#south east tiger gets some

[quitealotofsodapop]

Sounds like we are going to get more lore about Wukong and MK's origins with those stone comments and the stuff about the Pillars. Maybe the Staff will be put back?

Seeing how it seems to be The Flood + Nüwa Patching the Sky part deux; its likely that the Staff might need to be used in some way non-violent. Like say, acting as an impromtu pillar and/or measuring the flood waters.

The two beings we see just for a second in the trailer (a blue dragon + a white tiger) are references to the Major Star Gods in chinese mythos - the Four Auspicious Beasts. Its possible that each Heavenly Stone comes from them - likely an extension of their powers over the universe. Of them are Azure Dragon of the East, White Tiger of the West, Vermillion Bird of the South (who I believe we also see for a glance), and Black Tortoise of the North.

The only one that may be missing is the representive of the Centre, the Golden/Yellow Dragon or Qilin. The entity that embodies Earth and is the boss of Houtu.

And unfortunatly we do know a certain yellow-themed lad made of earth...

My theory is that MK *is* the fifth stone/Qilin.

A Qilin you see; "is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler."

Like say... the death of the ruler of the Universe.

Male Qilin's also have names beginning with "Qi" - example; Qi Xiaotian.

In short: MK was likely created to be universal flex tape. But something changed him - like say a certain creation goddess who thought that the universe needed a little positive chaos in the form of a monkey.

[patriotismforstetriol]

It's never a stated requirement, but all the characters we meet in Spirit Animals have an animal local to the region (or at least continent) of their ancestry.

Well, nearly all. All except three two black wildcats -- waist-height, sleek panthers -- summoned by Euran boys.

And look, far as I know, Europe's not got current or historical panther populations. Maybe it's a common enough thing in legends? I dunno!

But I've got a couple of other (more absurd) explanations.

What wildcats does Europe have? It has lynxes[1][2], and it has smaller European wildcats (size of a large housecat). The Trunswick boys' dad has a lynx companion, so you'd figure the similarities would be pointed out if black wildcats were also lynxes. So I'm going to rule out melanistic lynxes (there'd be the 'long tail' issue to answer to too).

Absurd idea 1: See, I'm pretty sure Brunhild's stone adder isn't a real animal. And if there's a real snake it's based on, I think, somehow, it does not have a venom that paralyses people and turns them to stone. So Erdas has animals that don't exist on Earth. (See also: rockback whales, probably, though maybe they're just domesticated right whales.)

So maybe Eura's black wildcats are one of these Erdas-exclusive species. To stick close to realism, though, I'd like to picture them as European wildcats scaled up to a much larger size. Keep those stout housecat-esque faces. Wildcats in Erdas are just that big.

Alternatively, absurd idea 2: You know what big cat never gets mentioned in the Spirit Animals books? Snow leopards. They'll talk about tigers and leopards and jaguars and cheetahs and lions and clouded leopards and mountain lions and lynx, and that covers pretty much all the larger cats. Except for snow leopards.

So this absurd theory is that they don't have snow leopards. On Earth, the natural range of snow leopards is in Central and Northern Asia. Does the Spirit Animals series ever show us central or northern Asian ecosystems? No. Maybe Zhong actually only has South and South East Asian ecosystems (seems unfair, but hey. Anyone want the patriotismforzhong username?).

Or... it could be that the writers combined all those central/northern Asian environments with the western/northern European environments as "Eura", while south/south east Asian + southern European environments (also not mentioned in the series), maybe, have been allocated to "Zhong".

This would mean the "snow leopards" of Erdas are Euran. And for some reason they're all melanistic.

Whatever. Picture how absurdly long Worthy's tail is in this scenario.

[tyrantisterror]

At Sea Without a Map pt. 24

Despite the imminent peril something catches your eye, and the more you look at it, the more focused on it you become. Because your eyes do not deceive you...

...that is a fucking pirate ship. And, being a ship, it would follow that there are in fact people on it, perhaps - dare you hope to dream? - humans. You jump and wave your arms in an attempt to get the ship's attention, hoping that maybe they'll spot you and lend some much needed assistance.

The dolphin's fin comes closer and closer, snapping you back to the reality of your situation. You see its head crest out of the water, its long jaws open in a cruel giggle, and watch as its sinuous body leaps out for another deadly slam against your boat...

Thunder booms and seconds later the dolphin is hit straight in the cheek by a massive cannonball. Its shrill laughter rises in pitch to a wretched shriek, and then, in defiance of physics as you understand it, its body is sent not forward, but straight up into the sky by the blow, twisting and turning in the air until it disappears in a tiny glint of light hundreds of feet above your ship.

"Holy shit," you say as you watch the dolphin go blasting off into the sky like Team fucking Rocket. "It worked? It actually worked?!?" You leap up into the air and wave at the pirate ship. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

As if hearing your words, the ship moves towards your boat, giving you a better view of its stranger details. The main sail bears an emblem that looks like a cat's pawprint, the figurehead is a sort of half fish, half-panther creature, and the "stairs" to the upper level where the steering wheel sits are less stairs and more a sort of jagged ramp. You begin to wonder how eccentric the owner must be when he walks down to the main deck and looks you in the eye.

...

It's a tiger.

It's a fucking tiger.

As your ships come together, you find yourself staring at, well, a tiger wearing a pirate hat, a pirate coat, an eyepatch, and a hook on the tip of its tail. All of these would make it seem pretty silly if it weren't also a big fucking tiger, complete with sharp teeth and claws with which to rend your flesh. It levels a pant-shittingly terrifying glare at you before opening its mouth and releasing a bone-shaking roar from deep within its massive tiger lungs.

"He says he's Captain Peter," Calibani says as she sidles up next to you. "And that we have the privelge of being rescued by his ship, the Great Growl-Tiger."

You stop, blink, and stare at Calibani for a moment. "You can speak... tiger-ese?"

"Oh, no, I actually speak sea-lion," she says with a humble smile. "But they're very similar dialects." She roars out some... words? you don't understand at the tiger, who growls back in what could pass for a conversation if it weren't completely batshit to consider it such. "I thanked him on our behalf. He'd like to know if we need any further assistance - apparently it's been a long since he's seen a human out here."

At a loss, you consult your compass.

(Once again, you may submit questions/discussion topics for this next update based on the four directions of our poll. The more that are received, the more informative the interaction will be.)

[pjblob]

OC time! Prolly a bit early considering I made this tumblr alive again like a week ago but yk what i dont care.

Meet my PJ Masks OC Kitsu! To be honest, she was my first OC ever made… back then I was still trying to find a nice art style and I was too shy to make OCs. But yeah I saw other people making OCs so i was like “yo why not try it myself!”, so i made her back in 2017? 2018? Somewhere during season 3 of the show. She has gotten so many redesigns, but i’m pretty chill with this one for now :]

Her personality:

She is cunning and mischievous, always trying to find new ways of entertaining herself. She’s sharp-witted and a quick thinker, but can make very stupid decisions sometimes, especially when she’s full of herself. She normally can’t take criticism and will most likely take it as a joke, if not insult you back. She does love to tease people, trying to push them to their limits for the soul purpose of entertainment. She rarely takes anybody seriously, which is why she sees herself as higher than others. But below that, she’s very loyal and does care for the people she trusts the most.

