#Embodied Practice

[raffaellopalandri]

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day serves not merely as a calendar annotation but as a global synchronous event, a resonant node within the ever-expanding network of embodied contemplative and martial traditions. Its emergence on the global stage is a powerful testament to the enduring efficacy and cross-cultural permeability of practices rooted deeply in Chinese history and philosophy. Approaching…

[kurohaai]

I'm officially in LaDS swamp make way for my ffg (freaky fluffy guy)

[king-crawler]

Is there a music analysis of Wreck-It Ralph anywhere? (I'm sure there is) Cuz I've been listening to the soundtrack and ... EHEHHEHEH.. I love musical character motifs

I made a short video on an example I especially liked between Vanellope and King Candy :)

Basically he STOLE her leitmotif, like he stole everything else of hers

[roachsauce]

average day at the corrie hq

[rainystressed247]

An au called the villain needs a therapist, how dream became a psycho and what's the beginning? (Also love your arts)

Warning: Flashing light!

The beginning is always subtle, blurred. There is no clear cut for when it starts but it takes root when defiance and fear becomes compliance and even joy. They didn't notice fast enough, they didn't care to notice the signs, and now they reap what they sowed. Isn't it what they all wanted?

Punz knows about Dream's mental instability but also realises that he is incapable of fixing it. You can say he is blindly supportive, as long as Dream is happy.

P.S. Sorry for the late reply, I just landed from my flight /.\

[serpentface]

Question about Couya! Since she is a bastard what are the reasons about her being brought into the main family by her father. Was it genuine care for his child or a way to save face politically/socially? Is her birth mother alive? Do you think she would have had a better life growing up anywhere else?

This is in large part due to how cultural perceptions and legal punishment of adultery varies between male and female citizens, looped into the very strictly patrilineal kinship system.

By legal definition, the word for 'adultery' applies only to situations where a man has an affair with a married woman, or a married woman has an affair with any man. Other forms of affairs (eg a married man having an affair with an unmarried woman) are wrapped into a broader set of sexual misdemeanors and aren't often charged or punished in practice, and the punishments are comparatively minor (if an unwed woman's father pursues charges, the man in the affair is likely to just pay a fine). On a social level, extramaritial affairs in general are certainly not Approved of and seen as lowly and dishonorable, but the average response is significantly less harsh/more willing to entertain Nuance with men than with women.

In this society there's differentiated shades of bastardry depending on the contexts of the child's birth, as well as a distinction for 'nameless bastards' (has not been claimed by their biological father or maternal grandfather, or claimed in adoption).

a) A child born to an unmarried woman via an unmarried man: non-issue for father, potentially serious social harm for the woman (especially if she has never been married and expected virginal, much less severe as a widow or divorcee). The child will not be notably disadvantaged in of themselves (their status will depend more on whether they are claimed and thus provided the social security of a family patriarch), the father will experience no hard disadvantages in claiming them.

b) A child born to an unmarried woman via a married man: mild sexual misdemeanor for the father carrying levels of social shame, even more serious social harm for the woman (often framed as not just loose but a manipulative Seductress of a married man). The child might experience minor to moderate social disadvantages, the consequences of the father claiming them are purely social and will not typically be severe. (Couya is this)

c) A child born to a married woman via an unmarried or married man: both man and woman have committed a crime and can be severely punished. The biological father can technically claim the child but will be disincentivized from doing so. This is the form of bastardry most comparable to the conventional definition, in that it is heavily stigmatized and has effects on concerns of kinship and inheritance.

In addendum to this, if the adulterous wife's legal husband claims the child, this may be punishable if determined to be active concealment of adultery (which is also a crime), and has EXTREME social consequences either way. (Either you're a cuckold too stupid to notice that your wife has been skipping out on you, or you're a MEGAcuckold adultery-accessory willingly rearing another man's child after being horribly shamed by him).

(This is separate from adoption- a man who marries a woman with an unclaimed child after the fact (whether it was a product of adultery or just a general out of wedlock birth) and claims the child is an adoptive father, he is not concealing adultery or being cuckolded.)

