#ZhaoYue

[seanalexandermusic]

Happy to co-write Zhao Yue 凤(舞)(Feng (wu)) w/ J’z & @sqvaremusic Lyrics by 郭德紫毅 production by @bluesats & J’z https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZGUIqTfnNY Thanks to @numberkcompany for the placement! #Cpop #China #赵粤 #凤舞 #ZhaoYue #Feng_wu #7SENSES #BonBonGirls303 #snh48 #newmusic #music #pop #akira #NII #SEN7ES #phoenix https://www.instagram.com/p/CgxXEEovkta/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[h1mmel]

About the 7s visual novel's characters and their symbolism

Taking a break from fanfiction to infodump about my favorite thing ever, which is symbolism in etymology! Sit down because this is going to be a long one... and if you read the whole thing I applaud you and also would love to talk about your thoughts!

Lin Zhaoyu

The origin of her name is actually stated in game itself, coming from the Book of Odes- a Chinese poetry book. Meaning literally, "morning rain," it is taken from the following poem. The letters that make up her name are bolded.

蝃蝀在東、莫之敢指。

女子有行、遠兄弟父母。

朝隮于西、崇朝其雨。

女子有行、遠兄弟父母。

乃如之人也、懷昏姻也。

大無信也、不知命也。

Here is the translation of the poem:

The part about her being untrue to herself in marriage rings very true.

Li Sushang

The symbolism of Sushang's name is connected to that of multiple other characters, despite the literal meaning of it sounding quite simple on the outside. You might see her name via MTL written as "plain clothes," but it's a stark oversimplification of something that's partially lost in translation.

素 (Su) refers to plain silk which has not been dyed, or white silk.

裳 (Shang) is a dress.

The first letter of her name is shared with her mother. Between Sushang, Suyi, Lingshuang, and Su Mei, there is a correlating theme of clothing that I will touch on in each of their sections.

Qin Suyi

As she had amnesia, Suyi does not remember her birth name and was gifted a new one by Fu Hua. Following the trend of how she named Su Mei, her name was also taken from the book of odes. The word Suyi appears in two different poems- again, I've bolded it as written in both.

揚之水、白石鑿鍪。

素衣朱襮、從子于沃。

既見君子、云何不樂。

揚之水、白石皓皓。

素衣朱繡、從子于鵠。

既見君子、云何其憂。

揚之水、白石粼粼。

我聞有命、不敢以告人。

And the translation:

The second poem:

庶見素冠兮、棘人欒欒兮、勞心慱慱

兮。

庶見素衣兮、我心傷悲兮、聊與子同歸兮。

庶見素韡兮、我心蘊結兮、聊與子如一兮。

And the translation:

From the second poem, you can see the references to grief in regard to clothing. While Suyi and Sushang both have the same literal translation of their names, "plain clothes," Suyi's name also carries an additional symbolism. The second letter of her name, 衣 (Yi), refers to a robe instead of a dress, so her name refers to "a robe of colorless silk." This specific term is used in certain contexts to refer to mourning garments, as it is customary to wear white while mourning in some parts of Chinese culture.

This theme of dye is continued in other contexts, where Suyi is known among the Seven Swords as "The Blade of Ink-Dyed Incense." Additionally, her Xuanyuan sword, while known in English as Ebonstyle, is also referred to in Chinese as "Ink-Dyed Incense"- but the word for ink used is different between the two. (It is not letting me copy/paste Chinese words right now so, source: trust me bro)

To delve into my personal thoughts, I think it's so clever that Sushang is "a dress yet to be dyed," while Suyi is a mourning garment, since Sushang still has a long life ahead of her, and Suyi has passed on. Anyways please hit me with a car.

((fun fact: the last letter of Suyi's name, Yi, is shared with Raiden Mei (Yayi), hence why her name comes through MTL as "bud clothes" sometimes 😭😭))

Su Mei

We actually do not know Su Mei's birth name either! She was given a new first name by Fu Hua, and was going to be given Zhaoyu's last name (Lin), but chose to take her mother's surname instead. The reason as to why she chose (or was recommended by Fu Hua) to change her name while still remembering her birth name is unclear.

