#thorough research

[reality-detective]

The new variants coming out are MILITARY codes and each variant signals Military operations and White Hats chess< counter movements/

(The DEEP STATE got really confused when so much different Variants started popping up on the news and papers without their CONTROL and Acknowledgement>>>> they can't back track these STORIES planted or say they didn't name the new variants ...it will truly destroy their NARRATION if they deny these variants popping up!!!)/////

Pay close attention to the new variant >>>>>>>>>>>>OMICROM<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

OMI= ODIN (Omi is one of ODINS name)

CROM: is a commanded to an operating system or server for a job that is to be Executed at Specified time.

> >>>>>>>>>>PROJECT ODIN < </<<<<<<<<

MILITARY SPACE FORCE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OPERATION CONNECTED TO STARLINK SATS. AND CONTROL ALL GRIDS AROUND THE WORLD AND CAN BYPASS ALL MEDIA/RADIO/INTERNET PLATFORMS. MORE OVER PROJECT ODIN CAN TAKE AND OPERATE ALL MEDIA/RADIO/INTERNET/DIGITAL PLATFORMS AND EBS.

_________________________________________

>OMICROM<

WHO Skips Next Greek Letter After “Nu” in Naming New COVID Variant – The Next Letter “Xi” Might Draw Attention to China – So They Named it “Omicron” Instead

Xi =11 in Roman numerals

XI = 11 =LAW OF WAR MANUAL/ CHAPTER 11.

>Q, POST #1116 (>ELEVEN<16)

Thank you Xi

Good start.

China/CQ cancel.

Q

(This post was not about China or Xi ...it was disinformation..Q knew the enemy was reading the post.... And Q Mil.Intel couldn't break the laws of National Security by openly stating the Laws of War > End of occupation 11.3< )

CHAPTER 11(xi) in the Law Of War all pertain to END FOREIGN OCCUPATION and 11.15 has specific rules on how to " combat the spread of contagious diseases and EPIDEMICS"

__________________________________________

Side note;

Xi also means 14 (fourteen in gematria =104)

Q post #104

Now is the time to pray.

We're are operational.

God bless the United States of America.

Q

__________________________________________

How many coincidences before mathematically impossible?

It was over before it began.

Q

__________________________________________

~ Be careful PATRIOTS/ANONS/ Freedom fighters across the world....... Be careful of those who divide inside the Great AWAKENING......( Many are drunk on EGO> FOLLOWERS>or simply are drunks and high and take to social media to vent (hate/accuse/>ego<) and instead of seeking help for their mental problems or drug problems or alcohol problems........./////

I'm not here for these games or followers or being a keyboard warrior looking for fights and raging nonsense....

Some of us are here.. Because we truly care for humanity, nature, animals and Earth...

No matter where you are seek peace.

God will not do for you.. What you can do for yourself. ( This means learn to use all your sacred senses in Harmony ..... Come to a clean life.. LIGHT)> THE GREAT AWAKENING is much more than can be fathomed...

I'm sure I'll get some flack for sharing this but I have to admit, a lot of Q posts have come to fruition in many ways. Sure it's a Psyop and it's happening on both sides. It's up to you to know or be-LIE-ve. 🤔

[homeimprovementrefferal]

Avoiding Problems And Ensuring Success: Office Furniture Installation Guide

Avoiding Problems And Ensuring Success: Office Furniture Installation Guide - #homeimprovementreferral #FurnitureInstallation, #HomeImprovement, #OfficeFurniture, #Tips - https://www.homeimprovementreferral.com/avoiding-problems-and-ensuring-success-office-furniture-installation-guide-2023-05/

[valtsv]

i need to start collecting dead things in jars and boxes of bones i think it's the only thing that might actually fix me

[omaano]

SW Hades AU September Update

Links and previous updates: May - June - July - August - everything else in this AU

For the month of September I have for you a finished character illustration for not only one but two characters for the Hades AU! One boon giver in the form of Shaak Ti,

and Obi-wan, this grumpy old desert hermit who is still missing shading from his dusty surroundings.

AND below the cut I will show you the designs for all the keepsakes I sketched out for the characters this month :3

But - before I go into some ramblings - let's have another poll:

(I know it's a lot like the last poll, but I'm really trying to work on drawings of the boon giver characters while I still remember all the layer settings I need for their glow and radiant spikes ^^;)

And now on for the ramblings and thoughts behind the process of the art I've created this month:

One last rant about me and replicating the Hades art style

I have touched on my struggles with how I translate the Hades art style into my project in the previous update, and unfortunately the perfectionist in me refuses to let it go... so I'll muse on that a bit more in this one as well. Last time, I promise. I've come to the necessary conclusions that I'll let the topic go once I typed these out.

