#and a lot of people get their first hanfu there

[fouryearsofshades]

regional hanfu styles?

i've always wondered if hanfu ever varied from region to region? what i've seen so far on hanfu makes it look like everyone wore the same styles across china but that seems so strange since most of chinese culture is very regional. so are there region specific hanfu styles or is hanfu really that general?

Hi!

It totally did historically. The further away a region from the centre of fashion (e.g. the capital) was, the more behind the fashion the region was. Usually the distinctions could be found in embroidery style, cut, length etc. I read that sometimes it could be a couple decades behind, especially in times of unrest and wars. A more recent example could be seen in Chinese diaspora in the late Qing, e.g. a Vancouver Chinese tend to dress in an older style then like say, Shanghai. Also last year a local hanfu tailor shop was submitted to a weibo tea account because it is too pricey for its old-school out-of-fashion products. (They do occasionally have some more "up-to-date" hanfu.) On the other hand, sometimes the royals would want to keep a look of "plain and simple", like in Ming dynasty, the fashion inside the Imperial Palace was lagging behind. When the clothing length and sleeves sizes increased in the South (Jiangnan area), the clothing inside the palace was kept shorter and fitter.

Modernly, since a lot of hanfu community is online, the distinction isn't as obvious, especially when most people buy hanfu online. There are distinction in materials and layering mostly due to the local climate, e.g. Guangzhou residents (in the south of China) might still be wearing a thin ao, while people in Beijing will have worn layers of wool, fur or dawn. Sometimes local communities of hanfu-ers would have a certain styles (either because there is a popular fashion icon in the group or they tend to bulk purchase from the same shop), but I usually can't tell them apart unless I am familiar with said group.

[otaku553]

I am making an AU that is Sooooo self indulgent

ASL x Nine Sols crossover :)

Don’t ask me for context because I have none!! Usually I enjoy crossovers but I think Nine Sols is an amazing standalone piece of media that is very difficult to fit other characters into reasonably given the setting and circumstances. I feel like trying to add characters from other media to it would take away from the narrative strengths of the game— the way everything is centric on the Tao and fighting by deflecting and inaction and how death is such a key part of Yi’s journey and character development and the path for all solarians in general.

In short, I just wanted to see ASL as little cat people and that is why this exists :) I like when they’re just Here and There with no reason and people are like “what. How did you even get here”

I am at present also working on hanfu designs for the three of them so this is a little teaser :))) I’m especially proud of some of the little details— on Sabo’s sleeves are the characters 革命 for 革命軍, the revolutionary army, and the dragon on his robe also has three horns to match the revolutionary flag. Then on Ace’s glasses on his hat, the characters are 笑 and 哭 in place of his usual smiley and sad face. I had some ideas for Luffy but in the interest of keeping his design simple his design is a lot more plain.

I imagine it as a side quest for Yi to go around New Kunlun and help the brothers find each other. I have no clue how they would have gotten into New Kunlun in the first place, or how they would survive for so long without Vital Sanctums and soulscapes. Maybe they just have their own spaceship and happened upon New Kunlun and managed to get on before all Dusk Guardians disappeared, and then got separated while on the ship and individually hid around different places to avoid both the Tianhuo and the mutants?

I feel like Ace would chill around the factory area since he’s most at home with fire. Maybe he would venture out to the agricultural area once in a while to grab food. Sabo would camp out near the Empyrean District passages. He’s not suicidal enough to go around the Empyrean District itself, especially after finding out that the weird monsters there don’t die. I think he would have some grudge against the Tiandao Council for being composed mostly of the rich and powerful. The Fengs are especially high up on his shit list, which is why he hangs out in the empyrean district in the first place. And Luffy,,, somehow would just be in the four seasons pavilion, I think. He finds a way to sneak in, probably pretty easily while Yi is in hiding because the security is down without Abacus activated.

[mtkay13]

Wen Kexing!! My focus here was to channel his coolness even through warm colors, and to get his... "essential vibes" through one picture. More (rambling) below! (this is essentially a post about WKX's personality)

A big case can be made about "who or what is the 'true' Wen Kexing". So; let's be real, I don't know if anyone makes a "big case" out of it, but I sure have seen people seemingly arguing against a vague 'common opinion' regarding Wen Kexing's personality. The """common""" opinion (allegedly): the true Wen Kexing is [insert one of WKX's facets] (or something along those lines) The case against it: all Wen Kexing's are the true Wen Kexing Now I do agree with the fact that "all Wen Kexing's" are Wen Kexing, technically. For clarity, let's list and name those various facets (most are commonly accepted, some I'll just name on the go): - Wen Kexing: I'll use his full name for the personality we're first met with in the book. Someone cold, rather quiet, analytical and distant. Giving off strange vibes in social situations (ZZS thinking he's weird, other jianghu figures being creeped out by him or thinking that he's up to no good), contemptuous - Philantropist Wen: The more extravagant, (bullshit) storyteller, outrageous and shameless flirting enthusiast version of WKX. - Valley Master Wen: cold, calculating, quiet, cruel, unbelievably patient, dislikes fun and games, barely feels anything - Wife Wen: The over the top dramatic wife whose life is made difficult by his difficult and shameless husband, essentially a lot of roleplaying the good littol domestic wife and whatnot - The wooden man: similar as Valley Master but demure and apparently subservient? (for calculated purposes) Okay they could be more I guess, but the point is, we have an array of WKX personas and personalities and the actual consensus (I think, my sample is like 10 people so....) is that every one of those is "true" to WKX and that not one of them is a fully constructed persona. Now, while I agree, I guess that what I wonder is: what is WKX in his resting state? If nothing is happening and that he's not in a particularly social or specific situation, what do we get to see? I think that the answer mostly resides in extra 4, which is an INCREDIBLE retelling of TYK from WKX's perspective; someone who thinks quite a lot, and for long, someone who observes things with distance and little to no emotion. Someone who is used to having one goal (revenge, taking care of ZZS during his coma), and who will probably go through a lot of quiet thinking when finally faced with the void of not having one specific thing to aim for. Someone who will have to learn to find joy/happiness, and who probably doesn't... get there "naturally"? (and by that I mean, without ZZS or without directly following ZZS around). Someone whose ties to his own emotions have been severed a long time ago, I guess. Someone still quite contemptuous of many things and people and who has a whole life he didn't plan for or even consider ahead of him. Which is............ what I tried to draw............ here..................... (That and also I wanted to draw a pretty looking hanfu in sepia colors) (but I SWEAR that was not the main goal) (I think) (anyway please ignore me)

[junipernight]

I redesigned Yangchen's outfit!

... I actually designed a lot of outfits for her, because I am Extremely Normal about these books, and also I like costume design and learning about historical clothing.

Short disclaimer: These fantasy clothes aren't culturally or historically accurate, just historically and culturally influenced. I don't have any expertise in East or Central Asian culture or clothing, I've just been clicking around on the internet a lot the last two weeks learning things because that's my idea of fun lol. If you wanted to talk to people who actually know things you should check out @atlaculture or like @ziseviolet, both of whom's blogs I referenced while drawing.

I only designed two alternates for the outer robes. The first is based loosely off the robes Buddhist monks wear (loosely, because drawing draped fabric is hard ^^') especially the Tibetan zhen robe. This garment is just a long wide rectangle of cloth which can be draped across the body in lots of ways (versatility ftw!).

The other garment I drew is a Chuba, a traditional garment from Tibet and the Himalayas. It's a robe, but it highkey reminds me of kilts and hoodies, in that it a) can be worn over one or both shoulders or just as a skirt and b) it makes a giant pocket over the stomach. The long sleeves can be folded up or tied back btw.

I spent the most time on the middle layer, because I was thinking it has to be something she could comfortably fight in while also being suitable for diplomatic meetings, meditating, espionage, and possibly sleeping.

And like. You can fight and hike and whatnot in loose skirts, but it's annoying how twisted up they can get while sleeping. ALSO, YC does a lot of flying and leaping, so my girl needs pants. My faves are definitely the Xiaolin monk pants and the yellow wrap pants Aang wears. I tried dhoti (Indian wrap pants) because that kind of looks like what the giant statue of Yangchen meditating might be wearing, but I think it looks odd paired with a highwaisted shirt instead of a long tunic. Maybe I'll do some more drawings with her in a tunic and dhoti or a monk's dhonka and shemdap later, idk.

As any good historical fashion nerd knows, foundational garments are everything (◡‿◡✿).

But also, there's a scene where Yangchen and Kavik pretend to be lovers, and are "discovered" by a maid sleeping in the same room, with Yangchen in a state of partial undress (gasp!)

I am living for this fake drama; I need to know how scandalized the maid was lmao.

When the maid walks in, Yangchen immediately wraps herself in a bedsheet before ushering the maid back out the door. Maybe all she did was take off her outer robe... but why would she need to wrap herself in a sheet if she was wearing a long-sleeved high-necked gown? I got the sense from both the book and cursory research about buddhist monks that walking around without your outer robes was socially acceptable, at least in casual settings. I think it more likely she was in her underclothes, which historically (in the west anyway) would also double as sleeping clothes.

