#willow watches Monk

[willowbee-brook]

I like when Monk talks about Trudy. He is truly in love with this woman and his expressions of love are for the small details he noticed about her all throughout their time together.

#the poem tree was sweet #playing pusic for her at her grave with his clarinet #and that one time he did it with Willie Nelson because she loved his music #so he loved it too #milehigh #mile high #monk usa #monk #tony shalhoub #adrian monk #sharona fleming #BREAD AND BUTTER #the poems that Trudy wrote in high school were about Monk and he reads them every night #its just the little things #the tiny details he loved about her #willow watches Monk

[sketching-shark]

PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW—

How were the Huagou monkeys doing when SWK returned? And what happened to them, their home, after SWK became a Buddha (the other too?)

OKAY @sunny-days-and-warm-mournings so the story actually ends pretty much right after the pilgrims complete the journey and receive their new religious designations, so there's no word on what happens to the Mt. Huaguoshan troop afterwards. From what little I know of the 17th century fan sequel Journey to the South, however, one imagination is that Sun Wukong went back to live with them presumably as their guardian and king, and even had at least three kids (Quidou, Luohou, and Yuebei Xingjun).

In Journey to the West itself, however, the Mt. Huaguoshan monkey yao go through one tragedy after another. The first time we see what happened to the troop was right after Sun Wukong returns home after being banished for the first time from the pilgrim group. Here he sees the devastation that the war with heaven left in its wake even 500 years later, which basically left Flower-Fruit Mountain a withered and barren wasteland since Erlang Shen and his sworn brothers had burned it "to total ruin" after Sun Wukong was captured.

While he's grieving the state of his home, a few little monkeys run out and after excitedly greeting SWK tell him that in addition to living in a wasteland they're also being relentlessly hunted by humans. SWK furthermore learns that between the heaven's fire, migration to hopefully more fecund lands, starvation, and the hunters, the Mt. Huaguoshan troop was reduced to "no more than a thousand" from a population of 47,000 monkeys in Mt. Huaguoshan's heyday.

The monkeys beg SWK "'to take care of us,'" and the Monkey King starts this by slaughtering about a thousand of the hunters persecuting his "little ones," along with their horses. He then tells the monkeys to strip the human corpses of their clothes and weapons before dumping the bodies in a lake so that they can "ward off the cold" and start up military drills to learn how to protect themselves again. He also orders the horse corpses to be stripped of their hides to be made into boots and for their meat to be cured for consumption. After this, Sun Wukong "gathered together more fiends and beasts by the day, and he stored up all kinds of foodstuff...As he enjoyed wide friendship and great power, he had no trouble in borrowing some sweet, divine water from the Dragon Kings of the Four Oceans to wash his mountain and make it green again. He next planted elms and willows in front, pines and cedars in the back; peach, pear, date, and plum--he had them all. He then settled down to enjoy life without a care."

Soon after Sun Wukong restores Mt. Huaguoshan to something close to its former fecundity and violently ensures the safety of his "little ones" for a time, of course, he's called back to the pilgrimage. The monkeys beg him not to go, but Sun Wukong tells them: "Little ones, watch what you are saying. My accompaniment of the Tang Monk is no private matter, for Heaven and Earth know that Sun Wukong is his disciple [and therefore he's compelled to resume the journey]...You all must take good care of our property and don't fail to plant to willows and the pines in due seasons. Wait till I finish accompanying the Tang Monk and taking the scriptures back to the Land of the East. After that merit is achieved, I'll return to enjoy the joys to nature with you." So SWK does leave the monkeys in much better shape with both lots of food and the means to protect themselves, and seems sincere in his promise to to come back.

BUT NO ONE EXPECTS THE SIX-EARED MACAQUE. The second time SWK returns to Mt. Huaguoshan he finds an imposter on his throne who he describes as having "take[n] my descendants [the monkeys] captive," and indeed before they meet Xiyouji made it abundantly clear that LEMH doesn't care about the Mt. Huaguoshan monkeys outside of how he can use them as tools to achieve his own journey. Hell, after Sha Wujing kills the monkey that was impersonating him, LEMH instructs the others to "have the dead monkey skinned. Then his meat was taken to be fried and served as food along with coconut and grape wines. After their meal, that Pilgrim selected another monkey monster who knew transformation to change into a Sha Monk. He again gave them instructions on how to go to the West..."

So yes, not many fun times for the Mt. Huaguoshan monkeys after the war with heaven. Even so, their love for Sun Wukong and Sun Wukong's love for them is consistent.

#ask answered #sun wukong #monkey king #journey to the west #jttw #xiyouji #mt. huaguoshan #CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE THESE MONKEYS A BREAK

[ravenya003]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I Robot, You Jane, S01E08

So, back when I started this project I said that I’d watch an episode every Saturday and then post my thoughts on Sunday. Yeah, that was wildly optimistic. The new plan is that I’ll just post when I have time.

This is our first Willow-centric episode, and just like our first Xander-centric episode (“Teacher’s Pet”) it’s not very good. But I still have a soft spot for it, and if nothing else the introduction of Jenny Calendar (hurray!) prevents it from being complete filler, even though none of the events of this episode are ever mentioned afterwards. At least, I’m pretty sure no one ever brings up the demon-on-the-internet again.

The cold open takes place in 1480. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only flashback that predates this one in the show’s entire chronology is Aud/Anya’s backstory, which won’t be seen until season seven. So, this is a big swing for what is only the show’s eighth episode.

A guy called Carlos steps out of the shadows and is promptly killed after confessing his love to a horned demon called Moloch the Corruptor. Farewell Carlos, we knew you not at all. This is followed by a number of monks frantically chanting a spell which causes Moloch to dissipate and reappear as letters in an old book. As the finishing touch, his face appears on the cover.

Random comment: Despite crucifixes repelling vampires, Christianity isn’t exactly treated with a lot of reverence on this show. But if the religion is going to be represented, I’ve noticed that priests will invariably be bad guys, and monks (like these ones, or the ones that made Dawn) will always be good guys.

Also, the makeup/prosthetics on Moloch is really good, so I don’t blame the editors for putting him in both the opening credits of the show and Buffy’s nightmare sequence from the pilot episode.

The cold open ends with the monks sealing the book away, and portentously stating that nobody must ever read it again. That’s our cue to skip forward over five hundred years, to where it’s inevitably being removed from its storage crate by Buffy in the library.

The Scoobies are helping Giles scan his ancient tomes into the computer, and the whole thing is our first glimpse of a recurring theme throughout the show: modern tech meets old-school medievalism. It’s not my favourite aspect of the series, though I suspect it was one of Joss Whedon’s, since it comes up fairly regularly (think the Frankenstein’s Monster episode, or season four’s Adam. Occasionally it does provide some great scenes, like Xander giving Buffy the rocket launcher to take out the Judge in “Innocence” or Buffy and Riley coming face-to-face with a crossbow and rifle respectively in “Hush,” but for the most part I prefer the archaic tools that the Scoobies use).

In any case, this at least is a neat idea for an episode: a demon is given access to the internet after a scanner “reads” the book and uploads it into virtual reality. There’s a lot you can do with that premise.

This scene also introduces us to three new characters: some rando called Dave is helping them with the scanning, along with another student called Fritz, who is introduced with this line: “The printed page is obsolete. Information isn't bound up anymore. It's an entity. The only reality is virtual. If you're not jacked in, you're not alive.” Just in case you were wondering whether he was going to be a good guy or not.

But also on hand is... Jenny Calendar, the computer science teacher! Yes! She’s one of my favs. I always forget she was introduced this early, and she’s awesome right off the bat. The banter between her and Giles is quintessential Belligerent Sexual Tension. From their first exchange, you know it’s only a matter of time before they jump each other.

Willow, our poor darling nerd, is enjoying herself. Seeing at her at this early stage, I’m struck by the fact that she’s the character (with the possible exception of Cordelia) who will go through the most profound changes across the course of the show. At this point, she’s simply trying to find something that makes her special – right now, she makes it the subject she’s most interested in: books and knowledge (which feeds into her contribution to the good fight) but which also is the starting point of her dabbling-in-magic-to-become-powerful-witch-pipeline.

With that in mind, it’s interesting that techno-pagan Jenny is also introduced in this episode, as she’s an important stepping stone on Willow’s journey into witchhood.

My take on Willow is that although it’s never spelt out, she knows on some level that her friendship with Buffy is what makes her special, and she’s subconsciously railing against that (and will continue to do so long after this episode). She’s bullied at school, she’s thwarted in love by Xander, she’s perpetually in Buffy’s shadow – she wants SOMETHING to assure her she’s enough on her own terms.

In this episode, that mentality makes her an easy mark for Moloch’s manipulation, as she’s all-in on the romance not just for its own sake, but because it makes her feel chosen. Moloch obviously had some mind-control powers at work here, but Willow is also an easy target based on the insecurities she has about herself. Seven years later, she’d never fall for this so easily.

The next day she’s walking on air, as she spent the night talking to a guy called Malcolm Black on-line. And it’s soon apparent that Dave and Fritz are communicating with someone through the internet as well.

Oh man, look at these monitors!

Buffy is a little unsure about Willow’s story, and the computer camera zooms in on Buffy’s face, electronically goes through her personal files, and then sends them to Fritz with a missive to “watch her.”

Xander is suddenly not keen on the idea of Willow having a boyfriend, and Buffy calls him out on jealousy. She’s right – not because he’s attracted to Willow at this point, but because he “d’wants” her. That is, he doesn’t want Willow himself, but he doesn’t want anyone else having her either.

Shots demonstrate that Willow, Fritz and Dave are getting sucked further into Malcolm’s thrall, and during a discussion with Dave to try and ascertain how she can track down someone on-line, Buffy comes to the not-unreasonable conclusion (based on his reaction) that Dave is Malcolm. He’s not, and he clams up uncomfortably when she presses him. Fritz glowers in the corner.

Giles isn’t sure what to do (he’s computer illiterate) and advises Buffy to tail Dave. We get a vastly underrated gag in which Buffy asks: “Follow Dave? What, in dark glasses and a trench coat? Please. I can work this out myself,” which cuts immediately to her following Dave in a trench coat and sunglasses. Superb.

They end up at a massive computer factory called CRD, where we get the POV of a security camera noting Buffy’s arrival. Xander surprisingly ends up being a font of knowledge on the subject, as his uncle once worked there as a janitor. Before its closure several years ago, it was the third-largest employer in Sunnydale. (What are the first two? Got to be the funeral parlours and the cemetery caretakers, right?)

In an on-line conversation, Malcolm tries to drive a wedge between Willow and Buffy by citing the latter's school records (namely that she got kicked out of her old school) but Willow isn’t so far gone that she can’t spot a red flag when she sees it. She logs off pretty quickly.

Back in the library, the flirt-fight between Jenny and Giles over the relevance of computers continues, until she notices Moloch’s book and points out that the pages are all blank. This occurs concurrently with Dave telling Buffy that Willow wants to see her in the locker room, and Buffy very nearly getting electrocuted to death by exposed wiring left in a running shower. She survives only because Dave gets cold feet at the last second and warns her before making a run for it.

