#Sai Bu Shan

[facingthefossegrim]

Chapter 452: Forgotten

Spoilers for 19 Days, chapter 452: Forgotten

I'm gleaning a lot of information from this one; looks like Mo Guan Shan's either changed jobs or acquired a second one since the Christmas update (bro looked like a bus boy taking out the garbage in chapter 224). I'd put my money on He Tian having a hand in this hook up (it wouldn't be the first time he's recommended him for something with good pay, and it seems like a job Mo would enjoy).

I'm wondering if this takes place before or after the Christmas proposal, though, since He Tian's hair looks so different, but that could be either a stylistic change or HT just dressing up for a nice dinner. Either way, I'm not seeing any rings, but maybe they don't always wear it? Or it could be under their clothes? (It would make sense for Mo not to wear it on the job, but would HT ever go without it?)

Something to consider is that we know HT was away for a while before the Christmas events, and perhaps him being away was what soured the relationship pre-proposal. 🤔 But then if this took place before that, why would Mo not continue with this job? (So it makes more sense that this took place after Christmas, but they just aren't wearing the rings.)

It's fun to see the consistency of both character's habits here; He Tian blowing smoke in Mo's face yet again (as he did in chapter 224; so rude), and also being quickly swayed the moment Mo offers him a gift. The value doesn't even matter; we know He Tian's love language is gift giving among others, and he softened right up with this chapter. XD

Mo also has the same ride, but a different helmet this time around. Doesn't seem like the type of person who has much, but also is really into the things he's into, so. It's not a stretch to say he has multiple helmets or replaced one with the other.

Some images for your enjoyment:

[19dayz]

Mo Guan Shan: Hey Tian can I ask you something?

He Tian: Yeah, sure anything for you?

Mo Guan Shan: Do you think your brother can make someone disappear for me?

He Tian: Please say it’s She Li.

Mo Guan Shan: No, the bus drive called my mom sweetheart……and she giggled. He must die.

He Tian: ……Aren’t you overreacting.

Mo Guan Shan: This is how I always react to things so no.

He Tian: Riiiight. Uhmmm. I’ll bring it up to him when I see him.

Mo Guan Shan: Good. But make sure you tell him the reason, I don’t want him to think I’m crazy. Hahahaha

He Tian: *Awkwardly* Ha ha ha. Yeeeeah. Wouldn’t want anyone to think that.

*Later*

He Cheng: I’ll do it.

He Tian: WHAT?!

[hughungrybear]

I guess it was meant to be a cute scene, but personally, I would be very rattle if a mere acquaintance asks me of my number and socials out of the blue. Then proceeds to ride the same bus and steal glances at me all throughout the ride. As if that wasn't enough, waits until I fall asleep on the commute to sit beside me, give his shoulder as my pillow, and take pictures of me - all of which, I have given no consent.

If I were Ob-aun, I would be beelining to the nearest police station instead 😅😅😅 All I'm saying is, tv dramas should really stop normalising stalker-ish behaviour. It's not okay even if the stalking party is as handsome as Shan 🫠🫠🫠

[la-principessa-nuova]

Ping

A remake of Mulan (1998) where the main character is Ping, a trans man who discovers his true gender while disguising himself as a man to take his father’s place in the war.

In this version, he and his captain, Li Shang, develop feelings for each other but resist them due to internalized homophobia and Ping not wanting to be caught.

At some point somebody bullies one of the other soldiers who is weaker about actually being a woman pretending to be a man, and in the ensuing conversation, one of the soldiers said he’s heard of people like that, which catches Ping’s attention. Another soldier gets angry about this discussion and when pressed reveals that he has a trans brother back home. This is how Ping starts to wonder if he might be a man.

Events are a little reordered in this version, as just as they start to get closer and overcome the barriers preventing their relationship, Shang discovers Ping’s secret and says Ping must leave first thing in the morning. But during the night, the person on guard duty sees the Hun Army approaching.

This is where Ping uses the rocket to cause an avalanche, and in the ensuing chaos, Ping and Shang are separated from the other troops, lost out in the cold with almost no supplies.

As they work together and save each other’s lives many times, they overcome their animosity towards each other and their relationship finally blossoms.

In the meantime, the other soldiers reported back that the Huns have been defeated. They arrive at the capital, and things seem to be back to peace times. But now faced with the pressures of society, Shang says he can’t be with Ping unless he hides who he is and lives as a woman. He does this from a perspective of not understanding the pain, rather than maliciously, but still knowingly being selfish about wanting to accept the promotion he received on returning a hero and live a very public life.

They argue, and someone overhears. Word gets out and in order to save his public image, Shang throws Ping under the bus and outs him as gay (not as trans). Ping is now ostracized and mad at Shang, so he leaves the city. But on his way home, he discovers that Shan Yu and some of his elite soldiers survived and plan on attacking the capital, so he goes back.

Nobody believes him, and Shang won’t see him. The final battle is somewhat similar to the original, but played a little more seriously.

In the end, after narrowly avoiding death, Ping and Shang run into each other’s arms and kiss. This shocks all the onlookers and Shang’s father confronts him along with Chi-Fu (who is not a comic relief character in this version and actually exerts power). His father demands that Shang blame Ping to maintain his status and Chi-Fu makes it clear that he will lose his rank and be discharged if he does not do so.

