History Characters / RavagesOfTimeLuBuFaction

* AnachronismStew: Zang Ba is seen working for Lu Bu at the battle at Puyang, while historically he was a Xu native and just joined Lu Bu when Bu took over Xu from Liu Bei.

** AsskickingEqualsAuthority

* LanternJawOfJustice: [[http://z.mfcdn.net/store/manga/2606/14-114.0/compressed/the_ravages_of_time_14_109.jpg Look at it.]] [[http://z.mfcdn.net/store/manga/2606/14-114.0/compressed/the_ravages_of_time_14_111.jpg LOOK AT IT!!]]

* FriendlyEnemy: To Guan Yu over their personalities and philosophies, and to a lesser extent Zhang Fei due to their shared surname, as per an in-universe saying about how men surnamed Zhang share a common ground.

** TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:After Lu Bu died]]. His biggest feat so far by Guandu was [[spoiler:killing Wen Chou]], and the foreshadowings of the Battle of Hefei state that it's just the beginning of many levels in badass that he's going to take. More recently, in Chapter 406 [[spoiler:he defeats and kills Taishi Ci in a one-on-one sword duel during a skirmish between their forces]] before Chibi.

** YouShallNotPass: Whenever he's in "No one has ever passed the range of my swords" mode. And not pass they shall. [[spoiler:Save for Sun Ce and Zhao Yun at Changban. And even then, it's only because the latter was fortunately backed up just in time by Zhang Fei.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: He intervened in a sparring match between Lu Bu and Guan Yu[[note]]with Lu Bu's soldiers surrounding the both of them, and Guan Yu having already lost his weapon[[/note]] in the manner of a "sneak" attack that was actually meant to alert and free Guan Yu, because Guan Yu had once saved his life[[note]]when Zhang Liao attacked the Cao army during Cao Cao's first Xuzhou campaign[[/note]]. Lu Bu knew what he was doing, and backhanded him good.

* EvilCounterpart: To Liaoyuan Huo. A (former) badass assassin and [[TheDragon dragon]] to a [[MyMasterRightOrWrong master with questionable morality]], with a subconscious desire for a better life instead of one of constant underhanded schemings, [[spoiler:and later join a new master who can offer them all that]]? You bet. The author is quite obvious about it as well, what with his constant dual expositions of these two, with hints here and there about their FutureBadass status:

* FriendlyEnemy: To Guan Yu and to a lesser extent Zhang Fei.

* ScarsAreForever: He got two slight gashes on his face during a battle in which he impersonated as Lu Bu, and they stay with him.

* CrazyPrepared: Chen Gong's most formidable skill as a strategist is planning WAY in advance for any eventuality. The comic makes it a point to show how he plans strategies step-by-step and considering how each step might be foiled, so as to have an alternate strategy already set up in the eventuality happens. You can't really call what he does XanatosSpeedChess because his "improvisation" was actually already part of the plan all along.

* TheChessmaster: Quite notable in that he's so intelligent, even the Eight Geniuses give him props. The reason Lu Bu's faction stayed in power so long is that he had Chen Gong as advisor and chief strategist. In specific, his [[CrayPrepared preparation skills]] are the distinguishing trait of his strategies.

* TheChessmaster

* CreatorsPet: In one of the afterwords, Chen Mou admitted that he cried both when drawing Lu Bu's execution for ''Unhuman'' (an earlier work) and for ''Ravages of Time'', and in an interview he elaborated that he saw Lu Bu's behavior as honest and not hypocritical, unlike so many others in Chinese history who had also done what Lu Bu had done but always covered it up, a theme recounted more than once in ''Ravagse''.

* IgnoreTheFanservice: In an instance when Lu Bu has the Crippled Legion cornered while they're trying to rescue Sima Lang from Luoyang - seeing no other way to get out of it, Xiao Meng offers to be his 'woman' and kisses him. Most men will probably goes wobbly-kneed in Xiao Meng's presence, but Lu Bu being Lu Bu, he's still alert enough to notice Xiao Meng has a poisonous needle hidden in his throat and side-steps this honey trap. [[spoiler:Just not as alert as he'd like to be however, as Xiao Meng has another poison in his mouth too and not even Lu Bu's immune enough to his charms to notice ''that''.]]

** Then the business with robbing Liu Bei, who was sheltering him, of Xuzhou; [[spoiler:at the White Gate Tower execution ground, Liu Bei returned the favor by convincing Cao Cao to kill Lu Bu instead of sparing his life.]]

