#I feel like Xie Lian and Hua Cheng are pretty obvious but what to do with the others?

[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

Luo Binghe: 🐑 😈

Shen Qingqiu: 🥒🪭

Wei Wuxian: 🪈🧟‍♀️

Lan Wangji: 🗡️☁️

Xie Lian: 🌸🗡️

Hua Cheng: 🦋🩸

[feralcoffeebug]

i saw in the tags of ur new fic that hua cheng has BPD in ur hcs…. if ur willing to talk abt it id love to hear abt it 🙏

Hi!!! Ofc I’d love to talk about it.

So Hua Cheng is one of the characters that I hold super dear to my heart, in that fic he wasn’t quite old enough for the actual symptoms to start showing in ways that would be super obvious hence the whole “it’s not really shown/explored here” that I mentioned. But! Let’s get into it!

There are 3 suspected subtypes for BPD, not really “officially” used in the dsm5 but! Hua Cheng fits Really Well for quiet BPD, which is often where the symptoms are more internalized rather than outward. As a child and teen when he was the little boy and little soldier the BPD symptoms are more outward, as is extremely common for people with quiet BPD that they do not start with this presentation of symptoms.

Since I love researching especially for my headcannons this will have me pulling from the DSM and using that lol. Sorry if this isn’t quite what you wanted! Feel free to send another ask in that case! I love answering questions haha.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE NOVELS

The diagnostic criteria means you need 5 of the main 9 symptoms of BPD to be diagnosed with it. A lot of these behaviors start around 13, HOWEVER it is very difficult to diagnose in children and teens due to regular hormonal changes and a developing mind can often mimic the same instability that comes along with BPD. Please do not use this as something to diagnose yourself.

Hua Cheng, as he is, meets a few of the symptoms. I’ll go symptom by symptom to explain them a bit more

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment (not including sh or sui behaviors as it is covered in a different criteria).

Throughout TGCF Hua Cheng often spends a lot of him time attempting to be useful or good enough for Xie Lian, He gets very anxious and fearful around areas that might make Xie Lian leave him or be disgusted by him.

As Hong’er, he often changes entire things about himself with just a small off-hand comment from Xie Lian. He picked up the saber and focused on it because Xie Lian told him that he would suit it well. He panicked every single time someone tried to remove the bandages covering his red eye because he knew that it was something a lot of people hated or treated him badly for and was disgusted by, and he didn’t want Xie Lian to see it. When Xie Lian found out about the fact that he was born under the star of solitude and that meant he was cursed he had a breakdown about it, only calming down when Xie Lian assured him that he was believed that he wasn’t cursed. He showed anger at anyone else where for Xie Lian he would do anything (except talk haha)

I can’t say much about Wu Ming or him as a ghost fire; mostly due to not having gotten to his chapters yet. But my brain wants to use the part with the 33 heavenly officials and his anger at Feng Xin and Mu Qing as proof as well. Along with his devotion to Xie Lian.

As Hua Cheng, he often looks to Xie Lian when he’s not sure what he will think of things, often changing his likes and dislikes when it comes to him. He changed his form to be one that Xie Lian might have liked more, being extremely insecure about his true form while trying to play it off that he was ugly, which obviously Xie Lian didn’t agree with. And once he saw that Xie Lian wasn’t as disgusted by his actual form he uses it more often along with (At least in the manghua) he incorporates some parts of it in his San Lang form.

All in all, usually he sees things that could displease Xie Lian as being bad, and I believe this comes from a place of fearing abandonment by Xie Lian.

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

This symptom is a hallmark of the disorder, and most of the other symptoms are what leads to this symptom to showing up. For Hua Cheng, his relationship with Xie Lian is pretty constant and in this context he would be his Favorite Person (FP) (will be discussed later) but his relationship with others are far more unstable. He goes between not caring for those he barely knows to being extremely angry and vindictive if they even so much seem as if they are insulting or disrespecting XL. He also seems to not have very steady relations with those he is simi closer to than strangers (such as yin yu and black water, the only two that, outside of XL, he has around him decently often enough, which honestly probably shows more so that he is attached to Xie Lian like a person with Bpd is to their FP). His opinion of those people seems to be very dependent on how they’re effecting his current situations as they happen, at least from what I’ve seen myself. He also holds very little regard for people outside of Xie Lian, which honestly might point to something like ASPD or something but in my opinion HC fits BPD more so than the other one but I could see the argument for it.

His unstable relationship mostly goes in relation of himself and his self image, which are very dependent on Xie Lian.

3. Identity disturbance: marked and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

For this criteria, this mostly means changes in personality, likes, dislikes, goals, and role. Often the only sense of self people with BPD have is that they are bad or evil, which we see a lot in Hua Cheng, his view of himself is very negative. He often does not feel as if he deserves to be treated nicely by Xie Lian.

4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentionally self-damaging (e.g. spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating. Not including sh or sui behaviors.

Idk why for this one specifically but in my heart I feel like he is very impulsive even outside life or death situations. I cannot for the life of me recall why right now

One of them is him betting his ashes in the fight with the 33 gods, while that could be seen as him being confident in his ability to win it is still very dangerous. I’m unsure if this would count as impulsive or just sui behavior lmao.

5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.

As Hong’er, He was going up the wall to die. Not only that but when he was in the army he often put his life on the line specifically trying to protect Xie Lian, to the point that Feng Xin mentioned offhand that it seemed like he had a death wish and that he had no concern for his own life. All of Hua Cheng’s deaths actively involve dying for Xie Lian, as he decided to live for the man as well.

6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g. intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).

Hua Cheng’s mood often shifts very quickly from extremes, there seems to be very little grey area for his moods. Often times, he is happy and content only for a small thing to bring his ire and anger, especially when it comes to his time with Xie Lian. This is often set inwards, anger at himself for not being able to protect him. But this also is directed at others as well as seen by his reactions when Feng Xin and Mu Qing show up.

7.Chronic feelings of emptiness.

In my headcannons this is very true. He is often bored, he often acts very bored in the donghua when something doesn’t have to do with Xie Lian.

8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger.

I don’t know about you, but I think a lot of Hua Cheng’s emotions include anger. He hits He Xuan because of a situation that endangers Xie Lian. He is known for getting into fights over small things. He killed 33 gods for simply disrespecting Xie Lian. He often has outbursts in anger at Mu Qing and Feng Xin, using a lot of sarcasm. These outbursts often happen when Xie Lian isn’t giving him attention or when they are disrespecting/looking down at Xie Lian in some way, shape, or form.

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid idealtion or severe dissociative symptoms

This symptoms often comes up when in response to something that may be relating to possible abandonment. Hua Cheng tends to get more quiet and withdrawn when situations have to do with himself or when something comes up that Xie Lian might hate him over. The topic of E’Ming makes him start to try and move the topic off of it’s emotional responses, when he hurt Xie Lian he gets quiet and stares where Xie Lian left for a long while, getting quiet when Xie Lian apologizes for the situation before nearly crying over it and apologizing over it.

Now, a lot of the reasons behind why I say a character has a mental illness usually does not come from what criteria they meet, but I felt that explaining what could possibly meet what criteria is a fun way to get the conversation started. A lot of BPD is the mental process that gets the reactions, or what causes the reactions. I’m going to get into the like, less official practical and professional view of BPD and go more into it as someone who shows a lot of BPD esc symptoms and the research I’ve done from other people with the disorder.

In BPD, there is a thing called a Favorite Person, also shorthanded to FP. I mentioned earlier that Xie Lian would be his FP, and I stand by this. Often to a person with BPD their FP is everything to them. Their emotional wellbeing and sense of self is often based on the person. It is often very intense and their FP is often what is the root cause of their symptoms showing up. Often FPs are caregivers, friends, crushes, and other things. It can be a very unhealthy relationship for both parties due to the fact that a person with BPD rely heavily on their FP for regulation.

This is something we often see with Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Hua Cheng relies on Xie Lian for reassurance, taking every grain of it. He does everything in his power to appeal to Xie Lian but also doesn’t mind if Xie Lian doesn’t know about him or hates him as long as he can be useful to him. He also does all he can to get Xie Lian’s attention and praise. He bases a lot of himself and his environment around Xie Lian. I think that the opinion that some of the fandom has of him that “everything revolves around Xie Lian for his character” is a very good example of this. I do not agree with this sentiment, obviously, but it is very common for people with BPD to base almost everything around this FP.

Hua Cheng also wants to spend all of his time around Xie Lian, which is often seen with people with Bpd and their fps.

A lot of this headcannon also has a lot to do with seeing myself in Hua Cheng, seeing behaviors I’ve done for past FPs and even my current FP. I see my relationship with my current FP (which is my boyfriend before anyone asks) in Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. I am a lot more unstable in my relationship with my FP than Hua Cheng is to Xie Lian, but I also feel like Hua Cheng often would turn his anger inward a lot more than I do and fall heavily into self blame for any issues. Along with that, I feel as if Hua Cheng is also pretty inclined to feel as if he overstepped and to internally berate himself for thinking he could have or do or feel whatever unstable emotions and feelings and devaluation towards Xie Lian.

Anyways here’s a small, very tired and sleepy explanation. I’m sorry if none of this makes sense. I just woke up to write this and I’m probably heading to bed.

