#Chinese and Taiwanese mythology

[desdasiwrites]

[blackhornedarts]

Umi And Mazu (Gods Are Real) WIP

Mazu, and her human from my comic.

[chernobog13]

No, it's not Manda!

It's the Dragon That Just Appears To Fight Another Monster Then Disappears from The Fairy and the Devil (1982).

Although, as far as can tell, this footage is actually purloined from an earlier film, The Founding of the Ming Dynasty (1971).

[the-monkey-ruler]

Gado Fight (2020) 鬼斗

Date: January 9, 2020 Platform: PC / Android Developer: Leiting Games Publisher: Leiting Games Genre: Fighting Theme: Fantasy Also known as: 墨斗 Type: Rewrite

Summary:

Gado Fight (鬼斗) is a one-on-one fighting game by the Taiwanese company Leiting Games. It was released in January 2020 for Android and April of the same year for Steam. It is based on the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, which in turn is also based heavily on Chinese mythology.

Source: https://www.giantbomb.com/gado-fight/3030-82478/

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaqtC9joPys

[scalproie]

Hey, sell me on this funny Nine Sols game you're posting all of a sudden? My curiosity is piqued.

DO YOU LIKE HOLLOW KNIGHT AND OTHER METROIDVANIA?

DO YOU LIKE THE PARRY-FOCUSED COMBAT SYSTEM OF SEKIRO?

DO YOU LIKE STORY, DIALOGUE AND LORE-HEAVY GAMES WITH AN ORIGINAL AESTHETIC?

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF HOU YI, MYTHOLOGICAL CHINESE ARCHER THAT SHOT DOWN NINE OF THE TEN SUNS?

WELL NINE SOLS MIGHT BE THE GAME FOR YOU🫵

ok stopping with the theatrics, idk why I phrased it like that, but fr, Nine Sols is a game from Red Candle Games, a taiwanese indie game studio, that came out a month ago. It's only available on pc right now but I'm hoping for a console port at some point.

As for the general points:

You play as this little guy called Yi, who's on a quest for revenge against, well, the titular nine sols, the rulers of the land where this game's takes place: New Kunlun. But there's a twist.

The vibe of the game's style as been described as "taopunk": a lot of characters take inspiration from ancient eastern mythology, like the main character for starters, and it's mixed with some cyber-feel that makes it really slick and satisfying. It's also just a very pretty game to look at.

The game also has some disturbing science-fiction elements, if you like The Horrors™️ (The Horrors™️ are great).

As I said before, the combat really focuses on parrying but Yi has quite a few things up his arsenal to keep it interesting. He also has a little butterfly buddy. Im also told that there is a slightly bigger emphasis on platforming in general and Yi has the shmovement.

The bosses are really fun to fight and honestly? Pretty interesting as characters. The characters are all great overall. The story is nuanced overall and you can tell they really wanted to build a rich world with lore. And I wanna see people take it appart and analyse it bc there is A LOT to say about the everything.

The music owns too:

And I know it's like. Not a particularly important point but the sound design??? 👍👍👍👌👌👌 it's really good

I'm actually gonna finish the post by linking the trailer to just showcase the vibe of the game honestly, it might do a better job than me:

anyway play Nine Sols 👍

[thistransient]

More musings on Naha:

- My Japan-visiting history includes Naha in 2018 and Tokyo in 2023 (each for 3 nights). I loved Naha the first time, but did not really have the same feeling about Tokyo (which I chalked up to insufficient planning, sprained ribs, and having gotten over the first-time-in-Japan thrill). But I also loved my second time in Naha! The factors I think are at play:

1. Public transport: there's a singular monorail, no need to navigate Tokyo's convoluted two-company labyrinth of an MRT system. It was also a brisk 12 minute ride from the station nearest my hotel to Naha International, unlike the commute from the city center to the airports servicing Tokyo. It's also only a 1 hr 30 minute flight from Taipei, can't really beat that.

2. Walkability: to get anywhere else in Okinawa one must rent a car, but it's perfectly possible to stroll around Naha center on foot. I spent quite a bit of time on the train in Tokyo (and all that that entailed) trying to explore different neighborhoods, which was tiring. I didn't feel threatened by motorised traffic in either city but I found myself jumping out of the way of bicycles in Tokyo a few times.

3. Shīsā (シーサー, 風獅爺, 獅子): "a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils. People place pairs of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses, with the left shisa traditionally having a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth. The open mouth shisa traditionally wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth shisa keeps good spirits in." I love these things so much, they are so fun to spot while walking around, people even dress them up in little outfits depending on the season!

(At this point I should optimally visit a third city to triangulate my experiences a bit.)