I found this very interesting video that I wish I'd seen before I started this project.

It is a very interesting breakdown of the Hades art style. Now I have to admit that I am very very bad at observation. Therefore I heavily rely on others pointing out patterns and defining characteristics before I can consciously start building on those on my own. For example: when I started more seriously working on this Hades AU project my main objective was to get better at lineart. The way I saw it Hades artworks had very clean and solid linearts with lots of black (thanks to another video that pointed that out as one of the 3 major definig features of the style) but if I look at it more closely the lines and shading are a lot looser, and more confident than what I ended up using.

I quite enjoy doing it, don't get me wrong, but there is an up- and downside to hunting down single pixels that are out of order (b it for lineart or shading) and 100% zoom in... which is silly and unnecessary, since I have to scale down my art quite a bit before posting anyway, so who would see anyway?

Also at this point I'm very much facing the dilemma of how much I can change in my approach to this style to still keep this entire project coherent. I'm more in favour of coherency at this point, so I'm just trying to soak up these lessons for future references.

One of these lessons was another point that was very fascinating in this video (aside from how this video picks a multiply layer approach to shading... which I had abandoned after Boba and Cobb for whatever reason?) was to point out the one dominant, more saturated colour in a character art, and how all the rest are desaturated to support that dominating character.

Shaak Ti and my babies

And I actually was very consciously trying to apply that with Shaak Ti! (I'm so proud of myself, finally incorporating a lesson into my work, look at me go!) It didn't exactly go as I'd planned, in a great deal because initially I wanted the red of her skin to be the more dominant and defining colour. But as I went about colouring in the baby clones as well I realized that the blue of her montrals and lekku would be a much better choice, and have the other redish and warmer tones of her robe and clothes, and the skin tone of the cadets to play the supporting colour role. Yet again, half my screens keep eating away the hue and saturation of my reds, but I think that this approach worked out just fine in the end. The blue-purple of her stripes, her eyes and lips look nice and pretty, and the blue in the cadet uniforms tie the entire composition of all these characters nicely together.

I'd also switched up the gem sparkle highlight colours for this one (and Obi-wan too, since they worked so well with Shaak Ti) from the very limiting base 6 fully saturated colours on others (that don't really show up in print anyways...).

And lastly why they are little ghosties in the alternate version:

Ahead of that however a brief introduction is in order. From left to right they are Ray (depicted here the last time he was biggest of the bunch), Slider (my anxious little field medic), and Goldie (my silly little goldfish who claimed the name before it could stick to Slider). For the record they all grow up just fine to join the war effort.

In this case they are more of a stand-in for all the clone cadets on Kamino, especially those who didn't get to grow up, the training of whom Shaak Ti ended up overseeing. (I don't remember if canonically there had been any of them on Kamino when the Empire destroyed their facilities.... but I'd bet that there must have been.) They deserve someone to look after them too, after all.

Also I wanted to see if I can make the Hades shade design work for me. The answer is.... eh, jury's still out, but no, not really. Luckily however, before I have to figure out if I stubbornly would want to change that, it seems like I'm done with my semi-transparent or shade clones. Wolffe is gonna be just fine, solid and grumpy as you can imagine.

Obi-wan

I don't have much to say about the grouchy old man, except that he was surprisingly easy to finish once I got over worrying about the pressure I'd put on myself because of this character illustration.

I fear to say this, but I'm pretty sure I should draw another version of him... like how Patroclus stands up from his hunched over pose and stands tall and strong and matching Achilles with his own spear once you reunite them in the game. And call on them for assistance. So I guess it would be cool if he could stand back-to-back with Cody, with his lightsaber back in his hand, and looking like someone who (allegedly) has his life together XD

Oh! There is one thing. It was a last minute change but I'm so pleased with the stained glass pieces of his teacup! It's his keepsake as well :))

Keepsakes

These speak for themselves, I believe. Special thanks to Quatre for brainstorming a few of these with me <3 Funnily enough Cody's snapped of antennae is the one I feel least sure about now that I have the whole lineup. They feel very in character for Cody (and how he gets his entertainment out of trolling Din in this AU) but it feels a little silly, you know? Especially with how little they look like antennae X"D

