#china lied people died

[radiofreederry]

happy birthday, Mao Zedong! (December 26, 1893)

One of the 20th century's most influential figures, Mao Zedong was born in Hunan province to a wealthy farmer. Mao's political education began by reading the works of liberal reformer Zheng Guanying and later joined the rebellion against the Qing. Mao began associating with Chinese Marxist Li Dazhao, and soon came to embrace Marxism himself. He became an early member of the Communist Party of China and joined it in taking up arms in the name of revolution and helping to organize the Chinese Red Army. Over the course of the long Chinese Civil War, Mao's theoretical acumen, organizational skill, and tactical intelligence gained him respect and, ultimately, leadership of the party. He would lead the communists to victory against both the invading Japanese and the conservative republicans, proclaiming the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Mao set to work modernizing China and laying the foundations for socialism, instituting land reform and an industrial program while politically transforming Chinese society and suppressing reaction and liberalism. Through his leadership, China was transformed from a still semi-feudal state into a world power. Mao provided a number of contributions to Marxist theory, and his ideas are variously interpreted through such tendencies as Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Mao Zedong Thought. He died in 1976.

"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another."

#birthdays #mao zedong

[ultimateshixiongfuckertournament]

Noncanonicals Tournament FINAL

This final is between Han Ying from Word of Honor (shizun/mentor: Zhou Zishu) and Fang Duobing from Mysterious Lotus Casebook (shizun/mentor: Li Xiangyi / Li Lianhua)

Propaganda under the cut! (Warning: Propaganda may include spoilers about the characters and their media)

Han Ying:

He idolized and was mentored by Zhou Zishu to the point of recruiting other young martial artists to revive ZZS’s dying sect and willing to die live happily ever after for it.

#han ying wants to fuck zhou zishu SO BAD#han ying#shizunfucker tournament

#my sweet ying'er wants to fuck zzs so bad he's gagging for it

#HAN YING HANDS DOWN#would have licked his boots if he asked

#han ying wanted nothing more than to officially become zzs's student/part of his sect#it was literally his dying wish that his brothers in arms may get to do that#he says several times in the show to zzs's very face that he's 100% down for dying for him#he swears allegiance EXCLUSIVELY to zzs and not the prince they're all serving#he comes up with bangers like 'if there is anything you need I will lay down my life with no regret'#'if you were gone one day how could I live alone'#'a loyal servant wouldn't have two masters in his life'#he sneaks into zzs's abandoned residence and homoerotically-#-strokes the painting of a flower that symbolizes a) zzs himself b) zzs's grief for being the lone survivor of his sect#and he wanted to join siji so so badly#it was his life's dream and he died IN siji but before getting to have that 😭#listen he makes me insane#anyway they should have fucked sloppy style and zzs would have had an out of body experience if hy called him shizun#my final thesis goodbye

#it's HAN YING#you could power entire nations with the power of that yearning

#han ying saw zhou zishu and IMMEDIATELY dropped to his knees are you joking#wen kexing immediately clocked him

#ying'er my sweet prince#he wants the dick so badly

Fang Duobing:

Fang Duobing has most definitely had several fantasies of being dommed by his shifu Li Xiangyi! He is also equally invested in marrying Li Lianhua - travelling the jianghu, going on rooftop moonlit dates, incorporating looking after him forever and ever into his general future plans. This is even before he knows that Li Lianhua and Li Xiangyi are the same person. Oh there are Layers to the shizunfucking. Where's that post about being so devoted to someone that it breaks the pedestal they're put on and comes full circle to loving them for the person they are? (its here: https://www.tumblr.com/difeisheng/733133489565745152/the-core-of-fanghua-is-built-around-fang-duobings) When they finally do get to know each other 10 years later, after Li Xiangyi's identity is found out, Fang Duobing insists on being equals rather than master-and-disciple! Li lianhua is Fang Duobing’s guide in the Jianghu! He leaves his house, dog and the only records of his unique martial arts to Fang Duobing before running away!! Fang Duobing’s most important agenda is to save Li Lianhua from slow death by poison!!! He doesn't care if Li Lianhua keeps leaving him behind and lying to him and is 'at peace' with dying!! They live together. They'll never be equals. They've been equals all along. They're zhiji. They're master and disciple. they're married. They're everything.

#this man wanted to fuck his shizun under two whole ass different identities#this man was given one million choices between his shizun and his entire cushy rich boi life and did not sweat the decision even once#this man was engaged to a princess - who was COOL - and went “no thanks i’d rather follow shizun around in a fantasy china airstream’

#this cannot not be fang duobing let's be serious#polls#he's been drawing hearts around his shizun's name since age 8

#Fang Duobing going through it for what he thinks is two different people but is just one guy#so he gets my vote easy

#pls he is head employee at shizunfucker.co

#han ying #fang duobing #word of honor #mysterious lotus casebook #zhou zishu #li lianhua #li xiangyi

[paganimagevault]

Tomb of An Bei 589 CE. Sogdian tomb.

I couldn't find the translation for the epitaph for this one.

"Differently from the other tombs quoted in this paper, Anbei’s tomb was not excavated by archaeologists, but found and looted by the robbers, therefore the archaeological context of this tomb, even the date of this accidental finding are lost. Until now, all we know is that this tomb robbery happened someday between 2006 and 2007. Several stone figurines, a funerary couch and Anbei’s epitaph stone were found in the tomb. Two stone figurines, parts of the base of the couch and the epitaph are now exhibited in the Tang West Market Museum in Xi’an (Fig.20), four panels belonging to the private owners, including two processing and two banqueting scenes, were published, too (Fig.21).

Although owning the typical Sogdian name An, which means his ancestors migrated into China from Bukhara, his homeland was described in a completely different name, the state of Anjuyeni, which was never recorded by any source before. An’s family moved to China during the Northern Wei dynasty, some of his family members once served in the Bureau of Tributaries. For the court, it’s also an usual way to adopt expatriate immigrants to work in the diplomatic system. Anbei’s father, An Zhishi, served as a middle-rank commanding officer among the honour guards of the court.

As a, likely, third generation immigrant, Anbei’s life depicted in the epitaph was very brief, too. Except for the usual eulogies commonly written in every epitaph, two main parts of his experience were emphasized: his mercantile ability and simple bureaucratic career. The one who wrote the text made a metaphor, assimilating Anbei with two famous ancient Chinese merchants, Baigui and Xiangao during the Eastern Zhou Period (approximately between 8th c. - 3rd c. BC); After that, Anbei’s only short official career as a very lower status clerk of the military headquarters of vassal leader Xuchang was recorded, probably happened in 575 AD when he was 20 years old. Soonafter the Northern Qi was replaced by Northern Zhou dynasty in 577 AD, Anbei returned home in Luoyang, the place where he died and was buried in 589 AD at the age of 34.

The motivation for me to list this robbed tomb here, together with the other tombs which have detailed background obtained through scientific archaeological excavation is, however, mainly not for its elaborate funerary couch, but because of his distinctive identity depicted in the epitaph. Prior to the discovery of Anbei’s tomb, the deceased of all five tombs which constituted the most important foundation of the studies of the foreign immigrants in early medieval China, namely the tombs of Lidan, Kangye, Anjia, Shijun and Yuhong, owned high-ranked official positions such as head of a prefecture or Sabao, which may result in a misconception that only aristocrats of the foreign immigrants could be buried with such elaborate funerary furniture. However, Anbei’s tomb provided an additional possibility about the status of the tomb occupant who used the stone funerary furniture. What is expressly shown in the epitaph, during his 34-year-long life, Anbei was just a very ordinary person, without any notable ancestry from homeland, neither held any high-ranked post, nor received anyone as a posthumous reward.

Except for the basic information above, there is also a remarkable narration during the introduction in the beginning of Anbei’s epitaph, which may reflect the collective mindset among most of the foreign immigrants in China and their efforts in social integration, ‘Although he is a foreigner, after a long life in China, there is no difference between him and the Chinese’.

-Yusheng Li, Study of tombs of Hu people in late 6th century northern China

#sogdiana #ancient history #antiquities #art #history #museums #ancient china #chinese #ancient art

[erik-even-wordier]

I really don’t owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology. I’ve been critical of Trump these last several years, and am still exhausted from the experience.

