Basicaly a short story that reveals my understanding of AHam.
I am so in love with his high sensitivity and low empathy. This whole deal of not trusting crowds makes him partially out from the human society. I love the feeling SOOOO MUUUUUUUCH
And maybe because I was putting in so much genuine emotion, creating this artwork was a blast! I hope this little story manages to pass on some of my feelings to anyone how read!
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Brother | Da Ge (大哥)
Pure White Devil (纯白恶魔)
Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire (烈火浇愁)
Itinerant Doctor | Youyi (游医)
Jin Se | 锦瑟
Nan Chan (南禅)
The Submissive Emperor | Jun Wei Xia (君为下)
The Wife is First | Qi Wei Shang (妻为上)
Drink, Drank, Drunk! | (千杯)
Global Examinations | 全球高考
Copper Coins | Tong Qian Kan Shi (铜钱龛世)
I Ship My Rival X Me | (我嗑了对家x我)
More under the cut:
City of Angels | (天使之城)
Legend of Exorcism | Tianbao Fuyao Lu (天宝伏妖录)
Dinghai Fusheng Records (定海浮生录)
Seizing Dreams | Duo Meng (夺梦)
Those Years In Quest Of Honour Mine (当年万里觅封侯)
AWM: PUBG | (AWM [绝地求生])
The #1 Pretty Boy of the Immortal Path (仙道第一小白脸)
First-Class Lawyer | Yi Ji Lushi (一级律师)
Judge | Pànguān (判官)
Wildhood Friends | Zhu Mu Lang Ma (竹木狼马)
Run Wild | Sa Ye (撒野)
Qing Kuang | (轻狂)
Antidote | Jie Yao (解药)
Wait for Me after School | 放学等我
PUBG Online Romance of the Century | (PUBG世纪网恋)
I Can Do It | (我行让我来)
Glory [e-sports] | Rong Guang (荣光[电竞])
My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn’t Need Any Comforting | (学渣同桌不需要安慰)
Game Loading | (游戏加载中)
How Did You Guys Become Boyfriends While Gaming | (你們打個遊戲怎麼就交到男朋友了)
Fake Slackers | 伪装学渣
Beyond the Outline | (这题超纲了) *The Guy Inside Me
They All Say I've Met a Ghost | (他们都说我遇到了鬼)
After Marrying the Evil God | (和邪神結婚後)
After Being Forced to Marry the Evil Star General (被迫嫁给煞星将军后)
After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian (女装招惹龙傲天后)
The Demon Venerable’s Wistful Desire | (魔尊他念念不忘)
After Crossing Through Ten Worlds, I Failed To Run Away | 穿越十个世界后我跑路失败了
Swallowing the Seas | Tun Hai (吞海)
Breaking Through the Clouds | Po Yun (破云)
Your Distance | Nĭ Dè Jù Lí (你的距离)
Is the Gentleman Feeling Alright? | jun you ji fou (君有疾否)
Encountering a Snake | Yu She (遇蛇)
You Boys Play Games Very Well | (你们男生打游戏好厉害哦~)
Waiting For You Online | (就等你上线了)
I’m Completely Clueless About Sockpuppet Accounts Being Unmasked [E-sports] | (被扒了马甲我一无所知[电竞])
That One Rich Fan of Mine | (我的那個有錢粉絲)
I Just Want To Be In A Relationship | (我就想谈个恋爱)
Heart has Ling Xi | (心有凌熙)
After Getting Gayified, I Swore Off Parody Mashups | (被gay后再也不敢鬼畜了)
Reborn with an Old Enemy on the Day of our Marriage | (和宿敌结婚当天一起重生了)
Transmigrated into the prince regent's beloved runaway wife | (穿成攝政王的侍愛逃妻)
After transmigrating into the book, I picked up the protagonist-shou | (穿书后我捡到了主角受)
Cold Sands | 漠上寒沙
I Know I'm About to Lose You | 我知道我快失去你了
Fanservice Paradox | 营业悖论
Fantasy Farm | Huanxiang Nongchang (不离)
The Emperor's strategy | (帝王攻略)
The Missing Piece | (貌合神离)
I'm using the interstellar live broadcast to raise cubs | (我在星际直播养崽)
Not in Vain | (不枉)
You use a gun, I use a bow (你们用枪我用弓[电竞])
I’m A Male Mom in a Nightmare Game |
I Like Your Pheromones | (我喜欢你的信息素)
Transmigrating Into The Heartthrob’s Cannon Fodder Childhood Friend | (穿成万人迷的炮灰竹马)
[Translation] Translating my favorite moments from Shapolang
/*SPOILER WARNING*/
This is my prep work for future fic-writing.