A child born in an affair can be considered an heir to their biological fathers (descent and kinship is fully patrilineal and on a Basic level it doesn't matter who the mother is), and can very smoothly and legally be claimed when the affair was not considered criminal adultery. The concern on that front is social perception rather than material legal consequences or kinship issues.

Couya's birth mother was an unwed servant working as a housekeeper for her father Saizen, so the Crime of adultery did not take place. It would be considered a minor sexual misdemeanor, and the woman's father was not about to pursue charges against a nobleman who could Ruin him (and had also formally expressed that he would claim the child, which meant he would not be saddled with a nameless bastard granddaughter). So the concerns here were entirely social.

The affair might have started beforehand but the pregnancy that produced Couya occurred after his wife's third viable pregnancy ended in the premature birth of a underdeveloped boy deemed necessary to euthanize (and tbr would Not have survived either way). This was after Livya Haidamane had a couple early term miscarriages, two viable but very difficult pregnancies wherein one child was very weak and sickly for the first several years of life, and struggled to conceive every time. A lot of people are going to be at least a little sympathetic to a married man having an affair and claiming a bastard in this context. It's definitely ideal and practical to have more than two children, and his wife (while not outright infertile) clearly could not reliably bear healthy children. (The average response is going to be "Well he shouldn't have done it but like, I get it")

Couya being claimed by her father was a mix of genuine care and saving face. Initially it was MUCH more the latter than the former. Saizen made attempts to hide the servant's pregnancy and to keep his own wife out of sight during the late term (to prevent the baby appearing after his wife had been seen Extremely not pregnant). But there's some levels of care involved, he could very easily have fired the pregnant servant and had nothing to do with his bastard and she would have no recompense whatsoever. The choice to keep and claim the baby and ensure its entrance into the world bore as little social scrutiny as possible is an act of care for his own progeny.

This was Not an act of care for Couya's birth mother (beyond the fact that concealing her pregnancy would benefit her in hiding that she is not only Not a virgin prior to marriage but had a child). She probably would have been about 17-19 at the time and was fired a few months after giving birth, and most likely never saw Couya again after this point (if she did, it would most likely be in the context of seeing her as an adult Odonii in public and noting her to look Scarily familiar). She has an Okayish chance at still being alive, she'd be around 50 (and a person who survives the high infant mortality and birth casualty rates stands a good chance of hitting their 60s), though she could very well be a casualty of the drought+famine.

Whether or not Couya's life would have been better is kind of a mixed bag. She had an awful fucking childhood in large part because her adoptive mother Livya Haidamane hated her. (Livya was ultimately a pretty horrible person but not just like. An Evil Bitch. She had A Lot going on and Couya was a living breathing insult to her and reminder of like, every one of her dashed hopes and dreams). Couya is also autistic and presented very intense symptoms as a child in a society that is Not equipped for a mass-understanding and support of cognitive differences. But she still did have an immensely privileged life with profound physical/economic levels of security inaccessible to the vast majority of people in this region, including her birth mother. Saizen also actually Liked her and cared about her, he just wasn't a routine physical presence in any of his children's lives.

Had she been left with her biological mother, she would be in a very disadvantaged situation as a nameless bastard to an unwed mother. Her biological grandfather may or may not have been willing to claim her, and her mother would have great difficulties in finding a husband (which is ultimately necessary for the security of women in this society). I think her mother was a relatively kind person but not like, a perfect angel. She would probably have complicated feelings about her bastard daughter, especially one whose very existence materially disadvantages her and was very, very difficult as a child. So this probably would not have been a good situation for Couya either.

If you broaden the question to ANY other family completely divorced from the circumstances of her birth, yeah it definitely could have been better. But in her case it's like either "Life of grotesque socioeconomic privilege but in an abusive household" or "Life of profound socioeconomic disadvantages in a household that Probably wouldn't have been this abusive but certainly wouldn't be healthy". There wasn't really a good option for her.

[kibutsulove]

modern au azulon .he lurks

[sysig]

Wuh oh (Patreon)

Bonus:

The novel experience of being crushed by a giant rock, a visual metaphor

[vroomvroomwee]

There's something so heartwarming about having Stede be his openly joyous queer self and not have that be a bad thing.

