#sima 8 da

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

funniest shit i learned this week: absolutely obsessed about the way daddy sima fang vs daddy sun jian named their sons + the hypothetical relationships they had.

lets look at Sun Jian: He was born to a peasant father whos name was never even recorded in history, but he had high hopes for his sons and he named them accordingly:

Sun Ce, styled Bofu -- Ce means "strategy," Fu is a type of military token used to prove that a command has legitimate authority. very ironic the son named "strategy" is the hothead who rushes into things. Sun Quan, styled Zhongmou -- Quan means "right" e.g. "the right to rule", Mou means also strategy. this time it's appropriate, at least! Sun Yi, styled Shubi -- Yi means "to assist," Bi also means..."assist" I guess daddy was trying to get the message across "hey champ. ur like the 3rd son ur NEVER going to inherit. so just be good and help ur bros, ok?" Sun Kuang, styled Jizuo--Kuang means "to revive" as in "to revive the han dynasty." Zuo............also means "assist." (OK DAD. I GET THE MESSAGE. GOD.)

MOVING ON! this is the 8 brothers of the sima clan. notice anything?

ALL their courtesy names ended in Da. No it wasn't common for the time. Their contemporaries were straight up roasting them for it, calling them the "Sima-Eight-Da" it gets better. you see the courtesy names Bo, Zhong, Shu ect? they're used to denote birth order going from eldest-> youngest. this is the fucking equivalent of naming your kids One Two Three Four Five... + tacking on a Da at the end. (Da means achieve/reach btw) im losing my fucking mind over the implications. Sun Jian the barely-educated, peasant-born, Mr "talk softly and carry a HUGE sword," is spending 7 hours a day on babynames.com in between kicking dong zhuo's ass, obsessing over each letter like a 13yo creating their first OC, being all "my precious baby boys are destined for greatness and they need the COOLEST names and COURTESY names to match." and sima fang is like [Ctr+ C] [Ctr + P], and in the end it's HIS ugly kid that ends up unifying china.

[asianwhumpgalore]

Secret of Three Kingdoms (三国机密) | Cdrama | Whump List

Genre: Historical, Romance, Drama, Political, War

Synopsis: The last hope of the crumbling Han Dynasty bears an unspeakable secret with the power to destroy the imperial rule it seeks to save during the turbulent Three Kingdoms era, tied to a cold case related to the unsolved murder of a young man from the countryside.

Length: 54 eps

Whump meter: ▲◭△△△  Whumpy Things: Bro whump, sensitive whumpee

✨ Absolutely fascinating drama with great lead couple, omg. There was unfortunately not as much whump as I would have liked but there's a substantial bit of emotional whump and plenty angst✨

⚠️Trigger Content: Violence, mild gore, s**cide (explicitly shown and talked about frequently by a lead character), usual historical cdrama CWs (most triggering eps at the bottom) ⚠️⚠️Some SPOILERS will be found, proceed with caution⚠️⚠️

Whumpee: Liu Xie / Liu Ping portrayed by Ma Tian Yu

Ep 1 | Concern for loved one, teary eyed, labored breathing | stepped on, winces x2 | In shock.

Ep 2 | In shock, crying | Caught in a fire, saved, weak, comforted, concern for him.

Ep 3 | None.

Ep 4 | [04:35] Struggling to hold someone back, bitten in the arm, in pain, teary eyed, bite mark visible on his arm | [16:17] Wound turned red, arm wrapped up.

Ep 5 | Scolded, concern for loved one, yelled at | [36:20] Concern for loved one, scolded, grabbed by his clothes and pushed against the wall, scolded, yelled at, crying, begging to save loved one.

Ep 6-8 | Distressed, crying, scolded. He cries a lot. (ep 8 - Angry)

Ep 9 | [07:25] Mourning death of loved one, on his knees, crying, angry | [18:55] Guilty, has a breakdown, crying | Slapped.

Ep 10 | None.

Ep 11 | Teary eyed | Yelled at.

Ep 12-20 | None.

Ep 21 | Fought. Restrained, sword held to his neck. Imprisoned.

Ep 22-23 | None.

Ep 24 | Arrested, bound to cross, hit with an arrow a bunch (semi-comedic), dragged away.

Ep 25-27 | None.

Ep 28 | Imprisoned, chained | Weak due to being starved, pale, wrists injured from the chains, struggling to walk | Made to kneel.

Ep 29 | Brief injury reveal, concern for him.

Ep 30-31 | None.

Ep 32 | Slapped x2, emotional.

Ep 33-37 | None.

Ep 38-40 | Emotional, crying.

Ep 41 | Fought in a war | Scolded, slapped, emotional, crying.

Ep 42-44 | None.

Ep 45 | [23:50] Teary eyed | Made to watch his brother be tortured unable to do anything to save him, tearing up.

Ep 46 | Emotional, tearing up.

Ep 47 | None.

Ep 48 | Witnesses loved one die, crying | Emotional, crying x2 | Crying, grabs sword by the blade, bleeding, blood covered hand.

Ep 49-51 | Emotional, crying. Witnesses the death of a loved one (Ep 50).

Ep 52-54 | None.

Whumpee: Sima Yi (Zhong Da) portrayed by Elvis Han

Ep 1 | Told loved one died, teary eyed.

Ep 2-10 | Threatened with a sword held to his neck a couple of times (ep 3, 5, 8).

Ep 11 | [26:26] Throws himself in front of someone to protect them from an attack, stabbed in the shoulder, on the ground, yelps, helped sit up, clutching wound, winces.

Ep 12 | No appearance.

Ep 13 | Recovering from injury, being fed medicine, heavy breathing, pale, moves but is stopped by a sudden pain, clutches chest, coughing, struggles to get up and dressed, labored breathing, winces, groans.

Ep 14 | Sudden pain from previous wound.

Ep 15 | [13:28] Knife thrown at him and stabs him in the leg (off-screen), screams, concern for him, clutching leg, in pain, knife suddenly pulled out, cries out, bandaged up, winces, helped to stand, winces again, helped to walk, limping, winces, labored breathing | Wakes up, winces.

Ep 16 | Using a crutch to walk, struggles to kneel, struggles to get back up | Threatened with a sword.

Ep 17 | Wound touched, cries out in pain, groaning | Helped to walk, limping | Kicked on his wounded leg, crying out in pain, helped to walk. In pain.

Ep 18 | No appearance.

Ep 19-20 | None.

Ep 21 | Restrained, arrested. Bound to cross. Arrested again.

Ep 22 | Imprisoned.

Ep 23-27 | None.

Ep 28 | Fought, kicked to the ground and falls unconscious.

Ep 29-30 | None.

Ep 31 | Emotional, concerned for loved one.

Ep 32-33| None.

Ep 34 | Fought, knocked down, saved.

Ep 35 | Stabbed in the abdomen, falls to the ground, concern for him, passes out | In bed, concern for him, weak | In a wheelchair (pretending) | Recieving acupuncture as a form of torture disguised as treatment, in pain.

Ep 36-41 | None.

Ep 42 | Arrested. In prison.

Ep 43-44 | None.

Ep 45 | [23:50] Arrested | Tied to cross, interrogated, hot iron tool pressed onto his chest, groaning in agony, screaming, sweating, iron removed to reveal burn, threatened with another, saved, wound pressed, groaning.

Ep 46 | Imprisoned, curled up on the floor, pale, weak, wound visible on his chest.

Ep 47 | None.

Ep 48 | Told loved one died, crying, mourning.

Ep 49-50 | None.

Ep 51 | Stabbed in the shoulder with the tip of a sword, winces, sweating, clutching wound.

Ep 52 | Punched, bloody lip, coughing.

Ep 53-54 | None.

Whumpee: Cao Pi portrayed by Tan Jian Ci

Ep 1-4 | No appearance.

Ep 5-7 | None.

Ep 8 | Fought | Labored breathing, sweating, blood on his face.

Ep 9 | None.

Ep 10 | Crying, angry | Made to kneel to receive punishment, beaten repeatedly with a rod, scolded, concern for him, saved.

Ep 11 | [14:00] Held hostage with a sword to his throat, sword pressed to his neck, bleeding, kicked onto the ground, slashed in the neck, falls to the ground, concern for him, bleeding a lot, spasming, wound treated hastily, unconscious, neck bandaged | Carried away, still unconscious.

Ep 12 | [41:15] Lying in bed, struggling to sit up, raspy voice and struggling to talk, weak, pale, blood staining the bandage around his neck, grunts, struggles to lie back down.

Ep 13 | Asleep in bed, weak, barely moving, raspy voice, struggles to sit up.

Ep 14-15 | No appearance.

Ep 16 | Still bed-ridden, weak, pale.

Ep 17-18 | No appearance.

Scar visible on his neck from this point onwards.

Ep 19-20 | None.

Ep 21 | Fought, kicked in the chest, kneed in the head, falls onto the ground, unconscious | Imprisoned, still unconscious. Stirs awake, coughing, clutching head, struggling to get up, weak, groaning.

Ep 22 | Arrested (off-screen). Bound, swords held to his neck, made to kneel, grabbed by the collar, shoved, saved.

Ep 23 | None.

Ep 24 | Punched, clutching jaw, bloody lip, restrained, arrested. Bound to cross.

Ep 25 | Still bound, lip bruised.

Ep 26 | None.

Ep 27 | Swords held to his neck, restrained, arrested. | Slapped x3, stumbles | Bruise visible on his cheek, bound to cross, whipped in the chest x3, groaning, labored breathing, knife held to his neck, teary eyed. | Saved, collapses onto saviour, weak, helped to walk.

Ep 28 | Fought.

Ep 29 | None.

Ep 30 | Bound, kicked in the back of the knee and falls onto his knees. In shock, emotional |Fought, defeated, on the ground, bruise on his cheek, sword held to his neck.

Ep 31 | Unconscious on the ground, stirring awake, clutching head, groaning.

Ep 32 | Emotional, crying, slapped.

Ep 33-34 | None.

Ep 35 | In pain after kneeling for very long.

Ep 36 | Sword held to his neck.

Ep 37 | Made himself bleed from the finger.

Ep 38 | Emotional, accidentally(?) cuts his hand with his blade.

Ep 39-46 | None.

Ep 47 | Fought, special move™ performed against his chest knocking him back, kicked on the shoulder, falls onto the floor, unconscious, concern for him.

Ep 48 | Recovering in bed, unconscious, pale, emotional, crying.

Ep 49 | Digs until his hands bleed.

Ep 50 | None

Ep 51 | Stops blade with hand, bleeding. Hand bandaged.

Ep 52-53 | None.

Ep 54 | Hit with an object. Bleeding from the mouth. Teary eyed | Emotional, crying, bleeding from the mouth again, spits blood.

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

Eps to watch out for violence, gore & s**cide:

Ep 1: Slight gore. Ep 17: Mild gore, s*icide (pretty graphic). Ep 28: Mild gore [33:12 - 33:30] Ep 38: Bloody death (beginning)

[yeonchi]

Dynasty Warriors Online Weapon Moveset Counterpart Digest

During the years that Dynasty Warriors Online was in service, many weapons have been made available for players to choose from. The game started off with weapons from Dynasty Warriors 5 before later adding in weapons from 7, 8 and even 9 along with Warriors Orochi 2 and Samurai Warriors 3. Original weapons exclusive to the game have also been made available as well.

The list begins after the break. Please notes that the names for some weapons, particularly in later games, may be different to the names in the game that the movesets were taken from.

Crescent Blade 偃月刀 - Guan Yu (DW5)

Great Axe 大斧 - Xu Huang (DW5)

Great Club 砕棒 - Xu Zhu (DW5)

Iron Rod 鉄鞭 - Huang Gai (DW5)

Scimitar 朴刀 - Xiahou Dun (DW5)

Pirate Sword 甲刀 - Gan Ning (DW5)

Battle Rod 砕棍 - Xiahou Yuan (DW5)

Twin Rods 双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW5)

War Axe 戦斧 - Dian Wei (DW5)

Twin Picks 双戟 - Pang De (DW5)

Twin Sabers 双剣 - Lu Xun (DW5)

Twin Maces 双錘 - Diaochan (DW5)

Bronze Spear 直槍 - Zhao Yun (DW5)

Cudgel 長棍 - Original (DWO)

Twin Fans 桜扇 - Daqiao (DW5)

Strategist Fan 燕扇 - Sima Yi (DW5)

Vision Staff 幻杖 - Pang Tong (DW5)

Sorcerer's Staff 妖杖 - Zhang Jiao (DW5)

Iron Claw 鉄鈎 - Zhang He (DW5)

Nanman Gauntlets 蛮拳 - Meng Huo (DW5)

Iron Sword 鉄剣 - Zhou Yu (DW5)

Tyrant Sword 獄刀 - Dong Zhuo (DW5)

Battle Shield 戦盤 - Original (DWO)

Whip 多節鞭 - Original (DWO)

Curved Voulge 長双刀 - Wei Yan (DW5)

Pole Blade 鉤鎌刀 - Zhang Liao (DW5)

Noble Sword 宝剣 - Yuan Shao (DW5)

Iron Spear 鉄槍 - Ma Chao (DW5)

Wood Nunchaku 両節棍 - Ling Tong (DW5)

Chakram 夏圏 - Sun Shangxiang (DW5)

Bronze Pike 鉄矛 - Zhang Fei (DW5)

Iron Blade 斬馬刀 - Guan Ping (DW5)

Feather Fan 羽扇 - Zhuge Liang (DW5)

Boomerang 投弧刃 - Zhurong (DW5)

Wolf Sword 積刃剣 - Sun Quan (DW5)

Broad Sword 将剣 - Cao Cao (DW5)

Eastern Sword 弧刀 - Zhou Tai (DW5)

Tonfa 旋棍 - Sun Ce (DW5)

Buckler Blade 牙壁 - Cao Ren (DW5)

War Blade 盤刀 - Huang Zhong (DW5)

Dagger Axe 戦戈 - Yueying (DW5)

Flute 鉄笛 - Zhenji (DW5)

Twin Blades 双刃剣 - Cao Pi (DW5)

Apex Blade 尖剣 - Liu Bei (DW5)

Cursed Deck 呪符 - Zuo Ci (DW5)

Trident 三尖槍 - Jiang Wei (DW5)

Long Fork 叉突矛 - Xingcai (DW5)

Glaive 断戟 - Lu Meng (DW5)

Halberd 鉄戟 - Lu Bu (DW5)

Nodachi 野太刀 - Ranmaru Mori (SW3)

Horned Blade 麟角刀 - Original (DWO)

Jamadhar 穿刃 - Original (DWO)

Greatsword 巨剣 - Fu Xi (WO2)

Light Sword 細剣 - Nuwa (WO2)

Fang Sword 牙剣 - Sun Jian (DW5)

Double Fans 桃扇 - Xiaoqiao (DW5)

Fanged Club 狼牙棒 - Original (DWO)

Snake Sword 蛇剣 - Original (DWO)

Ogre's Fist 重手甲 - Original (DWO)

Dragon Barbs 龍牙鈎 - Original (DWO)

Marbles 堕落 - Da Ji (WO)

Throwing Knives 鏢 - Wang Yuanji (DW7)

Crimson Flute 紅蓮笛 - Zhenji (DW7)

Blue Dragon Sword 青龍刀 - Sima Zhao (DW7)

Lance 螺旋槍 - Deng Ai (DW7)

Thunder Spear 雷鳴槍 - Jiang Wei (DW7)

Wheels 火焔圏 - Sun Shangxiang (DW7)

Flying Swords 飛翔剣 - Zhong Hui (DW7)

Dragon Fan 龍扇 - Zhuge Liang (DW7)

Twin Axes 双鉞 - Zhang Liao (DW7)

Red Dragon Sword 紅龍刀 - Sun Quan (DW7)

Long Bow 長弓 - Huang Zhong (DW7)

Splendid Claws 飛麗爪 - Zhang He (DW7)

Heavy Axe 大鉞 - Xu Huang (DW7E)

Orb & Scepter 打球棍 - Guo Jia (DW7XL)

Twin Dragon Swords 双龍剣 - Liu Bei (DW7)

Striking Rods 打双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW7)

Whirling Tonfa 旋撃棍 - Sun Ce (DW7)

Qilin Fang 麒麟刀 - Xiahou Dun (DW7XL)

Sword & Hook 撃剣 - Xu Shu (DW7E)

Chain Whip 月香鞭 - Diaochan (DW7)

Sky Piercer 方天戟 - Lu Bu (DW7)

Arm Blade 鉄舟 - Huang Gai (DW7E)

Pugil Sticks 双杖 - Daqiao (DW7E)

Iron Fan 鉄扇 - Xiaoqiao (DW7)

Waving Nunchaku 波闘棍 - Guan Suo (DW7)

Spinner 旋刃盤 - Bao Sanniang (DW7)

Rapier 刺剣 - Liu Shan (DW7)

Short Halberd 短戟 - Han Dang (DW8)

Long Blade 長刀 - Guan Yu (DW7XL)

Trishula 筆架叉 - Wang Yi (DW7XL)

Shaman Staff 錫杖 - Zhang Jiao (DW7)

Circle Blade 断月刃 - Ding Feng (DW7E)

Curved Blade 打刀 - Zhou Tai (DW7)

Lightning Sword 迅雷剣 - Sima Shi (DW7E)

Arm Cannon 連弩砲 - Guo Huai (DW8)

Pulverizing Club 潰棒 - Xu Zhu (DW8)

Dragon Spear 龍槍 - Zhao Yun (DW7XL)

Hand Axe 手斧 - Dian Wei (DW8)

Talisman Cards 導符 - Zuo Ci (DW8)

