Corriyami

Corriyami

Since I am in a mood, I do want to explain about a very important thing to the Cryas Chronicles mythos:

Corriyami.

''For as long as the people of Umbralus and Illumalus have called those two realms their home, there has always been the constant fear of a substance that exists in both realms. Some saw it as a sick creation of a deity, others saw it as just a natural plague of the world. Whatever they believed of its origin, one thing was clear throughout history: its horrific effects on animals and their fellow kin.''

Corriyami as it is more understood in the modern times is an extremely dangerous mutagenetic organic substance. It has been recorded in coming in two states of matter: an extremely dense fog and as a semi-fluid liquid state. The fog form of Corriyami is significantly denser than air, so tends to be found relatively close to the ground. The fog state tends to be most commonly observed in caverns, low level areas on the surface, or leaking out of victims. If enough of the fog state is present, it will condense down to the liquid state. The liquid state can range in size from puddles to massive lakes, generally the most common form of the substance. Typically, researchers and inhabitants have noted its tendency to exist in areas where rainfall cause the substance to move down, eventually collecting into many areas such as valleys, caverns, or below sea-level lake beds. Corriyami in of itself is denser than water, so will fall to the lower level of bodies of water as the water pushes it down. The color of the substance tends to be that of a primarily violet-blue hue. Many have noted a very pungent, musky, rotten like scent in areas where Corriyami has been noted to be present.

What makes Corriyami so dangerous and feared by all is what it does to its victims. As mentioned, Corriyami specifically targets lifeforms that have blood in their systems, so the likes of plant life and insects are immune to the substance. Thus, all manner of animal and intelligent life-forms that require blood, like Umbrians, Illumins, and Aunakins are susceptible to Corriyami. For it to infect a victim, the fog or liquid state must be absorbed into the body via contact with the skin. When it enters the victim's body, the substance will travel through the victim's body, seeking a pathway to the individual's brain via the victim's nervous system and bloodstream. As soon as Corriyami makes contact with the skin, the body does two things. The first is to alert the victim via pain receptors firing off to alert the individual. Once the alerts are sent, the body then creates adrenaline in order to give the individual a fighting chance to escape from the source of the Corriyami and fuel the immune system in order to seek and destroy the substance. Due to the co-existence of Corriyami and life-forms on Umbralus and Illumalus for hundreds of millions of years, the immune system of the lifeforms there are quite capable of combating and destroying the substance. But in return, the Corriyami has grown resilient and persistent, more or less brute forcing its way through the body.

When enough can make it to the brain, the Corriyami will infect the victim's brain, sending signals to the body to cease the immune system's attempts to further combat the invasive substance. This begins what many know as 'Corruption'. The first step of Corruption is the shutdown of the pain receptors, carefully manipulating the victim's nervous system in order to do so. The individual for the time being will still have control of their body as the Corriyami allows the body time to heal from the initial assault. As the body heals, the Corriyami will slowly set the foundation for the next big step by eating at non-vital fluids and organs of the body. This allows more Corriyami to form and spread throughout the body as it is being carried through the blood stream. As it does this, it begins to supplant the immune system, consuming and converting white blood cells. Should any diseases begin to enter the body, the Corriyami will merely consume them. A cruel form of protection for the victim. Once the immune system is fully taken and enough of the substance has moved throughout the body, inserting into areas where the muscles of the body are, the terminal stages of Corruption can commence.

Full Corruption, as it is diagnosed as, begins with Corriyami hijacking the motor controls of the victim via their muscles. As it does this, it will then begin the process of supplanting the blood cells in the individual. Despite the destruction of blood cells, the Corriyami will take on the role of the blood cells via carrying vital air molecules and nourishment thought-out the body where it is needed. The substance still needs the victim alive for as long as possible. Once all the blood in the victim has been converted, the victim is no longer in control of their actions. Unable to talk, unable to move of their own accord, they merely exist now as a living incubator for Corriyami. At this point, the Corriyami will start to move the victim around. While it does need to infect other organisms in order to continue the cycle, it is careful at how it interacts with other lifeforms. While pain receptors have been completely destroyed at this point, the Corriyami is careful with how it engages.