Gu Yun suddenly goes, "Shall I leave the army to Chang Geng in the future?"
Shen Yi is stupefied. "Just how badly do you want him dead?"
From the look on his face, Shen Yi is very much taking pleasure in his suffering. Gu Yun reaches for the back of head and shoves him face-down into the blankets; then he drifts away listlessly, thinking it might be time to hang himself with a waistband of sorts.
Gu Yun knows the human heart all too well — he knows the more you avoid some things, the more heinously taboo it becomes; like what happens when poison reaches the bone — in far too deep to be removed. So it's with that logic in mind that he decides to show Chang Geng all he has to show — it's just his body after all, what else is there to it?
"If I were born a decade earlier..." Chang Geng suddenly starts.
Liao Ran's eyelid twitches.
Word by heavy word, Chang Geng finishes his sentence: "This world would be a different one."
And he never would ever let Gu Yun go.
Gu Yun does feel that he has the bigger responsibility in this whole affair, and for that he even feels guilty. Under ordinary circumstances, Chang Geng never would have gotten this close to him were if not for his unspoken approval. And even if he hadn't had enough wits to react on the spot back then, thereby leading to their "accident", he still should not have procrastinated... and allowed things to get to their present state.
"That's why..." Gu Yun could only utter those two words. His voice is cracked beyond recognition, and it was physically taxing for him to clear his throat enough to finish the sentence. "So that's why you prescribed him tranquilizers."
(T/N: I find it so interesting that 安神药 is translated as "tranquilizers" in the fandom. It's not the first thing I would have thought of, but it's quite fitting for the wild wolf analogy and is a very chilling word to see.)
At the end of his flute performance, an extremely self-satisfied Gu Yun turns around with a face full of expectations and prompts him. "Wasn't that just lovely?"
"..." Chang Geng hesitates not for a short period of time, and in the end answers sincerely. "It invigorates one's spirit and... will definitely keep our enemies at bay."
Chang Geng couldn't resist any longer. He leans down and plugs Gu Yun's lips with his own.
"My general," his thinks, heart at once sweetened and sorrowed. "Throughout history, how many have been able to shed their armors and retire in one piece from the battlefield? What was that promise for, if none other than to break my heart?"
Unlike the parting kiss on the city wall all those years ago, this one contained much less desperate passion. All of a sudden, a section of Gu Yun's armored heart caves inwards, revealing its softest and most vulnerable underbelly. It's this heart that thinks, "From here on, this person is mine."
That look in Chang Geng's eyes, that expression — Shen Yi's eyes are blinded, and he gravely regrets stepping foot in the manor at this time. Gu Yun, for his part, is just as mute — his waist was pained simply from hearing the word "Stepfather".
Gu Yun wipes the salt from his mouth, reeling from the accusation at being called an "animal". He felt so grievously misunderstood that he could do no more than sit mutely in his corner, unable to plead his own case.
As he chewed on the salted yellow fish, a thought occurs to Gu Yun and he puts half of it in Shen Yi bowl. "How about you finish up dinner and get going soon? You were born with eyes, surely with them you can see how busy he is from having worked so hard all day long. Don't impose here."
An insulted Shen Yi very nearly chokes on the damned salted yellow fish bone. He retaliates lowly, "I come all this way here to play counsellor to your worries, and this is how you thank me? Gu Zixi, you would rather lust for sex than be loyal to our friendship — so this is what they mean when they say time reveals all colors!"
Gu Yun hasn't even gotten the last syllable out of his mouth when he feels a sudden warm wetness on the side of his neck. It's Chang Geng — taking advantage of the present chaos to lick a strip across Gu Yun's skin.
Through the cacophony, he could hear that low voice murmuring right inside his ear. "It's fairly romantic to die for love in this manner, wouldn't you say?"
Gu Yun is speechless.
(My favorite #2)
Perhaps the most unpredictable thing in this world is not the ill intents of one's enemies, but the heart of one's lover — oftentimes sincere, yet still, at times — fleeting.
Chang Geng pleads, "Zixi..."
"There's no need for Zixi," Gu Yun responds evenly. "You may continue addressing me as 'Stepfather'."
Chang Geng smiles without shame, and kisses him with the intent to please. This is something he'd recently discovered — that Gu Yun likes these sticky little kisses, a kind of light pressure between lips. And if he tops this off by staring at him with a careful and attentive expression afterwards, then Gu Yun will say "yes" to just about anything he asks for.