This time Shang stands with Ping and they leave the city to live a quiet life together in the countryside. Ping’s family is so relieved to have him back that they immediately accept him as is.

They have a wedding, and Shang’s father shows up and apologizes to his son saying he has realized that his son’s happiness is far more important than the family’s public image. He reveals that he has given up his rank to be captain of the local subdivision of the military (I’m not sure what the name of that sized group would be), and while they’re not technically allowed to hold rank, he would love if Shang and Ping would help with training new recruits.

I went into more detail towards the end because the beginning is more similar to the original and probably features the same or very similar songs, but also more time would be given to that section in this version as it does a lot more in this version.

[ryin-silverfish]

So I did a brief review of when writers from the Warring States and earlier would place the legend of Yi.

Yellow Emperor's Reign: Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Bu Wei (吕氏春秋) and Mozi's writings. Yi is listed as inventor of the bow and arrow, alongside other inventors from the Yellow Emperor's period. 吕氏 also mentions ten suns appearing before Yao's reign, but as a good omen. Also quoting from Zhuangzi, 吕氏 has Yao saying that “lighting fires while the ten suns are out" is a waste of effort, because their light cannot make the already bright environment brighter, just like Yao remaining on the throne cannot make the realm a better place when the sage Xu You is already going around helping people.

Xia Dynasty: Shang Shu (尚书), Guo Yu (国语), Zuo Zhuan (左传), Tale of King Mu (穆天子传), Qu Yuan's Tian Wen (天问), Confucius, Zhuangzi, students of Mozi. The three history books, Shang Shu, Guo Yu, and Zuo Zhuan all present Yi as an usurper of the Xia Dynasty who was then betrayed and murdered by his advisor Han Zhuo. Shang Shu also rationalizes Yi's shooting of the suns as a campaign against the Xi and He clans, two noble families charged with calculating the calendar, but who had neglected their duties. The Tale of King Mu also calls Yi the Xia Dynasty ruler of Yoqiong. Confucius and Zhuangzi both cite Yi as a powerful archer, but bad ruler. However, Zhuangzi portrays Yi as a man who understood his own faults and could not take pride in his ability to judge character. Mozi's students related a story about Yi receiving a jade pendant from heaven before his final failure and death, as an allegory of pride going before a fall. Qu Yuan has the most complete summary of Yi's myth, presenting him as a Heaven-sent hero who was meant to save the people of Xia, but usurped the king's throne, stole a river god's wife, abducted the woman Xuan Qi, lost Chang-E when she went to the moon, and finally was punished by Heaven and fell to the schemes of those around him. Other texts also mention Yi, but he's still implied to be a Xia Dynasty figure because there are pre-late Warring States texts setting him in any other time. Guizang, one of the earliest texts to contain Chinese myths, states that Yi shot down the suns and Chang-E stole the elixir of immortality and went to moon. Shan Hai JIng mentions Yi received a bow from the sky god Di Jun to slay monsters. Mencius mentioned Yi being murdered by his jealous student Feng Meng, but stated Yi bore some responsibility for the crime (neglecting mortal education). In contrast, Guan Zhong and Han Fei regarded Yi as a principled man dedicated to his craft, who understood the philosophy and not just the act of shooting an arrow, and who was the protective figure. Yi is often listed alongside his disciple Feng Meng as the example of a good archer.

Yao's Reign: Huainanzi (淮南子) and its oral sources. Yi shooting the suns is set during Yao's reign. Xunzi also mentions Yi as a title that can be given to any good archer. However, he also makes references to Yi and Feng Meng as specific individuals, in which case he's likely referring to Yi from the Xia Dynasty. ("Yi and Feng Meng cannot aim accurately with crooked bows"; "Yi's methods are not lost, but Yi is no longer in this world.") Meanwhile Han Fei makes vague comparisons between Yao and Yi as enforcers of the law, but never specifically calls them contemporary.

Later Han Dynasty commentaries would make the sun-shooting Yi from Yao's era a different individual than the Xia Dynasty Yi, but the myth of a single Yi who both shot the suns (or the individuals responsible for tracking the sun's movements through the year) and usurped the Xia throne came first and was the most popular before the Qin Dynasty.

Wonderful collection!

I only have one small correction: Qu Yuan's Tianwen does not make any connection between Chang'e and Yi.

There are lines about the death and revival of the moon, and the animal in it (夜光何德,死则又育?厥利维何,而顾菟在腹?), as well as the lines asking about why a woman in fine white robes is decorating herself in jewelry, followed by a question about where she gets the "fine pills" and why she cannot hide/keep them. (白蜺婴茀,胡为此堂?安得夫良药,不能固臧?)

It is commonly interpreted as referring to the Chang'e legends, but at least in the poem, it's not connected to the Yi-related lines.

Also, though the version of Guizang quoted in the ask mentions both Yi and Chang'e next to each other, the Qin era bamboo slips excavated from Wangjia Tai only mentions Chang'e stealing the pill of immortality and flying to the moon.

From what I know, though both the Yi and Chang'e mythology were floating around in the late Warring States-Qin era, they weren't yet connected to each other.

The earliest passage that featured the "Yi gets immortality pills from QMoW, Chang'e steals it and fly to the moon" plot is from Huainan Zi , and in the eastern Han annotation of the passage, they became husband and wife.

