stuff yea but he also listens to diavolos mixtapes (re: diavolo's section)

not a fan of sweets but will eat sweet things when craving

really bland sense of humor...borderline cringey 😭✋🏻

mammon

has gone to google images and searched for "inspirational quotes tumblr" "gold aesthetic tumblr" & "relatable crush post tumblr" then reposts it onto his socials or just taps thru them and giggles bc he relates

his cologne doesnt last as long as lucifers and probably smells common. he has to reapply a lot but it's a people pleasing smell. it's cheaper hence the constant reapplying

he probably does have an expensive bottle but is the type to totally overspray...eek

he is canonically a car guy 🥲 and probably tells the one in his room good morning & good night + kisses the hood every once in a while. has tons of car magazines

he doesnt really speak other languages but has attempted to learn spanish before

listens to whatever is on the radio. doesnt rly stan anyone but he eventually will listen to mc's playlist and mc's playlist ONLY

levi

lurks on mc's socials ALL THE TIMEEEE like he will rewatch ur stories and scroll thru ur feed and overanalyze ur tweets/rts or blog posts. if ur mc isnt the type to use sns much he still googles ur name all the damn time just to find any sites u might be on fjdjdjdjskks

probably streams on whatever youtube or twitch devildom site equivalent there is, but only has like 40 or so followers. which he is okay with!

until he sees someone else who gets more attention than him. then the envy starts kicking in bad. especially if they suck 🧍🏻‍♀️

classic gamer boy smell. you know, sweat, tears, must, and (sometimes) axe deodorant. lucifer has to do a scent check before he goes out to any event & lets him use his cologne. how sweet!

kpop stan!! more girl groups than anything and his ults are probably GIRLS GENERATION, wonder girls, twice, loona, & red velvet

cried when ioi disbanded and refused to leave his room. the only thing u could hear was downpour on loop at full blast

can also speak korean & communicate in echolocation like dolphins 😏

satan

listens to country music you cant change my mind

smells like whatever environment he is in. he doesnt really have a designated smell just throws some deodorant on and goes about his day.

he's sooooo bad at driving...gets road rage way too often so his license has been REVOKED

but hes totally a backseat driver. needs to be sedated on long trips

do not let him watch finding nemo when luke asks to watch it. it's not worth it. he will cause mass destruction.

if he was a human or lived long term in the human world he totally has the ability to be a doctor

is studying as many languages as possible, but he mostly knows latin & french & german etc etc. wants to learn all the dead languages out of curiousity

asmo

dont think this mf has ever held down a relationship. ever

he doesnt compromise much & is not willing to change his lifestyle to fit an s/o into it. you keep up with how he lives or it just isnt meant to be (but dont worry! he'll eventually learn...maybe,,,,)

has the hardest time out of everyone when it comes to breaking bad habits

his smell varies bc he uses a variety of perfumes (whatever is the most popular at the time) but he probably sticks to floral and fresh scents. he never uses generic people pleaser scents like mammon

listens to electropop, mainstream pop, & some alternative rock

as for languages he too knows french, spanish, italian, etc. in general, if it's a romance language he knows it!

opposite of lucifer in the sense where he loves sweets and will refrain from eating too many bitter things

i think we all know that asmo is the biggest rockstar of the group! he's probably been in a boy band at least once, but now he makes his own music

has tried to teach mammon how to sing once. ended up in a broken piano and bleeding ears...

beel

i feel like he is SO SHY

like unless ur close to him he will not start conversations or anything

i think he listens to r&b a lot ! and jazz 😎 maybe rock as well

smells like ur typical athlete with undertones of wet wipes. he carries them around bc he likes to clean his hands before he eats & is prepared for when theres no sink nearby

he can drive and he drives really well. no rough turns, parallel parks perfectly, and never has problems with merging

driving with beel is probably really soothing. left hand is steering the other is gripping ur thigh 😫

dont think hes really fluent in any other language but hes probably semi fluent in korean because levi wanted beel to help him out

definitely know how to order food in practically every language tho HAHAHA

belphie

he reminds me of randall from monsters inc

smells kinda musty IM SORRY but not the way levi does hes more like the kind of musty u feel or smell when it's a shitty morning

but that's only because hes so lazy, when he cleans up hes like satan

has definitely murdered multiple people before. mc is not the first 😐✋🏻

with that being said belphie has been put into prison at least twice when visiting the human world, the mf had such a strong hatred for humans theres no way he never got into trouble before

lucifer probably broke him out and they used the pen thingies from men in black to erase everyones memory of that 🙄

dont think he listens to anything other than music that'll put him to sleep. really likes lazy song by bruno mars but thinks that bruno mars put too much effort into the song. should have been one acapella verse and then finish

similar to beel hes only semi fluent in one language, probably french bc of lucifer. doesnt remember much but knows a couple of lullabies and bedtime stories

the sandman used to be his bff until they drifted. they do, however, like and comment on each other's sns posts.

diavolo

once he found out who nicki minaj was he became her #1 stan

def an ariana grande stan too 😌

choreographs dances when hes stressed...idk just seems like a diavolo thing to do

also makes rly bad soundcloud rap music sometimes. turns to poetry when hes feeling emo but only lucifer knows this. barbatos is suspicious of him but doesnt have enough evidence to confirm.

his dad is like hudson abadeer from adventure time aka marceline's dad? something must have influenced him to want to unite the 3 realms + he would need the approval to do so, so his dad must be more chill than all the others before him 🧍🏻‍♀️ IDK ok anyway

currently going through his hamilton phase bc of mc. whether mc's intent was to get him hooked onto it or just to explain it bc of something he saw online, he tells everyone that he found out abt it bc of mc!

this man cannot drive his skills are only second to jumin han

not too fond of many languages but knows the widely spoken ones like spanish, mandarin, etc. if it's taught in high school he knows it

smells like a las vegas casino. not sure why but i feel like he does. but there's also an interesting & nice smell to him if he embraces you. it's a smell you cant quite identify. but it smells nostalgic, it's mysterious, and it's tempting.

barbatos

very calm demeanor but underneath hes WILD hes probably done everything at least once oof

he just has a lot of control and stability over himself (must be nice!)

on a more angsty note i feel like he might have had his heartbroken sO BAD IDK he is hurting and maybe that's why hes so willing to obey diavolo and not abuse his time lord power thingies bc he learned his lesson the hard way

mans is so smart he knows every language you could switch languages mid conversation with him and he wouldnt be thrown off. he'd probably start speaking it too.

BUT HE SPEAKS VIET P E R F E C T L Y

listens to the same stuff as lucifer but also likes eminem. likes the movie 8 mile but criticized it heavily

have you ever been to a chinese herb shop? naturally, he smells like that. his room probably smells like it too. he doesnt really have a significant smell like some of the others

when he bakes he smells like whatever hes baking tho

one of the few out of everyone listed to have been able to travel to literally everywhere

solomon

was probably on kitchen nightmares once, but only to get feedback from chef gordon ramsay. then he used his magic to prevent the episode from airing...

was in an orchestra, one of the best times of his life. played the violin. asmo watched him in the audience once, but didnt approach him until well after that performance.

he CANNOT sing. he can, however, rap.

doesnt listen to music. he listens to podcasts! but every now and then he turns on background music, but prefers it to be instrumental stuff

never wears sunglasses. also does not have a driver's license. cannot drive a regular car. could maybe fly an airplane.

due to his immortality he has learned almost every language to exist, but finds himself speaking mandarin the most. knows most dialects too

similar smell to barbatos but u can also smell some sunscreen on him too. like, generic beach day suncreen

he has a lot of pact marks, so he once had the idea to match foundation to his skin. it took him two weeks but he eventually perfected a combination. yes he will help u find ur perfect shade if u ask him to

simeon

another country music man. has also made a tiktok or two to that one song that goes "he cant even bait a hook." they are private tho

angel country music exists and simeon invented it

if he visits the human world and wears more causal clothing he probably tucks his shirt into his pants

wears a speedo at the beach i tell u, speedo at the beach

he can speak german...i can feel it

uses his pointer finger to type and holds the phone like 2 inches away from his face so sometimes his nose will push a key hence all his typos

has no signature smell. he simply smells like your favorite scent all the time. if multiple people are around him at once, everyone smells a different smell. it's pretty rad

"what does he smell like to himself?" u may be asking. hmm...a church? 💀

luke

his first pet was a goldfish and a few months before the exchange program happened, he was given a koi pond!

secretly likes hanging out with levi sometimes just to play with henry. makes him miss his pet fish back home

so his favorite movie is probably finding nemo and he threw a fit when nemo touched the butt

luke is probably learning german bc of simeon, though he'd like to learn more of the dead languages just for fun

i dont think he listens to music often or has any preferences, he just listens to whatever is playing on the radio

but he finds himself listening to the music mc listens to

smells like freshly baked goods all the time. or fresh laundry. but like, not combined. just depends on the day

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crossdressingdeath · 4 years ago

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Every so often I’ll come across a fic that has a summary that essentially reads: “after JFM brings WWX to Lotus Pier YZY takes JC to MeishanYu where he becomes the sect heir” and it always acts like this situation is a fix-it for the entire plot of the novel. And I was thinking about this premise over the past few days and realising just how little it makes sense. (I would like to clarify that I have not read any of the fics with this premise but that is because they all look to be written by JC stans and I decided a while ago that I wasn’t interested in anything like that. I would also like to say that I have only the vaguest understanding of Chinese culture so if something is glaring wrong in here I accept corrections.)

So. The logistics of the events coming to pass. The summaries imply that YZY left Lotus Pier with JC in tow, marched into her natal sect and without question JC was named sect heir and never had any problems ever.

Firstly: if YZY is such an amazing mother to take her son away from the ‘awful’ environment of Lotus Pier under JFM, why does she leave her daughter there? There never seems to be any mention of JYL also going to Meishan so this really just feels like YZY doesn’t actually care about anyone other than JC (in a similar way to the author not caring about anyone other than JC).

Secondly: the actual inheritance thing. As far as I can tell YZY and therefore JC are so far down the line of inheritance for the MeishanYu sect that it doesn’t actually matter. JFM calls YZY ‘Third Lady’ which based on my understanding means that she has two older sisters who would be the First and Second Ladies. In the line of succession her eldest sister would be first, then her children, then her second sister, that sister’s children, and then YZY and JC behind them (this isn’t even taking into account any older brothers she might have). I think I read somewhere that marriage order is based at least partially on age so we can assume that the two older sisters got married before YZY, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that the eldest child of the eldest daughter could be fifteen when JC is nine, so at the very least the eldest sister could have a child who is close to being of age (though I freely admit that I have little idea as to what is classed as ‘of age’ within this world) while the son YZY brings is a child who throws a tantrum over having his pets sent away for someone else’s mental health and being told he’s going to share a room.

(Sidenote: I know JFM has JC’s dogs sent away but for all we know they’re just taken out of Lotus Pier itself (as in the bit where the cultivators live). We know there’s a market area where non-cultivators live literally right outside so rather than sending three puppies miles away to other cities, couldn’t JFM have just found someone living outside of the cultivator’s part of Lotus Pier to give the dogs to? Wouldn’t that have been the easiest option? And one that could potentially allow JC to visit the dogs he was so upset about? Did he just not ask to see them so JFM decided that he didn’t actually care about them? Did JC go see them every week until they died and was just angry that he wasn’t allowed to own them anymore? What proof do we have that JC never saw those dogs ever again?)

Anyway, back on track. Thirdly: YZY married out of the MeishanYu sect and into the YunmengJiang sect. She was very insistent on this. She wanted this a great deal even though we know that JFM didn’t particularly want to marry her. I believe that by the culture of the time marrying out of a family meant you were no longer part of that family. Like you might visit or write and introduce your children to them but you weren’t part of the family in the sense that you weren’t in the line of inheritance for anything of that family. So YZY marching into her natal sect with her bratty son behind her, declaring that he would be the sect heir to MeishanYu honestly reads to me as YZY flat out not understanding anything about how family inheritance works. She married into YunmengJiang. By the rules of the time, she should be devoted to building up the YunmengJiang sect, not leaving and returning to her natal sect because she doesn’t like the mother of the child her husband brought in off the streets. JC especially isn’t in line for inheriting MeishanYu because he is a member of the Jiang clan. Honestly the best equivalent I can think of is if people expected Jin Ling, heir (and sect leader and the end of the novel) to LanlingJin to also take over the running of YunmengJiang even though nowhere is it implied that he’s in any way in line of that — JYL married out, any children of hers were part of the Jin clan with no inheritance in the Jiang clan (it’s also for this reason that I am firmly of the belief that Jin Ling was mostly raised at Koi Tower rather than Lotus Pier, who lets the heir to a sect be entirely raised by another sect? For all we know Jin Ling spends a couple of months a year with JC and the novel just happened to take place during those months, and it’s saying something if Jin Ling spends the entire time he has per year with JC running away on night hunts without JC there). So, to put a long point short: YZY married out of the MeishanYu sect and has literally no inheritance there and neither do her children.

