#modified qipao

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

chinese fashion by 辰子爱婚纱礼服

[ziseviolet]

Qipao/Cheongsam Taobao Shop Recs

A while ago I received a direct message asking for recs on where to buy qipao/cheongsam, and I figured I’d make a post for others who’d also be interested. 

First of all - I think qipao should be tried on and bought in-person if at all possible, since having the right fit is important - especially if it’s for a formal occasion like a wedding. However, since that’s often not possible, I’ve compiled a list of online shop recs, mainly for more casual occasions.

Since English-language online qipao shops are plentiful and easy to find, I’ll be focusing this list on Taobao shops only. Please note that these are my personal recs, based on my own aesthetic preferences. Thus most of the recs are for shops focused on retro-inspired, minguo-style qipao made using the traditional 平裁/pingcai (flat tailoring) method. Also, I have not actually purchased qipao from any of these shops (all my qipao were bought in person) - this is based mainly on how appealing I find the designs.

1. 嬉姷/Xi You - Elegant qipao modelled closely on historical designs, mainly from the Republican era/minguo. Careful attention paid to historical details. My favorite qipao shop to browse for fun:

2. 海上芳时/Shanghai Fancy - Specializes in chic minguo-style designs of the 1920s-1940s. Recently came out with a neat art deco-inspired collection:

3. 唐之语/Tang Zhi Yu - Retro-style qipao in a variety of bold prints, with a focus on the form-fitting designs of the 1950s-1960s, including those from the film “In the Mood for Love”:

4. 繁莳/Fancy Dream - Dreamy, delicate retro-inspired qipao and modified qipao. Also has a nice selection of winter majia (vests):

5. Top Ulara - A large selection of classic, retro-style qipao with a hint of glamour. Offers lots of long/thick/layered qipao suitable for colder weather:

6. 梦回故里/Menghui Guli - Nostalgic, conservative retro-style qipao for all seasons. Old-fashioned in a good way:

7. 柳园旗袍/Liuyuan Qipao - Retro-style qipao with bold and interesting prints, in styles from the 1910s to the 1960s. The shop currently doesn’t show any products, but hopefully it’ll restock soon:

8. 限时赏味/Xianshi Shangwei - Streamlined, retro-style qipao in subtle colors and prints that exemplify understated elegance: 

9. 茉茉/Momo - Tons of options for simple, cute, and casual retro-style qipao suitable for daily wear. Designs tend towards monochromes and all-over prints. Another review/rec here:

10. 珞珞如石/RoseEra - Simple yet elegant retro-style and contemporary qipao. I love the shop’s use of sheer fabrics & layering in its designs:

11. 向南飞FLY - Offers a selection of casually stylish retro-style qipao and modified qipao for daily chic:

12. 川黛/Chuan Dai - Soft, feminine, pastel-infused qipao & modified qipao in retro-inspired and contemporary styles:

13. 四斤自制/Sijin Studio - Creative, avant-garde takes on (modified) qipao & qipao-inspired outfits:

14. 密扇/Mukzin - Colorful, playful, and irreverent modified qipao and qipao-inspired outfits. There’s also an English website here:

If you like the above qipao but still want an English website, there are several Taobao resellers that carry similar designs - for example, Beth and Brian Qipao.

Finally, when it comes to in-person shops, I want to highlight Xiangjiang Silk Co., a relatively new boutique in New York City specializing in actual vintage 1950s-1960s qipao. There’s an article here on the boutique and its founder Heather Guo (who was featured in Vogue). Store visits are appointment-only, so you’ll have to reach out to Heather via her social media if you want to drop by.

If anyone has reviews of the above shops and/or more qipao shop recs, please share! ^^

Bonus: I also have online shop recs for hanfu (1, 2), modified hanfu/hanyuansu (1, 2), hanfu accessories, weimao, and hair accessories. 

[luckynightkryptonite]

[elegantstreetout-hideout]

Street fighter 2: The animated movie

[devotedly-jovialb1ossom]

Sakura's resolve

[classyhideouthearth]

[art-of-treble]

pansy asymmetrical bridal qipao - qipology (x)

[drops-of-moonlights]

Mythix! Es una combinación Mythix! De fantasías y aventuras! Una experiencia nos espera En un mundo legendario El poder de Mythix! Ahora juntas lo sentimos Mythix! Y así nos sorprendimos Volamos, luchamos y enfrentamos Los misterios sin final Mythix llega ya!

The Mythix retouches are here! Almost on time with the 19th anniversary of the series lmao. This one doesn’t have as many retouches as the others (outside Roxy, and Stella and Tecna to a smaller degree) because I’m still fond of the last designs. A bit of a refresher below!

the TLDR of Mythix is “the Order of Mana made it through questionable means, if you unintentionally mimic a story, myth, folklore, legend or the like (or commit an act worthy of becoming one) you get this form modeled after both the story and the fashion of the person’s realm”. As such, each of the girls’s outfits are essentially modernized versions of typical clothing back in their homes. All of them are, of course, then based on the actual culture I primarily took from real life to build their realms:

Melodeus is obviously mainly inspired by China, and so the primary inspo for Musa’s Mythix was the qipao and the shuhe, with some more modern and punkish details to fit with Musa’s personality.

