#but religion in all its forms can be positive and i appreciate the nuance. like i've said around 20 times. yeah :) <3

[skrunksthatwunk]

actually i'm still thinking about the moral orel finale.

he has a cross on his wall. do you know how much i think about that bc it's a lot.

a lot of stories ((auto)biographical or fictional) centering escape from abusive/fundamentalist christianity result in the lead characters leaving behind christianity entirely. and that makes complete sense! people often grow disillusioned with the associated systems and beliefs, and when it was something used to hurt them or something so inseparable from their abuse that they can't engage with it without hurting, it makes total sense that they would disengage entirely. and sometimes they just figure out that they don't really believe in god/a christian god/etc. a healthy deconstruction process can sometimes look like becoming an atheist or converting to another religion. it's all case by case. (note: i'm sure this happens with other religions as well, i'm just most familiar with christian versions of this phenomenon).

but in orel's case, his faith was one of the few things that actually brought him comfort and joy. he loved god, y'know? genuinely. and he felt loved by god and supported by him when he had no one else. and the abuses he faced were in how the people in his life twisted religion to control others, to run away from themselves, to shield them from others, etc. and often, orel's conflicts with how they acted out christianity come as a direct result of his purer understanding of god/jesus/whatever ("aren't we supposed to be like this/do that?" met with an adult's excuse for their own behavior or the fastest way they could think of to get orel to leave them alone (i.e. orel saying i thought we weren't supposed to lie? and clay saying uhhh it doesn't count if you're lying to yourself)). the little guy played catch with god instead of his dad, like.. his faith was real, and his love was real. and i think it's a good choice to have orel maintain something that was so important to him and such a grounding, comforting force in the midst of. All That Stuff Moralton Was Up To/Put Him Through. being all about jesus was not the problem, in orel's case.

and i know i'm mostly assuming that orel ended up in a healthier, less rigid version of christianity, but i feel like that's something that was hinted at a lot through the series, that that's the direction he'd go. when he meditates during the prayer bee and accepts stephanie's different way to communicate, incorporating elements of buddhism into his faith; when he has his I AM A CHURCH breakdown (removing himself from the institution and realizing he can be like,, the center of his own faith? taking a more individualistic approach? but Truly Going Through It at the same time), his acceptance (...sometimes) of those who are different from him and condemned by the adults of moralton (stephanie (lesbian icon stephanie my beloved), christina (who's like. just a slightly different form of fundie protestant from him), dr chosenberg (the jewish doctor from otherton in holy visage)). his track record on this isn't perfect, but it gets better as orel starts maturing and picking up on what an absolute shitfest moralton is. it's all ways of questioning the things he's been taught, and it makes sense that it would lead to a bigger questioning as he puts those pieces together more. anyway i think part of his growth is weeding out all the lost commandments of his upbringing and focusing on what faith means to him, and what he thinks it should mean. how he wants to see the world and how he wants to treat people and what he thinks is okay and right, and looking to religion for guidance in that, not as like. a way to justify hurting those he's afraid or resentful of, as his role models did.

he's coming to his own conclusions rather than obediently, unquestioningly taking in what others say. but he's still listening to pick out the parts that make sense to him. (edit/note: and it's his compassion and his faith that are the primary motivations for this questioning and revisal process, both of individual cases and, eventually, the final boss that is christianity.) it makes perfect sense as the conclusion to his character arc and it fits the overall approach of the show far better. it's good is what i'm saying.

and i think it's important to show that kind of ending, because that's a pretty common and equally valid result of deconstruction. and i think it cements the show's treatment of christianity as something that's often (and maybe even easily) exploited, but not something inherently bad. something that can be very positive, even. guys he even has a dog he's not afraid of loving anymore. he's not afraid of loving anyone more than jesus and i don't think it's because he loves this dog less than bartholomew (though he was probably far more desperate for healthy affection and companionship when he was younger). i think it's because he figures god would want him to love that dog. he's choosing to believe that god would want him to love and to be happy and to be kind. he's not afraid of loving in the wrong way do you know how cool that is he's taking back control he's taking back something he loves from his abusers im so normal

[flickeringart]

Satanism - a way to embrace Pluto?

My mind has been occupied with Pluto lately, the planet, god and symbol of “the hidden things”, the occult, the underworld, darkness, fate, rage, destruction, transformation, abduction, man’s primitive nature, life and death, power and powerlessness, fear, violation and fertility. There’s so much nuance to all planetary (archetypal) principles and there’s always more to explore. Pluto especially is a mysterious and threatening figure (force) in our lives and in the world at large. I have talked about it in previous posts, here / here and here… I’ve also explored the 8th house, which is the astrological house of Scorpio and Pluto here and here.

Many people understandably avoid anything that has to do with the darker elements of life and human nature until they are forced to deal with them. This is possibly why Pluto has been associated with violence because we are typically dragged into the depths; we don’t go there willingly. Some people, however, have lives that are marked by Pluto to such a degree that they can’t pretend that he doesn’t exist. By deciding to consciously accept him and embrace his influence it is possible to live a richer life. After all, Pluto is not only a god of destruction; he is also a god of riches. It seems to me, that the worship of Satan (as practiced by members of the Church of Satan) is very much in line with Pluto’s gifts and his riches. It’s an attempt to embrace the carnal nature. However, this Plutonian carnality is not as basic as it seems. It has its own intelligence, its own spirituality and its own laws. It seems to me that Pluto has to do with survival – psychological, emotional, spiritual and physical. He stands for survival and life at all levels of the being. As stated on the official website, “To us, Satan is the symbol that best suits the nature of we who are carnal by birth—people who feel no battles raging between our thoughts and feelings, we who do not embrace the concept of a soul imprisoned in a body. He represents pride, liberty, and individualism—qualities often defined as Evil by those who worship external deities, who feel there is a war between their minds and emotions.”

I think, that this philosophy attempts to treasure the whole (hu)man, to recognize his divinity even in his subjective thoughts and feelings. It’s an attempt to honor the darker aspects of human nature – anger, rage, and instinctual responses. It’s essentially to honor the earth, the dark void, and the merciless existence. Putting faith in external deities is robbing the individual of his divinity; it’s separating him from life. Christianity has, at least in part, made people think of Evil as an autonomous force (an external deity), corrupting good souls and creating fear and panic. By avoiding seeing reality as a whole, Christianity perpetuates fear instead of confronting it. As I understand it, Satanists don’t invest belief in any gods (symbolic of human drives and instincts) because they see that these mind-made constructs are part of their own psyche. Satanists place themselves at the center of their own subjective universe without seeking to befriend or worship mythical entities that are separate from them.

It seems to me though, from studying astrology, that there’s no way to escape deity. In the effort to not have any god, to place the self at the center, as is characteristic of the Church of Satan, one is in fact aligning or siding with an archetype. It’s impossible not to. I think this is made quite obvious when using astrology and analyzing natal charts. The archetypal energies are expressing themselves through and as the individuals.

In fact, let’s take a look at the chart of the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton Szandor LaVey. I would expect him to have a strong Pluto because of the emphasis on embracing the carnal side and the spiritual dimension of it. There’s also a big emphasis on being whole (a solar principle) through recognizing the totality of life, facing the strength and power within oneself and using the necessary tools to improve one’s own life. This would include consciously using symbols and images (like the image of Satan) in order to get the desired effect. If symbols are given autonomous power it’s a problem only if it puts the individual in a disempowered position. Personal integrity and liberty is also of utmost importance, which sounds rather Aquarian to me. Let’s have a look.

The chart of Anton Szandor LaVey, as found on astrotheme.com.

The Sun is in Aries, which is not surprising considering his strong faith in individuality, his initiative to start a “new religion”, to provide a contrasting influence, to place himself at the “center”, to go by no other rules than his own, to welcome opposition, the desire to be his own master and a leader of his own life. Aries as a sign is strongly linked to the warrior archetype, of fighting for what one believes in without compromise, to claim authority in spirit, to conquer, to place subjectivity over objectivity (because there’s no real difference from the perspective of Aries). Selfishness is the basis for existence; it is through honoring the self that one can honor other people’s independence. Mars, which is the planetary ruler of Aries, is concerned with personal strength and potency (note; Mars is sometimes referred to as the lower octave of Pluto). It seems like LaVey lived on his own terms, relying on his own natural instincts and gifts to get by in life. This is all very typical of Aries people, to live of off a self-generated optimism and conviction of one’s own ability. “The rules don’t apply to me” is the overall sentiment – the rules originated somewhere and that which originates from my own self is no less valuable or divine, even if it’s raw, ugly or imperfect it is still of “The Self”, the force that animates existence.