I know I know, it's the bare minimum yeah yeah. But my point stands because you don't see it anywhere else (except good omens). And it's wonderful because this character has no shits to give about how others might perceive his flamboyance, even when they, like Izzy or the Badmintons, openly mock him for it. He's found a safe space to be, and he knows he's free to express his true self. He's jolly, he's extravagant, he's posh, he's sweet, he's squeaky, he's gentle, he's exuberant, he's considerate, he's soft, and it's never framed as a negative trait.

And on top of all that, you almost NEVER see characters like that who behave in a way society will call "weak" for a "man" and have them not only be the main protagonist mind you, but also be resourceful, capable, confident, strong, resilient, determined and overall amazing (he's a bloody idiot but he's also brilliant as shit).

I know stuff like this has been said, especially for Aziraphale, but I can't stress enough how refreshing it is to see someone, a human, who has no powers to keep him safe, who's so obviously queer, and have that just be a part of their personality and not their whole defining characteristic. To have someone so freely effeminate and have them be respected

[skunkes]

got some cheap watercolors and im so scared to use them

[soath]

Of Contracts Between Gods and Men

On the Aeorian Kinsey-Deicide scale I’m a solid 5 (near exclusively god-preserving) which may seem surprising to my many dear associates who want those fundamental truths of existence wrecked. Without digging in any further, let’s do some quick religious history review on the question: Do you owe anything to the gods and do they owe anything to you?

The answer is not as universal as many raised in the nigh inescapable miasma of Christian theology may think! Reciprocal (or even unilateral) responsibility in religion comes and goes across history and geography. The Norse Aesir, for example, created humans but don’t owe them nada and only rarely bothered messing with them. The Greek pantheon are significantly more touchy on the subject of their pride but a person could manage offering no prayers or sacrifices as long as they didn’t promise any prayers or sacrifices. Probably. Compare this to Mayan theology, wherein both gods and humans have significant co-responsibility in maintaining balance; with ritual and sacrifice key to the continued safety of the polity. Divine-mortal relationships can be classified as nondirectional, unidirectional, or bidirectional with various advantages and disadvantages to each model. Gods come in lots of shapes and the demands they make aren’t universal!

A phrase that will often come up in any divinity studies is “covenant”. Originally a translation of the Hebrew berith or Greek diatheke, and also present in Islam, the Bahai’i faith, and possibly historical Phoenician religious practices, covenant theology has metastasized in Christian scholarship to the point it was genuinely hard to research this piece while dodging blogs by guys named Richard. But, broadly, it’s the idea of making an explicit deal with power(s) greater than yourself where you both have sides of the bargain to uphold.

Contract law is not the solution to every problem on earth or in fiction, but when the issue is a large disparity in power and mutual fears of future adverse behavior…. to quote Kate Bush “I’d make a deal with (the) god(s).”

Vitally, compared to other bidirectional pacts in world religion, Exandria has some advantages. For one thing, they have a godeater they’re right now helping to suppress. As long as the gods remain behind the divine gate they need mortal champions to effect their will—but that only holds true as long as the Divine Gate stays up. And unfortunately the problem with a fence someone else has erected is that you don’t know if they’ve kept a key.

If I was mortality’s lawyer? I’d ask for a second layer to that divine hamsterball I’d ask for anything left of the godkilling spark to be kept by the temples of Vasselheim—if they can’t be trusted with it no one can. And I’d promise cooperation from people of a certain degree of civic responsibility, not coerced or threatened out, whole hearted. But terms and conditions may vary.

Anyway, I guess the thesis is that it’s a terrible sin to destroy something you can’t comprehend with no idea of what the outcome will be (and a lot of you don’t seem to get the inconceivable joy of having/knowing/being a god, even just in fiction) but you can bring any monstrosity to the negotiating table. Don’t kill your gods, unionize against them.

[wrathunts]

°ㅤ𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝙲𝙰𝚁𝚁𝚈 𝙴𝙼𝙾𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 ? please repost , don’t reblog ! bold / italicize what applies accordingly .

