#from the shen yun post

[yuri-alexseygaybitch]

Hot take but I think persecuting racist and homophobic right-wing cultists is Good, Actually

[ihavedonenothingright]

I am definitely not the first person to joke about how many Shens there are in danmei, but it does strike me as very funny that out of the Seven Seas line up, we currently have 4-5 protagonists/love interests with the surname "Shen." And then that sparked a question... just how many Shens are there in danmei?

So here is my request. If you have a danmei Shen not included on this list, please reblog or comment with his name and book. The only requirements are that he has to be one of the leads, and his surname has to be Shen*. Extra data, such as the character used for his name, is also welcome. It is worth acknowledging that sometimes it may be unclear whether or not a character should be counted as a Shen; in that case, I will put it to a vote. Once we have all the necessary data, we can create the first (at least to my knowledge) comprehensive database of Shens.

*submissions with the given or courtesy names Shen will get an honorary mention.

...

List of Known Shens (as of posting):

Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

Shen Qiao (Thousand Autumns)

Shen Zechuan (Ballad of Sword and Wine)

Shen Wei (Guardian)

Shen Yu (The Silent Concubine)

Honorary Mentions:

Fu Shen from Golden Terrace.

Potentially Contested Inclusions:

Gu Yun/Shen Shiliu (Stars of Chaos)

[web-novel-polls]

Favorite Disabled Web Novel Character Tournament

Last Checked: October 31st, 2024 - Please check the original post for updates

Submissions End: TBD

Rules

One character per submission

Submit as many times as you want

Must be from a web novel or an adaptation 

In-world disabilities that don't exist IRL (ex: a character unable to use magic in a world where everyone else/most people can) will be accepted as long as you think it qualifies as a disability

Mental & non-physical disabilities will also be accepted, including mental illnesses & neurodiversity

The WN doesn't explicitly have to mention they're disabled/their disability, but I don't want to include pure headcanons since this tournament is more about highlighting canon disability representation. Feel free to talk about any headcanons in the ask box though! I enjoy hearing y'all's thoughts :)

Tag: #disabled WN characters tournament

Submissions

Cui Buqu from Peerless

Submission: Chronic fatigue, vulnerability to illness, heart in the wrong spot. Basically generically chronically ill 

(The following is all from the Less Popular Danmei Character Tournament bc it’s really good propaganda lol)

Submission: He’s mean, he’s disabled and unapologetic about it, he’s a genius and all his braincells escape him when faced with his rival, he’s a secret agent and has no martial arts, he’s deeply in love and will never say so unless pushed, he will liken his rival to his sun and then tell him he’s the most annoying person he’s ever met. He’s a bastard little fox <3 

Additional Propaganda #1

Additional Propaganda #2

Fu Shen from Golden Terrace/Golden Stage

Submission 1: Fu Shen's leg is broken in battle. He has to use a brace and a wheelchair while he recovers.

Submission 2: 

Crippled legs/wheelchair bound for most of the novel  propaganda: The prologue of the novel is him basically suffering an assassination attempt which crippled his legs horribly when a bunch of rocks fall on him. Despite being wheelchair bound for most of the novel (he later gets these like leg exoskeleton support things but he can't wear them for more than a few hours or something and still has to use the wheelchair), he's still depicted as being just as badass and respected. His men still hold him in high regard, and he still goes around investigating shit and even once using a crossbow to take someone down. He also uses people underestimating him now that he's crippled to his advantage. His love interest is also incredibly sweet and remodels his whole estate to be wheelchair accessible right before he moves in after they're married. 

Carrd/Image Link

Gu Mang from Remnants of Filth / Yuwu

Submission: He's missing some of his souls, which renders him intellectually disabled and amnesiac.

Wiki Link

Gu Yun from Sha Po Lang 

Submission: He's half-deaf and half-blind, but still a badass.

Wiki Link

Hua Cheng from Heaven Official’s Blessing 

Submission: Blind in one eye and uses his magical butterflies as a disability aid to help him see!

Jing Weiyi from The Imperial Uncle

Submission: Jing Weiyi's leg was broken when he fell off a horse when he was young. Afterwards, he walked with a limp for many years. 

Ji Yushi from Mist [Unlimited]

Submission: Hyperthymesia... Basically, he can remember almost everything, and while that helps some in the scenarios of the novel, it also has a huge detrimental effect on him, and he needs pills to calm his mind and such. I'm not sure if it really counts as a disability, especially since there are less than a hundred people with this in real life, but I think it should count for this tournament since it's neurodivergence and such. 

Kim Kiryeo from The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

Submission: Kiryeo has a badly healed leg injury which makes it difficult for him to walk and impossible to run, lungs damaged by smoking that heavily limit his physical ability, lung cancer that causes him to cough up blood occasionally and a severe depression to the point of memory loss. He couldn't receive treatment for his leg and cancer due to the lack of money and in the end gave up on it and started to smoke to cope.

Mae Yakbing from Best Teacher Baek

Submission: She has a rare chronic illiness that causes her to get sick often, grow weak over time and die young.

Mu Tianchi (Jing Wang) from The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

Submission: Jing Wang is mute.

Shen Qiao from Thousand Autumns

Disability: Blind

Shen Qingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission: Chronic illness. SQQ is poisoned by a fictional poison literally named “without a cure.” In universe his condition is treated much like a chronic illness that requires constant monitoring and maintenance (medication, check-ups and regular qi infusions) in order to keep in check. Even when he adheres to his treatment regime, it still has unpredictable flare-ups that could put him in serious danger if they happen at the wrong time. The flare-ups (which happen randomly and vary in length unless he receives medical aid) completely block his ability to use qi thus making in-universe actions that are normal/habitual for most his peers (such as flying) much more risky for him. 

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF)

Submission: Ends up with a broken arm and leg that is not healed

Song Qingshi from Mistakenly Saving the Villain

Submission: 

ALS before he transmigrated (hopefully this counts, it's big part of his character as a doctor and he thinks about it a lot, and he even gets panicky in his new body when his limbs go numb!!) It's also not explicitly said but he's very autistic coded and canonically has a hard time understanding metaphors, communicating with other people/understanding others emotions, and when he's reading about medicine or doing experiments he hyperfixates and doesn't do anything else for the entire day. When he's with others he gets so anxious he ends up putting on a stern face, so people think he's scary when he's internally panicking 

Wiki Link

Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Wei Wuxian has trauma responses to several things, in particular dogs and the sparky sparky spirit whip. There's no way he doesn't have PTSD with everything he went through.