[yeonslayjun]

Dumb and Dumber - Hualian

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are so OBVIOUS and OBLIVIOUS at the same time Honestly They amaze me ngl

Cuz Hua Cheng be Like - Wdym Gege Loves me?? That's impossible like I don't think he loves me solely for the fact that I'm one of his last believer left and that I built a FUCKING CITY for him and how I ran helped him in a case and dressed up as a Groom and gege was a bride (Oh his dead heart definitely started beating then pls ) and how I Built a temple to worship him and how I released 3000 lanterns for him and that I've made 10,000 statues for gege and not how I have red thread of fate on my finger bc he tied his hair on my finger

ALSO wdym I had my gay awakening at the land of tender??? Impossible He's my god I can't have those feelings for him bc I'm a dirty piece of shit (NO YOU ARE NOT)

and DEFINITELY NOT HOW I GAVE HIM Spirtual Power... DEFINITELY NOT HAHAHA.... Now let me just ask his hand for marriage OH nvm I'm unworthy he doesn't like me ( WHILE XIE LIAN IS SITTING ON HIS LAP ) let's make it into a joke hahaha..... OH? Gege's says he's happy for my beloved when will he know it's him talking about?? :( ( let's ignore he didn't know half of these lmao)

OH MY GOD GEGE SAW THE STATUES That's it I'm getting disowned by him He'll hate me ofc he will... I knew this would happen no I'm okay, IT'S FINE... Yeah he really should make it clear that he doesn't love me huh? :((

Like Hua Cheng is SO DOWN BAD for Xie Lian Like Honey we get it You exist to LOVE your Taizi Danxia and to serve Cvnt and angst

AND

My guy Xie Lian here is SO VERY OBLIVIOUS like I get that he was practicing abstinence but bro's like -

Oh Hua Cheng is such a pretty name *giggles* Oh and his hands were so beautiful and he was gentle with me too when he dressed as the Groom *blushes* Oh Crimson Rain Sought Flower is his name? *swoons* HOLY SHIT HE'S HOT *nosebleeds*

I like this kid san lang. OoO Did he just suck the poison out of me?!?! DAYUM he killed so many people at once *swoons x2*... WAIT IS HE HUA CHENG??!?! Oh my gosh IT IS Hua Cheng ajhsjdhsudhu Let's act calm and composed hehe. Let's sleep together cuz He would never hurt me >:( I wonder what happened to the kid who said he'd worship only me :( He was a good kid yk? Had one eye covered too kinda like you actually haha Funny Right???

He's so perfect as a "sworn brother" ( Yes I'm looking at you SQX) protecting me and shit. Wait he trusts me??? ME?!?! huh?!?!. San Lang~~~. AHHH HE RELEASED 3000 LANTERNS FOR ME AHHHH I LOVE HIM as a friend ofc ofc.

Oh I LOVE getting Spiritual Energy from him <3 that wasn't a kiss nope it wasn't.... ERROR 101 San Lang asked my hand in marriage ERROR.... o h He was Joking :( ofc he was :((( I wish he wasn't tho :((((( SAN LANG HAS A BELOVED?!?!? Ofc he has He's such a handsome and kind man he probably gets all the bitches he wants But why do I feel smth weird in my heart?? (IT'S CALLED JEALOUSY YOU DUMB MOTHOFO )

Honestly God (Jun Wu LMAO) Knows how he survived the past 800 years like BRO WHY IS YOU SO STUPID when it comes to love?!?!? Like ISTG He's one of the smartest of all the jokes called "GODS". But he still doesn't get it till he saw the 10,000 statues Hua Cheng prepared like pls

ALSO Hua Cheng the ghost king who defeated 33 gods and how his smartass self esp rubbed the floor with them Civil Heavenly Officials But the one moment he needs it to realise the VERY OBVIOUS FACT that Xie Lian loves him The Genius Smartass is nowhere to be seen

But tbh I can't blame Hua Cheng much here cuz Xie Lian was very oblivious to his own feelings pls BUT STILL

Their Slow-burn was too much for me Like the chemistry was SO OBVIOUS but they're just Dumb kids when it comes to feelings *sighs* The Hualian Brainrot is rotting my brain away as we peak

[orenji-iro-no-sora]

Thoughts on TGCF Vol 2

Vol 1 | Vol 2| Vol 3| Vol 4| Vol 5| Vol 6| Vol 7| Vol 8

*Spoilers*

Firstly, the pace of the books has been just right. I could feel the tension rising gradually. After an almost light hearted investigation in the first book, this one definitely got more and more thrilling (and serious) but it didn't feel sudden at all.

Eming and good times in the Ghost City

I'd say one of my favourite parts of the second volume were the Hualian moments in the Ghost City. It was definitely the calm before the storm though. I could feel my heart racing when Hua Cheng appeared from the curtain. How did the author add so much tension when all they were doing was shaking a dice cup, I don't know!

Eming, the scimitar that could destroy heavenly officials, is childlike and sweet. I imagined it would be fierce because Jun Wu warned against it, but MXTX used it to show how different Hua Cheng is from what people think of him.

I theorised that maybe with Hua Cheng missing an eye, it probably belonged to the scimitar and Eming possessed his child spirit and could express emotions that Hua Cheng repressed. But that's just a theory and probably wrong considering that the spiritual instruments of MDZS all had a life and personality of their own so it's not possible for Eming to somehow have a part of Hua Cheng in it. Also in Arc 2, only one of his eyes was visible, so maybe he was blind from the start. I think this will be revealed later on.

Powerless Gods

With more insight into Ling Wen and her inability to get devotees despite being one of the hardest workers in the realm, and the Wind Master having to take up a female role, even the Gods are not spared from sexism, prejudices, and gender expectations. It's obvious considering their worshippers are humans who have been conditioned by society, and like Xie Lian says: "Who cared whether you were a god or a ghost? You were whatever people believed you to be."

At the end of the day, for Gods, worshippers carry the most power. While devotees fear the Heavens, they are the source of the official's "merits". Xie Lian was right to question the power dynamics between immortals and worshippers. Officials are helpless in how people perceive them (like Feng Xin lol), and they're powerless when it comes to mortal matters. They can't interfere and they can't influence.

And this truth, I believe, is one of the biggest sources of conflict for Xie Lian. He understands better than anyone that he's powerless (and yet powerful) which is why he fears disappointing others and doing the wrong thing (as he has already gone through it all in the past) and which is also why ascending for him, in my opinion, is a curse. He believed that by walking the path of the cultivator, he could become the saviour of his people. That his determination and goodwill could and would lead to eternal peace.

But in reality, there's no point to his ascension. The world carries its own fate and he can't change destiny. He's even more restricted in what he can do as he's no longer a mortal. While insults and harsh words can't stop him, as I believe Xie Lian has always been very confident in his virtue, I think they hurt just the same because he couldn't live up to his own convictions and they're a constant reminder of his shameful past.

Both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng aren't what they are rumoured to be. The kind of people they are, and how they have been perceived by others do not align. But that's pretty much the case for all characters. In reality too, people always see what they want to see.

However what's interesting is that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have been imagined to the opposite extremes of the spectrum. To Lang Qianqiu, Xie Lian was a saint. (I'd admit that when he asked Qianqiu to not venerate him, I realised I had done the same.) To others, he was a failure and Hua Cheng was the devil. But both of them were more than that.

Xie Lian's frustration: the injustices despite kindness

In this sense, they both were their truest versions with each other. Which is why, when Xie Lian, finally, finally expressed his frustration and anger, it was to Hua Cheng.

Throughout vol 1, I was waiting for Xie Lian to express some irritation or anger or something that wasn't gentle acceptance. If he had fought Jun Wu after his ascension, he must have been pissed. And there's so much in his life that was unjust that there's no way he wouldn't be. Maybe 800 years is enough to get over it, I said to myself, but there must be days when it hits him. Every step he took, he took to save the common people but saving the people didn't coincide with doing the right thing.

For me, the most important part of the second book was when Xie Lian talked about the injustice of the Guilded Banquet. "He simply felt deeply wronged. He’d acted with such benevolence, but he didn’t receive equivalent kindness in return... I just don’t think it’s right for someone to have been kind but still meet a bad end. I don’t think it should have ended up this way."

Truer words have not been said!! I think one of the hardest aspects of doing the right thing, the kind thing, being morally and ethically inclined is that in this world, benevolence is rarely reciprocated. And I needed Xie Lian to say it. And he did. And I was glad that he admitted to it all.

Because despite knowing that kindness will not guarantee paradise, it may even lead to chaos, to him (and to me), it's still the right thing to do. That's why he wanted Qianqiu to continue being kind, even when the consequences were nonsense. That's why he'd take the blame and bear the responsibility.

Flowers and Butterflies, the cyclical nature of Hualian's fate

Finally, I really wanted to talk about Hualian and their intertwined fate. When Xie Lian saved Hua Cheng during the procession, he appeared like a white ethereal butterfly. And later when Hua Cheng rescues him, he uses his butterflies (deadly to others but gentle to xie lian) to break into Heaven. 'Hua' means flower is what Xie Lian saves at first and what becomes a symbol of his gentleness. And then later, Hua Cheng is the one who sought flowers and protected Xie Lian.

Also Hua Cheng is said to bring misfortune to all those around him and Xie Lian is the darling of the Heavenly Emperor. But he ends up believing that he's unlucky and causes harm to everyone near him and isolates himself while Hua Cheng always says that he's the luckiest.