"The Aang" is censored because this is Tumblr-dot-com. Its mostly a joke, but also, I know other countries are less uptight about bººbies, so like, maybe it's a valid option ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The ~Water Tribe~ look is based off Sokka's swimwear and not Katara's, mostly because chest binding seems antithetical to airbending.

All the other undergarment designs are based on hanfu neiyi, because that's what I could find reference photos and romanized names for.

I'm tired of typing now. Lemme know if you have questions about something, or want me to post a larger version of a specific outfit. I am open to feedback and tentatively open to requests.

[weirdsht]

Disillusioned 20 . Overdue

a/n: OMFG AFTER 20 CHAPTERS I FINALLY FOUND WHAT FACE MASK I WAS ENVISIONING, apparently it's called a face veil. the one I specifically had in mind is a hanfu face veil

also  while writing this I had to reread the novel because I wanted to use the exact lines Alberu said, and holy sht does it get funnier every time I read it

tags: possessive/overprotective cale, fluff, attempt at comedy

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

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“Let’s use this opportunity to reveal _____’s existence.”

“Pardon me but I literally just got here…”

_____ was taken aback by the crown prince inside Cale’s room. Not necessarily by his presence as Raon had already informed the healer through telepathy, hence the extra tea, but rather at his words.

“We’re already going to give the people a lot of surprises before the program starts why not maximise it?”

The healer listened to Cale as they poured everyone a cup of tea. In the corner of their eyes, they can see Raon offering them a piece of cookie.

“Yes, I also can’t hold off the nobles wishing to investigate Medicus-nim any longer. At every meeting, they insist on knowing the mysterious healer who’s always by our beloved commander’s side.”

All three adults know what the nobles really want is to pry the healer away from the commander’s side but no one said it out loud.

“So _____ is also very popular! Good for you kindest _____!”

_____ accepted the cookie the young dragon was offering before talking.

“I deeply apologize for the trouble I have caused. I know you’re already busy blocking off the churches because of Mary-nim.”

Sip

The healer took a small sip of tea before continuing.

“If everyone agrees that it’s time for me to make my presence known again then I shall abide.”

Raon held another cookie on _____’s lips despite the healer already holding one. Giving in to the child’s wishes, _____ took a bite of the cookie.

“Then it’s settled. I shall officially announce that you are alive and well. I shall also officially announce that you will be inheriting half of the Perduellio’s assets.”

The Medicus looked down for a moment to see the young dragon playing with their discarded face veil. Raon is trying to wear _____’s veil but can’t quite tie the strings at the back.

“Wouldn’t doing that get the crown some backlash? I am still a Perduellio even though I do not share their blood.”

“They won’t. No one will even dare have a passing thought that you’re involved in their crimes once they hear how they discarded you.”

Cale motioned over to Raon as he spoke. Once the dragon was in front of him, he tied the strings of the veil that reminded the redhead of the Chinese traditional dramas he used to watch back in high school.

Thump

Thump

Thump

Finally, things sunken in on _____. As they they did the healer felt a sense of nervousness. Unsure if they will be able to handle such responsibility.

Cale who noticed the healer’s hands tremble ever so slightly grabbed them. Holding hands seems to be the new norm for the two.

“I’m not sure if I’ll do a good job but I promise to do my best.”

“Since that’s settled, let’s go back to our previous topic. As I was saying, I need to borrow Choi Han and you.”

Alberu ignored the two showing affection despite not being romantically involved and instead focused on feeding Raon more sweets.

_____ took that as a sign to go back to their bedroom. The commander and healer duo reluctantly let go of each other’s hands and the crown prince kept pretending his blind.

Two days later, at the centre of Huiss, both nobles and normal citizens of the Roan Kingdom gathered to watch the award ceremony and celebration.

“I’m sure everybody is shocked at my sudden announcement of my instructor.”

It’s true, no one had expected Choi Han to come in together with the crown prince, much less be announced that the youngest swordmaster is his highness’ instructor.

“However!”

The healer took it as a sign to stand up.

“There is still one more surprise.”

_____ could feel and hear the nobles whispering amongst themselves. Scared of what’s to come.

“Everyone knows about this one particular healer, the one who’s always by Commander Cale’s side. Surely everyone is curious as to who could that be.”

At that moment Choi Han assisted _____ towards the platform where he and Alberu are. This made everyone even more intrigued as the swordmaster looked like a knight escorting a noble.

The healer muttered a thanks towards Choi Han before stepping to be beside Alberu.

“However, you all them better than you think you do. Young master _____ could you do the honours?”

Both the hall and the plaza are filled with murmurs and questions. Everyone is asking one another if they heard the crown prince correctly.

“How could this be real? Isn’t the Medicus dead for two years?”

“But they never presented a body…”

“Well, how could they retrieve a body that died in the Dessert of Death.”

To quell the masses' growing questions, _____ finally pulled down their hood and removed the face veil they were wearing.

Questions and doubts turned into exclamations of celebration.

“It’s Medicus-nim…”

“Our Medicus-nim is safe!”

“All this time Medicus-nim has been helping defend our kingdom!”

These are some of the comments that can be heard throughout the plaza.

Meanwhile, the nobles in the hall are just as shocked but are more composed about it. However, it’s still noisy as everyone is murmuring amongst themselves.

Alberu raised his hand indicating silence as he still had more to say.

“Young master _____, most of you may know them as Roan Kingdom’s Medicus. Two years ago we received the devastating news that they have died but that was not the case.”

Alberu steps forward for dramatic effect.

“Today the truth shall be revealed! What really happened was that young master _____ found out about Perduellio’s wrongdoings. However, before they could report to me directly what they found out their family threw them in the Dessert of Death. Luckily the Dark Elves found the young master in time.”

Gasp could be heard throughout.

For the citizens that wrongdoing was the announced fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement done by the family. The nobles and those with a strong network of information, know it’s most likely pertaining to the human trafficking case that happened in the Gyerre Territory.

“It is essentially thanks to the young master that we found out about the Perduellio’s true nature. Even after what happened to them, they still looked after our kingdom.”

Half a lie of a story, but who would dare try to verify it? In addition to that, how would they verify it when the Perduellios are within Cale and Alberu’s clutches?

“As of today the title and territory of the Perduellio’s shall belong to young master _____. Along with this comes half of the assets they used to own.”

The nobles waited for more, scared of the power the Medicus was about to hold. Surely that can’t be it. Not only does the healer have great contributions during the war, but they have also essentially reported traitors within the kingdom.

At that moment, Alberu gave the spotlight to _____.

“When his highness the crown prince came and talked to me, he had offered to give me more rewards for my contributions during the war. However…”

Soft and gentle voice that everyone missed listening to can be heard. This made everyone silent so they could tune in better, especially the citizens. This is essentially the first time _____ is making a public statement.

“I refused it. I may have not known before what my adoptive family was doing, but I still unknowingly helped fund it. For that, I deeply apologize to the citizens of my beloved kingdom.”

_____ bowed deeply as an apology.

There’s no way for the healer to know, but at that moment protests could be heard in the plaza. People are saying things like “they should have accepted the rewards as they deserve it” and “there’s no way they could have known, Medicus-nim is also a victim”.

“As a further apology for the Perduellio’s misdemeanours, I promise everyone that I will further help the citizens of our kingdom by doubling the charity events I used to do in the past. I also promise to straighten out the Perduellio territory.”

‘And do my best to provide some land where the Dark Elves can live.’

_____’s voice was soft but stern. Everyone can see the determination in the healer’s eyes. 

Ever since _____ has heard from Cale about how Alberu is planning to give them Perduellio’s territory, the healer has set their mind on providing a land where the Dark Elves could live. The healer is aware that with how things are right now, Alberu can’t give them a separate land himself. So _____ took it upon themself to provide them with land to help normalize their existence and help the crown prince award them their land faster.

After _____’s proclamation, Alberu took over again and the healer went back to where they were seated before. As they did they put their hood and veil back up. There honestly wasn’t a need to do so.

However…

“Cale, I am truly, very proud of you.”

There it is.

“I am very happy to have such a precious younger brother like you”

It took every fibre of _____’s being to not laugh. 

The reason why the healer pulled their hood and veil back up is so that no one would be able to see them laugh. While watching the theatrics Alberu is doing _____ remembered the private conversation they had the night before where they talked about how dramatic Alberu should be for this moment.

‘This is more fun than I thought.’

It was after dinner, the entire Henituse family might eat their dinners separately but that doesn’t stop Cale, _____, and the kids from eating together. Eating almost every meal together had been their norm for a year, being in the Henituse castle is not going to change that.

The healer opened the door to their room that was placed just beside Cale. As they did the first thing they see is a quarter Dark Elf reading the novel they had just finished reading.

“A man who got transported inside a novel as the empire’s hostage second male lead then promised to live a simple life so they won’t die for the male lead but ended up making both the male and female lead attached to him? This is interesting I might have to borrow this book from you so I can continue reading it later”

“I didn’t know the crown prince of our kingdom is also a professional in breaking and entering. You truly are a man of many talents.”

Alberu is leisurely sitting on one of _____’s couches while eating a cookie he bought himself. The healer closed the door and sat down in front of him.

“What brings your highness here?”