Also, at this point hasn’t she essentially kidnapped the heir to YunmengJiang? I doubt JFM is going to say “oh you don’t like my best friends’ son so you want to take our son away. Of course you can do that I have no problem at all with losing my sect heir due to your petty dislike of someone who has been dead for years now. Goodbye.” JFM may not really stand up to YZY, but there’s some things even he isn’t going to tolerate from her. So YZY is causing a political disaster between her natal sect and the sect she married into by kidnapping the sect heir of one and attempting to make him the sect heir of the other. At the very least I feel like JFM could divorce her on the grounds of kidnapping his son and trying to depose the sect heir of her natal sect in favour of a child who by law cannot inherit that sect.

From what I can tell these fics look like they’re set up to be fix-its. Again, I haven’t read them, but I can feel just by reading the summaries and glancing over the tags that they’re intended to be stories about how without the father who ‘hates him so much’ and ‘that awful WWX who always held him back from his true potential’ that JC is so much happier and more skilled and also absolutely going to be the best person in their generation at everything and in at least one of these it looks like he ends up marrying LXC (which is just. No). Honestly it could be a fix-it for JYL and WWX who would no longer be being berated for their general existence (WWX) and hobbies (JYL, specifically how she likes to cook). Them growing up without YZY constantly breathing down their necks and having better mental health as a consequence? Yes please.

Honestly I wouldn’t mind seeing something where the concept was written by someone who didn’t think that ‘actually all the positive traits of other characters are JC’s character traits and also JC should have been the main character’. Something where it’s set up as YZY taking JC with her to Meishan, expecting everything to obviously work out the way she wants, only to be shot down. Her eldest sister is potentially sect leader if their parents have stepped down and has a fifteen-year-old child who everyone in the sect is pleased with as their sect heir. YZY and her expectations get shot down, it’s made clear that she and JC aren’t even in the line of succession since they’re officially part of YunmengJiang and not MeishanYu, and she’s told to leave. She returns to Lotus Pier, angry but still convinced everything there will go her way because JFM has never stood up to her before, only to get back and find JFM in the process of organising their divorce. This isn’t an internal matter due to her not doing the duties expected of the mistress of Lotus Pier anymore, this is a political matter where she kidnapped the sect heir and tried to depose the sect heir of MeishanYu. She’s legally part of YunmengJiang, her actions reflect on the sect as a whole and could be taken as hostile intent. Really the only way to keep this from potentially escalating is to divorce her so that everyone knows her actions aren’t condoned by JFM individually and YunmengJiang as a whole. The end result is that instead of JC somehow fixing everything as a result of having less political influence/lower status than before (sect heir of MeishanYu which is a minor sect compared to the sect heir of YunmengJiang which is a great sect) and without an extremely loyal WWX supporting him, YZY instead undergoes some consequences for once in her life and the family dynamic of the Jiangs + WWX might even manage to be healthier without her constantly being around to antagonise everyone.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure YZY’s children would be so far down the line of succession that they’d have to murder a bunch of people to stand a chance of ruling Meishan, and her taking JC, the heir to the Jiang sect, to another sect without his father’s permission and with the intention of deposing the rightful heir of that sect would be... just a bit of a problem, yeah. Also like. I suspect the reason YZY doesn’t canonically do that is because not even she is that stupid. That goes beyond being a bitch and straight into Actual Crimes. Also love the idea that JC, the most useless of all the great sect leaders, would be less useless in a position of infinitely less power. ...To be fair he would certainly do a lot less damage.

#lotus mom #grapehate #anon #asks

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phoenixtakaramono · 4 years ago

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The Untold Tale - ch4 (Preview IV?)

Author Notes: I am suffering from romance overload, but finally I was able to drag Bing gē back to the plot at hand. (To be fair, my notes for this chapter was originally planned in SY’s POV for this second half of the dreamscape, so shifting it to LBH’s POV did change some things tonally....) Case in point, we transition from something like this:

Crossing the final threshold, the moment their feet touched the glazed roof tiles of a pagoda, the pathway sealed itself behind them. The darkness dispersed, a curtain of red falling over the sky.

Luo Binghe glanced around, peering over the curved eaves to see below. They were at least ten thousand chi up from the ground. Their long hair swayed, and white robes and pelt fluttered.

They had arrived at the topmost tier of what appeared to be a building constructed high enough to pierce the clouds, standing aloft as if in midair. Constructed of wood joinery and masonry, the tower bore a passing resemblance to the ancient Huangfei Pagoda where the fabled white snake spirit, Bai Suzhen, had once been imprisoned.

From their vantage, they could see everything. The ominous blood red sun was setting in the horizon, granting the impression that the world had been swallowed up by a sea of fire. The green mountains and trees were black silhouettes painted in the burnt orange sky.

The harsh sound of clashing metal pierced the eardrums.

Guttural, desperate yells shook the earth from faraway.

His instincts on high alert, he glanced over to his side. In the distance, he’d keenly sensed a thick shroud of killing intent. It was a familiar iron stench of blood that permeated the air, overpowering and hitting the back of one’s throat.

This is an illusion mimicking the frontier of war…?

A hand glided to Shen Yuan’s shoulder. He formed a gentle smile when Shen Yuan glanced over curiously. “Since Shizun wishes for me to observe, then shall we sit?”

“Sit? Sit where—?”

No sooner had he asked, the question died on Shen Yuan’s lips when Luo Binghe exerted pressure. Like snow falling off a branch, his knees folded and Luo Binghe guided him down to the roof tiles.

He was still speechless when Luo Binghe impulsively took a seat behind him. A sharp jawline nudged the top of Shen Yuan’s head. Their thighs were pressed together as their feet dangled off the edge of the roof. Shen Yuan seemed to realize Luo Binghe had taken advantage of his daze to pull him between his legs.

It was also the second time they’d embraced. As a lofty immortal, Shen Yuan had likely never experienced such brazenness from another person. His back was like a stiff wooden board against Luo Binghe’s chest.

“This lord does not mean to offend,” Luo Binghe spoke, securing his arms around Shen Yuan’s midsection—so that he could not escape. He assessed the long and sturdy body for any signs of discomfort. “This being Shizun’s dream, this lord dares not interfere and conjure illusions without permission. This lord respectfully presents his body instead to protect Shizun’s white robes from becoming dirtied.”

Silence prevailed.

Luo Binghe was undaunted by the lack of response; he knew his performance was flawless. He’d perfectly imitated the naïveté of an earnest young man who knew he’d somehow wronged a peerless existence but wanted to do good, rousing sympathy and leniency in the heart despite his excessive actions.

“Didn’t one also say that skinship was necessary?” Luo Binghe challenged. “That it would be safer by your side?”

“...You. You have a lot of courage throwing one’s words back to their face.” Just like how stone was weathered by the seasons, bit by bit, the tension had receded from Shen Yuan’s muscles. The corners of his mouth began to lift. “You are so unpredictable.”

“For a fortuneteller to find one unpredictable, one must be an exceptional person.”

“En. A very exceptional man.”

A departure from his shock from earlier, it seemed Shen Yuan had managed to find amusement in Luo Binghe’s impudence this time.

“I concede to having said that,” Shen Yuan admitted, tilting his head so that he could catch the side of Luo Binghe’s face. His expression was understanding—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of making one feel an irrational sense of accomplishment knowing they were the cause of it. “I know you’re making fun of me. But for somebody like you to find the courage to say such lighthearted words to me, you must want us to become even closer. Right now, I can’t help feeling somewhat gratified. Luo Binghe, you really know how to be deliberate and conniving. It’s actually a relief. I don’t feel disappointed.”

Dangerous. This was dangerous.

In the wind, Shen Yuan’s voice had neither been low nor domineering, but it was a weapon that could appease others while sounding firm. One could detect the underlying maturity in his tone of voice, filled with an assuredness that made one admire and feel at ease being in his presence.

In his simple white robe, appearing pure and unyielding, there was an immense temptation being presented to Luo Binghe. Especially with the both of them in varying undressed states and with their newfound proximity, Luo Binghe came to the startling realization that he had set himself up to suffer.

Author Notes (Cont.): ...To something like this (I couldn’t find a good Chinese emperor GIF to encapsulate the mood, so have this one from a popular period C-drama):

Three fingers were held up. “You have three enemies in your life; you will only need to deal with two. Fēijī gē is one. The son of heaven is another. Since the edict has already been declared, you already know the current emperor will stop at nothing to eradicate your people and come for your head. With his personality, a ceasefire cannot be negotiated. What you’re seeing is only a small preview of what to expect.”

Luo Binghe’s gaze followed the trek of a long white sleeve rolling down a pale forearm. Shen Yuan was gesturing to the ferocious battle taking place below. From their height on the pagoda, the violence almost seemed trifling—like two colonies of ants fighting. Luo Binghe could begin to understand why in their legends that the heavenly immortals presented a wall of indifference, being so far removed from the Mortal Realm.

His smile vanished, replaced with something coldblooded and calculating. With the friendly pretense lowered, the savage callousness belonging to a demon was exposed.

Nosing the white hair, Luo Binghe murmured quietly, “This lord will ensure the emperor’s wings are clipped.”

Of the reports presented by his generals, Mobei jūn and Sha Hualing, the Xùmù Emperor had apparently declared the bounty on Luo Binghe’s head during cháo tíng—a court assembly—on account of his imperial chancellors pressuring him after hearing news of the annihilation of three of the four great sects. Furthermore, there had been a prediction that a great betrayal would bring about the downfall of the dynasty, with their great emperor being deposed.

If the report had stopped at that, Luo Binghe wouldn’t have been so infuriated that all of the official documents and writing utensils had been sent careening off the low table.

Sha Hualing, feeling aggrieved for her husband, had blurted that the low-ranked chancellor she’d interrogated claimed the emperor had been enraged, denouncing Luo Binghe to be no more than a dirty mutt who bit the hand that fed him.

An investigation launched into his origins had unearthed his hometown. As the son of a washerwoman, Luo Binghe was unqualified to take the throne from the imperial bloodline. Moreover, he was a wicked demon who had hid his true nature to deceive humans. Betraying the Cang Qiong Mountain sect, turning his back on humankind, the cultivator that was Luo Binghe was the antithesis of filial piety. Such actions demonstrated a lack of compassion and loyalty.

To prevent calamity, it was passed through imperial edict that the Demon Realm’s Sacred Ruler and his clans must be eradicated. His continued existence was equivalent to treason.

While Luo Binghe had not yet decided on which method of execution to mete out on the Xùmù Emperor, he would make sure to have him live through the last of his days in humiliation and excruciating torment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Author Notes: Chinese era names were used for various dynasties and regimes for the purpose of year identification and numbering. I hesitate to reference actual historical eras, so I’d decided to use 序幕 (xùmù) which means “prelude/ prologue”—which I thought to be funny since the meta function of having the “Xùmù Emperor'' is to be the precursor/ “curtain raiser” to LBH. …“Uninspired” naming convention fits the theme of PIDW and SVSSS though, right? Haha.

Note, previews I-IV are from earlier drafts so some details are subject to change when the final draft is posted to AO3.

Link to ch 1-3 is in the pinned post of my profile!