In a way, their fates have been reversed. But also, they directly or indirectly brought fortune/misfortune in each other's life. Maybe it can be said that Xie Lian's ascension, which I think was his misfortune, was a result of Hua Cheng's star of solitude. Maybe Hua Cheng's power is Xie Lian's blessings. Or maybe everything has been fated and destined to happen exactly as it happened. Either way, I think it's neat.

[grungiiuvu]

pspspsppspspspspspsps: top 10 favorite tgcf characters?

How dare you 'pspspspspsp' me lmao, but i am more than happy to recieve an ask!!

Mu Qing - i think this is pretty obvious, especially if you read my fic :)) I just think he's brilliant lol

Xie Lian - he's our main character and I really love him!! He feels like a breath of fresh air from most MCs. Genuinely a calm and level-headed character. Compassionate without being naive and just so loveable

Shi Wudu - look, man, i'm a big sibling myself. I'd do exactly what he did to the letter to save my little sister so, honestly, respect.

Mei Nianqing - there's something about him I just love. Perhaps it's the way Hua Cheng actually listens to him on many occassions and the fact he really isn't paid enough for this

Ling Wen - I'm a lesbian, she's lowkey evil and hot, need I say more?

Shi Qingxuan - I'm a lesbian, she's really nice and hot, need I say more?

Feng Xin - puppy :))

Yin Yu - I really understand him, honestly, and just want the best for him

He Xuan - put him in a fish bowl, it's his natural environment!!!

Pei Ming - he's hilarious, he's here to fuck shit up, and he somehow doesn't have chlamydia. He deserves a salute for managing that one lol

Thank you very much for the ask!!!

[fellfirst-fellharder-fight]

Round 2: Fight 2

Jonathan "Jon" Sims/Martin K. Blackwood (The Magnus Archives) vs Xie Lian/Hua Cheng (Heaven Officials Blessing)

Propaganda under the cut!

Jonathan "Jon" Sims/Martin K. Blackwood (The Magnus Archives):

they're so silly!!!!!!!! they have ruined my life with their silliness. can't believe martin spent 4 seasons pining on this pathetic little man.

martin has has a crush on Jon since about the start of the series,and when he notices that Jon is having trouble due to the horrors,he tries his best to help him out we are only sure that Jon fell in love after Martin did,but it is fairly accepted in the fandom that jon had Fallin in love with Martin at around season 3-4(?) mostly due to the point that Jon was the one to ask Martin to gouge his own eyes with him so that they would both be safe from the horrors,and it is presumably Jon that was able to acquire Daisy's safehouse (a lovely home in Scotland) and was able to convince martin to run away to a different country with him(they lived in London) not to mention that at the end of the series,Jon had decided to use himself to try to slow the apocalypse down to make it barable,but the moment martin was in danger due to that mistake,Jon switches gears and sacredixes himself,the world,and martin,just so he wouldn't have to be alone during the apocalypse if that isn't fell first,fell harder,idk what is!!

martins canonically got feelings for jon since at least the late second season, and aside from a few moments of jealousy and his very obvious doting, he manages to be pretty normal about it. jon realises he has feelings for martin and he literally never shuts up about him. finds any excuse to talk to the man despite martin (at this point) trying to cut himself off from everyone. 'hey martin this woman neither of us care about that actively tried to kill me once is in danger do you think i should save her' as if he has an opinion? and then theres of course the wonderful 'lets gouge out our eyes and run away together 💖' love confession of the century. when they do start dating jon wont stop saying 'my boyfriend 💞💞💞' with the most lovesick and proud voice

im sure you're gonna get so many submissions for them but to summarize: Martin is the one who started writing love poetry all the way back in S1 but Jon is the one who suggested they both BLIND THEMSELVES AND RUN AWAY TOGETHER in S4

Xie Lian/Hua Cheng (Heaven Officials Blessing):

Hua cheng literally fell of a building and Xie lian caught him and has been silently ping for him for thousands of years like, making statues of him, following him around in disguise, wearing a string on his finger to mimic the hair that xie lian put there once. And Xie lian once he figures it out is willing to disobey heavens direct orders to smooch Hua cheng even though he was explicitly told that Hua cheng was dangerous and not to be associated with. They make me crazy insane. Ndheuaisbdudhdjdi

[thisisallthehattersfault]

Y’know given Hua Cheng’s shapeshifting and Shi Qingxuan’s shapeshifting and He Xuan’s shapeshifting and the kingdom of Xianle prizing androgyny and Xie Lian’s total blasé attitude about when people confuse him for a woman

I feel like maybe my Wei Clan don’t… do… gender?

Like. I think after a few generations of being surrounded by all this gender fuckery from all directions — especially when you know the girls would be raised with just as much freedom and indulgence as the boys — I feel like eventually everybody’s gender identity would be best described as a shrug. The Wei know what gender society Expects them to be, and for their own convenience they typically just go along with that, but it doesn’t actually have any weight for them.

Wei Changze doesn’t like the way makeup feels on his (their?) face but he likes when he gets to leave the Jiang sect and go home for holidays and stuff because it means they get to wear pretty dresses.

The family’s perspective on other peoples’ genders is that like. If you tell me your name is Familyname Givenname, and your favorite color is orange, and you really like lychee, and you are a woman, It is not my place to say “no, you’re wrong” about any of that.

Like, gender to them os very much a societal role, and those roles don’t apply to them, but it’s sort of like… occupations? This musician is a woman. She does musician things, like compose her own music, and perform for audiences, and maintain her instrument of choice. She does woman things, like manage the house’s finances, and cook, and wear makeup. Those are all fine, good things for a person to do, and we wish her as much success in her career as a woman as we do her success in her career as a musician.

The only time Wei Changze ever cared much about gender was after meeting Cangse Sanren, when he felt the spark, realized instantly she was his destined one, and then just as quickly realized he was gonna have to somehow explain this stuff to her and oh god people who aren’t of Xianle get Weird about this what if she thinks it’s creepy or gross oh no

(Of course CSSR is super interested and curious and lowkey turned on and it is the complete opposite of an issue)

It is so, so much weirder for Wei Wuxian, who was kidnapped and presumed dead for the first seventeen some-odd years of his life, and was very much raised As A Man. Not only does meeting his long lost family send him down an identity crisis for all of the obvious “what do you mean I’m half-undead Ghost Royalty” reasons, but it ALSO sends him down a gender crisis, which happens right on the heels of his sexuality crisis re: realizing that LWJ is his Destined Other, which then tucks neatly into yet another crisis because LWJ already barely likes him (them?????) will he be able to handle it if Wei Wuxian is also kind of a girl sometimes??? Would he like it better if Wei Wuxian is always a girl???? Is that even and option or does Wei Wuxian need to stop doing gender entirely??????? He doesn’t know how to do that???????????

(Wei Wuxian does not, in fact, need to make any changes or choices with regards to his gender if he does not want to, nobody is gonna pressure him, but the kid is going through a lot in a very short amount of time and the spiral is probably going to be cathartic, so let him have a breakdown. He deserves it.)

(Of course, LWJ does a lot more than “barely like” WWX, and once the gender thing is explained to him he does a lot more than just “handle it.” He is supportive and eager to learn and understand and, of course, as always, kind of horny about it. He ends up deciding he has a Thing for WWX in slinky nightgowns, and they have lots of weirdly tender, nasty, disrespectful sex about it.)

[veliseraptor]

Hualian for the meme

(finishing out the ones of these I had left in my drafts from...last week yikes)

yes!!! my favorite MXTX main ship by far. I love them so much they're so good

What made you ship it?

I feel like this was actually one that I just was...sold on pretty fast because I love the dynamic between the two of them so much. I mean, look. The vast majority of the time I am all about the super fucked up ships built on betrayal and suffering, and this is not to say this ship doesn't have its own fucked up stuff going on (hoo boy, Hua Cheng, you've got some issues that need unpacking), but what gets me about these two is how much they like each other, and how much fun they have in each others' company.

It was just clear pretty much right off the bat how much they just enjoy being around each other and it is so much fun to read that.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I touched on this up there but I think a big thing is how neat they both think the other person is, but particularly and specifically how cool Xie Lian thinks Hua Cheng is. Like, Hua Cheng has this whole long-game desperately trying to impress his #1 idol he's been pining for for 800 years thing going on (oh boy), but Xie Lian is just like "I met this fearsome ghost king two days ago, isn't he neat."

I just love that. Particularly how Xie Lian just kinda lets Hua Cheng have his San Lang disguise as long as he wants. He knows who he is but if Hua Cheng wants to pretend he's someone else that's fine! It's whatever.

Xie Lian's general acceptance and lack of concern about most things involving his own life is deeply concerning on many levels but I do enjoy it when it comes to him just, like. Letting people have their little deceptions if it seems important to them.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I honestly have no idea what's unpopular here and I'm probably happier that way, as is so often the case.

Other than maybe I guess I want to say that I'm not actually as interested in them having sex and more interested in them doing kink, if that makes sense. I just think Xie Lian should dom Hua Cheng. But I feel like that's so obvious it must not be unpopular; fandom has surprised me before, though.

[truly-morgan]

[Kinktober 2022: Foursome, feat. HuaLian (18+)]

FengQing | Heaven Official’s Blessing 24-10-2022

Day 24: [Three or moresome] | B̷u̷k̷k̷a̷k̷e | G̷o̷r̷e

Xie Lian wasn’t sure what he had expected while going with Feng Xin and Mu Qing on an investigation. Ending up stuck in a room after being fed an aphrodisiac isn’t on the list of possible outcomes.