Linphea in the AU is primarily based on Colombia, and Flora’s Mythix is a shortened adaptation of Andine Colombian folklore dresses, which are commonly used for dancing, going along with the legend she dealt with.

Scintil’s main inspiration is Norway, and with this Bloom’s Mythix is a heavily-modified bunad in shape. Her hair ribbons alongside her cone buns are meant to mimic a dragon’s horns and whiskers, respectively, to go alongside the myth she fought with.

NOW ROXY’S INTERESTING LMAO. Her story, being from Earth, was Tam Lin, but as Roxy’s original realm is Tir na nÓg (which while taken from Celtic folklore she wouldn’t be Celt nor Irish herself), her attire is instead based off what was the typical attire at the time. (It’s based on Morgana’s canon fairy form, which is ironic as the “villain” in the way she dealt with the myth was heavily fashioned after AU!Morgana’s Ascendix.)

Solaria is mostly based on Hellenistic regions (so it covers pretty much the entire Mediterranean area), and her form is primarily fashioned after the Greek chiton, with some inspiration from the later Roman footwear and a minor inspiration in Egyptian belts.

Andros is primarily inspired in Ethiopia, with Aisha’s Mythix being modeled in modernized and modified versions of both men and women’s styles. Her puffy shorts and the frills at the edges of her vest are also vaguely inspired by jellyfish, as the myth she dealt with involved a gigantic one.

Finally, Zenith has an incredibly vague mix of both Victorian England and Russian menswear, because Butch Tecna Supremacy, and it’s meant to represent the standard working-class attire, fitting the role she fulfilled in the legend.

[dragimalsdaydreams]

[image ID: three images of the same front-view, full-body screenshot of Xinyan from the game Genshin Impact.

the first image is an unedited screenshot of how Xinyan appears in-game. she has slightly tanned skin compared to the standard in Genshin, with red eyeshadow and black-painted nails. her dark black hair has red/yellow highlights, and spiky hair ties pull her hair into two puffy ponytails. she's wearing what looks like a very short, black, modified cheongsam/qipao with a red standing collar. partly-detached, black/red sleeves cover her upper arms, attached to the cheongsam by spiked, white pauldrons(?). these sleeves drape down at the elbows, and the bottom corners each have a thick, woven red/black rope hanging off the end. Xinyan's wearing slim, open-toed boots with a knee-high fishnet stocking on one leg. she's wearing white, skin-tight short-shorts and matching long, skin-tight sleeves under her main outfit. she also has some kind of hand drum or talking drum strapped to her back with white shoulder straps, but it's not very visible from the front.

the second image is a heavily edited version of the first image. Xinyan now has much darker skin, her hair darkened to match. she's also wearing messy black eyeliner and black lipstick, with several new piercings. she's wearing a short jacket with a similar cheongsam latching style as the original, but cropped to her midriff and with the sleeves ripped off. this jacket has a flat, red, biker-style collar with silver studs. detached, black/red sleeves are tied at her elbows, draping down at the wrists with the same ropes at the bottom corners as the original. Xinyan's thick, baggy, black/red tripp pants have several bright yellow straps and hang low on her hips, tied off with a thick red/black rope as a belt. the lower section of one leg of the pants has been ripped off, leaving the lower leg visible. she's wearing thick black/red boots with spiked toes. Xinyan's wearing ragged, hole-filled fishnet underneath her main outfit. she's wearing a spiked collar, a spiked cuff on one upper arm, and several thick, silver chains scattered across the entire outfit. various red/yellow/orange patches are scattered across the outfit, and there's one visible, ragged hole on the longer pant leg.

the third image is the same as the second, but Xinyan has her iconic, diamond-shaped ruan strapped to her back with an orange strap. her Vision is now hanging off the neck of the instrument with a gold chain. text on this image reads, "not using weapon: ruan reappears", whereas the previous image had text reading, "using weapon: ruan disappears". this image also has a small doodle of the ruan with silver blades unsheathing from either side of the main body, with accompanying text reading, "(blades can sheathe for safety)". end ID]

/chanting/ TRIPP PANTS! TRIPP PANTS! TRIPP PANTS!!

this one was really fun but exhausting, lmao. but my girl Xinyan deserves the effort <3

extra design notes + breakdown under the cut:

I suppose there's not much to say about this one, beyond my main motivator being, "that is not fucking punk". though I'm also not punk, so I'm hoping my version is still punk-accurate, lmao

had a lot of fun with the piercings/makeup too, lemme zoom in on that for ya

[image ID: the redesign, cropped to Xinyan's face. her red eyeshadow has been extended a bit, and she's got thick, black eyeliner around the bottom lid of her eyes, spiked and messily smudged. a dusting of red has been added to her eyelashes as well. her top lip is painted in black lipstick. new piercings include: an eyebrow ring, spike snakebites, and a spiked nosering. Xinyan's earlobes have also been stretched to fit circular yellow gauges with red centers, and a yellow guitar pick with red spots hangs off of one gauge. end ID]

I considered giving Xinyan more textured hair, but I couldn't figure out a good way to reconcile it with the flaming flower shape of her puffy ponytails, which I rly wanted to keep b/c it's super cute <3. I would like to do more textured hair in future projects, but I just couldn't make it work with this one unforch. but if anyone has suggestions for reconciling textured hair with the flaming flower shape, I'm all ears

as for the drum vs. ruan, I just think the ruan is so much more iconic. I know Xinyan's lore says she can play basically any instrument (or any object as an instrument), but we NEVER see her play that drum, or anything else besides the ruan. hell, the ruan is the one instrument/weapon that she's specifically modified to work with her Vision-- it has depth! I'd be more willing to keep the drum if Xinyan ever used it or if it had any special lore, but as it stands, it's a shallow part of her character design imo

on top of that, I really want more characters to use parts of their outfit. I was rly delighted when Heizou dropped, and he actually flipped his baton around! how fun! so let's give Xinyan a wearable weapon

as for the blades, I just think the original design is... kinda stupid

[image ID: an in-game screenshot of Xinyan holding her ruan. it has a white, diamond-shaped body, long black neck, and four thick, spike-tipped tuning keys at the red head. a silver, curved blade sticks straight out the bottom corner of the body. end ID]

I just don't really understand how that position works-- how do you hit enemies with the bottom of a ruan? unless Xinyan's using it like a spear instead of an axe, which defeats the whole purpose of a claymore-user

and in either case, it's just not safe to have the blades out at all times, especially on an instrument that Xinyan has to hold close to her body to even play. so I thought sheathing blades would work

[image ID: the doodle of the ruan on the edit that includes the ruan. each blade is attached to a bar that's visible on the back of the ruan's body, which can be pulled from the center to the side of the body in order to unsheathe the blade. end ID]

I'm aware that the bars would prolly make ruan uncomfortable to strap against Xinyan's back, so I might have to workshop it a bit more. but for now, I'm happy with this little battle-axe redesign

[dc-sideblog]

Appeared to me in a vision

[id: image of Cassandra Wayne in a modified suit vaguely resampling a qipao, with so much gold on it. She has a Batarang in her hand.]

[icancdramahanfu]

hello! Id like to ask if you can describe what are the layers Luo Binghe (thai version) from SVSSS are wearing? Im having troubles the one with the collar im on a budget and I wanna cosplay him thanks a bunch!

Hello, 

Happy to hear you are looking to cosplay LBH!  Ah, the very pretty but complicated Thai cover artwork. . . this one makes me groan at how intricate it is.  I screen shot this from the SVSSS carrd.

There is a lot of layer action going on.  Kityone, an amazing soul, did great work to remove text from more official artwork for the Thai editions.

This is the only full length shot of Binghe’s outfit I could find.

kityone, did a spectacular job; when you click on the image you can zoom in!

Layers 1.) Zhong yi layer 1- innermost layer - black.  I’d pick a cotton or linen fabric for this.  You are looking at one that is very slim fitting. The Hanfu Story sells them as well to give you an idea for cut; see here

2.) Zhiju layer 2 - straight hem robe - black with narrow sleeves.  It has what I think is an ‘artistic/anachronistic’ high Mandarin-ish style collar.  The Erha manhua/artwork does this all the time.  It seems to be a thing for xianxia attire.  It is hard to find info on this in English, so, I could totally be wrong.  I can only find that type of collar on vintage patterns - think cheongsam/qipao or maybe Qing historical garments.  I’d personally copy the cheongsam/qipao collar as a base pattern and then modify it to match the hanfu style.  I know this is a huge shortcut but it makes sense in my mind.  Do a mock up with scrap fabric. 3.) Zhuji layer 3 - straight hem robe with red neck placket and red sleeve cuffs.  I think this has shorter sleeves that fall just past the elbow (3/4 length?) and are super wide.  [cries in sheer yardage]  The sleeve looks like it almost reaches mid-calf or lower.  I think it is supposed to be imperial/royal level - like the looooong sleeves you see in Nirvana in Fire worn by the princes when they attend court.  The neckline is a deeper V and I think a good reference for the cut is from the cdrama My Heroic Husband with the MC, Ning Yi.  His outfits frequently have this style which makes a clear X across the chest.  The blue/teal one in the middle is the best match and seems to fall in the right spot on the chest.