She doesn’t know what her purpose is in this world, so she tries to just make the best of her experience by doing anything she wants. And the best way to do that is by causing conflict between everyone else. She’s not on anyone’s side really,, She will change sides depending on how fun it’ll be for her. Which does make her quite lonely at times. girly just needs some friends 😭😭💔

So her powers:

Kitsu has shape shifting powers, can take the form of anyone and anything she wants, but won’t inherit the powers of the one who’s trying to mimic. She can hold the form for as long as she likes. Her second power is Agility. She’s quite fast, can climb easily and dodge with no problem.

Now her backstory:

It’s pretty hard to talk about her backstory, because it’s very similar to munki-gu. Again, she was created wayy before him and it just so happened that the writers came up with the same idea. So I was kinda forced to change it 🥲

So in her verse, before mystery mountain was a floating island above the city, it was a part of a different universe. The mountain was on a land, where there was a village protected by 4 mountains, all on different sides of the land. The Dragon mountain of the East, the Vermilion Bird mountain of the South, the White Tiger mountain of the West and the Turtle mountain of the North(yes this is a reference to the four symbols, look it up). In the middle of these mountains was a town, which was protected by these mountains. An Yu lived on the dragon mountain. Since she was born of the “dragon blood”, she would be trained to become the protector of the mountain. (yes i have made designs for the other protectors too >:3)

There were loads of magical creatures living amongst the humans, most of which were harmful to them. So An Yu’s ancestors, having so much power and control, decided it would be best to imprison the creatures to prevent further harm. (hence why Munki-gu was imprisoned too) Kitsune’s were a big harm to society however, that their magical box prisons weren’t enough, considering they could shapeshift. So they decided to exterminate them all. An Yu witnessing all of it, decided to secretly save just one (that being Kitsu).

Years later, there was a war between the mountain guardians and ninjas, who wanted to steal their powers (I thought Night ninja and his ninjalinos could be descendants of them). It ended up in the universe getting completely destroyed, with An Yu having to sacrifice herself to save her mountain, getting imprisoned in the gong as a result. An Yu, after getting rescued, still held the burden of her ancestors imprisoning Kitsu’s species, so ashamed of their past actions, that she never tried to set Kitsu free. She was too scared to confront her, since she thought her and other magical creatures would rise against her and blame her for everything.

A few days after the PJ Masks rescue An Yu in the show, one day, they decide to give her a visit. While An Yu was showing the PJs around the pagoda, Catboy becomes a bit too curious and finds the box where Kitsu was imprisoned, accidentally letting her out in the process. When Kitsu was set free, she needed to give herself a new physical form, so she chose to mimic the first person to let her out, that being Catboy. But since she can only mimic the physical appearance of someone and not their powers, her “PJ Mask” suit didn’t include an animal symbol on her chest. Her suit can still light up when using her own powers though. Finally let out, she fled into the city, until she was ready to start causing mischief. After that, An Yu forbid the PJs from entering the mountain for a while, but still blaming herself for letting her guard down and letting Kitsu free.

so that’s what I have so far, the rest will be decided with time since the show is episodic annd literally anything can happen xd

hope u enjoyed reading this paragraph 🫶🫶ndhdhdhjd

[greatwyrmgold]

I've been thinking about Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit: Model Azure Dragon. (Or Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, if you don't like translating Devil Fruits.) I'm going to frame the thoughts I want to talk about most as an attempt to answer three questions.

A: Why is it a fish?

Traditionally, Chinese dragons are described as having the characteristics of (usually) nine other animals. One such list is: camel head, stag antlers, demon eyes, snek neck, clam belly, carp scales, eagle claws, tiger soles, and cow ears. Others include things like frog bellies and rabbit eyes and crocodile heads and goat goatees and tortoise viscera, but most include carp scales and no other fish features. Unless we count shellfish.

So, the Azure Dragon has some fishy characteristics. But even if we count the clam belly, it has far more resemblances to non-fish animals than fish ones. For instance, the camel head, stag antlers, and cow ears give it three ungulate, which could plausibly make the Azure Dragon fruit an Ox-Ox Fruit/Ushi-Ushi no Mi.

Of course, I'd still question why the Azure Dragon was classified as an ungulate. It has as few hooves as gills. But you could also call it a Snake-Snake Fruit, or you could invent a Liz-Liz Fruit. Or, you could use the Dragon-Dragon category that Kaido's dinosaur-fruit minions fall under. Surely Chinese dragons qualify as dragons?

Aside: The Japanese term for dinosaurs is kyōryū, which includes ryū, which means dragon.

B: Are there other fish?

The existence of a Fish-Fish Fruit: Azure Dragon Model implies the existence of other kinds of Fish-Fish Fruits. Carp or trout or sharks; judging by what kinds of animal get Fishmen, maybe even whales and cephalopods and the weird fishlike species on the Grand Line.

There aren't any non-dragon Fish-Fish Fruits. I don't find that surprising; the sea hates Devil Fruit users, hence their iconic weakness to seawater. Marine Zoan fruits would be a bit against theme. Also, the iconic abilities most fish have are swimming and breathing underwater; these powers obviously aren't much use if you get paralyzed when dunked in water, never mind if said powers get nullified while immersed.

Some fish (especially the broader definition that includes most marine animals) have other features that could be useful out of water. Archerfish and cephalopods and anglerfish and creatures big enough for their strength to rival or exceed an elephant's. But the existence of fish Devil Fruits raises questions that terrestrial Devil Fruits wouldn't.

Then again, a Fish-Fish Fruit that isn't a fish also raises those same questions, as well as others.

C: Are there Devil Fruits for the other Auspicious Beasts?

"Azure Dragon" is a very specific creature. The Azure Dragon is one of the Four Auspicious Beasts, mythological creatures and constellations from China. There's the Black Tortoise* of the North, the White Tiger of the West, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the Azure Dragon of the East. And sometimes a Yellow Dragon or Qilin in the center.

*Sometimes a warrior or a turtle/snake

They're a thing, they seem pretty significant, and Kaido has the powers of one of them. What about the other three? (Or four.) You could probably equate the Vermilion Bird with Marco's Bird-Bird/Phoenix fruit, if his feathers weren't made of blue fire. But they are, which means that only one out of four (or five) Auspicious Beasts is represented.

To be fair, the Azure Dragon is by far the coolest Auspicious Beast. Sorry, west; a white tiger might be auspicious, but it's just a big albino cat. I guess the Yellow Dragon is also pretty cool (when it's included), but Azure is a way more mythic color name.

