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dark-night-star-light · 9 months

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Spirit Animals: Heart of the Land (Reread pt. 14)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ENTIRE SERIES EXCEPT TALES OF THE GREAT BEASTS AND THE BOOK OF SHANE.

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“Soon the leaders of the four main governments of Erdas, plus Stetriol, would meet for the first time since they’d gone into hiding during the turmoils of the Devourer’s invasions and the Wyrm’s attack” (1). Didn’t Stetriol participate in those invasions?

“Song remembered to make her steps small and dainty, not the sweeping strides she felt like taking” (1). Isn’t she in her private chamber??? Why does it matter?

“His eyes narrowed as he saw the emerald and ocean of her embroidered robe - green was not a favored color at the moment” (2). Is Song wearing an ocean-toned robe meant to foreshadow her spirit animal being a water dragon? Also, why did Song risk wearing the green if she knew her father would be angry?

“Always he treated her this way, as if she were an object - a beautiful doll - and not his living, breathing daughter” (3). Honestly, Song’s story is so tragic.

Chapter 2

“ . . . each built in the style of one of the four main lands of Erdas. The brightly colored flags of Nilo, Zhong, Eura, and Amaya hung from a wide gateway . . . ” (4). Nothing for Stetriol? Not even a flag?

“If Conor needed her, she vowed to herself, she could be there for him” (5). The Wyrm taking a personal toll on them could be a source of further bonding, I think.

“‘ . . . if a certain black-and-white bear hadn’t stuffed herself with an entire forest of bamboo and then needed three days to recover’” (6). Three days??? From a single meal???

“ . . . Abeke had gone to see Kirat and Cabaro in Nilo” (6). I still don’t like Kirat, but I want to know how Uraza and Cabaro acted around each other . . .

“‘No Greencloak flag,’ Meilin observed” (7). What about a Stetriolan flag?

“ . . . only one of them was Marked . . . ” (7). There’s no way they could know that at first glance.

“‘Its venom turns its victims to stone, and they can only be saved by an antidote’” (7). I love how Spirit Animals made up its own animal.

The Oathbound all having names that are positive qualities is so funny to me.

“‘I’m not a brat,’ Rollan said. He glanced aside at Abeke. ‘Are you a brat?’ ‘No,’ Abeke answered. ‘And I don’t snivel, either’” (8). I love the humor in this series. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard to be funny.

The fact that four kids defeated five adults within ten seconds without drawing blood at all is just. Sad (for the adults). Although most of the Oathbound aren’t marked, so maybe that’s it . . .

“[Princess Song] turned a frowning gaze on the guards” (11). I wonder if Song ordered the Oathbound to put on this show with her, to get the four to trust her.

“‘She has no intention of coming down here’” (13). Essix being Essix is hilarious.

“‘You, patient?’ Abeke heard Rollan say, and then Meilin said something in response that made him laugh” (14). I want to know what that was.

“ . . . but she walked swiftly, sweepingly . . ” (14). Symbolism for Song disobeying her father?

“‘We will share a room,’ she said firmly” (15). There’s a line in a later book that implies that they don’t like sharing, so I found this funny.

“‘We are not called the Heroes of Erdas because we spent the Second Devourer War or the struggle against the Wyrm hiding in a bunker . . . ’” (16). Abeke somehow manages to be humorous while doling out threats.

Chapter 3

“ . . . a vision that had led them to victory” (18). Ironic, considering that vision was actually a trick sent by Kovo, to set them up to fail.

“‘We defeat the Wyrm every day that we go on’” (20). Conor having PTSD(?) from the Wyrm’s invasion is so realistic and I love that it’s explored.

“Her bond with Uraza had been shattered” (20). Wasn’t Conor’s bond also technically shattered?

“‘I fought a duel against him, and it was the angriest I’ve ever been in my entire life . . . ’ . . . ‘Shane was my first friend.’ . . . ‘But you are my truest friend’” (20). So like a best friend? Abeke and Conor BFFs canon? Also, complex feelings about Shane, my beloved.

“‘This is where they put us?’” (20). Song’s still pretending she’s on their side, so why did she allow Brunhild to put them in this room?

“ . . . ‘when I tried it I almost cut my own hand off’” (21). Weirdest grammar ever. But also, I want Rollan to use that move in a fight later in the series, as like a full-circle moment.

“‘ . . . then why did they invite us and the other Greencloaks to the Citadel? What is really going on here?’” (22). Meilin being competent, my beloved. Can’t believe she guessed (kind of) what was gonna happen.

Chapter 4

“The imperial princess had helped the four Greencloaks at the gate. If Meilin was right and something strange was going on, then she might be a valuable ally” (23). Meilin being so close but so far is just. *gurgling sounds*

“ . . . then opened a wooden door carved with Zhongese water dragons . . . ” (24). Foreshadowing?

“Her father had been reporting to the emperor, bringing six-year-old Meilin with him so she could see the vast palaces” (25). I feel like this moment should’ve been expanded on more.

“‘I have admired you for a long time,’ Princess Song said softly” (25). I have a feeling Song’s not lying about this . . .

“She couldn’t stop staring at the spiced bun. If he took a step forward, he would squish it” (26). I love how much thirteen-year-old energy this gives.

“Meilin gave him a bright smile so he wouldn’t suspect that his had been the bun that dropped on the floor” (26). How is that going to make him less suspicious?

“Since Zerif used us to spread the Wyrm’s parasites, across Erdas, there have been big changes in the world” (29). So why can’t he just explain that to the leaders?

“‘As a group beholden to no nation, but with unparalleled access to all of them, they spread this corruption farther than any other force could have . . . ’” (31). Okay, so they’re worried about the Greencloaks’ being allowed everywhere? But isn’t that, like, everyone?

“‘The Nectar of Ninani is no longer needed. The Greencloaks, too, are not needed as they once were’” (32). Honestly, he sort of kind of has a point.

“‘We cannot break up the Greencloaks!’ Princess Song insisted” (33). She’s actually really smart, speaking in defense of the Greencloaks before framing them is a good way to deflect suspicion.

I like how Song only risked her father’s wrath because she knew he’d be dead soon.

Chapter 5

“Her lithe, pantherlike jaguarundi, an animal from Amaya, crouched and then leaped toward the Ambassador of Stetriol, snarling” (35). I have a feeling Song was only trying to kill her father and just simply trying to scare the other leaders.

“‘Call forth your spirit animals!’ Olvan roared at the other Greencloaks. ‘Defend the leaders!’” (35). Did the other leaders not hear Olvan say this? Or maybe they just thought he was putting on a show?

Okay, so the leaders didn’t let the Greencloaks have their spirit animals out, but allowed them to bring weapons into the meeting? That just seems so stupid. What’s the point of that, then?

The fake Greencloaks literally bolted the second the emperor was dead, which just seems so short-sighted. Like, it was obvious that they were only gunning for the emperor and nobody else.

When Song starts going on about how the Greencloaks’ true color is “bloodred” not green, all I can think about is the Redcloaks, whose true color is actually bloodred. There’s probably some symbolism in there somewhere.

Chapter 6

“As Princess Song issued crisp commands . . . ” (40). Was Song also trying to impress the other world leaders?

“ . . . leaving Lenori and the other Greencloaks to hold off their pursuers” (40). This feels like Olvan and Lenori predicted something like this would happen and had a plan . . . or they’re really quick thinkers.

“She swallowed and then clenched her teeth, as if holding in tears. Then he remembered that she’d seen her own father cut down in the battlefield - maybe the death of the emperor was making her relive that awful moment” (41). Maybe it was because of what Song said to her after her father died? Because Song appeared to be saying something harsh to Meilin . . .

“‘All those Greencloaks were new recruits’” (41). Then why did Olvan bring them??? Isn’t the Greencloak contingent supposed to be made of trusted members? And why weren’t they with the Greencloak contingent? They literally arrived halfway through the meeting.

“‘Someone is trying to sabotage the Greencloaks . . . ’” (41). I love how this ends up being pretty inaccurate, in the end.

“‘For many years, this gift has been passed down from one leader of the Greencloaks to the next . . . ’” (42). Did Tembo find it? He was the founder of the Greencloaks, right?

Chapter 7

“The door had not been there before! Had this Greencloak hidden it somehow?” (45). Anka can hide doors? Also he immediately refers to her as a Greencloak . . . interesting

“‘Yeah, they warned me about you,’ she said sharply” (47). Who? How do the Oathbound know about Rollan’s personality? Maybe it’s just common knowledge? Or maybe Anka actually joined the Greencloaks to keep the masquerade up?

“He grinned back at her. Having Anka around to aggravate was going to be fun” (50). LOL.

“Rollan caught her eye. ‘She’s telling the truth, as far as I can see’” (51). I know Rollan’s intuition isn’t foolproof, but usually he’s only wrong because he’s distracted or overwhelmed or emotional, none of which apply here, so how was he so wrong about Anka?

Chapter 8

“They tracked the five Greencloaks all afternoon . . . she could run for a long time without getting tired” (52). They ran for an entire afternoon??? Okay, I get they have spirit animals, but that seems impossible . . .

“‘They would give it to him, wouldn’t they? They wouldn’t let him die?’” (53). Conor sounds so innocent in this quote . . . I love how he seems cool and herolike to outsiders but he seems so innocent around the other three.

“‘ . . . long ago, the four regions of Erdas bestowed the Greencloaks with gifts as thanks for ending the First Devourer War . . . ’” (54). Okay, so I was sort of right about Tembo, since he was the Greencloaks’ founder, he must’ve gotten the gifts.

“‘Four items,’ Rollan put in. ‘wielded by four heroes?’” (54). Wait, this is literally foreshadowing of the end of the series.

“‘And you didn’t even have to count on your fingers’” (55). Anka is actually hilarious.