We’re then treated to the most harrowing scene of the episode, in which Dave confronts Malcolm (or at least a computer) and tells him he refuses to be complicit in his plans. Then, the computer writes him a suicide note. Just imagine how horrifying this would be, to realize not only that your death is imminent, but that everyone believes it’ll be at your own hands.

Fritz is lurking in the shadows of the room... He went dark side very quickly.

Back again at the library, Giles gives Buffy the English remedy to everything (tea) before offering a solution to strange events of the week: Moloch the Corruptor has been released from his book!prison by someone reading the words that held him there.

There’s a nice bit of back-and-forth as the gang piece together all the clues to reach a logical conclusion: Moloch has gone from the book, and yet no one has seen a giant demon wandering around. Buffy questions why Moloch is going through middle-men like Dave and the factory-workers at CDR instead of doing all the work himself. And how did someone manage to speak the words in the book anyway, as they’re not in English?

All the disparities point to one thing: Moloch is in the computer, and got there via the scanner. Like I said before, this is a neat idea and was backed up by the establishing dialogue at the start of the episode that laid out what the internet was capable of (‘cos back in the nineties, not everyone knew).

Buffy goes searching for Willow, and instead finds Dave in the computer lab... hanging from the rafters.

And, wow do I have a lot of questions in the wake of this scene. Does Buffy just leave him hanging there? Does no one call the authorities? If not, then who found him next? Do they let the suicide note stand? Are his parents forced to live the rest of their lives believing their son killed himself? And isn’t it crazy that everyone keeps on using this room in future episodes? (Though I suppose in Sunnydale, citizens would run out of places to exist if they stopped entering places that people had been murdered in).

Willow’s house! Why is it so exciting to see Willow’s house? In any case, her parents aren’t home (and her father never will be) and she’s spooked by her computer telling her she’s got mail... from Malcolm. Then she foolishly opens the front door and is grabbed by Fritz.

Giles takes the plunge and tells Jenny that a demon is on the loose on the internet, to which she says: “I know.” Robia Scott delivers that line a little oddly, in that she makes it seem like Jenny is the one responsible for releasing Moloch, but apparently it’s just meant to be a surprise that she takes Giles’s revelation in her stride. Turns out that she’s what’s called a “technopagan” who is well-aware of all the weirdness that goes on in Sunnydale.

(It’s obvious that the writers’ room had not yet decided on Jenny’s backstory at this point, which posits her as a member of the Roma clan which laid the curse on Angel – in fact, she was specifically sent to Sunnydale by her people in order to keep an eye on him – but they got lucky in giving her this link with magic right off the bat, as it fits in nicely with what we learn about her later. A bit like Aunt Beru’s “he’s too much like his father” comment in Star Wars, which was just a line in the first movie, but paid off dividends in the next two – entirely serendipitously).

Willow wakes up in CRD to discover that the reason it’s been swarming with scientists and workers lately is because Moloch has had them build a robot version of himself. He demonstrates its power by promptly snapping Fritz’s neck.

Buffy and Xander arrive on the scene (she leaps neatly over the fence, he trips and lands on his face) and make their way into the building. I love this shot, in which Buffy punches a receptionist in the face without breaking her stride:

The two of them try to make their way to Willow as Moloch delivers his pitch to her (she’s not buying it) and Giles and Jenny remotely perform the incantation that trapped him in that book all those centuries ago. Giles chants and Jenny types, with the help of her “on-line coven.” We learn nothing more about these people, either in this episode or any other – but in hindsight, they’ve got to be the rest of the Romani clan, no?

Willow is genuinely upset at Moloch’s betrayal. Xander punches out a technician and is super excited about it. Buffy realizes that Moloch isn’t back in the book, but rather trapped inside his robot body, and it takes only a little taunting for him to throw a punch at her and end up electrocuting himself on the contents of the circuit box behind her.

And this here, this shot:

...is why I love this show, specifically in its earliest seasons. At the end of the day, this is a story about three teenagers who are completely in over their heads, facing down the weirdest and most dangerous shit imaginable, but who are still in it together, no matter what. I can draw a direct correlation between the quality of any given episode and how far it adheres to/strays from this focus on the trio of Buffy, Willow and Xander as a team of misfits facing down the unimaginable.

And so, the wrap-up. Giles goes to thank Jenny for her contribution, and makes his case for books: they have texture and scent and history. She seems to get it, and then thanks him for returning her earring in a very odd moment that has her inform him: "[my ear] isn’t where I dangle it."

This, except he's saying: "is she going to dangle it from her vagina?"

And then, one of my favourite ending scenes of the entire show. Xander and Buffy try to cheer up Willow by commiserating with her on their equally terrible string of crushes and relationships. “We’re doomed!” they conclude. And they are. They realize it themselves a second later. All of them will end the show single.

But it’s okay, because they’ll always have each other.

***

Like I said, I’m fond of this episode despite its silliness. The plot itself is pretty thin, and generally speaking I don’t love the Buffy episodes that employ “weird science”. The show always falters a little when it leans into this vibe: see the Frankenstein/Ted/Human-Fish episodes, plus the entirety of the Initiative arc. Give me old-school vampires and demons, every time.

But I stand by the fact that a demon getting loose in the internet and causing havoc is a solid premise, and the script also managed to tap into our collective fear of catfishing and online predators WELL before its time. It also has some great dialogue and one-liners, provides some insight on Willow’s psyche that will be built on later, and introduces the one-and-only Jenny Calendar. You can’t skip it in the same way you can skip “Teacher’s Pet.”

Miscellaneous Observations:

I’ve already talked about Willow, but this episode really is fascinating if you treat it as the starting point of her arc. She’s shy and unassuming, she genuinely loves “nerdy” pastimes like scanning old books and talking on-line, and her insecurities make her an easy target for Malcolm’s manipulation. You can draw a straight line between this early characterization and where she ends up at the end of season six: glutted with power, resentment and destructive rage.

Dark Willow wasn’t just about Tara, it was about the deep-seated hostilities inside Willow from the very beginning... but we’ll get there. For now, I’ll just say that I’ve always felt Willow harbours the tiniest little seed of resentment toward Buffy for their social standing. As much as Willow loves her, in this episode she actually verbalizes the envy she feels at Buffy’s ability to attract male attention. That’s very funny in post-season four hindsight, and given where she ends up I’m inclined to believe it’s not just about boys. Willow wants to be special for her own sake, and at this point she’s envisioning that as someone liking her for who she is.

It's a type of insecurity that’s subtly different from what Xander feels. His is all about his masculinity in the presence of people who are far more powerful than himself, which paradoxically requires him to cleave even tighter to the women who upstage him (see his immediate anxiety about Willow prioritizing someone other than himself). For Willow, it’s about herself and how she measures up, which requires a degree of distance from those who make her feel inadequate.

Xander needs to have Buffy and Willow in his life – they make him special by association, and he eventually comes to accept his role as “the one who isn’t chosen.” Willow, on the other hand, is a little resentful of the importance that Buffy bestows on her existence, and wants something outside the constraints of the friend-group to validate her own specialness, something that’s hers alone. She’ll get there eventually.

While Buffy and the gang were investigating Moloch, there were a number of fun little second-long vignettes that demonstrated the chaos being strewn across the rest of the world: a guy whose essay is changed into a pro-Nazi manifesto, a school nurse insisting that a student’s record had no mention of his allergies, and a radio broadcast that announces financial discrepancies in the church coffers (so... that last one may not have been Moloch).

It's always a bit weird when the Monster of the Week ends up causing a lot of wide-spread harm, only to never be mentioned again – even in a place like Sunnydale. In this case, Moloch clearly managed to do a lot of damage before his death, not to mention taking over a factory and creating dozens of drone workers. Are there any long-term ramifications to any of this? Not that we ever see!

By later seasons, this show almost exclusively took place in Buffy’s house, various graveyards, the Magic Box, and the Bronze, so I was inordinately excited to see locations like the inside of Willow’s house and the CRD factory. Show me more of Sunnydale! The writers were under no obligation to do so, but they never really gave the place a sense of history or personality; a place that was worth protecting for its own sake.

No Angel or Cordelia this time around.

It’s always mildly amusing when an important character is introduced to the show alongside inconsequential ones. This episode gave us Ms Calendar, who will be an intrinsic part of the show going forward... but also Dave and Fritz, who won’t be. Kind of like how Sheila was introduced in the same episode as Spike, or Scott Hope in the same episode as Faith. Crazy!

It’s also rather startling just how much she stands out compared to other guest stars; she’s so vividly rendered in comparison to the likes of Blayne or Owen. Whether Robia Scott was brought back on the strength of her performance here, or was always intended to be a recurring guest star and so given more characterization is unclear, but you can tell just by watching this episode that she’ll be back.

Speaking of, I looked up the actors for Fritz and Dave on IMDB. Jamison Ryan (Fritz) only ever had three acting jobs in a single year of his life, while Chad Lindberg (Dave) has been working regularly for years: most recently in Star Trek: Picard, but also in other genre shows like Agents of SHIELD, Supernatural and The X-Files.

Dave is the first Sunnydale student since Jesse to be killed during the course of an episode, and I ended up feeling really sorry for the guy. He gets in over his head but tries to do the right thing, and that gets him killed. I’m still genuinely curious over the fallout of his death. Surely the Scoobies did something to convince his parents it wasn’t suicide?

There are plenty of minor details about Xander and Willow in this episode: we see the latter’s house and bedroom for the first time, and learn that her parents do in fact exist (though we’ll never see her father on-screen at any point during the course of the show) while Xander has an uncle that once worked at CRD as a janitor. None of it is hugely relevant, but when you think about it, we learn so little about their home lives that these little scraps are fascinating.

I’m always left wondering how Moloch’s book ended up in Sunnydale. I mean, of course it does, but where did it come from? Did Giles order it? Did the Watchers Council send it?

Jenny makes an interesting comment when Giles asks her if she’s a witch and she responds: “no, I don’t have that kind of power.” I mean, she and Giles had enough power to force Moloch into his robot form. What exactly is a witch’s power by comparison?

I wish the script had delved more deeply into exactly what Moloch’s feelings were for his followers. What exactly was he getting out of the interactions? (Beyond their obedience, obviously). At times he seemed genuinely fond of Willow and then distraught when she rejected him, which was in marked contrast to the indifference with which he killed Fritz and Carlos. I don’t expect much characterization for a Monster of the Week, but it felt like there was something there that will echo other portrayals of toxic love that become so prevalent in episodes to come.

Best Line: Jenny: “you kids really dig the library.” Xander: “to read makes us speak English good.”

Most dated line: Willow: “I met him online.” Buffy: “On line for what?”

Most Random Scene: There’s a moment in which Moloch is bragging about his powers to Willow and he tells her: “I can control the world! Right now a man in Beijing is transferring money to a Swiss bank account for a contract on his mother's life. Good for him!” Er... okay. What an oddly specific anecdote.

Worst Visual Effect: The infamous Robo!Moloch:

Best Scene: My darling trio sitting by the fountain, commiserating with each other on their doomed love lives. It’s funny, heartwarming and – in hindsight – very bittersweet.