Xiao Xingchen from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation 

Disability: Blind

Xue Xian from Copper Coins / Tong Qian Kan Shi

Submission: 

Peddling my disabled gay dragon again... He's paraplegic for most of the story, and this affects him in his true form and all of the forms he shapeshifts into. He also gets a wheelchair at a certain point and he's so happy about it 🥺  He's also, like, such a vibrant and charming character. Hes soooooo annoying(affection and approval) and so over the top and i support him in everything. Also lets not forget that he has a tiny noodle form and curled around his bf's wrist like a bracelet. this lives rent free in my head what a move

Carrd Link

Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers

Submission: He injects himself with the Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns. These nails result in him becoming sickly. The effects of the nails are a limited life span, halved martial arts strength, periodic pain, a ruined sleep schedule, and withered meridians. 

Wiki Link 

Rejected

Ballister Blackheart from Nimona

Reason: Not from a web novel

Sapphia from High Class Homos

Reason: Not from a web novel (Webtoon)

[shirohige-pirates]

Hey Doll

CisFem Reader x Thatch

CW: toxic parents, manipulation, The Plan™, smut, mdni, I'll add as we go I'm kind of fly by the seat of my pants on this one.

tag list: @mfreedomstuff @harahettania @clumsyraccoon

Chapter 13: Yes Mother

A/N: This chapter contains physical and verbal abuse. Please proceed carefully.

“I am so sorry.” Thatch says for the third time since he got home. He’s set out the remotes on the coffee table. “I can’t believe I forgot to show you how to work everything.”

“It’s okay, I promise.” You reassure him. You aren’t sure what to do. When Thatch got home he found you napping on the couch. In your sleepy post-nap daze you’d admitted that you didn’t know how to turn on the TV and didn’t want to mess up a setting, and had just dozed off.

Taking a few minutes he walked you through the TV controls. It was easy enough, not too different from what you had at home, but you’d never been allowed to even touch those remotes. It was probably best to experience choosing the channel while you were on your own tomorrow, you didn’t want Thatch to worry more than he already was.

“If you want to rent a movie you can,” he says after he’s sure you’ve got the controls down pat, at least well enough to be okay on your own tomorrow. “Most of the books I have are about food and cooking, but I got one of those electronic deals somewhere. I can dig it up tonight.”

“Please just rest.” You offer a warm smile. “You were at work all day, and having the TV for tomorrow will be plenty. B-besides, I was… I was hoping I could maybe ask for something.” Your stomach knots, but you try to look and sound as comfortable as possible.

Thatch pauses, and his face lights up. “Certainly! Anything you want.”

“I… would like to… go on a date?” You can’t look at him as you ask, but you’re not sure you would’ve been able to do so regardless. It was almost painfully embarrassing to ask, even if the reason was duplicitous, it was something you did want to do with him.

“Tonight?”

“No!” You reach out for him, stopping short and covering your face. He looked so delighted you were worried you were going to break down and start crying. “No, I mean… I mean like, I’d like to see a movie, and maybe have dinner before, or… er… well, I’ve never gone to a play, or… anything.”

“Ah, I see.” Thatch ruffles your hair gently. “A full and proper date then. It would be my pleasure, doll.” He heads down the hall to his room. “Let me grab a shower and change, after dinner I’ll see what I can find for this weekend, okay?”

“Y-yes, thank you!” You raise your voice a little as he disappears down the hall. Sitting back down on the couch you look out the sliding door again.

You cannot cry. You can’t. If you cry then Thatch is going to ask what’s wrong, and if he asks you can’t lie to him. Doing this was bad enough, but if you told him then he could end up getting hurt. Your dad couldn’t harm him directly, but he could find people who would do it, you knew that for sure. Especially after today.

Thatch cooked so much the day before, dinner was an easy affair for him. It was interesting to watch him go through a few different ways of reheating leftovers in order to reheat each part correctly. He talked you through what he was doing, more you think, to fill the silence than anything else. The impromptu lesson was appreciated; you could cook, but not like Thatch, and you never really dealt with leftovers.

Everything was so measured to be sure you weren’t over eating that leftovers weren’t really something that happened.

After dinner, Thatch set up a laptop at the dining table, and looked up some stuff you could do for the weekend.

“There’s an Opera this weekend, and a performance of Shen Yun the weekend after that.” He says as you sit down next to him. “We’d have to leave Friday night for the Opera, it’s pretty much on the other side of the island. Grabbing a hotel room would be less hassle than waking up at 4am to get there on time.”

“The Shen Yun is closer?”

“Yeah, it’s barely twenty minutes from here. See? The Rumbar Theater House is just down the way a bit.” He explains, pointing it out on the little map. “It’s a long production though, we should probably consider a big meal before hand.”

You had told your father one or two weeks, and he hadn’t pushed for one or the other. The distance away from the apartment would be something you were sure he’d prefer, but you were nervous about traveling so far.

“We should do both.” Thatch says after a minute of silence.

“Huh? N-no, that’d be…” A waste, you think. Once your father does whatever he intends to do, you’re sure that everything will fall apart.

“Perfect,” Thatch interrupts your thoughts. “It’d be perfect. We should be trying to spend as much time together as we can. With my job that makes it a little difficult, but if we go on some big dates every weekend for the next couple weekends that would help make up for it.”

“But…” You take a moment, and Thatch sits still until you decide what you’re going to ask.

“Isn’t it expensive?”

He smiles and you feel your chest tighten again. “It’s not cheap,” he admits. “But I have more than enough saved up, and I think you’d enjoy both of them. This way too, you can decide which was more fun.”

“It’s -.”

“It’s not too much, I promise.” Thatch puts a hand over yours. “I’ll get things set for both of them, and if the travel and the Opera is overwhelming, I can cancel the other tickets. How’s that sound?”

You nod. It’s too much, it’s entirely too much, but only because you don’t deserve any of it. You can’t say that, and you’re pretty sure even if you did, he would argue. The only way that argument would resolve would be if you came clean about everything that happened today.

Instead, you sat with him while he booked the other parts of the dates. He gave you choices on a lot of things. Thatch chose the hotel, but let you choose one room or two. You chose one because it would be cheaper, and one with two queen sized beds because you weren’t quite ready to sleep in the same bed. It was the same cost as a single king, so you didn’t feel guilty.

You made plans to go out shopping tomorrow, or Wednesday. Thatch was going to try and get home a little early and if he couldn’t swing it tomorrow he’d manage it the next day. That way he could buy you something really nice to wear, since both events were the kinds of things you could get all dolled up for.

“I have nice clothes.” You insist. There’s no anger in your tone, but you don’t want him to spend more money than he already has.

“You do, and I won’t force you.” He gives you a smile that has the tips of his ears pink. “But the date will be fun for both of us, and… I’d love to give you a gift. You know, for your first real date.”

“Let… let me sleep on it.” You can see the edges of sadness creep into Thatch’s soft expression, but he nods.

“Of course.”

Shortly after that, you’d both gone to bed. As quietly as you could you cried yourself to sleep. The guilt made you feel sick, but if you got up to throw up you were worried you’d alert Thatch. You only had to hold out a few more days and it would be over. Whatever happened, he’d be safe.

