My biggest challenge yet... (And I'm serious)

So this is something new. Okay, maybe NOT that new since I've been toying with that idea... but anyway hope this won't blow up in my face. History can be really boring if the fella across the other end is a fake Governator. -.-'

Brief intro: This is all about Zhao Yun. （赵云。子龙） This post is intended to make tons of people feel like shit just because they don't know what they're talking about anyway. :D And lastly, the original text written by Chen Shou (陈寿） is extremely limited with added annotations by Pei Song Zhi（裴松之）. Interestingly enough, Yun Bie Zhuan （云别传）has always been character-focused on Zhao Yun, hence the countless controversies that ensued afterwards. But hey guess what? I not stupid. The fact that I'm just merely a Higher NiTec graduate would have meant something on how effective is the MOE model, eh? ;)

So maybe let me have a hand in doing the demolition job: First things first, Pei Song Zhi is a Historian (史家） rather than a historian （史学家）. Simply put, the latter can only do his own analysis at best and talking cock worst come to worst. The former however, is far more serious in nature. Simply put, a person of Pei Song Zhi's stature has always been someone carrying the burden of writing history rather than studying it. You can't have someone saying Jeanne D'arc was merely a deluded fanatic, no? If you want to play with fire, it's your problem. Guys like Pei Songzhi and Chen Shou have never been that type of people to set fire in their own bathrooms. -.-'

Which comes to mind Chen Shou himself. If Zhao Yun is truly that useless like all the subhumans claimed him out to be, then what does that make Chen Shou for putting him within the same book as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong and Ma Chao? Perhaps the greatest indication on his intelligence against "the rest" hinged upon these words of his:

评曰：关羽、张飞皆称万人之敌，为世虎臣。羽报效曹公，飞义释严颜，并有国士之风。然羽刚而自矜，飞暴而无恩，以短取败，理数之常也。马超阻戎负勇，以覆其族，惜哉！能因穷致泰，不犹愈乎！黄忠、赵云强挚壮猛，并作爪牙，其灌、滕之徒欤？

Analysis: As vassals akin to tigers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were famed as warriors worthy of ten thousands. Yu repaid Duke Cao's grace while Fei released Yan Yan out of integrity; both displayed the bearing of noble stature. Yet Yu was unyielding and arrogant while Fei was quick to anger and devoid of mercy. To meet their demise upon personal failings was only to be expected. Ma Chao's bravery and act of resistance caused the downfall of his clan, what a pity! It would be far better to gain fame due to poverty! Strong and steadfast were Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun; were they any different from the likes of Guan and Teng as fangs and claws?

Glossary: Teng - Duke Teng （滕公）, otherwise known as Xiahou Ying （夏侯婴）. Guan on the other hand refers to Guan Ying. （灌婴） Both were renown generals loyal to Liu Bang, the first Emperor of the Han dynasty. （汉高祖）

Pretext: Try to see things in the GRC model. If any given province was the GRC equivalent, then the counties（郡）/prefectures（县）would be seen as the relevant areas under the GRC umbrella. Within the historical context, Changshan would be the county where Zhending is the prefecture. 
Note: Province > County > Prefecture. And lastly, Liu Bei=The First Lord.（先主）Liu Shan=The Latter Lord.（后主）

Be noted: There are mainly three areas of contention within Tales of Zhao Yun, namely the so-called "overly-positive portrayal", the controversy behind Zhao Yun's right to administer advice due to Zhuge Liang's presence and the Battle of Hanshui. Don't worry, I'll debunk each and every shred of nonsense until there's nothing left via the relevant posts. ;)

Houston, we've got a problem here...

And its called there are vampires 1000000x more badass than Edward Cullen:

 

Houston, we've got a problem here...

But srsly if we're talking abt THIS:

Houston, we've got a problem here...

P.S: If your dad is Dracula, you're badass enough...

And weirdly enough, I feel like putting this up:

当时是马荣成的天下

我命犯天煞孤星 无伴终老 孤独一生

雨扑到我衣襟都不敢贴近
 

横流成河乱我心
 

抬头明明尚要采一片云
 

回头但见雪落无痕
 

擦过我那身影生死不过问
 

红尘茫茫白发深
 

来来回回命里咄咄逼人
 

碎了掌风摧了情份
 

天煞弄人大海不能容
 

头上那颗孤星心上种
 

谁愿注定做英雄
 

留在孤独长空
 

天阔地遥命中不能容
 

头上这天煞孤星别碰
 

决了雌雄 斩了彩虹 不见英雄
 

决了雌雄 不见英雄 无形无踪
 

英雄路远掌声近 莫问苍生问星辰
 

天地有涯风有信 大海无量不见人

笔下的衰人

马大佬

Should have done this far earlier...

