#phoenix posts non poetry

[ptsd-phoenix]

I think the difficult thing with trauma responses and fears is that when people try to comfort you by saying your fears wont happen is that: well actually, they did happen? Why would they not happen again? I have no reason to believe they wont. I want to prepare myself for when they happen again. And the advice of 'Don't assume people are out to get you and hurt you' is so hard to believe because you've experienced that actually, people were out there to hurt you. It's so hard to regain trust in people once it's been broken.

#actuallytraumatized #actuallyabused #traumacore #actuallyptsd #abuse survivor #sa survivor #ptsd #poetry #phoenix posts non poetry #hypervigilance #trust issues

[mudaship39]

Info about me and my WIPS art and projects as a as a disabled and queer/trans native of color writer artist and creator

Native intro for social media.

Hello.

My Indigenous Pasifika preferred name is No’eau Aitonui Hoata/Heiani Mareva Hoata

If you are Indigenous or Indigenous Pasifika please refer to me by that name

My Vietnamese Kinh name is Ngoc Hien/Xuan Dinh Nguyen

If you are a non native person of color please refer to me by that name

My English/French name is Christian/Jeanne Nguyen

If you are a non native white person you can only refer to me by this name.

Im a Southeast Asian Vietnamese or Kinh Indigenous, European French, East Asian Chinese Hoa, & Polynesian Tahitian Indigenous Pasifika. I’m an Asian Native Pasifika.

I’m a disabled native of color. I’m autistic, neurodivergent, chronically ill spoonie disabled, & mentally ill disabled.

Im a disabled gamer/streamer. My Playstation tag is warpdriveplanet39. My Xbox tag is Mudaship39. Twitch is mudaship39. I play and stream PS3, PS4, & PS5 games. I play and stream Xbox 360, Xbox One games. I plan to play Xbox Series X games in the future.

I’m a QTIPOC or queer and trans Indigenous person of color. Nonbinary bigender or genderfluid pansexual or omnisexual. Polyam or polyamorous. Maohi/raerae in the middle indigenous third gender. Any and all pronouns. Including neopronouns and indigenous third gender pronons. He/him. She/her. They/them. Xer/xers. Native third gender neutral oña.

Im a writer, creator, & artist. Im an author, comic book writer, screenwriter, spoken word poet, & songwriter.

I’m a Indigenous language keeper, culture keeper, & storykeeper.

I write about racial, sex, cultural identity, sexual orientation, & gender identity in music and poetry.

I write about Black, poc, Indigenous, disabled, and or lgbt characters in disabled, bipoc, and qtipoc futurism.

Im the writer and creator of the precontact and post land back Bipoc and qtipoc futurism project. It’s a hybrid science fiction cyberpunk and magical high fantasy comic books and graphic novels series Chronicles of War.

Basic info is the pinned post of my tumblr. More information is on a google doc on my google drive.

Im the performing artist spoken word poet of the spoken word poetry book Heart of Fire Dragon, Soul of Flame Pheonix, & Sea Fairy Ocean Blood that is about being a disabled native, an Asian Native, a displaced disconnected diaspora, & QTIPOC.

The cut and censored version of it is linked in the pinned tweet on my twitter mudaship39. Uncut and uncensored version is on a google doc on my google drive.

If anyone wants to pay me for the poetry book and or the futurism project as a disabled writer, artist, and creator. Be sure to dm or pm me. There is a specific way to do so as a disabled writer artist and creator.

Be sure to check out my carrd in my bio. It has info on how to contact me for my projects. Info on how to pay me for my art. Info on my other social media accounts if mutuals want to follow me on other social media.

Do you want to read a spoken word poetry anthology book I wrote as an Asian native Pasifika artist who’s a songwriter and spoken word poet? Its called Heart of Fire Dragon Soul of Flame Phoenix and Sea Fairy Ocean Blood. It’s about being a disabled native (autistic, neurodivergent, chronically ill, & mentally ill disabled), a displaced disconnected state side diaspora, being an Asian Native (as a Vietnamese Kinh, French, Chinese Hoa, & Polynesian Tahitian Indigenous Pasifika person of color), & about being a QTIPOC (queer and trans third gender Indigenous person of color). I have been working on it for a long time as a storykeeper, language keeper, and culture keeper. It includes a personal foreword and personal afterword to Indigenous people specifically Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian audiences. The cut and censored version of it is linked in my pinned tweet of my Twitter mudaship39 if you are interested in reading something like this. The uncut and uncensored version of it is on a google doc on my google drive. Need email for google doc invite link. Let me know which version you prefer to read if you're interested in reading something like this. Be sure to like and reblog my pinned post to boost my art to other native of color mutuals.

For the cut and censored version. Go to the pinned tweet. Like and retweet the pined tweet. This is so it gets out to your followers. Use any Indigenous and poc hashtags if you know any. This is so it gets out to others in the poc community and Indigenous community especially those indigenous to turtle island or Indigenous to Pasifika Oceania or Moana. Its also so I can find poc or Indigenous producers and publishers to actually make it into a spoken word poetry book. For the uncut and uncensored version post comments into the google doc itself and leave a review at the end. Let me know if you know anyone else interested in reading something like this. Let me know if know any poc and Indigenous artists especially indigenous to turtle island or Indigenous to Pasifika Oceania or Moana who are willing to draw art for this poetry book.

Im also a writer and creator who writes bipoc, disabled, and qtipoc futurism. I write magical high fantasy and science fiction books, comics, and graphic novels. My bipoc, disabled, and qtipoc futurism project called Chronicles of War. It is a cyberpunk science fiction and magical high fantasy hybrid comic book or graphic novel series. It is precontact and post land back. That is about several disabled, bipoc (or Black Indigenous and or person of color) characters, and qtipoc (or queer and trans indigenous people of color) main characters. One is a Asian pasifika/Afro latine native demigod metahuman and alien hybrid superhuman superhero in a cyberpunk world in the near and far future. The other is an Afro Asian native coded magical human with fae elvish, hobgoblin goblinoid, & giant kin ancestry who’s a spellcaster, swordfighter, and gunslinger adventurer in a magical high fantasy world. Both of them are qtipoc disabled and bipoc. There are other bipoc and qtipoc main characters in other worlds pre contact and post land back. Such as a Sami Indigenous and European Scandinavian coded third gender god/goddess Jotunn Loki. Such as a third gender Afro Indigenous Chickasaw Native Freedman were lion and were leopard hybrid character and her friend a Afro Latine South American Native were jaguar and were cheetah werecat hybrid character. Both of them living in a town of Afro Indigenous Freedman and hybrid humanoid communities. Such as a Central and South American summoners of kaiju or titans based on Nahuatl Quechua and Maya Indigenous mythology. Such as a female Asian and Asian Native half human half firebird and lighting bird monk fighter. Such as a Indigenous Pasifika sea pirate. It has Black, Native, poc, queer, trans, & disabled representation. It has Indigenous and indigenous pasifika representation too actually. If that’s something you are into. Need email for google doc invite link also if you are also into this.

If anyone wants to pay me for the poetry book and or the futurism project as a disabled writer artist and creator. Be sure to dm or pm me. There is a specific way to do so as a disabled writer artist and creator.

Cover art of the Spoken Word Poetry Book: Heart of Fire Dragon Soul of Flame Phoenix and Sea Fairy Ocean Blood:

Upcoming project once i find cast crew and a studio and network to green light it: Modern take movie about Medusa and her blind lesbian love interest. With more diverse characters since modern take with disabled, queer trans, and bipoc representation like my other wips and projects.

Polynesian Micronesian and Melanesian sports anime or cartoon. Each season being about different Pasifika sport. Volleyball football ruby rowing or canoeing sailing. Each season with different main characters. Characters from past seasons returning in cameos. Gay volleyball with a vahine femme main character about a pasifika girl in varsity hs volleyball. Hawaiian or Tahitian and her partner is Tongan or Samoan.

#native writer #native artist #indigenous artist #indigenous writer #native art #indigenous art #indigenous representation #native representation #poets of color #indigenous poetry #slam poetry #spoken word #spoken word poetry #queer creator #queer writers #queer representation #writer of color #trans writers #trans creator #native comics #indigenous #indigenous creator #trans representation #trans writer #disabled artist #disabled writer #disabled art #indigenous rep #indigenous character #queer character

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Manfred von Karma: For Real This Time

Hookay, got the fluffy poetry out of my system. Now it's time to break down Manfred in scientific terms - his role in Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright, why he works and perhaps some shortcomings as well. This will be formatted similarly to my Damon Gant analysis, though hopefully more well structured (and much, MUCH longer lol). Bare with me on this!

The Build-Up

First, CONTEXT!

By Case 1-4, chances are you've built yourself up pretty high. You've matched Edgeworth - the "Demon Prosecutor" - twice in succession, having to deal with non-cooperative police and systemic corruption all the way through. Both Redd White and Dee Vasquez may have had their share of strings to pull but you managed to cut both down in the end. They were shaky wins though, so there's still room for you to be afraid of what comes next.

Case 1-4 shakes things up massively; Edgeworth is framed for murder, the police seemingly have no leads, and your own investigation comes short of being able to figure anything out. But... who's prosecuting the case if not Edgeworth? A new prosecutor? Payne, even?

Enter; Manfred von Karma. As mentioned in my Gant post, he is built up to mythic proportions before you even step in the court. 40 years undefeated. 10-20 times as ruthless as Edgeworth. He is spoken in godlike terms, and by Edgeworth himself no less! By the time you see him, you're already dreading what you're about to face with so little evidence or leads to back you up. And the first thing he actually does?

Shut the Judge right down. The Judge! The guy who - dim as he is - is supposed to be the one calling the shots! And he holds on to that control for the rest of the trial before Udgey finally stands up for himself when Nick requests Lotta to testify again. Even still, you are no closer to proving Edgeworth innocent than you were before - you just bought time with the only contradiction you could find.