Flying Boomerang 飛刀 - Zhurong (DW8)

Great Iron Blade 大剣 - Guan Ping (DW8)

Dual Blade 双斬剣 - Cao Pi (DW8)

Crossed Pike 十字戟 - Lu Lingqi (DW8XL)

Double Trident 両刃槍 - Jiang Wei (DW8)

Bladebow 刃弩 - Yueying (DW8E)

Dagger 匕首 - Original (DWO)

Bow & Rod 鞭箭弓 - Xiahou Yuan (DW8)

Dual Hookblades 双鉤 - Yue Jin (DW8)

Twin Pistols 双短銃 - Original (DWO)

Battle Ge 闘戈 - Yueying (DW8)

Great Sickle 大鍘刀 - Zhou Cang (DW9)

Broad Axe 長鉞 - Xin Xianying (DW9)

Extension Blade 伸細剣 - Yuan Shao (DW9)

Nine Rings Blade 九環刀 - Sun Jian (DW9)

Winged Fan 翼扇 - Sima Yi (DW9)

Master Voulge 眉尖刀 - Wei Yan (DW9)

Battle Staff 闘棍 - Zhou Yu (DW9)

Piercing Spear 貫薙槍 - Ma Chao (DW9)

Swallow Swords 飛燕剣 - Lu Xun (DW9)

War Trident 三尖刀 - Yu Jin (DW9)

Ballistic Spear 射刃槍 - Man Chong (DW9)

Rake 九歯鈀 - Lu Su (DW9)

Sword & Shield 盾牌剣 - Xingcai (DW9)

Framed Halberd 画戟 - Lu Bu (DW9)

Mandarin Duck Hooks 鴛鴦鉞 - Lianshi (DW9)

Jeweled Pike 宝戟 - Lu Meng (DW9)

Striking Sword 烈撃刀 - Sima Zhao (DW9)

Falcon Axes 隼双鉞 - Ma Dai (DW9)

Emei Piercers 峨嵋刺 - Wang Yi (DW9)

Shadow Fan 翳扇 - Pang Tong (DW9)

Battle Gloves 眷手甲 - Meng Huo (DW9)

Flaming Sword 焔刃剣 - Sun Quan (DW9)

Chaos Rods 壊双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW9)

Sky Splitter 裂空刀 - Guan Ping (DW9)

Crescent Edge 月牙鏟 - Li Dian (DW9)

Studded Club 裂棒 - Xu Zhu (DW9)

[schoje]

Nesta quinta-feira (07), mais uma paciente teve alta do Centro Municipal de Acolhimento e Tratamento Covid-19 em Balneário Camboriú. Alessandra Simas, de 42 anos, é moradora de Camboriú e estava internada desde o dia 7 de abril, totalizando 30 dias de internação, dos quais nove com ventilação mecânica. Ela chegou ao Centro Covid, 14 dias após a internação do pai, o senhor Amaro Simas, que permanece internado. Desde a abertura do Centro Covid, 1372 pessoas já foram atendidas e 53 pacientes ficaram internados. Dentre os internados, 24 testaram positivo para Covid-19, sendo que destes, 17 já tiveram alta domiciliar, cinco permanecem internados e dois vieram a óbito (1 de BC e 1 de Camboriú). Atualização - Balneário Camboriú registra 121 casos confirmados para coronavirus Balneário Camboriú registrou oito novos casos de Coronavírus nesta quinta-feira (07), conforme dados da Vigilância Epidemiológica do município. Tratam-se de quatro homens de 23, 38, 54 e 68 anos e quatro mulheres de 30, 31, 34 e 40 anos. Até o momento, 402 pessoas tiveram seus resultados negativos, 16 pessoas aguardam resultado e 69 pacientes que testaram positivo tiveram alta após avaliação da Infectologista. - CASOS CONFIRMADOS: 121 - CASOS CURADOS: 69 - CASOS MONITORADOS: 85 - CASOS DESCARTADOS: 402 - ÓBITOS: 2 Números de casos internados em Balneário Camboriú (informações Vigilância Epidemiológica): - CENTRO COVID: TOTAL 8 - NA UTI: 8 (3 de BC, 4 de Camboriú e 1 de Itapema – Desses, 5 confirmados, 1 descartado e 2 suspeitos) - CLÍNICA: 0 - INTERNAÇÕES NO HOSPITAL DA UNIMED: TOTAL 11 - NA UTI: 2 - CLÍNICA: 9 - INTERNAÇÕES NO HOSPITAL DO CORAÇÃO: TOTAL 6 - NA UTI: 2 - CLÍNICA: 4

[m2024a]

Polveri del Sahara, l'esperta: «Non chiamatela sabbia». Perché sono pericolose e come proteggersi. Tutti i consigli Le polveri del Sahara hanno fatto ritorno in Italia colorando i suoi cieli con colori caldi che vanno dal giallo al rosso: sembrano semplici nuvole, ma in realtà sono cumuli di micro polveri. Si tratta di un fenomeno che con l'avanzare dei cambiamenti climatici si fa sempre meno raro nelle nostre aree. Ma c'è di più: pareri medici fanno sapere che potrebbero rappresentare un danno per la salute. «Non chiamatela sabbia», ha detto a Rete 8 la dottoressa Laura Martino, responsabile Unità operativa semplice dipartimentale di Pneumologia di Chieti, «piuttosto micro polveri che arrivano fino a noi non senza problemi per la salute». Le polveri del Sahara che si sollevano per tonnellate arrivano in Italia spinte degli anticicloni africani, finendo per mescolarsi con le particelle Pm10. Costituiscono, quindi, un pericolo per l'apparato respiratorio. Cielo giallo Sahara su Roma, l'allerta del Comune: «Bambini, donne in gravidanza e anziani escano meno. Lasciate l'auto a casa» Chi rischia di più Le categorie più a rischio sono anziani, cardiopatici e chi soffre di malattie respiratorie, a partire dall’asma, ma soprattutto i bambini, ha spiegato Alessandro Miani, presidente del Sima, la Società italiana di medicina ambientale: «Sia perché i loro sistemi respiratori e immunitari sono ancora in via di sviluppo, sia perché tendono a passare più tempo all'aperto rispetto agli adulti». Come proteggersi. I consigli Per prevenire l'inalazione delle polveri il consiglio è quello di ridurre il più possibile l'esposizione nei luoghi in cui sono maggiormente concentrate, e dove non sia possibile utilizzare una mascherina. La Sima ha reso noti dei consigli per proteggersi dal caldo afoso che, insieme all'assenza di piogge, sta rendendo particolarmente importante il problema. «Evitare di esporsi al caldo e al sole diretto e uscire di casa solo nelle ore più fresche. Assicurare un adeguato ricambio di aria in casa e agevolare la ventilazione naturale. Mantenere le stanze fresche schermando le finestre esposte al sole (utilizzando tapparelle, persiane, tende). Chiudere le finestre durante il giorno e aprirle durante le ore più fresche della giornata (la sera e la notte). Fare bagni e docce frequenti e con acqua tiepida. Assumere almeno 1,5-3 litri di acqua durante la giornata. Evitare alcolici e preferire cibi che contengono molta acqua, come frutta e verdura. Quando si esce di casa, proteggere gli occhi con occhiali da sole e prevenire scottature con creme solari ad alto fattore protettivo. Indossare abiti in fibre naturali (lino o cotone) e indumenti traspiranti, meglio se di colore chiaro; evitare l'attività sportiva all'aperto nelle ore più calde». L'andamento delle polveri in Italia Le polveri del Sahara in Italia hanno visto negli ultimi giorni un rapido incremento, spinte dai venti meridionali. La giornata di giovedì 20 giugno è stata quella con la più alta concentrazione e già da venerdì 21 giugno i livelli hanno visto una diminuzione e nel corso del weekend le polveri dovrebbero essere spazzate via dalla Penisola.

[navinh-fm]

FM24 - Save Online (camelo’s league)

Save online mi ku @tonyfm , und mi eh trenador de All Nassr e el de Al Hilal

Td 2 eh cheio €€ ma maior desafio eh limite de jogador estrangeiro (8).. tem k fulha x manco pa poi equipa sima nta kre e tenta inviste na camadas jovens pa da um help

[gabimiri]

Simapaloooooooza!!

Nachdem wir die 1. Nacht auf der Farm überlebt haben, ging es dann auch in aller Frühe schon wieder zurück nach Whitehorse, da wir das Closing-Wochenende vom hiesige Skigebiet Mt. Sima mitnehmen wollten. Da Miri aufgrund ihrer Verletzung nach wie vor nicht Ski fahren kann, war meine Vorfreude wohl etwas größer als ihre. Aber ich war nicht nur wegen des Ski Fahrens extatisch, sondern auch, weil ich einen guten Freund, ehemaligen Arbeitskollegen & Mitbewohner (Fin) aus meiner Zeit im Skigebiet in Neuseeland wiedersehen sollte, der hier aus der Nähe her stammt & verlauten ließ, dass man sich hier definitiv treffen würde.

Außerdem versprach uns unserer Manager von Shames, dass er dem Mt. Sima Manager schreiben werde, dass wir kommen & wir deshalb alles umsonst bekommen würden. Es war seine Art Miri & mir für unsere gute Arbeit zu danken. Also bekam ich meinen Liftpässe & Leihskier direkt für Lau und fühlte mich wie ein Promi. Dieses Gefühl wurde verstärkt, als ich nach ein paar Abfahrten Francis & seine Crew getroffen habe, der hier Local ist & mit dem Miri & ich auf Shames Mt. zusammengearbeitet haben. Da hier Simapalooza war, fühlte ich mich aber underdressed, da sich hier alle zum Thema Alice im Wunderland angekleidet haben. Trotzdem dauerte es nicht allzu lang, mich in die Gruppe einzufügen.

Miri hat unterdessen in der Lodge gechillt & genoss es, nicht mehr arbeiten zu müssen. Es tat mir zwar etwas leid für sie, dass sie dort alleine sitzen musste, aber es gab in der Base Area Live Musik & Bier, weshalb ich mir dachte, dass sie schon klarkommen wird. Ich bekam derweil von den Locals die besten Pisten gezeigt & es wurde auch die ein oder andere Sportzigarette geraucht.

Irgendwann kam dann auch Fin auf den Berg, der witzigerweise ebenfalls zu der Gruppe dazugehörte, mit der ich unterwegs war. Es war schwer für mich zu fassen, ihn nach all den Jahren wiederzutreffen, am anderen Ende der Welt, in seiner Heimat & mit ihm wieder Ski zu fahren. Schnell war es so wie damals in unserem Wohnzimmer & man merkte nicht mehr, dass man 8 Jahre keinen wirklichen Kontakt hatte.

Wir ließen es auf der Piste richtig krachen, bis um 5 die Lifte dicht machten. Der Tag war aber danach noch lange nicht vorbei, da Miri & ich von den anderen noch zu einer Party am Fuße des Berges eingeladen wurden auf dem Grundstück eines Paares der Gruppe auf Lagerfeuer & Kaltgetränke vorbeizukommen. Perfekt!!  Wir hatten eh vor irgendwo in der Stadt zu schlafen, um nicht erst wieder zurück zur Farm zu müssen. Außerdem hatten wir so die Möglichkeit die Leute besser kennenzulernen & vor allem konnte ich mich ausgiebig mit Fin auf den neusten Stand der Dinge bringen.

So standen wir am Feuer, mampften Sloppy Joes & tranken bis in die Nacht hinein. Man merkte, dass wir deutlich weiter im Norden waren, da man um 10 Uhr abends immer noch etwas Tageslicht übrighatte. Gegen 12 bemerkte dann die Gastgeberin, dass man am Himmel die Nordlichter sehen konnte. Wahnsinn… Miri war überglücklich, weil es für sie einer der Hauptgründe war nach Kanada zu kommen & diese zu sehen. In Terrace haben wir ab und zu versucht sie zu Gesicht zu bekommen, aber immer vergebens & hier klappte es direkt auf anhieb ohne es zu überhaupt probieren. Ein wunderschöner Tag ging zu Ende, als das Feuerholz ausging & alle sich in ihre Autos, Vans oder Cabins verkrümelten & zu Bett gingen.

Am nächsten Morgen dann bereiteten die Gastgeber leckeres Frühstück vor, bevor es dann für uns alle zurück auf den Berg ging, um den 2. Tag Simapalooza zu feiern. Auch für Miri ging es heute nochmal auf den Berg, da wir am Vorabend herausfanden, dass man hier auch zu Fuß den Lift benutzen darf, um zu einer Aussichtsplattform auf dem Spitze des Berges zu laufen. Während Miri dies tat, machten wir wieder die Pisten unsicher.

Wir ließen es aber eher gediegen angehen, da alle vom Vortag leicht verkatert waren. Irgendwann wechselte ich dann von meinen Leihskiern auf die Snow-Blades, da ich das unbedingt mal ausprobieren wollte. Das sind prinzipiell Kinderskier für Erwachsene, die ein sehr seltsames Fahrgefühl, aber jede Menge Spaß bieten.

Miri machte es sich derweil auf dem Balkon der Lodge bequem, um dem hiesigen Slush-Cup beizuwohnen. Nachdem sie von unserem Event @ Shames nicht viel mitbekommen hat, weil sie arbeiten musste, hatte sie heute den besten Platz, um zuzusehen, wie sich andere Leute daran versuchen den Wassergraben unbeschadet zu überstehen & die meisten dabei kläglich scheiterten. Ich bin stattdessen auf meine letzten Runs des Jahres gegangen & habe genossen, dass am Lift endlich nicht mehr so viel los war, bis ich dann nach Ende des Slush-Cups mit Fin & Francis auf die letzte Abfahrt der Saison ging.

Besser hätte man die Skisaison nicht beenden können. Es war ein wundervolles Wochenende mit alten & neuen Freunden, geilem Wetter & fantastischen Erinnerungen, die mir noch lange im Gedächtnis bleiben werden. Gleichzeitig war es ein perfekter Start für unsere Zeit im Yukon, der sich definitiv an diesem Wochenende von seiner besten Seite gezeigt hat! Wir sind ready, für alles, was er für uns so bereithält.

[lfmcn]

En İyi Bruce Willis Filmleri

19 Mart 1955’te Amerika’da dünyaya gelen ve aksiyon filmlerinin vazgeçilmez oyuncusu; Walter Bruce Willis aynı zamanda bir müzisyen. Tüm zamanların en iyi film yıldızları arasında gösterilen Bruce Willis’in en iyi filmlerini sizin için listeledik.

1. Altıncı His (IMDb: 8,1/10)

”Ölü insanlar görüyorum” repliğiyle hafızalara kazanan Altıncı His filmi, Bruce Willis’in en çok sevilen ve bilinen filmlerinin başında geliyor. Sürpriz finali ve korku- gerilim türlerini harmanlayışıyla 6. His, en 1999 yılında toplamda 6 Oscar ödülüne aday gösterildi. Cole Sead adlı 8 yaşındaki bir karakterin gördüğü halüsinasyonları konu alan filmde Bruce Willis’e eşlik eden eşlik eden çocuk yıldızın ismi ise Haley Joel Osment. Malcolm Crowe karakterini canlandıran Bruce Willis bu rolüyle en iyi oyuncu dalında birçok yerden ödül almayı başardı.

2. Ucuz Roman (IMDb: 8,9/10)

Yönetmen koltuğunda efsanevi isim Quentin Tarantino’nun oturduğu Ucuz Roman filmi, kaliteli oyuncu kadrosu ile de dikkatleri üzerine çekti. 8.9 gibi erişilmesi güç bir Imdb puanına sahip olan yapım uzun süresine rağmen defalarca izlenecek bir başyapıt olarak görülüyor. Genç bir çiftin aksiyon ve suç dolu yaşamını yepyeni bir sinema diliyle izleyicilere aktaran filmde, yan roldeki oyuncuların başarılı performansları ayrı bir hava katmayı başarıyor. Bruce Willis, bu filminde sorunlu ve sinirli bir boksörü canlandırıyor.

3. Şanslı Slevin (IMDb: 7,6/10)

Suç ve gizem türünde olan Şanslı Slevin filmi, aksiyon ve çatışma sahneleriyle de izleyicilerden tam not aldı. Bruce Willis’e eşlik eden oyuncular arasında Morgan Freeman gibi milyonların beğenisini kazanmış ünlü bir sima da yer alıyor. Josh Hartnett’in canlandırdığı Slevin karakterinin traji-komik hikayesini mercek altına film, bir dizi şanssızlıkların ve aksiliklerin ortasında kalmış insanların mücadelesini beyaz perdeye taşıyor. İntikam konusu yer yer ironik yer yer sert sahnelerle işlenen Şanslı Slevin filminde Bruce Willis de bambaşka bir karaktere can veriyor. Yeri geldiğinde acımasız, yeri geldiğinde merhametli olan bu karakter Slevin’i çeşitli belalardan uzak tutmaya çalışmaktadır.

4. Günah Şehri (IMDb: 8,0/10)

Sin City adıyla da bilinen Günah Şehri çıktığı ilk günden bu yana milyonlarca sinemaseverin hayran olduğu büyüleyici bir sinema filmi olarak tanımlanıyor. Bir çizgi roman uyarlaması olan, türünün ilk örneklerinden biri olma özelliği de taşıyor. Desen ve çizim kalitesi ile sinema ile çizgi roman sanatlarını harmanlayan yapıt, sokak savaşçılarının, mafyaların ve dedektiflerin birbirleriyle sürekli olarak mücadele ettiği bir yer altı şehrinde geçiyor. Acımasızlığın, infazların ve hukuksuzluğun baş gösterdiği sokaklarda, suç ve gerilim bir an olsun eksilmiyor. Bruce Willis’e bu filmde eşlik eden önemli oyuncular arasında Jessica Alba ve Michael Madsen gösterilebilir. 2005’te çekilen filmin devam niteliğindeki ikinci filmi ise 2014 yılında çekilmiştir.