- I find if I only go somewhere for a few days, it can be really nice to not buy a SIM card, just download an offline map, save some restaurant locations, and wander around looking at stuff almost like the pre-smartphone days.

- At some point I was also thinking to myself "wow, sometimes it's nice being in a country with minimal hawkers, hustlers, and touts! No one is trying to sell me stuff unsolicited!" Then I accidentally wandered into the red light district while taking a roundabout stroll to a shrine on the edge of town. The deserted back streets of Naha sprang to life and suddenly I was very popular (I suppose it must get boring for them at noon on a Sunday, but I felt like a lone gazelle on the savanna and made a hasty escape with a lot of head shaking and staring intently at the pavement). Perhaps they intentionally put the brothels near the temple to ensnare wayward tourists, who knows.

- The silence of Naha streets compared to the incessant scooter-revving in Taipei made me wonder how much psychic damage the noise pollution is really dealing me on a daily basis. I was also operating with a Taiwanese mindset when jaywalking across a median to get to a supermarket (only because I'd seen some locals doing it), and stepped back cautiously to wait for an oncoming bus which I was sure would otherwise punch me a one-way ticket to the afterlife. Instead, it STOPPED. There wasn't even a cross-walk! I waved somewhat guiltily and scampered away full of wonderment. Frankly I did not really want to come back from pedestrian heaven where there are zero scooters on the unobstructed sidewalks and crossing the street is not a hair-raising experience.

- By sheer, strange coincidence I ran into a friend on the street (as she was getting off a bus), who definitely should not have been in Japan (she told me she was moving back, probably to Tokyo, only after Christmas)- she was in Okinawa for approximately 24 hours to look at real estate and didn't have time to hang out but it was very surreal to catch up for a couple minutes.

- I was a bit surprised when the airline queue employee in International Departures started talking to me in Japanese off the bat (something that has never happened in TPE with Mandarin, they see a westerner and have real low linguistic expectations), so I eyed her a bit blankly til she was done and then tested out my Duolingo skills with 日本語が話せませ¹ to which she responded 英語?², I said "yeah" and she told me I needed to use the kiosk first, to which I protested that I'm always prompted to go to the counter for document verification, but then for once the thing actually didn't (take note if you're doing visa runs, Peach Aviation evidently gives no shits about exit flights). ¹ I don't speak Japanese ² English?

To be honest I had had some ambitions for trying out more Duolingo-learnt phrases, but in the moment chickened out and ended up just pointing at stuff lest I give the impression I was capable of more in-depth conversation beyond これをください³. I've had vague thoughts about language school (for the purpose of being able to communicate about print-making and/or shibari, but also to test the waters beyond the tourist experience), and I feel in theory knowing Mandarin first should help with learning kanji, but on the other hand I look at this

and in my mind it says "Jiùmìng dòngyī wa zuòxí no xià ni aimasu". I think I will stay in Taiwan for now. (Also apparently immigration is not super keen on people over 30 with dubious employment history rocking up for language school in Japan, but that's a bridge to cross when one comes to it). ³ Please give me this

- Last but not least, I flew back south only to find Taipei 5 degrees Celsius colder than Naha, the bidet frostier than ever. 再見琉球，等我回來 T_T

[richincolor]

We have five books on our radar this week that should help get you into the Halloween spirit! Which ones are you adding to your TBR list?

Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho HarperCollins

It’s Black Friday—and the apocalypse is on sale! Ever since the world filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons started popping out on the reg, Jasper’s life has gotten worse and worse. A teenage nobody with no friends or family, he is plagued by the life he can’t remember and the person he’s sure he’s supposed to be. Jasper spends his days working as a checkout clerk at the Here for You discount mart, where a hell portal in aisle nine means danger every shift. But at least at the mart he can be near his crush, Kyle Kuan, a junior member of the monster-fighting Vanguard, though Kyle really seems to hate Jasper for reasons he doesn’t remember or understand. But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they’re forced to team up and uncover the uncomfortable truth about the hell portals and the demons that haunt the world. Because the true monsters are not always what they seem, the past is not always what we wish, and like it or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose starting in aisle nine. Perfect for fans of Grasshopper Jungle or The Last of Us comes Aisle Nine, the debut young adult novel from rising YA star Ian X. Cho.