But to be fair, Trump wasn’t that bad…………..other than when:

1. he incited an insurrection against the government,

2. mismanaged a pandemic that killed a million Americans,

3. separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy,

4. tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church,

5. tried to block all Muslims from entering the country,

6. got impeached,

7. got impeached again,

8. had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history,

9. pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden,

10. fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia,

11. bragged about firing the FBI director on TV,

12. took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community,

13. diverted military funding to build his wall,

14. caused the longest government shutdown in US history,

15. called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,”

16. lied nearly 30,000 times,

17. banned transgender people from serving in the military,

18. ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions,

19. vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers,

20. refused to release his tax returns,

21. increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion,

22. had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history,

23. called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers,

24. coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist,

25. refused to concede the 2020 election,

26. hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House,

27. walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl,

28. called neo-Nazis “very fine people,”

29. suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID,

30. abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey,

31. pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans,

32. incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic,

33. withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords,

34. withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal,

35. withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances,

36. insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter,

37. pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op,

38. failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies,

39. called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries,

40. called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,”

41. claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere,

42. forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader,

43. believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

44. berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe,

45. suggested the US should buy Greenland,

46. colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges,

47. repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,”

48. claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases,

49. violated the emoluments clause,

50. thought that Nambia was a country,

51. told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public,

52. called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution,

53. nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet,

54. nominated a corrupt head of the EPA,

55. nominated a corrupt head of HHS,

56. nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department,

57. nominated a corrupt head of the USDA,

58. praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies,

59. refused to allow the presidential transition to begin,

60. insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death,

61. spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president,

62. falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote,

63. called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,”

64. falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year,

65. considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions,

66. mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID,

67. locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones,

68. used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,”

69. hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser,

70. pardoned several of his shady associates,

71. gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressmen who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories,

72. got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!),

73. had a Secretary of State who called him a moron,

74. forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history,

75. botched the COVID vaccine rollout,

76. tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him,

77. charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties,

78. constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate,

79. claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear,

80. called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,”

81. used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise,

82. opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling,

83. got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers,

84. claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US,

85. ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings,

86. blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining,

87. redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle,

88. got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,”

89. threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution,

90. botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,

91. threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them,

92. pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes,

93. thought that the Virgin islands had a President,

94. drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane,

95. allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing,

96. rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos,

97. pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID,

98. rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers,

99. held blatant campaign rallies at the White House,

100. tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man,

101. refused to attend his successors’ inauguration,

102. nominated the worst Education Secretary in history,

103. threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted,

104. attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci,

105. promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t),

106. allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues,

107. struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble,

108. called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,”

109. threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders,

110. went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic,

111. claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,”

112. seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution,

113. demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director,

114. praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles,

115. completely gutted the Voice of America,

116. placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service,

117. claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower,

118. suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country,

119. suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public,

120. overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported,

121. reduced the number of refugees the US accepts,

122. insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames,

123. gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address,

124. named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties,

125. eliminated the White House office of pandemic response,

126. used soldiers as campaign props,

127. fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him,

128. demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade,

129. hired a shit ton of white nationalists,

130. politicized the civil service,

131. did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government,

132. falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts,

133. claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won,

134. insulted reporters of color,

135. insulted women reporters,

136. insulted women reporters of color,

137. suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs,

138. attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him,

139. summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election,

140. spent countless hours every day watching Fox News,

141. refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas,

142. hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer,

143. tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him,

144. acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney,

145. attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a prominent lady who accused him of sexual assault,

146. held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present,

147. didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media,

148. stopped holding press briefings for months at a time,

149. “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power,

150. led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform,

151. claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers,

152. tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course,

153. suggested that the government nuke hurricanes,

154. suggested that wind turbines cause cancer,

155. said that he had a special aptitude for science,

156. fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure,

157. blurted out classified information to Russian officials,

158. tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida,

159. fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban,

160. hired notorious racist Stephen Miller,

161. openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them,

162. interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel,

163. abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war,

164. tried to get Russia back into the G7,

165. held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden,

166. seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive,

167. lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated,

168. falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t,

169. shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies,

170. still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan,

171. still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,”

172. forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID,

173. told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,”

174. fucked up the Census,

175. withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic,

176. did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,”

177. allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act,

178. seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican,

179. stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win,

180. constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump,

181. claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened,

182. said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake,

183. claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him,

184. claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President,

185. created a commission to whitewash American history,

186. retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain,

187. claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there,

188. hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims,

189. had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others,

190. bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties,

191. apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House,

192. stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians,

193. falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police,

194. said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about,

195. tried to rescind protection from DREAMers,

196. gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic,

197. tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax,

198. said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states,

199. deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented,

200. claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln,

201. touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all,

202. retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile,

203. forced through security clearances for his family,

204. suggested that police officers should rough up suspects,

205. suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs,

206. tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender,

207. suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher,

208. nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy,

209. retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden

210. had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event,

211. hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags,

212. accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address,

213. claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia,

214. mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault,

215. obsessed over low-flow toilets,

216. ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release,

217. called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek),

218. hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech,

219. took advice from the MyPillow guy,

220. claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists,

221. said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure,

222. never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign,

223. falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent,

224. announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest,

225. insulted the leader of Canada,

226. insulted the leader of France,

227. insulted the leader of Britain,

228. insulted the leader of Germany,

229. insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!),

230. falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues,

231. blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually,

232. continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,

233. said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked,

234. left a NATO summit early in a huff,

235. stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that,

236. called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary,

237. refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise.

238. Don’t forget that he took many classified & top secret documents with him when he left the White House, many of which have not been recovered & may have been compromised.

I’m sure there are a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

Plz copy and paste. Whoever wrote this deserves credit but I don't know who it is.

#donald trump #popular #long post

[sweetcarrotsandroses97]

Aşk-ı Memnu | JJK

Pairing: non idol! Jungkook x fem! married! Reader

Summary: What is prohibited, it's desired the most. Or in which you tangle yourself in a forbidden love with Jeon Jungkook while being married to an older man. Yet it is also said that forbidden fruits taste the best.

Warnings: fluff, angst, forbidden love, food ingestion, cheating, age gap, mentions of sex, alcohol consumption (during dinner), lying, mentions of death, reader is described to be shorter than Jungkook, (let me know if I missed anything)

Word Count: 1.8k

~Prompt 3: Saying “I love you” for the first time

~Snowflakes divider by @samspenandsword

~Prompt list by @flightlessangelwings

A/N: This short story was highly inspired by the Turkish novel of the same name "Aşk-ı Memnu" which translates as "Forbidden Love" in English. Let me know what you thought of this controversial story in the comments!

You can listen to the series' music on Spotify to get into ambience as it helped me a lot to write this. Just search it with the same Turkish name. Happy reading everyone!

Love knows no boundaries. Love is untamable, like the sea. Like a flame. It exists, it consumes. It destroys.

It was cold outside, the night was heavy over the city. Snow was falling from the sky yet the house was warm. The clicking of the cutlery against the expensive china plates could be heard along with the flickering flames of the fireplace.

You sat next to your husband, the man clearly enjoying his dinner and you couldn't help but smile softly at his praises for the new cook.

"So, tell me Seokjin. How is your father?"

Asked your husband, a rich business man by the name of Lee Yong-su. Seokjin smiled against his glass of wine, he put it down and looked at your husband, the two men happily engaging in conversation.

"He's quite well, actually. His treatment is going smoothly and we expect a complete recovery by the end of February."

"Give him my regards when you see him, Seokjin."

The young businessman turned to look at you, bowing his head softly at you not minding at all the fact that you were younger than him.

"Of course, Mrs. Lee."

You smiled kindly at him before the conversation between Seokjin and your husband took place once more. You continued to enjoy your dinner, allowing your thoughts to wander for a bit.

The marriage with your husband had been really controversial given the age difference between you both and the fact that he already had two children with his other wife that you knew had passed away.

Nisun was the oldest. A seventeen year old girl who resented you for taking the place of her mother. Munwoo was the youngest, he was twelve and the innocent boy never ceased to claim that if you ever divorced his father, he'd marry you instead for he had always wanted to marry a beautiful woman when he was of age.

You found it cute whenever he mentioned something like that, only smiling at Munwoo before he got distracted with his videogames once more.

But those weren't the only people that lived in the mansion when you married your husband. There was someone else. A person you had met before you became Yong-su's wife.

Jeon Jungkook.

You knew that he was the only son of one of your husband's closest friends that had sadly died in a car accident when Jungkook was barely five years old. Yong-su had taken him under his wing, providing for him and taking care of him as if he were his own son.

Jungkook was also twenty-six, just like you. And that was the first motive so as to why you two clicked so easily. Yet that fact was the beginning of a web of lies and passion that you had never thought you’d be a part of. 

He was also very handsome, a sleeve of tattoos adorned his right arm, his lip and eyebrow were pierced and his hair was rebellious like his soul. Jungkook was a really attractive man and, according to his own phrasing, you were the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. 

Lust ruled your relationship with the son of your husband’s best friend. Desires of the body, flames of the heart. Feelings were never involved, or at least that was what was planned in the very beginning. 

But to be honest, nothing was ever planned. This mess you were now tangled in started with a glance, continued with a kiss and ended with you in his bed. Sentiment was never supposed to happen. Everything was dominated by a mutual carnal infatuation. 

You weren’t in love with your husband. The marriage had only been a great opportunity for you and your soft revenge on your cruel mother but Yong-su was deeply in love with you. To him, it didn’t matter the nearly twenty years age gap between you both. It didn’t matter that he had been married before. It didn’t matter he already had two children. He loved you, he cherished you, he wanted you almost in a fierceful way. 