To no surprise, Pluto makes a square aspect to his Sun. He would’ve lived with the threat of his own destructive rage, his own inner violence and uncompromising desire. To him, it was probably difficult to consciously accept this side (the square aspect always represents a conflict) but he certainly tried to acknowledge his “darkness” through founding the Church of Satan. A person with a trine aspect between Sun-Pluto would not have been as motivated or pressed to bridge the gap between the self and the primitive and taboo because there wouldn’t have been anything to bridge. The square relationships between two planets usually motivate the individual to try to solve dilemma of conflicting principles within the psyche through external work. Squares usually force work in a very concrete fashion. When a person is serious about something, and is trying to make something happen it’s usually indicative of a square aspect within the personal chart. For example, I have a Neptune square Mercury aspect. I try to read and write and educate myself to some kind of higher state, some transcendent and elevated experience because the connection is not smooth between these planets. I try to articulate things properly in order to bridge the gap between personal mind and the nuance of collective feeling. I try to reflect the essence or feeling tone of energies through my writing.

The interesting thing about LaVey is that he truly took on the appearance of a devil – he was probably aware of the power of looks, the impact that certain clothing or symbols have. He was undoubtedly theatrical. Pluto in the 5th house might have something to do with this, as it’s the house of individual expression. The 5th house is all about personal creation; it’s the realm of children and play. In a sense, he was no different from a child dressing up in costumes and playing “the dark one”, which is probably why people mocked him for it. Even when Pluto is in the 5th house it is never light-hearted, he is all in, ruthlessly determined. Pluto placed in this house takes play seriously. He takes personal expression seriously. His creations are his and he should be at the center of them. The individual should be credited for his abilities, not the other way around, just as the individual shouldn’t be appreciated because his gifts are “of the gods”. They belong as much to the individual as it does to the deities. This is certainly the spirit of Pluto. He answers to no other god than himself and he sees life as it is, in its most vile forms, without flinching. Life is in all expressions, in the primitive as well as in the sophisticated. This is, in many ways, a deeply honest way to live. Another thing that catches my attention is the bi-quintiles Pluto makes to the MC (public image) and the AC (personal image/persona). The bi-quintile aspect is generally considered to say something about a certain talent or style, a mercurial quality or skill. He truly has the style of Pluto, both in his countenance and in his societal achievements. He looks dark and mysterious, preoccupied with the occult side of life. Perhaps he even had a certain talent for “magic”, at least he claimed to.

Satanists believe in indulgence (which doesn’t imply compulsion) over abstinence, primarily because there’s no belief in heaven or an after life. The individual is placed at the center of his own universe as his own master – through and through. Although many people would agree that self-mastery is a good thing, many also tend promote, in the same vein, that “people make mistakes” and that they “should be forgiven”. As I understand it, Satanism as a philosophy would state that mistakes are only mistakes if the self-mastered individual firmly believes it to be so in complete honesty and integrity. Self-deceit is considered to be a sin, unless of course it’s done intentionally - it would then not be a sin. Going along with roles that other people have cast one in is self-deceit – that is, for example, shouldering the role as a “sinner” because other people have imposed that label or role onto you is not indicative of self-respect, it’s a betrayal of your own reality. Notably, LaVey has an Aquarius Ascendant, Lilith in Aquarius in the 1st house and Uranus widely conjunct his Sun (both in the independent sign of Aries). He is definitely not a person to follow the herd – in fact “Herd Conformity” is one of the Cardinal Sins in Satanism. He leads life through the principle of being his own godhead, his own intellectual genius, and his own unique and separate individual, detached from the norms and conventions enough to go against them if he pleases. Aquarius is a sign that considers the map of life in an intellectual sense. This sign is also the sign of the progressive individual, someone who wants to make a difference on a larger scale. He certainly did, through constructing a thought-system that could benefit people. It’s no wonder that the first of the Nine Cardinal Sins (as found on the official website) is Stupidity. Of course it would be to an Aquarius Rising! “Think for yourself; don’t go along with everything you’re told” is the plea.

[genshin-impact-updates]

Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Part I)

Greetings, Travelers!

It's been almost five whole months since Genshin Impact went live, and the time seems to have flown by! We do hope you're all enjoying a smooth journey through Teyvat. Since the game's release, we have received a great deal of feedback and suggestions from Travelers and we've systematically recorded each one for the developers. We deeply appreciate all the time, energy, and passion everyone puts in to these suggestions.

In the midst of this, many of you have expressed an interest in learning more about how some of Genshin Impact's characters are created. As it happens, one character who has received an especially high amount of attention is Xiao, who has now entered the live game with the release of Version 1.3, "All That Glitters." So, for this issue, we've invited colleagues from the Creative Concept & Writing, Concept Art, and Animation departments to explain a bit about the thought process behind everyone's favorite Vigilant Yaksha.

1. The Vigilant Yaksha Is Born: A Character Woven From Cultural Symbolism

Hello everyone, my name is Zhongyuan from the Creative Concept & Writing department of miHoYo.

The first part of the process when designing characters for Genshin Impact is to pin down who the character is at their core. In this step, we need to establish the features that set this character apart from other characters. Besides ensuring that this character will make a strong impression on people, these features are used to evaluate what this character's position in the world of Genshin Impact will be. Characters are not just lumps of rock that we can place anywhere we want in the environment; they are autonomous individuals, each one with a complex set of past, present, and future interactions with the world of Teyvat. Their core features, then, represent their initial points of contact with the world. They are the guiding principles behind all the character's actions and how they live their life.

Xiao was one of the first Liyue characters we came up with. He began with our colleague CiCi's proposal for a young warrior character, which everyone involved in the character evaluation process approved of. The Art team envisaged him as a young man of great beauty, while colleagues in Creative Concept & Writing hoped to position him as a beautiful adeptus. Both sides were on the same page, and thus Xiao became our very first character planned with the identity of "mighty and illuminated adeptus."

Although this is somewhat tangential, I'd like to take a moment here to give a little more detail on the adepti in the Genshin Impact universe, given that so many players have expressed an interest in this topic. The adepti are based on the idea of demigod-like "immortals" (仙人 xianren) in Daoism, and are referred to by the honorific title "sanyan wuxian" (三眼五显), literally "three eyes and five manifestations" (but localized in English as "mighty and illuminated"). The adepti are classed as non-human, based on the notion that "All who have nine orifices can achieve immortality through self-discipline," a line uttered by the "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the West. This means that animals are also capable of achieving adeptus status. However, humans have a higher purpose than adepti in the world of Teyvat, so for this reason, only those of non-human status can be referred to as "adepti" in Liyue. The "three eyes" part of the adepti's title refers to the "third eye" possessed by those with the ability to manipulate elemental energy, which for humans takes the form of a Vision. For adepti such as Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper, the human understanding is that they must have an "inner eye" that serves the same purpose as a Vision. Xiao, however, typically appears in a human form, so he dutifully wears a Vision to comply with the expected norm.

After the character's fundamentals are established, the next step is to design their Constellation and refine their cultural background.

Outside of Genshin Impact, the term "sanyan wuxian" can be traced back to ancient Chinese texts and also appears in supernatural fiction from the Late Imperial period (c. 1368–1911 CE). In both cases, it typically describes the Daoist deity Huaguang Tianwang (华光天王, "Heavenly King of Radiant Light"), also known as Ma Lingguan (马灵官, "Numinous Official Ma"). Huaguang Tianwang is a well-known guardian deity, who appears in the Ming-dynasty novel Journey to the South, in which he has an altercation with Sun Wukong. Research into folk culture also shows there is precedent to connect deities known as Wuxian (五显, "Five manifestations" or "Five Named Xian") with a group of malevolent deities known as Wutong (五通, "Five Powers" or "Five Named Tong"), which includes the one-legged, people-eating, mountain-dwelling demons known as Shanxiao (山魈, "mountain demon").

So, at the most hidden but fundamental level of this character's core, we decided on the name Xiao (魈) and the identity of a guardian-adeptus. The name Xiao is used to hide his past, but also embodies this character at the innermost part of his soul. It is the starting point for all further character development and cultural embellishments.

Another dimension of Xiao's design was that he wields an Anemo Vision and has a fleet-footed and agile combat style that includes the unique ability to propel himself through the air. To stay true to this, we decided to design his Constellation and skills around the idea of the yaksha in Buddhism. This meant we were conflating ideas from different sources; nevertheless, the yaksha had become a well-established figure in Chinese folk legends by at least the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). The yaksha element ended up being a crucial part of Xiao's design that really helped us flesh him out in terms of his image.

