#i have... a lot of these types of shots hanging around lolololol

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | mountains and skies 2/?

[thenotsosecretdiaryofbiyu]

2024年8月5日-- Calligraphy at National University of Tainan, Archery at Ten Drums, Performance, and Night Market

Today was a big day– we moved to Tainan! Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away, only about an hour. So, it was no time until we began our first activity of the day– Calligraphy at the National University of Tainan! We were very fortunate to have had the wonderful opportunity to have Yeh Laoshi (different Yeh Laoshi, this one is a man) teach us how to do some calligraphy!!! He showed us the basics, and then let us practice some on our own on some practice paper, before letting us do some calligraphy on our own paper 團扇 (round fans)! Super funny thing though, is that he was going around complimenting everyone, but I didn't get a single compliment on mine LOL. At one point he even came over, showed me how to properly write the characters using the brush, and told me my technique was all wrong LOLOLOLOL. Mine definitely didn't turn out the greatest, but I did the best I could do, and that's okay. Everyone at the university was super welcoming, and we even got to meet another professor who worked in the calligraphy department, and the president of the university herself (who sat in to do calligraphy with us)!!!

Funny anecdote is that the classical Chinese radical for "heart/心" looks strikingly similar to certain types of doodles. A lot of people in the class were giggling when he drew it, and he stopped and explained that it was NOT that, while making an "x" with his arms. But even he noticed the resemblance, and started laughing when he demonstrated how to draw it again on the overheard XD. After we drew on the calligraphy (I chose the Chinese word for "eternity"), he helped us put traditional stamps onto our fans! Then after our fans were completed, the university provided us lunch! It was a tasty bento box and lightly sweetened black tea! There were three different kinds of meat for the omnivores and veggie bentos for us veggies! There was also a bit of a giveaway, where the first person to raise their hand and say the question correctly got to pick a hand-painted fan by Yeh Laoshi or the other professor with us (sorry, I don't remember her name)! I didn't win either of them though, Eli and Jasmine got them because of how fast they were smh. But Yeh Laoshi sent us home with beautiful hand-painted red magnets that he wrote on himself with the character "福" on it!

Scary tidbit is that the college walls had bullet holes from the Second World War. 

After we said our goodbyes, we got on the bus and went to a sugar cane museum (an old factory) named Ten Drums! We went to watch a performance, but before the show we had a few minutes, so I used the bathroom. By the time I got out, everyone else was gone except Yeh Laoshi and Chief, so I followed them over to the archer field! It was my first time ever using a bow, so I was super pathetic at it, but Chief explained how to use it and I got the hang of it and shot an 8 pointer! My beginner's luck lasted for a bit, but eventually I started missing the shots again lol. But it was also Yeh Laoshi's first time too, so she wasn't much better than me hehe. I think I actually ended up winning? But ehh, it doesn't really count imo.

After our quick round, we rejoined with the others to watch a performance by Cross Metal! They were really good, except omg they were a bit dramatic, to put it lightly LOL. So many times they made very dramatic faces and poses, it’s just hard to explain. They were definitely good though, and afterwards we were able to all take a picture with them! Andy tried to stir up trouble though and told them that "we" (as in only the girls) thought they were all attractive. I wanted to smack him so much (but I restrained myself).

Afterwards, Yeh Laoshi, Chief, Amy, and I went to go play some drums! We made a few mistakes, but the teacher was kind and didn’t acknowledge them, and there were only like six of us altogether in the lesson, so it was just a relaxed, good time! After the drums, Chief and Yeh Laoshi went on their own way, while Amy and I met up with some of the others to walk around a bit.

After leaving Ten Drums, we finally made our way over to our new hotel! It's really nice and fortunately (or unfortunately for my wallet), there's a stationery store right next door! I went in because I really wanted to get some letter paper and some calligraphy materials, and although I ended up getting the letter paper, I accidentally bought some useless stuff that ended up NOT being calligraphy stuff whatsoever (I bought a pen I thought was calligraphy, when it was more akin to a regular pen smhhhh and I bought a little book that ended up not being a book for calligraphy but just a regular notebook styled after calligraphy AHHHH).

