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you know what im not done talking about this! strap in! tldr: IRL battle that inspired the Mandalorian and First Day As A Second Century Warlord most star wars fans know the Mandalorian was inspired by the hit manga series Wolf and Cub, but the trope itself is much, much older. if you've ever seen east asian media where a badass warrior defends an infant against an army of mooks, you have this guy to thank: Zhao Yun the year is 208, Prime Minister Cao Cao is on his way to wipe out an old headache; the sandal-weaver turned warlord, Liu Bei.

Liu Bei refuses to abandon the 100,000 refugees who are slowing him down, and is dealt a devastating defeat at Changban. During the chaos of battle, Zhao Yun rides behind enemy lines and single-handedly rescues Liu Bei's two wives and baby son. Meanwhile, his coworker Zhang Fei is busy inspiring a very funny tumblr post setting up a clever defence to scare off Cao Cao's army. Horses and dust are involved. It is an overwhelming success. I actually made a mistake in the first post! This is suppose to be Lady Mi, not Lady Gan. Both of them survived the battle IRL, but in the 14th century novelisation, Lady Mi is killed off. This callous disregard is reflective of the beliefs of the time, the most a woman can aspire to is a noble, sacrificial death. But I want her to live. I want her to fight tooth and nail for her own survival and be an active participant in the battle. In a role reversal, Zhao Yun is the one cradling the baby and Lady Mi is holding up a general. Zhao Yun's arm is carefully bandaged--something he could not have done by himself, and he is in the process of being walked back to his horse. It's going to be a long day, but they're more than halfway there.

Lady Gan, General Zhao Yun and A'dou at the battle of Changban.

#reblogging this again bc I've reached this part for my sanguo rewatch! #romance of the three kingdoms #zhao yun #a'dou #Lady Mi #justice for lady mi! luo guanzhong fight me outside the taiping parking lot!

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Some more Zhuzhi-Lang sketches

Ok i know i based his design on a cobra bc they’re venomous and have a cool hood, but behaviour-wise he gives me ball python vibes (slow to bite, curling up when they feel threatened)

#svsss #zhuzhi lang #if u saw my typo…no u didnt

[its-not-a-pen]

via @neuxue

#op your three kingdoms concepts and designs continue to delight#is he the one who recommended the heavenly man-date booty shorts to cao cao though#these are the real questions. the people want to know.#romance of the three kingdoms#art tag

I CAN NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY

-a Qinghua graduate in the court of the warlord Cao Cao- part 1

Me designing Guo Jia: what if Zhuge Liang brushed his hair and was like, 2% more evil.

this popped into my head while i was reading wikipedia. Guo Jia would have been around 27-30 when he joined Cao Cao's administration and he was very much a "have you considered Violence, my liege," type of advisor. He accurately predicted Cao Cao's seemingly impossible victory against Yuan Shao, told him to go north and attack the Xianbei people, and depending on which account you read, urged Cao Cao to kill Liu Bei before he stopped being a loser and started consolidating power. (Spoiler: the Sandalweaver has plot armour).

#hi thank you for your kind words. #i am wheezing. #the forbidden ultra deep lore

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-a Qinghua graduate in the court of the warlord Cao Cao- part 1

Me designing Guo Jia: what if Zhuge Liang brushed his hair and was like, 2% more evil.

this popped into my head while i was reading wikipedia. Guo Jia would have been around 27-30 when he joined Cao Cao's administration and he was very much a "have you considered Violence, my liege," type of advisor. He accurately predicted Cao Cao's seemingly impossible victory against Yuan Shao, told him to go north and attack the Xianbei people, and depending on which account you read, urged Cao Cao to kill Liu Bei before he stopped being a loser and started consolidating power. (Spoiler: the Sandalweaver has plot armour).

