An In-Depth Analysis of Zhongli

He’s finally here — dirt, poor grandpa Zhongli! This analysis is going to be in the same vein as the one I did for Childe. Yeah, I’ll still leave the mathematics to the people good at math.
I’m going to be completely honest, just to get any of my bias opinions out the way, I was a tad disappointed in Zhongli’s character story, but I suppose that, for me, was only natural coming off the back of Childe’s character story (yeah, I think Childe is still the most complex character even though Zhongli is good in his own right). It also didn’t help that I also played Venti’s character story right after which was also super good.
So with my opinions out the way. . . I hope you enjoy the analysis ʕ·ᴥ· ʔ
Let me note, I do not know every piece of lore in the game so I’m sorry for anything incorrect. I didn’t personally play the Stone Harbor Web event (which I know I used a few instances of dialogue from that event in my previous analysis) so I won’t be using anything from that, for Zhongli, in this analysis. At the time I’m writing this, not every story or voiceline for Zhongli has been unlocked so there’s still some information to be uncovered and, lastly, I’ll be theorizing in some cases.
TLDR:

• Zhongli is a very wise-man but, at the same time, is air-headed. This is due to who he is, Rex Lapis, and how he must accustom himself to mortal life.
• It’s endearing watching Zhongli grow, accustoming himself to how money works (etc.) but, for the same reason Zhongli isn’t accustomed to mortal life, it makes for situations such as the end of Chapter 1.
• Zhongli places value on three things: contracts, tradition, and the passing of history.
• The man who we see, present-day Zhongli, was shaped by his experiences in the Archon war, specifically his partner Guizhong helped shape him.
• The death of Guizhong and the end of the Archon War allowed for Zhongli to become a gentler God, compared to the ruthless killer he was during the Archon War.
• There are multiple reasons Zhongli could've gave his Gnosis to the Tsaritsa but, definitely, in the story he knows more than he lets on.
• Zhongli and Guizhong are symbolized by the Dragon and Phoenix, respectfully. This also is characterized by Yin and Yang and masculinity and femininity.

Word Count: 4689
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Zhongli Analysis

Bread and Butter:
“Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's mysterious consultant. Handsome, elegant, and surpassingly learned. Though no one knows where Zhongli is from, he is a master of courtesy and rules. From his seat at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he performs all manner of rituals.”
I think there’s a lot to uncover with Zhongli. What makes him interesting is his position as Rex Lapis and, in a way, this old, well-versed God is like a fish out of water, especially in the way he is coming to terms with mortal life. As I like to think, Zhongli is like that kid in school who is book smart, knows so much random shit, but when it comes to common sense — that just goes straight out the window. Also, just look at the man’s fiscal responsibility.
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Meat and Potatoes:

Rex Lapis, the Archon with too many Names

Rather than starting with a look at Rex Lapis, himself, I think it’s best we establish something. The Archons always believe their actions are correct and justified.
There’s many instances of this shown in the story. For example look at our first cameo of Baal, and her collection of visions, or the Tsarista, and how she is sending all of Snezhnaya down a path of doom, or even Havria, which is who Zhongli’s story focuses on, and her refusal to flee rather than fight (which ultimately led to both her death and some of her people’s deaths).
I think, out of all these cases, this is best summed up by Decarabian and his story:
“Largely disconnected from his people, Decarabian did not seem to be malicious in his actions, but did not understand humanity and their needs. He believed that his people loved him as he loved them, though his understanding of love was not close to how humans experience it. . . When looking down on his subjects, he believed they were bowing to him from adoration and respect. However, his people were doing so not for the archon, but because the harsh winds in the capital had forced them to.”
I think at least some of the Archons had good intentions, such as Decarabian, but because the Archons are so disconnected with the world they can’t seem to fathom the consequences of their actions, especially what these consequences have on the common folk.
And the same can be said about Rex Lapis. . .
This disconnect leads to some funny moments such as, \*hahahaha\* the God who created money doesn’t understand how money works and he’s poor, but this also leads to products much like the end of Chapter 1, where Zhongli pretty much played the role of puppet master in a grandiose play. I would think, to many, that what Zhongli pulled may come off as manipulative. Like yeah, he manipulated Childe, who isn’t in any way a good guy, but he also manipulated the entirety of Liyue for his retirement.
But you may be asking, well what about Venti!?
Yes, I would say Venti (Barbatos) doesn’t follow what I proposed earlier as tightly as the rest of the bunch, but he still fits this idea that the Archons believe their actions are always correct despite what consequences they may cause. I don’t want to delve to heavily into Venti (since this analysis is about Zhongli afterall) but if you look at the consequences of his actions, leaving Mondtstadt completely free, it led to the enslavement of Vanessa’s people, not to mention that it took Venti over a hundred years to give Dvalin his freedom.
La Signora discussing Zhongli's Plot, Chapter 1: Act III
On the other hand, Zhongli’s disconnect also crafts him into a very endearing character.
I mentioned above how it’s funny watching this omnipotent God of Wealth be dirt poor, just the irony of the whole situation. If it wasn’t for this trait of Zhongli, his disconnect, he wouldn’t have room to grow in the story. Most of Zhongli’s character growth is never shown in the story simply because (I’ll get to this later) it (probably) happened during the Archon War. That’s not to say a wise man cannot grow, simply it won’t be as noticeable.
Having Zhongli adapt to mortal life allows him to grow as a character. Watching Zhongli adapt to his new life is like watching a child take their first steps. Then, when he finally pays for your meal, you feel gratified.
There’s, of course, many other characteristics that make Zhongli endearing and different people will pick out different characteristics. Perhaps you like his moaning when he climbs or his thicc cake, idk
There’s three big things (aside from disconnect) that Zhongli’s character revolves around

1. Contracts
2. Tradition
3. Passing of History

Point 1:
There’s no denying Zhongli’s value of contracts even though, let’s be real, there’s always some loopholes in real contracts. This is shown throughout Historia Antiqua: Act I. Those that break contacts, as Zhongli puts it, will face the wrath of Dwanye Johnson THE ROCK. For Kliment that was physical punishment and for Wanyan that was simply the truth.
Screenshot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
Screenshot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
At the beginning of Historia Antiqua: Act I, Wanyan and Zhongli have a conversation where Wanyan asks if every God that Rex Lapis killed was evil and Zhongli replies:
“..Let's not analyze it in terms of good versus evil. Rex Lapis placed great importance on the integrity of contracts, so any gods he killed certainly must have broken some kind of contract.”
*NOTE: The line above gets a bit messy the further you look into it. Who's to say every God Rex Lapis had to kill, for his seat as one of the seven, had broken a contract. Historia Antiqua: Act I demonstrates the extremely cruel nature of the Archon War, where it was killed or be killed and morality was blurred. Earlier in the week I saw a comment that asked why couldn’t Havria join Rex Lapis much like Guizhong and well first, Rex Lapis doesn’t make contracts that don’t benefit him in some way and second, who's to say, if it wasn’t for Guizhong’s death, that Rex Lapis wouldn’t have had to kill her because, after all, there was only one gnosis and two of them.
Here’s just some food for thought. . .
Because Zhongli places so much value on contracts then, surely, him giving up his gnosis, an object that can be seen as a symbol of his contract with Celestia, would have some implications? Of course you could say his gnosis was merely a contract to Liyue, one which he believed he had completely fulfilled, but this question brings up some theories. Perhaps Celestia had broken some rule?
Even after retiring from his duty as Rex Lapis, Zhongli still places importance on contracts.
There’s two things last things I want to note:

• After Morax’s funeral Zhongli could, realistically, do whatever he pleases but he still works his 9 to 5 day job as a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor under Hu Tao because a job, in a sense, is like a contract.
• Rex Lapis seemed to have chosen his Adepti very carefully. Though Zhongli says asking for the fairness of a contract is “not a large request”, it very clearly is. You could look at history for examples of this or even just look at Historia Antiqua: Act I.

Point 2 & 3:
I don’t have much to say on Zhongli’s faith to tradition and carrying out said tradition properly. Act 2 of Chapter 1 demonstrates this as Zhongli handles Rex Lapis’s funeral with the utmost precision.
History or, specifically, recording history is very important to Zhongli.
In-game there’s a quest called Treasure Lost, Treasure Found. The objective of the quest is to find treasure (duh) but throughout this quest you uncover the 4 commandments (principles) of Guizhong that have been recorded on stone.
“And yet, today, Guizhong's Four Commandments have seen the light of day once more. These were the words penned by Guizhong herself to serve both as maxims and blessings for her people. . . She may no longer be with us, but her beliefs, the things she stood for — they will endure. Whoever it was that revered her so much was very clever indeed. They used the allure of hidden treasure to ensure Guizhong's Four Commandments would be passed down.”
The one to have written these commandments was Zhongli himself. It’s not stated in-game, but, as said in the quote above, they were written by someone who was (is) “cunning” and “revered” Guizhong.
Historia Antiqua: Act I alludes that Zhongli and the Adepti/Yakshas wrote history on stone tablets:
Screenshot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
Screenshot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
*NOTE: The lines afterwards, from the images above, have some important implications that, despite not having to do much with Zhongli himself, I will talk about later when we get to the reason he gave his gnosis over to the Tsaritsa.
Before I end this bullet point, I also want to note that in Zhongli’s PV, Zhongli: An Additional Expense, Zhongli has Childe buy Dragon and Phoenix chopsticks worth an absurd amount of money. We already know that Rex Lapis is (was) represented by the Dragon and it’s been speculated that Guizhong is (was) represented by the phoenix, the dragon’s other half. Once again, this is another point I will get into later. The chopsticks is another showcase that Guizhong’s legacy, even if unknown, has been preserved in Liyue’s culture.

He’s Really Just a Giant Teddy Bear. . .

It’s hard to talk about Zhongli without bringing up Guizhong, the God of Dust, because she played an integral role in crafting the man we see at present time in the story (Zhongli’s former character development if you will call it). Guizhong and Zhongli at least had platonic feelings, if not romantic, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say they probably revered each other.
Ex:

• “It seems they were more than two allied gods — they were best friends” (Treasure Lost, Treasure Found).
• “What a silly notion. There was no formal contract between them. They were merely two people walking the same path for their own reasons. . .” (Memory of Dust).

So how did Guizhong shape Zhongli?
From the Memory of Dust, Guizhong says that she was the brains and Zhongli was the brawn. This is also reinforced by Venti who says, Morax specifically, is an old block-head and brutish.
If you played the story you may know that is not the case, not in the slightest, as Zhongli has the tendency to go on long, informative rambles. I can’t say for certain so this is only speculation, but from Guizhong Zhongli learned the importance of knowledge/wisdom.
Zhongli, in his own right, is smart, even cunning. The description of Sundial of Enduring Jade tells that the Lord Geo made this device to tell time and, eventually, it became revered, not having “a single flaw”. The Archaic Petra Set tells of the various objects that were said to have been made by the Lord Geo.
So while yes, Rex Lapis was smart in his own right, he was more so known for the great, ruthless power he wielded during the Archon War.
Ex.

• “Others claim that they do so in awe of Rex Lapis' great power, that he could indeed pierce the rainbow's arc and bring them down the sun” (Vortex Vanquisher).
• “It is said that during the years when gods contended against one another, Rex Lapis' aspect was that of boundless slaughter. . . He knew right from wrong, and never missed his mark: in those days of tumult, he would show no mercy, even to friends-turned-foes” (Mask of Solitude Basalt).

It’s also worth noting that Guizhong was the first of many acquaintances Zhongli would lose throughout the ages. Many lines throughout a variety of quests (A Record of All Things, Solitary Fragrance, The Fond Farewell, etc.) have Zhongli reminiscing on the past where his tone comes off very melancholic. *(His line about Osmanthus wine becomes even sadder when you know he was the one who made the original cups for the first Seven)
The death of Guizhong finally let Zhongli remove his stone-cold mask as an all powerful, battle-hungry God.
Mask of Solitude Basalt: “They say that only when the dust settled did he lay down that unmovable visage. But it had been necessary, for he had donned it to fulfill a contract.”
Guizhong influenced Zhongli to embrace his gentler and wiser side, as an Archon, after the Archon war had concluded.
Zhongli is like an ever-doting father while Liyue, metaphorically, is his child. He nurtured it for thousands of years until he, finally, let it fly on its own. During Chapter 1: Act III, Zhongli goes on to say, “Beginning a new undertaking is always difficult at first and requires no small amount of effort. And once business is at full steam, the stress of it all only wears away at you over time. So you must be careful to take the time to step back and reexamine yourself. If left unchecked, the wear and tear on your heart may go well past mending.”
We can assume, in the quote above, that Zhongli is talking about himself and the stress rebuilding the once Guili Assembly, now Liyue, had on him. This feat, rebuilding Liyue, is exemplified by the fact that the prosperous Guili Assembly was ran by both Guizhong and Zhongli so after the Archon War Zhongli, by himself, rebuilt Liyue in a whole new location and led it to become even more prosperous.
*NOTE: I say above that Zhongli rebuilt Liyue by himself but that’s not exactly 100% accurate since he was working with the Adepti but, to me, it seems the Adepti had the role to protect Liyue rather than help it prosper. Then again some of the Adepti such as Ganyu and Madame Ping took on roles in the city which would certainly help it prosper.
This change, Zhongli embracing wisdom and gentleness, is also demonstrated through his in-game constellations.
Zhongli's Constellations
The names of constellations 2 through 5 use the names of gemstones.
*Note: The meanings of the stones written below are from a quick google search, so I’m sorry if they are incorrect. I’m not a gemstone connoisseur (-｡-;

• Jade
  • It is said to symbolize purity and is generally considered a lucky stone. “Jade also symbolizes gentleness and nourishment” (Source).
• Topaz
  • It is said to have healing properties and can shield the wearer from harm. “Topaz is a stone of nobility, love, passion, and purpose” (Source).
• (Lapis) Lazuli
  • It is said to be a stone of protection, but also serenity & peace. “Lapis lazuli has been associated with strength and courage, royalty and wisdom, intellect and truth” (Source).