[beni75]

Photos and text: @thomaspeschak

1-. A blacktip reef shark navigates a narrow canyon off Aldabra Atoll. Seychelles

2-. Every winter sub-adult whale shark gather in the seas off Djibouti

3-. Hanifaru Bay in the Maldives

4-. I had been watching these seals for years & wanted to photograph them surfing a unique underwater perspective on southern African marine reserves

5-. In Mexico's San Ignacio lagoon a gray whale mother pushes it's young calf to the surface so it can get a better look at the photographer

6-. June-July is sardine run time off South Africa's East Coast. Long-beaked common dolphins are the only predators that hunt cooperatively

7-. Kira is a black labrator that loves swimming with dolphins

8-. Manta rays. Hanifaru Bay in the Maldives

9-. Mantas feeding amongst baifsish. Hanifaru Bay

10-. Reef mantas feeding at Hanifaru Marine Reserve

11-. My fascination with seahorses began more than 10 years ago when I still was a graduate student in marine biology

12-. Not all sharks look like Jaws. An endemic Puffader shy shark hovers above dive guide hand

13-. Sharks, Bohar snapper and other predatory fish are abundant on the fringing coral reefs of the seas around D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, Seychelles

14-. Long beaked common dolphin hunting sardines off South Africa's Wild Coast

15-. South African free diver @hanlinprinsloo diving with blacktip sharks in the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area

16-. y 17-. South Africa's Table Mountain Marine Protected Area host a unique sevengil shark aggregation site wich draws divers from all over the world

18-. South Africa's Wild Coast is a mosaic of river mouths, grassy hillsides and formidable sea cliffs

19-. Aerial perspective of the sanctuary zone of the Ponta do Ouro Marine Reserve, Mozambique

20-. Steller's sea lions ar common off Canada's British Colomia coast where populations of their preferred prey such a sand lance and herring are still relatively abundant

21-. Sunflower sea stars are the largest shallow water starfish in the world

22-. The broadnosed sevengill shark is a top predator in South Africa's kelp forests. With saw shaped teeth akin to tiger sharks, they hunt fish and scavenge dead fur seals

23-. The seas around Aldabra atoll are some of the most pristine in the Seychelles and the entire western Indian Ocean

24-. The tail belongs to one of the top predators in South Africa's kelp forest

25-. This green turtle traverses the unbelievably blue waters of Europa Atoll in search of a mate

26-. To survive in the vastness of the open ocean, Silky sharks rely on their boldness and curiosity to investigate every opportunity that might yield a meal

27-. y 28-. This pod of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins regularly crosses from Mozambican into South African waters

[swallowerofdharma]

©️Kentaro Miura

Miura represents the entanglement of light and shadow - that makes possible any understanding or perception of what constitutes light - by using, among other things, two male characters, not a man and a woman, opposing each other and represented like this. That’s important to notice and relevant for a number of reasons. I have been debating with myself on how to tackle this topic. This is how I understand it, so this is my reasoning only and I am not sharing my thoughts to convince people of something, but just to put down in writing something so apparently simple and so damn complicated.

The description of 陽陰 yinyang originated in China, but it is well known and documented in many East Asian artistic expressions and a concept widely adopted and recognized in Japan. The kanji used are the same characters used in China:

陽 north side of a hill (not facing the sun) - pronounced in or on

陰 south side of a hill (facing the sun) - pronounced yo or myo

These are not rigid ontological categories, but rather representations of dynamic relationships, complementary and necessary bonds inside things that explain the ever changing and evolving nature of the cosmos. Without these dynamics we cannot comprehend reality and the various processes of production and generation, including the production and generation of meaning.

Complementary forces - as we understand them through association - can be: dark and bright, moon and sun, feminine and masculine, earth and heaven.

But again, these are not rigid ontological categories: this is the part that can be confusing. These aren’t absolute and immutable states. When we look at reality, we look at phenomena, everything is a temporary manifestation of the ever changing cycle of birth and death and everything contains the entanglement of 陽陰.

So you see why this isn’t a dualistic doctrine - as we use in the western world - and that man and woman, being temporary physical manifestations or phenomena, have also 陽陰. So to say that you can’t divorce 陽陰 and assign the two opposite energies in a real individual man or a real individual woman in a state of division.

I would like to know how to explain it so much better than this. I have visualized a sphere and, trapped inside it, there are 陽陰 moving and entangling without pause. If we break the sphere, we haven’t separated 陽 from 陰, but we have broken pieces containing still 陽陰 inside.

So I’ll try to get back to the image of Griffith and Guts. One looks at the heavens and the other at the earth, one is bright and the other is dark. Yet Griffith is often associated with the moon and has more feminine features, while Guts, not specifically associated with the sun but with elves or other bright forces, has more masculine appearance. If you have kept in mind the opposite of 陽陰, you may notice that you can’t split orderly the opposite qualities between Griffith or Guts. For example

dark, moon, night, autumn, feminine, earth, passivity

light, sun, day, spring, masculine, heaven, activity

and I am simplifying a lot here, because these are just some of the possibilities - like tiger and dragon or Miura versions of a falcon and a wolf - and I am not taking into consideration other nuances.

Griffith and Guts represent the fight between opposing forces and their entanglement at the same time, they are in attraction and opposition, but not rigidly divided as one person having all the 陽 qualities and the other all the 陰 ones, because that isn’t how these concepts work. And they are both men. Yet they generate the story of Berserk.

When we read the list of qualities of 陽 and we see femininity associated with negative traits, dark forces and passivity, in a brain that is informed by the rigidity of other traditions and beliefs, we might feel that this is just another example of denigration of the position of ‘woman’. But this isn’t how I understand it - granted I can’t say for sure.

How I see it is that the individuals, as physical manifestations and temporary ones, possess physical forms able to reproduce life through the cooperation between opposites, where one part becomes passive, receptive and the other becomes active, giving. Life - or knowledge - cannot be born without these dynamic interactions. But inside the phenomena, or inside each individuals, we still have those inseparable and opposite forces. They are dynamic, relative, not fixed or absolute. Woman still has 陽陰 and in the encounter with man, she can oscillate between those opposing forces: she can become accepting but doesn’t lose the capacity to be giving. She might enhance her femininity or she might embrace her masculinity. And the same occurs in man.

There are people who believe that you need to split some parts of 陽陰. They believe that woman should always portray femininity and passivity, always be receptive. They believe that man should never portray femininity and passivity, and never be receptive. But 陽陰 tell me that we are born complete and in a sort of equilibrium, while we have to make adjustments in our individual bodies throughout our lives and circumstances. When we face the will of those types of people, we face a will that puts us in a condition of disequilibrium and unbalance. And that makes us ill. Men suppressing 陽 are doing violence to themselves, but they can be severely punished or ostracized if they don’t. I’ll leave the social commentary at that, but I think that that kind of thinking lacks sufficient wisdom or maybe some people are guided by other preoccupations or motivations.