====

His body felt like it was on fire, the air suffocating, his skin too sensitive to everything and his head was pounding painfully. But more importantly, he tried to hide just how hard he had gotten.

If he were to look at everyone else in the small room, he’d realise they were pretty much all in the same state.

He wasn’t sure what he should have expected when he and Hua Cheng followed Feng Xin and Mu Qing on their investigation. It was supposed to be about strange disappearances in the south, a lot of men going missing and none had been seen since then.

Little did he expect for them to be drugged with aphrodisiacs as they were trying to get information. Even worst, being trapped in a room they couldn’t get out of.

“Gege, you are burning up” Hua Cheng commented after gently touching his forehead, frowning at his state. He leaned into the somewhat cool touch. Even his husband felt warmer than usual despite being a ghost.

“Fuck my spiritual energy is being blocked and I can’t fucking open this door” Feng Xin complain, kicking at the door. It was clearly taking a toll on him, seeing how his movements were more sluggish than intended.

“Would you quit yelling for once” Mu Qing snapped back, suddenly pulling him away from the door so he would stop making so much noise. He didn’t expect for the man to stumbled back the way he did, something between a yelp and a moan escaping his mouth when the man fell on his lap.

“How weak are you that only this makes you moan” Feng Xin mocked, trying to get up from where he had fallen.

“Weak?!” Mu Qing replied, “Then what is this,” he asked, hand going to palm at the obvious tent in his pants. He smirked when Feng Xin groaned, legs giving out a little and nearly falling all over him again.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but blush even more at the action the two other men were doing, trying to prove their point by keeping on pushing against each other. Hearing his friends moan and groan in pleasure sure wasn’t on the list of things he had planned for this investigation.

“I think we should get our strength back if we manage to get the aphrodisiac out of our system” Hua Cheng ends up commenting. To this, Xie Lian only blushed even more, looking up at the ghost king who offered him a small smile.

“No shit genius” Mu Qing replied with sarcasm.

“This means we should probably try to accelerate the process before they decide to come back and do something to us” Hua Cheng added.

“San Lang” Xie Lian replied a bit more quietly, shifting where he was sitting. The idea of doing anything while his friends were there was… pretty embarrassing.

He felt himself being pulled into Hua Cheng’s lap, arms wrapping around him. He would really like the touch, were he not feeling like he was about to combustion and while having an audience.

“It’s okay Gege,” Hua Cheng said nicely, leaning his chin on Xie Lian’s shoulder, “if you’re embarrassed I can always make sure they won’t be able to look” he added.

It sounded too cheerful for the weird implication this had.

“What do you want to do while you’re… helping him,” Feng Xin asked, frowning.

“I don’t care” the ghost king smiled, “You could both go have fun in your own corner for all I care”.

It was a bit hard to do really, seeing that the room was really small and barely left 2m between where the couple was in their corner and where Feng Xin and Mu Qing were fighting near the door.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but squirm where he was sitting, blushing when he felt just how hard Hua Cheng was against him. One looked up at his friends and he could tell they were doing all that much better.

“It’s alright” he simply said, “Just don’t fight anymore” he added. Everything was starting to feel too much, I wanted to get some release and hearing them fight wasn’t really helping him feel better.

“As Gege demands” Hua Cheng replied, kissing his neck as hands started to work his robes off.

Then they were already getting lost in their own bubble, Hua Cheng undressing him after he did admit feeling too hot. Hands skillfully finding every sensitive part of his body.

Xie Lian tried to keep his voice in check, but it was a bit hard to do as Hua Cheng kept teasing him.

He ended up retaliating, trying to turn a little so he could help take away the ghost king’s clothes too, not wanting to be the only one like this.

Plus, the layers were making it hard to also try and pleasure him.

As they were lost in each other, Feng Xin and Mu Qing couldn’t help but look away. They had already seen Xie Lian half naked in the past, from helping him change or training. But this was completely different.

They couldn’t stop hearing though, and they would both lie if they said it didn’t push their arousal further.

Then they exchanged a look, before nodding in silent agreement. They couldn’t just wait it out and see what would happen when their spiritual energy was still blocked.

And simply jerking off while the couple was going at it just felt weird.

So they might as well join in.

Soon they were at each other’s clothes, nearly ripping it off of. It sure look way less loving and gentle than what their companion were doing.

They somehow started to argue again on who should top, if they were to go that far. At some point Mu Qing just gave up, starting to get tired from all this and just wanting to get it over with.

He was surprised by how much ease Feng Xin had to move him around, placing him on his hand and knee as he started fingering him. He sure hadn’t expected him to go directly for that, but he assumed he shouldn’t have expected for the man to be one to want to caress him.

Although he was being surprisingly gentle despite all the barking he was doing.

Once he stopped focusing on what was happening behind him, he realised with a startle that Xie Lian was in a similar position as him now. They were nearly breathing against each other, the room too small for all of them really.

He wanted to look away, but somehow ended up rather captivated by how the martial god looked like. It had been a while since he last saw him so up close, and never…. In this kind of situation.

He blushed when he met eyes with him, looking away quickly when he realised that he was probably not looking any better. Not when he was trying to keep in his moans, Feng Xin was surprisingly pretty good at it. He wasn’t sure if he should actually be that surprised.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a hand grab his, Xie Lian offering him an awkward but reassuring smile. He couldn’t help but let a laugh escape him at the absurdity of the situation.

He also didn’t miss the glare Hua Cheng was giving him, he nearly wanted to touch Xie Lian more just to piss him off, but didn’t want to make it more awkward for the god.

“Just go on already,” Mu Qing said to Feng Xin. He felt like he was burning and he needed more to come.

And he was pretty sure just fingering him wouldn’t do it for Feng Xin either.

“Tsk, how fucking impatient” he mumbled, fingers pulling out, leaving him twitching around nothing. He instead felt him shift behind him, something pressing against him, before pushing in.

He also felt Feng Xin lean over him, his free arm going around his torso, keeping him close. “Tell me if it’s hurt” he heard near his ear, feeling his hot breath against his neck.

This felt strangely intimate, something weird in him reacting to all this.

He decided to ignore him, just focusing on staying relaxed so it could go better. Thankfully they had some balm without them to somewhat make it slide better.

He sure didn’t expect it when Feng Xin started to kiss his neck, nibbling at the skin slightly as he started moving his hips. He turned a little towards him as he was panting, looking at him a bit puzzled. He shivered slightly at the heated look he received, not having expected that.

When he was kissed he was even more surprised, moaning against Feng Xin's lips as he hit just the right spot while moving. He decided to keep kissing him, feeling like it could be him quiet more.

“They seem to be getting along for once,” Hua Cheng chuckled as he pulled his lover back against his chest, enjoying the lovely sound Xie Lian made as he slowly sank on his cock. Still, the god managed to hum in agreement, shyly eyeing the two martial gods.

He couldn’t focus on them for too long though, since Hua Cheng started moving his hips to fuck into him. Hands were teasing his chest and his leaking cock, knowing just how he liked it. He ended up turning towards the ghost king, demanding kisses too from him.

And as much as he was focusing on Hua Cheng, he sure wasn’t fully unaffected by his friends. He would never have expected in his rather long life to find the sight of friend having sex to be arousing. Maybe it was the specific situation, but still.

They weren’t really there only for that though, Feeling how Hua Cheng wasn’t really taking his tie to make it last as long as possible. They were doing this for a reason and lust wasn’t really at the top of the list right now.

Feng Xin had also picked up the pace, one of his hand jerking Mu Qing in a similar quick rhythm to the movement of his hips.

Everyone ended up coming around the same time, some more delayed than others. This wouldn’t be enough to get all the drugs out of their system, but Feng Xin could already feel some spiritual energy coming back to him.

“They’ll fucking see” he grumbled as he was dressing up again, “I’ll kick some ass even without my full energy”.

Maybe if needed they to because there was still some aphrodisiac left in their system, they would finish the job. Now they just needed to get out.