All these stones, from what I understand, seem to be known or symbolic of healing properties.
Lastly, it’s also worth noting that in Treasure Lost, Treasure Found, Soraya says that the gentle Archons were “those who protected their people. . . walked among them. . . stood by them as they went forth into the world. . .” As we know Zhongli, for many years, walked among his people even if that was incognito and, for all this time, protected them.
Zhongli even says, in Zhongli: The Listener, “I wish not for dominion, yet I cannot watch the common folk suffer”.
Now — this isn’t to say that Zhongli has become soft because, clearly, he will fuck shit up if you mess with his contracts, but, simply, this was his very first step in adapting to mortal life.
In spite of all this, Zhongli still could not unlock Guizhong’s stone dumbbell which held all her wisdom. I wouldn’t be surprised if character story II or III, for Zhongli, has him opening that dumbbell and we learn some secret of their relationship or of the world ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
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*Before I move on, earlier in the analysis, I talked about how the Archons always believe they are right and how Venti did not fit this idea as tightly as the rest. I should clarify that the Archons that are closer to humanity, Venti and Zhongli specifically, are those that seem more prone to change.
I used the example of the enslavement of Vanessa’s people for Venti above, but, in due time, Venti did come around and relieve this dilemma.
The same can be said about Zhongli. You could say him ‘babying’ his civilization had consequences (becoming too reliant on the Adepti) but, in due time, he came around and fixed that even if it was in a very unconventional and manipulative way.
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Why did Zhongli hand over his Gnosis?

Screenshot from Chapter 1: Act III
Screenshot from Chapter 1: Act III
Well, he never tells you. . . (How nice Zhongli :P). . . but, obviously, with everything that I’ve looked at and gone over so far I came to some pretty safe conclusions.

• Firstly, giving the Tsaritsa his Gnosis was his catalyst to retirement
• Secondly, because he was so closer to humanity all those years after the Archon war he wants the entirety of humanity to prosper and not just Liyue
• Thirdly, he empathizes with the Tsaritsa for being a gentler Archon much like Guizhong or Havria
• Fourthly, he believes Celestia broke a contract (rule) nulling his job to the Divine void

I don’t think I need to go in-depth with point 1, since that one is pretty obvious, so let’s delve into the other three.
Point 2:
“Hah... On the contrary, I think it is excellent. I had always feared that it was far too soon for them to take over from me, and it was also that which I longed for the most. As such, this is the best parting gift anyone could have given this god of old” (Chapter 1: Act III).
Zhongli, in the quote above, says that the best parting gift one could have given him was watching his nation, his people, prosper by themselves.
It’s hard to talk about this without getting into a bunch of lore and theories, but, from the lore I understand, Celestia is stagnating humanity so that they cannot reach Godhood and stop the Honkai, the destruction of the world from advanced civilization, from occurring. As stated, the Tsaritsa plans to go against the Divine and their rules that stagnate humanity.
Zhongli has already decided that it’s time for humanity to take their course. In Historia Antiqua: Act I he goes on to say, “the Adepti have presently handed Liyue over to mortals. . .”
Point 3:
I’ve already extensively gone over how Zhongli has changed into a gentler Archon above ↑
In Historia Antiqua: Act I we see as Zhongli sympathizes with Havria and what she had become burdened with. He goes on to say, “Of course, as I am now. . . I only wish that she could have lived in a gentler time”.
How could the Tsaritsa possibly be gentle or weak?
Childe’s word might be B I A S but, as of right now, that’s all the information we have to go on. Childe goes on to call her a gentle soul and that she had to harden herself. He also says, in his Delusion story, “Her gaze was cold but pure, arrogant yet sharp. She was not only the sacrosanct Cryo Archon but a true warrior also”.
Zhongli can also empathize with the Tsaritsa because Guizhong, much like the Tsaritsa, also had to compensate for being a weaker God. The Tsaritsa learned to compensate with battle prowess while Guizhong compensated with engineering and wisdom.
Lastly the Tsaritsa is the God of Love and, though only speculated, it could’ve been possible Zhongli loved Guizhong (if not romantically at least platonically).
Point 4:
Zhongli, in the story, knows more than he lets on.
In Mona’s story quest, Beyond this World’s Stars: Act I, she tells the Traveler when you first meet that they are not from this world and the Traveler is clearly surprised. This is because she looks through astrological readings — her hydromancy.
Zhongli does the exact same thing, calling you “one who crosses the celestial atlas”. How did he get this information? Well. . . he’s an Archon, subject to confidential information.
We know, from lines in-game, that Venti and Zhongli are buddies (or at least were), but we also know that Venti was once on good terms with the Tsaritsa, even going as far as to make a joke about replacing her scepter with a Hilichurl club.
Venti (More about Venti - IV): “Celestia... I'm not sure even I could fly that far. In any case, the water there tastes foul and the fruit is bland. . . I wouldn’t go there even if I was invited”. To reinforce this quote and Venti’s unpleasant feelings on Celestia, in the webcomic Vanessa asks about Celestia and Venti promptly dodges the question.
So where am I going with all of this?
Venti, and most likely by extension Zhongli, have some hard feelings on Celestia much like the Tsaritsa. The issue with all of this is that Zhongli never mentions anything about Celestia (at least not right now, perhaps in some of his later voicelines).
Even if Zhongli had hard feelings with Celestia, he would never break his contract with the Divine because he upholds fairness of the contract, not unless it had already been broken.
To conclude the Gnosis Point:
Zhongli knows the Tsaritsa’s goals and what may happen to Tevyat because of her plan to go against the Divine.
It’s time we go over these very important lines:
Screen shot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
Screen shot from Historia Antiqua: Act I
Zhongli here is not asking for a backup in Tevyat, he specifically asks that you, who passes through countless worlds, pass on the history of Tevyat. He finishes by telling us to find our treasure among the stars.
If the Tsaritsa goes against the Divine she may just cause the collapse of all of Tevyat.
*NOTE: I know this last part doesn’t have much to do with Zhongli and it’s more food for thought. I also want to note that when Zhongli gives over his gnosis it’s his contract to end all contracts, but surely contracts still exist? What if that line implies that by giving over his gnosis he’s actively participating in the downfall of Tevyat? That would end all for Tevyat, but that goes against a point I made earlier and seems too out there.
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Congratz! You made it to the last section of this analysis ( ͡° ͜ ͡°)
Dessert:

Zhongli’s Symbols

Like all the characters in the story Zhongli is represented by his constellation, Lapis Dei or God of Stone. Aside from his constellation is the form Rex Lapis takes on when he descends — the Dragon.
Symbols:

1. Constellation: Lapis Dei
2. Rex Lapis’s form as a Dragon + Yin and Yang

It’s worth talking about Guizhong once more. It is most likely she was represented as the phoenix or, the Chinese word, fenghuang. It’s very likely she took the form of some bird (just imagine how long it would take her to climb Hulao :P) and that it was simply a phoenix.
Wiki: “Later, during the Yuan dynasty the two terms were merged to become fenghuang, but the ‘King of Birds’ came to symbolize the empress when paired with a dragon representing the emperor. . . In ancient and modern Chinese culture, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon-and-phoenix design symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yang and yin metaphor”.
Yin and yang is, at its heart, the idea of two completely opposite things (one being negative the other being positive) coexisting.
Zhongli was powerful while Guizhong was not. On the other hand Guizhong was gentle and wise while Zhongli was not (at one point).
Both made up Yin and Yang, embracing masculine and feminine traits respectively.
Wiki: “The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in East Asian culture. During the days of Imperial China, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial strength and power”.
The dragon, here, is a symbol of power and masculinity, the traits, as said above, that Zhongli represents.
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In Conclusion

*TLDR IS AT THE BEGINNING\*
I know this is really early, even if it’s not exactly early, just for the fact I’m missing all the lines for Zhongli above friendship LvL 2. I’ll probably hit LvL 3 when the reset hits, but I think there was plenty of info to cover and this has gone on longer than my Childe analysis so I’m not really miffed. If there’s anything revolutionary I might change this, but I highly doubt it.
Y’know what they say, strike the iron while it’s hot (got to get this up with all this Zhongli drama going on).
Once again, if you enjoy any character in Genshin Impact, I highly recommend looking into their background/stories. Now, I’m going to bed! If I find something wrong with this in the morning, especially in the last ¼ of this analysis I’ll fix it (this wasn’t rushed, far from it, but I think it might be a little sparse on the last section). Also, Venti fans, I’m still not sure if I’ll do an analysis of him. Albedo is going to 100% happen and I was thinking about Diluc (especially if Albedo comes after Ganyu).
¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
So. . . I hope you enjoyed this ridiculously long write-up!

You wear a ring on a specific finger depending on the kind of ring and the country or culture in which you live. In most countries in the West it is normal to wear a wedding or engagement ring on the ring finger of the left hand. This tradition arose because legend had it that this finger contained a vein - the vena amoris - that led directly to the heart. No such vein of course exists, except perhaps metaphorically. There is also a medieval tradition that each finger represents a different relationship; the thumbs your parents, the index finger your siblings, the middle finger yourself, the fourth finger your spouse and your little finger your children. One ageless story for why you wear your wedding ring describes as follows:
Open the palm of your hands face-to-face. Bend your middle fingers and hold them together back-to-back. Hold the remaining fingers tip-to-tip and try to separate your thumbs. They will open wide because your parents will not live with you for the rest of your life. Then try separating your little fingers. They will open apart because your children will grow up and leave you. Try moving your index fingers and they will move apart too just as your brothers and sisters will eventually live their own lives and you will see less of them. Now try moving your fourth fingers - your ring fingers - apart, and you will find they are impossible to separate just as husband and wife are bound together for eternity.
In a tradition starting with the Romans, and possibly before, we normally wear an engagement ring on the same finger as the wedding ring for the exact same reason. Often the wedding ring is a plain band, which expresses a holy union, whereas the engagement ring is more usually decorated with precious stones as made famous with the engagement of Princess Katherine. Diamonds are a symbol of eternal love which arises because of their enduring quality not the advertising slogan which came later.
In some Scandinavian countries - Norway, Sweden and Denmark - as well as the Greek Orthodox Church, the wedding ring finger of the right hand bears the ring. Many Swedish women wear a third ring on their ring finger, in this case on their right hand, as a symbol of motherhood and fertility. In some Jewish traditions the wedding ring transfers from the index finger during the ceremony and onto the ring finger after; in Greece the left hand during the service and then later slipped to the right.
Chinese people tend not to wear wedding rings though when they do it is on their middle fingers. The reason is that according to the principles of yin-yang the middle finger represents the heart.
Following a tradition begun by Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century a gold snake ring may be worn on the ring finger opposite the wedding ring as a symbol of good luck and fertility.
The quality and extravagant expense of the stones is part of the tradition that marriage is economic rather than about romance and love. The bride receives payment of goods during the marriage ceremony. The German wedding vows once stated "'I give you this ring as a sign of the marriage which has been promised between the two of us, on condition your father gives with your marriage 1,000 Deutschmarks." This mercenary clause in the holy vows is no longer used. Today we wear rings for their symbolic importance and on which finger we wear them is part of this age-long tradition.

EDIT

• I think some things are not clear. MY 25k pm expense and associated FIRE target for 50 years accounts only for me and my wife. However we do achieve more than 50% savings regularly and with the end of car lease, I expect this number to jump higher
  
• In addition to 25k PM based FIRE corpus, I will be getting either 15k or 25k in rent.
  
• I plan to write and travel after FIRE.
  
• Kids are completely provided for ( I thought it must have been obvious but I think some people might have different assumptions). We try for a well rounded development of kids with minimal screen time, more books , proper balanced diet. The kid money concept is simply a technique for enforcing good behavior while discouraging bad behavior . Kids can be obstinate, adamant and having some negative reward helps. We are for strictly no scolding/raising voices or hitting policy. )
  
• This post was never meant to be an recipe to follow or any such. It was just to provide some perspective on how one can achieve FIRE with a reasonably high Indian income.
  

I wanted to document my journey for FI/RE with the hope that it might offer some perspective to others in similar boat. My family is currently Single Income, 4 adults (2 in-laws ) and two kids. We live in Bangalore. Two years ago I crossed the poverty line of 1.6 LPM income /s ( at least I would once my car lease ends in a year ) by joining a new company.
First the bit of luck.