At Zhaoyu's recommendation, her name also comes from the following poem of the Book of Odes:

It is not letting me highlight the text :,) so the part of the poem that is her name is "margin of the water." Mei specifically refers to where the bank of a river meets the water.

Fun fact: Her surname Su is shared with the MANTIS Su! It is said in legend to also be the surname of Xuanyuan's descendants.

At a time where Filial Piety was of the utmost importance, her changing her surname to take her mother's surname is significant. To change your surname from your father's name could be seen the same as disowning him. At the time, women did not change their names to that of their husband when getting married, hence QIN Suyi vs LI Shen or LIN Zhaoyu vs MA Feima.

While not significant to her name itself, she continues Sushang and Suyi's clothing theme. Her ability revolves around being able to see the threads of fate and predict things that may happen. Hence, it is said about her that anything she says will come true. It's never mentioned in the text, but if you zoom in up close to this art of her, you can actually see her threads surrounding her.

From the threads plus her hair color, it makes me think of the legend of "The Red String of Fate," which is ironic being that she says she does not love anyone.

Cheng Lingshuang

Yes, she does share a surname with Cheng Lixue, but no, they are not related. Lixue was named by Fu Hua, and her surname comes from the philosopher Cheng Yi, and a saying about his disciples waiting for him in the snow, hence Lixue- Snow. Their names are so similarily themed that it's likely not a coincidence on Hua's behalf, but it's more of a homage than them actually being related.

Lingshuang means ice frost. It does not come from the Book of Odes.

To continue the talk on Filial Piety, Lingshuang is the only character to not go by her surname, either in character or on her actual dialogue name tag. She's only referred to as her full name twice, once when she is introduced as a baby, and twice when Senti is beefing with Sushang and low-key throwing shade on her master's name. Lingshuang is a character who ignores societal rules, and Filial Piety is no exception- she has no reason to care about her family or her father, so she disregards her name.

Any instance of her name being translated as "Ling Shuang" is a following mistake on HYV's localization team. (I did personally email them and they fixed it 😭😭😭) It was because the translators did not receive the context that she doesn't use her surname, so they assumed how her name was separated by first and last, as Chinese names don't have spaces between the two. If you spell her name with a space in the middle I will show up at your house at 3am.

The theme of clothes continues from her kid's as she has a loom in her house which she uses to make silk. She says that honing her fingers in such a way is also a way to hone her martial arts.

Ma... Yanqing, Feima

Ma Feima means "the horse is not a horse." He changed his name to this after getting married because he hated his past identity. It comes from "Bai Ma Fei Ma," a Chinese grammatical paradox that does not make sense in English. Don't ask me to explain it because I can't, but it means "the white horse is not a horse."

Ma means horse, and is also the most common surname within the Chinese Muslim community (specifically the Hui people.) It is used often in reference to the prophet Muhammad.

Yan means swallow, continuing Hua's bird theme.

A lot of his names and titles relate to horses. He really likes horses. A lot.

Jiang Wanxi & Wanru

These two get the smallest part because they aren't developed enough for me to GAF (I'm sorry 😭) basically their names come from a poem in the Book of Odes, which is funny since Hua isn't even the one that named them.

I hope if you read this that you enjoyed this session of Fun Facts With Mel and please tell me your thoughts. I also definitely forgot something so I might go back later and add things. Thank you for reading!

[murasaki-cha]

Never forget that one of Xie Yu's worst nightmares is his boyfriend being an excavator driver after graduation. Boy legit woke up covered in cold sweat and hyperventilating. This man clearly has priorities🤣🤣🤣🤣

[oathofkaslana]

taixuan sect in chapter 27

[huaenrose]

it is not very surprising that he zhao,

the one who left warmth wherever he went,

have fallen in love with xie yu,

the one who carried the winter with him.

when his body was on fire,

only the cold hands of his old xie could offer any relief.

