#also.... no fu hua? (read like ''no head'')

[average-hua-cheng-fan]

another reason i think that xie lian felt an instant connection on the ox cart is because he and hua cheng both grew up in xianle.

there are maybe 4 people still alive that grew up in that culture. based on my own experience, you can pick up on things like accent, cadence, references, and humor that suggest a person is from the same place as you without consciously noticing it. that sense of comfort and similarity probably played into their instant chemistry.

[hotdyke-hardstyle]

Forest Capriccio

[papercutsmp3]

bro is inquisitive

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

Tea Shop

Xie Lian x M!reader x Hua Cheng

Y'all I've been thinking for ages how to make a two person scene a three person scene. What am I supposed to do, make two brides??? So if you have any ideas come bless me with them. 🫵🙃

Previous part: God of Song's second ascension

_____________________________________________

After you guide Xie Lian carefully out of the heavens so that he doesn't kill himself by accident . It takes a day to get to a tea shop. It could've taken longer, like three days but you saved yourselves sometimes. Since you can actually have spiritual prowess. The only reason it wasn't any quicker is because Xie Lian demanded you to not overwork yourself and use too much mana.

Xie Lian has always looked simple enough with plain, white robes. You on the other hand have to take on an 'avatar' you don't need anyone noticing you either. So you also dawn white robes, but of course a veil stays on.

You and Xie Lian sit at a table in the corner of the tea shop and you sit across from him. The two of you look over the scroll Ling Wen has given you... it isn't very helpful, but that's alright.

Both yours and Xie Lian's attention is captured by a silver butterfly. It flies across both of you and out the window. When you turn your head your heart almost drops out of your throat. Xie Lian is surprised as well to see two men sitting by you. One sat by you and the other sat by Xie Lian. There's only so much room on these benches after all.

You grimace at their presence. It's not hard to read the spiritual energy from them, they're obvious officials. You glare at them, Xie Lian is much kinder, "Oh uh who are you guys..?"

"Fu Yao" the one by you replies.

"Nan Feng" the one by Xie Lian replies.

You've never side eyed someone so hard in your endless years of life. At the 'Fu Yao' person beside you.

Ling Wen transmits a message to the two of you that they're volunteer officials. You huff inwardly. There's no way anyone from the upper court would offer their deputies from the middle court to help them.

That's because they aren't from the middle court though.

"Well I thank you for your help" Xie Lian says, quickly accepting their new guests.

"Which highnesses sent you?" You ask with narrowed eyes. You know they aren't deputies. Who are you to stress Xie Lian out more though, he already looks horrified when the officials answer his question.

"The palace of Nan Yang"

"The palace of Xuan Zhen"

"..."

Your glare only grows sharper. You've no clue why Mu Qing out of all people would want to help. You also have no idea why he would sit next to you of all people.

"Oh did your generals send you?" Xie Lian asks with a mouthful of tea.

"They didn't know we were coming" they answered in unison.

Xie Lian ponders for a moment, but you're quick to make the two squirm. Just because you can.

"Two officials from the lower court shouldn't go off without permission no? The trouble surely isn't worth it." Your eyes crinkle, as you smile at the two.

Lower court used to be what's now called the middle court. It was changed when whiny officials started complaining it made them seem trivial compared to officials in the upper court. To them an apparent mark to their honor. To you a pathetic attempt to seem important.

"..."

"..."

Your smile widens under your veil when they don't answer. What are they going to say? Their lack of words don't stop Fu Yao from glaring at you or from making Nan Feng squirm in his spot.

Xie Lian ever so kindly saves them, "Well do you know who we are?"

"You're his royal highness the crown prince and he's general /n"

"You're the justice of the mortal realm, the center of the world"

Mu Qing does not regard you at all and rolls his eyes when he answers.

Xie Lian chokes on his tea, "Did he just roll his eyes?"

" He did, tell him to scram" you and Nan Feng say together.

"Any official who was available was welcome to help so who are you to tell me to scram?" Fu Yao sneered. Again his words are only pointed at Nan Feng, not you.

"Ah well more help is better than none right?" Xie Lian smiles.

You sigh and all four of you go over the scroll together.

**********************************************************

Eventually it begins to get dark and all of you will need to find a place to sleep. Long ago, Xie Lian and you would sleep in the streets or on the ground. You put a stop to that. After becoming a powerful enough ghost and god you entreated yourself to your own palace. Not in the heavens though, you chose for it to be in the ghost realm. This was a while before Crimson Rain took over ghost city

Your palace just happened to be in close proximity to it and eventually ghosts started inhabiting themselves. Now all three realms call your palace, "The city of the lost". It's rarely talked about because well it's "lost" not many people find it, your city also doesn't cause trouble. It's just kinda there.

