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mrcformoso · 4 months

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Parallels and Details (part 2) for Paper Flowers for the God of Gods

This focuses mostly on Chapters 4-7. For Chapters 1-3, you can find it in Part 1

If you haven’t read the fic yet, this is in reference to my HuaLian fic Paper Flowers for the God of Gods! It’s a FlowerGod!XL AU in canonverse with Rapunzel vibes and Persephone & Hades vibes and an ungodly amount of flower language.

Again, OMG the response to this fic is UNREAL. Like I had to refresh it over and over because I couldn’t believe how much love it was receiving. This fic was both an emotional and mental ride hahaha because I really wanted to channel MXTX as much as possible.

If I was going to revamp the universe, I wanted to make sure that it was as detailed as possible, and so here’s another roundup of the details in this fic because The Brain Hurts But We Are Doing Our Best.

THIS IS ASSUMING YOU HAVE READ UNTIL CHAPTER 7. Please don’t accidentally spoil yourselves. It will be worth it, I promise hahaha this is mostly for me to show off point out details because these chapters got a bit emotional and just to show how much work I put in this hahaha

SMALL DETAILS - I’m a big fan of inputting tiny little details in this fic, whether it be a repeating phrase or calling out certain things that are for foreshadowing or for mood purposes

“He looked up, and up, and – oh”

The first instance of this line was in Chapter 3, during HC’s flashback:

Hong-er, raising his arms in defense against the intruder as he looked up – and up – and – oh.

This was then repeated in Chapter 4, when Xie Lian rolled the dice and was waiting for San Lang.

Before he could even see the result, he heard the soft landing of footsteps beside him.

He looked up, and up, and – oh.

And finally, repeated one more time in Chapter 7, after HC’s confession, right before seeing the flowers on Xie Lian’s hair

1.He looked up, and up, and – oh.

Basically, it’s all instances when they were feeling extremely anxious and they look up and it’s like saying oh, there you are.

Foreshadowing phrases from flashbacks

So the first instance for example is Chapter 4 during XL’s flashback where it talks a bit about his eventual punishment and HC’s death. Those are direct quotes lifted from the actual flashback on Chapter 7. There’s also repeating ones in Chapter 6.

Capitalization and how important Xie Lian is to Hua Cheng using the power of Capital Letters.

Another thing people don’t really notice, but in Hua Cheng’s POV, he always refers to Xie Lian as his God with a capital G, but all other gods are with a small letter g, indicating the difference in how he regards them.

CALLBACKS AND REFERENCES - I love cyclical poetry and calling back events within the fic. Also, when I write canonverse AUs I love calling back to the canon, or referencing the canon in a way that makes sense in the new universe I made. I also try sometimes to add little references to other things I love.

The two deputy gods - and how important this scene actually was

In the Prologue, there was a super, super short scene where two deputy gods were walking around and one explained Xie Lian’s Gardens to the other, before they’re interrupted by HC. More than just a “haha, HC is gonna kill them” kind of thing, in this chapter it was used as a mode of world building, to establish what Heaven thinks of XL and of minor gods in general, as well as establish that HC made his way to heaven.

However, this is referenced again in Chapter 4. Because HC takes out those two gods, and it causes trouble for Qi Rong, SQX was given the opening to talk to XL about HC. This reveals to XL that San Lang’s real identity was HC (he knew there was a ghost king, and he knew the ghost king was San lang, but he didn’t know his real name)

This leads to Chapter 5 where, because he knows HC is SL, XL brings him to his territory to hide him when he couldn’t teleport out of the festival, which led to the morning reveal of Puqi temple.

Basically, the two deputies were the reason for The Confession in Chapter 7. Thank you, random characters.

Butterfly Weeds - I also think I may have traumatized all my readers from this flower.

Xie Lian’s hair has two indicators of his mood. The first is what flowers grow on his hair, and the second is the state of the flowers (the droop when he’s sad for instance).

So the Butterfly Weed Reveal™ was foreshadowed as early as the prologue. I deliberately didn’t explain what Butterfly Weeds meant because it was a setup for Chapter 6. But if you recall the prologue, XL was waiting on the bridge while looking at his reflection and this was the description I used:

He tucked his hair back behind his ear. It was Butterfly Weeds today, their small, orange buds littered the top of his head, down the length of his hair. He plucked a dead leaf from his hair, letting it fall on the river water, distorting his own reflection.

You learn in Chapter 3 from HC’s POV that Xie Lian’s hair flowers die when he’s really sad, so if you go back, it’s the first indication that XL in the prologue was Not Okay. The river distorting his own reflection was also a metaphor for his mental state and how he was not showing his Real Self.

The Blue Hydrangea

Sooo it was super quickly mentioned but the bookmark in Chapter 6:

He lifted up an old book, one with a bookmark made of a pressed blue hydrangea.

This is the blue hydrangea that XL grew in his hair and gifted to Hua Cheng in Chapter 2:

…and in an act that surprised Xie Lian, [San Lang] tucked the Hydrangea behind his ear with a cute little “now we match, Gege!”

Which means the book came from Hua Cheng’s collection and not heaven. He literally gave the book to He Xuan to deliver to XL, and also kept the flower that XL gave him hahaha

The Page™

Chapter 6, the section of XL’s thoughts as he descends into the Bad Place in his mind was deliberately written in those short lines to sort of emulate the It Hurts page of the novel. I couldn’t really do that in fanfiction because this is not a physical book but I hoped it gave the same vibes.

Chapter 190™

There was really no reason for the human face disease and the stabby stabby but I kept the spirit of the torture XL experienced but through the shackles attached to him.

I also kept the spirit of Ghost Flame Hua Cheng unable to do anything until he burned everyone in teenager Hong-er unable to help until he started starving himself in XL’s temple while praying.

The formation of XL’s Habits

After the reveal of how Hong-er dies to save XL in Chapter 7, we see that XL starts showing the habits that we see him have in Chapter 2. That includes pacing around the perimeter, around and around until the sun sets, him looking at his own reflection in the river to see the flowers in his hair, and of course, the next point:

“It was a nice day. All days are nice.”

THE MOST PAINFUL ONE. IT HURT ME TO DO THIS.

This was actually first implied in the Prologue, but it was a more obvious repetition in Chapter 2 where each section started with “It was a nice day. All days are nice.” Initially, the implication is that it’s what he’s trying to convince himself is true (that all days are nice in heaven, therefore he is okay) But in Chapter 7 it is revealed that he started saying this after Hong-er dies. This shows that he started waiting since back then, and continued waiting the same way until he meets HC.

IT IS ALSO A REFERENCE TO THE NOVEL. It is supposed to emulate the year where XL was waiting for Hua Cheng to return. Because in this fic, XL is waiting for his devotee from his final request, and that’s why it’s the same vibe.

Princess Bride reference!

A cheeky little one. “Your wish is my command” which was first uttered by Hua Cheng in Chapter 5, brought back with more significance in Chapter 7 after XL asks him to be saved. In reference of course to the famous “As you wish” quote from the movie.

HUALIAN’S BACKSTORY - symbolisms, parallels, and running towards one another. I AM SO PROUD OF THIS. This was literally the first thing I had to flesh out of when I made this AU because the rest of the story had to be written around this and WHEN I TELL YOU the amount of time I spent making this omg –

Hua Cheng’s red string

In Chapter 3, we see that Xie Lian wrapped a vine with a lotus flower around Hong-er’s finger and he declared Hong-er as one of his flowers. Hua Cheng wears a red string now on the same spot.

Hua Cheng’s umbrella

The umbrella will make an appearance again soon! But yes, the red umbrella that Hua Cheng closes at the Prologue was the same umbrella Xie Lian hovers over Hua Cheng in chapter 3.

Hua Cheng’s name + Crimson Rain Sought Flower

THE INSPO FOR THIS FIC! Hua Cheng, literally meaning ‘Flower City’. After he dies, he changes his name to this to honor his Flower God, and tbh it holds a lot more significance in this fic.

Also, it changed the meaning of Hua Cheng’s title. Instead of Hua Cheng protecting the flower from the bloody rain, I made it so that HC deliberately protects any flower since they are considered his ‘siblings’.

“I want to be one of your flowers”

In Chapter 3, in HC’s flashback we see that Hong-er wanted to be XL’s flower when reincarnated because he wants to always be with XL. XL acknowledges this.

And although XL doesn’t put it together that Hong-er and “the teenage boy” were the same person, XL subconsciously considers him as his flower because of how loyal he was, and so XL took care of him like how he takes care of all his flowers.

And remember in Chapter 5, how XL reacted to seeing his flowers die?

Yeah. He felt that way, and mayhaps even worse, when HC died. The flowers in his hair rotted in just the same way.

“Wu Ming”

Not really done by name. But. If you notice, Hong-er never introduces himself, and Xie Lian never knew the name of his favorite devotee. I couldn’t do the “Wu Ming” thing because that was XL being deliberately cruel in the canon, and in this they have a much softer relationship.

But technically HC still becomes Wu Ming in a sense that he is endlessly devoted to XL and he sacrifices himself to save XL, so the spirit of Wu Ming is still in this fic.

San Lang (or, the three lives)

So the whole “San Lang” name in canon was a) a cheeky affectionate name (Lang is usually a term of endearment), and b) the “San” or 3 or third references the 3 lives San Lang lived (Hong-er, Wu Ming, Hua Cheng)

Now, in this fic, it means the same thing but in different contexts:

Hong-er is “reborn” as one of XL’s flowers in Chapter 3 - remember right before this, Hong-er mentions he wants to die and be reincarnated, to which XL asks “what would you like to reincarnate as” and gives him a lotus petal which means Renew, or Rebirth. This was the “end” of his first life.

Hong-er (or “the boy”) physically dies praying to XL for seven days straight without eating or sleeping. This is the end of his second life.

Hua Cheng is his third life, thus, San Lang.

Roses, Tulips, Gardenias, Daisies, Chrysanthemums

These were first mentioned actually in Chapter 3, but not by name because Hong-er didn’t recognize these flowers, but these were the flowers Xie Lian grew for him that ‘look like his red eye’.

In Chapter 4, they were revealed to be the red flowers in Hua Cheng’s garden. Xie Lian comments that, if red, they all mean Love. And Hua Cheng says he grew it for a wonderful memory (his first meeting with XL)

Also in Chapter 3, He Xuan mentions that Hua Cheng’s communication array password is “five flowers, but he can’t remember the order”. In Chapter 4, it is revealed that these five flowers are his communication array password (BECAUSE HC IS A SAP AND WE LOVE HIM)

Chapter 6, He Xuan mentions these five flowers to basically tell Xie Lian that he’s working for Hua Cheng and to trust him when he gave The Book.

And of course, Chapter 7, where Xie Lian grew these flowers in his hair as his declaration of love to Hua Cheng. These are Their Flowers.

Paper Flowers

Of course, ½ of the title of this fic. Paper Flowers.

So this one doesn’t need much explanation. They are XL’s favorite offering because it’s not picked flowers, but it is mentioned explicitly in Chapter 3 that XL tells Hong-er not to pick flowers because they will die. So Hong-er dedicated himself to learn how to fold paper flowers.

This is also mentioned again in the end of chapter 3 that Hua Cheng STILL folds paper flowers every day and offers it to XL’s temple in Ghost City (at the end of the chapter).

And during The Confession in chapter 7, Hua Cheng makes XL hold onto E-ming to free his hand as he sits and folds a paper flower to 1) show XL that he was the devotee, 2) fold a paper rose to confess his love and show his feelings and 3) you can say this is him praying to XL. The setting was with XL sitting on the bed and HC sitting in front of him. It’s kind of like he’s praying at an altar while making his offering.

E-ming - and the healthier relationship with Hua Cheng

So because Xie Lian saw HC’s red eye and declared it as beautiful, I made it so that HC and E-ming had a healthier relationship, and it’s shown in how HC takes better care of E-ming and treats him like a puppy.

In Chapter 5 he summarized his relationship that it started off as a curse (before XL), then it became his source of strength (After XL), and then his weapon. Chapter 7 shows that E-ming became his weapon because he wanted to forge something to protect XL in line with what he promised. His “wait for me, and I’ll come back to protect you” promise.

Role reversal

A theme I absolutely love with this universe! It’s very subtle, but it makes me soft.