#i survived my thesis proposal. heres a little treat :) #a qinghua graduate in the court of the warlord cao cao #romance of the three kingdoms #chinese history #are you even an ancient chinese warlord if you don't have an overzealous young strategist that constantly needs enrichment* #*plotting the downfall of your enemies

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7 + 9

Some Shen Qingqiu sketches + The saddest, wettest YQY (hes holding SQQs fan)

#svsss #shen jiu #qijiu #yue qingyuan

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Here are the references i used. I noticed something very cute, the civil offical has his ink brush tucked into his hat. You can even see it in the wall engravings at the time.

omg im reading this timetravel isekai novel called ''a connecticut yankee in the court of king arthur'' man it is FASCINATING to see what people in the 19th century's perception of the 5th century was. e.g. senselessly barbaric, backwards and incapable of rational thought.

mark twain conflates being superstitious with being gullible. the story is built around the understanding that people back then must have taken myths at face value and that means an absence of critical thinking. which is a supremely bad take imo. like, thieves, hucksters and murderers 100% existed. and you got no recourse except for Be Vigilant and Carry A Big Stick. Sure, the average 5th century person believes gods exist, but they DO NOT believe you, random person they met on the road, are a god and conveniently have the Elixir of Life in your pocket (available for the cheap, cheap price of 3 denarius). because that's stupid and improbable.

#wips #a qinghua graduate in the court of the warlord cao cao

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i got carried away with this concept. now i want to create a loving rip off where a modern day university student travels back to Three Kingdoms era China, and his attempt to establish himself as a benevolent god-king of the primitive savages goes horribly, horribly awry. (because surprise, politics and human nature are endlessly complicated and technological advancements do not automatically cause peace and stability)

Notes: Qinghua University--extremely prestigious institution. if Beijing University can be considered Chinese Harvard, Qinghua University is Chinese Yale.

Courts are split between the civil officials (black) and the military officials (red + feathered hats). Mark Twain's pen name comes from a boating term. here are some aliases i made in the nautical spirit:

Tyler Bowline (Tie a bowline)

Clare D. Gangway (Clear the gangway)

Idell Scuttlebutt (Idle scuttlebutt, e.g. idle gossiper)

Xia Zhou Jia 舺舟甲 (the word "boat" has been split into two more words)

omg im reading this timetravel isekai novel called ''a connecticut yankee in the court of king arthur'' man it is FASCINATING to see what people in the 19th century's perception of the 5th century was. e.g. senselessly barbaric, backwards and incapable of rational thought.

mark twain conflates being superstitious with being gullible. the story is built around the understanding that people back then must have taken myths at face value and that means an absence of critical thinking. which is a supremely bad take imo. like, thieves, hucksters and murderers 100% existed. and you got no recourse except for Be Vigilant and Carry A Big Stick. Sure, the average 5th century person believes gods exist, but they DO NOT believe you, random person they met on the road, are a god and conveniently have the Elixir of Life in your pocket (available for the cheap, cheap price of 3 denarius). because that's stupid and improbable.

#original art #romance of the three kingdoms #cartoons #a connecticut yankee in king arthur's court #a qinghua graduate in the court of the warlord cao cao

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extra special secret scenes from the lost bladesman that 100% exist. trust me bro they totally filmed it. the director told me. from my other post:

donnie yen's physicality is great, when he fights he's 100% the real deal, but when he acts he stumbles and i think it's mostly from not knowing what to do with the character. it doesn't help that jiang wen EATS in every scene. he plays this unkempt, foul-mouthed cao cao with such warmth and pathos, even when he shows his ruthless side you can't help rooting for him. I think they should take guan yu and go in the total opposite direction. donnie yen is good at playing the straight man, with this untouchable coolness to him. why no triple down? make guan yu absolutely ice cold and actively hostile. he never smiles. barely speaks. he moves through every room like a tiger on the prowl, watching and waiting. his honour is a chain around his neck, without it, he would have torn out cao cao's throat long ago.

concept #2: double down on the historical costuming and give donnie a beard that didn't suck.

concpet #3: cut the dumb aphrodisiac wifeplot. that would have freed up at least 5 minutes of runtime so we could see cao cao and guan yu's first meeting. now all that excellent hostility has gone to waste.

this is very stylised but CAN YOU SEE MY VISION???

