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tragedicn · 6 months

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name: Zhihao Hong aka: deity of filial piety and war strategies / lesser god of secrets age: ???? gender: female (she/her | they/them) occupation: wandering god orientation: demosexual / demiromantic

traits:

pos: protective, intelligent, observant, witty, loyal, reliable, talented, atheletic, benevolent, generous, calm, dutiful, selfless neg: secretive, distant, regretful, melancholic, burdened, guilt riddern, naive, repentant, reckless, paranoid, disobedient, cautious, mournful

FILIAL PIETY ⸻ respect & obligation to aging parents , honoring the family name , and group harmony .

zhihao was born into a small family with some distinction . . . a family of soldiers , a family that served the emperor each generation . her great grandfather , her grandfather , her father , her brother . . . the men of her family were all soldiers that served in the royal army ; all were honorable people and dedicated members . when war broke out , her brother dutifully served and lost his life during battle , leaving the HONG family with just two daughters ⸻ zhihao and meiying ⸻ and aging parents . zhihao had to take up as the ELDEST of the family , the leader . a protector . while she had been a rambunctious child that insisted on learning martial arts and swordplay with her brother , where her father did ( almost reluctantly ) teach her and she kept up training by herself when her brother left for the capital to join the army . practicing in the quiet dawns and bustling dusks , zhihao had been a dutiful daughter under the watchful eyes of her mother and aunties . . . trying to become a DILIGENT and responsible housewife . it's restricting , there's so many rules . . . there's so much to do ; but , zhihao bows her head and does as she's told . . . the only time she has to breathe is at dawn when she wakes before the rooster and in the dark of night when everyone slumbers . of course , she could have given up the blade and let her body grown soft and supple . . . let her callouses heal and her muscles deteriorate , but old habits die hard . . . she might be a homemaker , but she is also a PROTECTOR . as battle raged on at the borders and through the lands , zhihao was not blind to the plights of those away in the distance whilst she lived peacefully . . . but she knew one day , that violence would come knocking at the gates of her village , the emperor requesting more AID from able men from each household and for the HONG home , there left an old man , his wife , and two daughters . . . zhihao knew what she had to do .

WAR STRATEGIES ⸻ she learned to use her disadvantages to her advantage ; and her enemies' advantages to their disadvantage . while women of her age bring honor to their families by marrying distinguished men , she tried to bring honor by going to war in her father's stead . . . to both protect her family and to live up to the HONG name .

it's unheard of , a woman going to war . . . but zhihao is blessed with a name that sounded neither feminine nor masculine , and a body that could easily be mistaken as a rather lanky man . zhihao lived in the shadows of her brother when it comes out that her brother had been a man that joined the army and lost his life , praised for his patriotism . . . though , all that really brought was hurt and sadness . she often attributes her feminine visage to her mother , saying that she looked more like her mother but had her father's personality . . . which is proven true with her fierceness in battle . she does whatever she can to avoid suspicion and quells rumors with challenges to fights . . . she makes a name for herself , enough that people stop speaking of her name and stop suspecting her for someone who she isn't ( a woman in disguise ) . though she is much slimmer , much shorter than most . . . zhihao uses her brain and skills she's learned to her advantage . she's more nimble , easily missed , a WILDCARD for her squad as no one expects her to come at them from below , no one expects her to be able to slip through the cracks . . . she may not be the strongest or the tallest nor the BEST , but she knew to use brains over brawn . she led her squad to many victories and continued to do so until the trickles of war came to a slow end .

ROAD TO RECOGNITION ⸻ with numerous victories , it leads to distinction and recognition ; yet , instead of taking on her promotion and rising through ranks , she sheds her disguise and comes clean . . . though a liar , she had brought about a wave of peace and formed strong bonds .

holding her head high when she came to admit her lie amongst numerous comrades , she found no shame . . . she protected her family , the land , brought honor to her family's name just like her great grandfather , grandfather , father , and brother . though she may not have been a MALE , she proved that women are just as capable as a man . while not all are as talented or as lucky as her , she proved that ( given the chance ) women can accomplish big feats . and yet , even at the insistence of the emperor to take on the helm as the land's FIRST female general , with people willing to follow her after having proven to be an asset and a reliable partner . . . she bows her head and declines , now she has come clean to her country of her lie . . . she must return home and beg forgiveness from her family and ancestors for doing something she had been told not to . ❝ i will return the day my country needs me again ; but , today , i must go home and beg forgiveness for being disobedient and repent for my lies , ❞ she says as she turns to leave . . . the weight of returning home and facing her family seemed much HEAVIER than facing that of the emperor . she dreaded it . . .

SECRETS ⸻ something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others .

had she never said anything in front of her comrades and before the emperor , no one would have noticed . it's not as if she acted any different , perhaps she changed a bit of her demeanor to be seen as more MANLY or changed her mannerism to mirror that of males . . . but many just believed her to be snobbish and soft , pampered by her parents . zhihao would have continued her charade to the day she died , had the war not ended . she'd have taken this secret to the grave ; but , to her luck , she needn't carry this secret for much longer . feeling like she owes her friends the truth . . . she comes clean , comes out that she's been a LIE . . . and leaves it to her former comrades to decide if they wish to continue to befriend her or not . though , it's a secret she means to carry to her grave , it was a secret that her FAMILY knew of . . . after all , the HONG family was missing a child and a conscription scroll . they hid this a secret , zhihao begging that she will explain once she comes home ; but for the sake of their honor and for the sake of not being exiled for treason ( for not having sent a son ) .

DEIFICATION ⸻ an unwanted side effect that she had no choice in . . .

zhihao was faced with both relief and upset from her parents , but above all , she garnered the INTRIGUE of numerous deities that followed the woman through her ❛ adventures ❜ as a male on the battlefield and yet still tried to reclaim her spot in society as a woman . not only did she garner the attention of higher beings , stories of her feats became legends and she began to be worshipped and looked towards . . . placed upon a pedestal as a hero but also as someone who embodied filial piety as she declined distinction to return to take care of her family . it's this very act of becoming a legend and being worshipped that let her ascend to another state . . . easily welcomed by deities , zhihao finds herself an immortal and a DEITY being worshipped for filial piety and war strategies . . . but there came whispers that her name was also used to claim secrecy , to ensure that a secret may never come to light .

#( zhihao | misc )#finally! done!

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