Cody - antenna from his armor, Rex - one of his DC-17 blasters, Wolffe - a tooth with "Plo's bros" carved into it, Bo-Katan - a medal/locket with the pattern of the throne of Mandalore, Cobb - his scarf, Boba - a black melon surrounded by stained glass and a fistful of sand, Echo and Fives - a domino

Omega - a clone trooper doll, Kit - a shell and pearl, Paz - a nesting doll with a Pantoran on the inside and a Mandalorian on the outside, Shaak Ti - akul teeth, Satine - a calla lily brooch like she wears in her hair, Ahsoka - a glowing feather from Morai, Leia - Lola

Obi-wan - a fancy teacup, Quinlan - whatever is the Star Wars equivalent of a pendrive, Fennec - a handful of bullets, Sabine - airbrush, Ezra - a tooka brooch made of pebbles and snail shell, Maul - Talisman of finding (the one Savege used to find him)

Anakin - multitools, Mythosaur - a mythosaur pendant, Aphra - Spice Dice used for a variant of Sabacc, Luke - toy ship, The Armorer - her hammer

It's a bit wild to see all of them laid out like this i'm not gonna lie :D

So that's it for now. As for the next month I'm hoping to surprise-finish Aphra (like I did with Obi-wan), maybe do something about the surpirse I can maybe do for Fives and Echo and why they haven't gotten their character interaction yet, sketch out a new character and maybe start lining Bo-Katan and her gang. It should be doable, right? XD Also I promise that this was my last rant about my relationship to how I've given up replicating the game's style as close as possible. Cross my heart and all that.

Taglist of anyone who wants to be pinged once a month for these updates <3 If you want to be added to the list send me a message, or just reply to this post (a 👀 would do, nothing fancy required ;))

@elwinged @yeehawgeek @velsayshi @lionsaint

If you want to be taken off the list just message me and I'll take you off, no hard feelings :)

[purplink8]

Okay what is with those posts making Light out to be a Republican?? And transphobic/homophobic for that matter while Misa is an ally? 😭

Babes, it's Misa who was homophobic in canon. And while we're not shown Light's opinions on homosexuality afaik, Light is not really much judgemental about how people present themselves (see how he picks out a spot suitable for L to sit the way he sits).

I know it's 'funny' to make fun of problematic characters but you don't need to add whole new unfounded flaws to their character to do so holy shit

[fraidycat-art]

間

[mi---amor]

@mistytoybear do you think his voluptuous flavorful Saltbazongas would have shaker cap nipperonis

[allgremlinart]

A lot of you dont know about the well researched long-running blog from 2009 that is dedicated to documenting and discussing William Shatner's toupee and it shows

[offshore-brinicle]

Part of the reason I talk about the League of Nine so much aside from my personal hyperfixation and the interest in Korean literature it awoke in me, is that something that is completely lost in like 99% of western users is that Canto IV and the League of Nine's backstory was Heavily based on the Japanese occupation of Korea since this is the time where the real Yi Sang and Guinhoe lived. Even Mili's song for the Ruina collection Salt, Pepper, Birds and The Thought Police is, in fact made in honor of another author from this era Yun Dong-ju who actively stood up against the Japanese forces. Even Ruina's tagline is a reference to his book Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poetry and every chapter of Ruina starts with a quote from him.

It's very much undivorcable from this context but the information is very hard to access for non-Koreans and a lot of people don't really do the research but I want this aspect of the story to be acknowledged more, specially with the Blade Lineage's storyline highlighting more on the kind of displacement, alienation and corruption that led to them having to abandon their roots much like Limbus' reimagining of the Guinhoe. The reason Dongrang and Gubo are so villafied is because as the Guinhoe corrupted under the pressure of oppression those two were some of the worst offenders, actively writing propaganda and abandoning their people for the sake of siding with whoever benefited them best, and as someone who also grew up living through the aftereffects of colonialism and immigration it's all specially clear to me.