The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin Rick Riordan Presents

Ruby Chen has always played the part of the dutiful eldest daughter: excelling in school; excelling in piano lessons; excelling at keeping her younger sister, Tina, focused on extracurriculars meant to impress college admissions officers. But when a ghost from the spirit world attacks the sisters in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown neighborhood, Ruby’s life is plunged into a darkness that no amount of duty can free her from. Overnight, Ruby’s sister seems to change. There are strange noises coming from her bedroom at all hours; and the once sweet, funny Tina has been replaced by something dark and unnatural. As Ruby races to save her sister from demonic possession, she is thrown into an ancient battle over the gateway to the underworld. On one side, an evil traveling temple known for making dark wishes come true has returned to Chinatown after many years—intent on breaking down the gateway and unleashing the evil within. On the other side, the guardians who must stop them. And in order to survive, Ruby must not only face the horror taking over her community, but must also confront the horror within herself. Chinese and Taiwanese mythology get the Junji Ito treatment in this bone-chilling, propulsive story that takes the horrors of the Asian diaspora experience to a whole new level.

Killer House Party by Lily Anderson Henry Holt and Co.

Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that won’t let you leave? Check. The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it's been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her mom’s real estate office... It’s time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget. Arden and her best friends Maddy, Remi, and Shane, each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.

Rest in Peaches by Alex Brown Page Street YA

Quinn Marcelo wouldn't necessarily win the award for Most Popular Person at her school, but unbeknownst to her peers, Quinn entertains them at every football, basketball, and baseball game―as Peaches the Parrot, her high school's God-like mascot. When someone sabotages the legendary Peaches costume at the Homecoming Game, Quinn's left unmasked and humiliated. After all, Peaches' identity was a closely guarded secret and a point of pride for nearly everyone at Olivia Newton-John High. As if that wasn't enough, Little Peaches, a new, real parrot that the PTA got to enhance the Peaches Experience, is kidnapped right after Quinn's unmasking. Determined to uncover the culprit, Quinn publicly unravels the lives of everyone in her path―including Tessa Banks, the most popular girl in school―in a no-holds-barred conspiracy-fueled investigation. But when a killer starts going after the people implicated in Quinn's mascot disaster, she must race to uncover the truth behind her feathery faux-pas―before the truth kills her, too.

The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs Heartdrum

In this debut YA horror novel by Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk), small-town athlete Avery is haunted by the black water and Unfinished beings of Kanyen’kehá:ka stories and must turn to the culture she hasn’t felt connected to in order to save her town. The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive. When small-town athlete Avery’s morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook’s Falls have long forgotten. Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she’s losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery—taking a new form each time—people in town begin to go missing. Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) relatives, she’s never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs. When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanyen’kehá:ka and save the town but lose her friend forever…or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back. In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs pulls the reader down into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.

[persephone-s-moon]

Asian Lost Boys Personal Names!

Personal names tend to vary from culture to culture in terms of usage, but essentially it's someones "Asian name" as opposed to their English name. They're typically used by family members and, on occasion, very close friends because (in my experience) using them is intimate. The characters will still HAVE their English names, but The Lost Boys and family members (the Emersons and the Frogs) will Mostly refer to each other by their personal names.

DISCLAIMER: I'm Taiwanese, therefore I'm more savvy to East Asian cultures, particularly Chinese and Japanese. If anyone who is more knowledgeable about Filipino, Hmong, Thai, Indian, or Vietnamese cultures sees something they want to critique/has more culturally accurate suggestions, I encourage messages/comments/replies!

David: Huang Zhao-Yi

Culture: Taiwanese, of Chinese descent Loose Pronunciation: Hw-ah-ng Sh-ow-yee Surname: Huang, meaning "yellow, to fall through" Personal name: Zhao-Yi, Zhao meaning "bright, luminous" and Yi meaning "happy, joyful, harmony" Notes: I was originally going to name David "Hou Yi" after a mythological Chinese archer because OG Hou Yi destroys 9/10 of the original suns (long story) and there's a version where he and his wife Chang'e become immortal/gods, but there are so many different versions of the story that I decided against it. I also decided that I wanted him to be a Farm Boy™ and naming him after a god seemed a little strange imo.

Paul: Paolo FACUNDO LIWANAG

Culture: Filipino Loose Pronunciation: Pow-low FAK-OON-DO LEE-WAN-AG Personal name: Paolo, meaning "small" Surnames: FACUNDO meaning "talkative", LIWANAG meaning "light" Notes: A lot of Filipino names are Spanish or Italian with biblical roots because of colonization in the 1500s, so I wanted to keep his personal name semi-similar to his English name since it was already biblical. Honestly I could've left it as "Paul" but what's the fun in that? I'm not too sold on his surnames so they might change later and I may try to find a Tagalog name instead for his personal name, we'll see.