The two archetypal stories of "guardian yaksha" and "numinous official's redemption" both involve a malevolent spirit on a path towards goodness, which was consistent with the general direction of Xiao's character core. Furthermore, his physical agility matched very well with another term for yaksha in Chinese, "Swift and nimble spirit" (捷疾鬼 jieji gui). Through further development of the yaksha concept, we arrived at the decision that the other fundamental aspect of Xiao's identity would be his role as a guardian yaksha in service of a monarch, or in this case, an archon.

One detail is particularly worth mentioning here. There is a well-known group of guardian yakshas in some Buddhist denominations known as the Twelve Heavenly Generals. All but one of them correspond to different animals in the Chinese zodiac, while Mekhila, who would otherwise correspond to the rooster, is instead associated with a bird deity, the golden-winged Garuda, a figure from various Indian religions. The story goes that this golden-winged bird deity was a fearsome predator who ate only evil dragons, until one day the dragon poison he had consumed became too much for him to bear, and he burned to death, leaving only a crystal heart behind. This story seemed to resonate with aspects of Xiao's character. Furthermore, the Chinese name Jinchi Peng Wang Niao (金翅鹏王鸟, "Golden Winged Great Peng") embodies a history of evolution — it represents a convergence between Garuda and the Peng, a Chinese mythological bird, showing that some adaptation occurred in the process of his adoption into Chinese religion. After much consideration, we decided to use the Golden Winged Great Peng as the basis for Xiao's Constellation. In English, Xiao's Constellation has been localized as "Alatus Nemeseos," in reference to the bird deity and Xiao's role as the nemesis of evil.

Finally, we conducted an overall review of Xiao's character profile. During this process, we noticed that Xiao's origins were very complex: Some aspects of his identity were based on folk legends while others drew on religious stories. From mountain demon, to Daoist deity, to guardian yaksha, to mythological bird, this was a uniquely rich character formed from the convergence and refashioning of many ideas in one place. More importantly, all these elements were consistent with each other at the narrative layer, creating a strong and cohesive impression of who this character is and adding clear, nuanced substance to his story. This degree of complexity gave Xiao just the depth and appeal that we were hoping for with this character: we hoped to create something entirely new through the convergence and fusion of various cultural elements, and we hope that the end result, Xiao, possesses the power, aesthetic value, and maturity to become a true cultural icon.

The next step was shaping the character's personality and behavior.

After close consultation with Concept Art colleagues, Creative Concept & Writing further fine-tuned the details of this character's content. To pick one example, we all felt that the distinctive image of a young warrior was an important one that we wanted to keep. This begged the question: if Xiao is a warrior, who or what is he waging war against? We quickly got to thinking about a war between the gods. (See section 2 of this article for how Concept Art developed the mask design based on this idea.) One of the basic rules of the Genshin Impact world is that gods cannot be completely destroyed — even if a god's physical form is destroyed, its will and power live on. The remnants and the wrath of the defeated god will remain in the world, waiting for opportunities to cause chaos. To keep Liyue safe from this threat, somebody has to go and keep them at bay.

The decision to release Xiao at Lantern Rite was to tie in with the Chinese custom of driving away evil spirits at the new year, since Xiao's role in Liyue is that of a protector in precisely this capacity.

During festivals, people offer up incense and pray to the adepti for their protection.

But they do not pray to Xiao.

For Xiao is no lucky star that promises fame and fortune — he is a demon-hunting yaksha.

After the lantern lights of Liyue have faded, the thankless battle to protect the city goes on unseen. It is an endless battle, and there can be no victor.

The Traveler's first impression of Xiao is most likely to be of a silent and brooding individual, a courageous and competent fighter, and someone who harbors great suffering. This suffering comes from within Xiao himself. One aspect is that the years of intense, never-ending battle against the remnants of defeated gods have led to him resigning himself to the fact that fighting is all he is good at. The other aspect is that the remnants have a negative effect on him, while the constant killing places a karmic burden on him, causing him mental and spiritual anguish.

This inner suffering is present in the design of his skills: when Xiao uses "Bane of All Evil," he dons his mask, which continually enhances his combat abilities but also continually drains his health. This demonstrates the great suffering he must endure as a consequence of using this power.

After the Traveler has spent some time with Xiao, perhaps they can sense that deep down, Xiao has a gentler side. Xiao is by no means a cruel and callous individual, he is simply reticent to show his emotions to others.

Xiao always keeps his distance from the hustle and bustle of human society. This is not because he doesn't care about humanity, but is due to his role as a protector. He must wage war against dark forces out of sight of humans, and endure a suffering that is incomprehensible to them. Despite this, he does not despise humanity. Humans are the foundation of his millennia-old contract with Rex Lapis, and the reason he silently fights to protect every living soul in Liyue.

The player's first offer to Xiao is to go to the Lantern Rite together to experience the atmosphere. Xiao instinctively refuses requests of this nature— not because he dislikes the idea, but out of avoidance. For Xiao, who has lived for millennia, the human world is a brilliant but fleeting flash of light; a wisp of cloud floating by; a firework on the horizon. And as the one tasked with defending this flurry of activity, he is like a caged beast circling the fire of a stove: fearful, but also full of curiosity. Having watched from a distance for so long, he would not know how to join in with the crowd even if he tried.

The lanterns rise up into the night sky, as if to shine along with the stars. Xiao watches this beautiful sight alone from a mountaintop, and just like anyone else, he senses the sentiment behind them, and he understands that the reason people craft these beautiful things is to remember those who fought alongside him in the past. As one who lived through the events of the past and remembers it all, he is, of course, able to appreciate the well-wishes that the lanterns represent. He understands kindness and gratitude, but doesn't know how to interact with ordinary people, nor does he know what his place is among all the excitement and noise. This lonely state of existence is the source of his melancholy. It has caused time to stand still, leading to him still having a very young mentality even to this day.

During the main Liyue questline, Xiao came to the Traveler's rescue in their moment of peril. In Version 1.3 "All That Glitters," we invite Travelers once again to experience a story that provides a glimpse into Xiao's seldom-shown gentle nature, as well as the trust, hidden deep within his heart, that he places in you.

2. A Young Adeptus: Detail-Based Design

Hello everyone, this is D and SS from the Genshin Impact Art team. We worked on the concept art for Xiao.

After the initial brief, we produced a first draft of Xiao's design based on the young warrior concept. As you can see, Xiao's expression in this version is far from the stern one he wears today. He has a gentler temperament and he is smiling. In this sense, he captures a more traditional notion of what a Daoist immortal (or in Genshin Impact terms, an adeptus) might look like. After more discussion with Creative Concept & Writing colleagues and taking more of his back story into account, we decided on the green version.

Xiao is an adeptus who protects Liyue, and in the course of his long battle against the remnants of defeated gods all over Liyue, he has become poisoned by their nefarious energy. Based on this background, Xiao's upper body uses white and green, which represent the adepti and correlate to his Anemo Vision. For his lower body, we used darker colors to represent the dark, malevolent power that exists inside him.

Based on these same principles, we gave him dark hair with highlights, and also created some interplay between light and dark in his attack animations. The darkness represents the destructive power of fierce battle, while the fragments and orbs of light that he gives off come from the fact that he is an adeptus.

Xiao may have the appearance of a young man, but his true age is something over two thousand years.

Fortunately, people do not tend to underestimate him on the basis of his appearance — one only needs to spend a short time with Xiao to recognize that he is not someone to be trifled with.

Xiao is a man of few words. He is highly dangerous, and has the most piercing gaze you've ever seen.

Given Xiao's true age and his identity as an adeptus, we decided to give him some jade jewelry to bring a sense of longevity and mystery. Accordingly, his legs, wrists, and shoulders feature decorative jade as well as various other objects bearing simple motifs. Meanwhile, to match his young appearance with striking good looks, we tailored his clothing (especially on the upper body) using a more modern design, displaying his vibrancy and agility.

On the one hand, Xiao is an immortal adeptus, while on the other hand, he is a young warrior. This is a great variance in image, and it posed a significant challenge for us from an art perspective. Traditionally, an immortal is imagined as a scholarly figure dressed in long, flowing robes with wide sleeves, who is fairly reserved in the movements of their hands and feet. But Xiao, as a master of the dance-like art of polearm combat and a fleet-footed yaksha, required clothing that offers both protection and freedom of movement. Furthermore, we also knew that there were strict limits on any flowing parts of his outfit due to the risk of clipping they would create after 3D modeling.