[reinaka42]

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) Masterpost

Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu (忘川风华录) is a Vocal synth (Vocaloid and SynthV) music project. It consists of songs themed around different figures throughout Chinese history. The project is a collaboration between different artists and creatives, with music and videos featuring prominent traditional Chinese elements. The project's title translates to "The Records of Magnificence of the Wangchuan" - In Chinese mythology, "Wangchuan" (or River of Forgetting) is a river in the Underworld that can rid one of their past life's memories, similar to the river Lethe.

A mobile game adaptation has also been developed by NetEast. Unfortunately, I haven't played it so I can't give much insight on it. However, I assume that its premise is similar to that of the idea behind the project as a whole: all these historical figures meeting each other in the Underworld after they died. Maybe.

You can find all the songs on Bilibili. The official Weibo can be found here. The game's website, which includes all characters appearing so far in the game, can be found here, and its Weibo can be found here.

(If you prefer YouTube, I've also put together a handy playlist. Please know that most of these videos are reposts though, so please watch the original Bilibili MVs if you can!)

This blog is where I will be posting everything I feel like I need to say about the songs in this project. A lot of it is lifted from my Twitter account but will be in much more detail. Note that I probably won't touch collab songs, or songs that don't focus solely on the project's own characters.

Disclaimer: I do not speak Chinese, nor am I an expert on Chinese history. Therefore, I cannot reliably translate the lyrics to these songs, nor my words should be taken as gospel. I am merely a nerd gushing about my hyperfixation.

Playlist

多情岸 【Duo Qing An】 ➼ B link

洛阳怀 【Luo Yang Huai】 ➼ B link

易水诀 【Yi Shui Jue】 ➼ B link

山河令 【Shan He Ling】 ➼ B link

簪花人间 【Zhan Hua Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

栖凰 【Qi Huang】 ➼ B link

心上秋 【Xin Shang Qiu】 ➼ B link

祖龙吟 【Zu Long Yin】 ➼ B link

如见青山 【Ru Jian Qing Shan】 ➼ B link

竹林间 【Zhu Lin Jian】 ➼ B link

天下局 【Tian Xia Ju】 ➼ B link

青鸟衔风 【Qing Niao Xian Feng】 ➼ B link

木兰行 【Mu Lan Xing】 ➼ B link

好字唯之 【Hao Zi Wei Zhi】 ➼ B link

不可道 【Bu Ke Dao】 ➼ B link

水叙湖风 【Shui Xu Hu Feng】 (collab) ➼ B link

是非 【Shi Fei】 ➼ B link

风起甘露 【Feng Qi Gan Lu】 (collab) ➼ B link

谓剑 【Wei Jian】 ➼ B link

万象霜天 【Wan Xiang Shuang Tian】 (New Year event song) ➼ B link

千秋梦 【Qian Qiu Meng】 ➼ B link

易安难安 【Yi An Nan An】 ➼ B link

惊鹊 【Jing Que】 ➼ B link

高歌破阵 【Gao Ge Po Zhen】 (collab) ➼ B link

不赴 【Bu Fu】 ➼ B link

西行 【Xi Xing】 ➼ B link

大航海家 【Da Hang Hai Jia】 ➼ B link

牡丹乱 【Mu Dan Luan】 (collab) ➼ B link

倾国 【Qing Guo】 (collab) ➼ B link

相虎 【Xiang Hu】 ➼ B link

补天裂 【Bu Tian Lie】 ➼ B link

此期盈期 【Ci Qi Ying Qi】 (1st anniversary song) ➼ B link

破云来 【Po Yun Lai】 ➼ B link

归钓吟 【Gui Diao Yin】 ➼ B link

始见千秋 【Shi Jian Qian Qiu】 ➼ B link

临川浮梦 【Lin Chuan Fu Meng】 ➼ B link

将军行 【Jiang Jun Xing】 ➼ B link

妄语人间 【Wang Yu Ren Jian】 ➼ B link

数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 (2nd anniversary song) ➼ B link

问剑春秋 【Wen Jian Chun Qiu】 ➼ B link

起战令 【Qi Zhan Ling】 ➼ B link

人间应又雪 【Ren Jian Ying You Xue】 ➼ B link

旷古回响 【Kuang Gu Hui Xiang】 ➼ B link

墨隐侠声 【Mo Yin Xia Sheng】 ➼ B link

桃源故人 【Tao Yuan Gu Ren】 (3rd anniversary song) ➼ B link

*Note: The anniversary songs are probably for the game's anniversaries, as the project itself is more than 5 years old.

Albums

Vol 1: 溯洄 【Su Hui】 Includes character songs from Duo Qing An to Zhu Lin Jian. Features human vocals.

Vol 2: 踏浪 【Ta Lang】 Includes character songs from Tian Xia Ju to Jing Que.

Vol 3: 数风流 【Shu Feng Liu】 Includes character songs from Bu Fu to Wang Yu Ren Jian, an unreleased song titled 燕双归 【Yan Shuang Gui】, and the two anniversary songs.