I distracted myself from the pain of my mistakes by going to the night market to get some din-din (dinner) with my buddies! I got some roasted corn, two slabs of tofu, and a milk tea! All super tasty! I also got these mini pancake sandwiches (a chocolate, red bean, and butter one) and they were not that good… but that's okay. I got home and then I've been typing away ever since!

Academic Reflection

I had no idea whatsoever that the folded fan (折扇) was actually originally from Japan, and not China! Usually most things like this travel the other way around, with cultural aspects/literature/clothing styles originating in China before being spread to other places like Korea and Japan. This happened with the writing system, which was widely used in Korea and Japan. Korea however, had one of its rulers create a new alphabet for the country, but Japan still uses very many Chinese characters in its modern script (just sometimes with different meanings and of course different pronunciations, etc.). It is my understanding that Japanese traditional dress (i.e. the "Kimono") actually has origins in Chinese culture from the Wu Dynasty. Many other things are this way too, such as the Lunar New Year, which appears to have originated in China during the Shang Dynasty about 4000 years ago. This holiday is now celebrated in many different parts of East Asia.

Scary note is that when I was leaving, a jet soared close to the ground above the National University of Tainan. I was explaining to Amy that a certain government (that is very close by and has tense relationships with the country we are currently in) recently has been sending fighter jets to soar through Taiwan to scare the population, when one of the professors who escorted us out explained to us that the one we just saw was Taiwan's. She explained that Taiwan has been sending out jets of its own to fly around the island a few times each day, to help show that Taiwan wasn't scared of the threat.

#calligraphyiscoolbutthestationerystoreisgatekeepingmydreams

[serenagaywaterford]

was I the only one who thought tuello was going to mention the 2x10 rape and not the nick thing when he arrested serena??? like, obviously I understand the thing with nick was rape regardless, but she did ask them both and june would've ended up in the colonies had she not gotten pregnant while the 2x10 rape doesn't really have any sustainable justification behind it. I don't see "I was in a mood and wanted the baby to come faster" working in court (1/2)

and I guess you can argue there's no way to prove that that rape happened, but serena got arrested before any paternal test was done so it seems as if fred's word is enough?? I guess they can get the test done later and confirm it, but I don't know, I feel like there's a way out of this for serena whilst I don't think there would've been a way out if they had proof of what happened in 2x10. I just find this flimsy. (2/2)

---

No, you weren’t! I honestly... I thought it was going to be about her actual war crimes, like her blatant terrorism against the US, conspiracy to blow up state capitols, and overthrowing a democratic government via war. But hey, that’s too easy lol. Like, why on earth Fred wouldn’t turn her in for THAT, which are HUGE crimes that the ICC/Americans/etc would actually be interested in is beyond me. Oh wait, no it’s not, cos this is The Handmaid’s Tale and they don’t know shit about law or politics, or at this point common fucking sense. It’s a soap opera now.

I’m just so irritated by that whole “Let’s arrest Serena for rape!” concept because it’s entirely based on a) an individual and singular crime against a single person on foreign (sovereign) soil; not a war crime (so why the ICC would have ANYTHING to do with it is beyond me) and b) FRED WATERFORD’S WORD. Because suddenly they believe everything an admitted war criminal is saying against the woman who literally turned him in???? No, nothing suspect about that at all.

(The American government may have an interest because they do get involved in individual crimes against Americans on foreign soil. But then it gets into whether June is still an American, legally. And whether Serena is. Which is super confusing and murky. I’d say June is, and Serena likely isn’t since she probably renounced her US citizenship, but I’m also not a legal scholar or lawyer. And whether the international community even considers Gilead its own country, or just some type of military occupation on American soil. SO COMPLICATED. This is why the show should have just stayed away from all of this trash.)

I mean, we know Fred’s not lying about what happened to June then but the fact Tuello & Co. just take his word at face value with NO corroboration is absolutely fucking mental. 

Not to mention, how the FUCK does Fred even know about that? All he knows is that June got pregnant with Nick’s baby. Was he secretly listening the entire time to everything Serena has said? Cos, let’s take a step back for a second and think rationally about how the hell Fred would have access to that information lol. Serena, from what we saw, was incredibly discreet about setting it up. Was Fred actually lurking in her bushes when she talked to June about it? Was he around when Serena supposedly spoke to Nick about it? (We don’t know where that was but probably either in Nick’s apartment or in the car.) So, does Fred actually have the whole house bugged? LOLOLOLOL. Even if he saw Serena bringing June out to Nick’s apartment, he has no idea what anybody’s thoughts or feelings were about that. Serena and June could have easily been in on it together, and there was no rape involved at all! He doesn’t know that. Did he sneak up to Nick’s second floor window and watch how fucking WEIRD that whole thing was? LMAO.

