#also lü bu is so hot

[isablooo]

I need to read romance of the three kingdoms.... I have this unquenchable thirst to have a deep knowledge of every epic....

[ray-elgatodormido]

Uhhh spontaneous sketch of my very own Lü Bu design. Trying some shit out but I really want to make a design for him that captures that same feeling of dread when I first encountered him ever. Cause tbh most of his DW designs really aren’t doing it for me, I can’t really bring myself to take him seriously in those games. I do think he looks quite scary in Total War 3K, Records of Ragnorok and of course Wo Long so I kinda just tried to get the vibe.

For the record his blindfold is mostly to secure the mask in place and is see through. So it really just obscures his vision and hides his eyes for that dramatic look. My reasons being that in order to quench his boredom and seek thrill, he purposefully gives himself a handicap by making it harder to see. Also masks hot.

Aaaaaand I think I may have made him look more hot than intimidating but that’s just how it goes ig. Uh how did I do?

[zhoudadudugongjin]

You know what actually no I'm not going to just tag this with Liu Bei and Cao Cao I am gonna explain WHY it is literally them with a full-ass timeline (pulled from their wikipedia pages)

c189 - Liu Bei (aged 28) and Cao Cao (aged 34) first meet on the same side when they join the campaign of the 18 lords against Imperial Chancellor Dong Zhuo, with the shared goal of freeing Liu Bei's distant kid cousin the Emperor of the Han from the tyranny of his regent. Such a noble cause! Could this be the start of a long, solid friendship for life...?

192-194 - A couple of other warlords turn on each other and decide to fight it out, but Liu Bei and Cao Cao back different sides. Liu Bei is completely destroyed in battle by Cao Cao. Their first fallout.

195-196 - Cao Cao beats up a guy called Lü Bu, who then scurries off to take shelter with Liu Bei. But then! Lü Bu stabs Liu Bei in the back, so what does he do? He flees to the capital, which is now under the control of... you guessed it, Cao Cao!

198 Now that Liu Bei and Cao Cao are friends again, they team up together to take Lü Bu down. Cao Cao promotes his old friend to General of the Left and they become best buddies! "Cao Cao treated him with great sympathy. When they went out, they would ride in the same chariot and when they sat, it was on the same mat.[Sanguozhi zhu 13]"

199-201 But! Oh no! There's trouble in paradise! Because now Cao Cao he has the emperor in his pocket and the entire government under his control, just like Dong Zhuo once did. And Liu Bei does not like that!! Because it is a betrayal of all his noble ideals!! So while still living in the capital and wiling away his time gardening, he joins a secret coup to attempt to assassinate Cao Cao and free the Emperor (which fails). It is also around this time that Cao Cao makes his famous quote: "Currently among the heroes of the empire, there is only you and I." So romantic.

Tired of being kept as Cao Cao's pet, Liu Bei takes the excuse of leading a campaign to run away from the capital. Cao Cao sends spies after him, but begrudgingly has to let him and his hot valiant generals go.

201-208 These are the years where, hurt by betrayal, Cao Cao chases Liu Bei across the country and whoops his ass several times, stealing his provinces and commanderies and forcing him to take shelter under various lords. During this period he also steals one of Liu Bei's sworn brothers (Guan Yu) and tries to turn him into his sugar baby, but that's a whole different story... Their final big fight in this period was the famous Battle of the Red Cliffs, where Liu Bei allied with Sun Quan in the south and together they burnt Cao Cao's army to ash.

208-217 We enter the prime years of the Three Kingdoms era. The eternal squabble between Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and we learn why you should never have three children. Because they will endlessly gang up on each other 2v1. It is also during this period that Cao Cao declares himself King of Wei, still with the rightful emperor of the Han under his thumb.

218-219 - Liu Bei and Cao Cao get involved in another big fight over Hanzhong Commadery and Liu Bei wins and also declares himself King (of Hanzhong).

220 - Cao Cao finally dies, aged 65. But it's not over, it never will be. Liu Bei continues fighting against Cao Cao's son, who deposes the Emperor and claims himself as the son of Heaven. When he learns that his poor distant cousin Emperor Xian is dead, Liu Bei then ALSO declares himself Emperor because at least HE is a scion of the imperial house, dammit!

223 - Liu Bei finally also dies, aged 62. But his campaigns against the northern kingdom of Wei do not. His Prime Minister Zhuge Liang continues the fight until his death in 234, at which point his protege Jiang Wei picks up the mantle and makes no less than ELEVEN failed attacks against the Cao family before also dying.

In the end, they are all defeated by this guy:

i love it when two adult men have a homoerotic teenage girl friendship and falling out

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale's Impression: Record of Ragnarok Episode 1

-Brünnhilde is English dub voice is hot. (I forgot how much I loved her character in the Manga. Classy yet Vulgar)

-The CGI used in some scenes is distracting. But not too distasteful

-They captured perfectly how Gay Lü Bu's advisor is for him. I think thats the same Simp that voices Asmodious Alice in the ENG DUB of Mairimashta! Iruma-Kun

-Overall the design of the characters does seem to translate pretty well to the anime screen.