『 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 . 』   jaw     clenching ,     hands     balling     into     fists ,     teeth     grinding,     yelling ,     going     nonverbal ,     vocalizations ,     stuttering     speech ,     rushed     speech ,     slow     concise     speech ,     rambling ,     quiet ,     arms     crossing ,     shaking     head ,     curling     lip     upwards ,     baring     teeth ,     tearing     up ,     animated ,     expressionless ,     projects ,     internalizes ,     vents ,     withdraws ,     tighter     movements ,     passive-aggressive ,     direct ,     physical     outbursts ,     verbal     outbursts ,     pacing ,     going     still ,     anger     boils     over     in     the     heat     of     the     moment     but     cools     down     quickly     afterwards ,     anger     brews     slowly     but     lingers     longer ,     will     act     out     of     impulse     when     angry ,     will     stew     on     their     anger     and     plot     revenge ,     holds     grudges ,     forgives     easily ,     forgives     but     never     forgets

『 𝒋𝒐𝒚 . 』  easy     smiles ,     fighting     back     grins ,     suppressed     laughter ,     loud     laughter ,     giggles ,     chuckling ,     smirks ,     whole     body     laughs ,     covers     mouth     when     laughing/giggling ,     throws     head     back     when     laughing ,     slaps     leg ,     touches     people     around     them     when     laughing ,     looks     down     when     laughing ,     looks     for     eye     contact     when     laughing,     sparkling     eyes ,     bubbly     happiness ,     quiet     subtle     happiness ,     obnoxious     happiness ,     wants     to     spread     joy ,     quietly     savors     joy

『 𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 . 』   crying ,     bottling     it     up ,     seeking     distractions ,     wallowing ,     meditating     and     processing ,     avoidance ,     seeking     out     comfort ,     withdrawing ,     swallowing     thickly ,     talking     it     out ,     internalizing     it ,     sad     smiles ,     depression     naps ,     using     alcohol ,     using     drugs ,     seeking     out     sources     of     joy ,     fidgets     with     sentimental     item ,     sits     in     silence ,     broods ,     gets     moody ,     wants     someone     to     share     the     misery ,     tries     to     hide     negative     emotions ,     nurtures     others     to     make     themselves     feel     better

『 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕     /     𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆 . 』       blushing ,     looking     away ,     rubbing     at     the     back     of     the     head ,     running     a     hand     through     hair ,     clearing     throat ,     covering     the     face ,     laughing     nervously ,     laughing     it     off ,     overthinking ,     letting     it     go ,     self-deprecating     humor ,     deflecting ,     getting     irritated ,     smiling ,     withdraws ,     crossing     arms     over     the     stomach ,     crossing     arms     over     chest ,     hands     in     pockets ,     shoulders     sinking ,     shrugs ,     falling     into     silence     until     comfortable     again ,     talking     a     lot     to     compensate

『 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 . 』   avoiding     eye     contact ,     shoulders     sinking     low ,     head     hanging     down ,     crying ,     chest     aches ,     lashing     out ,     internalizing ,     apologizing ,     deflecting ,     communicating ,     withdrawing ,     grand     gestures     for     forgiveness ,     accepting     fault     easily ,     punishing     themselves ,     martyrdom ,     victim     complex ,     over-active     guilt     complex ,     healthy     conscience ,     internalizes     even     after     forgiveness ,     seeking     redemption ,     moves     on     easily ,     denial ,     shuts     off     empathy     to     cope ,     lack     of     guilt / conscience ,     sorry     they     got     caught     more     than     caused     harm ,     can’t     handle     knowing     they     hurt     others

『 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓     /     𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 . 』   trembling ,     crying ,     sarcasm / sass     to     cope,     humour     to     cope ,     rambles ,     going     quiet ,     going     nonverbal ,     getting     angry ,     fidgeting ,     freezing     up ,     impatience ,     clenching     jaw ,     picking     at     nails ,     chewing     at     the     lip ,     pulling     at     clothes ,     adjusting     jewelry / clothing / hair ,     pacing ,     swallowing     thickly ,     eyes     widening ,     over - reacts ,     under - reacts ,     calm ,     logical ,     panic ,     irrational,     overthinks ,     carefully     analyzes ,     talk     to     themselves ,     breathing     exercises ,     flight ,     fight ,     withdraw ,     fawn

tagged: redacted. . . tagging: @benbraeden ( or any of your blogs lily ! ) , @razedhell @doesoft , @saralans , @cursedhunting , @qapsiel , @lunarfey. @diam1nd and anyone else who wants too as well!