In the flashbacks, it’s shown that XL is the one who took care of HC, from giving him a reason to live until he took care of him in his teens and made sure he was fed and sheltered and loved.

In the present time, HC becomes that person for XL, where XL is so sad and tired, HC became that person who brought him food, and validated him, and took care of him through their interactions.

“Tell me what you want”

Another theme I really wanted to incorporate in this universe. Related to the role reversal is the theme of asking for something that you want, and being able to give it to that person.

In Chapter 2, we have many instances of San Lang telling Xie Lian to just ask for what he wants, and we also have many instances of San Lang acknowledging any sort of request XL asks of him, even going away if XL says so (“You should go”)

Chapter 3, in HC’s flashback, we see that this came from XL doing the same for HC. Asking him what he wants. If you notice, XL didn’t tell HC to not kill himself when HC says he wants to die and reincarnate, but rather asked what he wanted to reincarnate as and then provide it.

Chapter 4, we see how XL’s wants are mostly ignored by other people (except SQX), until San Lang comes along, where he reassures XL that his wants are valid. Also, we see how XL

Chapter 7, the big reveal that the entire time XL was doing what HC wanted before he died (“what do you want, I’ll do anything” “Wait for me”), and so HC goes back and asks XL again what he wants.

References to their canon themes

“Just one person is enough” - except here, it was one devotee praying for Xie Lian to overcome the shackles

“They’ve been running towards each other for 800 years” - in the sense that they’ve been doing things for each other and waiting and looking for each other for 800 years.

HuaLian back and forth - living for one another and meeting in the middle

MY DREAM with this fic was that I wanted to do in this fic was the constant back and forth between HuaLian. I revealed little by little their backstory over the course of several chapters in their POVs to showcase how important they were to each other, even when they didn’t really get to know each other that well.

Xie Lian gave Hong-er a reason to live by being ‘reborn’ as one of his flowers.

Hong-er becomes Xie Lian’s most dedicated believer, praying everyday and . Note, for a minor god this is a Big Deal because he has so few believers and temples to begin with.

Xie Lian takes care of Hong-er by feeding him, giving him company through flowers, and leading him to shelter, which was a Big Deal to homeless, abandoned Hong-er.

Xie Lian chose isolation over exile so that he could still take care of Hong-er.

Hong-er sacrificed himself by starving and not sleeping to pray non-stop to save Xie Lian from the shackles.

Hong-er asked Xie Lian to wait for him, because he was already dead set on becoming a ghost/not resting in peace in order to protect Xie Lian due to his own disappointment in himself.

Xie Lian, despite his grief, continued to live and wait in acknowledgement of Hong-er’s wish. He endured 800 years of imprisonment and mental torture in honor of Hong-er’s last wish.

Hong-er becomes HC and spends 800 years becoming a Ghost King and looking for XL so that he could fulfill his end of the wish.

And finally, they meet in the middle.

WAAAAAAA it’s so much but I super enjoyed writing this fic! Did you guys catch all of this in your read through? Are there other things you noticed? I have more, but they’ll be more fleshed out in the last 3 chapters!

#fanfic #tgcf #tgcf fanfic #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #san lang #he xuan #wip #parallels #meta post #meta analysis #paper flowers for the god of gods #i am so proud of myself #flower language

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scuderlia · 2 months

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I don’t know the sainz lore pls share the sainz lore

i keep getting asked about this, so here's ONE PIECE of sainz lore:

In 1995, Antonio Sainz Rebollo (Carlos' paternal grandfather) was put on trial for the death a man named Samuel Chiabuto, who attempted to steal his wife's purse. During the confrontation, a bullet fragment from a shot fired by Sainz ricocheted and hit Chiabuto, fatally wounding him.

Antonio was ultimately sentenced to six months and one day in prison for his role Samuel's death, with the primary question during the trial being whether or not his actions were in legitimate self-defense, or instead represented "reckless imprudence resulting in death." The prosecutor argued that "defending a purse could not be equated with defending a life," emphasizing the severity of the outcome.

The case remains relatively significant in legal discussions concerning self-defense and use of force in regard to human life.

(quotes from articles on the incident below—please note that the full publications are paywalled and that these are automated translations from the original Spanish text)

The prosecutor in the 'Sainz case' says that the theft of a purse cannot be compared to a life by Elsa Fernández-Santosel for EL PAÍS Madrid (June 1995)

Self-defense or reckless recklessness resulting in death? The trial against the businessman and consul general of Bolivia Antonio Sainz Rebollo, father of the former world champion Carlos Sainz, was heard yesterday for sentencing. Forensic evidence confirmed the indications: that Samuel Chiabuto, a 27-year-old Nigerian who tried to steal Sainz's wife's purse, was killed by the ricocheted bullet fragment. According to the prosecutor, there can be no talk of self-defense when what is on the table is a purse versus a life. Sainz repeated yesterday that that night has marked his life. "I only defended my wife. When I was little, I was taught that women are sacred," he added.

Six months for Carlos Sainz's father due to the death of a shooter by Begoña Aguirre for EL PAÍS Madrid (July 1995)

Businessman and honorary consul of Bolivia, Antonio Sain Rebollo, 69, father of former world champion Carlos Sainz, has been sentenced to six months and one day in prison for the death of 27-year-old Nigerian immigrant Samuel Chiabuto. Chiabuto was shot dead by him after snatching his wife's purse. The head of the 26th Criminal Court, Eva Isabel Gallardo Martín, considers Sainz guilty of a crime of reckless recklessness resulting in death. The popular action, exercised by Sos Racismo and the Association for Human Rights, requested a sentence of four years and two months. The prosecutor asked for a one-year sentence.

Antonio Sainz was carrying a gun because of a death threat from a mafia by Jan Martinez Ahrens for EL PAÍS Madrid (December 1995)

The acquittal of Antonio Sainz Rebollo, 69, consul of Bolivia and father of two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz, yesterday unleashed the "indignation" of SOS Racismo, personified as an accusation in the process. This association described as "resounding contempt for life" the decision of the Madrid Court to revoke the sentence that condemned Sainz for the death, on February 5, 1994, of a Nigerian shooter after a shot that ricocheted off a terrace. That night, Sainz was carrying the gun because of the death threats made against him by a mafia of counterfeiters whom he had denounced.

#here you go #asks #driver asks #sainz lore

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chloe-caulfield94 · 1 month

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Max's and Brooke's drone date

Max: Now that you've entrusted me with your drone's remote, do you mind me asking you for a little bit of personal advice?

Brooke: Not at all, Max. Go ahead!

Max: How do you attract someone? What I mean is ... Suppose you set your heart on somebody. What would you do to get them?

Brooke: Grab them! And take them!

Max: You grab them and take them?

Brooke: Take them! Like that.

Max: So ... You mean to say that I should wait until after they tell me that they wouldn't refuse if I offered to bang them, that I make them feel like they have a reason to stay in a place they've been dreaming of escaping from for years and that nobody is good enough for me except for them. And after they ask me to kiss them, proclaim to everyone they are going to be my date for today's party and quarter-jokingly propose to me, right? Only then I should grab them and take them?

Brooke: Perhaps I haven't been clear enough. Max, waiting for good things to come your way is the opposite of grabbing and taking. Now, let me give you an example. Imagine Chloe is ...

Max: [blushes red as a hibiscus flower]

Brooke: I mean, imagine a completely hypothetical person of unspecified name and gender who hasn't had a particularly easy life so far finds themself in a difficult spot. Even though they want nothing more than to be with you, they start to push you away, because that's the only thing they know when it comes to relationships - being left behind. If that happens, you should tell them they are your number one priority now, the only thing that matters to you. You grab onto them and not let go of them, no matter what. And then you take them someplace where the past has no hold over you both.

Max: That was ... helpful. I'll keep all of that in mind. Not that I doubted it before, but you really are smart, Brooke.

Brooke: Max, I'm a straight-As student. I'm not bragging, that's just stating the fact. If you are able to comprehend chemistry and physics, you can understand human beings very easily. When you think about it, every single thing happening in your mind, every thought and emotion, including love, is a result of chemical reactions and physical processes taking place in your nervous system.

Max: I'm ... not sure if what you just said is reassuring or depressing. Anyways, how do you know so much about Chloe ... Sorry, the hypothetical person I asked about?

Brooke: It may be difficult to believe now, but freshman and sophomore years Chloe was top of the class in chemistry. We would compare notes ... and sometimes smoke joints. Studying and school in general can be so stressful. That's how I used to unwind. And Chloe had much more to unwind from, with her father's death, and all that stuff going on at home ... You know, at one point I owed that creep Frank Bowers a hundred dollars for weed. He put me down in his notebook. He was pretty aggressive in collecting. I lied to my parents that I needed extra money for school supplies and I managed to quickly pay him off before he could balloon that sum into the thousands with outrageous "interest", like criminals always do. I know Chloe owed him too. But I couldn't help her. What I got from my parents was barely enough to cover my debt. And then we drifted apart. I hope he's not still bothering her.

Max: He is. It's really bad. But she has a partner now. I won't let anyone hurt her ever again.

Brooke: See, Max? You're a natural at this "grabbing and taking" thing.

--------------------------------------

This started out as my attempt at "incorrect quotes", with the joke being that Brooke is equally as determined in pursuing love as Grace Jones's character in "Conan the Destroyer". But then it grew into a short story.

#max caulfield #chloe price #pricefield #life is strange #lis #brooke scott #frank bowers #incorrect quotes #incorrect life is strange quotes

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crush3dmary · 1 year

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Regarding Ritchie "Kiel" "Rox" "Mimo" "Lain" ryuuseini / mimoriru

So, at the end of 2022, I made a post on twitter about this particular user, who runs a merch store, abusing my personal info that he obtained from his store to doxx me and threaten to "ruin my life". You can find it here, as well as receipts and additional testimonies in the quote retweets from other people impacted by his actions.

Well, his art showed up completely unprompted on my dash, which tells me that since being called out, he has taken no accountability, changed his name, ran away to tumblr, and not only opened his store again but is trying to fandom hop to escape his sordid past. So if you're too lazy to read the twitter post, or if you got hit with my block chain, to summarize:

Ritchie and I were friends for over a year and a half. He cut ties because he didn't like a couple things I said or how I ran my server, which is fine. He's entitled to that. What he's not entitled to is to start a smear campaign DMing all my mutuals with very exaggerated accusations about me that he can't back up or accusing me of "stalking" and "harassing" him when I haven't contacted him since we cut ties in 2021. But that's all just friend group infighting. What matters is the literally illegal shit he did after and again, has taken no accountability for.

While we were friends, he said he had some leftover Zelos merch and he'd send it to me for free if I covered shipping costs, to which I said sure and gave him my address. Well, in September 2021, when his panel did not get accepted into Rappig Crossing's conline, he assumed I had used my connection to Maple Gel to get him blacklisted... when I had literally moved the fuck on at that point. I had nothing to do with whatever beef he had with them, but as a result, he went into a large Tales server and shared my personal information, made threats to get me kicked out of school and to "ruin my life", and encouraged the people in this server to "look up my irl credentials" to prove I'm not who I say I am or... something, which I can prove wrong easily. Receipts here.

People in Tales generally don't fuck with him anymore because people know he's shady but I have ygo:dm mutuals who unfortunately don't. If you're looking for merch there are better, more reputable creators who won't compromise your personal information as soon as they decide they don't like you. Take this information as you will, but Ritchie: I hope you know changing your name and hopping groups every time you get called out for something is an abuse tactic.

You can think I'm the literal devil all you want, you can say I'm dragging things out, but you intentionally and knowingly compromised customer information in order to threaten my safety over something you assumed and said yourself in the screenshot that you couldn't prove. You couldn't prove it because it was false, and you still went to such extreme lengths to put me in danger regardless. People have the right to be able to decide whether they want to support your business with this information in mind. I have the right to speak up when I believe I was wronged and the perpetrator has not only taken no accountability for what they did, but might go on to hurt someone else too.

In conclusion, if you're a pokeani/yugioh/tales creator who does merch, send me your info. I want to plug your shop.

#mimoriru #ryuuseini

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danggirlronpa · 8 months

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Hey mind telling me what the story behind Kiyo’s sister is? I’m kind of clueless and only heard one story of the whole thing😅

This got decently long, so I've put it under a cut. I'll add it to the FAQ tomorrow as well, since it's come up a few times!

