#Garuda gives you wings

[toadeyes-miqote]

Further Inexplicable Garuda feud?

I have not played XV before so other than some summary of the game was like I have no context of Notics' personality or which part of his game he's from.

Went in as NIN since Lvl 50 and SMN is still in the mid 40s

XIV needs more campfire scenes. Can't remember if VI had them or was it Breath of Fire series (or even Wildarms or Secret of Mana) that had Camping scenes during camping out save breaks (tents)

Who is this Ignis and should I avoid getting too attach to the guy just because he's voiced by eternally suffering characters Mamoru Miyano (Bedivere, Okabe)?

What in the name of Garudamon is this?

Teleporting like Nightcrawler and fighting takes getting used to... wait.... eventually figure it out as DRK. somehow expecting this again come XVI and Clive

i was kinda hoping to steal Notics' jacket for travelling gear. But Gaganaskin's aiming jacket still has the right vibes.

Attempts to pick Aymeric up. He'll be here for a while more.

[chaos0pikachu]

So I wrote a bit about the film making of The Sign already but I wanted to dive a bit more into the VFX aspects b/c the show is - justifiably imo - getting a lot of praise for their work.

So I'm going to quote this video by VFX artists that I think sums up why, overall, the CGI works in The Sign:

"It's very interesting with a smaller budget Jurassic Park was crunched into choosing their VFX shots very very wisely and they didn't hold shots for longer than they needed to."

(I recommend watching the entire video, there's a lot of great discussion and education on how VFX is done in film. They're not simply "reacting" but talking about the techniques used in the film making itself.)

This is partly what The Sign is doing really well, they're not lingering on any shots, they're using their budget well by picking the most impactful moments to include more expensive and complicated CG effects.

What I love about smaller or mid-budget films is you can tell when the crew had to get truly inventive, creative, and purposeful when choosing how to portray a specific effect or action in a scene. Jaws is one of my favorite examples of this; Jaws cost 9 million (about 51 million adjusted to inflation) in 1975, and the shark animatronics (there were 3 pieces) was difficult to work with. This led to Spielberg and the crew switching things up and going for that shark POV that's now really famous.

It wasn't an accident, but it wasn't 100% planned or originally intentional, there was an issue, and the crew reworked things within their budget so they could still accomplish their creative goals.

The iconic first scene of the t-rex in Jurassic Park is a combination of an animatronic and CGI. In the video above they talk specifically about how this was filmed, and how setting the scene at night, with a singular main light source, and covered in water, really helped make the t-rex look "real". And why that scene holds up really well even today.

The Sign has used moments of CGI very sparingly which works within the story yes by building up tension within the narrative mystery, but also in the film making. They're not overwhelming the audience with it, whilst also using real sets and props to blend in with those scenes AND using a lot of the CGI in specific spaces.

The scene in ep01 where Phaya meets the Naga for the first time is a good example; the water is dark, there's only a singular light source (above) and there's a general lack of background. With only one light source, the VFX artists don't have to worry about shading every inch of the Naga to photorealistic standards, the image doesn't have to be insanely sharp b/c the water adds a layer of blur to everything, and since it's already a mystical creature the audience already has a higher suspension of disbelief anyway making us more forgiving to the fact this is not a "real" creature.

Compare this mythical creature with the dragons from Game of Thrones:

I want to first say I do think the special effects of GOT were really good, the VFX team's work is to be appreciated. But see how there's more light sources required for these dragons? They're just not just within a limited area, they're outdoors in the open which requires more math (literally) on where the light will bounce and reflect, plus all the disparities in texture on the dragons themselves. See how parts of their wings are more noticeably red then others?

Game of Thrones was a show with millions upon millions in it's budget, so they can indulge, The Sign doesn't, so they have to be smart. And they are!

Another standout scene so far in the series as far as filmmaking goes for me is from episode05.

If you look closely you can see the edges around Phaya are a bit blurred out and rewatching the scene you can see an image of him is almost transposed over the actor as well. It gives it a pseudo 3D effect, which helps blend the actor into the fake background which makes it less obvious it's, well, fake.

Then there's the Big Moment, the reveal of our Garuda:

I'm partially not convinced this was 100% CGI I'm wondering if they used a bit of claymation or maybe a miniature or something (maybe a puppet?). The weight of the movement and body feel like something more close to the use of a puppet or animatronic than straight CGI. (If you want to read more about miniatures in film I recommend this article on Godzilla 1954!)

But what I find smart about this shot is that the focus of the camera is on the Garuda, Phaya is much smaller and lower in the frame. I say this is smart because being distance from Phaya allows for the Garuda and the background to take up more space in the frame and contrast less with the real elements, ie Phaya's real human body. It also makes the Garuda more imposing, dominating the frame at a higher angle, and gives a sense of largeness in comparison to Phaya's smaller human self.

Since the Garuda is against an already fake background there is no need for a "light source". Notice how the Garuda has no shadows or light reflections, unlike the Naga from before (or the t-rex)? This makes less work for the VFX team b/c now they don't have to math out where all the bits of shadow, light, and color textures would come from, everything is flat and singular.

Keeping the Garuda at a distance as well, means we're not looking at or for the details of their feathers, or body. We see there is texture to them, but it doesn't need to look photorealistic b/c of that distance in the frame.

Contrast it with Simba from Lion King 2019, or Detective Pikachu:

Again, I think both look very good, but they need to because the audience is so close to the characters in frame. If Pikachu or Simba didn't have this level of care and detail put in when the audience is literally right in their faces everyone would notice how fake they look and complain (I mean I still complained about Lion King but b/c it was a bad and visually boring film but the VFX team did a great job).

We know this because Ant Man Quantumania didn't put the same care and effect in and it looked horrible. Everyone clowned Modak, and fair, but it wasn't just him that looked bad. Entire set pieces look clearly fake, like why is Ant Man suddenly in Zanarkand??

In the second image, look at Scott and Cassie's clothes, you can see the light on their clothes (especially Cassie's) isn't the same as what's happening in their surrounding environment (which is a lot jfc). It's also just poor film making because the frame of both shots is cluttered to the god damn BRIM with STUFF our eyes aren't sure what to focus on. There's a lack of perspective and weight given to the scenes (compare these wide shots to Jurassic Park when our protagonists see the dinosaurs in an open field for the first time, there's a sense of WONDER). So our human characters get completely lost in the frame and feel overwhelmed entirely. They also stick out because the CGI isn't fully well rendered.

Possibly my biggest chaotic take to date, I prefer the CGI in The Sign to Ant Man 3 there I fucking said it. Ugliest MCU movie to date I said what I said.

There is at least care going into The Sign, there's thought, there's creativity, there's a sense of passion. I can forgive that the Garuda isn't photorealistic because it doesn't need to be, it needs to be visibly believable within the world it's set in and it does. The show has been very smart about when to employ it's special effects, and how to film them. It's taken care. It has more in common with films like Godzilla Minus One which had a budget of 15 million and looks phenomenal, way better than Godzilla vs Kong or what we've seen from Godzilla x Kong (which I am looking forward to b/c I'm godzilla trash).

anyway watch the sign it's gucci

[lutawolf]

The Sign Commentary Review Ep 5

I'm going to link to my episode 3 commentary because I gave a lot of Thailand mythology information. While I will be watching the show for the first time now and giving you my commentary. I've been Ask a question that gave me heads up that a lot of mythology will show up in this episode. So let's go!

We start the series off with this guy who has a Naga back tat. Then we see the front with him dripping water down himself. I got to hand it to Saint, he really knows how to visually stimulate. Is he the killer?

Are we really gonna ignore that Tharn sees visions? 2. Phaya has gotten his period. I mean, I get it. Nobody wants the love of their life thinking they're crazy, but this has the hallmark of hormonal rage versus righteous anger. Maybe the lack of sleep is starting to get to him. 3. Where do we stand with the physical assault? Do we label this domestic or everyone else feeling that maybe something is off here? Like when a werewolf gets all testosterone before their first change. I mean, you can literally see the freak-out in his face after he realized he has hit Tharn. Which honestly makes me feel better.

Oh, so we now understand why Tharn saw the female and how she relates. And Yai proves once again just how special he is. He really put on that clown mask. That's just wrong.

There are two! Honestly, didn't see that coming. Ahh, well now it's more understandable why they were getting their ass kicked. It's Wit.

I mean, I'm having a hard time caring that he might be killed. Just go ahead and let him go. Tharn sees him getting hit by a truck. I'm so okay with that.