#svsss #scumbag system #bingyuan #bingqiu #luo bingge #the scum villain's self saving system #the untold tale #phoenixtakaramono #preview #chapter preview

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msburgundy · 8 months ago

Note

your name patch says Kim SeongHyeon 김성현

the hanja part though....this may be a cursed item. something strange is happening here lol

possibility 1) this font is just atrocious and maybe the characters are straightforward and normal and i just can't tell

so what happened was, we started on the far right vertical column. most of which is easily recognizable

so we have Republic of South Korea [blank] Unit, and it should be one of the 4 branches of the military (cannot be marines based on number of syllables)

based on who uses this camo pattern, it should be the air force. which would be 大韓民國空軍 대한민국 공군 DaeHanMinGuk GongGun

possibility 2 [which is my kanji reading friend's theory]) is that the character here is 従

which makes no sense meaningwise, but its pinyin pronunciation is cóng, which is nearly phonetically equivalent to the hanja gong, and it would just be a mistake

possibility 3)

as an aside, we can definitively rule out navy

i compared it to other fonts, and it looks to me like the hanja for the army is actually a better match

but even so, still not quite

but if you simplify the character and then put it in a calligraphy font

that actually looks pretty close

of course you would also never do that because hanja does not use simplified chinese, so that also would be a weird mistake

so in short, do not trust me and find a real chinese speaker to at least identify the characters if you can't find a korean who also knows hanja lol

and we didn't even attempt the other 2 columns because we couldn't figure out even the part we already knew lol

I have a ROKMC jacket with both traditional characters and hangul characters and a trad char chit. alas i cant post photos to ur ask but i was wondering if u could attempt to translate it tyvm

ooo! yes i would love to!

not sure if i can do it but i'll definitely try. i doubt i can get the hanja part but i can hopefully get the hangeul

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hobidreams · 5 years ago

Text

Moonlit Throne historical clarifications/references

i want to accurately represent the history from the joseon era, but sometimes for the sake of story/ease of accessibility, things had to be minorly changed. the following is a list of creative choices/changes i make in the writing of Moonlit Throne, as well as further information about the history/culture that i’ve found through my own research 💓 i hope this can also provide some more context for those interested. this list is to be updated as the series progresses so i always recommend you read the latest drabble before checking for more info here for risk of spoilers. please correct me if i get any info wrong!!

for even more information about the world, check out the tag #moonlit history!

last updated: after drabble 43!

new information for the latest drabble will be under the moon.

king gwanghae - as mentioned in the line “gwanghae flow” & in the rest of the MV, Daechwita was inspired by this historical king & the movie about him. Moonlit Throne is not inspired by any king. any event that is similar is purely coincidental!

topknot - various sources state that only married men were allowed to wear their hair up, though this is often not the case in popular korean media. even though Yoongi is unmarried, i chose to pay homage to the daechwita MV & give him a topknot throughout the series. *** same goes for the blonde hair color!

months - traditionally, they followed the lunar calendar in the Joseon era. but i thought that that would be a bit difficult to explain for modern audiences so i am choosing to use the months/modern equivalents of dates.

yoongi’s scar - i am aware that Scarlet Heart Ryeo depicts the facial scar as a reason that someone could not become king. i haven’t found much on this in the way of historical sources, so it’s not a factor in my series!

uinyeo - aka. reader’s mom, and eventually reader herself. at the time, it was believed that women could not be treated by male doctors due to the shame of showing a man their body, even in a medical context. this position was generally occupied by a woman that was ranked below middle-class & commoner (think merchants/fishermen/etc.) as it was not a very desireable role. reader’s mom, Eun-a, is the head uinyeo, which is why she is called “su-uinyeo-nim” by others.

***i haven’t found any information that says men couldn’t be treated by women due to the Confucius beliefs, so at least in this story, reader helps out the male physicians from time to time.

eunuch - eunuchs were impotent or castrated men (had all or part of their genitals removed) who worked within the palace walls, serving and attending the royal family. they had their own hierarchy, like head eunuch, etc. it was possible for eunuchs to marry & have families of their own.

***Eunuch Kim has a 🍆! it’s just his testicles that were removed.

yoongi’s name - technically kings use temple names that end in jo or jong instead of their given names, but i’m keeping it as Yoongi!!

age - it’s revealed in the march 1858 drabble that Yoongi is officially turning 10 years old that year, but this is in Korean age. his birth year is 1849, which would make him 9 years old in age as we know it internationally. Korean tradition dictates that people age up at the start of the new year (Jan 1), not on their actual birthday. traditionally, they also add an extra year as they consider the baby 1 year old at birth, not 0 years old. to do the math, reader is two years older than him, which would make her born in 1847 & turning 12 that year!

*** the average life expectancy around that time was ~35-40, so their understanding of a teenager would be very different than ours, at least in terms of maturity. thus, even though the main characters are relatively young by today’s standards, i’ve written them to come off as older. UPDATED INFO: it seems court ladies could live up to rather elderly ages, even up to 70, so i’m not sure if the earlier statistic was just mainly for men.

birthdays - i couldn’t find any information about whether they celebrated the actual day of birth as well back then, only about 100 day milestones, etc. but it is part of Korean culture to celebrate the birthday in modern times, so i kept it in.

jeonha - similar to mama, this is how you refer to the king as an equivalent to “Your Majesty”. wangseja-jeonha is the full title for the crown prince. usually people just call him seja-jeonha.

women’s rights - how much freedom you have kind of depends on what rank you are. most of the upper court/noble ladies (yangban) are born & raised within the palace. they were very, very rarely allowed to leave (& if they were married off, then they would have to leave with like guards/people with them). it’s unfortunate but they were treated like property, passed off from father -> husband. from what i can gather, the lower ranked women (like the uinyeo) had a bit more liberty about going into town (or at least ive seen in media), mostly bc no one cared about them.... sad truth but truth nonetheless.

king’s authority - even though the king is the ruler of the entire land, he doesn’t have absolute authority over everything. generally kings in the joseon era had to listen to the advice of the court officials if they thought he was making the wrong choice.

Minister Choi’s execution - so actually there were several types of executions for people of different ranks. someone of Minister Choi’s status likely would have been given a less gruesome death via. poison (sasa or 사사). but i’m keeping it as a beheading to pay homage to the daechwita MV!

***i also came across an article that said only royal blood could be spilled on the palace grounds so i’m not 100% sure where the public execution square was located, only that there was one & it was separate from the palace. also a lot of dramas seem to ignore this rule, so i’m not sure.

perfume - this existed back then! along with cosmetics. they were a luxury item for mostly the upper class, but they definitely existed.

Queen Jeonghui’s birthday - fun fact! i borrowed this real life queen’s name first, for drabble 3. then i found out, it just so happens that her real birthday falls in November as well. it was a total coincidence haha.

OC’s outfit/hairstyle - this is what she would have worn!

palace - the layout of the series setting is loosely based off Gyeongbokgung Palace! if you look at the map, i’ve set the private gardens at #24 (though the position of the island is different than how it looks in the map. it’s instead from the right side going towards the left), Yoongi’s private residence is #25. reader is moved into #23. #26-28 are libraries, which includes the crown prince’s private library.

*** also the palace is much bigger than you might imagine so to get anywhere takes some time & a bit of walking!

jipgyeongdang (집경당) - #22 on the map. along with #23 (below), were traditionally houses for concubines & palace maids before Yoongi moved them.

hamhwadang (함화당) - #23 on the map. where reader lives post December 1868.

sanggung - the highest rank available for women who served the palace/royal family. a woman could become a “favored sanggung” if she slept with the king, but not a proper concubine. normally from the “commoner” class.

sangmin - “commoner” class. made up about 80% of joseon’s people. were the farmers, fishermen, laborers, etc. these were the people that paid taxes and were ruled over by the nobles!

cheonmin - the rank below commoner, described in English as “vulgar commoner.” the upper classes considered these people “unclean.” among their numbers were butchers, sex workers, performers, shoemakers, and yes, uinyeo. they were normally given little to no respect at all within society.

concubine - women that had the honor of sleeping with the king. concubines had their own ranks within them as the king usually had many (think around a dozen). more info.

town - from what i can gather, directly outside of the palace is a small town. if you think of the Daechwita MV, it’s like the town that Yoongi walks through when he has black hair. this is where mostly people of the middle/lower class, like sangmin & those below that, live.

chuseok - Korean harvest festival! it means “autumn evening with the brightest moon”. it’s usually celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. that would put it anywhere around sept 9-oct 2 in our modern calendar depending on the year!

yangban - these are the “ruling class” or gentry of the joseon era. generally means their families own land, are somewhat (or very) wealthy, and they are well-educated. (think Mr. Darcy, for a British equivalent)

why does no one recognize the prince in town? - with a lack of access to pictures & internet, it was common for the normal citizens of the country to not know what their monarchs looked like. generally to identify people & rank, they had to rely on appearance. gold was a color only reserved for royalty, so only the king & his sons could wear the royal robes with gold embroidery. once Yoongi takes off those robes, it’d be hard to identify him from among regular yangban!

jeon - these are bits of shrimp/vegetables/fish/other small things that are deep fried in egg batter!

nokdujeon - this is like a small, savory pancake made with, you guessed it, mung beans!

Chun-ja calling Eunuch Kim “Kim-nim” - look. i’ll be straight with you i have no idea how a commoner would refer to a eunuch. i’m flip-flopping between his title (which i also cannot figure out bc idk which of the 18 political ranks he would be, but not for lack of trying y’all T_T) & his name with the respectful -nim. so just to be safe, i’m going with it.

***i also am not 100% on this, but i believe Eunuchs rank higher than commoners because they work in the palace? which is why Eunuch Kim uses “-ssi” for her.

hangul & hanja - so the Korean alphabet as we know it is called hangul, and it was invented in 1443. in the past, they used to use hanja, Chinese characters, to write documents.

female literacy rate - as related to above, it was rare for women to be able to read/write even up until the late 19th century. they weren’t allowed to learn hanja at all & only around 4% could learn hangul. of those 4%, it was mostly noble women, who received good education to be better wives.

***books were then thus read aloud by those literate to crowds, so people could still enjoy stories.

face - the concept of “face” is very much rooted in Asian culture. in Korea, it’s called chemyon, & is basically related to your reputation + how others see you. you can lose, build, or gain face through your actions or what rumors of you spread. for example, if parents have children with bad grades, they + the child lose face. people should strive to do things to build their family’s honor & face up. i’ve experienced firsthand how people go to sometimes extreme lengths to “save face” as the term goes. basically, if you’re going to do something shameful, it’s better to do it where no one can see. (this concept isn’t going to have a huge influence in the series, at least not so far & i use it rather lightheartedly in October 1865 but i just thought that it’s really interesting + important to know about Asian culture!)

French expedition to Korea (Byeong-in yangyo) - in October 1866, the second French empire tried to invade Korea (or Joseon as it was called at the time) because the king at the time executed seven French missionaries. after several months of fighting, Korea won with only four soldiers killed & 3 wounded (compared to France: 3 killed, 35 wounded). Joseon was able to stay relatively isolated from all the other countries, continuing the practice of isolationism.

gossip - i couldn’t find any laws prohibiting people from talking about court going-ons/battles, though i would assume that it’s punishable if you’re doing it to talk badly about the king. but even if there were laws in place, word gets around, as word tends to do. therefore, i’ve given Eunuch Kim a bit more freedom in his letters.

royal funerals - it could actually take up to 5 months for the coffin to begin its journey to the resting tomb, but i’ve expedited the timeline for plot purposes!

coronations - these actually weren’t super common in Korea or Asia in general, but it did happen once in the 1700s for King Yeongjo. i’m using that as inspiration for Yoongi’s crowning.

*** also i couldn’t find info on the exact wording that King Yeongjo used when he announced his succession to his deceased brother’s body so... i took some creative license there.

gama - how yangban & up women travelled, carried by their servants. here’s a visual!

the royal engagement - actually, Beom-su would not have lived within the palace walls. she would have lived in a detached palace that was further away from the main palace, and there would be a whole procession where the king goes to her during their wedding rites. however, i’ve seen several dramas have the bride-to-be hang around a lot, which seems to be true because she would have had to learn the customs of the palace, so i’m not sure how much she would have been around realistically. i’ve just chosen not to address it, like the dramas do.

