CHARACTER: Su Xunxian CANON: Oh! My Emperor CANON POINT: End of canon (before people end up in the future since we have no idea how that works)
BACKGROUND: - Zodiac Land Su Xunxian comes from a country in a fantasy past China. The country is called Zodiac Land (or Zodiacland, because translations), and it's ruled by an Emperor who is one of the Star Masters, currently Capricorn. On the whole, it a prosperous land and relatively harmonious. The common people seem to trust the government and be fond of those with power, rather than resenting them. The details of government are vague, though it is known that there are at least two bodies that are involved in the government under the Emperor:
The Council of Star Masters (more or less the focus of the series) A set of Ministers under a Prime Minister (we do not see them, but one of the Star Masters is the daughter of the Prime Minister, so there are mentions here and there, including that he's getting on with age and is coming close to retirement)
The civil strife that is portrayed is externally introduced and on its way of being mended - a division between those under the zodiac sign of Ophiuchus and everyone else. The Ophiuchus are outcasts and feared, generally keeping to themselves, until their new Master is found, their name is cleared, and their Master makes the effort to begin reintegrating them into society.
At the end of the story, each of the Ophiuchus sacrifice their lives to resurrect everyone else in Zodiac Land, so it is unknown if they will be gone forever or more children under the sign will be born eventually. In the present day framework of the story, Ophiuchus does exist and is paid attention to as a constellation, but since the entire setting of Star Masters is gone, that doesn't bring much information.
- Star Masters The power / might of Zodiac Land is derived from, not unexpectedly, the signs of the Zodiac. They are embodied by the thirteen Star Masters, who both focus the power and represent their star signs. The Star Masters have specific powers (Capricorn can petrify people, Aquarius has visions of the future, Pisces can create duplicates of himself, Aries has super speed, etc.) Ophiuchus is a slightly different kind, in terms of that the Ophiuchus Star Master can annul the powers of the other twelve signs... but also, they can heal. Not everyone other than the Star Masters have powers, and some are strong and some are weak, but at least a majority of the Ophiuchus can heal, and they can absorb and use the powers of others. And yes, that does put them as the most powerful sign of the Zodiac.
Politically, the twelve signs tend to gravitate closely together by element (air, water, fire, and earth), with those of the same elements referring to each other as 'star cousins'. Currently, Fire and Air seem to be allied, as well as Earth and Water, but the focus of all of them is the good of Zodiac Land, rather than personal gain or power. (The fact that Star Mastership is not hereditary, other than as far as one can tell the Emperor's up to an extent, may be of help with that.)
- Neighboring lands Wuxian Land (like the constellation Hercules) Yingxian Land (like the constellation Perseus) Orion Land Each of them have their own powers, with what is known: Orion Land specializes in poisons and mind-altering substances and mind control. Which they turn against Zodiac Land after the events of a decade earlier.
- Ten years ago Ten years ago, Zodiac Land decisively defeated Orion Land on the battlefield. As a result, a plan that was set in place earlier was put into action. The then-Emperor was poisoned in a way that would cause him to enter a murderous rage. The only one who could tell that was the then Ophiuchus Master, but he couldn't heal him. He tried to tell the other Star Masters but they did not believe him. Before the madness broke out, the Ophiuchus Star Master killed the Emperor and was executed on the spot, leaving the Ophiuchus without a Master, the Emperor's heir rather too young, and the Ophiuchus people outcasts. Since then, most if not all Star Masters have changed (arguably, the Aquarius Star Master may have been the same), indicating a fair bit of internal upheaval in the aftermath, probably again steered by Orion Land behind the curtains.
- Current royal family and Su Xunxian's position near it After the previous Emperor's death, his two sons (Beitang Yi and Beitang Tang) were rather young, and though Beitang Yi did become Emperor, the previous Emperor's younger brother, Beitang Moran, who had been taken with the Emperor for training and was at the time probably in his mid teens, only a few years older than his nephews, was given power over the military as a sort of regency. In due course, when Beitang Yi becomes 30 - or if he completes a certain set of challenges - the military power would revert to him.