Death Toll: Dave, strangled by Fritz. Fritz, neck snapped by Moloch. And Carlos too, I suppose, though I won’t count him because that was way back in 1480. Moloch, electrocuted by Buffy.

Grand Total: Thirteen civilians, fourteen villains (I’m counting Fritz as a villain as he was clearly the most gung-ho about killing people on Moloch’s orders. It didn’t take much to corrupt him). Still feel bad for Dave though.

#buffy the vampire slayer #rav's watching log #rav's reading log #buffy rewatch

[moononmyfloor]

A Rec and Appreciation post for a Bilibili FMV I found for The Spirealm :)

IMPORTANT: Contains spoilers for all the way through to the show! You've been warned!

Link to the edit: You don't need an account to watch things on Bilibili, but if you do, remember to give it a thumbs up! 💕

The song used and will be discussed by me in relation to the clips of the drama used in the fmv is 人间不值得 (The Human Realm is Not Worth It) by 黄诗扶 (Huáng Shīfú).

Disclaimer: 1. I'm not Chinese by any means, I only happen to be a student who loves this song very very much for its nuances and symbolism and it always makes me so happy to see a fandom I like has gotten an edit to this song. This post is an attempt to get more like-minded people to appreciate it! All the translations are from here where you can read even deeper to the lyrics and learn the background of the song. 2. I will be posting screenshots from the edit that correspond significantly to the song lyrics for those who'd like some help with noticing the parallels. Again, and obviously, this means SPOILERS! Don't proceed if you don't want to be spoiled. I won't be sharing gifs nor clips from the edit because that'd be straight up reposting and I don't want to do that, and a single screenshot may not be sufficient for you to understand what's happening in the scene unless you've seen the show/fmv.

Without further ado!

.

渡口爱上深山, 薄雪中意晚莲 -A Crossing Ferry falls for Deep Mountain, Thin Layer of Snow likes Evening Lotus

A ferry transportation wouldn't be done in an area with deep mountains, it requires a flat and calm body of water. Lotuses don't bloom in the snow-falling season. Aka this means two things that are star-crossed. Hence: 🥲

夕阳熬红双眼 想等来晨钟聊聊天- Setting sun waits till its eyes turned red, hoping it can chat with morning bell Again, the setting sun cannot meet the morning bell. The vidder has used a scene of Ruan Lanzhu sitting with his eyes closed on a bench, waiting for Jiushi- it's not that specific so I'm not including a screenshot.

心上人在梅边柳边 偏不在身边- Person on heart is by plum or willow, but not by (the person singing the song)

A Hongloumeng reference to say that your beloved is not by you but elsewhere, see the link above for more details. -A scene of Jiushi patting Lanzhu's shoulder and going away for a door challenge while Lanzhu stands agonized-

小白蛇浇透临安 许仙却没带伞- Little white snake is drenched in the rain of Lin An, but Xu Xian forgets to bring an umbrella

From the legend of White Snake and Xu Xian, they meet on a rainy day and Xu Xian gives White Snake an umbrella. Here, the lyrics say he forgot aka things didn't happen the way they should've.

-The clip chosen for this line is more happy because they both got to use the umbrella hehe-

少女压坏秋千 书生十年落选- Young girl crushes the swing, scholar fails at exams for ten years

A little girl on a swing and a scholar who passes the exams are nice things to imagine, but the lyrics say the contrary happened. The edit shows scenes from the case of the bullied school girl and the classmate who betrayed her, who both had their youths ruined. :(

命运总是挑挑拣拣 诸事不成全- Fate is always picky and things just can’t be fulfilled

-Scenes from the first case (snow village), not using screenshots because the line itself isn't very specifc and therefore neither is the scene-

小和尚没化到缘 又路过烧鸭店- Little monk doesn’t get offerings, then happens to walk by a roasted duck shop

Describes a situation where your life sucks and then some more.

-The scene of the little beggar fainting from the Child trafficking case put in contradiction with the scene of Jiushi enjoying skewers with Xiong Qi.-

The chorus:

拈杯酒眯着眼 说专心看人间- Pinching a cup of wine and squinting eyes, saying (I/you/whoever) is looking at the human real with full concentration

The song is advising you to take a cup of wine, let go and just observe the world around you. Scenes of Lanzhu and Jiushi having swigs/sips of drinks is followed by them happily gazing up at New Year fireworks. It's pretty self explanatory.

看长安建安与潘安 都想沾一沾- (seeing) Chang’an Jian An and Pan’An, wanting to touch them all

Chang'an was an ancient Chinese capital, Jian'an was a literaty gathering, Pan'an was a historical man who was famous for his beauty and loyalty to his wife (the character Liu Xueyi's was modelled upon for the recently aired drama In Blossoms🤭) aka these three things are unrelated except for rhyming. So it's basically like saying "You want this, you want that too" and to just chill and embrace it all; your mortal desires and sorrows.

The scenes used are from the night street celebrations from the Child trafficking case, and are not specific to the line except for that the aesthetics match that of Chang'an night scenary in Tang dynasty period dramas. (And maybe Jiushi staring at Li Dongyuan's handsome face refers to the Pan'an part heh)

神仙掐指算 此去少圆满- Gods making predictions, this trip shall lead to little fulfillment 得来失 聚了散 千万莫求全- Losing what has been found, parting after reunion, don’t try to aim for perfection at all

Means that sometimes gains and loses just cannot be helped.

-Scenes of Li Dongyuan's last moments- 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

借泥炉烧碗饭 在檐上种炊烟- Borrowing earth stove to make meal, planting cooking smoke on the top of the eave

-cooking scenes from the show, self-explanotory-

管小寒大寒与心寒 都来暖一暖- No matter if it’s Small Cold, Big Cold, Or heart cold, all come over and warm up

Xiao Han and Da Han are two of the wintry solar terms of traditional Chinese calendar. Heart Cold is; well, having lost hope and being unhappy. The song tells you to get together and warm yourself up whether your coldness is external or internal.

好提胆闯人海 再叩风月关- So that you can build up the courage and venture into the crowd, knocking on the door of profanity (of life) Now this line may look simple but is really iconic to the show. It means to build up your guts [lit:gallbladder] (through the power of the warmth from forming bonds as mentioned above), so you can go out and enjoy all the beautiful romantic things in life, and bravely knock on the doors (HA) of each levels of life as you go. The scenes used are Lanzhu and Jiushi marching into door challenges, them sitting and enjoying quiet moments together, and DOORS. Bejeezus...

兜兜转转八十一难 我们走着看- Around and around through 81 tribulations, we shall see how it goes Another cleverly utilized line. 81 tribulations are what the main characters underwent in Journey to the West in order to bring the Buddhist texts, and if you've finished Spirealm, you know the 12 doors are inspired by the 12 links in the Law of Dependent Origin of Buddhist philosophy. In simpler words, the 12 links are the reasons for your mundane sorrows, longings and confusion, and 81 tribulations are the hardships you undergo because of them. The core scene used is Jiushi completing the 12 doors of the game, followed by the friend gang badass-strutting into the case scenes, fitting for the part "let's see how it goes".

竹马去寻竹马 青梅意兴阑珊- Bamboo horse goes searching for bamboo horse, blue plum feels discouraged

Now this is my FAVORITE line 😆 I always love to see what the vidders do with this part when this song is used on a BL edit. This comes from the famous poem line, “郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅”:” boy comes on a bamboo horse, circling around the bed and playing with plum branch”. It refers to boys and girls who are meant to be each others' since childhood. But sometimes, the bamboo horse (boy) doesn't go for a blue plum (girl), and will seek another bamboo horse instead, yeah? The scenes chosen are first Lanzhu and Jiushi, chased after by Li Dongyuan, leaving behind the exasperated Zhuang Rujiao 😂 Our poor lil blue plum!

伯牙琴弦摔断 叔夜刚绝交山巨源- Bo Ya breaks the string on his Qin, Shu Ye breaks off from Shan Juyuan

This line is about two legendary friendships, in the first pairing Bo Ya broke his Qin after his friend's death because nobody could appreciate his playing better than his friend, and the latter pairing broke up because of diff ideals.

The scenes used are when Jiushi and his ex bff used to be together, and broke up later.

知己半路就散 结发总另结新欢- Good friends part half-way, spouses marry someone else

-Yixie crying holding Qianli, the nurse whose lover betrayed her in the sanatorium arc-

小情侣恰好遇见 喜鹊没来上班- Young couples who happen to meet when the magpies are not on duty

Refers to the Chinese fairytale Magpie Bridge where magpies helped the couple meet once every year, and without magpies they wouldn't get even that chance.

The scenes used are: 🥺

长生岂能如愿 古稀尚靠垂怜- How can longevity be fulfilled, it depends on heaven’s mercy to live to one’s 70s

Jeebus, have I mentioned this vidder is a GENIUS? The corresponding scene used is the big baddie of the show standing tall and playing almighty, and the happiness of our good guys is at his mercy, followed by the scene of 50 Years Later HUHU

老病倒比莺莺燕燕 多陪二十年- The Old and the sick somehow gets 20 more years than the happy young couple

LOL the vidder knows how to be a troll, too. As the song says "Old and sick gets to live", Chen Fei and the lady friend (I don't even rem her name) who couldn't have been more background charactery if they tried, and they got to move onwards with their lives in peace while "happy, young" Zaozao and Dongyuan didn't 😔

小嫦娥偷吃灵药 却反而羡人间- Chang’e takes magical elixir, yet feels jealous of the human realm

The moon goddess, who enjoys longevity but is full of regrets about the life she left behind.

-Zaozao, who is finally under the spotlight she always deserved, but... *bawls harder*

The chorus from before repeats, that tells you to have a drink, chill and look at this world, not care so much about this and that, to not push yourself too hard because it isn't worth it, have a meal with your loved ones to chase away the cold instead, build up the courage to endure the beauty and challenges (DOORS) of the life.

Complimentary scenes follow:

人生在世不称意呀 失眠或失恋- Living in this realm is often unsatisfying, losing sleep or losing love

-For "unsatisfying" part, past-and-present scenes of the son and mother from the Triplet case, for "Losing Sleep" part Lanzhu staring at sleeping Jiushi on the same bed and then the chocolate scene, the younger sister's confession being rejected in the Sister Drum case and the Lady in the Rain for "Losing Love" part.-

只劝你来把个盏 侃呀么侃大山- (I) suggest you drink (the wine) up, then have a nice long chat

-The scene where Lanzhu wordlessly empties the can after Dongyuan's incident, followed by memories of when they were eating and chatting together, and also those of Qianli's 🤧

The final part:

喝完大酒撑条船 说今生不靠岸- After a big drink go ride on a boat, saying never to dock till the end of this life 去天涯海角浪个遍 失意当尝鲜 -To the edge of the horizon and corners of the sea, taking disappointment as fresh experiences

-Scenes of Lanzhu and Jiushi together, braving the challenges-

这一路手握剑 身侧有千帆- Holding a sword on the way, with thousands of sails passing by

-The girl from the school bullying case, now grown bright and confident, wielding a sword (that was SUCH a great moment! You go, darling!), followed by the now-regretless Door Ghosts smiling happily in the last episode.-

时不时 回头看看 百味是人间- From time to time, turn around and look, hundreds of tastes makes up the human realm

-Lanzhu looking back at Jiushi for one last time, Jiushi looking back before entering a door- *sniffles

Followed by happy montages of all their friends, and Chestnut.