4.) Belt with long fabric strip/accent.  I have no idea what the large silver belt buckle is supposed to look like - we don’t have good enough detail and resolution.  However, we can see that there is a long strip of red fabric that falls from the waist down the front to the feet almost.  On top of the red fabric is a fancier accent piece in black with silver trim and tassels.  I think it is a mix of these accessories from LBH and SQQ in the Korean cover here.  With the shape of SQQ’s being a slightly better match - minus the tasseled pendant.

5.) Banbi jacket/coat - white with red trim and “artistic” choice collar.  The jacket is a short sleeve one with a red cuff/trim that is clearly an under layer but I would attach it to the white jacket to make my life easier and less sweaty.  The popped collar baffles me - is it sort of like a jacket with a lapel-ish collar?  It gives me vibes of the jackets that Sakamoto and Takasugi wear in Gintama and shogunate officials which are also anachronistic by design in a series like Gintama.  Or maybe a better comparison is the donghua for Thousand Autumns and Yan Wushi’s open collar layer?

It looks like the neck placket itself is thick in the middle and normal on the outside.  I’ve attempted to make a quick example of what I think this looks like here.

I think this is what I would do to sew it onto the jacket and make sure to add interfacing and iron it well. I would do these five layers if I wanted to cosplay this LBH outfit.  The zhong yi layer is really important since that is where you are gonna sweat the most, I found it worked well with my 13 hours of WKX with a wig in LA having to stand outside in lines in the summer temps. Good luck!

[darkeningclouds]

China Masterlist 🏮

Umbrella Terms

Huafu (any clothing originating in China)

Hanfu (Han-Chinese ethnic clothing)

Hanyuansu (western clothing inspired by hanfu)

Modified Hanfu

Wedding Hanfu

Winter Hanfu

~~

General Hanfu Terms

Men’s Hanfu

Mianfu (emperor’s clothes)

Dachang (male equivalent of a pifeng)

Yichang 

Yuanlingpao

Qiyao Ruqun (Parallel Collar) (Crossed Collar)

Moxiong (undergarment for women)

Shan

~~

Han Dynasty + Wei/Jin Dynasties

Quju

Danyi (sheer coat for shenyi)

Shenyi

Zhiju

~~

Tang Dynasty

Daxiushan (lit. big sleeved shirt)

Banbi (Tang Dynasty beizi)

Banxiu 

Tanling (U-collared shirt)

Qixiong Ruqun (chest-high ruqun)

Yaoqun

Heiziqun

Hezi

~~

Song Dynasty

Beizi (narrow-sleeved coat with slits on the side)

Beixin (sleeveless version of the beizi)

Moxiu (similar to a shan but the sleeves are wider and shorter)

Lanshan

Xiapei

Baidiequn

Song-style Pants

~~

Ming Dynasty

Pifeng (big sleeved coat)

Bijia (sleeveless version of a pifeng)

Zhaojia (male equivalent of a bijia)

Changshan

Zhuyao

Mamianqun (horse-faced skirt)

Aoqun

Zhiduo

Daopao

Tieli (pleats go around the skirt)

Yesa (no pleats at the front of the skirt)

Fengguan (phoenix crown)

Yunjian (shoulder accessory)

~~

Qing Dynasty

~~

Republican Era/Minguo

Qipao/Cheongsam

~~

Footwear

Zaoxue

Chixi

Fangxi

Qitoulv

Qiaotoulv

Yuntoujinlv

Tang-Style Astana Cemetery Raised Head Shoes

Tang-Style Astana Cemetery Shoes

Fanglv

Gongxie

Dengyunlv

Yunwa (socks)

~~

Makeup

Pearl Makeup

Huadian (forehead)

Xiehong (side of face)

Mianye (dimples)

~~

Musical Instruments

Guzheng

Pipa

Yueqin

Guqin

Dizi

~~

Other Clothing Tags

Qi Lolita

Qungua

Xiuhefu

Xiyu

~~

Other Tags

Chinese Opera

Beijing Opera

C-Drama

Guzhuang

Gufeng

[ziseviolet]

Please can you explain the difference of meaning between hanfu and huafu ? Sorry if you already got the question

Hi, thanks for the question, and sorry for taking ages to reply! (hanfu photo via)

The term “hanfu” (traditional Chinese: 漢服, simplified Chinese: 汉服) literally means “Han clothing”, and refers to the traditional clothing of the Han Chinese people. “Han” (漢/汉) here refers to the Han Chinese ethnic group (not the Han dynasty), and “fu” (服) means “clothing”. As I explained in this post, the modern meaning of “hanfu” is defined by the hanfu revival movement and community. As such, there is a lot of gatekeeping by the community around what is or isn’t hanfu (based on historical circumstances, cultural influences, tailoring & construction, etc). This isn’t a bad thing - in fact, I think gatekeeping to a certain extent is helpful and necessary when it comes to reviving and defining historical/traditional clothing. However, this also led to the need for a similarly short, catchy term that would include all Chinese clothing that didn’t fit the modern definition of hanfu -- enter huafu.