Marko: YANG Vam Meej

Culture: White Hmong, from Laos Loose Pronunciation: YANG Va Mae Clan name: YANG, associated with the ram and bear Personal name: Vam Meej, meaning "to prosper, succeed" Notes: Hmong names in particular are a Struggle for me since most of the Hmong people I know are second generation like me and either don't really know their personal names or we're not close enough for me to ask. I am familiar with the concept of clan names though. Marko's name is definitely subject to change in the future (I might pick a clan name more associated with birds just for fun who knows).

Dwayne: Khemkhaeng LUANG

Culture: Thai Loose Pronunciation: Kehm-key-ng LOO-ANG Personal name: Khemkhaeng, meaning "strong" Old personal name: Kasem, meaning "happiness, pure joy" Surname: LUANG, meaning "royal, venerable" Notes: It's common for Thai people to change their names after something either significant or bad happens to them, hence Kasem. I'm only making note of it to alleviate confusion in the event that I decide to do some stuff regarding backstories, no one will refer to him as Kasem otherwise. Also, surnames are still relatively new to Thailand and they were only introduced in the 20th century, so Dwayne gets a shorter surname in comparison to modern Thai surnames (which are required to be unique, hence the longer modern surnames) since I have him and the other boys being born in the 1880s.

Star: Ruchika Chawla

Culture: Indian Loose Pronunciation: Roo-chee-ka Chow-la Personal name: Ruchika, meaning "shining, beautiful, desirous, brilliance" Surname: Chawla, meaning "rice" Notes: I found the name Ruchika and immediately thought of Star ngl, I didn't even consider other names for her. It was like love at first sight. I think a lot of stuff with Star just clicked when I was doing research for her name and design, it just suited her so well. I did have her surname written down wrong in my personal notes so I'm glad I didn't post her character sheet immediately lmao

Laddie: Nino HALILI DEL ROSARIO

Culture: Filipino Loose Pronunciation: Nee-no HA-LEE-LEE DAY ROSE-ARI-O Personal name: Nino, meaning "little boy" Surname: HALILI meaning "successor", DEL ROSARIO meaing "of the rosary" Notes: I went so back and forth on his surnames it's not even funny, but I think I'm happier with Laddie's surnames in comparison to Paul's. "Nino" felt really obvious and clicked really well just like Star's name did, though I did consider a few other names that I don't have written down anywhere. Nino was just superior because he's simply a little guy.

Michael: EMERSON Manh Tien

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: EMERSON Man Tee-en Surname: EMERSON, inherited from white father Middle name: Manh, meaning "first-born" Personal name: Tien, meaning "fairy, celestial being" Notes: I'll be honest, the main contibuting factor behind Michael's personal name was how he was almost named "Moonbeam" during his mom's hippie phase. I have this idea where their dad was white and insisted on using exclusively their English names, and Michael wouldn't initially like his personal name because it feels girly to him anyway, but he'd grow to cherish his name and culture after meeting the lost boys <3

Sam: EMERSON Trong Binh

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: EMERSON Ch-ung Bin Surname: EMERSON, inherited by white father Middle name: Trong, meaning "second-born" Personal name: Binh, meaning "peaceful" Notes: I think overall for the Emerson family I was most concerned with meanings, which wasn't necessarily the case for the boys. Sam is the most peaceful in the sense that he discouraged the Frog brothers from killing Marko, even though he failed. Like Michael, I think his personal name is something that he grows into when he starts making friends, but would use his English name when first coming to Santa Carla.

Lucy: VINH Lan Huong

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: VIN Surname: VINH, meaning "glory" Middle name: Lan, meaning "orchid" Personal name: Huong, meaning "pink rose" Notes: Naming Lucy after flowers just felt right. Let it be known that I have serious beef with hippies, but I feel like she still had a well-intentioned hippie phase and this just adds to it. In Vietnamese culture, women don't change their surnames after marriage (as far as I'm aware) which I think would be a contributing factor in her divorce with her white all-American husband.

Grandpa: VINH Mac Dieu

Culture: Vietnamese Loose Pronunciation: VIN Mac Dee-oo Surname: VINH, meaning "glory" Middle name: Mac, meaning "nothing, nonexistent" Personal name: Dieu, meaning "mysterious, subtle" Notes: Grandpa! Needed! A! Name! He doesn't have one in the original! I'm basically saying he's not subtle about his knowledge of vampires and he's not trying to be subtle, it's just that no one ever asked. I think I tried to pick older-sounding names for him but it's been a little while since I picked these and I don't remember if I'm honest.

Edgar: Kaeru Matsuo

Culture: Japanese Loose Pronunciation: Keh-roo Mat-soo-oh Surname: Kaeru, meaning "frog" Personal name: Matsuo, meaning "pine tree, life" Notes: I named the Frog brothers after the famous Japanese poet Matsuo Basho because their English names remind me of Edgar Allan Poe, so I thought it'd be kind of funny. Matsuo is the surname of the poet, but I felt that Matsuo suited Edgar more than Alan. The surname I picked for the Frogs was obvious, I don't think anything else other than some variation of "frog" would've worked.

