#vermillion bird

[itsabouttimex2]

LMK Season Five Memes

1. Be a shitty and unpleasant person who hurts innocent people

2. Make things worse for the hero at every twist and turn

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 throughout the entire season

4. The world is now about to fucking end

5. Do one nice thing for the protags

6. You are now magically redeemed and forgiven by everyone!

[mapofsouthdakota]

Caleb’s myth -

The Vermillion bird

AU: You are at the Vermillion bird’s court. Captive? (Shortish+. Fluffy, romantic, banter and a lil skin contact if u know what I mean jkjk just kissin. I rlyrly recommend the music)

Skin syntax

Caleb reclines with an easy grace, laughter simmering beneath his breath—a quiet, glowing ember rather than a sudden spark. His abs rise and fall beneath a broad belt rich with embroidery, sunset hues shimmering where the light catches.

"Hah—! That tickles," he breathes, voice laced with amusement, though he doesn’t shy away. His grin lingers, soft rather than wild, as he shifts just enough to tease, the silk of his robe fanning out beneath him like an unfurled scroll—inviting, yet carefully composed.

"Stay still," you murmur, barely above a whisper. "We both know it doesn’t tickle you."

The brush glides over his skin, a whisper of ink against warmth, sketching the fluttering language of fire and renewal—the dialect of the vermilion bird. The liquid gold flows in deliberate lines, catching the light, flickering like the playful gleam in his amber eyes.

They watch you, steady and patient, a quiet indulgence in the moment.

He leans back on his palms, legs crossed, open to your artistry, his expression amused yet tranquil. His lips move absently, shaping sounds without voice, as if tasting the syllables you write. Each stroke of your hand is deliberate, your focus so deep that your tongue peeks out in concentration, the rest of the world narrowing to the ink, the skin, the moment.

"Remind me again why you had to write this here?" Caleb asks, his voice warm, teasing, yet unhurried, as if savoring the sensation. His amusement is a slow tide, not disruptive but coaxing, letting you explore the canvas of his body without urgency.

"Du-hu," you tease, your voice lilting with mischief. "Because your back and arms are covered!"

Caleb smirks, tilting his head. "Mhm… and you just had to use me as your canvas? Not, say, paper—like a normal person?" His voice dips, playful, yet laced with something warmer.

You meet his gaze, unbothered. "Because I'm not a normal person."

With a slow, deliberate flick of your wrist, the brush feathers over his lips, leaving a trail of shimmering gold. His breath hitches—just for a second—before his smirk deepens, eyes dark with intrigue.

He grabs your wrist, his grip firm yet deliberate, eyes locked onto yours with an intensity that stills the air between you.

"You're right," he whispers, pulling you closer, his breath warm against your skin.

"You are..." he continues. His voice trails as he breathes you in, the moment stretching, charged and unspoken.

Caleb brushes a faint kiss against your lips—chaste, precious, a whisper of warmth. It lingers like a promise, stamped in golden ink, sealing itself into you.

Then—a single drop of ink slips from the brush, rolling down his chest in a slow, deliberate path. Both of you follow its descent, breath hitching in quiet tandem. When it finally vanishes against his skin, his gaze lifts to meet yours—amber burning, then shifting to violet, dark and endless.

The moment snaps.

Caleb surges forward, capturing your lips in a kiss that is nothing like the first—deep, unguarded, heat unfurling between you in slow, deliberate waves. It lingers, insistent and searching, until the space between you blurs and breath itself fades into nothing, swallowed by the intensity of his mouth pressed against yours.

His lips worship you, each movement tender yet consuming, as though he's savoring every second, every taste of you. "Y-you are... right," he mutters between heated breaths, his hands pulling you closer, wanting more of you, deeper. The fire ignites, spreading rapidly through your veins, setting your skin ablaze. The heat intensifies, flooding your body, each wave making you ache with the desperate need to be closer.

An undeniable urge to strip away the distance between you rises, driven by a burning desire to feel him entirely, to be consumed by the flames of his touch. As he pulls you over him, his voice trembles,

"You are…" he murmurs, voice hitching. His eyes search yours, violet and intent, as your foreheads touch. A slow exhale, then softer, steadier —

"Very special."

"Show me," you murmur back, your lips brushing against his as you pull back just enough to meet his eyes, "show me how special I am."