Whatever happened to you wouldn’t matter. Not after all this. You didn’t deserve him. You didn’t deserve any of this. The whole match process had been fabricated, you weren’t even supposed to be here.

The only thing you did deserve was the guilt, and so you’d carry it. You knew your place, and your worth. You’d do as your parents asked to pay back all you owed them, and then accept whatever happened.

You slept so hard that night that you barely had time to scramble out of bed and tell Thatch good-bye in the morning. He asked if he could kiss your cheek and you said yes. He told you not to worry, but you weren’t sure what he was talking about, and then he said he’d be home for lunch, and not to worry on deciding about going shopping. He’d open up Wednesday for it, and that would give you time to think on it.

After that, he was out the door and you were in the empty apartment again.

Remembering that he said he’d be home for lunch you decide to eat a light breakfast and then take a shower so you can get cleaned up. Your face wasn’t too swollen, but it would be better to make yourself fully presentable if he was going to be coming back.

It was difficult. Even the “quick” breakfast took nearly an hour. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t shake the heavy feeling in your heart, and tears kept leaking down your face. Your tears last night were apparently only the beginning, and you wondered if your resolve was so flimsy that this was the result.

You waffled between resolving to tell Thatch, and resolving to not say a word at least a dozen times while you were in the shower. By the time you were done you’d only managed to resolve to stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.

So automatic was your usual process that you had hardly registered that you were back int the main area until you heard the door beep. Your eyes slipped over the microwave clock and saw that it was barely past 9am, there was no way it was Thatch. Fear grips your heart for a split second until your mother walks into the apartment by herself.

Fear is replaced by confusion. You can’t even sort out how to greet her.

Your mother hasn’t noticed the look on your face. She’s been looking around since she stepped in, a wide glee-filled smile on her lips as she takes in the surroundings. Your brain catches up enough to understand she used the key card your father copied yesterday, but her presence is still entirely too surreal.

“Show me around, Doll.” She says, setting her things on the kitchen counter as she walks past you. “This is much nicer than I had expected, I wonder if that old bastard pays for it.” Anger flashes across your face, but it’s long gone before your mother looks at you.

“Show me around!” She snaps and you flinch.

“Yes mother.”

You motion with your arm down the hall that leads to your room, and the bathroom you have. She looks around your room, only opening your closets to marvel at how much space you have in an apartment.

“Goodness! It’s bigger than our house.” Giggling she closes your closet and turns toward you. “His room, Doll, c’mon.”

“I… I haven’t.” You stammer and she rolls her eyes.

“I’m not asking you to lay in his bed, I’m telling you to show me to his room.” She asserts, turning you around and pushing you out of the room. “C’mon now, I’m not going to spend all day in here.”

You stumble a couple steps before you get your pace ahead of hers, leading her down the other hall to Thatch’s side of the apartment. She’s not even pretending to care about the common areas, and you’re certain she didn’t even want to see your room in the first place.

When you get to Thatch’s bedroom door you’re surprised to find it open. The fact that he didn’t even close it while you were here and he wasn’t sat heavy on your shoulders. The pictures of his family lining the hallway walls felt like condemnations with every step.

Thatch’s room was well organized. The king-sized bed was dark wood and dark sheets, with white accents. There were more cooking books in here, a desktop and desk in one corner, and a sense of military service in the way the bed was made and how his closet was organized. As far as you knew neither him nor any of his brothers had been in the marines. Maybe Newgate had just raised them strict in that way.

It would make sense, trying to wrangle and keep so many boys in line like he had. You can clearly hear him saying that he runs a tight ship, or something similar.

“Ah there it is.” Your mother says, looking up at a space high up in the closet. “Doll, go bring a chair in here.”

“You can’t take anything.” You say the words without really thinking, your mother’s eyes going wide as she looks over at you in shock.

“I’ll take whatever I fucking please, you ungrateful bitch.” She replies icily. The weight of your words settle on you as she raises her voice, pointing down the hall as she practically screeches. “GO GET ME A CHAIR!”

The volume, more than the words, has you down the hall in a dash. You grab one of the dining room chairs and carry it into Thatch’s room. Your mother points and you set the chair into the closet.

“Steady it for me, useless thing.” She grumbles, stepping up on the cushion and looking around the top shelf of the closet while you hold the chair steady for her. “Humph, a number pad and no key. Well, that settles that then.”

Stepping back down off the chair you’re relieved to see she’s empty handed. She waves you off to return the chair, and she’s coming down the hall by the time you’ve put it back where it belongs.

“Have you convinced that oaf to take you on a date yet?”

“He’s not an oaf.” You say the words far more quietly than you wanted to, unable to even look at her.

“True, he’s a monster. That brute, you didn’t see his face when he threatened your father and I.”

“Thatch didn’t threat-!” The sharp sting on your cheek was unexpected, as was the force she used. The sharp slap cut lines in your cheek from her fingernails. You put your hand to your cheek, shocked she would leave such a harsh mark on you. Especially your face.

“Don’t you dare talk back to me like that!” Her hand sails through the air again and she grabs your wrist roughly, twisting it until the pain has you on your knees. “Apologize this instant!”

“He didn’t threaten you!” You cry, trying to get her to let go of your wrist. You cry out as she twists it further, her other hand grabbing your hair and forcing you to look at her. The look in her eyes is wild and manic, you can’t remember ever seeing her so angry before.

You can’t remember defying her either, but Thatch hadn’t threatened your parents.

“APOLOGIZE!” She demands and you shake your head. If she twists your wrist much more she might actually break it. “He’s a fucking monster! I bet I could tell everyone he’s beat you, and they’d believe it. Wouldn’t even listen to a pitiful thing like you,” she snarls, a twisted knowing grin marring her features. “So desperate to be accepted by a faked match you let him abuse you. I’ll get your father up here and-.”

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” You wail, sobbing as she lets you go, leaving you to crumple onto the floor, throbbing hand to your bloody cheek. “I’m - hic - sorry, mother. I’m sorry, you-you’re r-right.”

“He’s a monster.” She says and you nod. “Say it, Doll.”

“He is,” you reply, hoping it’s enough to satisfy her. You don’t think you could actually call him a monster and she might really break something if you defy her again.

“Humph. Did you convince him to take you on a date yet?”

You nod.

Your mother hisses, taking a step toward you and causing you to back away so reflexively you’re under the dining table before you can stop yourself. There’s a tense moment of silence and she clicks her tongue.

“Text us the details before you go to bed tonight.” She commands, stepping away from you and heading toward the door. “Fix your stupid face before he gets home.”

“Yes mother,” you barely say the words aloud as she gathers her things off the counter and leaves.

You need to get up and get ice for your wrist. You need to get up and clean the scratches on your face and try to cover them up with makeup. You need to get up. You need to.