** The first sign that his streak of outgambitting others has ended comes when [[spoiler:Sima Yi threatened him with Dong Zhuo's edict to get his team out of Chang'an safely and warn Lu Bu's hands off his family's business at the same time.]]
** In the Chang'an arc [[spoiler:when he realized Niu Fu's death was a bait by Jia Xu.]] Again, in the same arc [[spoiler:when he fell for Dong Yue's death, ''again'' a bait by Jia Xu, and that Sima Yi indirectly lent a hand by leaving the edict behind for Jia Xu's taking.]]

** He risks his life to save [[spoiler:Gao Shun]] after their botched sally against Cao Cao's camp while he himself is being hotly pursued (he breaks through the defenses so deeply that he makes it right up to Cao Cao, who he hadn't seen since Puyang but between actually doing Cao Cao in or helping [[spoiler:[[DeathSeeker Gao Shun]]]], he chooses to save [[spoiler:Gao Shun]] and thus spares Cao Cao). His distressed reaction to [[spoiler:Gao Shun's death at Cao Chun's hands]] also tells a lot.

** TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:After Lu Bu died]]. His biggest feat so far is [[spoiler:killing Wen Chou]], and the foreshadowings of the Battle of Hefei state that it's just the beginning of many levels in badass that he's going to take.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: He intervened in a sparring match between Lu Bu and Guan Yu (happening with Lu Bu's soldiers surrounding the both of them, and Guan Yu had already lost his weapon) in the manner of a sneak attack but actually meant to alert and free Guan Yu, because Guan Yu had once saved his life[[note]]when Zhang Liao attacked the Cao army during Cao Cao's first Xuzhou campaign[[/note]]. Lu Bu knew what he was doing, and backhanded him good.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: When he serves in Dong Zhuo's army, he manages to win the hearts of men all over, and neither Dong Zhuo nor his wiseguy team can do anything about it ''despite knowing Lu Bu's true colors''; this ends up playing a major role in [[spoiler:the final usurpation and deaths of Dong Zhuo and Li Ru]][[hottip:*:since with his reputation being so sterling, attempts by Dong Zhuo's minions to eliminate Lu Bu just look like attempts to usurp Dong Zhuo!]]

** The whole deal with overthrowing Dong Zhuo, as it turned out, sent at least three mortal enemies hot on his heels, all of whom would later contribute to his downfall(s). [[spoiler:He was dealt three crippling defeats by the ThanatosGambit of Jia Xu, Li Ru's oath brother and Dong Zhuo's advisor. His daughter was killed by Xu Chu, the son of Xu Lin whose death Lu Bu had indirectly caused (by sending Xu Chu away right at the moment the Crippled Legion was targeting him. Finally he was captured at the White Gate Tower due to the betrayal of Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu, former subordinates of Dong Zhuo's general Hua Xiong[[hottip:*:whom Zhang Liao assassinated on his orders]] who had agreed to act as sleeper agents for Cao Cao.]]

** One of the more notable [[spoiler:posthumous]] ones is that when [[spoiler:Yuan Tan's army is broken by "two civilians"[[hottip:*:Liaoyuan Huo and Zhang Liao]] for trampling the mass graves of Xiapi, he returns to camp shrieking about how Lu Bu faked his death and secretly allied with Cao Cao against the Yuan clan]].
** When Sun Ce attacks Cao Cao's forces before the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao thinks to himself that Sun Ce[[hottip:*:who's just plowed his way through generals ''and'' the famous Tiger and Leopard Cavalry]] reminds him of Lu Bu at the Battle of Puyang and the fear that he felt back then, then he wonders, "You too, Red Hare? Are you reminded of Lu Bu as well?"

* NoHeroToHisValet: Among his three closest subordinates, Chen Gong is perfectly aware how immoral, selfish and disloyal he is[[hottip:*:to the point that when Chen Gong's about to be executed, he tells Cao Cao that "Lu Bu is disloyal and not filial. He deserves Heaven's reprimand!"]]; Gao Shun just doesn't seem to care; only Zhang Liao believes him to be a man of ''some'' principles (just not the principles that common men respect) but he also gets disillusioned by Lu Bu's actions at the end of the Xiapi arc.

** Lu Bu treated Xiao Meng almost as a honored guest after retrieving him[[hottip:*:from where Xiao Meng had fallen off of a cliff while trying to take out Gan Ning]], even though no one else at that moment knew that Xiao Meng was even still alive; moreover, he was both an old enemy and an obvious object of lust for Lu Bu.