Alan: Kaeru Basho

Culture: Japanese Loose Pronunciation: Keh-roo Ba-show Surname: Kaeru, meaning "frog" Personal name: Basho, meaning "banana tree" Notes: Alan got the pen name of Matsuo Basho, who also went by "Sobo" and "Tose". I debated on giving him Matsuo's true given name, which is Kinsaku meaning "to be happy" but Matsuo Basho is better known as Basho and it's much funnier for this very serious 15-16 year old to be named "banana tree".

Sorry if the formatting is weird, I'm trying to make it as reader friendly as possible on account of my own dyslexia. Please let me know if the blocks of text blend in with each other too much lmao

[onewhoturns]

A-Z Challenge GAME 4

A game is done. B game is short. C is getting voted on now, but I also have far too many options for this one.

(Seriously, this started with 9 options) (...I'm just a very indecisive person okay. ><)

As always, more info about the game options below the cut, including blurbs, tags, and trailers. DOTO I played once and will eventually play again, whether as part of this challenge or not, it's just a matter of getting around to it.

1. Dark Nights With Poe and Munro (2020)

"Guide local radio hosts Poe and Munro through six TV-like episodes of supernatural strangeness and sizzling on-screen chemistry. From the creators of The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective." Steam tags: choose your own adventure, fmv, detective, interactive fiction, multiple endings, point & click, dark comedy, horror, romance

2. Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today (2015)

"A dying reality, a universe that’s fading away. A merciless world thatgets sick and vanishes. No past, no present, no future; only the impending moment of “dead synchronicity” ahead. Will you be able to stop it?Because, otherwise… what will you do when Time dissolves itself?" Steam tags: adventure, point & click, indie, post-apocalyptic, story rich, atmospheric, mystery, horror

3. Detention (2017)

"Detention is an atmospheric horror game set in 1960s Taiwan under martial law. Incorporated religious elements based in Taiwanese/Chinese culture and mythology, the game provided players with unique graphics and gaming experience." Steam tags: horror, indie, psychological horror, atmospheric, puzzle, story rich, adventure, drama, dark, point & click

4. DIVINATION (2019)

""What if you're born into this world without your permission?" DIVINATION is a very short visual novel where you act as a fortune teller in a futuristic world. Talk and listen to people's stories, then foresee their future using the runes they had drawn." Steam tags: visual novel, cyberpunk, short, philosophical, experimental, point & click, noir, text-based, story rich, choices matter, sci-fi

5. Dry Drowning (2019)

"Dry Drowning is a psychological investigative visual novel set in a futuristic dystopian city. Follow the story of Mordred Foley, unscrupulous private detective haunted by his dark past, and look into a series of macabre serial killings inspired by Greek mythology." Steam tags: futuristic, adventure, visual novel, mystery, sci-fi, noir, horror, investigation, psychological, thriller, puzzle

6. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) (I have 17/30 achievements after 30hrs of play, hltb estimates an average 17hrs completionist so obviously I play slow lmao)

"Be a badass supernatural assassin and take on the role of notorious Billie Lurk as she reunites with her mentor Daud in order to pull off the greatest assassination ever conceived. Building upon Dishonored® 2’s signature gameplay and art style, Death of the Outsider features all the series hallmarks, including brutal combat systems, unique level design, and immersive storytelling that responds to your every choice." Steam tags: stealth, action, first-person, female protagonist, assassin, steampunk, atmospheric, story rich

[hellkeepers-if]

Random thought.. you are probably used to these from Me.. sorry 🙈

But your post made me really think about how excited I am to get into the IF. I love learning about different cultures as I come from a verryyy diverse African country. We really are a mix mash of everything and everyone. And I have both Korean and Japanese friends so I know like the barest of basic knowledge but I think both cultures are equally beautiful.

I am however obsessed with boths fantasy genres. More so any anime that's Yōkai related is like a treat to me.

So my question finally lol is how much is the culture gonna be present in the story? Or is gonna be more focused on a mix of myths from all over?

And will you touch on cultural pressures too? Cuz again african child here unrealistic pressure to be successful and also have a family from random aunties is real here too 🤣

Also would be happy to learn more about other asian cultures and their own creatures that scare lil kids. I don't know much about Taiwanese or Filipino cultures at all.

Haha no worries, I love answering questions!

A large portion of Hellkeepers will be based in the chinese underworld, so chinese mythology will take center stage in the worldbuilding.