He lets out a quiet chuckle, his eyes darkening with amusement.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Writer’s note: So these two are basically just gonna make out and be covered in golden ink. Funny how my brain works sometimes. I hope you like it, Gavin 🫶🏻

[ryin-silverfish]

LMK S5 Fix-it: the Four Divine Beasts

My feeling on LMK S5 has stayed pretty consistent after first watching the Chinese dub: "nice character moments, but what even is this worldbuilding?"

And personally, the Four Divine Beasts/Guardians/Symbols are the biggest symptom of S5's worldbuilding problem.

Namely, they feel more like plot devices that are just there to die and cough up the Color Stones, and as a result, 4/5 of the "Find the Color Stone" plotline felt like a worse version of S3 and the Samadhi Rings, but with even less flavor.

Now, I'm aware of the 11-minute episode constraint, as well as the pressure the studio change might have created that contributed to the overall feeling of rushed-ness.

However, my criticism here is about the writing and worldbuilding, not the animation quality——things that, in my humble and uneducated opinion, could have been done a lot better even if we were sticking to the "Find the McGuffins" plotline.

Thus, this post. As always: very lengthy, very Chinese-mythos inspired.

Four Guardians & Five Phases

A brief Google Search on the Four Symbols, aka Sixiang, will tell you this: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise are divine beasts in Chinese mythology that watch over the four directions, each associated with a color and one of the Five Phases.

(An old post of mine briefly talked about their origins as personifications of four big constellations that occupy a quadrant of the sky each, and their relations to the 28 Lunar Mansions)

And S5 certainly paid homage to their elemental associations, however brief and surface-level it is.

The Vermillion Bird's ability to use fire and its flaming temple is the most notable example, but this screenshot of the seal that appeared at the temple entrances also shows five symbols:

From middle left, going in the clockwise direction, these appear to be the characters for Wood, Water, Fire, Earth and Metal in Oracle Bone/Bronze Script.

Which begs the question...why would you spend so much effort on the tiny visual details, yet not show most of their elemental association through the narrative itself?

Like, suppose you are a foreign audience that knows nothing about Chinese culture and legends, who have just finished watching S5, and I ask you "What elemental powers do each of the Four Symbols have?"

Apart from Vermillion Bird = Fire (the obvious one) and the Black Tortoise = maybe Earth (which is not mythos-accurate, btw), can you honestly answer it, based only on what the show has given you?

Which leads me to my biggest gripe: their random-as-hell placement.

Even the Samadhi Rings have a map, however vague it is, but with the Color Stones, the gang basically just wandered all over the place in the hope of eventually running into one of the divine beasts——and they did, somehow!

Like, I'm not asking the writers for an entire mini-arc that's just them piecing the clues together. But will it be too much to let SWK or Tang make an off-hand comment like this?

"Well, legends said that the Four Symbols watch over the four directions and their respective elements. So if we wanna find them, we just gotta go real far in these directions, toward places with the most of that... elemental stuff! Right?"

And that brings me to the actual fix-it part. The Vermillion Bird can stay where she is, but the placement of the other three should also logically follow their elemental associations.

Oh, and though there's limited space for their characterization, they should at least get some individual characterization apart from "wise ancient guardians".

Xuanwu, Black Tortoise of the North

The fact that Xuanwu, or rather, it's snake half, can transform into stone at will might lead you to believe that its element is Earth.

Well...no, not traditionally; the Black Tortoise and the North correspond to Water in the Five Phases system, and I'm gonna both stick to that and build my fix-it off this foundation.

Instead of cosplaying a stone statue in the middle of nowhere, Xuanwu is gonna be residing on one of the islands in the North Sea, where dark tides and huge snow storms rage endlessly under the sunless sky.

So Sandy, being the water travel specialist, is gonna head out there on his boat. Mei would go to her great x N granduncle, Ao Guang's place, to see if he has any clues on, well, this big blue dragon that's also of the East.

Pigsy and Tang would head west, classic JTTW style, towards the mythical Mt. Kunlun where Queen Mother of the West resides (based on one of Tang's books that said the White Tiger was her emissary), while SWK performs an all-round search everywhere on his somersault cloud.

Which leaves MK: his dilemma is not about some random divergence in the road, but which of his friends to follow. Like, what if he goes with one person, and something bad happen to the others in the meantime?

In the end, even though he reluctantly goes with Sandy, he is still constantly distracted by his worries about everyone else, which segments nicely into the meditation training of S5E3.

But since they are doing it on a boat, there can be an external storm to go with the internal storm, causing further distractions for MK and also forcing them to seek shelter on the nearest island.

