留雲借風真君

sideblog to @narvvhal

[liuuyuun]

　　　 　　 indie / selective / semi-private 　 　CLOUD RETAINER from GENSHIN IMPACT  　　　　rules / about(wip) / headcanons(wip) 　　 　 　 written by naans (they/he, adult)

Main blog: @narvvhal Status: PERMA SEMI-HIATUS (full time job) New Threads: Closed. Askbox: Open (Please read before sending anything)

　　　　　　　Will use the BETA EDITOR.

Guilt-trip and untagged negativity, and use of AI generators will be softblocked.

[liuuyuun]

tonitoni vc hey can i also plant random bunches of mint in your ugly house like how your dumb adepti friends are doing

　Her stare, even in the shape of a divine bird, is entirely unimpressed. One would even think that perhaps she didn't even hear a word the girl said, until a voice, dipped in obvious distaste, echoed in the air between them.

　"No."

[yilinwriter]

Kindred Spirits 知音: "The One Who Truly Understands Your Songs"

Update: Thank you for all the shares on this post! I want to mention that my debut book of Chinese poetry translations and essays on translation, The Lantern and the Night Moths, is out from Invisible Publishing and available through all bookstores. The longing for kindred spirits is one of the main themes running through the book. https://yilinwang.com/the-lantern-and-the-night-moths/

For #AroWeek, I want to talk about the Chinese term 知音 (pronounced zhīyīn in Mandarin), which has influenced my thinking about queerplatonic relationships. zhī 知: to know, knowing yīn 音: music, sound literally, a zhīyīn is someone who "truly understands your songs"

the term zhīyīn comes from a story about finding a kindred spirit through music.

There are many versions of the story. Here's one version:

One day, the musician Yu Boya was playing a qin (see image) in the wilderness, when he met Zhong Ziqi.

When Boya played one song, Ziqi immediately understood it and described it as reflecting the mood of soaring mountains (高山). When Boya played another song, Ziqi also comprehended immediately and described it as creating the mood of flowing waters (流水). Ziqi could understand all of Boya's songs. When Ziqi passed away, Boya felt so distressed that he destroyed his qin and never played it again. Boya thought of Ziqi as a "zhīyīn," and that term continues to be widely used to this day.

In a modern context, the term of "zhīyīn" is often translated into English as a soulmate, a kindred spirit, or a very close friend, but at its core, it's a term that refers to a type of intensely emotional, spiritual, and platonic connection with someone.

The original songs played by Boya have been long lost to the passage of time, but musicians and composers have tried to imagine what the songs might have sounded like.

There's even a recording of "Flowing Waters" (流水) included on the Voyager Golden Record, symbolically helping humankind search for a zhīyīn as it drifts around in outer space.

For me, as an aspec (demiromantic, biromantic, and asexual) Sino diaspora femme, the idea of zhīyīn offers me a way to think about the concept of queerplatonic relationships, given that it's very similar to the idea of a soulmate but without the necessary romantic connotations of the word in English. The concept of zhīyīn is explored again and again in various Sinophone literature and popular media, from wuxia and xianxia c-dramas to poetry that alludes explicitly or indirectly to zhīyīn.

Folks who follow my work as a translator might know that I have been translating poems by Qiu Jin (1875-1907), one of China's most renowned feminist poets. She frequently wrote about her longing for a zhīyīn. Some of my translations: https://chinachannel.lareviewofbooks.org/2021/02/12/qiu-jin/

The concept of zhiyin also features prominently in my upcoming book of poetry translations, The Lantern and the Night Moths. I originally wrote this thread for Twitter but wanted to bring it here for #AroWeek. Alloromantic folks, please take a moment to learn more about #AroWeek and support arospec creators. If you are arospec and found me via this tweet, please feel free to say hi!

[liuuyuun]

OHH MY GODDDDDD HELLOO???????

THAT'S THE CAPTAIN OF MY INFORMATION TEAM RIGHT THERE.

[yuelun]

It was strange, how comfort was suddenly found in the unchanged, within this place that she'd known so well that seemed as if it had frozen in time entirely, when all of her memories bore the reflection of her once desire for change, for growth. And yet here, as her fingers strayed over the rim of the bowl that lay presented much like it had in days long past, and as eyes as grey as storms and steel — almost ill-fitting to she who'd sat here before and sat here again — lingered over the chopsticks aside it, a poignancy tugged in her chest that eased her eyes into a close. Funny, she could still smell the tea like this, could still hear the discontent in response to her jest, and the amusement that lingered soon in its wake, much like how a smile strayed across her lips now in the sight of auspicious recollections.

Though she had learned that they had lost many after her, his words had told her that this mountaintop had never emptied, Mt. Aocang belonged still to who had always found her retreat here. And though she was glad for it, the smile that warmed a countenance now was more cautious than it was in the days of old, when her arrival here was marked with quips and laughter each time, when the Lord of Dust was ever stricken with endless gaiety. But when she'd heard the footsteps, those that sounded the very same as she remembered, her hand strayed to the edge of the stone table — one that had become something akin to an old friend — to guide her to turn in her seat, so that her gaze would come to rest on a friend older still. "You're late, normally I can already smell the tea brewing."

@liuuyuun / A little starter I promised many moons ago.

[liuuyuun]

　On the premise of all the changes happening in the last couple of decades, reminiscing the olden times had become an affair most easy for her to carelessly dip herself into.