So we made Xiao's garments close-fitting and short-sleeved, put some light gauntlets on his wrists, and added some religious paraphernalia such as a censer and a vajra. Meanwhile, his streamers and the breechcloths around his waist are decorated with a cloud motif to add a sense of antiquity. In this way, we achieved a union between practicality and ethereality.

"Bane of All Evil" — the four words that sum up what Xiao has experienced over the past millennia, according to Liyue's rulers who know the truth about him.

In the design of Xiao's mask, we referenced aspects of the masks traditionally used in exorcism rituals as part of Nuo (傩) folk religion.

The main colors used in these masks are black, blue, and gold, the eyes are bright but not flamboyant, and in general the masks look solemn but also mysterious. The sinister-looking bulging eyes, fangs, and horns instill fear in the viewer. The eye in the center of the forehead represents omniscience and the flame motifs make it all the more imposing, the intent being to cause all onlookers to cower in fear.

Xiao's release coincides with the ancient festival of Lantern Rite. We would like to use this historic occasion as a chance to send our best wishes to everyone — here's to deliverance from the ills that plague the real world as well as those that face us in the world of Teyvat. To fans of Xiao reading this, we hope you feel that learning a little about the design ethos gave you the chance to better understand and connect with this character.

(Continued in Part 2)

[bowieexaminprogress]

Hi Bowie,

I really like your blog. It is beautiful that it is a combination of serious topics, a lot of knowledge about culture, religion but also moments of clowning and theories.

I really like your outlook on things and I was wondering what is your opinion so far about the season and if there is anything you are specifically excited about in the future.

Hello nonnie!

Firstly thank you for your beautiful words. I got to say I am lucky because you anons are extremely nice and sweet to me and I know that is not the case sometimes in fandoms. So I really appreciate that kindness.

Basically nonnie this blog is a little view inside my mentality as a person. I love real talk and serious issues, can spend hours absorbed by philosophical discussions but adore to let my hair down and enjoy to the fullest the fun and silliness of life. So expect all of that here.

It is pretty early to tell and form a complete view of the season, we are only on episode 2, but there are some positive things with potential that have been introduced for sure.

One thing I particularly enjoy in these episodes is how lighthearted they are but also how much nuance they have. The directorial work is extremely thought through and mapped out beautifully. Some of the topics and characters introduced have an amazing potential for a deeply meaningful season.

A season that deals with religion but not as a black and white issue but as a spectrum. The question what makes a good Muslim and a good believer in general. Is it about how strictly you practice your religion or is it about living by the general lessons of religion? The topic of different interpretations of religious scriptures and the effect culture has on that. The role of a woman in a patriarchal society and how that navigation in life can be tricky. Should a piece of clothing be used as an indicator for society of a woman’s moral compass? The topic of political entities making decisions about women’s choices and how they treat their bodies. Who ends up being the oppressor when freedom of choice is taken away. And also how the hijab ban laws under the pretence of equality end up marginalising further and disrupt Muslim women’s access to education and positions of power. Topic of racism, prejudice, pre conceived notions. What makes a person bad and what makes them good? The dynamic between honesty and lies. And so much more.

So yeah I am excited to see how the season will treat those issues. The supporting characters are of high importance as they can carry a lot of those topics and create a more inclusive overview of those issues. I don’t expect a series to give me specific answers to all those extremely complicated issues in 10 episodes but if it gives the audience food for thought and makes them question things then it has done its job. We should explore the grey areas. That’s where the beauty of life and humanity is.

[stormskates]

Rika Kihira - International Angel of Peace | Program Review

Choreography by Tom Dickson

The Concept

International Angel of Peace tells the story of an angel on a mission to end war and conflict between different religions of the world and unite them in peace. This concept is reflected in multiple facets of the program, such as:

the music, which is a medley of different pieces to represent and allude to a diversity of places, religions, and cultures

the choreography, which builds on the inspiration of the music and depicts varying expressions from faith to anger to joy and triumph

the costume, tailored by Satomi Ito, which has gold embellishments reminiscent of gilded sculptures, a common art form found across multiple cultures and religions 

Unlike her previous programs, International Angel of Peace isn’t an interpretation of a pre-existing text. This isn’t choreographed to a single piece of music (e.g. Breakfast in Baghdad, Kung Fu Piano, Beautiful Storm, Claire de Lune, Rhapsody in Blue, Tzigane) or songs tied already by a theme (e.g. La Strada). While drawing inspiration from various sources, everything from the medley of songs and the story that accompanies it results to the creation of an entirely new text. This makes it distinguished and incomparable.

I’m a big fan of how layered and substantive this program is. As I especially appreciate it when the choreography goes above and beyond expectations, I thought I’d write this up.

Pardon the inconsistent and poor quality of GIFs as these are from various performances and sources. Some are mine but some are also from: @rika-kihira​ | @chibihao​ | @reimz​

The Program

International Angel of Peace begins with the sound of a bell being rung, which is matched by arm movements that depict the opening of a dance. The choreography that follows, now as the music plays a beautiful cello cover of O Virtus Sapientiae (composed by German Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen), also portray a gentle awakening. She circles twice before opening her chest, like so:

The tempo in O Virtus Sapientiae is slow, giving her ample time for her opening jumps. For the duration of the song, she’s allowed to focus on jumping and landing her highest scoring jumps, the 4S and 3A2T. (Note that as of this writing, she has yet to perform both jumps to avoid aggravating her ankle injury.)

The music then picks up, shifting to the slightly more upbeat, thrill-inducing Beirut Taxi (composed by Alexandre Desplat for the movie Syriana) as she does a series of transitions into her 3Lz. Serious, grim expressions of the face and body complement those steps — the angel in this story is gearing up as she sets forth to accomplish her mission.

After the jump, she wastes no more time getting into her combination camel spin, matching the beat of the music. As she ends the spin, the music fades to the next song, Wings of the Eagle (composed by Uttara-kuru). The music invokes less combative emotions and harks back to traditional Japanese sounds. The image of a Japanese garden comes to mind, but we aren’t allowed to gaze at the flowers for long as the music doesn’t take long to shift again - this time to Caravans on the Move (composed by Mike Batt) - and the angel comes across the war.

Rika jumps her second 3A and transitions directly into the step sequence, the first part of which is set to the music, Mother Tongue (composed by Dead Can Dance). The tempo is faster, demanding her to perform quicker, sharper movements. In no way, however, does this sacrifice her fluidity and motion on the ice. She makes use of the size of the rink, covering as much ice as there is available. Just watch her go (and the camera follow her):

The first part of the step sequence ends with a brief but decisive halt. The battle stops for a moment, and the angel puts on a smile.

The tempo slows down, but we still see hints of truculent stances throughout the choreography before it mellows down completely. 

This part is rather brilliant imo: there is scarcely a war in history where the parties involved do not still encounter hiccups in negotiations and compromises for peace, and this portrays that period pretty well.

When the step sequence ends, the music shifts to Sacred Stones (a world music-style rendition of a Sanskrit chant by Sheila Chandra). Rika takes a breath and gathers speed again for her 3Lz3T (x) and transitions out of them to this choreography:

Personally (and this is probably an unpopular opinion), I’m a bit perplexed by the takes about how controversial the arm movements are in this part. The position is popularly credited to Egyptian style dance, but there are also strong similarities in even just the first video you see when you search up traditional Indian dance in Youtube (e.g. the positions in 1:47-1:51 in this). Not for me to deny how others felt about this part of the choreography, but it doesn’t strike as appropriative when the exact music used doesn’t appear to be used in actual prayers (and is performed by a woman of Indian descent) and the choreography doesn’t appear to demean or devalue the culture it draws inspiration from.

If anything, this is the most solemn part of the program. The war has ended, the people are in a state of rebuilding, and the angel is praying for continued peace. At this point in the program, the hymn evokes feelings of hope and faith, which I find beautiful.

Moving on, Rika jumps her last combo, the 3F-Eu-3S (x), and swings right into her combination I-spin as the hymn fades and transitions into the last piece of music, In A Moment of Greatness (composed by Larry Groupé). The title speaks for itself: the Angel of Peace has accomplished her mission, and the last three elements evoke that triumph.