I will also request that this post not be reblogged to hate blogs or blogs specifically dedicated to "bad" or "disliked" content. As someone who has been harassed as a result of content being circulated in those circles, it makes me very panicked and anxious to see my work on similar blogs. If you do so, I will need to block you for my own mental stability.

In V3 chapter three, Korekiyo admits to mass murder and takes on the guise of his sister to do so. As a result of being nearly beaten to death at one point, Korekiyo created a tulpa of his dead sister (who we'll call by her popular fan name, Miyadera, from here on). He believed Miyadera wanted him to murder 100 girls, and claimed that they were once lovers.

In general, fans seem to take Korekiyo's claims at face value. Which is...weird, considering how obviously the whole thing is a "mentally ill delusional sexually deviant serial killer" trope played completely straight. And that his worldview includes things like "I should kill people so my dead sister has friends." But let's set that aside, and say that, for the sake of explaining the popular fandom viewpoint, Korekiyo is a reliable narrator.

So in chapter 3, when he is on the brink of being cornered, Korekiyo begins to switch between his own identity and the identity of his sister's tulpa. These are the only potential looks we have into Miyadera's personality. To give you the gist, here are all of the quotes while Korekiyo takes on his sister's guise that are listed on the Wiki.

(Please note that the "Apologize" is directed at another student who challenges Korekiyo.)

I'm going to be honest. I have reread this a LOT trying to figure out what everyone else is apparently seeing here that I am not. At worst, this reads to me as a slightly stern etiquette teacher. But the popular fandom perception is that this dialogue implies that Miyadera was manipulating and abusing Korekiyo. I could not honestly tell you WHY people believe this, but they do.

And people ran with that. They ran with that so hard. Every sin Korekiyo commits is pinned down as being Miyadera's fault, and Korekiyo is absolved of his crimes as a result of being an abuse victim. It's similar to the effect you often see in the way people discuss Junko and Mukuro, except that Mukuro does not invoke nearly as much sympathy on a larger level, even though Junko's mockery and subsequent murder of her sister are explicit canon.

Now, to be clear: I don't buy into this. I think this is an extremely generous reading of Korekiyo's character, and that it removed his agency and the horror of his crimes to make him more sympathetic (particularly for shipping purposes - if you glance through the Miyadera tag, you see a LOT of Korekiyo/Rantaro fics with Miyadera as the evil abuser Rantaro must rescue Korekiyo from). I also think that people give too much credit to the canonicity of Miyadera's "possession" when it isn't clear, even in the universe of the game itself, whether Miyadera is actually a tulpa or if it's an identity that resulted from Korekiyo's trauma, like Syo/Jack.

But on its own, I don't care about it THAT much. People have headcanons I disagree with all the time. I don't really like a lot of people's thoughts about Nagito's backstory, either, but I don't think about it very often, and I certainly don't care enough to get mad about it. The problem is...

People are very, VERY violent about Miyadera.

I'm going to ask you to reread the quotes from Miyadera as a reminder of literally everything we know about her personality. And then I'll ask you to read this post.

This...is, in fact, despite all odds, the predominate opinion on Miyadera. If you go into her character tags, there are an endless number of posts like these, daydreaming about doing violence on her person, murdering her, torturing her, etc.

As a Grandparent (25, the age of spinsterhood), this sets off some alarm bells. This is how people used to treat female characters who got in the way of their favorite ships, like Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Now, that is popularly understood to have been a result of misogyny. It is horrifying to see that it has survived.

Fantasizing about committing excessive violence against a woman...is misogyny. Making up crimes a woman did not canonically commit as an excuse to justify fantasizing about violence against her is misogyny. It is one thing to dislike a character based on headcanons. It is a totally separate matter to participate in and encourage this level of vitrol solely to make a male character more sympathetic.

To clarify: I do not think that misogyny is the sole reason for this interpretation. By nature, Danganronpa appeals to teenagers, who tend to fall into this type of fandom-wide trap more easily. But it is, in fact, more concerning to normalize this sort of thought process among teens and young people. And so I am very defensive of Miyadera's actual character as a result.

#miyadera shinguji #asks #anon #meta #talk to the mod #hope this doesnt come across as too biased!#ill reblog this again later when its not 4 am lmao #korekiyo's sister

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byneddiedingo · 11 months

Photo

Montgomery Clift in I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock, 1953)

Cast: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne, O.E. Hasse, Roger Dann, Dolly Haas, Charles Andre. Screenplay: George Tabori, William Archibald, based on a play by Paul Anthelme. Cinematography: Robert Burks. Art direction: Ted Haworth, John Beckman. Film editing: Rudi Fehr. Music: Dimitri Tiomkin.

I Confess is generally recognized as lesser Hitchcock, even though it has a powerhouse cast: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, and Karl Malden. It also has the extraordinary black-and-white cinematography of Robert Burks, making the most of its location filming in Québec. Add to that a provocative setup -- a priest learns the identity of a murderer in confession but is unable to reveal it even when he is put on trial for the murder -- and it's surprising that anything went wrong. I think part of the reason for the film's weakness may go back to the director's often-quoted remark that actors are cattle. This is not the place to discuss whether Hitchcock actually said that, which has been done elsewhere, but the phrase has so often been associated with him that it reveals something about his relationship with actors. It's clear from Hitchcock's repeat casting of actors like Cary Grant and James Stewart that he was most comfortable directing those he had learned he could trust. Clift's stiffness and Baxter's mannered overacting in this film suggest that Hitchcock felt no rapport with them. But I Confess also played directly into the hands of the censors: The Production Code was administered by Joseph Breen, a devout Catholic layman, and routinely forbade any material that reflected badly on the clergy. In the play by Paul Anthelme and the first version of the screenplay by George Tabori, the priest (Clift) and Ruth Grandfort (Baxter) have had a child together, and the murdered man (Ovila Légaré) is blackmailing them. Moreover, because he is prohibited from revealing what was told him in the confessional and naming the real murderer (O.E. Hasse), the priest is convicted and executed. Warner Bros., knowing how the Breen office would react, insisted that the screenplay be changed, and when Tabori refused, it was rewritten by William Archibald. The result is something of a muddle. Why, for example, is the murderer so scrupulous about confessing to the priest when he later has no hesitation perjuring himself in court and then attempting to kill the priest? No Hitchcock film is unwatchable, but this one shows no one, except Burks, at their best.

gifs: tennant

#I Confess #Alfred Hitchcock #Montgomery Clift

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josefavomjaaga · 6 months

Text

How Soult met his wife

In her biography "Soult. Maréchal d’Empire et homme d’état", author Nicole Gotteri quotes some excerpts from the Liber rationum, i.e. the budget book of the Berg family that, as in many old bourgeois families, doubled as a family chronicle. I do not think this has been published in German, so I will translate it into English from Gotteri’s French translation.

According to the entry, Soult […]

[…] was assigned by billet to Madame Berg, the widow of a manufacturer of steel weapons in Solingen, in the Duchy of Berg. Louise, Madame Berg's third daughter, was fresh, pretty, lively and spirited.

As to her freshness, some of Soult’s contemporaries might have taken a different view here. But it’s interesting that Soult, unlike many others at the time, did not marry a teenager but a woman pretty much his own age, who could be a real partner for him. Louise had indeed already managed the household of a wealthy uncle, so had an unusual level of experience in practical matters:

She had just spent several years in Barmen, running the household of one of her mother's brothers, Monsieur Mumm, a wealthy merchant retired from business. On hearing the news of the hospitality imposed on her towards this French general, Madame Berg sent her daughter to the mayor to beg him to change this arrangement, alleging that the general's youth would make his presence inconvenient within the family.

In other words, she feared that this French skirtchaser she had to shelter in her house would sooner or later compromise her daughter's virtue. After all, everybody knows what these Frenchmen are usually up to, right? - Though, personally, knowing Wilhelmine’s rather parsimonious habits, I wonder if the financial aspect didn’t play a teeny-tiny role as well…

The mayor was adamant, objecting that as Madame Berg was one of the most important and best housed residents of Solingen, it was only appropriate that she should receive the commander of the victorious troops in her home.

As a matter of fact, the two ladies, Wilhelmine and Louise, basically must have had the house to themselves (not counting the servants, of course), as both of Louise’s older sisters were already married and out of town, and her younger brother was apprenticed to another uncle, Abraham Knecht. Not quartering anybody in a house that was half-empty, when plenty of people in Solingen had to squeeze together in their homes in order to make room for those unwanted French guests, probably would not have been a good look for the magistrate. So, awfully sorry, Wilhelmine, you’ll somehow have to live with that Gallic seducer Soult for a while…

Soon, the young general's harsh demeanour and reserved habits reconciled Madame Berg with her host: [...]

Wilhelmine: Oh, I’m so relieved! This has to be the most unfriendly and taciturn guy in all of France. He’s been in my house for a tenday now and I have yet to see him smile even once. He’s cold, rude and downright unpleasant. Right, Louise?

Louise: ...

[…] he wasn't much trouble and he didn't speak German. But this very circumstance brought results that were far from foreseeable. Sometimes it was necessary to arrange one thing or another with him, and Mademoiselle Louise, the only person in the house who knew French, a language she had learnt at her uncle's house, had to act as interpreter and go-between. That's how they got to know each other, formed an opinion of each other, appreciated each other and fell in love with each other. And a few months later, the same mayor, in joining them in marriage (26 April 1796), laughingly recalled how Mademoiselle Louise had been urging him to lodge General Soult anywhere but at her mother's house.

Mayor: Yeah, sorry about that. Guess we really should have put him elsewhere, huh?

Notably missing from this story is any mention of that mysterious figure named "Duffieux de la Grange Merlin", an émigré whom Louise Berg, according to another story, was ready to elope with at the time when Soult was quartered at her mother’s house. Interestingly, Nicole Gotteri in her biography speculates that, if there is something to it, this might refer to one Auguste Du Fey, a member of the etat-major of the Duc de Broglie, who actually happened to be in the Düsseldorf region around 1794.

#napoleon's marshals #jean de dieu soult #louise soult-berg #wilhelmine berg #solingen 1796

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aaronburrdaily · 8 months

Text

August 29, 1809

I did go to bed at 10, promising myself a rich sleep. Lay two hours vigil¹; that cursed one single dish of tea! Note: My bed had undergone a thorough ablution and there were no bugs or insects. Got up and attempted to light candle, but in vain; had flint and matches but only some shreds of punk which would not catch. Recollected a gun which I had had on my late journey; filled the pan with powder and was just going to flash it when it occurred that though I had not loaded it someone else might; tried and found in it a very heavy charge! What a fine alarm it would have made if I had fired! Then poured out some powder on a piece of paper, put the shreds of punk with it and after fifty essays succeeded in firing the powder; but it being dark, had put more powder than intended; my shirt caught fire, the papers on my table caught fire, burnt my fingers to a blister (the left hand, fortunately); it seemed like a general conflagration. Succeeded, however, in lighting my candle and passed the night till 5 this morning in smoking, reading, and writing this. "Essai sur le Caractere, les Moeurs et l'esprit des Femmes".² Par M. Thomas; second edition, Paris: 1772; small octavo, 215 pages. Well written; much historical information; many books, of which I had not heard, are quoted. He meant to be liberal and [a] friend to the sex, but like all I have read, has set out wrong; has not seen the source of the evil, though the evils are acknowledged, and of course has not found the remedy; this will remain for Gamp. "Tableau Litteraire de la France pendant le 18me. siecle." Sujet propose en 1806 par la Classe de la langue et de la litterature.³ Paris: 1807. Octavo; 91 pages; close printed; anon. This I presume to be a sort of prize piece. It is well written; his distinctions are pretty good but his eulogies extravagant. "Le Voyageur Fataliste"; comedie en trois actes en vers⁴; par Armand Charlemagne; Paris: 1806. I had foresworn French comedies and hate comedy in verse; this, though long, was not found tiresome. "Rapprochement des Arbres".⁵ Duodecimo, about 150 pages. Paris: 1807; par ———. Where have I laid that book? Will find it to-morrow and give you the author's name. It is a new discovery by which you give to any tree the sap and nourishment of another or of some branch of another, and by this means you may change and improve the colour, size, and flavour of any fruit. The results are curious and useful; pray try it. You see, Madame, I have not been idle; now allow me to attempt sleeping.