As the victim, dubbed 'The Corrupted', are moved around, their body will begin to secrete out bits of excess Corriyami that is made in the body. Should the Corriyami determine that a lifeform poses a threat to the victim, it will do what it can to keep the victim from being killed via mutating parts of the body to defend itself. Aggressive tactics are implemented to either scare off would be attackers or to attempt to harm and spread the substance. However, should this not work, the body will begin to create liquid blisters of Corriyami laced fluids upon the skin, where they will eventually burst and spread some of the substance onto attackers. If all else fails, the Corrupted will retreat. In circumstances where the Corriyami can happen upon a harmless lifeform, it will secrete Corriyami from the body to then spread to another victim. This process of multiplying in the victim's body and spreading the substance to others while also keeping the Corrupted alive goes on for days. During this time, the Corriyami begins to eat at more and more fluids and organs in the body. Once it is nearing the end of running out of parts of the body to consume, the Corriyami will seek to find an area close to populated areas or an area with high concentrations of Corriyami. Once there, the victim remains motionless as the Corriyami finally kills the victim. From there, the rest of the organic matter is consumed from within at a rapid pace. With this rapid consumption of the body, gaseous Corriyami is expelled from the with much force, spreading as much around. Once it is done, all that remains is the skeleton of the victim. The cycle has been complete and the Corriyami can begin anew.

The highly volatile and high energy nature of Corriyami makes it relatively difficult to destroy. While the immune systems of life forms on Umbralus and Illumalus have evolved overtime to create special antibodies that exist solely to destroy Corriyami, they are not full proof and can be completely overwhelmed if too much of the substance enters into the body. Even if an individual can escape and not suffer Corruption, the individual is left in a sickened state for quite some time as the body gets weak from expending so much energy to have the immune system fight in overdrive to destroy any trace of the substance. Corriyami has been found to be immune from any sanctioned, conventional means to fight bacterial and viral infections. However, it does not mean it is fully immune from being destroyed. From what few tests have been allowed under the strictest guidelines, some chemicals have been found to be able to destroy Corriyami. However, those tended to be chemicals of extreme danger in themselves to lifeforms and even then, required a high amount as the substance will still prove resilient from chemical attacks as the Corriyami would merely try to convert whatever chemical particles tried to breach its structures. Effectively, the substance has to be overwhelmed. Radiation is the most effective means of destroying the substance, but once again, still requires a high amount as the substance's structure is resilient enough to stand strong.

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling Lore Bits

Want to give some scattered bits of lore information regarding the Shao sisters in Cryas Darkstalkers. Help to give you a bit more insight into them as people beyond just being Xianshushi jiangshi. 🤗

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling are an ethnic mix of Manchu and Han, with their mother being Manchu and their father being Han.

Due to their mother, many customs and cultural aspects they hold onto are predominantly Manchu in nature.

Pickled vegetables, like cabbage, play a major role in their diet. The coffin they travel with has compartments with jars of such delicacies ready for consumption or preparation for meals.

Mantou (馒头) is a staple food that the sisters will eat often. A steamed bun made of wheat, they will sometimes add other flavoring in the process to add some additional flavor.

Due to the incident that made the sisters aware of what happens when a jiangshi tastes blood, Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling refuse to eat any meat-based food if it wasn't prepared by them or a very trusted individual.

As far as meat in their diet, they primarily obtain that via fishing or small game hunting. When they have the chance with what little money they get, they do buy pork as a treat. Blood sausage was something they did consume in a soup when they were human. However, they no longer consume this as they can't.

Often, Mei-Ling will grill them food over a fire. From grilling meat to making varies types of stir fries, it is a great day when the Shao sisters can enjoy a meal cooked over a campfire.

For a hearty and filling meal, Mei-Ling will make baozi (包子). Quite the savory dish.

As a special treat for difficult hunts or special occasions, Mei-Ling will make suziyie doubao (蘇子葉豆包), one of Hsien-Ko's personal favorites. It is a steamed bun filled with sweetened mashed beans.

Mei-Ling has a major sweet tooth. Her personal favorite sweet is a treat that their mother would make for them: Sachima (沙琪玛). A very sweet fritter treat, it is strands of fried batter that are bound by sweet, sugary syrup. She remembers by memory how to make this treat.

Another sweet on Mei-Ling's radar is dragon's beard candy (龍鬚糖), a treat similar to cotton candy. An incredibly rare treat, she tries to find time to figure out the secret to making this dish as it is difficult and time consuming.

Mei-Ling does try her best to not eat as many sweets. It isn't so much because she fears getting fat, just more so keeping in mind the idea of self-discipline and control.

The sisters don't actually eat as much rice dishes as you would think, thanks in part to how they grew up. But they do engage occasionally when the chance arises.

Tea and water are common for the sisters to drink. Interestingly, they do prefer to drink warm/hot water rather than cold water.

Newcomer to a new realm.

