#then there's. fuck i forget the name but it's a fantasy story based in China i believe

[starboy-squeakers]

Again not a dungeon meshi reader/watcher but every time I hear about that laois guy I get reminded of how my system had/has a hyperfixation on dragons so intense that we got that big fancy dragonology book and we treated it like the damn dragon Bible for like years

Now, obviously, we understand that there's different interpretations on mythical creatures, and no one interpretation on a dragon is necessarily gospel, but that multiple interpretations on the classic tale of beasts of scale and fire are completely valid and to be expected!

however if you call an Eastern dragon a coatl I'm going to come to your house and slaughter your family

#THEY'RE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT #yes they have similarities but coatls have WINGS typically and dont usually have other limbs. they're more serpentine birds #meanwhile Eastern dragons (Chinese depictions for example) don't typically have wings and are more lizard-like #like Mushu !!!!!!!! Mushu is an Eastern dragon #and then there's drakes and wyrms. which are entirely different bc they can't really fly #drakes are more like draconic horses or dogs. no wings but four limbs and a tail with a reptilian appearance #wyrms are more serpentine with no limbs and no wings. though i think some interpretations of wyrms give them like.. two forelimbs #then there's wyverns. wyverns have two legs and two wings instead of the typical eight limbs (four limbs two wings) #(i also perosnally hold true to the interpretation of wyverns with poisonous stingers for tails but that's just me cause i think its cool) #..... how much of this is just me talking abiut dragons #explodes. #oh yeah and obv there's the HTTYD interpretations which i adore! they're interesting #the designs are so fascinating and from what ive seen seem to have some science behind them #and arent just the typical western style of dragons. which nothing wrong with the western style it's a classic ofc #but it's still fun to see some variation!! #and ofc there's WOF #which holds true to Western dragons in simple anatomy but has its own variations and of course its own lore #then there's. fuck i forget the name but it's a fantasy story based in China i believe #i loved it so much it was so cool #anyways it had a dragon character named Seryu. I love Seryu. he my favorite #anyways i liked the interpretation of dragons there bc iirc it held true to ummmmm some Chinese mythology involving dragons #cause Eastern mythology of drahons is . so much diffetent than Western #Western dragons are commonly very monstrous creatures‚ usually very animalistic #they tend to embody the Christian concept of greed/gluttony hence why they're so typically monstrous/villainous #which i find interesting but i wont get into that #meanwhile. i wanna say Eastern dragon legends more revolve around the idea of a dragon as more of a godly/fae-type creature? #that's probably a poor comparison but that's how i interpreted it. agian im probahly wronf about all of this #im some weirdo rambling about dragons on the internet. dont trust me explicitly #i need to get more dragon mythology books #HELP I REACHED THE TAG LIMIT I DIDNT THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE GOOD LORD OKAY I'LL SHUT UP NOW

[cool-ghoul]

Darklanders: Inuit with Whale-Oil Guns

First bit takes place in the extreme northern border, closer to Alaska than Skyrim. These guys are Fantasy Canadians, with a Redneck’s verve for zero-waste DIY, derived from Inuit culture without being 1:1. They’re here because I think I’m onto something and Inuk angles add to the narrative.

Book I’m reading right now for insp is by recommendation, from an inuk perspective around the chronological time I’m drawing from for the game (Top of the World, by Hans Ruesch). It is, well, woke for the 70s. It’s explicitly post-Colonial, and don’t let the “Eskimo” fool you, Ruesch has disposed of it by the end of the front matter. I’m researching around it now, and it seems to scratch the right itch.

So, I’m still looking for primary sources and fiction, especially historical. ATLA Water Tribe’s the initial framework, but it’s materially more Dishonored. Whalers and shit.

The angle hoping to come from here is as a white girl who’s a little confused, but who has got the spirit. Stories are tools to Inuit culture, so lifting something and missing intent, or worse, ripping off an allegorical story as Aesthetique would make me complicit. This is a take that comes from a book and a half and a couple games right now, so it’s rough.

My take? Inuit are fucking Punk and this is a Punk Game.

Consider this me checking with the internet before I snip the red or blue wire. That’s a major spirit in which Inuit tell stories and have fun, so that’s how these guys are conceived, and they’re a designed to be a natural part of the thematic tapestry and one lens among several.

I’m looking for the go-ahead from a couple Inuk outreach orgs once I’ve got a clearer picture. It would be disrespectful of me to and waste an already-stressed org’s time by coming completely ignorant and asking them to do the creative work for me.

I have been told before, and I should know better, you could say.

Here’s the concept at it’s roughest:

The Darklanders [Working Name], are Inuk with a tech advantage. They derive their epithet from the Northern Darkness, a permanent supercell around Planet’s north pole. This is the water nightmares swim upstream to fuck in, and the Darklanders are the only ones who can reliably sail it.

They brought the guns.

Everything aughta be explicitly “how this tribe does it”, but there’s major pressure to conform out of necessity. Tribe’s a ship, we’re the crew, and the ideal Darklander finds the joy in work and ensures everyone picks up the slack. Generosity without reciprocation is tantamount to insult. Tribes get more flexible the more there is to go around (generally, more southern), but there’s obviously never a whole lot of slack to work with. They’re working through The Duties of Gender, but they’re historically pretty binary about it (Inuk binary, not Europe binary). It’s explicitly A Problem.

These guys are the most maritime of several communities that operate in some of the same general ecology.  The biggest icebergs are big enough to support a tribe and sustainable animal traffic at the same time, and some hardy plant life can be grown via hydroponics for teas, medicine, and some dangerous fucking moonshine. Bergs float, though, so everything’s built to move on a dime if the weather or game turns. Permanent installations are regularly lost and rediscovered. Whaler, salvager, hunter and hawker are just the same job with different priorities.

Intertribe conflict exists, but it’s understood to be taken with high likelihood of mutually assured destruction. There are pirates.

Almost everyone is taught to be very good with tools, and there’s a high average cultural knowledge base. If the Darklanders don’t work with you, you fucking starve up here, and the seas are carpeted with the bones of proud sailors who didn’t take good advice. The joyless and proud Catharate (evil empire), often forgets that as they built the first railroads to the northern coast. 