As far as first impressions go, Manfred is nothing short of perfect - winding up the tension until striking you as hard and fast as they can with this monster of a prosecutor before you even have the chance to collect your thoughts.

The Character

Now, this is where Manfred gets a ding on his otherwise spotless record, because... He's honestly not that interesting as a character.

Most of his character comes down to being a perfectionist - he's willing to do whatever is necessary to maintain what he sees to be a perfect life. When someone disrupts that perfection - say, Gregory getting him penalised for falsified evidence - it's enough to send the man into a murderous vendetta that will last long after you are dead, and paid back by your descendants. Hell, he tazed Nick and Maya for so much as daring to spoil his perfect victory when they reveal the note he wrote (good going btw Phoenix... you'd think he'd have learned by then). He doesn't get many chances to be humanised in AA1 though; he is presented to you as a monster and stays that way through to the end.

Terrifying to a capital T and a worthy final boss, but he's no Damon Gant or Godot as far as personality or motive goes. He does what he does because he is obsessed with his idea of perfection, from his actions in court and his abuse towards his children/protégé Franziska and Miles. There aren't too many other gears spinning in his head beyond that.

He's more a presence, a force of nature, than a character with the same depth or humanity as Edgeworth before him or Damon Gant after. I won't say that's a bad thing necessarily though! For what the story is aiming for, a pure-evil villain in a lavish suit does the job well enough. It helps that Edgeworth carries the majority of the character growth so that his mentor can mostly coast off his fear factor alone and get by well-regarded anyhow. Plus, he's not above being as comical as every other Ace Attorney character - see his ATM number line for my go-to example of him being an absolute cartoon.

"I set my ATM number to '0001', because I am number 1!"

You'd almost be endeared by his supervillain ego if he wasn't making you soil yourself all the way through the case.

The Impact

DL-6. This event defines almost the entirety of Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright - it's hinted at as early as Case 1-2, likely the reason why your mentor Mia was murdered by Redd White and why the Fey clan is in such shambles in recent days. It's the reason Edgeworth is such a cold, ruthless person, as it stripped him of his father and put him in Manfred's iron grasp. That event ruined the life of an otherwise innocuous bailiff, to the point where he was willing to kill his former attorney to frame the child he was convinced was actually guilty all along. DL-6 was a defining event for a lot of characters and the ripples of that case continue to affect them up to and after Case 1-4.

And it likely never would have happened if not for Manfred.

A man so consumed by his ideas of perfection, he decided 15 years ago, in that moment, to set in motion a chain of events that would weigh on everyone in proximity; From Misty Fey to Maya, Mia and Nick, from Gregory to Miles, from Yani Yogi to everyone he had to push away to keep his façade going. Had Gregory not been murdered that day, Miles likely would have continued on his path to follow in his fathers footsteps. He, Phoenix and Larry may have kept in touch instead of suddenly breaking off contact under Manfred's wing. Hell, Phoenix himself may not have become a defence attorney at all! He was more likely to have been an artist as Trials and Tribulations would reveal if not for this one event.

The name "Manfred von Karma" is synonymous with this event. The lengths he went to in order to hide his involvement - up to and including framing Miles, taking him in as his own, and keeping a bullet wound untreated for 15 years - ensured that none of these threads would be resolved by the time they dealt serious damage to everyone involved in the resulting trial. Though, as with any Ace Attorney culprit, his cover-ups leave a trail of lies we can trace all the way back to him. The only downside is that he's more than used to playing dirty to get the result he wants - resulting in a case that starts out as hopelessly as possible and continues to be so, up until Yani Yogi decides enough is enough and confesses his involvement.

Huh. In hindsight, Yani might have inadvertently gotten his own back against Manfred for essentially ruining his life. Don't think he expected us to nab him for DL-6, but a victory is a victory!

I could go on and on, especially regarding Miles and Franziska, but wiser people than I have spilled their guts on those two and it would be much, much too long a post otherwise. It's important to cover everything, but it's more-so to know when something is done. So I will leave with this;

Manfred von Karma is a simple meal well made - a pure-evil villain with more than enough menace and deeds to carry him through the final case of Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright. It's easier to get something right when there's not much to get wrong, and as far as simple villains like this go?

I dare say he's nothing short of perfect.

Almost perfect.

Really, who shouts their ATM number in the middle of a packed courtroom....?!?!

EDIT: As mentioned in another post, I had mistakenly assumed Phoenix was pursuing a prosecution career for some time. This post mentions the same misconception which has been removed for accuracy's sake. Sorry bout that!

#ace attorney #ace attorney phoenix wright #manfred von karma #dl 6 incident #gregory edgeworth #miles edgeworth #yani yogi #misty fey #redd white #character analysis #karma posting...? #nah don't think we'll be doing that.

[pplatonic]

my name is platonic i go by all the pronouns (here's my pronouns.page)

. <- this dot is here so i can edit the userboxes easier :3

We're a system that collectively identifies as a multigender a-spec abrosexual. Me specifically as in the one that uses this blog i am a loveless heartless non-sam aplatonic bigender boygirl.

check out my sick neocities site

my main fandoms are Vocaloid, Serial Experiments Lain, Blue Exorcist, Soul Eater, and ones I'm less active in are Haruhi Suzumiya, MHA, and Touhou. Vocaloid is the biggest out of all of those, and I'm a synth v producer. I have Haiyi, Saki+AI, Yamine Renri, and Yuma. I also have all of the lite/free banks (including Mai) but like those are the babies that I paid for and would give my hand in marriage if they asked me even though I'm aro. I also sometimes use Neutrino, SEVEN is my fave.

i'm alterhuman and otherkin! All of my kins are endelic.

Deitykin

Ghostkin

Robotkin

Corpsekin

Shapeshifterkin

Rosy maple mothkin

Pink heronkin

Cathearted

Naturehearted

Fictionkin

@inspectorlyfrakin (u cant cancel me for this bc nym gave me explicit permission

my fictionkin list looks like:

Platonic the Phantom Thief (Evillious Chronicles)

Lain Iwakura (Serial Experiments Lain)

Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

Clarisse McClellan (Fahrenheit 451)

Abigail Williams (The Crucible)

Millenium-chan (Living Millenium by Iyowa)

Susuwatari (Spirited Away)

...and kinsidering Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche (Evillious Chronicles)!

日本語を勉強していますよ！ 間違い出やすいからおかしな日本語になってたら、教えてもらいたいです。「時々」と「凸凹」ってはあたしのお気に入り言葉だよ！日本語のボカロ曲を英語に時々訳します。

Tags guide:

#plat art - All visual creative stuff #plat music - Original songs, including remixes #plat cover - All of my vocalsynth covers #plat writes - fanfic links #plat rambles - Random talky post tags

you hit kept reading and scrolled to the bottom so you get my super not really secret sideblogs list:

@non-sam-aplatonicism - Sideblog for aplatonic stuffs @ganbaruwayo - JPN to ENG translations @mogaihaze - Deluna's mogai coining blog @alexithymia-culture-is-what - Culture is blog for alexithymic folks @vocalsynth-culture-is - Culture is blog for vocalsynth @lumen-sancta - Kin-centric sideblog @gray-gray-gray-gray - Mental-health centric sideblog, used to just be my secret vent blog, but now I post my psychosis related nerd rambles and edgy middle schooler poetry so I feel safe linking to it here. @delunas-amazing-blog - Deluna's sideblog. @ghost-coral-girl - Haiyi's sideblog. @the-carol-of-caroline - Caroline's sideblog. @team-chimera-phoenix - The TCP group's sideblog.

#ask to tag #tw eyestrain #eyestrain #eyestrain tw #repetition tw #tw repetition #unreality #volume warning #definitely tell me if this needs any more trigger tags. like it was a vent-shitpost hybrid so its kinda meant to be Blegh #i totally understand if needs a trigger #pinned post

[jaimebluesq]

WIP Title Game

I saw @roseclaw do one and thought I'd join in :D

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

12months-one braincell trio

12months-qinghui

12months-sangxun

bachelorauction

catching a fenghuang

jzx phoenix hunt (I have entered this into the WIP Big Bang)

non sibling sibling rivalry

Portraits - Gusu

Post indoctrination reunion nie

RBB - Leothe file name is spoilery so I won't put it here

RBB - Shrthe file name is spoilery so I won't put it here the 2nd

road rage

runaway groom

sangcheng arranged by yzy

sangcheng coup

SangXun - ModernAU - Main

SangXun - ene to lov

SC minibang- couthe title is spoilery so I won't post it here the 3rd

SC Minibang - Matchmaker WWX (this was going to be my entry for the SC Minibang but I went with another idea for that one)

Sect Leader Bingo

Shuangjie reconcil in secret

tortoise Wen

Untitled SangCheng Conspiracy Fic (another I've entered into the WIP Big Bang so I will hopefully finish this fucking thing after 2 years)

WangSAng - lust thing prompt

WangSang poetry

xuanwu - weddings

Tag to whoever wants to join in :D

#I didn't realize I had so many until I wrote them out #doesn't count the wips I moved into a separate folder marked as abandoned wips #lots of ships both platonic and romantic

[psitrend]

Interview with Alice Poon, author of Tales of Ming Courtesans

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2020/04/30/interview-with-alice-poon-author-of-tales-of-ming-courtesans/

Interview with Alice Poon, author of Tales of Ming Courtesans

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alice Poon steeped herself in Chinese poetry and history, Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, and English Literature in her school days.

This early immersion has inspired her creative writing. Always fascinated with iconic but unsung women in Chinese history and legends, she cherishes a dream of bringing them to the page. She is the author of The Green Phoenix and the bestselling and award-winning non-fiction title Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong. She now lives in Vancouver, Canada and devotes her time to writing historical Chinese fiction.

Official Site | Instagram | Twitter

Where does the interest in the lives of these three fascinating female figures come from?