29. P.M. Slept very well till 10 when Mr. D. came in a la souedoise⁶ on some very urgent message, which I answered only by a round of curses. However, I was waked and got up. Took breakfast at \i. Feuilliéd⁷ (rummaged) in the library for two or three hours (there is an arrival of new books from Paris); then walked out with Gransbom to try the market for guineas; changed four at 8 rix dollars 36 sch. each. Waited an hour for Barth without success. Called at the post-office; no letters. No doubt my letters are stopped by the British government! 'Tis impossible that every human being can have forgotten me for four months. For my female friends I would swear, but what remedy. Me voici.⁸ Post I will go off to Hamburg or Memel. As soon as I can find Barth will hunt for passages to ——— everywhere and then determine. Called at the lodgings of Bar. Ulfspasre, for whom I had a letter from London and just now determined to deliver it; has left town. Home at 6. On the way called to see Captain Van Alen. Mjolk and brö. for middag and afton.⁹ Read an hour or two in "L'ltineraire de l'Allemagne"¹⁰; Paris: 1807. You see I am preparing! Read also a treatise (French) on the authority of parents, i.e. fathers, for women are not in question. Cannot now lay hand on it to give you the title, but will find it. The subject was proposed by the Institut National and this book gained the approbation and the prize. In my opinion no way flattering to the genius of the nation. There is, indeed, a good deal of historical fact, but much declamation and flourish.

1 This word, which has been used several times, is a Latin adjective meaning wakeful. 2 "Essay on the Character, the Morals (or Manners), and the Mind of the Women." 3 "Literary Picture of France During the Eighteenth Century." A Subject Proposed (proposé) by the Class in Language and Literature [of the French Academy]. 4 "The Fatalistic Traveler." A comedy in verse in three acts. 5 "The Bringing Together (Junction) of Trees." 6 For à la suédoise. After the Swedish fashion. 7 Another hybrid verb, and badly formed, from French feuilleter, to turn over the leaves of a book. 8 Here I am. 9 Swedish. Evening. 10 "Itinerary of Germany."

#burr. burr. BURR. A GUN?! A MF *GUN*?!#aaron burr #the private journal of aaron burr

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coeurdastronaute · 2 years

Text

Winter Olympics I

“Some might call you royalty.”

“I don’t know if that’s fair at all,” the hockey player chuckled and shook her head, bashful and honest as ever.

Her dark brown hair was still damp from the shower after practice, and would inevitably turn into a frizzy mess, but Lexa Woods sat behind the table with her name on a little placard and grinned at the reporters gathered for media day. Talking about herself was never something she felt particularly good at, not even when she was in high school and a classmate asked for a quote for their school paper. She’d gotten better, but she hated it consistently. It almost seemed like a punishment, to be good at something and have to talk about your shortcomings and successes.

“Your father is coaching you, and your brother is playing on the Men’s National Team. Your grandfather won gold in the ‘64 and ‘72 games, bronze in ‘68. Your dad won his own gold in ‘88 and ‘94, not to mention two Stanley Cups as a player and one as a coach. Your mother was a medalist in speed skating. Aden is on the hunt for his first gold, after getting silver last games. AND your cousin is competing in snowboarding for the first time. Do you feel the pressure at all to live up to that legacy?”

“Well, I hadn’t thought about it much until now, so thank you,” Lexa nodded and took a deep breath, earning a few chuckles from the room. She pushed the hair away from her face and smiled softly, almost dream-like at the microphone. She was well-versed in how to survive these types.

“I think hockey is in my blood. I grew up with some of the best minds and teachers I could ever want. It’s definitely daunting, to think about my lineage, but it’s not just me out there. We have a great team who I know can go all the way. Now, if you want to talk about rough, try being the coach’s kid on an Olympic team.”

The group laughed as she chuckled nervously and regained the stiffness to her spine. It wasn’t a joke. She’d been bred for this. But what the reporters failed to understand was that she was used to the pressure, as if she was always walking on Jupiter, if that were possible. Her air was different than her teammates’. Her air was thick and weighed her down, but she was used to it.

“Did you think for even a moment of representing your mother’s home of Canada?”

She nodded thoughtfully as she considered it. She hoped Aden was getting these stupid quiestions. She hoped Anya was getting pelted with zingers about legacy. But probably not. She was the youngest.

“I love Canada. I spent a lot of my childhood here, and my grandparents are still here. I’d be lying if I say it hadn’t crossed my mind, to honor her. But we were born and raised in the States. I’ve played with some of these girls since we were twelve. I knew where I was supposed to play. I’d like to think she’d understand.”

“Are you going to make it to see Anya’s competitions? She’s favored to finish in the top three in both events.”

“As if she would let me miss it. I know Dad and myself are hoping to catch some of Ade’s games, too. It becomes a lot busier of an Olympics when your entire family shows up for no reason.”

Not to be known for her humor, Lexa left them with some smiles and thanked them for their time. She’d be answering similar questions again the next day, and the day after, and probably for a week once the Olympics ended, no matter what the result actually was.

“There has to be a heap of pressure on you to perform and win. What does that feel like?”

Fucking great, would you like some on your shoulders? She thought to herself sardonically with a little, bitter grin.

“I feel the pressure to perform well, as do all of my teammates. I play a team sport. We fail and succeed as a team. I put enough pressure on myself to play up to their level. I’d say we have healthy expectations on us, and I feel pretty confident speaking for everyone, that we’re ready to exceed those.”

It was generous. She felt safer looping things back to the team, but everyone knew the truth. Lexa was doing suicides on her birthday because she had a bad game when she was fourteen. She knew pressure. She was forged in this fire.

After a few handshakes, she returned to the locker room to snag her bag and make sure she’d emptied her locker. In just three days, she’d be unloading it in Vancouver, and it still didn’t feel quite real. They weren’t wrong, that she was descended from Greats-- capital G, greats. It was expected of her to win a medal. And she was suddenly very close to it finally starting.

With a deep breath, she smiled and adjusted her bag on her shoulder, ready to make it home. She caught the picture tacked up on the locker and was glad she had. Instantly, her body relaxed and she stared at her mother’s photo. It was her favorite, slightly tattered from the constant moving and being dragged from college to teams to cities to places. But it was lucky. Sometimes, people were kind enough to tell her she looked like her mother. This picture made Lexa almost believe it.

But there she was. A little older than Lexa was currently. Hair wild and nearly curly but unable to be completely tamed beneath the toque, the sun dipping behind her near the pines that were weighed down by fresh, heavy show. Lexa could almost smell the picture. She was caught, frozen, mid-laugh, a sound Lexa could almost nearly chase and bring back to herself if she thought and focused hard enough.

Lexa felt too big, sometimes. Her mother was always lithe and dainty. She had a bulk to her from training so hard. She yearned for a bit of softness to her body instead of calloused hands and scars.

“I thought I missed you,” her father’s voice rang out, deep and clear. She shoved the picture in her pocket and slammed the locker. “You looked good out there today. The wrist okay?”

“Yeah, feels fine,” Lexa nodded.

Her father had always been her coach. Now, it was just official. Tall and sturdy, he had the build of a bruiser, and the nose to match. His cheeks were bristled with two days worth of growth, a habit he’d developed since her mother died. He was broad, with the black of his hair getting a little more salt than it’d had before. Aden had his jaw and eyes. Lexa was her mother’s daughter, from the tint of her hair to the slope of her cheeks.

“Don’t let them get into your head, okay?” he sighed before itching the back of his neck. “You have just the right amount of pressure on you, and you’re going to carry this team to a win.”

“I know.”

“I would have coached Canada if you’d gone there, you know?”

Lexa bit back a smile, her face screwing up a little to the left as she bit her lip.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Would have hated it the entire time, but I would have.”

“My wrist is fine. Are you all packed?”

“Just about. Aden said the foods alright.”

“Good.”

He nodded to himself, still growing more accustomed to coaching a room full of women, still growing accustomed to speaking with his daughter about things off of the ice. It wasn’t that he was cold or even lost. He was just a man of few words and feelings. He did used to laugh more, but that was a different time and place.

“Did you want--”

“God, there you are. I’ve been waiting in the lot for like twenty minutes. Hey Uncle G,” Anya breezed in, snow sticking to her coat and hat. “You’re not allowed in here.”

“I’m the coach.”

“It’s a womens’ locker room.”

Lexa’s father looked at his daughter and pled for some kind of help.

Two years older, and smack between Aden and Lexa, Anya was the sister she never knew to want, and the best friend she couldn’t shake. Even though her sport was something her father couldn’t take seriously, he also had a soft spot for the louder, more assertive of the pair. But Anya trained hard, and even her uncle was proud of what she was doing.

There weren’t many people who spoke to Gus Woods the way that Anya did. Lexa liked that it made him more human, sometimes, the cracks in his stoicism.

“I’ll see you up there, Dad,” Lexa smiled and pushed her cousin back toward the door she’d just blown through.

“No drinking. This is game time. You have to be focused. Both of you!” he called as they hurried toward the waiting car.

“He acts like he didn’t play in Game Four hungover,” Anya rolled her eyes. “Were you going to ditch our dinner?”

“No, I was just caught up. Media went longer than expected.”

“Oh, the whole legacy thing again? Honestly annoying. Thank goodness I stayed off the ice.”

“You’re lumped in, too.”

“I’m not a Woods.”

“Woods-adjacent is just as bad,” Lexa reminded her as she popped her truck and tossed her bag inside before slamming it.

“Isn’t that the truth.”

The pair shared a smile before Lexa climbed in, excited to be done with practice, to let her body heal, to take it easy and prepare over the next few days. She had commitments, picking up her clothes and uniforms, more media stuff, more pictures, more all of it. But she had Anya, and Aden would be around. Even with the head that was heavy from the imposed crown of her family’s legacy, Lexa leaned back against the seat of the car and smiled.

It was going to be an adventure, and her mother had warned her to have as many as she possible could in her life.

XXXXXXXXXX

While she never considered herself particularly outgoing, Lexa felt that this was the time. This was her time. She was having a great start to a career, the youngest on her team for the national roster, and she was doing what she loved. There was an uptick in confidence that came with people taking her picture all of the time, too, as weird as that was. She might have envied other women’s bodies, but she appreciated what hers was capable of, especially surrounded by other athletes who also understood.

“You have really pretty skin. And hair,” the stylist decided as she surveyed Lexa intently in the mirror. There was a small smile on her lips and Lexa blushed at the compliment. “Hottest hockey player I’ve ever seen.”

Lexa laughed and ducked her head despite the fingers that rooted themselves near her scalp. It felt so nice, she didn’t want it to stop ever in her life.

Maybe it’d been too long since she let someone touch her. There was a girl she saw a few times a few… weeks? No, months? Ago. It fizzled pretty quickly though.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that,” the stylist sighed and shrugged. “But you are certainly a surprise.”

“I don’t know, I’ll take as much help as you can give me,” Lexa smiled at her, self-deprecation was her favorite form of communication. “I never thought I’d have to be on a billboard.”

“You, my dear, do not need any help. But I will do what I must.”

She was short, shorter than Lexa by a good amount. She blushed, when she put something on Lexa’s lips. She teased Lexa when Lexa moaned slightly as her hair was pulled and tamed better than she was able to do on most days. Lexa flirted, or at least she thought she was flirting. She was rusty and bad at it. Notoriously bad, according to her teammates. The Scorer Who Couldn’t Score as a title she couldn’t quite shake, even when she was able to score. They had more fun teasing her for being hopeless.

“Oh wow, looking good, Lex,” Anya saddled up beside her mirror. “You’re a miracle worker.”

“Jesus there’s two of you. Are you related?”

“Cousins,” Lexa informed her as she stood. “I got all of the talent.”

“I got the brains and the looks, naturally,” Anya tossed her hair slightly with a grin. “And charm and vivaciousness, and charisma, and the quintessential je ne sais quoi that really defines me as a person.”

The poor hairdresser just looked between them and gawked. Lexa felt a little more confident because of it and she wanted to thank her for that moment.

“Thank you for your help,” Lexa smiled and nodded at her before tugging her cousin toward the production area where they were beckoning them.

The only made it a few steps before Anya gave her a look and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Was I interrupting a moment? It looked like a moment.”

“It wasn’t a moment.”

“Are you going to get her number?”