-I feel that maybe its a bit more subdued but the Manga chapters gave much more build up to Ragnarok as an event.

-So far its been a lot of Tell and not Show. But I expected that. Right

-Overall 6/10. But this is just the set up for Ragnarok. So what really matters is the fights.

-Also the OP is pretty good

[the-archlich]

Xiahou Dun

I did a whole CA on Xiahou Dun before, but since this is flaring up again, I’m going to hit some key points.

In the fiction, Xiahou Dun is depicted as one of Cao Cao’s leading generals - and a bad one at that. This has some basis. The real Xiahou Dun did command armies on numerous occasions, and he wasn’t especially successful. This leads a lot of people to conclude that Xiahou Dun must not have been very talented and that his prominence is either undeserved, invented, or owed entirely to his relationship with Cao Cao.

What this discussion often misses is that Xiahou Dun was only a commander when circumstances demanded it. He was first and foremost an civil administrator. In that, he excelled.

Xiahou Dun’s reputation as a brash and bold warrior is not undeserved. When he was 14 years old, he killed a man for insulting his teacher, and this hot-hotheadedness was characteristic of the man as a military commander. Being overeager for battle resulted in two of his greatest defeats.

But the reason Xiahou Dun got enraged enough to kill that man was because of the extraordinary respect he had for his teacher. Xiahou Dun was a brave warrior, but he was a scholar first and foremost. Even when he was on campaigns, he brought his teacher with him so that he could continue his studies. He was primarily an academic like Xun Yu or Guo Jia, rather than a warrior like Cao Ren or Dian Wei.

When Cao Cao first raised troops against Dong Zhuo, he made Xiahou Dun his billet major, second-in-command of the army. This position was as much administrative as it was military. In the event of the general’s incapacitation or death, his major was to lead the army in retreat (as Xiahou Dun did at Xingyang in 191).

When Cao Cao began his campaign against Tao Qian in 193, he left Xiahou Dun behind in Yan to oversee affairs with Xun Yu. When Lü Bu attacked Yan in 194 while Cao Cao was away, Xiahou Dun commanded the defense against him. Although several tactical blunders on Xiahou Dun’s part gave Lü Bu much of the province, he was ultimately able to preserve key counties in eastern Yan, giving Cao Cao a place to return and launch a counterattack. After Cao Cao took Chenliu which had belonged to the rebellious Zhang Miao, Xiahou Dun was given command of the commandery.

In Chenliu, Xiahou Dun used kindness to sooth the rebels. Despite natural disasters in the region, Xiahou Dun used inventive farming techniques to revitalize the area. He and his soldiers labored alongside the commoners, digging ditches and carrying soil. This greatly endeared him to the locals and there was no further trouble in Chenliu.

After taking custody of Emperor Xian, Cao Cao made Xiahou Dun warden of Henan, the capital commandery. In addition to the usual duties of a commandery administrator, the Warden of Henan had special authority to oversee government affairs. Stationed in the capital but outside of the court, the warden could investigate the crimes of even the Excellencies, making it a position of exceptional importance, particularly under Cao Cao’s reign. While Xun Yu - as head of the Secretariat - oversaw the affairs of the court when Cao Cao was away, Xiahou Dun was tasked (as warden of Henan) with keeping the various ministers under control.

In 204, Cao Cao established his personal headquarters in Ye. However, the Han emperor was still in Xu city, in Henan. To ensure that Xiahou Dun could keep control of the emperor and the court, Cao Cao granted him virtually unlimited authority. He was given the power to do pretty much anything he thought was necessary to keep everything running smoothly. Cao Cao even specified that Xiahou Dun’s word superseded the law of the land. Only Cao Cao himself held more authority, since even Xun Yu was bound by the laws.

Xiahou Dun mostly remained in Henan, overseeing the emperor, though he did join Cao Cao in several military expeditions over the subsequent years. In particular, he participated in the battles against Zhang Lu (215) and at Ruxu (217).

After Cao Cao was defeated at Ruxu in 217, he enacted a plan to force Sun Quan’s surrender. He assembled a massive army in southern Yang, consisting of 26 divisions. Xiahou Dun was given command of this entire force when Cao Cao returned to Ye. This pressure forced Sun Quan to surrender, and Xiahou Dun remained in charge of affairs in the east. In this capacity, he also oversaw the aftermath of the campaign against Guan Yu in 219.

When Cao Pi took over, he made Xiahou Dun the grand general, with command over the entire Wei army. Sadly, he only held this position for a few months. He soon died and was replaced by Cao Ren.