You can’t do anything but cry heavy gasping sobs from under the dining table. Almost no sound escapes you, the occasional hiccuped gasp of air dotting the relative quiet. A few painful sobs manage to claw their way into existence and you can’t keep quiet, letting the wretched wail into the air before forcing yourself to quiet again.

When you hear the beep of the door you realize you must’ve been sobbing under the dining table for over an hour. The door opens and you just stay where you are, resigned in having been caught. There was nothing you’d be able to tell him except the truth.

Thatch comes over, and sits down as far away as he can, and still be in your line of sight. You can smell the mix of flour and fruits on him, the soothing smell of honey and sugar from the confections made at the bakery. You don’t know if it’s the warmth of the shop that you can feel rolling off him, or if it’s just the warmth that always seems to be around him.

Most of you is hidden from him, curled up against the central table leg. Looking over at him you can see splatters of different sauces on his uniform, puffs of flour against his yellow scarf that makes it look patchy in places. The look on his face is sorrowful, and painfully kind.

He has no idea what’s happened. He might have an inkling, some idea gnawing at the back of his mind. His sorrow might be in knowing you’re going to hurt him, or maybe it’s just in knowing you’ve been hurt. He wants to be closer, you can tell, but he’s staying back until you give him permission.

How could he be so kind?

So gentle?

So patient?

He should be furious! He should be loud, and demanding, and unrelenting! This is his home! He shouldn’t be coming home to something so unknown. He shouldn’t find you like this. He should be able to have lunch with you, because that was the plan. That was how it was supposed to go. How it should be going.

His voice was quiet when he spoke. Like he didn’t want to spook you. The tone was soft and gentle, full of a pain you didn’t understand. How could two words sound so sad and so loving at the same time?

Especially when they were nothing but cold disdain on the tongues of your parents.

“Hey Doll.”

[hel-the-growl]

Nezha Reborn annotations - Part 3

Part 1｜Part 2

Who is Cai Yun? Monkey explains that she is a disciple of the demoness Shiji. 3000 years ago, 7-year-old Nezha accidentally shot and killed Shiji’s gatekeeper and Caiyun’s sister - Biyun - while playing with the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan’s Qiankun bow from 1000 miles away. Seeking revenge, Shiji overpowered Nezha before being killed by Nezha’s master Taiyi Zhenren. After her death, she was canonized at the Investiture Altar as Yue Youxingjun (月遊星君 "Star of Moon Voyage"). Apparently Caiyun has held onto that grudge since that day.

Chentang Pass was Nezha’s birthplace and the residence of Nezha’s family. Two treasures - the Qiankun bow and Three Sky-shaking Arrows that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan used to kill his rival Chiyou (the Yan Emperor) - were kept there.

The most epic scene.

“But you’re Sun Wukong, the Great Sage who wreaked havoc in heaven”.

It was right here where Wukong obtained his magic staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang. Roughly 2000 years ago, it was sitting in the crystal palace as a piece of scrap metal. Wukong came here to seek the dragon king for a weapon. After none of the celestial weapons satisfied him, the dragon king’s wife suggested that if Wukong could lift the 13500-catty (6.75 tonne) Ruyi Jingu Bang, then it would be his. Not only was Wukong able to pick it up with ease, he could also make it grow and shrink to his command.

The REAL dragon ball.

When Yunxiang tugged on the Ribbon, the earth shook. It is a reference to an incident in IOTG: After taking a dip in a stream, Nezha was drying himself with the Sky Ribbon. Unbeknownst it him, it caused the ground beneath to shake violently each time it touched the water’s surface.

Ao Guang digging into Yunxiang’s guts is also a reference to how Nezha once broke his own bones, slit his belly and gouged out his intestines to appease the dragon king. 

If she’s a doctor, her first instinct should be chest compressions right???

The ribbon encasing Yunxiang like the lotus symbolizing Nezha's rebirth. The visual metaphor is incredible.

These four large triangular flags are nearly always an integral part of Peking opera, used to adorn the performers’ backs. They have their roots in the small flags Chinese generals would use to signal their subordinates. Journey to the West also has its own peking opera play.

Mid credits scene:

The mink is Mo Lishou’s familiar. The other items in the room are Mo Lihai’s pipa, Mo Lihong’s havoc umbrella. Nezha’s wind and fire wheels sit inside the box.

Names from IOTG’s list of gods swirling around the cauldron include Shiji (石矶娘娘), Shentu (神荼), Shen Gongbao (申公豹), Fang Bi (方弼), Jinling Shengmu (金灵圣母), Bo Yikao (伯邑考), Zhao Gongming (赵公明), Li Gen (李艮), Chong Houhu (崇侯虎), Chong Heihu (崇黑虎), Mo Liqing (魔禮青), Mo Lihai (魔禮海), Huang Tianhua (黄天化), Ao Bing etc...

Finally ending in the words “Investiture of the Gods”

Post credits scene:

This is a teaser for the second New Gods instalment - New Gods: Yang Jian.

As Yunxiang rides his motorbike down the street, he is stopped by a white dog. The dog is Xiaotian, and her owner is the formidable three-eyed god, Yang Jian.

Although Yang Jian doesn't end up in Donghai in that movie (yet), Light Chaser did tease an eventual crossover on their youtube channel.

Stay tuned for New Gods: Yang Jian!

Part 1｜Part 2 | New Gods: Yang Jian breakdown

[nemainofthewater]

Completed 'Surname' Polls

This is where I take several characters from different Chinese media (mostly cnovels and cdrama) and run a poll on which one is the 'best'. What does best mean? It's up to you! Whether you love them, are intrigued by their characters, love to hate them, or they're your '2 second blorbos whose personality you made up wholesale', these are all reasons for you to vote for your favs!

NB: the surnames are not exactly the same in all the cases, as often they will be a different character. I am, however, grouping them all together otherwise things got more complicated.

This post is for the polls which have finished running and can no longer be voted in (since I have realised that I'm quickly approaching the limit for hyperlinks in the original masterlist).