5. Zor Ölüm (IMDb: 7,1/10)

Bruce Willis, bu filmde John McClane adlı hırslı ve suçlu avcısı bir dedektifi canlandırıyor. İlk filmi 1988 yılında çekilen ve Die Hard adıyla da bilinen film, aksiyon klasikleri arasındaki yerini aldı. Kötü adamların cirit attığı Los Angeles sokaklarını izleyicilere aktaran bu filmde özellikle patlama ve kovalamaca sahneleri döneminin çok ötesinde bulunuyor. Çok sevilen ve devam filmleri de çekilen bu eserin yönetmen koltuğunda ise John McTiernan oturuyor. Toplamda 4 filmden oluşan Zor Ölüm serisinin en sonuncusu 2007 yılında çekilmiştir.

6. Glass (IMDb: 7,0/10)

Ölümsüz ve Parçalanmış filmlerinin üçüncüsü ve sonuncusu olan film 2019 yılında gösterime girdi. Karakter bölünmesi yaşayan psikozlu bir kişinin suç dolu yaşamını ekranlara yansıtan filmde Bruce Willis, David Dunn karakterine hayat veriyor. Bir kaçış sonrası bir araya gelen iki suçlunun peşine düşen Dunn karakteri, soluksuz izlenecek bir gerilim – suç öyküsünü izleyicilerle buluşturuyor. Filmin yan rollerinde ise Samuel L. Jackson ve Anya – Taylor Jon’u görmek mümkün.

7. Ocean’s Twelve (IMDb: 6,5/10)

2001 yılında çekilen Oceans’s Eleven filminin devamı niteliğindeki Ocean’s 12, toplamda 12 soyguncunun akıl dolu soygun planlarını ve bunu uygulayışlarını beyaz perdeye yansıtıyor. İlk soygunun ardından üç yıl geçtikten sonra ekip yeniden bir araya geliyor ve aksiyon başlıyor. Kariyerine bağımsız sinema ile başlayan ve daha sonra popüler filmlerde de marifetlerini gösteren Steven Soderbergh, bu filmin yönetmen koltuğunda oturmaktadır. Serinin son filmi Ocean’s 13 ise 2007 yılında gösterime girdi.

8. Öldürme Arzusu (IMDb: 6,4/10)

2018 yapımı olan Öldürme Arzusu filminin orijinal adı Death Wish olarak biliniyor. 1982 yılında çekilmiş olan ve efsanevi aktör Charles Manson’un baş rol oynadığı filmin yeniden çevrimidir. Bruce Willis, bu filmde bir cerrahı canlandırıyor. Ancak evine yapılan saldırı sonrası eşini kaybetmiştir. Kızı ise komada yaşam mücadelesi vermektedir. Eline silahı alan Bruce Willis, aksiyonun bir an olsun durmadığı bu filmde intikam peşinde koşan bir aile babası rolünde yer alıyor.

9. Cehennem Melekleri (IMDb: 6,5/10)

Yıldız kadrosuyla izleyicileri aksiyona doyuran Cehennem Melekleri 2010 yılında gösterime girdi. Willis’in de yer aldığı oyuncu kadrosunda Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham ve Mickey Rourke gibi yıldız isimler de yer alıyor. Gizli bir görev üzerine bir Güney Amerika ülkesinde bulunan özel timin yaşadıkları, bir an bile düşmeyen temposuyla izleyicilerle buluşuyor. Meraklıları serinin 2. ve 3. filmlerini de izleyebilir.

10. Air Strike (IMDb: 3,3/10)

Diğerlerinden farklı olarak Çin yapımı olan bu film 2. Dünya Savaşının Çin cephesini sinemaseverlere aktarıyor. Savaş ve suç türündeki bu filmde Bruce Willis küçük ama önemli bir rolde karşımıza çıkıyor. Çin ve Japon karate filmlerinden tanıdığımız Ye Liu ve Nicholas Tse de Willis’e eşlik eden Uzak Doğulu oyuncular arasında. Çok gizli ve tehlikeli bir silahın korunmasını anlatan film toplamda 95 dakikalık bir süreye sahip.

11. Çatışma (IMDb: 4,2/10)

Bruce Willis’in bu sefer eski bir polisi canlandırdığı aksiyon türündeki Çatışma filmi, bir banka soygunun ardından yaşanan dram ve gerilim yüklü hikayeyi anlatıyor. Orijinal adı Reprisal olan filmde, en yakın arkadaşını soygun esnasında kaybeden bir bankacının komşusundan yardım istemesi ve akabinde başlayan macera konu ediniliyor. James rolüne can veren Bruce Willis, işinin ehli ve yardımsever bir eski polis olarak komşusu ile birlikte suçluların peşine düşüyor.

12. İlk Kurşun (IMDb: 4,9/10)

First Kill adı ile ekranlara taşınan İlk Kurşun filminde, Bruce Willis’i bir kere daha polis rolünde görüyoruz. Banka soygunu esnasında 8 yaşındaki bir çocuğu rehin tutan soyguncu ile geçen diyaloglar ve yapılan pazarlıklar yer yer dram yer yer gerilim türünde karşımıza çıkıyor. Hayden Christensen’ın da rol aldığı film ABD, Kanada ve İngiltere ortak yapımıdır.

13. Los Angeles’ta Gizli Görev (IMDb: 5,3/10)

Aksiyon ve komediyi başarıyla harmanlayan bu yapım, 2017 yılında çekilmiştir. Bir dedektifin köpeğinin çalınmasıyla başlayan macera, hız kesmeden filmin sonuna kadar devam ediyor. Azılı bir çeteyle mücadele eden Steve Ford rolünde Bruce Willis, hem çeteyi çökertmek hem de köpeğini kurtarmak için amansız bir kovalamacının içerisinde yer alıyor.

14. Son Adam (IMDb: 6,4/10)

1996 yılında çekilen Son Adam filmi, aksiyon filmleri arasında kült bir yere sahip. Oldukça sıra dışı bir kasabada yaşanan bir dizi olayları, kendine özgü bir üslupla aktaran filmde Willis, kiralık bir tetikçiyi canlandırıyor. Atmosferi ve mekan seçimleri ile 1950’lerin film noir tarzındaki eserlerine göndermelerde bulunan filmin yönetmen koltuğunda ise Walter Hill isimli deneyimli yönetmen oturuyor.

15. Red (IMDb: 7,1/10)

Türkiye’deki sinemalarda ”Emekli ve Tehlikeli” adıyla gösterilen Red filminde emekli olmuş bir CIA ajanının tehlikeli bir suçlu ile karşılaşması ve ardından yaşanan olaylar anlatılıyor. Teknolojik silahların ve görsellerin ön planda tutulduğu filmde Bruce Willis’e Morgan Freeman ve John Malkovich gibi yıldız isimler de eşlik ediyor. İzleyiciler tarafından tam not alan Red’in ikinci filmi ise 2013 yılında çekildi. Aksiyona doyamadınız mı? 🙂 Size Önerimiz; En iyi korku filmleri Read the full article

[claudiosuenaga]

Os 75 anos da Expedição Kon-Tiki: homenagem e tributo a Thor Heyerdahl nos 20 anos de sua morte (parte 6)

Por Claudio Tsuyoshi Suenaga

Olav Heyerdahl (nascido em 1977) cresceu ouvindo as histórias contadas por seu avô Thor Heyerdahl. Quando a Expedição Kon-Tiki estava às vésperas de completar sessenta anos, Olav resolveu ao mesmo tempo homenageá-la e desempenhar seu próprio papel na saga. A maneira que encontrou para fazer isso foi construir uma jangada de madeira de pau-de-balsa da mesma maneira como o seu avô e com ela percorrer o mesmo trajeto da Kon-Tiki.

Olav Heyerdahl

A Expedição Tangaroa (The Tangaroa Expedition), como foi batizada, em referência ao deus do mar maori Tangaroa, tornou-se possível graças ao apoio financeiro de vários patrocinadores, entre eles Branding Larvik, Skagen Fondene e AGR, além do apoio da Universidade de Bergen, na Noruega, e do auxílio prestado pela Marinha Peruana e pela SIMA (Servicio Industrial de la Marina).

A equipe foi novamente composta por seis homens, sendo quatro noruegueses, um sueco e um peruano: Torgeir Sæverud Higraff (historiador, engenheiro mecânico e líder da expedição), Anders Berg (fotógrafo sueco), Olav Heyerdahl (carpinteiro, engenheiro civil, mergulhador e neto de Thor), Bjarne Krekvik (capitão), Øyvin Lauten (diretor-executivo) e Roberto Sala (ex-oficial da Marinha Peruana e especialista em navegação).

Os troncos foram cortados assim como antes nas florestas do Equador em novembro de 2004 e selecionados em fevereiro de 2005. Enquanto a Kon-Tiki usou nove troncos (lembrando que o mais longo media 13,70 metros de comprimento), a Tangaroa usou onze, sendo que o mais longo media 16 metros, enquanto os demais 14 metros. Apesar da madeira ser das mais leves, ainda assim os troncos pesavam juntos mais de 20 toneladas.

A construção da balsa Tangaroa começou na primavera de 2006. Como se fez na Kon-Tiki, cordas de cânhamo foram usadas para amarrar os troncos e as vigas transversais sem que fosse preciso apelar para um único prego, parafuso ou fio de arame. A cabine de bambu foi feita desta vez em estrutura reforçada para resistir a ondas gigantes e tempestades. O telhado e as paredes da cabine, bem como o deque, foram cobertos com esteiras de totora vindas de Puno (cidade no sudeste do Peru, às margens do Lago Titicaca).

Em relação à que foi usada na Kon-Tiki, a vela quadrada foi consideravelmente ampliada e aperfeiçoada. Enquanto a predecessora media 4,60 metros de altura por 5,50 metros de largura, a atual media 16 metros de altura por 8 metros de largura, possuía maior aderência e permitia até mesmo que navegassem contra o vento.

As nove pranchas guara medindo 4 metros de comprimento por 50 centímetros de largura podiam ser elevadas ou abaixadas de modo a orientar a balsa na direção desejada, enquanto que as cinco utilizadas na Kon-Tiki (medindo 1,50 metros por 60 centímetros) eram fixas e não podiam ser elevadas ou abaixadas. Na época, Heyerdahl não sabia como usar as guaras para manobrar a balsa. Destarte, sua tripulação estava totalmente à mercê dos ventos. Somente anos mais tarde, em 1953, é que Heyerdahl compreendeu o seu engenhoso mecanismo de funcionamento, que consiste em elevar ou abaixar as pranchas de acordo com as condições específicas do vento para manter a balsa na direção desejada.

A tripulação da Tangaroa soube aproveitar-se muito bem disso e dispondo de todo o aparato tecnológico do século XXI do qual não abriram mão (GPS, painéis solares, notebooks e aparelhos de dessalinização), reduziu sensivelmente a sua estadia no mar. Enquanto a tripulação da Kon-Tiki lutava diariamente para enviar notícias por meio de um transmissor de ondas curtas, a da Tangaroa atualizava as informações diretamente em seu website.

Na sexta-feira, dia 28 de abril de 2006, a Expedição Tangaroa iniciou sua longa jornada rumo a Polinésia, no mesmo local (Porto de Callao) e na mesma data em que Thor Heyerdahl partiu com a Kon-Tiki em 1947. As muitas bandeiras içadas representavam as nacionalidades dos tripulantes (Noruega, Suécia e Peru), bem como os países participantes da expedição (Equador e Polinésia Francesa), além da Comunidade de Larvik, na Noruega.

Quando a Kon-Tiki estava a meio caminho através do Pacífico, a tripulação pescou uma cavalinha-serpente (Gempylus Serpens), espécie rara de peixe jamais capturada viva. Por uma estranha coincidência, a Expedição Tangaroa capturou uma amostra semelhante, quase nas mesmas coordenadas, 59 anos depois.

Olav, que também fazia parte da Expedição Plastiki, que procurava chamar a atenção para a saúde dos nossos oceanos, particularmente para a grande quantidade de detritos plásticos, comparou as condições do Pacífico à época da expedição de seu avô com as daquele momento e constatou significativas e tristes mudanças. A Corrente de Humboldt estava repleta de lixo e detritos diversos. Enquanto a tripulação da Kon-Tiki pescava atum às fartas, a da Tangaroa só conseguiu capturar um único atum durante toda a viagem. Pior ainda em relação aos tubarões e as baleias, que costumavam rodear constantemente a Kon-Tiki, enquanto a Tangaroa não chegou a avistar nem um único exemplar deles.

Tangaroa chegou a cobrir em um só dia a distância de mais de 80 milhas náuticas (148 quilômetros), superando o recorde de velocidade da Kon-Tiki. Esta segunda expedição mostrou que a viagem pode ser feita bem mais rapidamente apenas aproveitando melhor as correntes e os ventos por meio de uma vela maior e do uso adequado das pranchas guara.

Assim é que enquanto a Kon-Tiki levou 101 dias para completar a viagem, a Tangaroa foi um mês mais rápida, desembarcando no Atol de Raroia em 8 de julho. A viagem foi feita sem conflitos, situações dramáticas ou incidentes. Os tripulantes disseram que agora eram melhores amigos do que quando haviam iniciado a jornada. Um muito orgulhoso Thor Heyerdahl Jr. saudou seu filho mais novo Olav com estas palavras: “A expedição foi planejada e realizada de uma maneira que superou todas as expectativas, e eu sei que meu pai teria ficado muito orgulhoso se tivesse vivido para ver esta expedição.”

Com imagens de Anders Berg e direção de Havard Jenssen, o documentário A Tangaroa Expedition (Ekspedisionen Tangaroa) foi lançado em DVD em 2007.

As teorias de Heyerdahl, a despeito de tantos indícios e provas a favor, continuam a ser contestadas, por vezes de forma virulenta, no meios científicos-acadêmicos. Enquanto a noção de migração através do Pacífico já não é um anátema, o da migração cultural transatlântica continua sendo controversa, em parte porque, como é usualmente aceito, as grandes civilizações da América do Sul floresceram muito tempo depois das do Egito e do Oriente Médio. De qualquer forma, suas viagens pelos oceanos o convenceram da unidade essencial da humanidade (“O oceano não nos separa, mas nos une”, disse ele), bem como o de que bem antes dos europeus, antigas culturas do Oriente Médio, do norte da África, da Ásia e da América do Sul já andavam a “civilizar” o mundo espalhando as suas influências nos campos da arquitetura, da astronomia e da religião. E é precisamente isso que pretendo provar navegando com uma réplica de um barco faraônico do Egito ao Brasil.

Inspirado em Heyerdahl, concebi o projeto de construir uma réplica, a mais exata possível, de um navio egípcio empregando materiais semelhantes e obedecendo aos mesmos princípios, técnicas e padrões utilizados pelos antigos egípcios, para com ele partir do Porto de Safaga (nas coordenadas 26º 44 N, 33º 56 E), navegar pelo Mar Vermelho, contornar a costa oriental da África e o Cabo da Boa Esperança, cruzar o Oceano Atlântico e finalmente desembarcar no Porto do Rio de Janeiro (nas coordenadas 22 54’ 23” S, 43 10’ 22” O) ou em algum outro ancoradouro carioca como o Porto de Itaguaí (antigo Porto de Sepetiba, na cidade de Itaguaí), o Porto de Niterói (na Baía de Guanabara, centro da cidade de Niterói), o Porto de Angra dos Reis (na cidade de Angra dos Reis, sul do Rio de Janeiro) ou o Porto do Forno (na extremidade norte da Praia dos Anjos, na cidade de Arraial do Cabo, sudeste do litoral carioca).

Via Cabo da Boa Esperança, a distância de 8.863 milhas náuticas (16.414 quilômetros) entre o Porto de Safaga e o Rio de Janeiro, a uma velocidade média de 5 nós (9,25 km/h), pode ser coberta, sem paradas e salvo complicações, em torno de 74 dias. Como é nossa intenção realizar vários estudos e pesquisas adicionais pelo caminho, calculamos o tempo da viagem em no mínimo 90 e no máximo 150 dias. A jornada seria bastante abreviada caso optássemos pela via do Canal de Suez e do Estreito de Gibraltar, já que a distância se reduziria a 6.646 milhas náuticas (12.308 quilômetros). À mesma velocidade média de 5 nós, o tempo da viagem ficaria em torno de 55 dias. Contudo, como essa rota já foi percorrida pela Expedição Rá II de Thor Heyerdahl em 1970, bem como considerando que as viagens marítimas egípcias se faziam pela rota do Mar Vermelho, preferimos o caminho mais longo. Para efeito de comparação, a distância do Brasil ao Egito via aérea é de 4.375 milhas (7.041 quilômetros). Um voo comercial normal entre o Brasil e o Egito leva em torno de 8 horas e 45 minutos, a uma velocidade média de 434 nós (805 km/h).

Tal périplo indicaria a viabilidade de os antigos egípcios terem realizado a mesma viagem naqueles tempos ao menos uma vez, o que explicaria os vários indícios arqueológicos da presença daquela cultura em nosso país e no continente americano.