These aren’t a miserable or sullen people, though, but the sense of humor gets more morbid the further north you go. Their Dwarf-cognates are pranksterous and Seal-y.

Tribes don’t always fracture on species lines, but there’s plenty of Horrible Little Men and sinister crones in the snowy warrens and sea caves, but nobody gets kicked out without good reason. Teamwork is the default, and they have a system of social Face.

There’s a lot of Demiurge salvage up there, as well as wares from Zu (Implied to be flourishing Fantasy China in the middle of an Inward Perfection policy. It’s closer to here than the Europe analogue, “Elf Rome”, and it shows). That’s where the metal comes from. Dis is a metal-rich place in general.

Metal and machinery blends with scrimshaw, and hide. They work off of a Dishonored-style Whale Oil system, but there’s a continual struggle between whether it’s safer to innovate or conform at all times, and there’s a tendency to view ancient salvage as much as a perfect product as the whale, moon, or sea, with their tech being a blend of that. That’s a Big Problem.

This is a game of fighting with tools and, part of an ecosystem, and remembering fun. Inuit’s probably the way to go.

Companion concept’s a Goth Bullet Witch, and a recurring NPC as a male, disabled, masterful engineer, responsible for the party’s crunchy, Bloodborne-inspired weaponry.

#GRAVEN #It's not a wendigo and never will be a wendigo

[cyanogastra]

drowning in the depths of you (don’t save me)

[modern fantasy + mermaid guan shan AU]

Chapter 1 | Read on: AO3

Chapter 2: Questions of Identity

Guan Shan finds out about He Tian’s background. Little does he know, what he learns only scratches the surface of He Tian’s true identity. 

He then has an unsettling encounter with a man with bright yellow eyes and hair as white as ash. The man’s words leave his mind in disarray.

A/N: 

1 HKD = 0.13 USD = 0.11 Euro

哥哥 (Gēgē) - older brother. Can be affixed to a name (-ge) to indicate brotherly relationship.

---

An ancient Chinese writer named Lai Guo once wrote into detail about his experience of meeting a mermaid. He claimed to have met a woman so devastatingly beautiful, whose upper body was of a human but had a fish's tail instead of legs. He wrote of how the scales on her tail shone like the rainbow, of how the spaces between her fingers had a thin sheet of translucent skin. Her tail had been lime green, the same color as her hair, but her eyes were of a soft amber. He wrote about her voice as she sang, the ocean’s calling as he called it, her song so absurdly mesmerizing he could not put the sound into words. Only that he had felt the pull of the ocean at his heart and the cascade of all emotions at once. 

Sometimes she cried as she sang, and Lai Guo felt nothing but the weight of her overwhelming sadness. When her tears fell on the sand, they turned into exquisite pearls.

At that time, no one really took his writing seriously. It was said that he died months after he had completed his work, feverish and mumbling all incoherent nonsense. The people around him believed him to be insane, and his work could not be trusted as truth. Instead they thought of his work as fantasy, a legend about beautiful women who lived in the sea.

It was not until a few hundred years later, when the warlords ruled over all of China. The story about far-faring fishermen had emerged, who had come home with a nearly damaged vessel, with half of the men missing. The story tells of how they would brazenly talk about fishpeople who had lunged at their vessel, pulling their men with them underneath the raging waves. They talked about hearing a song that rattled their hearts, coaxing them to jump from their boat. The ones who survived recall with great horror as they watched their fellow fishermen jump willingly into the sea, and into the arms of the creatures.

The people were perplexed as the stories of the remaining survivors were astonishingly consistent with one another. Months later, all of them passed away, crying and shaking and spouting nonsense about needing to go back to the sea.

As the story spread far the more people became unnerved. Lai Guo’s story started to make sense. Many became interested in finding the fish people and have dedicated themselves to venturing out into the vast oceans.

The Chinese were not alone in their search for the legendary fish people. Similar legends had come forth across different nations, giving them other names; mermaids, sirens, lorelei. Each legend describes into detail the impossible beauty the creatures possessed, and how their songs drove men to madness.

Even to this day, in the dawn of a new age, the mermaids remain elusive.

 ---

Guan Shan emerges from the surface of the water. He looks around him, once, twice, before hoisting himself up on a rock, cringing as the sharp edges dig into his webbed hands. He takes a moment before willing himself to transform.

The red scales covering his lower body begin to crack and fall off, revealing human skin. The layer joining his legs and the spaces between his fingers and toes also fall away. He feels his gills seal themselves tight on his sides at the same time.

He takes a deep breath, inhaling the humid air into his lungs. Cupping seawater into his hands, he washes the cracked scales from his body. Most of them have already fallen away but some still remain in patches.

Here, behind the rocky out-cliffs of the Hong Kong shoreline, Guan Shan feels safe from view. He doesn’t think anyone has ever seen him morph, otherwise he would have been on the run from traffickers a long time ago.

He walks over to his belongings and begins dressing up quickly. In his haste, a velvet box almost falls from the pocket of his sweatpants. He scrambles to catch it, fingers closing on the object a split second before it reached the cracks between the rocks. He lets out a few curses as he struggles to regain his footing.

With the box safe in his grip, he lets out an exasperated huff. He hesitates before finally pulling the lid open.

He stares at the earrings, black matte and heavy on his hand. The bands stare back, as if mocking him.

During the past week he had refused to acknowledge it, going as far as stuffing it in the back of his closet to hide it from his view. At work he's able to forget about it temporarily, but at home it persistently takes up space at the back of his mind.

Just like all the other gifts from before, and the man behind them all.

He feels the heat rise up to his ears again. He remembers the way He Tian looked like on that particular afternoon, smirking, one eye-brow raising as Guan Shan gaped at the object on his hand. He remembers He Tian’s breath on his ear, making the skin at the back of his neck break out into goosebumps.

‘Wear them for me next time I come by, okay?’

He shakes his head from the memory, embarrassed at how he felt. He can’t get He Tian out of his mind, how his actions make him crazy, how the insufferable curl of his smirk seems to be burned at the back of his eyelids.

‘Damn you, He Tian.’ He says to himself, blaming the other man for the heat in his gut. He carefully takes the earrings out of the compartments and wears them on his ears, feeling the pull of their weight.

He walks over to the rocks’ edge to look at his reflection on the water, turning his head side to side as he observed them.