The crown prince already visited the other night, there’s essentially no reason for him to visit again. It also can’t be an emergency because if it was then he would be in Cale’s room.

“I’m here to talk about your rewards for your contribution during the war.”

_____ refused immediately.

“Your highness, I’m sorry but I must reject.”

The two started talking about the possible backlash if _____ receives too much. The healer also let Alberu know of their plan about letting the Dark Elves in their territory once they become a count.

None of them knew how but the topic gradually shifted to something more lighthearted.

“So you know how my dear dongsaeng has been giving me headaches right?”

The healer nodded.

“I want to pay him back for his efforts somehow.”

Without missing a beat _____ spoke up.

“Make the sworn brothers reveal dramatic your highness. Make it look like you are brothers that have been reunited after being apart for hundreds of years.”

“You really get me Medicus-nim! That’s exactly what I was planning to do.”

Alberu starts talking about the script he had in mind. As _____ hears more about it the more they could envision Cale having a sour look on his face.

The two conspired together to make a script that would make play directors run for their money with how dramatic and grand it is.

“Your highness after grabbing his hand I suggest looking moved while saying “There’s probably nobody in the world who is upright and has no greed like my younger brother” it’ll probably give your dongsaeng nightmares for at least a week.”

And so that’s where they are right now.

_____ had to cover their mouth with their hand. To others, it'll look like the healer was just deeply moved. But the sworn brother knows that the healer is fighting for their life to not laugh out loud.

“I am happy as well. Hyung-nim.”

The one-sided play put on by Alberu ended when Cale finally called the crown prince ‘hyung’ out loud. After that fiasco, the award ceremony finally started.

Mary and the Dark Elves just didn’t mention how pink _____’s face was from holding back laughter.

After the ceremony, the healer changed their outfit into something more fitting for a noble before going over to where Cale is.

“Hahahaha! Cale you should’ve seen your face. It was so funny.”

“You definitely planned that with the crown prince didn’t you?”

Cale is glad that _____ is more expressive and is more joyful now. He just doesn’t appreciate how the healer is currently laughing at him.

“Of course I did. I don’t think I would be able to hold it in if I didn’t know what’s going to happen in advance.”

“Just keep laughing. Let’s see who’ll get the last laugh once you choke on your dessert.”

“Hahahaha!”

No one can hear the conversation the two nobles are having. So in their eyes, it just looks like two good friends having a chat as they didn’t notice the slightly sour look on Cale’s face. 

Some might even speculate that something is going on between the two.

How could they not when there’s a blatant fondness in the young man’s eyes?

It honestly looks like his blasting his feelings for everyone to see.

The Henituse family calling over _____ to talk to them does not help the future rumours.

“It’s good that your territory is just right beside us. Remember to call us for anything you need help with.”

“If anyone mistreats you or questions your power tell us or Cale immediately.”

It also doesn’t help that Deruth and Violan are acting as if _____ is their child. The whole thing honestly screams ‘Not only am I being protected by this new dukedom, but I am also very much loved by them.’

That was why some nobles had the great idea of trying to approach the newly named Count while they were eyeing the sweets selection. Since they couldn’t approach Cale they switched their targets to _____.

Not only are they acquainted with the Henituse Duchy, but they are also reputable themself. Their power is unstable opening an opportunity for other nobles to help them, and they have a gentle personality. There’s a lot to gain by forming a relationship with someone like that.

So two nobles set their eyes on _____.

However, before they can even try to speak an overwhelming presence makes itself known. The aura of this person is so strong that it feels suffocating.

“I told you to come to me after talking to my parents.”

“But I saw this cake that looks good. I wanted to get it for us and Raon to taste.”

“Where is it? If it’s good let's ask Beacrox to make it.”

The two nobles tried approaching again once they saw the friendly atmosphere between the two. However, they stopped in their tracks once they saw the commander look at them directly in the eye. 

‘Wasn’t he just smiling at the healer a second ago??’

Cale who made his Dominating Aura slightly stronger looked back at _____ who was none the wiser.

“Let’s go Raon is waiting for us on the terrace.”

“Ah right! I have to let him taste this, let’s go.”

With that, the two nobles lost their chance to even glance at _____.

“I’m sorry… I wanted to join you this time too.”

Once again the commander and healer duo are talking. Unlike their conversation earlier, this one is more serious. More private.

“Don’t worry about it, there's more than enough of us to finish the task.”

As usual, their hands naturally found their way towards each other. Cale squeezed _____’s hand to further show that it really is okay.

In that moment it was just the two of them in their own bubble. Nothing else mattered; not Raon stashing away desserts, not the nobles partying back there, not even White Star watching from the live feed in the plaza.

Just the two of them in their own world. Reassuring each other that everything will be alright.

[jesncin]

adding onto the conversation about Xanthe Zhou's outfit...

as another chinese-american, I see a lot of clothing that claims to be "inspired" but all it does is make western clothes in silk brocade or remake the same red qipao or tangzhuang people wear in old kung fu movies.

it's frustrating to see only those takes on traditional clothes when there are so many things to choose from! chinese history is expansive, to put it lightly, and even us ABCs have access to a range of traditional clothing.

my specific issue with Xanthe's is that, to me, it's just a reskinned version of Mulan's casual clothes in Wreck-It Ralph 2 (from 2018, while I'm p sure Xanthe debuted in 2023).

technically they have an undershirt with the mandarin collar, but it feels like almost an afterthought. it doesn't even differentiate itself with the slanted neck opening that goes to the side (idk what to call it, examples below from an article on hakka clothing)

the writer, Alyssa Wong, is chinese-american (as is one of the editors), and the penciler, Haining, is taiwanese, but that doesn't automatically make their work un-critiquable representation.

I don't doubt that it resonates with some people - my issue is that it's an incredibly safe design, one that doesn't introduce anything new to western audiences. the clothes they wear while hero-ing can be anything, and that's what the creative team chose?

I have other feelings about the fact that they chose to make Xanthe have spiritual powers, which feels like it is not helping the "Chinese people are a mystical kung fu people" stereotype in the US, (especially given how few chinese-americans are given their own comic run at dc), but I digress.

Yes to all of this!! I get why people like Xanthe's fashion as a character design, but in terms of creative innovation and a design that informs a character's narrative,,,Xanthe's clothes look more like an easy way to cosplay the character over anything else :I like you said, we've got this after-thought yellow mandarin collar and a bomber jacket with motif on it. It's giving "clunky way of combining traditional and modern". I even made the Wreck It Ralph Mulan outfit comparison too because it really isn't new!! It's such a mainstream safe look that Disney put Mulan in it. Not even a hanfu for Xanthe? Aiyah

Indeed! Spirit World has an majority-asian team of creatives and hey it's cool to see an entire creative team with their names written out in hanzi in the credits but that doesn't guarantee an infallible piece of fiction free of criticism. Including the representation. Especially when it comes to inter-community critique, we're more than allowed to be critical of the creative choices on display.

Exactly!! "Safe" is the key word when describing Xanthe and Spirit World. Like it's not outwardly horrible and offensive design (or story), but it's also not saying anything either other than bland "cool". Xanthe's in generic jeans for H'ronmeer's sake. The most fashion-safe statement of all time. For your non-binary Chinese character? Come on. Even Cass got a better outfit in Spirit World >_>

I agree on the whole Spiritual powers thing actually! If they're pairing Xanthe with Johnstantine, I wish they pulled more from Vertigo Hellblazer's approach to the occult and spiritualism. My friends here are practicing shamans, and I think having a Hellblazer approach to the stuff they go through would be so neat. But instead we got. Fighting spirits and demons in fantasy-spirit land with a giant sword spectacle. Like part of why I find the giant sword exhaustively trite is because it's just a signifier for folks to see a cool anime-looking weapon and see how it works in Hollywood-fu fight scenes. It has no deep storytelling purpose other than to look cool. Spectacle seems to topple the grounded reality of Chinese spiritualism here.

Generally I feel like Xanthe suffers the "Superhero first, secret identity second" problem- where the creatives were so focused on what would make a cool superhero that they let the interiors of Xanthe's life and culture fall by the wayside. We don't get to know how Xanthe came to terms with their culture as a Chinese American, or how that intersects with being non-binary. Or even how they choose to express that with the clothes they wear. Just look at the cool fight scenes.

[eternalmarvel]

MK1 BI-HAN X READER ~ feint ~

an: no wayy almost close to 100 notes in just a day of posting my first work in so long thanks so much everyone 🫶 in honour of this ill be posting a short drabble (lets see how long this really is after im done writing) anyways this work is inspired by THIS tiktok linked below vvv !! if u don't watch it u won't understand what prompted this fic so highly advise u watch this before u read

note: bi-han and reader are married in this story

also guys this story WILL be having bespectacled bi-han bc u can NOT tell me that man does not wear reading glasses when he gets older. i can totally see his vision getting worse and him having to begrudgingly resort to glasses to read documents and books .... i included a rough image of what that looks like (dont come for me im not an editor)

it was not often that you saw your husband battered from kombat. most days when he went out to spar or fight, there's be a few bruises and scratches here and there sure, but nothing that was so severe that you had to sit down and tend to his wounds. even if he did get injured, most of the time he patched himself up before you could lay eyes on him. it was a bright fall day at the lin kuei stronghold, with most of the ombre-braised leaves littering the ground of the courtyard. you had taken over as a mentor at the lin kuei, focusing on the academics of each initiate's journey to becoming a ninja (though it took a lot of convincing your dear old husband before he ever agreed to let you onboard).