Beom-su’s name - i chose this name for her because of one of the possible hanja for beom: “犯”, which i would pair with the hanja “秀” for su. her name would basically mean excellent invasion, which i thought was a bit cruel, slightly humorous, & overall fitting. it is normally a masculine name though!

why are Beom-su’s father’s actions such a scandal? - so all the unmarried women living/working in the palace were considered the king’s property. he could sleep with them if he wanted to, but essentially they belonged to him. by laying hands on the maid, the minister committed a double sin because he not only was he assaulting someone, but he was infringing upon the king’s territory.

civil service exam (gwageo) - this is an exam issued every 3 years that any man, commoner rank & above, could take in order to enter into civil service. it’s what Jimin takes to enter into the court! i’m not sure what month these were held or if it was just at the king’s discretion (could not find much info)

more on eunuch kim & the re-marriage process

royal tombs - these were often quite far away from the actual palace but looking on maps, i found that there were a few tombs rather close to the palace that people could have conceivably travelled to within a day, over several long hours on horseback!

on natural disasters - yes, in history, natural disasters like floods/earthquakes/eclipses were said to be the king’s fault because he wasn’t a good enough ruler! things like this could seriously derail the people’s trust in the king and was a big cause of concern.

on Queen Jeonghui being in court meetings - i couldn’t find actual evidence that said the queen couldn’t be at these daily meetings between officials. in fact, the real life Empress Myeongseong in the ~1870s was pretty involved in politics and was quite interested in matters of law, etc. so, i’ve decided to allow Jeonghui to be present and address the ministers alongside Yoongi!

Chunaengjeon - i kind of explain more about this already in the drabble itself but if you’re curious, it’s the only solo court dance in the Joseon era and the highlight of the dance is a moment where the dancer mimics a bird perched on a flower and smiles :’) i thought it was fitting for these two. here’s a video of a performance that i used as reference!

janae - there were quite a few different terms for couples to call each other during this time. “janae” was meant to represent wife and is kind of their equivalent to our... “honey”? it was mostly used among the commoners/lower classes to convey affection and closeness. (aka eunuch kim continues to be the cutest)

on adopting a child as a eunuch - the readings i found say that eunuch kim’s children must be eunuchs themselves if he adopts them directly, but they don’t mention anything about this particular case of a eunuch marrying a widow, aka the child is not directly adopted by Eunuch Kim himself. so Han-jae will not be a eunuch when he grows up!

american invasion of korea (shinmiyangyo) - this is a true historical event, as i’ve mentioned in my author’s note for “June 1871.” Americans repeatedly violated Korean soveriegnty and invaded their land, resulting in many, many deaths for the Korean side. they were hoping this destruction would force Korea to accept the trade treaty. Korea did not, and eventually were able to chase the Americans out of their land a month later. the wikipedia page goes into greater detail if you’re interested, and is a quick overview of the situation.

seong-min’s living situation - as i’ve mentioned earlier with the whole Beom-su situation, i’ve chosen to not use the detached palace again for this engagement as dramas tend to do.

the wedding ceremony - similar to my reasoning about the detached palace, i’ve chosen to focus on only a few parts of the marriage rites while only briefly mentioning the rest. why? well, while i would LOVE to explain all the details and intricacies of such an incredible process, i feel like that would take a lot away from the heart of the story and be distracting, especially at such a critical stage. so i’ve explained what i can, and given brief overviews where i am able. ofc i adjusted the parading ceremony because of the change of the detached palace custom. if you’d like an easy-to-read source on the whole process, please check out this link! basically the MLT chapter depicts a tweaked vers of steps 5 and 6. 1-3 happened behind the scenes, and i mentioned #4 in the “summer 1871″ drabble.

chungin - our equivalent of “white collar” workers, or the upper-middle class. this rank was made up of low-level bureaucrats, accountants, physicians, etc. some royal servants would also be part of this rank because they’re allowed to enter the palace. there is an exam (chapkwa) to become this rank!

conception dreams (taemong) - as uinyeo-nim explains in the drabble, these dreams were often seen as omens of impending pregnancy. depending on what you see in your dream, there are different interpretations. possible symbols are animals, fruits, elements of nature, children, and jewels. eg. if you dreamed of fruits, it was often considered to be a sign of having a baby girl.

other conception myths - i know from my own experience that Asians often have a lot of superstitions regarding conception and pregnancy and medical things in general. however, i couldn’t find any specific conception myths for the time period in question (most of my research only uncovered superstitions for after you’re already pregnant), so i’ve taken some creative license here, using the conception dreams and current beliefs as inspiration!

on Queen Jeonghui calling oc “dear” - since I prefer not to use Y/N, ___, etc. for reader’s name and just generally avoid mentioning it, it’s nearly impossible for me to convey the tone with which Queen Jeonghui would’ve been calling OC in this chapter. in Korean, she would be saying “[name]-yah/ah” depending on the ending syllable of the name. adding that suffix to the end of a name conveys closeness and intimacy between people. I’ve chosen to substitute it for “dear” to make things sound more natural in English. it’s not an exact match, but it’ll have to do!

#moonlit throne #historical context

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shlbigbang · 4 years ago

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FAQ

Who are the mods?

The mods are symphorine (@symph0rine on tumblr and twitter, symphorine on AO3), shards (@shards-of-divinity on tumblr and AO3), kep (@huldraism on twitter, drifloon on AO3) and vesh (@dryadfangs on twitter, decidueye on AO3)

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No! We realise the name might be misleading, but this is for people who have seen the show, read the book, or both! You don’t even have to have seen/read it all, but in that case, beware of spoilers.

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How fully made will the fics be when artists claim them?

You will claim fics based on summary and/or outline, as well as AO3-style tags that would apply. Tags will indicate pairings, main characters and tropes, so you will have a general idea of the focus of the fics! We might also indicate the writer’s rough estimation of their final wordcount, but you will not know how far along each writer is in writing their fic.

If I already have an idea for a fic and I would like to “claim” that idea, would that be possible? Or are you guys okay with accepting multiple entries of the same premise?

We are not regulating fic premises! You don’t need to claim your idea or make sure nobody else is doing anything similar before you write it. Technically, if everybody wanted to write a fluffy coffee shop AU, then everybody would be free to write that. The “claiming” part is only for artists and betas to say which fics they’ll work with.

If we are not comfortable working with minors, is there any way for us to know in the claiming process?

We do not have a particular system for this. A safe bet, if you’re claiming fics, would be to claim NSFW works, as we did establish that people should be 18+ if they want to depict NSFW. If you’re a writer, you can always message us and say that you do not want your fic to be claimed by a minor, and we will add that as a note during claimings.

As always, though, if after claims you find that you do not work well with the people who claimed your fic/whose fic you claimed, you can always message the mods to try to arrange something.

Do you have contacts for any sensitivity readers in addition to betas who may sign up? It’s my first Chinese fandom so i want to ensure i get someone(s) to look over it from a culture perspective.

Unfortunately, no, we don’t have any particular sensitivity readers contacts. You may try to find somebody to do that by yourself (in which case, good luck!). You can also look around for resources, I have seen a few threads and links pop up recently. Finally, you can also look for a beta who would be able to do sensitivity reading as well. It’s not guaranteed that someone who can do that will sign up as a beta for the event, but we can put it as a note during claims so betas can see it and claim accordingly!

Other than that, your best bet would be, I think, to ask on the BB Discord server if anyone can do sensitivity reading/knows someone who can.

Can ongoing works in AO3 be submitted?

No, ongoing works can't be submitted. We would like writers to submit something that hasn't been published yet; a wip, or even a complete fic, started before your signup time is fine, as long it hasn't been published elsewhere. Of course, a new fic is fine as well.

With everything going on currently, is the schedule going to remain the same for now?

It will stay the same for now, yes. However, since our next check in is next week, we will reevaluate the schedule after people have checked in, and might modify/extend it depending on people’s answers.

However, regardless of whether we make changes to the schedule or not, you can still ask for extensions or any other arrangement or help you need! That’s what we mods are here for.

#faq #just trying to set up links for mobile users dont mind me

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izumisays · 4 years ago

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dear yuletide author

Thank you so much for reading this and taking part in this wonderful annual conspiracy! 

First of all, I hope you have a lovely time! If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and ready to hear all the stories you want to tell.

Fandoms: Chihayafuru, Nirvana in Fire, Thunderbolt Fantasy

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, of any rating, ranging anywhere from lighthearted antics to dramatic casefics. But the core of all the stories I love has always been character interaction and interplay of their competences.

How the characters play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they’d react to a divergence of events, how true they’d stay to themselves in a different setting – I love fanfiction for allowing us to reconnect with our favourite stories time and again by asking these questions. And there are so many ways to do it! To name a few favourites, I’m always game for POV hijinks, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs.

You may notice that quite a few of my requests lean towards shipfic – those, too, are welcome in a variety of tones – but I also tried to include openings for gen ideas if that’s your jam. Additionally, while it is not usually my top interest, I don’t have anything against AUs if there is something that you are itching to explore: I tend to enjoy them for a new aesthetic that fleshes out the favoured character dynamics in a new light, or a fusion that redefines the playing ground to allow the characters to exhibit their core competences in new and exciting ways.

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and similar kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

CHIHAYAFURU: Mashima Taichi, Wataya Arata, Suou Hisashi

You don’t have to include all three characters, but I’d love to see a fic that explores the connections between them better. I’m up to date with all manga scanlations.

Wataya Arata/ Mashima Taichi

In the immortal words of Henjin Meijin, Arata is that person for Taichi whose opinion makes or breaks him. (His wording may have been different, but if I go rummaging into the chapter archive to find the exact quote, I’ll end up binge-rereading year three into the night again, and then where would my Yule sign-up be?) (On that note, what kind of a MASSIVE LOSER waxes poetics about Taichi’s boyfriend problems to Taichi’s MOTHER, whom he JUST met? Suou Hisashi, that’s who.) Needless to say, that paramount opinion was not always great, and neither was Taichi’s general wellbeing.

Good news is, Arata is confident in his manliness, and he has no problem acknowledging Taichi’s ridiculously pretty and not too bad at karuta these days, and he’s also moving to Tokyo. Taichi’s definitely pretty and has an apartment in Tokyo, where a country bumpkin of paramount importance may possibly stay over until things are sorted out… eventually. Hint hint.

Jokes aside, I pine for the dynamics between the two of them. I nearly lost it, reading the Meijin semifinals — and if you can show me a person who saw them bawl as they crawled into each other’s laps on Japanese national television and didn’t bawl in response, well, that person is sure not me.

I’d like to see a story that lets them build and explore that connect. I do not object to eventual OT3, but I think Chihaya is on a quest to find her own footing and pursue other goals at the moment, and I’d really like it if she was allowed to do this (join forces with Shinobu to drag karuta into a professional league, girl!). I’d like to think that in that space, different bonds and relationships can develop and strengthen, starting with Arata and Taichi.

Taichi the overanalyzer, the hardworker and the looker, the golden boy who at some point surely hit that red button, meme-style: you will be perfect at everything, you will have everything, except the one thing that you want above all. Arata appears to be his perfect foil: steady and serene where Taichi’s scrambling and flawed, adorably awkward and disarmingly sincere where Taichi’s groomed, smooth and miserable about his own deceptions. But they don’t see it like that! And they keep tripping each other up so beautifully!

I’d love to read your take on them growing closer and hopefully smooshing their faces together. Roommates in Tokyo? Long-distance friends? Figuring out how to tell your flatmate you’ve been in love with him since you were 12? Established relationship while hijinks happen? AWKWARD THIRDWHEELING WITH SUOU?!

On that note:

Suou Hisashi & (or / - wejustdon’tknow.gif) Mashima Taichi

I cannot believe that ridiculous man. Did you see a grown ass adult swoon because his unrequited disciple I mean not-friend I mean Taichi just up and went to meet his relatives??? To help reconnect them?? One can do things like this?? What next, being able to make phonecalls like an adult??

Does not compute.

I was there, Gandalf. I was there when the story first indicated that we might be getting an unlikely team-up of the world’s weirdest Meijin and Tokyo’s most miserable overachiever. But even in my wildest dreams I did not dare hope to see them sprawled on the carpet on a humid summer afternoon, Taichi comfortable in his own skin and Suou, erm, probably not very comfortable with his fascination :D He did not sign up for this. He, a grown ass man in what must be his early twenties, is too old for this youthful seishun sakura bullshit. And yet it is he who mournfully accosts Taichi’s mom to talk about how this other boy is paramount in Taichi’s universe. He who gets offended because Taichi knowing how to adult and work the social ropes is too sexy and competent. He who finds something compelling in the painful struggle of genius and skill.

Arata - Taichi - Suou

For maximum indulgence of yours truly, bring those into one place. Arata coming to Tokyo and finding Suou a fixture in Taichi’s life how?! Suou being infinitely pissy at the Fukuyi upstart and yet dragging himself to socialize with the boys regardless like a totally-not-pathetic adult with a social life of his own? Arata being mildly puzzled about the antagonism, but in there for the sweet snacks?