“‘Anyway, the four gifts were symbols that the Greencloaks were of and for all of Erdas’” (55). Oh . . . I was wondering why it was significant that this quest should only happen if a Greencloak fights another Greencloak. This is why . . . right??? Also . . . no Stetriol . . . sadness.

I don’t get how finding gifts that are going to make the Greencloaks even more powerful will show the leaders that the Greencloaks should stand united. Like, that seems weird . . . also why don’t they have the gifts with them??? Like they had the talismans at Greenhaven before they got stolen? Why were they hidden?

“‘For the Greencloaks,’ Abeke, Conor, and Rollan repeated” (56). Anka didn’t repeat it . . . red flag.

Chapter 9

“ . . . ‘but what kind of meat?’ ‘The chewy kind,’ Anka answered” (59). LMFAO.

“Conor, Meilin noticed, had fallen asleep already, with his head on Abeke’s shoulder, his dinner uneaten” (59). Truly, we are getting all the Conor-Abeke moments.

“Something drifted across her vision. It was a faint thread, glinting in the moonlight. Sleepily, she watched it unspool across the clearing. Then another silvery thread floated past, just overhead” (60). I know this is the spider, but this kind of reminds me a little of the scene from Jhi’s story in Tales of the Great Beasts, where Yin is watching the sky and sees silver stars that turn out to be Jhi’s eyes.

“Meilin was not afraid of spiders. At least, that’s what she told herself” (61). Meilin has spider-PTSD.

“‘His name might be Just, but he will not treat you fairly . . . ’” (64). Does Kana dislike Wikam??? Yeah, she’s just acting, but she appears to really hate him. Also, his name is Just??? I thought that was a title.

Chapter 10

“And yeah, he wanted in, too, though at the same time he rather liked his slit-pupiled golden eyes, not to mention the muscles he’d put on since he and his black panther spirit animal had merged. The retractable claws were good, too” (66). I really like that Worthy has a nonchalant attitude about the whole merging business. Usually when a character is different they obsess and stress about it so much to the point where it becomes annoying, and this is such a refreshing way to handle that.

“Their late, great leader . . . ” (66). LOL.

“‘So who set them up? Who wants to destroy the Greencloaks?’” (68). I love how we’re made to think that the perpetrator hates the Greencloaks for the majority of the arc. It really sets up the final twist to be even more shocking.

“‘Or a Redcloak?’ Worthy suggested. ‘No,’ Stead said flatly. ‘Definitely not’” (68). Why is Stead so certain of that?

“He wanted to be the hero” (69). Why’s that, though? Also, I don’t know why, but Worthy feels so different from Devin Trunswick. Like, he doesn’t have the same energy. I can’t quite put my finger on why.

“‘The gifts have apparently been lost for many years . . . ’” (69). Yeah, but why??? Why didn’t the Greencloaks just hold onto them?

“‘Rock and claw! Circle! And that other thingie!’” (69). How dare they. How dare the authors spell thingy incorrectly. They have declared war (joking). Also, Yumaris is hilarious.

Chapter 11

“‘I feel closer to you all than I’ve ever felt before’” (71). Ah, Rollan.

“Essix was still tangled, no help to him” (72). Just put her in passive state??? Then take her out again??? This is literally a nonissue-

“ . . . paying the captain extra to finish loading their goods quickly . . . They only had enough money for one cabin . . . ” (74). That’s a weird contradiction to have in the same paragraph. Though I guess it makes sense to some extent.

“‘A cute, little, fluffy, brown mouse,’ Rollan went on, grinning, and Meilin gave in, laughing” (74). This arc is giving us so many ship moments.

“Finally the falcon had stopped struggling and had gone into passive state . . . ” (75). Why did Essix take so long???

“Where the Wyrm was waiting for him” (76). Dun, dun, duuuuuuuun.

“To his astonishment, she pushed his hand aside, leaned closer, and put her lips to the very spot where the Wyrm had marked him” (77). I like how this isn’t really made out by the narrative to be a romantic gesture. It fits very nicely with my Conor-Abeke QPR headcanon.

“But thanks to his friends, he was finally, truly, free of the Wyrm” (78). Not a fan of how quickly he recovers, because healing is always a long process, but that’s slightly nit-picky of me, so.

Chapter 12

“Uraza flexed her claws, and the boy yowled and squirmed, but she didn’t let him up” (80). Parallels to Hunted, when Uraza did the same thing to Devin Trunswick.

“‘Get this overgrown house cat off me, and I’ll tell you’” (80). This is so funny, considering that Devin’s own spirit animal was also an “overgrown house cat”.

“‘The quest for the four gifts is far more important than you realize. You must find them . . . ’” (82). Anka being suspicious . . . she’s the first one to insist they continue the gift search.

“‘Have you forgotten who he really is? Devin Trunswick. He’s a bully, and a liar, and he betrayed all of Trunswick when he joined Zerif.’ ‘I was having a bad day,’ Worthy mumbled” (82). I believe in angry Conor superiority. Also, what kind of a shitty excuse is that??? A bad day?

“No matter what else he had done, Shane had died a hero’s death” (83). This line made me so weirdly sad the first time I read the series. It was, like, the first time I truly processed that Shane was gone.

“‘Meilin, take out the gift,’ Abeke ordered. When her friend had taken out the rock and unwrapped it, Abeke pointed to it. ‘The rock is hidden. Unrevealed, as Olvan said. We have to be the same way. As the Heroes of Erdas, we’re too easy to track. We have to go in disguise. We can’t be Greencloaks anymore’” (85). Abeke is so dramatic, taking out the rock and making comparisons like that. (It’s also a bit cringy, but whatever.)

Chapter 13

“‘Your cloak is basically rags. You should throw it away anyway, and get a new one when this is all over’” (86). I feel like they only started emphasizing Rollan’s connection to Tarik’s cloak in this arc, as preparation for the final climax. I don’t think they really talked about how important it was in the Wyrm arc?

“ . . . in Stetriol, on what they had thought would be a suicide mission. It has been a matter of life and death. This situation wasn’t so dire” (87). Parallels. Also, Rollan kept his cloak in his pack in that scene in The Evertree, didn’t he?

“His cloak had a patch of leather sewn onto the shoulder so she wouldn’t shred it when she perched there . . . She was not a comfortable passenger” (88). Then how did she perch on his shoulder before he became a Greencloak? Maybe his other cloak also had something similar . . .

“When they didn’t answer, he slumped, as if disappointed. ‘I just want to help, that’s all’” (89). That’s actually kind of sad. And I’m not even a Devin apologist.

“Anka gave them a few coins . . . ” (89). What’s this about having no money, then?

“ . . . Conor looked like a slightly better-dressed Euran visitor” (89). Why is Conor better dressed?

“‘No,’ Conor said hastily. ‘We don’t know anything about Greencloaks. We’ve, uh, never even met a Greencloak.’ He gulped. ‘I’m not even sure we know what-’” (91). How did Conor not realize how awkward he sounded? Like, I know he’s not the best liar, but he appears to be so bad that it feels like he’s deliberately trying to get them caught. Also, was he about to say “We don’t know what a Greencloak is?” Because that’s just. *facepalms*

“‘A lot of these people know that I’m a Greencloak’” (92). Then why aren’t they turning him in?

“His mother, teaching math. He’d seen some strange things in his life, but this was possibly the strangest” (94). Why’s that? Also, imagine teacher assistant Rollan. That would be so cute.

“‘She found us,’ Ngozi began. ‘because we’re-’” (94). His mom traveled and found Marked kids before the Greencloaks?

“‘With that darling girl, Meilin?’ Rollan felt a blush prickling on his face. ‘Mo-om!’ he protested” (95). His mom sees him for the first time in months and immediately asks about Meilin??? Also, wow, a normal mother-son dynamic.

Chapter 14

“Rollan and Conor. Greencloaks. Stupid. So stupid” (97). I love how he immediately went “Greencloaks are all so fucking dumb”. That energy is what we need.

“Worthy had been following Rollan and Conor since they’d entered the city, hardly noticing the odd looks from passersby” (97). How did Rollan and Conor not notice him with all the looks he’s getting???

“ . . . and really, nobody needed to know about the tail” (97). If you say so.

“ . . . Worthy could see why Shane had been in love with her. Whether he’d admitted it to himself or not” (98). I have. Too much to say. First of all, just. The tragedy of Abeke and Shane. Forced onto opposite sides of a war, where circumstances made them have this complicated relationship. Loving each other throughout. Never quite being able to hate the other. And, wow, people being able to see how much they cared for one another. Like Conor in Blood Ties. And now Worthy. Shane never really getting over himself and constantly wanting to make Abeke proud, I just. It’s too good. Abeke is almost the reason for his redemption, and having that come full circle when he sacrificed himself for her. Just. Amazing. I’ll need to talk about that more when I talk about Shane in depth.

“Six adults, armed and well trained, versus two stupid kids who hadn't even called forth their spirit animals yet. Worthy waited another moment, just so they’d know how much danger they were in before he heroically rescued them” (99). Sir, I think you’re forgetting that they literally saved the world twice. And also, you’ve never even won a single one-on-one duel before??? Where is this ego coming from?

“A move he’d learned from the terrifying Meilin, no doubt” (99). Yeah, wasn’t that the move that Meilin uses on the Oathbound at the beginning of the book?

“Better get in there and be a hero quick, before the Greencloak boys rescued themselves” (100). Yeah, Worthy.

“ . . . as if they were going to protect him!” (100). Feel like I’ve talked about this before, but I despise characters that are arrogant and overestimate their abilities. I get it’s a character flaw and whatnot, but it just annoys me everytime. Especially when there are more competent characters around.

“And suddenly it wasn’t about being a hero anymore” (102). Ah.

“They were surprisingly skilled, Worthy could see at once” (103). These kids are being trained for battle and they aren’t even Greencloaks (or Redcloaks) . . . I don’t quite like that??? Like it feels very icky.