====

(god this feels a bit all over the place. Also, am not sure if it's as much foursome as just having sex in the same room, but still, here it is¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Original - AO3

[baeshijima]

I NEED TO WATCH THE DONGHUA i told myself that i will... and never got around it 😭 i could read the entire novel in like 10 days including a one day break (haha... blackwater arc...) and yet i cant get myself to watch a single episode 😞 duality of a man

hualian is rly just having their little love story full of yearning and pining whle everyone else around them suffer </3 they didn't want us to be happy for too long i fear. we had to feel xie lian's pain or something because that man didnt catch a break in his life either 😭😭

YEAH RIGHT like i understand he xuan. i really do. i would be absolutely furious if someone just stole the life i was meant to have?? not to mention the terrible TERRIBLE fate his family and he xuan himself suffered... no revenge would be enough ngl </3 which really makes me wonder if he felt any kind of true satisfaction after doing it??? the man that ruined his life is dead and his life purpose has been fulfilled, but also sqx suffered a LOT because of that and... man he was innocent at the end of the day!! how do you move on from that!! especially since his relationship with sqx was already so complicated...

it makes me think how swd and hx are kinda similar honestly AAAA moving past the obvious that both are related to water (and funnily enough both sink ships but for different reasons), they both were willing to do a lot for people they care about... swd with the entire fate switching thing to ensure sqx lives a good life, hx with all the things he did during his mortal life to try to help his family... and they both kept things hidden from sqx 😔

DONT EVEN REMIND ME OF THIS AUGHHHH "you called the wrong person" man do you want me to cry. i think yes HAHSHSH IT PAINS ME SO BADLYYY absolutely heartbreaking moment, heart shattered into many pieces dont talk to me im unwell!! i haTE IT THEREEE

THE ART IS SO PRETTY BUT IT HURTSSSS literally cries and evaporates. sqx come on come here im gonna give you a hug MANY HUGS HE NEEDS THEM!!!! need to have a talk with mxtx because he went through all that FOR WHAT

... 😃😃 i do not wish to be a part of this symphony bye bye! count me out! i need to know what inspired that person to do this and have a nice talk why would they do that 😭😭😭 theres nothing sparkles dolphins happiness about beefleaf only despair anguish suffering and my tears

PLS i watched the donghua first when it first released on netflix like a year or two ago and then discovered there was a whole set of novels for the series and my life hasnt been the same since 🧍‍♀️ but yes same here... i really should just set aside time to reread the novel and refresh everything despite all the tears i most definitely will be shedding for the characters ;w;

fr 😭 honestly very much in love with the audio and art choice for the hualian drama tho bc it has both that romantic devotion of hua cheng + xie lian coming to terms with the fact he wanted this, as well as that eerie feeling that smth isnt quite right mainly with hua cheng and his condition + the dark stylistic choice of the art... huhu love it so much .... also qi rong was so 😭😭 he was such a menace i was crying

NO BC??? he xuan having to watch all of that happen to him and his family, watch someone else take the life meant for him, as his whole world comes crashing down from the unjustified deaths of his family and then himself, and then having to watch that person who ended up living his life be so carefree and innocent not knowing what it cost to live as such??? man. i genuinely cannot even begin to fathom how much pain and anguish and grief is in him. and then growing to care for that person, or at least the unyielding kindness in which they showed, must have been another blow to his grief and everything he stood for ;w;

and gosh my baby shi qingxuan basically being the collateral in this scenario and still being willing to accept death as punishment despite not being the one at fault, but if it meant atoning for the sins /him/ and his brother committed to hx and his family then he would go through with it.... and him rather choosing the option to sacrifice himself and switch his fate for one of the other souls as opposed to beheading shi wudu, arguing that its better to live a worse life then die a good life while swd is trying to get him to commit the alternative option bc a life without his brother is a life worse than death itself and he would rather die than see sqx become what would have been, only to switch up after and try to take them both down together bc he was convinced sqx wouldnt be able to live 😭

AND THEN when hx literally um. yknow. to swd arm to separate him from sqx while. um. yknow. despite wanting them both to suffer in some way, but ended up showing that, in his own way, he didnt want sqx to be in pain. sqx screaming crying and basically throwing up definitely moved him even tho he said he wouldnt be moved, and it showed esp during that scene 😭 i think swd picked up on that too bc he started laughing and taunting hx ("what are you laughing at?"//"i laugh at you, thinking you have the upper hand!") into killing him so that sqx wouldnt have to, betting on the fact he could create a third option by using the care hx undeniably has for sqx... he may have been a shitty person, but swd was a great brother ;w;;

also the fact that hx was literally in a lose-lose situation bc he gave them two options and told them they could only pick from those, only to lose composure when swd tried to take both him and sqx down, then got taunted by swd laughing at his misfortune and getting the last laugh while sqx is desperately begging him to stop talking and provoking hx, ultimately leading into hx killing swd himself, and then having to see sqx lose his will to live.... ourgh.... and dont even get me started on the fact he couldnt even move on as a ghost despite fulfilling his meaning for existence (the revenge), and how sqx is basically whats kept him tethered down but he can only watch from the sidelines as sqx lives his life... they shouldve just talked gdi.......

swd: he (sqx) really knew nothing from beginning to end! hx: that's why he's even more hateful! why doesn't he know?!

;w;;

hx: i gave you a chance!

the chance(s) in question probably not even being made clear to sqx and it was just hx assuming that sqx would know it was a "it's me or your brother" kinda choice but each to their own hx ;w;

swd: ...but qingxuan's crime is not punishable by death, you... hx: then who among my family of five is guilty? who should die?

WHEN I SAY THIS BROKE ME I MEAN THIS SHATTERED ME !!! swd saying sqx doesnt deserve to die and hx retaliating with the "then did my entire deserve their unjustifiable deaths?!" will never not destroy me and having heard it in the ad... its a whole other type of depression on god

hx: do you have anything to say? sqx: ...i want to die. hx: dream on.

FUCK THEMMMM I HATE IT HERE WHY CANT WE HAVE NICE THINGS WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO TRAGIC WHY COULDNT HX JUST FULFIL HIS REVENGE BY MARRYING SQX BC WE ALL KNOW THAT WOULD PISS SWD OFF THE MOST BUT NO THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS ARC AND THE WORST PART IS ALL THEIR ACTIONS ARE JUSTIFIABLE TO WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH AND OURGHGDFG

laughing through the pain like genuinely. it was so foul to have the hualian teehee but also not really teehee but still very much teehee scene and then go straight into beefleaf depression what is life what is the point of life why am i here just to suffer scene...

(we ignore the one para of hualian compared to the beefleaf essay bc hualian is a whole other bag i am not ready to open with everything they have going on 🧍‍♀️ i need another five years at least to mentally and emotionally recover from the blackwater arc audio drama 🧍‍♀️)

[themiracleofteddybearmanifestos]

Spoilers for Heaven Official's Blessing/TGCF

I've finished reading TGCF in record time (for me) and now idk what to do cause it was my hyperfixation and now that I'm done I'm depressed.

Anyways all that aside, since it's literally permeated my brain to the point it's rotting, any song I hear makes me think of it and here are my top few recent ones that I really love

Without further adieu, Songs That Remind Me of Heaven Official's Blessing:

1) Everything In You - HalfShy, Adventure Time. Lyrics:

You and me We got something to lose Boy, you got your dreams I got everything in you And I'll be there through all the reveries 'Cause I believe in you more than I ever believed in me Ooh, and I love you, love you, love you No, it's not so hard to tell And I love you, love you, love you Is it obvious to everyone else?

And maybe this is killing part of me But it ain't called love without a little tragedy

Explanation: Pretty straightforward, it's Hua Cheng's perspective. He's dedicated to the max. Though the intention here differs from the original context of the song in AT, it still applies. The tragedy here is not stemming from their relationship, but damn these two are poster children for tragic back stories.

2) J's Lullaby - Delaney Bailey. Lyrics:

Darlin', I'd wait for you Even if you didn't ask me to Tie a lasso around the moon And bring it on down to you I'd bottle the feelin' you give me And shelve that stuff for years to come 'Cause, baby, when your arms are around me I'd swear that I'm holding the sun I'd give you the sun if you asked me You could have all of the time You could have the stars and the trees When dividin' up the universe You could have mine You could have mine Darlin', I wish that you Could give me some more time To herd the whole sky in my arms And release it when you're mine

Explanation: again, very applicable to Hua Cheng's perspective. This song is one of the most intensely dedicated and heartfelt love songs and Hua Cheng is maybe the most loyal person to ever exist (800 years and not a single negative thought about Xie Lian, never a doubt in his mind of how much he loves him or if he should give up). Seriously, this song fits SO well I feel like to explain it would be redundant.

3) Little Life, Cordelia

Explanation: So, this one for me made me think of Xie Lian and the domestic little life he has with Hua Cheng and how much that means to him. This one isn't just lyrical, it's the whole sound and feeling of the song which is why I included it instead of writing the lyrics.

4) Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA/Meryl Streep (both versions are good). Lyrics:

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness And I have to sit down for a while The feeling that I'm losing her forever And without really entering her world I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter That funny little girl Slipping through my fingers all the time I try to capture every minute The feeling in it Slipping through my fingers all the time Do I really see what's in her mind Each time I think I'm close to knowing She keeps on growing Slipping through my fingers all the time

Explanation: This one's a lot different as this actually made me think of Xie Lian's mom. Seeing her son grow into a god and witnessing the distance grow between them. She was fully supportive and had so much love for her son, but he grew further and further away from her. This one gets me real sad, even if his mom wasn't super present in the story it's still heartbreaking.

And yeah, basically every song will remind me of the series ATM bc it's literally all that's on my mind but these 4 especially did and made me want to edit videos but I don't have that kinda time or energy or talent lmao. But the series is just.... Ughhhh it's such a beautiful story, even with any questionable moments/details, it's genuinely such a fantastically written series and GOD the love between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng is painfully beautiful. I don't love codependency but idec with these two they're both so supportive of each other and both fully want to be together at all times and you know what I also want them to be together at all times, they deserve it. I knew there was a lot of trauma since I first watched the show in 2021 and have been a fan, but actually reading all the books and learning everything is gut wrenching and heartbreaking and yet so beautiful and satisfying.

[puns-parce]

YOOOO I just listened to Happier Than Ever for once (instead of just that one clip) and the ending of of it just makes me think of how Xie Lian and Hua Cheng wronged my favorite Xian Le trio. aka, Feng Xin, Mu Qing, and Qi Rong.