In the beginning of the story, Beitang Moran does agree to be challenged. In the end, as the final confrontation gets beset by actual enemies, Beitang Yi yields the challenge so that the two of them unite against the danger, thereby passing Beitang Moran's judgment that he is ready. For the second season, Beitang Yi wields the Emperor's full power.
More or less. Beitang Yi's decrees still sometimes get subjected to (occasionally immediate and public) corrections by the Empress Dowager, Beitang Yi's grandmother and Beitang Moran's mother. She has her own command on people, and her seniority and confidence makes it difficult to act directly counter to her wishes - not only for Beitang Yi but for Beitang Moran, as well. (Moran is just a little better at maneuvering her so she eventually complies with his suggestions.)
Su Xunxian himself became part of this entire setting somewhat early, probably because it was known that he would be the next Gemini Star Master. He grew up with Beitang Moran and the two know each other very well. By the time the story rolls in, Su Xunxian is Beitang Moran's right-hand man, understanding him better than the rest of his allied Star Masters and certainly better than his nephews.
- Businessman For all his involvement with the politics of Zodiac Land, it is in several ways seen that Su Xunxian is good at making money by means of business, and that he enjoys it. Presumably, he has at least learned from (or has inherited, it is uncertain) his mother's timber business; there are probably others, as well, but it is known that he owns a pleasure house in the capital which is rather popular.
ABILITIES | POWERS: Su Xunxian's special power is knowledge of languages, specifically non-human languages. He can communicate with birds, insects, you name it. His skills include playing the guqin, extensive knowledge of his own world, extensive knowledge of poetry and business, some knowledge of strategy. He is not great at physical fighting but he's not entirely helpless against not high-level enemies either. In mindspaces, he can do battle quite successfully.
PERSONALITY: Like many Gemini, Su Xunxian is a mix of traits that sometimes might feel like they should belong to at least two different people. He's a practical businessman and an intellectual; a nouveau riche who grew up beside a member of the royal family; selfish and petty and generous; a political figure and a courtesan; extremely efficient and indolent and idle.
At first sight, Su Xunxian leaves the impression of someone who cares about and flaunts his good looks. His skin is cared about (he at one point claims to have an entire team of people attending to it). His robes are beautiful, though usually outrageous - if a large expanse of it isn't sheer, then they tend to be widely open in the front, showing off his toned chest. The fan that is usually in his hands is also of high quality, and he uses it with ease and grace, both as an intellectual's prop and, when necessary, as a weapon.
It is a very carefully crafted facade, not so much a lie (because he does care about his appearance - and he does care to be attractive to certain people, whether or not he believes there is a chance for it to matter) as tricking people who don't care to look more carefully into thinking there is little more to him than that. It makes it easier for him to observe - and accomplish Moran's or, secondarily, his own goals, depending on the situation. But, most of all, it is his own peculiar way to handle the situation in which he lives - he is a merchant's son, stepping up toe to toe with aristocrats and scholars. He would never have fit in, so he's standing out on his own terms, owning the circumstances rather than being subjected to them.
A lot of what shaped Su Xunxian can be traced to growing up with Beitang Moran. Growing up with would imply that he was close to the then-prince before Moran's older brother was killed. A commoner next to royalty, probably partly because Su Xunxian was known to be the next Star Master, and probably, after a little while, because his own quick wit and loyalty won Moran's quicksilver mind to Xunxian's company. And Xunxian learned next to Moran - though he did not learn fighting, he learned music, and book study, and poetry, and politics, and even the art of war. Then Moran was in his mid teens, possibly around sixteen, and from the Emperor's younger brother, he became the Emperor's Uncle and regent, and Su Xunxian's role also changed. From playmate to right-hand man, the one person who could hear Moran's orders and understand what he means by then, the one person who could needle Moran and challenge him to do better, rather than either trying to bring him down or unconditionally accepting Moran's choices.