Por extensão, reforçaríamos a possibilidade de os egípcios terem estabelecido uma autêntica “civilização global” já naqueles tempos, o que explicaria os surpreendentes paralelos culturais – como a crença na ressurreição do mortos, a mumificação, a construção de pirâmides escalonadas, calendários e hieróglifos – em todos os continentes. Cairia por terra, consequentemente, ou ao menos desmentiríamos parcialmente a falsa noção de que os egípcios não eram grandes navegadores como os fenícios ou os gregos e que quase não se aventuraram nas suas embarcações para além do curso do Nilo ou das proximidades da costa africana.

Pelo que se tem notícia, nenhuma expedição marítima egípcia ousou ir mais longe do que a do faraó Necho II (660 a.C.-593 a.C.), que governou o Egito a partir de 610 a.C., durante a 26ª Dinastia. Necho II mandou fazer um canal que ligava o braço oriental do Nilo ao Mar Vermelho e organizou uma expedição com uma tripulação mista de fenícios e egípcios, liderado pelo fenício Hanon, para circunavegar o continente africano, antecipando-se em dois milênios e um século ao navegador e explorador português Vasco da Gama (1460 ou 1469-1524), que em 1498 se destacou por ter sido o comandante dos primeiros navios europeus a navegar da Europa para a Índia, no que contornou a costa ocidental, a extremidade sul e a costa oriental do continente africano para assim aceder às riquezas da Índia. A expedição egípcio-fenícia saiu do Mar Vermelho, contornou toda a costa africana e três anos depois retornou ao Egito pelo Mar Mediterrâneo.

Se não restam dúvidas de que antigos egípcios construíram grandes e elaborados barcos para navegar ao longo do Rio Nilo e do Mar Vermelho, a questão agora é saber se atravessaram o Oceano Atlântico e chegaram ao continente americano, particularmente ao Brasil. Indícios arqueológicos diversos a indicar que não só desembarcaram mas procuraram estabelecer sua cultura também por aqui, não tem sido aceitos pela arqueologia oficial sob o argumento cada vez mais superado e falacioso de que não possuíam nem técnicas nem conhecimentos náuticos suficientes para cruzar oceanos. O nosso objetivo é provar exatamente o contrário.

Saiba mais sobre o Projeto Sahuré e junte-se a nós nesta empreitada.

Suenaga, Cláudio Tsuyoshi. "Projeto Sahuré: Expedição Marítima - Do Egito ao Brasil com um navio da época dos faraós".

Aqui estão algumas frases de Thor Heyerdahl. O mundo seria um lugar melhor se todos nós as ouvíssemos com atenção:

"Fronteiras? Eu nunca vi uma, mas ouvi dizer que elas existem na mente de algumas pessoas.”

“O progresso é a capacidade do homem de complicar a simplicidade.”

“Não se pode comprar uma passagem para o paraíso, é preciso encontrá-la dentro de si.”

“Aprende-se mais ouvindo do que falando. E tanto o vento quanto as pessoas que continuam a viver perto da natureza ainda têm muito a nos dizer que não podemos ouvir dentro dos muros da universidade.”

“Porque a cada minuto, o futuro está se tornando o passado.”

“Vivemos em uma época em que achamos que tudo é tecnologia, tudo é apertar botões, tudo é economia, e estamos perdendo de vista a realidade.”

“Também é mais raro encontrar a felicidade em um homem cercado pelos milagres da tecnologia do que entre pessoas que vivem no deserto e na selva, e que pelos padrões estabelecidos por nossa sociedade, seriam consideradas indigentes e fora de alcance.”

“A civilização cresceu no início a partir do momento em que tivemos comunicação – particularmente a comunicação por mar que permitiu às pessoas obter inspiração e ideias umas das outras e trocar matérias-primas básicas.”

“Uma nação civilizada não pode ter inimigos, e não se pode traçar uma linha em um mapa, uma linha que nem existe na natureza, e dizer que o inimigo feio mora de um lado e os bons amigos vivem do outro.”

“Na luta contra a natureza, o homem pode vencer todas as batalhas, exceto a última. Se ele vencer isso também, ele perecerá, como um embrião cortando seu próprio cordão umbilical.”

Thor Heyerdahl e sua esposa Yvonne segurando um modelo de bote de junco.

Leia as partes 1, 2, 3, 4 e 5

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

It's a Very Merry Christmas with a Very Merry Martha Santa Alt (Analysis Time!)

Santa Martha

Caster

HP: 12,605

ATK: 8,197 (Effective ATK: 7,377)

Attribute: Man

Star Absorption: 51

Star Generation: 10.8%

NP Charge ATK: 0.66%

NP Charge DEF: 3%

Death Rate: 36%

QQAAB

Quick: 4 hits, Arts: 3 hits, Buster: 3 hits, Extra: 4 hits

Quick = 2.64%, Arts = 1.98%, Extra = 2.64%

Martha's Home Cooking EX

Increases one ally's attack for 3 turns. (20 -> 30%)

Increases their Max HP for 3 turns. (1000 -> 2000)

Charges their NP guage by 20%.

Cooldown: 8 -> 6 turns

Elder Sister's Meddling B

Seal all enemies' NP for 1 turn.

Reduces their defense for 3 turns. (10 -> 20%)

Cooldown: 8 -> 6 turns

Santa Claus's Invitation C+

Increases one ally's critical star absorption for 1 turn. (3000 -> 5000%)

Gain 10 critical stars.

Charge own NP gauge. (20% -> 30%)

Cooldown: 8 -> 6 turns

Territory Creation B: Increases own Arts performance by 8%.

Item Construction D: Increases own debuff success rate by 4%.

Riding EX: Increases own Quick performance by 12%.

Happy Merry Christmas

Quick

Increases party's attack by 20% for 3 turns.

Increases party's damage against Demon, Divine, or Undead enemies for 3 turns. (30 -> 50%, NP Level)

Gain 20 critical stars.

Recovers party's HP. (2000 -> 4000, OC)

Primary Role: DPS Support

Secondary Role: Crit Support

Situational Role: Medic

You know, sometimes I give fandom people a lot of flak for thinking that an anime character is younger because they don't have massive gazongas for boobs but then DW comes around and just gives us Martha in a Santa costume and the only hint in the design that she's younger is her tits are smaller. So really, I'm just mad at both of you. Go sit in time out.

Martha is a bit of an interesting Servant to drop on us. It's not really a question on if she's good (she is), it's more a question of just exactly how good she is. Since my opinion currently is that she's not as good of a support as Da Vinci Lily, take that as you will for my overall impressions. Let's start off by looking at her fundamentals though.

For a support Caster, you're going to find the exact stats you'd imagine. Very high HP offset by a very low ATK which is hurt even more by the Caster ATK multiplier. Martha isn't in the business of bashing heads any time soon, but given her clear role, these stats are fine, good even. Hans is still good despite the fact that his damage is absolutely anemic after all. Her generation stats actually give a lot to be excited about though. Her 2 Arts cards are both very good and her Quicks will also do well in both star and NP generation. Her AQA chain will usually generate around 35%, her AQQ chain will generate about 29% but also come with on average 20 crit stars, with a QBQ chain generating around 21 stars on average. With her NP factored in completely, she's basically guaranteed to generate 50 crit stars with an NPQQ chain, which is pretty impressive for a Caster. Turns out having 2 Quick cards with good hit counts is a hell of a drug.

Her first skill is also easily her best, providing a solid Attack steroid, a max HP buff, and a 20% gauge charge. All of the effects here work together and are hard to waste, making this a pretty simple fire and forget kind of skill. The Max HP buff is generally considered a better version of a heal since it can't be wasted at all (although it is vulnerable to buff removal) so all in all, its very strong. Pretty similar in power level to Sima Yi's second skill, which comes with a demerit, all on a good cooldown.

Her second skill also has synergy with her 1st skill, providing an additional 20% def drop for all enemies, but also being an AoE NP Seal. It's not as powerful as Beni-Enma or Baobhan Sith's mass NP seal, but it is still wildly better than Benkei's. I'm pretty salty about that actually. NP Seal is preferred over NP Drain since its not vulnerable to charge skills, which are basically everywhere, even if it does play into Debuff resistance and what not. It's another perfectly good skill.

Moving on to her third skill and...I'm generally pretty conflicted about it. The NP charge attached to it is great for several reasons, the main one being that it will allow her to instantly NP with a 50% NP Charge CE and her Append Skill, but also it has synergy with her 1st skill as well, giving Martha the ability to charge her NP guage by 50% combined. On the other hand, the other effects are a bit random and not quite powerful enough. The Star Absorb is great for allowing basically any Servant to reliably crit, but it only lasts for 1 turn, and 10 crit stars is okay. The biggest downfall with this skill is that the star absorb being only one turn means you can't use this to climb to her NP and use the star absorb for powerful NP boosted crits as reliably. It's best used the turn after her NP, but that misses out on a bit of the power of the NP charge. It's a decent skill but has some pretty clear problems and doesn't really...fit on her kit.

Martha's NP is where things get really interesting. First, it's a Quick support NP, which means she can make natural QQQ chains. With the 20 crit stars from her NP, this means than an NPQQ chain comes out with a guaranteed 30 crit stars, and she can also generate 10 more crit stars with her 3rd skill. It gives Martha a really solid amount of guaranteed crit star generation along with her good natural star gen, which is very unique for a Caster. Her NP will also provide another 20% Attack buff and a 50% anti-Demon, Divine, or Undead damage buff. Martha also has the ability to ramp up damage very quickly, providing a combined 70% Attack bonus and a 50% Special damage bonus. It's main use will mostly be against Divine Servants, since Demon is a very small niche as well as Undead, but those do have their purposes none the less. Both steroids will combine nicely into a 155% (or x 2.55) damage steroid, which is really impressive.

Oh the NP also provides a full party heal as well. Just, as an aside.

Support Options:

There really isn't a lot here to truly say, because Martha is not really meant to be a DPS and is more meant to be a generically usable support. She can benefit from other incidental NP charges, such as from Waver, Merlin, or Castoria, who she works well with, or from some DPS like Barghest. She'll also work well with supports who can provide strong critical damage bonuses since Martha helps out a lot with crit consistency. She seems almost deliberately good to pair up with Skadi as a result of the way their kits synergize with each other: Martha provides heals, crit stars, and star absorb while Skadi provides crit damage and both hard and soft survival options. She's not really meant for stall teams either despite the AoE Heal on her NP.

Command Code: As a support, Martha tends to predipose herself towards command codes that offer generally usable benefits, like star gen, buff removal, or party wide effects. Magus of Flowers can be used in order to capitalize on her already good NP gen, but it might be better off on other supports. Since she's good at generating crit stars on her own, it can be tempting to use Star Absorb CCs on her Arts cards to make them more likely to crit, but remember that her damage tends to be on the low side because of her extremely low ATK.

Craft Essences: The choice of Craft Essence will actually depend on the status of her Append Skill, and since her Servant Coins are easily obtainable due to being a welfare, it's worth discussing. Any 50% NP Charge CE with a Level 10 Mana Loading will allow Martha to instantly NP with her 3rd skill at Level 10, opening up a wide variety of options, such as Golden Carp for more initial crit stars, NP Gen to make her NP more consistent, or Arts/Quick card up for similar reasons. Otherwise, she'll have to use 75%+ NP gen CEs to instantly NP. If you don't quite need an immediate NP, CEs like Prisma Cosmos or Maid in Halloween also provide good benefits, a lot of HP as well as either NP regen or increased HP recovery, both of which Martha appreciates.

Append Skills: Level her Append skills 2 and 1 and then skip number 3. Anti-Ruler damage is funny but amongst some of the worst appends you can give to a Caster, who already has bad damage and class disadvantage and won't benefit from the increased attack. Mana Loading is essential for 50% NP charge CE set-ups, while the Extra card bonus makes her more middling Extra card a lot more potent.

Grails: Don't. She gets so very little from Grailing. Do it for love or if you want to make her a memey anti-Divine crit damage dealer but avoid the possibility otherwise.

Competition: Delineating Martha's competition is a little complicated, because she's clearly not as good as Koyanskaya, Oberon, Skadi, Merlin, or Castoria. They're just better than she is for one reason or another. However, Martha is purely generic support which means that her competition is more along the lines of Waver or Sima Yi, which is compounded by the fact that all new players will be able to get one of those two guaranteed. They both provide way more charge than she does at 50% compared to 20%, which is a huge deal, while also providing strong defensive options that Martha doesn't. This isn't to say that Martha doesn't work well with either of them (she's quite good with Waver specifically) but it is worth thinking about whether you would run Waver / Martha over Waver / Waver, Waver / Merlin, or Waver / Castoria. Add on top of that the fact that Da Vinci Ruler just came out, and has a way more tuned kit that's more synergistic with more modern playstyles, providing card bonuses and NP generation.

Pros:

-1st skill is very strong

-NP drain is a great status to inflict

-Provides A LOT of damage steroids even if they're mostly confined to one type

-Can produce surprising amounts of crit stars thanks to good Quick cards and a bevy of potential guarantees

-NP generation is quite good

Cons:

-no defensive tools in her kit what so ever, so damage will quickly outpace her ability to heal

-damage is somewhat conditional, meaning she won't always perform at max capacity

-her kit is a bit...unfocused for a lack of a better word. you have a number of good skills and a good NP but they don't totally synergize. This lack of focus creates problems in establishing a niche

Conclusion: Really, the biggest problem with Martha isn't that she isn't good. She is, pretty clearly good. But in a niche like Support Caster, which has a ton of units already and competition from good stand outs like Da Vinci Rule or Koyanskaya / Oberon, you really need to find some way of solidifying yourself. Martha provides a lot of offensive potential but requires conditions to be met to do so, and she does so at the cost of a lot of NP charge that other supports provide. She provides some sustain but not enough to really justify using her in stall teams. She's very good at providing critical stars but doesn't really provide much in the way of critical amp power that other supports do. She's left truly feeling kind of stuck in the middle on everything.

However. This being said, she is free, and she's still really good if you're fighting Divine enemies, especially if you're using a critical focused Servant. She also works good as a supplementary support to other supports, since crit stars and heals are something that's often missing. She's probably not going to be your first, or maybe even your second choice of support, but you probably will still being able to find a slot for her on a team often enough.

In essence...soundly, firmly, good, and nothing else.

[yeonchi]

Warriors Orochi: The Recollective Redux Part 8.2: Jin - Sima Zhao Story B

In my opinion, it’s good that Sima Yi and Sima Zhao are in separate stories, because Sima Yi can continue to work for Orochi while Sima Zhao resists Orochi. It’s a bit of a divide, but it still works.

The original version had Sima Zhao fighting and defeating Orochi like the other factions, but this was changed for this version. See, my theory as to why four factions fight and defeat Orochi at different times and locations is because Orochi split the world into four timelines/mini-worlds after defeating the Mystics.

Orochi, Da Ji and their demonic generals (along with Lu Bu) split themselves into each timeline/mini-world. As for the humans, they were divided among each timeline; the generals loyal to Orochi, however (Dong Zhuo, Sima Yi, Keiji, Masamune, Hisahide and Motonari), could travel between the timelines at will. As such, Chapter 8 of the Shu, Wei, Wu and SW stories had them fighting one of those generals (except for Sima Yi and Motonari) while Chapter 16 of those stories had them fighting two of them (with the addition of Da Ji and Himiko).

Initial characters: Sima Zhao, Wen Yang, Takatora Tōdō

Chapter 9: Battle of Suruga-Sagami 駿相の戦い (uses SW3 map)

Jin Army and Hōjō Army vs. Da Ji Army Allied characters: Sima Zhao, Takatora Tōdō Third-party characters: Kai Enemy characters: Da Ji, Motonari Mōri, Dong Zhuo, Lu Lingqi

Unlocked characters: Kai

Following the death of the Serpent King Orochi, many clans returned to their homes. Some clans made alliances with other clans, while other clans began to strengthen their defences in case of an attack by Orochi’s remnant forces. The Hōjō clan was one of the clans that returned home to strengthen their defences. However, when reports arrived of Da Ji attacking them, the Hōjō sent troops to stop the advance. Kai was initially able to manage the enemy assault, but she slowly became overwhelmed by Da Ji’s troops…

Charge into the battlefield from the northeast and rescue Kai from Da Ji’s forces. Once you have defeated the first wave of officers, Hōjō officers will appear around the battlefield for you to rescue.

Lu Lingqi will charge into the battlefield from the southeast. Dong Zhuo’s army will also arrive with reinforcements. Finish off the battle by defeating Da Ji in the northwest. She will mention something about Orochi’s resurrection before she retreats.

In the aftermath, Ujiyasu Hōjō will allow Kai to join Sima Zhao for the time being, since he wants to rebuild his forces first. Seeing that Da Ji may be plotting to resurrect Orochi, Sima Zhao notes that he has to build up an army as soon as possible.

Chapter 10: Battle of Xinye 新野の戦い (uses DW8 map)

Jin Army and Wang Yuanji Army vs. Sima Shi Army Allied characters: Sima Zhao, Wen Yang Third-party characters: Wang Yuanji Enemy characters: Sima Shi, Zhuge Dan, Yu Jin

Unlocked characters: Wang Yuanji

Sima Zhao’s father, Sima Yi, joined Orochi when his army was besieged by his forces. After his death, Sima Yi teamed up with Motonari Mōri and Masamune Date to unite the land on behalf of the fallen Orochi forces. Sima Zhao’s brother, Sima Shi was stationed at Xinye, at the centre of the kingdoms of Shu, Wu and Wei. If Sima Shi were to launch an attack from there, all three kingdoms would fall to Orochi. Sima Zhao believed that those kingdoms were also the key to preventing Orochi’s resurrection, so he set out with Wen Yang to Xinye to face his brother…

Wang Yuanji will join you in this battle. Clear away the enemies around your main camp first, then advance onto the Eight Gates Formation, which is being defended by Zhuge Dan. Defeat Yu Jin at the southeastern entrance and enter.