Though personally, I'm quite relieved that the fanwiki has also been updating with the proper resources in regards to the real life background and context, I recommend the pages for at least a more simplified rundown of a lot of the key details and the references made by each member in Canto IV (though it doesn't include some things I have talked about here before and I have made my resolution to contribute to it as well)

[nobigsecrets]

Looked up the real LAFD's Air Operations (no, I did totally not fall down a research rabbit hole on firefighting) and it's so funny because Tommy is reciting almost word by word what's written on their website when he's giving Buck the tour in 7x04.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

i'm sure there's a ton of world building in the haitham zhongli convos but my adhd cannot. is there like a tldr even if someone else wrote it (i don't mean this like it's bad wiritinf but i just. cannot read long blocks of info)

-@bloodlust-system

no worries i gotchu

TL;DR under cut

rainya gave him access to better equipment so he could get more info from the documens he couldn't fully process last time (that he mentioned in his other convo)

he found two documents, one a coroner's report and another a report about one of the rescued victims from the BCI (black column incident). neither of the people described in the documents show the symptoms you'd have thought they'd have given everyone assumed the explosion had been radioactive bc of symptoms on those who survived from far away. also neither of the victims had inhaled smoke nor was covered in dust and debris, and both seemed to have been in incredible mental distress when the incident happened (like more than you'd think)

he points out that none of that makes sense, bc if the explosion had been radioactive, then they would have symptoms of radioactive exosure (which they don't have). also they should've been covered in dust head to toe given the boulevard sank into the earth and- i mean the explosion. and also also they should've inhaled smoke bc of the black pillar (supposedly a smoke plume)

so if neither of the victims had inhaled smoke nor showed signs of radioactive poisoning, then was there an explosion and smoke plume to begin with? and if there was neither of those, then what the fuck even happened?

also one of the victims' files states they were recovered from the place that sank completely beneath the earth, and STILL had no debris or dust and shit. so what gives? the dating and time of the file would suggest the boulevard sank after anfortas and co. got in, so if the supposed explosion didn't sink it, what did?

(↑ that is more or less what was in the long-ass starting section. since you mention the long blocks of text are what's difficult to read, i'm gonna guess the rest of the exchange is pretty legible)

tl:dr for the tl;dr:

documents from two victims on-scene suggest the boulevard sank after anfortas and co. went in, but also that there was no radioactive implosion and no smoke plume. this puts into question what the earthquake even was if not a massive explosion, and what the black pillar was if not the explosion's smoke plume. both victims also seem to have suffered from some sort of mental meltdown when the incident took place, which is Weird.

[seaofthesoul]

🪷 The Lotus Flower in Mysterious Lotus Casebook 🪷

i. Growing Deep Roots

As noted by difeisheng, Li Xiangyi is an image more than he is a person. He’s the “symbol” and “beating heart” of the Sigu sect; “he embodies everything [the sect] stands for” and “has become one with every person he represents” in his role as a leader. As such, one might say he doesn’t exist as an individual who’s allowed the luxury of flawed, fluid humanity. Rather, he’s fixed into an object: a shield protecting those under his care, a mirror reflecting those he’s taken upon himself to be the champion for.  

While a heavy burden to carry, this identity as image is also shown to be brittle, hollow, like a hazy mirage which is more dazzling appearance than substance. Even Fang Duobing introduces Li Xiangyi to Li Lianhua by showing him a painting of his shifu — ink on a page, a person turned into a hero to be worshipped and idolated. 

Li Lianhua, over the ten years that pass after the Great Battle of the East Sea, works to plant and cultivate a new identity in the same way one might grow flowers. Li Lianhua forms deep roots and grows out of the mythical hero’s shell he’d been carrying as Li Xiangyi, thus developing an identity which is solid and grounding in contrast — an identity which involves “walk[ing] within a crowd instead of [soaring] above it.”

This shift from image to person is itself rooted in the lotus mantra (written by Buddhist Layman Pang during the Tang Dynasty) which Li Xiangyi first encounters after monk Wu Liao rescues him:

一念心清净 莲花处处开

The heart attains peace with a single thought; Lotus flowers bloom all around.

Although the exact timeline is left to interpretation, it’s implied that the lotus mantra operates as a catalyst of change for Li Xiangyi and that he changes his name to Li Lianhua after reading it. Now what is it about it that speaks to Li Xiangyi so deeply in that moment? As noted in 《 人間福報 》, the lotus mantra teaches us that a pure heart will result in an open and enlightened mind. One subtle, profound thought rife with compassion is enough for a person to glimpse Buddha in a flower, a leaf, a grain of sand or a speck of dust. In short, “if you can find peace within yourself, then you will find peace everywhere.” Perhaps Li Xiangyi, at his lowest point, finds solace in the prospect of stripping his life down to its very core and searching for purity, wisdom and peace within his troubled heart.    

By renaming himself 莲花/liánhuā lotus flower, Li Lianhua takes his destiny into his own hands; he empowers himself into reshaping his identity and laying down the foundations for the person he wants to become. Similarly to The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity which tells us that “names are the shortest spells in the world,” Li Lianhua’s new name functions as a spell which speaks a new him into existence. It’s a deliberate choice, a conscious attempt at breaking free from the suffocating shell Li Xiangyi was trapped in and become a person of his own choosing. 