In the choreographic sequence alone, we watch the angel express her joy with a beautiful, victorious Ina Bauer to a gleeful stag jump. I also really like these arm movements in between, as they're expressing this ‘opening up’ — a recurring theme in the entire element. Her arms rarely take a break and are not held sloppily, as you can see:

After the choreographic sequence, Rika does a cross-grab spiral before her last jump, the 3Lo (x), directly transitioning into the final element and her best spin, the layback — a mere ten seconds away from the end of the program. This part of the choreography is not only difficult to execute, but also complements the music really well.

Her end pose is, of course, of a triumphant fashion. Her posture is impeccable, so even a simple pose like this looks elegant and beautiful. I also like thinking of this as the part where the angel finally spreads out and shows off her wings.

Further Thoughts

Putting her varying jump layout aside (the ones I’ve labelled here is from the original plan, which is more ambitious than what she’s performed so far), I thought the program itself is pretty solid from concept to execution.

On skating skills: The program highlights Rika’s strengths very well, showcasing her varying use of speed, ease of flow and acceleration acquisition between elements, wide range of body movement, clear edge control, and skills in multi-directional and one-footed skating. Her skating skills have visibly improved since last season.

On transitions: The transitions between elements (jumps, spins, sequences) are smooth and complex. Three of her jumps (3Lz, 3F-Eu-3Sx, and 3Lox) exit into spins, one jump exits into the step sequence. There are steps before her combos and the solo 3Lz. All the transitions also match the music overall, as I’ve elaborated above.

On composition: The program demonstrates a clear concept, matching plot and choreography to music and maximising the space of rink. There’s more to this than being another angel program. The points of the plot are defined, and the details of the concept (i.e. how this is meant to evoke a diverse set of cultures, religions) are sprinkled in different ways (music, choreography, even the warrior-like costume) throughout the program. 

On interpretation of the music: Rika is one of the few skaters I know who match their movements to the music. The music is a medley and by its very nature demands the portrayal of multiple emotions, which is an expectation I think the choreography and performance meets. The movements here are nuanced and expressive, enough for the attentive viewer to grasp the story being told even if you’re seated far.

On performance: While I do think we have yet to see this program in full form and performed with a similar ferocity that Rika showed in NHK+GPF2018, it’d be unfair not to give credit to her lines, carriage, posture, and expression in movement, not to mention performing this cleanly so far even under immense pressure.

There is so, so much potential in this program and it’s really quite a lot more meticulous, structured, and difficult than most people give it credit for. 

[chill-that-ur-inmyhead]

A is for Appearance What color are your eyes? green! I always used to say blue and green but I have settled on green How about your hair? blonde Cool, describe your hairstyle: I curled it slightly, tried to get my curtain bangs to frame my face but I am so bad at hair! How tall are you? 5′5

B is for the Basics What’s your nickname? H WHATS YO AGE?? feeling 22 Are you a male or a female? female Where do you live? UK

C is for Clothes

How would you describe your style? chic, sporty, casual Do you fit into any stereotypes? I keep falling in and out of stereotypes, such as the gal that likes shopping, horses, surfing, the city life but it is all very nuanced  Where’s your favourite place to shop for clothes? ASOS always and then hopefully when I have money I can shop at more sustainable places that charge £70 for a quality top Tell me your ideal outfit: I LOVE mom jeans, the light blue ones, then paired with a crop tank top and an oversized trench coat

D is for Driving Do you have your license? I am trying!! ask me again this October hopefully I’ll have it!! If not, how about your permit? yes I have my provisional  What kind of car do you drive (or do your parents drive?) ford fiestaaaa What’s your dream car? 1963 Mercury Comet (aka Peyton’s car from One Tree Hill) 

E is for Eating

What’s your favourite food? potato waffles Mkay, and how bout your favourite drink? milkshake Have you ever had an eating disorder? I don’t think so. What’s your favourite form of SUGAR!? :D in chocolate YUM

F is for Family Who do you live with? currently my mum while I am studying but hopefully next year I will be living in the city with flatmates!!! How many siblings do you have? un frere Do you have kids? Names and ages: nope Do you love your family? yes

G is for Guys/Girls What colour hair do you prefer on the gender of your choice? I do not mind How about eye colour? no preference, just that they have kind eyes! How should they dress? personally I would go for someone that dresses up to go out and leaves the joggers/ trackies at home Name a few qualities you look for in a significant other? witty & compassionate

H is for Hobbies What are your favourite things to do? bargain shopping in thrift/charity stores Do you collect anything interesting? DVDs - nope not interesting haha Do you play sports? Which ones? I used to play Netball in uni and really want to get back into it again but first going to try getting back into badminton! Do you text a lot? not a lot but I have been known to text from time to time

I is for Internet Do you have a youtube channel? I have a youtube account but I don’t post anything on their!! Do you have facebook? yes Do you have twitter? yes Do you have instagram? URL: yes

J is for Job Do you have a job? If so, what? I just left my job at a law firm and I am going back to study law What is your dream job? I do not dream of labour ;) Any previous jobs? retail! classic Do you like where you’re headed in life? (Or did I just depress you?) I am optimistic about where I am headed but ofc it is nerve-wrecking

K is for Kind Of.. What’s your favourite kind of movie? rom com ofc What’s your favourite kind of book? Or do you not like reading? fantasy What’s your favourite kind of food? (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc.) chinese Cool, and what’s your favourite kind of.. um..place to chill at? my bed, nothing compares 2 u

L is for Love<3 Are you gay, straight, bi, lesbian, asexual, or not sure? heterooo Are you single or taken? single If taken, what’s their name and how long have you been together? :D If single, do you have a crush? I don’t, only on celebs ofc ;)

M is for Music! :D What genre of music is your favourite? Taylor Swift Do you play any instruments or sing? What do you play? I want to get into piano/keyboard (ofc will only play Taylor Swift songs) Have you ever been to a concert? If so, what was your favourite one? Taylor Swift hehe (can you tell I’m a fan?)

N is for Negativity >=l Are you more negative or more positive? I sometimes get in my head but I defo try to be positive around other people, I know how depressing it can be Have you ever been depressed? I have been depressed before but I have not had depression Are you one of those people who cuts yourself and thinks it’s cool? AH no How do you feel about death? I hope it is short & sweet

O is for Opinions What’s your opinion on gay marriage? all for What about abortion? each person’s choice K.. What are your political views? capitalism will always win What’s your religion? Or are you atheist or agnostic? Christian 

P is for People Who’s your best friend? I have a couple of close friends What kind of person do you tend to hang out with? open minded sould that can banter when the time is right What do you do when you hang out with friends? Eat, drink and be merry Do you have lots of friends or do you just hate people? I have enough friends, always open to making new friends

Q is for Questioning!!!!! How are you feeling, dear? full from the dinner I’ve had (Grandad turned 90!!!) Oooh… and how’s the weather where you’re at? sun is setting and making the clouds all glowy and golden (one of the better days for weather we’ve had recently)                                                                                                            Okay and have you been healthy lately? I’ve tried to stay active since leaving work and besides from today which contained a lot of cake, I haven’t been overeating

I see, and do you think these things have a direct correlation? I have to say when the weather is nicer, it is easier to eat healthier

R is for Randomness!!!!! :D What’s your favourite mythical creature!? mermaids I LOVE LAMP!! (Do you know where that’s from?) I do not! What’s your favourite meme!? there are too many to pick RAWRAWRAWR!! (Do you say rawr or do you hate me?) =| I would only say it ironically hah

S is for School Are you in middle school, highschool, college, or out of school? I’m about to go back to uni for a post grad Do/did you actually like school or do you hate it like me? It had its ups and downs, considering I’m going back from a post grad maybe the ups outweighed the downs What is/was your favourite class? P.E. was always fun, espeically if we were playing netball What’s your major in college or what do you want to major in? English literature

T is for Trouble! D= Have you ever broken the law? What did you doo? D= underage drinking ofc Do you drink? yes Do you smoke? nope Have you ever been arrested? Did you go to jail? WHY!?!? D= nope

U is for.. UMBRELLAS!? Hahaha do you like rain? I like the smell of rain but I don’t like to be in it Do you own an umbrella? yes Do you like the song Umbrella by Rihanna? I do Do you like how random life can be? sometimes it throws me and I think can’t you stay on script!

V is for Vacations Where was your favourite vacation? South of France Where have you never been that you really wanna go to? Hawaii Have you been out of the country? Where to? France, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Spain & Portugal What’s your favorite type of place to visit? Islands, Cities, Theme Parks? I do like city breaks because there is so much to do! Haven’t truly been on an island holiday but defo looking forward to them!