“Darling, are you alright? You aren’t usually this quiet during dinner.”

Looking at your right, you met the concerned gaze of your husband, you smiled slightly though not fully. 

“I’m alright, I just have a headache.”

Yong-su frowned, you felt the eyes of everyone on you, even Jungkook’s gaze. It burned you to even know he was looking at you. 

“Don’t worry about me, dearest.”

Silence filled the room after those words left your lips before soft conversations began to arise once more on the table. The children started talking about a new movie that was going to come out next week while your husband and Seokjin talked about business. Jungkook was still looking at you and you were able to read the concern in his dark eyes. 

You smiled at him, ever so delicately and he nodded subtly. Taking in your silent reassurance as he resumed his dinner. 

Butterflies flew in your stomach at his concern. At what you had seen in his eyes. Those hidden emotions behind his gaze. A dark galaxy you loved getting yourself lost in. The place where you found comfort during lonely nights and a refuge when your soul tormented you. Yet the fact that your love was forbidden only made you want it more. It attracted you more. You desired it more. You needed it more. Needed him. As if you were metal and Jungkook was your magnet. Like a forbidden fruit. Prohibited yet delicious.

“Are you alright?”

You knew that voice. Its raspiness did things to you that shouldn’t happen as a married woman. His deep voice always captivated you. You turned around, facing Jungkook. He stood in the kitchen’s doorway, leaning against the frame as his gaze pierced your own with intensity that a shiver ran down your spine.

"Yes, I just took a pill for the headache. Don't worry, Jungkook."

He frowned softly at your last sentence, uncrossing his arms as he walked towards you with his large steps. Your breath hitched in your throat when he stood in front of you a little too close for it to be proper.

"I always worry about you, (y/n)."

You swallowed, not knowing what to say. Nothing came to your mind. There were no words in your mouth to express, no thoughts in your mind to keep you busy.

"You matter to me more than you could imagine."

You looked aside, trying to break free from this chain he held you in. You took a deep breath, eyes focusing on your nearly empty glass of water that rested on the counter.

"Stop it, someone could hear us."

He took another step towards you, eyes never leaving your form as he gazed down at you.

"Uncle Yong-su is in his study with Kim Seokjin,"

His fingers grabbed your chin ever so softly, turning your head so that your eyes met his before he continued in a soft murmur.

"and the children are already upstairs."

His hand cupped your face while his thumb caressed your cheek in delicate touches. His dark eyes took you in; your beauty, your personality. Your essence.

Your hand rested atop his own. Even when the feeling of his skin against your own burned you with desire and adoration, you weren't allowed to show your sentiment freely.

"I don't want to risk it, Jungkook."

He smirked at your whispered words. Daring to take another step until your chests were almost touching. His warm and minty breath fanned your face and you, once more, lost yourself in his enchanting eyes that held your whole world.

"Risk what, (y/n)? Us? Are you that scared of my love for you to be known to the world?"

Your eyes widened at his words. You took a step back in pure instinct, forcing his hand to leave your cheek as you shook your head in silent motions of hidden despair.

"Because I love you, (y/n). I have for a while. And it only keeps growing in my heart."

You took a deep breath, trying to process everything that was leaving his mouth, wrapping your head around the fact that Jungkook was in love with you. If anything, it complicated things even more yet that didn't mean you craved it any less.

"You can't. Jungkook, you can't love me."

His hands were on your shoulders the next second making a soundless gasp leave your lips. His eyes bore into yours like never before that you nearly felt his soul touch your own.

"But I do. And I do not regret it."

You stood in silence, never breaking eye contact with him. Why now? Why did he have to say such a thing now?

"If you do not love me, say it. Say it and nothing left my mouth. Say it and I'll try to stop."

But how could you say that you didn't love him when your heart beats for him and only him? How could you tell such a lie when you loved him more than your life?

"Jungkook, I-"

"Love, are you there?"

The voice of your husband was heard from around the corner. Your eyes widened in fear and Jungkook put a finger over his lips, signalling you to stay quiet as he went to hide behind a wall, opposite from the kitchen's entrance.

You turned around in time to face your husband crossing the doorway with a soft smile on his lips.

"Yes, I just took a pill for my headache."

Yong-su frowned and walked over to you, eyes searching on your own with concern.

"Are you alright? I need you to sign some documents but if you are not feeling right you can do it later."

Your eyes momentarily looked at where Jungkook was hiding before you shook your head with a smile.

"It's alright, I can do it now."

Yong-su nodded, walking out of the kitchen with you behind him. But just as you were about to leave the room, you turned to look back only to spot Jungkook peeking out from around the wall upon hearing your fading footsteps.

With your heart skipping a beat, you sent him a subtle nod. The trace of a smile over your lips before you disappeared behind the wall.

And it was in that moment that he smiled to himself, feeling his heart beating wildly in his chest upon the silent confirmation of your love for him.

It didn't matter if it was prohibited, that it was a sin. That you were betraying your husband with Jungkook. For you were his forbidden fruit he should not even gaze at but your essence was addictive he couldn't think to stop himself. Not now, not ever, because love knows no boundaries. Love is untamable, like the sea. Like a flame. It exists, it consumes. It destroys.

December/15/2023

☕Caffeinate me so I can keep on writing! ☕

#jungkook #bts #bts fic #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook #love #bts fanfic #jeon jungkook x reader #kim seokjin #bts jungkook #forbidden love #Aşk-ı Memnu #aşk ı memnu #reader insert #winter event 2023 #sweetcarrotsandroses97 #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #angst

[enbycrip]

My Granda, who was born in 1929 and died in 2019, told me often when I was a little kid of the disabled veterans of WWI who lived in his close in Glasgow growing up.

They always told him of the horrifying meat grinder of war and how it was a complete scam; that they were haunted by the men they may have killed - they rarely really knew who they were firing at - who were other working men exploited by other rich egomaniacs.

I know they were a big part of why he joined the Communist Party as a young man, though he left when he saw how they were parroting authoritarian lies from horribly similar exploiters in different outfits in the USSR. He was never diagnosed, but I am 100% convinced my Granda was autistic. I think it’s part of why we got on so well - he was also perpetually unable to deal with doing shit because people with wealth told you so.

I used to talk about socialism and anarchism to him when I was a teen and he did remain hopeful that grassroots movements could still do good and prevent exploitation, and that authoritarianism in the USSR and China didn’t change that.

And he always passed on precisely what the WWI veterans he remembered so strongly told him; “Anyone who talks about war as glory is scamming you.”

#socialism #anarchism #there’s no fucking glory #anyone who talks about war as glory is scamming you #authoritarianism #modern history #family history #working class history #ww1

[shapelytimber]

Welcome to my insane rant about Van Helsing, in the Dracula Hammer movies (with art)

*Quick* explaination of @quijicroix 's and I headcanons for Helsing, and why we think Lawrence (thought it was Abraham but no it's Lawrence in the Hammer cinematic universe) and Lorrimer Van Helsing are the same person (/!\ spoilers for the Hammer's Dracula movies obviously) :

At the end of Brides of Dracula (the second film in the timeline), we see Lawrence get bitten by a Vampire, not Dracula btw, and to remedy the curse he burns his neck and pour holy water on it. And ig by the power of jesus he doesn't get turned into a vampire (boring Hammer resolution) (and he doesn't even get a cool scar).

But we call bullshit on this ! Van Helsing definetly got turned into a (half) vampire !!

1) Lawrence and Lorrimer are both played by Peter Cushing and have the same face. Now I know what your probably thinking "this argument is lazy af", and if we stopped there, yes it would be. But we see Lawrence's son in 7 Golden Vampires (the last film in the serie, but not the timeline) !! And he looks NOTHING like Peter Cushing. So either the Cushing face skipped a generation (whitch is funny to imagine), or his son, who stays in china and never returns to england, serves as a way to help him hide his immortality by taking the identity of his own son, then his grandson Lorrimer.

2) Time for maths everyone ! In Dracula AD 1972, we learn Lawrence died in 1872. BUT !! In 7 Golden Vampires that takes place in 1904 (because the begining of the film is set in 1804 and these movies are obsessed with the 100 years later trope), who is still perfectly healthy and visiting his son in China more than twenty years after his death ?? Lawrence fucking Van Helsing. The only two explainations I see are either Vampirism or tax fraud.

And that would mean his son (Leyland Van Helsing btw) had to fuck very quickly after the movie for Lorrimer to be in his 70s (?) in 1972.

3) If curing vampirism was this easy, why kill the other people who got turned into vampires later in the timeline (rip a lot of the women and Johnny Alucard) ?? It paints Van Helsing in a way better light if you assume his miraculous cure didn't work *in the second film of this 9 movie saga*, and he doesn't just kill people he could cure.

4) it would be a very interesting take on the character, the renown vampire hunter himself becoming a monster, fighting to keep his humanity (but the Hammer didn't have the balls. And we thought about these movies way more than anyone involved in writting them-).