“ . . . not wanting to reveal how pleased he was by Conor’s comment” (105). Poetic, that Worthy, who Conor was once forced to please, is now trying to please Conor.

“It was Dawson for whom Devin had finally decided to be Worthy” (105). Aw. That’s cute.

Chapter 15

“‘Nobody sees me as I am,’ Anka finally said” (108). That went so deep, so suddenly, for no reason.

“‘You’re from Zhong!’ Meilin exclaimed, delighted” (108). Then why is her chameleon named Toey? That’s not a Zhongese name . . .

“And now she knew another reason why Anka didn’t know how to fight - in Zhong, girls weren’t supposed to study the martial arts” (108). But Anka would’ve studied them when she joined the Greencloaks???

“‘The Oathbound will be on our tail soon. Our trail, I mean’” (110). The insinuation is strong with this one.

“‘Give me the spit, bear,’ he said” (110). I imagine him saying that almost demandingly but in a funny way.

“All six of them had faced such hardships before” (111). This narration is so weird, it almost feels unreliable. Also, if Anka has faced hardships like this, she definitely should know how to fight.

“‘Can you all please shut up?’” (114). She has a point. They need to stop talking.

“Without the Greencloaks to keep the peace, the great countries of Erdas would fracture” (114). Not necessarily . . . but a little, I guess.

Chapter 16

“The masked boy shrugged. ‘I was only trying to help’” (117). I don’t know why, but Worthy just annoys me. Like I know he’s intentionally that way, but he just grates on me.

“Meilin set aside the sword she’d been sharpening obsessively and got to her feet” (117). Someone’s excited. Also the amount of ship moments in this book, both for Conor and Abeke and for Rollan and Meilin is ridiculous.

“He grinned. ‘Reilin, I mean’” (117). Books that use ship names in the story will never not be incredibly cringy. It’s not the fourth wall break you think it is.

“They went along the stream in awkward silence . . . ” (118). Wow, okay. They can’t even acknowledge that they’re in a relationship?

“Rollan felt half afraid, half excited, and half . . . Wait, that was too many halfs” (119). I like that this is a realistic portrayal of early-teenage romance. It’s so refreshing.

“There were sounds of shouting and yowling - Worthy - and the roar of a big cat - Uraza - and then the clash of weapons” (119). How did they hear that all the way from the waterfall???

“ . . . when Anka struck the spearman from nowhere . . . ” (120). Do the normal Oathbound know that Anka is a spy for them?

“‘Cowards!’ he shouted at them” (121). A consistency with Devin’s character, at least . . . he yells the same thing in Hunted. So he’s always hated cowards: he’s been morally gray since the beginning.

“‘Wikam the Unjust must know about the Heart of the Land’” (123). How did Song get her hands on that knowledge??? She must’ve known about the saying about Greencloak fighting Greencloak, too . . .

“‘We have to stick together.’ ‘We have to stay true,’ Conor added, ‘like Olvan said’” (123). They can split up and still stay true to each other, though???

“‘There’s a whole army of Oathbound out there. And they’re coming after us’” (125). The Oathbound have to know about all the gifts, right? Because Anka knows, so . . .

Chapter 17

“Princess Song did not turn from the mirror” (126). It was definitely a choice to refer to her as a princess.

“The proper way to speak to a princess was to call her Your Highness. A ruler - an emperor, a king, a queen - was addressed as Your Majesty” (126). This is actually the first time I’d ever learned of this rule, lol.

“The Oathbound were sworn to serve her” (127). I love how they said “her” and not “the leaders of Erdas”. Kind of foreshadowing.

“The chamber in which her father had been killed. By Greencloaks” (128). Unreliable narrator Song?

“‘The Greencloaks are bad’ was the Euran Queen’s contribution” (129). How did she become queen? If she was born into it, she should’ve been educated.

“Yes, she mourned her father” (129). Unreliable narrator Song continues.

“He could only breathe, and blink” (131). Okay, not to be gross, but how is he eating and using the bathroom?

“‘Why Amaya?’” (132). Why did Song pretend she didn’t know about the Heart? What purpose did that serve?

“You . . . and all the Greencloaks . . . are charged with treason, and with the coldhearted murder of the Emperor of Zhong’” (132). Song defended the Greencloaks during the meeting, so why did she antagonize Olvan?

Chapter 18

“ . . . Anka had led them through the forest, keeping them invisible so any Oathbound scouts would not be able to track them” (133). I think that should take a physical toll on her.

“Worthy pulled something out of the pack and quickly handed it off to Rollan” (134). Worthy’s redemption arc is stored in Rollan’s cloak.

“When he returned, he was wearing an enormous brown cloak he’d picked up in town. It looked bulky and warm in the Amayan heat . . . ” (134). That means he’s wearing two cloaks, because Tarik’s is underneath??? Also, parallels to Against the Tide, when Rollan complained about the heat and Meilin pointed out that he wasn’t wearing a cloak?

“Abeke saw Meilin pat the pouch where she kept the rock . . . Checking to be sure it was still there” (134). Thinking about how Kaz from Six of Crows talked about how doing that makes a person the perfect target for a thief. And Rollan is a thief . . . could we interpret this as a sign of Meilin’s trust in Rollan? I’m probably reading way too much into this.

“‘You’ve missed exactly one meal,’ Meilin said calmly, and started walking again. ‘You’re hardly starving’” (135). Thank you.

“She was now riding on Rollan’s shoulder, looking ruffled and annoyed” (135). Why isn’t she just in passive state???

“‘Cranky,’ complained Worthy” (135). It’s giving Kovo-describing-Meilin energy.

“As a Redcloak, Worthy had taken on aspects of his spirit animal, the black panther” (137). This sentence sort of implies that only the ex-Conqueror Bile-drinkers are allowed to become Redcloaks.

It just occurred to me that the Heroes, despite not liking Worthy, never actually suspect him or the Redcloaks of being the people behind the attack. Not even once. So there has been some trust built before this arc even started.

Chapter 19

“‘Shut up, Worthy,’ Rollan and Abeke said at the same time” (141). Jinx.

“‘I know, I know,’ Worthy muttered. ‘Shut up, Worthy. But I’m not wrong. This is a completely terrible idea’” (142). He’s graduated to self-awareness.

“‘And . . . and I’m sorry for the way I treated you, Conor. You know, back in Trunswick, and the rest.’ ‘You were having a bad day?’” (143). Funny Conor is almost as good as angry Conor.

“‘When the Wyrm took me, I did bad things. And I thought for a while that it made me a bad person. But it didn’t. I am worthy. And maybe, so are you’” (143). That isn’t comparable at all??? Conor had no choice. Worthy had a choice. (I’m not saying Worthy doesn’t deserve a redemption arc, I’m saying the comparison is completely invalid.)

I genuinely don’t understand why they didn’t just wait for the storm to be over. It’s logically the best move. This is a dumb risk to take.

“Ever since then he’d been a little queasy about heights” (147). He wasn’t queasy during Immortal Guardians when he jumped into the net? That happened after the sleep-walking-and-almost-fell-off-a-tower incident, too.

Chapter 20

“And . . . thank you, Worthy, for handing him the cloak earlier” (149). Worthy’s redemption arc being stored in Rollan’s cloak will never not be funny.

“Zerif had once hoped to bank on these stories by bonding four young Conquerors to imposter legends . . . ” (152). I still find it weird that he chose the Stetriolan frog instead of the Zhongese water dragon.

It’s weird that the spirit just gave them the gift after they swore they were good. Like there was no test? And they can lie?

“Others are seeking the Heart. They will try to take it from you” (155). How does Kikimi know that the four are the “good guys”?

Chapter 21

“ . . . now the Oathbound would try to take it, and then arrest the Greencloaks” (157). Do they know about the other three bond tokens? Anka does, so they should, right?

I don’t like how in this arc, the spirit animals feel a lot like tools. Jhi is almost never called out and Essix pretty much obeys Rollan whenever. I don’t know, it just feels like it goes against the whole partnership idea. In the first arc, the spirit animals had things to “tell” their human partners, but here they just . . . don’t.

“Behind him crouched the faint outline that was Anka. Hiding, not fighting” (159). Red. Flag.

“It had turned to quicksand - just as Worthy had feared!” Why didn’t they fall into it when they crossed the bridge, then???

“‘Listen,’ Meilin said. Unsheathing her sword, she glanced around at her friends and their spirit animals. ‘We don’t have to defeat them. We just have to fight through and escape. All right?’” (160). Meilin assuming the leader role . . . I like it, but it does feel like her character development (and Conor’s) has been nuked. Conor hasn’t been leader-y at all this entire arc. And the last one.

How is Meilin able to help Worthy get out of the quicksand without falling in herself?

Okay . . . never mind, she also gets sucked in.

“‘I’m sorry I ever thought you were scary, Meilin . . . ’” (162). I’m pretty sure Meilin wouldn’t take that as an insult.

“ . . . he grinned wildly, his hair tousled, his brown cloak whipping around him” (163). Why is Rollan described like a YA novel love interest, I can’t-

Chapter 22

“‘For the Greencloaks!’ her friends joined in” (164). Not “her friends and Anka” . . . hm.

“ . . . all bearing sharp-pointed pikes that kept [Wikam] clear of the battle” (165). Honestly, he should be called “Wikam the Brave” because he’s a coward.

Oof, this is the third time Abeke’s had a specific target in mind and something has come in her way. (The first two times were both Zerif and now it’s Wikam.)

Chapter 23

“‘Come to me, Greencloak!’ he shouted. ‘And learn how to die!’” (167). So that means the Oathbound are trying to kill them?

“Conor couldn't fight a madman” (168). LOL.

Chapter 24

“If he could figure out how to use it, they might be able to defeat the Oathbound army” (169). He did, though??? Just slam it down on the earth again?

“He’d already been choked once today - this was really too much!” (171). Rollan gets choked a disproportionate amount of times in this series. Like in The Return, he was choked by the guard.