You tell me! I delight in my anticipation.

NIRVANA IN FIRE: Mei Changsu, Xiao Jingyan

Is this a complex, narratively inevitable historic tapestry strangling people with its treads, full of delicious politicking and identity porn? Yes, it is.

Is my burning – nay, primal – desire so simple as to smoosh two faces together and watch them kiss? Yes, it is :’)

I mean, I will obviously not say no if the kissing is giftwrapped in the said tapestry of beautiful, politicky plot, but the fever I can’t get out of my system is this: LET THEM KISS, GODDAMMIT. LET THEM BE HAPPY. I welcome canon divergences, alternative endings, fix-its, insert eps and codas where it looks like they would have kissed (erm, or at least confronted each other in a way that would inevitably end with them making out) if only Mei Changsu wasn’t so caught up in self-loathing and fluffy foxfur coats, and Jingyan didn’t talk too loudly about his so dead, so very dead beautiful ex to hear Mei Changsu weep stoically into his beautiful white furs.

I adore Prince Jing. He is 90% cheekbones and 20% heartbroken pouting over his so very dead friends, and all of it noble and awkward and stubborn and deserving of happiness. Mei Changsu is ridiculous, and capable, and twisted into pretzels of his own creation: not above gloating over his enemies while daintily dipping cookies into his tea, he gets too caught up in weaving the tapestry to notice he is a part of it. Pull him off his high horse, Jing! Render him helpless by being yourself! Do something about being hopelessly charmed with each other, through resentment, loss, bitter pining, and narrative inevitability! JUSTKISSALREADY.gif!!

THUNDERBOLT FANTASY: Rin Setsua; Sho Fukan

I LOVE THIS SELF INDULGENT WUXIA NONSENSE AND I CANNOT LIE!

Sanfan is a mixture UTTER GLEE and deep fondness for the genre staples, self-aware and masterful playthrough of all the wuxia tropes in the book, and one goddamn well-constructed story. It plays the tropes straight, calls them out with a knowing wink, walks the tightrope between the two with panache, and just as you are relaxed and enjoying this trapeze show, it grins cheekily at you, sets the discoball on fire and pulls a bunny out of a hat. It’s DELIGHTFUL and fun and lovingly crafted, just like a good passion project should be.

I want anything that capitalizes on the absolutely hilarious dynamics between Rin Setsua and Sho Fukan (and while personally I end up using the Japanese versions of their names more often, please feel free to go with the Chinese names if you prefer). Sho Fukan does not want any of those heroic quests, he’s the human equivalent of been there, done that mood, and he just wants to REST and hopefully dump a bunch of magical murderswords someplace safe. Rin Setsua is a Totally Respectable and Non-Villainous Member of Society, of which he will inform you firsthand in the most high spoken and verbose way possible, and maybe even produce paperwork that has definitely not been tampered with. He harbours no ulterior motives, ever, and does not trail behind Sho Fukan for any reason beyond the pleasure of his company, and his mission to personally victimize and cockblock every morally derelict villain in two countries, by no-one’s request.

Whether you go shipfic (yiss!) or canon levels teamup circus (also yiss!), don’t hold back your horses. Everything about this is Extra, and should continue to be so <3

I am okay with both expanding the canon and playing with AUs/crossovers/fusions for this one, provided they retain the character dynamics. I love the extended cast as well: any characters including the Seiyou gang (and on that note, if you want to write the Seiyou backstory for Shou’s gang that has no Rin in it, you’re welcome as well), reappearance of the familiar faces from Touri (read: Rin’s victim list, past, future and present), original characters lined up and waiting to be screwed over (guaranteed) and rescued (the administration does not bear any responsibility etc etc).

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading your story — and hopefully, getting to chat about these ridiculous and wonderful characters post-reveals :)

#dear creator letter #yuletide #yuletide 2020

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orenonahaichigoda · 5 years ago

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I had a rough day, and came to a realisation. I will say a bit about my own experience, and then, after having to lay the groundwork of explaining 400 things about Japan because American schools and media think the whole world is the US, Western Europe, and places to blow up, making explaining necessary, will tie it to Ichigo, or at least how I portray him.

I'm Post Dankai Juniors, growing up in Japan. So's Kubo, actually. The boundaries of this Japanese generation are roughly '75 to '85, Yutori, the following generation that's always translated and localised as Millennial, pretty solidly set as beginning at '86. These things are always fuzzy because you can't vivisect living brains and find the part that likes char siu buns and the part that likes jazz fusion. I *majored* in Social Science. You'll have teachers who say "it is absolute that we date people who are similar to us because we're all actually narcists." (It *might* be because they're like our beloved family or community. Narcistic Personality is not universal) But it really just is fuzzy, and that teacher/book author is an idiot. Anyway, Yutori is always translated as Millennial. I don't know the end boundary. Post Dankai Juniors covers almost totally a debated throe for Germanic nations (I know Britain, Germany, and Nederland use the same generations as America, and their languages are Germanic) because of how fuzzy it all is, though.

Anyway, so since coming to the US, my interactions with other Asians, again, how is this defined when China, Mongolia, Japan all border Russia and West Asia includes Jordan and Saudi Arabia, South Asia is India's area, Southeast Asia is Laos, Thailand's area, I mean, find the Arabic kanji. I don't think Thailand even uses soy sauce. What the heck IS Asia, really? (Or "Middle East" when half of that's Africa and the other half shares plate with Europe? )

Anyway, my experience with Asians that are Boomer ages tends to be people who immigrated as adults, who more identity with a generation like "Dankai" or "Sirake." My experiences with Latinos older than me... I've never actually asked if the generational labels are even the same.

The thing about that is that when the name is the same, it means enough cultural traits are shared.

My biggest experience with people who grew up under the term "Boomer" are Black and white.

I've noticed a unifying trait.

If they're something oppressed (Black, gay), their attitude tends to be"it is mandatory to stand up for *my* demograph...but kicking the person behind me on the ladder in the teeth is wholesome, pure, and fun."

Outing me to large groups and saying I "speak Asian" seem to be the most common two. Calling me "Chinese" long after I've cleared this up for them is a close third.

I mean, don't get me wrong--my experience with Italian Americans past GI generation has been that now acquiring the "white" label, just like biphobic/aphobic/transphobic cisgays, they're more often staunch priveledge defenders than cishet people of Anglo descent! And it's just as true for X and Y as it is for Boomer (for the latter, one need only look at NYC destroyer and trump defender Giuliani) I actually don't really identify with my Italian side at all because I was kinda locked out of making any meaningful connection.

But back to my point that even in so-leftist-it's-almost-not-America Bay Area, Boomers are still like this!

The kind of stuff that flows out a X/Y TERF's mouth, or the mouth of an X/Y person with a Confederate flag on his wall, American-raised Boomers say with ease regardless of their alignment! It's banananas.

(Please note that I also just have not met a whole lot of Native Americans, period, nor enough people significantly older than me from any one place in Africa, that was an omission of lacking data, not intended as erasure)

How I tie it to Ichigo--

So Kubo avoids specifying birth years for anyone.

When I see something like this, I generally assume date of publication, as do most people in most fandoms (which of course gets screwy when you have something endlessly rebooted like Superman or Batman or something eternally unchanging like Detective Conan)

Anyway, the first Bleach something published was the comic in '01.

I generally assume it was supposed to be the start of a new school year, as Ichigo doesn't know many of his classmates until at least the first test scores come out. So it's probably April or something.

If Ichigo was 15 then, he'd also be Post Dankai Juniors, just barely. If Ichigo TURNED 15 shortly after, during his adventure, he'd be undebatably Millennial.

Now, there is still something up with Dankai and Sirake. PM Abe is the latter, b. 1954. A lot of his age-peers are behind him. This is the guy who supports remilitarisation and was caught funding a private militarist/fascist high(?) school that teaches that people from countries Japan conquered during its brief phase of trying to beat colonial Europe are less than dogs.

Now, I left there as a teen. Clinton was US president. Scandals still got people kicked out of public office in Japan. I hadn't figured or come out yet. Sure, I got bullied for being mixed, but kids will pick if you like different singers than the "cool" ones. They'll pick based on what's in your lunch. That data is sausage.

I'm not 100% sure what Ichigo would face day-to-day sociopolitically as he grew up/aged. I haven't had living family since'95 there, and friendships don't get deep enough to ever last distance until at least high school. For me, adulthood.

But I've kept/caught up enough (you try keeping up in the South before the internet was more than ten University sites!) that I know he'd face fascists (c'mon, the guy takes on a martial law government to save a new friend--that's anarchist, he just doesn't seem anarchist in his own world. He only fights humans in defence) I'm not sure how he'd feel about the JSDF, but he only fought the sinigami's war out of feeling like it was his responsibility because the adults around him kinda made it so. I super don't see him being for *starting* wars. In a human war, I see him actually being like Sugihara Chiune, a historical figure who died when I was a kid who I majorly admire. He worked at a Japanese embassy in Nazi territory, and when the embassy was evacuated,he continued throwing passports to Jewish people to go to Japan from the train he was departing on,and is hidden from Americans in the same spirit that Martin Luther King is...pulled the teeth out of. (PS, speaking of,go Google Steven Kiyosi Kuromiya)

Also, Ichigo's whole schtick is defending those worse off than him. He's not someone I see defending Yamato Japanese priveledge. Heck, I could see him joining Uchinanchu efforts to get Parliament and the US base to leave them alone. I can easily see him sticking up for a Filipino domestic worker he met thirty seconds ago.

To this end, I think regardless of what he is, he'd have a large rub with Japan's equivalents of Boomers.

Not to mention that Abe supporters tend to be very sexist and queerphobic, which isn't even homegrown but imported from Américanisation. I mean, there were female warriors--assasins, which is what Yoruichi and Soi-Fon are styled after, and go look at some Ukiyoe, like Utagawa Kitamaro. Quite a few artists in the 200-ish years of the Edo period depicted life in the queer districts. I've also had people posit that Noh might've been a welcoming draw for trans people the same way drag was all over the US in the twentieth century and still is in rural areas, where there's less cisgay gatekeeping. But this isn't something I can reasonably research without access to plenty of older and not well known dusty documents, and lots of time, and I live in the US many years now. And do you know how much round trip airfare alone is!? Also, the language changed so much and I can't read anything before Meiji without dropping words. Rukia, Byakuya, Yoruichi all have made for TV old-sounding Japanese like period dramas. Actual 18th Century Japanese would be unintelligible to the unspecialised.

So this stuff isn't really native, but Abe and a lot of people his age support all these -isms.

I super don't see Ichigo being happy about this.

(I also feel like Issin's old enough to remember before these -isms, but that's my own thing. In my project, he was in those districts, but that's me)

At the same time, I'm still writing this through my own lens. Also, not still being there, I just don't have enough data on Yutori in adulthood, or the grown Yutori lens. Honestly, even most other immigrants I meet are older than that. Or older than that and their adorable three year old children. So I have no clue.

In the early 2000s, I got myself from the South to CA and began to reconnect, but began to is the key phrase. I can tell you right now that Abe is as much of a second phase of Nakasone as trump is of Nakasone's buddy Regean. But what shifted when, I can't say. I'm not entirely sure how Koizumi ran the ship, as it were. I know some things, but not enough to say.

But whenever things shifted however, and whichever year Ichigo was born, I just cannot imagine him being any more on board with current events than really anyone in my area not born between 1946-1964 and raised in America.

I feel like he'd probably be too tired or self-effacing to fight for himself, but he'd take on, loud and proud, any bigotry against *others.*

I...also can't really say I'm much different, except my joints are held together by the power of wishes, so I'm more like "get the victim to safety" than "give the attacker plenty of regret." So, I can only do anything in limited ways.

Ichigo is also entirely fuelled by the power of love. Lost his ability to protect and feels like his sinigami friends ditched him? Mondo depressed, however much he wants no one to notice--which most do a great job of ignoring! Everyone in his world turned against him for a guy who has attacked people close to him? Terrified, and murder can now be an answer. (Fullbring Arc)

I was going somewhere with that. I've forgotten, but I'll leave it.

But anyway, I feel like he really only comes close to fighting for himself when others are taken away from him in a way that's also wronging them.

So yeah, I super don't see him happy with current events or Sirake gen.