When I did research in 2014 for a subplot minor character Chen Yuanyuan for my earlier historical novel The Green Phoenix (published in 2017), I accidentally stumbled on Liu Rushi’s biography, titled An Ulterior Biography of Liu Rushi, written by the eminent historian Chen Yinke, who lauded her as the embodiment of the Chinese nation’s spirit of independence and liberal thinking. My interest in Liu was immediately piqued, and a vague idea of blending Chen’s story with Liu’s was formed then. Between 2015 and 2018, on and off, I plowed through the 800,000-word, 3-volume, biographical tome.

In 2016, I also chanced to read Kong Shangren’s famous classic historical play The Peach Blossom Fan, and Li Xiangjun’s story left a deep impression. It then struck me that these women were among the Eight Great Beauties of Qinhuai and their lives were the most dramatic. I felt strongly that they had far more moral courage and integrity than people are willing to give them credit for.

By early 2018, the idea of writing a novel featuring them took concrete shape.

How long did it take you to make this volume? How did you go about finding information?

The research started in 2014 and continued in fits and starts until early 2018. In mid-2018 I started to work on the first draft. The full manuscript was completed in mid-2019.

The main source of information for Liu Rushi was her epic biography by Chen Yinke. For Li Xiangjun, I relied on The Peach Blossom Fan and Hou Fangyu’s short biography of her. As for Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Weiye’s narrative poem Song of Yuanyuan and Mao Xiang’s memoir Reminiscences of the Plum Shaded Cloister were the key source.

Other information about the period and cultural details mainly came from Yu Huai’s Banqiao Zaji (Diverse Records of the Wooden Bridge), Jonathan Spence’s Return to Dragon Mountain: Memories of a Late Ming Man and Zhang Dai’s The Dream Recollections of Taoan, plus various English-language reference books related to women, culture and the literary world in Ming China.

Why did you choose this particular historical period? What did the invasion of the Qing mean for Chinese society and culture?

The period in question is one that straddles two ruling regimes: the Ming and the Qing dynasties. I have a particular interest in this turbulent period because growing up I had come across intriguing and poignant human stories of love, sacrifice, divided loyalties and patriarchal cruelty from the period through books, operas, movies and TV dramas. As a grown-up, I’ve found these stories highly relatable, as they seem to reflect in some way our present-day human condition. Also, this period in Ming history saw the culmination of literary (in particular poetry) and music development. It witnessed a dynamic interaction between cultured courtesans and the literati, both in the romantic and literary sense. In short, in my new novel I wanted to highlight three courtesans’ love stories and their gritty struggle against a misogynistic society, as well as the era’s unique and vibrant artistic tapestry.

The Qing’s invasion into Han China certainly stirred up violent resentment in Chinese society, especially during Regent Dorgon’s oppressive reign as he tried to use brutal force to subdue the Han Chinese by foisting Manchu customs on them despite their repulsion (a notorious example was the shave-head mandate on pain of death). Luckily his violent rule didn’t last long, and thanks to the benevolent rule under Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang/the Shunzhu Emperor and later the Kangxi Emperor, there came a chance for war-torn China to heal and prosper as the Manchu rulers realized that only civilized ways could win hearts and minds.

The Han culture and civilization had very deep roots and had always been the Han Chinese’s pride, so the initial violent clash with the Manchu couldn’t but leave gaping wounds on society, both physical and emotional. As a matter of interest, this part of Chinese history is fleshed out in my 2017 novel The Green Phoenix.

How does the fate of these three women intertwine with the fate of China?

While alive, all three women struggle for survival, dignity and hope for a better life, but that struggle is in vain, much like the Ming Dynasty’s futile fight to avert its fate of humiliation and defeat.

But in the story, the women refuse to give up hope.

How were courtesans socially considered in China at the time?

Courtesans, like actresses, entertainers and prostitutes of the time, were socially classed as “jianmin” (worthless people).

They were considered below the commoner class, which effectively meant they were social outcasts.

Alice Poon

What was the fate of the protagonists?

Liu Rushi, upon her husband’s death, was bullied by her husband’s relatives into taking her own life. Li Xiangjun passed in her sickbed with a broken heart, having been abandoned by her lover.

Chen Yuanyuan lived into old age, but her fading years were said to be spent in quiet solitude in a nunnery.

What were the episodes that most touched you?

To tell you the truth, I teared up in several places of the story while writing the first draft.

One episode that touched me most was where the child Liu Rushi faces the death of her mother. I still choke up whenever my mind goes over that scene, because it always brings back the sad memory of my own mother’s death from lung disease.

There was a scene where Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan have a heart-to-heart talk on the night before Liu’s wedding. They have been estranged from each other for a while due to an earlier row based on some misunderstanding. The way they are able to bare their souls to each other that night moved me deeply.

Are there traces in contemporary Chinese culture of the influence of these female figures?

Many Chinese people are familiar with the folklore about Chen Yuanyuan. One of Jin Yong’s famous novels – The Deer and the Cauldron – recreates Chen’s story and features her daughter as one of the wives of the protagonist. There are numerous movies and TV historical drama series that feature Chen.

Iconic historian and intellectual luminary Chen Yinke (1890 – 1969) spent ten years of the latter part of his life to write the 800,000-word An Ulterior Biography of Liu Rushi. He reconstructed Liu’s life story from her impressive collection of poetry and letters as well as her peers’ literary works (poetry, epistolary writings and memoirs). Some of Liu’s paintings are in the custody of The Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. There is a 2012 China-produced film that features Liu Rushi as the protagonist.

Both Chen Yuanyuan and Li Xiangjun were both renowned kunqu opera singers. This operatic art reached its peak of development in the late-Ming era. Kunqu opera was named one of the masterpieces of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO in 2001.

Related articles: The Story of Princess Shanyin’s Harem

#ChineseWomen, #Concubines, #Courtesans, #MingDynasty, #QingDynasty

#chinese women #concubines #courtesans #Ming Dynasty #Qing Dynasty

[mxdnxghtraven]

So, Who Dis?

Hey! Name's Phoenix, I'm 19 and use he/they pronouns. I'm currently in college studying photography with the intention to work with/for non-profits and human rights orgs to tell the stories of people who have been harmed by the system in one way or another via photography. Photos describe stories far better than words, and I love leaning into that in my work.

So, why am I writing then?

This has been my coping mechanism and one of my primary creative outlets since high school! Most of my work from that time was primarily poetry, but I dabbled in my fair share of short stories. Istrucpolis is one of my brainchildren from that time. I started it during my senior year!

Current Projects (as of February/March 2024)

I'm permanently swimming in WIPs (*sigh*), but I love working on multiple projects at once, so here are all of my current brainchildren :) I've started drafting stories aimed for an 18+ audience so minors get out LMAO

Istrucpolis: Dystopian post-apocalypse city but if it was elven, because why not. Debating if I will continue this one (discontinued).

-

IMPORTANT: Book sneak peek/intro

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Power & Inequality: A series of standalones inspired by songs, academic discussions I participate in, and my work in my internship. Making use of my background in song analysis, human rights/social justice, storytelling, and documentation. Continuing this throughout the summer and beyond as inspiration comes to me.

Take Back What's Yours - Includes song link

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Cozy: A series of standalones that I wrote on a whim either while sick or very tired. Enjoy my emotional half-delirious ramblings.

Cozy III (idk why tumblr is acting up)

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Flight: A deep dive into the life of one very angsty trans-man, Aaron.

Needy (18+ age gate, connected to Flight)

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Little Things: A several-post series that is based on true events. Also a deep dive, but Silas instead! Poor gay boy is in for quite the journey.

Hurt (it's doing it again vdfbfdb)

#writing #writeblr #fiction writing #shortstories #stories #fiction writer #human rights #activism #social justice

[riley-phoenix]

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'Sup, I'm Riley "Goddamn" Phoenix. I write for a lot of different fandoms and dabbel in poetry. I posted my first fic on 28th July 2021 and I'm a Shelley Hennig Fanboy. I self identify as a Cisgender Aromantic Heterosexual and respond to he/him pronouns. I'm into debating and stand-up comedy and in my spare time I promote Non-Racism, Non-Sexism, Non-Queerphobia and Inclusivity. I'm a die hard Arsenal fan --#ComeOnYouGunners-- and I'm [kinda] in a band(Lead vocals, acoustic guitar). My favourite genres of music are Rockabilly, Rock, Heavy Metal, and Country. I'm also a Swiftie. I can't go a few hours without music, writing, playing FIFA/choices, making a Supernatural reference or downloading a GIF set of Shelley Hennig characters. My requests are open and I'll write about anything for any fandom on my list, my DMs are open; I'm always looking to expand my mutuals list, meet other writers and talk about anything you need/want to.