I mean, I get the logic of no vigilante justice. But... People who sexually assault rarely deal with serious consequences. Only about 6% of Sexual Offenders ever serve a day in jail. If an assault is reported (this is rare due to fear factors), there is a 50% chance of an arrest. If an arrest is made, there is an 80% chance of prosecution. If there is a prosecution, there is only a 58% chance of conviction. If convicted, there is only a 16% chance that they will go to prison.

Well, that was therapeutic. The parental guidance warning made me chuckle.

They found him! Now I'm nervous! Ahhh, don't save him Tharn, go save Phaya. Don't judge me, people. I'm a little blood thirty when it comes to this.

A Naga. Not good. He is using his power for the fight, and it looks like it's overpowering Tharn's. Surprisingly, Phaya is keeping pace though, despite the break out of power. Well, until he gets a rope wrapped around him, that is. I was in full support of you dude until you started hurting Phaya and Tharn. Now ya gotta go.

Shit! A lot happened fast!

Tharn steps in front of Phaya and gets stabbed. You can tell from home dudes face that he had never meant to actually hurt Tharn. Which means he knows he is a fellow Naga. Then why is he okay with hurting Phaya? Then we see combined powers. Both Phaya's and Tharn, with Tharn's being green, which is Naga colors. Golden red is a distinct color clue.

Garuda: Is a mythical bird-man creature that is the half sibling to the nage, but they are sworn enemies. The feud started when both he Garuda's mother and Nagas' mother married the same husband. The husband gave each wife one wish. The Nagas' mother asked for a thousand children, while Garuda's mother wished for two children superior to the Naga. The feud grew until Garuda's mother lost a bet ad became the servant of the Nagas' mother. Eventually she was freed, but her children swore vengeance.

The Garuda represents royalty, strength, and divine knowledge. With its fierce loyalty and warrior nature, the Garuda serves a protective function. It adorns shields, swords, and armor as a guardian symbol. The Garuda’s golden wings are believed to shine light on the darkness of evil and ignorance.

Soooo, right now I'm thinking our Phaya is a Garuda. It also explains why in their past life he rejected Tharn for being a Naga. There are some stories of Naga and Garuda that aren't enemy, though. These few stories are about devote Buddhist Nagas and as protectors of the faith, Garudas are unable to kill these particular Nagas.

Poor Phaya is flipping out while Tharn is very calm. You can literally watch Phaya's brain go into a "does not compute point." All because Tharn is glad his is safe and gently wipes his face. It's a stark contrast to the violence that Phaya has been giving him. This whole thing cools him down in the same way that a bucket of cold water would. Despite others showing up, they cling to each other.

Tharn is now cleaned up and very calm. Meanwhile, his other half is losing his shit. Dragging him away to try and get some answers. Finally, some much-needed communication and touchy-feely. I love the way Tharn looks at Phaya when he asks him not to leave him.

Look, he is all soft and gooey like a chocolate chip cookie. He might be talking about work, but his body language is saying something else. This boy is clearly touched, starved. Ahhh, I'm getting all the feels with this scene.

The nurses pausing and kind of turning back to them and then them breaking apart. Hahahaha!

This cute little micro smile. It means everything to have cleared things up with Phaya.

Guys... Someone on this show is an actual survivor. Cause this shit is too accurate. Yeah, they could have talked to a survivor but add it with other things, it's there. This is someone's therapeutic art. The writer? The scriptwriter? I haven't read the book, so I don't know.

Ohhhh, we're digging into his parent's case now.

Phaya staying the night with Tharn again. Slumber party! Yes, you absolutely should play a game of Doctor. Silly boy, he is cute though.

Oh! Another dream. Damn it! I want the real deal but... I mean, at least they are feeding us something. At least the dreams tell us that these boys clearly want each other. Oh, a daydream. Damn boy. Keep it together 🤣🤣🤣 He's trying so hard. I'm dead. I love these two. He is planning ahead, telling Yai to bring him lots of clothes. He'll probably have to crash there more in the future.

But nope, it's the stupid doctor. Who is clearly some kind of naga since Phaya's touch bothers him. He gives a strong kickback. So as I mentioned earlier, Garuda can't harm followers of Buddhism, but they can and will harm those that worship the serpent.

Nobody is buying your shit Phaya, but I'm with you on saying what ever you got to. This dude is creepy. He feels like he owns Tharn and I wanna know why. And we're playing doctor again! Which ends in cuddle time. OMG, I love Phaya so much. That is the fastest count to three that I've ever heard. Love it! Touch starved, Tharn is very handsy when he is sleeping. Phaya does not appear to mind.

Too cute!!!

Apparently, all that love goes out the window when he wakes up. 🤣🤣🤣

Ummm, home dude might be your adoptive dad, but he isn't a cop. Stop talking shop!

The precepts are rules or guidelines to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment… The first precept consists of a prohibition of killing, both humans and all animals. The second precept prohibits theft and related activities such as fraud and forgery. The third precept refers to sexual misconduct, and has been defined with terms such as sexual responsibility and long-term commitment. The fourth precept involves falsehood spoken or committed to by action, as well as malicious speech, harsh speech and gossip. The fifth precept prohibits intoxication through alcohol, drugs, or other means.

Damn, Phaya over here tattling. Oh, no! Grandma is sick! Ha, he was tricked.

He is a cop. Of course, it's dangerous. This is why I'm oh so excited that two of my kids want to go into law enforcement. (said in complete sarcasm.) We do a tight focus of the eagle, he has wings on his back. I'm really thinking I'm right here. Damn, he is obsessed.

There is past life Tharn. Water and sky, the places where their other half reside. And there he is. Ahh, I get more and more excited with each one. I can't wait. 💜💜💜

[respectthepetty]

Not a question but a thank you! I didn't know that wandee's production had put so much intentional effort and dedication into the colors and their symbolism, after reading your analysis I have to go back and watch all the episodes again with a new perspective. Thank you very much for your knowledge.

Anon, all shows have intentional effort and dedication when it comes to colors, symbolism, and general background noise.

We are watching art and a team of professionals is behind every single image we see on our screens, so that random image of an eye in between blank faces in the back of Mork and Day from Last Twilight, which was a story about one man who couldn't see his future and another man who was losing his sight, was intentional and symbolic.

Phaya having wings tattooed on his back and having all those images of birds in his house in The Sign, which was a story about a reincarnated Garuda, a birdlike deity, and a reincarnated Naga, a snakelike creature, were intentional and symbolic.

Jim drinking Full Moon beer that was dated September 10, 2022, which was the date of a full moon in the first episode of Moonlight Chicken was intentional and symbolic.

I'm glad my posts are helping you see the intention in Wandee Goodday, but remember that ALL shows are intentional regardless of how much credit we give them.

Actually, for Pride last year, I wrote a series of posts to help people feel more confident in reading the visual cues these shows offer up to their audience.

So now that you've had a "light bulb moment" and see the effort behind Wandee Goodday, hopefully, you can spot it in all of the other shows you watch.

Good luck!

[crepes-suzette-373]

Garuda, Judge, Germa 66, The Divine

@sangerie Perfect timing that you bring up Garuda in your reply, because I remembered a while ago that I didn't check what Judge's current belt looks like when I made that other post and I was just about to make a new post about my findings.

---

I messed up and completely forgot to check when I made that other post. That was just more of an idle thought, though, not something I really wanted to analyse or make theories out of. This one is the (conspiracy) theory/analysis post.

Artistically this is big enough difference that I cannot chalk it off as "simplification/wonky artwork because of image size":

Plus, the "simpler" shape from the MADS flashbacks would be drawn long after the WCI arc. So this has to be a purposeful change on sensei's part.

What was it beforehand and why the change? What is the newer shape supposed to be?

So anyway, that realisation prompted me to look into Karura (the Japanese interpretation of Garuda) because I thought the current belt shape looks like the helmet Judge is wearing, which in turn vaguely reminds me of headdresses in Buddhist gods' statuary.

I think there could be connection between the two in terms of design:

Like, his hair could look reminiscent of the Karura's "fire halo".

The Karura in Japan is a being who is heavily associated with flames (which happens to also look like number 6 spirals in the statue, very interestingly). Some Buddhist teaching even say the Karura either manifests itself as flames, or lends its flames in support to other deities.