Another aspect of their dynamic that defines Su Xunxian is that he is very, very much in love with Beitang Moran. So much so that a teenager calls him out on it on-screen. It's not a sentiment that he could ever voice or act on, not explicitly, but it is always there. In his commitment, in his choices, in the bitterness with which he takes some things (like watching Moran fall in love with Luo Feifei and be rejected and hurt by it) to the gentleness with which he handles others (like the younger Star Masters under their command, or even trying to get to know Luo Feifei in the beginning, when she was making Moran smile). He silences his own hurting heart by throwing himself into drinking, or music, or sex, or making money; then when he can see Moran in need, he holds back nothing in order to support him. When Beitang Moran challenges his nephew to protect Luo Feifei from imprisonment, Su Xunxian is the champion who fights - and wins - in his name. When Luo Feifei is suffering from poisoning from Orion Land, later, it is Su Xunxian who hires medics and finances the search for treatment for her. Because Moran wants it done. Then he promptly flouts what he has done, because while he knows the limits of what he can and can't have, he still wants to be noticed and appreciated.
Su Xunxian is also very sarcastic, or rather, more blatantly so than any single other character. Despite that, he doesn't seem disliked or hostile with anyone, which sort of lends credence to his claim that the top oiran - top courtesan - in the pleasure house he owns is himself. (Later, when drunk, he claims that was a trick played on Shang Yu, but there is no conclusive evidence either way. Going by the reaction of the Madame at the pleasure house, it was probably not a trick.) Also, even if he pettily points out his achievements and his wealth, he also on several occasions shows utter, effortless generosity, such as giving out food he has stored at a time of crisis, or buying out all the necessary herbs in the entire country so enough antidote for everyone in need of it is made, or covering the price of half of the royal wedding when the treasurer keeps insisting that the treasury is empty.
Generally, his decision making tends to go through the following stages: Will Moran want it done/approve of it? Is it right? Will I profit from it? Will I enjoy it? In that order. The result is a somewhat eccentric, not unkind, and definitely striking man.
Su Xunxian | Oh! My Emperor
CONTACT:
CHARACTER: Su Xunxian
CANON: Oh! My Emperor
CANON POINT: End of canon (before people end up in the future since we have no idea how that works)
BACKGROUND:
- Zodiac Land
Su Xunxian comes from a country in a fantasy past China. The country is called Zodiac Land (or Zodiacland, because translations), and it's ruled by an Emperor who is one of the Star Masters, currently Capricorn. On the whole, it a prosperous land and relatively harmonious. The common people seem to trust the government and be fond of those with power, rather than resenting them. The details of government are vague, though it is known that there are at least two bodies that are involved in the government under the Emperor:
The Council of Star Masters (more or less the focus of the series)
A set of Ministers under a Prime Minister (we do not see them, but one of the Star Masters is the daughter of the Prime Minister, so there are mentions here and there, including that he's getting on with age and is coming close to retirement)
The civil strife that is portrayed is externally introduced and on its way of being mended - a division between those under the zodiac sign of Ophiuchus and everyone else. The Ophiuchus are outcasts and feared, generally keeping to themselves, until their new Master is found, their name is cleared, and their Master makes the effort to begin reintegrating them into society.
At the end of the story, each of the Ophiuchus sacrifice their lives to resurrect everyone else in Zodiac Land, so it is unknown if they will be gone forever or more children under the sign will be born eventually. In the present day framework of the story, Ophiuchus does exist and is paid attention to as a constellation, but since the entire setting of Star Masters is gone, that doesn't bring much information.
- Star Masters
The power / might of Zodiac Land is derived from, not unexpectedly, the signs of the Zodiac. They are embodied by the thirteen Star Masters, who both focus the power and represent their star signs. The Star Masters have specific powers (Capricorn can petrify people, Aquarius has visions of the future, Pisces can create duplicates of himself, Aries has super speed, etc.) Ophiuchus is a slightly different kind, in terms of that the Ophiuchus Star Master can annul the powers of the other twelve signs... but also, they can heal. Not everyone other than the Star Masters have powers, and some are strong and some are weak, but at least a majority of the Ophiuchus can heal, and they can absorb and use the powers of others. And yes, that does put them as the most powerful sign of the Zodiac.