Its over. Cardiff got screwed YET again. Or maybe they've bottled it again? Dunno. Perhaps Malky MacKay=/=The saviour of South Wales. Might as well do something at the Bluebirds' expense:

I know this is all abt me being a 3 yr old petulant kid, but...

But srsly, Peter Ridsdale=the greatest troll in English football history. 

And Hitler just proved it beyond any doubt. To think that the Edwood faithful still see the Venky's as the Lancashire equivalent of the Anti-Christ(s).

Character Concept: Aeranath

This is actually intended for the titular character of A Ranger's Tale. Basically just a breakdown on how I came about having this character plus a few interesting(?) snippets.

Inspiration:

Firstly, this is a story which I planned to deviate from the classical heroic fantasy. In fact I would call it a sword and sorcery genre. In a very real sense, this is my very first attempt to create an anti-hero. Upon the first draft, he's intended to be foul mouthed character along the mold of Genjou Sanzo. But after going through experience in life together with expanding my own horizons in fantasy fiction, things started to get interesting. From the original "anti-hero destined to turn good", I just ended up saying "screw it" and created an entity far more cynical and morally apathetic. 

Appearance: Blessed with fair Elven features and dark complexion of the Tamurians,  all tend to see him as a half-blood. With locks of frigid snow cut short with prominent bangs brushed slightly to the side, his eyes of azure blue pierced even the cheeriest of heart. Indeed his very features has intrigued all, his very identity as a Ranger shunned by the folks.

Garb: Dressed in forest green with yellow bordering the ends, the short sleeved tunic reached unto his calves. Two belts secured his waist together with a sword fastened in tow. Donning boots of leather, his torso and arms were framed by armour and gauntlets of the same material. Yet the former was brown with the latter a muted grey. A tattered cloak of darker brown was draped across his shoulders as his look was completed with his role as a Ranger.

Concepts

  

Elric of Melnibone

Arcueid Brunestud

Drizzt Do'Urden
Guy
 Character parallel?

Badassery?

Persona

A sense of jest akin to the winter's bite

The sane deemed him as whimsical, his victims witnessed a maniac

Nary an agent of Order, mayhap Chaos made flesh

"One fellow reviewer once called him a sociopathic killer undeserving of his/her pity. And that was way before I popped in the rewrite." ~Me.

Quotes most quote-worthy

"Show me a sinless man and I will gift you a stainless blade." 

"Unto life's very end, there are only two paths to go: Either with a smile or that expression most priceless..." 

"To see that old fart giving me a toy most interesting... but then again you're no indestructible bastard..."

"A cheap man's drink ransomed by a cheap man's blood. Enjoy your drink six feet underneath..."

"Everyone will be betrayed one way or another. Only once with that very knife called the self."

"I call this out to be crap because you made it possible."

"I'd like to tap that ass, but unfortunately I have matters far more pressing at hand. Like the fair lady holding you hostage..."

"Melbo Fairweather? Surely you don't expect a certified killer to keep a hitlist..."

"I don't have anything to spare, so why don't all of you screw off?"

"I don't need any random critter to define my morals. The end." 

"You talked way too many crap for your own good. Be thankful for your half-assed existence."

 Seriously we can't believe our ears...

"I told him about that bloke he offed."

"That Melbo Fairweather's a bloody bigot?"

"Yeah. And he just laughed."

"Scary damned thing..."

"I know, boss. Because my words are factual without error..."

)0(

"You're not the monster others made you out to be... because I can still see the clarity in you."

"Call me twisted if you want to, but I know his azure orbs are nothing more than a testimony of pain." 

)0( 

"You're not evil by nature and never will be as well. The beasts and birds made sure of that..."

"He has never meant to be hero, yet he died like one. Perhaps you're the only one worthy of The Answerer."

)0(

"Live on, Aeranath... even if your life has been nothing more than a mistake..."

We no speak Engrish...

Aeranath will be the kind of fella using "ore" to address himself while "temae" will be used to address others. Interestingly, "anta" would be the term reserved for those he viewed with enmity despite such a term being more respectful/polite compared to the former. For elderly people who failed to run foul of him, "omae" will be used. Incidentally (or not), those who managed to earn his respect will also receive the same personal pronoun. For those who had truly set him off, yarou (i.e. bastard) would be used. Whether "yaru janai ka" (i.e. not bad at all) should be seen as a compliment or insult really depends on his mood and situation. As for "yaru ka?" (i.e. you want a piece of me?), its actually nothing more than a taunt despite this phrase mostly used aggressively. 

P.S: Yes, the Japanese DO have an unique system of swearing lingo that can be applied towards any relevant character archetype.

Reference 

 Ideal Seiyuu

P.S: A sign of things to come?

The song I'll associate with him:

The most surreal post ever...