If you want to see the currently live polls, they can be found here

Finished polls: Cao/Wei/Guo/Chen/Ye/Qiao/Yu/Xue/Tang/Jiang/Su/Gao/Mei/Lin/Wu/Sun/Liu/Di/Zhang/Ying/Mo/Li/Song/Yan/Xiao/Pei/Hua/Xie/Mu/Qi/Shen/Lan/Fang/Luo /Huo/Xu/Wang/Ming/Fan/Yuan/Feng/Bai/Jin/Meng/Yun/Zhao/Wen/Zhou/Yang/Shang/Yue/Sheng/Ouyang/Lu/Ling/Hu/Gu/Ding

Shi/Hong/Zhu/Yi/Cheng/Zhan/Xia/Cui/Chu/Lei/Ma/Liang/Jing/Zhi/An/Nie/Hao/Qin/Han/Guan/Zhuge/Jia/Ning/Xiang/Huang/Fei/Ruan/Dong/He/Baili/Long/Duan/Zhen/Wan/Qiu/Dongfang/Du/Bi/Jiao/Zhong/

[yiifu]

i finished sha po lang a few days ago and it was so good but i've also been thinking about how sha po lang is such a fitting title for the book - on one hand it alludes to the astrological system of being born under an unlucky star, on the other hand it can also roughly translate to 'kill the wolf'. and spl has plenty of mentions about the idea of fate and being forced into certain paths in life based on where and when you were born (the sha po lang star system) - chang geng's birth and existence was fated to be the nation's downfall, gu yun frequently laments if he was just born to be unlucky and born to take on the marquis position to live a lonely life eventually dying for the nation, shen yi is also cursed out by his aunt for being an unlucky star for the family, etc. there may be other mentions elsewhere but these were the pertinent ones i could remember clearly. spl also has plenty of allusions to wolves and wolf imagery - i think the whole idea of territorial expansionism, defense, great liang being surrounded by 'hungry wolves' in gu yun's words, the idea of the bone of impurity involving a child devouring its brother, great lang's eternal enemy the eighteen wolf tribes, the very fact that black iron camp set out to kill the wolf king/prince jia lai ying huo (who eventually dies, though not directly at their hand), the wolf tattoos on the assassins who tried to kill marshal gu twice.

the title was perfectly made for chang geng, he's a wolf tribe person, born under unlucky circumstances, and yet managed to turn around and kill off that part of himself from the barbarian wolf tribes. not to mention the fact that his modus operandi is to act like a lone wolf - only caring about its kin and territory, beholden to no one and highly independent.

the title of this book already gives new readers the impression that it is, essentially, going to be a book about violence. the implication of the sha po lang astrology was not apparent to me at first because despite being chinese myself i've never heard of it where im from. but based off direct translation of the words - 杀 meaning to kill, 破 meaning to break, crack, or shatter, and 狼 meaning wolf, i gathered that the story was going to be about killing things. and violence predominates in this story in the form of war and rebellion.

there were so many parallel scenes/ parts that made me smile, im going to try and screenshot them soon to post a sort of web weave thingy.

spl is not a danmei for everyone. coming here straight from yuwu and 2ha, the lack of in-your-face romance and the plot-heaviness of the story nearly put me off from finishing it. but if you find yourself enjoying it, know that one read will not be enough to fully appreciate everything. i know it wasn't enough for me.

[bookofjin]

Early life of Gaozu of Liang

With the short biography of his mother, Zhang Shangrou. (From LS01 and LS07)

[LS01]

The Exalted Founder [gaozu], the Martial [wu] August Emperor, taboo Yan, courtesy name Shudai, child name Lian'er, was a native of Zhongdu Village in Nanlanling. He was a descendant of Han's Chancellor of State, He. He begat Marquis Ding of Zan, Yan. Yan begat the Attendant-at-Centre Biao. Biao begat Excellency office staff member Zhang. Zhang begat Hui. Hui begat Yang. Yang begat the Grand Tutor to the Heir-Apparent, Wangzhi. Wangzhi begate the Brilliantly Blessed Grandee Yu. Yu begat the Central Assistant to the Steering Clerk, Shao, Shao begat the Superintendent of the Brilliantly Blessed, Hong. Hong begat the Grand Warden of Jiyin, Chan. Chan begat the Grand Warden of Wu commandery, Bing. Bing begat the Chancellor of Zhongshan, Bao. Bao begat the Broad Scholar Zhou. Zhou begat the Chief of Sheqiu, Jiao. Jiao begat the provincial Assistant Officer, Kui. Kui begot Filial and Upright, Xiu. Xiu begat the Assistant of Guangling Commandery, Bao. Bao begat the Grand Centre Grandee Yi. Yi begat the Prefect of Huaiyin, Zheng. Zheng bgeat the Grand Warden of Jiyin, Xia. Xia begat the provincial Arranger-at-Centre Fuzi. Fuzi begat the Arranger of Documents for the Southern Tower, Daoci. Daoci begat the August Father, taboo Shunzhi, he was Emperor Gao of Qi's younger clansman. He took part in preparations and aiding the mandate, and was ennobled Marquis of Linxiang County. He held successive office as Attendant-at-Centre, Commandant of Guards, Intendant of Affairs to the Heir-Apparent, General who Leads the Army, and Governor of Danyang. He was posthumously conferred General who Quells the North.

Gaozu in Xiaowu of Song's 8th Year of Daming [464 AD], a jiachen year, was born at the Sanqiao Residence, Tongxia Village, Moling County. At birth he was yet remarkable and unusual. His two hips had paired bones, the top of his head was high and raised, and there was a pattern in his right hand which said “martial” [武]. When the Emperor reached adulthood, he studied broadly and very thoroughly, was fond of devising strategies, and had talent and capacity for civil and martial matters. At the time those of flowing fame all pushed him forward and acknowledged him. At the houses where he resided, often if there was a cloud or vapour, for those people who sometimes passed by, their bodies immediately paid their respects.

He started his career as the Acting Army Advisor on the Board of Law of the Central Gentlemen of the South to the King of Baling. He moved to Libationer of the Eastern Pavilion to the General of Guards, Wang Jian [NQS23]. Jian once saw him, and deeply assessed and appreciated his unusualness. He spoke to He Xian of Lujiang, saying:

This Gentleman Xiao within thirty [year] will make Attendant-at-Centre, and if he sets out from here, his worth will be impossible to describe.

When the King of Jingling, Ziliang, opened his Western Mansion and summoned the students of literature, Gaozu together with Shen Yue [LS13], Xie Tiao [NQS47], Wang Rong, Xiao Chen [LS26], Fan Yun [LS13], Ren Fang [LS14], Lu Chui [LS27] and others all roamed with him, they were referred to as the Eight Friends. Rong was exceptional and vivacious, his understanding and perceptiveness exceeded other people. He particularly respected and found unusual Gaozu. Always when speaking of him to his friends, he said:

The steward who will order Under Heaven is surely this person.

He amassed to move to Consultant Army Advisor for Quelling the West to the King of Sui. Soon after he left his post due to the August Father's hardship.

[LS07]

The Changes says:

There was heaven and earth, afterwards there were the ten thousand things. There were the ten thousand things, afterwards there was man and woman. There were man and woman, afterwards there was husband and wife.

The propriety of husband and wife is the highest!

In the Rites of Zhou the King established the Queen's Six Palaces, with three Ladies, nine Concubines, twenty-seven Wives, and eighty-one Spouses, so as to heed Under Heaven's interior arrangements. For that reason the Marriage Propriety states:

The Son of Heaven and the Empress are like the sun and the moon, yin and yang, they are necessary to each other and complete.