The term “huafu” (traditional Chinese: 華服, simplified Chinese: 华服) as it is used today has a broader definition than hanfu. “Hua” (華/华) refers to the Chinese people (中华民族/zhonghua minzu), and again “fu” (服) means “clothing”. It is an umbrella term for all clothing that is related to Chinese history and/or culture. Thus all hanfu is huafu, but not all huafu is hanfu. Below are examples of Chinese clothing that are generally not considered hanfu by the hanfu community for various reasons, but are considered huafu:

1. Most fashions that originated during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), especially late Qing, including the Qing aoqun & aoku for women, and the Qing changshan and magua for men. I wrote about whether Qing dynasty clothing can be considered hanfu here. Tangzhuang, which is an updated form of the Qing magua popularized in 2001, can also fit into this category. Below - garments in the style of Han women’s clothing during the Qing dynasty (清汉女装) from 秦綿衣莊 (1, 2).

2. Fashions that originated during the Republican era/minguo (1912-1949), including the minguo aoqun & aoku and qipao/cheongsam for women, and the minguo changshan for men (the male equivalent of the women’s qipao). I wrote about why qipao isn’t considered hanfu here. Below - minguo aoqun (left) & qipao (right) from 嬉姷.

Below - Xiangsheng (crosstalk) performers Zhang Yunlei (left) & Guo Qilin (right) in minguo-style men’s changshan (x). Changshan is also known as changpao and dagua.

3. Qungua/裙褂 and xiuhefu/秀禾服, two types of Chinese wedding garments for brides that are commonly worn today. Qungua originated in the 18th century during the Qing dynasty, and xiuhefu is a modern recreation of Qing wedding dress popularized in 2001 (x). Below - left: qungua (x), right: xiuhefu (x).

4. Modified hanfu (改良汉服/gailiang hanfu) and hanyuansu/汉元素 (hanfu-inspired fashion), which do not fit in the orthodox view of hanfu. Hanfu mixed with sartorial elements of other cultures also fit into this category (e.g. hanfu lolita). From the very start of the hanfu movement, there’s been debate between hanfu “traditionalists” and “reformists”, with most members being somewhere in the middle, and this discussion continues today. Below - hanyuansu outfits from 川黛 (left) and 远山乔 (right).

5. Performance costumes, such as Chinese opera costumes (戏服/xifu) and Chinese dance costumes. These costumes may or may not be considered hanfu depending on the specific style. Dance costumes, in particular, may have non-traditional alterations to make the garment easier to dance in. Dunhuang-style feitian (apsara) costumes, which I wrote about here, can also fit into this category. Below - left: Chinese opera costume (x), right: Chinese dance costume (x).

6. Period drama costumes and fantasy costumes in popular media (live-action & animation, games, etc.), commonly referred to as guzhuang/古装 (lit. “ancient costumes”). Chinese period drama costumes are of course based on hanfu, and may be considered hanfu if they are historically accurate enough. However, as I wrote about here, a lot of the time there are stylistic inaccuracies (some accidental, some intentional) that have become popularized and standardized over time (though this does seem to be improving in recent years). This is especially prevalent in the wuxia and xianxia genres. Similarly, animated shows & games often have characters dressed in “fantasy hanfu” that are essentially hanfu with stylistic modifications. Below - left: Princess Taiping in historical cdrama 大明宫词/Palace of Desire (x), right: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in wuxia/xianxia cdrama 陈情令/The Untamed (x). 

7. Any clothing in general that purposefully utilizes Chinese style elements (embroidery, fabrics, patterns, motifs, etc). Chinese fashion brand Heaven Gaia is a well-known example of this. Below - Chinese-inspired designs by Heaven Gaia (x).

8. Technically, the clothing of China’s ethnic minorities also fit under the broad definition of huafu, but it’s rarely ever used in this way.

From personal observation, the term “huafu” is mainly used in the following situations:

1. Some large-scale events to promote Chinese clothing, such as the annual “华服日/Huafu Day”, will use “huafu” in their name for inclusivity.

2. For the same reason as above, Chinese clothing including hanfu will often be referred to as “huafu” on network television programs (ex: variety shows).

3. A few Chinese clothing shops on Taobao use “huafu” in their shop name. Two examples:

明镜华服/Mingjing Huafu - sells hanfu & hanyuansu. 

花神妙华服/Huashenmiao Huafu - sells Qing dynasty-style clothing.

With the exception of the above, “huafu” is still very rarely used, especially compared to “hanfu”. It has such a broad definition that it’s just not needed in situations for which a more precise term already exists. However, I do think it’s useful as a short catch-all term for Chinese clothing that isn’t limited to the currently accepted definition of hanfu.

If anyone wants to add on or correct something, please feel free to do so! ^^ 

Hope this helps!

