2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
trying on a metaphor
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@conquerorsroar
ladyrenxiang:
“Well I’d be glad to let them bicker…I suppose we should be glad the only interest they have in us is Jing Province. We don’t have anything else of importance.”
“That they know of, anyway. We have plenty! Besides, it’s not like they’re even arguing about territory anyway. So let’s just stay to ourselves.”
“All of this commotion over a man who’s capable with countless amounts of straw.”
“Let them bicker. Makes our lives easier!”
“He’s getting smarter everyday—much more aware…Soon he’ll be able to have full blown conversations with everyone.” Renxiang spoke quietly as she cradled Shao, and watched as his eyes flickered over to the other person in the room, his father before he let out a noise of acknowledgement. It had been a joy to watch him, for he was a pleasant distraction for Renxiang who would rather not listen to gossip. It was one thing to have daughters, but a son was key. If Renxiang looked hard enough at Shao—and she did—she could see how much he would favor Ce when he got older…and still, she couldn’t believe that of all things to take from her, Shao had her eye color. “Truly,” she spoke softly, “I am blessed—no, honored, to be his mother.”
HE REACHED AROUND RENXIANG WITH HIS FREE hand; the digits of which curled in towards his palm as his index gently prodded at the child’s stomach. Sun Ce’s lips curled in delight at his son’s reactions to the environ- ment around him, and he leaned to settle his chin against the shoulder just beneath as his grip around her tightened.
“Cherish it,” he spoke suddenly in response, “my father always said we grew up too fast. He’ll do the same too.”
Renxiang had spent the better half-hour listening to the baby inside of the bassinet coo, until he realized his mother wasn’t paying immediate attention to him. That’s when it turned into loud wails of distress, prompting the woman to stand up and take the infant out. She spoke apologies in the softest of tones and when the baby cooed in response, she took this as a victory.
AT FIRST HE WATCHED FROM A DISTANCE, STANDING before the threshold with his arms folded across his chest. The Renown Little Conqueror leaned, and his curious eyes admiring as the woman within the confined walls moved about seam- lessly. He had been, indeed, captivated by her simple actions alone, and more or less drawn in the moment she turned her attention unto the son he fathered. With steps surprisingly silent for someone of his stature, Sun Ce skirted forward and moved up behind her. With a settled hand pressed into her hip, he leaned over her shoulder and stared down at the infant within her arms.
don’t go home without me.
“I know, I know.” Renxiang told him before she looked over Ce’s shoulder and at the red banners in the distance. She would have to do her part in adding many, many more of those banners. In addition to that, she got the inkling she’d be spending much more time making sure that Sun Ce came back alive and in one piece. He truly was needed by the others, and it was slightly difficult to envision a Wu without him at the helm. She had been perfectly willing to clash with him if no one else would tell him no. Carefully, Renxiang stepped over one of the fallen bodies and moved past Ce, but not before she turned to face him. This was dangerous, reckless, and something she’d probably shoulder all of the blame for, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle, she figured as she tilted her head upward, pulled Ce a little closer and pressed her lips against his, briefly. “Lead the way, my lord.”
HE PAUSED IN THOSE MOMENTS, WATCHING ONLY AS SHE stepped forward with grace and precision despite the carnage that had been overall wrought across the field of battle. She turned and craned her neck, closing the breath of air that with a simple stride. Ce all bust stood there--in admiration, perhaps, or aught else he did not rightly have a word for, and he silently basked in the brief contact Renxiang offered. He knew then, amidst it all, that it would be short- lived, but his weapons shifted into the grip of his left hand, and an overstretching arm extended to settle against her waist. Succinctly, sure, but necessary as he chased after her retreating mouth in order to capture it again. For but a moment, of course.