Side note - I do like Xie Lian's character and I like a lot of Hua Cheng's lines but this will be sorta critical and riddled with some headcanons and inferences since the book is obviously centered on the main characters and sometimes doesn't fully explain side characters' emotions and what not!

MQ and QR haters probably won't like this one but to explain-

You scared me to death but I'm wasting my breath / 'Cause you only listen to your fucking friends

I see this as all 3 of them. For Mu Qing and Feng Xin, it's obvious. They worry frequently about their friend because he's hanging around a ghost king who is...frankly, pretty unpredictable to others and capable of horrible, horrible things. with and without cause. and xie lian listens to HC more than them at this point, which obviously stings since they want to be his friends and try to help him as much as they can. For Qi Rong, I see it as him trying to hold Xie Lian accountable for leaving him behind and letting him die in Xian Le at the hands of...anyone really (which was ofc a scary experience for a young man) but he knows it's a waste. Xie Lian already doesn't like him and anything Hua Cheng says Xie Lian will generally trust and HC hates QR.

I don't relate to you no / 'Cause I'd never treat me this sh-tty / You made me hate this city

THIS i see as Qi Rong finally, as a ghost, coming to the realization that he finds no relation to his cousin anymore. Any closeness, any love is gone. Xie Lian abandoned him, kept him in the dark, berated him. He'd never do that to himself, much less to Xie Lian. And now? Now he doesn't even have his home - he hates Xian Le. It's a reminder of all he had and all he lost - it's a reminder of what his cousin did to him. Or, more accurately, what his cousin never cared enough to do for him.

And I don't talk sh-t about you on the internet / Never told anyone anything bad / 'Cause that sh-t's embarrassing, you were my everything / And all that you did was make me f-cking sad

First off the number of swear's in this is totally on brand for FX who swears when he gets worked up. Second off, it's so PERFECT. Hua Cheng essentially accuses Feng Xin of abandoning XL when XL told him to leave. FX was trying to be loyal, and he never talked bad about the crown prince. Sure, he might have had moments of frustration but he'd never talk bad about Xie Lian. Meanwhile, Xie Lian wallows and it begins to seem more like FX abandoned him - which wasn't the case. That's such a depressing thing to know when XL was his everything, he was ready to serve XL to the bitter end. Endlessly loyal to the prince, even if it hurt.

So don't waste time I don't have / Don't try to make me feel bad

Mu Qing, sure he wanted to be Xie Lian's friend. But if Xie Lian is going to keep let Hua Cheng spoon feed him any words and say it's the truth, then he's too busy. He's suffered too - Xie Lian is not the only one who was hurt. Mu Qing is too mature to keep being guilt tripped or have his time wasted by a person that values the opinion of someone that sees him as an irredeemable traitor over a centuries old mistake over the opinion of someone they claim is their close friend

I could talk about every time that you showed up on time / But I'd have an empty line / 'Cause you never did

Another Qi Rong part! I see this as young Rong'er literally waiting for Xie Lian to come visit or talk to him and growing more bitter as he realizes he just doesn't matter. And probably also young Rong'er being beaten, tortured, or killed in the downfall of Xian Le and waiting for his cousin to show up and save him. But he never does.

Never paid any mind to my mother or friends so I / Shut 'em all out for you 'cause I was a kid

Mu Qing's frustration as a human at sticking around to help Xie Lian and his family (longer than he should have tbh) when he could be taking care of his own blind mother, who was also likely impacted by the fall of Xian Le. He was endlessly patient with Xie Lian and so generous in giving his time to Xie Lian, but reflecting back on it he realizes how selfish the crown prince really was, creating that silent sense that he expected Mu Qing to stick around and help (even if he didn't mean to)

You ruined everything good / Always said you were misunderstood / Made all my moments your own

Feng Xin and Mu Qing reflecting on how Xie Lian more or less threw away the kingdom of Xian Le pretty much in an attempt to prove his philosophy correct and, while well intentioned, it was heavily warned against by many. And afterwards it seems like Xie Lian is so misunderstood, so hated by fate...when, in a way...he brought it upon himself. He had received warning from the Guoshi, from Mu Qing, from everyone but he still chose to go through with it out of youthful arrogance and stubbornness and dragged everyone down with him. He made their moments - their futures - his own. He dragged them down with him (but luckily Mu Qing had the guts to take his future, his moment back and Feng Xin was lucky enough to stay to a point where Xie Lian simply dismissed him) and took the path they were supposed to walk together, fracturing it in his attempts to change fate even when many told him it would only cause more harm than good

Just f-cking leave me alone

ever notice how most of the times qi rong has an appearance it's because hc or xl are seeking him out or dragging him along? sure he's troublesome but so is hc. but no one tries to challenge him or force him to change course or try to hurt him. and aside from the issue with xuan ji and him stealing the farmers from Rain Master, we don't really see a point in time where he...creates a large mess meant to hurt many? he just wants to function on his own, walk his own path. but hualian come and regularly f-ck sh-t up for him.

[bao3bei4]

thanks for clearing up the translation thing with mxtx, I see now that I agree with her stance on non-romantic yet intriguing dynamics. but asking this in good faith (you don't have to answer if you feel like I'm starting a fight): what do you think of the hostility that comes from the more serious issues in her books, like the questionable 'main couple meets when one of them was a child', the lack of consent etc? as a poc myself I find it hard to sympathize with all that.

so this is an interesting question, and something that i tried to allude to in that essay. i think there are legitimate criticisms of mxtx. i’ve (obviously) been able to make my peace with them, since i (unfortunately) post so gd much about these posts, but uh. i don’t blame other people if they don’t or can’t.

cw for discussions of fictional sexual violence and exploitation, scum villain’s self-saving system spoilers

scum villain gets most criticism for its premise, which uh. makes sense. it’s about an online hater bro-type who ends up transmigrating into the character he hated most, and has to try to survive the protagonist’s wrath in a shitty trope-y gary stu-esque wish fulfillment harem novel.

so the elephant in the room is that ofc, this is ultimately a teacher-student romance. what i will say in mxtx’s defense is that she does her level best to mitigate this. the protagonist is really fucking stupid. he in no way grooms his student. he actively hates the character he transmigrated into for possibly being inappropriate towards one of his (female) disciples. he remains unaware of his disciple’s affections for comically implausible lengths. he repeatedly gets fridged for years at a time to narrow the age gap. the disciple ends up becoming wildly more powerful than the protagonist.

a friend of mine commented that scum villain’s teacher/student relationship was at the edge of her comfort zone, not the start, and that’s basically how i feel. it doesn’t really read as a teacher-student romance, as much as it does... farce. i don’t blame people for uh, blanket not wanting to read a teacher/student romance. but i will say--i do genuinely think that mxtx took pains to be as unambiguous as possible that this was parody first and grooming never.

i joke--tongue in cheek--that mxtx will introduce two contradictory iffy power dynamics at once and hope they cancel out. luo binghe is shen qingqiu’s student, but shen qingqiu is dumb. also luo binghe is an all-powerful demon lord. hua cheng met xie lian as a child meeting his ruler, but xie lian forgot about him. also hua cheng is an all-powerful demon lord. ymmv on whether you can enjoy this.

the second elephant (it was hiding behind the first one) is the sexual violence, whether consensual or nonconsensual, which is a major plot point in the story. her other novels, modao zushi and tian guan ci fu, have similar criticisms leveled at them.

scum villain has a climatic scene where the male lead, who is not in control of his actions, has sex with the protagonist. the protagonist finds it painful and coercive. it is difficult to read as consensual for anybody involved. modao zushi has multiple sex scenes with consensual nonconsent and also umm general BL tropes. (this is exacerbated by the lack of content warnings for chapters like the incense burner extra, which desperately needs one.) tian guan ci fu has a scene where the young male lead is aware--and can hear--the protagonist being aroused by um i guess what we’ll colloquially call sex pollen.

they aren’t like. fun or sexy to me as a reader, and i think they’re something that have been stopping points for many people. and um yeah. i think it’s pretty obvious why people may not want to read it. i think it’s definitely possible to skip or skim the scenes if they make you uncomfortable. that said, i don’t think they’re exceptional for the genre.

my overall stance is that her novels don’t activate any of my personal hangups too badly, and i enjoy reading them so i do. i don’t find them like, societally harmful, so i don’t discourage other people from reading them. however, i understand that other people may find them uncomfortable for whatever reason, and i won’t try to convince them otherwise.

i want to defend mxtx from random vitriol from people who don’t cite legitimate critiques, while holding space for people whose experiences with sexual violence and exploitation leave them troubled by her books. all in all, i just don’t think she’s a bad person, even if her books sometimes have content that can be triggering and uncomfortable.

[razberryyum]

TGCF donghua Episode 5 Thoughts (SPOILERS!)

Welp this is definitely my favorite episode of the donghua thus far. Holy crap where to even begin??? I rewatched it five times already to make sure I caught every little detail, but I'm sure I still missed something.

Ok first of all, couples fixing each other's hair is a super big soft spot for me, I love seeing that! I think it's so freaking adorable and sweet and domestic. Hell, this whole episode was so freaking adorable and sweet and domestic! It was so difficult deciding which moments were my favorite since I loved so many of them!

But before I get to any of that, I have to say, I am officially in love with this man.