The act of (re)naming notably also extends to Li Lianhua’s abode which he dubs 莲花楼 “Lotus Tower.” In addition to this significant choice of name, it’s interesting to note that Li Lianhua starts growing vegetables inside Lotus Tower when he’s left with nothing after his demise at the East Sea and is facing starvation. As such, his home is quite literally a site not only of self-sustenance and survival, but also of growth — a growth which requires hard work, patience and faith and nearly brings Li Lianhua to tears when his hopes are finally rewarded and the seeds he planted begin sprouting. The act of physically planting vegetables and learning to cook those vegetables speaks of a refreshing and grounding simplicity — of something disarmingly vulnerable and human after playing the role of a god-like figure. Li Lianhua has sweat on his brow and hope in his heart; he plants seeds, watches them grow and keeps himself alive by his own hands.

It seems it’s not only Li Lianhus’a home, but also his very person, which steadily grow into a lotus flower. Li Lianhua wears a variety of hairpins directly linked to the lotus, and the colour coding of his garments moves from the red he used to wear as Li Xiangyi to a lighter palette filled with greens and blues — colours which are more obviously linked to nature.

ii. Life Borrowed and Given Away

The lotus, both traditionally and within the drama itself, is closely connected to the theme of rebirth. On a literal level, the exotic lotus flowers of Cai Lian Manor grow directly from the corpses of the victims drowned in the pond, thus embodying life born from death. thawrecka writes in their story that Li Lianhua is “nothing but a lotus nurtured by a walking corpse, a body that doesn’t realise it should already be dead.” On a figurative level, the lotus grows in muddy water but blooms unsullied every morning, thus symbolising rising from a dark place and growing into something beautiful and colourful despite all the odds. The different stages of the lotus’ blooming can be taken to represent the beginning, middle and end of a spiritual path in Buddhism — a parallel to the theme of 趟/tāng taking a journey which underscores the drama in various ways.

Li Lianhua’s journey, more specifically, is that of a lotus being reborn. The soundtrack piece 《 一壶莲花醉 》 “A Pot of Lotus Wine” emphasises this connection in the following lines:

问一句莲花的悲喜 断一柄弃剑入青泥

I ask about the joys and sorrows of the lotus; A broken, abandoned sword is thrown into the mud.

Not only does Li Lianhua keep stressing at different points of the drama that Li Xiangyi is dead and all that is left behind is Li Lianhua; he even breaks his own sword Shaoshi at the end of the story, thereby physically reenacting a process of destruction—death—and rebirth. As Li Lianhua writes in his farewell letter: 

剑断人亡

My sword is broken, and I will be gone.

The significance of Li Lianhua’s action is further intensified here by the fact that the sword in the song is said to be thrown into 泥/ní mud, the site from which a lotus flower grows.

Considering that Shaoshi operates as a device embodying Li Lianhua’s character development throughout the drama, the fact that Li Lianhua decides to break it in the last episode should be taken as a key moment in which he chooses how his own narrative is going to end. Li Lianhua decides to kill for good the glorious image of Li Xiangyi which has become sullied with pain and regret in his heart, so that a simple, fragile peace can begin growing in its place like a lotus flower amidst the mud.

However, the tragedy of Li Lianhua’s narrative is that the rebirth he works to achieve for all these years is not his own to enjoy and never was intended to be. After the Great Battle of the East Sea, as Li Lianhua is reborn from Li Xiangyi and starts planting seeds all around him, he has already accepted that he’s nothing but a ghost, “wandering in the jianghu to close his loose ends and finally [...] vanish without a trace, not even a body left behind.” As mx-myth remarks, even the shift in his garment colours to an overwhelming amount of white as the story progresses makes it clear that he’s resigned to go and has “already started dressing for his own funeral.” 

The lotus flower symbolism permeating the narrative accentuates this bone-deep, unshakable resignation. While imprisoned by Jiao Liqiao, Li Lianhua is full of an aching, bittersweet fatalism when he recites a section of Guan Hanqing’s《 窦娥冤 》“The Injustice to Dou E”:

花有重开日 人无再少年 不须长富贵 安乐是神仙

Flowers will blossom again, But a man can never be young again. Seek not eternal wealth; You only need to be content.