• Me and my wife are only children and we expect to inherit around 1.5 crores worth of real estate. ( However this is my own estimate while my in-laws and parents assert that their assets should be at least 2 crores ).
• Similarly I stand to inherit cash/liquid investments of 30L and my wife 20L.
• When I joined my first company more than 12-13 years ago, they had moved from central Bangalore to middle of nowhere. I rented a place for 2k and my expenses were around 3k (Total 5k ). I had a salary of 26k then and was able to quickly save some money in a year. At this point, my dad and I decided to buy a flat in the same locality and my total cost ( including purchase, bank EMI interest and basic interiors ) was around 18L. I did not know much about real estate then and this area was just included in BBMP limit. However the approval and others were from gram panchayat. This means it cannot be regularised ( This has not made a material difference though ). I had a loan of 8 L and the rest came from my savings and my Dad’s arrears money+pf loan.
• My wife was working till our first kid. So we are able to quickly close the above loan soon after our wedding.
• I invested in Sundaram tax saver in Jan 2009 and HDFC tax saver in may 2009 ( around 80k each in 40 ,40 split because of lack of kyc ).I did not know about MF at that point and only reason I chose ELSS was that the lock-in period was low. I picked Sundaram because it’s office was easily reachable via bus from my living place at that time. On the way I spotted a HDFC bank and so my next investment was in HDFC tax saver :). This came in handy later when we bought a used car ( around 3 L ). My investments had doubled and I did not have to borrow for a car. I had this car for 6 years i.e until 2 years ago. I drove only 16k KMs in all that time. I did not start MF again until about 2 or 3 years ago.
• We had our first kid after 1 year from the purchase of the car. Our expenses were still low ( we never bought a pram or walker ). The biggest expense during the first year was vaccination. But once the kid was one and half year old, we moved to an actual apartment complex. I let out my flat and moved in as a tenant to this flat in a bigger complex. I had to pay 10k in additional rent now. After a year of stay we decided to buy a flat in the same complex. By now, Dad retired and we had significant saving of around 4 years. We took a portion of my Dad’s retirement money ( 25% ) and our savings and took a loan for 70%. By this time, the middle of nowhere seemed to have become the centre of everything :).
• My rent from the other flat still covers 1/3rd of my EMI.

Frugality.
Before I give my expense breakdown ( Current expense assuming only me and wife ), I wanted to say ways in which we stay frugal.

• I bicycle to office. Mostly my office location had been less than 10KM from home. For a small period of time ( around 9 months), it was around 18KM. I used to alternate cycling and scooter during that time.
• We rarely buy clothes. Last time I bought clothes for 5k from amazon an year ago ( Symbol and other own brands which were cheap. I hope it will last me at least a decade ). Before that, it was 8 years ago. Similar for my wife. Some are our clothes are from our college times ( Once those fit or which we could alter using our antique sewing machine ).
• Same for phones and other lifestyle gadgets. We use it until it breaks.My current phone is 3 and a half years old and I expect it to use it for another 3 to 4 years. Same for wife.
• Our TV broke and we did not fix it. We do not have to pay Tata sky. Me and my wife use our phones. For the kid and inlaws we have a tab that they share. ( Fire 7 I bought two years ago from US around 3.5k ).
• We do not watch movies in theatres. With recent WFH, I was able to buy monitotable/chair and claim reimbursement from company. I chose the monitor to be 27 inches with sound output. If we watch movies, we use it now. Prior to that we used TV. We also make our own popcorn using cooker.
• We do not eat out. I learned to make pizza ( actually pretty easy ) and make it once a month as a treat for the kid. Wife makes Chinese and some fast food stuff that kids like to talk about in school.
• I introduced "kid money“ concept to my kid. When she does good things I give her one coin. Whenever she wants to buy something, I get some coins from her. Once she asked for a useless gumball dispenser for around 250 Rs and I took most of her coins as payment. She has not asked for any junk since then. She uses cardboard, existing stuff and imagination mostly :).
• For entertainment, I have a prime account and only that. We use newpipe for youtube videos ( it seems to block most ads. I do have a rasp pi with pi-hole installed as well. ).
• Whenever my colleagues got L1 and moved, they used to distribute stuff they did not need and couldn’t take to US. I gathered a lot of kids books ( even board books from Julia Donaldson or Eric Carlye) this way. Sometimes books are very cheap in amazon ( For ex. Goodnight Moon I was able to get at 50 RS and that too a board book ).
• We choose our weekly vegetables based what is cheapest that week.
• For any big purchase ( even if we have money ), we try to cut down expenses a little bit (esp. In exotic stuff ) and try to save 40 to 50% of the cost. For example, we have been planning to invest in a dishwasher ( save on maid cost in the future ), so we are saving bit by bit to hit 15k.
• I try to buy non-brand items for common household stuff as there are quite cheap ( Sometimes this backfires. I bought presto toilet cleaner and it is leaving white traces in the tiles. Perhaps it is strictly meant for toilets only ).

Expenses Breakdown
Me and my wife do intermittent fasting ( Currently she is nursing and hence it is paused. But she would join me again once the new baby no longer needs to be nursed ).
** Food and groceries - 11798 **

* Milk and curd ( 1 packet milk every day and curd alternate day. I have one coffee per day and wife has two teas with biscuits. Curd is for rice ) - 870 Rs per month * Paneer - 1000 * Eggs - 240 * Oil - 330 + 210 = 540 * Oats - 2 kgs last about 1 and half months for both of us. We use steel cut oats ( ever since I crossed Bangalore poverty line of 1.6 LPM, we had added more gourmet stuff 🙂 . - 368 Rs per month * Brown rice - 5kg ( lasts us 2.5 months ) - 260 per month * Atta 10 kg ( lasts us 2.5 months ) - 160 per month * Vegetables - 2000 per month * Fruits - ( Mostly banana and apples , occasional seasonal fruits ) - 3000 per month * Snacks - ( roasted peanuts, chickpeas and channa , Marie biscuits ) - 360 per month * Assorted stuff (sugar - we use no added sugar ,salt, butter, spices , lentils , millets ) - 1000 * Exotic treats ( Flavoured yogurt, protein bars , raisins , nuts, dates, yeast, cheese, sauces ) - 2000 

• Electric bill - 1200 ( Hard to separate out, kept 80% of my average bill )
• Internet - 1350
• Phone - 290 + 200 ( Originally my post-paid was 99 Rs "my pack". It has increased automatically. I need to check if I can go prepaid. I will lose the tax deduction though ).
• Gas - 450
• Toiletries - [ Bath Soap, dishwasher gel, detergent, toilet cleaner, shampoo, conditioner ] - 400
• Electronics and other big purchases/repair - 2000
• Health insurance - ( 2 adults/2 kids floater ) - 1667
• Car Insurance - 692
• Car service - 250
• Fuel - 1000
• Water bill - 800
• Newspaper - 160
• Prime - 84
• Dental/health visit - 500

Total is roughly 21k. I round up to 25k for FI considerations. I plan to FI at 45. I have 11 more years for that. I want to have 50 years of expenses saved which comes around to 1.5 crores in today's money. In 13 years, with an inflation of 6%, it becomes 3.2 crores and that is my target ( I started 2 years ago but expenses have not increased much at all - technically the only inflation was school fee which was around 10% and may be the telephone/electric bill ). Starting with a 50% savings rate ( current rate is bit more than this most months and some times it is a lot more. I use this for additional purchases if required or goes into bank account uninvested ) and increase of 10% YoY, in 13 years I should have a corpus of around 3.2 crores assuming returns of 9 %. ( My actual return so far hasn’t hit this goal but MF is a long game and I expect it to grow in 11 years ). At this point, my EMI will no longer matter and I can use the rent of the other flat for my expenses. I expect to move back to the old flat eventually and let my new flat for rent as the expected rent of the new flat will be nearly twice more.
Parents and in-laws are not financially dependent. In-laws live us but have a defence pension ( not great but can live on it esp. when there is no rent ). In-laws also have free/cheap access to defence hospitals but no insurance as such.So far no lifestyle diseases that need medicines for long term.
Parents are much more well off than my in-laws.Have multiple medical issues which needs a lot medication till end of life. Their usual expenses are 1/3rd their pension ( all medicines for them are free - only generics though, have insurance of 5L from their org ). They do spend lavishly on their grandkids even if I protest ( When I was young they never spent but now it is completely the opposite 🙂 )
There will be a small gap when my expenses will be bit more for school of one kid. If I do not have sufficient savings for that, I plan to draw out my inheritance for the same. For college, I hope they get into a government college and if not take a loan for the same. There is a possibility that wife might re-enter workforce after few years. Since due to a gap of more than 8 years, this may be hard. If she does, then we can comfortably FI/RE.

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Hey y’all! Like most other recappers, these were super helpful when planning my wedding and I’d like to pay it forward! This is going to be kind of long because, well, I don’t have any plans for the rest of the weekend…or the year…Feel free to ask me any questions or advice!
Engagement length: 14 months
Location: Houston, TX
General Date: Saturday evening in March
Guest Count: 160 invited (50% out of state), 130 RSVP’ed Yes, 120 Attended (no kids except 1 ring bearer)
Wedding Party: 8 bridesmaids, 8 groomsmen, 2 ushers, 1 ring bearer
Total Budget / Actual Spend: $52k / $53k
US AS AN (INTERRACIAL) COUPLE:
We both work for the same company and met about 4 years ago in North Dakota. We are an interracial couple (I’m Chinese American, he’s….well, Midwestern) and that came with its own challenges during the wedding planning - we wanted a mostly American wedding but also wanted to include some Chinese cultural touches! My parents are not that traditional, so we didn’t have a tea ceremony, but here are some of the Chinese elements we included:

• One of our ceremony readings was from my 90-year-old grandfather, who lives in Nanjing and wasn’t able to attend. He wrote us a letter with marriage advice (he’s still married to my grandma today!) and we translated it into English. One of my ushers is bilingual and he first read it in Chinese, and then in English. Some people told me they cried at the Chinese part and they didn’t even understand it! So sweet and funny.
• I changed into a red qipao (traditional Chinese dress) during the cocktail hour. I changed back into my white dress for the reception…but then I couldn’t breathe during dinner (oops) so went right back into the qipao!
• We gave away cute little red boxes filled with Ferrero Rochers and Hershey kisses as a wedding favor. The red boxes are laser-cut with the Chinese symbol for luck and a cartoon couple - pretty cute!

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BUDGET BREAKDOWN
Venue ($8,500)
We picked a romantic, Italian-style event venue that’s pretty well-known in Houston. I had wanted to go more towards the rustic/farmhouse type wedding (more DIY opportunities!) but my husband wanted something different from the other weddings he’s been to. This price includes the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception spaces; valet parking; tables, chairs and basic linens; security guard; tax and service fee.
Food and Drink ($15,500)
Our venue has an in-house chef for appetizers and dinner, so we only had to shop around for desserts.

• Cocktail Hour Appetizers ($1,260 / $10 per guest) We had two kinds of passed appetizers during the cocktail hour: bacon wrapped scallops and beef crostini. Both were delicious!
• Dinner ($10,300 / $85 per guest + $280 / $35 per vendor) For the soup course, we had a crab and roasted corn chowder - got SO many rave reviews! For the entree, we served ribeye with a side of roasted vegetables and fusilli pasta with pesto. We decided to go with sit-down because it was the same price as buffet style (although they threw in a couple of perks if you chose buffet). Warning if you go with steak: you can’t specify how it gets cooked for every guest! I personally want my steak mooing (which they allowed for bride and groom), but we had to go with medium for the guests to get a balance between the rare-steak eaters and the BRICK eaters.
• Desserts ($725) We went with a traditional 3-tier cake (marbled cake with buttercream frosting) for $400, or $4 per slice. This was a steal - we got a discount for going with a preferred vendor at our venue! For the groom’s cake we went with mini pies - apple, strawberry rhubarb, buttercream and key lime. They were a HUGE hit and I loved supporting a small business - a one-woman operation who did a marvelous job with both the pies and the display! She gave us a free tasting of 6 different flavors, too! Each mini pie was $3.
• Drinks ($30 per guest) We did an open bar with champagne toast included - I was annoyed at first because so much of my family and friends don’t drink, but I’m glad I didn’t have to worry about running out of alcohol or running up an even higher tab!

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Florals and Decor ($3,850)
I was not very picky about any part of the florals because I trust the professionals and know nothing about flowers myself. They turned out great - we chose a few images we liked on Pinterest and our florist made it happen!

• Bouquets ($185 for bride; $45 per bridesmaid; $8-15 for corsages and boutonnieres) We re-used the bridesmaid bouquets on the cake table and my bouquet at the sweetheart table.
• Ceremony florals ($400 for arch)
• Reception florals ($55 - $150 per centerpiece) We went with tall centerpieces (that were also used in the ceremony), short centerpieces and floating candle centerpieces to give some variety.
• Reception decor (DIY) ($100) We DIY’ed the seating chart (designed on Canva for free and put in one of my mom’s large picture frames) and signs (designed on Canva, printed on cardstock and put in floating frames found at HomeGoods). We also made some signs listing the pie flavors. Finally, we found these awesome light-up marquee letters on Amazon with our initials and put them on the sweetheart table!
• Cocktail hour decor (DIY) ($250) We bought 36 floating candles from Yummi Candles online. Highly recommend - they came in a safely packed box and are already sorted to 3 different heights! I then got some faux lamb’s ear wreaths on sale from Hobby Lobby to surround the candles. We used the remaining candles in the reception. Best of all, we also used them as centerpieces for the rehearsal dinner the night before.