And the circle of violence theme is not between Dracula and the Helsing family anymore, but between him and Lawrence, whitch is way more personnal. And !! raises the stakes in both Dracula AD 1972 (already the best movie out of the 9 by far btw) and Satanic Rites since Dracula isn't the vampire his grandad fought, but his century long ennemy that keeps coming back.

And the scene at the end of Satanic Rites, where Dracula (for the first time in 9 movies) manage to align two sentences and basicly say he wants to end the world because he is tired of dying and coming back !!!!! Whitch is very heartbreaking already, but if he says it to the man who killed him (nearly) everytime ??? (We don't talk about that time Quatermass got him) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ok I lied this was not quick but this!!!!!! Is something that has been haunting us for months, and in the words of Quiji : "People need to know."

I'm also working on an illustration in whitch this headcanon of ours is pretty central <3

#I've watched way to much hammer movies why- #btw the best line I've ever read in a fanfic comes from this fandom : “Are you a feminist Mr Van Helsing ?” #this has entered my everyday vocabulary #lorrimer van helsing #lawrence van helsing #jessica van helsing #dracula #hammer dracula #the brides of dracula #dracula ad 1972 #the satanic rites of dracula #7 golden vampires #horror of dracula #hammer movies #vampires #van helsing #sketches #art #my art #fanart #dracula fanart #long post #peter cushing #christopher lee

[been-around-seen-things]

CW: discussion of suicide

I’ve been mulling over a number of thoughts after eps 1-3 about Ed’s storyline, and I want to get them down before the new episodes come out, so here goes.

I’ve seen so many folks hard hit by Ed’s suicidality, needing to mind their mental health before rewatching, and—yeah. Folks who know me as a fic writer and who have read A Bug to Remember can glean some idea of where this topic has touched me. My own lowest time was literally two decades ago, so for me it’s not so much about that.

I just keep thinking about the okayness Ed performs in ep 2, which obviously isn’t entirely convincing, but nevertheless covers up that he’s already made his decision.

Which makes me think about someone I mentored and who died by suicide in 2019. Her name was Katie. I’m going to speak her name here because talking about her and thinking about her keeps her present for me.

Katie was deeply complicated, but, well, so is Ed, obviously. Ep 2 reminded me so vividly of her performance of okayness. She was professionally successful, organized, seemed to have it all together. I know others who also loved her have had the very natural “I should have known” reaction, but I don’t necessarily feel that way. For people like me whom she saw as mentors, she very deliberately hid the cracks, the pain, the suffering. Looking back on it now, I can see how our closeness was more about how much she made me feel comfortable sharing myself, while she remained pretty thoroughly walled off.

All of this makes me think about all the lies, the terrible lies our brains tell us. I talked in sort of a jumbled way on Twitter about the stories Ed tells and tries to tell about himself. The stories we tell and believe about ourselves are so fundamental to our very existence, and Ed has so much trouble believing any positive story about himself.

We first see him trapped in the narrative of Blackbeard, in which he is a “ghost.” He imagines himself as Stede Bonnet, but that’s a violent story with an intended murderous end. Jeff the Accountant is a story that’s fun at first, but the fallout just ends up hitting him where he’s most sensitive, his deepest feelings of unworthiness.

The most believable story for him is the Kraken. Clearly he wants something else, but it feels like literally the only option.

He tries to imagine himself as Jeff the Innkeeper, but he can’t keep from being a dick to himself long enough to even fully imagine how that story could play out.

His only positive stories, of course, are with Stede: first, playfully imagining himself as a chef, someone who can do anything. That one ends happily, albeit only temporarily—the brief dream of being co-captains. And then the possibility of running off to China together—but that’s an option that means Ed leaving his whole identity behind. It’s a running away, not an integration of the stories he carries. And then losing the possibility of that story—well, we know what happens.

And so. Here we are. Ed is alive, and he needs a new story that doesn’t cause himself and everyone else around him so much suffering. Ngl I had a real hard time on my first watch with how much pain there was all around. But that’s because, as always, this show is emotionally truthful even as the events are sometimes preposterous. I’m excited to see what other story possibilities are there for Ed. What he can find himself able to believe.

#back to my brain being 99% pirates at all times #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd meta #edward teach #blackbeard

[sifu-kisu]

A Brief Discussion of Cheng Style Baguazhang

by Liu Jingru

Wuhun Magazine, 1999 vol. 1 no. 127

translated by Joseph Crandall

Baguazhang is one of the more famous of the traditional Chinese martial arts. It has distinctive practice skill methods and its palm method changes unfathomably. It has a good balanced reputation in the martial community. From the time of Qing Chengfeng (1851-1862), when Mr. Dong Haichuan introduced it until today, it is daily practiced and enjoyed by martial artists in China and overseas.

Mr. Dong Haichuan had many disciples. Yin Fu, Ma Weiqi, Shi Jidong, Song Changrong, Cheng Tinghua, Liang Zhenpo, Liu Fengchun, Zhang Zhankui, Fan Zhiyong, and Liu Baozhen were very famous. In terms of skill, achievements, dedication, and fame, Mr. Yin Fu and Mr. Cheng Tinghua come to the forefront. Although the principles and methods of their skill in Baguazhang was the same, after many years of training and teaching, each one gradually developed their own special style. These have become known as Yin Style Baguazhang and Cheng Style Baguazhang.

Mr. Cheng Tinghua, also called Yingfang was from Shen County in Hebei. He was born in 1848 and died in 1900. He was 52 years old. In Mr. Cheng’s early years he practiced Shuaijiao and Shaolin. As a result of someone’s recommendation, he asked to join Dong Haichuan’s school. He deeply got the pure essence and spirit of Baguazhang. Mr. Cheng was a large and strong man. He had an eyeglasses shop in Beijing. Therefore people all called him “Spiritual Strength Eyeglasses Cheng”.

In 1900, the Eight Countries Allied Armies invaded Beijing. Mr. Cheng wanted to stop a unit of the German army who were bullying the peaceful populace. He engaged the German army unit and was shot and killed.

Mr. Cheng had many students. The most famous were: Feng Junyi, Zhang Yukui, Kan Lingfeng, Li Wenpiao, Zhou Xiang, Zhang Yongde, Sun Lutang, Yang Mingshan, Guo Tongde, Liu Bin, Cheng Yougong, Cheng Youlong, and Cheng Youxin. They all made outstanding contributions to the development of Cheng Style Baguazhang.

Feng Junyi, was good at using the leg method. Men called him “Flying Legs Feng Junyi.” Zhang Yukui, was from a miller’s family. Men called him “Miller Zhang”. Kan Lingfeng men called “Kan Eight”. Zhang Yongde, sold boots. Hedid not know how to write, and often asked people to write letters for him. He never brushed pictures, only boots. Men called him “Boots Zhang.” Zhou Xiang’s face had pockmarks. Men called him “Pockmarks Zhou”. Guo Tongde sold steamed buns to make a living. Men called him “Steamed Buns Guo.” Yang Mingshan first studied with Mr. Cheng to make eyeglasses. Then he asked his teacher if he could also study Bagua. Liu Bin was Mr. Cheng’s youngest disciple. The above men all had very pure skills and were famous in the martial community.

Li Wenbiao, also called Guangpu, was among Cheng Tinghua’s most outstanding students. He was big and tall. His eyes were bright and his spirit was awesome. He was burly with enormous strength. He deeply got the pure understanding of Baguazhang. Li first followed Supervisor of the Military Xu Shichang and went to the Northeast. In Fengtian he was appointed to seek out foreign spies. At that time, many martial artists, like Warlord Li, Spiritual Wrestler Ji Si, Pigua Li Baorong, and Mr. Cheng’s nephew Cheng Yougong in the troops under his command. Later he held office with President Cao Kun in Beijing. Within his troops there were no less than ten of his Baguazhang classmates and some juniors, like Miller Zhang’s student Cui Yugui, Cheng Youlong’s student He Jun, Zhu WenBao’s student Liu Zhigang, and Cheng Tianhua’s student Liu Zitai. When Feng Yuyang rebelled against President Cao Kun, Li was killed in the confusion and looting. Master Li was famous for his depressing palm (ta zhang). No man dared to lightly test him. At that time, the martial community universally praised him.

Mr. Sun Lutang followed Guo Yunshen’s student Li Kuiyuan and studied Xingyi Quan. Then he asked Mr. Cheng Tinghua to teach him Bagua. Later he met Hao Weijin. Because his knowledge was already comparatively deep, he thereupon studied Taijiquan. Mr. Sun purely studied these three styles of martial art. He deeply got every nuance and fused them together. He authored The Real Meaning of Fighting, The Study of Xingyi Quan, The Study of Baguazhang, The Study of Taijiquan, and The Study of Bagua Sword, to be left for future generations. Mr. Sun held a teaching post at the Nanjing Central Kuoshu Institute. He was famous all over, and was one of the great martial arts teachers of his time.