“As you command.” It was spoken in light jest, but he valued her word above that of many others. Renxiang saw what others hadn’t; she witnessed battles and politics from another point of view, one that went so easily overlooked. And it was such common sense, such simplicity that he indulged in. Pretty speeches and diplomatic envoys were not so much his forte as darting forth and eliminating a clear-cut target was. In that respect, she saw things like he did, and it was for lack of better words, the breath of fresh air that he needed so desperately.
But lead he would, and he would do so fearlessly with a new-found vigour as he returned with Renxiang at his side. To begin, he had to lift his rough hand from her frame, of which was done almost hesitantly, and with a single, strong stride forward did he take a minor lead to begin their venture forward.
don’t go home without me.
Renxiang could play devil’s advocate—she should have played it because it was her go-to reaction, a mechanism to act as proof that the day would be something without her. Sun Ce told her what she wanted to hear and that had done what it need to. It made her surrendering to Wei pointless, and the thought of serving Cao Cao’s ambitions for any length of time absurd. Her place was with Wu alongside her lord. Alongside the person she loved without a moment of hesitation. Sun Ce was reckless, yes, but he was also on a path that would take Wu forward and higher and he needed everyone, including her. This meant sharing victories and losses, progress and setbacks. It meant returning home at the end of the day. Renxiang let out a sigh, and then a chuckle followed before she dashed forward, past Sun Ce to finish off the already staggering soldier with one swing of her blade and as another advanced, she turned sharply and blocked an incoming strike, and disarmed the soldier before she struck him in the neck with her free hand and watched as he dropped to the floor. “Okay,” she said, turning her sights onto Sun Ce, “fine, you win. I hope you’re aware that the next time you think you’re going to tell me to turn tail and run, I’m going to counter every single one of your protests. I will tell you every single time that I love you too much to let you stay behind and sacrifice yourself and leave what you’ve built in shambles. I’ll tell you until you come back with me.” After all, what was Wu without The Little Conqueror?
AND THAT HAD BEEN EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED TO hear. It’s what he needed. He needed that confirmation that everything he was working towards wouldn’t be for naught; that someone would come back for him when he commanded otherwise. Just as he would do for her. She could swear up and down about her relevance or lack thereof (in her eyes, anyway) in the grand scheme of things, but Ce would return for her every time without fail. Even if it would mean his eventual demise.
He smiled to her then, neck craning, head dipping as a hand lifted. His thumb extended and bumped against his nose in a silent, casual salute to the lady in question. Apparently, he was far too pleased with the response he had been given.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The response was cheeky, but earnest. What more could he possibly ask for? Here stood a woman who would willingly follow him into battle; one that grounded him, and made him see things in a clearer light rather than through a veil of unbridled frenzy. A woman who guarded him as much as he did with her in turn.
--Though he nodded then, gesturing towards the general vicinity of the red bannered forces as his lips split to speak in response:
“You’ll have to come back with me first, you know.”
don’t go home without me.
Relief in this moment had been an odd sensation, and only for a couple of seconds Renxiang did debate on whether she wanted to do the honorable thing and give up so everyone else could survive or find a rush of fighting spirit so she could actually return home to what she had known. But it hadn’t been until she had seen the flash of red, the swing of tonfa, and heard that familiar voice did she realize that she had been fighting for and willing to surrender to Wei for one selfish reason. “How is that the least bit fair?” she asked, “You get to do it all the time and drive everyone crazy—drive me crazy. But the second I decide to be a loyal officer of Wu and sacrifice myself along with winning this skirmish…here you are. You’re a piece of work, my lord.” It was truth; as reckless as Sun Ce was…he still had his priorities. As much as winning was a positive, it meant nothing if people he cared about were casualties. Ce had started to rub off on Renxiang just a little more; she hadn’t been willing to deal with losing someone she loved wanting to die either, so she wanted to protect them by any means necessary. If Ce staying alive meant Renxiang having to surrender, she would do it a thousand times over. She would find a way to make sure that she saw Ce alive again. “In my defense, I wanted to make sure that you at least got away for the time being. Live to fight another day, you know.”