#handed in an assignment and got hit by the revenge bedtime procrastination at 2am. ENJOY. #the more i think about it the madder i get. we were so close to greatness. it was in the palm of our hands. #the lost bladesman #romance of the three kingdoms #cao cao/guan yu #movie didn't have enough Dramatic Lighting either >://

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Hey, so I think I am going to start reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and I wonder if you have any tips for me? Note that I'm entering with absolutely no prior knowledge and people have told me that the book can be exhausting to keep up with sometimes.

It has also come to my knowledge that having a general idea of the events through other media helps to enjoy it more? I did consider trying the podcast or the tv series but tbh I do not find those mediums too appealing (please do not burn me at the stake)

SO do I bully myself into engaging with other forms of media before the book or can I get into the book w/o any of that foreplay?

(By the way, your art is just amazing and, obviously, was what prompted me into getting into rttk! Thank you for your incredible work)

YAY!!! I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT!!! IM GLAD YOU LIKE MY ART! there's no right or wrong way to enjoy three kingdoms, give it a shot and have fun. there's no pressure to keep reading if ur not feeling it. it would be helpful to know some of the historical context before you start. here are some videos: 1) cool history bros this is a playlist that also includes series recaps (plus i LOVE the animations and character designs)

2) three kingdoms oversimplified this screenshot says everything tbh

3) farce of the three kingdoms a hilarious parody of the novel with such gems as:

4) red cliff (2008) this movie actually takes place halfway through the novel at the climactic battle of Red Cliffs, its action packed and not too confusing for beginners.

Hopefully there's something on the list that strikes your fancy! (citizens, feel free to chime in if you have anything to recommend as well)

#romance of the three kingdoms #asks #rot3k resources

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- the mandate of heaven-

Getting really good at drawing the miku binder! I started out with a basic copy paste checkerboard pattern, but it looks way more realistic if you stretch each miku slightly with the warp tool + rotate offcenter.

Bonus transparent miku <3 use it however you wish

Nude versions under the cut

#Ive been going to these free live drawing classes and i think the effort is really paying off :) #romance of the three kingdoms #cao cao #liu bei #sun quan

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buddy. buddy please. this isnt helping!!!!!

PLEASE

#wips

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romance of the three kingdoms FURRY EDITION! (Part 1)

I was listening to the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack and got inspired by their amazing animal designs. ok i gotta explain liu bei's design. the obvious choice is to make him a dog because of his loyalty to his sworn brothers, but i think he's much closer to a tenacious, wily hare who manages escape every encounter by whisker, and thrive in a dangerous world surrounded by much stronger opponents.

#romance of the three kingdoms #liu bei #zhang fei #guan yu #cao cao #i love the height differences liu bunny is so small lol

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Not gonna add glaze or a watermark. The AI data scrapers can have this one. on the house :)

No writing version under the cut:

#history #romance of the three kingoms #cao cao #it was so hard to find a reference for this pose so i ended up modeling it myself

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Qin Shi Huang in his larval state, Feat. the regent Prime Minister

I was going to write a big long explanation about why the First Emperor of China ended up Like That… but a picture of 13 year old Ying Zheng on the throne would get the message across much better.

*~continuity~*

I was thirteen years old when I ascended the throne. My memory of the most important day of my life was nothing but a frenzied whirlwind of fanfare. I had started the morning by vomiting discreetly behind the royal carriage and my mouth still tasted sour. Eunuch Zhao, an attendant who was not much older than I, but already impossibly calm and worldly, had held onto my robes so they wouldn't get dirty. Afterwards, he rubbed my back and whispered raunchy jokes into my ear because he could see I was on the verge of tears. The tears were not for the dead king, I had no sympathy for the stranger who had callously abandoned my mother and I in the middle of enemy territory all those years ago. I was mourning myself.