Please let me know if I made any type of mistake in trying to explain 陽陰. I am not an expert on this subject. Any correction or suggestion will be welcome, I am here to learn! I’ll share also a very useful outline that I have been using to navigate these new concepts: The Two Aspects or Sides of Reality from a Chan/Zen Perspective

[roninreverie]

Big Mama's Chinese Roots and a Connection to Tang Shen?

First off, to preface... this whole thing started because @caro-rolo figured out that the Mystic Portal Key doohickeys in Rise are actually just some kind of fancy compasses that have North, South, East, and West written in Chinese characters.

Now, the first thought I had to learning this was "Tang Shen" because in the TMNT universe where Japanese influence is pretty heavy, she is notable for having a Chinese name.

She is also the love interest of Hamato Yoshi in many different variations. Though in Rise, that role belongs most notably to Big Mama, with Tang Shen being a blink and you miss it easter-egg credit on the cover of Jistu for Justice:

Mama is also most likely the source of where Splinter got his mystic portal key, and she even has one of her own in her office. Judging by how much control she has over the Hidden City, from the Battle Nexus, to demolition derbies, to train stations, to crime rings, she seems to have a large control over just who all is in her city, and these keys could very well be something she controls directly.

Now, Big Mama has all the set ups for having typical TMNT Japanese roots. Even her home estate seen in "Hidden City Job" has a very Asian look to it inside and out:

Plus, the whole "her being a yokai", makes it easy to assume she is based on some kind of Japanese spider demon like Jorōgumo, Yatsukahagi/Tsuchigumo, or Ōgumo, etc.

But "Yokai" can also be used to describe the Chinese term "yaoguai" which is basically the same definition.

So if Mama were a Chinese spider demon instead, the first one who comes up on a quick Google search is "zhī zhū jīng" or "spider woman". These are 7 spider demon sisters who fight Sun Wukong in Monkey King: Journey to the West.

Here, the spiders changed into seven beautiful young ladies who wanted to eat the flesh of Sun Wukong's master, Tang Seng, which is said to make the consumer immortal and forever young.

"Tang Seng"... "Tang Shen"... sounds pretty similar.

And aren't there also some animation ties from ROTTMNT to Lego Monkey King? Tangent side note, but there's a spider demon queen in that universe too and guess what? SHE'S PURPLE!

And where did Mama and Lou Jistsu first meet? On set of one of his movies "Crouching Shrimp Hidden Tiger Prawn" in 1984. A movie where an actress like Tang Shen could very well have ties to? (We'll come back to this at the end.)

Another chip in the Chinese vs Japanese bucket is Big Mama's Security Team:

At first, I thought their distinct faces represented Blue Japanese Hannya/ Oni masks, but what if they're supposed to be Chinese Nuo masks instead? Not unlike Zuko's Blue Spirit mask in ATLA.

You could also argue these guys are wielding a sort of Qinglong Ji or Fangtian Ji, which are Chinese spear or polearm weapons. (But if anyone knows what those spear thingies are really called, please let me know, it's driving me nuts!)

...

In conclusion, I got sent on a massive rabbit hole because of a fictional compass and regret nothing! 🧭

Now what is Big Mama's connection to Tang Shen? Are they related? (The actress does look a bit purple.) They could be sisters like the 7 sisters of the Monkey King lore. Did Mama seek to get rid of Tang Shen so she could get closer to Lou Jitsu herself? Are they the same person? Is Big Mama based on Japanese or Chinese folklore? Did any of this make any sense at all?

Let me know what you think, and thanks for joining me for another deep dive into another one of my random ROTTMNT theories!

EDIT: (PS- Sorry, if the "read more" messes the order of these up, but the scroll was annoying me in my own tags.) 😅

[templeofoccultpractices]

Protection

Protection is essential to learn for any spiritual practices. It comes in different forms.

*Note:Crystal and herbal correspondences may vary from practice to practice or person to person. Depending on what source you use. You can get different results. It is important to do your research when it comes to finding what works for you.*

Banishing

Banishing can take many forms. You can perform your own rituals for the purpose of banishing.

Herbs/incense and smoke cleansing

Like mentioned in the cleansing section of this post herbs and incense can also be used in for banishing. Look in the cleansing portion of the post for the list.

Lesser banishing of the pentagram(LBRP)

This is a ritual used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. You can use this format or formula to create your own banishing ritual. I will be posting a ritual that is a bit different than the Golden Dawn one. For the original click here

Simple version

Start at the north and while using your dagger, wand, herb or incense say

I call upon (name) to banish all negative energies and anything that wants to harm me out of my space.

Turn to the east and repeat this. Same for south and west.

Return to the north and close the ritual. You can say it is done. You can also replace (name) with the elements.

Sound

Just like with cleansing you can also use this for banishing. Look in the cleansing portion for a list of methods.

Land spirits

This is if you are a practioner who works with the local land spirits of the space. Since the land is their land they probably won't like any unwanted visitors. Simply call out to them and ask them to remove the energies or beings you don't want. Do leave them an offering and say thank you when done.

The same can be said for any deity you work with.

Cleansing

Cleansing is the act of cleaning negative energy out of a space, objects, or person. Herbs and incense are commonly used.

Crystals

Crystals can be used to absorb the negative energy. Put the crystals in a space or on an object or person to draw out the negative energies. While any crystal may work for you there are some commonly used ones for this.

⬩Amber

⬩Bloodstone

⬩Chalcedony

⬩Citrine

⬩Clear quartz

⬩Flourite

⬩Iceland spar

⬩Orange calcite

⬩Tourmaline

Smoke Cleansing

Smoke cleansing can be used with herbs or incense. Visualize the smoke taking away all negative energies. Please do not smoke out your house to the point it's unbreathable.

⬩Eucalyptus

⬩Frankincense

⬩Lemon

⬩Parsley

⬩Sage (there are different kinds)

⬩Thyme

Sound cleansing

Sound can be used for cleansing and banishing. Ways of doing this can be

⬩Bells

⬩Clapping

⬩Music

⬩Singing bowls

⬩Snapping

⬩Or anything else that can produce a sound

Warding

Warding is building barriers that keep out negative energies or beings you don't want.

Charms/Talismans/Amulets

Amulets

Amulets are things worn to ward of negative energies or beings and protect the wearer. Traditionally made from things like stone or bones. Every culture has their own version of an amulet. Examples being

⬩Evil eye/Nazar Amulet

⬩Taoist Amulets like Fulu/Ofuda/ Bujeok

⬩Hamsa hand

⬩Meket like Ankh or Eye of Horus

Charms

Charms were originally chants or songs sang. A charm can be made from anything and is used to draw in or attract things like good luck.

Talismans

Used to attract something specific to the wearer. Sometimes inscribed with certain symbols like runes

Crystals

Some crystals are commonly listed as warding crystals so here is a list.

⬩Amethyst

⬩Bloodstone

⬩Black tourmaline

⬩Clear Quartz

⬩Golden Tiger’s Eye

⬩Obsidian

⬩Pyrite

⬩Prehnite

⬩Rainbow Tourmaline

⬩Ruby

⬩Selenite

Sigils

Sigils are symbols that are used for a specific purpose like protecting, calling a being forth, or attracting/manifesting certain things.