Politically, the twelve signs tend to gravitate closely together by element (air, water, fire, and earth), with those of the same elements referring to each other as 'star cousins'. Currently, Fire and Air seem to be allied, as well as Earth and Water, but the focus of all of them is the good of Zodiac Land, rather than personal gain or power. (The fact that Star Mastership is not hereditary, other than as far as one can tell the Emperor's up to an extent, may be of help with that.)
- Neighboring lands
Wuxian Land (like the constellation Hercules)
Yingxian Land (like the constellation Perseus)
Orion Land
Each of them have their own powers, with what is known: Orion Land specializes in poisons and mind-altering substances and mind control. Which they turn against Zodiac Land after the events of a decade earlier.
- Ten years ago
Ten years ago, Zodiac Land decisively defeated Orion Land on the battlefield. As a result, a plan that was set in place earlier was put into action. The then-Emperor was poisoned in a way that would cause him to enter a murderous rage. The only one who could tell that was the then Ophiuchus Master, but he couldn't heal him. He tried to tell the other Star Masters but they did not believe him. Before the madness broke out, the Ophiuchus Star Master killed the Emperor and was executed on the spot, leaving the Ophiuchus without a Master, the Emperor's heir rather too young, and the Ophiuchus people outcasts. Since then, most if not all Star Masters have changed (arguably, the Aquarius Star Master may have been the same), indicating a fair bit of internal upheaval in the aftermath, probably again steered by Orion Land behind the curtains.
- Current royal family and Su Xunxian's position near it
After the previous Emperor's death, his two sons (Beitang Yi and Beitang Tang) were rather young, and though Beitang Yi did become Emperor, the previous Emperor's younger brother, Beitang Moran, who had been taken with the Emperor for training and was at the time probably in his mid teens, only a few years older than his nephews, was given power over the military as a sort of regency. In due course, when Beitang Yi becomes 30 - or if he completes a certain set of challenges - the military power would revert to him.
In the beginning of the story, Beitang Moran does agree to be challenged. In the end, as the final confrontation gets beset by actual enemies, Beitang Yi yields the challenge so that the two of them unite against the danger, thereby passing Beitang Moran's judgment that he is ready. For the second season, Beitang Yi wields the Emperor's full power.
More or less. Beitang Yi's decrees still sometimes get subjected to (occasionally immediate and public) corrections by the Empress Dowager, Beitang Yi's grandmother and Beitang Moran's mother. She has her own command on people, and her seniority and confidence makes it difficult to act directly counter to her wishes - not only for Beitang Yi but for Beitang Moran, as well. (Moran is just a little better at maneuvering her so she eventually complies with his suggestions.)
Su Xunxian himself became part of this entire setting somewhat early, probably because it was known that he would be the next Gemini Star Master. He grew up with Beitang Moran and the two know each other very well. By the time the story rolls in, Su Xunxian is Beitang Moran's right-hand man, understanding him better than the rest of his allied Star Masters and certainly better than his nephews.
- Businessman
For all his involvement with the politics of Zodiac Land, it is in several ways seen that Su Xunxian is good at making money by means of business, and that he enjoys it. Presumably, he has at least learned from (or has inherited, it is uncertain) his mother's timber business; there are probably others, as well, but it is known that he owns a pleasure house in the capital which is rather popular.
ABILITIES | POWERS:
Su Xunxian's special power is knowledge of languages, specifically non-human languages. He can communicate with birds, insects, you name it.
His skills include playing the guqin, extensive knowledge of his own world, extensive knowledge of poetry and business, some knowledge of strategy. He is not great at physical fighting but he's not entirely helpless against not high-level enemies either. In mindspaces, he can do battle quite successfully.
PERSONALITY:
Like many Gemini, Su Xunxian is a mix of traits that sometimes might feel like they should belong to at least two different people. He's a practical businessman and an intellectual; a nouveau riche who grew up beside a member of the royal family; selfish and petty and generous; a political figure and a courtesan; extremely efficient and indolent and idle.