W is for WTF questions!! Can I shave off all your hair and make a voodoo doll of you? no thank you Excuse me sir, were you aware that there’s a clown behind you!? oh that’s just my reflection dw ;) I murdered a man once!! [Oops this isn’t a question] I know nothing &JK, I didn’t murder anyone. But aren’t you just like WTF now? this is the internet, I am ready for a worse WTF

X is for X stuff…. Do you know anyone named Xavier? not personally Have you ever played a xylophone? yes Have you ever seen an X-rated move? wouldn’t know X MARKS THE SPOT!! kk? :D

Y is for Yes Or No Do you like when it snows? =| yes, I can appreciate a good snow day Do you like re watching old movies? yes Do you watch Vampire Diaries? yes Do you like Indian food? yes

Z is for… ZEBRAS! Do you like zebras? they remind me of horses and I love horses

[writingwithcolor]

Pluralistic distinctions in Hinduism

Hi everybody!  If you follow my personal blog, you may have noticed I've been busy becoming a doctor, which unfortunately meant I had to be effectively dead to the world for a couple of months.

But now that's over, and I'd like to address a couple of points that have come across the WWC space in that time.  Some of these are unanswered questions on Indian history and Hinduism and some relate to questions that have been answered already that our followers have raised some commentary on, so if you asked a question about any of those topics, please read through this post as it's going to cover a lot of ground.

One question (directed at me in particular), asked how it is possible for a person to be both a Hindu and an atheist.  Another raised some concerns about the view of the sacredness of cows in modern Hinduism, and the intersection of cow-veneration and caste.  I think both of these intertwine and ultimately come together in the same place.

To start, let me deconstruct the basic structure of a common or garden Hindu myth:

Indra and/or Brahma: *does something stupid*

Indra and/or Brahma: I screwed up.

Indra and/or Brahma: Halp.

Vishnu: *concocts elaborate plan to restore order to the world, usually involving shapeshifting, logical technicalities, and possibly orchestrating a war or two*

If that looks silly to you, compare it to the central story of Christianity:

Humanity: *does lots of stupid stuff*

God: Y'all are screwed up.

God. You need halp.

God: *concocts elaborate plan to save mankind, involving shapeshifting, logical technicalities, and ritually sacrificing himself to himself*

Please resist the temptation to come at me for this, literally everyone.  I'm casting everything in deliberately silly terms, because if the Hindu myth looks silly to you and the Christian myth does not, you're merely getting a sense of what I did growing up, only in reverse.

Nontheistic Hinduism   

If you take the words of what we commonly call "religion" literally, you miss a great part of the picture, and I believe this is true for a literalist/fundamentalist and for a nonbeliever.  When we look at a religion, we must examine it as a historically-situated phenomenon, because that's what it is.  A religion doesn't just arrive one day fully-formed, even in the case of a single founder, which Hinduism doesn't even have.

"Religion" comes from the Latin religio, meaning "bond" or "reverence."  In a broader sense, it means "obligation," "sense of right," or "conscientiousness."  Already it seems obvious how subjective those terms are.  You may have heard of the "Just World hypothesis," which underpins most religious thinking, in that if we just do the right thing, destiny/fate/the world/the next world will naturally pan out in our favor.  The trouble with that, even if you believe it's true, is that you're still stuck trying to figure out what "the right thing" is.  Enter sacred texts, which seem to be formulas for the right behavior and belief, and it looks to many like we've got an answer to this problem.

If only it were that simple.  "The right thing" turns out to be different in every text you read, because these texts were written in different times and places by different people who, if they found some way of living that they thought was "the right thing," found something that worked for them in that time and place, but wouldn't necessarily function for anyone else anywhere or anywhen else.

Our ancestors may have promulgated a lot of BS that has since been proven wrong, but they weren't stupid.  They at least tried to make sense of the world but due to environmental factors and limited horizons around the world, those explanations they came up with, in sacred texts and practices and rituals, differ from each other in crucial ways.

But they do say something about how humans have viewed the universe and our place in it over time.  That's what I find compelling: the multitude of ways that our ancestors attempted to explain the workings of the universe.  I think the comparison and contrast tell us much more about ourselves, how we work, and our place in the world than any religious dogma.  What's cool is the pluralistic thought and argumentation and attempts to analyze real phenomena that might just happen to be wrapped in a context that we in the modern world view as religious but in ancient times it was just how a given group of people lived.  Personally, I couldn't care less about the specifics of salvation and divine grace and devotion.

So, yeah, I'm really not interested in hearing about how great and liberating your religion is.  That's great and I'm happy for you, but I really want nothing less than to participate.  Stop trying to convert me, please.

People often argue that being confronted with death makes you religious.  I would beg to differ.  I've dealt with a lot of death, especially in recent years, and if anything it's made me less theistic, not more, but also more thoughtful, more nuanced, and more appreciative of family and human connection.

With such an attitude, in a world constantly strained with tensions between different religions, and between the religious and non-religious, it's difficult to sit comfortably in any single group identity.  So, yes, I very often feel like I have no spiritual and political bedfellows other than people who've been dead for 1300 years and will forever dwell in anonymity.

In that sense, I've been lucky to have the background I do.  Although history is full of heterodox views springing up all over the world, in India many of them were recorded and never fully stamped out by political entities that favored the orthodox.  I have to chalk this up to the origins of the thing we call "Hinduism" being a very organic synthesis of elements from South, Southeast, East, and Central Eurasia, which all brewed together in the Indian subcontinent into a chaotic patchwork of tribal and communal distinctions in practice and belief that were, until about 1 CE, probably far more fluid than they were rigid.  It's always been impossible to enforce a singular belief system in that part of the world, so in that mix, people believed in all sorts of gods, and some of them believed in none.

There have been codified schools of thought that explicitly denied the validity of established rituals, the existence of and even the human need for belief in gods.

I talk about a few of them here.

Some quotes:

There is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in another world. Nor do the actions of the four castes, orders, and others, produce any real effect.

- a verse attributed to the Cārvāka school

God is unproved.

- Sāṁkhyapravacana Sūtra, 1.92

But, after all, who knows, and who can say

Whence it all came, and how creation happened?

- Nāsadiya Sūkta, verse 6 (Rig Veda, 10.129)

Yes, despite the stereotype of India as a land of spiritual supernaturalism, explicitly and implicitly nontheistic belief systems have existed there since nearly the beginning of recorded history.  Sanskrit has a larger non-theistic literature than Ancient Greek or Latin.  "Hinduism" became the catch-all term for the collective indigenous beliefs of the Indian subcontinent, regardless of particulars.  The terms  "Hindu" and "India" come from the same derivation (referring to the Sindhu, or Indus, River in the northwest—but I won't assert that the two terms mean the same thing, as that is categorically untrue).  Therefore to claim that atheism is somehow "un-Hindu" is historically, anthropologically, and linguistically ignorant.  While perhaps unusual, disbelief in gods and the supernatural is as valid a position in "Hinduism" as any other.  It does mean, though, that it also coexists under the same label as its polar opposites—strong theism, superstition, and virulent fundamentalism.

Cows and Hinduism 

  This tension can be seen in some of the issues surrounding the position of the cow in modern Hinduism.  This potentially arose in the first place for secular reasons—it is true that cows probably acquired some status of reverence because of their utility in tilling fields, providing milk, dung for fertilizer, etc.  But meat is also a pretty useful product.  Did you know that modern India is the world's 5th largest beef producer, 7th largest beef consumer, and largest beef exporter?  All this despite legislation against cow/bull/bullock slaughter in half the country.  Plenty of societies through history have both valued the cow's utility while alive and dead.  Why the special status in Hinduism?

Cows have always been useful animals, but also more expensive to keep and maintain, compared to other herd animals such as sheep or goats, so they became a symbol of wealth in ancient Asia.  This association is thought to be very old, potentially dating to before the Indo-European expansion.  As they were expensive, only those at the top of the social heap could afford to keep many, and in ancient India, that was the Brahmin caste.  If you want to keep your cows, you can't have the possibility that someone's going to poach it for dinner, and so casting the cow as a respected or venerated creature is a pretty effective way to do that.  This also means that you get to keep your symbol of wealth and status and the poors don't get to have any.