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Music ($3,500 including $400 stage rental)
We are big live music fans, so having a live band was important to us. However, I will say if you’re on a budget, this is one thing you really don’t need. Most of the weddings I’ve been to have had DJs and they were still a blast. But….THE BAND WAS AMAZING. They also did a jazz trio for the cocktail hour and set up the sound system/microphones for our ceremony at an additional cost.
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Photo/Video ($4,350 total / $2,000 photo / $2,000 video / $350 photo booth)
LOVED our photographer. We had used a friend for engagement photos, so they let me replace that part of the package with bridal portraits instead! Highly recommend doing portraits ahead of time if you’re on a tight schedule the day of the wedding; got a lot more pictures of my dress and the venue beforehand so I was less stressed the day of. I also timed my hair and makeup trial for the same day as the portraits.
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Gifts ($2,000)

• Bridesmaid proposals ($100) I did little boxes with a personalized puzzle, chocolates and a card. In retrospect, it was cute and appreciated but THIS WAS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. Pinterest strikes again…
• Bridesmaid gifts ($35 each) I bought earrings from Olive + Piper for all my bridesmaids (optional to wear for the wedding). I kept the gifts small because I paid for their dresses, hair and makeup.
• Groomsmen/usher gifts ($100 each) All the groomsmen and ushers received a pair of black Jordans to wear for the wedding and keep. At first I was aghast at the groomsmen wearing sneakers, but…they actually looked pretty awesome - and they look like formal black shoes from far away!
• Officiant/Ring Bearer gifts ($150 total)

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Stationery ($1,250)

• Save-the-Dates (Minted / $250 inc. stamps)
• Invitations (Minted / $450 inc. stamps)
• Thank You notes (Amazon / $50 inc. stamps)
• Programs (Canva + Vistaprint / $150)
• Menus (Canva + Vistaprint / $150)
• Guestbook (Etsy / $150) I got a wooden alternative guestbook to hang on our wall. It’s a map of the US and highlights the two states we came from, with a dotted line that connects them. We didn’t intend it, but most people signed near wherever they’re from on the map (which made for some awkward clumps, but we liked it!)
• Vow books (Etsy / $50) I splurged and got personalized fabric vow books from Etsy. There are enough pages that we’ll be writing a new page for every anniversary :)

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Attire ($6,000)

• Wedding dress ($2,000 dress / $400 alterations) My dress was from Essence of Australia. I had bought it thinking I could make it strapless, but the whole open-back-means-no-strapless concept went right over my head. My seamstress was amazing and able to thin the straps out to look more delicate, but in the end I wish I had bought a dress that I would’ve loved without any significant adjustments!
• Groom’s tux ($250) Groom and groomsmen all rented from The Black Tux, which was perfect since they’re all over the country. They had them shipped to our apartment and we handed everything out during the rehearsal. Husband loved his so much that when they offered a discount to just purchase the thing instead of returning it, he took it!
• Bridesmaid dresses ($60 per dress) Maid of honor got her dress from BHLDN. We got super lucky and bought the floor sample because it was the only one left - ended up being $70 instead of $200 and looked good as new after dry-cleaning. I got everyone else’s dresses from Lulu’s with a 20% discount. TIP: If you buy from Lulu’s and want them all the same color, make sure you email customer service and buy the dresses all at once. Their dyes can change slightly between batches. I got lucky, but be careful!
• Hair and makeup ($300 bride / $150 bridesmaids) It was so fun to get dolled up together on the day of! I got Chick Fil A catering for us and brought some champagne.
• Shoes ($50) I’m the same height as my husband, so got the sparkly Kate Spade Keds. THEY RUN LARGE and I have skinny feet so I had to buy thick socks to make them fit.
• Wedding bands ($1,500 total) I went with local jeweler and husband went with Costco.
• Other jewelry ($30) I bought earrings on sale from Macy’s for $13 and hair pins from Amazon for $15. Did not think these were things worth splurging on!

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Day-of Coordinator ($1,000)
Rehearsal Dinner ($5,000)
We had about 60 people attend because we invited the wedding party and their dates, plus a lot of out-of-town guests. We held it at a brewery, so we served BBQ for dinner and opened up the event to all other guests after dinner to enjoy beers outside!
After-party ($1,000)
Because our venue had such restrictive timing, we decided to move the party to a casual bar down the street. We covered the tab here as well.
Tips ($600 total)
This doesn't include the required gratuity for both the wedding and rehearsal dinner venues. I gave my MOH's boyfriend a bunch of envelopes with each vendor's name so he could hand them out during the wedding. Delegate!
-------------------------
WHAT WENT WELL

• The event was very well-coordinated and nothing really went wrong during. The staff were all amazing and made everything flow seamlessly! For those of your struggling with deciding on a Day-Of Coordinator, DO IT. I didn't have to do a thing but enjoy the wedding. So worth it.
• Also...we came really close to budget and I'm proud of sticking to it. We had to sacrifice a few things along the way because some costs came up that we hadn't anticipated. But overall, it added up as expected!

WHAT DIDN’T GO WELL / SHOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

• I was stressed throughout the planning process because my venue was so restrictive on time. They only gave us 2 hours before the ceremony in the dressing room, and then 4.5 hours for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception combined. Every additional hour for the wedding would have been $2,500. I would have preferred a venue that gives you all day to set up, relax, get ready, etc. instead.
• It also rained during the last 10 minutes of the cocktail hour, so everyone went to the reception early. That was minor but still a bummer, since that area was my favorite part of the venue!
• Finally, looking through photos there were a lot of shots that I forgot to include on my shot list. We didn't get pictures of the invitations, vow books, etc. I was probably too "chill" and just let the photographers do their thing.
• Make sure you talk to your venue about leftovers. We had a lot of mini pies leftover and they somehow didn't make it into our packed car at the end of the night...so sad!

WHAT I DIDN’T NEED, IN HINDSIGHT

• Hotel blocks....I was extra and reserved FOUR hotel blocks. About 5 rooms total were booked between the 4. Yep, everyone went with Airbnb or staying with friends. I used Kleinfeld hotel blocks (they were helpful but my friend said their hotel rates aren't as good as direct communication with the hotel) and made sure to do courtesy blocks, so there wasn't much impact anyway.
• Menus and programs - everyone says this and it's true. But it was pretty cheap since I designed my own!
• Favors. Only did these because my mom insisted. SO many people didn't take them! I ate chocolate for weeks though...that was a plus :)
• Bridesmaid proposals - cute but don't stress about it! My bridesmaids would have been happy with a phone call or brunch, I think!
• Ceremony arch...it was a nice touch but nobody would've cared if it wasn't there.
• We didn't have a formal sendoff in order to save time, and we had an afterparty planned anyway. I didn't miss it at all!