At first sight, Su Xunxian leaves the impression of someone who cares about and flaunts his good looks. His skin is cared about (he at one point claims to have an entire team of people attending to it). His robes are beautiful, though usually outrageous - if a large expanse of it isn't sheer, then they tend to be widely open in the front, showing off his toned chest. The fan that is usually in his hands is also of high quality, and he uses it with ease and grace, both as an intellectual's prop and, when necessary, as a weapon.
It is a very carefully crafted facade, not so much a lie (because he does care about his appearance - and he does care to be attractive to certain people, whether or not he believes there is a chance for it to matter) as tricking people who don't care to look more carefully into thinking there is little more to him than that. It makes it easier for him to observe - and accomplish Moran's or, secondarily, his own goals, depending on the situation. But, most of all, it is his own peculiar way to handle the situation in which he lives - he is a merchant's son, stepping up toe to toe with aristocrats and scholars. He would never have fit in, so he's standing out on his own terms, owning the circumstances rather than being subjected to them.
A lot of what shaped Su Xunxian can be traced to growing up with Beitang Moran. Growing up with would imply that he was close to the then-prince before Moran's older brother was killed. A commoner next to royalty, probably partly because Su Xunxian was known to be the next Star Master, and probably, after a little while, because his own quick wit and loyalty won Moran's quicksilver mind to Xunxian's company. And Xunxian learned next to Moran - though he did not learn fighting, he learned music, and book study, and poetry, and politics, and even the art of war. Then Moran was in his mid teens, possibly around sixteen, and from the Emperor's younger brother, he became the Emperor's Uncle and regent, and Su Xunxian's role also changed. From playmate to right-hand man, the one person who could hear Moran's orders and understand what he means by then, the one person who could needle Moran and challenge him to do better, rather than either trying to bring him down or unconditionally accepting Moran's choices.
Another aspect of their dynamic that defines Su Xunxian is that he is very, very much in love with Beitang Moran. So much so that a teenager calls him out on it on-screen. It's not a sentiment that he could ever voice or act on, not explicitly, but it is always there. In his commitment, in his choices, in the bitterness with which he takes some things (like watching Moran fall in love with Luo Feifei and be rejected and hurt by it) to the gentleness with which he handles others (like the younger Star Masters under their command, or even trying to get to know Luo Feifei in the beginning, when she was making Moran smile). He silences his own hurting heart by throwing himself into drinking, or music, or sex, or making money; then when he can see Moran in need, he holds back nothing in order to support him. When Beitang Moran challenges his nephew to protect Luo Feifei from imprisonment, Su Xunxian is the champion who fights - and wins - in his name. When Luo Feifei is suffering from poisoning from Orion Land, later, it is Su Xunxian who hires medics and finances the search for treatment for her. Because Moran wants it done. Then he promptly flouts what he has done, because while he knows the limits of what he can and can't have, he still wants to be noticed and appreciated.
Su Xunxian is also very sarcastic, or rather, more blatantly so than any single other character. Despite that, he doesn't seem disliked or hostile with anyone, which sort of lends credence to his claim that the top oiran - top courtesan - in the pleasure house he owns is himself. (Later, when drunk, he claims that was a trick played on Shang Yu, but there is no conclusive evidence either way. Going by the reaction of the Madame at the pleasure house, it was probably not a trick.) Also, even if he pettily points out his achievements and his wealth, he also on several occasions shows utter, effortless generosity, such as giving out food he has stored at a time of crisis, or buying out all the necessary herbs in the entire country so enough antidote for everyone in need of it is made, or covering the price of half of the royal wedding when the treasurer keeps insisting that the treasury is empty.
Generally, his decision making tends to go through the following stages: Will Moran want it done/approve of it? Is it right? Will I profit from it? Will I enjoy it? In that order. The result is a somewhat eccentric, not unkind, and definitely striking man.
SAMPLE: Sample.
INVENTORY:
* A set of sheer-front robes
* His blood-stained fan
* A jar of wine
* A box of tea
* His guqin
NOTES: N/A