“ . . . followed by a precise strike at that particular place where boys really don’t want to be hit” (172). How did I miss this on my first read-through, oh my gosh-

“He was fierce, but his movements were slowing” (172). Worthy finally winning in fights? Devin quite literally being a loser to Worthy taking on multiple people at once and winning . . . Shane really did a number on him.

“The attacking Oathbound were flung to their knees. But so were his friends” (173). At least we can say he tried.

“Worthy echoed him, yowling with glee” (173). Awwww. Okay. This is where I start liking Worthy (mostly in the next book, but a little in this one, too).

I like that they show Rollan trying and failing to use the amulet.

Chapter 25

“‘Ooh, arrows!’ Abeke exclaimed. She started gathering them up, stuffing as many as she could into her quiver” (175). Abeke just almost-died and her response is to be like Arrows, I love you. Hilarious.

“ . . . Worthy ripped off the remains of his mask and let out a sound that was part snarl, part yowl, and fiercely triumphant” (177). Drama king.

“‘I hate this,’ she heard Worthy mutter” (179). He’s back, guys.

“‘It’s really dark in here,’ came Worthy’s complaining voice. Then Meilin heard him mutter, ‘Shut up, Worthy’” (179). Well. I can respect the effort.

“She gave it a reassuring pat. ‘It’s all right,’ she said softly. ‘We’re all scared.’ . . . ‘Thanks, Meilin’” (180). I think my heart just melted.

“The furry rope touched her cheek again, and she reached up quickly, grabbed it, and pulled hard” (180). I love how Meilin’s first instinct when confronted with something new is to just pull on it.

Chapter 26

“‘I’ll ask Uraza to check our tail,’ Abeke said. ‘Our trail, I mean’” (181). I don’t care how overused this joke is, it’ll never stop being funny. Also, is Abeke hinting at knowing about Worthy's tail?

“For some reason, the four Greencloaks and Anka were all smiling at him” (182). Okay, they definitely know about the tail. Also, Worthy doesn’t think of Anka as a Greencloak. Hm.

“‘Farewell. Think kindly of me when I’m gone’” (182). My favorite part of Devin’s personality. His drama. It doesn’t change throughout the story. We love that.

“His own family had once possessed an ancestral sword. It had been modeled after a famous sword from Euran history” (183). The Trunswick Blade? Huh.

“ . . . if there was a record of the real gift, it was likely somewhere in Trunswick. He, Worthy, would lead them to it” (183). Unreliable narrator Worthy? We (and Worthy) know that the Trunswick Manor burned down . . . (Well, I know that. Because I read Tales of the Fallen Beasts before this.)

“‘I wanted to be a hero’” (184). Indeed.

“‘Worthy has a tail?’” (185). Most iconic way to end a book.

Final thoughts and rating:

In love with the concept behind this arc. Bringing four gifts together to represent unity between the four lands and possibly to stop a war is an astoundingly good premise for a story. I also like that Worthy is in this arc. I complained about him a lot, but I do think he’s a genuinely good addition to this arc. His drama and wanting to be a hero really adds a new level of depth to him that wasn’t there before. His could-care-less attitude toward the Greencloaks also balances out the group and brings new perspectives to the table. His tail and his hiding of it also works as symbolism for the trust between him and the four. Song being an unreliable narrator was a tremendously good move, because it almost makes her seem unstable, not that the reader knows that at this point. It was a risky move, but it was executed almost perfectly, in my opinion. This arc in general is clearly a relationship-development arc, even though the relationships are already established. Especially the romantic relationships, if they can even be called that. I like how the romance isn’t shoved in your face and is a very minor part of the story. It might be the aroace in me talking, but I feel like these books just have the perfect amount of romance and it doesn’t overwhelm the story. I also like that Rollan had to work through some kinks and didn’t get the amulet’s powers right on the first try.

Although it makes sense in a thematic way, I was not a fan of the fact that the four just immediately jumped on board when Olvan gave them their mission. It wasn’t even explained well??? He just said to stay true to each other and to find the gifts and the four just immediately obeyed him. I also don’t like how literally the group took that message. They heard “stay true to each other” and took it as “we must not ever split up” and that just weirded me out. I’m not a fan of the fact that Anka can apparently create illusions? It makes her way too overpowered, in my opinion. The fact that we know Song knows about the gifts and still questioned Olvan about why the four were headed to Amaya makes no sense. How did that serve her? What is the point in trying to make Olvan believe she doesn’t know about the gifts? That really confused me. Kikimi immediately handing the gift over to the four is my biggest gripe with the story. How did she know that they were the “good guys”? If the Oathbound had climbed up and revealed the Heart, Kikimi probably would’ve let them get away with it, as well. How does she know who’s pure of heart? And being pure of heart isn’t a black and white thing either. Some people believe they’re pure of heart and aren’t and vice versa. I find it stupid that there was no test of anything. The spirit animals in this arc. I . . . don’t like it. It goes against the whole human-animal partnership the first arc worked so hard to build. Jhi is barely present and the other spirit animals are only mentioned when they are being useful. I don’t like how the spirit animals feel like tools in this arc. They don’t have the same weight or persona they had in the first arc.

Rating: 8/10

#draeyem rereads spirit animals #heart of the land #spirit animals series #spirit animals books #sa spoiler #abeke #conor #meilin #rollan #shane #worthy #anka #wikam the just

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kingfyre · 1 year

Text

park jisung x zhong chenle, huang renjun x zhong chenle (implied), angst, historical fiction, fantasy, wuxia, drabble, 1.5k

cw: implicit violence, implicit sexual content, time skips, minor character death

this is kind of a repost? ;) i had this posted last year as an x reader but now i've resolved to post in its not so (as i’ve rewritten some bits and added more scenes) original glory as a chenji fic!

There is serene beauty within the garden that Jisung is certain he would never witness back in Seoul. An ocean of mist shrouds the garden from the touch of dawn, but muted rays of orange and rose still stretch down from above, desperate to kiss the blooming petals of vibrant yellow. Jisung is awake far before he should be, but the sunrise is different here in Jeju. There’s peace within it. Peace that one would have difficulty coming across in Seoul.

Truth be told, despite the alluring sights Jeju has to offer, Jisung harbors no desire to be here. He would like to believe there was no need for him to be either. Only under the threat of his father has he returned when he had left so eagerly the year before.

Jisung watches from where he sits as the Chinese pupils saunter to the cold river bank with hushed murmurs. They do not look his way. Huang Renjun, Jilin’s heir, and Zhong Chenle, Shanghai’s second scion. It’s as the saying goes: Birds of a feather flock together. They make to discard their glaring red robes, both adorned with intricate dragons of golden thread and stunning peonies of white when Renjun falls in, half undressed, at Chenle’s hand.

Chenle laughs.

It’s bright – much too loud for the breaking dawn.

The smile that graces Chenle’s lips grows into another laugh as Renjun pulls him into the cold bite of the river, his robes already hastily discarded and kicked off to the side. Chenle resurfaces and Jisung watches as sodden hair falls over bare shoulders and sticks to pale skin – raven strands on untarnished marble.

Jisung stares.

No birdsong could ever convince him to stay. This one would be no different.

ㅤ

Zhong Chenle is boisterous and that falls well with Lee Haechan, heir of Jeju.

The clatter of their swords rings harmoniously, every strike parried with ease, every attack dodged or deflected. It is not easy to make a spar flow like water but they make it look effortless. A simple conversation between their blades, a dance of blow after blow after blow.

Haechan smiles at Chenle after, the same type of brightness Jisung had seen on Chenle by the river.

Jisung scowls.

Much has happened since then.

ㅤ

What Jisung hates most about Zhong Chenle is that he shines much too bright.

In a place where Lee Haechan already shines, it is only becoming for the two to join hands. They become inseparable – truly two sides of the same golden coin, two halves on the same whole. They call attention to themselves easily, but it is easy to tell that their broad, divine smiles are only meant for the other.

Huang Renjun is left alone. His face mirrors the emotions within Jisung’s heart, longing well hidden behind a glare.

Jisung begins to hate the glorious blaze of the never-setting sun.

ㅤ

Jisung hates.

Jisung yearns.

There is no room left for him or Huang Renjun, who will never shine as bright.

ㅤ

The desire for home lessens within him, but there they are all sent unwillingly.

They arrive far too late. Seoul is gone – fallen. His mother is missing, and his father is dead, stripped bare and hanging down the gates to the place he used to call home with pride. Barbarians, he shouts, at the people who have invaded his gates, long limbs and broad chest fueled with fury.

They return to Jeju with heavier hearts, bleeding hearts, but already Jisung feels a hollowness – a gaping cavity right where his heart should be.

Chenle keeps him company in the garden and pretends not to notice the tears that fall from his eyes. There is a burning glint – bloodlust, perhaps – residing within Chenle’s eyes that tells him he’s ready for the battle. For the inevitable war.

Chenle does not apologize as the rest did – does not offer his condolences as the rest did. Instead, he shuffles close, smiles – that bright and burning smile – and intertwines Jisung’s hand with his. Jisung watches the curve of Chenle’s full lips, the exact shade of fresh blood.

Jisung mourns.

“We’ll kill them all,” Chenle says quietly, and in Jisung’s ears, it sounds like a promise.

ㅤ

The war begins.

It has been months since the slaughter of Jisung's family. Since the loss of his home.

Months since Chenle had taken his hand, and promised the lives of the bastards who had taken everything from him.

ㅤ

The war begins.

Only now it begins.

ㅤ

The war has long begun for Jisung.

ㅤ

Blood stains the only thing he has left of his family.

ㅤ

Renjun enters the tent, and Jisung averts his eyes from his sword. It is the first time in weeks that he sees the Jilin heir for longer than a glance.

"Jisung," Renjun greets, curt and quiet.