Independently from the original meaning of the lines written by Guan Hanqing, the words seem to take on a sad, wistful quality when spoken with a bitter smile by Li Lianhua. In this scene, while the speaker reflects that rebirth occurs outside of themselves in flowers, they acknowledge that their own reality is one inevitably bound to end in old age and decay. Instead of looking forward to a bright future, the speaker doesn’t express any dreams nor ambitions and is only grateful that they’re alive this minute, this second, without any future prospects awaiting them. Perhaps a similar sentiment is reflected in the following lines from 《 一壶莲花醉 》 “A Pot of Lotus Wine”:

了了心事只 不负众生 而已

After settling my worries,  I just want to live up to all sentient beings.

Li Lianhua’s connection to the lotus flower, in fact, was always meant to be one of non-attachment. While Buddhism believes desire to be the root of all suffering, the lotus symbolises non-attachment due to being “rooted in mud (attachment and desire)” while “its flowers blossom on long stalks unsullied by the mud below.” This explains in part why the lotus is considered pure and noble. For Li Lianhua, this non-attachment takes on sorrowful connotations: it means that he stubbornly refuses to reap the seeds he sows and focuses his purest heart and will into ensuring those around him get to reap them instead. Non-attachment means allowing himself enough (a roof over his head, food on his plate) to survive, but rarely letting himself indulge in the precious luxuries of reciprocated love and care — of carefree joy and thirst for adventure.  

The ten years he lives after his first death at the East Sea are, for him, only borrowed time he didn’t deserve — borrowed time not dedicated to himself, but rather dedicated to others.

In many ways, Li Lianhua’s path effectively goes full-circle by the end of the narrative. When he and Di Feisheng reminisce about the moon they remember from ten years ago, they conclude that today’s moon isn’t any brighter than the one alive in their memory: rather, it remains constant, unchanged, as though the past ten years never existed as anything other than a short pause in the story, a coma, long enough for wrongs to be righted but not  for an already-dead person’s fate to be changed.

It’s interesting and particularly significant that the Styx flower (忘川花, from 忘川 “River of Forgetting” in the original Mandarin) is said throughout the drama to be the only thing capable of saving Li Lianhua’s life. In traditional Chinese culture, the Styx or River of Forgetting is part of the process of reincarnation; only by crossing it (and forgetting everything they’ve ever experienced and everyone they’ve ever loved) can a person finally reincarnate. For Li Lianhua, salvation through rebirth comes at a high cost — a price he’s evidently been ready to pay since the beginning, even if it means turning him into a ghost who must vanish from the story in order for those around him to grow and thrive further.

When Li Lianhua breaks his own sword to allow for rebirth, it’s not himself he’s saving. His sole purpose throughout his journey as Li Lianhua is to use whatever meagre strength he has left, whatever passion and drive are still alive in him, to save the world in any small ways that he can. He becomes a doctor who heals people; he looks for answers and solves mysteries to atone for the sins he thinks he has committed and rectify the mistakes he thinks he has made, so that those he has hurt can finally find peace and comfort.

The most powerful legacy Li Lianhua intends to leave behind by the end of the story has nothing to do with himself and everything to do with the people around him who he never truly admits he loves — the messy, imperfect world that’s caused him so much pain but that he nevertheless insists on saving with everything he has. 

Most strikingly, Li Lianhua chooses—whether consciously or not—to leave the life and future he’s renounced for himself to his companions Fang Duobing and Di Feisheng. The only traces he purposefully leaves behind live in them: in the Yangzhouman coursing through Fang Duobing’s body; the home, dog and recipe book he passes onto him; the worthy opponent he leaves for Di Feisheng to fight in his stead after he’s gone… 

Fang Duobing, by the end of the story, has grown into more than a disciple and a friend to Li Xiangyi/Li Lianhua: he himself has become the lotus flower bringing renewed life after Li Lianhua has left the narrative, thereby taking Li Lianhua’s legacy into a hopeful, vibrant future. As mx-myth mentions in their colour analysis, Fang Duobing notably wears bright pastel tones including a large amount of green/blue — a colour coding which emphasises Fang Duobing’s connection to spring and, by extension, new life and beginnings. “Life will always go on if there’s spring”; and so Fang Duobing’s youth, vitality and optimism can grow in the empty space left behind by Li Lianhua after he fades into the autumn of his life.