An island that, strangely, seems to be coated in a thin layer of ice. It isn't just the earth that's frosted over: all the plants, a few unfortunate multi-headed (???) seabirds, and a snake have also turned into ice statues...

Wait, snake? How does a reptile survive this far out in the north?

They have a bigger concern, however. The ice is slowly but steadily spreading, over the beaches and the surrounding seawater, and if they don't finish the search soon, the ice might get too thick for the boat to break.

So MK dashed off to do a grid-by grid search, then circled back to the place with all the frozen statues...and found the snake missing.

Cue, peak paranoia moment, and going on a wild-goose chase for the missing snake that might or might not be an ice-wielding demon waiting to ambush them.

In fact, the snake almost seems to be taunting them, seeing how they run into several "frozen snake statues" that turned out to be made of actual, solid ice. Sandy keeps reminding him to stop and think, while MK finds it harder and harder to put the lessons to practice.

By following the trail of ice statues, however, they eventually arrived on a little island in the middle of a frozen lake, where the real snake——the one half of Xuanwu lay coiling around the Blue Color Stone.

Just when MK is about to dash out and grab it, the snake comes to life with a hiss, and they barely dodged the ice spikes rising up from underneath their feet.

"Begone, foul spawn of Hundun! Return to thy conniving master, ilk of the Floodbringer, before I freeze every single drop of thy tainted blood!" "Um, I-I think you've mistaken me for someone else? I'm the Monkie Kid, and I'm here to collect your Color Stone so I can save the world——" "Doth thee mistake me for a fool, too?" The snake bore its fangs, rising its head high up into the air. "I can feel the flames of dear Lingguang on you, murderer, ripped straight out of its rightful owner's chest! She would not have perished without a fight, nor shalt I!" "Enough, Zhiming."

The tiny island itself begins to shake, revealing the other half of Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise itself. The snake still manages to half-encast Sandy in ice, before the Black Tortoise traps it inside a ball of flowing water.

She briefly apologized for her twin's hostility——whereas the strain of keeping the world together affects her body in the form of visible cracks, her other half has not been in his right mind ever since the Vermillion Bird's fall, living in the distant past and rarely able to perceive the present.

(The whole conversation is punctuated by the snake's psychic screeches in the background, which alternates between accusing her of betrayal and stating she must have fallen victim to the "poisonous blood of the enemy".)

Which makes the upcoming trial even more necessary. No, it's not "mercy-kill her twin". Yet. MK needs to prove his ability to control his body and mind, that his psyche will not break like her other half here under the tremendous pressure.

Thus, the trial of meditation. And he needs to act fast, for she cannot hold the snake back for long, as made evident by the slowly creeping ice inside and outside his watery prison.

"If you are truly worthy, then vanquish your fears, and stand before us in your true form. Brandish Lingguang's stone, so that we may be released from our watch in the long night."

MK succeeded, like he did in canon, with a small difference: his mastery of the monkey form is required for, and enables the limited usage of the stone's power.

So, holding the Red Color Stone, he unleashes a wave of fiery light that melts away the ice on Sandy and finally brings the snake back to his senses...somewhat.

He only managed to say the Vermillion Bird's name in a wistful voice, exclaiming "How I missed thy warm flames!" before melting into a puddle of water.

The other half of Xuanwu soon followed after giving him the stone, disintegrating into a mass of snowflakes that is swept away by the wind, but not before dropping one last bit of foreshadowing:

"Trust not the Floodbringer's Emissary."

(Sidenote: I think it'll be neat if the Four Symbols refer to each other using their IRL Daoist titles. Vermillion Bird - Lingguang, Black Tortoise & Snake - Zhiming, Azure Dragon - Mengzhang, White Tiger - Jianbing)

Azure Dragon & White Tiger

...And I thought Xuanwu's placement was random.

No, seriously, why is there a random music festival that just happens to be Azure Dragon and White Tiger themed that just happens to be near the actual place the two divine beasts are at?

To stay within the show's time constraint, I will not be giving White Tiger his individually themed placement, and instead try to come up with something that is appropriate for the pair as a whole.

Since Azure Dragon's associated element is Wood, it makes sense for him to have plant powers. Namely, whereever the divine beast resides, floras and faunas will flourish, no matter how out of place with the local geography and climate.

Once Mei learned that from Ao Guang, theoretically, it becomes quite the easy find: the mythical oasis city in western China, one that shows up multiple times in historical travel records yet has never been found by archeologists.