I'm not sure how much I see him fighting for himself as mixed panromantic grey-ace. I mean, we know he fights people who are about to punch his face in for his looks, but what else can you reasonably do at that point? Get your head bashed in? I'm not sure how much I see him fighting hateful words pointed at him versus resigning himself to "people are the worst." I mean, when he talks about being picked on, he kinda seems resigned, or at least like it's a fact, like shoes being for outside or something.

I guess I tied it to Ichigo a lot better than I thought!

But also, the struggle against people born just after the war is not just you, and not just America. It's a major problem.

And it's likely that Ichigo would agree.

#out of body #musings #baby boomers #generation x #millennials #Japanese generations #Japanese politics #queerphobia #colonialism #moritomo gakuen scandal #sugihara chiune #japanese history #yoruichi shihouin #edo period

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ehyeh-joshua · 5 years ago

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One of the hard parts of doing a WW2 story, is coming up with an end result better than the way 1939-1945 turned out with it’s resulting conclusions, while actually doing something.

You can’t get rid of Hitler any time prior to 1945 - without the hindrance on the German military Hitler was, they win the war outright any time prior to the capture of Dunkirk; had Dunkirk and the 300,000 men on the beaches been annihilated, that would have taken Britain out of the war, leaving all of Europe either subordinate to Hitler or conquered, giving the win to whoever attacks first between Germany and Russia. I favour Russia because Germany had nowhere near the military capacity that Russia possessed in 1941, it just got wasted fighting a different war to what the Russian war machine was intended for. After that, there is only a brief window when the USA is outright stronger than Russia, but after that window, we have the Cold War, only this time without the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as warnings against the danger of atom bombs.

The breaking point for Germany was the loss of Stalingrad; Stalingrad, in 1943, is the turning point in the war in the east, because the losses suffered were catastrophic for Germany, and it rendered the short-term military advantage Germany possessed unable to overcome the industrial leverage Russia possessed. A competent commander would have realised the fate of Stalingrad much earlier and redeployed long before risking the loss of six armies. (and 22 generals, as there was at the surrender under desperate conditions; Paulus described having 18,000 wounded without any bandages or medicine, almost a tenth of his forces at the time of the end of the battle)

Further, while the war was lost here, it was not ended here - with competent strategy, Germany could have had a fighting chance at averting the eventual outcome by several years, likely meaning much of Germany would be destroyed by nuclear weapons.

Hitler’s incompetence however, meant the war in Europe ended earlier than it *should* have done.

Now, with Fallen-Star, there is the opportunity - this machine is one of thousands of ancient weapon systems left behind by the “departed ancient alien superpower” trope, designed specifically for the purpose of dealing with whole planets of hostile enemies, and has technological advances that are so superior that it is like comparing today’s military power against that of a horde of baboons; apart from the deus ex machina event of losing one of his thrusters and therefore the capacity to fly due to a lucky hit while cloaked (and therefore necessarily shieldless) this “war” could be wrapped up in a matter of days to eliminate all German resistance; there is no hiding from the sensors it possesses, not even on our technology. It’s only disadvantage is it doesn’t speak our languages, because if it could, it could intercept and track all communication worldwide; think of the scene in one of the Transformers films where the Decepticon goes on the internet, and then keep in mind this thing can track electronic impulses in the brain; once it establishes how to parse those signals, it is effectively able to read minds.

What does that all mean?

It means this thing, within seconds of finishing the scan of eastern Europe, understands all the raw data for stuff like the Holocaust; it knows where every train is, how many people it’s carrying, how many people are in the mass graves, how many people are in the gas chambers, their genetic makeups, what gas is being used, and topological and building layouts down to a precision measured in centimetres. Millimetres if it has more time to scan.

The only thing that justifies delay is having to confirm the level of evil that it’s sensors are telling it before response.

But, it can’t intervene; and not just because of the Hitler time-travel issue - part of the setting for this series is that fairly obviously, Humans are not alone; far from it, to draw on the Tolkien’s names for these tiers of beings, Eru forms many worlds, and Valar shape some of these worlds, and the Maiar bring the Elves and men (and the dwarves) out from Earth to the worlds prepared for them, and then the Maiar deal with the fallout of free will; and setting aside Tolkiensian, creating a galaxy wide war between two sides of the same species (or at least they started the same) one of which creates artificial slavelings to fight battles and the other creates Terminators. The crashed machine of Fallen-Star is one of them.

Now, when I was younger and I had the first thoughts about this particular Terminator, I just wanted him on Earth during WW2 and thereafter, eventually departing as a passenger back to his starship in either the US or Russian space programs.

Now, however, I have to think it through more thoroughly.

This machine has already seen stuff that makes the Holocaust look ok; it’s seen planets being destroyed and consumed for resources, it’s seen twenty sentient species created to be slaves or genetically modified to be slaves, and when it’s creators lost, it had to watch it’s creators destroy themselves in a black hole to draw in their enemies as bait while it and it’s fellow Terminators had to mop up the survivors, and then try to keep the surviving younger-races safe; it’s part of why this one has had a previous visit to Earth, because survivors of the evil side of the Maiar equivalent came to Earth and claimed to be angels and gods, and then used Humans in their experiments, creating the Nephilim; by the time he catches up, Noah has already been instructed to build the Ark, and the Terminator assesses the extent of the corruption and cannot think of a way to save Earth better than wiping it all out and beginning anew, despite trying after meeting an actual angel that explained the plan.

And it comes to Earth, and while it doesn’t understand everything, it comes in on what was supposed to be a routine survey mission (it does have the most advanced sensors in the galaxy) it’s first step is scanning for Humans, and knowing what happened last time, it runs a genetic analysis - it can clearly see the planet is still in a state of not far off global war, and it is facing the old memories.

Only now, it finds something worse; these Humans don’t have that explanation, what’s going on is all on them. It detects the concentration camps, the gulags, the internment camps, the mass starvations, the forced resettlements and most worryingly, it detects limited but active nuclear weapons research after scanning for the relevant specific isotopes; it at least has the relief of knowing the Humans have only just figured out how to go about distinguishing the necessary isotopes. It is facing the realistic possibility that one of the galaxy’s few “Gaia” worlds might have only ten years left before being rendered uninhabitable.

It has to respond; first step confirm the sensor results, and if those come back as truthful, it then has to act, it can’t stand by and do nothing. Not again.

But, what choices does it have?

Sure, it could just kerb-stomp them, but that would only mean installing an even worse dictatorship for the “greater good”, as either he fills the power vacuum, or someone else does. It doesn’t fix the problem, only delays it.

He can’t exactly side with one of the local powers either - he can already see none of them are innocent; while he doesn’t know the names, he can tell the Americans are imprisoning Japanese-Americans, the British are starving millions of Bengalis to death, the Germans are likewise conducting genocide, the Japanese are conducting experiments on the Chinese, the Russians are seemingly imprisoning and starving to death millions of their own population; that can be figured out from an orbital sensor sweep, nevermind in-depth research.

No, he has to somehow influence the Humans to do the right thing. And that creates a plot-hole really, because he can help, he wants to help, but he has to hold back because taking any kind of main platform will make it worse; all he can do is give aid to the Jan Karski’s in the world and decreasing the capability of the long-term threat from within.

When I was younger, I didn’t think about it - of course he comes down and gets stranded and can’t leave until the Humans develop the tech to enable him to do so. It just happens that way. But, now it’s an issue...

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purplemango501 · 6 years ago

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2019.02.23 Hyun Joong New Way Concert @ Busan

Updated My Special 501 Dates

Kind of late writing this but here goes! This is the first time I watched a concert in Korea so there’s so much I want to talk about! So once again I’m going to split this Fan Account in sections.

Prologue

To be honest I really never pictured myself watching a concert in Korea. The thought of watching a concert there just felt so distant. Even last year when I went to Macau for his concert it felt like something very far away. Furthermore I don’t understand Korean so I really didn’t think I would be able to get tickets nor did I want to get it through those resellers and let them earn big bucks for doing nothing. So the idea just really didn’t come to mind until one day I just got bored and decided to take a look at the ticketing. I must say how thankful I am that Interpark has an English site that is pretty user friendly. I was quite surprised to see that there were quite a lot of seats left and a little sad to be honest. But in a way it’s kind of good because I managed to get pretty good seats as you can see below in orange.

Although this time I wasn’t as close as the one in Macau, it felt much better because I was in the center and i could view the whole stage at all times! It was absolutely amazing. So another concern about watching it in a foreign country is a didn’t really want to travel alone. A main issue I thought was going to be ordering food alone at restaurants, it just seems sad. I asked a lot of people to go with me but no one was interested until I asked my aunt and she was totally on board haha. So off I went to book my flight hotel and of course the concert tickets. To be honest if I couldn’t find anyone to go with me I was already prepared to go alone because I really think chances are rare and I should treasure these chances and go watch whilst I’m still young.

Oh and one more thing is it’s so cheap watching it in Korea, all the seats have the same price, I paid for my aunt’s ticket as well and both tickets together is equivalent to one ticket in HK (the expensive category). On top of that our seats were great so it was totally worth it!

Just Before The Concert

Again this time I found out on Weibo that there was going to be a handshake event again!! I was so shocked because this didn’t happen in the Seoul concerts earlier this month so I was super happy and excited.

On the day we went to venue KBS Busan Hall and collected our tickets there, it was much quicker than I expected and the logistics was pretty good. We queued up based on the last name of the booking name and quickly collected the tickets.

So I noticed the people around me were speaking in Cantonese so I asked the person in front of me if she was also from Hong Kong. Turns out a bunch of Hong Kong fans came together to support Hyun Joong. I was actually quite surprised by the amount of HK fans that came. There were at least 20 fans from HK! It was quite nice to meet people from home in a foreign concert.

A very interesting thing I noticed is that around 70% of the people there were from overseas, mainly from Japan! Only about 30% were from Korea. 95% of the fans were middle age in their 40s to 50s hahaha. My aunt and I were probably close to the youngest ones hahhaha. My aunt kept saying how she felt like she was very young compared to the rest and clearly I also felt the same ^^

A special thing about watching concert in Korea is all the rice wreaths. This is a very Korean thing where fans raise money to donate rice wreaths and the rice will be donated to people that need it. It’s a great way to show your love for your idol and also do something good for the community. I’ve seen these in pictures but it’s the first time seeing it in person and I really like it! There was a whole bunch of these, mainly from Japanese fans and some from Hong Kong fan groups!

Compared to the shows in Hong Kong and Macau there weren’t a lot of freebies. No one was giving out banners, I was actually pretty surprised. Turns out when we went inside the hall there were some staff waiting to give out these banners that say “love you very much” in Busan dialect. We raised these up when he sang Love Song (I really like this song from his new album!!

The Concert

Quick summary of the concert, he sang a total of 28 songs, 6 more than the Seoul concert! Of which there were a few Busan special songs!

He started the concert with New Way, i managed to sneak one pretty bad photo but I couldn’t take any more cause the security was very strict :(

Everyone stood up immediately! We actually stayed standing up for one and a half hours until Hyun Joong told us to sit down before Haze lol.

Anyway he sang most of his new songs and the backdrop (?) the video that played in the background was really pretty. It was mainly scenry but it fit in very well with New Way, Why, Misery etc.

Hyun joong mentioned that Busan stage would be a little different, suddenly the band was playing an interesting arrangement and then oh my god they played LET ME BE THE ONE!!! I WAS SO SHOCKED. Hyun Joong said this was a Busan special, he re-arranged SS501′s Let me be the one and it was just amazing. Everyone screamed like crazy, all the feels my god! I actually thought that was the only surprise stage until he sang Love Like This later in the concert. I must say he really improved his singing a lot, I think partly is cause he didn’t dance so he has more focus on his singing. He used to find it difficult to reach the high notes in Love Like This but he seemed to reach it with ease this time. Another thing is you can actually hear Saengie’s voice in the Love Like This backing!!! All my group feels my god!

The concert actually seemed pretty long, it was 3 full hours. He didn’t change clothes at all and really committed to singing as many songs as he could. When he sang Lucky Guy the Japanese fans actually followed him and danced, it was so cute looking at some old ladies dance hahaha. They have more energy than a 23 year old (me). LOL

When he sang Lucky Guy for the second time during encore he walked down towards the fans and he was so crazy close to me!!! I mean super close!!!! I managed to take a very short video and here are two screenshots from the video.