Karura's "fire halo" behind Fudou Myou'ou:

This I find to be even more curious, because in the first place Garuda is divine being, and Garuda's "holy flame" is something that purifies evil. Judge seems to be awful in every way, so why give him a nickname that's based on a holy being? Is this just irony, or is this a hint that there's something weird going on that has yet to be revealed? (something in their ancient history?)

Also, about the "69" in the skull's eyes. Even Sanji's Stealth Black/Osoba Mask belt has that "69" element, even if it's in the little wings on the sides and not the skull's eyes. Is that symbol so important that it needs to be everywhere? (to sangerie, if you see this: Niji's belt still has that 69, even much later in the cover story, it just sometimes look wonky in the art because it's too small)

That symbol is known in Japan as "two tomoe" (considered different from yin yang by the Japanese). A tomoe is that comma like shape, and the Germa one is specifically the "right curling" one, because there are versions of it that goes the opposite direction.

A tomoe is also a divine symbol, so it's very frequently seen as the "crest" of shrines. Funnily enough the origin of the tomoe symbol is actually water, but I'm not sure if sensei would go out of his way to research that. If he was using this as a purposeful symbol I feel like he's using it more in the generic divine/shrine related usage.

It's a symbol you see in the drums used by the the Raijin (god of thunder), which also was the design inspiration for Enel.

Interesting thunder/lightning connection there. It's 3, though, and not 2, so I'm not sure if this means anything.

You see that exact symbol with just two in Wano, though it's turned 90 degrees anticlockwise:

I have wondered multiple times if the Vinsmokes have connection to Wano in their past. Even literally just a few hours ago I made a post mentioning the same thing. I always worry that I'm making too deep of a reach, but every now and then I still wonder.

It also has historical connection in Japan, since a two tomoe design is a common samurai crest. I highly doubt it's related to this, but that exact "69" shaped crest is the crest strongly associated with the 47 Ronin.

The interesting thing about the 47 Ronin is that even though they're typically celebrated as heroes who defeated an evil lord even to this day, by historical accounts the 47 ronin were actually the ones in the wrong and the guy they had revenge on wasn't a tyrant or corrupt official. Still, I don't think this has any relevance.

I mean, there's nothing about Germa that suggests that "they seem evil, but actually they're secretly good".

I will admit there is a part of me that is developing a suspicion that there could be a random twist where Germa's whole point was "their motivation/end goal is not bad, but their methods is what's really absolutely disgusting" for various reasons. As in, what if their desire to conquer the North Blue is not just for greed or power, but for a bigger goal beyond it, and this "bigger goal" might not be entirely bad.

I doubt it, because so far everything that we've been shown is just nasty. I'm just automatically suspicious because the World Government labelled them evil, and I don't trust WG.

It could just be something like "they're so evil, that even demons are disgusted", though.

[princess-of-the-corner]

So in the end of Zelda II: Adventure of Link's crazy plot, Link manages to get into the final temple, the Great Palace. There he is waylaid by Fokkas, annoying Birdmen Knights the King of Hyrule created and easily the most frustrating enemy in the game, if not the entire Zelda franchise.

Than Link faces Boruba, or Thunderbird in the west, the ultimate lifeform created by the King. BTW its western name is a complete misnomer as its weak to Thunder & does no thunder attacks. It also more like a winged humanoid monster with a three eyed skull-like face with fangs, its likely named after the deity Garuda.

Anyhow after killing Boruba, Link meets a Sage working for the King, but this still isn't enough for the late and unpleasable King's tests, so the Sage disappears and the room turns dark, than Link's shadow comes to life becoming Dark Link!

After a ridiculous battle you mainly by exploiting an oversight in Dark Link's AI, the Sage finally decides Link is worthy and gives him the TriForce of Courage.

Link than uses the Triforce to awaken the sleeping Zelda, the curtain falls so we only see their legs and they kiss.

Its kinda cute, but on the otherhand, this is the ancient Princess Zelda that has been sleeping for hundreds of years, like talk about going through a relationship too fast!

Yeah the kiss bit was def a product of the 80s of 'save the girl get a kiss even if she has no idea who the fuck you are'.

[recentadultburnout]

Info for writer in Thai series fandom : Chapter 19 Mythical creatures

As the title says, this chapter will be about mythical creatures, specifically Himmaphan's creatures. There are a lot of himmaphan's creatures, some more popular than others. In this chapter, I won't list all of them here, just some, and I will just do a quick introduction and some random points I can think of, not their full myth.

The link below is to the Wikipedia page for Himmaphan. In there, there are also links to some of the himmaphan's creatures too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himavanta

This mythology is pretty famous and known across many regions, so there are a lot of resources in English already. So I think, just after a short introduction, anyone who is interested will be able to get more information quite easily.

There may be some differences between each region's version of it, but from what I saw, the differences are not that great. Especially if we look at only the character characteristics and not the entire epic.😆👍

นาค  naga

Naga is, in short, a big fantasy snake. There are quite a few types or ranks of them. They have four ways that they can be born. Opapātika, born and grows up immediately. Sansetcha, born from ashes and accumulated matter. Chalapucha, born from the womb. And āṇṭhāca, born from an egg. Water is their element.

Personally, I suspect that some of Nega's tales are of different origins from Himmaphan's tale but got mixed up when cultures merged. And that is the reason why there are so many more tales about them than about other mythical beings. But right now, I'm too lazy to actually drive in and try to verify that theory.

ordain บวชนาค When a man wants to ordain, there will be a short period during the ordain ceremony when the will gets called naga. The story involved is that back then, when Gotama Buddha was still alive, there was a naga that wanted to be a monk, but, in the end, as one of its requirements was to be human, he couldn't. So we incorporated this into the ceremony to honor him. There is a step in the ceremony where the person who is ordain has to confirm that he is, in fact, a human, too.

Water amount There is a belief that rain and water come from nagas, and the amount of water we get each year is determined by how many nagas are in charge of giving it. The more naga, the less water, because when there are more nagas, they start to be unwilling to do the work and want to push the burden on others. The maximum number of naga is seven per year.

Nakee is a pretty iconic drama about Naga. I never fully watched it, but if you are interested in Naga, this drama might be a good choice.

ครุฑ  Garuda

Garuda's appearance is part bird, part human, with a human's torso and arms and a bird's head, wings, and legs.

Garuda is a sibling of a different mother of Naga and an enemy. Their mothers are also siblings and enemies. In fact, the reason why Garuda and Naga are enemies is because their mothers made it that way. There is a lot of family conflict in this story. Garuda also eats Naga.

Garuda is one of the king's symbols. Culturally, the king is an avatar of Narayana, and Garuda is Narayana's vehicle.

(I tried to translate the word for this concept, สมมุติเทพ, but it seems like there isn't any word in English that fits.)

Queen Kakati กากี

Garuda Is one of the important characters in a famous tale about Queen Kakati. The story is that Garuda disguises himself as a man and goes to play a game with a king, and when he sees the king's wife, Queen Kakati, he wants her. So then he kidnaps her and brings her to his Chimplee Palace.

He slept with her there, and then one other guy also slept with her there. So the name Chimplee occasionally got used to hint at sexual things.

The name of the heroine also gets used for slut-shaming.

Just a warning if you want to read the whole thing. The story is heavily victim-blaming. All the guys in this story are trash, at least in the Thai version.

กินนร kinnon

Kinnon is described as a half-bird, half-human creature, or a creature with a human-like body but with detachable wings and tail.

Kinnari and kinnara are words that are also used to refer to the same mythical creatures.

We have a lot of variant words for each Himmaphan's creatures, actually. I think it's for poetry.

Suthon and Manora

Suthon and Manora is one of the stories that features Kinnon. Manora, the female protagonist, is a kinnari. She got captured one day when she removed her wings and tail during her bath with her sisters. After that, she met and fell in love with Prince Suthon. But later, Prince Suthon's family wronged her, making her flee back home. This tale is linked to the other tale. It says that Suthon and Manora's past lives are Phra Rod and Meree.

ปลาอานนท์  Anon fish

A giant fish that can cause an earthquake when it turns over.

นารีผล  Nariphon

Naripon is composed of two words: Nari (woman) and Phon (fruit). It is a fruit that resembles a beautiful girl. They have 7 days before they rot away.

คนธรรพ์  Gandharvas

Heavenly musicians and singers. Servant of a greater deity. They are pretty flirtatious beings and like to take a ripe nariphon for themselves.

I feel like they are always the asshole in every tale they feature.