He won’t easily admit to the other man, but he likes what he sees.

 ---

  The sun’s rays start to peek out from the edge of the horizon. Within minutes, the city starts to buzz with life as establishments open one by one. Guan Shan checks his phone and sees that he has enough time before he’s needed at the restaurant.

He enters a 7-11, relieved to find it mostly empty. He goes to collect a tuna sandwich and a soda and brings them over to the counter. His eyes wander to the magazine rack as he pulls his wallet out of his pocket. He sees something that makes his mouth fall open in shock.

There, on the latest cover of Sudden Weekly, was a picture of a man that Guan Shan has become quite familiar with.

MEET MR. HE TIAN, THE DASHING, YOUNG CEO OF NOIRE

‘What the fuck?!’ He almost says out loud. He’s frozen on the spot, unable to comprehend what he had just read. He blinks a few times, not really believing his eyes.

“That would be 20 dollars, sir.” The cashier’s voice brings him back. He fumbles to open his wallet and quickly hands the exact amount. The cashier accepts it, looking at him with a questioning eye.

A million questions races over his head. He feels an overwhelming amount of incredulity as he takes in the words printed on the magazine. He looks back on the presents, the obvious markers of wealth on He Tian’s person, a different luxury car with him almost every time he comes by the restaurant. He knew the man was rich, but he never expected him to be the CEO of giant corporation. 

‘Gods, how old even is he?’

He moves to take a closer look, and sure enough there was He Tian, poised and perfect for the photo.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: A GLIMPSE ON HIS WORK LIFE AND…LOVE LIFE

Guan Shan chuckles humorlessly, reading the smaller title. He rubs his face and hopes it was all a dream.

Belatedly, he realizes that this new fact makes everything more complex, with He Tian apparently being a big enough presence that entertainment magazines would dedicate an issue about.

'Love life, huh?'  Curiosity begs at him to learn more but he ignores it, judging himself for being slightly willing enough to take the bait. Instead, he thinks about how truly far their worlds were; He Tian and his multi-million background, and him, clothes still wet with seawater. He Tian, going all the way to Sham Sui Po, relentless in his advances despite Guan Shan’s unfriendliness. 

A panicked thought crosses his mind but he squashes it down. 'There's no way they could know about me, right? ' 

He gives the magazine cover one last look before straightening up. With rigid posture he turns back and stomps out of the store, breaths falling away from his mouth, his heart thumping so wildly he feels it on the back of his ears.

---

Noire isn’t just any other corporation. It’s one of the largest corporations in the world dedicated to creating technologies ranging from phones, cars, to military grade reconnaissance equipment. Run by the He family based in China, Noire continues to be one of the nation's most sophisticated developers of Asian technology.

But Noire, just like many others of its kind, possesses a deeply hidden secret.

Once, there was a time when China had been ruled over by warlord families. They had stayed in power for the longest time, until Meng Zie Tao championed his revolution. As a result, many of these warlords fled into neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia. It was in these nations where they aimed to re-establish their power using the remaining wealth they had accumulated from China.

These families eventually formed the Triads, known today as the largest organized crime group comprised of elite Chinese families excluding the ones from mainland China. These were not just simple elite families who possessed major holdings, on the contrary, their resources stretch far and wide beyond what touches the light of day. Their influence is so vast they could exert enough political control over countries.

Eventually, Meng’s revolutionary government became corrupted with revisionists. This resulted to the re-establishment of some Chinese crime groups back into the mainland. Outside of China, the Triads remain in power.

Just like the yakuza in Japan, and the mafia scattered throughout the West, the Triads and the Chinese crime groups are usually affiliated with legal holdings. It is of no secret to the average person that the largest corporations may or may not have ties to the families.

For the He’s, in particular, Noire was their legal front.

---

“The board of directors has found it necessary to fast-track our development for the prototype of the YZ3. However, our research department protested strongly as they argue that the second engine tests did not quite meet expected results….” 

He Tian listens passively, having already read through the reports. He knows where it’s set to go, having advised his executive board to postpone the development until the research was ready. He taps his fingers lazily on the table, his lax posture contradicting sharply with the stiff atmosphere in the room.

He feels the table vibrate. “Sir, a call from Mr. He Cheng.”, his secretary speaks beside him as he gestures to He Tian’s phone. A few heads turn to his direction, surprised to hear the Chairman’s name. He excuses himself curtly, urging them to continue without him.

Outside the meeting room, he answers the call.

“Tian.” The voice on the other end speaks.

“Hello, Cheng-ge.” He answers with a neutral tone, leaning his head on the wall behind him. He Cheng doesn’t answer for a moment.

“Father’s condition has worsened.” He Cheng tells him, voice gruff and devoid of any trace of worry. He Tian finds humor in that, how his older brother had been unmoved since as far as he can remember. Unbearably calm, even now at their father’s downfall.

“So I’ve heard.” He replies airily. The news unnerved him at first, but He Tian supposes it was time. 

“Come home to Shenzhen at once. Mother is waiting for you.” He Cheng says from the other end of the call. He Tian chuckles, already expecting the reply. He knows it’s a command, not a request, but he can't really find it in himself to give a damn.

“And Hong Kong? Are you telling me to abandon it?” He Tian challenges, uncaring if it will incite his brother’s anger. He knows perfectly well where this is going. With his father’s failing health came the fall of the He’s, at least that’s what the other families would like to believe. His brother wants him to go back and help him in ensuring their influence in the mainland doesn’t fall apart. At the cost of losing their hold on Hong Kong.

“Just do as I say.” He Cheng says with a finality. He Tian doesn’t push him for the second time. He presses the end call button.

He runs a hand through his hair as he contemplates on the news. His father, once strong and proud, spending long decades perfecting the family businesses with precision, weeding out whatever he found weak. What they didn’t need, he threw away like ragdolls. He's sure his father would have done it to anyone. Even to his own sons, if he didn’t spend time perfecting them as well.

He remembers the weight of his father’s hand on his shoulder, speaking to him in low tones as they watched over the dancing city lights. 

“Look them in the eye, He Tian.” His father once said. "Find it in your heart to see them for who they truly are before letting the cold wash over you. To be strong, you must embrace the world’s cruelty and become one with it.”