时不时 也睡个懒觉 醒来多加餐- From time to time, sleep in, and eat an extra meal when (you) wake up

-A scene of Lanzhu tucked in cozily, Jiushi stretching awake from a sleep, well into daytime, and for the "Extra Meal" part, that giant drumstick platter Lanzhu and Rujiao made Dongyuan get for them 😁.-

.

AAAnd DONE! Phew, that gotta be one of the longest posts I've made in one sitting. If you are still here, thank you so much for your patience and attention, I hope you enjoyed this brilliant fmv meta! Don't forget to give the vidder the love they much deserve, and read up the AveX link for more thorough understanding of the song itself.

Toodles for now!

.

More posts by me

#the spirealm #kaleidoscope of death #bilibili edits #fmv rec #song appreciation #the spirealm spoilers #the spirealm fmv #The Human Realm is Not Worth It #人间不值得 #黄诗扶 #Huáng Shīfú

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, August 30

WILLOW: Something evil crashed to earth in this and then broke out and ... slithered away to do badness. GILES: In all fairness, we don't really know about the slithered part. ANYA: Oh, no. I'm sure it frisked about like a fluffy lamb.

~~BtVS 5x09 — Listening to Fear~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Take Me As I Am (Pt. 5) (Joyce/Angel, M) by madeingold

Double Drabble: Falling Apart (Buffy, Angel/Angelus, PG) by badly_knitted

Tom F'ing Bombadil (Buffy, not rated, LotR/Hobbit xover) by Liloldme

[Chaptered Fiction]

Among the Echoes, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Dutchess Did It

The Plunge, Chapter 19 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Harlow Turner

The Nips!, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Desicat

Summers on the Hellmouth, Chapter 21 (Buffy, Stargate xover, FR13) by mmooch

Supporting Natasha Romanoff (And Iron Man too), Chapter 45 (Willow/Natasha Romanoff, Marvel crossover, FR18) by NobodyAtAll

August Fic-A-Day 2023, Chapter 30 (Buffy, FR13, Harry Potter xover) by LadyWinterlight

Part of the Family, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Harlow Turner

I Do!, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Dusty

Blood and Black Lace, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, R) by SlayrGrl

The Alphabet of Spuffy, Chapter 29 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by VeroNyxK84

The Other Side of the Door, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, M) by myrabeth

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Faith my best friend Faith my silly rabbit my poor little meow meow my idiot chief in command (worksafe) by bugaboooooooooo

Artwork: sneaking late night shots in s7 (Spuffy, worksafe) by sundayroadkill

Artwork: Slow dancing under the moon and stars (Spuffy, worksafe) by sanshofox

Artwork: Hey. You there. (Illyria, worksafe) by fallinginaforrest

Artwork: Me beebs beebin’ (Spuffy, worksafe) by isevery0nehereverystoned

Artwork: Drusilla kills Kendra, from Buffy. Watercolour on paper. (worksafe) by ghostrabbit87

Artwork: Sometimes “The Big Bad” is just a babygirl male-wife who gets chained to bathtubs (Spike, worksafe) by keelifallen

Artwork: This is Darla and the stray she found on the side of the road (worksafe) by madeleinelovescolours

Artwork: I’ve rewatched buffy over 4 times and I still can’t get over them (Spuffy, worksafe) by pocketsizedann

Art: BTVS 513. Blood Ties (CW: Self Harm) by tmcarlee

[Reviews & Recaps]

We’re gonna start rewatching season three of Buffy tonight by andhumanslovedstories

About “Reptile Boy” and Giles's role by the-elusive-soleil

I Only Have Eyes For You isn’t a perfect episode by coraniaid

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E7 (part 2) by jvstheworld

The Buffy Re-Watch: S2E8 (part 1) by jvstheworld

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E8 (part 2) by jvstheworld

[Recs]

Fic rec: Cordy/Angel ‘Undercover as a Couple’ recced by cangelgifs

[Fandom Discussions]

I love a lot of the BtVS f/f pairings for Buffy, but one I don’t feel like I talk about enough (Cordelia/Buffy) by spangelmybeloved

I’m still not over the fact that Willow was living rent free in Buffy’s house by mariepv

Observation about the difference between canon and fanon: Angel / Angelus in I Only Have Eyes For You by coraniaid

Time for some random late night thought dumps on my recent insane Buffy/Oz fascination. by gh-0-stcup

Whedon decided Boreanaz could carry a spin-off show in large part thanks to his performances as Angelus by coraniaid

Healthy codependency by girl4music

I have to talk a little bit about Cousin Beth portrayed by Amy Adams by girl4music

You’ve also got to love the blatant connection between witchcraft and lesbianism by girl4music

“She can’t even see Spike” by girl4music

Look what they did to Charles Gunn! by look-how-they-massacred-them

About the Key plotline: the line “the monks made her out of me” is suddenly really interesting by thepunkmuppet

there actually is something to angel and buffy in season 3 by brymnxt2jhnnycsh

in my three year old mind, these were the most prominent episodes to the point that i remembered them all the way until i did a rewatch by caliburn-the-sword

The fact that the trio is playing DnD when Warren suggests they “become supervillains” is really telling by still-nix-d-goffic

three episodes of buffy that I just cannot really watch properly for different reasons by variousqueerthings

In the universe where fuffy happens sometime after btvs by hersterical

I’d like to think this was Buffy’s fated death by still-nix-d-goffic

I believe an evil person or entity can change based on the environment they are in. And I don’t think the “soul” has anything to do with it. by girl4music

the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them (Illyria) by stellernorth

We all get that Oz was raped, right? by gh-0-stcup

Classic Buffy available on Hulu! (differences between SD and HD versions) by TheMaster666

The Season of the Many Love Triangles by thetopher

Redefinition - Inner Monologue by Priceless

Spike exposing Riley may have had it selfish intentions but he did the right thing by Buffy, she needed to know. by sushibananawater

What was The Mayor’s endgame? by stupidhrfmichael

Watcher & their Slayer. Who'd win? Giles & Buffy (season 7) vs Wesley & Faith (Angel season 4) by Almighty_Push91

In which season/episode does the Buffy-Spike-thing start? by Mysterious-Lychee98

Fan Heaven: The moment my heart grows three sizes! by AerieSignal1001

I would have loved to see Vamp Willow using her hacking skills somehow. by Waarm

Are the Buffy Season 8 comics/graphic novels worth hunting down? by dmstafford

What were the funniest episodes of Buffy? by classified12345

It Still Stings: The Mistreatment of Women on Joss Whedon’s 'Angel' by ssensibility

Most Hated Character in Buffy The Vampire Slayer Part 2 by Khalesssi_Slayer1

Most Hated Character On Buffy The Vampire Slayer Part 3 by Khalesssi_Slayer1

The Most Hated Character From Buffy The Vampire Slayer Part 4 by Khalesssi_Slayer1

Buffy's Claddagh Ring And Bite Mark by Khalesssi_Slayer1

Clare Kramer / Glory by electrical_storm83

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

CONVENTION: James Marsters to Attend Comic Con Scotland Aberdeen, 23-24 March 2024 via James Marsters News

CONVENTION: Juliet Landau will be joining James Marsters at Comic Con Scotland Aberdeen, March 23-24, 2024! via James Marsters News

PUBLICATION: Channeling Magic and Progression: Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer by The Rose Gold Boudoir

PUBLICATION: It Still Stings: The Mistreatment of Women on Joss Whedon’s Angel by Gillian Bennett / Paste Magazine

PUBLICATION: Cowboy Versus Outlaw: Buffy and Faith and Good Girl, Bad Girl Tropes by Remarkist Community

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #ats #angel the series

[lucinatta]

Watching the Buffy episode where Willow scans a book and releases a demon that was trapped in said book by some italian monks in the 15th century, but the demon is trapped in the computer so he pretends to be a boy named Malcolm and becomes Willow's e-boyfriend. They don't make tv like this anymore.

[itbmojojoejo]

Alright, i just finished watching High Life and uhhh yeah, i usually enjoy artsy thrillers etc but i have no idea how to feel about this film. Ewan was fantastic ofc, scary, but brilliant. Mans got talent. More thoughts (major spoilers and mentions of violence included) below the cut cause i need to get them out and have no one to talk about it with. 

First things first - i would not recommend this film to anyone that is sensitive to seeing any type of violence towards women or perhaps those that are having fertility issues as i know this can be upsetting. i was already aware of the gist of the film before watching so i knew what to expect but what was unexpected is how all those moments and details were actually delivered. 

I am going to praise Ewan for his acting here before i continue on with my WTF WAS THAT thoughts. Everything ive seen him in there has been a very clear if not HUGE difference between all of his characters, that man is NOT a one trick pony at all. He left me feeling freaked out and uncomfortable with Ettore’s brutality. Im very excited to see what else Ewan does in the future because he truly is talented and thats easy to see, especially when you put dear baby monk Osferth next to Aemond, Tom Bennet and Ettore (I have not seen his other works forgive me do not come for me with pitchforks and torches) . Hes managing to provide fully fleshed out and complex characters with a few minutes on screen at a time - this man is not flipping through a script and winging it once hes on set. He is more than just a pretty face to me, i really hope he gets the opportunity for more projects to carry on dazzling us. 

Now onto the film itself - we’re told that every member of the experiment was given a life sentence or  death penalty. That experiment being - “The real goal, the film tells us verbally, is to assess how great levels of radiation impact the human body”

How does Dibs and her little fertility experiment that was further endangering the lives of the women on board fit into this? Whose idea was that? and past the point of early infancy (i.e. the incubator) there seemed to be nothing on board this ship to accommodate a child. Dibs was clearly a convicted killer just like the others had been, she confirmed to Boyse she smothered her own children and used a knife on her husband. Was her clear obsession with Monte all because of his chastity too? and what was her being in the box all about with that furry thing that caressed her??? im confused at that. 

We know that the prisoners files are on board because Willow tells Monte she read his, so if the captain and Dibs knew what crimes people had committed what reason did they have to restrain the women to their beds in unlocked sleeping quarters??? Thats a problem waiting to happen. They could have avoided that whole situation with Ettore. Why were they even restrained in the first place? And why was Nansen in sleeping quarters with the men? Where did Dibs sleep? Did she ever sleep?

I think a little background info on all of the people would have been nice too, nothing big just a little tid bit, we know why Monte was there, we caught a glimpse of the life Boyse had but past the train thingy we dont know what she did. Tcherny mentions he thought joining the experiment would be honourable after bringing shame to his wife and son, and if i hadnt read the plot pre watch i wouldnt of got that he committed suicide (this could be something i’d pick up on with a rewatch but im not sure thats going to happen). And i dont think Nansen,  Mink or Elektra are referred to by name at all??? (again i could of just missed this while questioning wtf i was watching)

Boyse and Monte - what was their little connection that was hinted at all about? the side eyes, she cut him, he punched her, then they held hands??? explain pls.