นกหัสดีลิงค์  Hatsadiling

It looks mostly like a bird, but its beak looks like an elephant's trunk. The Hatsadiling is often used for decoration in cremation ceremonies because it is believed that it can carry the soul of the deceased to heaven.

There is evidence of the use of the Hatsadiling-shaped crematorium in the Lanna and Lan Chang cultures. But in Ubon Ratchathani, there is a specific tradition where they will have a person act as Sita performs the traditional Hatsadiling bird-killing ceremony.

There are a few versions of the tale that influence this tradition, but the highlight is that the woman named Sita kills a hatsadiling that has been causing trouble via arrow.

มอม  mom

The Mom creature looks similar to a mixture of many animals, including dogs, cats, geckos, lizards, monkeys, tigers, etc. It has long arms and a long, stretched body similar to that of a reptile. The color of the body will vary depending on the artist. This creature is prominent in Lanna art.

มกร  Makorn or Makara

It's statue is usually in a state of spitting something out of its mouth. It's look pretty similar to Hera. Often got mixed up with Hera. Some sources say that it IS the same creature as Hera, just an alternative name. 

เหรา   Hera

A mix of naga and (Chinese?) dragon, or a crocodile-like creature. It has four feet, and its face has both fins and a crest. It is sometimes described as a different mix, like with Garuda or a horse.

It's tale is that it tries to eat a naga but fails....

There is a statue of Mom and Hera that went viral awhile ago. It's an amateur DIY cement stair railing by a monk. It came out looking very adorable. they even got fan art and goods.

^Mom

^Hera

^The good in question.

สิงห์  lion

There are four types of lion-like creatures in the Himmaphan universe. (Not included the lion mix with other creatures.)

Kraisorn Rajasribody is white like conch shell. Mouth, belly, and feet are red like it is painted with cinnabar mixed with mercury and sulfur dissolved in lac water. Live in a gold or glass cave. It is faster than sound and has a voice as loud as thunder.

Kala Sriha is black and despises being a lion-like creature. It is an herbivore. Not that it is harmless, though.

Tinna Sriha has a red body like the legs of a pigeon and is as big as a bull. Also an herbivore. Tinna means grass.

Bantu Rajasribody is like the color of a yellow leaf. This one is carnivorous.

We use them in government logos, and some of the universities (4) have them as Faculty of Political Science logos. Each university uses a different one.

I found this website when I searched for the English spelling of Kraisorn Rajasri, and it is amazing. So this chapter ends here, lol.

And this website is for art that was created for the King Rama 9 funeral.

https://phramerumas.finearts.go.th/group-items.php?grpID=15

^ from the Fine Arts Department

^ from the Thailand Foundation

Index

[typingatlightspeed]

i'm curious: what all inspired you to make the mercs what supernatural beings they are in monsterous intent?

Originally it was just gonna be Demo the werewolf and that's it, but eventually the idea to make it into a whole-ass AU happened, and it kinda got silly from there. For Scout I'll be honest it was largely because I freakin' love fauns and satyrs. Always have. And modern deer-style fauns are absolutely adorable, and I really like the combination of cute, horny, and impulse-driven, which is very Scout. Plus a monster form that messes with his legs seemed Right for the guy whose job is Runs Fast. I also project onto him a little bit let us be honest with ourselves here. (I also cannot shut up clearly have adhd and am the littlest sibling who constantly feels inadequate and like I gotta prove myself.)

With Soldier, it's the whole yelling at severed heads on a fence thing from Meet the Soldier. What if the reason he had those severed heads wasn't just to fake an audience, but because he collects them? Dullahans and headless, what if he uses those heads to disguise himself? I read up on the actual folklore and then played with it A Lot, plus Cephalophores (depictions of beheaded saints carrying their own heads in their hands) are really cool imagery, so I went with it. Plus while in actual Irish folklore Dullahans are Faeries, they're also very death-focused, and you'll see them depicted as undead in media a lot, and with Merasmus being the guy he is, the connection just Worked. Basically canon gave me a really easy lay-up of a monster type for Soldier, lol. And Silas Mann jokes as a bonus. Gods help us if Soldier ever gets a horse. (I totally wanna give him a whip made of a human spine eventually.)

Pyro took a while to figure out. I knew I wanted him to be something that couldn't disguise himself easily, hence always being in the gasmask, but I hemmed and hawwed a lot. Someone (I wish I remembered who) pointed me to djinn and how they're made of "smokeless flame" in myth, so I did a bunch of reading and, again, kind of made my version for this AU. I try to make sure to put a lot of the actual real-world folklore and myth in, but also give stuff its own fun little spin, too. :3

Demo being a werewolf was the whole point, tbh. When I first wrote Predation, it was because there was a little bit of werewolf smut in the fandom, but all of it made Sniper the werewolf. I get the vibes, but Demo actually had a wolfman cosmetic set for Halloween! It only made sense he'd get to be the werewolf! Since Sniper had the monster (vampire) hunter costume, he got to be the guy "hunting" werewolf!Demo, and that was how it all got started.

For Engie I couldn't think of a monstrous transformation that would feel right, and since he was the skeptic in Predation, it only made sense that he'd be very unknowledgable and uninvested in the supernatural (at least until he had to be involved with it lol) so instead I just leaned into the transhumanist vibe that Engie sometimes has and went hard on him slowly fashioning himself into a cyborg. Pyro's apprehensions vs. Engie's views mirror the way I in real life am of two minds about properly advanced cybernetics vs. removing healthy body parts.

Heavy was the first after Demo, with Sniper pointing out he was half-jotun in The Good Folk. I knew I wanted him to be a giant of some sort, and with his Siberian background and cold and ice vibes, being part frost giant just seemed right, yanno? Plus the eventual opportunity for big size difference play was something I couldn't resist. Giant man, giant everything. owo

Medic was a tough one for a while, too. Him taking up magic was directly because of his line from the Merasmus boss fight event, where he goes "I must learn this black magic!" and generally being hype about all the magic bullshit lol. Him being a garuda was harder. I knew I wanted to give him wings; that was never a doubt lbr I am a SUCKER for winged humanoids and doubly so winged Medic. Finding the right monster was the hard part. I didn't wanna go harpy simply because Scout was already a Roman monster and got turned by a Greek one, and I didn't wanna double-dip in those mythological waters. And in Buddhist traditions, Garuda are a type of inhuman creature that appear either as giant birds or anthropomorphic birds. My first exposure to the name was as random bird monsters in Final Fantasy games, lol. So I figured Medic going for that and still kinda fucking it up (being a dove rather than a brahminy kite) would be a fun way to make him a bird man off the beaten path.

Sniper being a monsterfucking human, as mentioned above, was inspired by his vampire hunter halloween costume, lol. Also because lbr out of all of them he seems most like the kind of guy who would do a stakeout to get railed by a werewolf.

Spy needed to be a trickster. That was imperative. Ideally a shapeshifter. Nothing from French folklore jumped out at me enough that I wanted to use it, and finally I gave in and went with one of my favourite monsters: kitsune. Plus it gave me an excuse to be a weeb and my god I look for any excuse there. (I'm not a huge anime/manga weeb I'm a huge language/culture/food weeb lol) It ended up working in my favour too since him not even actually being a human French dude but a Japanese fox who cannot create human children means that the Spy Is Scout's Dad reveal in 2017 didn't hit MI nearly as hard as it could have, lol. Thank fuck, really. Also instead it lead to a hilariously squicky misunderstanding on RED Demo's part lol.

Spy's a monster but he's not a monster, Tav, jeez.

Also: Miss P as a human diviner just makes sense. In addition to her being a mage fitting in the world and giving Medic another, better role model than just Merasmus, it makes sense what with half of her job being surveillance of and managing the teams!

[teecupangel]

I'm just gonna drop this in here...how about a Naga!Desmond au...with whatever plot ideas you can think of.

One of the things I remember most about nagas for some reason is that they are the enemies of the Garuda so how about a fantasy AU where Desmond is a member of the naga race, perhaps he’s even the son of a Naga Raja but he left his den and likes to live alone in a lake or by the river.

One day, he’s just lazing around when something crashes into the waters from such a great height it drenched Desmond completely. Mostly out of curiosity, he swam deeper and fished out a Garuda with wounds all around the body and wings with a lot of feather missing.

Desmond knew that their races were enemies but these marks…

They weren’t the marks that a naga’s weapons would make. Desmond would know. All of their weapons had poison after all.