In addition to holding these key positions, Xiahou Dun was extremely close to Cao Cao personally. He could visit Cao Cao in his private quarters and even ride in Cao Cao’s carriage (which was a big deal). The SGZ says flat out that the trust and esteem that Cao Cao felt for Xiahou Dun were not equaled by any of his other generals.

So: as a commander, Xiahou Dun wasn’t very good. But while circumstances sometimes thrust that role on him, that wasn’t really his job. Xiahou Dun was an administrative official who sometimes commanded armies, like Lu Xun or Zhou Yu. As a governor, he was excellent. And Cao Cao trusted Xiahou Dun so much that he was literally above the law.

[aurumvocem]

Fate/Servant Sheets: Lancer/Zhang Fei

Name: Zhang Fei Title: Retainer of Liu Bei Class: Lancer Other qualifying classes: Berserker Country of Origin: China Gender: Male Alignment: Lawful Neutral Relic: A Chinese teacup from a set of three Likes: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, wine, discipline, people "with balls" Dislikes: Disobedience, barbarians, enemies of Liu Bei, wine Parameters: Strength: B+ Endurance: C+ Agility: A+ Mana: D Luck: E NP: B

Class Skills: Magic Resistance: Grants protection against magic effects. C: Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals.

Personal Skills: Fearsome Mien: The ability to cause fear. B: The Servant's mere presence is enough to cause fear in others. A single yell can cause them to panic and flee.

Charisma: The natural talent to command an army. Increases the abilities of allies during group battles. C-: Suitable for the General of an army. Rank-down due to violent methods. Lancer is certainly a good general, but his liberal use of flogging to deal with troublemakers caused his armies' morale to drop significantly and lead to his death by betrayal.

Bravery: The ability to negate mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination. A+: Bonus effect of increasing melee damage.

Duelist: The ability to excel at single combat. Acts similarly to Military Tactics, but is constrained to battles between two individuals. C: Lancer was able to hold his own against Lü Bu for 50 rounds, a feat in and of itself.

Noble Phantasms: She Mao: Serpent Spear Rank: Anti-Unit B++ Lancer's weapon of choice, a spear approximately 1.97 feet long with a head shaped like a serpent (hence its name). When wielding it, Lancer receives a rank-up in Strength, Endurance and Agility.

Chang Ban Jiao Zhen: A Challenge to Intimidate an Army Rank: Anti-Army C The crystallisation of the Battle of Changban, where Lancer halted the passage of an entire army by simply shouting a challenge at them across a bridge. Using this Noble Phantasm, Lancer can release extremely destructive waves of sound, powerful enough to destroy whole city blocks. Even if the wave of sound doesn't outright kill its target, Lancer's Fearsome Mien skill will still take effect on those who hear his mighty yell, causing them to flee in terror. Lancer can also focus these sound waves into his spear, allowing him to properly direct and control his Noble Phantasm instead of just releasing it in a wave around him, at the cost of some of its destructive power.

Personality: A boisterous, hot-tempered beast of a man who values loyalty above all else. Will not hesitate to heavily discipline those who disobey him (i.e flog/threaten to flog). He took an oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei and Guan Yu, and he wanted nothing more than to fight alongside them. However, when Guan Yu was killed, he wanted something else: revenge. He was so focused on achieving justice for his brother’s death that he didn’t notice that he was overworking his armies; he didn’t even notice them plotting to assassinate him. And, unfortunately, in his drunken stupor, he didn’t notice the dagger entering his heart, wielded by two of his own men. Thus, his quest remained unfinished. His wish for the Grail is for Guan Yu to finally have justice for his death.

Other notes: -Enjoys drinking, but becomes increasingly paranoid the more he drinks (he was assassinated while drunk). -The incantation to activate the full power of Chang Ban Jiao Zhen is "我是张飞！如果你要跟我打死战，只要出来!" -She Mao is written in Chinese as “蛇矛” and directly translates to "Snake Spear". -Similarly, Chang Ban Jiao Zhen is written as “長坂叫阵”and directly translates as "Changban Challenge".

[ray-elgatodormido]

Well after drawing unholy dumpster fires for the past three days, it’s good to sketch up a palette cleanser in the form of bestest boi Guan Ping. You don’t understand I must squish his cheeks kaldhwkqfhjeh

He’s just so adorable I have to bring him along in wacky NG+ or Thousand Mile journey adventures even if reinforcement in this game get swatted like flies. Must protecc.

Indeed the duality of my art.

Also Zhou Yu. Yeah I get why he’s beloved.

And Gan Ning in this game…👀 Gawd damn… Just like Lü Bu in this game, they accidentally made him hot and it’s a CRIME he just dips for the rest of the DLC

And just like Lü Bu in this game, he kicked my ass a LOT. I’ll probably draw him soon…

But yeah Guan Ping indeed Guan Ping is so A