He Tian can’t remember what he felt on that day, can’t remember how he thought of his father before he had come of age. He doesn’t know any other memory worth latching on to.

One thing he knows very well, was that he was a man who had created monsters for sons.

---

Guan Shan pulls at the collar of his uniform, feeling a little suffocated by the fabric. His sides itch, the feeling of ocean water rushing through his gills still fresh. 

He observes a pair of young women who are excitedly conversing at the table nearest to the window, their voices audible throughout the restaurant. Guan Shan collects a few parts of their discussion.

“Have you seen the magazine?....this morning!”

“….so handsome! And young too!”

“…says he’s engaged to Jian Yi, the director of Volentis,…believe it?”

He hates himself for suddenly being interested, wondering if they were talking about a certain man.

Xui Hong places their order on the serving station which he picks up quickly. He reaches their table and places the dishes down, the ladies not really paying him attention. His eye catches the page of the magazine they’re poring over.

On the page was a candid photograph of He Tian with a pale blond man sitting next to him. The man had a slim face with shoulder length hair, his eyes almost white. The man and He Tian seemed to be talking to each other in the photo.

“Wow. He’s beautiful.”

“I know right! Such a power couple!”

Guan Shan walks back to the station, eyes down. For the second time that day, his mind was once again full of questions.

He finds himself more confused than ever. 'Who was Jian Yi? Were they really engaged? What the hell was He Tian doing?'

He knows he should not trust sources like that, always speculating on private lives as if they had a right to know.

But he also knows that He Tian should have said something about who he was and what he did. He doesn’t feel right knowing about He Tian’s background from a gossip magazine at a convenience store. That, or about He Tian supposedly being engaged.

He can’t help but feel like he’s being played with.

He ponders on where he stands given the absurd situation. A mermaid with nothing under his name, his kind seen more as a luxury item rather than a living being. His kind, rightfully belonging to the ocean and not to the slums in Kowloon, struggling to get by each single day. Hunted, afraid, powerless.

'He Tian should be with someone like him.' Guan Shan thinks, the pale man’s face in his head. 

His heart doesn't seem to follow with the thought.

He’s so stunned into silence that he doesn’t hear the door chime, failing to realize that the new customer had already seated himself.

“Excuse me.” A masculine voice calls out. He breaks out from his stupor and hurries to table where the man was sitting. He hands him the menu to which the man just gives a cursory glance.

“I would like braised mushrooms with abalone, if you may.” Guan Shan nods and writes it down, flustered.

“Anything else?” Only then does he look at the customer. The sight was something he didn’t expect.

The man had wavy white hair and bright yellow eyes, his pupils so thin as if they were just slits. On his hands were a multitude of ornate gold rings, and on his wrist was a silver watch with intricate machinations.

His appearance sort of resembled the man he saw in the magazine, but the way he smiled at him was more like He Tian.

Except the comparison was not quite right. 

The man shakes his head, face unchanging. Guan Shan bows and hurries back to relay the order to Xui Hong in the kitchen who mumbles something about an expensive dish. He goes back out and leans on the station, arms crossed. 

Guan Shan looks at the man and finds him staring back. He looks away quickly, feeling unsettled.

‘He looks inhuman.’ He thinks, noting the color of his eyes. Normally he'd feel less worried about humanoids and visibly looking creatures. Somehow, the man makes him feel on edge.

Long minutes pass by as he waits for the man's food to finish, the weight of the other man’s gaze still heavy on his skin. Years spent being in high alert for traffickers have shaped him to feel wary of that kind of attention.

The order is completed. He puts them on the man’s table wordlessly, making eye contact when he has safely placed everything down. He’s unsurprised to see the man already looking back.

‘This is fuckin' creepy.’ He thinks to himself.

He doesn’t break his gaze away. The man meets his stare head on, the tension between them palpable. He wonders why the man seems so invested in him, and briefly he feels self-conscious.

One of the ladies call out to him for the bill, an interruption which he's thankful for. He collects their bill from the counter and brings it to their table. The ladies leave shortly after paying.

The restaurant goes quiet with the closing of the door, the chime’s shrill rings echoing through the air before slowly dying out. The only occupants left in the restaurant was the owner, Guan Shan, and the white-haired man.

Not once did he stop feeling the man’s gaze on him, even as he proceeded to wipe tables and rearrange chairs. He realizes briefly that the other man must be studying him. The thought troubles him greatly.

“Your hair.” The man speaks suddenly, breaking the silence. Guan Shan straightens up before facing him.

“You haven’t dyed it, have you?” The other man continues, leaning into his hand. Guan Shan decides he does not trust him. He definitely doesn’t like the implication.

“And what about it?” He counters, letting aggression lace his tone.

The man smiles, all teeth. The reaction doesn’t sit well with Guan Shan’s gut. 

“It’s such an interesting color. I don’t see it very often.” The other man replies, unaffected. Guan Shan doesn’t say anything back. He doesn't want to entertain whatever the other man was thinking.

“You must be special.” The man says, grinning, eyes unblinking. Eyes not leaving Guan Shan, he stands up and makes his way to the door.

Guan Shan grits his teeth and glares back.

“I’ll be seeing you again.” The man says one last time before letting go of the door handle.

The door closes shut, the force of the slam echoing throughout the room. Guan Shan’s left standing by the table, hands gripping the edge hard. The man was not being subtle. The remark about the unnatural shade of his hair, how he wasn’t like any other.

He thinks he might feel a little nauseous. The way the man’s yellow eyes looked like him seemed like he was sizing him up. Guan Shan recognizes the danger hidden behind the gaze, and the words.

Belatedly he notices the brown-colored bill on the table, a 500 dollar no doubt. The cost of the meal wasn't even half of that.

The abalone was left mostly untouched.

---

He goes home an hour later, his insides still feeling scrambled from the encounter. He tries his best to put in the back of his mind, along with everything he had just learned starting from the early hours of the day.

He’s on the way to the bus stop when he feels his phone vibrate on his pocket. He picks it out to check the message.

-

6:37 PM

From: He Tian 

Hey beautiful 😉

 -

Guan Shan rolls his eyes at the text, having gotten used to He Tian’s antics. He wonders why he ever agreed to give the man his number a month ago. Granted, their message conversation is pathetically short.