Gawds that look literally made my knees weak. Like, I kinda already loved him the first moment we saw him in the first episode (I mean, is it supposed to be a big secret who he is? Putting aside I already know from just being in the MXTX fandom, I think the donghua's been pretty blatant about his dual identity. Maybe it was easier to hide in the novel). I knew it wouldn't take much for me to love San Lang, I do have eyes after all, but the more time we spend with him the more I am just UTTERLY in love with him. I love his smiling eyes, his sexy aura, his personality, but I especially love the way he looks at Dianxia.

I literally just love watching him watching Xie Lian. I can totally feel his love and devotion. It's like I can't take my eyes off of him because his love for Dianxia is like a magnet drawing me in.

Likewise, I also love the way Dianxia can't seem to keep his eyes off of San Lang either.

And I really appreciate how the donghua plays it off as Xie Lian trying to figure him out, trying to determine if he's the Ghost King. I'm sure he sincerely is doing that but it's also obvious he is just fascinated by this man as well. And we know he thinks he's good looking thanks to his fortune telling attempt.

I just about freaked out when this happened cuz I couldn't believe it. Look I know bros can share a bed and there's nothing untoward about it...

...especially when they keep a respective distance apart. But there was just such a heavy air of sexual tension leading up to it that there was almost no way not to overreact to them sharing a bed straw mat. I mean, after all just a few moments ago, THIS happened.

What was THAT all about?? 😂 What did Xie Lian think San Lang was going to do?? Am I wrong to think naughty thoughts?? I can only work with what they give me.

But given what little I know about their history, I'm puzzled by why San Lang seems almost sad at times when I would expect him to be nothing less than ecstatic. For example, when Xie Lian offered to share his bed with him, I thought San Lang would be overjoyed, but instead as can be seen above, he looked sad. Someone had explained that he was sad over the state of Dianxia's living conditions, which I can understand, but then felt like he should still be a little happy about sleeping next to the one he loves.

Then there was also this curious moment before that:

One would think he'd be totally excited about having physical contact with with Dianxia, but he broke off the contact almost immediately and seemed distraught over it. UNLESS, I was supposed to read that as San Lang forcing himself to break contact in order to control his desire for Xie Lian? That just that little physical connection was already too much and he felt overwhelmed? Hence the trembling lips?

I think I'll go with the second option instead. Hotter that way. And if I'm way off base either way, don't bother to correct me. After all, half the fun in watching without reading the book yet is finding out the answers on my own and seeing how wrong or right my guesses and interpretations are.

Such as, Hua Cheng's eye. San Lang mentioned he guaged it out himself... I'm guessing it had something to do with him failing Dianxia in the past so he plucked out his own eye out of anger? Or was it a sacrifice on behalf of Xie Lian?

And then his ashes...I can't wait to find out if he already gave them to Xie Lian in the past without him knowing it, maybe Dianxia unknowingly even has them on his body now in some portable form, or he will be giving them to him in the near future.

Another thing I'm dying to find out about their relationship is how come Xie Lian has no memory of Hua Cheng or San Lang. Seems like there's some memory loss overall on XL's part based on some of the other gods' reaction to him. I mean, I guess HC could have been just a devotee from afar, but that would be, what, 800 years worth of one-sided love? Damn. Or is that actually the beauty and mystic of HuaLian's love?

His words melted me. I am already a puddle of goo over HuaLian and I barely know anything about them. I hope I'll survive the emotional impact once I truly learn the entirety of their history.

Also can't wait to find out more about his curse mark. Based on San Lang's reaction, I can only guess it had to do with him or he is just upset he couldn't stop it from happening.

Again, please do NOT tell me. I really look forward to finding out on my own...either through the donghua when they get to it or by reading the book when I finally get my shit together. I need to earn my worthiness of being able to worship at Dianxia's altar.

[wolffyluna]

Fic Writer Meme

 I was tagged by @thou-breath-of-autumns-being and @eldritch-elrics. Answers under the cut.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

135

2. What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

387198

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

There’s 22 of them, using a sensible-ish count. There’s Age of Sigmar, MCU, Dragon Age, Dragonshield (yes, the card sleeves), Dungeons and Dragons, Fire Emblem Awakening, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Guild Wars 2, Warhammer 40k, Heaven Will Be Mine, We Know The Devil, Keychain of Creation, Overwatch, Revolutionary Girl Utena, The Adventure Zone, The Magnus Archives, Silmarillion, Undertale, Voltron, TGCF, MDZS, Nirvana in Fire

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

‘The Heat Talking’ - Overwatch omegaverse. It’s popularity is very explicable :P.

‘A Stained Glass Variation of The Truth’ - Xianle Trio sickfic, featuring Mu Qing have a lot of feelings about looking after Xie Lian. This is one of the ones where I look at it’s popularity and go “[nods] my audience has Good Taste.”

‘Let Bastion Say ‘Fuck’‘ - Overwatch crackfic. I wrote for Overwatch a while ago. Those fics are very much not my best work. And Yet.

‘though shadows fall’ - TGCF HuaLian post nightmare hurt/comfort. (which reminds me, I should really write some HuaLian post nightmare hurt/comfort where Hua Cheng is the one who has a nightmare.)

‘All That Can Be Done’ - Overwatch Genyatta angst featuring Zenyatta dying of a God AI virus.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, I really do, but... if I reply, the comment no longer shows up on the ao3 homepage. I do intend to reply, but the lure of having comments on my homepage wins out most times.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Probably either ‘All That Can Be Done’, the aforementioned fic where Zenyatta dies of a God AI virus and gets killed by Genji, or ‘Always Neater In Morality Plays’ where Sazed successfully poisons and kills Taako.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t really write much crossover fanfiction?

...Though I am right now doing an rp featuring a character from a historical tv show set in the Tang dynasty accidentally time travelling into an AU version of the Handmaid’s Tale, so, uh, that’s probably the wildest crossover I’ve been involved in.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I’ve received a few “you’re characterisation is bad and you should feel bad” and “how dare you write something to your tastes and not my tastes!”

‘Always Neater In Morality Plays’ got a... bad reaction. Including a popular blogger vague posting about in a way that made it obvious exactly what fic it is and how grody they found it. They may not have linked the fic directly, but, uh, everyone knew. (And I may have also sent an ill-advised ask along the lines of ‘you have the right to vagueblog whatever fic you like, but for the love of peace could you at least check who is following you, so you don’t put ‘oh god, isn’t this fic the creepiest thing ever?’ straight onto the dash of the author?”  And also a chunk of the TAZ fandom blocked me*.

And then several years later I found out ‘snuff’ meant something different than what I thought it meant (I thought it just meant ‘focus on major character death!) which added an embarassing glace cherry on top of that sundae of bad.

*This became sort of funny when some of these people got into the Magnus Archives. “Oh, so you draw the line at graphic depictions of poisoning, but someone exploding into a shower of worms is fine???”

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do, yes. As for what kind-- well, my ao3 exists and is a relatively comprehensive survey.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nooooot to my knowledge?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but if anyone wants to-- [makes ‘call me’ gesture].

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, not yet. I’d be potentially interested in doing one, maybe one of those ones where one person writes one chapter and then another person writes the next. At the moment I have a friend who is also interested in maybe doing that, we just don’t currently align on fandoms.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

[whine] Don’t make me choose between my babies!

14. What’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

‘A Shattered Angel And A Broken Fist’. It was one of the earlier fics I wrote, back before I learned that if I wanted to write something long, I needed to have an idea of how it was going to end. I lost momentum and now... I honestly have no clue what should happen next? I have re-read and gone “yep, some stuff should happen. Not sure what stuff.” So while a lot of people like it and it would be nice to finish, its probably not happening.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Hmm, I think I’m reasonably good at dialogue? I’m honestly not sure what my strengths are. I don’t mean this in a low self confidence way, more that I know I don’t have an outside perspective on my writing, and like a fish, I’m not super aware of the water I’m swimming in.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a bad habit of people have conversation in Blank Windowless Voids of No Description.

I also have a less bad habit of trying to fill those voids with a) geology and b) Australian fauna and flora. This causes problems when the pov character has no reason to know geology, and the story is not set in Australia.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I am one of those people who pretty much only speaks English, except for the a bit of “Je m’appelle Wolffy. Le chat est petit.” So I don’t write dialogue in other languages. Too much risk of embarrassing error, for not much gain, when you can just use italics or something.

I do have a lot of thoughts about translation conventions in fic where the characters would not be speaking English, and things like whether to live honoriffics. The thoughts are a bit unformed, but mostly revolve around being consistent at least within a fic (no characters being “Your Highness” in one paragraph and “dianxia” the next), trying to avoid the affect you sometimes find in anime fics were every third word is in Japanese, and also trying to maintain character voice. (I occaisionally have moments of “yes, there is an English translation for what this character calls this other character, but it’s not what they canonically say and it’s going to bother me deeply if I only use English.”)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Depending on how you define ‘fandom’ and how you draw the line between historical fiction and historical rpf, my first fandom was the Bagoas fandom. Not the Bagoas what followed Alexander the Great around, no, the vizier who was around before him.

...I was like twelve at the time, just to make this weirder.

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

[whines harder] don’t make me pick between my babies!

[sunmaylight]

TGCF Book 3 Reaction pt.3 - Wind Master’s Self-Designated Quest & The Events that Happen After

I am back again with reactions & comments for when I read book 3. 

This is honestly fun for me because I can look back at what I read and remember my first reaction to everything. I can also see how things connect to make up each arc by going back and reading them. 