Visual character guide:

PRE-QIN | QIN | WESTERN CHU | HAN | THREE KINGDOMS | JIN | NORTH & SOUTHERN DYNASTIES | TANG | FIVE DYNASTIES & TEN KINGDOMS | SONG | YUAN | MING | QING | DREAM

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[cosmicellis]

Lets go from thin fabulous ghosts, to buff mumph people from warcraft Brain wah... Anyway. I did a small re-design\interpretation of kings\emperors, because all of them have default standart model (Aside from Lei Shen, he's just "chef kiss") Qiang - I think the toughest one, cause he is tad bit bland. He was very strict king. Thank you, like all mogu emperors pretty much. So he would stay looking as that boy next door. Meng - Mmmmm, yeee Meng. The most Majestic of mighty monarchs. One of my favorite ones. Gotta give him that majestic look... and scars that are mostly self inflicted because he is not all here. Zian - I would say Zian the edge lord. What pisses me off -he and Meng has identical model, while having copletely different character. Meng is a loon, Zian is nightmare incarnated. Will come to spook your sleep paralysis demon. I gave him new robes, because come on, he is a sorcerer. Subetai - Oh my, this one. He sure oozes personality, by saying all his lines half laughing. And again, he is also blue like Ziana nd Meng. Blizz, seriously you have other colours, why u do this to me? ;w; Well, I gave him that "smug and confident" thing going on Xin - Jumped straight from loreal commercial. He is quite ... fluffy. Would pet, even if it cost my hand... Lei shen - Gave him hair. I really didn't wanted to change anyhting. Was tempted to remove that crown of his, cause ... Lets say this is torture. Shan Bu - The only mogu that has a sin stone as far as I know. Imagine being worse that Thunder king. GJ Shan Bu, that's quite an achievement. Gave him a little more of that loreal hair, because, guess what: he joins the "blue mogu" brigade again.

Kinda planning to work on Stormspeaker Qian, but must not make him look like Xin, because, oh no, same model.

[jacksulkes]

August 3 - Fo Guang Shan Monastery

Today we spent entirely at Fo Guang Shan Monastery. We took the bus there in the morning. We started at the Buddhist monastery itself. We were given a tour by a monk dressed in a yellow robe with a shaved head. He also had an American woman from Michigan learning from him and living at the monastery for a month. It was massive and beautiful. The landscaping was so nice. We got to see inside a building with three big Buddha statues and hundreds of smaller Buddha statues all around the walls. We then got to each lunch in the monastery with all of the monks, but we had to learn the traditional way of doing it. It was completely silent, there was no meat, and we had to move our dishes in the correct ways. We followed along with their chants before and after eating. After lunch, we went over to the Buddha Museum. This museum had a massive Buddha statue on top of it. It is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world. Inside, there were so many exhibits, rooms, and worship centers. Saw some cool artifacts and learned a lot. We also got to write Chinese calligraphy on a paper to take home, with the instruction of a Buddhist monk. Later on, we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant and ordered over 10 dishes for the table with a lazy Susan to share. We got pork fried rice, beef and veggie stir fry, fried shrimp balls, spicy chicken, stir fried squid, pig intestines, clams, tofu, and much more. I loved the squid, but after trying pig intestines once, I can safely say I will decline any opportunity to have more. After dinner, we went clubbing, and it was Latin-themed night with all of the music I've heard in Miami.

Academic Reflection:

At the monastery, we learned that there is a past, present, and future Buddha. The original Buddha, Siddartha Gautama, was from India. He first showed the path to becoming Buddha, but we learned that if you follow his eightfold path and three rules, you can also become Buddha. The three rules are to do good deeds, speak good words, and think good thoughts. We learned that they eat in silence in order to focus on their meal with no distractions. They are supposed to focus on how appreciative they are for the food and to ponder whether they have done enough good to deserve this meal. The only time they aren’t silent is before and after they eat, they do chants.

At the museum, when we wrote the Chinese calligraphy, the monk also taught us a greeting where you touch the tip of your middle finger to your thumb. This can be hello, goodbye, how are you, and other things. It is an important part of the Buddhist culture. I learned a lot perusing the museum. It had exhibits on Buddhism as a whole, Taiwan’s history (natural, prehistoric, and historic), and on Hsing Yun, who is the monk that started this monastery. It is the biggest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan.

[brookebeebe-blog]

August 3rd - Fo Guang Shan Monastery and Museum

I’m giving up on the cough update. It’s still here, it’s not going anywhere, and it sucks. It was another early start. I got up early enough to talk to my friends from home. After I talked to both of them, I got a quick breakfast because we only had 15 minutes to eat. The hot chocolate at breakfast has become my new favorite drink. We boarded the bus and had a long ride to Fo Guang Shan. It is a beautiful and extremely large buddhist temple. I will say though, there are lots of stairs. We got to offer a flower and a prayer to one of the big buddhas and then it was time for lunch. This lunch though was very specific and we had a 30 minute briefing on how to eat it. First, absolutely no phones or talking was allowed. Also, masks had to worn at all times besides when eating. We had to walk in silently, bow to buddha, then quietly pull our chairs back. Then, a chant resumed for about 5 minutes. After this, we could eat. Another part was that we had to eat everything we accepted and since I didn’t know what things would taste like and I can’t finish food if I don’t like it, I had two bowls of plain white rice for lunch. You also only get 20 minutes to eat. Another part that confused me was that there was no beverage served. Eating two bowls of plain white rice with no water is slightly difficult. After 20 minutes was up, another chant resumes, bowls are taken away, and you get to leave and finally break your silence. It was quite an experience, but I will say I do not think I would able to eat every meal like that for years on end. After lunch, we headed to the Buddha Museum. The most interesting part of the museum was the architecture in my opinion. I have never seen such a large statue of buddha. There were gold buddha’s, jade buddha’s, wooden buddha’s, and everything in between. We also got to practice some calligraphy, which was super fun. I was exhausted after all the stairs and walking, so I was excited to get back on the bus and head back to the hotel. Tonight, we get to party with Peter! I think we’re starting at some bars and then maybe a club? Not really sure but definitely excited.