And if Dibs was so set on having a baby on board why did she then throw herself off the ship? The injuries she got from Mink didnt seem to be life threatening? Did anyone notice that the women had more violent deaths depicted than the men too? What was that ship with just dogs on it about? And lastly - the films ending, did they die? is that what that was???

If anyone wants to chat about this please feel free!

#high life #ettore #ewan mitchell #tw violence #tw spoilers

[coffee-b]

took me about a week but i banged out an artfight attack that hit every single dnd vanilla class, plus artificer!!!! and i put them all together in a short animation here :3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DjOYr6XdD8 

image descriptions and credits under the cut, since this is a big one!! 

Image IDs are from left to right, top to bottom. 

Image 1: Dogwood, a genasi barbarian. She has green skin and willow branches for hair. She wields a red axe. Design by hypotenuseleg on artfight. 

Image 2: Ambrose, a human artificer. He has pale skin and long blonde hair, and he wears a dark brown coat. He looks off to the side, seeming exhausted. Design by @crowgutzzz .

Image 3: Aurrash, a half-orc warlock. He has olive green skin, and his left arm is only bone. He points a bone-like knife out in front of himself. Design by Impish_ on artfight.

Image 4: Keahi, a fire genasi monk. Their hair has been tied into a ponytail that becomes a flame. They wear simple black and white clothing with a dark robe, and look prepared to kick something. Design by Livdfree on artfight.

Image 5: Gwendolyn, a tiefling sorcerer. She has bright yellow skin and a long blueish-black ponytail. She wears a blue and white dress. Design by @halflngs .

Image 6: Beetle, a goblin rogue. He has green skin and wears oversized clothing. He appears to be midair, smiling. Design by @roraimae .

Image 7: Cassandra, a human fighter. She has pale skin and choppy red hair, and she wears a blue cape and iron armour. She swings a sword, grinning. Design by @birdinatorart .

Image 8: Virosa, a human druid. She has long, desaturated brown hair, and wears a black cowl and blue skirt. She runs forward, reaching for something. Design by Amybun on artfight.

Image 9: Siobhan, a harengon ranger. They have vitiligo, which matches their long, brown and white rabbit ears and legs. They wear no shirt and green pants. He is firing an arrow at the viewer. Design by @cryptidvamp .

Image 10: Deimos, a drow paladin. He has dark grey skin and white hair pulled into a bun. He wears golden armour and carries both a golden shield and a flaming sword. Design by @feytraveler .

Image 11: Malachi, a tiefling wizard. His skin gradients from purple to pink, and he has long black hair. He wears lilac and gold robes and sits with a hand on his sword, smiling mischievously. Design by @midnightcrows .

Image 12: Yla, a tiefling cleric. She has bright red skin and short, choppy black hair. She is curtsying, showing off her green, white, and gold dress. She has a translucent golden veil over her head. Design by layerlunar on artfight. 

Image 13: Qiran, a wood elf bard. He has tan skin and wavy brown hair. He appears to be talking to someone to his left and reclines, one arm propped on his leg. Design by @tinytieflingtiff .

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #dnd 5e #ttrpg #ttrpg oc #original character #artfight #artfight 2022 #this was such a huge undertaking #and i am glad i did it #but i'm going to go rest my hand for the next 17 years #hope yall are good with the tags!!!! i wanted to make sure you got credit

[mx08z7kz6gqrs]

人间不值得 - This Human World Isn’t Worth It

人间不值得 - 黄诗扶 This Human World Isn’t Worth It - Huang Shifu Original Song Here Lyrics: Chi Yi Composition: Huang Shifu Arrangement: Mzf Xiao Mu 渡口爱上深山 薄雪中意晚莲 夕阳熬红双眼 想等来晨钟聊聊天 The harbor falls in love with the mountains in the distance, and a beautiful evening lotus catches the eye of the cold winter snow. The sunset stays awake until its eyes are brimming red just waiting for the dawn to come by for a chat. 心上人在梅边柳边 偏不在身边 小白蛇浇透临安 许仙却没带伞 My beloved stands there beside plum blossoms and willow trees, but remains out of my reach. The white snake finds herself soaked through near the West Lake, but Xu Xian did not bring his umbrella. 少女压坏秋千 书生十年落选 命运总是挑挑拣拣 诸事不成全 A young girl tumbles as her swing falls apart beneath her, and a young scholar fails his exams again ten years counting. Fate is such a fickle thing, never fulfilling anyone's wishes. 小和尚没化到缘 又路过烧鸭店 A young monk comes back empty handed, as he passes by roasting ducks on a street stand. 拈杯酒眯着眼 说专心看人间 看长安建安与潘安 都想沾一沾 Cups of wine in hand, with heavy eyes barely open, they say they are watching this human world carefully. Looking over the beauty of Chang'an, Jian'an, and Pan'an, they wanted a taste of everything. 神仙掐指算 此去少圆满 得来失 聚了散 千万莫求全 The gods count each one out one by one- few things are ever truly completed. Things we gain will lead to loss, and those who come together will inevitably part, so we must be careful never to ask for too much. 借泥炉烧碗饭 在檐上种炊烟 管小寒大寒与心寒 都来暖一暖 Let's borrow a clay oven, and cook a bowl of food, raising billows of smoke over the eaves Whether it's a icy storm, a cold spell, or a bitter, frozen heart- may they all be warmed a little. 好提胆闯人海 再叩风月关 兜兜转转八十一难 我们走着看 So that we may gather the courage to push through the sea of people around us, we bow again to the quiet moonlight above. No matter the ups and downs that await us on this winding path of life, let's walk along and see. 竹马去寻竹马 青梅意兴阑珊 A young boy comes along on a bamboo horse, but trots away to play with the others, And the little girl beneath green plum trees grows tired of waiting. 伯牙琴弦摔断 叔夜刚绝交山巨源 Bo Ya snaps the strings of his qin in grief, And Shuye (Xi Kang) severs his ties with Ju Yuan (Shan Tao). 知己半路就散 结发总另结新欢 小情侣恰好遇见 喜鹊没来上班 The friend you hold closest abandons you halfway through, as the one you love marries another, A pair of young lovers finally happen to meet, and yet cupid seems to have abandoned his post. 长生岂能如愿 古稀尚靠垂怜 老病倒比莺莺燕燕 多陪二十年 Over the course of such a long life, how could you expect everything to go as you may have wished? In the end, the elderly continue to lean upon the mercy of others. The illness of old age accompanies you twenty years longer than the spring of youth. 小嫦娥偷吃灵药 却反而羡人间 A young Chang'e stole the elixir of immortality, only to turn and envy the lives of humankind. 拈杯酒眯着眼 说专心看人间 看长安建安与潘安 都想沾一沾 Cups of wine in hand, with heavy eyes barely open, they say they are watching this human world carefully. Looking over the beauty of Chang'an, Jian'an, and Pan'an, they wanted a taste of everything. 神仙掐指算 此去少圆满 得来失 聚了散 千万莫求全 The gods count each one out one by one- few things are ever truly completed. Things we gain will lead to loss, and those who come together will inevitably part, so we must be careful never to ask for too much. 借泥炉烧碗饭 在檐上种炊烟 管小寒大寒与心寒 都来暖一暖 Let's borrow a clay oven, and cook a bowl of food, raising billows of smoke over the eaves Whether it's a icy storm, a cold spell, or a bitter, frozen heart- may they all be warmed a little. 好提胆闯人海 再叩风月关 兜兜转转八十一难 我们走着看 So that we may gather the courage to push through the sea of people around us, we bow again to the quiet moonlight above. No matter the ups and downs that await us on this winding path of life, let's walk along and see. 人生在世不称意呀 失眠或失恋 只劝你来把个盏 侃呀么侃大山 喝完大酒撑条船 说今生不靠岸 去天涯海角浪个遍 失意当尝鲜 Our time in this human world can be so bitter, whether it's sleepless nights or broken hearts. One can only advise you to take a cup, and come by for an bit of idle chatter After finishing the wine, take a boat out and say promise never to land again in this lifetime. Go forth to the ends of the earth and sea, and taste each new disappointment as it comes. 这一路手握剑 身侧有千帆 时不时～回头看看 百味是人间 时不时～也睡个懒觉 醒来多加餐 Along the way, keep a sword at hand, and a thousand sails beside you. Every now and then, look back at the hundreds of flavors of the human world. Every now and then, sleep in a bit, and once you wake, help yourself to a another meal. Side Note: There are a lot of direct references to Chinese literature here, and some other more ambiguous ones. I'll be posting some notes later to capture the ones I found. There are some localizations I did where possible, but for the most part I left things relatively literal because there was so much.

#人间不值得 #黄诗扶 #This Human World Isn’t Worth It #Huang Shifu #translation #going to post translation notes for this as soon as I'm done writing them #but this song was real hard since it's full of literary references #been working on this since new year so it's very much overdue at this point...

[willowbee-brook]

Why you gotta show who did the murder at the beginning of the episode? Half the fun is figuring out who dunnit during the show

#mile high #monk #adrian monk #monk usa #willow watches monk

[innerpalaces]

THE PRINCESS WEI YANG - 154 PART 2

CHAPTER 154: Hidden Dirt & Evil

Yuan Yu had already prepared another inconspicuous black carriage, and then rode this carriage for another half an hour. He quietly ordered someone to change the carriage into a designated boat, and transferred to the boat from a lake outside the city. The boat rowed into a secluded place under the shadow of a willow tree, then left the boat and boarded another carriage, staying out of sight and thus getting rid of anyone who might notice them.

Li Wei Yang looked out through the curtains of the carriage and couldn't help but sneer: "Grand Prince Yan has left nothing out this time, but I don't know where you want to bring me?"

Prince Yan laughed and said, "Don't worry, you will know the place when you get there."

Li Wei Yang watched the carriage head deeper and deeper into a secluded area, and unexpectedly arrived at a place she didn't recognize at all. But she was not panicked, and even smiled faintly, as if she didn't take it to heart.

Prince Yan thought she was pretending to be calm, sneered and said: "The people escorting the carriage outside are my six secret guards. You can't escape no matter what. But this time I am fully prepared, and Li Minde can no longer follow us. The more Li Min De loves you, the more I must make your life miserable, only then can I dispel the hatred in my heart! Don't blame me for being cruel, I'm just seeking justice for myself."

Li Wei Yang laughed. He wanted justice for himself? Then who can she seek justice from? People are deceitful, and only those with a heart as solid as stone can remain invincible. Precisely because these people are always struggling against each other, she can have no father, no mother, no relatives, no love, nothing but a vicious heart.

Li Wei Yang said slowly: "You don't have to explain to me, I'm not interested. Everyone has their own reasons for acting, and everyone has their own pain and sorrow. If you succeed, you are the winner. If you fail, there should not be any grievances."

There was something in her words that Yuan Yuanyu could not fully understand for the moment, so he couldn't help but frown.