While Li Lianhua’s predominantly light colour palette might appear to align him with other characters in the drama who have left the past behind and are looking towards the future, Li Lianhua made peace long ago with the knowledge that he’s destined not to belong in that future. Just as the Lotus Sutra teaches us that “the inner determination of an individual has great transformative power” and “gives ultimate expression to the infinite potential and dignity inherent in each human life,” Li Lianhua focuses all his transformative efforts on creating a future which, despite having no place for him, will be fertile ground for the entire martial arts world to grow deep, healthy roots. In Li Lianhua’s own words:

幼芽生枝 新木长成 武林也一样 这未来如何 谁又能说得清楚呢

The young sprouts and the new trees grow. The martial arts world is the same. What does the future hold? Who can say clearly?

Should we say, then, that Li Lianhua’s story is one of sacrifice, self-renunciation and resignation — of drifting inevitably towards death as a flower carried by a stream? As he disappears on a boat and is asked where he’s going, Li Lianhua gives a response which echoes his first death at the East Sea in a way that feels entirely deliberate:

小舟从此逝， 江海寄余生

From now on I would vanish with my little boat; For the rest of my life on the sea I would float. 

How are we to understand a person being reborn simply so they can pass on that new life to others, and being convinced that their only true value lies in their death?

Perhaps, in spite of it all, we can find some small comfort in the knowledge that, no matter how sorrowful Li Lianhua’s fate, it’s at least one that he chooses — one that he has full control over, even poisoned and robbed of his life force as he is. As the lyrics of 《 一壶莲花醉 》 “A Pot of Lotus Wine” underline, “it’s just a matter of picking an ending that you like.” Perhaps that’s all that truly matters. 

wuxia-vanlifer makes an excellent point when asking: “What would be more tragic? That he never believed he was loved? Or that he did, but vanished anyway?” While I don’t have an answer to offer, there’s one thing I can say. Li Xiangyi, Li Lianhua — they live and die by love. They can’t conceive of themselves as anything other than a sacrificial tool because, for all that they pretend to be aloof and untethered, they actually love others—and the world—in a bone-deep, profound way they’ve never loved themselves. That love is not only the true driving force behind Li Lianhua’s character and the fate he chooses: it’s the beating heart of the entire drama.

“In this life, I have loved and I have been loved. That is enough.”

Shoutout to the following authors and bloggers whose brilliant words and ideas inspire me, as well as this gorgeous video 💖

ao3: @extraordinarilyextreme @thawrecka

tumblr: @difeisheng @extraordinarilyextreme @mx-myth @wuxia-vanlifer @xinyuehui

[somekindofmoss]

Now, I'm not entirely sure what came first, the tcw show or all of the novels expanding on Mandalorian culture, but nonetheless it annoys me so much whenever i watch tcw and they depict the Mandalorian people, one of the most diverse cultures in starwars, all with blue eyes and blonde hair. Mandalorian is a culture, a religion, not a race. A creed anyone of any species or origin can join.

The Mandalorians were so prolific in adoption into their creed, that it lives on despite their ancestors -the Taung- having died out. All you even have to do in Mandalorian culture to adopt someone is speak a vow, (The gai bal manda) which is recognised by Mandalorian law. (and I'm distraught that in the Mandalorian show we didn't get to see Din speak this vow to Grogu, but I digress.)

The show also presents Sundari, Mandalore's capital at the time, as so... clinical and bare? Yes the new pacifist Mandalorians have foregone the war worshipping ways that founded their culture, but the worship of war also bred a celebration of life and relishing each moment and day you get -Shereshoy being the term for it. From a culture like this I'd expect a little more... soul to their home.

They dress everyone in such plain (lack of) colours too!! When the pacifist Mandalorians discarded their armour, did they discard the cultural meanings or importance of colour too? (And I'd love to see New Mandalorians treating their clothing with as much respect and reverence as they traditionally did armour, following the Resol'nare's tenet of Beskar'gam in their own, new way. I have so many thoughts on how the Resol'nare can apply to a peaceful lifestyle, but ultimately I know that's far too much detail for tcw to have delved into, and I'm sure i wouldn't be the first to talk about it, if only there was a show solely about Mandalorians that could explore their culture in such depth-)

Ever since I had a hyperfix on Mandalorian culture a year or two ago I haven't been able to consume Mandalorian related content the same way, and I am trying to resurrect the intense interest because it ended before I was able to learn Mando'a, and by goodness I think it might be working.