A PIECE OF WORK? MAYBE. BUT IF HE WAS GOING to lead Wu as it aught to be, he had to do so by example. The legacy he wanted to leave would not be the sacrifice of those he cherished. He would not build his empire upon the bodies of those who supported him, who fought and bled for him. Their corpses would not be Wu’s foundation, but rather they would build and move forward together--alive. Wu was home, and the people within it were family. Family would not be left behind, for what life was worth living if they were not within it? How did she not understand that?
Sun Ce’s attention shifted forward again, and his body deviated in front of her further. His actions spoke far more than his words had, though it was such words that Renxiang needed to hear. A later time might have been better, but she needed to hear them now.
“And what would that day be worth,” he began slowly. The trembling officers before them drew backward, their steps slow and deliberate. They had no intention on withdrawing, but they were being cautious. As they should have been. “--if you’re not in it?”
And without waiting; without being given any sort of reply, he bolted forward and hammered the second tonfa towards the closest offender. Having it blocked by a blade, his right fist shot up into an uppercut and set the soldier staggering back. Best to deal with them now rather than being pursued by a potentially larger force. On a normal day he would have told her to turn and run--that he would follow close behind--but that defeated the entire purpose. When they turned to leave, they’d be doing it together.
don’t go home without me.
HIS STEPS WERE SWIFT; STEADY BUT QUICK AS HE dashed across the field of battle. Banners of both crimson and indigo were vaulted towards the heavens, and weapons clashed sharply with the ringing of clanging metal singing through the air. But despite his vigour for the fight--for the gnawing hunger of adrenaline to pulse through him--the eldest of the Sun siblings paused in his pursuit. Dark eyes darted about his vicinity, chest heaving as his feet all but slid through the downtrodden earth littered with bodies of fallen men, and he scouted.
Left to right, right to left. He whirled around and found his footing, scouring the horizon in search of a voice--a gasp and then acceptance. With what she confronted, perhaps? Or with the skirmish they all but lost?
He found her then, and without wasting time, Wu’s own little conqueror picked himself up and ran.
Muscled limbs swung as if to assist in propelling himself forward, and only when he neared had he vaulted himself forward--one of two tonfas twisting counter-clockwise within his grip as it tightened, and he hammered the encroaching foot soldiers headfirst into the ground.
“You think I’d just leave you here?” The inquiry was more of a rhetorical one, for he didn’t expect a reply--nor did he want one. He almost feared the answer that might have come. He moved before her defensively then, despite knowing full well that she was capable of safeguarding herself. But it was in his nature to protect what was his and what he loved with every fibre of his being.
“It’s alright when I pull this kind of thing, but I don’t really like when you do.” He gave a muffled chuckle then, throwing the woman just behind his imposing form a confident grin.
Three Kingdom Trios ↳Kingdom of Wu
/grumblegrumble What am I going to do with you?
You tell me!
Yes. I’m sure. Now, I would most certainly love it if you could stop it with your face, my lord.
Can't stop, won't stop.
conquerorsroar replied to your post:/does everything but study
Sounds like you need even more of a distraction to me.
No I’ve already resisted urges to slay aliens in space, I don’t need any more distractions…
You sure about that?
”Oh come on,” Renxiang replied, making it a point to back away in one motion, and leave Ce enough room to get to his feet again. Training or not, to hit the ground without a full fledged fight would hurt her pride. She hadn’t even bothered to brandish her weapons yet; she left them be momentarily to get reacquainted with her footwork. "I can gloat a little.” she continued, “You can be as strong as you like my lord, there’s always going to be something that makes you kneel.”
”Can we at least establish that I don’t exactly need a weapon to take you down in a little sparring match?” Renxiang asked before she dropped back into her stance, making no intention of using her weapon. She watched her lord, anxious to see what Ce would do next. Nothing was ever boring with him around, nor was it easy.