* TheStarscream: There's two things Lu Bu is known for in-story: his prowess in battle as a cavalryman, and this. Even [[spoiler:posthumously, when (the former) Liaoyuan Huo[[hottip:*:now Zhao Yun seemingly for good]] is pursued by the Cao army and pressed on all sides at Changban, when he gets the sense that the Cao army is filled with righteous indignation at his own betrayal of Sima Yi, he insists righteously that although he thinks of "a man of three surnames", nevertheless "I'm not Lu Bu!"]]

* AFatherToHisMen: Unlike Lu Bu, he cares a lot for his subordinates, and frequently risks his life to guard their escape routes instead of the other way around. [[spoiler: When many of them were beheaded after Cao Cao defeats Lu Bu, he even disobeyed orders to stay behind and recover their remains. Yuan Tan's armys came charging through[[hottip:*:albeit fleeing one Liaoyuan Huo]] the mass grave? He beat the hell out of them and sent them back the way they came[[hottip:*:much to Huo's surprise, back ''towards'' him]].]]

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: He intervened in a sparring match between Lu Bu and Guan Yu (happening with Lu Bu's soldiers surrounding the both of them, and Guan Yu had already lost his weapon) in the manner of a sneak attack but actually meant to alert and free Guan Yu, because Guan Yu had once saved his life[[hottip:*:when Zhang Liao attacked the Cao army during Cao Cao's first Xuzhou campaign]]. Lu Bu knew what he was doing, and backhanded him good.

* [[spoiler: DyingMomentOfAwesome]]: [[spoiler:He manages to publicly coerce Cao Cao into taking care of his relatives after his execution, counsel other captives facing execution[[hottip:*:that since "Lu Bu and Chen Gong's incompetence is not your fault" the captives ought to surrender and thus survive if they so wish to live]] and explains concisely why he won't submit and live: Cao Cao isn't ''worse'' than Lu Bu, he's ''just as bad''. For all of these, Xiahou Dun begs him to reconsider so that he might live, Guo Jia and Jia Xu salute him (that is, [[MaryTzu two of the Eight Geniuses]]) saluting their "inferior" who Guo Jia had overcome) and Cao Cao salutes and sheds ManlyTears for him.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The famed legend of Zhang Liao's name being used in Wu after Hefei by mothers to stop children from crying is given at least two nods beforehand -- first, during the post-Dong Zhuo struggle between his remnant forces, the mere mention of his name is enough to stop [[spoiler:Niu Fu's son]] from crying. Second, almost two decades later at Changban, Adou at first stops crying and then starts shivering after [[spoiler:the former]] Liaoyuan Huo[[spoiler:now Zhao Yun seemingly for good]] breaks out of the Cao army's encirclement, and when he asks the baby why, the answer is Zhang Liao's, "Sorry, the little guy must be scared..."

* BladeOnAStick: His trademark ''Ji'', sometimes[[DualWielding he wields two at once.]]

* HeroicBSOD: He never recovers from [[spoiler:the shock of his daughter death]], on top of the increasingly hopeless situation he finds himself stuck in at Xiapi. When Cao Chun, the leader of Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard cavalry, comes searching for him he doesn't even acknowledge a man so deep in depression could be Lu Bu.
--->'''Cao Chun (to Lu Bu and Gao Shun):''' Lu Bu?... no. No aura of dominance. You are not Lu Bu. Send someone to get Lu Bu.

** He risks his life to save [[spoiler:Gao Shun]] after their botched sally against Cao Cao's camp while he himself is being hotly pursued (he breaks through the defenses so deeply that he makes it right up to Cao Cao, who he hadn't seen since Puyang but between actually doing Cao Cao in or helping [[spoiler:[[DeathSeeker Gao Shun]]]], he chooses to save Gao Shun and thus spares Cao Cao). His distressed reaction to [[spoiler:Gao Shun's death at Cao Chun's hands]] also tells a lot.

** He risks his life to save [[spoiler:Gao Shun]] after their botched sally against Cao Cao's camp while he himself is being hotly pursued[[hottip:*:notably, he breaks through the defenses so deeply that he makes it right up to Cao Cao, who he hadn't seen since Puyang... but between actually doing Cao Cao in or helping [[DeathSeeker Gao Shun]], he chooses to save Gao Shun and thus spares Cao Cao]], and his distressed reaction to [[spoiler:Gao Shun's death at Cao Chun's hands]] also tells a lot.