It was quite funny during encore because he was just going to sing three songs (ASTRAEA, Lucky Guy, Moonlight) but we kept chanting so he sang So What and said ti’s the last song. But we wanted more. Eventually he sang Kiss Kiss again!!!! I actually can’t decided if Kiss Kiss or Please is my favourite song but Kiss Kiss is just sooooo sweet. And this time it was really cute because he made us repeat the kiss kiss part so many times. It sounded super duper cute though, we all did a great job in my opinion. It was so cute!!!! Handshake

After the concert there was the handshake event. He stood near the door and we queued up one by one and shook his hand as we left. This is the THIRD time i shook his hand and I really want t o say his hand is still ever as soft as before. I’m really lucky cause all three concerts i’ve been I was able to shake his hands. I hope in the future I’ll still have this luck <3 I still really appreciate his dedication in shaking every fan’s hand, got to love him so much <3

Post Concert Feels

I’m really really really really glad I took the step to fly over for this concert. It was worth everything! I had a great break from work as well and traveled around Busan with my aunt and had a great time. My aunt wasn’t actually a fan of Hyun Joong but because we were going to watch his concert she actually ‘prepared’ and listened to his songs. The funny thing is now she’s addicted to his songs hahaha.

I think watching a concert in Korea feels really different. The people feel different. In Hong Kong or in Macau there’s a lot of Mainland Chinese and although I’m Chinese myself, I cannot associate well with the older generation of Mainland Chinese people. They tend to be ill mannered and pushy. This time everyone was very disciplined. Hyun Joong jumped off stage a couple of times and walked through the crowd but the fans just stayed at their respective positions and cheered. If this happened in Hong Kong or Macau, fans would jump at him and it wouldn’t have been possible for him to walk arouond. I really appreciate how Japanese fans are so polite and well mannered. Absolutely loved it!

Hyun Joong said he wants to have a concert in Seoul, Busan, and Jeju evvery year. I really think I”m going to go watch every year. I hope this becomes a tradition and I can grow old together with him.

A key feeling i felt this time was he aged quite a bit, maybe cause he got fatter. But it’s also kinda cute cause it makes him more human and seem just like us. Again I’m so grateful to have him in part of my llife <3 Can’t wait for a SS501 comeback, feels like it’s not too far!!

#SS501 #kim hyun joong #hyun joong #concert #kpop concert #kpop #fan account

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kuaekrin · 2 years ago

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Jewelry Purchasing Specialist learned this trick, and the boss directly praised his ability!

If you are a jewelry buyer, do you often have a headache because of the lack of preferential and high-quality goods? Price is too high? Poor product quality? Is the style too old? This should be the problem you have been facing!

However, if you learn to buy "wholesale jewelry by the kilo", these problems will all be solved! Hurry up and learn this trick secretly before your competitors know it!

First of all, let's understand what "wholesale jewelry sold by the kilogram" is!

Jewelry wholesale in kilograms, as the name suggests, refers to the sale of jewelry in kilograms and by weight. Wholesale commodities sold in kilograms are already a very common sales model in the Chinese wholesale market. In the Yiwu market in China, you can not only buy toys in jin (the Chinese unit of measurement), but also clothes in jin and jewelry in jin. These commodities are generally sample jewelry, inventory jewelry and foreign trade final orders. Manufacturers recycle these items and then resell them to wholesalers.

Next, let’s understand the advantages of this procurement method compared with the traditional procurement method:

1. Lower than the traditional wholesale price.

Because the raw material cost of jewelry is high, out of profit, the factory cannot sell it at a too low price, so wholesale Prices are often not low either.

But wholesale jewelry "sold by the kilo". Because these commodities are the last goods purchased at cheaper prices from closed factories, e-commerce, online platforms, etc. These factories are willing to sell at a price lower than the normal wholesale price in order not to overstock too many goods and cause financial problems. At the same time, because it is received from a regular factory, the quality is also guaranteed, and it is not an inferior product produced in a small workshop.

2. Unlock multiple jewelry styles at once.

Usually there are at least 30-50 pieces of jewelry in one kilogram, and the styles are shipped randomly, with a sense of mystery, and you can get a variety of styles at one time. And they are all new in season!

Because you may have heard of this procurement model for the first time, and you don't know much about it, and you don't have any channels. I suggest that novice should go to some more professional websites and companies with high reputation to buy, so that you can really get high-quality products at a discount.

Here I can recommend a well-known platform in the industry, and it is also more suitable for everyone to test the water, because this platform does not have a minimum order quantity. The platform has more than 10 years of industry experience and a relatively complete logistics and after-sales system. They can provide a variety of the latest high-end jewelry, including bracelets, brooches, necklaces, earrings, etc. There are 2,000+ styles and are constantly being updated. , you can always find what's right for you. The most important thing is that they are still engaged in activities recently. You can also get a 10% discount by using the coupon code, which is equivalent to a "discount on a discount". What a discount, you know! (There is a discount code at the end of the article)

This article is here, if you are interested, welcome to communicate! (Promo code: 6DVGCYG7)

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lilover131 · 7 years ago

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CCS Clear Card Crack Theory

So I know there have been a lot of theories being thrown out there as to what is happening in the Clear Card arc, and knowing CLAMP…we’ll all be wrong. But I’m gonna try and take a crack at this with my wild guess. I’m very likely wrong, but I like to think there might be some things that line up here. I’m going to be using information that we know up to Chapter 22 of the manga and Episode 12 of the anime, which as recent as we have at this point in time on both ends.

Under the cut due to length and spoilers!

So first off, let’s list off what we know so far, and I’m only going to list things that I feel are relevant to the plot.

Sakura, the Clear Cards, the Dream Key, and the Dreams

Cards cannot be sensed by anyone other than Sakura

Sakura senses something weird about them, but hasn’t quite stated why.

Some of the cards seem to be the equivalent to Sakura cards she used to have. (Gale/Windy, Aqua/Watery, etc.)

Sakura received the key through a dream and woke up to find her Sakura cards completely transparent and unusable.

Sakura is frequently having dreams of a mysterious cloaked figure (aka MCF), who appears either on clock gears or on top of the dragon’s horn.

MCF seems to want the key.

Akiho Shinomoto

Does not have any magic that can be sensed

Has some sort of connection to Sakura. Her name, appearance, and personality are very similar to hers.

Has a book called called “Alice in Clockland”, which have clock designs similar to the ones Sakura sees in her dream and it is written in a strange language that Akiho was taught to read.

Seems to be unaware of Momo being alive and frequently carries her with her.

Was taken care of since she was young by Kaito and likely has romantic feelings towards him.

Has dreams of watching someone (likely Sakura) and wanting something from them, and recently had the same dream as Sakura.

Confirmed that the robes that MCF was wearing in the dream she shared with Sakura are hers, passed down from her family, thus leading us to come to a thought that she is very likely MCF.

Is well traveled, having been to England, Germany, Italy, France, and Hong Kong.

Her family supposedly travels to different parts of the world and collects books, and she is in Japan to look for one in specific.

Living with Yuna D. Kaito in Eriol’s old house

Yuna D. Kaito

Has been serving Akiho since she was young

Carries a pocket watch with a similar design to the ones Sakura sees in her dreams, and Akiho has mentioned it is very important to him.

Was part of a magic association in England, and the ‘D’ in his name is a status symbol for the strongest magician. He likely draws his magic from the moon.

Likely chose their location of residence due to it’s usefulness in hiding magic (it’s also where Clow used to live)

Knows about Momo and seems aware of whatever is happening to Akiho and Sakura.

Recently discovered, it turns out the magic association in England excommunicated him a year ago because he lost a powerful magical item, though most believe he stole it.

Left England before he could be punished, though it’s said he was so powerful, that no one would have been able to anyways.

Syaoran

Is back from Hong Kong so that he can be here “when the time comes.” The reason he went back in the first place is shrouded in mystery.

Is performing some sort of spells in his apartment, insinuating that he ‘needs to hurry’.

Often is too busy doing something to spend time with Sakura

Cannot tell Sakura what he is up to, likely for very important reasons.

Communicating back and forth with Eriol as he learns new information and seems very concerned about Kaito and not so much about Akiho.

Performing strange and powerful spells that seem to take out the Clear Cards in one hit, but seems guilty afterwards.

Touya

Seems to know that strange things are happening again, despite having given his magic up to Yue/Yukito

Says there is something new that he can do now, but has yet to tell Yukito what it is.

All right! Now that we have those out of the way, let’s try and connect it all, or at least some of it!

First off, let’s talk about this dragon:

I first started drawing connections to Syaoran and the dragon the moment it popped up in Sakura’s dream in chapter 2 of the manga and episode 1 of the anime. I did this because the long, snake-like body is very Chinese in style, and seeing as we still don’t know the reason Syaoran got suddenly dragged back to Hong Kong, my assumption was that perhaps the dragon had something to do with it. Perhaps Syaoran or his family are connected to it in some way.

It goes without saying that dragons are huge in China, but they don’t have the negative connotation behind them as they do in parts outside of Asia. Although they can be destructive (balance of yin and yang), in Chinese culture, they are generally wise and benevolent and most strive to ‘be like the dragon’. We see that the MCF (mysterious cloaked figure) is always standing on the horn of the dragon in these dreams Sakura has, which leads me to believe that the MCF has some control over it. Perhaps it has corrupted a dragon and is using it for their own gain, or the dragon may be ‘protecting’ MCF.

We know now (even though it’s not been specifically stated) that MCF is Akiho, though she may not know it or have control of this other persona. All she seems to be aware of is that she is having dreams of watching someone from up high and that she wants something from this person. Akiho seems particularly interested in finding a book of some sort (maybe the Sakura card book, but that’s debatable), but as MCF in the dreams, she also seems to desperately want the key. She has the book that only she can read, and I imagine it’s probably some sort of spell book. It’s all very peculiar, but another strange fact about Akiho is her list of places she has visited. She is well travelled for someone so young, having been to Italy, England, Germany, France, and Hong Kong. It was specifically mentioned that she came to Hong Kong before coming to Japan, which means she was in Hong Kong at roughly the same time as Syaoran, and I doubt CLAMP would have mentioned such a thing if it didn’t have some sort of importance.

Now, let’s talk about her companion, Yuna D. Kaito. This man kind of worried me from the very beginning, since he seems very mysterious. I wondered what exactly his involvement in all this was, but as more information about him develops, I find him more and more worrying. Red flags were certainly raised upon his and Syaoran’s first meeting, since Syaoran sensed powerful moon magic from him and his affiliation to the magic association in England was not exactly working in his favor either. Eriol stated that this clan Kaito was from did not have all good rumors, and that the ‘D’ was a title for the most powerful magician. It was also stated in this conversation that the location of residence (Eriol’s old home) had likely been chosen for specific magical reasons and that he was likely so powerful magically, he didn’t feel the need to hide his name or even his magic for that matter. Someone of magic that powerful undoubtedly would be able to conceal it, much like Eriol did in the Sakura card arc, but he didn’t feel it necessary in a time where strange things are happening in Tomoeda and there are few answers as to why. To me, this seems like taunting, as he wants Syaoran to know that he is powerful, who he is affiliated with, and to probably send a simple message to Syaoran: You cannot do anything to stop this. This also implies that he knows that Syaoran is working in the shadows without Sakura’s knowledge.

In the recent chapter that came out, chapter 22, we learned quite a bit more, and I find myself more concerned than ever before. We learned that Eriol and the Li clan investigated further as to who Kaito is, and they discovered some shocking news. Kaito, as it turns out, was excommunicated from the magic association in England a year ago due to the belief that he lost, or more likely stole, a very powerful magic item. Kaito left before he was able to be punished, though Eriol also mentioned that it’s thinkable no one would have been able to take him with how powerful he was anyways and that this magic association feared that item being in his hands.

It would make sense for Kaito and Akiho to be running away to multiple different countries if he indeed stole this item, but wouldn’t someone who is in hiding, well…hide? He’s made his presence known to Syaoran, so that doesn’t seem to be the reason he and Akiho are travelling to multiple countries. It’s been pointed out by some of the fans that Kaito’s name also means ‘thief’, so what if the reason they are going to all these different countries is to steal things?

I don’t find it a coincidence at all that Akiho and Kaito were in Hong Kong at the same time as Syaoran, and I also find it interesting that Kaito was supposedly excommunicated about a year ago, which is around the same time that Syaoran received the mysterious call from his mother and rushed back to Hong Kong.

