Profile
Basics
dumbo runaway aristocrat girl out for an adventure
我朝山中去 带着兰花草
山间风雨大 悬崖亦开花
不愿居暖房 迎风晒月光
我慕天地广 花语意铿锵
Likes
- almond tofu
- big shrimps. for eating
- content
- content
Dislikes
- butterflies
- orchids
- content
- content
Details
{ + Laid-back } Doesn't get very anxious. If it can be solved with money, it's not a problem. If it can't, maybe a nap or two will do. Flip-side: has poor empathy for other people's worries
{ + Fair } Advocate for equity. Despite coming from an aristocrat family, Haitang believes there's nothing inherently different between her and people of other classes. She doesn't bow when talking to people of higher status, nor does she hold herself above those of lower power. However, there is sometimes confusion when habits from her upbringing clashes with her values.
{ + Confident } She may suck at everything, but she sure doesn't know nor care. Good at hyping herself and others up, even when the future seems dire. Flip-side: poor measure of own abilities; can bite off too much to chew
{ = Talkative } A chattermouth. Always muttering about something. If she's not talking to someone, then she's talking to herself.
{ = Mischievous } Likes to break rules. She ran away on a vacation and took her father's sword to cut melons. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
{ = Daring } Brave, may get herself into trouble. Also not one to jump at any scares.
{ × Impulsive } Why does she have so many useless trinkets in her luggage? Impulse buys. Flip-side: things don't get done with just thinking. Haitang acts fast and finishes fast.
{ × Blunt } Not great at being diplomatic. Sugarcoating, she'd scoff at the idea. She'll be straight to the point, even if it's hurtful.
{ × Forgetful } Never remembers birthdays and names. Always losing trinkets here and there. It's a surprise she hasn't lost herself yet. (Actually, she's as lost as one can be.)
{ Horse-riding } Dakyu [击鞠], polo of the east. Sure, it's a sport for the boys, but with enough nagging, Haitang was able to get her father to host some private matches with her girlfriends. After years of playing, she is now a solid horseback rider and can maneuver through unconventional balances.
{ Calligraphy } Of the Four Arts [琴棋书画], Haitang's favourite is brush calligraphy. She's never had a knack for chess - too much brain power, nor music - fingertips hurt, but calligraphy is fun! She likes how each character is filled with imagery, and no one's allowed to call her out if her splashes and strokes are ugly. Like any other skill, with enough practice and accumulation, Haitang is now able to dish out some nice letters on demand.
{ Sword Arts } Why else would she carry around a sword? It's the most convenient piece of equipment around. Haitang never had any formal sword training, and sure, she can't fight for her life, but this sword she stole brought from home has been the MVP in cutting melons and scaring cats off trees. She can use the sword to cut intricate patterns and tiny objects with a high degree of accuracy.
{ Tough Stomach } Haitang's had quite the share of - uh, delicacies - on her trip thus far. Perhaps it's because she's always had the best nutrition and care growing up, her immune system has been strong against the various attacks. She's never taken a second thought before consuming something, but this hasn't really caused any adverse effects.
{ Money x3 } not really an ability// Despite changing her name to avoid her father finding her and forcing her back home, Haitang is still in touch (one-way) with her mother, who often worries if her daughter is doing well out in the world and frequently sends large sums of money. Haitang never figured out how her mother was finding her, but no one's roping her home yet, so who is she to turn down money? If you find yourself needing cash, she's the one to go to! ...but ... who knows if things will change :V
✧ ┊ Has a large hoard of treasures she's collected on her travels, but she keeps losing bits and pieces by forgetting them at various hostels
✧ ┊ Can't remember names, only faces, so she'll often give people nicknames on the get-go
✧ ┊ Absolutely terrified of butterflies, and by extension, orchids as well (because they look like butterflies)
✧ ┊ Really good at packing luggage
Story
tl;dr Daughter of Daliang's Prince of Jin. Weaseled her way to a vacation, which turned into a I-go-where-ever-I-want trip. Saw the hard life and changed her view on the world. Now wants to gain power to become sailor moon, champion of justice, and cultivation is what she set her eyes on.
History
Home is Daliang. Home is the hot, baking summers. Home is mom and dad; money and power; love chained by traditions. Now is Zhongzhou. Now is ever green and ever grey. Now is misty hazy rainy; surrounded by people but always alone; freedom at a cost.
A cost she's willing to pay.
It's not like she'll never go back home, right?
In the capital city Chang'an, Haitang was born to a family of nobles. She was named JingYue, Jing [靖] for pacification and peace, mirroring Daliang's wish for long-lasting stability [长安]. Perhaps this symbol of loyalty to the state worked, because her line was always unscathed in the midst of the difficult political climate. Or, perhaps, her father just had a great relationship with the emperor. After all, they were given the honor to change their last name to that of the royal family. Embellished as the Prince of Jin [晋王], her father, and by extension, her family, never lacked in the department of material goods.
Growing up, Haitang was free-spirited. Her father was rooted in the military and never enforced the stuck-up house rules of the snobby "cultured" scholars. However, as Haitang observed in her near-aged friends, those good days would soon be gone once she married into another family. She always dreaded this unavoidable fate. At 16, she could push the topic off till later. At 18, not so much.
