some initial inspirations of culture and backgrounds research of my project 1
Inspiration 1:
Kuafu Chasing the Sun – a Chinese myth from 《Shanhaijing》
Giant Kuafu wants to chase and catch the sun, in order to save people from the heat and drought brought by the sun
On the way to chase the sun, he unfortunately died of exhaustion. When Kuafu died, he still concerned about his people in the tribe, so he throw out the wooden staff in his hands. The place where the wooden staff fell, suddenly gave birth to a large peach forest. This peach forest flourishes all year round, providing shade for passers-by. And his body, also turned into a mountain, called Kuafu mountain.
Inspiration 2:
LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS – JIBARO
Outsiders and predators vs. native cultures and resources
The male protagonist, due to his deafness, was not enchanted by the siren’s song, leading the siren to mistakenly believe he was a good person. However, he eventually killed the siren and stole all her jewels. Afterward, the spirit of nature revived the siren (the red water flowing from a heart-shaped lake). Upon her revival, the siren used her song to lure the protagonist into the lake and finally dragged him down to the depths.
- Theme: The power of nature is indestructible, Plundering of resources and wealth in a wrong way will come at a cost
Inspiration 3:
Princess Mononoke
Forest Guardian / Embodiment of Nature’s Power
- Mountain beast God and Huwawa
In Gilgamesh, the protagonist fights Huwawa, the guardian of the forest, to get the cedar wood.
Huwawa is a half-beast god with scales, lion paws, and eagle claws, but it is said to be a great tree. It protects the plants of the cedar forest and does not allow outsiders to harm them.
However, in the war, it was defeated and its head was cut off and placed in a metal bucket.
There are some connections between Huwawa and the Mountain beast god, as they have many similarities.
In ‘Princess Mononoke,’ some people say that the head of the Mountain beast god has the power to heal all diseases. Therefore, the red-nosed monk is ordered to enter the mountains to hunt the god. However, after they cut off the god’s head, they realized the liquid from the head absorbs the life of anything it touches.
- The power of nature is fundamentally sacred and uncontrollable.
During the day, the god is like a deer, while at night, it transforms into a shadow mage.
Therefore, I plan to design a story about an ancient forest guardian/god with nature power, and the protagonist as an outsider to enter to the forest, and encounter with the forest god.