3000 most common words in the English lexicon
a abandon ability able abortion about above abroad absence absolute absolutely absorb abuse academic accept access accident accompany accomplish according account accurate accuse achieve achievement acid acknowledge acquire across act action active activist activity actor actress actual actually ad adapt add addition additional address adequate adjust adjustment administration administrator admire admission admit adolescent adopt adult advance advanced advantage adventure advertising advice advise adviser advocate affair affect afford afraid African African-American after afternoon again against age agency agenda agent aggressive ago agree agreement agricultural ah ahead aid aide AIDS aim air aircraft airline airport album alcohol alive all alliance allow ally almost alone along already also alter alternative although always AM amazing American among amount analysis analyst analyze ancient and anger angle angry animal anniversary announce annual another answer anticipate anxiety any anybody anymore anyone anything anyway anywhere apart apartment apparent apparently appeal appear appearance apple application apply appoint appointment appreciate approach appropriate approval approve approximately Arab architect area argue argument arise arm armed army around arrange arrangement arrest arrival arrive art article artist artistic as Asian aside ask asleep aspect assault assert assess assessment asset assign assignment assist assistance assistant associate association assume assumption assure at athlete athletic atmosphere attach attack attempt attend attention attitude attorney attract attractive attribute audience author authority auto available average avoid award aware awareness away awful baby back background bad badly bag bake balance ball ban band bank bar barely barrel barrier base baseball basic basically basis basket basketball bathroom battery battle be beach bean bear beat beautiful beauty because become bed bedroom beer before begin beginning behavior behind being belief believe bell belong below belt bench bend beneath benefit beside besides best bet better between beyond Bible big bike bill billion bind biological bird birth birthday bit bite black blade blame blanket blind block blood blow blue board boat body bomb bombing bond bone book boom boot border born borrow boss both bother bottle bottom boundary bowl box boy boyfriend brain branch brand bread break breakfast breast breath breathe brick bridge brief briefly bright brilliant bring British broad broken brother brown brush buck budget build building bullet bunch burden burn bury bus business busy but butter button buy buyer by cabin cabinet cable cake calculate call camera camp campaign campus can Canadian cancer candidate cap capability capable capacity capital captain capture car carbon card care career careful carefully carrier carry case cash cast cat catch category Catholic cause ceiling celebrate celebration celebrity cell center central century CEO ceremony certain certainly chain chair chairman challenge chamber champion championship chance change changing channel chapter character characteristic characterize charge charity chart chase cheap check cheek cheese chef chemical chest chicken chief child childhood Chinese chip chocolate choice cholesterol choose Christian Christmas church cigarette circle circumstance cite citizen city civil civilian claim class classic classroom clean clear clearly client climate climb clinic clinical clock close closely closer clothes clothing cloud club clue cluster coach coal coalition coast coat code coffee cognitive cold collapse colleague collect collection collective college colonial color column combination combine come comedy comfort comfortable command commander comment commercial commission commit commitment committee common communicate communication community company compare comparison compete competition competitive competitor complain complaint complete completely complex complicated component compose composition comprehensive computer concentrate concentration concept concern concerned concert conclude conclusion concrete condition conduct conference confidence confident confirm conflict confront confusion Congress congressional connect connection consciousness consensus consequence conservative consider considerable consideration consist consistent constant constantly constitute constitutional construct construction consultant consume consumer consumption contact contain container contemporary content contest context continue continued contract contrast contribute contribution control controversial controversy convention conventional conversation convert conviction convince cook cookie cooking cool cooperation cop cope copy core corn corner corporate corporation correct correspondent cost cotton couch could council counselor count counter country county couple courage course court cousin cover coverage cow crack craft crash crazy cream create creation creative creature credit crew crime criminal crisis criteria critic critical criticism criticize crop cross crowd crucial cry cultural culture cup curious current currently curriculum custom customer cut cycle dad daily damage dance danger dangerous dare dark darkness data date daughter day dead deal dealer dear death debate debt decade decide decision deck declare decline decrease deep deeply deer defeat defend defendant defense defensive deficit define definitely definition degree delay deliver delivery demand democracy Democrat democratic demonstrate demonstration deny department depend dependent depending depict depression depth deputy derive describe description desert deserve design designer desire desk desperate despite destroy destruction detail detailed detect determine develop developing development device devote dialogue die diet differ difference different differently difficult difficulty dig digital dimension dining dinner direct direction directly director dirt dirty disability disagree disappear disaster discipline discourse discover discovery discrimination discuss discussion disease dish dismiss disorder display dispute distance distant distinct distinction distinguish distribute distribution district diverse diversity divide division divorce DNA do doctor document dog domestic dominant dominate door double doubt down downtown dozen draft drag drama dramatic dramatically draw drawing dream dress drink drive driver drop drug dry due during dust duty each eager ear early earn earnings earth ease easily east eastern easy eat economic economics economist economy edge edition editor educate education educational educator effect effective effectively efficiency efficient effort egg eight either elderly elect election electric electricity electronic element elementary eliminate elite else elsewhere e-mail embrace emerge emergency emission emotion emotional emphasis emphasize employ employee employer employment empty enable encounter encourage end enemy energy enforcement engage engine engineer engineering English enhance enjoy enormous enough ensure enter enterprise entertainment entire entirely entrance entry environment environmental episode equal equally equipment era error escape especially essay essential essentially establish establishment estate estimate etc ethics ethnic European evaluate evaluation even evening event eventually ever every everybody everyday everyone everything everywhere evidence evolution evolve exact exactly examination examine example exceed excellent except exception exchange exciting executive exercise exhibit exhibition exist existence existing expand expansion expect expectation expense expensive experience experiment expert explain explanation explode explore explosion expose exposure express expression extend extension extensive extent external extra extraordinary extreme extremely eye fabric face facility fact factor factory faculty fade fail failure fair fairly faith fall false familiar family famous fan fantasy far farm farmer fashion fast fat fate father fault favor favorite fear feature federal fee feed feel feeling fellow female fence few fewer fiber fiction field fifteen fifth fifty fight fighter fighting figure file fill film final finally finance financial find finding fine finger finish fire firm first fish fishing fit fitness five fix flag flame flat flavor flee flesh flight float floor flow flower fly focus folk follow following food foot football for force foreign forest forever forget form formal formation former formula forth fortune forward found foundation founder four fourth frame framework free freedom freeze French frequency frequent frequently fresh friend friendly friendship from front fruit frustration fuel full fully fun function fund fundamental funding funeral funny furniture furthermore future gain galaxy gallery game gang gap garage garden garlic gas gate gather gay gaze gear gender gene general generally generate generation genetic gentleman gently German gesture get ghost giant gift gifted girl girlfriend give given glad glance glass global glove go goal God gold golden golf good government governor grab grade gradually graduate grain grand grandfather grandmother grant grass grave gray great greatest green grocery ground group grow growing growth guarantee guard guess guest guide guideline guilty gun guy habit habitat hair half hall hand handful handle hang happen happy hard hardly hat hate have he head headline headquarters health healthy hear hearing heart heat heaven heavily heavy heel height helicopter hell hello help helpful her here heritage hero herself hey hi hide high highlight highly highway hill him himself hip hire his historian historic historical history hit hold hole holiday holy home homeless honest honey honor hope horizon horror horse hospital host hot hotel hour house household housing how however huge human humor hundred hungry hunter hunting hurt husband hypothesis I ice idea ideal identification identify identity ie if ignore ill illegal illness illustrate image imagination imagine immediate immediately immigrant immigration impact implement implication imply importance important impose impossible impress impression impressive improve improvement in incentive incident include including income incorporate increase increased increasing increasingly incredible indeed independence independent index Indian indicate indication individual industrial industry infant infection inflation influence inform information ingredient initial initially initiative injury inner innocent inquiry inside insight insist inspire install instance instead institution institutional instruction instructor instrument insurance intellectual intelligence intend intense intensity intention interaction interest interested interesting internal international Internet interpret interpretation intervention interview into introduce introduction invasion invest investigate investigation investigator investment investor invite involve involved involvement Iraqi Irish iron Islamic island Israeli issue it Italian item its itself jacket jail Japanese jet Jew Jewish job join joint joke journal journalist journey joy judge judgment juice jump junior jury just justice justify keep key kick kid kill killer killing kind king kiss kitchen knee knife knock know knowledge lab label labor laboratory lack lady lake land landscape language lap large largely last late later Latin latter laugh launch law lawn lawsuit lawyer lay layer lead leader leadership leading leaf league lean learn learning least leather leave left leg legacy legal legend legislation legitimate lemon length less lesson let letter level liberal library license lie life lifestyle lifetime lift light like likely limit limitation limited line link lip list listen literally literary literature little live living load loan local locate location lock long long-term look loose lose loss lost lot lots loud love lovely lover low lower luck lucky lunch lung machine mad magazine mail main mainly maintain maintenance major majority make maker makeup male mall man manage management manager manner manufacturer manufacturing many map margin mark market marketing marriage married marry mask mass massive master match material math matter may maybe mayor me meal mean meaning meanwhile measure measurement meat mechanism media medical medication medicine medium meet meeting member membership memory mental mention menu mere merely mess message metal meter method Mexican middle might military milk million mind mine minister minor minority minute miracle mirror miss missile mission mistake mix mixture mm-hmm mode model moderate modern modest mom moment money monitor month mood moon moral more moreover morning mortgage most mostly mother motion motivation motor mount mountain mouse mouth move movement movie Mr Mrs Ms much multiple murder muscle museum music musical musician Muslim must mutual my myself mystery myth naked name narrative narrow nation national native natural naturally nature near nearby nearly necessarily necessary neck need negative negotiate negotiation neighbor neighborhood neither nerve nervous net network never nevertheless new newly news newspaper next nice night nine no nobody nod noise nomination none nonetheless nor normal normally north northern nose not note nothing notice notion novel now nowhere n't nuclear number numerous nurse nut object objective obligation observation observe observer obtain obvious obviously occasion occasionally occupation occupy occur ocean odd odds of off offense offensive offer office officer official often oh oil ok okay old Olympic on once one ongoing onion online only onto open opening operate operating operation operator opinion opponent opportunity oppose opposite opposition option or orange order ordinary organic organization organize orientation origin original originally other others otherwise ought our ourselves out outcome outside oven over overall overcome overlook owe own owner pace pack package page pain painful paint painter painting pair pale Palestinian palm pan panel pant paper parent park parking part participant participate participation particular particularly partly partner partnership party pass passage passenger passion past patch path patient pattern pause pay payment PC peace peak peer penalty people pepper per perceive percentage perception perfect perfectly perform performance perhaps period permanent permission permit person personal personality personally personnel perspective persuade pet phase phenomenon philosophy phone photo photograph photographer phrase physical physically physician piano pick picture pie piece pile pilot pine pink pipe pitch place plan plane planet planning plant plastic plate platform play player please pleasure plenty plot plus PM pocket poem poet poetry point pole police policy political politically politician politics poll pollution pool poor pop popular population porch port portion portrait portray pose position positive possess possibility possible possibly post pot potato potential potentially pound pour poverty powder power powerful practical practice pray prayer precisely predict prefer preference pregnancy pregnant preparation prepare prescription presence present presentation preserve president presidential press pressure pretend pretty prevent previous previously price pride priest primarily primary prime principal principle print prior priority prison prisoner privacy private probably problem procedure proceed process produce producer product production profession professional professor profile profit program progress project prominent promise promote prompt proof proper properly property proportion proposal propose proposed prosecutor prospect protect protection protein protest proud prove provide provider province provision psychological psychologist psychology public publication publicly publish publisher pull punishment purchase pure purpose pursue push put qualify quality quarter quarterback question quick quickly quiet quietly quit quite quote race racial radical radio rail rain raise range rank rapid rapidly rare rarely rate rather rating ratio raw reach react reaction read reader reading ready real reality realize really reason reasonable recall receive recent recently recipe recognition recognize recommend recommendation record recording recover recovery recruit red reduce reduction refer reference reflect reflection reform refugee refuse regard regarding regardless regime region regional register regular regularly regulate regulation reinforce reject relate relation relationship relative relatively relax release relevant relief religion religious rely remain remaining remarkable remember remind remote remove repeat repeatedly replace reply report reporter represent representation representative Republican reputation request require requirement research researcher resemble reservation resident resist resistance resolution resolve resort resource respect respond respondent response responsibility responsible rest restaurant restore restriction result retain retire retirement return reveal revenue review revolution rhythm rice rich rid ride rifle right ring rise risk river road rock role roll romantic roof room root rope rose rough roughly round route routine row rub rule run running rural rush Russian sacred sad safe safety sake salad salary sale sales salt same sample sanction sand satellite satisfaction satisfy sauce save saving say scale scandal scared scenario scene schedule scheme scholar scholarship school science scientific scientist scope score scream screen script sea search season seat second secret secretary section sector secure security see seed seek seem segment seize select selection self sell Senate senator send senior sense sensitive sentence separate sequence series serious seriously serve service session set setting settle settlement seven several severe sex sexual shade shadow shake shall shape share sharp she sheet shelf shell shelter shift shine ship shirt shit shock shoe shoot shooting shop shopping shore short shortly shot should shoulder shout show shower shrug shut sick side sigh sight sign signal significance significant significantly silence silent silver similar similarly simple simply sin since sing singer single sink sir sister sit site situation six size ski skill skin sky slave sleep slice slide slight slightly slip slow slowly small smart smell smile smoke smooth snap snow so so-called soccer social society soft software soil solar soldier solid solution solve some somebody somehow someone something sometimes somewhat somewhere son song soon sophisticated sorry sort soul sound soup source south southern Soviet space Spanish speak speaker special specialist species specific specifically speech speed spend spending spin spirit spiritual split spokesman sport spot spread spring square squeeze stability stable staff stage stair stake stand standard standing star stare start state statement station statistics status stay steady steal steel step stick still stir stock stomach stone stop storage store storm story straight strange stranger strategic strategy stream street strength strengthen stress stretch strike string strip stroke strong strongly structure struggle student studio study stuff stupid style subject submit subsequent substance substantial succeed success successful successfully such sudden suddenly sue suffer sufficient sugar suggest suggestion suicide suit summer summit sun super supply support supporter suppose supposed Supreme sure surely surface surgery surprise surprised surprising surprisingly surround survey survival survive survivor suspect sustain swear sweep sweet swim swing switch symbol symptom system table tablespoon tactic tail take tale talent talk tall tank tap tape target task taste tax taxpayer tea teach teacher teaching team tear teaspoon technical technique technology teen teenager telephone telescope television tell temperature temporary ten tend tendency tennis tension tent term terms terrible territory terror terrorism terrorist test testify testimony testing text than thank thanks that the theater their them theme themselves then theory therapy there therefore these they thick thin thing think thinking third thirty this those though thought thousand threat threaten three throat through throughout throw thus ticket tie tight time tiny tip tire tired tissue title to tobacco today toe together tomato tomorrow tone tongue tonight too tool tooth top topic toss total totally touch tough tour tourist tournament toward towards tower town toy trace track trade tradition traditional traffic tragedy trail train training transfer transform transformation transition translate transportation travel treat treatment treaty tree tremendous trend trial tribe trick trip troop trouble truck true truly trust truth try tube tunnel turn TV twelve twenty twice twin two type typical typically ugly ultimate ultimately unable uncle under undergo understand understanding unfortunately uniform union unique unit United universal universe university unknown unless unlike unlikely until unusual up upon upper urban urge us use used useful user usual usually utility vacation valley valuable value variable variation variety various vary vast vegetable vehicle venture version versus very vessel veteran via victim victory video view viewer village violate violation violence violent virtually virtue virus visible vision visit visitor visual vital voice volume volunteer vote voter vs vulnerable wage wait wake walk wall wander want war warm warn warning wash waste watch water wave way we weak wealth wealthy weapon wear weather wedding week weekend weekly weigh weight welcome welfare well west western wet what whatever wheel when whenever where whereas whether which while whisper white who whole whom whose why wide widely widespread wife wild will willing win wind window wine wing winner winter wipe wire wisdom wise wish with withdraw within without witness woman wonder wonderful wood wooden word work worker working works workshop world worried worry worth would wound wrap write writer writing wrong yard yeah year yell yellow yes yesterday yet yield you young your yours yourself youth zone