You can simply create a symbol for the use of protection. You can charge these sigils with sun/moon light, herbs, crystals, deity blessings.

You can also include using runes or other symbols like the Ankh or Eye of Horus into your sigil.

Plants

Plants are a great way to ward the space. Taking good care of your plants will provide the space with energy and life. They can protect you in return. If your an aminist or even a shamanic practitioner you can ask the spirits of the plants to protect you.

*Research what is and isn't safe for your pet and put them out of reach of any animals.*

⬩Aloe Vera

⬩Basil

⬩Calathea

⬩English Ivy

⬩Eucalyptus

⬩Ferns

⬩Jade Plant

⬩Jasmine

⬩Lucky Bamboo

⬩Money Plant

⬩Orchid

⬩Peace lily

⬩Rosemary

⬩Rubber Tree

⬩Sage (there are different types of sage)

⬩Snake Plant

⬩Thyme

⬩Vetiver

Follow my main blog where if you want other content. I will post information about deities and practices. I may soon update this one to include links to each pantheon

If you have any other questions feel free to join my 18+ occult server.

[dorothygale123]

Raise your hand if you've heard of the 4 Guardian Beasts before. Anyone? If you don't, it's cool. That's what learning is for!

Now, anime fans like myself may be more than a little familiar with these guys as they've shown up in more than a few properties (ex. Fushigi Yuugi) but the concept, like many things in Asian culture, was originally Chinese. Also called the 4 Symbols, the 4 Gods, and the 4 Cardinal Creatures in English, the 4 Guardian Beasts are very popular in East Asia. We'll be calling them by their Chinese name, the Sixiang, because it's much shorter than any of their English titles because it's shorter. Do excuse me if I call the beasts themselves by their Japanese names, as it's what I know them best by.

The Sixiang are an astrological concept, with each one governing a portion of the sky. Each of these 4 sections had 7 constellations consisting of parts of the beast that when looked at together shows the beast as a whole. Pretty different from Greek constellations, huh? Anyways, these 28 total constellations were very important to Chinese cosmology as each one was seen as housing a different part of the Heavens, where the gods did their business. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Azure Dragon/Canglong/Seiryuu, Guardian of the East

Fun fact: back in ye olden days azure was used to describe a shade of green, so while there are many depictions of Seiryuu as a blue dragon a lot of really ancient art paints him green. Surprisingly, he's associates with the element of wood rather than water. His constellations house the Heavenly Gates and several parts of the Jade Emperor's palace (including the stables where a certain naughty monkey did a stint). He's generally seen as the most important member of the group as a result.

White Tiger/Baihu/Byakko, Guardian of the West

As the name suggests, Byakko is a massive white tiger that rules over all other beasts with a terrifying roar. He's said to be in tune with all 5 elements (water, fire, earth, wood, metal) but is most associated with metal. He carries the 'essence of heroes' and means business. His constellations mostly have to do with the Heavenly army, with the prison, garrison, and granary all falling under his purview.

Vermillion Bird/Zhuque/Duzaku, Guardian of the South

Often confused with a Phoenix, Suzaku is actually a distinct creature. The fact that Eastern and Western Phoenix's are very different in concept doesn't help matters, especially since cultural osmosis has led to the Eastern Phoenix becoming more and more similar to it's Western counterpart. Suzaku himself is very similar to a Western Phoenix, being associated with fire and elixirs of immortality. His constellations are very functional, housing heavenly the wells, wardrobes, kitchens, and other such things.

Black Turtle/Xuanwu/Genbu, Guardian of the North

Now I say turtle, but Genbu is a bit more of a dual creature. Sometimes they're 2 animals, a turtle with a serpent on it's back, and others it's a turtle with a long snake-like neck. Sometimes it goes full chimera and is a turtle with a snake for a tail, head included. No matter which way you slice it though, Genbu is some mix of snake and turtle. Naturally, it gets associated with the element of water. Sometimes it's even credited as once having been the turtle that carried the floating city of Penglai (which I'll get to eventually). Genbu's constellations seem to be wealth-based, as it presides over the temples, treasury, and non-military granary.

Okay, so I know I said 4 beasts, but the Sixiang are sometimes shown with a 5th member that takes it's place in the center of the group. Occasionally it's a yellow dragon to represent the Yellow Emperor, but personally I prefer when it's the qilin/kirin, the Chinese Unicorn. Now it's called a unicorn, but like many Chinese creatures it's a bit of a chimera. With the head of a ram, the hooves of a horse, legs of a wolf, body of a deer, scales of a snake, tail of an ox, and horns of a dragon. Calm and intelligent, it is often seen as a symbol of nobility and scholars. Another fun fact: the Japanese word for giraffe is kirin because of their remarkable resemblance to the mythical beast.

This was a bit of a long one, but I had fun! What about you guys?

Sh*tpost Masterlist

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Crew for Stan series Scrublands: Silver reflect on ideal coastal destination for TV production

written by Warren Hately | Augusta Margaret River Times

Producer Martha Coleman with actors Luke Arnold and Bella Heathcote alongside director Ben Young. Credit: David Dare Parker/Photograph by David Dare Parker

The cast and crew of Stan crime drama Scrublands have reported mixed feelings about their pending wrap on their season two shoot in Augusta.

Production has taken over the seaside town and brought a welcome boost to the economy at the outset of winter, before filming concludes on July 12.

Rhetoric aside, co-producer Martha Coleman from Third Act Stories and the Australian show’s leading stars expressed a deep fondness for the coastal hamlet.

Coleman told the Times the visiting film crew quickly felt at home in Augusta after residents embraced the production and opened their doors and businesses to the cast, which included lead actors Bella Heathcote and Luke Arnold.

But Coleman said many genuinely felt there was something “incredibly special” about Augusta and its surrounds and she urged local authorities to protect its existing character against future over-development.

“It’s like a coastal town from my childhood in that it hasn’t been ruined,” Coleman said.

“It’s not become something it’s not.

“It’s like the gift that keeps giving. We’ve got all of our locations there.”

Operating under the code name Silver, the Stan series sees Arnold’s journalist character return to his WA home town with his girlfriend, played by Heathcote.

As is typical of crime dramas, things soon turn pear-shaped.

Arnold said he appreciated the warm welcome from the Augusta community.

“It didn’t take long for people to start talking about wanting to move here,” he said.

“We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful location both on-screen and off.

“Everybody is filling their weekends with incredible food, wine, and adventure.”

Coleman and Heathcote also talked up the region’s scenic beauty.

“Augusta is so stunningly beautiful and the people here have been nothing but warm and welcoming,” Heathcote said.

“The best thing about shooting in pre-existing locations is that it feels like I’ve been taken on this weeks-long tour of the town: from the lighthouse to Ellis Street Jetty and everything around and between.