To me, the fact Fred knows all that is a fucking big plot hole. He didn’t before. But suddenly he knows Serena set up Offred’s rape by Nick? Did she tell him that? Cos that would be insane of Serena to do and completely OOC. All Serena’s said is that “HA HA! The baby isn’t yours, you manky chode!”

Anyway...

To be frank, I have a post--quite a long one--sitting in my drafts about how incredibly asinine and unrealistic that charge against Serena is as a “war crime”, not to mention how weak it is just from a legal standpoint, even if we would take it as a regular rape charge. (She would literally never be found guilty, lbr. There is no solid legal basis for it (there is a flimsy one) and when you consider her defense--which is way more solid than the charge--the chances of anybody ever prosecuting her for that, let alone convicting her, are so incredibly thin, even if it was just as a regular rape crime, not a war crime.) She’d be more likely charged with something like sex trafficking or procuring (prostitution) or coercion or accessory to rape and/or conspiracy to rape. (And she’s clearly guilty of those things). Not the rape itself. It’s so! fucking! stupid! Sex trafficking would be SO much more solid of a charge cos essentially that is what she did...

She didn’t rape June in that instance much more than she murdered those kids Fred shot in the woods. She’s a shitty fucking person for putting that idea in his head, and basically saying, “Go do this for me, you pathetic little man” but she didn’t actually say the words, nor did she commit the actual crime herself. (Heyyyyaaa Lady Macbeth!) Both Fred and Nick were acting of their own free will. 

(Honestly, I will go on forever about how Nick is NOT some innocent, helpless creature. He’s a MAN (aka automatic superiority over any woman), and an EYE (AN EYE, YOU GUYS!!!! The most elite of the Gilead intelligence forces!!!), and to refuse Serena’s request would be EXPLICITLY FOLLOWING THE LAWS OF GILEAD and there is NO WAY he would ever, ever be punished by Gilead for that lmao--for following the law. If he reported Serena to Fred or even Pryce, Serena would be fucking punished--probably with death or Colonies (which is just prolonged death). And he’d have June’s supporting testimony too! What part of this misogynistic fascist state are you people missing? A lowly woman trying to make a man break the law and defile another man’s property?! HAHAHAHA. As if they’d take Serena’s side. Nick is a fucking Eye. There are instances where they do take a woman’s side, like with Janine’s random accusation--but significantly: Warren was BREAKING the law, not upholding it as Nick refusing to rape Offred and turning Serena in would have been following the law. To me, it never ever made sense that the men would just turn on their own like that over a literally mentally-ill Handmaid’s suicidal admission. I think, when it comes down to it, Naomi’s contribution made it “two witnesses” to the crime. Like, if you look at most religious texts or cult texts, they generally require more than just the victim. Some require at least 2, some 3 individuals. So for Gilead to require nothing but victim outcry is bonkers and not consistent with the type of society they claim they’ve built in the series. BUT ANYWAY, that’s a big digression...

Like miss me with that complete utter rape-apologist bullshit. He literally took advantage of the situation to put his dick inside a woman who did not essentially consent to it in that particular situation. Or, if you’re going to argue she did cos she wuvs Nick and wanted to anyway, then your case against Serena falls apart too.)

The only thing I don’t see as being up for debate is that June was raped. That’s it. That is clear and certain. It’s fact. June was raped in that apartment. (She’s raped a lot, obviously, but this was also rape. Nothing else.)