I am about to post the 3000 most common words in the English lexicon. Wish me luck...
a abandon ability able abortion about above abroad absence absolute absolutely absorb abuse academic accept access accident accompany accomplish according account accurate accuse achieve achievement acid acknowledge acquire across act action active activist activity actor actress actual actually ad adapt add addition additional address adequate adjust adjustment administration administrator admire admission admit adolescent adopt adult advance advanced advantage adventure advertising advice advise adviser advocate affair affect afford afraid African African-American after afternoon again against age agency agenda agent aggressive ago agree agreement agricultural ah ahead aid aide AIDS aim air aircraft airline airport album alcohol alive all alliance allow ally almost alone along already also alter alternative although always AM amazing American among amount analysis analyst analyze ancient and anger angle angry animal anniversary announce annual another answer anticipate anxiety any anybody anymore anyone anything anyway anywhere apart apartment apparent apparently appeal appear appearance apple application apply appoint appointment appreciate approach appropriate approval approve approximately Arab architect area argue argument arise arm armed army around arrange arrangement arrest arrival arrive art article artist artistic as Asian aside ask asleep aspect assault assert assess assessment asset assign assignment assist assistance assistant associate association assume assumption assure at athlete athletic atmosphere attach attack attempt attend attention attitude attorney attract attractive attribute audience author authority auto available average avoid award aware awareness away awful baby back background bad badly bag bake balance ball ban band bank bar barely barrel barrier base baseball basic basically basis basket basketball bathroom battery battle be beach bean bear beat beautiful beauty because become bed bedroom beer before begin beginning behavior behind being belief believe bell belong below belt bench bend beneath benefit beside besides best bet better between beyond Bible big bike bill billion bind biological bird birth birthday bit bite black blade blame blanket blind block blood blow blue board boat body bomb bombing bond bone book boom boot border born borrow boss both bother bottle bottom boundary bowl box boy boyfriend brain branch brand bread break breakfast breast breath breathe brick bridge brief briefly bright brilliant bring British broad broken brother brown brush buck budget build building bullet bunch burden burn bury bus business busy but butter button buy buyer by cabin cabinet cable cake calculate call camera camp campaign campus can Canadian cancer candidate cap capability capable capacity capital captain capture car carbon card care career careful carefully carrier carry case cash cast cat catch category Catholic cause ceiling celebrate celebration celebrity cell center central century CEO ceremony certain certainly chain chair chairman challenge chamber champion championship chance change changing channel chapter character characteristic characterize charge charity chart chase cheap check cheek cheese chef chemical chest chicken chief child childhood Chinese chip chocolate choice cholesterol choose Christian Christmas church cigarette circle circumstance cite citizen city civil civilian claim class classic classroom clean clear clearly client climate climb clinic clinical clock close closely closer clothes clothing cloud club clue cluster coach coal coalition coast coat code coffee cognitive cold collapse colleague collect collection collective college colonial color column combination combine come comedy comfort comfortable command commander comment commercial commission commit commitment committee common communicate communication community company compare comparison compete competition competitive competitor complain complaint complete completely complex complicated component compose composition comprehensive computer concentrate concentration concept concern concerned concert conclude conclusion concrete condition conduct conference confidence confident confirm conflict confront confusion Congress congressional connect connection consciousness consensus consequence conservative consider considerable consideration consist consistent constant constantly constitute constitutional construct construction consultant consume consumer consumption contact contain container contemporary content contest context continue continued contract contrast contribute contribution control controversial controversy convention conventional conversation convert conviction convince cook cookie cooking cool cooperation cop cope copy core corn corner corporate corporation correct correspondent cost cotton couch could council counselor count counter country county couple courage course court cousin cover coverage cow crack craft crash crazy cream create creation creative creature credit crew crime criminal crisis criteria critic critical criticism criticize crop cross crowd crucial cry cultural culture cup curious current currently curriculum custom customer cut cycle dad daily damage dance danger dangerous dare dark darkness data date daughter day dead deal dealer dear death debate debt decade decide decision deck declare decline decrease deep deeply deer defeat defend defendant defense defensive deficit define definitely definition degree delay deliver delivery demand democracy Democrat democratic demonstrate demonstration deny department depend dependent depending depict depression depth deputy derive describe description desert deserve design designer desire desk desperate despite destroy destruction detail detailed detect determine develop developing development device devote dialogue die diet differ difference different differently difficult difficulty dig digital dimension dining dinner direct direction directly director dirt dirty disability disagree disappear disaster discipline discourse discover discovery discrimination discuss discussion disease dish dismiss disorder display dispute distance distant distinct distinction distinguish distribute distribution district diverse diversity divide division divorce DNA do doctor document dog domestic dominant dominate door double doubt down downtown dozen draft drag drama dramatic dramatically draw drawing dream dress drink drive driver drop drug dry due during dust duty each eager ear early earn earnings earth ease easily east eastern easy eat economic economics economist economy edge edition editor educate education educational educator effect effective effectively efficiency efficient effort egg eight either elderly elect election electric electricity electronic element elementary eliminate elite else elsewhere e-mail embrace emerge emergency emission emotion emotional emphasis emphasize employ employee employer employment empty enable encounter encourage end enemy energy enforcement engage engine engineer engineering English enhance enjoy enormous enough ensure enter enterprise entertainment entire entirely entrance entry environment environmental episode equal equally equipment era error escape especially essay essential essentially establish establishment estate estimate etc ethics ethnic European evaluate evaluation even evening event eventually ever every everybody everyday everyone everything everywhere evidence evolution evolve exact exactly examination examine example exceed excellent except exception exchange exciting executive exercise exhibit exhibition exist existence existing expand expansion expect expectation expense expensive experience experiment expert explain explanation explode explore explosion expose exposure express expression extend extension extensive extent external extra extraordinary extreme extremely eye fabric face facility fact factor factory faculty fade fail failure fair fairly faith fall false familiar family famous fan fantasy far farm farmer fashion fast fat fate father fault favor favorite fear feature federal fee feed feel feeling fellow female fence few fewer fiber fiction field fifteen fifth fifty fight fighter fighting figure file fill film final finally finance financial find finding fine finger finish fire firm first fish fishing fit fitness five fix flag flame flat flavor flee flesh flight float floor flow flower fly focus folk follow following food foot football for force foreign forest forever forget form formal formation former formula forth fortune forward found foundation founder four fourth frame framework free freedom freeze French frequency frequent frequently fresh friend friendly friendship from front fruit frustration fuel full fully fun function fund fundamental funding funeral funny furniture furthermore future gain galaxy gallery game gang gap garage garden garlic gas gate gather gay gaze gear gender gene general generally generate generation genetic gentleman gently German gesture get ghost giant gift gifted girl girlfriend give given glad glance glass global glove go goal God gold golden golf good government governor grab grade gradually graduate grain grand grandfather grandmother grant grass grave gray great greatest green grocery ground group grow growing growth guarantee guard guess guest guide guideline guilty gun guy habit habitat hair half hall hand handful handle hang happen happy hard hardly hat hate have he head headline headquarters health healthy hear hearing heart heat heaven heavily heavy heel height helicopter hell hello help helpful her here heritage hero herself hey hi hide high highlight highly highway hill him himself hip hire his historian historic historical history hit hold hole holiday holy home homeless honest honey honor hope horizon horror horse hospital host hot hotel hour house household housing how however huge human humor hundred hungry hunter hunting hurt husband hypothesis I ice idea ideal identification identify identity ie if ignore ill illegal illness illustrate image imagination imagine immediate immediately immigrant immigration impact implement implication imply importance important impose impossible impress impression impressive improve improvement in incentive incident include including income incorporate increase increased increasing increasingly incredible indeed independence independent index Indian indicate indication individual industrial industry infant infection inflation influence inform information ingredient initial initially initiative injury inner innocent inquiry inside insight insist inspire install instance instead institution institutional instruction instructor instrument insurance intellectual intelligence intend intense intensity intention interaction interest interested interesting internal international Internet interpret interpretation intervention interview into introduce introduction invasion invest investigate investigation investigator investment investor invite involve involved involvement Iraqi Irish iron Islamic island Israeli issue it Italian item its itself jacket jail Japanese jet Jew Jewish job join joint joke journal journalist journey joy judge judgment juice jump junior jury just justice justify keep key kick kid kill killer killing kind king kiss kitchen knee knife knock know knowledge lab label labor laboratory lack lady lake land landscape language lap large largely last late later Latin latter laugh launch law lawn lawsuit lawyer lay layer lead leader leadership leading leaf league lean learn learning least leather leave left leg legacy legal legend legislation legitimate lemon length less lesson let letter level liberal library license lie life lifestyle lifetime lift light like likely limit limitation limited line link lip list listen literally literary literature little live living load loan local locate location lock long long-term look loose lose loss lost lot lots loud love lovely lover low lower luck lucky lunch lung machine mad magazine mail main mainly maintain maintenance major majority make maker makeup male mall man manage management manager manner manufacturer manufacturing many map margin mark market marketing marriage married marry mask mass massive master match material math matter may maybe mayor me meal mean meaning meanwhile measure measurement meat mechanism media medical medication medicine medium meet meeting member membership memory mental mention menu mere merely mess message metal meter method Mexican middle might military milk million mind mine minister minor minority minute miracle mirror miss missile mission mistake mix mixture mm-hmm mode model moderate modern modest mom moment money monitor month mood moon moral more moreover morning mortgage most mostly mother motion motivation motor mount mountain mouse mouth move movement movie Mr Mrs Ms much multiple murder muscle museum music musical musician Muslim must mutual my myself mystery myth naked name narrative narrow nation national native natural naturally nature near nearby nearly necessarily necessary neck need negative negotiate negotiation neighbor neighborhood neither nerve nervous net network never nevertheless new newly news newspaper next nice night nine no nobody nod noise nomination none nonetheless nor normal normally north northern nose not note nothing notice notion novel now nowhere n't nuclear number numerous nurse nut object objective obligation observation observe observer obtain obvious obviously occasion occasionally occupation occupy occur ocean odd odds of off offense offensive offer office officer official often oh oil ok okay old Olympic on once one ongoing onion online only onto open opening operate operating operation operator opinion opponent opportunity oppose opposite opposition option or orange order ordinary organic organization organize orientation origin original originally other others otherwise ought our ourselves out outcome outside oven over overall overcome overlook owe own owner pace pack package page pain painful paint painter painting pair pale Palestinian palm pan panel pant paper parent park parking part participant participate participation particular particularly partly partner partnership party pass passage passenger passion past patch path patient pattern pause pay payment PC peace peak peer penalty people pepper per perceive percentage perception perfect perfectly perform performance perhaps period permanent permission permit person personal personality personally personnel perspective persuade pet phase phenomenon philosophy phone photo photograph photographer phrase physical physically physician piano pick picture pie piece pile pilot pine pink pipe pitch place plan plane planet planning plant plastic plate platform play player please pleasure plenty plot plus PM pocket poem poet poetry point pole police policy political politically politician politics poll pollution pool poor pop popular population porch port portion portrait portray pose position positive possess possibility possible possibly post pot potato potential potentially pound pour poverty powder power powerful practical practice pray prayer precisely predict prefer preference pregnancy pregnant preparation prepare prescription presence present presentation preserve president presidential press pressure pretend pretty prevent previous previously price pride priest primarily primary prime principal principle print prior priority prison prisoner privacy private probably problem procedure proceed process produce producer product production profession professional professor profile profit program progress project prominent promise promote prompt proof proper properly property proportion proposal propose proposed prosecutor prospect protect protection protein protest proud prove provide provider province provision psychological psychologist psychology public publication publicly publish publisher pull punishment purchase pure purpose pursue push put qualify quality quarter quarterback question quick quickly quiet quietly quit quite quote race racial radical radio rail rain raise range rank rapid rapidly rare rarely rate rather rating ratio raw reach react reaction read reader reading ready real reality realize really reason reasonable recall receive recent recently recipe recognition recognize recommend recommendation record recording recover recovery recruit red reduce reduction refer reference reflect reflection reform refugee refuse regard regarding regardless regime region regional register regular regularly regulate regulation reinforce reject relate relation relationship relative relatively relax release relevant relief religion religious rely remain remaining remarkable remember remind remote remove repeat repeatedly replace reply report reporter represent representation representative Republican reputation request require requirement research researcher resemble reservation resident resist resistance resolution resolve resort resource respect respond respondent response responsibility responsible rest restaurant restore restriction result retain retire retirement return reveal revenue review revolution rhythm rice rich rid ride rifle right ring rise risk river road rock role roll romantic roof room root rope rose rough roughly round route routine row rub rule run running rural rush Russian sacred sad safe safety sake salad salary sale sales salt same sample sanction sand satellite satisfaction satisfy sauce save saving say scale scandal scared scenario scene schedule scheme scholar scholarship school science scientific scientist scope score scream screen script sea search season seat second secret secretary section sector secure security see seed seek seem segment seize select selection self sell Senate senator send senior sense sensitive sentence separate sequence series serious seriously serve service session set setting settle settlement seven several severe sex sexual shade shadow shake shall shape share sharp she sheet shelf shell shelter shift shine ship shirt shit shock shoe shoot shooting shop shopping shore short shortly shot should shoulder shout show shower shrug shut sick side sigh sight sign signal significance significant significantly silence silent silver similar similarly simple simply sin since sing singer single sink sir sister sit site situation six size ski skill skin sky slave sleep slice slide slight slightly slip slow slowly small smart smell smile smoke smooth snap snow so so-called soccer social society soft software soil solar soldier solid solution solve some somebody somehow someone something sometimes somewhat somewhere son song soon sophisticated sorry sort soul sound soup source south southern Soviet space Spanish speak speaker special specialist species specific specifically speech speed spend spending spin spirit spiritual split spokesman sport spot spread spring square squeeze stability stable staff stage stair stake stand standard standing star stare start state statement station statistics status stay steady steal steel step stick still stir stock stomach stone stop storage store storm story straight strange stranger strategic strategy stream street strength strengthen stress stretch strike string strip stroke strong strongly structure struggle student studio study stuff stupid style subject submit subsequent substance substantial succeed success successful successfully such sudden suddenly sue suffer sufficient sugar suggest suggestion suicide suit summer summit sun super supply support supporter suppose supposed Supreme sure surely surface surgery surprise surprised surprising surprisingly surround survey survival survive survivor suspect sustain swear sweep sweet swim swing switch symbol symptom system table tablespoon tactic tail take tale talent talk tall tank tap tape target task taste tax taxpayer tea teach teacher teaching team tear teaspoon technical technique technology teen teenager telephone telescope television tell temperature temporary ten tend tendency tennis tension tent term terms terrible territory terror terrorism terrorist test testify testimony testing text than thank thanks that the theater their them theme themselves then theory therapy there therefore these they thick thin thing think thinking third thirty this those though thought thousand threat threaten three throat through throughout throw thus ticket tie tight time tiny tip tire tired tissue title to tobacco today toe together tomato tomorrow tone tongue tonight too tool tooth top topic toss total totally touch tough tour tourist tournament toward towards tower town toy trace track trade tradition traditional traffic tragedy trail train training transfer transform transformation transition translate transportation travel treat treatment treaty tree tremendous trend trial tribe trick trip troop trouble truck true truly trust truth try tube tunnel turn TV twelve twenty twice twin two type typical typically ugly ultimate ultimately unable uncle under undergo understand understanding unfortunately uniform union unique unit United universal universe university unknown unless unlike unlikely until unusual up upon upper urban urge us use used useful user usual usually utility vacation valley valuable value variable variation variety various vary vast vegetable vehicle venture version versus very vessel veteran via victim victory video view viewer village violate violation violence violent virtually virtue virus visible vision visit visitor visual vital voice volume volunteer vote voter vs vulnerable wage wait wake walk wall wander want war warm warn warning wash waste watch water wave way we weak wealth wealthy weapon wear weather wedding week weekend weekly weigh weight welcome welfare well west western wet what whatever wheel when whenever where whereas whether which while whisper white who whole whom whose why wide widely widespread wife wild will willing win wind window wine wing winner winter wipe wire wisdom wise wish with withdraw within without witness woman wonder wonderful wood wooden word work worker working works workshop world worried worry worth would wound wrap write writer writing wrong yard yeah year yell yellow yes yesterday yet yield you young your yours yourself youth zone

I decided to condense all my spread out thoughts and posts on Lucien into a similar post like I did for Gavin. For those who have read my other posts, there's gonna be overlap but I hope I bring up interesting points here too!
Includes content up to Chapter 18. Plus some calls, dates, and ASMR in CN server. Again, like Gavin's post, I'm going to be using JP and CN as sources (so don't be alarmed if quotes are different).
​
First, it's safe to say that Lucien's character is the most polarizing out of the four men and I believe this is due in large part to cultural differences and how the localization handled that. Putting aside my constant harping about subtleties being dropped, u/hecate137 's comments in the Speech Quirks post was enlightening about an aspect I didn't consider, which is Lucien's "social class".
Face, social status, rank, and hierarchy are, and still is, very important to Chinese culture. Easy examples people can relate to are respecting elders and the prestige of being a doctor, banker, lawyer, etc. But I can't stress enough the reverence that is given to these "high" social statuses.
How this applies to Lucien is that he comes from a lineage of literati that would place him as someone in an upper class status, in addition to his own achievements.

