REANIMATED AGAINST YOUR WILL IN SEARCH OF A HOME BEYOND HOPE OF RETURN.
SOMETHING’S BROKEN, FAILING, ROTTING.
PART OF YOUR SOUL IS MISSING.
(It is not home that has changed.)
WHITE IS THE COLOUR OF MOURNING. BLIND, INFLEXIBLE, DESPERATE.
YOUR LOVE BECOMES CONSUMPTION. YOUR PRESENCE IS A CURSE.
A SHADOW, A PARODY, A TRAP.
(You are no longer human. You never meant to die.)
You cannot look upon yourself in mirrors; you cannot bear the toll of bells or rooster’s crow. The break of dawn becomes a fear inherent, a paralysing terror for which you have nothing left within to explain yourself.
(WHAT WITHIN IS LEFT AT ALL?)
To stand in the light, to be looked on by the living and seen for what you are, to be known and decompose under their gaze.
Too little of your throat remains to speak to them, to beg, to scream.
You no longer draw breath. You no longer need to.
Around you, everyone else holds theirs.
*****
I’ve seen a lot of art for Vampire Siffrin and while I’ll never complain about western vampire content I think everyone is sleeping on Jiangshi Siffrin specifically… banquet of symbolic parallels… (elaboration under the cut. ISAT Spoilers therein!)
[Image: a digital painting of Siffrin, from In Stars and Time, as a jiangshi (“Chinese hopping vampire”). He’s posed with arms out and head tilted back, lifelessly limp and apathetic, but still wielding his dagger in one hand and making the scissors sign with the other, as in battle, with long claws. The dagger’s crossguard is curved at each tip, reminiscent of a butterfly sword. Their white cloak is fastened with two red frog buttons instead of safety pins, and a high-collared dark blue robe is visible beneath it. Their hat is tipped with a small red ball and a peacock feather, as seen on the Qing official hats jiangshi are more typically pictured wearing. On his forehead is a fulu talisman, written in red on a long, unfolded, yellow leaf instead of joss paper, though still alight at its tip, with wisps of flame and smoke rising into the air. They’re rendered in detail except for their hair and eyepatch, creating a stark, flat, focal area around their face. End ID.]
Disclaimer: mythology inevitably varies between tellings, so there’s no singular agreed-upon lore. Also, despite my heritage and all my efforts, I can’t read Chinese so I’m stuck working from English sources, which are going to be a lot less comprehensive, and all I can do is try my best.
With that in mind, here’s my argument (once again, spoilers):
(Mal du Pays.) Jiangshi are corpses returned from death after either an improper burial; having died far from home, away from where their family can grieve and honour them alongside their own ancestors (culturally, one’s geographic home is of far more importance than the Anglo-centric world observes); or holding onto a longing strong enough to defy the natural order. They wander aimlessly in search of it, having lost or forgotten the way. They can be safely laid to rest there, but even if they can return to the location, they may not recognise it; undeath has severed them from its spiritual importance. Reaching journey’s end is not enough; the memory that connects to it, and the self that could have found peace there, no longer exist.
(Everything was worth remembering.) Much like zombies, jiangshi lose their humanity and consciousness in death, and no longer remember their ties to those they knew in life. The yang half of the soul (positive, disciplined, ethereal, sapient) ascends to heaven, while the yin half (negative, coarse, corporeal, instinctive) remains in the body, so upon reanimation none of the yang qualities remain to govern them. There is only hunger, and nothing left with which to reason or restrain it. Unlike regular vampires, they feed on a person’s qi (life force, essentially).
(You breathe in, and out.) Jiangshi are blind, but they can detect the nearby presence of the living from their breath. One way to hide from them is to hold it. They nonetheless fear their reflection in mirrors, as well as the sun and any indications of imminent daybreak (including the sound of bells).
(Are you really moving differently, though?) Jiangshi possess superhuman strength, and — being ancient enough, or having absorbed enough qi — are known to defy the rigor mortis that gives them their name (jiangshi = stiff corpse), exhibiting remarkable agility and powers of flight.
(A wish, a wish…) Jiangshi are bound to follow the command given on their paper talisman, ritually written and applied by a Daoist priest to pacify and control them. Usually this is an order to stop endangering the living and calmly find their way home, under cover of night, so they can be quietly and permanently laid to rest.
I’m probably forgetting some others but for me at least the leaf+wish/talisman+command thing is the nail in the coffin, so to speak.
(I also just really really love ISAT and really really love jiangshi and I need to share my vision with the people)
New handle! This is @lady-st4rwynn, but I changed my handle so it thematically ties in with my other blogs!!! What do you think of the rebrand? ~~ I'm still working in my intro post, which I will pin to the top of my blog once I'm done!
When I first started this blog, the idea was to focus on Prisma, their story and development. However that quickly changed, more ideas flowed and came into being, some characters left and were replaced with new ones, and more were added. Prisma Hat AU needed a change. The name no longer fits. The blog no longer focuses on Prisma alone.
To Discord I went to talk with the other mods about this, what could we come up with to call the AU? Mod Quan jumped in while the rest of us struggled with ideas. "Redeemed AU! 'Cause the change from Black Hat to White Hat started with Prisma". YES!
But I'd like to add to the idea. The changes in White Hat started with Prisma's birth and continue with the help of Vin, Alex, Pearl and even baby Aria! Redemption is an ongoing process that one does not achieve alone. It encompasses this entire family we've built.
And so the blog's name and handle will change from Prisma Hat Au to Redeemed AU!
Thanks for all your support and understanding as this blog goes through its changes. We really appreciate you guys ❤