“I’ll be sad to say goodbye.”

Coleman said scoping for the series was undertaken during a magical summer, but when wintry conditions set in on day one of shooting at the Ellis Street Jetty, the directors chose to lean into the powerful natural feel of the region.

That included long days shooting at Flinders and Hamelin Bay, which had transformed since summer from a pristine white-sand beach to a wild and seaweed-wracked locale.

“We shifted our focus on the location not being pristine, but powerful,” the co-producer said.

“We wanted a coastal town that hasn’t yet been gone over by the developers.”

Coleman herself had moved her company back to Perth during the pandemic and the partnership with east coast company Easy Tiger — rumoured to be shooting some additional scenes in Augusta for their separate production The Twelve — mean idyllic places like the town and other parts of the Margaret River region are likely to appear in future shows.

Coleman said despite the stiff drive from Perth, the region was relatively well set-up to support a burgeoning film industry and local and State authorities had “bent over backwards” to smooth out any problems.

The biggest challenge faced was with telecommunications.

The region’s woeful broadband and phone system have raised the ire of South West creatives for years, and while the Stan production had its own unit van to help when in dead zones like Hamelin Bay, greater investment was needed on that front if authorities wanted to get serious about supporting local creative industries, she said.

Source: The West Australia

[jurakan]

can I have a fun fact in youtube deep dive format?

I, uh... don't know how to do that, friendo, because this is a Wendy's a blog not a video hosting site, but! I will try to give you something interesting. Today You Learned about the tygers of colonial Carolina!

[Alright, full disclosure: this is half a conspiracy theory of mine. I went down this rabbit hole after reading Wild New World by Dan Flores.]

In 1709, John Lawson published a book titled 'A New Voyage to Carolina' which is a detailed description of the people, flora, and fauna he found while exploring the Carolinas (I think mostly South Carolina? They weren't divided then, I think).

One thing he notes that I found interesting?

Tygers.

???

[whatcha talking about Johnny, we ain't got tygers here]

Listen to this from page 31:

As we were on our Road this Morning, our Indian shot at a Tyger, that cross'd the Way, he being a great Distance from us. I believe he did him no Harm, because he sat on his Breech afterwards, and look'd upon us.

Uh, okay... um... then on 119 we get this, when he's describing the different animals you can find in the area:

Tygers are never met withal in the Settlement; but are more to the Westward, and are not numerous on this Side the Chain of Mountains. I once saw one, that was larger than a Panther, and seem'd to be a very bold Creature. The Indians that hunt in those Quarters, say, they are seldom met withal. It seems to differ from the Tyger of Asia and Africa.

Alright, what makes this odd (other than that we don't have wild tigers in the Carolinas, if you don't count tailgating Clemson fans) is that the automatic guess you'd make is that he's talking about mountain lions/pumas. They don't live here now, but they did back before colonization. Except he specifically lists what we'd think of as mountain lions as 'panthers', and makes it clear that this animal, this 'tyger' isn't that.

So what are our possibilities here?

ONE: He saw an actual tiger.

...very unlikely. You'd think we'd know about this sort of thing, wouldn't you? If there were tigers in the Americas? Nah, let's dismiss this.

TWO: He made it up.

Well, look, Lawson did actually found towns in the Carolinas, so he has a vested interest in making people go there to live. If he tells you they've got cool animals to see/hunt, like tigers, well, that would definitely attract some colonists, wouldn't it? And they'd expand westward, as he points out that they're supposedly more common on the other side of the mountains (the Appalachians, presumably), and he'd get credit for that.

THREE: He's talking about a different big cat.

He does also mention the 'tygers' of Africa, except Africa doesn't have tigers, either. Either he's confused about that, or for him, 'tyger' just means 'big, colorful wild cat'. I remember that in telling Anansi stories, one author has his characters claim that 'Tyger' back in the day just meant 'big cat', and he uses 'Tiger' as the name of 'Osebo' (which I've seen other authors depict as a leopard). And while North America doesn't have tigers, it does have another really big, roaring cat...

Yes, the US does indeed have jaguars in the Southwest, though they are very rare there, as opposed to further south (and this Border Wall business is not helping conservation efforts). Historically, before they were hunted out by settlers, they did live in Texas and as far north as Colorado, and as far east as Louisiana. Heck, until the 60's it was still legal to shoot them in Arizona. Was it possible that Lawson's 'tyger' was a jaguar? He does say his indigenous correspondents told him that they were usually found west of the mountains, and rarely that far east--and the jaguar's historical range was west of the Appalachian, though pretty far from the Carolinas. And I admit that I have trouble imagining a jaguar wandering the wilds of the Carolinas (though that would be dope).

I don't know. I have no way of knowing. But Dan Flores is pretty insistent that jaguars used to be all over the place, and so he seems to subscribe to the theory that Lawson's 'tyger' was a jaguar that wandered into the Carolinas.

Hm.

A strange zoological mystery, to be sure.

In case you were wondering what happened to John Lawson, by the by, he was captured by the native Tuscarora in 1711 while exploring and tortured to death, shortly before the beginning of the Tuscarora War.

So now you know. I hope this was the 'deep dive' you were looking for.

[getoed5725]

Kenjaku's poem in jjk206

Spoilers for jjk206 i think

This is not an analysis lol, I made the rant on TT regarding Kenjaku's poem in jjk206, this panel in particular:

I'm not sure if someone will analyze it later but im putting it here in case my tweets got washed away.

A lot got lost in translation, but this quote of him is written like a short poem in the original text.

(Please don't take this as it is, because I can only do so much research on my own, it might not be entirely accurate.)

>>>

courtsey of Trùng Roi (FB), I can understand the full meaning of it before it gets translated in English.

If you understand Vietnamese (or Japanese, Chinese) you'll see how this quote sounds so glorious and powerful in those languages in comparison to English. I think the one above is fan translation? The jist is there, but there are a lot to break down from this "poem".

In Vietnamese it's like this:

"Nghìn năm không ngừng (1)

Long tranh hổ đấu (2)

Hợp tung liên hoành (3)

Với cái thế giới nguyền rủa này" (4)

Because Vietnamese can directly translate Chinese to the exact character, the syllables from both language might be more similar than Japanese. The first 3 sentences have 4 syllables, which can be a base for 4-character poems in our languages (this is also affected by the translator's skills of word selection, so thanks Trùng Roi again for this!!)

Direct translation:

(1) A thousand years, non-stop

(2) Clashing between dragons ("long") and tigers ("hổ")

(3) [I can't directly translate this, I will note this later but it does have to do with wars and alliances]

(4) In this world full of curses

For (2), the "clashing between dragons and tigers" can simply means "the fight (or tug-of-war, in the translation) between the giants", because dragons and tigers have long been the image of the strongest animals in the legends. Also, when I look up the VNese term "Long tranh hổ đấu (2)", this movie "Enter the Dragon (龍爭虎鬥/Lóng Zhēng Hǔ Dòu)" comes up in the results (because that is exactly its title in VNese):

Which might be a coincident or not when Yuki (and by extension, Todo) has had her poses taking references from Bruce Lee, so this is really fascinating. (and see the 3rd character is also within Itadori's name too) I won't be surprised if Gege took the poem's references here, he seems to like Bruce Lee.