[silvereyes2002]

Chritsmas Special Wukong and Liuer drunk Jijiji

[deathbxnny]

HSR!Yanqing x a Lin Zhaoyu!EXP!Reader bc we can agree that OG/HI3D!Yanqing was not a good person and Zhaoyu deserved a better version.

"Lin Zhaoyu is a very serene, soothing and polite person, able to address situations without overreacting or panicking. She is obedient, listening to every order her master (Fu Hua, or in HSR Marshal Hua) asks, but despite this she still questions if those corrupted (Honkai in OG, Mara in HSR) can have mercy. She is also kind, buying gifts for her fellow peers, and helping others even though she has no reason to help them at all." <– Her personality ^^

-----♡

A/N: Admittedly, I barely remember that part of the story arc, because it's been a very long time since I've gone through it. So I'm very thankful for your description! And I also thank you for the request!<33

Content: Fluff, established relationship, mentions of battle/fights, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

Yanqing was always so impressed with everything you did. You handled everything with care and peace, never once losing your composure. He always admired to be more like you, even if you told him that there was no need. You fell in love with him for who he was and didn't want him to change, which just made him appreciate you more.

You always followed your given orders, always followed the rules. You were so different than him and yet also fit him so perfectly. You two completed eachother in the best ways possible, something many people saw and complimented you two on. You kept him in check and out of trouble, whilst he reminded you to take more breaks and have fun every now and then.

He especially respects your skills and morals on the battlefield. He loves how strong, yet honourable you are. You are merciful to even your enemies, a level of inner peace and serenity Yanqing could only ever dream of reaching. And so, he always supported and agreed with your decisions and opinions, even going as far as defending them to your superiors. You were always right to him, how could you not be?

Yanqing is so thankful, whenever you get him a gift and it usually being a rare sword he wanted to have so badly. He'd return the favour by practically spoiling you with his allowance. He doesn't care, if he has no money by the end of it. In his mind, it's worth it, if it's you. You're always so willing to help him out with everything, even with training. He doesn't know what he has done in life to deserve such a kind and peaceful soul like you, but he is definitely never losing you either.

-----♡

A/N: I hope this was okay! Thank you again for the request!<33

[kirin-aurora]

Ima alive and caught up! Day 8 and 9: Spring and Summer. These next prompts, I'm drawing OCs that I link to that season. So we've got LMK OC Yan Zhaoyu for spring and Genshin impact OC Freya for summer.

[milksnake-tea]

Voices.

They whisper to me, unintelligible at first yet holding a sentiment I cannot understand.

But they are not scary to me, they seem lonely like me, but they're very angry to whom and sad so am I.

They say a lot of things to me, overlapping whispers that feel like the devil speaking. But I know they aren't the Abundance's toys, they even snarl at that motion. It's funny.

They keep me company at the times Zhaoyu isn't here on the Luofu like friends who've seen my entire life, entertaining me with stories of the old. Thanks to that, I didn't feel too lonely and could sleep easier.

The "dreams" became more clearer as the emotions I experience became more stronger, the whispers of them guiding me through every "memory", as they've said.

It fits better than dreams.

They tell me that I'll know the truth soon, I say to take their time.

As long as I'm not being left behind, I'm alright.

I may be on the descent of madness, but atleast I'm not alone.

Right?