Cheng Yougong, also known as Xiangting, was Mr. Cheng Tinghua’s nephew. When he first practiced Baguazhang, he would get up when the rooster crowed and practice assiduously. One time, in the Eyeglass shop, the disciples were all walking. Eyeglasses Cheng was in the central room drinking tea. Mr. Yougong was in the courtyard practicing the Turning Palms. Mr. Cheng not speak and Yougong was not allowed to stop or pause. In three years Yougong progressed greatly. When he followed Master Li Wenbiao in Fengtian looking for spies, he would practice the palms with a ten pound iron staff. He was never idle. Daily, by himself, would go out and arrest bandits. At that time, the bandits without a doubt all heard his name and lost their courage. He had a position in Headquarters Indoctrination Hall of the Northeast Army of Zhang Zuolin. He taught Baguazhang to Zhang Xueliang.

Cheng Youlong, also called Haiting, was Mr. Cheng Tinghua’s oldest son. When he was young he received Eyeglasses Cheng’s parental teachings. After he lost his father, he practiced his skills even more diligently. He later studied Taijiquan with Mr. Yang Jianhou and blended the two arts to make “Bagua Taiji Quan.” He was fair-skinned, and his nature was forthright and frank. He had a scholar’s air. He was pure in Baguazhang. He was also an expert in drawing and calligraphy. He extensively researched the principles of fighting. He also researched every nuance of the Paired Baguazhang Method and Bagua Meridian Mandarin Duck Axes. He died because he smoked too much. All of his classmates deeply mourned him.

Cheng Youxin, also called Shouting, was Mr. Cheng Tinghua’s second son. When Cheng Tinghua left this world, Youxin was only nine years old. He really never got his father’s true teachings, but learned from Cheng Tinghua’s students. They all gave him instruction and he reached a very high level. As a result of this, the instruction that he received came from many teachers. He did not receive one formal Bagua transmission. Nevertheless his skill caught up to that of his older brother, though it did not surpass it. Mr. Youxin was short and small. He was expert in lower basin stepping. Men called him ‘Cuo Ye’ (Short Uncle). The sum of his studies was his 64 Palms, only he was closefisted in teaching it. Only Mr. Liu Tanfeng got his teachings.

Principle Characteristics of Cheng Style Baguazhang

When practicing, you must walk the circle. Each circle is made up of eight steps with the idea of the feet stepping on the eight trigrams. Walk using the mud treading steps. The inside step moves straight. The outside foot slightly hooks inwards. Walking is done along the edge of the circle and is divided into upper middle and lower basins.

When the hands go out, you must have one palm reach out to the front and one palm defend in the rear. The fingers of both palms point upwards. The thumbs are open wide. The tiger’s mouths are round and push out. The remaining fingers are slightly curved. The fingers can be slightly spread or you can have the fourth and fifth fingers sticking together. The palms face the front and are naturally concave. The form of the back of the palm is like a tile. The heel of the palm pushes out. The palm strength is vigorous. It is called “Dragon Claw Palm.” The basic palm formation above is from Mr. Dong Haichuan.

The steps in Yin Style Baguazhang are small, lively, and tend towards a natural step. In Cheng Style Baguazhang, the steps are slightly larger. They change and transform at many points. Cheng Style Baguazhang is especially good at using large swing and hook steps. This is because Cheng Tinghua practiced Shuaijiao in his early days. The gripping and throwing method was blended into his Baguazhang. The swing step and hook step are truly transformed to cause tripping.

The outgoing hand in Yin Style Baguazhang is direct, with particular attention paid to suddenness, crispness, firmness, quickness, and abundant springy shaking strength. Men call it hard palm. Cheng Style Baguazhang pays attention to the interplay of hard and soft, with a lot of spiraling energy. It often has touching, sticking, continuously following, neutralizing, issuing and releasing, all coordinated together.

Cheng Style Baguazhang mainly uses hidden legs. It is very good at using the tips of the foot. When doing piercing palm, the heart of the palm faces upwards. The five fingers point to the front. The pierce goes out under the front arm. The palm method has cloud, thrust between, pierce, and strike... only it mainly uses push, uphold, pull aside, lead, parry, hook, split and advance.

Cheng Style Baguazhang is very good at holding three forms concurrently: Walking like a dragon. Turning like a monkey. Changing postures like an eagle. Sometimes it is tight and compact. Sometimes it is big and open. It is nimble, circular, and lively. It stretches out everywhere. It is especially good at twisting, wrapping, drilling, and overturning. The turning palms are like twisting rope.

The Palm Method Routines of Cheng Style Baguazhang

Mr. Cheng Tinghua had many students. For the most part they all had skill before they sought instruction from the master. Some of the students only studied a few palms before they left the teacher. They gained considerable fame among their contemporaries. Consequently by the time we get to the fourth generation, the names of the practice methods of the basic eight palms, eight big palms and their routines are no longer the same. Cheng Youlong’s student Sun Xikun wrote Genuine Transmissions of Baguazhang. In it his Eight Big Palms are: Single Change Palm, Double Change Palm, Flowing Posture Palm, Three Piercing Palms, Grinding Body Palm, Overturning Body Palm, and Returning Body Palm. Mr. Cheng Youxin was Cheng Youlong’s little brother. His Eight Big Palms do not have Three Piercing Palms, but instead have Turning Body Palm. My teacher, Luo Xingwu, asked Cheng Yougong about this business. Mr. Cheng Yougong said, “The Eight Big Palms must contain Turning Body Palm, and do not have Three Piercing Palms. Maybe Sun Xikun only had seven palms. Maybe he kept one palm secret and used Three Piercing Palms as a substitute.” Saying this, he immediately demonstrated Turning Body Palm. Therefore my teacher’s Turning Body Palm is from Cheng Yougong’s tradition and not Li Wenbiao’s teachings.

The Palm Method Routines of Cheng Style Baguazhang are:

Basic Eight Palms: Fierce Tiger Leaves the Mountain, Big Peng Spreads it Wings, Lion Opens it Big Mouth, White Ape Offers the Peach, Embrace the Moon to the Center of the Chest, Black Bear Searching Arms, Point to Heaven Insert to Ground, and Green Dragon Searching Claws.

Each palm has its own special energy and strength. Each palm has its own functional method. These are not just sections of Bagua’s palm method, but they are also the foundation of the Eight Big Palms and the 64 Palms. Therefore they are called the Basic Palms.

The Eight Big Palms: Single Change Palm, Double Change Palm, Flowing Posture Palm, Behind the Body Palm, Turning Body Palm, Grinding Body Palm, Overturning Body Palm, and Returning Body Palm.

The Eight Big Palms are not only the core routines for practicing Baguazhang skills, but they each also possess eight distinctive striking methods.

Single Change Palm is the outgoing hand already striking. All of a sudden it appears and it is over. Double Change Palm is a continuation of Single Change Palm, doing two or three strikes in a row. Flowing Posture Palm goes in the same direction as the opponent’s incoming hand. The energy and strength flow with the posture and yet strike. Behind the Body Palm goes contrary to the opponent’s incoming hand’s direction, contrary to energy and strength and yet strike. Turning Body Palm is turning to the left and right in front of the enemy. It has the left rotating and right turning striking methods. Grinding Body Palm uses toeing in and toeing out stepping in place in front of the enemy. It uses close-in striking. Overturning Body Palm uses suddenly turning over the body to strike in adverse circumstances. Returning Body Palm uses striking and then immediately walking away. Suddenly you turn back and strike again. Thereby defeating your opponent by a surprise move. Thus, the saying: “If you have Single , then you must have Double. If you have Flowing then you must have Behind. Turning Body Palm rotates left and turns right. Grinding Body Palm is not far from the enemy’s body. Overturning Body Palm is like the overturning body of a python, it defeats ones opponent by a surprise move. Returning Body Palm strikes and then walks away, walks and also returns. It is like a sparrowhawk turning back its head to grips its body.”

64 Palms: Though not included in the Eight Big Palms, each palm again adds seven palms. Together they are called Single Change Eight Palms. These are eight kinds strikes having the outgoing hand striking suddenly and being suddenly done. Double Change Eight Palms continues from Single Change Palm. It has eight types of strikes done two or three times in succession. Flowing Posture Eight Palms has eight types of strikes moving in the same direction as the opponent’s incoming hand’s direction. Behind the Body Eight Palms has eight types of strikes that go contrary to the opponent’s incoming hand’s direction, energy, and strength. Turning Body Eight Palms has eight types of strikes done now to the left and now to the right in front of the enemy. Grinding Body Eight Palms has eight types of strikes toeing in and toeing out in place close to the body in front of the enemy. Overturning Body Eight Palms has eight types of suddenly overturning the body to strike in adverse circumstances to defeat the opponent by a surprise move. Returning Body Eight Palms has eight types of striking and walking away, walking and also returning to strike.

The 64 Palms is a complete summation of the practice methods that Master Cheng Youxin learned from Master Cheng Tinghua and all of his classmates. truly is second generation, third generation and master Cheng Youxin’s 50 years painstaking training. By practicing the 64 Palms, not only can you strengthen your skill, but you can enrich the palm methods, and it can even help you to grasp the skills and essentials of Baguazhang.