[xserpx]

‘Pregnancy and motherhood are hardly compatible with the fencing circle. I am awfully out of practice.’

‘That was my first thought just now as I lay on my back with your sword at my throat. How awfully out of practice you seem.’

— Jurand & Savine, The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

[smile-files]

do you ever wish you could use a memory-erasing gun on yourself so you forget about all of the characters and stories you've come up with but which you know you'll never bring to life and thus have become more of an existential burden than anything

[rubythecrimsonwriter]

As someone who has lived in the south where the water trough is anywhere from mildly annoying to actively terrifying, who has lived on a fairly decently sized island where it is indeed absolutely terrifying to be cut off from the mainland suddenly with little to no help from the government for an extended period of time--

After No Man's Land and all the issues that arose then, I'd like to propose the new way of interring their dead would be mausoleums. Possibly especially with Gotham canonically existing on a system of caves. An island made of caves on the East Coast that gets battered by hurricanes almost every year is just asking to get sunk a la Atlantis but its fucking Gotham and i think the Gothamites would raise it from the sea floor again out of sheer spite.

But with mausoleums you:

Dont have your son crawling six feet through packed dirt after inexplicably coming back to life

Dont have long buried coffins and corpses getting flooded/shaken/otherwise disturbed and shunted into the water system/streets/underground reservoirs (or Lazarus Pits, since there's one of those down there too, as if Gotham didn't have enough things wrong with it)

Continues the Gotham aesthetic

Have more places for various characters to have a private mental breakdown in

Have more places for various characters to find ominous warnings etched or graffiti'd on the walls

Have more places for things much older than the mausoleums have been En Vogue™ for to inexplicably appear and send shivers down the spine

The Gothamites are very firm about not really being part of the US. The US kind of looks at the South like we're really fucking strange, and the South looks at New Orleans like they've taken the South and concentrated it, carbonated it, and shook it really hard.

I want the same vibes for Gotham. This is their home. They are weird and stubborn to a fault and everything is on fire and the government is corrupt and the people aren't always good but nobody else understands. No one else ever could. Who else has seen the lights for rescue appear on the horizon only to see the light of death on the waters, ensuring no help would ever come? They are resourceful and violent and resentful but the gods won't help you if you cross one of their own.

[dootznbootz]

This is a wild concept and I don't consider it canon but I want to share as it's definitely a thought that exists (not a good thought but you know).

What if OdyPen's love for each other is another example of hubris for them?

Since OdyPen is "likeminded" and think, act, and are alike, I sometimes think it'd be funny SIMPLY AS A CONCEPT that that's why they fell for each other so hard.

As if being so much alike and their love and devotion is some weird "I am the fucking best" as "no one could compare" which becomes another way of "self-love".

"I love him/her so fucking much." *points to a person who is basically a near-carbon copy of themselves in personality*

What is "canon" to me is that there's simply just nothing like basically sharing everything but a body. Being so in-sync and intuned to one another that it's like sharing a language only they know.

Odysseus: "We can have this here-" Penelope: "Actually over here-" Odysseus: "YES! and then this-" Penelope: "HERE! And then we can do this-" Odysseus: "Adding to that with this-" Penelope: "Which would then fix that other problem as well! Yes, we got it! We'll start that tomorrow!" Planner/Head servant/Messenger/etc.: "...You know...You know that you two have to let people know what you're planning if you want it to get done, right?" Both: "Oh yeah! :D "

It's like watching a tennis match with the ball going back and forth but instead of a ball, it's just...them.

While you can bounce a "ball" against the wall by yourself, it definitely feels "right" when it's your person.