Finally arriving at a remote place, she saw a clump of crabapple flowers in bloom in the distance. Yuan Yu ordered someone to stop the carriage and jumped out. Li Wei Yang didn't need him to send someone to invite her. She got off the carriage and saw the plaque on the temple door, which had the three golden characters of 'Guanyin Temple' written on it, but the area was completely silent. She looked around and saw that there were indeed several villages nearby, but few people were walking around. This was all very normal, and nothing could be discerned from it.

Yuan Yu smiled slightly and ordered the secret guard to knock on the door. Soon a female nun came out. She was young, only fourteen or fifteen years old, but very beautiful. She looked at Yuan Yu up and down and said with a smile, "Master who are you looking for?"

Instead of calling him benefactor (t/n: clergy, such as monks and nuns, usually use 'benefactor' as a term of address), he called him the master. Li Wei Yang sneered. This nun was quite strange.

Yuan Yu said: "The lotus seat leads to the secluded place, and you still have to go around the fence. It is indeed a good place. I'm looking for your master."

The nun was originally wary, but when she saw him saying these words, she opened the door halfway and said with a smile: "Master, please stay for a moment, I will call her out."

Not long after, she saw an older nun walking out of Guanyin Nunnery. Li Wei Yang saw that she was wearing a nun's robe, but she looked even more beautiful with charming features and a slender waist. The nunnery robe was obviously modified, and when Li Wei Yang looked at her feet, a pair of pointed red embroidered shoes could be seen. They looked particularly delicate and beautiful against the dusty robe, but they were out of place.

Li Wei Yang's heart skipped a beat. The nun smiled and said: "I've been waiting for a long time." After saying that, she took a look at Li Wei Yang and saw that her face was beautiful, with a thin layer of rouge on her face, which made her eyes shine like pearls, and she couldn't help but nod, smiling brightly, and say: "This must be the new disciple. She is such a beauty. Come in quickly."

Li Wei Yang had never heard of such a nunnery on the outskirts of the capital, but seeing Yuan Yu's expression at this moment, he seemed to have been there before and was very familiar with the nun. Yuan Yu nodded and followed the nun in. Li Wei Yang stood motionless at the door, but there was a long sword pressed against her waist. This time, Yuan Yu was obviously serious about it. If she didn't obey, he would directly kill her. Li Wei Yang smiled slightly and stepped in without saying much.

This Guanyin Temple was still a Buddhist temple when one first walked in. There were statues of gods in the front of the hall, candles and incense in front of the Buddha, and everything was spotless. Li Wei Yang took a look and saw that there were several people worshiping the Buddha and chanting sutras without lifting their heads, looking extremely devout. Turning to the left was the main hall. There are a few ordinary tables and chairs. Although they are simple, they are very elegant. Unexpectedly, the nun led her all the way through the hall and went deep inside the temple. Yuan Yu did not look back at Li Wei Yang. He knew that there were naturally those secret guards responsible for escorting Li Wei Yang all the way.

Passing from the hall is the inner courtyard. Li Wei Yang saw several young nuns, wearing light muslin robes and welcoming smiles. Turning to the side, she entered a room, which was elegant, clean and spotless. The room was equipped with a desk, piano table, bed, and a beauty couch, all of which were made of finely carved rosewood or red sandalwood, which were extremely valuable. The nun stopped and said with a smile: "This is it." Before she finished speaking, Li Wei Yang saw that Yuan Yu did not shy away from her at all, and even quietly reached out to touch the nun's chest. The nun smiled, stroking his face with her fingers, and said teasingly: "Young master, are you cold? You can just put your hands on my chest to warm them."

At this point, if Li Wei Yang still doesn't know why she is here, then she is really a fool.

There are four kinds of "beauty houses" in Dali. The first one are the brothels in the city. Usually, an alley is opened next to the main road. After twisting and turning, the path leads to a quiet place where suddenly, you'll find a brothel in front of you. Tall buildings, red painted doors, willows and flowing water outside. The attendants guarding the courtyard stand on both sides. The interior is often triple-layered, and the courtyard is deep and wide. There are often flowers, sculpted rocks, and ponds with fish swimming between the halls and courtyards. The furnishings in the room are even more exquisite, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting, pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and even signatures and inscriptions of famous people. After the guests arrived, they were served fragrant green tea, fine wine, and light dishes, accompanied by beautiful and charming girls, who entertained the guests with their sweet voices. However, in this sort of place, the guests were all nobles, refined merchants and military generals, as well as talented and famous painters. It was extremely elegant, and one could barely even imagine it was a brothel at all.

The second type were ordinary courtyards with fences all over the streets and alleys, specifically serving ordinary guests. The girls are much worse than those in the first-class brothels. After you go there, you can directly find the girls you like without needing to listen to music and have conversation. The third type is a low-grade brothel, which receives the lowest level of servants and commoners. A single prostitute can receive countless customers. It was truly filthy.

If you didn't like these three options, there is something more interesting. That is, a nunnery. There, you can also hold banquets for guests, with all kinds of meat and vegetable dishes prepared, and you can also use these nuns as courtesans to indulge in debauchery. The only difference is that in the ordinary high-class brothels, as long as you are rich and powerful, you can be a guest at any time, while in the nunnery, you must be introduced by a first-class dignitary and make good connections before you have a chance to enter.

As a disciple of Buddhism, a nun should be isolated from the world and devoid of worldly desires, but this is not the case. The nuns here recruit romantic widows or fallen concubines from wealthy families. If they are widows, persuade them to take refuge before the lotus throne (t/n: lotus throne or lotus platform is a reference to Buddhism) and pray for their late husbands; if they are beautiful concubines, knowing that they have fallen out of favor, invite them to stay in the Buddhist hall and pass the time in tranquility. In reality, they are teaching all kinds of skills and building magpie bridges (t/n: a magpie bridge is a reference to an old Chinese legends and refers to allowing lovers to meet each other). Of course, this is a nunnery, and there are some young girls who have been sent in since childhood. On the surface, they are accepted as apprentices, taught to chant sutras and worship Buddha, deal with fasting rituals of rich families, but secretly they are trained to socialize and flirt, and when they grew up, taught to receive guests.

There were many places like this in the previous dynasty, but now the emperor is most disgusted with Buddhism being contaminated with such filth. He had ordered that such places be purged, and even Li Wei Yang had thought that this place was extinct in the capital.

She sneered and said, "So you sent me to such a filthy place. No wonder you took a boat and changed carriages, all to avoid being seen."

Yuan Yu turned around, his beautiful face carrying a trace of malicious ridicule, and said: "Originally, I planned to send you to some low-grade brothel, a straw shack, a rotten bed, or even a room without a bed. I wanted you to serve dozens of guests every day, knowing the consequences of offending me! It's just that that kind of place is too easy to expose, and if Li Minde or the Seventh Prince accidentally find out, it will be inconvenient for me, so I brought you here and will hand you over to Aunt Hong."

The nun smiled, looked at Li Wei Yang maliciously, and said in a sweet voice: "Since the young master has given the order, I will naturally obey! I just don't know what kind of guests you want her to accept?"

Yuan Yu sneered and said: "The first guest is naturally me. From them on, she will serve the filthiest and lowest guest! Preferably the lame, blind, and leprous! Right, beggars are also good!"

Aunt Hong laughed and said: "Young master, you are really making things difficult for me. All the people here are dignitaries. Where can I find such guests? Besides, she -"

Li Wei Yang sneered, looked at the beautiful nun in front of her, shook her head and said: "You are so bold, you actually want to keep me here? Do you know who I am?"

Aunt Hong said with a smile: "No matter who you are, as long as you enter my place, you are a nun. I only accept regular customers here, and there are no outsiders. Even if someone recognizes you, I will just say you are a crazy girl. With me as your guarantor, how can others casually believe who you are? Furthermore, the more noble your status is, the happier people will be when they have a romantic night with you. Who would be willing to publicize it everywhere afterwards? Wouldn't it be a disaster for them? Besides -" she looked at Yuan Yu with her beautiful eyes and said, "Besides, I'm not stupid, how can I let you see someone who can recognize you?"

"But I don't want to, and no one can force me." Li Wei Yang's cold eyes lingered on Aunt Hong's body.

Aunt Hong felt a little embarrassed under those cold eyes, but she secretly laughed at how many girls she had seen who were unwilling but finally become willing. She smiled and said: "Miss, I'm afraid you don't know how we treat nuns who refuse to accept guests. They are tied and beaten, stripped of her clothes and burned with a fire stick, then her hands and feet are bound and sealed in a sack with a cat. The cat is beaten and will scratch wildly until her skin is broken and bleeding, and the pain is excruciating. Tsk tsk, so no matter how tough the girl is, she can only be obedient in my hands. Seeing your delicate skin, I'm afraid that you also want to have a taste of this!"

Li Wei Yang listened and just smiled softly. The smile on her lips actually hid a sharp sarcasm. Aunt Hong couldn't help but feel weird when she looked at it.

Yuan Yu sat aside contentedly. Seeing this, Aunt Hong clapped her hands, and immediately a young nun appeared from the door, with fine dishes and wine in her hands. She came to the table and set them down, and after a while, she took out some candied fruits, melon seeds an dessert plates, and arranged them on the table. The young nun saw Yuan Yu and wanted to linger, but Aunt Hong spat and kicked her out. Then Aunt Hong turned around and sat on Yuan Yu's lap with a coquettish look.

Yuan Yu looked at Li Wei Yang grandly, with a victor's attitude: "Sit down."

Li Wei Yang smiled slightly, but without any fear, she sat directly opposite him.

Aunt Hong said quizzically: "This little girl is strange. I have had many young ladies from rich families come here in the past, but none of them were as calm as her. She seemed to have come to burn incense."

Li Wei Yang was not in a hurry, and said in a quiet voice: "I'm indeed just here to burn incense."

Yuan Yu laughed loudly, hugged Aunt Hong tightly, kissed her, and said with a smile: "What do you know? She is the best at pretending. After drinking, the three of us will have a good time together!" When Aunt Hong heard this, her eyes unconsciously looked towards the bed in the inner room. Li Wei Yang glanced at it and saw that the bed was drapped with snow-white curtains with a red headboard, and there were two brocade quilts folded at the foot. It looked incomparably luxurious.

Yuan Yu felt like his heart was on fire when he saw Li Wei Yang looking so calm. Li Wei Yang, this damn girl, actually planned for him to marry that old woman Yongning. He almost vomited when he saw that old face! It was really unacceptable for him to return to Yuexi in such a dejected state! His success in manipulating Yongning had restored his confidence, and now he can't help but doubt that it is not that his methods failed, but that Li Wei Yang is really not a woman! Subconsciously moving his gaze to Li Wei Yang's chest, he pushed Aunt Hong away and hooked his finger at Li Wei Yang: "Come here."