(My favorite #1)
As he said this, there is an almost imperceptible furrow between his brows, his expression practically bleak. Chang Geng has only ever seen this expression one other time, and it was during that new year's eve when they were aboard the Yuan. The Gu Yun of then had toasted three cups of wine to a legion of departed souls, his face etched with this exact same stinging loneliness — as though not even the combined might of all the lanterns in the city could bring him into light.
Chang Geng's eyes flash, and seeing that no one on the cart was paying them any mind, offers in a tantalizingly low voice, "Let me again tonight and I'll show you the blueprint for the railroad."
Horse whip in hand, Gu Yun leans back. "Let you? How many times have I let you? You've used your injuries as an excuse countless of times and you've never let me have my way. Forget it."
Liao Ran raises his eyes to meet his gaze.
Chang Geng's expression is inscrutable. "Ask Chen Qingxu for all the Gu Zixi secrets she's been keeping from me."
(My favorite #3)
Chang Geng's grip tightens as he holds Gu Yun almost protectively. For the first time in his heart, there's none of the dependency he feels towards his little stepfather, and none of the desire he feels towards his beloved. Instead, he feels as though he's cradling a young and delicate child in his arms.
In all the time he's spent ruminating on impossible what-ifs and what-could-have-beens, Chang Geng often tried to imagine what their relationship would have been like had he been been born ten, or even twenty years earlier.
And today, on the bitingly cold frontlines of the Jiangbei warfront, the missing time that he yearned so wretchedly for shrinks to a few tiny inches, left to the dust as he crosses those decades in a single step.
From head to toe, Gu Yun's body is soft everywhere. There seemed to be an invisible wound on his chest, aching dully at the lighest of efforts. He fumbles around blindly by his side, finding his monocle glasses with some fluster. "Let me..."
His head lowered, Chang Geng ignores him. He gently grips Gu Yun's wrist and pushes it back down.
(My favorite #4)
Chang Geng takes the blade and leaves.
To show that he had most definitely kept his word, and had not even so much as tip-toed past the flap of his tent, Gu Yun stood by the entrance as he waited for Chang Geng. He didn't care for any of the blood, sweat or dirt and immediately pulled him into an embrace.
It's only now that Chang Geng feels that bone-deep fatigue. Wobbling ever so slightly, he grasps Gu Yun by the waist and mutters into his ear: "I'm never letting you fight another battle again."
In his ear, Chang Geng whines "pitifully": "I don't have any money to give you. My man took all of it and spent it on wine and women. Why don't you take my body instead?"
His accent is impressive for having spent those few months between the two camps — though Gu Yun doesn't know from whence exactly he'd picked up this wet, nasally cadence from. The syllables for "my man" were especially exaggerated, drawled so petulantly long that it seeped deep into Gu Yun's ears and sent a shiver running straight down his spine. He's hapless against the guiles of a beauty like this one, and can only hand over everything as demanded.
But without any avenue to share his joy, the Yan King could only satisfy himself in secret guilty pleasure. After sending Miss Chen away, he crept back to the manor at night, and wrote a letter to Gu Yun from his room. He didn't post it, and instead tucked it under Gu Yun's pillow when the words had dried.
That still wasn't gratifying enough. Retrieving his treasure trove containing all of Gu Yun's letters, he laid on the bed and re-read every single one of them until each and every last handwritten character and turn of phrase was freshly etched into his brain. With all that in mind, his next move was to craft a "reply" from Gu Yun by imitating his love's handwriting and prose to the letter. His one-man performance only felt deserving then.
In an instant, the General's tent falls quiet — while Gu Yun alone was silenced out of fear, the others were shocked speechless to see the "new emperor" mentioned in the letter standing right here in the flesh.
Only a man like Shen Yi would break an ice this thick. "... Don't even think of blaming me for delivering the message slow."
This line’s formal tone and word choice in particular makes him sound like an immortal figure in a xianxia drama. It’s hard to convey in English, but the best equivalent in English speech would be a bard character going all Shakespherean (so like, Fischl, I guess). I’ll include both a Shakespearean-esque rendition, and a base translation in prose.
Original and Renditions / Tone in the Different Languages / Translation Notes on Chinese Words and Idioms / Localizing It into Shakespearean English
Original
如遇失道旷野之难,路遭贼人之难,水火刀兵之难,鬼神药毒之难,恶兽毒虫之难,冤家恶人之难,便呼我名。
「三眼五显仙人」——「魈」,听召前来守护。
.
