Disclaimer: Oh hi, Mark.

...

Yao's earliest days were spent in war—corruption and culture, and whichever came first; it was a long life he was to live, and the earliest chapters easily became a mess of blood, tears, and steel—once more, whichever came first. Even later, they were confusing, and still stark. They were slashed with blood, and sweat, and whatever else.

San Guo Yan Yi, say the words, stamped across the book; San Guo Yan Yi, they say, up to this day; San Guo Yan Yi, they echo, and whisper for years and years.

San Guo Yan Yi, for nothing but a giant wave, to come and crush him.

China still remembered much, surprisingly—but he remembered much for one so old; as he fingers the writing, the hanzi stroked across the surface of his rice paper, the red lines crossed beneath them—blazing, glistening black glows in the candlelight: San Guo Yan Yi.

Is it selfish, to think of the past?—is it selfish, to want it back?—why would he want more war, just for simpler times?—his youth acts as a flimsy excuse. When Rome fell, he stood; he stayed, and is still here. How many exactly has he outlived?

Nostalgia coos at him, and he closes his eyes; quickly, he lets more ink seep into his brush, sucking at the hairs; just as quickly, his hand glides over the paper, brush striking three characters into the paper; in a frenzy, his early brothers appear on the paper. Flushed, he draws his sleeve back, so that his cuffs would not touch the sheet.

But they are a part of him, haunting—he murmurs their names, those arguing siblings, that fell faster than he could see, faster than he could tell.

Wei.

Wu.

Shu.

...

PT: Finally decided to start my Three Kingdoms fic. :3 Hey, I'm so clearly a Three Kingdoms freak, you should've seen it coming xD And I'm working on a Mancheng Jindai Huangjinjia fic, but that won't be out anytime soon. ...Wait a year :3 –shot-

- San Guo Yan Yi is Romance of Three Kingdoms. One of the Four Classical Novels of China. Quite a thing in my childhood—I watched the ninety-five version when I was younger. Four :'D Yes. A four year old watching people slice each others' heads off.

- Red Cliff. It helped a lot with this—hell, I'm watching it right now. Seriously, watch Red Cliff, both movies—they're incredible :'D And Resurrection of The Dragon—San Guo Zhi Jian Long Xie Jia 8D Those movies are so different, but damn~~ I love those two, they gave me a lot of inspiration on those~

- Updates will be slow. I've started sophomore year. Ahem. A screened law program I was supposed to be in last year, English Honors, the mere existence of math, Kung Fu, and armed drill practice. They haven't had a chance to eat me alive yet, but it's only a matter of time.