#about me #me

[despiteherself]

what ur favourite ahkj side character says about you:

pancho: you’re a furry

willie: your doctor is giving u free handout of adderall bc ur broke ass couldn’t afford it otherwise

ted: as a child you wanted to be a cowboy when you grew up before you realised you’re scared of horses

horst: you secretly like taylor swift

hector: httyd2 was your least favourite movie of all time and you want people to stop asking you about it

dorothy: you subscribe to men’s magazines and pretend they belong to your boyfriend/husband/male dog

xixi: you know all the lyrics to the pina colada song

dr. s: you are also a furry. are they called scalies if it’s a snake? is that’s what’s going on?

rob mctod: you have an embarrassing crush on your best friend & they WILL definitely think differently about you if you told them

timo: a jock literally gave you a swirly in high school

mary Ann: you have girlboss gaslight gatekeep in modern calligraphy on your living room wall

butterfish: you don’t even bother to crack the window when you’re smoking weed in your work’s bathroom and literally everyone knows what you’re doing in there for like half an hour Jesus Christ man, you’re lucky the manager thinks you’re cute

tammy: you bully children at the playground because you have no life outside of babysitting your nephew and you call it “character building” when the police are called for the fifth time this week

todd: your parents & your kindergarten teacher got you professional mental help because you always painted only in black but it was literally just because that was the only colour left at the end of the day when you remembered that you actually wanted to paint

karl: you get upset that your ninety five year old grandfather doesn’t know what anime is

chauncey: you make vague posts on twitter about how rude it is to reply “kill it with fire” to any non conventional pet because you’re too scared to call people out directly

bruce: you’re trying to get your friends into investing in bitcoin

Trent and whatever the other dolphin is called: ok but seriously no one’s fave is the dolphins

king shark: you need scocophobia tagged

tentacle: you think your posts of rupi kapur poetry and like screencaps from pride and prejudice are high art

hans: you haven’t heard of deodorant

crimson: you have deep worries about the state of the earth, and how everything feels like it’s going to shit but you’re so overwhelmed by the state of all you just sort of do nothing and then like order doordash for the fourth time this week because your vegan boyfriend has cooked tempeh and seaweed for dinner again.

pam: you think anyone agreeing with someone else online and they follow each other is like, a secret cult

king joey: your favourite movie is wallace and gromit

karen: you are married to your childhood sweetheart, have three kids and a nursing degree

masakura: you think phoebe from friends is underrated and won’t stop telling people that

sage moondancer: you think you’re special because butterflies are your favourite animal and give unsolicited commentary about how you think they scream whilst in their pupa and present it like a real scientific fact

koto: idk some trump voter joke. #mmga

the crocodile ambassador: once you found a monogrammed handkerchief whilst op-shopping and you’re convinced it’s got your initials on it but really there’s a clothes moth hole and a weird stitch that doesn’t fit in and you throw a tantrum whenever one of your friends point this out

princess amy: you want your pet japanese spitz to be instafamous and you bully all your friends into liking and sharing all the photos you post

andy fairfax: you tell everyone you meet a different back story because the Heath Ledger joker is your icon and you will get into a fistfight with anyone who liked Joaquin Phoenix’ portrayal better

fred the giant scorpion: no one will watch movies with you because they hate having to explain that not every movie is a documentary

zora: you have a subscription beauty box addition and you won’t admit you need help

uncle king julien: you’re a simp for henry winkler and u know what? i respect that

grandma rose: you see a buff woman and you stan

butterfly queen: you unironically post “just because I’m beautiful doesn’t mean I’m not fierce” posts whilst you’re getting a manipedi and think that’s peak femininsm

prince barty: you think James Bond is a real man

princess julienne: you get mad when people think you “had” a superwholock teaboo phase. you’re still in it, it’s just called a dark academica now >:(

julien the terrible: as a child your friends dared you to eat a millipede and you did it but then they all called you millipede-breath and laughed about it and told everyone, and so you planned a years long revenge plan that you’re still slowly finalising to this day

becca: you have like ten brothers and you have to beat them at literally everything. you punch harder, spit farther, yell louder.

abner: you’re trying out a new clothing style and are disappointed that no ones noticed you look different

magic steve: you get mad when people can’t pick out the 42 ingredients you out into a soup you overpowered with garlic

brodney: you’re that sibling that’s like at least 10 years younger than your siblings so you know you were definitely a mistake and No! Of course it doesn’t affect you in any way! How dare anyone suggests that!

stanislove: you’re obsessed with the space race and goddamn i am SO damn sick of hearing about it

any of the pirates: you’re like 13

maggie the unwashed: you are literally 13 and you think fart jokes is peak humour

pineapple: you are allergic to strawberries and if you hear “oh, like pepper potts?” one more time you will commit murder and that just can’t happen because if you’re arrested then they’ll finally catch you for tax fraud

shrimp cocktail: your meat is huge

watermelon hawking: in your spare time you ponder the inner workings of the universe because you think it makes you seem very smart but the truth is no one literally has any idea what you’re thinking about so it’s not actually doing anything to impress anyone? if you’re gonna be like that why not at least ask fake deep questions to make sure everyone knows you think you’re big brained and you’re sure your name will be in history books.

wickman wilderbeast: once you beat an old lady at arm wrestling and you won’t let anyone forget

#not counting the four core & every single version of mort #also they have to have a name & king Joey is my limit of the rats ok #if I forget anyone rip there’s too many characters #I definitely have forgotten characters but ok #I’m tired it’s late #ahkj #shitpost #pot post

[starberry-cupcake]

LGBTQ+ Online Short Literature Recs

I spent June reading short stories, poetry and essays by and about lgbtq+ identities offered online for free, and I wanted to share for those interested. 

My sources include several masterlists by the incredible @coolcurrybooks​ (who you must follow if you aren’t already), Electric Literature and Puntos Suspensivos. I will link all specific posts, masterlists and further sources for extra reads but first, I’ll list my personal favorites among the many all of them recommended. 

The stories will be linked and have a short description, further details (such as genre, specific elements, types of relationships, etc.) and content warnings for each work in which they apply. 

Enjoy! 

Stories in English

1. Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

A maiden is cursed with seven pairs of iron shoes she needs to walk free of. A princess is cursed to wait atop a glass hill for her eventual prince. Unexpectedly, their paths cross, they meet and the fairy tale doesn’t go as the rules would want them to.

Details: fairy tale, fantasy, romance, main wlw couple. CW: mention of domestic abuse, animal curses, descriptions of wounds.

2. Graveyard Girls on Paper Phoenix Wings by Andrea Tang

The keeper of a graveyard who lives surrounded by the companionable ghosts of the women buried there uses her magic to save a mysterious stranger fallen from the sky.

Details: fantasy, romance, trans woman lead, lesbian side character. CW: minor character death in flashbacks, non permanent death for lead characters, transphobia mentioned in flashbacks.

3.  Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb

Avi Cantor finds the title of this story written in a mirror of his high school. He hasn’t told anyone yet that his name, his true name, is Avi. When a boy who has never spoken to him before begs for him to listen, things begin to change.

Details: high school setting, urban fantasy, magic, witches, demons, spells and curses, romance, trans boy characters, mlm couple. CW: multiple conversations about suicide and death (but no suicide or death happens), instances of misgendering. 

4.  Nkásht íí by Darcie Little Badger

Josie and Annie set to investigate a strange death that may involve more than they expected. Sometimes the love that heals isn’t romantic and bonds that are strong are those chosen.

Details: urban fantasy, folklore, suspense, aromantic lead character, main platonic relationship between female characters. CW: minor characters deaths, accidents, the death of a child is mentioned, domestic abuse in flashbacks.

5.  Flor by Natalia Borges Polesso (original in Portuguese by the title Flor, flores, ferro retorcido compiled in the book Amora)

A little girl overhears her family calling her neighbor a word she doesn’t understand. She grasps the negativity, the conflicting messages, but doesn’t get what is wrong about the neighbor and takes it upon herself to understand.

Details: contemporary fiction, lesbian characters (not a couple, different ages), coming of age. CW: homophobia, minor violence.

6.  Between Dragons and Their Wrath by An Owomoyela and Rachel Swirsky

Dragons destroy in more ways than one would expect. Domei has lost memories, has lost a life, but is finding a sense of self amid the destruction.

Details: fantasy, adventure, non binary lead. CW: minor character death, violence, mention of the death of children, mention of operations on children. 

7.  Suradanna and the Sea by Rebecca Fraimow

In her first venture by sea, Suradanna finds herself shipwrecked and survives through water of a source she deems safe. The captain of the rescuing vessel promptly informs her that, because of it, she is now immortal, and the Captain herself also is.

Details: fantasy, pirates, adventure, wlw main couple, slow burn romance. CW: minor character death mentioned, panic attacks, naviphobia.

8.  Little Boy by Marina Perezagua (originally in Spanish by the same name, compiled in the book Leche)

Upon meeting a woman she calls H., the narrator embarks on the intense history that was etched on her before and after the bombing of Hiroshima, the things the bomb took away and the things that it created.

Details: contemporary fiction, World War II flashbacks, drama, trans woman lead character (not the narrator). CW: violence and descriptions of death and radiation, talks about death of children, mutilation due to bombing, infertility discussions. 

9.  The Gentleman of Chaos by A. Merc Rustad

A King imprisons a sibling with the intention of creating a guardian that would save him from the unfathomable Gentleman of Chaos. He thinks he knows who the sibling is, trapping an identity and a body, but doesn’t know that sometimes the truth liberates even in chains.

Details: fantasy, adventure, suspense, knights and royalty, magic, trans man lead character, mlm relationship.  CW: family abuse, violence, minor character deaths, obliged pregnancy.

10. The Book of How to Live by Rose Lemberg

Efronia is a simple whose incredible inventions are overlooked by the fact that she was born without magic. Zilpit-nai-Rinah is part of a society in which she isn’t valued because she was born without magic. In this novelette from the author’s Birdverse, the two meet and their paths change.

Details: fantasy, steampunk, gray-romantic asexual character, homo-romantic character in a past polyamorous relationship with other women, slow burn relationship between women. CW: instances of classism and racism depicted, political persecution mentioned. Notes: The story can be read as a stand-alone but it has a lot of world-building and details that occur elsewhere in this universe, which may render the ending as a cliff-hanger of sorts. Still, I liked the characters and dynamics too much to leave it out.

11. Sun, Moon, Dust by Ursula Vernon

A young man inherits a sword with tree spirits that should help him learn to be a warrior, but the he just wants to be a farmer. And one of the spirits might want that as well.

Details: fantasy, domestic adventure (is that a genre? it should be), mlm couple, slow burn hint towards romance. CW: minor character death mention.

12. Kin, Painted by Penny Stirling

The narrator can’t find a place in a family that seems so determined, so certain, painted each in a specific way. A poetic prose filled with magic and the colors that we paint ourselves with, which can sometimes change with time.

Details: poetic prose, fantasy, aromantic lead character, trans male character, non binary characters. 

13. Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon by Ken Liu 

Girlfriends Yuan and Jing have to say goodbye the day of the Zhinu Goddess festival but, as they prepare to separate, they meet the gods who had to do so as well, many moons before.