And the creepy part is by doing that she actually did save June’s life. Which is all shades of massively fucked up, and probably not her intention, but here we are. And it seems to be a big part of why June went along with the plan. If Serena hadn’t set up a rapey fuck session for Nick (which he LITERALLY COULD HAVE SAID NO TO AT ANY TIME WITH ZERO CONSEQUENCES and they could have fucked completely consentually another time), June never would have started sleeping with Nick (they had almost 2 years and never made a move on each other lbr), never would have become pregnant, and in a few months would have been sent off to the Colonies to rot. Serena is just going around saving June’s life and not even trying to lmao. Stupid gross idiot. Yes, June agreed under threat of death otherwise. So, that is NOT consent in any universe. If you must do it for survival, it’s rape. If you’re gonna die or agree to sex, that’s rape. Would she have agreed to get raped by Nick if the threat of the Colonies was not hanging over her head? No. Probably not. And Serena used that for her own ends. There is no way Serena is not a shitty criminal person for what she set up. But it’s also not a fucking crime against humanity, by definition.

So, anyway, without going into all the complexities and bullshit about Nick’s role any further, Serena’s role, etc in all this, it’s just absolutely motherfucking insane that any international law enforcement agency would charge Serena with THAT based on the word of a scorned husband who is also a massive rapist, liar, abuser, and war criminal himself. Like, give me a fucking break already.

And... I’m not gonna lie... if this was even remotely based on history/reality, they would turn a blind eye to anything Serena has done, especially if it was on such a small scale as one instance of sex trafficking. Sounds terrible to put it that way, but that is how these things roll. She’s a small little fish, comparatively. In the grand scheme of things, she’s FAR more valuable as a witness/asset against the Big Fish (Fred) and as a tool for their anti-Gileadean use. Unless they had significant evidence about ALL her crimes. She’s so much more useful as someone who has direct experience and witness to the entire rise of Gilead, including all the massive fucking terrorist crimes against an entire government and mass murders, that Fred et al. committed. To go after Serena so soon is just kneecapping their own damn case against Fred/Gilead lmao.

[This is where the rumours about Rita come in, but here’s the thing, Serena was already granted immunity for what she did under the guise of being a “Wife”. And seriously, what does Rita really know anyway? Serena’s smacked some people around. She’s locked June in her room. She makes June cry and drink gross smoothies. She helps with the Ceremony. She--with the entire system--forced surrogacy and basically kidnapped a baby. Those things, from what I can tell, are perfectly legal in Gilead for a Wife to do, just like it’s perfectly legal for Fred to whip the shit out of Serena--and Serena has been granted immunity for that shit (which is sorta funny in a way cos she basically used the Nuremberg defense, but it’s layered because she was actually a victim of Gilead too. Tricky shit). 

Now, that 2x10 rape is pretty fucking awful (and likely NOT Gilead-legal) and I’m almost certain Rita would have known about that in some way--but she also wasn’t a direct witness. But maybe she doesn’t? It would be fucking stupid of the Waterfords to be like, “Hurr durr let’s illegally pregnancy rape the Handmaid with a Martha an/or Guardian around even tho it comes with a punishment of DEATH!” But I suppose they are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed either... 

Maybe she knows about the Rapey Sex Date Serena set up for Nick, maybe not, also not a witness to it. We can make assumptions about what Rita knows and doesn’t know, but also... like, none of that matters? (Yet.) Those are just regular fucking crimes on foreign soil and the American and Canadian governments have no jurisdiction to prosecuting them. War crimes require different criteria and Serena smacking Rita in the face isn’t a war crime. It’s shitty assault, but not something any international body would EVER go after.]

Anyway, the show is stupid af for suggesting they’d go after Serena for that singular instance of rape as a war crime. Crimes against humanity--of which YES sexual slavery (sex trafficking in this way) is--require widespread and/or systematic implementation. Serena was NOT going around making all Guardians rape Handmaids for her to get a baby. (Gilead however, and FRED WATERFORD specifically, were directly responsible for the SYSTEM of massive sexual slavery that they created AND maintained. Serena didn’t even come up with the Handmaid idea--THAT WAS THE MEN IN THAT DAMN CAR (Hi Nick, you were there too!).) 

Like... ugh. Stick with what you know, THT. Cos clearly it isn’t anything remotely in the legal realm.

But hey, they had to make up some way to either put Serena on trial for an entire season (YAWNNNNN), or send her back to Gilead. If it’s for the latter reason, and it means we’ll revisit the June/Serena dynamic as the core component of the show, then I’ll let it slide but if it’s to set up the Miller Wet Dream Trial Season and keep Fred/Serena forced together, then I’m livid.

Not that I should care at all considering how many times I’ve said I’m not even watching it anymore, heh.