Swimming Body Connected Palms: Swimming Body Connected Palms consists of the Basic Palms, Eight Big Palms, and the 64 Palms reorganized into connected routines. It can be used for participating in competitions and performances. It provides the practitioner with aesthetic grace. By practicing it you will strengthen your awareness of attack and defense. It will add many more changes to the palm method. The body method will become more agile. The stepping method will become still more ingenious. The skill will become richer. By going through with the training, the whole body, each muscle, joint, and organ, all parts of each physiological system get trained. It dispels disease, strengthens the body, and is a means of prolonging life.

Cheng Style Baguazhang Weapons Routines

Master Dong Haichuan was very good at the saber method. Master Dong’s epitaph says: “Dong’s hands went inches past his knees, therefore fists and palms many leave the man unexpected, all difficult defend against.” The length of the body of the Bagua saber is 4 feet 2 inches. Add this to the fact that Master Dong’s hands reached past his knees, we are approaching seven feet of length and beyond. We can infer that Master Dong, when he had a saber in his hand, was an impressive and extraordinary sight to behold. Therefore all of Master Dong’s students were good at the Bagua saber method. Cheng Style Baguazhang has in it Rolling Hand Saber, Point the Road Saber, Crowd Blocking Saber, and using the principles of walking and turning is Turning Saber.

Cheng Style Baguazhang has the sword method in it. Sun Lutang wrote a book A Study of Bagua Sword. Master Sun Xikun also has a sword method in his True Transmission of Baguazhang. The sword’s style and functional method are similar to the Bagua Saber. The Bagua sword has two edges, and besides the saber-like methods, there are the many uses of the sword’s point.

There are spear methods in Cheng Style Baguazhang, many of which are from the teachings of Big Spear Liu Dekuan. After Master Cheng Tinghua died, Big Spear Liu was the acting teacher and controlled the junior apprentices. He did his best to teach them, and give guidance and support to the less advanced. His transmission has Fighting Body Spear, Eight Spear, Black and White Sparrowhawk, Small Sparrowhawk, the method of the halberd, qinna methods and the straight line practice of 64 Hands.

#sifu kisu #lok #atlab #northern shaolin #kung fu #northern shaolim #atlab lok #jian #baguazhang #piandao

[kiwikipedia]

Li Shuwen is so much actually. He’s in his ‘heyday of youth’ which is 0% helpful. He’s a theater nerd. He might’ve chewed on rocks in his spare time. He was sold to an opera group as a child. He might’ve actually run away. He’s 70 years old. He appeared in a Grail War 10 years after he died. No one could beat him in a fight so they killed him by poison. He basically had a severed arm collection during the Mooncell War. His Gail Wish is to fight himself. A ton of his voice lines point to him being a masochist. He was once kept like an indoor cat by the First Emperor of China. Julius B. Harwey thinks he’s weird because he enjoys fighting to the death and killing. He is 160 years old. He’ll correct someone who calls him an assassin by saying he’s a professional killer. He complains about saving his allies. He showed up in America just to fight Scáthach. He betrayed Nero and Hakuno just for fun. He’s ridiculous levels of Just Some Guy. He’s the definition of a mean bisexual. He’s so self deprecating yet so confident. He has Childhood trauma from theatre resulting in a bad leg. He thinks Julius B. Harwey is weird for not feeling anything when he kills. He was uninvited to all martial arts events because he kept killing people. He and Beowulf had the gayest interaction in America. His wardrobe is incomprehensible. He claims he can’t deal with kids. He was a teacher. One of his greetings is telling Hakuno not to worry why he smells like blood. He’s the oldest “lily” we have. His Noble Phantasm, No Second Strike, hits three times. It also only hits once. Sometimes it causes an explosion. He offers to assassinate you because a mini Nobu fed and housed him. He once made Elizabeth Bathroy go through an existential crisis. It’s possible he is freaked out by ghosts. He straight up told you he’d kill you if he stuck around with your team in America. It’s implied he gets drunk in the afternoon.

For a man who gets very little traction in GO now days he sure is a lot.

#he is my goofy little guy I love him so much #he’s shown up a moderate amount but he’s got a lot in there outside of GO that’s just wolf #wild #this is a mix of historical 'fact' and fate fact he is so fucking insane #fgo #fate #fate go #fate grand order #fate extella #fate extra #kiwiki plays fate #li shuwen #fgo li shuwen #fate li shuwen #Kiwiki Speaks

[liliumsabyss]

I keep finding myself rereading the request I sent and I somehow fall in love with your writing more and more it’s just ❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️, you know? Anyway I have found myself once again rereading it because I can’t sleep and I thunk a thought. Newt and reader star gazing in the glade and reader falls asleep with his head on Newt’s chest with his arms around his waist and Newt’s just laying there looking at reader like he hung the stars and moon himself. Please don’t worry about getting this done, take your time and enjoy the holidays, things usually feel more rewarding to finish when you enjoy making them. All the love ❤️

Moon and Stars

FEM DNI, I SWEAR YOU WILL BE BLOCKED

Newt(TMR) x Male Reader

Word Count: 1.292k

Tw: Very fluffy and maybe out of character Newt?

A/n: Hey! Im so glad you enjoyed your request it makes me so genuinely happy to hear that! Your request reminded me of “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” or “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter” for some reason so I included some stuff about that there especially since I headcannon Newt knowing a lot of mythology and fairytale’s. I think I had even more fun writing this than last one which I had a blast with these request have been so fun and spark so many more idea’s thank you so much! Thank you so much for requesting, Im sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoy and thank you once again!

“ Kaguya grew into a beautiful young women so beautiful that she had to remain away from people.” Newt began, laying on the soft grass of the glade. The weight of the (h/c) haired male resting on his chest was a soothing contrast to the terror that surrounded the glade.

“ That sounds quite sad.” The (h/c) haired male said looking up at Newts face who was fixated on the stars and moon above. Newt peered down seeing the others face in a slight pout.

“ Well maybe that's the reason your here.” Newt said smiling to the (h/c) haired male who had a flustered expression on his face before letting out a little huff and then smirking.

“ Well wouldn’t that apply to you as well?” The (h/c) haired male smirked up at Newt as Newts cheeks turned bright red. Newt was thankful for the angle of his head so the other male couldn’t see the coloring on his face.

     “ (Y/n) shush I have to finish the story” Newt said playfully squeezing his arms around (Y/n)s waist making the other chuckle.

    “ Five princes came to ask for Kaguya’s hand in marriage. Kaguya came up with a plan, she told each of them to bring her a specific item of her choosing that was impossible to collect and if they could she would marry the one.” Newt started again as the other peered in curiosity, “ The first prince was told to bring the stone begging bowl of the Buddha however when the first prince returned with a bowl it didn’t glow the holy light it was supposed to Kaguya saw through the princes lies he wasn’t the only one. The second prince was supposed to bring a jeweled branch from the island of Horai however one again the prince lied the branch was created by one of the greatest craftsmen in the country rather than from the island. The third prince who was required to bring the legendary fire-rat robe of China instead brought a regular robe that blazed when it was lit a flame. The fourth prince, when attempting to acquire a jewel from a dragon's neck, encountered a storm at sea and died during the conquest. The fifth prince while climbing up a cliff to collect a cowry shell bore from a swallow fell to his demise.” The blonde male explained adamantly staring up at the stars as the (h/c) haired male stared at him in awe.

    “ Why is this so depressing!” (Y/n) said complaining to Newt despite the fact he loved Newt's voice.

    “ Don’t worry it has a good ending but you have to be patient.” Newts tsked at the other shaking his head, chuckling squeezing the (h/c) haired males waist once again.

    “ Fine”

    “ Then the Emperor of Japan came for Kaguya, falling deeply in love with her asked for her hand in marriage but Kaguya rejected him telling him she is not of his country so she couldn’t go to live with him at his palace. Yet they still kept contact even after he had gone back, he many times declared his love for Kaguya and every time she rejected him. Several years had passed and they still wrote to one another.” Newt spoke, moving his hands off the others waist to explain with his hands. 

    “ This is still depressing Newt.” (Y/n) said, propping himself up as Newt craned his head toward him.

    “ It gets better but you have to be patient, love,” Newt started as the other was scowling at him for a depressing story, “ I have to actually finish it to get to the good ending.”

“ Okay fine but I'm holding you to that.” (Y/n) said turning around so that the back of his head rest on Newt’s chest and he looked up towards the stars.

    “ Now that summer every time Kaguya would gaze at the full moon her eyes welled up with tears. Her adoptive parents started to worry for her asking what was wrong yet she would only refuse the question. She slowly and slowly became more unpredictable till she couldn’t keep her secret anymore, she was not this Earth she belonged to the Moon .” Newt said as solemnly as he could for a story as he glanced down to see the other staring at the sky, his (h/c) hair splayed out on the blonde males chest.