Han in the beginning followed Qin's designations and titles. The Emperor's mother was called the August Empress-Dowager, the empress was called the August Empress, and they added to them the categories of Beautiful Lady, Good Lady, Eight Sons, and Seven Sons. Reaching Xiaowu, he regulated the favoured beauties and the likes in altogether fourteen grades. Coming down to Wei and Jin, for the titles of mothers and empresses both followed the Han rules. From Lady and downwards, [each] generations added and subtracted from them.

Gaozu swept away chaos and turned back to correctness. He deeply perceived extravagant and uninhibited, had bad clothes and meagre food, and applied himself to the previous modest frugality. His virtuous pairing ended early, Prolonger of Autumn was an empty position, and to the numbers of concubines and ladies nothing was changed or created. Taizong and Shizu set out from being the heirs-presumptive, yet the Consorts in both cases had passed previously, and they also did not establish pepper quarters. The present compilation only speaks of a provided for vacancy.

The Grand Founder's [taizu] Dedicated [xian] August Empress, Ms. Zhang, taboo Shangrou, was a native of Fangcheng in Fanyang. Her grandfather Cihui was Song's Grand Warden of Puyang. The Empress' mother, Ms. Xiao, was Emperor Wen's paternal aunt. [Emperor Wen is Emperor Wu's father, Xiao Shunzhi, posthumously elevated to emperor]

The Empress in the middle of Song's Yuanjia era [424 – 453] was given in marriage to Emperor Wen. She gave birth to King Xuanwu of Changsha, Yi and King Zhao of Yongyang, and next gave birth to Gaozu.

Earlier, the Empress was once within her room when she suddenly saw sweet-flag grass blooming in front of the courtyard with a brilliant hue shining bright like nothing out of the world. The Empress was startled at the sight, and spoke to her attendant, saying:

Do you see it, or not?

[The attendant] replied, saying:

Do not see it.

The Empress said:

[I] once heard those who see will be rich and honoured.

Following that she quickly took and swallowed it. That month she give birth to Gaozu. At the night she was about to give birth, the Empress saw inside the courtyard as if there were clothes and caps piled up and laid out therein.

She next gave birth to King Xuan of Hengyang, Chang, and Princess Zhao of Yixing, Ling. Song's 7th Year of Taishi [471 AD], she passed at a house in Tongxia Village in Moling County. She was buried at a mountain in Dongcheng Village in Wujin County. 1st Year of Tianjian, 5th Month, jiachen [6 August 502], she was retroactively elevated to the venerated title as August Empress. Her posthumous title was Dedicated [xian].

[ihavedonenothingright]

An Update to the Shendex

Hello all!

A little while ago, I made a post asking people to send me a list of main characters or love interests in danmei with the surname "Shen" in order to create a comprehensive list. That received a bit more traction than I thought it would, but not much in the way of new Shens. I am happy to announce, however, that I have googled the hell out of this and found an additional 20+ Official, Honorary, and Supporting Character Shens to add to the prospective Shendex. Here is the list (at present).

The Current Shendex

Seven Seas Danmei

Shen Shiliu/Gu Yun (Stars of Chaos)

Shen Qiao (Thousand Autumns)

Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

Shen Wei (Guardian)

Shen Zechuan (Ballad of Sword and Wine)

Novel Updates

Shen Ci (Vase Cannon Fodder Is Pampered by the Group Again)

Shen Gurong (Transmigrated Into The High-Risk Profession Life As A Master)

Shen Jin (After Being Moved to Tears by the Sworn Enemy’s Pheromones)

Shen Jin (Agreement Mark)

Shen Jue (A Hundred Ways To Kill A Heartthrob)

Shen Junci (Insights of the Medical Examiner)

Shen JunXi (Transmigrated into the Pastoral Scenery)

Shen Ke (Dandy Escapes From Marriage)

Shen Kong (The Professional Three Views Rectifier [Book Transmigration])

Shen Li (After the Accident, My Boyfriend Got Straight)

Shen Lin (Welcome to the Game Room of Supremacy Luck)

Shen Mofeng (No Money)

Shen Qi (Applaud for Happiness)

Shen Qianling (Everywhere in Jianghu is Wonderful/The Jianghu is Full of Local Tyrants)

Shen Qingcheng (Please Stop Pretending To Be a Cute Newcomer!)

Shen Ruo (Turned out I am a Scheming Little Cannon Fodder)

Shen Tanqi (The Male Lead Ran Away With My Ball)

Shen Tingzhou (I’m a Family Doctor in a Domineering Boss Novel)

Shen Ye (Accidentally Marked The Archenemy)

Shen Yu (Silent Concubine)

Shen Yunxing (Pregnant With The Pup Of A Wealthy Old Man)

Shen Zhixian (It's Not Easy Being a Master)

Honorary Shens

Fu Shen (Golden Terrace)

Lu Tian Shen (Dramatic Fake Young Master Holds the Group’s Favorite Script)

Luoshen (Let Me Go, I’m Not Pregnant)

Tang Shen (The Kingdom That Never Sleeps)

Xu Shen (Transmigrating to 1983)

Supporting Character Shens

Shen Jiu (The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

Shen Xingtang (Genius Mechanic)

Shen Yi (Stars of Chaos)

Shen Yuanting (Transmigrated as a Cannon Fodder Who Married into a Wealthy Family)

Now Onto Business...

Now that I have enough Shens to justify the existence of the Shendex, the question becomes how to format it. I'm not the best with this sort of thing, so anyone who wants to help is completely welcome (just DM me). As for how it should look... let's put it to a vote.

My aim is for every entry to include the characters used for each entry's name, a picture if possible, and a quick description of their story as well as a link to it. This could take a while, so I think I'll update it in bits and pieces. As always, you are welcome to send in a Shen if you please---just make sure to stick to danmei because otherwise this thing is going to get looooooong.

See you all next update!

[web-novel-polls]

Favorite Web Novel Men Tournament

[Last Checked: October 22nd, 2024 - Please check the original post for updated information]

Rules:

Must canonically be male or male-adjacent (includes canon trans men!)

Must be from a web novel or WN-adjacent

One character per response

Submit as many responses as you want 

Tournament Tag: #wn men tournament

No Propaganda

Bracket A

*Cédric Riester from When the Third Wheel Strikes Back

*Jesse Venetiaan from When the Third Wheel Strikes Back

*Park Moondae (Ryu Gunwoo) from Debut or Die

*Yoo Joonghyuk from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Bracket B

A-Tai (Tengla Isai) from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Bian Yanmei from Thousand Autumns

Chang Geng from Sha Po Lang

Chen Xing from Dinghai Fusheng Records

Fei Du from Mo Du / Silent Reading

Feng Xin from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Fu Shen from Golden Stage

Gu Yun from Sha Po Lang

He Xuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Jun Wu from Heaven Official’s Blessing 

Kong Hongjun from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Lan Sizhui from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Lan Wangji from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Li Jinglong from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Lin Jingheng from Can Ci Pin

Lu Bixing from Can Ci Pin

Lu Feng from Little Mushroom

Luo Binghe from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Lu Xu from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Mo Rigen from Tianbao Fuyao Lu

Mo Xi from Remnants of Filth

Murong Lian from Remnants of Filth

Nie Huaisang from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Original Shen Qingqiu (Shen Jiu) from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Peony from Unlucky Clover

Qin Jiu from Global Examination

Shen Wei from Guardian: Zhen Hun

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Song Qingshi from Mistakenly Saving the Villain 

Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Xiang Shu from Dinghai Fusheng Records

Xue Meng from The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Yu Shengyan from Thousand Autumns

You Huo from Global Examination

Zhao Yunlan from Guardian: Zhen Hun

Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers

^ Spoilers Warning!