There are enemies inside the maze – don’t just charge towards the centre or the enemy will charge in at once. Instead, turn left once you enter and defeat the enemy officers while moving to the centre in a clockwise loop.

Once you enter the centre, Zhuge Dan will set fire to the entire formation and unleash ambush troops. Defeat Zhuge Dan and the other officers and extinguish the fire. Sima Shi will then appear in the northeast. Defeat him to win the battle.

In the aftermath, Kai will report to Sima Zhao with terrible news; her lord’s army is being attacked by the combined forces of Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Sima Zhao decides that they will rescue the Hōjō Army next.

Chapter 11: Battle of Mimase Pass 三増峠の戦い (uses SW3 Okehazama map)

Jin Army and Hōjō Army vs. Dong Zhuo-Lu Bu Army Allied characters: Kai, Takatora Tōdō Third-party characters: Ujiyasu Hōjō, Lady Hayakawa, Ujizane Imagawa Enemy characters: Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, Chen Gong, Diaochan, Lu Lingqi, Kotarō Fūma

Unlocked characters: Ujiyasu Hōjō, Lady Hayakawa

The Hōjō Army remained split following the death of Orochi. Ujiyasu decided to strengthen his army during this time. However, Ujiyasu received a request for help from his daughter, Lady Hayakawa; her husband, Ujizane Imagawa, was being attacked at Mimasetoge by Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Ujiyasu went to help, but he soon found himself trapped. News of this got through to Kai and Sima Zhao allowed her to lead an army to save her lord…

Begin at Tsukui Castle in the southeast. In any order, you need to rescue Ujiyasu at Mt. Ogura Garrison in the northeast by defeating Lu Lingqi, Ujizane in the central western garrison by defeating Kotarō Fūma, and Lady Hayakawa in the southwestern garrison by defeating Diaochan. Chen Gong will send out reserve troops to attack the final officer once you have rescued two of them.

Once all three officers have been rescued, the gates to Dong Zhuo’s camp in the northwest will open. Defeat Chen Gong to open the gates to the garrison, then defeat Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu to win the battle.

In the aftermath, Ujiyasu is convinced that the Hōjō cannot stay defending themselves any longer. He joins Sima Zhao along with Lady Hayakawa.

Chapter 12: Battle of Taoyang 洮陽の戦い (uses DW7XL map)

Jin Army and Jia Chong Army vs. Sun Wukong Army Allied characters: Sima Zhao, Wang Yuanji, Wen Yang Third-party characters: Jia Chong, Wang Yi, Cai Wenji Enemy characters: Ma Chao (illusion), Liu Bao (illusion), Yu Jin, Dodomeki, Gyūki, Sun Wukong, Dong Zhuo

Unlocked characters: Jia Chong, Wang Yi, Cai Wenji

Sima Zhao received a request for help from Jia Chong. Jia Chong was leading an operation to rescue two women from Taoyang Castle, but he was ensnared in the enemy’s sorcery. Sima Zhao, Wang Yuanji and Wen Yang rushed to Jia Chong’s aid…

Wang Yi will be in the northwestern area of Taoyang Castle with an illusion of Ma Chao, Cai Wenji will be in the southwest with an illusion of her Xiongnu husband, Liu Bao, and Jia Chong will be in the back room fighting Yu Jin.

Begin in the northeast and advance west to the northern part of Taoyang Castle. After rescuing the three officers, Dong Zhuo’s forces will appear in the southeast and within the castle with Sun Wukong, who summons multiple doubles of himself to attack the three officers. Defeat Sun Wukong and Dong Zhuo to win the battle.

Sima Zhao will attack from the west while Wen Yang attacks from the east. Wang Yuanji will lead a ram unit to attack the main gate. Defeat the enemies and make your way into the castle.

Wang Yi will be confronted with an illusion of Ma Chao, while Cai Wenji will be confronted with an illusion of Liu Bao, her Xiongnu husband. Jia Chong will be fighting with a real version of Yu Jin. Be careful not to fall off the edge of the high platforms. Rescue the three officers and defeat Dong Zhuo just as you go over the platforms onto the main area. Sun Wukong can be heard saying, “Just you wait ‘till Orochi’s back,�� before he retreats.

In the aftermath, Jia Chong joins Sima Zhao along with Wang Yi and Cai Wenji.

Chapter 13: Battle of Chang’an 長安の戦い (uses DW8 map)

Jin Army and Ōtani Army vs. Taira Army Allied characters: Sima Zhao, Ujiyasu Hōjō, Wen Yang, Takatora Tōdō Third-party characters: Yoshitsugu Ōtani Enemy characters: Liu Yao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Xiu, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Nagayasu Miyoshi, Masayasu Miyoshi, Yoshikata Rokkaku, Hisahide Matsunaga, Sun Wukong, Kiyomori Taira

Unlocked character: Yoshitsugu Ōtani

Sun Wukong inadvertently revealed the plans for Orochi’s resurrection to Sima Zhao and the others. Luckily, Kiyomori had prepared for this situation and amassed massive numbers of troops to prepare for an assault against Sima Zhao. Da Ji was also asked to help Kiyomori eliminate the Jin Army. Sima Zhao split his army into two groups; Sima Zhao and Ujiyasu would lead one group, while Wang Yuanji and Jia Chong would lead another. Sima Zhao and Ujiyasu advanced on Chang’an. Waiting for them there were various generals of smaller armies, who banded together under the banner of the Taira…

Start in the south. Work with your allies to defeat Liu Yao and Yuan Shu’s armies inside Weiyang Palace. Sima Zhao and Wen Yang will head to Changle Palace while Ujiyasu and Takatora head to Gui Palace. You can follow either group.

Inside Gui Palace, Ujiyasu and Takatora will be ambushed by Zhang Xiu and Gongsun Zan’s forces, but Yoshitsugu Ōtani will arrive and guide them to break the formation by defeating the enemy officers in a clockwise direction around the palace. Next, head north over the bridge and defeat Tao Qian’s forces. From there, you can defeat Hisahide Matsunaga and enter Mingguang Palace

Inside Changle Palace, defeat the Miyoshi forces. Then, head outside and defeat the Rokkaku forces in order to build a bridgelayer over the moat. Wait for a little bit (for the building to finish), then defeat Sun Wukong and enter Mingguang Palace. Finally, defeat Kiyomori to win the battle.

In the aftermath, Yoshitsugu reunites with Takatora and agrees to join Sima Zhao’s army.

Chapter 14: Battle of Kōga 甲賀の戦い (uses SW3XL Original Career Mode map)

Jin Army vs. Date-Da Ji Army Allied characters: Wang Yuanji, Wang Yi, Cai Wenji, Kai, Lady Hayakawa, Jia Chong Enemy characters: Da Ji, Himiko, Masamune Date, Sima Yi, Zhang Chunhua, Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Yu Jin

Da Ji was tasked with preventing the Jin Army from stopping their resurrection of Orochi. When the Jin Army split into two groups, Kiyomori and Da Ji went their separate ways to stop them. Working with Masamune Date and Sima Yi, Da Ji met Wang Yuanji and the others in the maze that was Kōga…

Start in the southwest and advance towards Da Ji in the northeast. Masamune will be in the northwest and Sima Yi will be in the southeast. A number of enemy officers will resurrect themselves, but this can be stopped by finding and defeating the six sorcerers.

When you fight Da Ji, Himiko will continually heal her until she is defeated. Defeat Da Ji to win the battle.

In the aftermath, Wang Yi will wonder why it took them a long time to get through Da Ji’s army; Jia Chong theorises that Kiyomori must be buying time in order for him to resurrect Orochi.

Chapter 15: Battle of Kōzuki Castle 上月城の戦い (uses SW4 map)

Jin Army vs. Taira Army Allied characters: Ujiyasu Hōjō, Lady Hayakawa, Yoshitsugu Ōtani Enemy characters: Kiyomori Taira, Sun Wukong, Kotarō Fūma, Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Zhuge Dan, Hisahide Matsunaga, Dodomeki, Gyūki

Kiyomori Taira had two reasons for sending out a massive number of soldiers. One was to stop the Jin Army from preventing the resurrection of Orochi. Another was to buy as much time as he could so that the preparations would be complete. The Jin Army chased Kiyomori to Kōzuki Castle, where he was putting the final touches on his plan…

Start in the southwest and advance to Kōzuki Castle on multiple fronts. Kiyomori will task Sun Wukong, Sima Yi and Dong Zhuo with holding the enemy off as long as possible.

In the northwest, Sima Yi will summon rifle units. Make your way around to the north and defeat Sima Yi from there. Defeat any enemy officers on the way.

When you enter the western and southern garrisons, Hisahide Matsunaga and Dong Zhuo will launch fire attacks. Defeat them to extinguish the flames. Then, once you enter the northern garrison or the supply depot in the east, Sun Wukong will summon doubles of himself and unleash poison gas all over the battlefield. Defeat the three doubles of Sun Wukong in the southeast, centre and northwest to clear the poison gas. Finally, defeat the two remaining doubles in the northern garrison and supply depot before defeating the real Sun Wukong to open the gates to Kōzuki Castle.

Defeat Kiyomori to win the battle. Upon his defeat, Kiyomori will tell the player that it is too late now…

In the aftermath, Sima Zhao and the others discover that Orochi has been resurrected.

Chapter 16: Battle of Runan 汝南の戦い (uses DW8 map)

Jin Army and Coalition Army vs. Orochi Army Allied characters: Sima Zhao, Wang Yuanji, Ujiyasu Hōjō, Kai, Takatora Tōdō, Yoshitsugu Ōtani Third-party characters: Xiahou Ba, Guo Huai, Lianshi, Ding Feng, Liu Shan, Jiang Wei, Xingcai Enemy characters: Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Zhuge Dan, Zhang Chunhua, Masamune Date, Kojūrō Katakura, Motonari Mōri, Takakage Kobayakawa, Hisahide Matsunaga

Orochi had been resurrected, stronger than ever. Despite the news, Sima Zhao and the others never showed any sign of fear or dread. Sima Yi attacked Sima Zhao’s camp at Sanjiang Castle, forcing them to escape to Runan where they would make their last stand. However, upon arriving in Runan, it had already been occupied by Sima Yi’s forces, forcing Sima Zhao to go on the offensive…

If you’ve played the original battle in Dynasty Warriors 8, then I won’t waste time recapping the whole scenario for you here. If you haven’t, then play it at least once with each of the characters so that you get an idea of what to expect, because it’s practically a 1-to-1 adaptation of the battle.

Beginning in the southeast, the Jin Army splits into three groups. Sima Zhao and Wang Yuanji will advance north to fight the Date Army, Ujiyasu Hōjō and Kai will advance west to fight the Mōri Army, and Takatora Tōdō and Yoshitsugu Ōtani will advance south to fight Hisahide and his officers before joining the Hōjō in defeating Motonari. As you advance, reinforcements from (the younger generations of) Wei, Wu and Shu will join the battle.

Finally, advance north and split into two groups to fight Sima Yi’s officers before defeating him to win the battle.

[belkidebirharfimben]

Hakkın sınavında kopya çekmek de serbest

Arkadaşım, mevzu 8. Söz'den çıktı, anlatayım: Ona mürşidim iki ayetle başlıyor. Hatta daha doğrusunu söylemeli: İki ayetten alınmış ifadelerle başlıyor. Bunlardan birisi Bakara sûresinin 255. ayetinden. Kısa bir meali şöyledir: "Allah Teala ki Ondan başka hiçbir ilah yoktur. Hayy Odur. Kayyum Odur." Diğeriyse Âl-i İmran sûresinin 19. ayetinden. Onun da kısa bir meali şöyle: "Şüphesiz ki Allah katında makbul olan din İslam'dır."

Dikkat edersen: Birisi Allah'ın biricikliğinden, hayat vericiliğinden, devam ettiriciliğinden bahsederken; diğeri 'indinde makbul tek dinin İslam olduğunu' bildirir. Bu nedenle zahirî nazarla ilgilerini sezmek zordur. İşte bu müşkülün eşiğinde bir tefekkür hassasiyeti nazarımıza çarpar. Evet. 25. Söz'deki izahlardan da biliriz ki: Bediüzzaman, Furkan'daki ayetlerin bazen aynı kanunun iki ucunu, yani en büyük resimdeki tecelliyle en küçük detaydaki tezahürünü, birlikte ifade ettiklerini düşünür. Hatta 14. Lem'a'nın 2. Makamı'nda bunu besmeleyle izah eder:

"Demek, Bismillâhirrahmânirrahîm, sahife-i âlemde bir satır-ı nuranî teşkil eden üç sikke-i ehadiyetin kudsî ünvanıdır ve kuvvetli bir haytıdır ve parlak bir hattıdır. Yani, Bismillâhirrahmânirrahîm, yukarıdan nüzûl ile, semere-i kâinat ve âlemin nüsha-i musağğarası olan insana ucu dayanıyor. Ferşi Arşa bağlar, insanî arşa çıkmaya bir yol olur."

'Allah' ism-i celali ile kainatın bütünlüğünde okunan sır, 'Rahman' ism-i şerifinin gölgesinde dünyanın yüzünde, 'Rahîm' ism-i latifi ile de insanın sima-i manevisinde okunur. Yani evren, dünya ve insan bu düzlemde içiçeleşirler. Hatta yine mezkûr pencereden bakılınca gönürür ki: Âdem âlemden sağılmıştır. Onun misal-i musağğarıdır. Küçücük bir özetidir. Nakışlarının şiddeti sanatının sıkışıklığındandır. Başka bir yerde bu hakikate şöyle işaret edildiğini görürüz:

"Hem nasıl ki, kâinattaki san'atı, kemâl-i intizamından kitap şekline girdi. İnsandaki sıbgatı ve nakş-ı hikmeti dahi hitap çiçeğini açtı. Yani, o san'at, o derece mânidar ve hassas ve güzeldir ki, o makine-i zîhayattaki cihazatı, fonoğraf gibi nutka geldi, söylettirdi."

Besmele okuyuşu da etkiler. Diyebiliriz ki: Risale-i Nur'un tamamı belki böylesi bir bakışın eseridir. Çünkü mürşidim orada nazarını sürekli büyük resmin üzerinde tutar. 13. Söz'de yaptığı ayet-yıldız benzetmesinin hakkını verir. Nasıl? Açalım: Ona göre Kur'an düzlem değil uzaydır. Herbir ayeti bu uzaya merkez olabilir. Hangisine yapışılsa kardeşleri hakikatini destekler nitelikte etrafında yeniden şekillenirler. Yeni yeni vechelerini gösterirler:

"Kur'ân-ı Mu'cizü'l-Beyanın i'caz derecesindeki kemâl-i nizam ve intizamı ve kitab-ı kâinattaki intizâmât-ı san'atı muntazam üslûplarıyla tefsir ettikleri halde manzum olmadığının diğer bir sebebi de budur ki: Âyetlerinin herbir necmi, vezin kaydı altına girmeyip ta ekser âyetlere bir nevi merkez olsun ve kardeşi olsun ve mâbeynlerinde mevcut münasebet-i mâneviyeye rabıta olmak için, o daire-i muhîta içindeki âyetlere birer hatt-ı münasebet teşkil etmesidir. Güya, serbest herbir âyetin ekser âyetlere bakar birer gözü, müteveccih birer yüzü var. Kur'ân içinde binler Kur'ân bulunur ki, herbir meşrep sahibine birisini verir. Nasıl ki 25. Söz'de beyan edildiği gibi..."

Sorumuzu yineleyelim: Allah'ın tekliğinin, Hayy olmasının, Kayyum olmasının 'makbul dinin yalnız İslam olmasıyla' ne ilgisi var? Acaba şu mu: Üstteki ayet 'Allah birdir' diyor. Alttaki ayet 'Din birdir' diyor. Yani, Allah tek, İslam da tek. İnsan da bu makuliyete kapılıyor: Allah birse din de bir olur. Sultan birse kanunu da bir olur. Hâkim birse adaleti de bir olur. İkircik malikiyette kusurdur. Biricik Allah, hristiyanlara 'Ben üçüm,' budistlere 'Ben putum,' ateistlere 'Ben yokum,' müslümanlara 'Ben tekim' buyurmaz. Çünkü bunlar beraber doğru olmaz. Olamaz. Zıttırlar.

Şuradan da bakalım: Kayyumiyetiyle kainatın devamını heran sağlayan kimse, elbette, Hayy ism-i şerifiyle canlılığın devamını sağlayan da odur. Çünkü küçük resimdeki devamlılık büyük resmin devamına bağlıdır. Has dairenin devamı sarayın devamına bağlıdır. Öyle ya: Canlılığın yapıtaşı da cansızlardır. Atomları hiçten varlığa çıkaran ve kalmalarını düzenle heran sağlayan kimse hayatın varlığını ve devamını sağlayan da odur. Yani Hayy u Kayyum isimleri kardeştir. Bir hakikatin iki yüzüdür. Sözgelimi: Kayyumiyet hayat üzerinde daha zâhir görünür. (Canlıların düzeni daha özet bir bütündür.) Hayatsa Kayyumiyetin gereği olan kudret, ilim, irade üçlüsünü açıklar. Evet. Kayyum olan hayattar da olmalıdır. Yani Hayy olmayan Kayyum olamaz. Kayyum olmayan da hayatı yaratamaz. Çünkü hayat da ancak heran bir kollanışla varlık sahasında kalır. Bir taş bir ağaçtan daha az şeye muhtaçtır. Bir ağaç da bir hayvandan daha az şeye ihtiyaçlıdır. Demem o ki arkadaşım: Varlıkların canlılık mertebesini yükselten âdeta ihtiyaçlarıdır. Fakirlikleriyle Rahman'a kurdukları bağdır. Dilenişleridir. Kavuştukları bağışlardır.