“I’m going to get this shoot done with and then fly with you to Vancouver before we miss the start of the Games.”

Anya looked over her shoulder again, not at all discreet, angling to get a better look at the stylist, nodding her approval, returning the mischievous smile to her cousin. Clad in her jersey and with more make up on than she would ever have in a game, Lexa shook an assistant’s hand and waited for their instructions.

But Anya was a dog with a bone.

“You dated Cos, for what, like all of college and even then some after, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And what did she do?”

“Please, Anya, just… drop it.”

“She moved across the country and broke up with you because it was too hard. And what have you done since?”

Lexa heaved and heavy sigh and rolled her eye, lulling her head to the side because she didn’t want to have this talk, not that it was much in the way of pepping her up at all. She looked at the collection of athletes for someone she knew, but her teammates were still in hair and make up, where she refused to look again.

“I date.”

“You go on a few dates and then use work as an excuse to never talk to them again.”

“But I’m trying.”

“Half-assed.”

“Whatever. Let me win a medal or bring shame to the family, and then I’ll find a suitable bride to bring home.”

“You should learn to multitask. We’re going to a village for three weeks full of women in the best shape of their life. Most will have accents. It’s like a smorgasbord of opportunity for you.”

“Oh, is that what you’re going to do for the entire games?” Lexa teased, knowing full well her cousin was determined and focused. It might have been genetics from her mother’s side, despite what her father would want to think of himself.

Anya shrugged, her grin coy as she surveyed some of the international talent making their promos and doing their pictures for chevrons and such.

“I can multitask.”

Before she could press any further, a mousy PA approached and asked them to follow her toward the set to prepare next. She knew there was no way she wasn’t photographed with Anya. The story was too good. Lexa looked toward her teammates, more excited to be part of the team, to show them that it wasn’t just about her. The Promo department didn’t care though.

Lexa was never one for the spotlight. She played a team sport because she loved being on a team. She had lifelong friends, to this day, who were on her teams. She still had a group chat with college best friends. She was friends with competitors and those alike. She wasn’t good at doing it all on her own. She lived for the thrill of being on a smoothly oiled machine, lifting up others, taking shots when it was on her. She liked being their hope, she liked counting on them.

This was all different. She was singled out because of her bloodline more than her skill, which she resented. She worked hard, and so did her team.

“Oh, they’ll let anyone in here,” Anya laughed loudly before turning on a smile.

“Fancy running into you, Jansen.”

Lexa was still looking around at the crowd, trying to figure out if there was any truth to what her cousin said about multitasking. She wasn’t terribly good at finding anyone to keep around. Instead, she caught a bit of an accent and turned back to find the bluest eyes she’d ever seen in her life.

“It’s so good to see you,” the stranger looked away after just an instant only to launch herself at Anya.

“What do you say, one, two punch again?”

“There’s no one else I’d rather do it with.”

Only when they pulled apart did Anya follow the stranger’s look toward her cousin. She looked between them and patted her shoulder.

“Clarke, this is my cousin Lexa. She follows me everywhere, even to the Olympics. Lex, this is Clarke Griffin, my sworn nemesis and training partner for the past what, entire life?”

Clarke, the beautiful stranger with the pretty blue eyes smiled warmly and nodded a hello while Lexa tried to remember how to breathe. This was the Australian snowboarder Anya had hated at first, her competition, until she won her over through support and friendly competition that made them both better. Even as competitors, they’d spent most contests hanging out. Lexa never thought to ask more. She only ever watched Anya, and even now, she hadn’t seen her perform in person in years.

“I think I know who Lexa Woods is,” she grinned and held out her hand. “Hard to believe you share the same gene pool. Is she adopted?” she nudged her head toward Anya who rolled her eyes.

“Our moms were sisters.”

Lexa shook her hand quickly and smiled, her eyes not moving at all from Clarke’s face.

“That’s why I never put it together,” she nodded. “You should talk about your much more talented family more often, Jansen. Make yourself cooler.”

“Shut up,” Anya sighed and half hung on Clarke’s shoulders. “When did you get in?”

“About an hour ago. Still haven’t seen my place. They wrangled me right here, and now,” she looked over there shoulders and waved at a pair across the warehouse. “We’re due for team meeting. We’re going to have a few drinks at the hotel after the ceremony. Stop by for a bit.”

“I think I could be persuaded. Bellamy here?”

“You know he is,” Clarke grinned, eyeing Lexa once more. “You’ll come too, Woods?”

Lexa smiled and nodded. They held a look for a few seconds longer than polite and Lexa felt her lips tug into a smile, against her will, against her notice, honestly. It didn’t seem quite right, that she could train for her entire life for this moment, just to forget everything because the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen appeared out of thin air, as if conjured from nothing but air and magic.

“Bring your team if you’d like. We should all get acquainted. You know, brotherly love and whatever else this represents.”

She had a grin to her cheek, and a dimple. Lexa turned and watched her walk away as she shed the heavy winter coat, the big snow pants making the shirt seem tighter to her frame, and it was… it was a wonderful frame. Anya pushed her jaw shut before Clarke turned back around toward them.

“It’s BYOB, so make sure to come prepared.”

She was gone, absorbed a moment later. Lexa cleared her throat and refused to look at her cousin as their names were called by the photographers.

“God, Lex, she’s my competition here.”

“You wanted me to multitask.”

She knew Anya was rolling her eyes and smirking. Lexa blushed and cleared her throat. She could multitask.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was a bit of luck and magic to the fact that Lexa was able to walk through the opening ceremony with her family. Aden, a solid four inches taller than her, waving and brimming with enthusiasm, excited to show her everything he could. Her father, with his arm around her shoulder or patting her brother’s back, realizing a dream he never allowed himself to have, but now completely adored.

Somewhere else, her cousin was in the Canadian congregation. Somewhere else, an Australian snowboarder lurked with a singular dimple and a bikini picture that Lexa had all but memorized after lurking through her social media. Maybe it had been a while since she’d “multitasked” as Anya liked to call it. Maybe she had devoted herself to training at the expense of a personal life. She hadn’t felt that itch in a few months, but now, Lexa felt like a first grader with chicken pox. She felt like camping and falling into poison ivy. She felt an itch and she couldn’t reach it.

Even though her entire uniform was perfect and patriotic, Lexa still wore her mother’s scarf. It was important. It was something she needed, because it was her entire family.

“What do you think? Everything you imagined?” her father grinned as it all ended.

“Better.”

The team swelled around them and Lexa mingled, smiling as her friends snapped pictures and posed videos and generally enjoyed the moment they’d all trained for their entire lives. Half of the team was veterans, the other half newbies. It was a perfect balance, and Lexa knew from practice how well they fit together. She felt the electricity in the air, the eagerness to compete, the faint taste of finally whetting her appetite.

Her father interrupted with one of his piercing whistles until he had their attention.

“Alright, ladies. We have gym at eight tomorrow morning,” he bellowed toward the team. “I’ve been coaching long enough to know that whatever you might plan for yourselves is not as important as getting rest and preparing. Film is at noon. Ice session is at three.”

There was a collective groan.

“I know, I know,” he held up his hands. “The audacity to want to train a winning team. You’re all adults. Make your decisions accordingly.”

Lexa gulped as her father gave her a hard stare. She looked away and sighed. It was already ten. Two hours wouldn't kill her, she decided. And her father wouldn’t know the difference.

“Our first game is in two days,” Coach continued, surveying his team. “Savor this moment.”

From her spot in the crowd with her goalie, Em’s, arm over her shoulder, Lexa smiled and did just that, hoping to remember every second of it.

She felt two very strong pulls on her entire being, her father’s heavy requirements and her mother, whispering in her ear to have fun. She could multitask, she told herself once again.

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digital-corruption · 1 year

Text

😮

Yes, it's a new part. I hope I didn't give you too much of a shock.

Unrecognisable Part 44

When I woke up the next day, I felt like I had been over by a train after being trampled on by a stampede of rhinoceros, to put it lightly. I sat up on the couch and stared at my surroundings for a good ten minutes just trying to remember where I was and how I got to be there. I only had vague memories of the night before, but I knew it involved alcohol.

Glancing over at the desk, I noticed a glass of water and a couple of tablets waiting for me. Somehow Jake knew I was going to wake up to the worst hangover ever. I stood up slowly just so I could reach the glass and medicine, then promptly sat back down. Wasting no time, I downed the pills and washed them down. I spaced out again and stared at the flaking paint on the wall until my head felt relatively better. Only then did I feel confident enough to venture out of the room.

To my surprise, Jake wasn't at his desk. In fact, he wasn't even in the building, which I confirmed by checking every nook and cranny. Heading back upstairs confused, I noticed the laptop we had acquired the night before open on the desk beside Jake’s. I walked over to take a look. That’s when I found the handwritten note on the keyboard.

'Going out to purchase supplies. Your laptop is ready.'

Nice and vague, but what else could I expect from Jake? I hoped supplies was going to at least include caffeine and food. Preferably something greasy and horribly unhealthy. However, there was no guarantee that supplies would include comfort foods, or any type of edible food. I just knew if he returned with granola bars again, I was going to lose my shit.

I pushed the note aside and turned my laptop on cautiously. It felt weird to see the screen light up and bring up my old wallpaper when just yesterday it was owned by a lunatic drug dealer. The computer prompted me for my password. I paused for a moment, then entered my old computer's password. As I thought, Jake even kept that the same. I wasn’t even shocked to see my old desktop when it loaded. If anything I would be more shocked if it was different. However, as I opened the menu I realised it was superficial. He had only recovered what was backed up to my cloud drive, such as documents, photos and videos. Applications that were not installed with the operating system were missing. Still, I was grateful that he did recover what he could in that short amount of time.

I leaned back and sighed. I finally had my own computer again, but what do I even do with it? There was a temptation to head to my old haunts online, but I knew that was out of the question. Out of curiosity, I opened the browser I searched my name on Google. In the past that always led to embarrassing results, but I wondered what I would find now that I was an internationally wanted criminal. What was my family back home seeing of our exploits? At first all I found were rather generic news articles referring to Nym-0s' activities. I barely received a mention other than the fact I was the unknown individual seen accompanying him. The latest few articles reported that we shot up a harmless rave the other night. Classy reporting as always. There was one article on the second page of results from my local news though that caught my attention.

<<Terrorist in our Community: How Did We Miss the Signs?>>

Say what now? All logic told me to ignore the opinion piece, but I opened it anyway. I couldn’t believe my eyes as this so-called reporter ripped apart my life and had me painted as an anti-social loner, ripe for the picking for a cyber terrorist to brainwash into joining his anti-establishment cause. I suddenly understood completely how Jake felt about the news. While reading it, I argued to the screen out loud, as if I could defend my case. Of course I knew it was a hopeless cause. There was no way I could convince people like this writer that I wasn’t hellspawn. The part that bothered me the most though was the quotes they gathered from neighbours and co-workers. Some I barely even spoke to in the past. Others were absolute assholes whom I slighted in the past for good reason. Then there was the quote from my ex-finance, which was the icing on the cake.

<<I don't think anyone was more surprised than I was, but when I took a step back, I realised all the signs were there. She was very argumentative, antagonistic towards authority and government bodies on many occasions. Dare I say nasty even? I am disappointed by how blinded by love I was. I wish I had heeded the advice of my friends and stayed away from her.>>

“Oh, you don’t even know the meaning!” I snapped out loud. “Wait until Jake gets back! I’ll show you nasty!”

I glanced at the clock. It was the middle of the afternoon, but it occurred to me that I had no idea how long Jake had been gone for and how soon I should expect him back. Realising my vengeance would have to wait, I sighed and left the page to check the email we set up for my pseudonym for communicating with the psychiatrist. I wasn’t expecting much, but lo and behold, there was a response sitting in the inbox!

<<Hi Ms. Chase,

My clinic hours are 9 am until 7 pm, Tuesday through Thursday. However, the never-ending pile of paperwork usually keeps me in the office until 10 most nights. You are welcome to stop by for a visit anytime during those hours.

I hear the weather in Duskwood is beautiful this time of year. Have you visited before?