His phone vibrates again.

 -

6:37 PM

From: He Tian

I was supposed to go there but I got held up. I’m sorry. You must have missed me 😊

 -

Normally he'd feel exasperated. Right now, however, the knowledge of He Tian's background was still burning in his mind. The thought of seeing He Tian so soon makes him uneasy. He types back a quick reply.

 -

6:38 PM

To: He Tian

No.

 -

6:38 PM

From: He Tian

Come on, Red. Admit it

-

6:38 PM

From: He Tian

Have you left the restaurant? I’m on the way there. I’ll treat you to dinner.

 -

Guan Shan’s breathing stops for a bit. His heartbeat starts to pick up, and suddenly he’s nervous. He doesn't know how to face him. Not yet, not before he could properly absorb the fact that He Tian was not just a regular affluent man. Or that he's supposedly engaged. Or that he's potentially wrecking a supposedly established relationship between two elites just by existing.

He forces his fingers to move.

 -

6:39 PM

To: He Tian

I’m already walking to the bus stop.

-

He hopes that was enough to detract He Tian.

-

6:39 PM

From: He Tian

Alright. Where should I meet you?

-

It was not.

Guan Shan bites his lip, completely unsure of what to reply. He considers rejecting him, then he realizes the opportunity. He could ask He Tian the truth of why he never told him anything. He reasons that there's no need to delay the inevitable.

-

6:41 PM

To: He Tian

I’ll just meet you at the stop, I’m almost there anyway.

-

He closes the messaging app. 'It's now or never.', he says to himself, mentally readying himself for the confrontation. If he were to know everything, he should hear it from He Tian face to face. He does his best to ignore the discomfort that came with the anxiety.

He resumes walking, feeling butterflies in his stomach, his heart beating faster each passing second.

He turns to an alley, the bus station only two blocks away. He stops for a moment to put his phone back in his pocket.

Only then does he hear another step that’s not his own.

---

A/N:

Pardon me if I update pretty slowly, I have acads and org stuff to think about. Writing is my only escape lmao To be completely honest I don't fully understand how the Triads work. Rest assured I'm not interested in joining them or anything. Lmao.

I hope 'Meng Zie Tao' ringed a bell. I don't mean to make my political alignment ~really~ obvious, but yeah, I'm all for that stuff. Wealth inequality begone, snap the 1%.

The lore about mermaid tears turning to pearls? I originally read about it from the Children of the Storm. To my surprise, it was actually an ancient Chinese lore *amazed gasp*

Btw, my model for Guan Shan is Ten from NCT/WayV. Idk how that will be relevant to the story but uuhh I just wanted you guys to know that I guess.

Chapter 3 

#tianshan #mo guan shan #he tian #19 days #19 days fic #19 days mermaid au #jian yi #zhan zheng xi #mine #fic

[gorgonwoman]

can you rec good female monster horror movies?

asdfghj to be completely honest i don’t actually know a lot of horror movies? i’m not very good at watching movies and i get scared really easily so i don’t often watch them. i think joey @tenderbeasts posted a rec list of monstrous female horror movies here. 

i can recommend other things though? some of these women won’t be technically monstrous but run maybe parallel to it. 

the claymore series; it’s a manga/anime, and it’s my absolute favorite. the summary is this: “in a world where monsters called Yoma prey on humans and live among them in disguise, humanity’s only hope is a new breed of warrior known as Claymores. half human, half monster, these silver-eyed slayers possess supernatural strength, but are condemned to fight their savage impulses or lose their humanity completely.” it’s got very nearly everything i like in a series. it doesn’t sexualize them really either, which is honestly huge for a manga/anime? it does have nudity, but it presents it in a way that is meant to be horrifying. it doesn’t have explicit gayness but if you read between the lines it’s there. it has women who fight their monstrosity and women who embrace their monstrosity, it’s got a majorly female cast of characters (claymores are only women). and the main character, clare, is so interesting; she’s obsessed with vengeance, stubborn as hell, never gives up even if every odd is against her, and we get to watch her grow emotionally and physically stronger throughout the entire thing. i’d really recommend it. (if you want triggers you can message me -- it would make this too long if i listed them here.) 

the monstress series; this one is a comic by marjorie liu and sana takeda. it’s ‘set in an alternate world of art deco beauty and steampunk horror.’ i’ve heard it called an asian matriarchy. it’s about maika halfwolf, a ‘teenage survivor of a cataclysmic war between humans and their hated enemies, the arcanics.’ marjorie liu says this about it: “monstress was more a desire than an idea. an impulse that came over me, something i’d think about in the shower or when i was driving and listening to janet jackson on the radio. i had this image in my head of a battered girl standing alone, absolutely furious, and behind her a battlefield that stretched for miles. i didn’t know what to do with it -- and i’’m not all that patient -- but i had no choice in this matter. nothing was there. no story. just the girl. i don’t know anything about war, not having lived through one. but my grandparents experienced the devastation of war firsthand in china. in their stories surviving was more horrifying than dying. surviving required a desire to live more powerful than any bomb or army, a summoning of superhuman resilience to keep going, day after day. [...] and the victims of this horror had to learn how to first survive...and then survive the surviving. [...] and the root of my desire, i finally realized, was to tell a story about what it means to be a survivor. a survivor, not just of a cataclysmic war, but of racial conflict and its antecedent: hatred. and to confront the question: how does one whom history has made a monster escape her monstrosity? how does one overcome the monstrousness of others without succumbing to a rising monstrousness within?” the art is beautiful. the story is deeply enchanting. i’d recommend this one perhaps more than claymore.

and i darken, and its sequels, by kiersten white; this one is not technically about a female monster, but i’d say lada comes as close as a human can get. it’s about the historical vlad dracul reimagined as a cis girl. she’s brutal. she’s wild. she’s angry, she uncontrollable, she’s badass, she’s amazing. i’ve read the first book honestly dozens of times -- once i got to the end i’d flip back to the first page and start again. lada is incredible. the writing is beautiful. i love it. the book also has a sympathetic portrayal of islam -- lada dislikes their kingdom for personal reasons, but her brother radu (who is everything she is not: beautiful, tender, kind) converts to it, finds home and safety in it. spoiler -- he’s also gay. (lada appears to be straight, which is ridiculous, but there are other lesbians) i haven’t read the last book yet because i’m rereading the other two first, but i’m sure it’ll have a good ending. i really trust kiersten white on this one. 