As cow sacrifice and beef consumption is actually very well-attested during the Vedic period, what probably happened is that around 800 BCE, with the ascendancy of the Kuru Kingdom and the codification of rituals at a state and urban level, beef-eating began to be disfavored by lawgivers.  Heterodox movements at the time, which would give rise to Buddhism and Jainism, also emphasized vegetarianism and as these were becoming popular among all social classes, the orthodox priesthood adopted certain hallmarks (like vegetarianism) which had the side effect (intentional or otherwise) of making avoidance of cow slaughter into a status symbol.  So previously enthusiastic meat-eaters became strict vegetarians.  Other non-Vedic elements made their way into the Brahminical religion around this time, such as the cycle of birth and death, and these ideas are regarded as a characteristic of Hinduism today. However, as the influence Brahminical orthodoxy was limited to a core in north-central India, around the modern Delhi area, beef-eating continued as a practice on the frontier.  Today, Nepal, the most Hindu country in the world, consumes beef quite freely.

As mentioned before, you can argue that "Hinduism" isn't really a single thing.  When someone says that Hindus don't eat beef, what they mean is that certain varieties of Hindus don't eat beef.  Some Hindus don't out of religious reasons.  Some hold no religious belief against it but don't do it out of habit or tradition or other ethical consideration.  Some religious Hindus thrive on beef.  Beef is typically a nutritionally-dense, readily-available food for poor and working class people, including those from disadvantaged caste groups.  The act of condemning them for their eating habits or taking away a primary source of nutrition using a religious excuse is an act that can't be disconnected from its historical and sociocultural underpinnings discussed in the previous paragraphs.  An attitude toward the cow that may have started as an innocent economic consideration has become laden with a ton of cultural baggage about as complex as the history of the subcontinent itself.

I don't eat beef myself.  I've eaten it before, and it usually made me feel a bit ill.  I guess descent from countless generations of vegetarian Brahmins left my gut unprepared for that particular kind of meat.  Beef production also uses too much carbon for my comfort and I once ate a hamburger in front of a cow and it turns out they have very judgey eyes.  I'm holding out for vat-grown meat, personally.

However, when states in India pass beef bans, they do it on the grounds that it's an honored animal in Hinduism, and while that's true, there's a historical and social context behind that and not all varieties of "Hindu" actually observe that prohibition.  Politicians are doing it cynically to drum up support among a certain contingent of "values voters" so they can keep their jobs in the next election cycle.

Regarding the place of religion and cows in modern India, many people, intimately familiar with the realities on the ground, have written on the topic better than I ever could.  With the arrival of a new wave of invaders and colonizers, Europeans and the British in particular, identities shifted yet again, and those echoes are felt all over the modern republic.  Here's a good read. 

Hinduism and Pluralism   

When we take care to not drop all adherents of a particular religion into a sack with the worst ones, we need to remember to extend that courtesy to all religions, because all religions have assholes trying to make everyone around them think like them, and those are the people we usually end up hearing about on the news.  The choice to eat or not eat beef (or anything) is a personal one that, while informed by society and background and culture, isn't solely determined by it.  A claim, by a Hindu or non-Hindu, that any particular thing is "the Hindu way" is to fundamentally misunderstand the history of the thing that we've come to call "Hinduism."

I don't think it's a coincidence that societies like the Gupta Empire, the Tang Dynasty, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Italian Renaissance are regarded as "Golden Ages" and were also more open to pluralism and heterodoxy than the societies before and after them.  Scholarship, philosophy, and science always flower when different views speak to and challenge each other freely and openly, and when they challenge the established power structure, even unsuccessfully.  If you can't withstand a robust challenge to your worldview, then you're not growing, and if you're not growing, you're failing.  If you have an allegiance or affection to a particular identity, then you owe it to yourself and those like you not to let the ones you call your own succumb to the worst among them.

So, I'm happy, comfortable, and proud to claim the label of Hindu even if I believe humans made demons and humans made gods, and that the stories I grew up with are just (really cool) fantasy.  I do it because the Hindu right would like everyone to believe that there is a single, homogenous Hinduism that never actually existed, and that is a view that I find at best impoverished and at worst geopolitically dangerous.  By claiming the label "Hindu" when I refuse supernaturalism and pseudohistory, I am able to do a small part to render that worldview false.

--Mod Nikhil

[apostleshop]

'The Nun' actors talk good vs. evil with faith-based journalists gathered near Mexico City

Great News has been shared on https://apostleshop.com/the-nun-actors-talk-good-vs-evil-with-faith-based-journalists-gathered-near-mexico-city/

'The Nun' actors talk good vs. evil with faith-based journalists gathered near Mexico City

Sister Rose Pacatte, right, film reviewer, asks the first question of, left to right, “The Nun” actors Demian Bichir (Father Burke), Taissa Farmiga (Sister Irene) and director Corin Hardy at a round-table discussion with faith-based journalists in rural Mexico City, Aug. 24, 2018.Copyright 2018 Roxane Salonen. All rights reserved.

Sitting down recently at a press gathering in Mexico with a group of faith-based journalists — including this Catholic mom from North Dakota — two main characters and the director of the horror film, “The Nun,” went to the soul level, sharing how a priest was called to the set at the start of the filming in Transylvania, details of nightmares that have kept them up at night, and the interplay of story and faith.

Unlike earlier episodes in the popular The Conjuring series, which transpired around real-life happenings, “The Nun” is wholly fictional, based on the character of a demon-possessed evil nun, who makes a brief appearance in the film preceding it.

During the round-table discussion at Ex Convento Desierto de los Leones, an old Carmelite convent near Mexico City, film reviewer Sister Rose Pacatte broke the ice, commenting in lighthearted fashion to Corin Hardy, the film’s director, “A lot of nuns are going to be mad at you.”

On a more serious note, she asked Hardy how much research had gone into the film, and whether a theological consultant had been brought in, or if he’d just watched “all the old devil movies.”

Hardy admitted the latter, due to lack of time. “I sort of plunged in when I got the job,” he said, noting that he flew straight to Romania to location to get to work in haste. “We tried to give it as much respect as we could.”

The evil involved was taken seriously, he said, as evidenced by a blessing done by a Romanian priest on site in Transylvania. “He covered it in holy water,” which “seemed to have done the job.”

But Hardy said it’s his role as storyteller, rather than faith, that drives him in his work, admitting that “the real world” scares him much more than any horror film.

Director of #TheNun admits real world scares him more than horror films. -@peacegardenmama Click To Tweet

“I find comfort (in films) for that reason; you can go into a story,” he said, moving through the issues that arise. “The stories I tell have hope in them. It can get dark, but you find your way through it … you come out feeling you can get through it.”

He said he views “The Nun” as a positive film, in that it is “a battle between good and evil.”

The trick, of course, is to be prepared to move through frightening images and episodes to get to that good end — something some can stomach, and others wouldn’t dare.

Main characters Taissa Farmiga (Sister Irene) and Demian Bichir (Father Burke) also took part in the discussion.

Responding to Pacatte’s earlier question, Farmiga said she, too, jumped into her role quickly, and, if time were on her side, she would have loved talking to a real religious sister. Instead, online research and studying actors like Audrey Hepburn in “The Nun’s Story” helped prepare her. In this process, Farmiga said, she learned a lot about “the physicality” of a nun, how “you always have to be watching yourself, and proving yourself for the Lord, struggling to be as perfect as you can be.”

Photo courtesy of Grace Hill Media. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Observing nuns in action through film taught Farmiga nuances such as how they “walk humbly and walk close to the walls,” closing doors quietly and refraining from “engaging in useless conversation …” especially in the abbey. “I wanted to incorporate that,” Farmiga said. “I found that fascinating. I realized what dedication and emotional strength it takes to actively acknowledge your flaws as a human being, and to try to correct yourself.”

Corin Hardy, director of “The Nun,” pulls out his sketchbook in which he’d drawn visuals for the future film while conceiving scenes in his mind, during a round-table discussion with faith-based press at Ex Convento del Desierto de los Leones near Mexico City, Aug. 24, 2018, with heroine Taissa Farmiga (Sister Irene) nearby

In his role as Father Burke, who accompanies Sister Irene to Carta Monastery in Romania at the Vatican’s insistence to investigate the mysterious suicide of one of its nuns, the Oscar-nominated Bichir compared the spiritual quest of conquering evil to that of a solider’s mission.

“When you become a soldier, whether of an army or a soldier of God, you know that the ultimate sacrifice will be your own life,” he said, explaining the courage required of the main characters in “The Nun” in facing down demons. “Once you’re fearless about losing your life for a greater good, you become stronger, more powerful, almost invincible. Then you can fight any demon.”

Photo courtesy of Grace Hill Media. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Bichir acknowledged there are many different kinds of demons. “I’m not a big horror-film fan, but I am like Father Burke in many ways. I also have my own demons, my own fears, my own doubts, my own contradictions,” he said, noting that he tried to apply that to his role. “I think it’s a beautiful journey that Father Burke goes through.”