However, I am also Southeast-Asian, and a Singaporean raised by Malaysian Chinese folks. Southeast-Asians are already underrepresented in fantasy, be in it culture or it's people. I would be remissed if I could not write about them in a story that's so fitting for it.

There will be the opportunity to learn about other asian cultures in the story, be it through the RO's, mythological folktales, and other spoilery stuff I can't quite mention yet 😜

The overarching theme of Hellkeepers is about family, hence you will definitely get to see the influence of an MC that is raised in an asian household 😂

[comehomet0myheart]

Just finished American Born Chinese and I knew it would be different from the graphic novel and I honestly respect the changes they made, however... I find it really funny that Gene Leun Yang was like "yeah we can't put this on tv". Which is fair! The graphic novel is A Lot. It seems so oversaid, but I remember feeling so raw and a little uncomfortable when I first read it. The show and the novel have the same overarching themes of racial otherness and insecurity but while the show has it as a thread they build with literally Jin's school life and metaphorically with the fantastical mythological plotline, the novel leaves it right out there for you to stare in the face. Like in the show, Jin is obviously out of sorts with his Taiwanese identity and faces a lot of microaggressions in his day-to-day life, but in the graphic novel he escapes his Chinese identity altogether. I don't think it's fair to say that the show completely sanitizes the themes, but for better or for worse it is much more easy for people to swallow!

[blackhornedarts]

Umi And Mazu (Gods Are Real) WIP 2

Mazu, and her human from my comic.

[dialogues-across-centuries]

Thank you @becomingapoet for tagging me. 🙏 I've never done anything like this, so it should be fun! 😊

1. Are you named after anyone?

I'm named after two people, actually – my first name is my dad's (Tim/Timothy), and my middle name is my grandfather's (Michael).

2. When was the last time you cried?

Twice this morning. 😆 I'm a super watery person, so it doesn't take a whole lot to move me emotionally lol.

3. Do you have kids?

Not of my own (in the biological sense), but I do have a 12-year-old stepson who lives with my partner and I half the time, and his dad the other half. There aren't really any words I can say that will do him justice, but he's a wonderful guy, and we have a great relationship. He's helped me grow as a person more than pretty much anyone I've ever met.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Not in the traditional sense. My partner and I have a few semi-sarcastic inside jokes between us, but they're really quite light-hearted and silly — they're never at anyone's expense or anything like that. (I'm also on the autism spectrum, so I'm admittedly not very good at detecting sarcasm lol. Sometimes I even have to ask her whether she's joking about something or not.)

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

I notice different things about people at different times/in different situations, but one of the most common is how they treat others.

6. What’s your eye color?

My eyes are brown, but they also appear green at times.

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

I am a definite lover of happy endings, but I'm also a great lover of the macabre, so that's a tough one. I would say my natural preference for peaceful resolution comes out on top, though.

8. Any special talents?

Other than poetry, I'm pretty good at divination, especially via Tarot, astrology, geomancy, and dream interpretation.

Bonus secret talent — I used to be a decent rapper in my late teens/early 20s, which, in all honesty, is where I got my start in poetry.

9. Where were you born?

I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, but I've lived in Niagara Falls for pretty much all my life, other than two brief periods in Toronto and Hamilton.

10. What are your hobbies?

As an autistic person, my "hobbies" are more like all-encompassing obsessions that I can neither live nor function without. 😆

That being said, I spend a great deal of time studying and practicing esoteric traditions like alchemy, astrology, Kabbalah/Qabalah, Tarot, & ritual magic — and my partner Julia and I also do a lot of teaching in this realm through a blog we run called Spiral Sea Tarot.

I also love studying a number of different world religions, comparative mythology, psychology, philosophy, art, & literature.

I am also a great lover of Chinese/Taiwanese tea and tea culture. I'm especially fond of puerh — a post-fermented tea that undergoes a gradual transformation over several years from a vibrant, yellowish brew to a complex, earthy red.

11. Do you have any pets?

We have a highly-strung, but always lovable muted tortie cat named Maeby.

12. What sports do/have you played?

Mostly baseball, but I've played a bit of hockey, football, and volleyball as well.

13. How tall are you?

6'1"

14. Favorite subject in school?

English and Psychology

15. Dream job?

I'd love for my partner and I to be able to do our work together on a larger scale, and in more of a full-time capacity than life currently allows. You can't really beat doing what you love with the person you love doing it with!