    “ The truth was she was sent to Earth as a punishment, a punishment where she would make material attachments and would be forced to return to the Moon. As the day would near where she had to make her return the emperor sent his guards to protect her from the Moon people coming to get her. However when the Moon people went to get her she apologized to all of her Earth friends telling them she must go and wrote a letter for her adoptive parents and the emperor apologizing to them. With the letter of the emperor she attached the elixir of life, which has the ability for anyone to live forever. With these letters and gifts she left, leaving behind the ones she loved and the ones that had loved her. The emperor receiving the letter and the elixir was heartbroken and asked his servants where the closest place to the heavens was, they responded with the Great Mountain Suruga Province. So the emperor told them to bring a letter and the elixir of life to the peak of the mountain and burn it, for he could not live without seeing his princess, especially eternity.” Newt finished.

    He felt a soft thud on his chest only to see that the other male had fallen deep asleep, slightly snoring comfortably in Newt’s arms. The blonde smiled fondly, staring down at the other with so much affection that if anyone else saw they would surely think they were dreaming despite Newt’s caring heart. Newt gently shifted arms, being sure not to wake the other one up even though he had been asleep so deep that the entire glade could be screaming at the top of their lungs and he’d still sleep through it.

    “ Many people say that Kaguya’s beauty was too ethereal for the Earth and that's why she had to return to the Moon, the same could be said about you,” Newt said thinking allowed as no one could hear him the glade silent at the late hours of the night., “ I just beg that one day you will not have to leave me to return to your people. As selfish as that may sound, I want to spend eternity with you. If you are as ethereal as princess Kaguya, that must make you a prince of the Moon and Stars.”

    Newt stared at the other warmth swelled in his chest, his gaze softened and a genuine silence struck against his face. The blonde cranked his neck just enough so that he could place a soft kiss on the head of the other. Newt closed his eyes leaning his head back even further in the grass that tickled his cheek as he moved his hand up and down his lover's side.

    “ Goodnight…my little prince.” Newt whispered, tightening his grip around the other's waist, drifting off letting the land of sleep claim him. The pair slept comfortable on the soft grass, the Stars and Moon above blanketing the night sky over the glade. For a place with not much warmth and love that invoked much fear and death the pair juxtaposed it so well. The males rested in peace together for now as a new day and new dangers may arise they would enjoy their love till and after the day one would be claimed by the heavens.

#x male reader #male reader #Newt x male reader #The maze runner x male reader #gay #male reader insert #the maze runner

[hardwareabstractionlayer]

Nirvana in Fire Historical Parallels: The Warrior Princess

Hua Mulan/花木兰 is unquestionably the most famous woman warrior of ancient China. But how much of her legend actually happened is of debate, while there were many historical women generals who were more similar to Mu Nihuang in NiF. Here are a few of the most notable, in chronological order:

Fu Hao/妇好 (Hao is her family name; before the Qin Dynasty, family names for women were at the end, reversed from the current name order; Fu means married woman now, but could have referred to priestess then), the earliest woman military leader on record, lived during the Shang Dynasty and died in 1200 BCE. Because her time period predated paper, what we know about her came from oracle bone script and the hundreds of weapons in her tomb, which is a burial rite afforded only to generals. As consort to King Wu Ding/武丁, she led an army of 13,000 to many successful military campaigns against the Shang’s enemies. She was not only a general and high priestess, two of the most important roles in that time era, but also owned her own land, which was extremely unusual for feudal women. After her death, the king made many sacrifices at her tomb in hopes of receiving her spiritual guidance to defeat invading enemies.

Mother Lü/吕母 (name unknown, so she is referred to as a mother of the Lü family) lived during the Western Han Dynasty in Langya Commandery and was the first woman rebel leader in Chinese history. After her son was executed for not punishing peasants who could not pay their taxes, she aided peasants under hard times by giving away her considerable family wealth while plotting revenge on the government. During this time, a consort kin to the Emperor had seized the throne and started his own Xin Dynasty/新朝 (literally New Dynasty), enacting many radical socialist reforms such as land redistribution and abolishing the slave trade. A series of natural disasters and poor implementation of the new policies led to great unrest and suffering among the peasant class. Commoners united around Mother Lü, and three years later, in 17 CE, she amassed thousands of loyal followers and declared herself the leader of the rebellion. They took the city, and she beheaded the county magistrate who had killed her son, sacrificing his head on her son’s tomb. As news of her successful rebellion spread, thousands more joined her even as the government attempted to quash her forces. Though she died from illness a year later, many in her army joined the Chimei Army/赤眉军 (literally red brows), a key force in the eventual downfall of the Xin Dynasty.

The most similar to Nihuang is probably Lady Xian/冼夫人, who lived in the 500s CE and served the Liang (the Liang of NiF is very loosely based on this dynasty), Chen, and Sui Dynasties. She was the daughter of a chieftain of a clan of the Li/俚 people and demonstrated great leadership and political acumen from a young age (women in her family could inherit command). She favored diplomatic solutions over fighting as much as possible and was always loyal to the reign, putting down local rebellions and eliminating corruption. Nihuang’s title of commandery princess/郡主 was also one of her titles, and as thanks for her bringing many minority peoples under unified rule, the Sui emperor gave much of modern-day Hainan to her command, much like Nihuang. She lived to around 90 and was given a posthumous name by the emperor as a sign of great respect. Hundreds of temples in the south were built in her honor, where she was deified and remains worshipped today as the Saintly Mother of Lingnan/岭南圣母.

One of many statues of Lady Xian.

Princess Pingyang/平阳公主 (personal name unknown) was the third daughter of the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Her father was an aristocrat who decided to seize the opportunity during the chaos of the failing Sui Dynasty to raise an army in 617 CE, and she decided to help her father ascend to power. With remarkable leadership and recruitment power, she quickly recruited several Jianghu volunteer armies under her wing. More and more people joined as her reputation spread, such that she had seventy thousand under her command by the end in what was known as the Woman’s Army/娘子军. Her forces registered several victories before rendezvousing with her father’s forces to take Chang’an, which would become the capital of the new dynasty. She was given the title of Princess Pingyang and higher honors than her sisters as a sign of her father’s gratitude for her help in starting his new dynasty.

After the coup of Chang’an, there was nothing in recorded history about her until her funeral. A rite officer had objected to burying her with military honors instead of a princess’s rites, but her father and emperor said she always fought at the vanguard of her army, so there was nothing wrong with full military honors. She is the only woman in recorded Chinese feudal history to be interred by soldiers.

Qin Liangyu/秦良玉 (1574-1648) was born to a civil bureaucrat in the late Ming Dynasty who believed in educating women, and she became skilled at riding, archery, and poetry. She looked up to Lady Xian and Princess Pingyang from a young age, and told her father that she would equal their accomplishments if she had military command (倘使女儿得掌兵柄，应不输平阳公主和冼夫人). She was married to a local county commissioner who often led armies to quash invasions from the neighboring Manchu Jin Dynasty, and he gave her command of part of his army. When he died in prison being falsely accused of wrongdoing, she assumed his role, as their son was still young. She defeated numerous Jin invasions across the country, and the Emperor gave her the title of Marquis in recognition of her actions in defending the homeland. She’s famous for being the only female general recorded alongside men in the official histories of her dynasty.

A portrait of Qin Liangyu.

So, what made these women leaders of armies while most women throughout Chinese history couldn’t even dream of such a thing? Fu Hao lived a very long time ago, well before the later Confucian system where wives are supposed to obey their husbands and serve at home. For the others, there are some common factors: growing up in a well-to-do family that educated daughters, demonstrated interest and skill in fighting and leadership, being around military power (true of a vast majority of male generals as well, of course), and some kind of unusual circumstance that gave them power, whether a husband or father allowing them to do so or an environment of unrest that gave them an opportunity.

The warrior princess trope exists for a reason: it’s the highborn daughters and wives of generals who are most likely to get the opportunity to command an army. And their stories are more well-known than, say, women like Chen Shuozhen/陈硕真, who came from destitute upbringings and called herself the emperor while leading a peasant rebellion that eventually failed. All history is biased, and contemporary Chinese history seems to favor those who quashed rebellions and promoted national unity.

Given these historical examples, it’s not so outlandish to imagine that Nihuang was educated by her father in the military arts from a young age, showed great fighting and leadership ability, and was then able to take command when he died during a crisis and while her brother Mu Qing was still too young. She is an exception in a field of men, as these historical women were. And like these women, she was very much still subjected to the expectations and boundaries of feudal women.

In some sense, show Nihuang is an ideal female Confucian role model. She is the perfect daughter and older sister who assumed the family mantle when there are no capable men, doing her duty under a corrupt regime for twelve years, with the implication that she will give up at least some of her responsibilities to Mu Qing when he’s ready. She is the perfect widow who never strayed from her arranged marriage pact. And she is the perfect potential wife who shed all of her commanding aura whenever she interacted with post-identity reveal Mei Changsu—she may question him but she will always listen to him, in the end. Her first scene is of a warrior princess soundly defeating men, and her last big scene is her telling Feiliu she wants to obey her Lin Shu-gege.