He said the film is “also a reminder of the time we’re living right now, and a reminder of how important faith is,” and that “if we recover that … we can stand up and fight the demons.”

Hardy said the theme of death, and questioning it, has been something that has entered into his work. It became personal during an earlier film, which happened “around the time my sister’s partner died,” so he was “questioning what death is,” and finds himself still exploring this theme. “There’s a fascination,” he said. His goal, he said later, is to tell a story in a way that will excite people and allow them to “have an experience.”

When asked about their particular faith, both actors and the director seemed hesitant, but at the same time, indicated they wanted to appease their faith-based audience.

Bichir said he believes in miracles — health recoveries that are unexplained by science — and that during the filming, he began to recall time spent with his grandmother, who helped lead him to his “first encounters with religion.” “She taught me how to pray,” he said, which he did every night during the film’s shooting. “I was surprised I remembered everything — I even remembered a few things in Latin,” he said.

He then recounted, at Hardy’s prodding, a dream he’d once had of Pope John Paul II and him in a “huge fight verses the devil,” sharing how they would fight him, then take breaks, “like rounds,” and the devil would taunt him, but he was “never afraid.”

In summing up the redeeming qualities of “The Nun,” Hardy emphasized again his hope to be respectful of faith in it, noting that the film is largely about the contrast between good and evil, and how Sister Irene faces a journey that is “going to make her stronger,” and Father Burke “needs to face his own demons to give himself faith again.”

“You told me, ‘Sister Irene is afraid of the future, and Father Burke is a afraid of the past,’” offered Farmiga, bringing those roles into focus.

“Yes, and then you have this other character, Frenchie, who’s not connected to either of those things, and is just a regular dude,” Hardy said. “Together, they become this trio …”

Photo courtesy of Grace Hill Media. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

A final point in the discussion became: What attracts people to horror films? After a pause, Pacatte said film director Wes Craven once explained it this way: “… because (those who go are) already scared and they want to go there to see a beginning, a middle and an end; they want to know they can control the outcome.”

Farmiga said she feels the attraction to the idea of good versus evil comes from the need we all have to find hope. “I think, at least I hope, that the majority of the world is good and that we can squash the negative, the evil in the world,” adding, “… it ignites that belief and faith that humankind, regardless of our faith and how different we are, in the end good is still present, and it’s something we can all choose together.”

Despite my my own days of being drawn to horror films being now long past, I appreciated the chance to view the film in the company of other faith-based journalists, and talk with these actors and the director. Private discussions among us after viewing the film led to mixed reviews. Some felt the theological holes were too glaring — a novice would not receive final vows in the way Sister Irene does, for instance. I saw it more akin to “baptism by desire,” attributing some of these discrepancies to creative license, which sometimes needs to happen in fictional renderings.

If I can offer one strong word of caution, it would surround the suicide scene at the beginning, which forms the base for the story’s narrative. To those who have experienced the suicides of family members and friends, I would warn against viewing “The Nun” and unnecessarily reliving their grief. To others attracted to this series who want to see it for themselves, I did find the ending spiritually satisfying. But again, viewers will need to brace themselves for disturbing images and portrayals of possession in order reach that.

To find more of my reactions to “The Nun” and my journey to Mexico City to preview it, see my previous piece.

Q4U: What struck you about the director’s or actors’ comments? What question would you ask them if you could?

Copyright 2018 Roxane Salonen

Source link

[jenniferramona1]

Trade Secret Litigation

A trade secret is information that derives actual or potential value from not being known to the public and that is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. A trade secret can consist of formulas, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques, or processes. In fact, protection of trade secrets can cover everything from microchip design to religious practices. Some of the most famous examples of trade secrets include the formula for Coca-Cola and the algorithms behind Google’s search engine. However, information does not need to be famous for it to warrant trade secret protection. In fact, many valuable trade secrets are valuable precisely because the public does not know about them.

Every state allows an owner of a trade secret to seek legal relief when that trade secret has been disclosed or used without authorization. Moreover, nearly every state has adopted a version of the Uniform Trade Secret Act, which was originally published by the Uniform Law Commission in 1979. This act sets forth specific requirements and procedures that are unique to trade secret claims. As Utah attorneys, we’ve handled several of these cases.

Because trade secret cases are a particularized area of intellectual property law, attorneys who deal with trade secrets must be familiar with the procedural and substantive nuances of misappropriation claims. As an example, it is crucial to any misappropriation claim that the plaintiff, at an initial stage of the lawsuit, identifies the information claimed to have been misappropriated with reasonable particularity.

  Prenuptial And Postnuptial Agreement Lawyer

Why Get A Prenup?

The idea of a prenuptial agreement rubs quite a few people the wrong way. “Why get married if you anticipate a potential failure?” they may ask. They may fear that a prenup will become a self-fulfilling prophecy of marital breakdown. Judgments such as these tend to overlook several realities that engaged people should face head-on as they prepare to marry:

About half the marriages in our society end in divorce. Entertaining the notion of a possible divorce someday can be realistic and even prudent.

Many people preparing to marry have financial and family complications to take into consideration: inherited assets, business interests, wide income differentials between spouses or children from previous marriages.

Divorce litigation dealing with division of assets can be very costly.

A prenuptial agreement can serve as a sort of “insurance policy” against potentially nasty legal maneuvers in the event of a marital breakup.

Who Needs A Prenup?

At our law firm, we often see clients who are considering prenuptial agreements falling into one of two categories:

Young people who have special financial circumstances such as gifting by older generations

Older people who have worked their whole lives and have substantial assets

Rest assured that if we help you craft a prenuptial agreement, we will do so fully hoping and expecting that you will never have to use it. On the other hand, we can predict from experience that you and your fiancé or fiancée will find peace of mind in putting down in writing the expectations that you both bring into the marriage with regard to each other’s assets.

Postnuptial agreements, on the other hand, have several common applications; namely:

As tools of reconciliation

As a way to keep business interests of spouses separate

As a way of spelling out how inheritances will be treated

Parental Rights For Unmarried Couples

In today’s society, it is not uncommon for unmarried people to have children together. When these couples split, there is usually not any sort of court order guiding how important decisions regarding the children will be handled.

Resolving Parenting Issues

Our attorneys have extensive experience establishing parental rights for unmarried couples. We work with our clients to obtain a clear understanding of their objectives, and then take the steps necessary to meet those goals. We help our clients obtain court orders that will cover critical parenting issues, including:

Child custody

Visitation

Child support

Medical decisions

Child care

Health care

Education

Religion

Why Paternity Is Important

In Utah, before custody or any other parental rights are given to a child’s father, paternity must be established. Paternity determines who is the legal father of a child. Many fathers are unaware that having their name on a child’s birth certificate is not enough to establish paternity.

Paternity is important because it not only gives the child’s father legal rights and responsibilities, but it also offers protections for the child. Once paternity is established, a child may be put on his or her father’s health insurance plan and is entitled to receive benefits, such as Social Security or veterans benefits. The child also has inheritance rights in the event that the father passes away.

Paternity is also important for the unmarried mother because it entitles her to receive child support from the child’s father.

Establishing Paternity

Paternity can be established in one of the three ways:

Voluntary Declaration of Paternity (VDP) — This is a legal acknowledgement of paternity that is often signed by the parents along with the birth certificate when the child is born.

Administrative Paternity Order — Paternity can also be established administratively through the Office of Recovery Services if a parent applies for child support and paternity is proven.

Judicial paternity — This is the most powerful way of establishing paternity because it is the form of paternity that enables the ORS to set up or enforce custody or parenting time arrangements with the child. To obtain a judicial order of paternity, either parent or both parents have the right to petition to court, establishing paternity.

As soon as paternity has been established, the unmarried parents will stand in the same position as divorcing couples.

Free Initial Consultation with Lawyer

It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Legal problems come to everyone. Whether it’s your son who gets in a car wreck, your uncle who loses his job and needs to file for bankruptcy, your sister’s brother who’s getting divorced, or a grandparent that passes away without a will -all of us have legal issues and questions that arise. So when you have a law question, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you!

Ascent Law LLC8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite CWest Jordan, Utah 84088 United StatesTelephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Business Lawyers

Protecting Assets from Divorce

Letters of Administration

LLC Tax Treatment

What to do if You’ve Purchased Recalled Food

Is it time to Modify Alimony?

from Michael Anderson http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/trade-secret-litigation/

from Utah Bankruptcy Law https://utahbankruptcylaw.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/trade-secret-litigation/