And so she left home, took a trip, a cross-country one. She went and went and went until she passed the borders of Daliang. Of course, her family was worried about her, but she's managed to lose all the squads her father had sent to bring her back, however few they may be. Little did she know, having a child who's gone down the "wrong path of development" is almost a perfect way to knock down the brewing distrust and jealousy the emperor may have cooked up towards an otherwise successful family - would've been better if it had been a son, but a daughter will do too. To Haitang, though, the chase is still on, and so to conceal her tracks better, she decided to change her name. Once the patriotic Li JingYue, now, an inconspicuous haitang [海棠. crabapple] flower.
Despite both being in Daliang, the borders were nothing like Chang'an. Plagued by the perpetual conflicts on the North and Southwestern fronts, the wealth of the capital has little to flow towards the Eastern end of the country. They were not poor, by any means, but the standard of living was completely different from what Haitang was used to. Thievery and robbery were not uncommon, and stories of misfortune were passed on as the dessert after each meal, even as Haitang made her way to the other end of Zhongzhou. She's always had a heroic dream, being the child of a general and all, but truth to be told, her hard skills just weren't up to par. So, when the Golden Lotus flyers kept popping up all along the road, claiming to tap into mystical powers to help the common people, it naturally caught Haitang's attention. The infamous Azure Dragon back home smelled of filthy copper, but this new sect seems different. Maybe, it wouldn't hurt to try.
海棠历险记 aka the novel no one asked for
Drip, drop, goes the rooftop.
Drip, drop.
Plop.
"A stone in water. Water around a stone," chants a purposefully-deepened voice. Its source? A young lady with a typical frail-scholar bun who is staring intently at the pebble she just threw. Ripples flood out from the rock's base, only to be quickly blurred out by the clash of nearby rings from the endless raindrops.
Squatting beside her, a small boy mimics her gaze. After a few seconds, he breaks the inquisitive silence: "... and?"
"And that's life for ya. You can never make a wave big enough to matter," the "scholar" concludes, spitting out a cherry stem from her mouth before standing up and patting the dirt off her pants, "always someone there to wash you out."
Her insight may have sounded deep, but the kid knows bullshit when he sees it, and this one is certainly among the ranks - he lets out a disdaining "qie," air escaping from his absent front tooth into a lisp. Nearby, an earth-shaking holler roars out. Worry not, though. Such a roar is not uncommon. It is the characteristic twice-daily call of the female tiger whose natural habitat is plentiful in this area.
"GOUDAN, LUNCH!!"- says the holler. Copying the same pant dusting, the kid jumps up from his squat. As he scurries back home through the rain, only his voice lingers, "I gotta go eat! ...eat! ...t!"
Left behind all alone, the "scholar" lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes. "Kids these days, where are their manners," she remarks. Why didn't he appreciate her true wisdom ™? She sounded just like the Misters [先生. teachers] from the sishus [私塾. private schools] back home, didn't she? He missed out on some good free education right there. Sky pies like this don't drop often; sucks for him, she guesses, heading back into the room to count her new stash of banknotes.
...but now that he's left, it's just her again. Just herself and the rain.
Drip, drop, goes the rooftop.
Drip.
The plum rain season of Hangzhou shrouds the entirety of the mid-year in fog. This is already the 7th day in a row of rain, and the 26th in the month. It feels like she'll never get used to all the precipitation, although it's only Haitang's first year here. The humidity is enough to suffocate a fish.
Summers back home were hot too - the sizzling sun of central Daliang is no joke - but it's not the same. Here, sweat flows backwards into your glands. Maybe, just a little, Haitang occasionally misses home.
She ran away from home a year and a half ago. "Ran away" is a loaded phrase. What really happened was that she packed her bag full of luxuries, went on a trip, and just kept going. Haitang had just turned 18 back then. Matchmakers came and went day after day and her family got in touch with a few potential future in-laws. But Haitang wasn't ready yet; she wanted at least a trip to see the country before she gets chained down as the unpaid manager of a household forever. Spoiled as she is, her father eventually agreed, letting her travel in the company of a team of bodyguards and service maids.
They were good company, for sure, but Haitang had bigger dreams. After a web of lies and sneaky escapades, Haitang's travel crew of 6 scuttled down to just 1 - herself. When she bridged the border of Daliang, she saved a cat from the tree. The cat's owner, a grandma waiting for her son to come home from a merchant trip, thanked Haitang with a bowl of noodles shaven off fresh from a ball of dough and asked the girl for her name. In the spur of the moment, the girl looked to the flowering tree she was standing under earlier. "Haitang," she answered, "it's Haitang [海棠. Crabapple]."
The name stuck. It lacked class and sounded like a name for a maid, but she couldn't care less. No more pledge of loyalty to Daliang. No more daughter of the Prince of Jin. She was free. Slowly, her father's men stopped showing up. Maybe she finally outran them. Perhaps marriage is not an unavoidable fate, after all.
Only sometimes, when she's counting new deliveries of mysterious banknotes, she wonders if her mother back home is doing well. How is Mother handling Haitang's 28 siblings and 13 adopted brothers? What a strong woman.
Drop.
The endless Hangzhou rain.
HTML by Eggy