This meant…

This Garuda was attacked by something else.

So he nurses the Garuda, not knowing that this simple act of kindness will change Desmond’s life forever.

Okay, so I kept the Garuda’s identity vague because this could work with any of them. For any of your pick, the reason for the Garuda’s current state would be:

Altaïr: He was chased out of his nest that he had been the leader of. As far as he knows, his entire family has been killed and the last he saw his oldest son is him screaming as both of them went down. His story will involve Desmond joining him in looking for his oldest son and trying to help him grieve over the lost of his loved ones.

Ezio: His nest had been burned to the ground by creatures that worship a god they call the Father of Understanding because they wanted the treasure the Garuda that Ezio was part of was guarding. His story will involve Desmond helping him find any survivors from his nest and recovering the stolen treasure while creating a new nest of their own.

Ratonhnhaké:ton: It was exhaustion that caused him to fall and he’s very tight-lipped on where his wounds had come from. Desmond would follow him because he left while he’s still recovering and he’d learn that Ratonhnhaké:ton had gotten all those wounds after a huge battle that ended with him killing his own father and now, he’s trying to finish it and kill the one who took over his father’s place. The same cur who burned his nest when he had been young, indirectly killing his mother.

Haytham: This would be the inverse of Ratonhnhaké:ton’s story where he falls after he fails to kill his son and it’s kinda implied that he did it on purpose. Oh, he meant to die (which always made Desmond frown at him) and he’s sure everyone assumes he’s dead. For now, he’ll stay low and accept Desmond’s hospitality while he thinks of his next steps. Desmond is pretty sure Haytham is only half-serious when he says his next step should be to try and kill his son successfully this time around.

Edward: It would be funny if the reason why he fell is because he had been drinking so much and got into a scuffle or something but, let’s be honest, the reason why Edward would look so battered and wounded would be because this is the Edward who tried to save the last of his friends but wasn’t able to as she died in his arms. To give the others a chance to fly away, he stayed until he was sure they were far enough and tried to fly away, getting chased and ending up losing consciousness and dropping into the waters below out of pure exhaustion.

Shay: Shay fell into the waters after being chased and attacked by Garudas of the same nest as him. He would try to hide it from Desmond first but the truth is he had stolen his nest’s treasure because he learned it could destroy lands but no one would believe him. He and Desmond set out to find other treasures like it and ends up fighting Shay’s old nest.

Arno: Okay. This is the real idiot who got so fucking drunk and nosedived into the water because, as he likes to explain to Desmond, he got dumped. It doesn’t take a genius to find out that Arno isn’t telling the whole story and this is more contained, with Desmond and Arno staying in Desmond’s little hidey-hole while Arno tries to audition for Bella Swan’s “3-month-rest”. Honestly, this is more about Desmond helping Arno realize that his dependency on his ex’s love for him and making that his main push to do things is not healthy and is actually a symptom of his crippling abandonment issues created by the death of his father that further dug its claws in him when he was adopted by strangers.

Jacob: There was an incident concerning an ex-’partner’ that involved the deaths of fledglings and the burning of a location that he was pretty much trapped in. Jacob wasn’t really that forecoming with the details. Also, a few days after he woke up but still healing, a huge flocks started flying all around shouting “boss!” and that’s how Desmond learned Jacob was the leader of the local Garuda ‘delinquent’ gang.

Evie: She had been flying away from some cult that wanted the key she had and Desmond had to follow her because she’s still injured but she insisted she needed to return to her flock. (Desmond is worried because she always talked about a flock but never a nest and the only flockmembers he had heard of were her brother and another Garuda by the name of Mister Green)

Bayek: Pure exhaustion after killing one of the men that had a hand in the death of his son caused him to fall from the sky. He also had some kind of golden ball with him that seemed to call to Desmond for some reason and Bayek just… starts visiting after he left. Desmond isn’t sure why but it’s nice to have company so he doesn’t say anything about it.

Kassandra: Kassandra is quite cagey about what happened that caused her to fall into the waters. She also doesn’t seem to mind staying in Desmond’s hidey-hole even after her wounds have healed. There’s always a hint of sadness in her eyes and Desmond is sure she’s older than she says she is.

Alexios/Deimos: There was a huge fight that caused all his injuries. He’s still bitter over the fact that the only reason he lived was because his opponent had been merciful. To rub salt to the wound, his opponent turns out to be his sister and Desmond really didn’t want to get in the middle of that family ‘drama’ but, well, Alexios is a bit of an idiot when it concerns his own wellbeing so he follows him back to wherever the hell he was supposed to go, telling Alexios (and himself) that it’s only until he had fully healed, okay? No. Seriously.

Eivor: There was a huge fight between her and her ‘brother’ that ended with her being exiled from the nest. Eivor had a run-in with one of the ‘people’ that her nest had raided before and she was outnumbered and tired so retreating had been her only option (as much as she hated it and believed it dishonor her). Desmond thinks there’s more to the story but he’s not gonna pry. (I think it would be better for Eivor to be able to shapeshift into a raven instead and the plot twist is she’s Odin, one of the many gods of the world)

Basim: Kinda like Haytham’s deal but this is after his battle with Eivor and he lost but managed to get away. As he was healing, he tells Desmond about his son and Desmond asked why don’t he just find his son? Why focus on revenge? And Basim… can’t even answer that.

(Bonus) Clay: He was being held by really, really bad assholes who worship the Father of Understanding and they did something to him that, in Clay’s own words, broke his mind. Desmond doesn’t really understand any of it but Clay insists that the golden ball he had with him was important and he needs to give it to someone but he can’t remember who. Desmond tells him he should focus on healing first and he’ll help him try to regain his memories. (Desmond has no idea how though but keeping Clay from reopening his wounds was the pressing issue at the moment)

(Bonus) Malik/Kadar: Oh, you know the drill by now. This is set in this story’s version of the prologue of AC1 and Desmond keeps Malik/Kadar alive. If it’s Malik, the arm is replaced by wing instead.

[noxide-dioxide]

Why of course. Senti fits into the Fu Hua Armpit Discourse by fitting right under Fu Hua's arm. Tight and cozy under the wing of her oblivious Alpha. Although if you're asking my personal opinions on Senti's armpits, I shall be frank: no thoughts on these. After all, she always has one of her armpits exposed in all of her outfits, which - ironically enough - leaves no room for imagination, and thus no interest.

Foolishness, Alpha Fu Hua Anon, FOOLISHNESS!

You've forced my hand, I have built my tumblr identity around sending funny absurd asks to people, and you've come to my territory to try to Defeat me?

I was faced with 2 choices, to match you measure for measure and lose my humanity and my reputation among my mutuals, or to fade away quietly in the darkness and maintain my humanity, but today I have decided to awaken the devil within....

You say Senti "has one of her armpits exposed in all of her outfits" and yet, Fu Hua's has both armpits exposed in most of her battlesuits.

Valkyrie Accipiter, Hawk of the Fog: Covered

Night Squire: Covered

Shadow Knight: literally a translucent bodysuit so it's basically BOTH SHOWN 2.0.

Phoenix: BOTH SHOWN.

Azure Empyrea: BOTH SHOWN.

And to bury you once and for all, we can already see her armpits are BOTH SHOWN in her Garuda form from the CGs.

With these, we have a ratio of 4 fully shown battlesuits to 2 fully covered

this is a ratio of 2/3, or 66.6%, vs Senti, who has only one battlesuit (and you counted her outfits),

Senti has 1 armpit shown in her default, 1 in her DJ outfit, and 2 in her beach outfit, giving her 3 out of 6 armpits shown, a ratio of EXACTLY 50% OF HER ARMPITS SHOWN.

You, are a FRAUD. Which is EXACTLY why you hide as an Anon right now, you're too afraid to admit Fu Hua and Senti have a nearly equal armpit power(Which by your metric of interest, makes Senti stronger, by the way).

I will say what you don't have the strength to say, unleash my full tumblr power, even as it corrodes me, I will end your Hua armpit crusade right here and now. I will end your war.

Senti's powers mean that she can smell like whatever she feels like to anyone, because SHE IS A PROJECTION. And I will make it known, she chooses to smell like CHOCOLATE.

While Fu Hua smells of LEMONS. (This is because lemons are traditionally used as a "natural deodorant", yet don't actually work, but Fu Hua would use them religiously and not suffer the negative consequences due to her MANTIS biology anyways.)