~~

"c'mon, bi-han. you can't just train the initiates physically. they gotta be trained mentally too! you can't possibly think the only problems people face are the ones in front of them -- it's the ones that are in their heads that they gotta defeat too."

bi-han propped himself up against the headboard of your marital bed, his hair messy around his head with his feet outstretched in a relaxed manner (which was much too rare for the grandmaster). he had his reading glasses on and a lounge hanfu wrapped loosely around his body, skimming some documents. rather than entertaining your antics, he ignored you and continued to read the ledger in front of him. you groaned sheepishly, prompting bi-han to look up at you with a hint of annoyance, as you plopped yourself right beside him.

"it's a good idea and you know it.....you just won't admit it..," you playfully pouted. bi-han continued to skim through his document as he gently ran his fingers through your hair and your scalp, prompting a deep sigh from you.

"not a sustainable idea, (name)." you quickly got up and faced him, determined to make a point. "i can make it sustainable! you have to give me a chance to prove it though."

bi-han closed his reading and you could now see the glasses perched up on the plateau of his nose. he was older now and his cryomancy did no favours for his vision -- as he increased his use of snow, his vision degraded. it was you that gave him the nudge to rectify his vision but he didn't budge, said that his vision was fine. it took getting suckerpunched by a VERY apologetic initiate at close-range for him to finally realize that his vision was nowhere where it used to be and if he wanted to retain his position as grandmaster, changes were going to have to be made. you made sure to help pick out his glasses, choosing the frames and lens meticulously and helping him put them on. you could hardly control ur salivation looking at him try on reading glasses that made him look all sophisticated and scholarly. after much pushback, you both decided on a subtle and sleek pair that wouldn't garner too much foreign attention (spoiler alert: it absolutely did). the first few days that bi-han wore the glasses, everyone found it hard to pry their eyes away from him. tomas had to stifle his giggles out of fear that bi-han would strangle him, kuai couldn't help but tease him everytime he laid eyes on his glasses, and the younger initates mistakenly (accidentally? who knows) referred to him as "dad."

bi-han leans forward, his hair clinging to his face, leaning for a kiss but you put your hand between the two of yours' lips as a barrier.

"you get nothing unless you agree to my idea, grandmaster."

bi-han leaned back against the headboard, faced towards you. he took a few brief moments to speak before giving you a soft small smile and gazing at you cautiously with his mellow brown eyes.

"if that is what my wife wishes," he whispers lowly.

~~

you had given most of the initates a set of books that they were to have studied by the end of the year. this prompted a bunch of groans and boos from some of the students, seeing that they wanted to get to the 'ninja' side of things rather than slowly well-rounding all their skills. no one dared to personally say anything to you though, considering you were the grandmaster's wife and any complaint directed at you would be personally dealt with by the grandmaster himself (and it would not go well for the complainant).

you drew out an elaborate web of themes and concepts on the board in front of you.

"alright students, which one of you would like to tell me what this represents. how can we use it practically in our routine?," you say, pointing to one of the themes on the board. the room was pitch silent and you could hear a few yawns here and there.

"come on guys. i'm not doing this for myself, i'm doing this to help you guys out. the quicker you guys can answer this, the quicker we can get out of here," you say matter-of-factly. before you can continue on with your lesson, you hear people arguing and yelling outside. 2 of the initiates at the back of the room pry open the training room's doors ajar so they could take a look and listen to what was going on outside, but you didn't entertain this at all. yelling, fighting, whatever it may be, it was a stronghold, of course it would be common.

"hey. there is nothing going on outside that you need to be familiar with more than what we have in here. pay attention to the lesson please!" you exclaimed with an exasperated expression. the initiates nodded their head and let out a meager "sorry ma'am" for their inconvenience.

"now, everyone. as i was saying, wh-" before you could finish your sentence, the doors to the training room were thrown open. you could probably punch a whole through the wall with all the anger you were feeling. who the hell decided this time that it was a good idea to interrupt you?

"(name), ma'am, the grandmaster is injured and i think you should take a look at him," one of the initiates breathlessly whispers. it's clear that he ran all this way to get your attention.

"what?! oh my god......is his condition stable right now? is he doing okay? where is he?" you exclaimed.

the initiate gestured you to follow him and you agreed.

"alright students, just a mere diversion but by the time i get back, you all better be done the next chapter because i'm gonna grill you on it!" you proclaimed as you zoomed down the stronghold's corridors. when you finally made it to the room bi-han was in, you walked in to see kuai, tomas, sektor, and cyrax crowded by his bed in the infirmary.

"bi-han...." you whispered quietly as your eyes went wide. your husband was laying in the bed, resting like a mummy. bandages curtained his chest, arms, and forehead. his face was stressed -- he was asleep and yet a frown graced his face indicating that he was conscious but unaware of his surroundings. your first instinct was to push past sektor and sit down beside bi-han on the chair. kuai had intentionally left the seat empty so that you could comfort bi-han.

"how the hell did this happen kuai?" you asked, furiously. kuai grimaced at your expression.

"don't blame this on me, (name). he's your husband. you know he takes too much on himself and then ends up all injured."

you looked at the physician who had just finished cleaning up your husband's wounds in desperation, wondering what the hell even happened.

"he's alright. i've patched up any severe wounds and stuck him to an IV. you'll have to nurse him for the next few days though." the bespectacled physician prompted, pushing his glasses to the ridge of his nose.

you chuckled, putting your hands on your bandaged husband's chest, caressing him. "nurse him? what is he, a baby? you said he should be fine."

the physician prepares for a response before bi-han stirs awake. you smile at him as you await him to fully regain consciousness.

"huh....who is....wha..." bi-han murmurs as his eyes adjust to the natural lighting of the infimary.

"bi-han....you're awake! i'm glad." you smile brightly, as your hands move up and down his treated chest. bi-han glances between your hands on his upper body and you, before letting out a loud groan and plopping his head back on his pillow.

"don't."

you look at him confused. "what?"

"i have a wife......she'll kill you if she finds out you've laid your hands on me," he says sternly with his hoarse voice.

you get up from your seat and lean in closer to him with a big smile shone across your face, a light blush spread across your cheeks. you found it adorable that even in such a horrible condition, your husband was loyal to you and you only. kuai looks confused at bi-han, wondering if dementia has caught up to him after all these years while tomas lets out a small chuckle at what his grandmaster was saying knowing that bi-han is too weak to really do or say anything to him.

"i am your wife, my love."

bi-han looks back at you with a neutral expression on his face and you can see his face shift into surprise, then pure flush. you stand there beautifully over him with the hair moved from your face, your scent lingering over him. there is a perfect mix of concern and amusement engraved into your expression, much to bi-han's arousal. a heavy blush creeps onto his face, unlike one you've seen before, and the monitor regulating his heartbeats goes off the charts. it's evident that bi-han's heartrate has boosted EXPONENTIALLY.

"well i'll be damned. our grandmaster might just have a crush on someone." cyrax states. you and the rest of the ninjas turn around and look to cyrax, chuckling but bi-han's gaze remains on you. it's almost as though he is in awe that he married someone like you.

"clear the room," you demand authoritatively. the ninjas and the physician bow their head and comply with your demand, leaving you and your husband alone in the emptiness of the infirmary.

"do you need more heat? are you doing okay my love?" you ask as you get closer to your husband. he looks at you carefully before speaking again.

"perhaps....a little more heat." you smile and obey, grabbing a few candles from the cupboard in the corner of the room and bringing it closer to him. bi-han props himself up against his pillow and disregards everything you're doing just to stare at you. it puts a bit of pressure on you and you get nervous. even if he was on litres of morphine, he was still a LITTLE intimidating. he grabs your forearm gently and starts to bring you close.

"i meant in perhaps a different manner....."

you entertain him.

"i'll let your wife know that you desire to engage in intimate relations with me," you smirk bringing yourself closer to him. he leans back and looks at you in pure confusion and a hint of disgust.

"but i t-"

you ignore his protests and put your lips on his, murmuring "joke, my love" into his mouth as he kisses you back passionately. the morphine was doing its job and bi-han was entranced by the passion. you could get used to your husband being all submissive like this for you for a while now.

[valentine-cafe]

˖⁺. ﹙ the grim reaper mother. ﹚:  yuè mèng yáo 9948e .𖹭 ݁

. . . death eyes so warm !! 🍒 : “ so you can drag yourself through the pits of hell, and through the realms that boil your blood to poison, but the last thing you are going to do, is see me back down. i’ve stared death in the eyes and avoided it. give me whatever pain you have in store for me. you are not making me back down, ”

꒰ verse ꒱ 9948e

꒰ species ꒱ grim reaper

꒰ ethnicity ꒱ chinese

꒰ age ꒱ 139

꒰ gender ꒱ female

꒰ mbti ꒱ esfj

꒰ alias ꒱ daughter of death, deathly moonmaiden, madam zhào, descendant of the first moon.