*Dealer's Choice (Brackets are not final. I'm just dividing them as Danmei vs. Non-Danmei for right now)

[reinaka42]

忘川风华录 Cheat Sheet - THREE KINGDOMS

Character list for the music project/game Wang Chuan Feng Hua Lu

Cheat sheet created solely for my own convenience

All images etc taken from the game's official website

Info taken from Wikipedia

Mao-mao not included, sowwy

曹植 | Cao Zhi | Tào Thực

192 – 232

Poet, son of the warlord Cao Cao, author of Luo Shen Fu

Extremely unfavoured by his family

Song: Duo Qing An

Also appears in: Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 天

赵云 | Zhao Yun | Triệu Vân

Died 229

Military general, subordinate of Liu Bei and his state Shu Han

Song: N/A

Also appears in: Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 天

曹丕 | Cao Pi | Tào Phi

187 – 226

Older brother of Cao Zhi, son of Cao Cao, first monarch of Cao Wei after the state's foundation was laid out by his father

Song: N/A

Also appears in: Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 地

甄姬 | Zhen Ji | Chân Cơ

183 - 221

First wife of Cao Pi, post-humously honoured as first empress of Cao Wei

Song: Duo Qing An

Also appears in: Ci Qi Ying Qi, Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 地

嵇康 | Ji Kang | Kê Khang

223 – 262

Poet, musician, composer of Guang Ling San

One of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

Song: Zhu Lin Jian

Also appears in: Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 地

阮籍 | Ruan Ji | Nguyễn Tịch

210 – 263

Poet, musician, composer of Jiukuang, friend of Ji Kang

One of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove

Song: Zhu Lin Jian

Also appears in: Kuang Gu Hui Xiang

In-game rarity: 地

[spokanefavs]

Friends of Falun Gong wants our readers to know that "Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) is good." We feature this guest post by Ernie Li from the Falun Dafa Association of WA who explains some misconceptions about the organization that puts on Shen Yun.

[deepfriedscallops]

A Personal Guide to Chinese Names (Specifically Historical)

If you are looking for a starter guide, there are better posts floating around. If you are at least somewhat familiar with Chinese as a language and culture, read on.

Maybe you are a new Chinese learner, or perhaps you are a heritage speaker like me. Either way, you are probably aware of the vast amount of homophones that Chinese has and all sorts of accidental puns that you might run into. Have you ever heard the joke where two people meet and their conversation goes like this?

-你叫什麼名了？(What's your name?)

-倪繈仙 / 李廣仙。(Ni Jiangxian / Lei Gong-sin.) (Misheard as 你講先 "You tell me first.")

-……??

I heard it first in Cantonese, so please bear with the rough Mandarin equivalent I whipped up. Anyways, my mother told me this joke sometime in elementary school as a warning: Chinese names can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes parents can come up with a seemingly great name, only for their surname to turn the name into a joke later in life. Looking at the surname Wu/Ng/吳 in particular (be careful with this surname unless you want to intentionally make it into a joke, because it rhymes with "not" and will reverse the meaning of most names related to traits).

With that said, this is my personal process for choosing names:

1. Family background. Were their parents/caretakers scholars? Royalty? Farmers? Generally, parents who are at least somewhat educated in poetic texts will be much more careful when naming their child in order to avoid any faux pas, whether making an accidental pun or choosing a name that can be perceived as unlucky. As for parents who don't have access to that kind of education, they commonly relied on fortune-telling from the local taoist in order to choose an auspicious name for their child. On the flip side, you might see instances like Marquis Gu Yun's backstory in Sha Po Lang by priest, in which his parents named him Shen Shiliu (meaning "sixteen") due to his sickliness.

2. Meaning. I'm glossing over this because there are more in-depth guides out there about this. Figure out your intentions for your character. You don't always need to put a lot of thought into it since realistically, the names given to them at birth don't always align with their character at the current point of your story—however, if your character has a courtesy name, you should take more time to pick a name, whether they choose it themself or their family does. Here are some conventions I have noticed though:

Three-character names with a single-character surname are the most common, but two-character names occur somewhat frequently historically as well (i.e. Cao Pei in the Three Kingdoms era). Two- or more-character surnames are usually associated with old clans (like Zhuge and Sima) as well as non-Han Chinese ancestry (like Aisin Gioro), and they may be paired with a single- or two-character first name. Unless you are transliterating from other languages and making a point that a character isn't of Han descent, you generally don't want to exceed 4 characters.

Gendered names get really foggy once you look beyond obvious ones like Meili (美麗) and everything else that means "beautiful." Generally, characters with 花/玉/女 radicals are more commonly feminine (especially 女), although there are notable exceptions like Jia Baoyu (假寶玉) from the Ming Dynasty classic, Dreams of the Red Chamber. Scenic meanings tend to be more feminine while character meanings skew masculine—but, as always, there are exceptions, like scenic names that utilize herbal medicine meanings.

Names taken from old poems, such as those by Li Bai, are generally very safe, although it's not always considered "classy" because sometimes the name can lose some meaning without necessary context.

You can get pretty creative, if you feel pretty daring. For example, Guo Jing and Yang Kang from Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong are named after the Jingkang Incident, a historical event nearing the end of the Song Dynasty.

Names have changed in convention over time, so some traditionally feminine names today were masculine at one point in time. For example, Feng (鳳) is commonly used in feminine names today, however historically 鳳 referred to male phoenixes whereas 凰 (pronounced Huang) referred to female phoenixes.

3. Poeticism. Not everyone cares about it, but it is something to consider if you are crafting a blue-blooded aristocrat who recites poetry and debates with their scholarly peers, or if you want to whip up a really catchy and memorable name. Generally, you want to pay attention to the tones and the consonance, but keep in mind the dialect. If you are expecting Mandarin to be the spoken dialect among your characters, then only focus on Mandarin. If you are playing with multiple dialects, then you might want to take some care in checking if the name also sounds decent in Cantonese. Here is what I learned:

You need variance in one word to the next. Easiest way is to measure by high versus low tonal fluctuations. If the surname is a low tone, go with high next, then low again; if it starts high, go low, then high again. For example, Andy Lau's name, 劉德華 (Liu Dehua or Lau Dak-waa), goes low-high-low in Cantonese, but does not flow as well in Mandarin since it goes low-low-low.