–Zhu Yanqing, Cloud Knight Lieutenant and Descendant of the Zhu Clan

SLAPS YANQING MY BOY NOOOO DO NOT DESCEND INTO MADNESS HERE'S A LOLLIPOP UR NOT U WHEN UR HUNGRY

I do think it's super cute tho that his ancestors are helping him 🥹🥹 even if they're like little raccoons that slowly make him insane in the process but we're ignoring that coughs

ANYWHO PUSHES HIM TO BAILU GO GET CHECKED SON

[h1mmel]

this is sushuang to me

[murasaki-cha]

How He Zhao continues being the most self confident pathetic man ever is beyond my comprehension. King shit right there

[dimensionalspades]

@galaxythixf said: "You won't regret this, I promise." - Iso to Sova

- general || accepting -

. "Ehh, I don't think I have regretted a drink before." He shrugged. They had an hour before the Vulture arrived, and the claim that this was the best boba in the area at least made the Russian curious. It was one of the more regularly mentioned drinks among agents, but he hadn't actually tried it yet. It'd been a long line, and though Sasha was a patient man, his perpetually waning tolerance for the beating heat of the sun made him question Zhaoyu's judgment.

. But now, shade, and drinks. He was at least eager for something to cool off-

. Which led to having to cough a small object back up after taking a sip. He looked into his elbow where he'd hacked up a small pearl, still coughing a few times.

. "I did not know it was just another version of kompot," he said, voice hoarse as he coughed again.

[logosminuspity]

I saw the WiP grab thing! Haha, the AE harem certainly looks interesting! I assume its some period drama, au type thing?(assuming hua was rather bitchless in her ae period😅😅)

LMFAO congrats anon you gave me a good chuckle. It's a pseudo-au that was started before I actually started playing Honkai, all when I looked at this stigma and thought: "1) there is nothing straight about that and 2) hua ma'am you are giving me very toppy vibes":

Anyway more here:

“Master…”

Fu Hua turns her bemused attention back to her protege, and catches Zhaoyu briefly worrying at her bottom lip, her two hands still clasped together but just on the verge of fidgeting.

“Master…will you not say something? Anything?”

“And what is it you would like me to say? Or perhaps…what is it you would imagine me doing?” Hua speaks so perfectly even and cool, the only betrayal of the foreign urge to tease that has suddenly overcome her a single, raised eyebrow.

Lin Zhaoyu turns a brighter red than the first blooms of the plum flower upon the snow laden branches of winter. She is pretty, Hua realizes abruptly, all flushed and squirming under the full attention.

She takes a deep breath as if to steady her resolve, and then speaks, and for all that her voice drops in pitch and volume, Zhaoyu does not stutter—and she does not look away.

“I imagine the privilege of disrobing you, Phoenix. Of undoing the ornaments that hold your hair up, and parting the silk that hides your skin. I imagine your knuckles against my lips, where I can taste the shape of your calluses and the salt of endless toil. And I imagine kneeling before you as I try to grant you a reprieve, even if but for an evening, from that ceaseless work which you pursue…like petals falling from flowers and gifted to the wind.”

The wholly intimate implications are hardly lost on Hua, and now it is her turn to blush. A heat suffuses through her, part embarrassment—when did this all start, and how was she so unaware of it until now?—and part something else. Something that uncoils within her gut like a serpent that has spent its whole life sleeping until now.

[ink-herrscher]

fractured moments, splintered times

— herrscher of sentience x fu hua

genre : angst

warnings : none

wordcount : 1,842

summary : the mountain is enveloped by a haze of loneliness and millenia-long memories and regret. it is quiet, and it is cold, and the herscherr of sentience has many thoughts to accompany her in her long walk.

during early mornings, mount taixuan looks as if flooded by the heavens.

it’s eerily quiet, these first few moments of dawn, and she can feel the ground hold its breath in anticipation of the sunrise’s light. up here, there are barely any birds to sing a morning lullaby, there are no townspeople to greet good morning to their neighbors – all that remains is a hollow silence that stretches on these never-ending steps.

grass crunches. the smell of dew and earth are fresh and mild.

once upon a time, this place would have been livelier.

the winding steps lead her down from the temple to the courtyard. in the corner, a censer looms quietly, unused for years. a pile of dirt, dead leaves and branches have gathered inside, but she makes no move to clean it. this was zhaoyu’s job back then: to clean the censer and burn incense, before calling the other children to wake –

not her disciples. none of her business.