Hello there people of the world of Tumblr! Pretty new to this place so give me a bit to get my bearings in this new, strange land of the digital landscape. Just to at least give an immediate bit about me, the name is Aura! I have been told by some this can be a good place to keep some info down since one of my big things is my OC lore and lore for an AU I have. The AU is for Darkstalkers known as Cryas Darkstalkers. My OCs also has a name for that mythos known as Cryas Chronicles. Just a fun passion project I hope to keep up till the day I am no longer among this world. With that said, I hope to in time share my love and lore that I have in my brain for both over time with this blog and stuff. Also art that I make! I hope you have fun seeing what I have to share and all that.

Donovan Baine, Dhylec, and Anita

Quite a mouthful, but this trio is pretty connected, so they are gonna relatively be put together. Donovan will take the bulk of this since there is actually quite a lot to his backstory. First of all, his render!

Now to talk a bit about changes. So first off, one thing I never liked about his official design was the fact his top was skintight: It just didn't look right. I was down for the aesthetic idea of a Buddhist monk that he had going, so I kept that. However, his top is now drawn in a way that his clothing would actually flow and wrap around his body. The big thing you might have noticed is the new garment he wears to cover his legs. That there is known as a longyi, a clothing piece worn by the people of Myanmar. The reason I chose that was because I wanted to pick a country of origin for him in Cryas Darkstalkers since in the original timeline, he never had a specific country of origin. However, he always gave the vibe of being a SEA. As I researched around, Myanmar caught my eye for being a country where Buddhism was a prominent religion there and for the fascinating longyi. In Cryas Darkstalkers, Donovan is Myanmarese.

So, with a country of origin and a nationality, does that mean he has a birth date? Why yes indeed he does in this mythos. Donovan was born in a village on March 3rd, 1949. This combines the release of Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge/Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge in Japan in the arcade (March 3rd, 1995) and the birth of Hideyuki Kikuchi (September 25th, 1949), author of Vampire Hunter D.

With him being a dhampir, that means he was conceived by a human and vampire. In Cryas Darkstalkers, his parents actually have names! His mother is a human known as Nandar with his father being a vampire known as Dragomir Baine. Now in the original timeline, it seems to imply his father was not around when he was being raised by his mother, which have some rather unpleasant implications. Not in this mythos.

Story time!

Now originally, Dragomir hailed from the lands of Maximoff in Makai serving as a warrior. However, after Demitri's failed coup and surviving the battle, life for vampires was not pleasant. While many did what they could to survive and live, Dragomir had enough. Aware of the Gate, he made the dangerous journey towards the Gate in order to escape from the turmoil he faced continuing to live in Makai. Now on Earth, he tried to figure out what to do from here. As he traveled the lands, he would eventually wind up deep in the rural areas of Myanmar. One day, as he was looking for blood to sustain himself, he happened to catch sight of woman that caught his full attention. He was bewitched by her looks and felt something in his heart of hearts. After thinking, he made the choice to approach this woman, after doing certain things to make himself look a bit more human. Overtime, they would get along and eventually marry. On that fateful day in March, they conceived a son, whom they named Donovan.

Life for the Baine family was very modest, but fulfilling as they enjoyed one another's company. Dragomir felt content in life with having a loving wife that he wanted to be with and a son that symbolized their deep bond. Nandar was also quite happy that Dragomir showed himself to not only be quite strong and handsome but was a dedicated man who always did what he could for her and Donovan. Not only that, but Dragomir was also respected by the people in the village for his honest and modest demeanor. Dragomir was not above being firm, but never raised his voice or hand to his son or wife. In all, it was a happy family life. However, neither his wife nor son were aware of his true origins as a vampire and thus their son being a hybrid. Many a times, he thought about coming clean to them as it could be a potential danger of Donovan is not made aware. However, he was fearful of them rejecting him. He was deathly afraid of losing the only people that gave his life meaning and purpose.

Before he could tell them, one fateful day in 1957 as he made a trek to the nearby village to get some supplies for his family, he vanished without a trace. Nandar and Donovan panicked and eventually their village had men search as far as they could. The only thing they ever found was bit of clothes, draped in blood. Nandar and Donovan were devastated. As they tried for days to pick up the pieces in their lives and hearts, fate would deal the Baine family another cruel hand. On the night of November 7th, 1957, a Blood Moon occurred over the lands of Myanmar. Donovan shook in his sleep as he began to have an intense nightmare. Hearing all sorts of horrendous, blood curdling sounds, he screamed in terror, desperate to get away from these sounds. Eventually, he awoke but in the middle of the village at night. As he got his bearings, he saw a horrid sight: mutilated corpses as far as he could see. Mortified by what he was witnessing, he cried in terror and tried to make his was back home for his mother. However, he froze as he saw his mother... on the floor dead. Blood running from her lacerated body, he fell down emotionally dead. As he put his hands to his face, he felt something cold: blood on his hands. It was then as he really took a good look at himself, he realized what happened. He killed everyone... his neighbors, his friends... his mother. As all these emotions welled up at the gravity of the situation, he screamed a blood curdling scream of terror and wailed with a deep sorrow over what he had done. Eventually, he just sat there motionless has he couldn't scream anymore and cried himself dry of tears and emotion. In due time, a man found him as he heard the wails and screams while out on a trek. No ordinary man though as he was also a hybrid. He felt for the young child, and after coercing him, managed to bring the silent but compliant Donovan with him back to where he lived: a village deep in the woods where Darkstalkers lived.