Consonance helps make words flow into each other. Generally, if the first word ends in a long vowel, you don't want to start the next word with another vowel—although there are some exceptions, such as Xie Bi'an from Wu Chang Jie by Shui Qian Cheng. Bi (必) and An (安) notably have hard vowels and can be read reasonably distinct from each other ("Bi" hard stop "ahn", instead of "bee-ann"). Of course, always sound it out first, and if you have a friend who can speak, read it to them and see if they can read it back fine. Avoid tongue twisters.

4. Random name generator. When all else fails and you don't have the brain juice for naming everyone in your cast, use a random name generator. If you don't ever expect to translate your work into Chinese, you'll probably be fine with a generic generator on Google since the decent ones use an aggregate of common pinyin to draw from. I, personally, look for the generators that come with hanzi and copy the name into a separate doc for reference purposes. In my experience, they're not the best for particularly poetic names and you may need to cherry pick and combine new names from the random list. It does a good job for one-off characters, though. If you want to see what I use, I can link it in a reblog.

5. Google. Run the pinyin/jyutping through the search engine, just to make sure your name doesn't sound like a colloquial saying. Unless that is in fact what you are trying to do (looking at Feng Xin from Tian Guan Ci Fu). Dictionaries are your best friend (in my case, CantoDict is a savior because it also comes with full phrases with both jyutping and pinyin). Fun fact, when my mother was coming up with names for me, one of them was Qiuyan (秋煙) but good thing she did not name me that because it sounds like the Cantonese colloquial phrase for smoking cigarettes. Please don't name your child the equivalent of "stoner."

Anyways, this isn't meant to be a proper guide, but rather me just sharing my process that can be used in conjunction with the other helpful guides around here. I hope this can help somewhat in the namehunt for your OCs. 加油！

[mushewhosta]

five comfort characters, five tags :)

thank you for tagging me, @cheer-me-up-scotty! Here I am, a month later.

I am unsure whether I understand the notion of a comfort character well. Still, I’ve picked a few fictional guys whose fictional existence satisfies me deeply and inexplicably.

Chu Wanning from The Husky and His White Cat Shizun Have you ever projected onto a character so much you felt like throwing up? His loneliness, yearning, and lack of understanding of what love is supposed to be, yet feeling so much of it, compels me. He’s so kind and self-loathing; I can’t stand him the way I can’t stand myself. Truly & unironically comforting

Vash the Stampede from Trigun, Trigun Stampede I was raised very catholic. Now I have a thing for such characters: the messiah deemed dangerous by the Church, the actual Jesus figure, overbrimming with goodness, yet persecuted, sometimes even killed by the system, in the name of Christ. There are more of those, but I can’t love Father Flote (Red Noses) as much as I love Vash; there’s a bit more to his appeal. It’s the biblically accurate gun, I suppose

Shen Qingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System There’s a brutal honesty in his unreliability. There’s something impossibly human about this narrative device of a man. He satisfies the cognitive scientist in me - I want to fMRI the fuck out of him. And oh, I love the kindness in him that he dismisses so easily. I love him; I love him the way I’d love a friend

Gu Yun from Stars of Chaos Ah, this is just a pure comfort character. Strong and witty, his eyesight is shit (same), and despite being young, his back is like that of an ancient man (HE JUST LIKE ME FR)

Can’t think of a number 5. Can’t think of any female character either, I have to go contemplate my gender for a minute.

EDIT

So today Seven Seas posted the Guardian cover and I almost started crying when I saw it. It occurred to me that yes, obviously,

5. Shen Wei form Guardian

He’s as much a comfort character as they get. Literal comfort. I have a photo of zyl as Shen Wei in a little frame that I used to keep on my desk to motivate me to study. He’s the academia god I pray to when in academic despair, which is often. The glasses I wear every single day are identical to the pair Shen Wei had in the drama. Some of my academic work I did with him in mind, as a tribute of sorts. He’s the promoter I turn to when the real life ones fail me 💜

Tagging:

@everythiiingoes @apprenticedmagician @taralkariel @scrhtt @fandom-queen-aka-trash

[untilteddocument]

[Image Description: a pair of Twitter posts. The first is from @Pink69420, display name "Comrade Sisko 🖖🏾✊🏿☭". It reads:

"Hamilton is just American Shen Yun."

The reply is from display name "PlayCousinsCollective". It reads:

"America before Emancipation"

End description.]

This tweet is killing me rn

[marie1-kersaint]

Extreme Weather: Moderate risk of unhealthy heat in one of your places



The New York Times
Aug 19 at 10:21 AM
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2024, 10:21 a.m. Eastern time

There is a risk of extreme weather today through Wednesday in a place you said was important to you, with some days reaching a moderate-level risk. I recommend you pay attention to local forecasts for the next few days and plan accordingly.
In places with some risk of excessive or unusual heat, temperatures could be very taxing on the body, possibly causing heat exhaustion and cramps. Heat stroke is possible after spending too much time in or exercising in the sun. When this kind of heat is forecast, air quality may also worsen.
We are monitoring this heat and mapping the latest information about its intensity and duration.
— Judson Jones, reporter and meteorologist

P.S. We’ve added heat risk to this newsletter. We’ll let you know when there may be a health risk associated with abnormal or excessive heat in the locations you have chosen, based on the National Weather Service heat risk forecast. You can always change or add places to track here.

Today’s Weather News

The New York Times

Tracking Tropical Storm Gilma
See the likely path and wind arrival times for Gilma.
Read more



San Castle, Fla.

Moderate risk of extreme weather today, including unhealthy heat.
View detailed outlooks and maps

TODAY

Unhealthy heat Moderate risk

TOMORROW

Unhealthy heat Moderate risk

WEDNESDAY

Unhealthy heat Some risk

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Latest Weather News

Flash Floods Sweep Part of Long Island
Floods swept Long Island early Monday, briefly closing highways. The same storm system dumped as much as 10 inches of rain on Connecticut a day earlier.


The Dark Side of Shen Yun
The popular Chinese dance troupe has toured all over the world. But young performers described a culture of untreated injuries and emotional manipulation.


Hurricane Ernesto Brings High Swells and Strong Rip Currents to the East Coast
Ernesto was creating dangerous surf conditions that were expected to continue for several days, forecasters warned.


Sources: The risk levels shown are derived from categories used in the outlooks issued by the National Weather Service, including those for severe weather from the Storm Prediction Center and excessive rainfall and winter storm conditions from the Weather Prediction Center. Some of these categories have been combined to create a clear, consistent language across multiple weather hazards. For more information, see the “About the data” section of the detailed outlooks page.

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