sharp objects by gillian flynn; this one is more female villainy, but still. i posted a quote from her about this book not too long ago; i’d repost it, but i don’t want to make this post too long dfghj -- in essence this is gillian flynn’s exploration of female cruelty and villainy -- it’s about bad women, it’s about female dark sides, none of the women in this are portrayed very kindly and that’s the point. it’s flynn getting tired of sugar-sweet women-are-meant-to-be-nurturing women-aren’t-cruel-like-men women-can’t-do-genuine-bad-things narratives and writing her own where absolutely none of the women are 2D kind and simple. 

the last werewolf series by glen duncan; this one i’m a bit iffy on recommending -- it’s got beautiful prose, and talulla is just as much a monster as her male counterparts are, but it’s got some.... issues. for example, the first book (with a male narrator) -- jake never refers to cis female genitals as anything other than c*nts. (at one point he literally says he’s not a misogynist because of the way he fucks women.) the ending of the first book is interesting though, and unexpected. the second one is with talulla’s point of view. she’s better than jake, but there is a point (spoiler) where a man is raped, and she’s mocking about it. (”women go through that every day, why are you whining?”) that part honestly kind of ruined the book for me, and duncan does punish her for this mentality, i’m sure you can imagine how (only attempted though, we don’t read a graphic rape, which i’m sure duncan would have included if he thought it would have worked). i haven’t read the final book and i’m not sure if i will -- the things i’ve heard about it are -- strange, to say the least. 

the book of the ancestor series by mark lawrence; beginning with red sister, followed by grey sister, and the third one not due to be released until april 2019, this is honestly one of my new favorite books. it’s brutal and incredible and it’s about assassin nuns with a completely new religion in a fantasy setting (and some of them are lesbians!!). nona’s growth is really interesting to read and her interactions with her fellow novices are kinda what makes red sister. i’ve talked about this series a lot so i won’t do that again here but honestly, read it 

carrie, of course, the book and the movies, i love the book more though, probably just because it gives more information on what carrie is thinking, i haven’t read it in awhile so i don’t have very many thoughts on it rn to give fghjk

ask baba yaga: otherworldly advice for everyday troubles by taisia kitaiskaia; this book is absolutely gorgeous, the writing is haunting and incredible and i’m really into baba yaga lately so finding this book was a godsend. it’s based on an actual advice column the author ran on a website whose name i forget atm -- she collected some of her answers into a book and published it, and i’m so glad she did.

i’m just gonna end this here because this got a lot longer than i intended sdfghj (i had more books planned to share too!). i’m sorry i couldn’t exactly give you what you asked for, i really don’t watch that many horror movies, i’m not into gore or too much violence or anything like that, and i dislike having to google triggers before a movie and getting spoiled for the whole thing. if you want more book recs though you can hmu :0

oh also! the monstrous feminine by barbara creed! it’s not fiction but it’s an examination of female monstrosity in film and i’d really recommend it! 

#anonymous #long post / #female monstrosity #recs #listen ! i am very sorry i couldn't be of more help fghjk #i usually just read stuff #like honestly most of what i do every day is read books #if you read these im me and tell me what you thought! #and okay to rb!!

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

Get to Know the Writer Tag Thing

idk if that’s the actual name lol, i just copied and pasted the questions and came up with my own title ^_^;

was tagged by @queen-of-ice101, thanks babe. these are always fun to do

1. Pen or Pencil

i don’t think i’ve written fanfic on paper in forever wow, but when i did (or occasionally will do), i always used pen. i hate making mistakes and having to clumsily cross it out, but pens are smoother and don’t make noise. honestly writing with a good pen on a thick pad of paper is a stim for me

2. Have you ever drawn your OC’s?

twice. and of only one of my ocs. both for inktober 2018. other than that, not really. i’d like to get into drawing more, but i’m just really more of a writer at this point in my life. also drawing ppl??? is so hard???

3. Does your writing ever make you cry?

not that i can remember. chapter 49 in i need another story almost made me cry, but mostly when i’m thinking abt painful scenes, my heart aches. even then, once i’ve envisioned it a lot, the ache eventually disappears. unless i forget abt it, then come back to it, or if it’s just a really painful scene, then the ache never really goes away when i’m thinking abt the scene

but no, bc i guess they’re my ideas. i’m expecting them, i’m writing them, and eventually become desensitized to them

4: If your Muse was a person, what would they look like?

okay so i’m confused by the wording of the question. bc at first i thought muses could be anything. then it occurred to me that they might only be ppl??? or at least take human-like shape bc they’re, i’m assuming, based on the nine muses of greek mythology, who take human shape/form.

maybe i’m reading too much into the question. anyway, my muse has never been a person/taken human shape if i’m honest. it’s been more of an amorphous blob that i haven’t really felt the need to give shape/form to. so to tell you what it would look like as a person...don’t know if i can do that lol

my muse is way more abstract, and i’ve never felt the need to make it concrete in any way

5: Which of your pieces would you choose to be remembered for?

like most writers, i’d like to be remembered for a published book of my own work. read riordan gave me an idea to base a book around chinese mythology, and which takes place in china. who knows, i may even write it in chinese first bc i’d like to become that fluent. the trick to this answer is that right now, this idea is also just an amorphous blob rn lol. i don’t have the time to do the research or flesh out the plot/characters (i don’t even really have those two things lmao). much too busy for that i’m afraid ;_; there is a one-act play i wrote for my creative writing class i’m particularly proud of currently

if i were to pick my fanfic i’d prob have to say itps--the oc pjo story. but only bc i’ve worked so long and so hard on it, and on my oc. if you asked me again in five years, i’d probably tell you smth different.

and i mean that’s the thing to this question. i’m still super young, and i have so much time to write more and continue to grow as a writer, so to choose smth to be remembered for so young almost seems unfair, tbh

6: How much have you written or worked on your WIP so far today?