Li Wei Yang smiled and sat there without moving. Yuan Yu sneered. Could it be that she thought he would be as unguarded as last time? ! He would never give her a chance to say those words again. He immediately stood up and walked to Li Wei Yang. In fact, he could have devoured her directly in the carriage, but after all, he was from a noble family, and he was still different from those shameless, lecherous people. At least, he wanted a woman who was willing, and it was rare to meet a person like Li Wei Yang who made him use all kinds of means to make her surrender to him first before enjoying the taste of his captive.

After all, like Tuoba Zhen and others, he still has the arrogance of the royal family in his heart. Li Wei Yang saw through this, so she was not afraid of him messing around in the carriage. But now, he was obviously going to take action - the smile on Li Wei Yang's face was even bigger, and she even took the initiative to pour herself a cup of tea. Just when Yuan Yu's hand with one finger missing was about to touch her sleeve, she slowly said: "This is Empress Pei's real stronghold."

The voice seemed to come from far away beyond the sky. Yuan Yu's pupils shrank at that moment, and his hand seemed to stop in mid-air. His voice was hard: "What did you say?"

Li Wei Yang smiled, with a trace of pity in her eyes like ancient wells: "This is Empress Pei's most important stronghold in Dali."

At this moment, Yuan Yu's face changed. His face looked very pale and seemed to be green. How could she know!? He obviously hid it very well! His repeated calculations had exhausted his mental and physical energy. He couldn't help but feel his blood surge again, and said angrily: "What on earth do you know?!"

Li Wei Yang swirled the tea cup in her hand and said: "Minde spent a lot of time before, but couldn't find where Empress Pei's stronghold in Dali was, so I'm also thinking, where exactly is this place? In fact, we have checked the Qin Lou Chu Pavilion. This is the best place to pass on the news. Unfortunately - after half a year of checking, we did not find anything noteworthy. Indeed, no matter how smart I am, I would never have thought that you would abandon the bustling Qin Lou Chu Pavilion and choose this wonderful place."

If Yuexi wanted to get information in Dali, the first thing they have to do is to open up connections with the powerful people in Dali, or at least try to close the distance between them. However, in the Dali Empire, there was a strict hierarchy and many etiquettes, and strangers could not get to know each other closely. But when they arrived at the Qinlou Chu Hall, things were completely different. No matter what status or identity you have outside, you only have one identity when you come here, that is, you come to prostitute. In addition, well-trained prostitutes often have a first-class ability to observe words and emotions, so they can naturally cope with various unexpected situations between guests, and finally ensure that the guests and hosts enjoy themselves. Therefore, many people who search for information, deliver information, and ask for help can often succeed in Qin Lou Chu Pavilion. Therefore, Li Wei Yang secretly searched for the stronghold of these Yuexi people since Minde was first assassinated, with the intention of uprooting the Yuexi influence in the capital. The first place she had sent people to investigate was the capital's many small and large high-class brothels, but they never found anything. But today, she realized that this nunnery, which looked peaceful on the outside, was actually such a place harboring filth and evil.

Empress Pei is really interesting.

Yuan Yu watched her slender fingers shaking the tea cup, and his heart suddenly became chaotic like cold water mixed with boiling oil.

Aunt Hong was surprised, put away her frivolous expression, and said, "How did you know about it?"

Li Wei Yang saw that the cups of the other two people were empty, smiled slightly, and actually poured tea for them, making a gesture of invitation, and then said: "This place is so secretive, and you said that you will not receive outsiders casually. Grand Prince Yan came in before the signal was given, which proved that he was not here for the first time, but a regular customer. However, he has only been in the capital for half a month. Even if he had been here before, he would definitely not be so familiar with you, the nunnery master. It is conceivable that, not only have you known each other for a long time, but you have also been colluding with each other for a long time. But you behaved so romantically in front of me just to hide your identity. Oh, no, that's not actually the case. Your identity is indeed a nun and you are indeed in the flesh business, but the most important thing is to spy on people, pass on information, and mediate things."

Aunt Hong stared at her, sneered, and said: "Princess Anping is indeed a smart person. Yes, my nunnery only entertains the first-class dignitaries of Dali, including generals and officials... those first-class nobles with a lofty identities. Even if those wealthy merchants and gentlemen wish to come, they must be introduced. Of course, even those who are introduced to our nunnery will not be received casually. After several months of inspection, we will prepare vegetarian dishes for them to eat. The so-called fasting is just the first step. After one or two fasts, we can talk about the main topic. After two or three months, these powerful people gradually became desperate, so I have the beautiful nuns in my hand to use their seductive skills. No matter how smart the man is, he can't escape the beauty's trap."

Li Wei Yang looked at Hong Gu indifferently and said: "Then you use the beauty in your hand to obtain intelligence and information from them and pass it back to Yuexi. No, there may be something else." She turned and looked at her face. Yuan Yu looked very ugly and said: "You have also bribed many officials to do work for you. It may be as simple as forming an alliance with Dali this time, or it may be motivating triggering a marriage alliance, or even worse——"

"Shut up!" Yuan Yu was angry, "Say one more word and I'll cut off your tongue!" He really didn't expect that Li Wei Yang would follow the clues and guess this important point!

Li Wei Yang smiled, and she said slowly: "I don't know how many Dali officials have been bribed by you, and I don't know what Empress Pei wants to do, but I can find it so easily, thanks to the help of His Highness Grand Prince Yan's good intentions. However, if someone gets the list of officials - secretly trading with Yuexi, it is a capital crime that's enough to behead people and confiscate their homes. Do you think if I get this list, will those people be willing to be controlled by me? "In fact, she was already sure of this as early as when Yuan Yu brought her here. Yuan Yu is not afraid that the guests who come here will reveal her identity. Who would not reveal her identity? Only those who boarded their ship.

Yuan Yu's voice trembled a little: "You are still a prisoner yourself, what are you daydreaming about!" However, he had a bad premonition when she talked about this matter, and he shouted: "Adai! Ah Jing!" These were the names of two of his six secret guards.

However, what answered him was deathly silence. There was not even the sound of wind outside. The same situation as the same last time! Yuan Yu's face turned pale!

Aunt Hong's always smiling face also changed. She slowly stood up and looked out with some fear.

Li Wei Yang suddenly laughed, threw the cup in her hand to the ground, and said loudly: "The broken cup is your sign. Come out!"

#the princess wei yang

[catbreedstips]

Exploring the Mekong Bobtail Cat Breed: A Unique Addition to Your Family

Introduction to Mekong Bobtail Cat Breeds

Originating from the ancient temple cats of Thailand, the Mekong bobtail is a recently developed breed with a rich history. Initially bred by Buddhist monks, these cats resided in temples, where they were cared for by pilgrims and monks. Through generations, a distinctive genetic mutation led to the development of a naturally shortened tail. In the 1980s, breeders introduced the Mekong bobtail by crossing these temple cats with existing bobtail breeds, resulting in a captivating fusion of Siamese elegance and bobtailed charm.

Characteristics and Appearance of the Mekong Bobtail

Mekong bobtails are medium-sized shorthaired cats, weighing between 6-10 lbs. With a wedge-shaped head, large ears, and slanted blue eyes, their appearance exudes grace. The short, soft, and silky coat comes in various colors such as seal, blue, lilac, and fawn. The most distinguishing feature is their stubby tail, approximately 1/3 the length of a normal cat's tail. Despite this, Mekong bobtails maintain excellent balance and agility.

Temperament and Popularity

These cats possess an energetic and friendly personality, forming deep bonds with their human families. Their high energy levels are complemented by a gentle nature, making them patient companions for children. Mekong bobtails thrive on human interaction, displaying moderate vocalization through soft chirps and meows. Intelligent yet occasionally stubborn during training, they make affectionate and entertaining family pets.

Lifespan: 12-15 years

Coat Colors: Seal, blue, lilac, fawn

Mixed Breed: Developed by crossing native temple cats with Western bobtail breeds like the Japanese Bobtail and Kurilian Bobtail.

Caring for a Mekong Bobtail Cat Breed

Food:

High-quality canned or dry cat food with animal-based protein.

Wet food for added moisture and urinary tract health.

Occasional treats of cooked meat, fish, or eggs.

Environment:

Provide safe outdoor access or a stimulating indoor environment.

Include cat towers, scratching posts, and interactive toys.

Grooming:

Weekly brushing to remove loose hair.

Regular nail trimming, ear and teeth checks.

Care Methods:

Engage in daily interactive play and training sessions.

Consider an enclosed outdoor space or leashed walks.

Adopting a Mekong Bobtail Cat

Popular Regions:

Europe, North America, Japan

Average Price:

$400 – $600 USD

Adoption/Rescue:

Mekong Bobtail Rescue (USA), Bobtailed Cat Rescue (UK), Bobtail Cat Adoptions (Canada)

What to Check Before Adoption:

General health and weight

Current vaccination records

Prior medical conditions

Preparing for a Mekong Bobtail Cat

Home Preparation:

Allow time for adjustment to the new environment.

Cat-proof the home by removing potential hazards.

Supplies:

Stock up on food, litter, scratching posts, treats, and grooming tools.

Find a trusted vet and schedule a wellness exam within the first week.

Playtime and Training:

Spend quality playtime using interactive toys.

Be patient with training and expect initial stubbornness.

Essentials for Mekong Bobtail Cat Care Include:

Premium cat food, auto-feeder, and water fountain

Litter box, cat scratching posts, and toys

Grooming tools like nail clippers, brush, toothbrush

Cat carrier for safe travel

Common Health Issues to Watch For:

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)

Dental disease

Urinary crystals

Diabetes

Core Vaccines:

Kitten series (FVRCP)

Rabies

Feline leukemia (FeLV)

Annual boosters

Choosing a Name for Your Mekong Bobtail:

Thai-inspired names (Rama, Siam, Songkhla, Phuket)

Mythological names (Loki, Athena, Apollo)

Food-inspired names (Mango, Papaya, Boba)

Nature names (River, Forest, Willow)

Traditional cat names (Felix, Luna, Oscar)

Human names (Charlie, Lucy, Oliver)

Welcoming a Mekong bobtail into your family promises years of devoted companionship and joy.

#cat breeds

[drdunev]

Can you believe it is Thanksgiving already? The snow is already flying up North, so I am glad to be in Florida this year, and happy that I can see patients, family and friends another time before Christmas rushes in.

Give yourself the gift of a good Immune boost. There are so many herbs and supplements that will help you escape whatever comes your way. Your own innate Immune system, mostly located in the lining of the gut, is your best defense against a host of health issues. There are chewable immune supplements for the kids and anyone who hates swallowing pills. Scout’s Motto-Be prepared!

We are watching how much sugar we eat this year, so I will be making pumpkin pie with Monk Fruit and Stevia. The spicy desserts really lend themselves to these plant-based extracts that taste sweet to the tongue, but don’t contain sugar and don’t spike your blood sugar. I always double or triple the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and that further balances blood sugar control.

Thanks to Birch Benders there are pumpkin pancake and waffle mixes. Avoiding gluten or eating paleo? If you can't buy locally, it's available on Amazon.

Turkey meat has the amino acid Tryptophan, which the body uses to make both Serotonin and Melatonin. So, that satisfied, feel-good mood after a big turkey dinner is partly from the unique benefits of turkey.