[officialspec]

speculative evolution? :D 🤗💖

not quite!! its speculative fiction about the neolithic (i think??) era, trying to posit how early societies might have functioned and interacted. also the mc is a polyglot with a talent for language acquisition and one of the languages she speaks is Horse

[codenamesazanka]

so like one can do whatever the heck they want in fanfiction and they’re under no obligation to stick to any degree of realism or do research or abide by canon or even the laws of reality and physics at all,

but I do wish English-language bnha fanfics would take into consideration that child adoptions in Japan are rare. Generally speaking, kids just don’t get adopted - the legality of blood ties are strong, biological parents are often prioritized even if they’re unfit, so much so that their consent is still needed to put the child anywhere; there’s cultural stigma, kids who do get adopted are usually very young - 6 or younger - so that couples can pass off the child as their biological own.

Like, the vast majority of adoptions in Japan is of adult men - families and businesses taking in an heir to continue the family name. That’s the ‘regular’ type of adoption. Adopting a child is ‘special’ adoption - literally called that.

(Then there would be other typical not-necessarily-cultural-specific factors - only married couples can adopt children, you can’t be too young or old, etc.)

Outside of formal adoption, there’s been attempts to get the children fostered in a family-based home, but mostly, kids are overwhelmingly placed in (small, overcrowded) child care institutions.

HeroAcaLand, though largely based on modern Japan, is set in a slightly more futuristic world, so it’s entirely plausible to say things have changed - adoption laws have changed, gay marriage is legal, so - let’s say - husbands Aizawa and Mic can adopt Eri (whose blood relatives are still alive). Or maybe All Might is just so rich and powerful that even though he’s single and nearing age 60, he can sidestep the rules to adopt Shimura Tenko - and he’s fine with ignoring cultural norms (ex. ensuring the Shimura lineage - Nana’s lineage - continues) so he even gives Tenko his last name.

However, canon is still based on current Japan, and the setting reveals itself in small but important details - orphaned Kouta is sent to live with his blood relative Mandalay; Nana gives up Kotarou to an orphanage and not another family; Eri would’ve been sent to a children’s home if UA didn’t specifically accepted her (partly because her quirk was liable to go berserk, and extremely luckily, here was the one guy who can stop her). Before that, she was already an abandoned child - her mom ditched her, left her with her grandfather, and when he fell into a coma, Overhaul was able to take over her guardianship with no one the wiser.

More on that point, actually: characters that we see take in lost, non-blood-related children to raise them to adulthood are… largely villains and criminals. All For One, Yakuza, Re-Destro. It’s easier for them because they simply ignore laws and any ethical problems that arise.

But the fact remains that people who most often give the orphans and runaways a home are not the Heroes and not the system the Heroes support.

Adopted kidfics are adorable. Fix-it fanfics are great. But I do wish they’re a bit more cognizant of cultural specifics, especially the things that set the foundation for the canon material that creates the need for these fix-it fics.

[peaches2217]

Building off of a previous post, I've decided what nation the Mushroom Kingdom is parallel to in my 'verse: Slovakia. (The fact that my girlfriend is Slovak and I feel very passionately about promoting the nation to atone for the fact that I didn't know it even existed before I met her has only informed about 90% of this decision.)

Okay, but jokes aside, the Mushroom Kingdom is an idyllic, green little kingdom, with lots of rolling pastures and forests and hills/mountains. Most towns are quite small, and even larger towns, like the capital city of Toad Town, have that small-town feel to them. Lots of open-air markets and little shops and small businesses. Toad Town itself is located in the southern-central area of the kingdom, adjacent to the Banská Bystrica region.

As far as traditional dress goes, Central Slovak kroje tend to be extremely colorful, which you see reflected in the varied vests most Toads wear. They're often embroidered with simple patterns, but extravagant embroideries aren't unheard of. Peach's ceremonial traditional outfit is no different: big, puffy sleeves, bright pinks and blues and reds woven into her outfit, and plenty of mushroom reliefs as stand-in for the flower reliefs you see more IRL.

(In place of the ribbons of unmarried women and headdresses of married women, she wears a mushroom cap, which matches her kroj and the natural Toad caps. Larger headwear seems to be more common in Czech kroje than Slovak, buuuuuut this is Fantasy Slovakia, we can make exceptions.)

I like to think Peach gifts Mario with a folk-style belt or vest or something that he starts wearing to official events, and then when they get married, he gets his own full kroj. Now, kroje varies drastically from village to village, but some of the most well-known of Central Slovak kroje come from Detva, whose men's kroj looks like... this.

I'm caught firmly between "Let's draw inspiration from some other Central region like Liptov for the MK's traditional menswear" and "Sun's out, tum's out, Mario would fucking SLAY in this".