İnsansa daha özel bir alanı temsil eder. Onun öyle bilişleri, sezişleri, istekleri, tasavvurları vardır ki sair canlılar onunla yarışamaz. Bir bitkinin varolmak için şiire ihtiyacı yoktur. İnsanın vardır. Bir hayvanın avını pişirmeye/lezzetlendirmeye arzusu yoktur. İnsanın vardır. Daha bunlar gibi öyle alanlar bulunur ki, insan, onlarda açılmış istidatlarıyla yüzbin kapılı bir saray hükmüne geçer. Yüzbin dilli bir dilenciye dönüşür. Herbiriyle ayrı bağış alır. Yani: Fakirliği aslında zenginliğidir. Yahut da Aleyhissalatuvesselamın ifadesiyle: "Fakirliğim fahrımdır/övüncümdür."

Bir benzetmeyle sözlerimi toparlayayım arkadaşım: Kainat bir kitapsa insan o kitabın arkasındaki boşluktur. Boşluklar neden bırakılır bilirsin: Kâriler notlarını oraya alırlar. Böylece bir kitap bin farklı şekilde tamamlanır. Her derkenar kitaba dahil olur. Yine mürşidimin tabiriyle: "Herbirimizin hayatı bir endam âyinesidir. Şu dünyadan herbirimize birer dünya var, birer âlemimiz var. Fakat direği, merkezi, kapısı, hayatımızdır. Belki o hususî dünyamız ve âlemimiz bir sahifedir, hayatımız bir kalem—onunla, sahife-i a'mâlimize geçecek çok şeyler yazılıyor."

Kur'an'da dolduracağımız bu kısım için 'sahife' ifadesi kullanılıyor. Müfessirlerimiz de bu hakikati bize 'defter' üzerinden anlatıyorlar. Mesela diyorlar: 'Amel defteri.' Peki defterle kitabın farkı nedir arkadaşım? Birisi 'yazılır' diğeri 'okunur?' O kadar mı? Yok. O kadarcık değil. Şunu da düşünmelisin belki: Kitabı sahibi doldurur. Defteriyse emanetçisi. Yani: Kitap doldurulmuş olarak önümüze gelir. Defteriniyse o kitaba göre kendin doldurman gerekir. Eğer kitaptakilere göre doldurduysan incelendiğinde 'pekiyi' verilir. Eh, evet, en azından bizim zamanımızda öyleydi. Öğretmenlerimiz imza atarlardı. Böylelikle defteri doğru kullandığın isbatlanmış olurdu.

Fakat dikkat et: İnsanın iradesi de var. Emaneti o yüklendi. Kitaptan başka defter de istedi. Belki iradesi bizzat bu defter oldu. Zalimlik-cahillik yükünü de omuzlarına aldı. Öyle ya: Kalemi eline alıyorsan bir cür'ete girişmişsin demektir. Defterini kitaba göre doldurman gerek. Kitaba rağmen defter olmaz. Kainata bakıp hayatını onda tecelli eden esmaya göre yaşaman lazım.

Yani ki arkadaşım: Biz âlemin defteriyiz. Sayfa kenarındaki boşluğuz. Sınanıyoruz. Zalimliğimiz-cahilliğimiz kaçınılmaz. Çünkü kuşatamıyoruz. Ancak halimizi bilen Rabb-i Rahîm'imiz yine ihsanlarını alıkoymuyor. Nebiler, vahiyler, şeriatlar gönderiyor. Böylece kainatı devam ettiren Kayyumiyeti varlığımıza da devam ettiriyor. Elhamdülillah. Bediüzzaman'ın tabiriyle 'insaniyet-i kübra olan İslamiyet' imdadımıza yetişiyor. Öyle ifade etmek belki doğru değil ama söylemeden de yapamayacağım arkadaşım: Sünnetten kopya çekebilirsin. Defterini kolaylıkla doldurabilirsin. Rabb-i Rahîm'imiz öyle şefkatli bir öğretmen işte. Ona şükrolsun.

[fierykamuy]

Acknowledgment of Contradiction And The Use of Character Foils - The Eighth Genius

Note: that this analysis will also involve speculations to nail the point that it is centered on the character introduction and that this analysis also includes the opinions of not only me but other members of the community as well.

The first things first, let’s start with the definition of the terms that will be a subject matter in this text.

By nature, contradictions are the details that by themselves prove the wrong of a system that they inhabit, thus efforts are made to avoid them like a plague, as it is strongly believed that any combination of statements, ideas or features will crumble if it consists the inconsistent details – it is considered as an antonym of “confirmation” for a reason. They also tend to make perfect counter-arguments.

Ravages of Time argues that not only everything is consistent, but also from the point of view of the ones that are trying to assert the ideas, said ideas can be built on contradictions, can consist of contradictions, and said contradictions could be used to secure the system. It is still better to hide that fact from the masses to avoid the confusion

(Strangely enough, inconsistencies within the writing of RoT actually enhance its consistency)

A foil of a character, on the other hand, is a tool of the story-telling. It is certainly similar to the “contrast” in artworks, as it is supposed to highlight character trait by placing it near the opposite character train – common usage is the calm and pragmatic sidekick next to the hotheaded protagonist.

In idea, every character can foil any character in the story, so the key part of foiling is the interactions of the concrete personalities. In this analysis, I will explain as to how Ravages’ manages to connect the threads indirectly, through the organic mirroring of the circumstances and affiliations.

Let’s get started.

From the perspective of the governorship or leadership in general, “contradiction” and it’s acknowledgment was always one of the fundamental parts of The Ravages of Time – be it either Cao Cao’s campaign with the image of corruption, which was motivated by greed, for the greater good or selfless selfishness of Sun clan that was aimed at the fundament of the corruption that is the Han dynasty (ironically, against their contradictions) or Liu Bei’s fake image of a saint or even assassin Liu Da who seeks the comforting life through the court by going against himself to the point of forgetting it – everything is chained to the rulership, because that’s exactly what affects everything else.

Full embracement of this exact idea – considering how coherent and varied it is with many sides, even when it comes to religion and politicians *cough* LOGH *cough* – is what allowed RoT to stand out among any other war and political drama. And despite the dense story-telling that spans more than 500 chapters, its brilliance is still being polished by not only showcasing the usefulness of this theme, but also the criticism through its shortcoming, which results in the cycle of never-endlessness (and, arguably, the placement of RoT above any competitor, but that’s but a mere meta-talk):

there's the floating text in 372 that appears to praise the down-to-earth approach (associated with Guo Jia) of seeing humans as being more crow-like (with its positive and negative connotations, both nurturing toward their own and vicious toward targets) rather than dragon-like (with associated images of nobility and grandeur), offering the suggestion that perhaps the thing about humans is that they aspire so much (and as it's insinuated, cause so much trouble in the process) without realizing their station and limits and how such ambition and greed are nonetheless part of how they are in the world

now it's not made completely clear how this monologue is connected to Guo Jia's stances, but perhaps one way to establish the link would be to assume that if Guo Jia doesn't have a lofty view of humans, he could embrace the path of ruthlessly carrying out the reforms one insists on (never mind if others accept them or see them as virtuous), hoping for the best that perhaps at the end of the day things could work out (and someone could pick up the pieces the morning after once he's gone and this is where Xun Yu is supposed to come in, the comfort after the chaos)

what Zhuge Liang takes exception to is the notion that the comparison of humans to crows (even if it's a useful corrective to the boastful comparison of humans to dragons) somehow justifies the brutality of the process of pacification... thus the counter retort that people are people, crows are crows (of course this too assumes that Zhuge Liang knows better about what it means to be human)

and this brings us to the 'immovable and twisted rationality' that Zhuge Liang decries (even if he concedes that some sort of peace that is to say the peace of a pacified population desperate for anyone to impose clear order and guarantee safety can be founded on ruthless subjugation as historically attested in the rise of empires and regimes)

Guo Jia (and by extension, Jia Xu and Sima Yi and others like them) wouldn't mind exploiting and perpetuating that rationality so long as there is a convenient path to quelling the unrest (which they see partly as a result of greed and ambition that form part of the human condition) and putting in place some sort of reform to help manage the chaos

on the other hand, Zhuge Liang still believes that humans can be guided and governed by virtue, that loyalty discourse can be used not simply as a cynical method to prop up the ruling order, but as a moral principle that prevents needless bloodshed (yet he finds himself in the compromised position of having to wage bloody crusades but under a righteous banner)

This basically serves as a set-up to what will RoT shift into and who will be the main actor of the following arc. So, in the same way as Zhuge serving as a foil to Guo Jia, the Eighth Genius is being introduced in his arc and the Eighth will even get focused in the following arc. In the Red Cliff arc Eighth did exactly what Zhuge was doing prior to active participation – judging the conflict and “reporting the weather” – and yet he fails to predict the seventh (well, at least, he waited longer). This dynamic will be further established at the end of the Four Commanderies arc and as of now, we need to completely dissect 8th’s introduction, to have a deeper understanding of what will their discord stand for. All in all, each and every sentence uttered by his mouth is quite worth the attention.

at this point, Zhuge Liang outweighs the 8th in terms of reputation and narrative placement (not to mention that throughout the series, Zhuge Liang has been the one guy most in touch with the rest of his classmates on the sidelines and the one guy the other classmates either admire or dread or want to compete against), though the 8th's status as a shadow counterpart to Liaoyuan Huo (because of the Zhao Yun angle) makes him parallel Zhuge Liang (who in turn serves as the mirror collaborator/nemesis to Sima Yi) in one respect in that both have strange ties to the eponymous duo of Ravages

in addition, the 8th parallels Sima Min (in being the last and shadiest on the list of 8 illustrious names) and possibly the 8th eccentric (assuming this member shows up and fits the pattern), and in terms of outlook he can be compared to Yuan Fang

Another thing that we need to pay attention to in the Red Cliff arc, though, is Eighth’s interest in mind control (as we know, character introductions In RoT reveal a lot about the characters) – as Water Mirror says, to subdue the enemy without a fight is the strongest method of war, but the eighth insists that the method, that the evil cultists are so infamous for, is actually the most productive one (probably because avoiding the war merely keeps the people safe, but is not satisfying – it is not doing anything to enhance the condition of them, as it won’t save people from themselves), but even if one won’t give in to the temptation and derail from the bright path, these techniques are leaving everlasting negative effects on person’s mind.

So, if we were to speculate, the most likely theory is that the Eighth learned said methods, which ties to another theory of him being the renowned scholar named Zhang Song (that being said, I'd rather see Zhang Song as another character altogether (whether the 8th takes that alias later on or just cooperates with him/them since I'd rather see duplicated names than merged characters)), but let’s talk about later on.

But… why and when did he betray the expectations of his teacher? The first one is rather easy to guess. It is about his ideology of individualism – instead of waging meaningless wars with tons of unrecorded blood being spilled, which would also limit everyone else’s desires and freedom (represented by Fang-er), that comes from the natural craving to the anarchy of human nature, whenever it is caged in order, why not exploit and weaponized and control vices and viciousness of a person? Instead of forming a collective mindset, why not try to understand the mind of every single individual? Instead of relying on brainwashing through moral propaganda, why not have faith in inherent human selfishness?

Him being an assassin resonates to this idea very well, because he is doing everything on his own and is not commanding a mere group, collection of people. He is doing things alongside them, understands them, and is, in fact, closer to reality than other classmates. Sure, Zhuge, too, understands the nature of his surroundings, but he is still a man of principles and his viewpoint is stuck on that – growing colder to actually personal human interactions and yet he is the one who values a human life the most (this mirror’s to 8th’s apathy, despite him acknowledging the personal desires in an individual)

To be fair, he is more of an assassin than any other character with the same profession in this story, because he actually lacks identity as nobody knows who he is if he won’t reveal everything by himself and, funnily enough, he is free to hide his identity even if he were to choose a warlord (also, he does not really HAVE TO be devoted to any of them and choose as many he wants to choose for the sake of his plans, which would mirror 7th’s “devotion until death”) and he could attach to himself whichever identity he wishes. Lack of identity was fatal in the hands of Sun clan and lethal in the hands of Sima Yi, whereas they still had some kind of connections, so now imagine how peculiarly promising is 8th’s potential, who does not seem to have any attachments.

I may as well rightfully declare that his lack of identity has a gargantuan perk to counter the cynicism of history – Whatever he does will be judged by future generation’s own assessments, yes, but if 8th’s real identity remains unknown, no one will know to whom they are supposed to connect all of his actions that he committed with the identity of others, hence the perpetual inaccuracy of historical records. Akin to Yuan Fang, who is an original character of Ravages of Time (the difference being, that if Yuan Fang has an original identity, 8th can “grab” identities of actual historical figures and get away with it)

As the last student, of course, the similarity with the first student Yuan Fang (well, his “lord” was chosen instead of him, by being a son of Yuan Shao – that selfish romantic really had no chance to CHOOSE to live for himself with his loved one, huh?) is apparent. Aside of the fact that Fang was connected to the cultist, he was also trying to practice the art of survival, (which he did not manage to perfect, thanks to his daddy) and even being able to kill people by his own hands (as much of a prodigy as he is). But ironically, (which can also be considered as a contradiction) the simplest desires are the root for the grandest ambitions and at the end of the day, Fang proves this point of 8th that self-serving desires may even seduce someone to achieve grand visions, he is delving into the corruption, rather than taking care of “his” people individually. And, after all, 8th does not really resemble to romantics.

Well, it won’t be fair if I do not mention that Zhuge (by torturing people) and Zhou Yu (by being a sparring partner of Sun Ce)… and even Xun Yu (by slapping a wolfneck)… are more than capable of doing some things by their own hands.

So far we can feel free to say, that 8th is not being seduced by desires (take a shot every time the eighth contradicts himself and yet never stops making sense) and he is a quite unemotional human being, considering that after the death of his oath brother he did not really look affected, remained perfectly calm and rational – basically took a duel out of respect and Yun’s lack of stamina. You could argue that he had his mask on, so it would have been hard to notice his emotions, but he instantly gave orders of retreat after the death of “the lord” and it was also implied that he does not really connect well with others.

He wears the mask of a caring person, while Yun wears a mask of an uncaring person.

(Honorable mention of his ability to rapidly adapt to the situation – which should be coming naturally to a person who is a good judge of double meanings (pointed out by his hand signal first and then by “he discovered the secret of various books in the world”)

It is quite fascinating to see such a person to be aware of everything and be appealing. In some mediocre stories, he would have been extremely childish and overdramatized at it, lacking any kind of human decency. On the contrary, 8th respects his enemies, is quite affable, acknowledges the contradictions within the human nature and acts according to it, and does good deeds for others (“repair your shed”), even if not unconditionally – as he is a morally grey character, and not ham-fisted at that.

This brings us to another philosophical part of his views – the value. “Feel helpless all you want, it won’t do anything for you”, every individual has their own, but to attain said value they first need to realize what their defining uniqueness is by themselves, instead of relying on either someone else or heavens and then act on it, make use of it. They must make a choice whether they will be “childbearing” tools or… weapons. To me his reaction (or lack of thereof) to this line of his oath brother “undertake its duties when called to the office; retire otherwise” felt like he (oath brother) completely lost the value in his (8th) eyes, by not only being enslaved to the whore for naught all these years, but also clinging to the brother (when he could have just let the woman infiltrate Shu). This page here can also be easily interpreted as if someone should trade their own valuable people, but it can also mean that people should see the value in whatever they have, whether they be items or loved ones, and cherish them.

So, in short, you do not need to imagine yourself (self-delusion) as a god-emperor to give yourself the value and be content to live.

Above we discussed how 8th is encouraging and guiding others towards seeking the value in themselves, but that is not quite all, is it now. Sure, you find value in yourself and the people around you, but the said value needs to be defined by something. To apply 8th’s standards, the more benefit is from someone, the more is his or her value. And even if she was merely being traded for a lovesick man, she still had some value in her.

He is acting as if he does not view people as objects, Yun is acting as if he does not view her as a loved one (material value against the emotional value)

Infiltration of Shu is quite obvious with all of these details and that freely be interpreted as if 8th is focused on Shu, but we could also take it as a hint that he has tried and may still be trying to plant some moles in other factions as well.

In addition, he usually talks whatever is necessary without much care to his actual intent, which not only results in an interest rabbit hole but is also a very intriguing character trait and a means of manipulation. Reason for that being the fact, that most of what he is saying is actually… true. Yes, his words are self-serving. Yes, his words do not reveal what his actual motives are. Yes, he is purposely aiming at your most vulnerable topic. But he is the only one telling you the truth about yourself and he is the only one giving you the freedom of choice towards what you crave.

The beauty of the 8th Genius' dialogue with Zhao Yun to me is that, despite all of his words being self-serving, they were probably the most honest words Zhao Yun had ever heard. Even Liu Bei or Sima Yi never mention the fact that Zhao Yun has essentially been a slave all these years, who has given up on his happiness to fulfill the wishes of others. And yet here comes this unknown man who manages to get to the very depth of Zhao Yun's character in a mere couple words. And to make it even more beautiful, Zhao Yun faces these words that cut him to the core head-on, and not only acknowledges them but in the face of these truths and in the face of a final chance at his own happiness, he chooses again to remain a slave for the sake of someone else's desires. And that's what makes the 8th Genius so enticing to me. If he can get to the bottom of such an enigmatic character like Zhao Yun in his very first appearance, I can only imagine what he'll do later on.