And the reason will soon become clear, as Tang and Pigsy make the drive from one desert city to another on their way to Mt. Kunlun (joined by Mei after she returned from the Samadhi Fire side-arc).

Namely, it's like a magical version of the famous Peach Blossom Spring of Chinese literature: an entire city that has been glamored over by the power of the divine beasts, occupied by people whose way of life hasn't changed since the Tang dynasty.

But as the guardians' powers fade, so does the illusion that veils it from the outside world, and the elemental magic that sustains this paradise.

Instead of a music festival, the gang finally discover the city that, according to the locals, has appeared out of thin air a few days ago, while it is in the middle of an archaic ritual procession.

The atmosphere is a lot more solemn, and it isn't hard to see why. Not only has the illusion vanished, exposing them to a profoundly alien world, the foliage of the oasis are growing and dying in rapid succession, clogging the streets with fallen leaves and yellowed petals.

An opera play is going on atop a nearby stage. It sings of a teal-robed immortal who rescued the refugees of a long-forgotten war, who turned desert into fertile soil with the help of a mighty divine general, concealing their existence from the greed and malice of the outside world.

The people in the procession knelt down and pleaded to the immortal for aid, to not abandon them in their hour of need. And their prayers are, indeed, answered, just not by the divine beasts in person.

The 14 Lunar Mansions that belong to the Azure Dragon and White Tiger descended from the sky, summoned by their masters, though they seemed to have been given different orders.

Namely, the Azure Dragon 7 spread out to guard all the major city gates, letting no one enter or leave, while the White Tiger 7 are ordered to round up all the residents and start setting up a teleportation formation.

Soon afterwards, Nezha arrived in the midst of the chaos. He is just as clueless as to what was going on as the Monkie Kid gang, but the moment he caught sight of SWK and friends, he's after them in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, Li Jing is not happy about the Lunar Mansions suddenly acting without his orders, and commanded them to stand down or be arrested for insubordination.

"With all due respect, Devaraja Li——" Before the Moon Fox Star could finish her sentence, another stellar beast stepped forth, his tiger tail swishing behind him. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Results: most of the Azure Dragon 7 get sucked into his pagoda, but while they were fighting, the White Tiger 7's formation activated, teleporting the majority of the city residents to god knows where.

While shit was hitting the fan, Tang hurriedly teleported the gang away, right into the sanctuary of the divine beasts——an underground temple.

"It's over, Mengzhang. Now that the Harbinger is on our doorsteps, and your pet mortals are safe at the cost of our loyal warriors, will you finally rest easy?" "Not...yet. There are still...stragglers, left behind." "Stragglers you have doomed yourself! Their fate is sealed the moment you cast your mirage over their ancestors and create this little utopia, frozen in time." The cracks on the tiger's body widened. A thick layer of condensation began forming on the metal reliefs, as if the very walls of the temple were weeping. "I should have never agreed to stay and help." "Yet you...still did. And I'm so glad you are here."

Yep, in this fix-it, I decide to use the Azure Dragon & White Tiger for some thematic parallels, with them basically repeating Nvwa and the Pillar of Heaven on a smaller scale.

The former created a garden city in the middle of the desert, while the latter uses his power to provide the water source that sustains the city (because Metal births Water).

As the end approaches, however, they are faced with the problem of ensuring the city residents' safety, since, upon their death, the entire oasis will revert to a desert overnight.

The White Tiger feels like there's no point in trying anything, since their death means the Harbinger will fulfill his destiny soon and give the world a reboot.

But the Azure Dragon insists on channeling his power into the land until the very last possible moment, so that the people's last memories will be a mundane, peaceful one.

Besides, they know very well that Fate and Destiny are no longer ironclad, when the very laws of reality are breaking down. How, then, can he be sure that the cycle will end and the world will be reforged as Nvwa intended, seeing that its premature beginning is already an outlier?

After a long argument, they had reached an uneasy compromise. Thus, the chaotic arrival of the Lunar Mansions and the hurried evacuation of the residents.

"You will understand, won't you, Harbinger?" The dragon looked into his eyes. "Even if you know it's selfish and futile, that you can't keep them safe forever, you are still going to give your all, just so their happy days will last a little longer..." "It is easy for Brother Jianbing to say, let go, face your end with honor. For Metal is the clashes of blades, the unforgiving axe of executioners." "I? This old fool just saw lives. Of men and women, children and elderly folks. And I cannot stand by and watch them wither."