Details: fantasy, folklore, romance, separation, wlw main couple, bittersweet ending.

14. Alta’s Place by Morgan Thomas 

Cory meets Alta in a dry cleaners and is intent to know her, learn her story and become a part of her life. Still, there are many things about Alta’s life Cory doesn’t even begin to understand, and maybe never will.

Details: contemporary fiction, lesbian characters, wlw relationships (not between the leads).  CW: depictions of homophobia, political persecution, discrimination and racism, chronic illness of a minor character. 

En Español

1.  El viento no es enemigo de Gaita Nihil (pág. 30)

Poesía sobre identidad, cuerpo y la enemistad. 

Detalles: poesía, narrador trans.

2.  Zazen de Salomé Wochocolowsky

Una mujer intenta participar de un retiro de meditación pero encuentra que su paz proviene de otro lado.

Detalles: ficción contemporánea, protagonista lesbiana, relación wlw.

3. Gillette de Rocío Zuviría

Una chica espera el colectivo y conoce a alguien que la impulsa a reacciones inesperadas. 

Detalles: ficción contemporánea, lo extraño, personaje no binarie con pronombres femeninos. 

4. La amiga del Báltico de Lea Marie Uría 

El fluir de conciencia de una narradora que describe su identidad en viaje.

Detalles: relato ensayístico, fluir de conciencia, narradora trans, relación wlw.  CW: transfobia, violencia verbal. 

5.  Relatos contrainmunológicos 7 de Duen Sacchi

Ensayo sobre las identidades, el racismo en tiempos de pandemia y la importancia de la comunidad.

Detalles: Ensayo, narrador trans, mención de otras identidades trans. CW: descripciones de racismo y discusiones políticas de género.

6.  Un@ huésped in/esperad@ de Vir Cano (pág. 65)

Enriqueta escucha música proveniente del departamento contiguo e imagina a su acompañante y el misterio que encarna.

Detalles: ficción contemporánea, prosa poética, personaje de género fluido o indeterminado por quien narra.

7. Santa Trava de Michelle Lacroix (pág. 23)

Ensayo poético sobre la santidad autoproclamada por la identidad. 

Detalles: prosa poética, ensayo, narradora trans.  CW: mención de transfobia y violencia. 

8.  El beso de Susy Shock

Poesía sobre el poder empoderador, desestabilizador y de rebelión de distintos besos. 

Detalles: poesía, narradora trans. CW: menciones de asesinatos y violencia de género. 

9. La Wally posible de Morena García (pág. 79)

Ensayo poético sobre la construcción de sí y el reclamo de la identidad.

Detalles: prosa poética contemporánea, narradora trans. CW: transfobia, violencia.

10. Wachumx de Andrés Nocte 

Prosa poética de transformación y configuración del ser, cuestionado el género incluso del cactus de los Andes. 

Detalles: prosa poética, folklore, género fluido. 

Sources and further links

Masterposts, anthologies and articles consulted: 

From @coolcurrybooks : one, two, three, four

From Electric Literature: here 

De Puntos Suspensivos: Queerentena & Cuirentena 

Some sites with further stories included here: 

Tor

Beneath Ceasless Skies

GlitterShip

ClarkesWorld

Uncanny Magazine

Apex Magazine

The Fantasist

Strange Horizons

#lgbtq+ literature #lgbtq+ stories #rec lists #books #literature #long post when expanded #i'm sharing it here before i do on the work platform because tumblr's easier to work with #book recs

[ptsd-phoenix]

I really hope that nobody else will ever get entrapped in your lies ever again. I don't care how much healing work you do. People like you can never under any circumstances be trusted again.

#actuallytraumatized #traumacore #actuallyabused #phoenix posts non poetry #phoenix trauma vent

[mudaship39]

Info about me and my WIPS art and projects as a as a disabled and queer/trans native of color writer artist and creator

Native intro for social media.

Hello.

My Indigenous Pasifika preferred name is No’eau Aitonui Hoata/Heiani Mareva Hoata

If you are Indigenous or Indigenous Pasifika please refer to me by that name

My Vietnamese Kinh name is Ngoc Hien/Xuan Dinh Nguyen

If you are a non native person of color please refer to me by that name

My English/French name is Christian/Jeanne Nguyen

If you are a non native white person you can only refer to me by this name.

Im a Southeast Asian Vietnamese or Kinh Indigenous, European French, East Asian Chinese Hoa, & Polynesian Tahitian Indigenous Pasifika. I’m an Asian Native Pasifika.

I’m a disabled native of color. I’m autistic, neurodivergent, chronically ill spoonie disabled, & mentally ill disabled.

Im a disabled gamer/streamer. My Playstation tag is warpdriveplanet39. My Xbox tag is Mudaship39. Twitch is mudaship39. I play and stream PS3, PS4, & PS5 games. I play and stream Xbox 360, Xbox One games. I plan to play Xbox Series X games in the future.

I’m a QTIPOC or queer and trans Indigenous person of color. Nonbinary bigender or genderfluid pansexual or omnisexual. Polyam or polyamorous. Maohi/raerae in the middle indigenous third gender. Any and all pronouns. Including neopronouns and indigenous third gender pronons. He/him. She/her. They/them. Xer/xers. Native third gender neutral oña.

Im a writer, creator, & artist. Im an author, comic book writer, screenwriter, spoken word poet, & songwriter.

I’m a Indigenous language keeper, culture keeper, & storykeeper.

I write about racial, sex, cultural identity, sexual orientation, & gender identity in music and poetry.

I write about Black, poc, Indigenous, disabled, and or lgbt characters in disabled, bipoc, and qtipoc futurism.

Im the writer and creator of the precontact and post land back Bipoc and qtipoc futurism project. It’s a hybrid science fiction cyberpunk and magical high fantasy comic books and graphic novels series Chronicles of War.

Basic info is the pinned post of my tumblr. More information is on a google doc on my google drive.

Im the performing artist spoken word poet of the spoken word poetry book Heart of Fire Dragon, Soul of Flame Pheonix, & Sea Fairy Ocean Blood that is about being a disabled native, an Asian Native, a displaced disconnected diaspora, & QTIPOC.

The cut and censored version of it is linked in the pinned tweet on my twitter mudaship39. Uncut and uncensored version is on a google doc on my google drive.

If anyone wants to pay me for the poetry book and or the futurism project as a disabled writer, artist, and creator. Be sure to dm or pm me. There is a specific way to do so as a disabled writer artist and creator.

Be sure to check out my carrd in my bio. It has info on how to contact me for my projects. Info on how to pay me for my art. Info on my other social media accounts if mutuals want to follow me on other social media.

Do you want to read a spoken word poetry anthology book I wrote as an Asian native Pasifika artist who’s a songwriter and spoken word poet? Its called Heart of Fire Dragon Soul of Flame Phoenix and Sea Fairy Ocean Blood. It’s about being a disabled native (autistic, neurodivergent, chronically ill, & mentally ill disabled), a displaced disconnected state side diaspora, being an Asian Native (as a Vietnamese Kinh, French, Chinese Hoa, & Polynesian Tahitian Indigenous Pasifika person of color), & about being a QTIPOC (queer and trans third gender Indigenous person of color). I have been working on it for a long time as a storykeeper, language keeper, and culture keeper. It includes a personal foreword and personal afterword to Indigenous people specifically Polynesian, Micronesian, and Melanesian audiences. The cut and censored version of it is linked in my pinned tweet of my Twitter mudaship39 if you are interested in reading something like this. The uncut and uncensored version of it is on a google doc on my google drive. Need email for google doc invite link. Let me know which version you prefer to read if you're interested in reading something like this. Be sure to like and reblog my pinned post to boost my art to other native of color mutuals.

For the cut and censored version. Go to the pinned tweet. Like and retweet the pined tweet. This is to boost info about my wips art and project to your native of color followers. The cut and censored spoken word poetry book is linked in my pinned post thread. Like retweet and quote any line of the cut and censored version of the spoken word poetry book. Quote tweet it with your thoughts. Use any Indigenous and poc hashtags if you know any. This is so it gets out to others in the poc community and Indigenous community especially those indigenous to turtle island or Indigenous to Pasifika Oceania or Moana. It’s also so I can find poc or Indigenous producers and publishers to actually make it into a spoken word poetry book. For the uncut and uncensored version post comments into the google doc itself and leave a review at the end. Let me know if you know anyone else interested in reading something like this. Let me know if know any poc and Indigenous artists especially indigenous to turtle island or Indigenous to Pasifika Oceania or Moana who are willing to draw art for this poetry book.

Im also a writer and creator who writes bipoc, disabled, and qtipoc futurism. I write magical high fantasy and science fiction books, comics, and graphic novels. My bipoc, disabled, and qtipoc futurism project called Chronicles of War. It is a cyberpunk science fiction and magical high fantasy hybrid comic book or graphic novel series. It is precontact and post land back. That is about several disabled, bipoc (or Black Indigenous and or person of color) characters, and qtipoc (or queer and trans indigenous people of color) main characters. One is a Asian pasifika/Afro latine native demigod metahuman and alien hybrid superhuman superhero in a cyberpunk world in the near and far future. The other is an Afro Asian native coded magical human with fae elvish, hobgoblin goblinoid, & giant kin ancestry who’s a spellcaster, swordfighter, and gunslinger adventurer in a magical high fantasy world. Both of them are qtipoc disabled and bipoc. There are other bipoc and qtipoc main characters in other worlds pre contact and post land back. Such as a Sami Indigenous and European Scandinavian coded third gender god/goddess Jotunn Loki. Such as a third gender Afro Indigenous Chickasaw Native Freedman were lion and were leopard hybrid character and her friend a Afro Latine South American Native were jaguar and were cheetah werecat hybrid character. Both of them living in a town of Afro Indigenous Freedman and hybrid humanoid communities. Such as a Central and South American summoners of kaiju or titans based on Nahuatl Quechua and Maya Indigenous mythology. Such as a female Asian and Asian Native half human half firebird and lighting bird monk fighter. Such as a Indigenous Pasifika sea pirate. It has Black, Native, poc, queer, trans, & disabled representation. It has Indigenous and indigenous pasifika representation too actually. If that’s something you are into. Need email for google doc invite link also if you are also into this.