Don’t forget the digestive enzymes like Enzycore and Zypan or Betaine HCL to help you enjoy that good lean protein.

I am doing a lot of Telemedicine and long-distance consulting, so if you have family members who live elsewhere and need help, let me know. See a healthy snack recipe perfect for Thanksgiving below.

The Pilgrims and the Native Americans came from completely different religious beliefs, cultures, countries, and customs. But they came together over the things they shared in common. We all need healthy whole foods, our families, and our friends. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to find people who can teach us the things we need to know to survive in new environments. Despite their religious differences, the Pilgrims undoubtedly thanked God for the wisdom the Native Americans shared that enabled them to survive in the harsh winter of their new home. Many of our best medicines came from Native American herbal tradition. Echinacea is a North American herb that is a powerful immune remedy, cultivated by Native Americans.i Sage, Motherwort, Willow Bark, and Saw Palmetto were other herbs the early herbalists learned about from the tribal practitioners.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving, with enough kindness and goodwill to share.

ihttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12808356/                                  Roasted Parsnip Chips Parsnips are those cream-colored, odd shaped root vegetables that look like carrots. They are surprisingly mild and sweet when roasted. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large roasting pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper (if you want to make clean up easier.) Slice the parsnips diagonally and spread out in the pan. I usually roast the larger pieces first, and add the smaller ones later for even roasting. Brush or drizzle the sliced parsnips with olive oil and salt to taste.  Roast for 20 minutes and check. We like them crispier, so I roast them longer, but they are ready whenever they start to turn golden brown. They can be roasted and stored in the refrigerator until ready to be reheated and enjoyed. Even die-hard vegetable haters may enjoy these! Parsnips have great nutritional value. The mineral content includes manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc and phosphorus. Vitamins include B1, B6, B9, C, K, and E. They also have the fiber that our gut biome loves. And the contain Falcarindiol, an antioxidant that may destroy tumor cells. In ancient herbal lore, parsnips were considered an aphrodisiac. Pretty good stuff for an oddly shaped carrot! Let me know if you try this recipe or have another parsnip recipe to share.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, September 20

SPIKE: It's not blood, it's bourbon. BUFFY: (slower) Eeeeew. SPIKE: (grins ruefully) Suit yourself. He shakes his head, reaches across Buffy to put the flask back, sits back and sighs. He begins to hum, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Buffy gives him a look, which he doesn't notice. SPIKE: (sings) I wanna be sedated... (stops singing, looks at Buffy) Do you like the Ramones?

~~Crush~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Back To School Girl by badly_knitted (Buffy, PG)

Perfect Match by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Yew-trees and roses by Liana_Medea (G)

50 Things Worse Than Spike by QueenQueso_DSL [older work] (Buffy, Spike, Dawn, G)

The True Power by arcanedreamer (Buffy, Xander, G) [author also posted multiple other older works]

Returning by naoa-ao3 (Darla, unrated)

Thirty Years by IBJoyful (Faith, FR7)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Becoming Kate - Ch. 1-4 by NautiBitz [older work] (Faith/Kate, Buffy/Willow, E) COMPLETE!

Dana's Journey to Being a Slayer - Part 6 by ILLYRIAN (ensemble, unrated)

Stained - Ch. 6 by bakedbakermom (Scully, X-Files xover, unrated)

Edge of the World - Ch. 2 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

L'amore troverà la via - Ch. 3 by Violette-Milka (NC-17, French language)

Healing After Heaven - Ch. 10 by Kate (Buffy, Highlander xover, FR13)

Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before) - Ch. 11 by curiouslywombat (Dawn, LOTR xover, FR15)

Never Let You Die - Ch. 1 by DeamonQueen (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Art of Dying - Ch. 29-30 by disco-tea (Buffy/Spike, R)

Blood and Black Lace - Ch. 12 by SlayrGrl (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Manip: Keep Your Enemies Closer - Ch. 1 by disco-tea (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Moodboards: Willow & Tara moodboards by btvsfansworld (Tara/Willow, worksafe)

Moodboards: Wesley & Giles moodboards by btvsfansworld (Wesley, Giles, worksafe)

Moodboard: Willow Rosenberg - And I'm Eating This Banana, Lunchtime Be Damned by awinterrosesstuff (Willow, worksafe)

Moodboard: Buffy Summers - the vampire slayer - I'm the thing the monsters have nightmares about. by awinterrosesstuff (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: ⏱️ ATS 213. Happy Anniversary ⏱️ by tmcarlee (various, mildly NSFW)

[Reviews & Recaps]

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E18 (part 1) by jvstheworld

Thoughts on Season Two so far [ATS and negative] by DinoBradshaw

VIDEO: I wish I could (and I don't) love Wes [Angel the Series] by Five by Five Takes

PODCAST: Episode 38: Revelations by Gym Was Cancelled

[Fandom Discussions]

You know, with just some minor tweaks, Riley’s story could have been Xander's. by odinspattern

Obsessed with Buffy/Buffy Collectibles [talk about your collections!] by Purple_Sun_7100

I’m very new to this fandom and I know I’m not supposed to like her... [Drusilla] by New-Consequence-8820

Between Fred and Illyria who do you prefer? by Night-Caelum

Glory VS Caleb by 47-Rambaldi

What was more satisfying? [Riley in Where the Wild Things Are vs Spike in Smashed] by Overtheedge33

What Song Reminds You Of The Show? by ragbook231

... my favorite Buffy speech of all is the Slayer Spell speech in "Chosen" by jdpm1991

I find it a bit strange that Buffy never trains her friends in combat techniques… by JumpingJBeans

Do we think the monks taught Buffy to drive? by Xandertheokay

Dracula never existed before "Buffy vs Dracula" [was it Dracula magic or the monks accidentally made Dracula real?] by thishenryjames

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#ats #btvs #meta #fan art #fan fiction #angel the series #buffy the vampire slayer

[sleepy-mercury]

episode 7

!!! warning spoilers under cut !!!

my unfiltered thoughts as i watch the latest TPK episode

the tentacle creature (ottiug?) is not a special plot thing just a sewer-dwelling thing

chronic nightmares? this is new and a little sus…

a city where lots of people die under suspicious circumstances does not sound like a good place to be

two new players!! and both introduced during another argument with the iron inquisitors

city is called Dolomus i keep forgetting to write this down

motthew the mothman

lightning wood staff? a wizard perhaps?

sjikaelids is literally a keyboard smash not a race name

nakani using a grung/frogs poison as a hallucinogenic drug is a great indicator of her character

also it is such a power move annoying the iron inquisitor into leaving

nakani is amazing i love her

we now have two pairs of “i’m very happy about everything everyone is my friend” and “go away leave me alone”

this is how our old team died. wanna be our new team? great way to make friends 10/10 guaranteed to work

blightlands sound a bit not good lets not go there

motthew really took “pick a god and pray to it” and ran with that and picked every god ever

8 day week, 32 day lexinoth, 15 lexinoths in a cycle - 480 days in a cycle

the jackal-head person (a nubissian) is back? seems too much of a coincidence that there are two of them…

motthew is a siggy stan

i got too excited about the possibility of a wizard nakani is a monk the staff is a hitty stick

i dont like the out of session info i want all the lore

there’s a dangerous job, where you might die…. but they will pay loads of money 🙃

i think motthew should have not spoken when trying to convince the party he just made them less eager for the task

the weather in this episode was like the weather this summer - miserable and wet!

callum attempting to persuade jack that alchemists tools are not an intelligence check

willow has encountered the moral dilemma of ‘is killing ok if the thing is gonna kill us?’

toni got a hug from the storm <3

this was such a long episode we have increased by 50% since the start yay :)

#dnd #the players keep #tpk #mercury rambles

[visualdialogue101]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Las Vegas)

Bold - top fave

Red - character bases

Orange - children are involved

Green - strange but true

Color Bold - rp/fanfic worthy

Season 1

Tempting Bait

Cool Change

Crate & Burial

Pledging Johnson

Friends, Lovers, & Others

Who Are You

Bloody Buffalo

Anonymous

Unfriendly Skies

Sex, Lies, Lerve

I-15 Murders

Fahrenheit 932

Boom

To Halve & To Hold

Table Stakes

Too Tough To Die

Two Faced

$35K Op

Gentle Gentle

Soulds of Silence

Justice Served

Evaluation Day

Strip Strangler

Season 2

Burked

Butterfly Effect

Overload

Bully for You

Skydiving Suba

Alter Boys

Caged

Slaves of Sin

& then there were none

Fathers & Daughters

Organ Grinder

You've Got Male

Identy Crisis

The Finger

Burden of Proof

Prima Donna

Felonius Monk

Bus Chase

CSI Stalker

Cats in the Cradle

Anatomy of Lye

Cross Jurisdictions

The Hunger Artist

Season 3

Accused & Entitled

Revenge is Best Served Cold

Let the Seller Beware

A Little Murder

Abra Cadaver

The Execution of Catherine Willows

Fight Night

Snuff

Blood Lust

High & Low

Recipe for Murder

Got Murder?

Random Acts of Violence

One Hit Wonder

Pandora's Box

Lucky Strike

Crash & Burn

Precious Metal

A Night at the Movies

Last Laugh

Forever

Playing with Fire

Inside The Box

Season 4

For Our Country 1

For Our Country 2

Homebodies

Feeling the Heat

Fur & Loathing

Jackpot

Invisible Evidence

After the Show

Grissom VS Volcano

Coming of Rage

Eleven Angry Jurors

Butterflies

Suckers

Paper or Plastic

Early Rollout

Getting Off

XX

Bad to the Bone

Bad Words

Dead Ringer

Turn of the Screw

No More Bets

Bloodlines

Season 5

Viva Las Vegas

Down the Drain

Harvest

Crow's Feet

Swamp Meet

What's Eating Grissom?

Formalities

Ch-Ch-Changes

Mea Culpa

No Humans Involved

Who Shot Sherlock

Snakes

Nesting Dolls

Unbearable

King Baby

Big Middle

Compulsion

Spark of Life

4x4

Hollywood Brass

Committed

Weeping Willows

Iced

Grave Danger 1

Grave Danger 2

Season 6

Bodies in Motion

Room Service

Bite Me

Shooting Stars

Gum Drops

Secrets & Flies

Bullet Beats Rules 1

Bullet Beats Rules 2

Dog eat Dog

Still Life

Werewolves

Daddy's Little Girl

Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye

Killer

Pirets of the Third Reich

Up in Smoke

I Like to Watch

The Unusual Suspect

Spellbound

Poppin Tags

Rashomama

Time of Death

Bang-Bang

Wat to Go

Season 7

Built to Kill 1

Built to Kill 2

Toe Tags

Fanysmackin

Double Cross

Burn Out

Post Mortem

Happenstance

Living Legend

Loco Motives

Leaving Las Vegas

Sweet Jane

Redrum

Meet Market

Law of Gravity

Monster in the Box

Fallen Idols

Empty Eyes

Big Shots

Lab Rats

Ending Happy

Leaping Lizards

The Good, The Bad, The Dominatrix

Living Doll

#csi crime scene investigation #seasons & episodes