My Rendition
Come pathless wilds or thievish tricks, crises grave or spirits vile, hidden beasts or mortal foes, call out my name.
“The Mighty and Illuminated Adeptus”— Xiao, summoned hither to protect.
.
Translation in Prose
Edit: the character 难 is better translated as “calamity” instead of “disaster”
If you encounter the disaster of losing your path in the wilderness, the disaster of running into thieves on roads, the disaster of natural calamities and war, the disaster of manipulative gods and poisonous medicine, the disaster of malicious beasts and poisonous insects, or the disaster of arch-nemeses and evil-doers, then call out my name.
“The Mighty and Illuminated Adeptus”— “Xiao”, summoned here to guard you.
.
Official Translation
If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.
Tone
Key Traits of Archaic Chinese Speech
uses few characters to express rich imagery
descriptive four-character phrases are a giveaway
implied subjects with limited use of pronouns or “I” or “you”
results in a compact and poetic “less is more” style
common speaking style for immortals (仙人) in xianxia dramas
.
Key Traits in Chinese Voiceline
archaic Chinese
extremely formal tone
lists off various intense, worst-case scenarios
last line implies someone under a contract or code of honour (think wuxia escorts)
overall signifies he’s an Adepti due to his poetic speech (see above section)
.
Key Traits in Official Translation
edgy
lists off some bad scenarios
loyal
(kind of hard to take seriously)
The translation of this particular line did not do Xiao justice at all. The archaic tone is completely lost, the intense scenarios are watered down and replaced, and the last line forgoes his longer title along with his implied contract-abiding loyalty.
In addition, in his profile specifically (rather than quests), due to the voice acting, Xiao’s Chinese voice gives the image of a distant/cold and calm young man, while his English voice makes him sound like an edgy teenager.
Words and Phrases
Edit: “[scenario]之难” is better translated as “the calamity of [scenario]” instead of “the disaster of [scenario]”
The Chinese line follows the format of “If you encounter the disaster of [scenario], [lists off six disastrous scenarios], then call my name. [Adeptal Title] — Xiao, [formal declaration of a summon to protect].” The scenarios are each a four-character phrase, followed by 之难 (“the disaster of~”).
“The disaster of manipulative gods and poisonous medicine”
lit. “The disaster of demonic gods and poisonous medicines”
鬼神 refers to evil spirits, evil deities, etc
Possibly alluding to the hatred of the fallen gods Xiao slayed, or perhaps manipulative deities?
药毒 can refer to medicine with poison in them, expired/low-quality medicine, or misusing medicine for a treatment. Generally, something bad with natural properties medicine
tone is similar to something like “Xiao, reporting for duty”
lit. “Heard the order to be summoned and came to guard [you]”
召 means “summon” (verb) as in “order (someone) to be present”
前来 means “to come”
守护 means “to guard” (compared to 保护 which is “to protect”)
Rendering It into Shakespearean English
There’s no way to truly capture the imagery and connotations invoked in Chinese, but a close localization would be to write it in Shakespearean English. The straight translation in prose is too long, and there’s no rhythm in it.
To recap, here’s information about Xiao which we can infer from his speech
States the absolute worst-case scenarios (ambush, war, natural disasters, evil deities and beasts, enemies, etc) as plausible reasons for being summoned
an Adepti (immortal in the xianxia genre) due to his formal speech
last line implies someone under a contract or code of honour (think wuxia escorts)
Progress Rendition
“Come blinding wilderness or thievish paths, [水火刀兵], malicious spirits, fatal insects or mortal enemies, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao, summoned hither to protect.” Summoned hither at thy behest.
.
I rendered it like so:
Come pathless wilds or thievish tricks, crises grave or spirits vile, hidden beasts or mortal foes, call out my name.
“The Mighty and Illuminated Adeptus”— Xiao, summoned hither to protect.
----
“pathless wilds or thievish tricks”
“the disaster of losing your path in the wilderness, the disaster of running into thieves on roads”
“crises grave or spirits vile”
“the disaster of natural calamities and war, the disaster of manipulative gods and poisonous medicine”
“hidden beasts or mortal foes”
“the disaster of malicious beasts and poisonous insects, or the disaster of arch-nemeses and evil-doers”
“summoned hither to protect”
“Summoned here to guard [you]”
.
Meter
Iambic tetrameter (unstressed-stressed 4x, or x / x / x / x /) for the first part
(e.g. come PATHless WILDS or THIEvish TRICKS)
Catalectic trochaic tetrameter (stressed-unstressed 4x with last syllable missing, or / x / x / x / ) for the next two parts