MK nodded quietly, feeling Mei's worried, "are you not telling me something" glance on the back of his head. He reached out a hand, and the two divine beasts press their foreheads together.

The dragon faded away in a rain of falling leaves and petals, and when the Purple Color Stone hit the ground, nothing remains of the tiger but a thin layer of silvery, metallic sand on the floor.

Appendix: Inside the Pagoda

The fix-it is mostly over at this point, so the following is just me adding some additional worldbuilding and foreshadowing to MK's solution in E10, to make the whole "giving powers to everyone" thing a little less out of left field.

In the previous section, it was mentioned that a bunch of Lunar Mansions end up inside Li Jing's pagoda too. And when MK and friends run across them, they are in a pretty bad state.

Namely, the same cracks they see on the divine beasts are now appearing on the Lunar Mansions' bodies too.

"Isn't it obvious? Our masters are no more, so we now bear the brunt of the weight that was once on their shoulders..." "And are on our way of being crushed to a pancake." "Very tactful, aren't you?" The one-horned man sighed. "But yes. Lord Mengzhang is a stellar beast too——the greatest of all. He is a constellation, while we are merely the stars that make up the dragon's body, embued with a tiny fraction of his power." "And when the very sky of the East has fallen..." "How can the stars remain unscathed?"

After that, they basically exit the scene to fade away offscreen. But the information they revealed plants the seed of an idea in MK: specifically, that the Color Stones' power (and burden) can be shared between multiple individuals, like what happened at the end of E10.

Also, tiny fix: instead of MK learning the circlet spell outta nowhere, he's gonna tap into the power of the Color Stones during his fight with SWK, just like he did during Xuanwu's trial, to buy enough time to make his sacrifice.

[rggtattoos]

Are there any that could be used by husband and wife for example dragon and phoenix? Also are spiders ever used? Or wolves?

The dragon and the vermillion bird are associated with masculine and feminine, so they make an excellent pairing for a couple! They complement one another in a lot of ways. I go into detail about the celestial symbols, including Dragon and Vermillion Bird HERE

(note that while some sources will translate the vermillion bird as a pheonix or "chinese pheonix", they are different creatures. Phoenixes are Greecian, and while both are associated with fire, and the cycles of life and death, the vermillion bird lacks the power of rebirth that defines a pheonix. This could just be me being pendantic, since the same could be said of the Ryuu/Long vs the western europian "dragon." It's just as a mythology buff I think it's an important distinction, especially if we are talking about depicting creatures in art.)

You can also look into the many myths and folk tales about love from Japan. There are many. One with a lot of symbolism and imagery is the story of Orihime (the weaver princess) and Hikoboshi (a cow hearder), two lovers that were seperated by their godly parents after they neglected their jobs, distracted by their love. They were placed as stars on opposite sides of the Milky Way. Once a year they reunite when a flock of magpies forms a bridge for them to cross and reunite on the 7th day of the 7th month.

As for spiders and wolves: yes and yes! Both crop up in Japanese folklore quite a bit. Spiders are often associated with seductive women, though there are a few straightforward spider monsters, like the Ushi-oni.

Japanese wolves are near extiction today, but they were once worshiped like many other animals. Japanese wolf species are much smaller than American and European species, and so were less of a threat and more helpful pest control. Some myths still depict them as potentially viscious, like the Senbiki Okami, a pack of 100 intellegent wolves that will form a ladder to catch prey from the trees. Like foxes, cats, and tanuki, wolves could be shape-shifters. They could be protectors or attackers; good luck or harbingers of death.

As always I recomend yokai.com and ukiyo-e.org for researching creatures and designs. They are fantastic, searchable resources that are very accessible to an english-speaking researcher. (not all my resources are! it's a pain!)

[m00nb04rd5]

Can you do Yumi (Dragon Kung Fu Fighter) from Ape Escape please and make sure that you will take your time okay cool beans

Dragon Kung Fu Fighter!Yumi (Ape Escape)

[vagrant-muffin]

Two proud dads watching their sons beat each other up

[02kt]

[imthepunchlord]

So if the dragon and tiger are a pair, then could the Vermillion Bird and Black Turtle be a good pair?

By default, yeah, they can be, especially since in the Four Symbols they represent summer and winter respectively, and could also tie them to sky and earth.