The (3) sentence is particularly difficult to explain. In the translation, it is "the capricious alliances and betrayals" but the original stems from 2 opposing war tactics by the ancient Chinese during the Warring States (475 - 221 BC).

"Hợp tung liên hoành" is a combination of 2 tactics "hợp tung" (合縱/hezong) for the vertical north-south alliance and "liên hoành"(連橫/lianheng) for the horizontal east-west alliance (please note that Japanese and Chinese characters might be slightly different in writing). The hezong alliance is opposed to Qin state, and the lianheng alliance is an ally of Qin state. I'm not going to go further into history but basically, the sentence amplifies what Kenjaku has gone through in the past thousands years ago, where they experienced the brutal wars, saw alliances being made, saw sides opposing and betrayals happening, saw the states got broken down and the heavy process of it, and knowing how The Warring States happened, it's much much more jarring than the current fight they're having. They've "lived through" such periods, showing the extensions of their intellect and experience in comparison to Tengen. Basically, this is some kind of advanced mockery and show off that Tengen can never be on his level, but Kenjaku lives up to it tbh lol.

Anyways! those are just my thoughts because I really like that "poem" and it sounds way heavier than the English translation. JJK has long been said to be a difficult work to understand even by the Japanese readers because of his complicated choice of words, so I'm a bit sad a lot of it gets lost in translation. Gege obviously does a lot of research on plenty of references in order to write this up, so I hope more people are aware of his efforts.

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - North Island Volcanic Plateau

Strictly speaking the Taupō caldera complex is just one part of the volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island, which also includes ash deserts, crater lakes, lava plateaus, the Ōkataina caldera complex, and the Tongariro Volcanic Centre. It's very active - Mount Ngauruhoe for example, is a beautifully cone-shaped stratovolcano 2,291 m tall, and less than 2500 years old. In fact the plateau is currently the most frequently active and productive area of silicic volcanism on Earth.

You might also recognise it as Mt Doom from the LOTR films.

In 1974 a champion skier (and presumed lunatic) by the name of Jean-Claude Killy skied down the side of Ngauruhoe you can see here, as part of a promotional campaign for Moët & Chandon. He hit well over 100kph. And he was doing this while the volcano was erupting.

Mount Ruapehu, south of Ngauruhoe, is also active, but is also the site of the North Island's only glaciers and major ski resorts. The eruptions have certainly been deadly, but most of the fatalities occured on Christmas Eve 1953 when the tephra dam constraining the crater lake collapsed and sent a landslide of mud, rock and water down the Whangaehu River minutes before an express train came through.

In 2007 two climbers nearly drowned on top of the mountain, when they took shelter in an alpine hut 600m from the crater, and an underwater eruption in the crater lake drove a surge 2km from the crater. Luckily for them the floor gave way and the water drained into the seismometer vault beneath the hut. One of the mountaineers still had a leg crushed by boulders in the debris.

East of the volcanoes is Te Onetapu, also known as the Rangipo Desert. It gets a decent amount of rain and occasionally heavy snow, but doesn't hold onto any of it because the entire area is thickly buried in unconsolidated ash and other volcanic debris and it immeadiately drains away.

It also doesn't have any trees to speak of, because the supervolcano eruptions at Lake Taupo 26,000 years ago carbonised every living thing in the area, including the seeds, and the ecosystem is still recovering. Forests on the western side of Ruapehu were partly shielded by the height of the volcano, and survived.

While @purrdence spent a few hours at the military museum south of the desert, I drove back up the road and went looking for insects. Some were abundant, like the Tiger Beetles, but they amazingly frustrating to photograph, taking off and being whisked away by the wind the moment I came near. Or being chased off, sometimes in flight, by the aforementioned ravenous beetles. At least the plants stayed in one spot, and the bumblebee was enthralled by the blue paintjob of the car.

[midnightactual]

Hey, so, what do these banners on the walls mean?

Well these aren't real kanji. You don't have to take it from me:

Q: BLEACH の中央四十六室が斬殺されている場面に書いてある四つの漢字何て書いてあるのでしょうか？ A: 作者の創作漢字です 東西南北と青龍朱雀玄武白虎の頭文字からとり一つの漢字として組み合わせたものです 意味はまぁ東西南北あらゆるものから世界を護るような感じでしょうか四方と守護神なので

Or rather, via Google Translate with some cleanup:

Q: What are the four kanji characters written in the scene where the central 46 rooms of Bleach are being killed? A: It is a kanji created by the author. It is a combination of the initials of east, west, north, south, and blue dragon, vermillion bird, black tortoise, and white tiger as one kanji.

That is to say, they're an allusion to the Four Symbols of Chinese mythology. So you know how I said it made sense that Chinese be known by the elites? Yeah. You know how I also said it made sense that Central 46 exist as a rival institution to the Four Great Noble Houses? These appeals to heavenly authority are essentially in direct opposition to similar claims from the Four Great Noble Houses! Let's review. Tokinada says in CFYOW vol. I:

"But that’s the Soul Society. The Central 46 are the five noble clan’s yes-men, especially when it comes to the powerful Tsunayashiro house.”

Tokinada is obviously trying to mess with Kaname, and this happened over 100 years prior. Later we get:

The Central 46 was the acting voice of the Soul King and so led the Soul Reapers. Occasionally they acted as the supreme judiciary body and meted out judgments. Nayura Amakado was the youngest member of that body—a girl who appeared to be just ten years old. But both Kyoraku and Nanao recognized that the girl had a sharpness that came from living many years longer than her looks suggested, and that she had initiated steady changes in the Central 46, which had on principle previously served the aristocrats foremost.

(This incidentally confirms my statements about how soul growth slows down sometime after five years of age.) Later we get this:

“So, about that. The higher-ups have something they want announced directly in the Bulletin. I thought I’d at least tell you about it, since you’re the captain.” “They want something announced? By ‘higher-ups,’ do you mean Squad Zero?” “No, the Central 46. Or the aristocrats behind the scenes, to be exact.” Kyoraku turned to Hisagi for just a moment before he continued.

We also get told:

Kyoraku didn’t smile back. He simply asked flatly, “And so? What business brought you all the way up here? If you have complaints about the Court Guard, I’d rather you send those through the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly or the Central 46.” “Oh, it’s a simple matter. I want you to get in touch with some people for me. Yoruichi Shihoin doesn’t seem to receive communications through the aristocratic network. Even the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly don’t know where she is. Kuchiki is another matter entirely, but you should at least know how to get in touch with that shrew, am I right?” Tokinada handed Kyoraku a paper with a message for Yoruichi

Later still we get this:

“I want to get the five families on my side, and if I can obtain the formal consent of the Reio, I want to make the Five Great Noble Clans as a body equal in rank to the king. Then the clans would surpass the Central 46 in power as a decision-making body. In fact, I suspect the reason the Central 46 crushed the Shiba house was to make sure something like this never happened.” Tokinada chuckled as he continued. “Haven’t you had your doubts? Why did the Shiba family get such a cold reception from the Five Great Noble Clans? Officially, the Shiba set up in the Rukongai in order to build their secret fortifications. But even before they were stripped of their noble position, the Shiba were treated like they were lower than the poorest of the lower aristocracy. Doesn’t it bother you that the Shiba family allowed that?”