LMAO ZIP, ZLICH, ZERO

my amorphous muse has gone dormant. i wouldn’t say fled if only bc i think i’ve unconsciously made it dormant so i can focus on finishing my master’s thesis

like would i love to write??? YES OF COURSE, I WOULD BE DOWN TO WRITE ANYTHING AT THIS POINT

but when i go to write, i find i physically cannot (bc smth psychologically is going on up there; could be stress, could be writer’s block, it’s probably those two and a multitude of other things). bc part of me knows that i can’t involve myself in such a big project (even small one-shots) bc i need to be completely focused on my thesis. the other part of me feels unable to control this ability to start writing. which is the worst part

schrödinger’s amorphous muse: when will my muse return from war? my muse has already returned from war.

woe is me

7: Have you ever based a piece (or a portion of a piece) on a dream?

don’t think i have. my dreams tend to be too weird to base a piece or portion of a piece on. if i was writing a fantasy story, it may fit in better. but currently, i write stuff that is based in more realistic-fiction worlds so

like i have very weird dreams. also many of them are stress dreams related to bathrooms (ugh) and school (ugh x2). as if i want to base smth that brings me joy on smth that stresses me out

8: Do you prefer silence, a little noise (music, ambient noise, fan etc) or a lot of noise when you’re writing?

it really depends on the mood i’m in

sometimes i’ll want to listen to talking, but it has to be smth i’ve watched a million times or don’t care abt at all if i am to concentrate on writing. they could be tv shows or video essays, etc. but that’s mostly if i’m not writing like fun/fictional stuff with plot and storyline, bc the talking then just interrupts my train of thought. unless i’ve seriously watched it so much/couldn’t care less abt what i’ve put on

mostly i’ll listen to music. i don’t have playlists, as much as i wish i did. my music library just isn’t that big. i’m such a picky person when it comes to music. and also i have so many other things i want to do than make playlists honestly. like i’m envious of ppl who make playlists, and i’m not saying that those who do make playlists have nothing else to do like at all. not my intention at all. however, at the same time, making them isn’t one of my top priorities

anyway, depending on my mood i’ll listen to the same song(s) on repeat again while i write. sometimes the song matches the mood of the scene i write, but it doesn’t always have to

sometimes i’ll start a song but get so into the scene that when the song ends, i don’t turn it back on anymore bc i don’t need it. sometimes some scenes require a lot of concentration that i can’t listen to anything. i actually need/prefer silence

i’ll only listen to ambient noise if i’m trying to drown out other noises, and only when i’m writing academic papers lol

9: Do you have any routines before you sit down to write?

nope lol. some scenes i’ll imagine for weeks before sitting down to write them bc thinking abt how the scene will play out helps me fall asleep, but also helps me figure out exactly how the scene will play out so when i do sit down to write, it flows so easily onto the page

unfortunately this doesn’t happen with everything i write--only the big, emotional scenes. and even then, i imagine these scenes as movies scenes, so when i go to write, there’s a lot more detail i have to think abt and add in ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

other than that, i don’t really have any routines i absolutely need to do before i sit down to write...i mean does opening all the folders i need, including the folders on my flashdrive so i can easily save and then transfer the saved document to my flashdrive count?

10: Have you ever participated in NaNoWrimo or a Camp?

i wish! but no. never had the time. like WHY NOVEMBER DO YOU KNOW HOW BUSY STUDENTS GET DURING NOVEMBER THAT’S LIKE THE ABSOLUTE WORST TIME TO HOLD IT FOR WRITERS WHO ARE STUDENTS

and like i get that the whole point of it is to get ppl who say things like “never had the time” to write. but that’s the thing, it’s not like inktober, where it encourages a very armature artist (i.e., me) to draw at least one thing everyday. i already love to write and i already write when i can if i don’t have writer’s block and my amorphous muse wants to cooperate

so when i say “i don’t have time” it’s bc it’s in the middle of the fucking semester and i’m swamped with midterms and papers and my ga-ship which requires me to help everyone else who are also scrambling on midterm papers like jeezums i’m not bitter or anything

i know that camp tho has other sessions that aren’t in novemeber, so we’ll see if i decide to participate in those. i can really only focus on one story at a time, esp if it’s a big story i’m really invested in. so participating while i’m researching and writing fanfic would be difficult for me. also the pressure to do the research i want to do in such a short amt of time would probably not be conducive for me, just personally. esp on top of another story where i’m researching and writing (even if i do put it aside to focus on camp) but since i’ve never participated, i wouldn’t know if any of that is necessarily true

thanks again for tagging me! i’ll tag two ppl i know who are writers lol; and as always with these things, feel free to fill this out or not: @talking0fmichelangel0 @lucifers-favorite-child

if you follow me or we’re mutuals and i have failed to realize you’re a writer, feel free to fill these out but tag me so i can read your answers

#about me #dat writing life got me like #fun stuff

[physticuffs]

Hello! I have a question.... what are your favorite books, and why? (I love your blog!)

@smallricochet

Wow, thank you! Took me forever to reply because my first answer got erased when i was halfway through. Rawr. anyway, here’s the thing: i don’t have favorites. I just love books so much i can’t choose! And there are books for different moods, too, or books that i love for different reasons. There are those that i can read anytime because they’re friendly and easy to sink into, but aren’t necessarily the best of anything in a particular aspect. There are books that i have to be in a specific mood to read but that i love more than anything when i am in that mood. There are books that are outstanding in one thing and lacking in another…so i don’t have favorite books, and when i have to think of my favorites, they’re divided by genre. This is gonna be a long post, haha. Without my bookshelf in front of me, there may be some I’m forgetting, but those are the ones that stand out in immediate memory.

Fantasy: most of the books i’ve read would probably count as fantasy if you included YA, but i’m going to break out YA as its own thing because i look for different things now than i did when i was younger. For one thing, the writing style plays a much larger role now for me, which is one of the things that makes Neil Gaiman one of my favorite authors. American Gods is this gorgeous book examining the nature of belief, with such evocative language that i felt like i was taking the journey alongside the characters. The characters themselves are rather stock, but that’s okay–Gaiman has a true sense of the mythic and interweaves old stories with new in a way that captivated me. I also loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which just felt…almost more real than our own world. I read the book (it’s quite short) in one sitting, and when i finished i realized i’d teared up. There’s a scene where the main character is immersed in this experience of understanding everything and then is pulled out of that state, and i felt the same way upon closing the book. The sense of the world-beyond-our-world was intense–again, taking the journey with the characters. I adore Good Omens, which was co-written with Terry Pratchett, and i think combines the best of both authors: Gaiman’s sense of mythology, Pratchett’s humor, and their shared love for stories that examine the values individual people hold. Individual values are a theme often repeated in Pratchett’s books, of which my favorites are Hogfather and Thud! because of the beautiful, hopeful characterizations and complex conflicts. Pratchett’s books really carry this sense of optimism and hope for how much better we can be; his characters have this evolving humanity (lol some of them are dwarves and trolls and werewolves) that really strikes a chord with me. Also, those books are fucking hilarious.