This is a far cry from book Nihuang, who moved on in those twelve years and found someone else to love. To be clear, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with characters displaying period-typical attitudes, and other female characters in canon, like Consort Jing, are compelling without being hidebound by tradition. Within the microcosm of NiF the show, the change to Nihuang’s character may only be due to the creators wanting to increase her screen time in a male-heavy show and add a tragic romance element that they felt the book lacked. But media doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and after some prominent examples of one-sided adaptation changes in recent years—The Rise of Phoenixes taking a book starring a strong female character and dramatically increasing the male character’s screen time for the actor to get top billing, Serenade of Peaceful Joy adapting a book centered around a princess’s futile rebellion against feudal expectations for women into a show about her loving daddy emperor trying to do the best for his daughter by keeping her in line, even Reset giving some of the main female character’s heroic moments in the book to the main male character in the show, to name a few—was Nihuang’s change from book to show a harbinger of the male-dominated Chinese television industry increasingly reshaping strong female characters into what they think women should be like?

This issue of media depictions affects historical women generals, as well. For various reasons, they haven’t gotten their big breaks in modern mainstream media, and the most famous Chinese female warriors remain Mulan and a few other very fictionalized characters who have had popular shows and movies made about their lives. A Qin Liangyu drama was supposed to be filmed a few years ago but never aired, and as typical of this era of Chinese media censorship, no one seems to know what happened to it.

With the lack of extant details for most of these military leaders, one can depict them as either true believers of Confucian values or as women who questioned and struggled against societal conventions. It isn’t hard to guess what’s more likely to be made today, with a slapped-on love story and plenty of screen time for the men to boot. If we can’t give a warrior princess a sword without always making her a dutiful daughter, wife, and patriot, perhaps we shouldn’t be telling her story to begin with.

#mu nihuang #nirvana in fire #琅琊榜 #chinese history and culture #long post #a few more women cut for space: #Xiao Yanyan/萧燕燕 #Liang Hongyu/梁红玉

[the-monkey-ruler]

Journey to the West - Red Boy Demon's Child (2021) 西游记红孩儿

Director: Xiong Chen Screenwriter: Liu Youyou / Da Qin / Qu Mengliu / Liao Yi Starring: Xu Dongdong / Ji Hao / Xu Shaoxiong / Ximen Piaopiao / Li Yan / Wu Xiaolong / Zhuang Qiqian / Xu Huan Genre: Comedy / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2021-10-20 (Mainland China Internet) Duration: 73 minutes Type: Retelling

Summary:

Five hundred years ago, the demon monkey Sun Wukong caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace and accidentally kicked over the Eight Trigrams furnace, causing heavenly fire to come to the world. In order to save the common people, Princess Iron Fan tried her best to suppress the Heavenly Fire, but the baby in her belly was eroded by the Samadhi True Fire of the Eight Trigrams Furnace and became a devil boy.

On the occasion of Iron Fan's Millennium Birthday Party, Red Boy has been looking for treasures in the world for his mother. After hearing that the scripture-seeking team was passing by, he was encouraged by Azure Wolf Demon to rob Tang Monk. Just as Red Boy and Sun Wukong were fighting, the Azure Wolf Demon designed to trap the two in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. It turned out that the Azure Wolf Demon's family died in the sky fire when he was young, so he was waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on Sun Wukong.

What is unexpected is that the Azure Wolf Demon's plan caused the people of Huoyun Village to encounter mountain fires again and put them in danger. Red Boy becomes a demon and transforms into a flaming giant. Princess Iron Fan tells the truth and uses her last magic power to save the common people. She takes out a drop of nectar given by the Bodhisattva Guanyin. At this time, Sun Wukong suddenly realizes the Dharma and understands the cause and effect of karma. The source of everything lies in himself, he decides Self-sacrifice and walk towards the Fire Giant with the nectar.

Source: https://mov-20.chinesemov.com/2021/Journey-to-the-West-Red-Boy

Link: https://www.nunuyy2.org/dianying/92120.html

#Journey to the West - Red Boy Demon's Child #西游记红孩儿 #jttw media #jttw movie #movie #live action #retelling #rewrite #Red Boy #Princess Iron Fan #Ximen Piaopiao #Zhu Bajie #Gray Wolf Demon #Tang Seng #Tripitaka Monk #Sha Wujing #Sun Wukong #Monkey King #Bull Demon King #Spider Demon #tang sanzang

[difeisheng]

so does anyone have any idea where exactly things in mlc are taking place geographically? because so far what i can tell is that it's a southern-set story, and therefore we're not in a typical zhongyuan jianghu.

the nanyin (derogatory) clearly had territorial overlap with wherever the current dynasty, including the capital, is set, and, well, 南 is in the name so you would be assume they're southern. someone else also pointed out that jinyuanmeng's present-day headquarters, chosen by jiao liqiao, looks like hainan by the coast. aside from that, di feisheng is canonically "from the southwest", and li lianhua's fake backstory for a-fei is that he's from nanhai, which means that the present jianghu and/or dynasty has enough contact with territory that far south for it to be a plausible cover.

the cailian manor case is also almost certainly somewhere in the southwest. guo qian says his ancestors are 诏族, which when i looked it up referred to 南诏. historically, that kingdom seems to have had the same overlapping territory as the hmong (miao) people in china now, and (in a deeply questionable decision) the cursed wedding dress in that case is heavily inspired by traditional hmong wedding attire. we don't get the sense of much time passing between arriving at cailian manor and the liansanjiao leaving baichuanyuan/pudu temple beforehand, which are near wherever along the coast the show decided donghai is referring to. so, i'm getting the sense that unless the story really, REALLY cut down on travel time, there's a good chance many significant locations in the show are in south to southeast modern-day china.

does anyone else have other clues?

EDIT: i don't want to delete everything i just said, but i just remembered that li lianhua calls yucheng "kunlun yucheng". that's far northwest. plus, when he abandons lianhualou at the end of the show to head to the donghai duel, it's left in a place cold enough for it to snow, as we see in the epilogue. the donghai shore, and therefore baichuanyuan/pudu temple, is definitely not where i suggested. scratch this, i don't know the range of territory covered in this story or how the hell the timeframe works once you factor in travel time, but given that they clearly spent so, SO much time on the road we should have gotten at least ten episodes of the liansanjiao's roadtripping daily life

#sometimes you overthink things based on a passing line of dialogue and talk yourself in a dead circle #but yeah the locations i could possibly point to in this show were fascinating to me #because i'm so used to guzhuang stories being set in zhongyuan where chang'an and luoyang are considered 'south' #when there is in fact nothing zhong about that yuan if you look at it on a map now #ashton originals #mysterious lotus casebook

[sapphic-book-tournament]

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson-

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan-

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.

#sapphic book tournament #lesbian #sapphic books #lesbian books #sapphic #lgbt #lgbt books #lgbt characters #sapphic fiction #lesbian romance #the tyrant baru cormorant #the traitor baru cormorant #the masquerade series #the monster baru cormorant #baru cormorant #she who became the sun #shelley parker chan #sapphic mulan #sapphic fantasy #sapphic romance #sapphic retellings #sapphic fairy tales #sapphic movie #sapphic stories #sapphic representation #lesbian novels #lesbian characters #lesbian fiction #lesbian stories #seth dickinson

[zvaigzdelasas]

The Panguna mine in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, closed in 1989 after pollution sparked a local rebellion. As many as 20,000 people, close to 10 per cent of the island’s population, died in the civil war that followed.

Once controlled by Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto, Panguna has been the subject of intense interest from speculators and smaller companies for more than two decades, but only in recent months has resuming copper and gold mining looked achievable.

The Autonomous Bougainville Government sees the revival of the project as critical to the island’s economic destiny following a referendum in 2019 that almost unanimously backed independence from PNG. It has tried to resolve a legal dispute over who has the rights to mine Panguna. Bougainville Copper Limited, the Australian-listed historic operator of the mine that is now majority owned by the island’s government, is confident it will be issued a new exploration licence next year.

The island’s President Ishmael Toroama also appointed himself as mining minister in September. Advisers say he is determined to set Panguna on the path towards reopening ahead of elections set to take place in 2025 in order to show progress is being made towards independence.[...]

Reopening Panguna is seen as critical to making Bougainville economically independent as the island pushes to secede. The island’s vote for independence four years ago, part of a peace process agreed in 2001, was non-binding and must be ratified by the PNG parliament. 

James Marape, prime minister of PNG, told a Lowy Institute event in Sydney this month that ratification was “at the doorsteps”, but stressed he would not pre-empt the parliamentary process.[...]

BCL said it would require a larger partner to develop the site. Australian, US and Chinese mining companies are all active in PNG and Togolo said he would not rule out working with any partners.

“Geopolitics is a factor not just in Bougainville but in PNG and the Pacific,” he said. “For us it is about working with someone who will share the benefits with us all.”

PNG signed a bilateral security agreement with Australia this month, which followed a security pact with the US earlier in the year. Bougainville lies between PNG’s mainland and the Solomon Islands, which has forged closer ties with China in the past two years including a security agreement. 

Toroama, who wants to achieve secession by 2027, travelled to Washington in November when he met politicians and business leaders in what advisers said was a sign the government favours a North American or Australian partner for Panguna.

27 Dec 23