If you want to look up excerpt blog posts of my poetry book or futurism project. Be sure to search my blog with my tags of native, indigenous, trans, disabled, and or queer: artist, writer, representation, character, and or creator. Be sure to like and reblog to boost my art wips and projects to native of color, disabled, & or lgbt mutuals.

If anyone wants to pay me for the poetry book and or the futurism project as a disabled writer artist and creator. Be sure to dm or pm me. There is a specific way to do so as a disabled writer artist and creator.

Cover art of the Spoken Word Poetry Book: Heart of Fire Dragon Soul of Flame Phoenix and Sea Fairy Ocean Blood:

Upcoming project once i find cast crew and a studio and network to green light it: Modern take movie about Medusa and her blind lesbian love interest. With more diverse characters since modern take with disabled, queer trans, and bipoc representation like my other wips and projects.

Polynesian Micronesian and Melanesian sports anime or cartoon. Each season being about different Pasifika sport. Volleyball football ruby rowing or canoeing sailing. Each season with different main characters. Characters from past seasons returning in cameos. Gay volleyball with a vahine femme main character about a pasifika girl in varsity hs volleyball. Hawaiian or Tahitian and her partner is Tongan or Samoan.

Wishlist: I play old current and next gen console games PlayStation 3 4 and 5 games and Xbox 360 and Xbox one games

Games I am playing currently is in my Xbox and PlayStation account. Games I want to play but am waiting for as a disabled gamer is on my wishlist on both accounts

I use an old laptop for my writing gaming streaming and art

Still trying to get a gaming computer and an Xbox series x for other current and next gen games

As well as a windows 11 laptop and a Samsung or iPad tablet for writing art and creating art and projects

Also a microphone camera and headset for steaming gaming and podcasting

#indigenous #indigenous artist #indigenous writer #indigenous art #indigenous creator #indigenous rep #indigenous character #native artist #native art #native writer #native rep #native character #native tag #native creator #queer creator #queer artist #queer representation #queer writer #queer character #disabled creator #disabled representation #disabled writer #disabled character #disabled art #disabled artist #disabled gamer #trans gamer

[thomas-mvller]

Tag games x 3! :D

Hello sunshines! I was tagged to do the following games a while ago and thought on doing them all at once because why not?

Tagging: @miasanmuller​ @minimalloss​ @havertzz​ @torunarigha​ @boyvampr​ @wulcanbiology​ @sherlockisonfire​ @jxrdanhenderson​ and whoever wants to do this! as usual, it’s okay if you’d rather not doing them! in fact you don’t have to do them all, you can choose one of your liking and go with it if you wish or just do none, completely up to you :))

Here we go:

1) I was tagged by @/jxrdanhenderson to spell my url with songs. Thank you nicole! hope you’re doing great :D

Rules: spell out your url using song titles and tag ten people

T.V. Man - The Bolshoi Human fly - The Cramps Orpheus - David Sylvian Mirror to my woman’s mind - Peter Murphy Athol-brose - Cocteau Twins Spring - Kim Jung Mi - Michael who walks by night - Strawberry Switchblade Veteran of the psychic wars - Blue Oyster Cult Life in Tokyo - Japan Love & Pride - King El Satanico Dr. Cadillac - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Reward - The Teardrop Explodes

This is hands down the weirdest playlist I’ve made but i love it???

///

2) I was tagged by @/miasanmuller and @/wulcanbiology to this this tag. Thank you both <3

- Last song: Pourquoi tu me fous plus des coups ? by An Luu - Last movie: But I’m a Cheerleader (THE POTENTIAL…) - Currently reading: nothing - Currently watching: Shadow and Bone but I’ve fell asleep twice at episode one  - Currently listening: I’m not sure what to answer here but if it’s a podcast question then nothing. If it’s song wise then same as first answer! - What is anti-poetry to you: I have no idea, not a fan of poetry tbh (about to be canceled in 3, 2, 1…) - Currently craving: saw a meme mentioning baklavas and now i want to try one so much!!!

///

3) I was tagged by @/torunarigha to post my top 7 comfort films. Thank you mia <3

NOW i know i’m breaking the rules already by posting eight instead of seven but these are just………… comfort movies to me. I tend to reach to them when i’m under the weather or something. 

No need to read the following but each has its little story: let me start by saying the hoe who made Pulp fiction can choke but i just don’t know why i truly enjoy watching this movie, whenever it’s on tv i leave it on. Shrek… i don’t think i need to explain that one. I remember running into Chicago late at night on tv and I don’t even like musicals but this one got me hooked. Kill Bill it’s just…….. so good, both movies are really good! last year some channel here showed it like crazy and guess who watched them every single time? 🤡 now here’s the thing, I know Sex and the City 2 literally represents all the things i’m against of but this movie came out during a time when my group of friends and i were super close so the idea of traveling somewhere to have fun with them seemed ideal. I’m not a huuuge harry potter fan but i do enjoy watching those movies occasionally, as in if they’re on tv (like right as we speak i’m watching the chamber of secrets) i tend to leave them on and honestly i could choose any of the first five movies but the Prisoner of Azkaban is my pick for now (Order of the Phoenix is a close second). Ghibli movies are the epitome of comfort movies and Kiki’s Delivery Service hit close to home because i watched it around a time where i wanted to gain independence so yeah… and last but not least I can’t really recall how I ran into To Wong Foo but i thought it was fascinating to see wesley snipes being that commited to play a drag character in such a great non mocking way, idk this movie really boosts my mood in fact i’ve watched it twice lately!

Alright! i’m done. If you’ve made it this far then have a nice week! :))

#ask games #yaay! #ahhh i missed doing tag games!!

[unibrowzz]

Mod (finally) reviews all 67 winners of the Eurovision Song Contest Part VII (FINALE)- The 2010s

And we’re on the home stretch! Just 10 songs left now.

The 2010s stands as the only decade I watched live and the only decade I haven’t yet rewatched, mainly because I have no interest to. I’ve already seen the contest anyway, if a song didn’t stick with me then, it probably won’t now.

Also prepare for some hotter than usual takes, mostly down to the 10s contests being the most well known due to recency bias. I can say whatever the Hell I want about older contests and what songs I despise from there, but one non-positive comment about Euphoria and suddenly about five butthurt anons appear in my inbox telling me why I’m wrong.

But without further ado, let’s finish these off!

2010: Satellite

Country: Germany

Artist: Lena Meyer-Landrut

Language: English

Thoughts: I used to defend this song a lot, for some reason. I used to get super defensive when people dismissed it as a cheap lazy pop song that shouldn’t have won over (insert song here, but let’s be real here, 99% of the time it’s Turkey's equally cheap lazy emo rock song) and that it robbed so many better entries, blah blah, you know the drill. And I think it’s because it was the first winner I saw as I started properly watching in 2010, so I didn’t want to shit all over the winner that introduced me to the contest. Or maybe it’s that it makes me really nostalgic, or something to that effect. But, dear God, why did I? It’s so… not worth it. I appreciate it for being a much less instrumental-heavy winner, with its skippy, snappy beat and bouncing vocals which sound closer to plain talking than actual singing, but… How many times were the lyrics ran through GoogleTranslate before they were finalised? What’s with the janky, overexaggerated fake-English accent? Why does the singer look embarrassed to be a part of this? Why was this written?  And how the FUCK did it win? It’s so weird and awkward to listen to. It’s the song equivalent of trying to make small talk with that one classmate you never talk to because they’re shy and boring. It’s like listening to an old person laugh half-heartedly at their not-that-funny old person joke. It’s canned laughter in a mediocre sitcom. It’s just an awkward, painful to listen to song that’s made all the more painful by the fact that Germany has sent much better songs that easily could have replaced this as their one post-reunification winner.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Spain- Daniel Diges- “Algo Pequeñito”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 60th

2011: Running Scared 

Country: Azerbaijan

Artist: Ell and Niki 

Language: English

Thoughts: Look, this one isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Doesn’t mean it’s good, or that I find it particularly good, but the worst winner of all time? Goodness no, it doesn't even come remotely close. What we have here is a mildly pleasant ballad duet song with a distinctive sad-boyband vibe. Like you can definitely hear the “X-Factor winner’s first cover song” energy just radiating off it from the first few lines. I suppose you could argue that that does make it feel a bit clinical and like it’s trying too hard to be a big hit, but come on, it’s not like this is the first winner like that. The singing is alright; better than half the singing that won in the 2000s anyway, and the male singer especially has a nice voice. The lyrics aren’t exactly poetry, sure, but again, other winners have terrible lyrics as well and don’t receive nearly as much hate as this one does. And… that’s it. Why all the hate? No idea, but I can only assume the people who declare this song to be the worst winner ever haven’t heard anything that won before 2010.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Denmark- A Friend in London- “New Tomorrow”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 42nd

2012: Euphoria

Country: Sweden

Artist: Loreen

Language: English

Thoughts: Ugh. Listen. This is not a bad song. It’s decent, middle of the table, listenable, marketable, well sung, well performed, well shot. I must stress, this is not a bad song. But the best Eurovision song of all time? Absolutely not. Euphoria is one of the few winners I would describe as “overrated”, and that isn’t a term I use lightly (since it’s overused as Hell), because frankly, I don’t see what people see in this song. Hell, I forgot it completely until the 2012 voting, and further still until mid 2013 when a friend said he liked it. This song left that little of an impression on me that I completely forgot everything about it for a solid year.  And considering how many fans regard this to be one of the best, if not the best song to ever come out of the contest... that baffles me, I just can’t wrap my head around why so many people hold this song up on a pedestal and worship it like it was dropped from the hands of God himself. And I'm not sure if it's because this just isn't a genre I care about, or if it's because this was WAY back when I was a casual fan who didn't follow any of the songs or artists so didn't know who'd be the favourite going in like I do now, and therefore didn’t know to keep an ear out for this one. Or maybe you have to be piss drunk and at a nightclub to really feel the impact of this song. This song triggers absolutely no response from me other than “Oh, a Eurovision song”. I feel no emotion towards it aside from complete indifference. I can’t deny that this song made an impact, it just… didn’t make an impact on me.