Academic Reflection

Fo Guang Shan was established by Master Hsing Yun and his disciples. The main structures consist of four temples: Daxiongbao, Dabei, Dazhi, and the Dashu shrines. Daxiongbao is the most notable and largest of each of these temples. The main god of worship is Sakyamuni. They believe he was born in 563 or 566 BCE as a wealthy prince. When he realized he was not reaching liberation, he decided to give up his bountiful way of life and turned to meditation in hopes to reach enlightenment on his own. After 49 days of sitting under a tree resisting temptation and urges, he became a buddha. He then spread his wisdom and advocated for a life without need for objects and power. In the temple, there are 14,800 holes of buddha statues. The museum we visited used to be a temple and in 2011, it was transformed into a memorial center with 8 pagodas at the front and the world’s tallest bronze buddha statue.

Citations

https://kagyuoffice.org/buddhism/shakyamuni-buddha/

https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002121&id=2206

https://taiwangods.moi.gov.tw/html/landscape_EN/1_0011.aspx?i=87

[tszylover]

mo forgets their first anniversary :) 

prompt by @aotomegane

something was off. 

mo guan shan wasn’t exactly sure what this something was but he tian had been acting... weirdly all day. 

he was clingier (even now he tian had his arm across his shoulders and his side pressed against his), more smiley (not the usually demonic grin but something softer) and a little quieter (as if he was trying to enjoy something while it lasted). 

mo wasn’t sure what to make of it. he tried to rack his brain for something that could have brought about this sudden shift in mood but there was nothing. was it his birthday? nah, his birthday isn’t until [month]. 

did... did i do something to make him happy?

his brain went quiet, like the strange calm after the departure of a loud bus leaving you behind on an empty street. mo rubbed his forehead as if trying to erase away his thoughts and stared at he tian, visible only through his side eye.

“little mo, is there something on my face?” he tian questioned, despite his closed eyes. how the fuck-? mo jerked in response, moving his increasingly blushing face to look at the weird looking tree in front of him instead.

“shut up! i wasn’t looking at you.”

“baby, i’m your boyfriend. you hold every right to look at me. touch me too, if you want.” he tian flirted, it seemed to come naturally to him... like breathing. 

mo scoffed but his red face was a dead give away. 

“i mean you’d have to give me something for today, right? i mean i’ll take a kiss for now but we could always go home. your place or mine?”. he tian wiggled his eyebrows. 

“what’s today?” mo asked, ignoring the last sentence that the dumbass next to him had just spurted out.

he tian gasped dramatically.

“what?”

“no... no way.” he tian’s voice was “sad”, but simultaneously full of mischief. “you forgot our first anniversary?” 

“huh?” mo wasn’t sure what to say. 

“you did! you forgot our anniversary!” he tian was starting to get loud and people were starting to look. fucking chicken dick was doing this on purpose. “i thought you cared about me, i guess not!”

“he tian! shut up!”

“oh! now you’re telling me to shut up!” he tian’s voice wasn’t getting any lower. mo’s skin tingled with self-awareness and shoved a hand over he tian’s mouth. or tried to, at least. he tian grasped mo’s wrist and pulled him closer to his chest. 

 he tian whispered “mo... i’ll shut up if you let me try something tonight.” 

mo looked around, everyone was looking at them. “fine! let’s just get out of here!” he said, grabbing he tian’s hand and running towards in the first direction he thought of. he tian’s place. 

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[commander-krios]

Happy KOTOR Exchange @starwers! I hope you enjoy your 'combat angst'. It was super fun to write and I hope it was ok to take some liberties with Revan's personality.

Shoutout to TittyFish for the beta help and the feedback.

Title: Shadows

Summary:

The Kashyyyk Shadowlands. They were eerie, unnerving, and something she couldn’t wait to be far away from.

Bastila Shan has always struggled against the Dark Side, but there is a force in the Shadowlands that scares her.

And its not just the creatures that lurk in the shadows.