Only thing is, in my research of turtles and birds in Chinese culture and mythology, the only other animal relationship I found is them also tied to dragon. Like, Dragon and Turtle are also listed as rivals, with Turtle unable to reach the Dragon and the Dragon is unable to get past the Turtle's defense. Though it's a lesser known rival pair.

Either way, be default of the Four Symbols, with Dragon and Tiger being equals, that should apply to the Vermillion Bird and Turtle. In actual culture and myth I haven't seen anything of them as a pair, but by default they should be fine.

[deer-with-a-stick]

I wonder how many people know that Maria's animals are the Four Symbols from Chinese/East Asian mythology. Didn't pick it up until the turtle appeared but when I tell you I screamed

[the-black-bulls]

[lu-zijing]

Soooooo, me and @cherllyio looked through some scenes in the ~ LMK S5 trailer ~ again, and stopped by this specifically scene yet again:

Credit to "@SimplyRemarkable" on YouTube for uploading the trailer

Who Is MK Attacking???

Cherrlyio (aka Cory) was like the first time we saw it and said again: "That kinda looks like Li Jing, you know, The one MK is attacking." And I was also like the first time we saw it and said again: "Hmm, are you sure?? I don't know, it could be, but who knows? It's so blurry." Cory: "Well, maybe.. I guess it could be something else, but still." Me: "Fair enough."

((I think they made a post about the whole thing- Go check out their channel, they got good stuff—))

*Us looking through the trailer again today-*

Imagine that whole conversation again- and THEN—

Me: "hm.. I'm still not sure... Waiiiiiittttt-- Dosn't it kinda look like the Black Tortoise? It's feet, I mean."

Me: "The one who was likely also present in the scene right before?~"

Cory: "....OHSHI——"

Me:"（￣︶￣）"

Cory: "SHIT YOU'RE RIGHT——!!! w(ﾟДﾟ)w"

So yeah... THIS MIGHT NOT BE LI JING AFTER ALL!!!??

Cory: "Ah damn, I just made a post about it being Li Jing...."

Yes, I'm bragging a little bit over for Cory—

It could just be that the angle turned after that first picture we see the Black Tortoise in, where it is behind the kneeling Mk.

Because, it is not behind MK any longer, in the scene where he is seemingly attacking it.

And it could even be in this scene too-!

Where - in that case - we see Sandy seemingly attacking it??

Credit to @deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven For pointing that detail out!

---

And here comes a theory: ~~

The Black Tortoise is one of Four Mythological Creatures that appear in Chinese Philosophy/Astrology.

Picture 1: http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/chinese.html

Picture 2: https://www.mapcompanion.org/constellations-song-dynasty/

It is usually represented with a snake coiled around it's body, but I mean - We haven't gotten one good look at it in the trailer, so that doesn't mean it can't be what we saw in LMK

Soo huuh~? Could it be that they are appearing in LMK??

If you wanna know more about them @deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven seems to have made some posts about it! I didn't know they had also noticed it, so go check that out if you can't wait!!

Because I am also currently making a video about it, hoping to be posted in the near future on YouTube, A continuation of my collab with @cherllyio "The ULTIMATE Breakdown of the Season 5 Trailer" (on YouTube)

So You might ask... Even if it actually is a black turtle, how do you know it's the one from the Four Mythological Creatures in Chinese Culture??

WELL, ma bud ~ Because there IS proof that ALL THE OTHER THREE CREATURES actually appeared in the trailer-!!!

You wanna know what~? []~(￣▽￣)~*

*Psssst* Then here-! Take a quick little sneak peak at the video in process~~

An Azure Dragon:

A White Tiger:

A Vermillion Bird:

AND the Black Tortoise:

As It seems very likely that we have seen three, if not ALL four of them . . .

-It would make quite a lot of sense that these four creatures who are appearing in the trailer IS INDEED the Four Auspicious Beasts Yes, they got many names, google it- from the Chinese Constellations.......!!!!?OAUFR）EKWNADOIFNKAAODNKFLF——！！？？?

But WAIT! I'm not done yet--

Here's ONE more detail that we're gonna cover in that video I mentioned~ :

These characters are wearing White Tiger accessories AND holding an Azure Dragon, instead of an red-gold Dragon that is usually held during Chinese Lunar New Year, which this could very well be..?

Even if it actually IS a thing to use Azure Dragons too, it IS a little suspicious they BOTH have an Azure Dragon and things that represents a WHITE TIGER..?

I'm pretty sure orange tigers is more usual too, just like red-gold Dragon is more common in China as well.

Sooooo~~~

What do you Think~?