Is this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what is? Spain- Pastora Soler- “Quedate Conmigo”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 40th

2013: Only Teardrops

Country: Denmark

Artist: Emmelie de Forest

Language: English

Thoughts: Let me ask you a question: What do you get when you sandwich an otherwise decent pop song between two of the most iconic and recognizable winners of the decade? You get this. Only Teardrops is a weird, weird winner to me. On one hand, the fandom acts like it might as well not exist, you go straight from Euphoria to Rise Like a Phoenix, who cares about that filler song which came between them. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who really like it, yet all of them are either very casual fans or not fans at all. So this makes me feel like this song’s main weakness is that it’s too mainstream, at least for Eurovision fans. What are my thoughts? It depends. For one, I enjoy this song a LOT more than Euphoria; I always have done and I’m not ashamed or afraid to admit that. I find this song has a lot more personal appeal, particularly a much bigger finale in my opinion, and being surrounded by people who like this song has admittedly kept me fond of it. BUT, I still wouldn’t necessarily call it a favourite of mine. Maybe a favourite of the 2010s, but not overall. At the end of the day, it’s a little too generic, a little too normal, a little too like every other song you’d hear on the radio. It’s not really a song I find myself coming back to again and again and loving every time, it’s the song I stick on to shut my family up when they want to listen to Eurovision music and I’m too shy to show them the songs I actually really like. It's just a decent song that's unfortunate enough to be stuck in between two more iconic winners, doomed to be little more than the answer in a pub quiz question.  And even though I do prefer this one to some of those icons, and don’t really have anything else to say about it, it’s just enjoyable yet kind of bland.

Is this my personal winner for this year? This or Iceland

If no, what is? Iceland- Eyþór Gunnlaugsson- “Ég á Líf”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 16th

2014: Rise Like a Phoenix

Country: Austria

Artist: Conchita Wurst

Language: English

Thoughts: Ah yes, the man who made the entire continent of Europe collectively forget what a drag queen is. What a shitshow that night was. But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to rate/say some things about the song, and honestly? This is arguably the most vocally impressive winner from the 2010s. Seriously, there’s nothing I can fault here; this guy’s got some serious pipes. Every time I go back to it I just end up blown away by how powerful and raw this song is. And obviously good vocals alone can’t carry a song forever, otherwise I would’ve had nicer things to say about the early 70s and mid 90s, but with this song the vocals go hand-in-hand with the gimmick. Without the powerful vocals this would just be a knockoff Bond theme sung by a drag queen with a beard, like it’d just be another sensationalist gimmick song to throw onto the pile with all the other gimmick songs. But with the good singing, this has the distinction that it’s a gimmick entry that still had every right to win because the singer was actually competent. Also unlike the 70s winners this one actually has strong emotions tied to it rather than it just being a bunch of pretty French words, so there’s that.

Is this my personal winner for this year? This or the Netherlands tbh

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67): 17th

2015: Heroes

Country: Sweden

Artist: Måns Zelmerlöw 

Language: English 

Thoughts: Fun fact: I was so bitter this won that I stormed off before the voting was done and cried in my room over it. I hated everything about this song: I hated how Sweden won just three years after their last win, I hated how the staging was just BEGGING people to vote for it, and I ESPECIALLY hated how it beat out the televote favourite because the juries were too busy wanking off to this one to care about anything else. I just despised everything about this song, and it turned me into an obnoxious jury-hater for a solid year.  And yes, I'm extremely embarrassed of all that because honestly this song is fantastic. I would go as far to say it's my favourite Swedish winner, maybe not one of my favourite Swedish entries but definitely my favourite winner of theirs. Everything about this is just so appealing to me, from the brooding intro and vocals, to the lyrics, to the staging, my GOD the staging! It’s one of the best performances of the contest to date; It's impressive without being tacky or try-hard, he interacts with his background, and that little doodle boy character he’s created is adorable. I just love this performance, it’s so mesmerising.

Was this my personal winner for this year? Not then, is now

If no, what was? Then? Serbia- Bojana Stamenov- “Beauty Never Lies”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 11th

2016: 1944

Country: Ukraine

Artist: Jamala

Language: English, some Crimean words

Thoughts: I mean… it’s good until she starts singing. Now I am by all means not an advocate for bringing back the old language rule, but songs like this sure as Hell make me one. This should have been left entirely in Crimean. Simple as that. The English lyrics are bloody awful, no way to sugarcoat it, and absolutely annihilate the potential this song is otherwise seething with, because the instrumental to this song is fantastic and the chorus and climax give me goosebumps. The performance at the contest was chilling as well; a perfect blend of both simple yet flashy staging to set up a really uneasy atmosphere that compliments the song perfectly but, God, the lyrics are bad, man, especially for such a serious song about a personal topic.  That said, it's still the only song in the 2016 top 3 that seemed winner-worthy, unlike Australia's obvious Jurybait and Russia's obvious Telebait. So… it has that. 

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? France- Amir Haddad- “J’ai Cherché”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 57th

2017: Amar Pelos Dois 

Country: Portugal 

Artist: Salvador Sobral 

Language: Portuguese (Translation: “Both of us”)

Thoughts: I still question why it took Portugal until 20-fucking-17 to even reach the top five, but that's a rant for another day.  Not that this is a rant, far from it. Anybody who knows me knows that I love this song after all, and that it’s one of the few winners I remain rather defensive of, though that’s mostly down to the amount of hate this song and its singer receive.  I will defend Sal and his hot takes on pop music until I die. Now I’ll admit, this song surprised me in more ways than one. Namely by actually winning the televote; given how this song has split opinions clean down the board as to whether it’s spine-tinglingly beautiful or soul-crushingly boring, I was expecting it to come mid-table in the televote whilst some other country swiped first. Yet somehow it managed to stomp the televote just as hard as it stomped the jury vote. I guess I wasn’t the only person this struck a chord with after all. Also, I can’t be the only one who thinks this is a perfect dance song? Like it’s great for ballroom, or contemporary. It’s so dreamy and flowy, and I usually HATE dreamy flowy songs, yet this one just resonates with me for some reason and I’m not sure why.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Yes

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67): 4th

2018: Toy

Country: Israel

Artist: Netta Barzilai

Language: English, some chicken noises, cringe

Thoughts: And here we have another case for bringing back the language rule, because if this song had a Hebrew version I would 100% listen to it more often. When I heard Israel was sending an, ahem, "feminist anthem" about the #MeToo trend on twitter, my first reaction was "ew". When I heard it was the favourite to win, my reaction was also "ew". And when I heard the song for the first time? "Hm, not as bad as I thought."  And also "ew". This song is just embarrassing. I’m embarrassed listening to it, I’m embarrassed watching it, and I’m embarrassed when someone mentions it when I’m trying to convince them Eurovision actually has good music. You can just tell from the first few lines that it was written by middle aged men trying to shill themselves out to gullible young women who think listening to a song by some Israeli DJ “empowers” them.  And let’s be honest here: “empowering” is just media speak for “shit”. The only thing stopping me from putting it at the VERY bottom is the instrumental and performance because without the cringy lyrics you’re left with a pretty good club song, and I swear to God Netta Barzilai could sell herself sneezing for 3 minutes. If “Toy” had been entirely in Hebrew I would’ve given it a pass, and maybe a cheeky vote or two.  But, alas, that was not to be.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Italy- Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro- “Non mi Avete fatto Niente”

Personal ranking (out of 67):  64th

2019: Arcade

Country: The Netherlands

Artist: Duncan Laurence

Language: English

Thoughts: You know, in my 9 or so years watching the contest, I don’t think I’ve ever felt genuinely ecstatic watching a song win. Most of the time I either feel neutral (most of them) or a more general, content kind of happy (2014 and 2017). Like I’ve never let out a shout of joy and slid on my knees across my living room floor in sheer, blind happiness. But that’s what I did with “Arcade”. I’m not really sure why that is because, I must confess, it wasn’t my personal winner of the night, and, looking back, I preferred other songs, but… God, I just can’t explain how overwhelmingly happy I was when this song won. I’m not sure if it’s because I was alone or if I was rooting for this deep down (or if it’s because it was between this song or fuckin’ Sweden again). But that’s by the by. How’s the song? Honestly? Really good. One of my favourites of this decade, if I’m honest. It’s the kind of song that’s grown on me a lot since the night of the contest; even though it wasn’t my favourite song from 2019, I’m not mad at all at it winning.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Honestly I had about 10

If no, what is? I could list them if you want

Personal ranking (out of 67):  6th

#AND IT IS DONE #eurovision #mod's winner reviews #esc winners #finally glad to get these done lmao these were so tedious to format

[dame-lazarus]

10 fanfiction questions

Tagged by @albatrossisland 💕💕 thank you!

1. what’s your favorite genre to write? I love black comedy most of all (my favorite shows on TV right now are Barry and Killing Eve) and everything I write tends toward this. Soul-crushing angst with humor smattered throughout.

2. do you pull inspiration from real life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfiction you’ve read? A really unholy mix. I often get nuggets of ideas that I like from documentaries or other nonfiction that I roll around until I find where to put them. See Lost and Found, which took a lot from the many true crime and cult documentaries and books I consume, both in structure and in content. I do find real life stuff sneaking in, even in small ways. For instance, I just got back from Japan when I started The Red Thread, so Volantis there is like a sweaty Kyoto. I honestly think fiction writing is always a form of fanfiction of your life in some way.