Words: 1989

Rating: T

Relationship: Female Revan & Bastila Shan

Additional Tags: Canon Typical Violence, Kashykkk, Shadowlands, Violence, Lightsabers, Canon Compliant, Slight Gore/Blood, Injury

~~~~

Bastila Shan had never felt such an oppressive darkness before. Malak and Revan both carried darkness like a shield, but this didn’t touch the evil she felt the moment she stepped off the lift and into Kashyyyk’s Shadowlands. The Wroshyr trees creaked and groaned as they continued their journey to find the next Star Map. Her eyes sought out her companions in the limited light, barely making out the profiles of Revan, Carth, the insufferable droid HK-47, Mission, and the newest member of their crew, the elderly man they’d run into in these very lands: Jolee Bindo.

He was strong in the Force, Bastila could feel it the moment they’d met. But he wasn’t a Jedi, or so he claimed. In fact, he went as far to disavow the Jedi Council. While it irritated her to see how little reverence he had for the Jedi Order, she kept her mouth tightly shut, knowing an attempt to convince him of the good the Jedi did to be a lost cause before she even started.

The forest appeared to grow darker the farther they walked and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the uneasy feeling that descended upon her, like a chill that buried itself deep beneath her skin and into her very bones. She couldn’t shake it, no matter how much she tried to, how much she wanted to. It grew within her, a pit that swallowed little pieces of her, day by day.

Was the Dark Side really so hard to resist? She’d thought herself capable of fighting it, but now, standing in the Shadowlands where the dark seemed to thrive, she found that she didn’t have the same faith. 

In the distance, the animals that lived in the bowels of the forest were loud. Branches and leaves crushed beneath the feet of the larger ones while the small chirped shrilly. The forest was very much alive in ways that places like Tatooine weren’t.

It was eerie, unnerving, and something she couldn’t wait to be far away from.

A circular clearing in the forest caught Revan’s attention, if her pause was any indication. The former Sith had been spoiling for a fight since she’d seen what Czerka had done to the Wookies. While they were unlikely to run into any of Czerka’s people in this particular spot, Bastila couldn’t help agreeing that ridding the Wookies of the slavers would be a righteous quest.

“Anyone else think this screams ‘trap’?” Mission’s voice came from somewhere to Bastila’s left. “Because it looks like a trap.”

“I agree.” Bastila said, taking a step after Revan, hoping to head her off before she got them into something they couldn’t get themselves out of. “We should be cautious.”

Before she had even finished her sentence, the ground beneath her feet shook, nearly knocking her to the muddy earth. When she regained her balance and searched the dreary darkness for Revan, she was unsurprised to find that the woman had pulled her sabers from her belt, their green glow reflecting the same color in her eyes.

“Observation: Master, I think we found the fight you wanted.”

Revan’s teeth flashed in a feral grin. “I’d say so, HK.”

Carth shouted something from behind her, but before she could process his words, something came crashing through the trees and into the clearing. Something alive and angry.

The creature wasn’t as enormous as the rancor that Revan and Carth had described on Taris, but it was smarter, faster, with massive claws that swiped at Revan the moment it saw her.

“Terentatek!” Jolee yelled, pulling his own saber from his belt. Its blue glow, along with Revan’s green, helped to keep Bastila aware of where they stood in the fight. Her own lightsaber burned yellow against the dark like a beacon.

Twirling the dualsaber in her hands, Bastila tried to find an opening. While slower than a Jedi, the creature fed on Force users and there were three of them surrounding it. Its focus was on Revan at the moment, but that could easily change. 

As much as she hated to admit it, bringing the Mandalorian along would have probably been a wise choice.

One that, unfortunately, they hadn’t made.

Revan ducked another swipe of the creature’s deadly claws, the attack putting the terentatek off balance. Opportunity pushed her to throw one of her sabers, the Force flinging it farther and harder than she could by sheer physical strength alone. It bounced off the creature’s hide, leaving it unmarked as the saber returned to its owner.

“Be careful of its claws, kid.” Jolee was circling the creature’s other side, opposite of where Revan was. “They’re poisonous.”

Bastila had situated herself at an angle adjacent to where both Jolee and Revan were, taking quick steps to keep out of range of the claws. The monster attempted to swipe at one of the Jedi before swiveling around to one of the others, its rage palpable. The darkness she felt was strong in this spot and Bastila immediately knew that most of it was coming from the terentatek. It was a creature of Sith alchemy.

An ear splitting roar erupted from its throat and Bastila had to resist throwing her hands over her ears.

Carth, Mission, and the droid were set up farther back from the fight, using their blasters to distract the creature whenever it got too close to one of them. It worked for a few minutes: a Jedi would attempt to wound the terentatek and when it turned to fight back, the blasters would keep it from approaching too closely. But the beast caught on quickly.

Ignoring the blaster fire on the next round, the creature stomped forward, shaking the ground with each step as it approached Bastila. Her heart pounded in her throat, a very real fear springing up as she realized this creature could easily rip her apart.

“Bastila!” Carth shouted from behind her.

She ducked another swipe and rolled out of the terentatek’s path, but it was quicker this time around. It spun just as she returned to her feet, brandishing the lightsaber defensively in front of her. Another roar and the monster bounded forward, head down and tusks exposed.

She had nowhere to go.

For all of the confidence she had in her skills, for all of her pride in the things she’d accomplished… it would all be for nothing when she was left as a smear on the floor of the Kashyyyk forests. The lightsaber couldn’t save her now, and neither could her Force powers. 