꒰ story ꒱ 

a renowned and well respected high reaper who runs the yuè sanctuary for reapers — a rest and a place of praying to death for reapers who wander across the planes and the material realm. mèng yáo runs this all by herself as she is preparing her youngest child to become the eventual owner of the large temple.

while she tends to her family sanctuary, she also has to keep check on her deadbeat husband, to assure he is not being a nuisance to the servants and the rest of the inhabitants of the estate, all while trying to also look after her 5 kids.

while mèng yáo does face quite the wear and tear at times, she never allows it to tear her down. when she falls, she will get up once again and stand among her high reaper sisters with her head held up high.

 

꒰ appearance ꒱

deep dioxazine purple eyes, with slitted pupils, typically wears red makeup

long black hair that she often keeps in a pin-up style, often neatly tied back by a hairpin of opalite with miniscule purple gems 

tanned complexion, sharp facial features 

at the tall height of 6’6” ( 198cm ) and mostly comprised of lean muscle, however does also have some tummy rolls after 6 childbirths.

rows of sharp teeth, often wears deep red lipstick 

clawed nails often painted dark colours 

typically wears a lot of amethyst, gold and opalite jewellery. such as rings and necklaces 

standard lobe piercings extending long silver earrings studded with amethysts 

often wears long flowing hanfus of black silk and purple trimmings 

has a tattoo on her back, a large, black and dark purple dragon tattoo consisting of dioxazine roses swirling around the illustration

 

꒰ personality ꒱

strong-willed, mature, responsible, graceful and elegant — Mèng Yáo a leader at nature.

gentle and kindhearted. has a need to take care of those she loves and those who she sees are in need of the care and help.

soft-spoken and extremely empathetic and sympathetic, always doing her best to make sure people do not misinterpret her tone.

upholds herself with great dignity and is not quick to anger on the day-to-day.

more sociable than she seems, and is always up for a little bit of conversation over some tea, or whichever beverage you prefer.

do not let her mature and serene nature fool you either, the reaper is in fact still a young soul at heart at times; adventurous and curious in personality — looking at the world with inquisitive eyes.

tends to bottle up her negative emotions; specifically her own trauma and guilt. another aspect of her not extending her own kindness onto herself would be through her duties

overworks herself, something that is unfortunate considering that she is easily stressed.

 carries quite the impulsive tendencies within her soul. she can come off as impatient at times and is beyond stubborn as well.

 

꒰ with a lover ꒱

very gentle, always whispering endearments

leaves lingering touches whenever she walks by you, leaving you craving her. however her hands are all over you whenever she finds the time away from her duties as she misses you greatly

loves teasing you, riling you up with all of the small barely kisses and soft touches that she gives you

she especially loves your lips. adores tracing the curves and outlines of them before placing her own against them.

is more talkative and silly around you

loves stealing you away for night walks, the cold ones especially. her arms will always wrap around you and hold you close, so that she can warm you up while her face hides in your neck, her cold lips sometimes blowing raspberries against the warm skin of your neck to watch you try and jolt away from her.

generally takes you to one of the hills in the estate where the two of you can sit with blankets and tea so the both of you can cuddle and stargaze

dances you around the estate gardens whenever she can find the time

while it might not be common, she does have her moments of possessiveness

sometimes sits you down on her lap when she’s doing some admin lap, because she wishes to spend more time with you

can sometimes fuss over you because she wants to make sure that you are doing well. can also bleed into her being rather protective

 

꒰ strengths ꒱

multi soul-reaping: she has the ability to reap thousands of souls in one spot, unlike other reapers who can usually only carry an amount of 15 souls with them in one swing of a scythe.

teleportation by vapor: she has the ability to teleport around by vapor, which grants her easier access in getting to souls who are in tight spaces or simply getting around faster during work.

dark vapor production: she has the ability to produce an extremely dark vapor, so blinding that you aren’t sure if you are asleep or whether you were sent into a void. though to her, it is easy to navigate and move around in the dark.

hallucinative vapor production: she has the ability to produce a hallucinogenic vapor that messes with the person or enemy it is used on.

acrobatic fighting: she is extremely skilled in acrobatics and often cooperates them into self-defense. her movements are swift and graceful.

illusionary trickery: she deals with the domain of illusion and can create giant illusionary fields, veils and entire illusionary cities.

 

꒰ weaknesses ꒱

claustrophobia: fear of small or confined spaces.

daylight: as a nocturnal reaper, daylight and other bright sources of light can weaken her senses of sight as she is used to the darkness of the night.

d’akar: an anti-magic material that can greatly weaken her if she comes into contact with it.

extreme emotional attachment: while reapers may remind one of humans, they are not. they are beings with very empathetic instincts and have souls bigger than the average mortal being — a thing that has been with them since their creation. they become extremely attached to things they love and it may cause them to become erratic if enough they love is taken away from them.

fading: occurs when a reaper goes through immense hurt and pain. their physical form quite literally begins to disappear, making them appear transparent. it can be a very painful process, both emotionally and physically. until their physical form eventually fades away and their soul moves on to the afterlife

 

꒰ relationships ꒱

 zhào jìngyí: firstborn son, deceased

 zhào hàoyú: secondborn son

 zhào xīyáng: thirdborn son ( haitāo’s older twin )

 zhào haitāo: thirdborn son ( xīyáng’s younger twin )

 zhào yizé: fourthborn son

  zhào yŭ xī: fifthborn daughter/son/child

 zhào mùchén: ( DEADBEAT ) husband

 alessio agresta arias: would-have-been-son-in-law, raised him like her son

 lorenzo agresta arias: raised him like her son

 shimada takara: views as child

 shalika vaiysha: views as daughter

 vireshvar: views as son

  zhào talisen: son, another universe ( verse 781 )

 alessio arias: views him as son, different universe ( verse 781 )

 rishen herrera: views him as son, different universe ( verse 781 )

 

꒰ extra ꒱

she can speak chinese ( mandarin ). tried to learn spanish and italian, did not go well.

she is fluent in sign language.

she has a raven named dahlia.

has a habit of adopting depressed children.

[goneahead]

I got tagged by @demeter1111 back when wattieza forests were still a thing. sorry for being a disorganized noodle!

15 questions and 15 mutuals:

Were you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What's the first thing you notice about people? What's your eye colorScary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? What are your hobbies? Have any pets? What sports do you play/have played? How tall are you? Favorite subiect in school? Dream job?

KNIGHTS! NEW QUESTIONS! (obligatory obscure Monty Python reference)

What famous person, alive or dead, would you want beside you during a zombie apocalypse?

Hanibal of Carthage. He is super smart, a great fighter—and he comes with elephants. Lets be honest, elephants would be super cool in a zombie apocalypse. Especially zombie ones😁

If they made a movie about you, what would your theme song be?

since I’m a nomad, The Great Divide by National Park Radio😉

Which muppet character would you be willing to go on a date with?

Gonzo—as long as Gonzo sets up the date. Cuz you know Gonzo would set up a wild date😆

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

I was served whale blubber at a party once. Do NOT recommend🤢

What is the weirdest thing you still eat?

I really love peanut butter on my crepes😋

You can have any extinct or fantasy animal as a pet. What would you choose?

The enormous pteradactyl, Quetzalcoatlus. With a handy riding harness. And maybe some water ballons…😏

List a very boring fact about yourself.

I am an American mutt. My parents were from very different parts of the country, but all four of my grandparents came from families that settled in the U.S. in the timespan 1630–1730.

You are granted a wish to have any food you want—but the catch is you will have to eat it twice a day for the rest of your life. What do you choose?

**ponders** popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or freshly baked cookies or popcorn or—

You can choose any singer or band to play at your funeral. Who do you pick?

Nat King Cole. Everyone can roll up the rugs, and dance the night away!

What line of poetry or doggerel is forever stuck in your brain?

Charge of the Light Brigade: “Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell/Rode the six hundred.” I used to quote this at work, usually when we were getting overrun. For some reason, my bosses were never amused. Then again. they also didnt appreciate it when I would tell them ‘I would like to inform you that the barbarians are at the gates.”😂😂😂

You can bring back an item of clothing that has fallen out of style. What would it be?

We really need to bring back the clothing of the Han Chinese. Imagine if we could all walk around in loose, flowing comfortable clothes. Also, wearing hanfu means long flowing belts—which means we could turn all the cool stuff we currently put on our key chains into belt decorations. With tassles. Cuz modern clothing haz a serious lack of tassles. Just saying…

You are granted the gift of being a were creature. What animal would you choose to change into?

Definitely were-otter. Much scampering, much floating—and lots of fish. Also, I wouldnt have to worry about villagers and pitchforks, cuz seriously, who is gonna be scared of a were-otter?

What is the most useless fact you know?

The last person to collect a Civil War pension was Irene Triplett. She passed away in 2020. Also, in 1916 the U.S. Postal Service changed the rules, and you can no longer mail more than 200 pounds/90 kilos in a single day. Why? Some guy was building a bank in Utah and realized he could save on freight charges by just having the bricks mailed. Yes, ALL of the bricks😂😂😂

You are going to be locked, all alone, in a place for 24 hours. Which place do you choose?