I really want to start book 4, but completing this first so I compose myself and not be a mess of emotions reading it. Cause, any book that is mainly about Xie Lian’s past is bound to be filled with angst and possible tears for the guy.

Ch 102: The Love for All Seasons Stew, the stew Xie Lian made and Shi Qingxuan is enthusiastically wanting to try some, shares with Ming Yi. Hua Cheng eats it like nothing and gives Xie Lian feedback

- Me: Ah, RIP Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi. It was nice knowing you two.

Start of the Venerable of Empty Words

Ch 103: The stew knocks out Ming Yi and sends Shi Qingxuan to tears. Then Shi Qingxuan hallucinates

- Me: You know, by this point Xie Lian should have his own warning label to prevent this from happening in the future. What if he made something for Jun Wu and kills him with his cooking? Actually, that sounds pretty funny. This just in: Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu defeated by a plate of questionable food made by his favorite Heavenly Official, Xie Lian.

103: Shi Qingxuan tells a horror story. Xie Lian feels a cold breeze and discovers it’s made by SQX.

- Ah, I think I’m understanding more that Heavenly Officials are really eccentric. Especially the upper court.

Xie Lian casually mentioning he has encountered a Venerable of Empty Words in the past and how that ghost left him after staying with the fallen god for almost a year.

- Me: *sobs* Xie Lian. 

Wind Master talking about his past before ascension and then post ascension

- Me: Okay, but did you actually ascend?

Learns about Heavenly Calamities

- Me: Well, that will surely be relevant in the future.

105: Investigating for the Ghost. Learns that from a tampered list that Hua Cheng killed vengeful, malevolent tyrants

- Me: Hua Cheng, who else have you killed? How the fu-dge is it that you are more productive than Heavenly Officials in making sure nothing bad happens?

As the group was going to leave, Xie Lian remembers the kids (& Qi Rong). 

Hua Cheng: I have already called a babysitter. Don’t worry about a thing Gege.

106: The group was teleported to the wrong place.

- Me: Well, aren’t things starting out just lovely.

Hua Cheng changed clothes and Xie Lian Noticed. 

Hua Cheng & Xie Lian exchange verbal communication passwords. Hua Cheng’s password has Xie Lian blushing.

- Me: WHAT IS IT?

Xie Lian’s password: “Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times.”

- Me: ...Is that a joke? Xie Lian, if they actually had to recite that, it’s like saying you don’t want people to talk to you.

Xie Lian’s password is revealed to be just that phrase. He set it up as a joke

- Me: goddamnit. I have been bamboozled. 

Learning about the legend of the Potential Scholar He, who was mad smart but got a lot of people wanting to crush him out of jealousy. He died after getting his revenge against those who were gatekeeping him.

- Me: HI! WHERE IS THE SHRINE FOR THIS GUY. I NEED A SHRINE TO WORSHIP SCHOLAR HE AS WELL AS A CERTAIN DIANXIA AND HUA CHENGZU

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng now have to play Mafia in a four man group.

Ch 108: A game to sniff out the Word Ghost. The game reminds me of the Japanese Game, King’s Game.

- Me: Is there a Chinese equivalent to the King’s Game?

SQX -’king’- Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have to strip each other. Just one layer

- Me: If this was me to my crush, I would be weirded out to do this in front of my friends. Unless if I was drunk

SQX to Hua Cheng (from the book): “What’s the worse suffering in the world?”

Hua Cheng: “To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet unable to do anything. That’s the worse suffering in the world.”

- Me: (ToT) Hua Cheng. I got to mark this down. Hua Cheng’s beloved and him need their happy ending.

Ming Yi to Xie Lian: “What’s the biggest regret of your life?”

Xie Lian: “My Second Ascension.”

- Me: !!! Xie Lian, what the F*CK happened during the shortest ascension recorded in Heaven?

Ch 109: Hua Cheng lends Xie Lian a ‘bit’ of spiritual power. Xie Lian does a palm thrust and blows off the roof of the temple.

- Xie Lian & Me: ...Hua Cheng, that’s a little bit?

Hua Cheng: Was that not enough? I can lend you more.

Ch 110: Hua Cheng puts on a mini fashion show to Xie Lian in the middle of something important. 

Xie Lian: *focus is pulled away to stare at Hua Cheng*

- Me: Okay. Cute, but please focus. There is a time and place for everything. Now is not the time!

Water Master is suppose to prepare for the third Heavenly Calamity. SQX is kidnapped

- Me: What if this is the third calamity? Having to save SQX from the Venerable of Empty Words?

Xie Lian wants to do a soul-shifting spell, but Hua Cheng is stopping him.

- Me: Hm, does Hua Cheng know something? That is suspicious.

Ch 111: Venerable of Empty Words says: “Don’t worry, with your eyes wide open, you will watch the person coming to seek you die before you!”

- Me: *Thinks of Hua Cheng for Xie Lian* Shit, it got to Xie Lian. I really hope this doesn’t happen in the future. Cause, it’s not like Hua Cheng can die by conventional means since his ashes are ***** - Safe

Wind Master is revealed to be wearing a lot of treasures and gems on their person

- Me: Why is Wind Master wearing all of that?

Soul-Shifting spell ends, Xie Lian hears Hua Cheng’s voice

- Oh shit. I think Hua Cheng is mad.

SQX: “This is the Terrace of Cascading Wine. It’s where I ascended”

- Me: Wait, SQX is one of the Four Famous Tales? The odd one that is like Qi Rong that is about a guy who ascended for just pouring wine?

Learns that Xie Lian was actually sleeping when he ascended.

- Which ascension did that happen at?

SQX is in hysteria after Shi Wudu grabs him. SQX was acting suspicious before then SWD arrived.

- Me: Wow, what happened to SQX? D-did he actually fail his Heavenly Calamity and this is part of the punishment? Do Heavenly Officials get an advance notice that they have a Heavenly Calamity they have to face? Or is he behaving like this because of the removal of all of those artifacts and jewels?

-----

Ch 113: Hua Cheng sent a step-litter, a step-litter that is very extravagant, to Xie Lian. Hua Cheng is giving Xie Lian a fancy carriage ride towards somewhere.

- Me: Wow. What an obvious sign that Hua Cheng has deep feelings for Xie Lian 

The whole Step-Litter Scene of Ghost calling Xie Lian Hua Cheng’s ‘lady’ while he was in the Step-Litter and everything after until they drop Xie Lian off at Puqi Shrine

- Me: THIS NEEDS TO BE ANIMATED

Xie Lian’s new banner: “Return Babes through Miraculous Hands”

- No words

Hua Cheng helping Xie Lian do a task of working in the field. There is an indescribable tension that has been created through Xie Lian’s dense brain

- Me: Man, you can slice the tension with a sword and they still wouldn’t realize anything.

Xie Lian has a mysterious donor who filled his donation box with gold bars. He decides to return them

- Me: Yes, good for you Xie Lian. You do you.

The Drama between the Wind and Water Masters

- Me: You know, there is someone on YouTube who animated this part. I can now only visualize that while reading through my notes.

Earth Master forged his shovel to be his spiritual device. Ming Yi, Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian travel through the tunnels dug by the Earth Master’s Shovel under Heaven

- Me: Wait, does this mean technically anything can be made into a spiritual device?

SQX can’t access his spiritual powers

- Me: shit. Did he actually fail a Heavenly Trial against Reverend of Empty Words?

The three are forced to dig and end up at Quan Yizhen’s palace with Pei Ming behind them

Pei Ming: QYZ, help me out and capture them

QYZ: *sees Xie Lian and remembers what he did for him during the Lantern Festival* - Grabs bed and throws it at Pei Ming- YEET!

Xie Lian tosses dice and the three end up at Puqi Shrine again. Xie Lian is greeted to the sight of a shirtless Hua Cheng finishing up some labour work with using E-Ming.

- Me: Is this going to be Xie Lian’s gay awakening? Will he finally acknowledge he has feelings for Hua Cheng?

Xie Lian immediately calms down and gets back into action

- Me: dang it!

The group, now with Hua Cheng, teleports to the Rain Master’s land. They exchange what they know and Xie Lian is drawing a very terrifying conclusion.

- Me: So, if there was a chart of the four famous tales compared to the four great calamities based on comparing their authenticity of tales

- Xie Lian    Hua Cheng       (They have to match somewhat)

- Princess who slit her throat         White No-Face      (Both have very little knowledge and seem very much bamf)

- General who broke his sword       Black Water       (Just vibes based on their names)

- Shi Qingxuan         Qi Rong     (Don’t really match the others, but are famous enough to get on the list)

Xie Lian connects the dots on Scholar He's name

- is that even possible?

Pei Ming arrives and then the group moves to Shi Wudu’s Heavenly Trial ground cause mortals are in danger. Their mission is to help the mortals and not get in the way of Water Master. 

Hua Cheng changes into a fisherman outfit

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng share a tender moment with a steam bun. General Pei watches them

- Me: Oh? Pei Ming, what did you notice? Did you notice the potential ship between the two of them?

118: The ship somehow wandered into the Ship-Sinking Black Water’s territory.

- Me: Oh no. The drama.

--------

Alright, here seems good. The next part will be the Wind & Water Master Arc pt 2 (?). At least I think so since the Wind part was discovered and now it’s the Water part that’s next. 

You know, I really wanted to comment on a bunch of other stuff. Especially the Hualian moments, but decided against it cause there are some things that should be read