For a decade, Donovan lived among the people of this hidden village. While its population was that of Darkstalkers and hybrids, there was a monastery of Buddhist humans who showed no malice towards these people. If anything, they showed compassion and helped guide the people with the teachings of Buddhism. Donovan kept to himself, barely emoting, and just seemed to only survive more than live. He was still traumatized by that night and the death of Nandar by his hands. But something else also ate away at his mind: his father. As the people found out he had the blood of a vampire as well, that meant his father was a vampire. Why did he say nothing about this? What was his intentions with him and especially his mother? Were they only pawns to him for something heinous? No... he was always kind and respectful. He loved them... and that is what hurt and confused young Donovan. What happened that night was the works of a monster. The blood of a monster flowed through his body all because of his father... but his father was no monster. He couldn't make heads or tails of anything, his mind always tormented by that night, by his mother's mutilated body, his tainted blood, and his father.

The adults and monks tried to help Donovan as he grew. Attempts were made to teach him peace and enlightenment through the ways of Buddhism. Donovan went along without protest. If anything, maybe this could help find a way to make sense of everything and find some peace. While he showed discipline in taking the lessons to heart and dedicating himself to Buddhism, his mind would still be uneasy, like ripples in a lake. As he continued to practice and learn, one thing did catch his attention. Stories of this deity who roamed the lands known as Nǚ Jì Sī and her servant, Guì Zi Shǒu. Tales of Nǚ Jì Sī's exploits of heroism towards the people of the lands far and wide. Ridding the world of the scourge. These tales seemed to strike a chord with Donovan, eliciting some reactions from him. Thoughts would circulate between his studies in Buddhism and the stories of Nǚ Jì Sī. When he was 18, he made a decision. He would go out and journey to follow in the footsteps of his hero. He would seek to bring peace to himself, repent his sins by saving the people from the monsters and evil of the world. From then, he set out on his long journey of repentance.

Donovan would return back to the village after a six year journey. Much had happened in that time as he not only honed his skills as a warrior, but even met the fabled Nǚ Jì Sī and Guì Zi Shǒu. As it turns out, the mythical figures were Chinese twin sisters who transformed themselves into undead spirits with the goal of saving their mother, known as Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko respectively. After aiding them with fighting of the powerful vampire Demitri in Romania, he went back home in order to process everything that had happened. The monks and people welcomed him back with open arms, surprised that he not only was still alive, but a bit more willing to talk and emote. As he took time to get back to his meditation, his studies with Buddhism, and contemplate about all he had been through, Donovan was plagued by a strange sound. It was not constant, but no matter if awake or asleep, he kept hearing what appeared to be a voice... calling out to him? After discussing with elders for help, it was determined that he was in fact in connection with something. Something to the northeast, a force was calling to him. They were not sure what it was nor its intent, but with this news, Donovan set out to go find the source.

As he traveled, ever slowly the voice would get a bit clearer. In time, he found himself in Tibet, among the Himalayan mountains. At this point guided merely by the voice, he eventually traversed the mountain before him to discover a strange alcove in said mountain. Examining it, he found that there was an opening to a tunnel. Aided by torchlight, he went in and found a boulder oddly blocking something. He could hear the voice the clearest it had ever been. Determined and with his strength, he moved the massive rock to the side and happened upon an odd sight: A chamber with only a sword embedded into a stone with a set of beads among the guard. While perplexed, he realized that the voice was coming from the blade. While unsure at first, he decided to unsheathe the blade. As he put his hand on the handle, he heard many other voices speaking to him, warning him to not take out the blade. However, the voice that had been calling to him spoke brashly against the voices, realizing someone was actually in the room. He pleaded with Donovan to let him free, complaining how he had been stuck here for so long and that he was bored since the 'other guys' were no fun.