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #275: Yang Guifei

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’ve got the flaming courtesan Yang Guifei! With a celestial body so stunning all of China was wrapped around her finger and firepower from a literal celestial body, I can’t wait to hear about all the cool stuff she does in FGO!

Wait, she does nothing? Seriously? Seriously.

Well that makes this a little tougher.

So: she’s an Eloquence Bard for the beauty and eldritch madness, plus a Celestial Warlock for the backing of a literal heavenly body.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: mmmmm whatcha Sei?

Race and Background

Yang’s a Human. She gets glowy bits later, but that’s more an outfit than anything else. That means she gets +1 Constitution and Charisma, as well as proficiency in Intimidation for eldritch madness, and the Elemental Adept feat for Fire damage, a secret tool that’ll help us later. It lets you ignore resistance with fire spells, and those same spells deal at least 2 damage per die.

You’re a Courtesan- no, sorry, Courtier, for proficiency in Insight and Persuasion. If you’re going to be the center of attention, it’s a good idea to read the room first.

Ability Scores

Your Charisma is number one- it’s the only thing we really know about you. Just below that is Dexterity. A qipao is not armor. No Yang, a squid is not armor either. Just try not to get hit, that works for the summer servants. Number 3 is, surprisingly, Constitution. Your third skill sets you on fire, you’ve got to be pretty tough if that’s your go-to solution. Your Intelligence and Wisdom aren’t terrible, they just don’t stand out. That being said, your wisdom is a little lower since you made a deal with Cthguha, Mr. “Burn All Life”. What exactly do you expect to get out of that? Finally, dump Strength. You might carry around a lot of stuff, but it mostly just floats after you.

Class Levels

Bard 1: You didn't meet up with Cthugha until... actually they never explained that either. I assume it's after being a courtesan though, so that's why we're going bard first. It's a nice start though, since you get proficiency with Dexterity and Charisma saves and three skills of your choice. Pick up Performance for sick flute skills, as well as Animal Handling and Arcana. I don't know which one those glowy fish count as, but it's one of the two! The big draw of the class is Bardic Inspiration, d6s you can pass out to your allies for a boost on an attack, check, or save. You can do that Charisma Modifier times per long rest, While waiting for them to recharge you can always check out your Spells, which you cast using your Charisma. Grab Dancing Lights for nonviolent fish, Friends and Charm Person to wrap the emperor around your finger, Bane and Dissonant Whispers for some eldritch creepiness, and Feather Fall. You're not flying yet, but it's kinda floaty, and it'll be useful when you can fly.

Bard 2: At level 2 you become a Jack of All Trades, giving you half proficiency in all checks you don't already have proficiency in. We have no idea what you can do, so it's best to keep our options open. You can also perform a Song of Rest, adding 1d6 to healing done over a short rest. Being the emperor of China is a stressful job, so it's important you help relieve all that. Also, you have Magical Inspiration now, so your friends can add your inspiration die to magical damage or healing as well! You can also jam out with your pipa and/or flute, creating a Thunderwave.

Bard 3: As an Eloquence bard, your Silver Tongue only enhances your beauty. So much so that every persuasion or deception check always has a roll of at least a 10. We are three levels in, and you already have a guaranteed persuasion of at least 17. Not bad for an early build. If that math seems a little suspicious, it's because we haven't gone over your doubled proficiency from Expertise yet. We'll keep it human for now and double down on Persuasion and Performance. If you really want to get noneuclidean already, your Unsettling Words lets you spend an inspiration die to subtract that roll from another creature's next save. You have a lot of mind-warping, all-or-nothing stuff, it would be a shame if it didn't work on your target. Speaking of mind-warping, Shatter is an everything-warping spell, destroying anything in its way with a blast of sound. Constructs are hard to charm, but easy to break.

Bard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma. We got all the feats out early this time, so we're just gunning for strong spells as soon as possible. Speaking of spells, Vicious Mockery also weakens your foes with horrifying noises, and Enthrall will ensure you're the center of the emperor's world. In fact, he'll have disadvantage on checks to see anyone else!

Bard 5: Fifth level bards get an improved inspiration die (a d8), and become a Font of Inspiration. That means your inspiration comes back on short rests as well as long ones.You can also Bestow Curses with your third level spell slots. This spell's pretty open-ended, just like everything about you!

Warlock 1: Now that we've got the bardy basics down, let's make a deal! With the sun! As a Celestial warlock you gain a Healing Light, giving you a couple d6s you can use to heal people near you as a bonus action. You don't quite have healing powers in-game, so just consider this an extension of your song of rest. You also get Pact Magic, another Charisma based spell list with slots that re-charge on short rests. Warlocks and Bards have different slots, but you can use them for each other's spells no problem. Speaking of, you get a ton of cantrips- Light to glow up your outfit, Sacred Flame and Create Bonfire to burn people, and Toll the Dead for more creepy squidness. Can squids toll the dead? They can according to Lovecraft. For spells, Hellish Rebuke is almost literally your third skill- get hit, set the hitter on fire. For the decreasing defense part, grab Guiding Bolt- hit a creature, and the next time an ally attacks them they’ll get advantage. Yes, technically it’s not lowering their defense as much as raising someone else’s attack, but same difference, really.

Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, little bonuses from your patron to make your star shine brighter. Armor of Shadows means a squid is armor now, thanks to free castings of Mage Armor. You can also use Misty Visions to cast Silent Image for free, so now you don’t have to spend a spell slot every time you want to make those fish. Also, you can cast Hex now for more curses. Elder gods love curses.

Warlock 3: Third level warlocks get their Pact boon, and the Pact of the Blade gives you a magical weapon you can summon as an action. It’s those sticks that you can turn into a whip, basically. We also finally get a leveled spell that you can attack with that does fire damage! Eight levels into this fire-themed build! Flaming Sphere creates a -you guessed it- that you can ram into your enemies. Your boss is also a flaming sphere, so this is kind of like whipping out a crucifix against a vampire, except this holy symbol hurts everyone within 5′ of it.

Bard 6: Bouncing back to bard for some sixth level goodies. Countercharm is not one of them, that’s kind of a waste of an action in my opinion. Luckily eloquence bards get not one but two features to make up for that. Your Unfailing Inspiration means your allies don’t lose inspiration if it doesn’t help them succeed in whatever they’re doing, and Universal Speech lets you magically force a nearby group of creatures to understand you for an hour. If you want to know why Cthugha knows Goblin, it’s the same reason Quetzalcoatl speaks Spanish- suns just know extra languages. It’s FGO’s deepest lore. You can do that once a long rest, or by spending a spell slot. Speaking of spending spell slots, you can do that to cast Fear. It’s classic eldritch horror: anybody who fails their wisdom save becomes frightened, and they drop what they’re holding and run away from you as fast as they can. To be honest mixing an elder god with your standard charm-heavy build is neat, really fills out the palette of mental manipulation.

Warlock 4: Bopping back to warlock for a bit to max out our Charisma on this ASI. This’ll make all your spells more powerful, including the new Eldritch Blast for offensive fish and Darkness to make some sunspots. The night is darkest before the dawn, and all that.

Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks cast third level spells like Thunderstep. Mix eldritch space-warping with classic bard soundwaves to get away from danger while still slapping it in the face. You also pick up the Grasp of Hadar invocation, letting you pull a creature hit by Eldritch Blast towards you once a round. Science Fact: stars have a “fuckton” of gravity. That’s the official terminology.

Warlock 6: Sixth level Celestelocks (warlocks really into Celeste) have a Radiant Soul- you can add your charisma modifier to one instance of fire or radiant damage caused by any spell you cast. Now your cantrips are supercharged! You can also Incite Greed to make yourself priceless in the eyes of creatures around you. They’ll gather around you if they fail a wisdom save they’ll just hang around you for up to a minute.

Bard 7: Seventh level bards get fourth level spells! Confusion is even more eldritch madness- will they wander around, attack at random, or even take their turn normally? Nobody knows, least of all them!

Bard 8: For our eighth level ASI, we’re gonna bump up our Dexterity for a better AC and whippage. We’re also getting the third level spell Major Image for even better fish images. These ones can even smell like fish!

Bard 9: Ninth level bards get fifth level spells! If you want some long-lasting lightfish without finagling or illusions, make some fish-shaped lanterns on your own and use Animate Objects to turn them into your minions! Or use this to make talismans scatter themselves! Can you tell we’re writing this in the middle of the one event she shows up in? Your song of rest also heals 1d8 HP now! I’m sure that’s still useful at level 15.

Bard 10: Tenth level bards get a d10 for inspiration, and on top of picking up Minor Illusion for cheaper fish, you get Magical Secrets- two spells from any spell list! Fly will take care of the floatiness from your third ascension, and Conjure Woodland Beings lets you summon fey creatures, so you can grab those creepy glowy things from your first ascension! (wait, why do the weird things show up in your normal ascension???) You also get Expertise in two skills, and it’s about time your patron expanded your horizons. Double down on Arcana and Intimidation.

Bard 11: Eleventh level bards get sixth level spells like Eyebite. You can do all sorts of madness, knocking a creature you can see unconscious, frightening them, or giving them disadvantage on all attacks and checks, all for up to a minute, with the ability to target another creature each turn.

Bard 12: Use this last ASI to bump up your Dexterity again. You also need that for playing the pipa right, on top of the AC and attack bonuses.

Bard 13: Thirteenth level bards get 7th level spells like Forcecage, the ultimate in shield technology. It’ll create a cube shaped wall of force around a 10′ cube that blocks all attacks and spells. Now, to be fair you can’t drop this early, and you’ll have to make a charisma save to escape with magic, so maaaybe think twice before you pop that Favors of Three Thousand Concentrated to One. Meh, I guess you can use it to trap people too, if you want.