Jisung does not show him the same courtesy and keeps quiet, biting at his lip.

Renjun takes his seat beside him, and pulls him closer by the hand so he may do his work, finish, and move on to his next patient.

He has changed; changed in the way one must during war, much like everyone else. There are some things that Renjun manages to keep: his face, staying unmarked and porcelain; his hair pinned back as it always is now, still long and neat in the midst of war. But no longer does he wear his red robes around camp with pride.

Unlike Chenle, Jisung thinks. Whose hair now falls only to his shoulders. Chenle whose red robes still glare in the field of combat, tainted and darkened by the blood he has learned to so eagerly spill.

Jisung winces as his wound is cleaned.

The process is quiet. It always is. Jisung prefers it this way.

ㅤ

"I used to think we were the same," Renjun murmurs near the end. "I've seen the way you look at him. The stares, the longing."

Uneasiness blooms inside Jisung's chest. He ignores it.

"I used to think we were the same," Renjun says – pauses – wrapping the cloth around Jisung's wound before he meets his eyes. "But I was wrong."

"You covet him."

Renjun stares at him, accusing, resentful; Jisung refuses to look away. And what of it? he wants to say, but the words die on his tongue.

ㅤ

Renjun finishes and Jisung counts the seconds until he leaves but Renjun pulls him closer, murmuring in a voice so quiet that Jisung could perhaps pretend that he'd heard him wrong. "You covet him, but you will never have him."

ㅤ

The words haunt Jisung for longer than he will ever admit.

ㅤ

When Renjun dies, Jisung almost feels satisfaction making a home of his chest.

It is quick – a merciful death. Better than he deserved.

Jisung did not know him well, but he knew him enough. Enough to have had heinous fantasies of taking matters into his own hands, taking blood into his own hands. But Renjun's corpse drops to the floor and Jisung sees the way Chenle's heart falls along with it.

ㅤ

The battle is over but Chenle pushes for more. Chenle thrashes in their hold – screams and cries, laughs as they pull him from the battlefield. He does not stop his screams, even after they've dragged him inside the tent. They resort to restraining him, binding him with rope as if he were the enemy, gagging him in a futile attempt to keep him quiet.

ㅤ

Chenle calms long after nightfall. They untie him with cautious looks, wariness deep-set within their eyes, but Chenle only smiles at them, as if they had not kept him tied to a chair while he grieved his loss. He is still bright, burning – blinding underneath the darkness of the night and Jisung refuses to find it within himself to look away.

ㅤ

Jisung finds him again later that night, drowning in his sorrow, far from the field of red and camp. Far from all that Renjun had left behind.

ㅤ

"We'll kill them all," Jisung whispers, and hopes that Chenle does not take it as a promise.

ㅤ

The war rages on for too long.

ㅤ

Jisung wonders how much blood must still be spilled for peace.

ㅤ

Chenle kisses like the battles he fights – fucks like the war he leads and guides to victory.

Jisung wouldn't have it any other way.

Chenle fucks him often – climbs into his bed whenever he likes, which becomes every night they find themselves free long enough to find release. And when Jisung begins to drown in the blood that he takes, he gets on his knees and takes refuge between Chenle's thighs.

ㅤ

Renjun was wrong.

ㅤ

Renjun was wrong.

ㅤ

Jisung has him.

He had paid his dues – in blood, in scars, in suffering, and now, Jisung has him. Chenle is his, and he is Chenle's, and any man who would dare to disagree is a fool.

ㅤ

How could he not be mine, Jisung thinks, when he comes back to me every night?

ㅤ

Chenle is a terrible, demanding creature, clothed in the same red Jisung had first seen him in by the river – in the red that he demands when he steps into the battlefield, in the red that he takes from the crying bodies of men their age that bleed to never see another day.

Jisung wants and wants and wants.

ㅤ

Jisung is alive – he is here, he is warm, he is breathing, and yet he is still inadequate replacement for a boy who now rots beneath the ground.

#chenji #chenle #jisung #zhong chenle #park jisung #nct dream #nct dream angst #nct #nct angst #chenle x jisung #renjun #haechan #nct dream drabbles #nct drabbles #nct dream scenarios #nct scenarios #lovelele.#jisung.

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bizarrequazar · 2 years

Text

GJ and ZZH Updates — June 26-July 02

<<< previous post || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. A glossary of names and terms often used can be found [here]. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

06-26 → We Are The Champions’s Weibo posted a clip of Gong Jun’s team winning a match.

→ Gong Jun posted a clip from Go Fighting! to his personal Weibo of himself and one of the hosts having a short conversation in Sichuan dialect.

→ Dragon TV posted a scripted video of Gong Jun and two of the other contestents to promote Go Fighting!.

→ Dragon TV posted several previews for Go Fighting!, [here] and [here], as well as individual stills of each co-star. (They’ve been posting many more clips, from here on I’ll only include promo videos that aren’t from the episodes proper.)

→ Gong Jun’s studio Weibo posted four photos taken during the filming of Go Fighting!. Caption: “The challenge is boundless, and the exploration is endless. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon's ‘ice-breaking’ journey is about to start, lock on Dragon TV at 9 o'clock tonight, challenge together, and move towards the future together!” (mtl)

→ The first episode of Go Fighting! aired. [Full episode with multi-language subs] Fan Observations: A song from Word of Honor’s soundtrack was used during a game where Gong Jun and another contestant had to try to knock each other off a platform. At the start of the segment the caption “君既至需尽光” (”Now that you’re here, [you] need all the light”) appears on screen, the first three characters being the first half of Gong Jun’s Weibo auto-reply.

→ 21:08 Gong Jun’s studio Weibo posted nine photos from the filming of Go Fighting!’s first episode. Caption: “The sky is clear and the blue waves are sparkling 😎. Tonight boss @ Gong Jun Simon invites you to ‘break the ice’ for team building together! Are you ready to take on a new challenge together?” (mtl)

→ #Gong Jun cute# and #Gong Jun Go Fighting# were in the entertainment hotsearch on Weibo.

06-27 → The Instagram posted five pictures of “Zhang Zhehan” wearing a face mask and “video calling” Kele, meant to connect to an essay posted by Zhang Sanjian the previous day.

→ People’s Daily reported that the Ministry of Public Security’s cyber division is starting a six month crackdown on water armies.

→ Fresh posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun and used a photo ad of him for the product on Taobao.

→ Youku posted an fmv-style compilation video of Gong Jun to their Weibo to promote Go Fighting!. Caption: “It turns out that the cool family has a multiverse of Junjunzi: Huo Yan the double-sided boyfriend, Yuan Che who protects his brother, Zhong Wumei the jealous king of the prosperous world, and our brave and sunny Junjunzi @ Gong Jun Simon #Gong Jun changes in seconds to cool Lao Gong# ... 👖 invites you to open the Jun multiverse together!” (mtl)

→ Gong Jun posted a longer cut of the commercial for Fresh on his personal Weibo. This was reposted by his studio Weibo.

→ Kangshifu posted an emoji pack of Gong Jun from their recent ad campaign with him.

→ We Are The Champions posted individual stills of Gong Jun’s team.

→ Zhang Sanjian truthers edited Zhang Zhehan’s Chinese Wikipedia page to include Zhang Sanjian under the nicknames section.

06-28 → QuelleVous posted evidence that Crystal Li, someone supposedly in charge of Zhang Zhehan’s business affairs after 813 who was supposedly replaced by Xie Yihua around November, doesn’t exist and was actually an account run by Sophie.

→ QuelleVous posted that Zhang Mama sent a cease and desist to shut down the account Xie Yihua and co. were using to impersonate her in May. This is unconfirmed at this time at the time of this post.

→ Gong Jun appeared on an endorsement livestream for KFC. During it, he confirmed that he’s grown and dyed his hair for his uncoming role so that he doesn’t have to wear full wigs (I wonder who he learned that from 😏), said he had recently been on a roadtrip from Chengdu to Xinduqiao, and said that he would soon be posting a vlog and photo log from his trip. [full recording (no subs)] Written translations with clips: [here] [here] [here] Fan Observations: - This was Gong Jun’s first non-prerecorded livestream since 01-07. - Zhang Zhehan made the same trip by bicycle almost exactly ten years ago.

→ The Golden Blossom Awards were held online: ↳ Gong Jun won the award for Most Popular Male Actor of the Year for his role as Wen Kexing in Word of Honor! [award video] [acceptance speech] ↳ Xiao Chu won an award for Word of Honor’s script. The video used to announce the award included a shot of Zhang Zhehan!!! [award video] Zhang Zhehan’s name was also included! (picture below) ↳ At the end of the show the CEO of Guduo Media, the organization hosting it, gave a message: “On behalf of Guduo Media, thank you for your participation. Without you, this online film and television festival would not have been a complete success. I also hope that everyone who is watching the live broadcast will always look forward to the arrival of spring even in the dark days. Thank you all!” (mtl)

→ Gong Jun made a post on his personal Weibo thanking Golden Blossom for the award. “I’ll continue to work hard!” The post was reposted by his studio Weibo with the caption: “Feel the charm of the characters and witness the moment of honor. Congrats to boss @ Gong Jun Simon, thank you for your support and affirmation, keep on loving and live up to expectations.” (mtl) Fan Observations: - The image Gong Jun used is 5.11MB. - The first 63 comments were by CPFs with matching pfps. People from other fandoms made surprised remarks at how the majority of Gong Jun’s fans are CPFs, as well as surprise at how organized they are. CPFs responded, “This is nothing, they should see what we’ve done with more prep time!”

→ Gong Jun trended on Twitter.

06-29 → We Are The Champions posted a clip of Gong Jun’s team.

→ Gong Jun posted six photosets from his trip to Sanya to his personal Weibo. Caption: “Casually ‘toured’ Sanya” This was reposted by his studio Weibo. Hogan later reposted one of the photos advertising their shoes he’s wearing in it. Addition 07-30: Fifth 浅, third only counting Weibo.