If you can't think of Senti as an equal in this regard, then you have no place in here.

If you wish to face me once more in my askbox and be considered my equal in honkaiblr askbox power, reveal your true blog face, as I have shown my unwavering beliefs to you fearlessly.

Until then, let it be known that these asks have been the funniest shit to ever happen to my blog holy shit lmfao but also where did yall come from

(please end the armpit saga soon i need to be known for something like my bronya and seele headcanons rather than these endless asks ever since the inside joke that was my hsr username was shown)

[eorziapple]

FFXIV Write 2023 Prompt 11: Once Bitten Twice Shy

(Character: Apple Silverberg, Setting: WoL Apple, Expansion: Stormblood)

He was on the field again. -HIM-. Zenos van Galvus, draped in his bulky, intimidating armor, strolling towards her as if he was walking through a lovely park, without a care in the world.

He had swept her away last time, striking before she could even conjure a defense, giving truth to the fear she'd always held inside. She was no hero, she was a scared woman playing with power and unworthy of all the praise heaped upon her.

She could see his eyes, taking her in, excited eyes, hungry... and then... a flash of disappointment. of dull resignation. He could see her fear, and she -was- afraid.

Last time, she couldn't stop him, and Y'shtola paid the price.

This time... she took a deep breath, felt all her aether channeling up her body and through the horn, and with a flash of wind, Garuda's egi formed stopping the fiend in his tracks with a torrential gust of wind, one that carried his prey, the would be assasin, Yugiri, tumbling away into the waiting arms of Gotetsu.

"Run!" she screamed, "Run now!"

He frowned, looking at her, sighing. He looked, empty, bored. In an instant he closed the distance, his sword slashing right towards her face, only to catch an enormous earthen arm. Apple had formed her Titan egi in a concentrated form, just the fist of the slain primal from her memory, enough to hold the blade for just a moment, as she called upon the last plan she had for this.

Egis... ultimately they were memories given form, drawing upon the concentrated cores of the slain primals. Like the fist, she could alter the form those memories took, though there was a limit to that sort of power.

"Was this all you could muster? What a disappointment..." he tutted as the stone began to crack under his monstrous strength.

Something flashed in her eyes, something that was buried deep beneath the fear and doubt she had harbored all her life. Her spell work finished, and she channeled something from her ruby core... Ifrit, but not his claws or the dimished egi form... but the spell. The spell her conjured, the sphere of hellfire, and she let the first sink back into the ground, letting Zenos lose balance. Point blank, in his face.

It was still too slow, the blade moved faster than she could track it, and the ball of fire itself was cleft in two, the wind of his slice blowing back to her, she grunted as she felt the flames scorch her skin. She looked up, and could see that he had not come through unscathed, patches of burning skin along both cheeks, his armor melted in some weaker spots, and his eyes were positively -hungry- as he stared back.

"Yes... YES.. oh please tell me there is more?" The excitement was... out of character, zealous, even. he stepped closer, putting his sword back in its sheath, preparing.

No.. She couldn't do this. Not alone... not.

Her last card. One she'd recently obtained from her excursion with Alisae.

Egis could take on many forms, they were memories, after all.

The dragons wings sprouted, gripping onto the aetheric weaving in her garments, and as his sword cliced the air where she had been, Bahamut's wings bore her to safety. Though in her heart she new the truth.

She would never be safe again. She was being hunted.

[toadeyes-miqote]

Wings

When your inexplicable rivalry with Garuda gets out of hand....

Just wait till Quetzalcoatl arrives on FFXIV if ever, unless sun themed primals/gods/eikons/summons aren't used because Azem. Is Quetzalcoatl sun themed?

[zuzukunis]

alatus nemeseos — a brief dive into xiao's character

he longs for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers.

to understand his character better i’d firstly like to briefly talk about the connection between his backstory and the archetypal stories the writers used to create him: "guardian yaksha" and "numinous official's redemption" both (of which) involve a malevolent spirit on a path towards goodness.

among the twelve heavenly generals (a well-known group of guardian yakshas in some buddhist denominations) one is associated with a bird deity, the golden-winged garuda. this fearsome bird deity, however, only ate evil dragons, until one day the poison he consumed while doing so became unbearable and he burnt to death, leaving only a crystal heart behind. the tattoo on xiao’s arm is that of an illuminated beast, related to his true form, the form of a vermilion bird. alatus nemeseos, or the golden winged great peng, xiao’s constellation is a reference to the bird deity. and from xiao’s character story we know that his story is very similar to that of said deity. “xiao relentlessly slaughtered the endless, impure manifestations of their vengeful souls, but in doing so, he caused them to fracture. eventually, these fragments of their hatred were able to taint xiao’s own soul.” and still xiao dons his mask to take on the role of a protector, slaughtering all evil, day after day despite it brining him great anguish. this endless war he wages has not only placed a karmic burden on him but also caused him to resign himself “to the fact that fighting is all he is good at.”

‹ the demon-hunting yaksha ›

“in the fables of another land, the name xiao is that of a spirit who encountered great suffering and hardship. he endured much suffering, as you have. use this name from now on.” (xiao character story ii) after the archon war ended the geo archon called upon the yakshas to fight against the remnants of the defeated gods. but gods are immortal. and despite knowing they were fighting a battle that could never be won the yakshas continued to do so. xiao has been protecting liyue for over a millennia, tainting his soul and watching as karmic debt slowly but surely ate away at the souls of the other yakshas, until all of them succumbed to madness and only he remained. and he knew that one day his karmic debt would catch up to him too. and once it did he would meet fate similar to that of the golden-winged deity.

‹ the fall of the last yaksha ›

“there was once when most of xiao’s strength was spent fighting from dusk till down, with him emerging victorious by a mere hair. the reeds in the fields had been sliced to ribbons in the fierce fighting. plucking his spear from where it had been planted in the ground, xiao began to trek home. well, once says “home” — yet, where did xiao have to return to? he was merely leaving the battlefield. long exhausted, xiao felt the divine hatred that tainted his body take effect. limitless hate flooded his senses, and he fell to the ground in agony. but it was also at that moment that the pain vanished without warning. this was not by xiao’s own strength, for he had been rescued by the sound of a flute. the clear, lovely sound of the flute came over the mountains and rivers, carried on the wind to where he lay. and clear it continued to ring till the first light of dawn brought with it the startled flight of distant birds. it protected xiao, massaging his wild senses, and giving him a moment’s peace. who was playing this music? xiao was curious but did not pursue the matter. for he already had something approaching an answer. the last person who could help him was one of the seven themselves. so this person, too, must be—.” (xiao, characters story v)

xiao, like the golden-winged bird, was about to succumb to his karmic debt. after a millennia of slaying evil spirits it had finally caught up to him, flooding his senses and bringing him down to the ground in great agony. but unlike the bird deity, he had someone to save him. if it weren’t for the lovely sound soothing his senses, that venti let the wind carry to where xiao lay throughout the whole night, xiao would have ended up just like the bird deity. but unlike the fallen yaksha, he managed to survive and keep his crystal heart hidden. and only those who manage to get close to him get to see glimpses of his gentleness.

‹ the yaksha with the crystal heart ›

“according to xiao’s profile, his deepest, most hidden element is gentleness. when all identities and labels are cast aside, xiao has a gentle side, shown in his curiosity towards phenomena in the human world, but he is very reticent to show this side of himself to others.” deep down xiao is a caged bird burdened with a gentle soul and is full of curiosity. he is curious about humans but he doesn’t wish to cause them any harm and so he stays away. after living for so long in the distance, the world has become nothing but a warm light that he is too scared to reach out to (like in his idle animation: "xiao stretches out his hand to try to make contact with it, but because of his karma-ravaged constitution, he succeeds only in causing the spirit to fly away. he knew this would be the inevitable conclusion, but feels dejected all the same."). “this lonely state of existence is the source of his melancholy. it has cause time to stand still, leading to him still having a very young mentality even to this day.” where xiao seems cold and distant he is actually inexperienced, which leaves him unsure of how to act. he doesn’t know what his place among humans is. this results in him coming off as silent and cold-hearted, while in fact underneath all that is a crystal heart, that dreams of nothing but dancing in a sea of flowers to the sound of venti’s flute.