Um, tie. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art or the Gilcrease Museum😍

What is the superpower you want and whats the superpower you DONT want?

Best superpower? Making quarters appear wherever I want. No, seriously. Think about how much fun you could have, in a super sneaky way. College kid walks by—put a few extra quarters in their pocket. Seniors sitting on a park bench—now there are handfuls of quarters in the bottom of their purses. Tip jar at the coffee shop—add another layer of quarters. Also easiest superhero name ever. Just stick a pencil behind your ear and call yourself ���Drawn and Quartered’🤣🤣🤣

The worst superpower? Anything to do with ice and snow. Nope nope nope!

ok tagging @distilled-prose @cowandcalf @teruel-a-witch @ellena-asg @wordrummager @torrentialmonsoon @sherrylephotography @ends-2-beginnings @itwoodbeprefect @alex-a-roman @mikefrawley @firstfullmoon @gracebriarwoodwrites @maureen2musings @stephmcx and cuz I changed the questions @demeter1111 also tagging @neil-gaiman cuz I know he wont answer, but I am super curious about his answer to question one😂😂😂

[sophierequests]

🌿 i talk in my sleep - send me your ideal idea of a first date and some facts about yourself (name/nickname, favourite pastry, favourite song, random fun facts etc.) and i'll ship you with a character and write a short drabble about them → please specify your sexuality, pronouns and whether the ship is supposed to be romantic or platonic!

Hi! I hope it's still the 14th where you are haha, but if it's passed the date, you can completely skip and delete this!! Ideal Idea of a First Date - Definitely attending a festival or carnival of some sorts! I love strolling around to see different carts and markets and the music and performance!! And ending the day with a fireworks show of some sort! Nickname - On here, my friends call me Oath! (but for the drabble you can just make it an 'x reader'! I don't mind ^_^) Favourite Pastry - I absolute LOVE cookies, especially chocolate chip and when it's soft baked, the best kind uwu Favourite Song - About Time (feat. Kelsey Kuan & prettyhappy) Random Fun Fact - I am pretty introverted when I first meet people, but once I feel comfortable and safe with someone, I open up and become a very energetic and talkative person, especially if it comes to topics I like or the person likes, I love listening to people's interests and have them sharing it with me Sexuality and Pronouns - I am a straight hetero woman, I go by she/her but I don't mind they/them pronouns as well! I would like it to be a romantic drabble please! (And fluff if you don't mind XD) Thank you in advance, I love your work, and I hope you have an amazing day! Take care ^_^

shipping people with grishaverse characters // the garden event

don't worry, you were just in time!

i don't think anyone's surprised by who i'm shipping you with

since we never really heard much about shu han in the books, i took the mid-autumn/mooncake festival as inspiration for this! (it's only very loosely based on it and i don't mention the history, so if you're interested in the festivities, please look them up, it's so interesting to read about!!)

“I cannot believe that the one time Nikolai is dragging us off to Shu Han is also one of the days when the whole country chooses to abandon their houses and fill up the streets,” you mumbled, more to yourself than to anyone else.

Tolya only chuckled in response, a few loose strands of hair falling lazily onto his forehead. Both of you wore a somewhat traditional robe that Nikolai had gotten all of you to blend into the crowds, but only Tamar and Tolya really managed to pull it off. You still had to admit that the fabrics looked more than stunning, especially in the warm red light emitting from all the paper lanterns around you.

“We should be glad that Nikolai didn’t intend on going through with that plan of his today.” He whispered back, almost having to lean down towards you so that you could hear. “We wouldn’t have a chance getting through the streets without causing some sort of commotion.”

“At least something,” you chuckled. “As frustrating as our favourite privateer’s planning skills are, I’m still excited to see what this whole festival is about.”

He raised his brows in amusement. “Have you never heard about the Moon Festival?”

“Tolya, I grew up in Ravka and spent my entire life cooped up at the Little Palace, studying manuscripts older than that hag Baghra, do you really think I know what kind of celebrations the Shu have?”

“Oh dear, then I have a lot to show you.” With that, he grabbed hold of your arm and pulled you face-first into the crowd.

There was so much going on and you barely had time to catch a proper breath before the next impression was basically thrust upon you. 

First, he led you to what looked like a parade passing through the streets. People dressed in colourful hanfus and intricate costumes danced amidst the onlookers, laughing and singing songs that you had never heard before. A few of them held up a giant puppet of a bright green dragon, making it dance and writhe over their heads. It was a stunning display of colours and music alike, and you couldn’t help but gape at the performers as they walked past you.

“Dragon Dance,” he stated matter-of-factly. “It’s a tradition as old as time. They used to only do it during times of drought, because the dragons are associated with rain here, so they hoped that this dance would bring us a prosperous harvest.”

“It’s most definitely a stunning tradition.”

“You’d be surprised about how many stunning traditions the Shu have other than this.” He smiled, letting his eyes wander over the parade one last time before offering you a hand. “Are you hungry? I think I know something that you might like.”

This statement should remain to ring true. He took you to a less crowded market street, vibrant shops and huts lining the sides of the road nearly everywhere you looked. There were shops selling masks, fabrics and dresses, or all kinds of food. 

Tolya stopped in front of a bright red booth, offering something that looked to be tiny sweets. He called them mooncakes and went on a long, complex rant about how his sister always used to steal the best ones while he was left with the flavours that no one really liked. After he was done rambling, he bought a little box full of mooncakes and two cups of Kuei Hua Chen Chiew, also called osmanthus wine as he explained to you later.

For what felt like the hundredth time today, he pulled you away from the commotion and towards a little ledge that overlooked the lower parts of the city and quite a bit of the raging sea. The city was bathed in the red glow of the lanterns and flashing lights, competing against the heavy darkness that surrounded you. It was a strange, but beautiful sight to see. And it was made even more beautiful by the fact that you had someone to share it with.

[connisk]

(Fanfic that I really like by @kitsunefyuu )(strongly recommend)

Something about this mental image of AFO dressing izuku in fancy clothes, like very dear doll, just stuck with me. And I felt like drawing a few of the more feminine outfits since every one of them has some kind of meaning to the story.

The first more feminine outfit was the one izuku chose specifically when he tried to convince his father to let him go to UA.

"Dad, I want to go back to a real school and make actual friends," Izuku spoke bluntly. Trying his damn hardest to keep himself calm as he asks, and had even prepared himself with his dads favorite outfit. It was a traditional green Hanfu dress with flowers. More than aware it is for women, but it isn't as if it matters in a home where the only company he's allowed is his father.

Absolutely creepy, but in sweet way. As he doesn't care about what he supposed to be wearing and enjoys everything, but at the same time trying to persuade his father to what he wants with it.

The second outfit I drew was the black dress he wore when he accidentally met his childhood friend. And it escalated quickly to the worst

Maybe Izuku was desperate for some kind of recognition. To gather a fraction of the past that his father took him away from after all these years. That he dug far back to that nickname he hated even if didn’t want to say that name as Kacchan was about to leave, “How about Deku?”

Now that seemed to trigger something and a curiously amused expression showed on Bakugou’s face. The recognition sparked in his eyes as a loud hum escaped him.

“Oh yeah! Deku must explain why you look like a weird doll,” Katsuki said with amusement.

Izuku felt a stab in his chest at the other words.

This happened right after izuku ran away from his dinner with his father. Naturally he was wearing a dress. I can't find the exact quote but I remember it being described as dress with a ribbon. Maybe it was just my imagination, but izuku wearing a dress and looks like a doll, Plus kachan recognizing him by his old nickname just felt very symbolic. Like Deku will never be more than just a doll for others.

The last image, and the one I liked the most was izuku wearing his school uniform.

"Dad! Can you grab me my uniform!?"

(...)

Izuku doesn't even check what the man brought feeling pretty good right now. Though clearly, he was going to end up late so he just throws it on.

(...)

"Sorry he's just- Well he's excited I have a friend," Izuku noted only to realize Shoto was looking at him up and down. "What? Is something wrong?" Ugh, did he not put on enough makeup? Did he put the uniform on and mess up his hair? Izuku felt nervous at his friend's suddenly very critical gaze wondering if he needs to run back home to fix up-

"You look nice,"

(...)

Though when he arrived at the school Izuku felt like he was getting a LOT more looks than normal. To the point if he was honest he kind of felt almost anxious about it as while attention can be nice it felt more like they were weirded out. Wondering why that is the case, he worked hard on his appearance! Even Shoto said he looked nice, did he miss something? "Hey do I look weird?" Izuku questioned wondering why people were staring knowing his friend would be honest. Shoto glanced around a bit then back at him in confusion before a light bulb seemed to register. Those eyes light up as he finally decides to answer the question.

"Probably because you're wearing the girl uniform?" Shoto questioned. As if he hadn't just revealed the most horrifying thing Izuku could have done. The innocent way his best friend didn't even think to point out the uniform was for a girl.

The betrayal izuku felt. For his father it was simply a joke. For izuku it was world shattering. How he took izuku's trust and played with it.

Shoto, with his pure heart didn't question it.

