Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are so capable, so strong, so fluid and in harmony together as cultivators. Even Wei Wuxian himself is impressed by how skilled they are at such a young age.
And really, who would expect any less from Lan Clan disciples who’ve learned from the Twin Jades of Lan? But these two go so far beyond that. They are, in every sense of the phrase, core disciples. Trusted enough to handle situations like Mo Manor on their own, skilled enough to subdue something as resentful as the arm—something they’ve probably never come across in their short years of training, and determined enough to not give up even when the situation becomes dire and seems impossible.
You can give most of the credit to their seniors if you want but their level of cultivation wouldn’t be this high if they themselves didn’t put in the work, dedication and self-discipline to supersede all expectations and harness their full potential.
My boys deserve some goddamn respect on their names and that’s final. ⚔️
I know it's a story, oh I know it's just a story. But why does it feel like my worst nightmare?
My Explorers of Sky Hero, Echo!
Lately I've been writing a study on her and this paragraph is taken from my rough rough draft. It's a more in-depth exploration of her character/origin/experiences and since I am a huge fan of the darkrai reincarnation theory, this is my personal take on the concept.
I think it's a bit poetic that Echo, in the aftermath of everything, winds up as a dark-type again (and one connected to the moon no less, the irony) as well. I mean, her timeline of lives has literally been this:
Darkrai (New Moon/Pitch Black) -> Human -> Eevee (Evolution) -> Umbreon (Moonlight)
A lot of her evolution into umbreon has to do with her personal trauma/amnesia and also significant influence from dusknoir (who she trusted and cared about), but deep down I feel like her evolution was also partially determined by the fragmented remnants of her original self. She even tried to evolve into leafeon, which obviously, did not work out as planned. Perhaps this is her past lives way of manifesting in her current self, though she is no longer the same pokemon anymore. Maybe it has something to do with self-forgiveness or acceptance? She still has a lot of healing to do, though.
Once evolving into a dark type, Echo slowly starts to regain some of her memories from her time as Darkrai. And Team Wish's new friendship with Cresselia, who is more perceptive than she has any right to be, gives Echo a lot of insight into exactly who she is. This spirals into Echo battling the reality of her past actions alone for a long time because how is she supposed to admit the truth to Sora? That she was the direct cause of their shared suffering? That she and darkrai are one and the same? That all of the pokemon of the future lived in an eternity of hell because she desired it? Of course, she keeps quiet for a long time out of pure fear-- because if Sora rejected her, she'd fall apart. It's a lot to keep secret but what else can she do?
And bonus!! Does Echo's shadow change during each night of the new moon? Hmm. Sure does seem like it.