Though I have to note that the 8th isn't the only one to have confronted Liaoyuan Huo with a dilemma... Zhang Lei sort of did that in 293, Liu Da offered something similar in 384 (the difference I suppose is that whereas they challenged Huo to choose between 2 masters, the offer of the 8th, even though less genuine, is for Huo to choose between serving a master or walking away)

in another note, it's important to stress that if warmongering is the problem (especially if we consider that what usually happens when regimes wage war as a distinct form of mass conflict unlike popular uprisings and insurgencies is that pacified populations are coerced or cajoled into expending their labor and lives to feed machines of organized violence that mainly benefit a select few) it's not a matter of who wins or loses since the game itself is rotten regardless of goals and intentions

Alas, one other issue is that many cut ambitious conquerors (especially if they exhibit charisma and are on the winning side) some slack, while those motivated by ideology or principle (especially if they're losing) are selectively denounced as zealots for trying to push a program

And yet who doesn't like heroic tales…

That’s how the 8th stands out among his classmates mainly in terms of how his rhetoric focuses not so much on principles and ambitions (even Zhou Yu's attachment to the Sun clan involves sticking by some notion of continuity), but simple and personal desires and choices – which fits the narrative of the Four Commanderies and analogically makes it stand out among the other arcs. It is an arc, which highlights the how empty is the shell of people, who are getting defiled by their own egos or thorny roses, beneath the surface of their facade and how some of them stop, start listening to the voice of reason and thus develop into respectable men while maintaining their individuality. The unconventional part that elevates this arc into being a masterpiece is the fact that even protagonists may have a facade and in overall, not every facade is shallow or/and they do not serve solely the corruption.

Sure, I talk a lot about the comparison with Zhuge, but these details were brought from this exact arc that is not even focused Zhuge, but aside of masterfully crafted indirect hints, Four Commanderies put on a table way more than just that. The obvious one being the personal conflict with Zhao Yun, which I already mentioned:

There 8th “asked” Yun to choose what’s his actual happiness, his own life or someone else’s path (that is burdened with failure) – little did 8th know that from Yun’s perspective it did not really matter what he would have chosen, because of how both of these choices are important for Yun as a person, how both of them are what he is craving for and how both of them are going to enslave. And he can’t even choose to not choose, because he would be going against himself in ANY case. As cold-blooded as he is, Zhao Yun got numb by making the best possible choice – “Three days. More than enough”. Truly, 8th failed at psychological warfare (and even if had an upper-hand in a duel, it did not really matter), but admitted that Yun made a right choice, without explaining himself – I think the existence of Zhao Tong made the choice correct. When a father and a son met, both of them found their “pieces of jade ornament that can be traded for cities” (note how Yun compared his son to Sun Ce – that was rather delightful for Tong, considering that no one was taking him seriously whenever he was comparing himself to Sun Ce). That was quite well symbolized by the lively tree near Yun. Usually, whenever a life-changing event happens in his life, he is near a dead tree.

After all, Zhao Yun is already used to selling.

So many lives that he cared about are no more, what’s one more.

(And if I were to fanboy over him more – “Huo” did not really return after the warrior’s duel (named as “a path of no return”))

Briefly to come back to Zhuge, the one who basically pulls some strings behind Yun – when 8th mentioned the facade of the “greater good”, I was suddenly reminded of a saying by melancholy 7th about “benevolent realists” when he was talking about how people like to shield themselves with “FOR THE GREATER GOOD”, while in actuality they are masked egomaniacs. But if Zhuge says that people use “greater good” as a mere excuse (as he always dislikes the certain type of people), 8th remarks that these self-proclaimed paragons of virtue (such as 7th) are merely deluding themselves and the concept of “greater good” does not even exist.

In short, lying to others that you are a savior vs. lying to yourself that you are a savior

If you think that the introduction of this character is already great enough, you need to get prepared, because the revelation, that completely recontextualizes these events into something even more meaningful and profound, is yet to come.

When Yun remembered the bits of 8th’s backstory from his memory, 8th pointed his finger to the sky, a call-back to that scene when Huo was named as Zhao Yun and that, as far as we know, cemented him as the perfect foil to Zhao Yun and now demands from us to re-analyze this precious arc of his as the mirrored life of Liaoyuan Huo from two respective points of view. Considering the fact that Ravages of Time is exploring the history and human condition as a theme, then it won’t really be a surprise if I would define “mirrored life” as if they were the alternative versions of how would Huo’s life continue if he were to choose different paths of life.

1) Zhao Fan’s case is rather easy to elaborate on. He represents the “pretentiousness” (by compensating his lack of masculinity and love from his loved one, through the pretense of just babbling hollow words (merely citing others), as he is not capable of doing anything else) against the “reality” of Zhao Yun (less talk, more action attitude of his and plus the playfulness that is hiding the coldblooded nature beneath the surface).

That pretentiousness would define Zhao Yun as well if he was not so hardened by the high amount of struggle he lived through and later be polished by Liu Bei. Huo would have been in his place if he were to come to his loved one instead of Xiao Meng. But that would come with its own negative consequence, as he would not have been loved.

2) 8th’s case is a bit complicated. They do share the path, but with the polar opposite approach. “Sharing the path” is amusing on its own right, though. Huo took the name “Zhao Yun” and will get recorded in history with someone else’s name, but the guy who was born with the name “Zhao Yun” won’t be recorded in history with his own name as well. Still, his name will exist in history, but it is going to be a guy, who’s completely different from the original Zhao Yun. Talk about an identity crisis.

“observing the passing of time and waiting for its coming, cannot compare to dealing with time and making use of it” – This throws us back in time, as far as the early chapters go, when Yun had an internal monologue about waiting for someone who would change and save the world. Around that time, 8th was persuading Huo’s loved one about how meaningless it is to just wait for something. Perhaps Huo would have undergone 8th’s path if he were to study as a genius to save the world instead of waiting for someone else to do it, but at the end of the day, he managed to understand where he belongs to.

Huo was waiting because he did not see himself as someone who could really make a difference in the world (“if martial arts would have made a difference, then the key positions in the world would already be dominated by various schools”). Meaning, that only “grander” things affect the world (such as Jesus and Dragon). but 8th begs to differ, with an argument that the delusions of grandeur should be broken for people and that even “books”, as tiny as they are, can affect the masses (for example, how Sun clan was hiding the true Art of War for themselves)

“what we need to learn now is observation and patience” – still paid off in Huo’s case and so it did for another Yun as well, as he was busy all these years, observing not only the human nature but the hidden meanings and uses of certain things, such as the literature as a tool of lying (“you won’t understand history without knowing how to lie”). This also foils how Zhuge was “waiting” and cultivating the illusions about Liu Bei for all these eleven years.

It is quite ironic and contradictory when 8th is talking about how important it is to know “where one stands” and yet he lacks identity and that helps him to stand (“infiltrate”) in any faction, at the same time. But us not knowing the identity of 8th further empowers my approach. Matches well with Huo trying to suppress his emotions and forget himself, thus becoming numb and losing his identity, as he won’t even get credit for his heroic deeds.

Basically Zhao brothers can be seen as the Yun’s identity crisis, a conflict between his duality of nature (Fan – wanting a normal life with his loved one. 8th – wanting to go with Liu Bei). And Huo killed Fan by his own hand, so killing the “longing for a personal happiness” also took a life of his loved one at the same time, by 8th mirroring his hand.

(8th casually hinting that both of them are named Zhao Yun)

The point of mirrored life is that he was always suffering, is currently suffering, will continue suffering, and would have suffered even if he were to make different life-changing choices in the past. But he will continue to live and will carry all the weight, as he already accepted it. It is as realistic as it gets – no matter what you are going to choose, the history is going to fix itself.

As to how similar 8th is to Liu Bei, we can talk about that right now. Meanwhile, 8th was judging the character of an assassin, Liu Bei was also being busy by judging the character of another Zhao and that, you guessed it, allows US to judge 8th as the mirror of our Chinese Jesus as well. To begin with, it is implied that both of them have two oath brothers so that comparison is not really far-fetched.

On the surface, both of them are good at judging the characters and while they are at that, none of them are using their real identities, but the substantial difference between them is that – Liu Bei is using the identity of being the cult of a personality, while 8th is not using any identity at all; Liu Bei is giving away a sincere brotherly love, thus gaining help from them on their own accord and that is something 8th is alien to (Zhao Fan was enslaved to his desire, rather than the aspiration of his brotherhood).

Now it should be noted that even if Liu Bei is getting a warm love and help from his oath brothers is a good thing, of course, Chen Mou has not forgotten that even such kind and heartfelt intent/actions can be harmful to the lofty aspirations. I also daresay that there is a great potential of showing the enormous flaws behind saving the world as a cult of a personality.

The first is directly connected to the relationship between the “savior” and the masses – there will be a part of people, who will have an urge to completely become reliant to the “shelter” that was provided to them and not only lose the sense of individuality in the process, but also get so soft in the process that they won’t be able to stand on their own again so easily.

The second problem comes exactly from that and both of these could be depicted in RoT through Liu Shan’s character arc – for the world to be shaped as in the eyes’ of Liu Bei, he has to alienate himself from the garden of earthly delights and the human beings themselves, thus he himself will become a tool, who will only be able to care about his comrades-in-arm. After all, he values them more than his own son.

Right in the queue is standing a dragon (aka, not human) Zhuge Liang, who will also drag Liu Bei’s son to the moon. Moon of course represents the principles of Zhuge Liang and he is going to nail them in Liu Shan’s mind so much, that there will be no one to take the child on earthly adventures to gain necessary experience about the reality and human interactions. After all, Liu Shan is neglected to the point of being used in schemes even as a child. Although the role of Sun Shu in this ordeal is still a mystery.

One thing is clear – without Sun Shu, Liu Shan is going to become an anti-thesis of 8th’s ideology.

To have a clear idea and understanding of what I am talking about, you could always watch that Ghibli movie named “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”. The Emperor there is so out of touch, he is not even aware that he should not touch women without their consent.

8th’s ideology won’t result in such degradation, but Liu Bei has his own arguments against that world-view. If 8th blames people for having the delusions of their own grandeur, Liu Bei says that people have delusions not about their own selves, but about the world itself, as to how it is “structured”. So, people are not defiled, they are just following the wrong path and guidance could fix that. Zhao Tong depicted as someone who is not being as educated and well-read as Liu Bei further nails the point.

(Thanks to the translator Merc, who told us that this idea was conveyed through the wordplay that was lost in translation)

Surely, they won’t settle about the definition of the right path so easily. If 8th thinks that people should start valuing whatever they have and whatever they are able to do. Basically, the idea of saving the world won’t ever be fulfilled, because the world will only be saved after people save themselves – Liu Bei answers that one does not have to choose necessarily a mediocrity (in 8th’s case, broken people that he chose, such as Xiao Fan) and give it a value, just because the world in their eyes is ruined. Basically, gems still can be found in every corner, but they won’t polish themselves, so the world is still worth saving and could be saved if only we showcase what they can value.

In short, 8th thinks that everyone could have their own things to find value in, but Liu Bei wants to create one general “shelter” that everyone will find value and solution in (and our boy Huo got both)

What makes the feud between 8th and the Shu compelling could be summarized in two features

1) When Cao camp is full of elite soldiers who were trained for what they are doing and Sun clan is fully family oriented and thus chains the family members, Liu camp is full of opportunistic individuals that choose their path on their own. On face value, 8th should be quite fond of them, but divergence comes when the said individuals view someone else’s path as something grand and enslave themselves, forgetting to why even they want a better world and are sacrificing themselves just for someone else. Despite that, they still remain as somewhat respectable in the 8th’s eyes.

2) The inherent duality of men, as both of these approaches find their justification within the human nature and, at the same time, it also serves as a counter-argument to each other – in times of order, people are going to seek disorder and in times of disorder, people are going to seek disorder, hence comes the pivotal point in the dynamic between 8th and 7th – If one wants to make use of human’s longing for peace through crafting the fake cult of personality, which will achieve stalemate and turn into status quo, another one wants to make use of human’s craving for desire through the dispersion of their delusions of grandeur first, by which people would lose interest in waging meaningless wars over meaningless lands and reputations.

After all, “winner takes all” is but a surface level aspect of how Ravages of Time deals with its roots - Poetic tragedies, with proper emotional baggage to convey the horrors of war and an exploration of the inevitability of history and the meaninglessness of our struggles when confronted with it.

Of course, we are not finished here, because aside from Shu, 8th has enough potential to foil Sima clan as well.

Let us start with Sima Yi himself. I'd argue both are exceptional men from powerful clans destroyed by forces beyond their control. Sima Yi being set up by Pang Tong and Sima's destruction changing him irreparably into a darker man. Like Hamlet the main driving force of the story is his revenge and just like Hamlet his actions unknowingly cause a similar tragedy to his own occurring. Sima Yis actions destroyed the Zhao Clam just like Pang Tong eventually destroyed the Sima as a scapegoat. Both attempt to gain revenge and return their clan to greatness. Yet while Sima Yi joins a future kingdom the eight opposes one and fails with his oath brother being forfeit. The irony being that Sima Yis entire life changed by one tragedy yet he doomed another man like him to the same fate unwittingly at the very start of the series. One was Zhao Yuns best friend while the other is arguably his most dangerous enemy now. I think there's a surprising amount of similarities and parallels between the two even this early. Oh, and both killed a woman Zhao Yun loved. Sima Yi by inaction and the eight in a moment of direct revenge. I'm perhaps not articulating this the best but the aptest dramatic comparison I can think of is he's the Leartes to Sima Yis Hamlet. Whether they will end up having the same conclusion as those two characters is up in the air though.

And meanwhile, 8th was concluding his not-so-grand spectacle, another member of Sima clan was introduced in the story – Sima Min, who is also an eighth member, rather polite and even was detached from other seven for quite a while and are considering as some kind of anomalies. After a line “seven out of the eighth aim high. One sticks to the low road”, even comes a hat of the 8th, whom we, in fact, described as someone who stands out by sticking to the low road. If I were to speculate, Min is going to be the one defending his own brothers, but 8th is going to be the one attacking his own brothers.

Both of them also serve as the premises for the next arc, even if they are not participated much in it, as of now: “Breaking the tradition” and the lies behind the books about warfare.

Now let’s come back to the long-postponed theory-crafting of mine. 

-In the 468th chapter was revealed a dungeon that was used for torturing people. It belonged to the 8th who was gathering information about the routes of Shu. Then in 483 was revealed that Zhuge Liang had the exact same dungeon.

-In the 480th chapter on the other hand was revealed that Zhang Song was brought a fake map and thus Zhuge, who thought that Song was aiding Cao Cao, set a trap for him. There was someone special near Liu Zhang who was manipulating the information as if Liu Zhang was incompetent. That was a trap for Shu.

-Now in 483th Zhuge started a discussion about Zhang Song and 8th at the same time. After all, in the 468th chapter was also found a map, which was most likely made by the 8th. Key point was, that both of them were made in the same style, thus were made by the same person. The difference was, that the map made for Shu was fake, and the map made for 8th – was legitimate.

-At the start of the 483 chapter, Zhuge mentions how hard it is to track 8th and unless he announces his name, no one will know and yet, as a result of what was mentioned above, Zhuge deduced that 8th indeed graduated. Meaning, he has actively participated in the ravages of time already.

-In 483 Zhuge also did deduce that this man was merely “named” as Zhang Song. Meaning, his actual name is different. Now, how did 8th managed to convince him to not reveal that even after the torture session is a mystery. I can only think of “eccentric magic” (which I think is exactly what 8th needs for his plans, but it is also something that he wants the least) or heavy psychological pressure (considering that one guy with the damaged psyche in his chamber, chapter 468)

-Even more interesting came into the play after several chapters. It was revealed that there is another Zhang Song, who was aiding Ma Chao (who was also getting help from the Sun clan) and whose face was not revealed suspiciously. Why would there be several people with the same name? That’s rather CLOUDED (excuse the pun). One thing is certain, 8th is behind Song tricks, whether he is the one using that name, is actually named that or is cooperating with original Zhang Song – is another mystery. Zhuge did ruin his plans AGAIN (was it the third time?), but he still is cultivating his influence.

To conclude the analysis, let’s get back to the titular topic with a little hierarchy.

On the first level, there are stories with a black and white morality. Usually, black side is cartoony cynical, with no redeeming qualities and white side is cartoony idealistic, with irrelevant flaws (being hot-blooded and etc) – and the Ravages of Time even features such “stories” in deceptive schemes and labels them as “propaganda” (social commentary)

These “black” sides sometimes tend to be “justified” as if they were realistic (for example, for some reason, it is ok to have such characters if the setting is in the middle ages). Such explanations completely ignore the fact that no fiction is realistic and that every “realistic” being has redeeming qualities.

On the second level, there are stories with seemingly grey morality, through the presentation we do not actually see this moral ambiguity, so the presentation falls apart just because the characters’ words (what is talked) and actions (what is shown) contradict each other so much, that story does not seem self-aware anymore – a prime example would be a good guy, who wants to achieve a stalemate, but his actions tell otherwise and no one is actually calling him out on that hypocrisy. Also, everyone he faces is clearly inferior to him from a moral stand-point.

In such stories “black” sides may even have characters that were abused and victimized in childhood and now they are apparently pointing out the flaws in the system by blatantly indulging themselves in atrocities (for some reason). This is not only a cheap emotional manipulation but completely superficial and immature, as they are whining about the system by being worse than it and do not offer any solution to fix the system or a better alternative – they are merely amazed by the fact, that the world is imperfect and cannot accept it.