[Lucien] was born from a scholarly family. His parents were highly talented and leading researchers.
In the eyes of the public, [Lucien] is a young and remarkable neurologist and a guest professor at [Loveland] University. He is serious and persistent towards his scientific research, which is how he's obtained extraordinary achievements. At 26 years old, he has already obtained achievements that most people wouldn't get in a lifetime. There is no other word better to describe him than "genius".
^\)^{CN Profile Translation\})

The English definition of literati leads you to intellectuals, but this doesn't carry the weight and history of how literati, or basically scholar-officials, were people appointed by the emperor to carry out day-to-day duties and to help govern the country. I guess the equivalent would be a noble who carries out noblesse oblige. Cultured people with scholarly achievements were very respected in historical China and also acted as role models for the common people.
So, going back to Lucien, because we're in modern times and he doesn't have an overtly obvious title (to those not in his field of work) he just comes off as a gentle, unassuming, humble, scholar with an air of sophistication and professionalism from his background. Think of a noble, without any airs.
This is reflected in his polite and modest speech [see: Speech Quirks, and my mentions about how he's never described as smirking until it comes to being Ares, and even that's debatable as to whether it's cold smiles and sneering over smirking]. Not to mention all the descriptions about his elegance and refinement. Heck, he even has a Chinese tea ceremony set in his room, including the tools to make tea [CN "In His World" Event].
Lucien's classiness, for a lack of a better word, also emphasizes the purposeful contrast of seeing him do common, mundane things. Like watching cartoons to understand humans better [CN Profile]. It's like how Victor, with his more understandable poshness from his riches, would be contrasted with mundane things. But, if we were looking for another analogy, Lucien would be old elegance and Victor would be nouveau elegance.
Anyway, Lucien also has another trait given to him that's a classic in female-oriented Chinese media and that's being a "black belly; 腹黑". For those who are more familiar with Japanese, it's basically the same word as "haraguro; 腹黒".
Black bellies are people who act nice and unassuming on the outside, but they're sly and manipulative (and at times cruel) on the inside or in secret to other people.
Essentially, they're two-faced but while English has a negative connotation with this word it's normal and accepted in Asia (likely because of the concept of face). The majority of male leads in Chinese novels are all black bellies. BTW, the origin of the word comes from how you only notice their black belly after you're eaten up by them LOL.
So, how this works in female-oriented media is... well, there's many combinations. For example, they can be nice to everyone, including the heroine, but secretly vicious against those who hurt the heroine. Or they're nice in public, but show their sly cunning to the heroine. Mix it however you want! They also like to tease the heroine in all sorts of ways, like leading them into verbal traps to see them flustered.
There's some crossover with black bellies being abusive, cruel, or yandere towards their heroine, but it's not necessary for black bellies to be like that. Just think of these as being Venn diagram circles with overlap [example of a sweet black belly is Xiao Nai from the Chinese drama LoveO2O, also a novel].
Returning to the main topic, you can easily see how this applies to Lucien. He's nice and elegant... except for when he's not. It's how he can have this gentle and refined air, but then turn around and be a massive flirt and tease with the heroine (flashing his black belly). Then he goes and turns completely black when he's Ares LOL.
Now, after giving background on Lucien's character archetype, let's move onto my other sections.

man of juxtapositions

I wanted to call this section "man of contradictions" at first, but then I thought that might mislead people. Basically, this is all about how Lucien is a man of dualities.

• [Main Story 13-22] The scarred man describes Ares as being the only person who can be trusted in BS, and yet Ares doesn't hesitate to go against Hades and incapacitate him. I'd argue that this places a wrench in BS' operations, so there goes being the most trustworthy person in BS (although, granted, BS sounds like they're a writhing mess of people with their own thoughts and ideas about how it should be run).
• Lucien is a gentle teacher to MC, patient and taking the time to explain concepts she doesn't understand or provide novel ideas to her; however, he also gives her the worst betrayal and you can almost call this the harshest of lessons.
• For all his image of being an intellectual scholar, as I've mentioned in the previous section, Lucien is surprisingly "physical". [CN Archery Date] shows that he's ripped and knows a taxing sport like archery, and in [Main Story 16-22] he straight up kills the goons with ice shards (even if it's in a mental arena).
• [Main Story 8-23 & 9] bombards you with light and shadow descriptions. Actually, this imagery follows Lucien everywhere but it's most prominent in these chapters. He's always standing at the intersection of light and shadow, or light shines down on one of his sides but casts the other in shadow.
• [Main Story 9-14] I will be forever salty for Elex dropping the ball here, but Lucien's eyes are described to contain a sense of humanness and life. Then, in [Main Story 12-22] he is described to have an expression lacking any emotion and human warmth. Human descriptions contrasted with inhuman descriptions.

Mm, you just have to love delicious juxtapositions and how it emphasizes his duality of being both Lucien and Ares. Two sides of the same coin.
Once again, I didn't want to call these contradictions because I don't believe one of these negates the other. It's like how we code switch in different scenarios. You can be a nice person, but vicious when your bottom line is crossed.
These sides of Lucien don't overturn the core of his character or his through line: loving the MC, ruthlessly ambitious for the sake of his goals, and naturally gentle (shown in the way he treats animals and people not in the way of his goal).
But, if you do insist on seeing one side of these as lies, then Lucien once said:

"Besides, lies have just as much power as the truth. The true nature of things can be indirectly reflected in the world of lies [...] It is because these lies exist, that one can get closer to the truth."
^\Main Story 12 Call: Truth and Fiction])

reversing "good" imagery

I haven't been quiet at all about how much I love the evocative imagery Lucien gets, but an interesting thing I've noticed is how "positive" imagery is twisted into "negative" imagery when it comes to him. It's brilliant.

• [Main Story 13-8] MC leaves the building, after interviewing the elevator Evolver man with Lucien, and dazzling light shines down on her, yet she can't feel the slightest bit of warmth. This chapter literally sets up Lucien's reveal as Ares through positive imagery turned negative. Not to mention warmth disappears into coldness.
• In [Midnight Date] there's a rope with thorns tightening around Lucien's heart. In [True Love Date] there is a delicate rope tightening around his heart. I will eat my shoe if this isn't a reference to the red string of fate that binds him and MC together. But, as you can see, it's causing him all the suffering in the world.
• [Main Story 13-19] Iridescent, the pen, was given to MC and she ends up using it to threaten her own life. Not only is it Lucien's symbol of love (more on this later) but pens aren't supposed to be violent weapons. There's the saying that pens are mightier than the sword, because pens write down ideas that are supposed to convince people peacefully. So, a symbol of something non-physical and literary is now a physical weapon of violence and force.
• [Main Story 8-23] Lucien tucks MC's hands back under the blanket when she's in the hospital, but MC describes a "cold sensation" touching her before she sees that it's his hands. So, Lucien has bad circulation or low temperature. Normally, in otome games, the men are supposed to have warm hands (encourages feelings of security, safety, etc.).
• [Main Story 9-18] also talks about how Lucien's fingertips are freezing, but this is probably more because of the context of the scene.

To be honest, I'm iffy on the last two points about cold hands because it's a common description I see in Chinese novels, where the male lead is described with a cool temperature or cool breath. So, it sort of sounds like it can be a positive descriptor? Of course, there's also male leads who run hot to show how passionate they are LOL.
Or maybe cool descriptions are used to emphasize a character's rationality but when things get hot and heavy they start to burn in temperature and it's supposed to make you go "OOH! HE'S LOSING CONTROL!" or something.
In any case, Lucien being of cold temperature is a distinct thing because Gavin is generally described with warm temperatures (because he's a hotblooded military man). The only time I can recall Gavin having a cool description given to him is the tip of his nose in his birthday date, but come on the nose is the extremity of extremities!
Lastly, Lucien also needs a special mention for this point:

• [Main Story 16-22] The opposite happens here with imagery reversion. Death, normally a frightening concept, is flipped to be a good thing. To escape Lucien's dream you need to die. Dying is another way to live.

symbolism

First, I think it's interesting to note that despite Lucien being a "villainous" character and having all this light and shadow imagery (metaphor for his inner conflict), he's ultimately described with light. He has spatial and solidifying light (?) powers that manifest as white light rather than dark shadows.
It's also cute that he shows his two sides with his WHITE lab coat or his BLACK trench coat.
Second, water is pretty much THE imagery to go to for enlightened, virtuous, and refined people. Heck, Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching, a fundamental text for philosophical and religious Taoism, connects water with 7 virtues:

1. Dwelling with the right location: water goes to the lowest point, thus a humble person should emulate this. Arrogant people always try to go to the top.
2. Feeling with great depth: truly virtuous people are like deep pools of water. You can't see everything about them at first, but as you get to know them it's like discovering a treasure and this should encourage you to cultivate depth in yourself too.
3. Giving with great kindness: rivers flow across the land nourishing everything in its way; once it's done its work it moves on without waiting for praise or recognition. This is the virtue of unconditional kindness.
4. Speaking with great integrity: water, when calm and undisturbed, reflects its surroundings perfectly and so should people reflect the truth with the same degree of accuracy.
5. Governing with great administration: water benefits everyone equally, because water doesn't pass judgment on anyone. Give everyone the same level of basic courtesy.
6. Handling with great capability: water has great versatility and nothing can block its way; it can flow to the left, right, under, over, etc. It's also not limited to just its regular form and can be steam or ice.
7. Moving with great timing: summer rains never fall in winter, and winter rains never fall in summer. Water demonstrates there is a time for everything and that everything can occur in its own time.

Remember how I said scholar-officials in historical China are basically like role models and nobles who help govern the people under the emperor with noblesse oblige? This is why scholar characters go hand in hand with water imagery, because it's supposed to emphasize their virtuousness.
So, because Lucien is a scholar-type character, the same goes for him. He has SO MUCH water imagery going on for him, and it carries the above weight behind it. I've probably missed some, but here's a list of the ones I can recall:

• [Main Story 9-11] MC falls asleep on the bus and, as Lucien watches her, the emotions in his eyes are like swelling ocean tides at night.
• [Main Story 9-14] MC's dream about Lucien has her falling into an ocean.
• [Main Story 9-22] MC ends up in Lucien's memories about the accident that killed his parents and it's raining.
• [Main Story 11-6] Lucien brings MC Chinese bellflowers and MC feels that they're fragile, as if the petals are thin ice that'll break if she touches them.
• [Main Story 13-4] Lucien's voice is like the morning fog evaporating in the sunlight.
• [Main Story 13-8] During their talk about MC wanting to continue her investigation, calm waves drift in Lucien's dark eyes.
• [Main Story 13-19] This is tangentially related to Lucien because these descriptions apply to the MC, but it happens after the Ares reveal. She feels like she got pushed into an ice cave, she feels like she's drifting in an ocean, and when she thinks about Lucien her memories overwhelm her like a flood and she feels like she's going to drown.
• [Main Story 16-16] Lucien gets to kill Hades' goons with a copied ice ability. The writers didn't have to give the goons an ice ability; they could have had metal powers, or fire powers, but nope it was water-related.

Third, Lucien also has a lot of flower language going for him. Technically, the other guys have flowers and plants associated with them too (for example, Gavin with white lilies and gingko leaves), but I think Lucien gets more LOL.

• [Main Story 9-14] Red spider lilies appear in MC's dream about Lucien. These mean sad memories, mutual longing, separation, graceful purity, beauty of death, endless love, a precursor to death, and a call to the netherworld. The sadness and mutual longing is because the flowers and leaves of spider lilies can never touch; meanwhile, their relation to death is because they bloom punctually around the autumn equinox when people sweep graves.
• [Main Story 11-6] Lucien gives the MC Chinese bellflowers, which bloomed out of season, when she's at the hospital. These mean eternal love, sincerity, yearning, or hopeless love. The reason for this double meaning is because Chinese bellflowers represent happiness, but only some people can seize their happiness while others miss it, are unable to grasp it, or are unable to keep it.
• [Blossom Event] Lucien gifts a gardenia to MC, which is called Garda. In Chinese, gardenias mean tenacious, eternal love, waiting for you for a lifetime, and our love.
• [Blossom Date] Lucien and MC go look at peach blossoms together. Not only do they quote a poem all about a bride serving her clan, groom's clan, and her groom (including having abundant fruit if you know what I mean), peach blossoms themselves mean being a captive of love.
• [Under the Mistletoe SSR] Mistletoe, duh. Normally, I'd look at Chinese flower language but they're clearly using the common meaning of mistletoe: love and enduring love to those who kiss under it. Plus, if you refuse a kiss beneath it then you'll get bad luck LOL.
• [CN Promise You a Lifetime SSR] Lucien's wedding card has wisteria in the background. In China, it means intoxicating love, dependence, born for love and dying for love, obsessed with you, the happiest moment, and indulging in love.
• [CN Beautiful Springtime SSR] Lucien's flower card, but I can't find a consensus on what the flowers are. Some people think its oleander but they only bloom in summer and fall when the card is about being in the springtime. Oleanders mean a curse and to watch out for danger though.
• I personally think they're apple blossoms (blooms early spring and summer) and they mean "trap". Apple blossoms are so beautiful people want to eat them, but their body is poisonous. People represented by this flower look loyal and honest on the outside, but they're sharp and have a thorny tongue. Those who get too close risk being stabbed and only smart people will find their viciousness interesting LOL.