Sincerely,

Dr. Richard Cumming>>

I did a double take when I read the last line of the doctor’s email. I had hoped I was better at hiding our identities than that, but apparently the good doctor was onto us. Still, I was grateful that he made it clear he knew who we were while continuing to play along in case someone else read the email. Jake was against visiting his office, but perhaps I could convince him to visit outside his standard hours. At least we shouldn’t be seen by any other staff or patients. The doctor left it in our hands to decide when to visit. Surely that would make setting up a trap difficult. I leant back in my chair and thought about what I was going to say to Jake to get him to agree to this arrangement. Just as I was running chat scenarios in my head, a black window appeared on my screen with white text.

> Don’t panic.

> It is me.

> Can’t talk. Need you to go to my computer and enter a few prompts for me.

I stared at my screen confused for a few moments, unsure if what I was seeing was even real.

> Hello? Are you there?

> Did you leave your laptop open and walk away?

Cautiously I typed a response and hit enter.

> What happened to buying supplies?

> I will explain later.

> Please go to my computer and open it.

> I don't know the password.

> Yes, you do. The PIN is the day I first reached out to you.

> Year first.

> How do I know you’re you?

There was a long delay before the next response.

> Ghostbusters.

> Sorry, I cannot say more. I don't know how much is being monitored right now.

> What the hell Jake!?

> What is going on!?

> Please trust me, ok?

> I will get back to you as soon as possible.

> And if you don't?

> If you need to run, run.

> I will catch up to you.

> Remember I can always find you.

> Please, open my computer and unlock it using the PIN I mentioned earlier.

> Go to the command window and enter: $ sudo ufw allow 22

> That’s all you need to do. I will handle the rest.

> Give me a minute.

I sighed and rubbed my head while glancing over at Jake’s laptop. I had no idea what was happening on his end, but my gut told me it wasn't good. From what I could gather, he needed something from his laptop and whatever he was having me type was going to allow him access to it. What did he get himself into that he couldn't just come get his laptop? And he needed remote access to his computer?

I shook my head and pushed my chair over to his desk. Gingerly I opened his laptop and entered the fateful date five years ago - 20220521. Sure enough, it worked. After opening the command window, I went back and forth between the two computers to make sure I typed the command correctly. Once I confirmed it was correct, I decisively hit enter. I received a response confirming port 22 was opened, but then nothing. I wasn't sure what I was expecting though.

I went back to my laptop to let Jake know I had done it, but the screen was gone. I picked up my phone and checked it for any notifications, but there were none. Just to be sure though, I called Jake’s phone. It rang and rang. I half expected it to go to his default voicemail greeting, but it didn’t.

"Good afternoon, Fräulein!"

My blood ran cold.

"Cyan!? What the fuck? Where's Jake!?" I shouted.

"Ah, he's a bit preoccupied at the moment, but I assure you he is fine," he responded all too cheerfully.

"Like fuck he's fine! Don't think I have forgotten what you did to him the other night!" I snapped.

"And I certainly haven't forgotten what you two did to my men last night either," he said coldly. "You two cost me a lot of money. Nym is simply getting me what I am owed back. Once he is done, you can have your boy toy back."

That's what this was all about? Cyan somehow got a hold of Jake and was forcing him to give him money? I could only assume he wasn't getting the funds legally. I gritted my teeth and tried to remain calm.

"Unharmed. Return him unharmed," I insisted.

"Mmmmh, sure. If everyone does as they are told, he will not receive further harm. If you two try anything, all deals are off the table," Cyan responded firmly.

"All deals?" I questioned.

I realised Jake and Cyan must’ve cut their own deal. What did Cyan threaten Jake with to get him to comply? I could only imagine the worst. The truth is, reality far exceeded what my mind could up with.

"One last thing. After this is done, Jake is out. For good. He doesn't owe you anything," I pushed.

"You know you’re awfully quick to accept this situation. I would’ve expected more protest from you over the news. It’s almost as if you already knew when you called that I had Nym working on this for me," Cyan thought out loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied terribly.

"Yes you do. He has been in communication with you, hasn't he?" Cyan laughed. "That son of a bitch. Martinez! I thought I told you to monitor his activity!"

I couldn’t quite make out the conversation on the other end, but I did pick up the word 'encrypted'. I sighed with relief. Jake was already trying to circumvent them. I just wished there was something I could do from my end to help him.

“A little smartass, isn’t he?” Cyan humoured. “Hey, Nym! Guess who I have on the phone here! I bet she’d love to hear the stories of the good ol’ days!”

“You think I would believe anything you have to say?” I rolled my eyes.

I could’ve hung up on him there, but I strained my ears to try to pick up Jake’s voice on the other side. I just wanted to hear him and hear his tone so I could determine whether he was ok or not. I needed that comfort of knowing.

“It’s up to you whether you want to believe me or not. Let’s see, where do I begin? Oh how about how Nym would get his girls high as a kite, borrowed my playroom, and kept them down there for days. God knows what happened in that room, but by the time he let us in, they were completely mind broken nymphs. His best work was on our rival’s fiancé,” Cyan rambled on. “The funny thing is, she reminds me of you.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I heard Jake shout on the other side.

“See? Did he deny it? No, he didn’t, fräulein,” Cyan mused. “The playroom is still available. I might be inclined to let you use it again if you wanted to do some training with MC.”

I heard Jake say something spitefully in German on the other side of the line.

“Oh, MC! You should’ve seen the look on his face as the thought of you in the stocks crossed his mind,” Cyan chuckled.

“Why don’t you turn the camera on and show me?” I tried my hardest to stomach the situation so I could seize the opportunity to get proof of life out of Cyan.

“Ha! Smooth, real smooth, MC. I’ll tell you what, I’m feeling generous right now so yeah, I’ll let you get a look at him,” Cyan paused as he fumbled with the phone.

I pulled my phone away from my ear just as the camera turned on. The room was dark, but I could see Jake’s face illuminated by the computer screens in front of him. He was fully concentrating on his work and didn’t notice Cyan had the camera on him. Even in the dim light I could see his cut lip and swollen eye. Whatever happened earlier, he clearly didn’t go willingly to Cyan.

“Say hi, Nym! Your girl misses you!” Cyan mocked.

Jake glanced over, glaring at Cyan and at the camera, “I thought you needed the money tonight. Quit wasting my time.”

“Well it’s not my life on the line,” Cyan teased. “I could keep her company for you. You know, like the old days.”

Jake spat something in German again, which had Cyan laughing maniacally.

“Oh, MC, let me translate this smartass for you! He said, ‘You still can’t get any action without using my women?’ Ha! I have had plenty of successes since you’ve been gone!” Cyan boasted. “Yeah, that’s right, no speaking in Deutsch to hide things from her. She deserves the full truth from you. Honestly though, he’s worried that you’ll find me more enjoyable. That has been known to happen.”

“I highly doubt that,” I sneered.

Cyan swapped to the front facing camera. I ignored him and tried to catch things in the background to see if I could determine anything that would give up their location, but it was just a generic, abandoned warehouse. Those were really a dime a dozen.

“I could have my men pick you up and we could find out,” Cyan grinned. “All you need to know is let me know where you are and I will handle the rest. Aren’t you feeling lonely there?”

The way he said those last words made my stomach churn. I immediately ended the call and tossed my phone on the desk. I didn’t manage to get anything that would help me reveal Jake’s location and instead only succeeded in making myself feel sick. There were heaps of abandoned warehouses in the area. I wanted to believe that Jake could handle it, but what if he couldn’t? Cyan said a life was on the line. Did he mean Jake’s? Would he kill Jake if he couldn’t get the money in time?

I stood up from my desk and started pacing around the room. Was I really reduced to sitting here and waiting for news? My hands started to shake at the thought of history repeating itself. No, I couldn’t handle radio silence. Not again. Not ever again. I had to do something. Something was better than nothing. But what? I didn’t even know where to begin! Damnit, I hated feeling so useless.

I turned around and noticed several windows opened on Jake’s laptop. I jumped over to it to have a closer look.

<<Tutorial: How to Connect and Operate Your CCTV System Remotely>>

The other window was just a simple text file.

<<192.168.9.6 admin s&ja#eH$g12>>

I smiled confidently, “Don’t worry, I’ll find you.”

#duskwood #duskwood fanfic #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood jake #duskwood jake x mc #unrecognisable fanfic #tw: mention of implied date rape

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gemsofgreece · 9 months

Note

Hi, thank you for the answer about Orpheus!

Yes, Tomasz Mojsik wrote a book? study? on it, The “Double Orpheus”: between Myth and Cult”, it's available online. He draws interesting conclusions and seems to be quoting original sources a lot, though I'm curious what you think on the whole logic behind myth-making as a political move in 5th c. Athens after getting familiar with it.

Have a good day!

At first I thought it was a book and I was scared but okay it’s just a scientific article phewwww 😂

To summarise, Tomasz Mojsik discusses that there was a duality in Orpheus’ ethnical identity. He was perceived as Thracian in general, but also mostly by the Athenians at a time during which they had created a powerful colony in Thrace and were interested in peace and alliance with the then Thracian King. On the other hand, many records regard Orpheus as Pierian Macedonian and this version probably rose at a time when King Archelaus of Macedon was trying to reinforce or persuade of the Hellenism of Macedonia and used this retelling of the Greek mythological figure being Macedonian as evidence of Macedonians being essentially Greeks.

My thoughts now… My impression is that there is a lot of assumption to be found in this research, which is to be expected in a way, since the author’s effort bears little promise from the beginning. We are talking about mythological retellings, which might as well have totally random explanations. I mean, it is a very risky area to draw safe scientific conclusions from.

Technically, it could make sense.

However while Mojsik notes this, he also then sort of ignores it in his reasoning; Greek Mythology sort of hellenizes all the known to the Greeks world. Progenitors and other notable mythological figures all have Greek names, speak fluently Greek, believe in the Greek gods, even when they come from different lands with different cultures. In this sense, Orpheus’ duality isn’t any different from all other supposedly non-Greek figures. They all have certain connections or distant origins from major or lesser deities of the Greek pantheon. As a result they do have a vague Greek origin or even not so vague, even though realistically they should have been total foreigners. If we had to explain everything in a similar way then a whole lot of mythological figures would just exist because Greeks were trying to form alliances with everyone. That’s unlikely IMO because we are just talking about an ancient people creating a lore for themselves. There was no need for accuracy or realism. It is a mystical lore putting gods living a few miles north, so essentially themselves, to the centre of all existence.

Therefore Orpheus being Thracian doesn’t stop him from technically being indistinguishable from all Greeks in all the myths associated with him. He doesn’t speak a different language, Chiron and Jason accept him, his mother is one of the freaking muses, some versions even have him to be the son of Apollo right away.

The actual Thracian equivalent of Orpheus was associated with some cult antagonism between solar and chthonic worshippers. This could have been transferred into Greek mythology via Orpheus being a son of Apollo and then entering Hades to bring back Eurydice. I believe all these might precede the 5th-4th centuries BC. So just because Athens then had these alliances with the Thracians it does not mean it called Orpheus a Thracian to cater to…whom, exactly? A Thracian king? All the Thracians? Please, let’s not forget we are talking about more than two millennias ago. Even if Athenian historians and poets chose to do that, it is certain that very very very very few Thracians would ever found out about it. And even if they sent messengers to the king, they would be like “Just so you know, King, we Athenians think a random mythological figure of ours was Thracian” and then surely the Thracian king would be like “Great! For this alone I am gonna be your ally in peace and war for all time!”.

I know I seem like I am making light of the article. I don’t deny that there might be a truth in Mojsik’s reasoning, but my point is that typically things don’t work this way. Whether propaganda or accurate information, it could not spread and be effective in ancient times as it is now through all the media. Even if the supposed propaganda targeted Athenians themselves, so that Athenians would want tighter bonds with Thracians, I still don’t see how this would guarantee success as in the same sense Athenians would have to want tight bonds with all nations with some associated mythological figure… Let alone that again, many Athenians wouldn’t find out and and even more wouldn’t care.

Besides, we need to stress again that the Thracian in the way he was presented in Greek mythology was very different from the actual living Thracian born in a Thracian family. The mythological one was just a Greek born in Thrace or having some obscure genealogical connection to a Thracian (who was also Greek-passing).

Now, as for the Macedonian version. Technically, in a version where Orpheus was the child of Calliope and Apollo, you can say that in fact Orpheus was an Olympian, and therefore a Pierian Macedonian! This completely eradicates his Thracian identity. Or, even if his father was the Thracian Oeagrus, that still makes him half-Macedonian Greek, half-Thracian, provided that you can call gods an ethnicity.