On the third level, there are stories with seemingly grey morality, but now they are doing the opposite. Characters constantly talk about the loss of humanity for the greater good, but they never commit to it and even if they were to do some questionable things (that most likely are glorified), they would still whine how bad the “greater good” is, despite not finding (or even trying to find) any better alternative. Here lies a huge contradiction in the presentation – It is preachy propaganda of “necessary evil” and, at the same time, does not want to acknowledge it, thus the story has a hypocritical point.

In such stories, “black” sides tend to be THE flaws of the system, with no redeeming qualities. They will be one-dimensionally incompetent and just abuse their power just for the main characters to have an excuse to commit “necessary evil”. In such cases, people tend to close their eyes on them being one-dimensional “as soon as they fir the narrative”. Such readers/watchers forget why it’s relevant for characters to not be one-dimensional – it is not realistic, considering you can be a flaw in a system and still have positive dynamics to something/someone else. It also lacks artistry, considering how crystal clear will the stance of the author is going to be by implementing such cartoony characters in his story. So… if the writing is so implausible… how are we supposed to trust the author on his beliefs and preferences, if he can’t implement said beliefs and preferences in an organic way even in his own world?

On the fourth level, there are stories with actual grey morality, where every character AND organization has its pros and cons properly presented. Without further complications, focuses on two sides of the conflicting ideas and naturally tells a realistic story, full of plausibility (Eureka Seven and Terra E, as examples)

On the fifth level, there is the Ravages of Time, conceptually exploring said contradictions. It not only has more than two sides with full of characters with their own agendas, but they all are making use of various “contradictions” and that is something I wanted to highlight through the Eighth Genius, who is full of contradictions externally, but fully self-aware internally.

Now it is not outright said that contradictions are bad. Quite the opposite – even if they are full of shortcomings, they are also full of benefits and if everything can be used your and someone else’s good, why would contradictions prove the exception? After all, if any effort is futile and doomed, what it all meant to you and how content you were at your death’s bed is all that matters. Which is another contradiction, because on face value, there is no objective reason to do anything if everything’s meaningless, but at the end of the day, you at least accumulated the experience for the future generation, who will also have to postpone the passive decay of the world (but the said shared experience will lead to even more bloodfest, which is unfortunately inevitable in any case)

Failure of self-loathing stories is not seeing beyond the fixed framework. Ravages’ point, on the other hand, is that – contradiction, like anything else (for instance, loyalty), is simply a method and it was set as a framework to fit someone else’s agenda. Of course, merely trying to step out of a framework is not enough, as you are going to meet others who already did that. That’s exactly what’s so alluring about this piece of art – it not only examines a single contradiction with a hopeful solution (Self-loathing Zhuge not raising Liu Shan as a hypocrite), but offers plenty of other alternatives.

[gabimiri]

Zurück auf der Straße

Nachdem wir die Spuren unserer genialen Abschiedsparty aufgeräumt haben, machten wir uns daran unsere Sachen zu packen. Denn gleichbedeutend mit dem Ende der Saison, hieß es für uns: Tschüss Terrace, auf in den Yukon!! Vorher gab es aber noch einiges zu tun. Das Bett in unserem Auto Carla musste gebaut werden, das Haus Klarschiff machen & die letzten Sachen klären, damit wir das Kapitel Shames Mt. ordentlich abschließen können.

Es stellte sich heraus, dass es einige Schwierigkeiten mit sich bringt, von einem 440m² Haus zurück ins Auto zu ziehen. Besonders, da wir aus Kostengründen viele Lebensmittel auf Vorrat gekauft haben, mussten wir in den letzten Tagen nochmal ausgiebig ausnutzen, eine eigene Küche zu haben. So backten wir reichlich Brot & kochten diverse Gerichte für unsere Lange Autofahrt in den Yukon vor. Das Ziel ist Whitehorse, welche mit ca. 40.000 Einwohner die größte Stadt im Yukon ist. Da uns Google Maps eine Strecke von 15 ½ Stunden anzeigte, beschlossen wir das ganze nicht in einem Rutsch zu fahren und auf ca. halber Strecke zu pennen, da wir eigentlich keinen Stress hatten, außer dass wir Samstag/Sonntag das Closing Wochenende von Mt. Sima, dem Skigebiet in Whitehorse mitnehmen wollten. Hieß aber auch, dass wir trotzdem Donnerstag beizeiten losfahren sollten.

Also war Dienstag Aufräum-/Katertag & Mittwoch Einpack-Tag. Dienstagabend kam dann nochmal Miris Chefin zum Tschüss sagen vorbei & Mittwoch trafen wir uns nochmal mit Casey & Steph im Restaurant, um uns von ihnen zu verabschieden. Dort schloss sich auch der Kreis, da die beiden uns damals in unserer 1. Woche hier in Terrace bei sich haben wohnen lassen & Steph überhaupt der Grund ist, warum wir nach Terrace gekommen waren. Denn ich habe sie vor 8 Jahren in Neuseeland kennengelernt & bei unserer Ankunft in Kanada gefragt, ob sie ein Skigebiet kennt, in dem wir arbeiten können & sie uns auf Shames aufmerksam machte. Es war ein wundervoller Abend & ich werde die beiden wirklich sehr vermissen. Sie haben uns sogar zu ihrer Hochzeit im September eingeladen, aber bis dahin werden wir wohl wieder zurück in Deutschland sein. Wer weiß, wo man sich wieder sieht. Ich habe keine Zweifel, dass sich unsere Wege irgendwann wieder kreuzen werden.

Jedenfalls beluden wir Donnerstagmorgen Carla, steckten unsere Hausschlüssel in den Briefkasten des Shames Büros, tankten die Karre voll & machten uns auf den Weg Richtung in den großen weißen Norden. Als wir nach ca. 1h auf den Alaska Highway fuhren, waren wir bestens gelaunt!  Geiles Wetter, die Roadtrip-Playlist auf laut & auf ins Abenteuer. Die Straße führte durch endlose Weiten. Natur, soweit das Auge reicht. Wir wurden gewarnt, dass man auf jeden Fall an jeder Tankstelle vollmachen sollte, da man hier definitiv nicht stecken bleiben möchte. Diesem Ratschlag folgten wir spätestens nach der Sichtung eines Schildes „Checkt eure Tankfüllung, nächste Tankstelle in 230km.“…

Als Europäer ist das einfach nur unwirklich zu lesen. Wir bekamen ja schon auf unserem Roadtrip nach Terrace einen Eindruck über die schiere Größe dieses Landes, aber als wir nach unserem 1. Tankstopp weiterfuhren & für ca. 1 ½ Stunden kein anderes Auto entgegenkommen sahen, bekam das nochmal eine ganz andere Dimension. Dafür bekamen wir aber etwas anderes zu Gesicht: Unseren 1. Bären, der ganz gemächlich über die Straße trottete. Er war relativ klein und abgemagert & ist vermutlich als einer der Ersten gerade erst aus dem Winterschlaf erwacht. Wir freuten uns riesig und sahen dies als Zeichen, dass unsere Zeit in Kanada jetzt erst richtig los geht.

Nach ungefähr 8 ½ Stunden fahrt kamen wir am Etappenziel Jade City an, wo wir uns eine Unterkunft gegönnt haben. Eine Blockhütte direkt am Highway in einem kleinen Dorf mit 20 Einwohnern am Arsch der Welt, in der wir super geschlafen haben. Bevor wir am nächsten Tag die 2. Etappe unserer Reise angingen, plauschten wir noch kurz mit der Besitzerin des Motels in ihrem Jade-Laden, wo es diverse Kunstwerke & Krams aus Jadestein gab. Wir fragten sie über das Leben in diesem Ort & seine Geschichte. Sie erzählte uns, dass man für einen richtigen Großeinkauf bis nach Whitehorse fahren müsste… also unser Ziel – für welches das Navi 6 ½ Stunden Fahrt anzeigte…

Miri & ich waren uns schnell einig, dass man schon ganz schön bekloppt sein muss, um hier zu leben, aber es sicher auch seine schönen Seiten haben könnte. Jedoch nicht für uns. Wir schwangen uns wieder ins Auto & fuhren durch die schöne kanadische Landschaft. Wir sahen zahlreiche Bergen, Flüsse, gefrorene Seen, ehemalige Waldbrand-Flächen und sogar ein Rudel Moose (Elche), für das wir ganz schön runterbremsen mussten. Dabei wurden wir begleitet von wechselhaftem Wetter – mal Sonne, mal Wolken, mal Schneefall… Aprilwetter halt.

Irgendwann erreichten wir dann auch endlich ein unscheinbares Schild, dass wir jetzt British Columbia verlassen & in den Yukon reinfahren. Es ist bizarr… wir sind die ganze Strecke von Vancouver gefahren, bestimmt insgesamt 25h Fahrzeit & 2.000 km von dort nur Richtung Norden & erst jetzt verlassen wir die Provinz… Nur mal zum Vergleich, in dieser Zeit könnte man von Dresden nach Athen fahren & hier ist man immer noch im selben Bundesstaat…

Wir näherten uns Whitehorse & waren doch ganz schön im Sack, aber glücklich, dass wir es geschafft haben & vor allem Carla durchgehalten hat. Aber auch sie schien die Fahrt zu genießen & lies uns in ihr entspannt über die Straße cruisen. In Whitehorse hatten wir dann eine kurze Rundfahrt, um uns mit der Stadt etwas vertraut zu machen. Sieht aus wie jede andere Stadt, die wir bisher gesehen haben: alles Viereckig angelegt, dieselben Fast-Food-Ketten & Supermärkte überall.

Aber wir hatten jetzt auch nicht soooo viel Zeit, um uns umzuschauen, da wir noch vor Einbruch der Dunkelheit an unserer neuen Arbeitsstelle sein wollten, die sich ca. eine halbe Stunde nördlich der Stadt befindet. Eine Schlittenhund-Farm mit 43 Hunden, um die wir uns ehrenamtlich für Kost & Logie kümmern werden. Dort angekommen luden wir unsere Karre aus & mussten die 1. Nacht im Zelt verbringen, da unsere Cabin noch von den Vorgängern belegt war. Kalt, aber auch irgendwie cool… genauso wie der Yukon.

Gabi

[inheritedfang]

1 & 8 for the asks!

1. I’m not going to go into any detail as to why, because I’d be here for far too long.

Wei: Favourite: Other than the obvious, probably Li Dian. Least Favourite: This was actually pretty difficult, but Xu Huang.

Wu: Favourite: Sun Ce. This was difficult too. Least Favourite: Da Qiao Shu: Favourite: Pang Tong Least Favourite: Everybody else. Kidding, Ma Chao.

Jin: Favourite: Sima Shi Least Favourite: Jia Chong

Other: Favourite: Lu Lingqi Least Favourite: Zuo Ci

8. Is it cheating to say the entirety of Wu? If so, from personal experience probably Deng Ai. Rarely see anybody talk about him.

[harunakonomi]

General Fate Series Height List

Here is a list of the heights of most everyone in the Fate Series, mostly focusing on Fate/Grand Order.

531cm (17′5″): Ivan the Terrible

345cm (11′3″): Darius III

310cm (10′2″): Xiang Yu

298cm (9′9″): Asterios

253cm (8′3″): Heracles

250cm (8′2″): Charles Babbage, Red Hare

225cm (7′4″): Lu Bu Fengxian

221cm (7′3″): Spartacus

220cm (7′2″): King Hassan

215cm (7′): Hassan of the Cursed Arm

212cm (6′11″): Iskandar

210cm (6′11″): Edward Teach

203cm (6′7″): Thomas Edison

199cm (6′6″): Musashibou Benkei

196cm (6′5″): Gille de Rais (Caster)

195cm (6′4″): Eric Bloodaxe

193cm (6′3″): Kotomine Kirei

191cm (6′3″): Lancelot, Vlad III, Lancelot (Saber), Vlad III (EXTRA)

190cm (6′2″): Siegfied, Romulus, Sakata Kintoki, Nikola Tesla, Sakata Kintoki (Rider), Meltryllis

189cm (6′2″): Napoleon

188cm (6′2″): Leondias I, Mephistopheles

187cm (6′1″): Zhuge Liang, EMIYA, Bedivere, Hijikata Toshizou,

186cm (6′1″): Gille de Rais (Saber), Beowulf, Tristan

185cm (6′): Arash, Cú Chulainn, Caligula, Cú Chulainn (Caster), Phantom of the Opera, Edmond Dantès, Cú Chulainn (Alter), Achilles

184cm (6′): Cú Chulainn (Prototype), Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, Fergus mac Róich, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Saber)

183cm (6′): Paracelsus von Hohenheim, Tawara Touta, Sherlock Holmes,

182cm (5′11″): Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh (Caster)

181cm (5′11″): Fionn mac Cumhaill, Quetzacoatl, Arthur Pendragon (Prototype), Yagyu Munenori, Antonio Salieri, Quetzacoatl (Samba/Santa)

180cm (5′11″): Georgios, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Hector, Gawain, Christopher Columbus, Shi Huang Di, Archimedes

179cm (5′10″): Ozymandias, Chiron

178cm (5′10″): Charles-Henri Sanson, Karna, Merlin, Sakamoto Ryouma, Sigurd

177cm (5′9″): Arjuna, Houzouin Inshun,

176cm (5′9″): Sasaki Kojirou

175cm (5′8″): Kiritsugu Emiya, Robin Hood, Henry Jekyll & Edward Hyde, EMIYA (Assassin), Minamoto no Raikou, James Moriarty, Minamoto no Raikou (Lancer)

174cm (5′8″): Boudica, Elizabeth Báthory (Halloween), Geronimo, Okada Izou

173cm (5′8″): Queen of Sheba, Oryou-san

172cm (5′7″): Medusa, Frankenstein, Brynhildr, Frankenstein (Saber), Langling Yang

171cm (5′7″): Shinji Matou, David, Anne Bonny, Artoria Pendragon (Lancer), Artoria Pendragon (Lancer Alter), Anne Bonny (Archer), Cleopatra, Yan Qing

170cm (5′6″): Bradamante  

169cm (5′6″): Amakusa Shirou, Semiramis

168cm (5′6″): Gaius Julius Caesar, Carmilla, Ushiwakamaru, Scáthach, Rama, Scáthach (Assassin), Scheherazade, Ushiwakamaru (Assassin)

167cm (5′5″): Shirou Emiya, Angra Mainyu, Miyamoto Musashi

166cm (5′5″): Atalanta, Li Shuwen (Lancer), Sessyoin Kiara, Atalanta (Alter), Qin Liangyu, Li Shuwen

165cm (5′4″): Taiga Fujimura, Mata Hari, Artemis, Nightingale, Jaguar Warrior, Katou Danzou, Sieg

164cm (5′4″): Astolfo, Suzuka Gozen, Nezha

163cm (5′4″): Medea, Okita Souji (Alter), Murasaki Shikibu

162cm (5′3″): Francis Drake, Nitocris, Nitocris (Assassin), Tomoe Gozen, Katsushika Hokusai, Scáthach-Skaði

161cm (5′3″): Martha, Hassan of the Serenity, Martha (Ruler), Avicebron

160cm (5′2″): Altera, Marie Antoinette, Tamamo No Mae, Tamamo Cat,  Ryougi Shiki (Saber), Ryougi Shiki (Assassin), Xuanzang Sanzang, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tamamo No Mae (Lancer),  Marie Antoinette (Caster), Altera the San(ta), Yu Miaoyi, Astraea

159cm (5′2″): Rin Tousaka, Jing Ke, Jeanne d’Arc, Jeanne d’Arc (Alter), Ishtar, Ishtar (Rider), Ereshkigal, Valkyrie, Jeanne d’Arc (Archer), Jeanne d’Arc (Berserker Alter)

158cm (5′2″): Mash Kyrielight, Kiyohime, Mary Read, Okita Souji, Billy the Kid, Irisviel, Fuuma Kotarou, Mary Read (Archer), Kiyohime (Lancer), Penthesilea, Osakabehime, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

157cm (5′1″): Ran VIII, Chevalier d'Eon, Asagami Fujino

156cm (5′1″): Sakura Matou, BB, Passionlip, Parvati, Mecha Eli-chan, Mecha Eli-chan Mk. II, Kama

154cm (5′): Artoria Pendragon, Artoria Pendragon (Alter), Artoria Pendragon (Lily), Elizabeth Báthory, Artoria Pendragon (Santa Alter), Mordred, Mysterious Heroine X, Medb, Artoria Pendragon (Archer), Morded (Rider), Elizabeth Báthory (Brave), Mysterious Heroine X (Alter), Artoria Pendragon (Rider Alter), Mochizuki Chiyome, Medb (Saber), Mysterious Heroine XX, Gray

152cm (4′11″): Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga (Berserker), Abigail Williams

151cm (4′11″): Alexander

150cm (4′11″): Nero Claudius, Nero Claudius (Bride), Nero Claudius (Caster)

149cm (4′10″): Medea (Lily), Sima Yi

147cm (4′9″): Ibaraki Douji, Circe, Ibaraki Douji (Lancer),

146cm (4′9″): Hans Christian Andersen

145cm (4′9″): Helena Blavatsky, Shuten Douji, Helena Blavatsky (Archer), Shuten Douji (Caster),

141cm (4′7″): Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) (Santa Lily)

140cm (4′7″): Kid Gil

138cm (4′6″): Chacha, Wu Zetian

137cm (4′5″): Alice, Nursery Rhyme

134cm (4′4″): Euryale, Stheno, Jack the Ripper, Medusa (Lancer), Miyu Edelfelt

133cm (4′4″): Illyasviel von Einzbern, Chloe von Einzbern, Sitonai

130cm (4′3″): Beni-enma