　It began with the growing absence of her disciples, lives now being built among their kin, and the solitude that invaded the clearing of Mt. Aocang, one that has become near unbearable. It followed with her soon farewell to the mountains and welcome to the hustle and bustle of the harbor, as she settled in right as the festival spirits hit the main streets, leaving behind colorful decorations that announced the coming of Lantern Rite and a brand new year.

　At last, with the traveler an eager keeper, she had indulged in letting her memories of old times out of their cage entirely. Memories she was unwilling to leave behind, no matter whether many of those involved in them were already lost to the history of this land.

　...Perhaps that's why, when stepping upon the sight before her eyes―a panacea and stab all the same, the dust that remained afloat in her winds―she felt like her reminiscing had likely crossed a tile too far, leading her to hallucinate with the very objects of her grief; the major one, in front of her, seated on her usual stool with a smile recognizably warm and a small quip to welcome her presence, like she always did when they would hang out right in this place.

　She could not recall a single time one of her dreams felt this real, even with how sparsely she took in sleeping. The machine that caused these sorts of vivid dreams had long been stored away, unlikely to be the cause of something this lucid.

　And yet, no other explanation could truly sort this out. If she truly was a hallucination of sorts, would she still remain there once her steps had cautiously dragged her to the familiar stone table she sat upon? Would she be able to observe her, awed to notice that every inch of her features remained just the same as her memories recalled?

　Oh. Her image did remain indeed. And oh... She really looked like the Guizhong she knew in the past, down the single last strand of her front bangs.

　"I..." There was a visible frown of confusion and conflict on her features. What could she even say to this phantom of her past? If this was indeed no more than a dreaming state, then perhaps she should follow along the course of this delusion and make good of the memories of old that were bringing her back to these times. Perhaps, at last, that would set her lingering grieving at peace.

　She cleared her throat and adjusted her posture, set upright with the air of eminence she often held in the past, reeling her voice back from a speechless shock to the usual eloquence of her inventress persona.

　"―One did not foresee your arrival early today, Guizhong. For a visit so abrupt, surely you would not expect any kind of prior accommodations?" Her gaze turned down towards the cutlery that remained still on the table. Did she not put these out before?

　"...Moreover, one wonders what could the reason for your visit be, if not for another of our common gatherings. Or should more attendants be expected to arrive by evening? One would have thought you would have arrived in the company of Rex Lapis, at the very least."

[liuuyuun]

will smith poses at

[liuuyuun]

　She has been triple-crowned.

[liuuyuun]

Feeling pretty, might do Bird Things.

[liuuyuun]

@ghostlyanon replied to your post “"Adepti are not a race" pt. 2 electric...”:

I wonder how does one become an adeptus...

​As far as we know through both Xianyun's stories + what has been touched about adepti in quests + the base inspiration for adepti ("xian" aka "immortals" in taoism), the process is done through special training that involves spiritual self-cultivation and a full change of lifestyle, among other things (alchemy, worship, etc).

[liuuyuun]

"Adepti are not a race" pt. 2 electric boogaloo

Case in point. I'm so glad they're finally clarifying this further specially for the EN side.

[sigillums]

XIANYUN & GAMING (version 4.4 'Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze')

[narvvhal]

　she had to do it to 'em

[liuuyuun]

[liuuyuun]

It's so interesting that the first picture we get from Cloud Retainer from the very beginning is that she was so collected despite all the tragedy and war that happened, given her general personality, how she seems unfettered by most things, compared to Ping for example, who had to outright stop playing music because the grief was just too massive.

But with her stories and her dialogue, first from the last Lantern Rite, then much more evident in this one, it's clear that she was one of the most affected by the war and the loss inflicted by it.

I have many thoughts regarding the way she copes with these losses (of everyone, including specially Guizhong), and the way these catastrophic events might have scarred her to a degree. Her compassion for taking in disciples is very real, but there is most definitely an underlayer of desire to keep these young individuals safe under her wing, to the point of possibly even coddling them. Overprotecting them. Only barely now letting on her grip because she has come to terms with the fact that this was not healthy for them.

(And maybe this was a w.i.p. before the events in the game, but I want to think that understanding Zhongli's desire for retirement might have influenced her beliefs on this too, since he also held his people with a protective hold and carried them by hand up until they were able to show their individual performance.)

War is horrible. She embodies a survivor who has been through this and through the loss it comes with. There's an extremely high chance that not only does she reject great conflicts and big fights, but also that deep down she desires there is never another reason for any of them to stand back up in arms.

She doesn't train her disciples to join wars in the future, but rather to keep themselves safe and sound from them.

[liuuyuun]

PLAYING IN THE SNOW WITH THE GIRLS......................IM SOBBING

MOON CARVER YOU FOOL..

(Also! Confirmation that Liyue DOES get snow! Given how this retelling was a long time ago, I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of an occasional thing.)

[liuuyuun]

lmao what if i brought anemo instead

gottem

[liuuyuun]

@chasersglow replied to your post “　"Hmph."”:

"Dear inventress, has someone displeased you?"

　"―Ah. Nothing of great consequence, I assure you. One was merely lost amidst the musings regarding my own inventions."

　...Or rather, the inventions of others―mortals have truly gotten ahead of themselves. Her inspections of human-made artifacts had yielded interestingly new paths to inspiration. Cue the little wave of petty acceptance to her defeat.

　"Forgive my inhospitable attitude. What brings one such as yourself to this domain? Surely it was not to seek my guidance on the making of some trinkets, or was it? Fellow inventress?"