I’ve written about Guy Gavriel Kay recently; his novel Under Heaven is remarkable for its beautiful language, fascinating characters, and exciting political plot. I love that niche–historically-based political fantasy–and am really relieved to have found someone besides George R. R. Martin who does it, since Kay is much subtler and doesn’t have Martin’s penchant for shock and gore. I’m about to read every other political fantasy novel Kay has ever written. I used to think that if i could write like anyone i’d want to write like Gaiman, but now that i’ve read Kay’s work, i’d rather write like him, because that’s the genre i’d want to succeed in.

Then there’s Susanna Clarke’s exquisite Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I know this is very much a love-it-or-hate-it book, and i love it. Actually, i think it’s a perfect novel. I would change nothing about that book; there’s nothing that could make me like it better. The descriptive visual language is rich and flowing, the dry humor is just right, and the mythology she builds is original and forms a perfect pattern. One of the things that stood out to me the most in the book are the names. I’ve never seen an author choose names like her–they’re all lyrical and evocative without being literal. I don’t even want a sequel because the plot is wrapped up perfectly; i just want a whole series set in that world. (Clarke also wrote a short story collection in that setting, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, which is excellent, but does not fulfill my desire for a million more full-length novels.)

Historical fiction: The Lymond Chronicles. This is a masterwork, to the point that the author, Dorothy Dunnett, was knighted for her books being such a huge contribution to UK culture. They’re hard to read, no denying that, but they are unparalleled for incredible descriptive language, depth of emotion, dexterity with shifting viewpoint, epic scope, characters’ journeys and personalities interwoven in fascinating ways…they so far outshine every other work of historical fiction i’ve read that i think i can say that series is my favorite. HOWEVER, the irony of it is, i have never reread those books, except the first. I flick around occasionally to reread passages, but they’re simply too dense to make for good light reading in between all my new reading material. I love Les Miserables too, in the sense that i think it’s one of those almost accidental masterpieces that would never make it to market in full form today. Victor Hugo was a mystic grandpa whose interest in architecture/public infrastructure reeeeally got in the way of his own plot. I can’t HELP but love that book and i don’t even know why, except that Hugo captures the emotions and complexities of youthful rebellion so well, and is deeply respectful to the tragedy of it–not flippant, not over-aggrandizing, but accepting in just the right way. I also wanna give a shoutout/honorary mention to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (It’s sort of unfair to put it with historical fiction, given the part where a guy’s ghost wanders around beating people up, but like. What else do i call this book.) I mean, it’s not my usual fare, but it well deserves its place as one of China’s four great classics. It’s so different from modern writing, which places a lot of emphasis on knowing individual characters. Three Kingdoms doesn’t give a shit about the inner lives of the characters. This is a story about how empires are formed and fall. it’s a true epic, and a fascinating look into one of China’s most tumultuous historical periods. (most tumultuous, except for all the others. You do you, China.)

Nonfiction: I’ve only rather recently become interested in nonfiction, and most of what i like is just a combination of good writing style and a topic i’m specifically interested in. How Not To Be Wrong, by Jordan Ellenberg–applied math and statistics, written in a very fun way. The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist’s Thumb, by Sam Kean–a history of the periodic table and genetics respectively; Kean is such an engaging writer and really knows how to draw a common thread through anecdotes. Fermat’s Enigma, by Simon Singh–a history of the quest to solve Fermat’s Last Theorem. Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia, by Donn Draeger–uh, what it says on the cover, but also a very interesting cultural text, although the info is a bit out of date. Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler–Feiler travels through the Middle East, examining the historical context of biblical stories; i’m reading his other works now. There also have been a couple books i’ve read for school that i loved–one was a cultural study of Hello Kitty, of all things, and one was about coffee farming in Honduras. Both were for a globalization course, but i can’t remember the titles offhand. I also read Walkable City by Jeff Speck for urban studies, about the importance of building walkability into your urban planning, which kicked off an interest in urban planning for me. I wound up getting three other urban planning books out of the interest generated by that one.

YA: Most of the books that have stuck with me after i read them as a teen had characters i wanted to be friends with or that i strongly related to–books with a lot of analytical, assertive girls, or girls who loved stories and were very imaginative. These include Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor (bonus points for multiple girls i related to and they were Jewish), The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (again bonus points for multiple girls i related to), Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and The Princess Academy and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. These last three (modern takes on fairy tales) mattered so fucking much to me, and they seriously hold up on rereads. Hale and Levine don’t protect their readers from harsh events, but it’s still fantasy, still has the magic i love reading about. They show the young characters win magical battles and friendship through intelligence, creativity, and determination, instead of beauty like the original tales, so that was really inspiring for me, and i related really hard to the main characters personality-wise. All three main characters in these books do find relationships or even marry at the end, but it’s because they’ve already been best friends with their love interests for a while. There’s also The Hunger Games, which had fascinating characterization, and unusually subtle morality for a YA series, especially in the last book, and the similarly adventurous Icemark Chronicles series by Stuart Hill, which is historically-based fantasy–think Guy Gavriel Kay for younger readers–with a wonderful main character that i really looked up to. And then there’s The Pushcart War, by Jean Merrill. The Pushcart War is just completely charming. It’s a friendly, quick-read book about a group of pushcart vendors trying to make space for themselves in New York City, opposing the aggressive truckers, and it was just plain fun while also being…actually pretty educational about urban design.

So…i know that’s super long, but y’know, asking me about favorite books is a dangerous thing to do. And i can’t emphasize enough that this is only what i can think of off the top of my head, without my bookshelf in front of me. But thank you so much for the question!

#books #asks #tagging my asks hell yeah