I haven't been here long enough to get to know anyone yet, so I tag anyone who is reading this. Thanks for your time! 🙏

[jack-bytez-genuine-corner]

In earnest I think gamers and people who engage with any art in general are just unwilling to try new things, so I'm going to do a quick recommendation list under the cut of indie games so many people probably overlooked due to it not being in THEIR preferred genre. Games aren't necessarily less fun at all, you just have to actually look now that you're an adult and not a kid who can play whatever and have fun. Even small things like thinking on the game can enhance the experience, like how I spent a lot of Elden Ring just looking around and admiring the scenery which was very fun honestly.

* Nine Sols: A relatively hard, parry based side scroller that combines scifi and ancient Chinese and Taiwanese mythology. Known secret but I'm a bit of a history and mythology buff so this game scratches a lot of itches. In particular the gameplay is very smooth and fair, with the reaction based parries feeling very natural after a bit with the game alongside it, at least as far as I've played, not being super mandatory with many enemies and attacks being possible to dodge or parry rather than only being presented with one option. The story gets pretty existential and emotional but I've been loving the journey, even if the gore gets real strong at a few points.

* Crypt Custodian: A fairly light hearted comedy game mixed with a tinge of sadness wrapped up in an old school Zelda shell. The art and writing are both very memorable and there's a part in the first real cutscene that gave me quite a good chuckle. Like most really well designed games you aren't pigeonholed into very set gameplay and fights which makes exploration very fun.

* Hi-Fi Rush: My game of the year last year. It's a very fun, hectic beat em up where everything moves to the beat, from you to the attacks. The best part is the inclusion of an easy mode in case you just want a chill ride. It introduced me to a couple great songs and I really resonated with its whole "It's OK to be a loser" message.

* Conscript: Final and obligatory horror game. This top down Resident Evil styled game is beyond lovely at bringing a retro feel to the horrors of trench warfare. Not to spoil like the other games, it has a strong opening with how your French protag both doesn't want to be in war but is forced to by his country and sense of duty to protect his brother and get them both out of the trenches alive.

* Bonus freebie is Werewolf Cleaner: A Street stealth janitorial game starring a cute werewolf. It's free, fun, cute and very tongue and cheek.

[shahananasrin-blog]

[ad_1] Taiwan revealed the island’s first domestically built submarine on Thursday, a major breakthrough in its defense capabilities as tensions with China continue to rise.Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen unveiled the submarine, named Hai Kun after a fish in Chinese mythology called kun, saying that "history will forever remember this day.""In the past, a domestic-made submarine was considered impossible, but today a submarine designed and built by our countrymen is in front of you," she said at the launch ceremony."Building a submarine is the concrete realization of our resolution to protect our country," Tsai continued. "Submarines are an important piece of equipment for the Taiwan navy to develop asymmetric combat power in terms of strategy and tactics."ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO GOVERNORS SEEK STRONGER BUSINESS TIES WITH TAIWAN The submarine, if successful in its tests, will be a major breakthrough for Taiwan in shipbuilding and design. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)Taiwan's CSBC Corp. led the construction of the submarine, which underwent seven years of design and construction.The U.S. has been pushing Taiwan to develop asymmetric warfare strategies by investing in smaller and lighter weapons such as the reduced-size submarine. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, center, during the naming and launching ceremony of domestically-made submarines at CSBC Corp's shipyards in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)The submarine will be launched at a port in Kaohsiung, where it will begin tests before heading into the ocean. If all the tests are successful, the submarine will be given to the island's military.China's Defense Ministry responded Thursday to the submarine’s unveiling, saying that Taiwan was "heading down the path of its own destruction." Taiwan's first-ever domestically-made submarine is named ''Haikun,'' or Narwhal. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)CHINA OFFERS TAIWAN PROMISES OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES WHILE RAMPING UP MILITARY DRILLS NEAR THE ISLAND"No matter how many weapons the Democratic Progressive Party buys, it will not obstruct the greater trend of reunification with the motherland," said Col. Wu Qian, a spokesperson in China's Ministry of National Defense.Beijing’s recent military exercises near Tawain have ratcheted tensions between the two governments.CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLast week, China flew 103 warplanes near and over the island in a 24-hour period in what the island’s defense ministry called a recent new high. A day later, an additional 55 PLA aircraft were detected near the island by Taiwan’s R.O.C. Armed Forces.Fox News' Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report. [ad_2]

[two-sapphics-reading]

Review: A Magic Steeped in Poison 🎀

Warning: Spoilers below, so proceed with caution!

Cover Art by Sija Hong

Final Score: ⭑⭑⭑✬✩ (3.5/5 Stars)

"I used to look at my hands with pride. Now, all I can think is, These are the hands that buried my mother."