Now we come back to the dragon. Where does the dragon come into all of this? Well, when Syaoran first used his strange spell in chapter 13, I was fascinated by the little ball of light he pulled forward. What is it? What does it do? And what was he saying that CLAMP purposely blocked out his dialogue bubble? Seeing as I had a feeling there was some sort of tie to him and the dragon, I did a random google search to see if I could pull up any sort of mythology, since CLAMP seems to be fond of folklore and mythology in their stories. And I found a little story called “The Dragon’s Pearl.”

The story tells about a boy who tries to provide for himself and his mother, and he discovers in the ground beneath a lush patch of green grass by the river a brilliant pearl. With this pearl, he and his mother discover that whatever it touches seems to multiply. For instance, they put it in jar of rice, and the next morning, the jar was full, and the same thing happened when it was placed inside a money box. The story I read also mentioned that one of the neighbors discovered the pearl and tried to steal it. To stop them, the boy who found it swallowed it and became a dragon. This intrigued me, and I wondered…well, couldn’t the same be done for magic? If one had such a thing, theoretically, it could strengthen one’s magic, right? Syaoran doesn’t seem to be doing much that seems particularly different from his usual spells. In the manga, he seemed to just summon wind that was stronger than his usual spells, and the same thing seemed to occur in the most recent episode of the anime (episode 12) with fire. Same spell it seems, but with a little more kick. But there are some differences. His magic circle does not appear beneath him and in the anime, he instead has a golden circle beneath him. Also, from his hand comes a small ball of light, which seems to activate the magic when his sword touched it.

He seems particularly guilty after doing these mysterious spells, which tells us that whatever tool he’s using he has some sort of negative consequence. If he was using a new tool or had simply learned new spells while in Hong Kong, he probably wouldn’t feel the need to hide such things from Sakura, but he specifically keeps her in the dark with these, and in the anime and manga, he had a look of dread on his face that even alerted Sakura, who is normally not so observant.

At first, I thought maybe the story I read about the Dragon’s Pearl was a stretch to bring into CCS. But when I research Chinese dragons in particular, there is a lot of imagery with what is called ‘the flaming pearl’, where the story stemmed from. The dragons are usually depicted chasing after it, and it is said to be able to grant wishes but is also a symbol of spiritual energy, wisdom, prosperity, power, immortality, thunder, or the moon. I can very much imagine Syaoran using such a tool to try and increase his strength if he felt as though his own magic was not adequate for the situation. But what kind of repercussions might one have with such a thing? I looked very closely at the screenshots of the magic Syaoran used before with his usual spell and then again when he used his new spell, and what I found was rather surprising.

A dragon…

Never before has such a thing appeared with Syaoran’s magic, and the animators certainly didn’t point this out. This was not something you would have seen unless you paused the screen at just the right moment. So here is my guess. I think that Syaoran might have had some sort of magical tool, perhaps the pearl, which is multiplying his powers and strengthening them. Or maybe he is summoning dragons by luring them with the pearl. I imagine using such a thing could be dangerous or have serious consequences, and I can’t help but wonder if the dragon we’ve been seeing could be a result of this or if maybe Syaoran intends to fight a dragon with other dragons? What if he becomes the dragon? Or what if Kaito is the dragon?

If not a pearl, I imagine the Li clan probably has multiple magic items stored in their vault, and Syaoran mentioned in the original series (during the Erase card capture) that they have several books written by Clow himself. I imagine a magical family that travels and collects books would love to get their hands on something like that. Perhaps Kaito already took something and discovered texts about the Clow Cards. Surely if someone stole a text about the cards, Syaoran would be alerted right away, seeing as it has to do with his precious Sakura.

As for Sakura, there seems to be many ties to her and Akiho. It’s been pointed out on multiple occasions their similarities, and this is no coincidence. Recently, Sakura’s mother Nadeshiko appeared before her and told her that “anything more than this, and there is no turning back.” She also seemed concerned that Sakura was able to see her, which to me shows an increase in her strength. The more Sakura uses this magic, the more worried the people around her seem to become, and I’ve noticed it’s a common theme in CLAMP series that people with extraordinary magical abilities (like Watanuki in XXXHolic or even Clow Reed) tend to reach a point where they are so strong, they are no longer considered human or they lose control of their powers. One thing that Eriol praised Sakura for at the end of the original series was that she would not have the problems Clow did with seeing the future. He told her she’d be able to see it, only when she wanted to, but everything lately is out of her control, and I believe Syaoran and Eriol want to keep her from reaching that point.

In regards to Akiho, I believe she is what CLAMP commonly refers to as a “Dream Seer.” In the CLAMP universe, all dreams are connected, and Dream Seers are able to not only see the future, but can also travel into other’s dreams and the dream world at will. It’s possible she has been tapping into Sakura’s dreams, or perhaps Sakura is tapping into hers. Either way, they are connected this way, but I think there is a stronger reason for this. Sakura, in the newest chapter, was given a beautiful necklace with a clock on it by her great grandfather Masaki, who claims it was a object brought back from England by him and her great grandmother.

It belonged to Nadeshiko and was treasured by her. It’s interesting where it came from, because this develops some sort of tie to Sakura’s family and England. Nadeshiko undeniably had some magic when she alive which allowed her to see spirits and more, and Touya inherited that from her. As it stands, we know very little about where Nadeshiko’s magic came from in the first place, and that leads me to consider that the Amamiya family maybe had some ties specifically to the magical association in England that Akiho and Kaito are from. Maybe Akiho is related to her in some way (though probably distantly), which would make sense in a lot of ways with their likeness

Now, where do the cards lie in all this? MCF, or Akiho, seems to want the key, but what about the cards? I think the strange feeling Sakura is having with these cards may be that they are indeed the same cards, but they are be shaped and reincarnated to someone else. What if Sakura is being used to capture these cards, her cards, only so that they can be given to someone else? Maybe it is believed that it is Akiho’s birthright to own them, much like Syaoran once believed, and Kaito is helping to move things along?

There are many things to think about, but one thing I’m sure about is that when the news does eventually all come out, it’s going to be a DOOZY.

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card #manga #anime #spoilers #theory #syaoran #sakura #akiho #kaito #kero #yue #Eriol

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pomrania · 6 years ago

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Mandarin journal, week 3b

(week 3) (week 3c)

I’m putting this stuff here so I won’t have to write it after next class, mostly.

One thing I’ve been forgetting to mention, but that I really like about our prof, is that she keeps bringing it back to how she’d learned things. Now, that isn’t directly helpful with spoken Mandarin -- learning your L1 as a child is way different than learning an L2 as an adult, as all our previous SLA (subsequent-language acquisition) lectures have been very clear on -- but when it comes to WRITTEN language, that’s something she had to explicitly be taught, just like us.

We haven’t done much with the Chinese characters yet, although she has stated that learning them is frustrating for Chinese (as in, born and raised in China) students too. She had to struggle through it, as does everyone who’s learning written Chinese. Being a native speaker will NOT help you there; you’d only reap the benefits of the increased exposure to Chinese characters (by living in China).

Mostly though, I’m thinking of the pinyin spelling rules. She mentioned that when she was in grade school, and her teacher was talking about how U-umlaut loses the umlaut when it comes behind J, X, and Q, the teacher described it as those three letters being three bad brothers, who remove the eyes (the dots of the umlaut) from a fish. For context: U-umlaut, when spoken with a particular tone (that I can’t remember offhand, and I also don’t know how to do tone markings on this keyboard), means “fish”. Now like, if something’s phrased in such a way that little kids can understand it, tired university students are likely to also understand and remember it.

Speaking of “tired”, this morning I figured out the problem. I’m naturally waking up at like 7 in the morning. My sleep schedule has shifted, so I wake up earlier and get tired earlier. It’s rather weird, because it’s never just happened in that direction for me before. I don’t know what to do about this, I have no experience with shifting my schedule so I go to bed later than when I want to.

I just now registered for the next Mandarin course next semester. Monday afternoon-evening is going to be a busy time for me; I’ll have to make certain I pack enough food to get me through all of it. At least I won’t have to worry about buying another textbook for that class (unless the prof lied and we totally do need to get something new).

Speaking of “textbooks”. Only yesterday (because I procrastinate, this is a known issue with my behaviour) I looked up what all stuff there is listed online that we have to do, and apparently there’s homework due Monday at the beginning of class. The thing online lists a bunch of stuff from the workbooks. I do not currently own either of the workbooks, because I hadn’t had the cash on me to afford them, and I’d thought I could get away without buying them for a bit. Apparently, such is not the case. I’ll have to go to the bank today, get out some money, and buy the damn workbooks. I should also have it written down, what all I’ll need to do in them for the homework, so I won’t have to go back online before doing homework (again, a known issue with me).

There’s another “assignment” due Monday. It’s some type of spoken exercise in front of the class. Intended to be with a partner, but a bunch of people (including me) signed up by themselves. I’ve looked over what it’s supposed to be about, and it doesn’t seem too difficult; that is, so long as I put in the time to study and truly understand what I’m saying. It’s easier to remember “meaning” than “sounds”, after all.

A few days ago, I found a site with a bunch of anime dubbed into Mandarin. It was... interesting going over what all shows they had on there, since I cannot actually READ the language. However, arabic numerals are generally an online constant, as are the arrows for going forwards or backwards in page; and each show was given with an image, whatever the equivalent of “cover page” is for things, I can’t remember the word offhand. I found some that I recognized, and I watched a few episodes. I know from prior experience with other languages that this is an enjoyable method of “studying” for me. I don’t learn as much as I would with ACTUALLY studying, but I’m more likely to do it.

In that semi-naturalistic setting, of listening to dubbed anime, I was able to recognize maybe five words (other than the characters’ names, which don’t count as Mandarin words). It was a combination of feeling victorious and frustrated; because on the one hand, I recognized some words, and on the other hand, it was only five words. I think that’s a common sensation when you’re learning something: the high of victory, then the drop of that your “victory” isn’t actually that much. The trick is to realize that “not much” is still better than “nothing”, which is what you had before, and to let yourself celebrate the small victories. Because every large achievement is made up of lots of small achievements, after all.

Before our linguistics seminar two days ago (read: once everyone was more or less in the room, but before the prof told me to stop talking and let the other people do their presentation), I shared that method I’ve found, of watching cartoons dubbed in your target language. I made sure to share that it’s best if you’ve already seen those cartoons previously, in a language you can understand; that way you know what’s going on, so there’s way less of a cognitive load. You only need to worry about what words are being said, and not the plotline.

Someone added that Disney movies would work too. I think that in respects, that might actually work BETTER. For one, those things are bloody popular, and have been dubbed into most languages that exist; you’re way more likely to find Snow White in your target language than an episode of The Clone Wars. For another thing, if it was your favourite Disney movie as a kid, then you can probably recite half the movie in English given minimal prompting. Now there’s not always a direct correspondence in dialogue when something’s translated, but it happens often enough that you can generally make a reliable guess.

There’s another type of videos I’ve discovered. They’re some that are actually intended for people learning Mandarin. The tab I have currently open, it’s a playlist about pinyin (which dammit I need to work on some more because this kind of thing is easy if I just put a bit of time into it), by a channel called Yoyo Chinese. (Not giving the link here, because I am lazy.) I know that this will really help me, if I actually watch and pay attention to it. Not necessarily that the videos are of exceptional quality -- they might be, I can’t rightly judge that -- but because it’s another “direction” of looking at things.

I can’t remember when this was or where I found it, but I read a piece of advice somewhere, about learning a language. It said to not stick to one language-learning book. Read a bunch of different ones, with different methods and goals, starting at different places. I think that type of advice works with learning pretty much anything. The goal is to “understand”, after all; and so long as nobody got hurt, it doesn’t matter how you got there. If there’s something in one method or book or video or class that doesn’t work for you, there’s likely another one that can make up for it. Don’t waste time hunting for the “perfect” source or order, it likely doesn’t exist. Use everything useful that you can get your paws onto, and don’t feel guilty about it.

Well, unless the goal isn’t to “understand”, but rather to test the effectiveness of a certain method of instruction. In which case you should feel guilty, because you screwed up the parameters of the experiment, which you knew going in. But in most cases, yeah.

#no fandom #not a reblog #personal #linguistics

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