→ Gong Jun trended on Twitter.

→ KFC posted two photo ads using stills from the previous day’s livestream.

→ Dragon TV posted four gifs of Gong Jun from Go Fighting!.

→ Yangyang, the MC from the KFC livestream, posted four photos from it of himself and Gong Jun.

→ A Twitter space was held between Naan and Qilin88 discussing wuxia drama history and tropes in relation to Word of Honor.

06-30 → Youku reposted Gong Jun’s travel photos to their Twitter.

→ Fresh posted a promotional video for their new product spoken by Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Fans paid for a short video of Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun to play on two screens in London from 05:11am to 11:29PM BST. [video]

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a vlog from his trip to Sanya. Some of the footage is the same as his douyin from 06-14.

→ Donations for the first month of the Zhang Zhehan Monthly Charity Project ended, earning $2231 for the Cybersmile Foundation. At the time of this post, July’s fundraiser has not yet been organized.

→ Through word of mouth, fans started posting on Weibo under the tag #Gong Jun cpf# in place of the Lang Lang Ding supertopic that was deleted during 813. The tag gained 53.7 million impressions within the first 24 hours and is still going strong at the time of this post.

07-01 → A month long LLD Fest began on Twitter. The prompt for the first day was to post one favourite photo of Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan together. Unsurprisingly, many people posted multiple.

→ Gong Jun trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun reposted a post by CCTV to his personal Weibo celebrating the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong. Caption: “Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland! ! !” His studio Weibo reposted it as well, caption: “... Wishing Hong Kong a better tomorrow, and for the great motherland to be more prosperous!” (mtl)

→ MUJOSH posted a video spoken by Gong Jun wishing them a happy 12th anniversary.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted his public schedule for the month: only drama filming. Caption: “Clouds open and the fog is full of green and secluded places, and the noise of floating dust is fleeting. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon's July itinerary is coming like ‘seven’, and the second half of 2022 has begun. I hope everyone can do what they want.” (mtl) Fan Observation: Posted at 10:38. I only note this because recently Gong Jun made two posts at 11:38, a 1129 and 511 kadian. 🤔 Probably nothing.

→ Peng Lihu was exposed for running several accounts, including Golden Shield Cloud Institute, his “assistant”, and possibly Roving Inspection Team.

→ Dragon TV posted individual stills from Go Fighting!.

→ CAPA held a members meeting, shifting some positions but not making any significant changes as far as Zhang Zhehan’s situation is concerned. Zhu Kening has been removed from president but is now head of their new oversight committee. Their new president is Liu Kezhi.

07-02 → LLD Fest day 2 prompt: favourite individual photos of Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun.

→ Filming began for Gong Jun’s upcoming drama Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yue Hong.

→ Bluebird posted evidence that Zhiling Lexus (the fake boyfriend from 05-08 and 05-09 who some also suspect has been acting as one of the body doubles) has access to the Instagram account.

→ Chatlogs surfaced suggesting that Chen Liying (aka Chen Ahyi) was the source of some of the slander implicating Zhang Zhehan’s father last September.

→ The cast of Go Fighting! appeared in a video promoting the conservation of the oceans. An image was also later posted to further promote this, asking audiences to guess which of a set of sea creatures each cast member was represented by. Most commenters said dolphin for Gong Jun.

→ The brand’s Instagram account posted a photoshopped picture of “Zhang Zhehan” wearing one of their new shirts at a hotel in Shanghai.

→ Xie Yihua posted a very uncomfortably photoshopped picture of “Zhang Zhehan” wearing the brand’s merch. Fan Observation: Many have noted that it might have been made using [this photo ad] from last year. [overlay]

→ We Are The Champions episode 3 is now available for free (also on YouTube), episode 4 is available with VIP access.

Additional Reading: → Flora’s daily fan news thread → Next week’s post will be late as I’ll be in transit back to Canada. My regular posting of space notes and such will resume after that since I’ll have stable internet again. 🥳

<<< previous post || all posts || following week >>>

This post was last edited 2022-07-30.

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

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definitellie-fr · 8 months

Text

dragon project masterlist

breeding/color projects

cantaloupe/crocodile/crocodile

sero (mha)

vash (trigun)

meryl (trigun)

baxter (our life)

genes

gen 1s

galaxie

terrarium

melantha

vale

laelie

ylli

belial

kelerin

zhong

aether

isme

valentina

thistle/mauve/eggplant

fuschia/midnight/cerulean

latte/fuschia/orchid

emerald/avocado/crocodile

goldenrod/umber/midnight

antique/lead/ultramarine

amethyst/royal/aqua

slate/beige/terracotta

gen 2+

clianthe & caecillian

fulgora

melanthios

isidora

sedore

esmeralda

lyra

rose

lulu

fandragons

leandre (oc)

zevreel (oc)

niisha (oc)

lumine (genshin)

arianwen (skyrim oc)

cove (our life)

flight reps

arcane - ancient

earth - modern

fire - modern

ice - ancient

light - modern

lightning - modern & ancient

nature - modern

plague - ancient

shadow - modern

water - ancient

wind - modern

pairs

adalya & irani

#dragon project masterlist #my projects

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popmovie888 · 2 years

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Detective Dee The Four Heavenly Kings ตี๋เหรินเจี๋ย ปริศนาพลิกฟ้า 4 จตุรเทพ (2018) พากย์ไทย

ตัวอย่างหนังจีน Detective Dee The Four Heavenly Kings ตี๋เหรินเจี๋ย ปริศนาพลิกฟ้า 4 จตุรเทพ (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvGUA1JmERw โครงเรื่อง Detective Dee The Four Heavenly Kings ตี๋เหรินเจี๋ย ปริศนาพลิกฟ้า 4 จตุรเทพ (2018) หลังจากเหตุการณ์Rise of the Sea Dragon Dee Renjie ได้รับแต่งตั้งให้เป็นหัวหน้าศาลตุลาการและการแก้ไขและมอบ "Dragon Taming Mace" อันทรงเกียรติโดยจักรพรรดิ Gaozong ดังนั้นเขาจึงกลายเป็นภัยคุกคามต่อการแสวงหาอำนาจสูงสุดของจักรพรรดินี Wu Zetian จักรพรรดินีหวู่มอบหมายให้หัวหน้าองครักษ์ของราชวงศ์ Yuchi Zhenjin เป็นผู้นำกลุ่มพ่อมด รับจ้างเพื่อขโมยคทาจากดี ยูจิตกลงอย่างไม่เต็มใจภายใต้เงื่อนไขว่าต้องไม่ทำร้ายหรือลงโทษดี อย่างไรก็ตาม วูได้แอบมอบหมายให้หมอผีไปฆ่าดี โดยรู้ว่าวูจะพยายามกำจัดเขา Dee ได้ซ่อนคทาและต่อมาก็ไปซ่อนตัวเพื่อทำลายแผนการของเธอและเปิดเผยแผนการสมรู้ร่วมคิดกับเขาDee มอบหมายงาน Yuchi ให้ค้นหา Dragon Taming Mace ที่ซ่อนอยู่ โดยเขาได้พบกับพ่อมดคนหนึ่งที่เขาฆ่าในการต่อสู้ เนื่องจากหา Dee ไม่พบ Wu จึงไล่เขาออกจากตำแหน่งหัวหน้า Da Li Si และประกาศว่าเขาเป็นอาชญากรที่ต้องการตัว หลังจากที่ Yuchi ส่งคืน Dragon Taming Mace เธอได้เลื่อนตำแหน่งผู้นำของพ่อมด San Zang ไปที่ราชสำนัก ในขณะที่คนหลังแสดงให้เห็นถึงพลังของเขา รูปปั้นมังกรที่ดูเหมือนจะมีชีวิตขึ้นมา ฆ่าพ่อมดอีกสองคนและสร้างความตื่นตระหนกให้กับมวลชน หวู่โทษหยูฉีที่ส่งเสริมจางและสังหารเจ้าหน้าที่หลายคนและจับกุมเขา ดีย์เข้าไปในวังโดยปลอมตัว ปลดปล่อยยูจิ และสรุปว่ามังกรที่มีชีวิตจริงๆ แล้วเป็นภาพลวงตา จำนวนมากและผู้กระทำผิดที่แท้จริงได้ฆ่า Zang ล่วงหน้าและเข้ามาแทนที่เขา นอกจากนี้ ดูเหมือนว่าพ่อมดสองคนที่ตายไปแล้วก็เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของแผนการนี้และแกล้งตายด้วย ปรากฎว่าจักรพรรดินีถูกควบคุมโดยศัตรูด้วยภาพลวงตาและสัญญาเท็จเกี่ยวกับอำนาจเบ็ดเสร็จและผู้กระทำผิดที่แท้จริงคือลัทธิ พยาบาท ของ พ่อมด ชาวอินเดีย "Wind Warriors" ซึ่งจักรพรรดิองค์ก่อนเคยขึ้นสู่อำนาจ แต่ถูกฆ่าและทำร้ายในภายหลัง Dee ซ่อนราชวงศ์และขอความช่วยเหลือจาก Shatuo Zhong และ Moon Water พ่อมดผู้บกพร่อง เพื่อโน้มน้าวให้อาจารย์ Zen Yuan Ce ผู้ทรงพลัง ดูหนังออนไลน์ ในการต่อสู้กับกองทัพนักเล่นกลลวงตาและผู้นำของพวกเขา "สัตว์ประหลาดไร้หน้า" (เว่ยเจีย) ในการต่อสู้ที่ Da Li Si ภาพลวงตาอันทรงพลังของ Monster Faceless นั้นแข็งแกร่งเกินไปสำหรับ Dee และคนของเขา จนกระทั่ง Yuan Ce ปรากฏตัวและเอาชนะผู้นำของ Wind Warriors หลังจากนั้น ดีและยูจิกลับเข้ารับตำแหน่ง Read the full article

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moononmyfloor · 2 years

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Advisors Alliance: Growling Tiger Roaring Dragon ep 31

Zhong Hui: Farming is lame

Sima Yi: Hou Ji, where did you get the water that you made my soup with?