The other voices interjected to explain to Donovan about the reason why the blade must stay sealed. Known as Dhylec, the blade was once a demon that caused havoc many moons in the past with a group of other creatures. In time, he was confronted by a noble monk who sought to end his campaign of terror. With his spirits and skills at his aid, he actually proved a difficult challenge for Dhylec. Seeing their boss struggling and wishing to save their hides, his group turned on him and aided the monk with taking down Dhylec. Despite the combined forces, Dhylec proved to be hard to kill. In a last-ditch effort, with the aid of the spirits, the monk transformed the demon into a blade. With the spirits at hand, he had control over the demon sword. However, even as a sword, Dhylec still proved rebellious. Seeing no other option, he knew he must be sealed away. With the aid of the surviving demons, they dug out a chamber in a high point in a mountain and sealed him there for all of time.

Dhylec interjected that sure, he caused some trouble here and there, but that he is willing to change so long as he can be released. At this point weeping, he promised he would be a good guy. He just wants to taste some fresh air again. While befuddled, Donovan then decided to make the decision to release Dhylec. Now free, Dhylec whooped and cheered as he got to move his body for the first time in centuries. At that point, he started to ramble in anger about his posse, spewing profanities about their betrayal and wishing to get back at them. Donovan merely stood there perplexed at the sight of a living sword, beads in hand. It was then, the spirits talked to him. They made it clear that Dhylec was now Donovan's responsibility as this blade could not be trusted on its own. Should he choose to deal with this blade, they would offer their power and services to aid him in keeping this blade in check. With this offer, he decided to adhere to being the wielder of Dhylec. While Dhylec was not keen on being a tool and listening to someone, he realized that he had to go along as he didn't want to be back in that stone. From then on, the strange duo of Donovan and Dhylec would set out to continue his journey.

For ten years, the odd duo worked together in a rather uneasy gentlemen's agreement. While Dhylec was helpful in providing Donovan more means to fight the wicked, he was rather annoying. Likewise, while Dhylec was grateful to finally be able to stretch his limbs and feel the blood rush of battle once more, he still was annoyed at having to adhere to a master. But overtime, they managed to find ways to cope with each other's company. Traveling through Europe again, as they rested for the night, both suddenly felt a powerful spike in power. Both were shocked at not only feeling this power, but how far away it was. Clocking on to the direction it came from, Donovan set out to locate the source. Days of travel found him and Dhylec in a village. As he got ever closer to the source, he found himself at an orphanage. Seeing that it was a place for children, he wondered if the source could have been from a child. Given the idea of seeking to 'adopt' a child in order to investigate by Dhylec, Donovan talked with the staff in regard to seeking such. Guided by the staff lady, as he was shown the area where some kids were playing, he eventually locked eyes onto a young girl. Her energy, it matched what he felt all those nights ago. But more than that, looking at her face and eyes, he almost felt like he was looking into a mirror image. A face devoid of emotion, eyes that felt soulless, yet sad, it was eerily like seeing himself as a child... no, himself deep down. He approached the child slowly, greeting her. She didn't respond. The staff cautioned him about the child known as Anita.

Anita came here days ago from a village that had been massacred by a group of Darkstalkers. When a merchant found her, she was beside what appeared to be her parents. Oddly enough, every human beside her was killed. But not only that, every monster there was also dead. Anita was the only surviving living being found there among the rubble and death. This resonated with Donnovan as he recalled his trauma of what happened to him all those decades ago. As he thought these thoughts, Anita looked up and stared Donovan in the eyes. This caused Donovan to flinch slightly as he realized the girl was... reading his mind? Why else would she be doing what she is doing right as he had those thoughts he thought. As they both looked at each other, something was clicking. She then walked up to him, and then grabbed his longyi silently letting him know she will go with him. The staff surprised by this, asked Donovan if he wished to take the child with him since this was the first time she had any genuine interaction with anyone. Looking down at her and thinking, he decided to do so. From then on, this odd trio would venture out into the lands far and wide.

Primordial Origins

In Cryas Darkstalkers, there are three ancient deities that are responsible for the creation of major aspects of the universe. They are known as Genesis, Primordial, and Ethereal. In a sense, they don't truly have a form that we could comprehend. The best way to describe each one's appearance is that of a sentient nebula or something akin to Beta Arceus: A mass of energy that has a mind and soul. With that said, allow me to share an excerpt about each deity and their role in creation. Genesis: "Before the aspects of anything, there was merely the endless void. From the void however, an aspect would not only begin to take shape but also thought. From this being, the first soul and mind would be born. As they gazed upon the endless void they were cradled in and then at their own amorphous form, ideas would come to form in them. When their thoughts were finished, their own form would condense down to a singularity until it couldn't hold. From the body of the first aspect, the seeds of creations had been forged and a cosmic explosion of unfathomable proportions had occurred. Many aspects were being created right before the original one's sight: energy, forces, clouds of cosmic dust, light, celestial bodies, space, time, matter...everything. The original aspect marveled with curious joy to see all that was happening before them. While their form was no more as it served the foundation for all, their essence would continue to exist. Sight that reaches all continually growing aspects of reality, the 'Genesis' of all only wished to witness how all will continue to create, grow, and change."