With the pounding of the procession drums still echoing in my chest, I bowed in the four cardinal directions, careful not to knock askew the guan which was an unfamiliar weight on my head, and climbed the stairs to the throne, supported under each arm by an attendant. Zhao Gao had been left behind, these eunuchs were the Prime Minister's creatures. I still remembered the stern lecture Prime Minister Lu had given me at yesterday's rehearsal. The King is suppose to move ponderously, as if weighed down by the affairs of state. He must not rush. He must not trip. He must not stutter or cry or misbehave.

I sat trembling on the throne as hundreds of my father's ministers--now my ministers--bowed and scraped, reciting in unison "all hail the King of Qin! May His Majesty live ten thousand years!" Construction for my mausoleum began on the same day.

#my writing #original art #chinese history #qin dynasty #qin shi huang #warring states period

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May I ask, why are you interested into history and mythology ? How it started ?

Thanks for asking, I’ve always been fascinated with mythology!

When I was little, I was only allowed to watch movies on weekends, so it was a Very Exciting occasion for me. My favourite movies were about this guy:

source: Harvoc in Heaven (1964)

His name is Sun Wukong. He is a magical monkey born from a stone egg. He likes peaches, hates authority and solves all his problems with violence. My parents brought a whole set of DVDs with them when we immigrated, and it was my first introduction of chinese mythology. (tbh thats how I learned most of my chinese). I was so obsessed with this guy, I use to jump around on my couch all day, pretending to be him. I like to think of Star Wars as a type of modern American mythology as well, so it's a natural continuation of my interests. It's closer to high fantasy than sci fic e.g. the farm boy of destiny must rescue the princess, helping him on his quest is a wise wizard, the loveable rouge and a pair of jesters. My current interest in the Three Kingdoms era of chinese history began in June 2023. I read a very funny story about an unlucky warlord and decided to draw a comic about it. I then fell head-first down a wikipedia rabbit hole researching period-accurate Han Dynasty clothes, and by the time I saw daylight again, I had read a 14th century novel, written over 11k words of fanfiction about Han Dynasty statesmen, and role played as the First Emperor of China.

I find history fascinating because it really puts my current life and culture into perspective. Sometimes I read things that seem incredibly universal, wise and prescient. Other times the utter strangeness and cruelty of the era slaps me in the face like a wet fish. When I write, I try my best not to let my modern sensibilities get in the way and just present the characters as they are, warts and all.

#asks

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art for "Beans of various types" I feel like something bad is going to happen to me.

I feel like something bad has happened.

It hasn’t reached me yet, but it’s on its way.

And it’s getting closer.

And I don’t feel ready.

I feel like I can’t do anything.

--Lake Mungo (2008)

What a lovely day to be young, handsome and doomed by the narrative!

#FAQ: #“op what fandom?” chinese history RPF/romance of the three kingdoms (also tagged as “san guo”) #my writing #romance of the three kingoms #“my Heir Apparent is fine” your Heir Apparent is haunting his own life before it's even over. #you raised him to be a son and you raised his bothers to be warlords #he cant survive in this new world you've created and he can't go back to the way things use to be. you've forced him into a role he doesnt #want to play and he's too dutiful to bow out. he sees the lights dimming but he has to stay on stage until the curtain falls.

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your zhuzhi lang design is the best one ive seen so far, i absolutely adore him. hope to see more in the future 🫶

OMG THANK YOU THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY! there were so many cool zzl designs around, so i tried really hard to come up with something unique. everyone has been saying such nice things about snakeboy and i am SO stoked. MORE ZHUZHI LANG DESIGNS!!!!

concepts: - i want his human face to have this slightly artificial prettiness, like it's been painted on. it will be great symbolism if he actually becomes more expressive when he's in Snake Mode. - a cornerstone of chinese mythology is demons only being able to achieve incomplete transformations e.g. sun wukong and his tail. so i thought it would cool if zhuzhi lang had no ears, no nose, and keeps forgetting what is the normal number of bones. (definitely more than 12! ...right?)

BONUS SNAKEBOY:

i love it when snakes eat eggs and they become Suspiciously Egg Shaped….

#svsss #zhuzhi lang #asks #scum villain #scum villain fanart