I reason chose to give izuku white hair even when he supposed to still have his green is because he's under his father's manipulation. From the moment his mother died his father was everything to him and he was everything for hisashi.

And still, he plays with izuku's life like he's some kind of doll. Just because he doesn't see a problem with it. But for izuku it affects everything.

[sunriseverse]

finished the fourth episode of zmyx so you will, unfortunately, all be hearing my thoughts so far.

to start off, the show looks really good! the aesthetics are on point, the lighting and staging is good, and the costuming is lovely. it takes a minute to get going, and at first i assumed it was some sort of esports show a la qzgs, with the cgi wolves, but aside from that, there isn’t really an issue.

on the topic of costuming—i really enjoy the distinct aesthetics each character gets from the very start! ljs with a very casual, somewhat untidy appearance, and rbj/rnz (not sure if he’ll be using his novel canon name later or not, so i’ve added both for posterity) in hanfu that initially made me assume this was a transmigration into a period drama novel. i think rbj’s hanfu is a replacement for the novel canon crossdressing, since they can’t…….well, you know. (oh, crossdressing, you will be missed! more reason for me to actually read the novel.) but hey, as a hanfu enthusiast, i’m not complaining. would love to know how he knows how to use a sword, though.

as for characters—the chemistry between hjj (yes, the hjj, of reunion fame—i initially recognised him and then dismissed it, because surely not, yes? but no, dmbj is in everything) and rbj’s actor is very good! i wasn’t sure exactly what i would be getting, since it is a censored adaptation, but the two of them really click. rbj is, i think, going to be my favourite, because he has a bit of a sh!era wx feel about him—he’s smiling on the surface, but underneath that he is dangerous. i would also love to know what’s up with lqs’ hearing?? my first thought when it happened was “oh, local man experiences autism for the first time!” but it appears to actually just be a character trait, which is cool. lqs also feels a little like wx to me, but an early era wx, which is amusing, considering hjj’s dmbj role—he’s inexperienced, and sometimes reckless, but he does, actually, have a thought process behind what he does, even if it’s just that he wants to help someone.

in terms of how romantic it is—i’m only four episodes in, but—very. i would honestly put it up with shl in terms of how explicit it is? which is kind of amazing, and makes me assume they’ll cut a LOT before it gets rereleased. rbj calls lqs his wife out loud (after another character takes a stab at them and asks if lqs is rbj’s wife outside the door, but still), gives him a ring because “it’s something [i] wanted to give you outside the door” (probably plot relevant, but who cares), and they share a bed, canonically, onscreen (this one doesn’t have an explanation. there quite literally was only one bed). also, there’s just a lot of general Vibes, in the vein of “these two people immediately fall into synch around each other”. and rbj makes lqs carry him, multiple times.

the episodes are also all under twenty minutes so far, which is good, because there’s almost eighty episodes, and as a very busy person with an adult life, i could not fit this in any other way. closing notes are: very fun, can’t wait to see how the plot evolves, and, goddamnit, am i going to have to read another hundred-plus chapter novel????

overall, i am giving it……..8.75/10, with points detracted for the lack of onscreen crossdressing and so far lacking in cat appearances (lizi we love you). why, aiqiyi, why????

[badlydrawnarsenelupin]

what kind of hanfu would you envision lupin wearing :3c

// Hello anon, first of all: thanks for sending something so catered specifically towards me (designing useless alternative outfits for my blorbos). Second, I just want you to know that this was one of the most redraw-heavy, hair-pulling, triple-digit-layers experiences you've sent me on. Also lots of reading and research, which I am now going to make you read.

There's a lot of different styles of hanfu depending on the eras, the three main, popular styles these days are from the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties. There's more but you don't need to know about them here lol.

The ones I've drawn here aren't like.... super historically accurate but more of a mix of modern hanfu + Lupin-vibes for the✨aesthetics.✨

This is called Feiyu-fu/飞鱼服 from the Ming dynasty, which translates to 'flying-fish uniform' for its depiction of the Feiyu/飞鱼 in the embroidery. It's not actually a fish but a dragon-like creature, with wings and a fish-shaped tail (guess why it's called flying-fish lol). It's one of the more popular types you see in modern hanfu because it's just really elaborate and cool looking.

Speaking of elaborate, here's a closer look at my suffering!

Historically, Feiyu-fu was one of the type of clothing to be bestowed upon people by the emperor. There's like different tiers depending on the embroidery, the dragon or the Long/龙 is like exclusively for the emperor and then following that in order of tier are: Mang/蟒, Feiyu/飞鱼, Douniu/斗牛, Qilin/麒麟 etc. Those guys, unlike the Long has 4 or less claws instead of 5. If it's confusing, don't worry about it, they're basically different types of mythical "dragon-like" creatures.

There's a whole culture of gifting these specially embroidered clothes (from the imperial court to court officials, nobles, foreign royalty etc.) and it's pretty prestigious to get one. I found it fitting for Lupin since:

it's very lavish and opulent, also high-status

seems very much like the type of thing Lupin would somehow get his little thief hands on✨

unrelated but the two white stripes down the front on aren't a thing, I made it up for style + to add the lupine flowers on it (although they kind of look like wheat??? I tried my best ok)

Okok so fun fact, later in the Ming period, the Feiyu started to not be depicted with wings for some reason, and it became really really hard to differentiate it from the Mang, so some people just started wearing their Feiyu as a Mang... because it's a higher tier and second only to the emperor's Long-clothings. I just think that's funny and it reminds me of Lupin lmao.

Here's a more casual style with the Feiyu-yesa/曳撒 robes + a zhaojia/罩甲 on top!

So the flower here on the zhaojia is the plum blossom, or meihua. It's known as one of the four "gentleman-ly" flowers along with, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum (梅兰竹菊).

I thought the gentleman-ly theme was fitting for Lupin... although the four flowers' symbolism is more for strictly pure, noble and righteous characters.... That's ok, it's how Lupin thinks of himself anyways psh

Close-ups for the long-hair enjoyers. The little thing he's wearing is called fa-guan/发冠, it's basically a little crown-like thing that's used to hold up hair, sometimes coupled with a cloth/ribbon. The version on the right is a style very commonly seen in cdramas these days but it's historically-inaccurate... it looks cool though lol.

More details! These are called hebao/荷包 and they're basically little pouches to store things in, like money or handkerchiefs. They can also be used to carry fragrant herbs/perfume. They can also gifted from young women to men they like :^))))

For alternative hanfu styles, I think something like the modern Tang dynasty-inspired hanfu would fit Lupin as well... they're more flowy and with larger sleeves that you can hide stuff in... They look best in motion! An example from those videos of skateboarding hanfu guys.

Alright that's finally done! I'm going to go and pass out for the next 10 hours _(┐ 「ε:)_

[lilicohirukoma]

Ⅰ. ▕   C R O W N     P R I N C E S S     Z I U L A the daughter of Emperor Kuzco “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust

Crown Princess Ziula is 17 years old, her birthday is on May 6th. Ziula is a fun loving girl, priortizing her happiness over serious matters. Don’t get it wrong, she understands why they must be done but she rushes to get important things over with and then will throw a pool party in honor of how hard she worked. She is an extroverted girl who needs to feel appreciated in order to keep functioning. Stubborness is one of her main flaws, she just finds it very difficult to admit she was wrong about something and is not known for apologizing, verbally at least. She is a great dancer and used to be on the cheer team but had to quit because she kept doing her own thing instead of following choreography.

Ziula, believe it or not, is the current Student Council President of Pendragon High. She does a good job, especially talented in organizing and planning events. The more serious matters are entrusted to her vice-president, Su Huang. They are best friends which was started by them both being daughters of Emperors and they’ve evolved into a great duo of enthusiasm and professionalism. Their dads have also become friends through their daughters, family day is always a blast with all four of them together!

Her dad is Emperor Kuzco and her mother is Empress Malina, a famous journalist. She has a younger brother named Manu who is 5 years younger than her. Their dad insisted on being active in raising his children, not wanting to hand them over to caretakers like he was. She gets along great with both her parents, her brother is annoying but she does care for him and is a protective big sister. Summer vacations were spent with Pacha and his family, just like he taught Kuzco he made sure she was kind and considered other people’s feelings.

Ziula is on the short side at 5′2 but ignores this when she can, she’d rather parkour around the kitchen than ask anyone for help. She has long black hair and dark brown eyes. She influenced the school into having relaxed uniform rules, as long as you wear something red it’s counted as a uniform. For the students who don’t care much for fashion and/or appearance there is still the standard uniform they wear but not for Ziula! She is always seen in a red dress, sandals and lots of gold and teal jewelry.

Fun facts about Ziula are: she is left handed, she has a huge collection of Llama plushies and she despises physical touch.