In CFYOW vol. III, we get this:

It was clearly a problem that a man like this was the head of the Four Great Noble Clans, a position within the Soul Society that was on equal footing with the Central 46.

Okay, so let's bring it all together. There are at least four major bodies in the government of Soul Society:

The Soul King and Royal Family: figurehead; ostensibly head of state and highest authority, but in truth essentially fiction.

The Four Great Noble Houses (formerly Five Great Noble Houses): functionally the executive branch; the Shōichī or First Rank nobility who hold the ranks of Dukes, having sealed the Soul King originally and established the system. Nominally safeguard the system.

Central 46: functionally the judicial branch, a court made up of 6 judges and 40 sages on par with the Four Great Noble Houses, was formerly under their sway when they were the Five Great Noble Houses but has now tilted to the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly and is under their sway. Nominally speak on behalf of the Soul King.

Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly: functionally the legislative branch; ostensibly composed of lesser nobles below the rank of Shōichī and by process of elimination now currently actually in charge.

I've been back and forth over this before (see here and here) with some different terminology and framing, but I think it's easy to see that, as I've said before, Soul Society is fundamentally defined by political infighting among different political classes, chiefly the Great Nobles versus the Nobles.

We can understand that Central 46 used to be the tool of the Five Great Noble Houses, but the demotion of House Shiba and its reduction to Four Great Noble Houses was functionally a coup d'état that realigned Central 46 to serving the interests of the comparatively mysterious Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly. Tokinada is truly only attempting to cause chaos and anarchy, but doing so under the guise of restoring the Five Great Noble Houses to their former primacy. What Nayura Amakado is doing is effectively trying to make Central 46 independent of either group rather than their cat's paw.

In other words, Soul Society is what happens when separation of powers goes bad and is not regulated by anything except self-interest and violence-making ability:

According to the principle of checks and balances, each of the branches of the state should have the power to limit or check the other two, creating a balance between the three separate powers of the state. Each branch's efforts to prevent either of the other branches becoming supreme form part of an eternal conflict, which leaves the people free from government abuses. Immanuel Kant was an advocate of this, noting that "the problem of setting up a state can be solved even by a nation of devils" so long as they possess an appropriate constitution to pit opposing factions against each other.

You can also take it as a warning about the perils of a judiciary which isn't independent of and separate from political concerns, which, uh, topical.

[casbooks]

Books of 2023

Book 51 of 2023

Title: Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and Out of Humanitarian Aid Authors: Jessica Alexander ISBN: 9780770436919 Tags: AU African Union, AU AUMIS African Union Mission in the Sudan, BDI Burundi, COG Congo-Brazzaville, Disaster - Cyclone Nargis (2008), Disaster - Hatian Earthquake (2010), Disaster - Hurricane Mitch (1998), Disaster - Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (2004), GBR BA British Army, GBR United Kingdom, HND Honduras, HND Teguchigalpa, HTI Delmas 31 Camp, HTI Gaston Margon Camp, HTI Haiti, HTI Jacmel, HTI MINUSTAH United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, HTI Port-au-Prince, Humanitarian Aid, ICC International Criminal Court - Hague, IDN Banda Aceh, IDN Indonesia, KEN Kenya, KEN Nairobi, LBR Liberia, LBR National Patriotic Front of Liberia, LBR President Charles Taylor, LKA Sri Lanka, LKA Tamil Tigers, MOZ Mozambique, RWA Hutu Tribe, RWA ICTR International Criminal Trial for Rwanda (Rwandan Civil War), RWA KGL Kigali International Airport, RWA Kibuye, RWA Kigali, RWA Kinbungo, RWA Kiziba, RWA President Juvenal Habyarimana, RWA Rwanda, RWA Rwandan Civil War (1990-1994), RWA Rwandan Genocide (1994) (Rwandan Civil War), RWA Tutsi Tribe, SDN Abu Shouk Refugee Camp, SDN Al Salam Refugee camp, SDN Dar Zagawa, SDN Darfur, SDN Darfur - Abu Shouk Refugee Camp, SDN Darfur - Al Salam Refugee Camp, SDN Darfur - Zam Zam Refugee Camp, SDN Hamadyia Refugee Camp, SDN Hassa Hissa Refugee Camp, SDN Janjaweed Militia, SDN Jebel Marra, SDN Jebel Si, SDN JEM Justice and Equality Movement Army, SDN Juba, SDN Kalma Refugee Camp, SDN Khartoum, SDN Korma, SDN Mukjar, SDN North Darfur, SDN North Darfur - El Fasher, SDN Nuba Mountains, SDN Nyala, SDN President Omar Al-Bashir, SDN Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), SDN SLA Sudanese Liberation Army, SDN South Darfur, SDN Sudan, SDN Tawila, SDN Zalingei, SDN Zam Zam Refugee Camp, SLE Bo, SLE Child Soldiers (Sierra Leone Civil War), SLE Freetown, SLE IMATT International Military Advisory and Training Team, SLE Kailahun, SLE Makeni, SLE RUF Revolutionary United Front, SLE SCSL Special Court (Sierra Leone Civil War), SLE Sierra Leone, SLE Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002), TCD Chad, TMP East Timor, TMP Free Aceh Movement, TZA Tanzania, UN UNDP United Nations Development Programme, UN UNICEF United Nations Childrens Fund, UN United Nations, US NY JFK International Airport, US NY New York, USAID Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars) Subject: Disasters

Description: An eye-opening and intimate memoir about life as an international humanitarian aid worker in the field in Rwanda, Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Haiti. Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide as an idealist intern, excited to be a part of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the reality of the life of an aid worker. We watch as she helps to resettle refugees in Rwanda, manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, and helps a former child soldier in Sierra Leone get rid of a tattoo that was carved into his skin by a rebel group. But we also see the alcoholic parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and cyncism, the plans and priorities that constantly shift and change. Tracing her personal journey from idealistic and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations and shows us not only the impossible challenges, but also the moments of hope and recovery. Review: It was a pretty decent book that gave the reader some insight into the situations in Darfur, Haiti, and Sierra Leone from the perspective of a humanitarian aid worker. You'll understand why the help offered is rarely helpful at all, and good intentions is really a double edged sword. There's some good, a lot of bad, a lot of stress, confusion, and a system rigged to fail for the most part. But there's also the human element, and the people that are affected at every level make this a story worth reading.