Well, its been really hectic starting from last Wednesday until now. Simply put, Ah-ma kia liao... So why am I posting such a somber post? (No pun intended, so please don't laugh) Well given how insanely random this blog is, I guess its only right for me to do a closure post so that I will actually feel far better in the future whenever I post something outright insane/random/*insert any word here*.

So just a brief summary here: From normal to verbally impaired; from nutty to outright phased out and from normally humane to unexpectedly inhumane.

Verbally impaired: Now I'll have to say that when I first reached the hospital come Tuesday, this is the feeling I get. I'm not going say anything out, but let's just say that Thursday where the verdict had been declared was pretty much the same in this very context. Those who know me can tell me straight in the face that I'm pretty much chatty, but there's nothing chatty from that point of time onward. In a very weird sense, I actually felt like some random bloke in a family TV drama as in... well you all get the gist. Try imagining Vettel stalling halfway on the GP racetrack. I'm not really traumatized, but that's how bad things have hit me.

Outright phased out: My sis said that I looked lost in my own world just this morning. My only reaction? Well its a no-brainer anyway. Of course there were moments where I've managed to rediscover my old touch, but definitely NOT hundred percent. Try imagining Messi hitting a barren patch for ten matches straight with only three goals scored in between. Yes, all you Bernabeu amigos might find this analogy funny, but I don't. For all the most apparent reasons.

Inhumanity most unexpected: In a very ironic way, I think this is what truly defined the ties I thought I've left behind. You see, I won't end up saying me and my grandma have gone estranged mode. But yet I'll be a straight out liar if I'm to say I always went to her house every now and then. Its a bit complicated as in back when she have yet to move house, such an occurrence wasn't that uncommon. But once she moved to the Bukit Panjang area, that's when things started to go haywire. A certain Mr Alves was supposed to score goals when he signed for Middlesbrough years back, but then again I can also say the same for myself within this very context. How should I put this... well I guess even upon the slightest change, the domino/snowballing effect shouldn't be underestimated. But I really have to thank the Above that somehow or another, this very bond actually made me performed the unimaginable. Can you try walking through the road when the blazing sun roared across the peak of noon? Can you imagine walking through the graveyard path with clumps of muddied earth strewn throughout? You say you can do it? Well, try doing it on barefoot and let's see whether you'll end up questioning "what am I doing?" For me? No. Its just doing the customary with obligations placed at the highest. My mind was effectively blank, the only sword in my hand was merely all that came back like Noah's flood. At the end of the day, I was still semi-shocked that I've managed to make it thus far in a certain sense...

But a soldier can never win the war alone: Simply put, I really have to thank my family members and those involved in the funeral wake organizing. Yes, when I say family members, we're talking about everyone under the maternal tree. (Read: My grandma was actually my mother's mom) As for those involved in the entire organizing process, allow me to thank all of you as well. Due to certain complications, I'm extremely lucky to gain their understanding in every sense of the word. If I'm merely a warrior wielding my blade, then my family members are the comrades-in-arms with those helping out being nothing less than men of steel bearing bows of yew. Together with visitors whose words and gestures akin to gifts much-needed under the wintry skies, I truly have to say "We", NOT "me" have braved through the storm far stronger. The most important person of all? Our Commander-in-Chief who goes by the identity of Ah-ma. Indeed as aptly put forth by yours truly a couple of days back, Ah-ma is indeed the Mother of all.

Note: Ah-ma means Grandmother in the Hokkien dialect. Ah-ma kia liao means... well... "Grandmother has passed away".

The Forgotten Song...

As of now, I'm forcing myself to do this because I just feel I need to do something before my brain shut off for reasons most apparent. In fact at this point of time, if you guys see this post, it means the worst might have happened. 

In a very haunting sense, this song was inspired by the two EDs in my Saya no Uta posts due to the very melancholy still stuck in me:

The songs of old grew stale, yet why the echo of aria call?

Decades of bloom, the petals wilt.

Is this the life we all know?

Humane or mayhap mere mortality’s mourn?

Aye... the wind breeze forth...

One has departed

Aye...ten became nine...

The lost remembered for good

Caress of the dead far more alive than the world itself

What gift we have brought to the world?

What legacy have we left?

The beauty of all things past akin to a rose

So fragile yet why so real?

Aye... the wind brushed by...

One has departed

Aye...I saw a person less

The serene claimed their rest

Gentle warmth nary but a dream

Will I step forth to Eden upon the knell of God?

What will I see in the face of heavens?

The lilies of joy or thorns of mockery?

You don’t have to think much. For none can command all that is beyond.

Aye... the wind continue the ceaseless waltz...

Where will I be next?

Aye... the ground or the pyre...

The choice matters not

For only that whisper remain...

Have you ever questioned the tears shed for you?