‹ “heroes… i like that word” ›

"it's rare for a yaksha to find repose for their soul." during the 2.7 archon quest xiao is finally learning he isn’t only a demon-hunting yaksha. that he isn’t only a burdened to others. he is learning that there are people who care about him and who want to be a part of his life no matter how hard he tries to push them away for their own good. yes, he did sacrifice himself to save everyone (thank you zhongli for saving our beloved little yaksha) but only because it was the most optimistic solution he could think of. but when the traveler, into whom xiao places a great amount of trust, expreses their concern and confronts him about it, xiao says: i accept your advice. from this day on, heroes will always look out for each other. this is such an important moment for his character because he is finally setting himself free. he is no longer that caged bird.

i just wanted to hop on here and push my “xiao actually has the most gentle soul in all of genshin” agenda. *most of the information here can be found either in game (xiao’s character stories) or in the developer insight #4. also i wanted to add that there isn’t really much about the “numinous official’s redemption” in the official document but (from what i could find) it’s basically a story about a heavenly general who was given the opportunity to correct his wrong doings by the emperor. which you could connect to zhongli freeing xiao from the god that enslaved him, thus giving him the opportunity to redeem himself.

[litcityblues]

'Perdido Street Station' --A Review

China Mieville has been an author I've been curious about for a while now but had never actually read prior to this book. I had no idea what to expect. I had some vague idea that the Bas-Lag novels were influenced by Mieville's politics in the same way that Ken Macleod's Fall Revolution Cycle was influenced by his and as I like Macleod's books (that I've read so far), I figured why not try Mieville?

(Both Macleod and Mieville fall on the capital L Left side of the political spectrum, but in what I feel is a more authentic, real way than a lot of the performative leftism you see on this side of the pond. I think they'd probably approve of people like Nina Turner and Bernie Sanders if that gives you an idea of where they'd land on the American political spectrum. I also don't find that their writing makes their politics preachy or gavage-like. They don't shove it down your throats.)

As this was an Audible offering I snatched up, I have to take a brief detour to talk about the narration. I didn't know what to expect from this book, but once I did, the narration of John Lee is a perfect complement to this book. He's got a beautiful range that allows him to imbue all the characters with distinct personalities (as one would expect of any good narrator) however, it's his portrayal of the avian garuda Yagharek as well as the monstrous Weaver that really stands out. It might be the power of suggestion, but once you know that the garuda is an avian species Lee makes the dialogue sound like you would expect a bird too- if that makes sense. It seems like it's coming from a fundamentally different throat than just a regular human and that's a neat trick. His portrayal of The Weaver (a monstrous, inter-dimensional spider) is equally great-- it speaks in a sing-song voice of rhyming nonsense and is described several times as a 'mad god' which Lee encapsulates perfectly. Excellent stuff!

But, back to the book: Isaac Dan Der Grimnebulin (the names are all great in this book by the way) is a scientist living in the city of New Crobuzon. He's approached by the garuda Yagharek, who has had his wings removed as a punishment for an undisclosed crime in his native land. He wants Isaac to help him fly again. Isaac agrees and starts collecting flying creatures to research the mechanics of flight with the aid of Lemuel Pigeon, a fence that has links to the criminal underworld. One creature captured is an unusual caterpillar stolen from a government research lab.

Isaac also has a girlfriend-- Lin, a khepri, who is an insect-like humanoid species. Their interspecies love isn't exactly forbidden, but they're discreet about it. She's commissioned by Mr. Motley, a mob boss to make a sculpture of him.

The caterpillar that Isaac acquired looks like it's getting sick and might die, but Isaac discovers that it feeds on a popular hallucinogenic drug and when he feeds it some, it starts to grow and pupate and eventually emerges as a monstrous flying beast known as a slakemoth that eats the minds of people and leaves its victims catatonic.

This proves to be a problem for Lin because Mr. Motley has more of the slakemoths in captivity and is using their milk to make the popular hallucinogenic drug and when he finds out Lin's connection to Isaac, he assumes that Isaac is trying to muscle in on his business and imprisons Lin, demanding that Isaac return the creatures. Isaac's slakemoth finds its siblings and frees them and then they've got a whole city to feast on.

Isaac, believing Lin dead and realizing the enormity of the problem with the slakemoths, teams up with a radical journalist friend of theirs, Derkhan, and learns that Mr. Motley, in fact, got his slakemoths from the government. Isaac, believing Lin dead is determined to destroy them and together with Yagharek and an assembled crew, which includes a sentient machine known as the construct council starts taking them out one by one.

The government, headed by Mayor Bentham Rudgutter also realizes the danger the city is in and contacts the Ambassador from Hell (a sharp left turn in the narrative I certainly didn't see coming) to see if the demons will help them. When the demons decline, they're left with The Weaver, a multi-dimensional spider of dubious mental stability- who soon ends up helping Isaac and company instead.

Eventually, and at great cost, the slakemoths are destroyed and, at the last, the truth behind Yagharek's crime is revealed and Isaac must make one final decision about whether or not to help him fly again.

I had no idea what to expect going into this book. Mieville's wiki-age describes his genres as urban fantasy, weird fiction, and steampunk all of which would apply to this book. His literary movement is known as New Weird, which is also very apt. His writing style is incredibly descriptive which makes sense both from the point of view of the characters/society he's creating as well as for the setting itself. Whether it's a khepri, human, garuda or wyrman or vodunoi, or any of the other species that inhabit New Crobuzon, you're given a sense of who they each are, what they do, how they function, and what the rules of their society/species are in beautiful detail.

The same goes for the city itself-- the steampunk vibes only add to the sense that New Crobuzon is a sprawling massive city with different districts and a dark and seedy underbelly. Mieville immerses you seamlessly into a complex, delicately crafted world and it's incredible.

He plays around with all kinds of genres ranging from fantasy to science fiction to steampunk and even horror. The slakemoths are terrifying enough but The Weaver is one of the creepiest characters I've come across in a book for a very long time. (Horror is not my genre, so it was definitely not my usual fare.)

Overall: Beautiful writing immerses the reader in a complex, well-crafted world with distinct characters. It's an incredible book, but I would say a reader's reaction to it is going to largely depend on what they're in the mood for. To me, this is a book that you finish, put down and it sits with you for a while. It didn't leave me wanting to run out and find the next Bas-Lag novel right away and that's fine. Sometimes you need to have books that just sit with you for a bit and Mieville's writing, his world-building, and just this book, in general, are a trip worth taking. My Grade: **** out of *****

[crepes-suzette-373]

Germa and the Moon

More conspiracy. If you follow me and you don't like seeing my crazy posts please block the "conspiracy theory" tag.

I have very flimsy proof again, this is just a bunch of idle thoughts that occur to me while I was browsing the chapters to make my Moon theory post.

The Sixth Moon of Wano?

In my previous random word vomit I mentioned that adult Momonosuke's long fluffy hair and kimono cut gives him a similar silhouette to Judge. Well. Even better/worse, Younger Sukiyaki's FACE actually kind of looks like Judge:

Sukiyaki even has that ugly chin too, except it's less noticeable because he has a thick beard.

Are they related?

I would like to bring back to attention that 5 of the 6 ruling clans of Wano have "moon" in their surnames. Koudzuki 光月, Fuugetsu 風月, Shimotsuki 霜月, Udzuki 雨月, and Amatsuki 天月. They all share the kanji for moon 月.

The sixth one, Kurozumi 黒炭, mysteriously does not.

A trend breaker like this seems a bit strange. Sure, it might just be to single out Kurozumi as the "odd one out" traitor, but what if that's because the original sixth clan left Wano?

Maybe Kurozumi, or whoever was before them, was appointed to take over the empty spot? And then what if the Germa/Vinsmoke ancestor is the "sixth moon", so to speak?

An additional layer to the conspiracy is "What if there is no sixth surname?"

Even if there's a "sixth moon", what if this is just a branch clan of the shogun himself? The Koudzuki? As I pointed out above, Judge kind of looks like Sukiyaki.

So the "missing moon" might not have a unique surname, and the daimyou in question was just "Koudzuki-something". The then-shogun's brother, maybe (or emperor or king, if there was a time in Wano when the ruler is not a shogun).

This happens to be relevant to the conspiracy theory that I mentioned in the same word vomit post. Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a renowned samurai hero and brother of the first shogun of Japan, was theorised to have fled Japan when his own brother tried to kill him. He then went on to become Genghis Khan. (Japanese Wikipedia entry about this theory)

It's a crackpot theory, and historically speaking Yoshitsune just died, but anyone can pick that up and rework it as fiction. A story that goes "the brother (or other relative) of the [ruler] fled the nation and became a new king elsewhere" is generic enough to fit into any fantasy setting.