"A little," he confirmed with a grin, "but only because I like you." Ce rose to his feet once he was given the appropriate space however, regardless to whether or not it was allowed by Renxiang. She'd prove to regret that shortly.
"But let's talk less about weapons, and more about how I can bring you to your knees just as quickly instead." He shook his hands then, forcing the blood back towards his fingertips before curling them back into fists again.
"Or do you want to wait a little bit later for that?" The little conqueror's knees bent in the slightest as he held his position, tossing nuggets of conversation her way as if to distract her. Plenty of people preferred concentrating on the fight, but Ce had little problem saying a few words to propel it forward.
"Why don't we make it a bet?"
If you could be acquaintances/friends/lover with anyone besides someone within your own kingdom, who would it be and why? Mun can answer for muse or muse can answer for themselves.
"Assuming that I would." He pointed out immediately in reply with an extension of his thumb, as if keeping count of his responses. "I wouldn't, by the way. I have what I need here, and it needs protecting." Both arms collapsed and folded across his chest comfortably, head tilting, lips stretching into a faint, albeit confident smile.
"No offense. I'm sure there are some great people out there, but I wouldn't trade away anything I have, or any part of Wu. We're family here, and it's going to stay that way."
”To go easy on you would be insulting your strength, my lord!” Renxiang replied, happy, even though her strike had been defended against. She had already been prepared to counter, thankfully. As Ce stepped back, she struck low, body bending downward. Instead of going for a shot to the stomach, she went for one knee in the attempt to make him kneel instead of fall over completely.
”But, I don’t think I can catch you off guard, I know I can the moment I have an opening!” she finished. Sun Ce had always been stronger, he would always be physically stronger, but Renxiang was faster, and lighter on her feet. She’d have to use her speed to her advantage if she wanted to keep the upper hand.
She would go for the low blows wouldn't she? She called them strategic, Ce called them cheap. The hit met nonetheless, and he laughed in spite of them, knowing how careless he was to let Renxiang cut him down so easily. He deserved it, really.
But he was forced to his kneel, stabilizing himself instead of making a desperate attempt to retreat. He would stand and fight no matter the challenges he was faced with, this skirmish with Ren included.
"A little bit cocky, aren't you?" She had the upperhand for now, sure. But that wasn't necessarily going to last. And to prove it, Ce reached out with the intent to grab at Renxiang's waist--an attempt made to bring her to the ground completely.
”Don’t worry, I’ve got more than enough energy for you,” Renxiang replied as she turned to greet Ce, “If I’m too rough, I’ll be sure to patch you up, my lord.” With one more stretch, she proceeded to walk toward him, a small smirk on her face. In a few steps, walking changed into a small sprint, and then she crouched, prepared to strike. Or pounce, whichever one she felt was best.
That's what he liked to hear. The slight smile burst into an eager grin, and Ce fell back into a comfortable, albeit prepared stance. His usage of tonfas gave him an advantage over most who mastered more unwieldy, lengthy weapons--of which he had his own fair share of working with--but instead of agile of the agile movements that were often associated with some forms of martial arts, Ce placed far more importance in brawn.
"You think you can catch me off guard that easy?" He chided as he stepped back; a surprisingly defensive maneuver considering the man behind it. He'd have his turn to charge in head first, but he had to wait for such an opportunity. Or at least, so they said.
"C'mon, Ren! No holding back."
{Renxiang looked over her mildly bruised arms before she raised them over her head and stretched, letting out a brief yawn before she cracked the knuckles in her fingers and then flexed her hands afterward. Next, she proceeded to stretch the lower half of her body starting with one leg and then the other. With one more audible exhale, she pushed her braid back behind her shoulder.
Practice meant mastery, not perfection.}
"You won't beat me too hard, will you?" Ce's voice cut through the tranquility Renxiang might have found as he stood back as if in admiration. He was seemingly relaxed, anchoring both crossed arms against his chest as he greeted her, a slight curve of his mouth present before he continued.
"Or are you done already?"