If you're interested in that video, where me and Cory will be covering more details and some basic knowledge about these Four Creatures, Then keep an eye out on my Blog!

I will defintely Post an Update here. And Cory will do so too, as it is a Collab~

Well, that was all for now!

Just realised this is the first time ever I made a long theory post like this—

I like it

Cory: "...........*sighs in tiredness, after making so many long theory-posts at this point already...*"

Hope You found it interesting..!

[mapofsouthdakota]

Caleb’s myth -

The Vermillion bird

AU: You are at the Vermillion bird’s court. Captive? Not really applicable here but yea who cares right

(Short fluff, just a little detour before a steamy one..? I just love their dynamics with the fluff)

Fated play

"Red," you say, watching as Caleb mouths the syllable, tasting the word like candy.

"Then?" he grins, his fingers expertly maneuvering the paper fortune teller, its crisp folds shifting to reveal a set of odd numbers.

You hum in thought, dragging out the suspense before finally exclaiming, "Three!" with playful certainty.

Leaning in, you hover closer, your forehead nearly brushing his, strands of your hair almost grazing his ashy bangs. The two of you stay locked in, eyes fixed on the delicate folds in his hands as he begins to count, voice rich with amusement.

"One... two... three."

"Seven," you declare, watching as Caleb’s fingers dance over the folds, shifting the paper like a living kaleidoscope. In, out, in, out—the fortune waiting to be revealed.

"And finally...?" he muses, tilting his head toward you, eyes flickering with playful mischief. He’s indulging in the moment, in you, in the simple thrill of a childhood game spun into something electric.

"Two!" You say it triumphantly, convinced of your impending good fortune.

Yet, with a slow, deliberate motion, Caleb opens the fortune teller on one.

Your eyes widen. "H—hey!" You reach for it, but he pulls back just enough, grinning. "Don't cheat and give me a bad fortune now! Read number two!"

His smirk deepens, the paper crinkling between his fingers as he considers your plea.

"How come you're so sure the good fortune is on number two?" Caleb chuckles, his voice rich with amusement, smooth and bewitching.

You huff, scrunching your nose in mock indignation, crossing your arms like a child denied their favorite treat.

But your pout is short-lived—his laughter is infectious, and soon, you’re mirroring his grin, your playful gestures a stark contrast to his effortless charm.

"Because I just know," you insist, leaning in as if sheer willpower could bend the game in your favor. "Now stop stalling and read it!"

Caleb hums, eyes glinting as he finally unfolds the fortune, drawing out the moment just to tease you. His voice drops, smooth as silk, dripping with playful indulgence.

"Ah… here it is." He tilts his head, gaze locking onto yours, heat flickering beneath the mischief.

Caleb smirks.

"A spark always finds its flame—until neither can resist the burn."

His eyes flick to yours, a smirk tugging at his lips. With a slow, deliberate wink, he murmurs, "Looks like fate knows what it’s talking about"

"No way it says that!" You lunge for the paper, but with a flick of his fingers, Caleb lifts it effortlessly, the slip of fortune floating just beyond your reach.

"Awwh, Caleb!" You whine, pouting up at him with exaggerated, almost tearful eyes, like a pleading puppy. "But… I wanna read your fortune too!"

He only chuckles, shrugging as if the answer is obvious. His gaze softens, voice dipping into something smooth, certain.

"No need," he murmurs, eyes locked onto yours.

"My fate is right in front of me."

Writers note: I just had to get this out. I always get other ideas while I work on my steamy one. Serious question tho? More fluff or should I do the steam up? The steamy one is almost done tho but its loooooooonggggg

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Vermilion Flycatcher

Photo: Wendy Miller

"Most flycatchers are drab, but the male Vermilion Flycatcher is a brilliant exception. It is usually seen perched fairly low in open areas near water, dipping the tail gently like a phoebe. As if the male's bright colors were not advertisement enough, he also displays by puffing up his feathers and fluttering high in the air while singing repeatedly. Fairly common in parts of the southwest, the Vermilion Flycatcher is also widespread in Central and South America."

- Audubon Field Guide

[meklarian]

Vermillion Flycatcher Avra Valley WTP Tucson, Arizona, USA November, 2019

(more flycatchers here)

[parafoxical-has-a-pen]

I picked up a drawing pencil for the first time in months, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I did the base with 5h pencil, then lined, erased, and colored. Some of the shapes and colors are less than perfect, but it turned out well overall. Birds are more forgiving than humans, it seems. I look forward to drawing more.

