#hanelai

[ammapola]

HANELAII

With two different lightings because I love you Hanelai fans (if there is any that isn't just my alter ego)

[rog-ita]

almost forgot to post this here !

(look closer, there may be some features)

instagram

[saraespa]

I think Rin is pretty.

Like, I know there's all that talk about Rin being ugly in Nikan, and she even says that about herself, but I don't think so, and I can argue against it.

This whole story about Rin being ugly seems very racist/imperialistic to me, since Nikan hates the Speerly and doesn't even consider them human. Besides, they have dark skin, and the Nikan value fair, immaculate skin like porcelain. But when Altan was in Sinegard, everyone adored him and considered him very handsome, even though they were wary of him because he came from Speer.

And there's the way the Nikara people of the north treat those from the south, so it's clear that by that country's beauty standards and Rin's social class, she would be seen as ugly. However, there are some nuances to this. Because, even though Nezha teased her and said terrible things about her and her skin color, he never explicitly used the word "ugly" to refer to her, and later, Nezha admits that Rin is the most divine thing he has ever seen in his life. Yes, it has to do with their relationship with the Dragon and the Phoenix, but the Dragon doesn't tolerate ugliness; he feels repulsed by ugly people, so it doesn't make sense for Rin to be something divine to Nezha if she wasn't beautiful or attractive enough to the Dragon.

Even though it's implied and you have to read between the lines in the book, Rin is the daughter of Jiang and Hanelai, with Hanelai being Altan's aunt, making Rin his cousin. Jiang is described as handsome, even possessing a timeless beauty. I believe Hanelai is beautiful too, even though Jiang probably values things beyond beauty; at the end of the day, he's a nikara man, so it could be said that he was attracted to Hanelai's beauty. Besides, Altan was incredibly handsome. Do you agree with me that having two supposedly beautiful parents would mean they would conceive a beautiful child as well?

There are many factors we can discuss regarding Rin's beauty, mainly concerning the social/ethnic class she belongs to. No one has ever seen the offspring of a relationship between a Nikara and a Speerly, so it was obvious that Rin would be viewed with suspicion. And she hasn't had access to learning about how to take care of her appearance (and I think she doesn't care either), so it was obvious that at first glance she would appear inferior. And there's the fact that nobody said Rin was ugly throughout the entire trilogy (that I remember), they only stated the obvious: she could be considered ugly because she didn't meet Nikan's beauty standards. But we, as a society, know that not being the standard doesn't always automatically mean a person is ugly.

So, for me, Fang Runin must be beautiful, and I stand by that view. If she had grown up with her mother or had someone who cared about/encouraged Rin to take care of her appearance, she would indeed be considered an exotic beauty (which is a very racist term, but it would fit here). I don't believe Rin is ugly at all; I think Nikara society is prejudiced, and Rin was close to the elite, so she wouldn't be viewed favorably.

[rorybelly]

jiang & hanelai

had to recycle rin’s face from a different drawing bc i just couldn’t figure out how to draw hanelai lmao

[ssuahgx]

what's your favorite trope? idk maybe falling in love with a doomed speerly

[pandapanadera]

can we talk about how everyone who falls in love with a speerly has the destiny to see their lovers die and never loving again?

[hollywoodbabylondean]

Mai’rinnen was so small, but she felt so heavy in Hanelai’s arms.

Hanelai would die. She would be killed by the Federation or by Riga, and it didn't matter which one, but she couldn’t let her daughter enter Ziya’s custody.

Ziya’s custody was Riga's custody. He couldn't keep her safe from his anchor, and Ziya had clearly made his choice. The promises that he would love her forever, that no harm would befall their child that he whispered throughout nine months of pregnancy and horrible sobriety, she now knew to be empty. Riga would look for the missing child on the coast, in the islands off of Snake or in Dragon.

Tikany was empty. Farmland compounded, and once the farmland gave way to society, the shops were single floor, even often single-room. She doubted Riga knew this place existed. This was the place. Finally, she found the magistrate's office, and he looked at her, then the baby in her arms.

"Our orphanage is full."

"Please. You need to take her. She's weaned. Mai’rinnen- Rinnen-" Mai’rinnen fussed in her arms, finally waking up.

"Mama?" Hanelai’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces. She looked at her with so much trust.

"I have opium. Imperial silver. Beads. Sorghum wine." She couldn't leave the baby on the street and leave it to chance. Ziya had lavished gift upon gift during the pregnancy, dressed her like an Empress, but none of that would matter, she would burn in a matter of weeks. "Her name is Rinnen."

"Speerly babies are extra," he replied boredly. "The Federation sent some soldiers in a few months ago. Took all our Speerlies. Paid well for them. Five silver. Each one."

She laid an entire string of silver on the table, along with a half-full gourd of sorghum wine and her entire stash of opium. "She's not a Speerly. You don't have any more Speerlies."

The magistrate uncapped the gourd and swirled the alcohol around, smelled it, then set it down again. "I haven't seen any Speerlies." Hanelai started to set Mai’rinnen down, but she began to cry. She wanted to pick her up again, but she knew she'd never put he down again. She knew her daughter would burn with her if she didn't leave her now. Then, a rare moment of empathy. "I'll make sure they keep the name. Rinnen." Hanelai nodded gratefully, then turned and left the building.

Months later, when the Mugens came with the opium bombs, gas, and crossbows and swords, the last thing Hanelai could think of when the Phoenix sang its song too loudly to ignore was that Speer wouldn't die, not really.

They missed one.

And Speer worshiped a god of Vengeance.

[teapot27]