Bard 14: Fourteenth level eloquence bards have Infectious Inspiration, letting you spread the inspiration out even further! After another creature spends its inspiration die, you can react to give another die to another creature without spending your usual dice. You can only do this five times a day though. You’re very, very charming. Things just go better with you around. We also get two more Magical Secrets, and we can finally pick up two more fire spells! Investiture of Flame lets us do what we should’ve a long time ago: set ourselves on fire! You’re now immune to fire damage and resist cold, plus creatures that get near you get burnt! If that’s not enough you can shoot fire around as an action each turn. If you’d rather keep moving, use Ashardalon’s Stride to increase your walking speed, ignore opportunity attacks, and deal fire damage to nearby creatures as you run around.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Your fire spells are a particularly hot topic, cutting through fire’s biggest weakness thanks to ignoring resistance, and the additional damage from Elemental Adept and Radiant Soul is nothing to sneeze at.

You’re also very good at being the party face, with expertise in three charisma skills and reliable talent in two of them- your persuasion being particularly powerful with a guaranteed minimum of 27. And all that is before we start bringing in magical ways to get what you want!

You’re also great on support, with inspiration that doesn’t quit and a lot of it. Add on battlefield control with Grasp of Hadar and frighten effects, and you can help out the heavy hitters even if you’re not putting big numbers on the board.

Cons

This build has a lot of weird addons. Like, we need Pact of the Blade for your shape-changing weapons, but we focus on spells more- pact of the tome would help more. Also, focusing on fire damage so much when we only have 5 fire spells, 2 of which come at level 20, is a bad investment! Thunder is generally a better damage type, and we have way more options for that seeing use.

You also have low wisdom, so a mirror match would just end with both of you getting charmed to death. Also you won’t see encounters coming, which is rough.

We dipped into warlock a little too much; it cut off your chance at level 9 spells. With level 9 spells we could grab Foresight and not have to pretend Forcecage is a good spell for defending yourself.

[vexic929]

What aesthetics do your OCs gravitate towards?

Ooh let's see

Vice: visual-kei or nu-goth; they're very into playing with gender and wearing extravagant, avant-garde pieces, much to his boyfriend's chagrin lol

Soliton: she tends to sway between soft femme and cyberpunk raver aesthetics with no in between

Berrie: definitely 1970s fashion (though on Earth-100 that's the current modern aesthetic); lots of oranges, high-waisted bell-bottoms, sweater-vests and loose, patterned button-downs

Aria: catwalk corporate; nothing she ever wears costs less than $300 and most of it is in the thousands purchased straight from the designers themselves

The Ace Arrow: grunge; lots of soft layers with mismatched prints in varying shades of grey, black, and purple

Harmonic Sine: Y2K girly-girl vibes with lots of sky blues and dreamy prints (and she always matches her glasses and hearing aids to the outfit)

Agent V-92: just so much black and red leather, why does she own so much leather

Fire & Ice: business casual unless she's going out drinking with her boyfriend, then she'll switch to the classic sexy little black dress and stilettos or something sparklier for special occasions

Earth-63 preface; China is the main global superpower on this Earth and has been for centuries so all of the aesthetics have Chinese influence such as resembling qipao/cheongsam or hanfu

Reverse: catwalk corporate as well; she dresses as well-to-do as her family with highly decorated qipao, custom yellow leather jackets, and tailored slacks and blouses (though on rare occasion she'll wear the old, worn Flash t-shirt she got in college)

The Flash: she favors the basics; jeans and a simple blouse or t-shirt or sweatshirt on a casual day with comfortable, heat-resistant shoes

Dr. H Wells: business casual; before her wife's death, they would often wear matching qipao-inspired dresses on formal occasions and steal each others' sweaters in the lab while the other was working so it made things easier on both of them to just wear a monochromatic palette of blacks and greys. after her wife's death, she's had to pare down some of their wardrobe to just comfortable items she can easily put on or modify to work for her as a paraplegic

Pied Piper: corporate goth with green accents; she always wants to look perfectly put-together but she can't quite get rid of her dramatic emo kid past

Nightwing: retro or basics; usually high-waisted pants with tucked-in, half-unbuttoned blouses or tight sweaters and jeans with a leather jacket or a Superwoman t-shirt; she's either the chicest person in the room or a fashion disaster and you'll never know which

Red Hood: goth or punk or grunge depending on the day

[hanfumodern-blog]

New Improved Cheongsam Vintage Chinese Dress Qipao

Traditional collar design modifies the slim neckline;

Invisible zipper design, easy to wear;

Traditional slit hem, sexy and elegant;

High-quality fabric, skin-friendly and comfortable;

Suitable for daily wear, work, party, etc