Primordial: "Between the weaves and waves of space-time was the nexus. Beyond the nexus was the void. In a pocket of the void, the seeds of creation bundled together into a mass of dust, energy, and light. This mass eventually moved as the first thought came to be. A soul and mind were born in an area beyond the nexus. As this primeval sentience was beholden to their surroundings, they looked upon themselves. Thoughts flowed as they began to paint the void with the aspects of creation. Clouds of energy laden dust would be the nursery for stars. Celestial bodies of different compositions were grown among the cosmic dust. Nebula rivers would flow through the void as energy and light spread. This sentient nebula was gleeful at seeing all the various aspects they were able to create. In their joy, silence and contemplation would occur. They were the only ones to bear witness to the marvels that were flowing before them. As they thought more and more, their mind slowly went to rest. As this cosmic titan would drift into slumber, their mind would slip evermore. The energy and dust of their form would eventually solidify into a mass of truly cosmic proportions. The star that served as the 'heart' of the sentient nebula would cool and create many different forms of matter. Near the end of all of this, their essence would slowly break apart as their eternal slumber marked their death. Despite no longer existing, this 'Primordial' essence served to create a realm with land that stretched beyond all idea of boundaries. Lifeforms would grow from the pieces of the star in time. Many of these beings eventually began to also gain a sense of awareness, with their own thoughts and 'souls'. Though with no idea why, they would gaze up towards the sky, beholden to the majesty of the cosmos before them."

Ethereal: "Much time had passed since the seeds of creations spread throughout the universe. Within a cradle in between the fabric of space-time and the nexus, a sentient nebula would be born from the bundles of dust and energy. Passing through a point in the nexus, this sentience bared witness to the vast universe before them. They were in great awe at all they saw. As they glided across the cosmos, they couldn't eventually help but feel lonely. All the wonderful celestial bodies they saw looked empty in their mind. With thought, parts of their aspect were taken and molded into various forms. These forms were able to develop thought and looked towards the vast cosmos with their creator. Compelled, these forms would glide across the various bodies across the universe, leaving behind the essence necessary for what would be life... souls. As the aeons passed, the celestial essence saw how life would live and then die. While countless saw the sky, in death they no longer could bear witness. Their minds were still, eternally in a never-ending slumber. Unpleased with this, the cosmic form set back to the cradle where they were born. Their creations following, these 'angels' were beholden to their creator using their body and essence to create a realm for the endless sleeping souls of the universe. Never would they sleep in the void, never would they truly die. Understanding, these children of the 'Ethereal' essence would go to bring the departed to the final resting place. Allowing them a chance to bear witness to the universe before them for all of the foreseeable future." Genesis was responsible for the creation of everything. Primordial, in a layer of the universe, was the creator of the realm of Makai along with Inkai, the afterlife of Makai. Ethereal was responsible for the creation of 'souls' and thus life as we think of it. Not only that, but they also created angles and the afterlife that would serve for all those in the universe, Reikai.

Mei-Ling Design Notes and Inspiration 1/2

Unlike her younger twin, Mei-Ling actually went through a large degree of changes compared to both versions of her design in the main timeline. Honestly, went through a large degree of some research and thought to get to the current design that I now have for Mei-Ling. I hope you find some of these notes interesting and fun to read.

I say two designs, but technically Mei-Ling has like 3 designs: Vampire Hunter, the Darkstalkers OVA, and Vampire Savior. Really sad the only full body look of her VHunter design is literally her sprite. The illustration of her Hunter design from one of the covers of a Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic by Udon is quite the beautiful pin up shot, but makes the mistake of giving her the bracelets she has as part of VSAV design. Oops.

Her design is honestly not that different in the OVA compared to her VHunter design. Only big differences are the color of her clothes under her robes, her pants being a different color, the main color of her robe being a defined orange color, and how her hat is both taller and is both orange and yellow. Actually, sounds like a lot really, but design of the clothes themselves are not that different.