it’s better for those backstabbing, ungrateful brats to be gone now, anyway. they can’t hurt the old timer anymore with their selfishness.

it’s none of her business. she doesn’t care.

but the courtyard looks so strange, abandoned and untended like this. even before the seven swords came to be, the old timer used to trim the grasses diligently and sweep the yard before she began her training every day. it feels weird. like she’s disappointing her for not tending to her home while she’s gone.

it’s none of her business. she glares at the shadow of memories that were never hers. they come to haunt her when she is alone and vulnerable and lonely and –

she’s not vulnerable or lonely.

she waves her hand. the mirage of the phoenix vanishes like morning mist in the sunlight.

none of her business. she doesn’t care.

but there are attachments she can’t erase, maybe, because she can’t help but stare at yin-and-yang symbol embedded on the ground. it’s cracked and burnt and broken, but still legible. how many years has it watched pass by? did the old timer also look at it like this in her unending loneliness?

she catches her thoughts.

none of her business, goddammit.

she wants to burn it away. burn it again, like how her stupid disciples burnt this paradise on their own without care nor respect towards her. she wants it all gone. the heaviness, the loneliness, the overbearing emotions that tether her to this place – all of it, gone.

the feather will make it true, if she wants. even if it’s only in her dreams.

but she doesn’t. her heart is heavy with attachment and lingering nostalgia. even if these emotions were never supposed to be hers in the first place.

not her memories. not her disciples. none of her business.

it’s not worth it, anyway.

in a way, this glass-serenity is comforting in its familiarity.

she grits her teeth. not her memory.

in the end, she forces herself to move on. the abandoned censer and engraved symbol on the ground watch her quietly.

the silence in the mountain speaks of a loneliness tattooed deep within the core of the land. a suffocating cold vice wrapped around her throat. this is what drowning feels like, she thinks. the breezes are gentle and mocking at the same time.

the feathers. the feathers will make it all go away, if she wants.

but only in her dreams. the air is heavy and somber with recollection.

it’s times like these that she can’t help but wonder what the old timer is up to. she’d probably be awake at this hour. is she training already? meditating? eating breakfast? or is she still asleep? was she caught up in work that she fell asleep late? or did she have too much fun with her friends that she forgot the time?

she stops walking, and scoffs. the silence in the mountain feels like loneliness.

“why should i care?”

the mountain echoes her words. it has been abandoned for years.

“i don’t care about what she’s up to! i don’t care if she’s sleeping right or eating well or, or –“ the reflected words mock her even more. she clenches her hands until she can feel her nails dig into her skin, even through her gloves.

“i said i don’t care!” maybe the wind is laughing at her or maybe it’s just her imagination. she can’t tell. “she can go rot somewhere for all i care!”

silence. even that feels like it’s making fun of her. every blade of grass, every leaf that brushes by her cheek to fall down the ground, every ray of warmth creeping up from the horizon. this mountain is heavy with tears and regret and it mocks the way she has been following the old timer’s steps down this mountain every day since she came here.

annoying. annoying annoying annoying. but there aren’t any words to convince a person that was never there, and there is no winning when all her trump cards have turned out to be nothing but lies and deception.

“shut up!”

but even she knows that she has lost. she huffs a breath and turns away. it feels so bitter. she just wants to be left alone. but even in the quiet solitude of this mountain, she can’t find any peace.

hopefully, the old timer is faring better than her these days. maybe. but she doesn’t care.

“ah. so you’ve been here all this time.”

she freezes. the air is cool and humid, but a warm glow wraps around her like an embrace. in the blink of an eye, it feels like the sun has risen and the sky has turned into a vivid blue the shade of her eyes. even the grass that has long died seems to have come alive again – in the blink of an eye, mount taixuan has become alive.

she doesn’t want to turn around. light footsteps sound behind her and a familiar shadow casts next to her own, but she refuses to turn around.

her eyes ache. her chest aches. she doesn’t want to turn around.