There is also this question: why was Orpheus’ ethnicity so important to Archelaus? If you already live in Pieria, under the shadow of Olympus, how and why is Orpheus the one expected to make a difference in the identity of the Macedonians?

My theory is that they would care enough for it only if being Thracian was perceived as a threat. The Macedonians did not want to worship a figure that was viewed as Thracian (even in a very loose sense of the term). True enough, the article confirms that at the time Macedonians and Thracians had many tensions.

We also should remember that ancient kingdoms and states did not have the concept of sovereignty and nationality in the way we do now. Macedonia and Thrace were neighbours and as such their populations blended and bled into each other’s region. There were surely Thracians and Macedonians practicing Orphism in Macedonia (and vice versa). If Archelaus considered Orphism was gaining a lot of ground and feared for the established “mainstream” Greek religion, perhaps he did try to macedonify and hellenise Orpheus. Or maybe he just wanted to weaken Thracians and solidify his kingdom in its Greek orientation. Mojsik didn’t analyse this as much but I guess more or less my theory can work with his study.

But all these are very unsafe theories since we are talking about scarce yet various tales associated with ancient beliefs. I don’t think we have enough evidence for any certain conclusion.

Hopefully this made some sense because it is super late at night (or super early in the morning!) and my speech might be a little incoherent.

#greece #orpheus #orphism #Greek history #greek mythology #anon #mail

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twistedtummies2 · 1 month

Text

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 22

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “I am on a mission to protect the world’s idiots!”

Number 22 is…Ranpo Edogawa, from Bungo Stray Dogs.

“Bungo Stray Dogs” takes place in a world where many have gained superhuman abilities, so much so that it’s sort of become part of everyday life. (My Hero Academia is looking on with interest.) The plot focuses on the eternal conflict between two different organizations: the Armed Detective Agency, and the Port Mafia. The Agency is a group of superhuman private detectives, who use the combination of their sleuthing skills and their special powers to try and disrupt the Port Mafia’s activities…except when the Mafia and the Agency have to work together to down WORSE criminals, but that’s another story for another time. Interestingly, all of the major characters in the series take their names from famous authors, and have abilities, personalities, and demeanors inspired by those writers, their lives, and/or their greatest works.

Much like with Abby from NCIS, I’m sort of cheating by not actually including the main character of the show in this case. However, there’s a good reason for it: the main character of the series is a young man named Atsushi Nakajima, whose superhuman ability allows him to transform – either partially or entirely – into a massive white tiger. While he’s a really great protagonist, he’s actually not truly a great DETECTIVE: the way the show works essentially makes Atsushi to be the resident Watson of the team, so to speak. He’s actually someone who is LEARNING to be a good detective, from the various other characters on the team, who all have abilities and methods that help them solve problems in unique ways, and are all more experienced.

By far my favorite character in the show, and the most “classic” detective in the Agency, is Ranpo Edogawa. Now…I’m going to be honest and say that I know NOTHING about the author this character is named after. With most of the characters who are named after Japanese writers, I can’t tell you a THING about their inspirations, and I’m frankly not in the mood to do the necessary research to see how they reflect those writers and their works. Thankfully, in Ranpo’s case, I don’t really think I need to. Not only does he stand up perfectly fine on his own in general, but the way he functions seems to be more…universal, in terms of the kind of detective he is and the twists on the formula he presents.

Ranpo is an almost stereotypically Holmesian detective: he’s arrogant, at times childish, a bit mercurial, and absolutely brilliant. His power is referred to as “Super Deduction”: whenever Ranpo puts on a special pair of glasses, his perception and intelligence are supposedly given a big boost, allowing him to solve crimes with almost absurd quickness. In one episode, he literally solves a crime in less than a minute! Because of this incredibly “broken” ability, Ranpo has a big head about himself. He’s found openly and constantly declaring himself to be the best detective in the Agency, pontificating on his abilities, and generally annoying Atsushi as a result.

What’s interesting, however, is that none of the other Agency members get on Ranpo’s case most of the time, and they all genuinely agree that Ranpo is their best sleuth, overall. We eventually find out the surprising reason for this is that…Ranpo doesn’t actually HAVE any superpowers. At all. The glasses are just a placebo: he isn’t superhuman, he’s literally just that smart by his own terms. It’s later revealed that Ranpo is aware of this fact (though exactly how long he’s known is unclear), but he tries to play dumb about it because he doesn’t want to admit it openly to anyone. Edogawa, you see, has a lot of hidden insecurities beneath his Holmesian demeanor: before he met Fuzukawa, the leader of the Agency, he used to think of himself as “wrong,” as someone who was misplaced in the world, so to speak. As a result, he loves the sense of family and kinship he gets as a member of the Agency. He will do anything he feels necessary to protect his friends and fellow detectives, and doesn’t want any of them to look down on him for any reason.

If all of this isn’t cool enough, then here’s one more wrinkle: Ranpo has an enemy-turned-best-friend (and self-proclaimed rival) based on Edgar Allan Poe himself. Anyone who has Poe as their rival immediately gets a LOT of brownie points from me, by default. Honestly, just for that reason ALONE, I kind of feel bad for not placing Ranpo higher. I was sorely tempted to place him in the Top 20. However, since he isn’t the main character, nor even the main detective figure - just one member of a large ensemble of sleuths - I don’t think it’s ENTIRELY fair to put him up further in the ranks. It’s the same main reason I didn’t give the aforementioned Abby higher placement. Still, he’s a lot of fun and earns a great deal of respect from this goofball. The more I see of him, the more I like him.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 21!

CLUE: “If I’m not back in five minutes…just wait longer.”

#list #countdown #best #favorites #top 31 fictional detectives #gathering of the greatest gumshoes #number 22 #mystery #superheroes #anime #bungo stray dogs #ranpo #ranpo edogawa

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something-pithy · 4 months

Text

Notes and an Update: What's in a Name?

Chapter 16 of an echo, a stain features Astarion doing what he does best -- feeling terror, spiraling and at the very least contemplating terrible choices as a result. lol.

SPOILERS FOR ACT 2 OF BG3 BELOW

Those of you who are mostly caught up on an echo, a stain know I love me a flashback (and now the rest of y'all know, too lol). There are two in this new chapter, one of which is set in the Shadow-Cursed lands after Astarion has confessed his initial intentions toward and current feelings/desires for Tav to Tav (post-Orthon confession). As a result of that conversation, they've put a pin in the sexual aspects of their relationship, but are still together romantically. Then, the Araj Moment happens (spoiler alert: nobody bit that heifer), Thaniel is reunited with Oliver, Halsin's... admiration of Tav is becoming more apparent, and Astarion is... yes! Spiraling!

I think that flashback speaks for itself, and I'll let y'all get what you will from when / where in the story it appears.

The OTHER flashback, which is much more brief, is about this Tav's name. Now, I'm not trying to make any secret of the fact that the Tav in this story and I have a lot in common in terms of ethnic backgrounds when you remove the high fantasy fake world element from Tav's lol. FIRST I want to say, I don't give a fuck. There is no shame in my game. Nobody comes for George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan or J.R.R. (the Rs are for REALLY RACIST) Tolkein (don't @ me -- or do, go ahead and send me an ask if you really want to know my feels on that one looool) for writing about characters whose ethnic and cultural backgrounds are Western European / British.

Second of all, maybe I'm being unnecessarily defensive because I'm an old head who came up in a time when writing a self-insert character was like THE VERY WORST POSSIBLE THING YOU COULD DO AS A WRITER, but once again I don't give a fuck.

The lived experiences of ethnic minorities, people of mixed ethnic and cultural heritage (not fucking half-elves who most of the time are just people of the Caucasian persuasion with pointy ears and shorter lifespans than regular elves), first generation children of immigrants, and all manner of permutations of non-white, non-Western "others" are in extremely short supply in all forms of media / popular narratives in the Western world (shit honestly, it ain't just the West but that's another struggle for another day). This is especially true, from what I've experienced as a lifelong nerdalerd, in speculative fiction.

So yeah, I conceived my Tav as a mixed-race (kind of, she's all high elf, but mixed sun, moon, and sea because she's a motherfucking unicorn, come at me bro looool -- no, there are other reasons too but also she's a unicorn lol), mixed-ethnic-and-cultural-heritage person whose life choices are NOT aligned with a lot of the conventions and values of the cultures in which she was raised.

Because that story and perspective is wildly underrepresented in literature, mass media, speculative fiction, and fan fiction.

So here we are. loooool

Having said all that, I got a comment from my fucking delightful beta and queen of my soul, Komo, asking about the naming conventions I reference in this chapter (or their real-world analogues).

So for the notes part of this episode of "Notes and an Update," I'm going to quote part of the comment she left on AO3 about the story and my response, which adheres to my policy of "why say it in five words if you can say it in EIGHT MILLION." Let me know what you think!

NAMING CONVENTIONS IN AEAS

(FROM THE COMMENTS SECTION OF AN ECHO, A STAIN CHAPTER 16:)

Komo wrote:

I have so many questions about naming conventions, both from the corner of the world that Tav’s family hails from and BG proper. Like, in American and Japanese culture, women take their husband’s last names when heterosexual couples get married. In the States, there are exceptions to this rule, of course, with some women hyphenating. In China, women do not change their last names, but kids are almost always named after the father’s side (the old one child policy may have affected this, but the top 100 most common surnames make up 85% of the population anyways). If Tav and Astarion do end up together, would names be a thing they’d have to navigate? Astarion is such a possessive little yandere after all.

I wrote:

OK so this Tav's ethnic and cultural background, as we know, is mixed

(I'm not even getting into her racial background I just can't with fucking elvish loool and her families on both sides are far-enough removed from immersion in elven culture where I'm like LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL SEE YOU LATER TOLKEIN).

On her father's side, she's Zakharan / DnD-analogue MENA (Middle Eastern North African, with apologies to Said for the orientalism of the term Middle Eastern).

On her mother's side, Amnian / New Amnian / DnD-analogue Latina but -- oh lordt OK without getting into the complexities of codified colonial Spanish racism and colorism, that identity is complicated. Through a combination of executive decision-making about elves and race and how they interact with culture on the material plane (aka not in the Feywild) AND really leaning into the idea of cultural analogues in Toril / the Forgotten Realms, her Latina-analogue ethnicity comprises a mix of indigenous and colonizer racial/ethnic heritage.

(I also can't with how fucking convoluted figuring this out was, is, has been, will forever be looool.)

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, for the sake of brevity (looooooooooooooooool), we'll say Tav's full name results from the combination of her parents' names using Amnian/New Amnian (Spanish) naming conventions, BUT that means her full name (which is not even as long as it could be but is LONG) incorporates both Arabic naming conventions AND Spanish naming conventions that result in impressively / annoyingly long names loool.

In modern Spain, at least, when women marry, some don't even take their husband's name. But the kids' names are composites of parents' family names.

A Spanish child takes the surnames of both their father and mother. The structure is usually [father's surname] y [mother's surname] (though in modern Spain and Spanish-speaking countries a lot of people no longer use the "y"), but the main surname would be the father's surname. So for example, someone's full last name might be Juana Garcia y Martinez or Juana Garcia Martinez, but she might just go by Juana Garcia.

ALSO, especially for children of families of some kind of note / nobility when the dad's family was not as well-known as the mother's, this would include the composite names of both parents.

So Juana's name might be Juana [Garcia de Manzanilla (dad's composite surname)] y [Martinez de Hierro (mom's composite surname)].

So Juana Garcia de Manzanilla y Martinez de Hierro. And like, when people get real into it this can go back generations. Like, I don't even remember my mom's whole-ass name. looool.

NOW, Arabic names are composites, too, but incorporate the father's first name, the grandfather's first name, then the family name -- back in the day, they'd link these things with words that indicated the relationships. So for example, if Yemina's dad is Yusuf and HIS dad is Muhammad and their family name is Rashid, Yemina's name would then be Yemina bint/bin (daughter of) Yusuf ibn (son of) Muhammad al-(of the family) Rashid.

So Yemina bin Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Rashid.

OK SO THERE'S ANOTHER COMPLICATION (aren't you glad you asked this question loooooooooooooooooooool): with regard to Spanish naming conventions, apparently this patrilineal thing hasn't always been the case and only came to be the norm around the mid-1700s. Before that, surname transmission was often matrilineal.