3. do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things? the short story is my medium of choice and so with fic I prefer one-shots and work on the shorter side.

4. do you prefer to write description or dialogue? Dialogue all the way. I wanted to be a journalist in my youth and also have been documenting humorous quotes from friends and family for years and years in journals, blogs, and now social media. Consequently, I think I have an affinity for dialogue, and have a lot of fun thinking of it too.

5. favorite fic/book of all time?

My favorite fics take deep dives into the wider universe of the canon while balancing this with an exploration of how this affects relationships (romantic and otherwise.)

My all-time favorite fic is Phoenix Burning by Yahtzee. It’s a Buffy canon divergence from the season 5 finale where Buffy is resurrected not a few months down the road but 350 years in the future in a dystopian vampire-ridden London, alongside several other previous slayers. (Would be scarier if her immortal vampire-with-a-soul ex wasn’t still around and kicking.)

In this fandom: Stay Gold by Renega, doing all the gen/shipper balance that I love; A Great Fountain by @kiraziwrites for the same reason;

Though Our Paths Diverge by @robotsdance;

It’s Like Weather by @oneangryshot for its galaxy brain, funny, super meta premise

Non-fic favorites: The Power by Naomi Alderman is my current favorite book.

6. favorite trope? I love hurt/comfort and reunions after a long angsty time spent apart. J/B has a plentiful amount of opportunities for this. Jaime’s arrival to Winterfell in @dreadwulf’s A Man for All Seasons, for instance, was just like pour-this-into-my-veins content in this regard.

7. are you the kind of person to work on more than one WIP? I prefer one at a time, especially because I get lots of ideas and I find that if I work on them as they come I never finish anything. Sometimes it happens, though, especially when I get involved with challenges or contests.

8. how long have you been writing for? Years! I’ve always been making up stories. I wrote fic in high school and middle school, and worked on original writing at the same time. I tapered off with fic in college but still wrote original fiction and poetry sometimes. Tried writing but never really finished fic and original stuff in my post-college years. (I have some epic outlines though.) This past year (2019), I decided to give writing a serious go. At the time I meant original writing, which I am still doing, but I also turned back to fic too. The community and the (way) less competitive, open craft discussions in fandom have been so lovely.

9. do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening? I usually write in the evenings after dinner and continue late into the night if I am really into it. My partner goes to bed before me a lot so I often use that window to write. I also like to write on weekend mornings if I can. (Can you tell I have no kids? Ha.) Sometimes in the Before Times I’d have a good idea on my morning subway commute and write it out, but it tends to ruin my focus to work on non-writing things during the day when I do that.

10. do you prefer to post and update your WIP chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your WIP is 100% finished before sharing it? I’m incredibly impatient, and this is a problem with regards to original writing, as you can’t tweak lit mag submissions after you post them like you can on AO3 😂. So I am trying to work on that with my one-shots—take some time away from it and do a last read-through before posting. I don’t use betas currently because I am not in a position bandwith-wise to pay it forward, and thus I feel bad. I don’t have a problem posting chapters of WIPs before the whole fic is finished (at least, the one time I wrote a multi-chap fic I didn’t!) but I have to have it fully planned out and outlined before I can start publishing.

Tagging: @samirant @pretty--thief @seethemflying @angel-deux-writes @agirlnamedkeith @scoundrels-in-love

#tag you’re it #albatrossisland

[psitrend]

Interview with Alice Poon, author of Tales of Ming Courtesans

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2020/04/30/interview-with-alice-poon-author-of-tales-of-ming-courtesans/

Interview with Alice Poon, author of Tales of Ming Courtesans

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alice Poon steeped herself in Chinese poetry and history, Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, and English Literature in her school days.

This early immersion has inspired her creative writing. Always fascinated with iconic but unsung women in Chinese history and legends, she cherishes a dream of bringing them to the page. She is the author of The Green Phoenix and the bestselling and award-winning non-fiction title Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong. She now lives in Vancouver, Canada and devotes her time to writing historical Chinese fiction.

Official Site | Instagram | Twitter

Where does the interest in the lives of these three fascinating female figures come from?

When I did research in 2014 for a subplot minor character Chen Yuanyuan for my earlier historical novel The Green Phoenix (published in 2017), I accidentally stumbled on Liu Rushi’s biography, titled An Ulterior Biography of Liu Rushi, written by the eminent historian Chen Yinke, who lauded her as the embodiment of the Chinese nation’s spirit of independence and liberal thinking. My interest in Liu was immediately piqued, and a vague idea of blending Chen’s story with Liu’s was formed then. Between 2015 and 2018, on and off, I plowed through the 800,000-word, 3-volume, biographical tome.

In 2016, I also chanced to read Kong Shangren’s famous classic historical play The Peach Blossom Fan, and Li Xiangjun’s story left a deep impression. It then struck me that these women were among the Eight Great Beauties of Qinhuai and their lives were the most dramatic. I felt strongly that they had far more moral courage and integrity than people are willing to give them credit for.

By early 2018, the idea of writing a novel featuring them took concrete shape.

How long did it take you to make this volume? How did you go about finding information?

The research started in 2014 and continued in fits and starts until early 2018. In mid-2018 I started to work on the first draft. The full manuscript was completed in mid-2019.

The main source of information for Liu Rushi was her epic biography by Chen Yinke. For Li Xiangjun, I relied on The Peach Blossom Fan and Hou Fangyu’s short biography of her. As for Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Weiye’s narrative poem Song of Yuanyuan and Mao Xiang’s memoir Reminiscences of the Plum Shaded Cloister were the key source.

Other information about the period and cultural details mainly came from Yu Huai’s Banqiao Zaji (Diverse Records of the Wooden Bridge), Jonathan Spence’s Return to Dragon Mountain: Memories of a Late Ming Man and Zhang Dai’s The Dream Recollections of Taoan, plus various English-language reference books related to women, culture and the literary world in Ming China.

Why did you choose this particular historical period? What did the invasion of the Qing mean for Chinese society and culture?

The period in question is one that straddles two ruling regimes: the Ming and the Qing dynasties. I have a particular interest in this turbulent period because growing up I had come across intriguing and poignant human stories of love, sacrifice, divided loyalties and patriarchal cruelty from the period through books, operas, movies and TV dramas. As a grown-up, I’ve found these stories highly relatable, as they seem to reflect in some way our present-day human condition. Also, this period in Ming history saw the culmination of literary (in particular poetry) and music development. It witnessed a dynamic interaction between cultured courtesans and the literati, both in the romantic and literary sense. In short, in my new novel I wanted to highlight three courtesans’ love stories and their gritty struggle against a misogynistic society, as well as the era’s unique and vibrant artistic tapestry.

The Qing’s invasion into Han China certainly stirred up violent resentment in Chinese society, especially during Regent Dorgon’s oppressive reign as he tried to use brutal force to subdue the Han Chinese by foisting Manchu customs on them despite their repulsion (a notorious example was the shave-head mandate on pain of death). Luckily his violent rule didn’t last long, and thanks to the benevolent rule under Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang/the Shunzhu Emperor and later the Kangxi Emperor, there came a chance for war-torn China to heal and prosper as the Manchu rulers realized that only civilized ways could win hearts and minds.

The Han culture and civilization had very deep roots and had always been the Han Chinese’s pride, so the initial violent clash with the Manchu couldn’t but leave gaping wounds on society, both physical and emotional. As a matter of interest, this part of Chinese history is fleshed out in my 2017 novel The Green Phoenix.

How does the fate of these three women intertwine with the fate of China?

While alive, all three women struggle for survival, dignity and hope for a better life, but that struggle is in vain, much like the Ming Dynasty’s futile fight to avert its fate of humiliation and defeat.

But in the story, the women refuse to give up hope.

How were courtesans socially considered in China at the time?

Courtesans, like actresses, entertainers and prostitutes of the time, were socially classed as “jianmin” (worthless people).

They were considered below the commoner class, which effectively meant they were social outcasts.

Alice Poon

What was the fate of the protagonists?

Liu Rushi, upon her husband’s death, was bullied by her husband’s relatives into taking her own life. Li Xiangjun passed in her sickbed with a broken heart, having been abandoned by her lover.

Chen Yuanyuan lived into old age, but her fading years were said to be spent in quiet solitude in a nunnery.

What were the episodes that most touched you?

To tell you the truth, I teared up in several places of the story while writing the first draft.

One episode that touched me most was where the child Liu Rushi faces the death of her mother. I still choke up whenever my mind goes over that scene, because it always brings back the sad memory of my own mother’s death from lung disease.

There was a scene where Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan have a heart-to-heart talk on the night before Liu’s wedding. They have been estranged from each other for a while due to an earlier row based on some misunderstanding. The way they are able to bare their souls to each other that night moved me deeply.

Are there traces in contemporary Chinese culture of the influence of these female figures?

Many Chinese people are familiar with the folklore about Chen Yuanyuan. One of Jin Yong’s famous novels – The Deer and the Cauldron – recreates Chen’s story and features her daughter as one of the wives of the protagonist. There are numerous movies and TV historical drama series that feature Chen.

Iconic historian and intellectual luminary Chen Yinke (1890 – 1969) spent ten years of the latter part of his life to write the 800,000-word An Ulterior Biography of Liu Rushi. He reconstructed Liu’s life story from her impressive collection of poetry and letters as well as her peers’ literary works (poetry, epistolary writings and memoirs). Some of Liu’s paintings are in the custody of The Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. There is a 2012 China-produced film that features Liu Rushi as the protagonist.

Both Chen Yuanyuan and Li Xiangjun were both renowned kunqu opera singers. This operatic art reached its peak of development in the late-Ming era. Kunqu opera was named one of the masterpieces of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO in 2001.

Related articles: The Story of Princess Shanyin’s Harem

#ChineseWomen, #Concubines, #Courtesans, #MingDynasty, #QingDynasty

#chinese women #concubines #courtesans #Ming Dynasty #Qing Dynasty