Come on, it's totally not a coincidence that all of Lucien's flower symbolism is just a neon sign about how in love he is with the MC. Eternal love is repeated like a billion times. The only odd one out is his flower card, but it still suits his character:

Under his elegant and gentle face, there hides an inexplicable dark side which is the most deadliest poison.
^\CN Profile Translation])

Lastly, Lucien has a fox as his animal representative. Foxes are pretty much universally associated with being tricksters, masters of illusions, and cunning. It's amusing because, in Asian folklore, they also like to transform into beauties and seduce people to consume them. Sometimes, the nine-tailed fox is associated with auspiciousness though!

• [Official CN Animal Figures] Lucien is a fox, Gavin is a dog, Victor is a cat, and Kiro is a bear.
• [CN Dream Flower SSR] Lucien's West Moon card shows him as a fox demon and scholar.
• [Main Story 9-14] Lucien quotes the fox's line from "The Little Prince" and MC imagines seeing a fox bounding through the wheat fields too.

I think people can see why foxes are so fitting for Lucien but I also want to add that, despite me going on about how virtuous scholars are, in order for scholars to survive the swamp of politics in court, these scholar-officials needed to be extremely sly and cunning and it's actually a good thing to be a "wily fox".
In fact, in Chinese novels, usually the honest and genuine characters are... not the main characters and they reach a tragic end or, if they are main characters, they have to be protected by other cunning leads because good-natured people cannot survive in a mortal world filled with greedy people and their materialistic desires. ^{(Laughs hollowly at how all my honest military men biases die horrible deaths or get ruined because of this blunt personality.})
Hey, check it out, with Lucien's historical Qixi card, [CN Vermilion Lip SSR], and his West Moon card, there's two explicit references to how he's the scholar character.

stories of you and me

Now, Lucien brings up three major stories throughout the game in various places.
First, there's "The Little Mermaid":

• [The Little Mermaid ASMR] I was on the fence as to whether Lucien relates himself to the Prince or the Little Mermaid, but now I think he's the Little Mermaid. He's different from humans but longs for them and wants an eternal soul.
• [Overseas Date] Here we learn that Lucien can't yet understand the Little Mermaid's selfless, brave, and devoted love (sorry, but you're way too insatiable, my dear) however he finds himself understanding her last choice. That he can continue loving someone despite the pain they bring him (the Little Mermaid's pain every time she uses her legs).

It's, uh, pretty somber that the version Lucien has in his head is the Andersen one where the Little Mermaid dies. He also ends the story there and doesn't add the part where she turns into a daughter of air and still has a chance to get a soul after 300 years to go to the Kingdom of God.
Second, there's "The Little Prince" and its a damn good reference. So, this book is actually MC's favorite book and it's about a little prince who raises a rose on his planet, B612, and falls in love with the rose. But he catches the rose in a lie and gets hurt and, even though they reconcile, he leaves the planet to go on a journey.
On the Little Prince's journey he meets all sorts of people with obsessions and learns life lessons through them, but the most important one he learns is how to love his rose. He crashes down to earth though and meets the person he tells his story to (thus creating this story), but before the Little Prince can return to his planet he gets bitten by a poisonous snake and that's it. The narrator likes to think the Little Prince made it back to his planet and rose though.

• I think [Sound of Silence SSR Call: The Little Prince] is where Lucien mentions the story first (in the game's chronology) and how it's the MC's favorite book. He compares her directly to being the Little Prince and how she's growing like the Little Prince through her experiences. ^{(I have a crack theory that MLQC's story could actually mirror this somewhat, especially about MC learning the meaning of love and how that'll save the world LOL.})
• In [Sound of Silence SSR Call: Beautiful Moonlight] there's another mention to the Little Prince where Lucien asks if she can find B612, the Little Prince's home planet. They both hope the Little Prince made it back home.
• In [Main Story 9-14], like I mentioned above, Lucien quotes the fox's line and it goes: "The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat".

However, let me explain the context and show the full quote. So, the Little Prince meets a fox in his journey and the fox tells the Little Prince to tame him to "establish ties":

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."
[...]
"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat."

The Little Prince agrees and tames the fox. But when he has to leave the planet:

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added: "Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
[...]
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
"It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."
"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

Isn't this conversation good? I remember reading the Little Prince a long time ago and found it super sad, and now that I'm re-visiting this story again thanks to Lucien... well, I understand it better but it's still melancholic LOL.
But, anyway, if we replace the Little Prince with MC and the fox with Lucien, this conversation is really interesting. See, the fox is indelibly marked by the Little Prince (like Lucien by the MC) and they have made this unique connection between them that will hurt both of them when it comes to the end.
However, this pain doesn't mean their experiences wasn't worth it and that it didn't mean anything. Like the fox says, now he has these memories of the Little Prince that makes life worth living. The fox, before he met the Little Prince, found his life boring and monotonous, but now things are given meaning when they didn't have it before.
On a totally random note, in [CN "In His World" Event] people have taken pictures of Lucien's shelves and now we can get an idea of his reading material. It ranges from literary classics (Ayn Rand, Oscar Wilde, Vladimir Nabokov, Charlotte Brontë, and lots of Chinese authors), to research papers (Genome-wide Polygenic Burden of Rare Deleterious Variants in Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy), to things like encyclopedias on flowers, etc.
It'd probably take you years to get through his reading materials LOL. The other guys also have books in their rooms, but I don't remember them clearly. I do know that Gavin has sci-fi books though! Totally not biased. ^{But, I'm sorry, I don't really like reading sci-fi...}
Third and last, the most referenced story throughout the game is probably the one Lucien made, "The Artist and the Butterfly". I feel like most of us know it by now, but I'll do a summary translation for those who haven't had the pleasure of getting [Drowning in Love SSR] and its two calls [Artist and Butterfly] and [The Only Color].
*** ACTUALLY, ON COMPARISON WITH THE ENGLISH VERSION, PLEASE IGNORE THAT ONE BECAUSE IT IS RIDDLED WITH ERRORS. ELEX PLEASE, I'M CRYING, DON'T DO LUCIEN'S CHARACTER IMPORTANT CALL LIKE THIS **\*

Once upon a time, in a secluded castle, there lived an artist. The artist's paintings only had two colors: black and white. It wasn't because the artist loved these two colors, but because in his eyes there were only these two colors in the world.
The artist believed the world to be depressing, so all the other colors were meaningless. But, one day, a butterfly flew in front of him and the artist saw with shock that on the butterfly's wings were all sorts of beautiful colors he had never seen before. The fluttering of its wings made the colors even more lively and charming, and so the artist painted it for the entire day, never tiring.
But the sensitive artist was also afraid the butterfly would one day grow tired of being beside him, and so he thought about catching the butterfly and putting it in a glass jar. Like this, the butterfly would never be able to leave him.

Then, we move onto the conversation portion in [The Only Color]:

Lucien: What do you think of this story?
MC: Um... you can't laugh at me when I say this.
Lucien: I promise I won't.
MC: I feel like the artist is very relatable.
Lucien: ... Relatable?
MC: Mhm, although I don't understand his actions, I can see that he's really stifled and sad. Now, can you tell me what happens after?
Lucien: Actually, this is what happens after. Or rather, this story doesn't have an end.
MC: Huh?
Lucien: Are you disappointed?
MC: So, not every story has an ending...
Lucien: The artist continues to try and catch the butterfly, and even I don't know whether he caught it or not. If I see him again, I'll ask him for you.
MC: Turns out this is a real story?
Lucien: Yes.
MC: If you're able to meet that artist, you have to tell him this for me. That he actually doesn't love the butterfly, does he?
Lucien: Why do you not think the artist loves the butterfly? If you love someone, aren't you supposed to move heaven and earth to bind them to your side?
MC: But this is too selfish.
Lucien: Hah, yes, even I find it selfish. But if he doesn't do that, the artist will likely lose the butterfly. And then his life will be like how it was before; the whole world would just be black and white.
MC: If he really loves the butterfly, then he wouldn't want to see them suffer. Maybe I'm too simple, but for me genuine love is simply loving that person, as an individual, and I wouldn't need a relationship with them. I'd just want them to be happy.
Lucien: If you were this butterfly, and there was someone who wanted to confine you to their side so they could keep you together with them forever... would you be willing?
MC: No... I don't think I'd be willing.
Lucien: Indeed... exactly what I thought you would say...
MC: Lucien... I want to ask you...
Lucien: Mm?
MC: Is this story about you?
Lucien: I couldn't be the artist, and I definitely couldn't be the butterfly. But if I really did encounter the one and only color in my life, then I certainly wouldn't let them go.
MC: Why?
Lucien: Why?... I don't know why either... You don't need to dig to the bottom of everything.
MC: Lucien, I'm a bit sleepy all of a sudden...
Lucien: Sleep then. Don't be afraid, even if you have nightmares, I'll be here for you.

^{Gods, I'm going to be endlessly salty over Elex's butchering of these calls, but whatever. WHATEVER.}
This is LITERALLY the story of Lucien and MC's relationship. And, with this, we are shuffled immediately into my next section.

coloring each other

In [New Light Date] Lucien asks "Can you teach me love?" and in [Main Story 5-6] he also asks "Then, will you change me? If we get along together."
The answer is a resounding YES. MC has changed him indelibly, like the tamed fox, and there is only one unique her in his world; he's left the same mark on her, making him the only unique Lucien in her world.
In [Firefly Date] Lucien talks about how the lights of the fireflies are a danger sign to other creatures (because fireflies eat everything during their larvae form). Then in [Rainfall Date] he thinks the exact same words, that the colors he's seeing emerge into his world because of the MC are a DANGER SIGN but he cannot bring himself to care.
It is not metaphorical in [Rainfall Date]. He's colorblind!

The "Mo (墨)" in [Lucien's] name (许墨; Xu Mo) was once his mother's favorite word. This word represents pen and ink, a literary family, and the black and white world in his eyes.
His world is black and white and only by your side can he see colors.
^\CN Profile Translation])

Then in [Afternoon Date] there is this exchange:

MC: What do I look like in your eyes?
Lucien: ... Colored.
MC: Huh?
Lucien: In my eyes... you're full of colors.

So, now that we know MC literally brings color into his life, I'm going to bring back his pen, Iridescent, that he gives MC [Main Story 13-10]. It's a symbol of his love because there's a line that comes from a movie called "Flipped". The Chinese name for the movie "Flipped" is the same as the Chinese name of Lucien's [Lovestruck SSR].

“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss... [...] But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”

Iridescent is how he sees MC. She literally brought the colors of a rainbow into his black and white world [Rainfall Date].
Now, when we think about his line in "The Artist and the Butterfly" we get... MAJOR ANGST. Because, contrary to his words about not letting the only color in his world go, he lets the MC go again and again and again:

• He doesn't catch MC in [Main Story 13].
• He saves MC from Hades in [Main Story 16] and then takes advantage of the dream erasing her memories, so she'll have no ties to him or BS (until the next time they meet on the field again, I guess).
• Heck, to take this further, in [Memory Palace: The Night Before] Lucien traces his previously wounded eye and thinks about how he can barely remember MC's colors and he's going to lose it completely when they meet at the news conference. Then in [Main Story 16-22] MC sees his past all in black and white.

Lucien has given up on keeping her colors in his world...
On a side note, I also think he's giving up vividness in his world. In [Rainfall Date] it's implied that the cheerier MC is the brighter her colors are and, I assume, the colors in Lucien's world?
There's an intriguing fact in his [CN Profile Translation] too where it says "His sense of taste isn't too sensitive, but it's not completely absent either." Imagine if that fades even more when MC isn't around either (thanks to u/ughfine_ok for this sad head canon).
Papergames has also mentioned that Lucien has glasses he wears to help him see colors (so he can drive safely LOL) but we don't actually see him wear them much except for when he's doing scientific stuff. Perhaps this is a sign about how little he cares about seeing colors in his world if he can't see them naturally (MC-induced colors).
But, hold on, this is a section about how Lucien has equally changed MC (it's just, perhaps, more tragic and more obvious with Lucien because he only has MC, the sole color in his life, while she has three other guys she just lost a friend, mentor, and love interest).
In [Blossom Date] there's an exchange where MC tells Lucien that, like how he's told her to take her time growing in front of him [Main Story 9-2], she wants him to take his time going through life. She's echoing his words (and teaching) and, in response, Lucien's eyes darken and he thinks about how he's "staining her purity in his colors".
In [CN Archery Date] Lucien teaches MC how to handle and shoot a bow and they end up having a mini competition where they both hit bull's eye and get a draw. He's given her one of skills (and a piece of him) again.
Lucien continuously gives MC things that he has never given anyone else:

• In [Snowy Night Date] he reveals his actual birthday date to MC.
• In [Hot Spring Date] Lucien reveals that he's never celebrated his birthdays like this, until now with her. Because they probably reminded him of his parents' accident.
• In [CN Nightmare's End ASMR] Lucien barely remembers his childhood memories (or his real name RIP), and yet he doesn't hesitate to share these memories with MC.

Tangentially related, but I want to throw in here how Lucien and MC are described sometimes as having eyes only for each other. I'm sure there's more mentions, but I can only remember these two:

• [Main Story 13-8] "Lucien didn't respond. He stared at me with a complicated look and I was the only one reflected in his eyes."
• [True Love Date] "The girl, with her clear black eyes opened wide, stared at him. The one who was reflected in those eyes was him alone."

My romantic and poetic explanation here is that, because they have pieces of themselves in each other, they're drawn together like magnets!

I KEEP HITTING THE WORD LIMIT LOL. Please continue reading starting from my comment below... RIP.