** One of Sun Ce's enemies mocking him as having Lu Bu's audacity but not Lu Bu's wisdom.

** In chapter 391 as the Cao army begins to overwhelm [[spoiler:Zhao Yun]], he gets the feeling suddenly that he's "a traitor who forgot his benefactor", for having [[spoiler:spurned Liu Da, Sima Yi and his own past as Liaoyuan Huo]] by rescuing Adou]], to himself out of sense of righteousness, but seemingly to the world "for the sake of glory", such thoughts are what occurs to him:

* DespairEventHorizon: The sight of [[spoiler:his beloved daughter being cut in half by Xu Chu and trampled to death under horse' feet]] during a failed siege breakout was a particularly ''gut-wrenching'' one for Lu Bu... then he went on full berserk mode and took out all of his opponents (the Xiahou brothers, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Han Hao... yeah, kind of the cream of the crops in Cao Cao's entire army).

* LivingLegend: His name gets invoked a bunch of times [[spoiler:before and after his death]] even in seemingly unrelated contexts[[hottip:*:such as, for example, one of Sun Ce's enemies mocking him as having Lu Bu's audacity but not Lu Bu's wisdom]]. ** One of the more notable [[spoiler:posthumous]] ones is that when [[spoiler:Yuan Tan's army is broken by "two civilians"[[hottip:*:Liaoyuan Huo and Zhang Liao]] for trampling the mass graves of Xiapi, he returns to camp shrieking about how Lu Bu faked his death and secretly allied with Cao Cao against the Yuan clan]].

** As a man who has betrayed and murdered his foster fathers, his name becomes a living embodiment of treachery and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder too. In chapter 391 as the Cao army begins to overwhelm [[spoiler:Zhao Yun]], he gets the feeling suddenly that he's "a traitor who forgot his benefactor", for having [[spoiler:spurned Liu Da, Sima Yi and his own past as Liaoyuan Huo]] by rescuing Adou]], to himself out of sense of righteousness, but seemingly to the world "for the sake of glory", such thoughts are what occurs to him:

** LivingLegend: His name gets invoked a bunch of times [[spoiler:before and after his death]] even in seemingly unrelated contexts[[hottip:*:such as, for example, one of Sun Ce's enemies mocking him as having Lu Bu's audacity but not Lu Bu's wisdom]]. One of the more notable [[spoiler:posthumous]] ones is that when [[spoiler:Yuan Tan's army is broken by "two civilians"[[hottip:*:Liaoyuan Huo and Zhang Liao]] for trampling the mass graves of Xiapi, he returns to camp shrieking about how Lu Bu faked his death and secretly allied with Cao Cao against the Yuan clan]]!
*** When [[spoiler:he's captured at Xiapi]] and [[spoiler:Gao Shun confronts the captors]]:
--->'''[[spoiler:Cao Chun]]:''' Lu Bu?... no. No aura of dominance. You are not Lu Bu. Send someone to get Lu Bu. Tell him...
*** Also, when Sun Ce attacks Cao Cao's forces before the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao thinks to himself that Sun Ce[[hottip:*:who's just plowed his way through generals ''and'' the famous Tiger and Leopard Cavalry]] reminds him of Lu Bu at the Battle of Puyang and the fear that he felt back then, then he wonders, "You too, Red Hare? Are you reminded of Lu Bu as well?"
*** In the end, it takes almost a decade for Lu Bu's legend to be ''finally'' eclipsed in Cao Cao's mind... by [[spoiler:Zhao Yun[[hottip:*:aka Liaoyuan Huo]] at Changban]].
**** Ironically, on the other side of that, in chapter 391 as the Cao army begins to overwhelm [[spoiler:Zhao Yun]], he gets the feeling suddenly that he's "a traitor who forgot his benefactor", for having [[spoiler:spurned Liu Da, Sima Yi and his own past[[hottip:*:as Liaoyuan Huo]] by rescuing Adou]], to himself out of sense of righteousness, but seemingly to the world "for the sake of glory". He however continues:
----> '''[[spoiler:Zhao Yun]]:''' I’m reminded of someone, and the thought won’t go away. No, I’m not. Not quite a man of three surnames, yet not far off either. But I’m not Lü Bu!

** He risks his life to save [[spoiler:Gao Shun]] after their botched sally against Cao Cao's camp while he himself is being hotly pursued, and his distressed reaction to [[spoiler:Gao Shun's death at Cao Chun's hands]] also tells a lot.

* TheStarscream: There's two things Lu Bu is known for in-story: his prowess in battle as a cavalryman, and this.

--->'''Cao Chun:''' Lu Bu?... no. No aura of dominance. You are not Lu Bu. Send someone to get Lu Bu. Tell him...