(@theviolettulip It's not that much, but here it is! The rest of this post is not Wano-related conspiracy)

Various aspects of Germa that appears to be connected to the moon

Related to my theory of how moon = science/tech. Germa is explicitly introduced as a kingdom of science, so maybe their "goal" is to "chase after" the moon technology? Or, if the Wano connection turns out to be true, there's some other link between Wano and the Moon that they're going after.

Germa and the moon automata

Very, very flimsy connection here, and I always say I recognise any artwork-based incidental similarity could just be "design coincidence" that don't mean anything.

Still, are the Germa soldiers' hats and helmets related to the helmets of the moon automata? They have similar shape.

... Correlation? I'm just saying, you know?

"Garuda" refers to Lunarians --> from the Moon?

An even flimsier connection because Lunarians have not been confirmed to be from or connected to the moon (beyond its name).

Still, the design of King, the only currently known Lunarian, seems to be based on the mythological Garuda. A combination of the Indian and the Japanese version.

Variations of the Indian Garuda statues depict him as looking like just a human man with wings, not bird faced.

The fire on King's back, though, resembled the Japanese Garuda (Karura), who has a fire mandala/halo on his back. Upper back, specifically. Karura also has "fire powers",

It's unclear how Judge got the Garuda epithet, but it seemed significant here.

The Vinsmoke children's modifications are meant to make them have the abilities of races connected to the moon?

1) Mink - Niji

The only one where I can most seriously point out proofs for.

Niji's electric ability seems very similar to the Mink tribe's Electro: generating electricity from their bodies, and channelling the electricity through weapons.

Since Niji says his sword is a sword with "the speed of light", not anything related to electricity, it suggests that the sword is not electric charged. The electricity comes from him. As shown with Inuarashi and Wanda above, the Mink are able to channel electricity through their weapons.

We know the Mink tribe's connection to the moon, which is their Sulong form. In which case, I do wonder if that's actually what Niji's permanent goggles are for. To, you know, block the moonlight so that he doesn't go on a Sulong rampage.

Carrot said that sunglasses can block the Sulong transformation, and we saw the proof of it with Pekoms having to take off his sunglasses for it.

2) Lunarian - Sanji

Again, a bit jumping the gun here because we have no proof that Lunarians are related to the moon.

Still, Sanij's fire ability is possibly part of his modification, which in turn might be meant to make him be like a Lunarian.

Oda-sensei hinted that his fire resistance, which allows him to be able to do Diable Jambe without hurting himself, is actually not normal. Perhaps that's what his modification was intended to do? Diable Jambe is similar to the flaming kick that King did as well.

Lunarians can make fire from various parts of their body, like we saw King light his hand and leg on fire. Sanji hasn't really done this yet, the full body combustion Hell Memories seems to imply that he might eventually be able to do that.

3) Shandian - Yonji

Also somewhat flimsy, because super strength is a bit more generic than the other two.

Yonji's "super strength" could be meant to be based on the Shandian warriors, who we know are descended from the moon. Kalgara has incredible physical strength, and his iron ball on a chain is somewhat comparable to Yonji's Winch Danton (Guillotine).

*) Other yet unknown races?

There's no obvious counterparts to Ichiji and Reiju yet, so I could be wrong. Still, there are yet unknown info out there, so I'll have to bookmark this for now and keep a lookout.

Currently the only known light ability and poison ability users are from Devil Fruits, but some of the fruit abilities overlap/match with the natural abilities of some races. For example King can make fire and magma like Ace and Akainu. The fruit just extends the ability into allowing the users to turn their very bodies into fire and magma (is this why "mother nature" hates fruit users? Because it "twists" what's natural?).

Maybe there's just other beings out there with natural light and poison abilities.

"Exoskeleton", a reference to the moon/sky lobster?

The Vinsmoke kids' tough bodies were specifically called "exoskeleton" by Germa internally. Among many other things, "exoskeleton" (gaikokkaku 外骨格) also refers to the shell of crustaceans.

It's a bit unusual terminology, especially because terms like "iron skin" seems more reasonable. For example, Superman was called Man of Steel because he's bulletproof.

Does it maybe reference the lobsters seen in Skypiea? In the ancient wall murals Enel saw in the moon, there appears to be a lobster and some unknown creature that could be the sky fish.

What with my latest theory about how Sea (Prism) Stones, which originated from Wano, might be organic and perhaps even a "carapace" specifically, this seemed somewhat relevant.

[corofwaloed]

A gentle, yet insistent hand was pressed against Cid's shoulder, forcing him to stay put.

"Stop moving, Cidolfus-" Cordelia said softly, keeping her eyes focused on him as her free hand fiddled with a pouch, "Clive, do not worry about him. I will stay here and get him walking again. Find my si- find Benedikta. As Cid said, she has wings, you'd do well to heed that."

"Yes, that's right Clive. Cor here won't be allowing me to grace my deathbed anytime soon. You can be sure of that," a wink was given to them both, but neither of the two could muster up the ability to return the jovial expression.

Once Clive had departed, Cordelia set to work on his wounds- all manner of vials and potions given to her by Tarja as Cid sat there patiently, watching her closely.

"Cor-"

"Did you not tell Clive you were catching your breath, Cid?" came the even response, the woman not looking up from her ministrations.

"Aye, that I did. But some things are worth breathing a little less for. I'm sorry, Cor."

"For?" Her voice, to any other, would have sounded calm- but to the man who had known her for decades, he could detect the slightest waver in her tone- bringing a hand up to cover the one that was helping to press a bandage against his wounds.

"Cordelia-" Cid shifted his body to sit up straighter, gripping her wrist to brace himself, "You know what I'm apologizing for. My little tirade yesterday towards Benedikta. Our entire predicament with her. I've always tried to do what's right… but I've failed… quite a lot. And it seems to me that it's always the people I care about that suffer the most for it."

"I'm hardly suffering, Cid. You're the one with a broken body currently, not I. "

"You are though, both you and Benedikta are suffering from an old man's mistakes, just in different ways."

"Do you ever tire of that little lie? You're not old-" her eyes were careful not to meet his, and though she had just about finished mending him as best she could, she kept her focus away, "You feel old because you keep putting burden after burden upon yourself."

A short laugh erupted from his lips, and she winced at seeing the flecks of blood paint them from the corner of her eye, "Cor, if only I could believe that were true. You can lie to yourself, you've done it for years, but you never could lie to me. I know you feel guilty seeing Benedikta after all this time. Think if you had said the magic words she would've come with us. Fact is, I didn't even give you the chance, convinced I was that if my own attempts didn't work, neither could yours."

Cordelia was silent, listening to him speak, lips set in a barely decipherable frown, "I could have asked you, but I didn't."

"No, you didn't. You and Benedikta never questioned me or my motives, not since I saved you from those slavers and brought you to Barnabas. The one time Benedikta did, I left her in Waloed and stole you away from her."

"...you didn't steal me, Cid. It's as you said yesterday, I am not a thing to be stolen," frustration had crept into her voice, as Cordelia withdrew her hand from him, moving to put away the potions, "Benedikta made her choice, and it was to lie with a madman. Whether or not it was beneficial in the end remains to be seen, but I do not regret my choices. It's as you said back then - either I died beneath Garuda's wings, broken and beaten, or I took the chance to grow my own and die under my own terms. You didn't punish Benedikta, you allowed her to choose. What else could you have done? Kidnapped her and brought her forcibly? That goes against what you believe in."

Cid leaned back listening intently, head resting on the ruined base of the statue that he had been thrown into, silence falling between the two of them for a moment before he sighed - speaking softly, "I just hope one day you can forgive me, Cor. That's all. Don't know if I'll be worthy of your forgiveness, of anyone's. But I've tried to do right by you every time I get you caught up in a new mess. Every time you repay me back with more loyalty and I just don't get it."

"You have done right by me, Cid," she replied - frustration dissipating and being replaced with a softer affection, "Perhaps there have been times you've not made the best choice, but I know that you have always meant right by me, and even Benedikta. You cannot expect yourself to get it right one hundred percent of the time. You're not perfect, but neither am I and you've never expected perfection from me."

His hand went up to cradle her cheek, a smile crossing his face as she leaned into it, his thumb moving to brush against her lips, "You flatter me, Cor. I'd almost say you're flirting here with me amidst the mess I just made battling it out with your sister."