WOW, what a way to open your debut novel. Not only did it immediately draw me in, but it also set up the emotional, familial stakes A Magic Steeped in Poison, by Judy I. Lin, offers. The novel follows Ning, a skilled yet inexperienced shénnóng-shi (a powerful magic user that channels their sorcery through the art of tea-brewing), as she desperately attempts to save her sister, Shu, from dying as a result of poison-laced tea that she unknowingly brewed. Furthermore, this tea killed the girls' mother, making Ning extremely guilt-ridden and frantic. Hence, when the call for a nationwide competition to become a court-appointed shénnóng-shi for the Princess of Dàxi, Ning leaps at the opportunity, falling into a world of political intrigue, corruption, magic, folklore, and old Gods.

While the plot structure is typical YA fare (even being distinctly reminiscent of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone - a young girl goes to a city of wonder to learn about and train her new powers and gets wrapped up in political drama), Lin's prose gives it a different flavor, crafting Ning's internal strife and the opulent capital of Jia beautifully with well-placed descriptions and word choice all steeped in Chinese and Taiwanese folklore, history, and tradition. She even has glossaries in the endnotes to codify her linguistics, which satisfied my history-lover self.

However, these already astonishing elements pale compared to the passion she imbues into depicting the magic of the tea ceremony created by a shénnóng-shi. There is something so distinctly beautiful in how Lin chooses to blend emotion with mythology within these sections, and the magic has such a unique, quiet power. Rather than being explosive, this power is intimate and ancient, shared across a table rather than a battlefield. It's a refreshing retool of what supernatural powers can look like and were my favorite sections of the novel.

One thing to note is that Lin's pace can feel unforgiving, often rushing from one plot element to another. This is especially true at the beginning, where I was thrown from the inciting incident to arriving in the capitol 6 concise chapters later. I barely knew the names I needed to know, the vibes of the characters, and what the world was like. This made getting into the book more difficult. I often felt like I missed a memo about this world's general "rules" and then discovered that they would be explained later. It was definitely confusing. I hope that now that I have the general gist, the ladder half of the duology, A Venom Dark and Sweet, will suffer less from this.

I enjoy how much effort Lin places in creating dynamic femme friendships/relationships. Despite not being together for much of the novel, Ning and Shu are close through vignettes of the past provided by Ning. Ning also finds trust in Lian, another competitor, and Stewardess Yang, the jaded head of the Imperial Kitchen. These relationships feel genuine and vital and are often directly related to plot sequences.

Speaking of relationships, that is one of the main reasons this book struggled in spots for me. Kang, the male lead and love interest, is a fine character with intriguing enough struggles between choosing one's country and one's family, but he's a bore romantically. Like many other male YA love interests, he's got a sarcastic vocabulary, a mysterious past, and a lot of knowledge he probably shouldn't have, which is evidently in contrast to Ning's more naive, green, and stubborn disposition. However, while set up to be typical, their chemistry feels oddly paced. I believe they only met about 3 times before kissing? And of those, two times were much more about lore than their interest in each other. So while time was spent in page count, it needed to be utilized better plotwise. It felt like they liked each other because the plot needed them to like each other. After all, YA books always have romance. And although Ning and Kang are separated by circumstance and pining again by the novel's end, a longer, more slow-burn relationship would have served them better. I would have just been more interested in the payoff, that's for certain.

However, conversely, THERE ARE SAPPHICS. I REPEAT. THERE ARE SAPPHICS. While Lin makes it clear that Dàxi is a queer-friendly country (a male side character mentions his husband at one point), Princess Zhen and her bodyguard Ruyi were a surprising treat mid-way through. Raised together since birth, Ruyi was trained to always serve her sovereign while Zhen was meant to merely ignore her, but somewhere along the way, they ended up falling for each other. They are fiercely protective of each other, will call each other their beloved, and Zhen regularly goes against royal protocol to keep Ruyi safe and alive. It's all adorable, and I couldn't help but think I would KILL for their prequel book. However, I'm hopeful for more sapphic content in A Venom Dark and Sweet, as Zhen and Ruyi flee Jia with Ning.

Overall, A Magic Steeped in Poison is a fun, quick read that, while needing more pages to ease the reader in and taking overused tropes and structures to build the plotline's base, effectively utilizes folklore and beautiful prose to elevate the reading experience and engage the reader. When working within these original elements, it is most potent and impactful, creating a sensory experience that extends beyond the page. Additionally, Lin works well to make meaningful femme friendships/relationships if struggling with the central romance (mainly due to her reliance on those tropes mentioned above). I hope Lin will lean into these more original aspects in the sequel. Nevertheless, she should be incredibly proud that this is her debut novel, as she has exceptional skill and potential. I'm excited to see how she grows through both A Venom Dark and Sweet and her future work.

I'd suggest A Magic Steeped in Poison for a beach read or, obviously, with a cup of tea.