“g-go away!” too weak. she clenches her fists and glares at the distant sky. “what are you doing here? go back to your friends and leave me alone!”

“i’ve been looking for you this whole time. i want you to go back with me.”

“ha! and i should just follow what you say because you say it, huh? do you think i’m someone you can order around just ‘cause?”

“no.” the wind that was so cold earlier has turned warm and kind. it tangles in her hair and sweeps it off her shoulder, borrowing the gale and the leaves to steal her gaze with a graceful little dance. fu hua steps closer to her. “i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to come across like that.”

she clenches her fists again. it hurts a bit. “if you’re so sorry, then go away and stop bothering me!”

it’s quiet for a while, but this quiet is nice. it doesn’t feel oppressive. it doesn’t feel too bad.

“but i’m worried about you,” she says. every word feels like a stab to the heart, and this is unfair, she’s so unfair, this is all so unfair. it feels like the whole world is ganging up on her today. she just wants some peace. she bows her head, and fu hua continues talking.

“i care about you, and i haven’t stopped thinking about you since you left. you’re an important person to me, too, and i don’t want you to be alone.”

she can’t think. her words have all gone. the old timer has a way with words that makes her feel better with just a few sentences. it feels light. it feels warm. it feels like the hands clenched around her heart has lifted and she can finally breathe easy. it feels like she has been waiting for this for a long, long time now.

of course, she wasn’t. she doesn’t need validation from the old timer.

but

this also feels a bit nice.

“and?” she feels petty, but she can’t help it. “is that all? isn’t there something else you want to say to me?”

like how much she means to her and how important she is to her and how she needs her to stay by her side for all eternity and, and –

she waits, but fu hua says nothing more.

impatient, she turns around to glare at the old timer, but there is no one there.

hah.

of course.

there is no one there. there was never anyone there.

she bows her head and laughs. it sounds hollow, even to her ears. “you stupid, traitorous feathers.

the feathers made it real. but only in her dreams.

the mountain is laughing at her again. in the distance, the sun has already risen, but its warmth couldn’t reach her, even if it tried. she feels too cold. she looks around, maybe desperately, maybe hopefully, but there is no sign that anyone was ever there, that anyone was ever looking for her, that anyone ever cared about her to check what she’s been up to.

she shouldn’t have turned around.

maybe, then, she could have continued deceiving herself into thinking the old timer really cared enough about her to look for her. but she knows the truth. fu hua is happier with her friends than she ever was in their short time together. that’s where she belongs.

she has no place there.

the silence feels like loneliness. in the end, she forces herself to move on.

she continues down the path, tracing the celestial's footsteps as she went about her morning, hundreds of years ago.

she wonders if the old timer felt the same deep-seated loneliness turning her steps into heavy trudges. it feels so different, experiencing it rather than reminiscing it. the silence seems more brutal now than in her memories, and the loneliness feels even heavier than she remembers it being.

she wonders if she felt the same restlessness, the desire to go somewhere far away, leave everything behind, and start a new life again. start over, start anew. it would be easier than trying to deal with everything that has left its scar on her. it would be easier to run away than face it all.

she wonders why she still cares so much.

she sighs. somewhere, morning birds are waking up, singing mournful symphonies that spans ages of hurt and sadness. she comes across a single flower blooming brightly by the steps to the fog temple, and crouches in front of it.

it’s so small and fragile. afraid of shattering something beautiful again, she stays at a distance, and barely lets her fingertips graze at its petals.

“really,” she murmurs to the celestial of old that resided in this place millenias ago. “why would anyone like being alone?” once upon a time, she thinks, this place would have been lovely. but now, there's nowhere to hide from the loneliness permeating every corner of mount taixuan.

[silvereyes2002]

"Liuer's Nigthmare" part final Im just so tired please give me love

[deathbxnny]

Zhaoyu was literally 20+ years Yanqing's senior

Uh yes, but what is the context of this sudden ask, Anon?💀