(This comes into play here because the year in BG3 is like, idk, 1492-98 or something? I forget whatever who cares it's before the mid-1700s and I'm just making it vaguely and very much not perfectly analogous with the time / calendar of the Western world because I don't have the bandwidth for anything else loooooooooool).

In this Tav's case, her mom ditched her dad and the kids were young enough at the time that she was able to, as a sign of DEEP FUCKING DISRESPECT TO HIM loooool, change their names to MATRILINEAL AMNIAN-STYLE COMPOSITE SURNAMES LOOOOOOOOOOOOL

(So for a while Tav's government name was Zeneida Nqa Tavares de la Torre de López Jimenez y bin Harun ibn Ishaq al-Jazairi loooool)

I mean this was like looooooooooooooool FUCKING PROFOUNDLY SCANDALOUSLY DISRESPECTFUL FOR HER TO DO TO A ZAKHARAN MAN especially one of SOME NOTE WHO WAS SELF-MADE

That shit was mad personal and a level of petty that mere mortals can only aspire to it was so deep

But TAV'S MOM DOES NOT PLAY

(Now, could she have just cut Tav's father's name out entirely? Sure, but 1) THAT MOTHERFUCKER IS NOT GETTING OUT OF CLAIMING THESE KIDS / PAYING CHILD SUPPORT esp if he ever got married again HER KIDS ARE THE FUCKING HEIRS AND HE AIN'T GON FORGET IT and 2) (possibly more importantly) FUCK HIS COUCH, PEOPLE ARE GONNA KNOW HE FUCKED AROUND AND FOUND OUT)

Even though he's deadass like "lol wtfever I don't give a fuck, I know what their real legal names are" and also this resulted in a protracted, multinational legal battle that was never actually resolved until each kid reached the age of majority and decided what their own legal name would be.

Ahem, anyway as a consequence of all this, Tav's full-ass, whole-ass, government name is:

Zeneida (first given name)

Nqa (middle given name)

bin Harun ibn Ishaq al-Jazairi (full Arabic/"Midani" patrilineal surname)

y (conjunction [means 'and'])

Tavares de la Torre de López Jimenez (mother's full surname)

So: Zeneida Nqa bin Harun ibn Ishaq al-Jazairi y Tavares de la Torre de López Jimenez

But as we know, she just goes by Zeneida Tavares, and she wasn't lying when she said on most docs it's just "Zeneida Nqa Jazairi Tavares."

Second...

tl;dr: Tavvy for short. Ms. Tavares if you nasty.

ALSO LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

If Tav and Astarion do end up together, Astarion better adjust them expectations, bc after all the drama that's existed around her name, he gonna have a hard time getting her to change it looool

Not to mention, she has a career based in part on people knowing who she is so... loooool

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO IF THE STARS AND PLANETS EVER ALIGN FOR THEM / THEY EVER GET THEIR HEADS OUT OF ASSES

#bg3 #ascended astarion #astarion fic #meta #characterization #poc in genre #woc in genre #bg3 fic #bard!tav #astarion x tav #bg3 astarion #astarion #banter #slow burn #tolkein was a racist #i said what i said #sorry not sorry

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bizarrequazar · 2 years

Text

05-14 (CST) QuelleVous, Bluebird, Flora, followerno65, and Naan Space Notes

This was the first space in an intended series going over events relating to 813; this one covers the leadup to 813 and the events of August itself. This is entirely an informal fan discussion and should not be taken as an official source. [Recording]

Please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes or missed anything important, I know I probably got a couple of the Chinese words and names I’m not familiar with wrong so I encourage people to correct me.

The Current Bigger Picture

Streaming sites have dwindled from around 300 to about half a dozen in the last decade due to venture capitalism

Current governmental efforts are being undergone to try to redistribute funding. Some of the major streaming platforms have been hit by this

Quite a few tech bigwigs have been quitting / retiring, and subsequently clearing out their social media

There is a governmental anti-monopoly crackdown happening, industry investments are being put on hold as a result

Anti-monopoly laws are fairly new in China

A reminder to keep in mind that there is a lot going in the background that we often aren’t cognizant of when we only look at things from a fandom lense. When Li Xuezheng was around, he linked Zhang Zhehan’s case to the wider situation happening

Pre-813 Rumors and Slander

Chinese rumor cycle:

Rumors are started by accounts on Douban with tons of followers; the accounts get a written statement by whoever is paying them, often posted without any changes made

Hotsearches are often bought, not organic

This is not very expensive, package deals exist, price sheets have been leaked before

Douban was fined more than 50 times last year for “polluting the Internet environment,” people are muted very easily nowadays as a result

Rumors against Zhang Zhehan began at at least the beginning of March

The earliest known one was tabloid articles implying that he supported another actor who had been involved in a domestic violence incident. Zhang Zhehan’s actual posts were that he felt bad because he had formerly had positive views of the actor, but that if this was true in needed to be addressed and punished properly.

Another rumor taking his banter with an actress out of context

March, Sensodyne endorsement, another celebrity’s fans claimed the tagline was the other actor’s and that Zhang Zhehan had stolen it.

Another incident (Beihai wrap party photos) with this actor’s fans leaving him death threats over a glitch (confirmed by Weibo) that made it look like his views had been artificially inflated

Slander about him using a stunt double in Word of Honor, didn’t last longWearing shoes by a brand endorsed by another actor

April to early August, girlfriend rumors:

Probably the same people behind August

Weixin chatlogs with a girl caused rumors that he was dating her / secretly married / had secret children

It’s now heavily suspected that these chatlogs were made by Sophie due to the GOT quote that QuelleVous has pointed out several times, Sophie would post about these rumors in an “I don’t believe it’s true” way every time. She wasn’t well known in the fandom at this time

Zhang Zhehan spoke against these rumors himself saying they were false and he was pursing legal action.

A lot of people loudly unfanned because of these rumors

It became a big enough issue for people in the general public to hear about it

Hotsearch on July 25th, there is evidence of it being bought for 180k

There was a followup rumor that one of the fans he was going to sue was underage

July, hanfu that had been worn by / designed for another actor in a commercial promo, caused “who wore it better” fan arguments

July, photos of him helping an elderly lady down the stairs were twisted to claim it had been staged to create a good persona for him

July when he passed out on set and was hospitalized, claims were made that he was “sad-fishing” (looking for pity) by posting photos from being in hospital

Rumors that he was lying about his reading habits

Rumor about his mother using connections / under the table deals to get him into the Shanghai Theatre Academy; this came back again on August 12th.

Claims that he had been removed from the alumni list, QuelleVous looked into this personally and confirms it is false.

Fans showed that the rumors’ “evidence” had been made from out of context interview quotes, fans found his entrance exam records proving they are legitimate

Lots of rumors about him having ulterior motives, lying to fans, being sexist, being disingenuous about his character

Rising Sun flag car dug up around May/June, came back again in August

Fans recognized that he seemed to get more hate than most other celebrities, but no one thought it was anything systematic / significant. It was assumed it was just due to his popularity and was normal

The level of the campaign makes it highly unlikely that there is a single person behind it. Li Xuezheng said the same, QuelleVous’s opinion is that it’s impossible, although it could be that a single person kicked it off and others joined in

A lot of these seem like “test runs”—they kept going with various rumors until one stuck (813)

August Timeline

Common tactic (also seen recently) of using some real elements to give credibility to rumors

68 hotsearches from the 12th to the 15th

Planted fans (<evidenced) spread ideas that this was a governmental issue / a human rights issue, encouraging people to write into nationalistic and international news organizations

Evidence shows no indication of governmental involvement; the evidence points to it being caused by private capital. Official governmental statements have stated they have no involvement

Him being unable to respond was the #1 warning sign of an unjust result

Trial by public opinion and mob mentality

Evening of the 12th, things about him attending a friend’s wedding at Nogi Shrine began circulating:

The shrine is known among Japanese people as a love site / popular wedding location. This is not as well known in China

The Nogi Shrine Baidu entry was created on the 12th at midnight by a high level admin. This admin had previously only made pages for luxury brands

Dewi Sukarno’s Baidu page was edited around the same time, again by a high level admin. It changed her husband to be the second president of Indonesia instead of the first, making it out that he was anti-communist

The Baidu page of Nogi Maresuke, whom Nogi Shrine is named after, was edited. He died far before WWII.

The photos were originally posted by an account that some people thought had a personal connection to Zhang Zhehan (possibly Susu but this is only conjecture)

Zhang Zhehan’s friend whose wedding it had been posted a public apology for not checking the history of the location

(According to Wang Mengmeng,) Endorsements began to contact his studio with concern over the situation and asking them to place importance on what was happening, his studio said it wasn’t a big deal

August 13th:

Sensitive date in China:

National mourning day

Around the time of the Olympics, raising patriotic sentiments

Around the centennial of the CCP

It being a Friday meant that the general public were more available to follow what was happening

The Japanese minister of defense made an unannounced visit to Yasukuni Shrine that day

Yasukuni Shrine cherry blossom photographs were circulated, hotsearches bought

10am, Xie Yihua paid people to edit her Baidu, made sure that it cannot be checked what was edited

Zhang Zhehan posted his formal apology on his Weibo around noon

Starting in the late afternoon fans found that their comments were being deleted, all comments left were those against him

People’s Daily (largest newspaper in China, endorsed by the CCP, anything they put out is taken as the stance of the CCP) posted an article initially saying he would learn from his experience. Around 4:30pm this was edited saying that he as a public figure should be punished for not being more aware. This is what significantly worsened the situation.

CCTV news made a comment about the shrine around 5pm

Around 5:30 endorsements began dropping him

Lang Lang Ding supertopic and Haizhe fan groups said to not to spread information about this and to not engage because drawing attention would make things worse

Some big fans who ignored this are now strongly suspected of having been planted / paid off

All endorsements and the movie Zhang Zhehan had recently finished filming (which had fully finished production) announced they were cutting connections with him

August 14th:

Zhang Zhehan’s Weibos were muted

August 15th:

CAPA boycotted him and called for an industry boycott, being the first ones to specifically say he “visited” (tianguan) the shrine

Many news sites later used “worship” (tianbai) due to this

Zhang Zhehan’s social media accounts were closed on the grounds of hurting national sentiment and being a negative influence on youths

August 16th and after:

17th, Instagram deactivated

All avenues of speech for him at this point were closed. We didn’t hear anything from him again until Li Xuezheng’s involvement

From 16th to 20th, his name was removed from show credits, then dramas were removed altogether, he was blurred out of variety shoes, and his scenes cut from smaller roles (ie. Nirvana in Fire)

Any trace of him was erased. Some reported that his media was being deleted from Chinese phones

His name could not be searched on some sites and could not be used to register for some services and sites. This also affects about 2k other people who share his name.

General Discussion

Some were genuinely concerned when it happened that 813 was going to lead to him being killed

It’s a very serious thing to have the term “traitor” assigned to you as a Chinese citizen living in China

Some organizations that contributed to the PR campaign in August (I apologize for my difficulty with names here, please talk to Flora if you have questions about this part)

BanYueTan put out a comment on the evening of the 13th saying his apology wasn’t good enough, that you cannot forget history or use the excuse of ignorance, basically saing that he must disappear. A writer responded to their comment this asking for a clarification about visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the company said that you can never go there period. This was widely quoted. This writer’s account was later nuked. In October their cheif editor was charged with corruption for having many properties and assets that were under investigation.

Thinking Torch (a think tank)’s director in December was discovered to be well known for using the think tank to stoke nationalist sentiments

China Cyberspace Working Association (similar to CAPA) released a statement before the boycott saying that the punishment should not stop at muting. Due to having “China” in their name, some believed they were a government organization; they apologized for this in December and have largely disappeared since

A reminder to look at news about Chinese tech comapanies and the new laws that have been coming into place rather than having fandom tunnel vision

Guest speaker: Sunlight

People were attracted to Zhang Zhehan for how genuine he is

It was hard for fans who don’t speak Chinese to properly understand what was happening

CAPA was assumed by many outside of China, including Chinese Americans, to be a governmental body

It created a strong fear of mob mentality

#Zhang Zhehan #my zzh posts #813 #Sorry just realized I forgot to tag this #zzh info

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