Hou Ji: Err... river?

Sima Yi: THaT sHit iS SO DISreSpECtFUL!!!

#lmao #Cdrama #Chinese drama #Growling tiger roaring dragon #Advisors alliance

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coolkatana-store · 2 years

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History of Chinese Longquan sword

Longquan sword began in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, more than 2600 years ago... According to the yuejueshu by Ou Yezi, in the spring and Autumn period, Ou Yezi chiseled CI mountain, discharged its stream, took Tieying from the mountain and made three swords, saying: "Longyuan", "tai'a" and "Gongbu". Longquan sword has a long history and is well-known at home and abroad. During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, Ou Yezi smelted his sword at the foot of Qinxi mountain in Longquan《 According to the records of Baiyue sages, Ouye Gongbu Zi "chiseled CI mountain, discharged its stream, took Tieying from the mountain and made three swords: called 'Longyuan', 'tai'a' and 'Gongbu'.". Longquan, formerly known as Longyuan, was named after the sword. In the Tang Dynasty, it taboo "Yuan" and was renamed Longquan. Longquan sword is famous all over the world, and Longquan has also become the name of the sword. The Tu Xing sword can "wear a copper kettle, never iron, and the Xu Zhong will be like a rice, so it is called Tu Xing". The Tu Xing sword can stab the copper pot, and each burst is like cutting rice cakes. The power of its two swords is also described in later literature. Such as Xunzi: "Zhan, black also. Zhanlu, words are like water and black“ That is, Zhanlu sword is a black sword with both hardness and softness. Another example is in the Han Dynasty's Huai Nan Zi Xiu Wu Xun, which said: "if the husband is pure and Jun, the fish intestines... Are honed and sharpened, the water will break the dragon boat, and the land belongs to rhinoceros armor." Chunjun and Yuchang swords can cut off huge dragon boats on water and pierce solid rhinoceros armor on land. Their extraordinary power can be imagined. It is said that in order to gain the throne, the prince of the state of Wu sent assassins to kill Wang Liao and use a sword to pierce the three-layer armor of Wang Liao, using a fish intestines sword.

https://www.coolkatana.com/blogs/news/modern-sword-longquan-sword

#COOLKATANA #longquan #sword

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ammonitetheseaserpent · 3 years

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Petition to make an AU where Stetriol has its own bond token and we get to see the original water-holding frog/toad legend.

#spirit animals #spirit animals books #stetriol #random snippets of my day #seriously tho #we’ve got the 5 impostor kids based on legends from each of their respective homelands #and we get to see the people and spirit animals behind the original legends for the main 4 regions #the black wildcat for eura #the Gila monster for amaya #the hammerkop/lightning bird for nilo #and the water dragon for zhong #so like #where’s the original water-holding frog/toad for stetriol?#exactly who is behind the legend that zerif recruited tahlia and tiddalik to impersonate?#that’s my question #yeesh #stetriol really just keeps getting the short end of the stick

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drwcn · 4 years

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How To Name Your Chinese Characters:

1) LAST NAMES:

I’ve pasted the Top 100 common last names in alphabetical order, and bolded the ones that appear in CQL:

B: 白 Bai C: 蔡 Cai ; 曹 Cao ; 常 Chang ; 曾 Ceng ; 陈 Chen ; 程 Cheng ; 崔 Cui ; D: 戴 Dai ; 邓 Deng ; 丁 Ding ; 董 Dong ; 杜 Du ; F: 范 Fan ; 方 Fang ; 冯 Feng ; 付 Fu ; G: 高 Gao ; 葛 Ge ; 龚 Gong ; 顾 Gu ; 郭 Guo ; H: 韩 Han ; 何 He ; 贺 He 洪 Hong ; 侯 Hou ; 黄 Hua ; 胡 Hu ; J: 贾 Jia ; 蒋 Jiang ; 姜 Jiang ; 江 Jiang ; 金 Jin ; K: 康 Kang ; L: 赖 Lai ; 李 Li ; 黎 Li ; 廖 Liao ; 梁 Liang ; 林 Lin ; 刘 Liu ; 陆 Lu ; 卢 Lu ; 路 Lu ; 吕 Lü ; 罗 Luo ; M: 马 Ma ; 麦 Mai ; 毛 Mao ; 孟 Meng ; N: 倪 Ni ; 牛 Niu ; P: 潘 Pan ; 彭 Peng ; Q: 钱 Qian ; 秦 Qin ; 邱 Qiu ; R:任 Ren ; S: 邵 Shao ; 沈 Sheng ; 史 Shi ; 石 Shi ; 施 Shi ; 宋 Song ; 苏 Su ; 孙 Sun ; T: 陶 Tao ; 谭 Tan ; 唐 Tang ; 田 Tian ; W: 万 Wan ; 王 Wang ; 汪 Wang ; 魏 Wei ; 吴 Wu ; X: 邢 Xing ; 夏 Xia ; 蕭 Xiao ; 谢 Xie ; 徐 Xu ; 许 Xu ; 薛 Xue ; Y: 阎 Yan ; 严 Yan ; 杨 Yang ; 姚 Yao ; 叶 Ye ; 余 Yu ; 于 Yu ; 袁 Yuan ; Z: 张 Zhang ; 赵 Zhao ; 郑 Zheng ; 钟 Zhong ; 周 Zhou ; 朱 Zhu ; 庄 Zhuang ; 邹 Zou ;

Above are all single character last names, but there are some double character Chinese last names, seen below (list not exhaustive):

独孤 Du’Gu ; 公孙 Gong’Sun ; 南宫 Nan’Gong 欧阳 Ou’Yang ; 司马 Si’Ma ; 上官 Shang’Guan ; 宇文 Yu’Wen ; 长孙 Zhang’Sun ; 诸葛 Zhu’GE ;

2) GIVEN NAMES/COURTESY NAMES

《Elements》:

Light*：光 (guāng) - light，亮 liàng - bright / shine，明 (míng) - bright，曦 (xī) - early dawn，昀 (yún) - daylight，昭 (zhāo) - light, clear，照 (zhào) - to shine upon，

Fire: 焰 (yàn) - flames，烟 (yān) - smoke，炎 (yán) - heat/burn，烨 (yè) - dazzling light，

Water: also see “weather” OR “bodies of water” under nature; note the words below while are related to water have meanings that mean some kind of virtue: 清 (qīng) - clarity / purity，澄 (chéng) - clarity/quiet，澈 (chè) - clear/penetrating，涟 (lián) - ripple，漪 (yī) - ripple，泓 (hóng) - vast water，湛 (zhàn) - clear/crystal，露 (lù) - dew，泠 (líng) - cool, cold, 涛 (tāo) - big wave，泽 (zé)，浩 hào - grand/vast (water)，涵 (han) - deep submergence / tolerance / educated

Weather: 雨 (yǔ) - rain，霖 (lín) - downpouring rain，冰 (bīng) - ice，雪 (xuě) - snow，霜 (shuāng) - frost

Wind: 风 (fēng) - wind

* some “Light” words overlap in meaning with words that mean “sun/day”

《Nature》:

Season: 春 (chūn) - spring，夏 (xià) - summer，秋 (qíu) - aumtum，冬 (dōng) - winter

Time of Day: 朝 (zhāo) - early morning / toward，晨 (chén) - morning / dawn，晓 (xiǎo) - morning，旭 (xù) - dawn/rising sun，昼 (zhòu) - day，皖 (wǎn) - late evening，夜 (yè) - night

Star/Sky/Space: 云 (yún) - cloud，天 (tiān) - sky/ heaven，霞 (xiá) - afterglow of a rising or setting sun，月 (yuè) - moon，日 (ri) - day / sun，阳 (yáng) - sun，宇 (yǔ) - space，星 (xīng) - star

Birds: 燕 (yàn) - sparrow，雁 (yàn) - loon，莺 (yīng) - oriole，鸢 (yuān) - kite bird (family Accipitridae)，羽 (yǔ) - feather

Creatures: 龙 (lóng) - dragon/imperial

Plants/Flowers:* 兰 (lán) - orchids，竹 (zhú) - bamboo，筠 (yún) - tough exterior of bamboos，萱 (xuān) - day-lily，松 (sōng) - pine，叶 (yè) - leaf，枫 (fēng) - maple，柏 bó/bǎi - cedar/cypress，梅 (méi) - plum，丹 (dān) - peony

Mountains: 山 (shān)，峰 (fēng) - summit，峥 (zhēng)，

Bodies of water: 江 (jiāng) - large river/straits，河 (hé) - river，湖 (hú) - lake，海 (hǎi) - sea，溪 (xī) - stream，池 (chí) - pond，潭 (tán) - larger pond，洋 (yáng) - ocean

* I didn’t include a lot of flower names because it’s very easy to name a character with flowers that heavily implies she’s a prostitute.