Her VSAV design is a general overhaul of the Hunter design. I can only imagine the reason that was done is because they had to animate her for the 'Detached Souls' Dark Force and it might have been a major pain in the ass to animate her robe and sleeves. It isn't bad, but I hate the hat and prefer her robe being open rather than closed. It is genuinely surprising that despite being a non-playable character, the team gave her a different design. A nice consolation.

OH RIGHT, I need to talk about what my thought process was. Sorry, just needed to note all the interesting design things regarding her different designs. So, I generally have stuck with the design she had in VHunter as I just prefer it more compared to her VSAV design. I might have given a jab to the artist who made that pin up of her for that Udon comic. Let me retract that cause I did basically the same thing when I first started drawing her back in 2020. Tweaked the colors here and there to my liking and made her sleeves not as large, but generally the same idea.

Later on, added a little detail on her clothes that I saw an artist by the name of Murai do with her interpretation. This won't be the last I will bring up this artist, hoo boi.

At one point, I changed the sash around Mei-Ling's waste to be an Obi Sash as to make things easier for me.

Around mid 2021, when I was getting more serious about my Cryas Darkstalkers mythos and even further with my love and obsession with the Shao sisters, I went about the process of giving them a makeover, truly trying to give them distinct enough designs. While Hsien-Ko was not too different as her core design was basically near perfect, there was a lot of room for change for Mei-Ling. I mean hell, she had different official designs anyway, what is stopping me from going ham. I mean hecc, look at this concept sketch when they were considering her design change from VHunter to VSAV. Quite a bit of thought. However, I wanted to go further.

Since I wanted to flesh out the sisters, I went about thinking about their potential heritage, the time period they were alive in during the Qing Dynasty, women's fashion at the time for the potential social status they could have been in at the time, the occupation they were training for, and the fact that…well they are Chinese. Since Mei-Ling gives the vibe of being very into her culture and wanting to maintain it, I wanted her clothing to both show off her heritage and her role as a Xianshushi Mystic. Hsien-Ko is said to be more 'modern' in her mannerisms compared to her older twin, so why not have Mei-Ling be more traditional. The first thing to get us on track is to start at the beginning. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko were born in 1730 in China during the Qing Dynasty period. In my research and with corroboration with a friend of mine, I decided that the Shao sisters would be a mix of Han and Manchu, two ethnic groups that were the most prevalent at the time period. Their mother was Manchu while their father was Han. However, since their father was killed before they were born, they were more influenced in the ways of the Manchu people as they grew up. The Shao family in themselves are not among the imperial courts or the elite. However, because they have provided a great service over the centuries, they are given more leniency and not treated like the common folk. Plus, with eventually being trained to become Xiānshù warriors as their mother saw great potential in them, that helped to influence them as well.

To start with, let us begin with the robe. So, to my understanding in the main timeline Mei-Ling was generally based on the idea of Daoist priest attire. Doing some searches, jiangshi films did feature such priest like characters with that general idea, even with the color. However, I wanted to do a bit more looking. In my search, the open robe design that her VHunter and my design go with is something referred to a beizi (褙子).

Some parts of Daoism do have their priest having an open robe design, but also the beizi in general was a form of wear that the Chinese people did wear.

It was around during the time of the Qing Dynasty and according to Wikipedia, it was something that was dominant among the Han women of the time. A nice way to acknowledge her Han roots. Yellow doesn't seem to be really a thing with actual Daoist priests' attire, but it just fits Mei-Ling so well, I stuck with that color. While the beizi is prominent with having long sleeves, I decided to trim it down enough to where it ends past her elbow, kinda like her VSAV robe's sleeve length. Ey, giving some credit to that design. As for the trimming, this card I came across showed it in a neat way where it is actually not just flat but has some dimension to it. I liked that and went with it, along with the idea of the trimming being orange.

The hat is loosely based on a hat known as a guānjīn, shown on the far left of this image.

The main timeline version was certainly not one to one about it. But honestly, I like the stylized, simpler idea, so I used that as a base. I took a lot of observations and notes from the way the OVA hat is drawn. However, I just prefer the hat to be one color, so I stuck with yellow. I liked the yin-yang symbol as well, so kept that too.

Another minor detail about Mei-Ling's beizi are these almost padded looking pieces of cloth that follow her trapezius to around the middle of her shoulder. Honestly, I just made them up. These concept sketches I made show me coming up with the idea as I was thinking of her design. It just looks cool and neat.

On to the garment underneath.

With the Shao sisters also being Manchu, this is where some of the influence kicks in. The Manchu wore a set of clothing known as 旗裝 (qízhuāng). The specific kind that the sisters wear falls under something known as Bianfu (便服). Mei-Ling's bianfu is stylized to be a robe that is the length of a magua.