Reference image in reblogs.

[loosesodamarble]

Welcome to the Black Bird Part 20: Wolfgang's Melancholy

Summary: Introducing Leopold as Wolfgang, whose fiery presence as a busser hides his inner thoughts. Genre: general Word count: ~800 A/N: Thank you again to @mikuyuuss for her art of Leopold.

..........

Leopold watched his brother die.

Not literally. Thank the heavens that Fuegoleon didn’t actually die the day of the car accident but still was trapped in a coma for months. Leopold was forced to watch and wait helplessly for his brother to come back. Even when Fuegoleon woke, the relief it brought was dashed away as fast as it was born.

“Fuegoleon!” Leopold ran up to his brother as Fuegoleon strode down a hallway. “Want to go to the park for a run? The weat—!”

“Sorry. I have an appointment at the hospital.”

The flat, tired voice Fuegoleon spoke with. His refusal to meet Leopold’s gaze. The dismissal of the question. He didn’t even give Leopold an opportunity to hang out later.

Leopold followed Fuegoleon to the door. Fuegoleon put on his outer coat and his new arm made jerky, mechanical movements in the process. The silhouette that walked out the door, with sagging and frail shoulders, was unrecognizable to Leopold.

I want to understand but you won’t let me. Leopold grit his teeth and glared at the closed door. What can I do to bridge this gap though?

.....

This is it, my first day on the job! Leopold’s hands moved fast as he shaped his bowtie. I know what I’m doing and I’ll do it well! He fixed his shirt collar and smoothed out his vest. I’ll show my stuff as a Vermillion and—

As he psyched himself up, he stepped out of the changing room and into the employee break room. Leopold stopped when he saw, and recognized, a person on their break. Sitting at one of the available tables, his suit coat already shrugged off, was Fuegoleon. His attention was already on Leopold, likely having seen or heard the changing room door open a second ago.

“Fuegoleon…” Leopold said, unable to stop himself.

“Leopold…” Fuegoleon looked like a deer in headlights. With a blink, his expression soured. “Why are you here?”

“I… work here now.” Leopold couldn’t meet Fuegoleon’s gaze. He came to the Black Bird hoping to meet Fuegoleon so they could talk, but when faced with the opportunity, Leopold’s tongue was lead in his mouth. “Look, I—”

“Wolfgang!” A pink-haired man, “Nobu” as he was called, popped his head into the room, a bored look on his face. “Chop chop, newbie, you’ve got places to be.”

Leopold glanced at Fuegoleon, seeing his brother’s unreadable expression, then left with a bowed head. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he muttered to his coworker.

“Nobu” let out a sigh from his nose then responded, “Eh, I’ve seen worse. Folks like him think closing themselves off will spare your feelings but really, it just makes things uncomfortable. Not your fault.” He gave Leopold’s head a pat. “Now c’mon, duty calls.”

Leopold gave a small “Yes sir” and followed his senior. But not before glancing back at the break room.

.....

Wild Bursting Flavor Trio. Not the oddest dish on the menu but the range of flavor that came on one plate set it apart from most other menu items. It was a platter presenting three sandwiches, each with their own type of filling. One rainbow vegetable, one steak, and one fruit and cream.

A common and familiar dish was elevated into a small journey of a meal. The suggested order for eating the sandwiches was first vegetable, followed by steak, and finally fruit. Something mild then a rich protein and finishing with a gentle sweetness. The dish was not simply one thing.

Secre had been weirdly right when she said the same about Leopold.

He was no longer just a younger brother worshipping his older brother. His naive beliefs were dispelled the day of the car crash. Worry, confusion, disappointment. Those feelings pressed on his heart until he accepted the hard truth that his and Fuegoleon’s dynamic would never be the same. Even then, Leopold found a new resolve to work towards what he wanted.

Leopold never stopped believing in Fuegoleon. But he became someone who would fight to know his brother’s heart. He even became another person at work to smile and look after the same customers whose admiration brought back a fragment of his brother’s warmth.

At times he did have to awkwardly deflect questions about “Wolfgang” and “Marius” being brothers. It was no trouble compared to Leopold’s real struggle.

Maybe working under the same business wouldn’t close the gap right away, but the Black Bird still brought Leopold one step closer to his brother. He wasn’t going to back out until he and Fuegoleon could look each other in the eyes and speak to each other without hesitation.

He’d get his brother back, someday.