Bastila was thrown to the ground, landing hard against the cracked mud and rocks. It knocked the air from lungs, the lightsaber skidding across the dirt a few feet away. The golden glow of her saber abruptly disappeared, leaving her in darkness.

Hands roughly shoved at her arm. “Go!”

She barely caught a glimpse of Revan as she stood, facing the beast. A new sort of terror pulsed through Bastila at the sight. Without Revan, the search for the Star Maps would come to an end, but worse than that, the fight against Malak would be lost. The Sith would win.

Yet the woman didn’t know that. She had no idea how important she was.

“Wait!” Bastila tried to call out, but it was too late.

Revan raised her lightsabers in an attempt to slice through the creature’s thick arm, but it did nothing. No wound cutting through the beast’s thick skin, no blood seeping to the muddy ground, no acrid smell of burnt hair and cauterized flesh.With a rage that burned Bastila through the Force, the terentatek lunged at Revan, who tried to throw herself off the monster’s path. But she wasn’t quick enough. Its claws closed around her body, lifting her from the ground.

She struggled, but nothing would break the hold on its grip. 

It must feel the power swirling within her.

With a thunderous bellow, it snapped its jaws, venom dripping from its sharp curved teeth.

Any normal person would’ve been terrified, despairing at the thought of their imminent and gory death. But Revan, however, was no normal person.

“I think someone might be hungry.” She said, smiling up at the monster.

The terentatek tightened its hold on Revan and she wheezed, her ribs being crushed under the massive force. Bastila stood as fast as her feet would let her, her lungs burning as she tried to breathe past the terror that seized her. 

Then someone moved out of the corner of her eye.

“Eat this, poodoo breath!” Mission shouted, pulling a pair of grenades from her pack.

They soared through the air, blinking red in the dark. Even with little air squeezing through the monster’s iron grip to reach her lungs, Revan managed to lift her hand slightly, using the Force to send the grenades into the open maw of the beast. The grenades hit the back of the terentatek’s throat and it dropped her to the ground, choking on the foreign object.

Revan managed to orient herself to minimize the impact, her side colliding with the hard ground instead of her lower body. Such a drop would’ve most likely broken her legs had she landed on them.

The sound she made when she hit the ground, however, was definitely full of agony.

The terentatek clawed at its throat, struggling to get at the grenades lodged in its windpipe, to no avail.

The explosion was contained within its body, but its pained screech sent a ripple through the Force.

HK-47 ran in front of Revan’s prone form, lifting his rifle. “Exclamation: Die!”

The droid, Carth, and Mission concentrated fire on the terentatek’s open mouth, turning its insides into something resembling the pulp of a jogan fruit. With one last guttural noise, the creature fell into a heap.

Now that the danger had finally passed, Carth hurried to Revan’s side, a medpac ready in case she needed it. He reached her at the same time Bastila did. As he knelt, holding the kolto injector in his hands, he shook his head, taking stock of her injuries with a quick glance. “You’re crazy, sister.”

Revan laughed between coughs as her lungs filled back up with oxygen. “Remind - me to - not - do that - again.”

Bastila knelt at the woman’s side, feeling grim at the reckless actions of someone who was not only a nuisance, but somehow a friend as well. “ What were you thinking? You could’ve been killed.”

Revan raised an eyebrow at the statement. “Oh? Never crossed my mind.”

The sound of HK-47’s hydraulics were the only thing that kept Bastila from snapping at her. “Statement: Quick thinking, Master. Perhaps it will think twice before attacking a Jedi again.”

Ignoring the droid, Bastila glanced at Carth. “Is she going to be alright?”

“Scans say a few broken ribs, maybe some internal bleeding.” He tucked the scanner into his bag, peeking at Revan with a frown. “I can’t heal that here.”

“I can help with that.” Jolee murmured, settling next to them. Hands hovering over Revan’s body, a golden glow lit the darkness. Force healing flew out of Jolee and into Revan, mending her wounds both inside and out. It took only a few minutes to completely heal her and when she was back on her feet, that carefree smile was on her face once again. It might’ve been infuriating if Bastila’s mind wasn’t elsewhere.

This would be the first of many near misses in the next few hours. With a sigh, Bastila relented. It was useless to fight such a fierce force as the woman in front of her. “Now that that is taken care of, we should hurry and find the Star Map. I wish to be as far from this place as soon as possible.”

None of her companions bothered to respond, all silently agreeing with her words as they continued on, silence falling on them in the darkness.

[quillyfied]

No you know what I feel like I have to map this out now, because I’ve been informed that my vampire phase was Not Normal so I’m wondering if anyone else here on the Not Normal Website had something similar:

I started out utterly terrified of vampires. Series of nightmares as a young kid, watching a single scary moment of an episode of Buffy (where she wasn’t even fighting a vampire, I don’t think, just having a conversation with Willow, turned around and killed something scary, went back to her conversation), the Hey Arnold episode where they thought the hillbilly kid was a vampire and then he was bc Halloween episode scared me, it was a Thing. Idk.

Age thirteen, I pick up “In the Forest of the Night” by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. She wrote it when SHE was thirteen. I felt immediate kinship. And fell in love with the story itself. And subsequently vampires. I devoured her entire body of work at the time, and kept up with it for a while. I thought she was evocative and creative and original with her world building.

Next: Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, which I saw another kid on the bus reading before I had the courage to approach vampire fiction but the title stuck in my mind. That was. A trip. Got especially weird at the end; saw echoes of it in the Critical Role Campaign 2 fight against the giant baby head creature that unsettled me more than the actual fight did. Overall an unusual experience that I think I want to let rest in my teenage years forever actually.