《Virtues》:

Astuteness: 睿 ruì - astute / foresight，智 (zhi)，慧 (hui)，哲 (zhé) - wise/philosophy,

Educated: 博 (bó) - extensively educated，墨 (mo) - ink，诗 (shi) - poetry / literature，文 (wén) - language / gentle / literary，学 (xue) - study，彦 (yàn) - accomplished / knowledgeable, 知 (zhi) - to know，斌 (bīn) - refined，赋 (fù) - to be endowed with knowledge

Loyalty: 忠 (zhōng) - loyal，真 (zhēn) - true

Bravery: 勇 (yǒng) - brave，杰 (jié) - outstanding, hero

Determination/Perseverance: 毅 (yì) - resolute / brave，恒 (héng) - everlasting，衡 (héng) - across, to judge/evaluate，成 (chéng) - to succeed，志 (zhì) - aspiration / the will

Goodness/Kindness: 嘉 (jiā) - excellent / auspicious，磊 (lěi) - rock / open & honest，正 (zhèng) - straight / upright / principle，

Elegance: 雅 (yǎ) - elegant，庄 (zhuāng) - respectful/formal/solemn，彬 (bīn) - refined / polite，

Handsome: 俊 jùn - handsome/talented

Peace: 宁 (níng) - quietness/to pacify, 安（ān) - peace, safety

Grandness/Excellence：宏 (hóng) - grand，豪 (háo) - grand, heroic，昊 (hào) - limitless / the vast sky，华 (huá) - magnificent，赫 (hè) - red/famous/great，隆 (lóng) - magnificent，伟 (wěi) - greatness / large，轩 (xuān) - pavilion with a view/high，卓 (zhuó) - outstanding

Female Descriptor/Virtues/Beauty: 婉 (wǎn)，惠 (huì)，妮 (nī)，娇 (jiāo)，娥 (é)，婵 (chán) (I didn’t include specific translations for these because they’re all adjectives for women meaning beauty or virtue)

《Descriptors》:

Adverbs: 如 (rú) - as，若 (ruò) - as, alike，宛 (wǎn) - like / as though，

Verbs: 飞 (fēi) - to fly，顾（gù) - to think/consider，怀 (huái) - to miss, to possess，落(luò) - to fall, to leave behind，梦 (mèng) - to dream，思 (sī) - to consider / to miss (someone)，忆 (yì) - memory，希 (xī) - yearn / admire

Colours: 红 (hóng) - red，赤 (chì) - crimson，黄 (huàng) - yellow，碧 (bì) - green，青(qīng) - azure，蓝 (lán) - blue，紫 (zǐ) - violet ，玄 (xuán) - black，白 (baí) - white

Number：一 (yī), 二 (er) - two, 三 (san) - three, 四 (si) - four, 五 (wu) - five, 六 (liu) - six, 七(qi) - seven, 八 (ba) - eight, 九 (jiu) - nine, 十 (shi) - ten

Direction: 东 (dōng) - east，西 (xi) - west，南 (nan) - south，北 (bei) - north，

Other: 子 (zǐ) - child, 然 (rán) - correct / thusly

《Jade》: *there are SO MANY words that generally mean some kind of jade, bc when ppl put jade in their children’s name they don’t literally mean the rock, it’s used to symbolize purity, goodness, kindness, beauty, virtue etc* 琛 (chen), 瑶 (yao), 玥 (yue), 琪 (qi), 琳 (lin)

《Spirituality》

凡 (fan) - mortality

色 (se) - colour, beauty. In buddhism, “se” symbolizes everything secular

了 (liao) - finished, done, letting go

尘 (chen) - dust, I’m not… versed in buddhism enough to explain “chen”, it’s similar to “se”

悟 (wu) - knowing? Cognition? To understand a higher meaning

无 (wu) - nothing, the void, also part of like “letting go”

戒 (jie) - to “quit”, but not in a bad way. In buddhism, monks are supposed to “quit” their earthly desires.

极 (ji) - greatness, also related to the state of nirvana (? I think?)

#cql #the untamed #because i have gotten many many many asks about how to name characters #language #master list

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doiefy · 2 years

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chaos circuits // zhong chenle

part of the visions series; inspired by and set in the world of genshin impact.

The absurd stories of a reckless adventurer

pairing: zhong chenle x gn. reader genre: fluff, fantasy word count: 1.3k warnings: none

taglist: @jenoxygen @zlmzym @vantaecult Ask or reply to be put on/taken off the taglist <3

cute shit again <3 it's tooth rotting <3

A NEW CATALYST lay gently cradled in Chenle’s hands, glittering gold beneath waning rays of sunlight. It was a particularly hot day—the streets wavered like a mirage beneath the unrelenting heat of the sun, and the brick roof of the blacksmith’s station provided little protection against the sweltering heat. Hovering just inches above Chenle’s hands, the metal shell of the orb still steamed from its time spent in the forge. A golden pearl that seemed to harbour the light of the setting sun and the rising moon.

“She’s beautiful,” Chenle whispered to you in awe, letting the weapon spin in the air before channeling a burst of flame to its core. From the swirling plates of gold, several tongues of fiery red and orange leaped into his hands.

“None of that in here!” The blacksmith looked up from his work tiredly—still repairing the hilt of a sword you’d found in a ruin site not too far from the city—and shot Chenle a stern look. “I know what you did to that poor lad Kun’s workshop last week. I won’t have you burn a hole through my table too.”

You snorted, and Chenle let out a loud groan in protest. His flames extinguished. “It was an accident, I swear!”

“I can vouch for him,” you added.

The blacksmith eyed the two of you cautiously, but at the very least, it was an accident; Chenle had lit a small flame to better inspect some hidden text on the books you’d recovered, only to accidentally start a small fire on the librarian’s desk. You’d doused them in water before it got out of hand, but the damage had been done.

Sometimes, you wondered if the gods had given you your Vision just so you could take care of your reckless, fun-loving, borderline-arsonist partner; as if they’d granted him a little too much power and had to make up for it by sending you.

“Then I better not see you misbehaving with that, young man,” the blacksmith said pointedly, and gestured at the weapon in Chenle’s hands.

“No sir,” Chenle grinned. “It’s for self defence. Ruin hunting and adventuring out in the wilderness can get dangerous, you know!” He then turned and locked eyes with you. Whatever that was supposed to mean, you could only guess it was mischievous in nature.

The entire harbour knew to watch out when Chenle got his hands on a new toy—because the moment the two of you left the blacksmith’s shop armed with new artifacts and a shiny golden pearl, the streets enveloped you in a burst of colour and noise.

Chenle was famous amongst some, infamous amongst others; the soldiers stationed on the street corners sent him warning glances, while fellow adventurers from the guild slapped him on the back and yelled friendly encouragement. Children playing in the alleyways stopped to look, and the bold ones ran up to him: calling him by name, asking what he was working on, asking him what new things he’d found on his adventures. And for the children, he always had some exaggerated, uplifting story on the tip of his tongue.

“A dragon’s tooth!” he told a shy little girl who pointed at the bone-coloured staff hanging at his side. “I shot it out of the sky—and oh, what a fall it took to the bottom of the ocean. I had to swim all the way down and take it from its mouth. And then I carved it into this!” It was merely a smooth tree branch he’d coated in white lacquer, so he took it off his belt and let her keep it.

“That’s from a giant machine monster we fought,” he told another child who tried to snag the ancient circuit board he held tucked under one arm. After giving the boy a short lecture on using his manners instead of just grabbing, he let him take a souvenir too. Giant machine monsters in the wild were certainly no joke, but the boy had no idea that his new toy was simply a replica of the real thing.

“This?” Chenle laughed when an older boy inquired about the new catalyst.

“How does it work?” The boy asked, curiously peering up at the two of you from behind a set of wire-rimmed glasses. A little further down the street, his father watched warily; because however stunning and beautifully crafted, the orb in Chenle’s hands was still a weapon that no child should get too close to.

“It’s magic,” Chenle told him, wiggling his brows playfully. “It lets me harness the power of the elements and channel them into a physical output— like this.” He spread his hands, and a delicate ball of fire sparked in his hands. He extinguished it the moment he caught sight of the father’s scowl, and smiled sheepishly. “Don’t try this at home, okay? Run along, now.”

And he sent him back to his guardian with a couple flaming flowers: harmless red blooms that almost looked like flames if you held them up to the sun at the right angle.

“One of these days, you’re going to get in trouble for messing around with the kids,” you told him as the two of you crossed the bridge and made your way home.

“You’re just jealous that they like me better,” Chenle joked. The last streaks of sunlight fell softly against his black hair, illuminated the gentle curves of his face until he was all warmth and hearty laughter; and you knew this was why the children liked him. He looked like them, small and soft, somehow almost innocent despite his mischief. But unlike them, he was a hero parading around the city with hopes and ambitions—inspiring them to take up their own.

“I couldn’t be jealous of kids,” you huffed.

He laughed, his eyes glinting teasingly. “But you are. Because whenever we come home from an expedition, I always pay them more attention.”

“Only for a few minutes,” you quipped back.

“But what if I just became a storyteller? I mean, I have plenty of good stories from our adventures—”

“Lies.”

“The one about the monster in the lake—”

“It’s been told hundreds of millions of times in the harbour, and it’s not even your story!”

“The one about the beast in the ground?”

“Also a stolen story.”

He rolled his eyes, cutting you off. “Oh, I’m a good storyteller and you know it. I could make money off of it! I’d spin tales and write books, they would make operas based on my stories, and all of the city would soon know my name.” Now he was just pushing, teasing, trying to elicit some sort of reaction from you, stretching apart your conversation just to make your squirm. “In the blink of an eye, I’d disappear into the world of fame… retire from adventuring and never see you again.”

You kissed him out of annoyance—pecked him on the lips right there in the middle of the street, about an arm’s length away from a group of vendors. It was still unbelievably hot despite the sun’s descent into the ocean, and you knew it was a rather unwise decision given all the sweat and grime the two of you had accumulated in the outdoors. But it was the only way you could get him to shut up.

And shut him up it did, because he only stared back at you wordlessly, still trying to make sense of what had just happened. A helpless attempt at words escaped his lips.

“You wouldn’t,” you giggled, and grabbed his hand so you could keep walking. “But there’s a good story you can tell people.”

In the next couple of days, when the blacksmith asked him how the catalyst fared, when the children flocked to him like seagulls after a piece of bread, the story never escaped his lips—what became of it was shy glances and fleeting touches in the sunlight. Back and forth banter like nothing had ever changed, but knowing smiles and his lips against yours at the most spontaneous moments. A story meant for only the two of you.

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