The sleeves are loose and long enough to reach her wrists. The main part of the robe is rich red color while having trimmings and a collar of a lavender color. Contrasts nicely against her beizi.

You may be curious what is going on with the cloth around her waist. Honestly, it was only put there mostly to help solve an issue I had with Mei-Ling's design: the bagua mirror. So, in this shot from the OVA, it is held up by a set of straps.

Ok, fair enough. But the issue is that nothing from the front suggest that those straps even exist. The mirror may as well just be magnetically attached to her a la video game style. In my concept phase, I was wondering what to do. One thing I did notice that was really cool was from the story 'Monsters and the Secret of Immortality'.

Granted, the design of Mei-Ling in that story is wildly different from any incarnation of Mei-Ling, but it presented a neat idea: her mirror was holstered at her waist. Not only that, but it did also look a lot more like a bagua mirror in its design. The mirror's design in this story set the base for how I design the mirror, though I only have two rows rather than the typical three. However, she is wearing attire that doesn't really fit with either her Han or Manchu roots, so I needed to come up with something more fitting to her culture. In my research, I did stumble on something that fascinated me.

What you see is not the original image that inspired me, but still illustrates the idea. Cloth at the waist held in place by a ribbon. I honestly don't know if that idea of garment has a name, but it struck a chord: Have the mirror hang around her waist.

Unlike any official design of Mei-Ling and to differentiate herself from Hsien-Ko, I decided to switch from the baggy trousers to a more straight cut pair. Looks nice and smooth and still goes along with the kind of trousers they wore in that time era. The color I chose just honestly meshed well with her bianfu, plus is warm compared the cool colors of the trim of her bianfu.

While the wristbands she has for her VSAV design are cool looking, something about them just doesn't mesh well with what Mei-Ling is supposed to be. While yes, she is a weapon master (and likely taught Hsien-Ko all she knew about weapons), she is presented more as the mystic of the duo. They look rough and tough. Honestly, would look better on Hsien-Ko in all honestly since she is in the thick of battle. However, I still wanted her to have something at her wrist. I chose to go with a simple orange jewel bead wristband. Simple and elegant for her.

So, if the mirror was moved to hanging around her waist, is there nothing at her back? For a while, there wasn't anything. But eventually, the idea of putting some kind of design back there did come to mind. Eventually, I landed on this design.

Her ref sheet goes into to detail about it, but to put it simply dragons have a big thing with their family considering their mother upon using the Art of Unusual Transformation turned into one. According to what I found via searching Japanese sources, primarily the Japanese Wikipedia entry for Hsien-Ko, there is mention of their mother transforming into a golden dragon. That is very cool since the OVA and a few anthology stories show this.

Mei-Ling's official hairstyle is best described as a bob cut. I went with the OVA as a general base, but slowly overtime adjusted it.

On both sides of her hair and near her hairline, there are these basically fangs. Despite her being more human in appearance, I thought it was still a nice idea to subtlety add some mildly wild elements to her since she is non-human. A bit crazier are these two pincer locks of hair. Honestly, I just took what was already part of her official design and exaggerated it into something cool. For some asymmetry, one is larger than the other. As for the general shape of her hair, I did fan it out more for volume as to make her hair different from her human form.

Mei-Ling's general body shape. Honestly, besides making her distinct from Hsien-Ko as they are both fraternal twins, I just wanted to really make her unbelievably beautiful. In a way, considering hardly anyone gives her the time of day because she is non playable, I just like the idea that she is actually very voluptuous and gorgeous. So that is why she has the general proportions she has. I wouldn't say she is skinny or the typical anime proportions: She is just fit, well endowed, and curvy. Among the Cryas DS cast, the only character that is around her breast and butt size is Felicia. As for why she also has tone to some parts of her body, the fact is she was conceptualized with that as you can see with this concept sketch of her official design. Mei-Ling has just about everything going for her in terms of looks.

Whenever she has appeared in games or media, Mei-Ling has had a multitude of different eye colors. I personally just stuck with green, like the OVA did. Green just looks nice on her, really makes her face mesmerizing. Specifically, I wanted the shades of her eyes to be more of like jade.

For now, will need to end things here for the first part of this design blog as I have used the permitted 30 images for a blog and the last bits require more images to explain things. So be sure to head to part 2, the final part right here:

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Mei-Ling Design Notes and Inspiration 2/2

If you stumbled on this randomly, please go read part 1 first before engaging any further. Please and thank you.😊🙏 Unlike her younger twin,