Then, Angel. Because Buffy was over, my friends were obsessed with Joss Whedon, and Angel aired right after dinner and sometimes my family watched it with me. It was entertaining. Then the stuff with Fred happened and I lost enthusiasm for it. But the stuff with Connor and Cordelia was…particularly impactful, I would say.

Twilight was a huge part of it but it was also pretty much the last piece of vampire fiction I read and retained in any way. Interview with the Vampire and Dracula were both attempted, and I liked Interview well enough, but I wasn’t quite ready for Dracula and didn’t retain it. In my adult years I’ve read a few more vampire books (Fred the Vampire Accountant, The Reformed Vampire Support Group), but. Can’t really fight the formative years, and here they are.

[whattheabcxyz]

2024-08-07

Singapore

Yet more seniors found dead in their homes - 2 separate cases on Monday, 1 in AMK & another in Bukit Batok

Over 30 bus services to skip stops on 9 & 10 Aug due to National Day celebrations

Desmond Lee insists majority of HDB resale flats remain affordable to 1st-timers - sure, if you wanna live in a slum or dumpster

Marine Parade shuttle bus service costs about $1m a year to run & is funded largely by donations

Taskforce set up to bolster tech resilience following CrowdStrike outage

13 migrant domestic workers & 14 errant employers arrested in MOM bust - involving illegal employment & falsification of work pass applications

EMA can impose power rationing during emergency under proposed law

No plans to replicate or scale up pilot giving cash with no strings attached to low-income families - there was no clear evidence the cash aid led to longer-term positive effects

New bill to purportedly allow government to tackle money laundering more effectively

Finance

Singapore: DBS chief Piyush Gupta to retire in March next year; veteran banker Tan Su Shan to take over

Science

Slime mould's pathfinding reveals connections in the universe’s vast “cosmic web”

Food

Singapore Food Agency says Pei Pa Koa-flavoured food products unlikely to have safety issues - if anyone falls sick, you know who to blame!

Art

^ 10 images AI got very wrong - those contorted faces look like aliens... & why is their raft so full of patched-up holes?!

Education

Singapore: All student devices affected by Mobile Guardian app issues to be fixed by 16 Aug

Travel

Scoot to launch flights to Kertajati in Indonesia & Melaka in Malaysia on new Embraer jets

[elijahhendley]

8月5號 Day 25: Calligraphy, drums, and fans

Today I woke up and skipped breakfast because we needed to check out of the hotel and get on the bus. After getting my final stuff packed I headed to the bus with my bags and we were off to our next city—Tainan. There are only 3 days remaining of the trip. This will be our last stop before heading back to Taipei and flying back to America. Before we checked into our new hotel we stopped by the national university of Tainan to learn some history behind traditional fans in Taiwan. Then we got to make our own fans and write calligraphy on them. I wrote “Live, Laugh, Love” on mine as well as “May God give you peace”. My calligraphy skills are not the best but it wasn’t too bad. I practiced some before I put the characters on the fan. Afterwards they asked us a question for a prize and I won a fan that says “peace” and “I love Taiwan”. Then they offered us chicken bento boxes, so we ate lunch there. 

Next we went to our next stop: The Tainan Ten-drum cultural village. Here we watched the drum performance by “cross metal”. They were actually really good. One of the guys played a Classical Chinese instrument that I can best describe as a saxophone crossed with a violin but it only has one string. The performance was a huge set with fancy lights and everything. I went in expecting just traditional drums but it was like a whole concert. Very impressive and unexpected for a place that seemed in the middle of nowhere. After the concert, we walked around a bit and saw some of the old sugar refinery machines and after an hour we got back on the bus to check in at the hotel. After settling in at the hotel, I got some food and went to bed.

Academic reflection

The college that we went to, NUTN, was actually a place where the Japanese stored their weapons during World War II. The college was built over 125 years ago during Japanese rule. The professor at the school even showed us a brick wall that had bullet holes in it from when America did a raid on the area, fighting against the Japanese. I could only imagine what this place looked like 80 years ago. Before we started our DIY fan calligraphy, a different Yeh Laoshi from that university taught us some history about the different types of fans. We learned about the 2 types of fans: Tuan shan and Zhe shan. Now Tuan shan is a circular fan that is not the first one you would think of when talking about an asian fan. The Tuan shan originated in China during the eastern Han dynasty. They were made to be modest and hide teeth when one would laugh. I am also sure it had many more uses. The Zhe shan is the classic Asian fan people like to use. It is collapsable and very easy to carry. Zhe shans surprisingly do not originate in China, but in Korea and Japan. Before coming to China. Even Peter, our tour guide, found this surprising because it is so popular in China.

Reflecting back on the Ten Drum village, although the name has “drum” in it, that was not the most interesting thing to me. First, the place used to be a sugar factory in the past, but as globalization increased it started to become more expensive to self produce sugar. Because countries like the Philippines began to export so much sugar it became cheaper to import sugar than to pay workers to make sugar. So the government closed down these factories and converted them to other types of buildings such as the one we went to, the Ten Drum village. As you read above, they performed a concert at the village and what stood out to me the most was the 2 string instrument I described as a saxophone crossed with a violin, called an Erhu. Some call it a Chinese violin and it does have its origins in the northern parts of China near Mongolia. It is a very important Chinese instrument and has been around for over 4000 years. It was beautiful to hear along with many other Chinese flutes and trumpets played throughout the concert.

Until next time, 再見！