ABANDONED BY PROVIDENCE

 001  : literate to novella.
I exclusively write at literate (several paragraphs) to novella (2000+ characters) response literacy. There is no pressure to mirror me, and it goes without saying that the pace of a scene can change at a whim, so I fully understand if you do not wish to match. However, please provide me with at least some content to respond to/work with. Roleplay is not a one-sided street, and I can't constantly come up with something from nothing on the fly. Pull your weight too.

 002  : no erp.
I don't engage in NSFW with anyone i'm not comfortable with, much less in general. Please do not ask about this. ERP is not an option on the table and never will be unless if I trust you. Fade-to-blacks, suggestive stuff, flirting, etc; is fine. Explicit content is not.

 003  : don't force ships.
I understand a large charm of RP is being able to realize your favorite pairings/polycules/etc. However, I do not want to engage in a plot that may feel forced or unnatural for the sake of fulfilling that criteria. If you seriously want something, discuss it with me and I will provide my thoughts on its viability. This does not warrant a guaranteed "yes." I am open to planning and discussion, but I still need to keep my character's accuracy and the spirit of proper portrayal in mind.

 004  : don't godmod/etc.
I love combat roleplay and tension as much as the next guy, but come on man. Don't be a killjoy or a mary sue. Absolutely no powerplaying, godmodding, etc. If you want to win something for plot reasons, just talk to me ooc and we can figure something out.

 005  : be patient.
This should go without saying, but I am a busy person with a life outside of writing and roleplaying. Please be patient when waiting on my responses, especially given their length. Do so for me, and I will do the same for you. If I don't answer for more than a week without notice, feel free to call it off or spam ping me. If you want extensions, just talk to me. I am incredibly lenient and will let most things slide. Let's cooperate and be considerate of each others' time.

 006  : don't assume.
My depictions of my muses tend to vary or diverge from canon in their own weird ways. I roleplay according to my personal interpretations of canon, meaning they can and will not follow common fanon. This muse in particular is canon-divergent.

"the world has turned its back upon us. the capital has denied my requests for reinforcements, but i cannot tell the men for fear of damaging morale. i know this is the end... and yet now, i am forced to ask myself: what good is a god who turns a blind eye to the suffering of its subjects?"

 accursed namesake...        once ordained geshu lin , 哥舒臨
 the masses called him...        general , flamebearer , ashura
 those held beloved...        men, rarely women. most long lost.
 years wasted...        early to mid-30s. the years blend together.
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF ONE'S BIRTH...        a cold winter night basked in blood and fire. his mother was a slave and his father an abbot; she had sought shelter in his temple and repaid her debts with her body. he did not know either of his parents for long, as his mother had passed giving birth to him, and he was raised largely by bandits after they had destroyed his father's temple. he does not regard anyone as his family, whether by blood or by bond.
 REPUTATION...        a heretic. a traitor. three years ago, geshu lin dove into ovathrax's heart. after the battle beneath the crescent, his unconscious and heavily wounded body was recovered from the ocean by a fishing village 300 kilometers south of jinzhou. he was promptly imprisoned for his crimes in war, such as blatant neglect of life, mass murder, and treason against the nation of huanglong. three weeks ago, he was to be escorted in chains to the capital for a formal execution--but a sudden storm sent the party astray, and the prisoner, as well as over fifty armed guards, never arrived.

 demeanor to those dear...        now few if any at all. perhaps at one point in time, he would have been regarded as uncharacteristically doting. silent, stoic, often disliking the mere idea of expressions his affections in ways that obeyed social convention. he would rather his emotions be conveyed quietly; or better yet, go unnoticed entirely. behavior to those distant...        cold, aloof, and stubborn. though infamous for his incredible willpower and limitless ambition, the general hardly had time to spare for activities besides fighting a losing war amidst the failings of his predecessors. many may have described him as dismissive, distant, and reclusive, instead choosing to dedicate his time to futile plans he knew would never succeed. ire for a foe...        unstable in temperament; one might even say he has been corrupted by his own bottomless appetite for victory. once wronged, he will stop at nothing to achieve revenge; whether the target of his resentment is humanity, the enemy, or the gods themselves. unfortunately, this same boundless ambition is what dug his own grave.

 adorations...        many years ago, he enjoyed playing the guqin and brewing tea. after his conscription, he demonstrated incredible skill with almost every military weapon; piercing elegantly through enemies with a jidao, cleaving his challengers with hudiedao, and carving the memory of his bloodlust into history with a colossal zhanmandao. he was adept with any blade to a degree that had never before been seen by the nation of huanglong; though it is unclear if these skills are still maintained. at the end of the day, he will do anything to achieve victory; whether he must break his bones anew to raise a blade against the skies, there is no cost too great in comparison to the debts he seeks to repay. fated disdain...        the gods, the unworthy, the pompous frauds of huanglong, and every accursed eye of humanity that turned their backs upon him. his arms are wrought with scars of lashing and chain alike, and their pale glares exist only to sneer at his own incompetence; each and every jagged gash a sardonic evidence toward his failures. sometimes, he thinks his own body exists to mock him. he has never enjoyed the look of his own smile, much less the sound of his own voice. evidence of a soul...        in silence and in lonesome, he would have lived a better life. he once enjoyed chadao, and considered himself rather adept at it. the general was never meant to be a loud person; he would have much preferred he went unnoticed all his life. alas, war found him before he found himself; and bygone are the days of sitting on village porches, pretending his damned best to meditate.

 long deserved rest...        after finally coming to terms with his rise and fall, the general opened his arms to death in a manner that could only be described as "gratitude." ovathrax accepted his sacrifice, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically to be a manner of simple execution. did he know better? or had he always intended for his life to end this way? twisted destiny...        the general soon found his body no longer his own, but a vessel of war and pestilence. "this endless bloodshed you have wrought with your own hands; it is a pledge of your fealty." imprisoned within his own mind, every haggard breath drew pain when he did not submit to its whims. ovathrax's thorns curled deeper into his heart, and his hatred for the sentinel grew ever more visceral. distortion of life...        three days after the end of the battle beneath the crescent, jinzhou's patrollers were sent into the battlefield to recover the deceased for funeral proceedings. not long after, a transmission arrived in jinzhou's military headquarters from a rather innocuous fishing village 300 km south; "URGENT. GENERAL GESHU LIN ALIVE. CONDITION CRITICAL."

"honor and discipline are meaningless in the eyes of war. all you are is a weapon, a means to an end, an object to be used by an uncaring lord, and a sacrifice lovingly called a martyr by the pompous and obscene."

 the puppeteer is...        referred to as "ruyi" 21, he/him. writer of 14 years & artist of 17 years. pacific standard timezone; moderate chinese, fluent english. i write according to personal interpretations of canon and largely base my depiction off of the chinese localization of geshu lin, not the english one. thus, personality differences are present.

 references of note...        this depiction of geshu lin takes inspiration from medias such as: berserk, the first berserker: khazan, sekiro, and fromsoft games in general.this geshu lin also has buddhist influences, based heavily on the observations made here.thematically, he is most inspired by khazan from tfb: khazan/dnf.

 credits for used media...        psd used is a darker version of terrible things by vendettapsds. osts for the blog theme are composed by jeremy soule. ownership disclaimer...        obviously, i do not own geshu lin. all rights for this character are kuro games' and i merely use said assets for personal storytelling purposes.