The Exciting Adventures of Getting Lost

In hindsight it really wasn't a smart idea, two Crown Princesses who have never walked anywhere without being escorted going into the forest alone. It started when the school suggested a bonding activity for students, a forest hike! The Student Council was excited for this plan, Ziula and Su Huang immediately got to working on it. First, at the urging of Su Huang, they handled the logistics like: How many students? Which teacher will join? When and at what time? Then they got to the route, a map was given to them but the princesses didn't have a lot of experience with reading maps. They made the foolish decision of just quickly going to look through the forest to contextualize the map. ''Here's the entry to the forest, you have the map Su Huang?'' Ziula looked back at her best friend, who was in a gorgeous red hanfu and thus not dressed for the occassion. Ziula wasn't either, in a flowy red dress with sandals, exposing her legs and parts of her feet for all sorts of plants and sticks to poke at her skin. It'd be fine, they'd just take a little look around and they'll be back at school in no time. ''Yes I have it right here'' was said in Su Huang's usual calm tone. Heading their way in they just follow a path, they converse about student council stuff without looking at their surroundings and which way they were headed. After a short while they stopped at a small pond, Su Huang looked down at the map but couldn't place exactly where they were. Ziula felt deja vu coming on, of course she'd get lost in the forest just like her dad; Here's to hoping she wouldn't have to face any crocodiles or jaguars. Su Huang noticed her friends shift in demeanor and spoke up: ''If we stay calm we'll easily find our way back, panic is the cause of most accidents.'' She sounded just like her dad, Ziula thought. ''That's easy for you to say Su, your dad didn't torture you as a kid with the story of how he was lost in the forest, I had nightmares because of it!'' she sighed and started fidgeting with her fingers, ''of course my mom told him off about it but the harm was done.'' Su Huang was sitting on a tree trunk while thoroughly studying the map, biting her lip slightly when she felt her dress getting stuck to yet another tree branch. Ziula was pacing back and forth, mumbling about how her dad was never gonna let her live this down. ''We need to think about food distribution Su!'' holding her backpack she pulled all sorts of sugary sweets that she had no business carrying around. ''May I ask why you are carrying an entire candy store with you?'' Su Huang briefly looked up with a puzzled expression, her best friend evenly splitting it all down perfectly. ''I am always ready for survival! My dad prepared me! He said being hungry was the worst part and I'm not gonna start eating grass yet.'' she exclaimed while starting on a chocolate candy bar, laying on the ground which was uncomfortable with sticks cracking under the pressure. ''Do you think people have noticed our abscence yet?'' she whines from the ground, Su Huang looks down at her with mild amusement. ''I'm sure they have, I think it's best if we stay here.'' Truly, she just didn't feel like dragging her best friend around multiple miles in the forest. What they guessed roughly an hour had passed and no help seemed to arrive. ''That's it!'' Ziula got up, multliple plants and sticks which were stuck on her dramatically fell off. ''We are going to find our own way out!'' she proclaimed, grabbing her friends hand and hastily gathering their stuff. ''I know you're the mastermind of many awful ideas but this one I really doubt'' Su Huang tried to reclaim her hand but it might've well been handcuffed to Ziula. ''I know what I'm doing! I spent my summers with Pacha and his family, I'll figure it out!'' stubbornly she made her way down a randomly chosen path. Not wanting to get seperated Su Huang just accepted her fate and followed her friend. As they walked into the unknown suddenly a familiar voice was heard. ''Ziula hello!'' she turned her head and found one of the school's teachers Kronk standing there. ''Kronk! Help we are lost!'' Ziula blurted out, ''We are? I could've sworn I knew exactly where I was.'' Kronk said confused, looking around. ''Yeah no I'm pretty sure I know this place.'' The girls were relieved, they were covered in dirt and leaves but they were happy to see their trusted teacher. ''What are you doing in the forest sir?'' Su Huang was curious and had this strange feeling their mission was about to be obsolete. ''Well the school board is trying to organize a student bonding activity and I suggested a hike! So now I'm planning the route, would you two like to join the last bit?'' her suspicions were right, they did this all for nothing. Ziula's mouth was agape, staring at the tall man in shock. ''We... we... we DID THIS ALL FOR NOTHING?!'' she had enough and her friend had to hold her back from causing any further damage to herself. Kronk escorted the girls back to the school, which was a sight to see for all the students. The elegant Ziula and the graceful Su Huang looking like they fought bears to survive for months. A picture was snapped and quickly went viral online, it's now popularly used as a reaction image for when someone has gone through it. It reached both of their fathers, the Emperor of China was slightly amused, he thought this was a good lesson for Su Huang to have learned. Emperor Kuzco was less collected about it, laughing so hard he fell out of his throne. Just like Ziula suspected he would never let her live it down, now it's one of his favorite stories to tell people even though he wasn't even there. He exaggerates the story in ridiculous manner, Ziula had to fight a jaguar with her hands tied behind her back and Su Huang had tamed a crocodile and rode on its back to safety! No one of course believes him but it was his way of showing his love for his daughter.

And that’s a wrap folks! I had a lot of fun making more of Ziula and hope you had fun reading. Feel free to send me an ask with any questions about her! Shoutout to everyone who voted on the poll and special shoutout to @vicapuleti​, she always helps me with my characters and helped A LOT with this one

[welcometoteyvat]

xiangling / yanfei for 25 and 2

MY GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

prompts

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

xiangling: people sleep on how she gets the friendship of gods and immortals just by offering them her cooking. first guoba then xiao who’s next. is xianyun’s “coming down to the mortal world” 下凡 arc gonna be her mechanical cooking pots and xiangling having a cooking competition? place your bets now. I liked her spotlight in moonchase (her scenes w keqing, madame ping, and the food survey we did around liyue) that was incredibly cute <3 this is also really random but I like that she has a dad to whom we can talk in game, and who isn’t a shitty father

yanfei: how she fits into liyue's theme of adepti adjusting to a mortal world, and more broadly, the differences or similarities between the godly and the human. also the interesting parallels between her and ganyu. also her relationships! you can reasonably connect her to a lot of characters—the chasm gang, ganyu, ningguang, keqing, zhongli, eula, etc. and they’re all fun dynamics!! I think her relationships with her father and madame ping are neat, and the concept of signing a contract to live happily is an interesting one and it fits her storyline!! i like that she's a cool side character who presents an interesting continuation of liyue's themes <33333

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

xiangling: hard to remember but I thought her story quest was really random bc I accidentally triggered it and had no idea who she was. I also was peeved that I had to pass the abyss to get her bc my team was Not well built at that time lmao. now,,, i like her! she’s incredibly cool idk.i feel like she’s still written as just a passionate chef obsessed w food in game but i will give her character depth in my head because she’s sweet and deserves it

yanfei: "thank god I got her I finally have another pyro unit besides amber!!!!! i love you thanks for saving my life random character" <- my first reaction as a New Player pulling on the standard banner, sick and tired of baron bunny's cooldown. I didn't meet her in game until the teapot quest so for a while she was just there carrying my team even tho I didn’t know much about her. now I cherish her w all my heart as a little deer lawyer w hypercompetence and flavor :) hanfu skin when

[localplaguenurse]

What’s the whole gingko family doing in the modern era besides losing a piece of their sanity every they go into the museum

Okay it’s raw brain mode since I woke up not too long ago and I gotta get ready for work. Also for simplicity we’re gonna call it “lived to the modern era” because I have different ideas for an AU specifically set in the modern day. (Will I write it out? Depends on if prompted because otherwise it’s just gonna float around in my brain soup.) Also, wifey and Zhongli are keeping a low profile since he’s supposed to be dead, but the kids can be open about their identities.

Zhongli and wifey: Wifey is still doing art, but they have to be very careful about it. They have to pretend that instead of doing art for thousands of years that they actually come from a family of artists. I feel like Zhongli isn’t too picky what his job would be, my brain says historian, teacher, or maybe still funeral consultant. One thing’s for sure: they’re still married.

Yánjiāng: His love of cats has paid off and he now has a cat cafe. Is this a goofy idea? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. But people kept asking about him and cats so I gotta make a reference lmao. I’ve got a cold and am still tired, forgive me. The cats like to snuggle his tail after hours.

Lihua: A lot of modelling/fashion. I always imagine her wearing traditional and very ornately designed hanfu, so I also see her being one of those tiktokers/youtubers that critiques how period accurate costume designs in movies are.

Zhusha: A lot of pottery (better than whatever that thing in the museum is...). But like honestly I can see her doing a lot of art things and following in her mother’s footprints. Her preferred medium is sculpting. When she’s not designing/making statues, she’s running one of those pottery stores where you go in, pick a premade cup or bowl or whatever, and paint it. (I wanna go to one of those again soon...)

Yaling: So beta gave me the idea that she finds good high quality ore for mining. I think she still does that, however she’s become fascinated by those lab grown gems I hear about every once in a while. I feel like in the modern age she would also start looking into that. Granted she can literally just make crystals on her own but the people can’t, so y’know. Also hates Musk for all that shit about the emerald mine so it’s both “this is better for the environment/safety of the people plus oooo modern science” and “fuck that guy.”

Feng: Still does blacksmithing obviously but I feel like he’s also become like... this big himbo nerd. He makes regular blades and jewellery but sometimes he makes functional replicas of weapons and costume pieces from books and shows he likes. Yaling gives him shit for it whenever he asks for highly specific stones. “Nerd.” “Oh come on! So we can’t make fun of Yánjiāng for the cat cafe but we can pick on Feng for making a functional hat with hidden blades?” “First off, we do. Second, you stole that from that one jojo guy that kinda sounds like dad.” “... Shut up.”