That is where you would usually go though but now you have two more officials with you and you'll be damned if you bring Mu Qing into your city.

"Why don't we find a temple of Nan Yang? I'm sure there's one around." You say, standing next to Xie Lian.

The four of you do eventually find one, it's a little run down but it's good enough. Your attention is dragged away when you notice a girl praying. A girl praying in a temple of Nan Yang? Makes you want to give your heart out.

You can't resist your temptations when Xie Lian asks why the temple has so many women worshippers. It's unusual for a martial god's temple after all. While Nan Feng feels the need to block the question, Fu Yao indulges it.

"I know what you want to ask, you want to ask why there's so many female worshippers right?"

You hold the urge to cackle, and lean in close to Xie Lian's ear. You happily ignore the two officials's glares. You whisper to him, "Xie Lian many women worship Nan Yang's temple so in the future their man will have... Good assets" you giggle into his ear.

For a martial god it isn't normal for many women to pray in their temples. Xie Lian was an exception because he was more of a ' feminine god ' depicted with lotus flowers. You were an exception because of femininity and because you're the God of song. The arts, like dance, drawing, and song were more partaken by women than men. Most martial gods don't have femininity, so rare for women's prayers.

You stay close to Xie Lian's side as Fu Yao judges the poor girl to pieces, calling her ugly. Xie Lian sighs, "You can't talk about girls like that Fu Yao" but you can tell Xie Lian is thinking the same thing. You snicker placing a hand on your hip.

Xie Lian notices a slash in the girl's dress, he tries to offer her his outer robe so that she can cover herself but of course she freaks out. She moves to slap Xie Lian but why would you just stand there? You grab her wrist and throw her to the side. 'throw' is an overstatement it was truly a nudge.

Once Xie Lian tells her she has a slash in her dress she finally accepts his robe and then runs out of the Temple.

Now Xie Lian's undressed. Bandages over his chest, and neck can be seen now. Nan Feng and Fu Yao stare in quiet shock. You on the other stare in admiration. Xie Lian is undeniably beautiful. You chuckle softly and remove your outer robe, unlike Xie Lian you have an under robe on. You move it over Xie Lian's shoulders.

"Should've let her run out with the slash in her dress. It's just like you to give the clothes off your back, A-Lian" you hum softly. Xie Lian smiles in thanks and puts on your robe.

He does look very pretty especially in your clothes.

**********************************************************

The next day all four of you go back to the tea shop. You aren't paying attention to the conversation about Mount Yunjin. You'd much rather pay attention to Wèizhī. The two birds hop around on the table and chirp away.

You decided to bring them today, simply because they bring you peace of mind. Of course they aren't only birds they're much more than that. Anyone would know if they're close to you, and they've seen the earring hiding behind your long hair.

Right now they're birds though and you'd much rather chirp away with the Magpies then pretend to chat with the officials next to you.

It isn't until loud drums and a gathered crowd outside has all four of you going outside to check it out. A line of men outside carrying a sedan is what the crowd is gathered for. As for the last inside the sedan... She looks like her neck has been snapped. It proves so when a fake head rolls to yours and Xie Lian's feet.

"Ew" you sneer and quickly kick it away. You assume whatever these mortals are doing is connected with the Ghost Groom. You stand to the side however as Wèizhī perches on your shoulders.

"If I was a ghost groom I'd kill the entire group for sending such an ugly thing to me" Fu Yao comments in disgust and rolls his eyes

"Fu Yao you aren't talking like an immortal should." Xie Lian said. "And can you fix that eye-rolling habit of yours? Why don't you set a small target for yourself first and only roll five days or something like that?"

" Set it fifty times a day and it still won't be enough!" Nan Feng yells

"Leave Fu Yao alone, if he rolls them hard enough maybe they'll fall out on their own." You add, with a snicker.

You're interrupted by yelling, one of the men in the group yelling about how it's useless and that they should just charge into Mount Yunjin and dragging an ugly freak out. They all hoot in agreement.

"Ugly Freak? Shopkeeper what are they talking about?" Xie Lian asks

The tea master explains, "The ghost groom has such an ugly appearance that no woman loves it, so he wears bandages around his face. That is why he kidnaps brides."

"Just because his face is wrapped in bandages doesn't mean it's ugly. There's a possibility it's so beautiful that it doesn't want others to see it, so he covers it up" Fu Yao says.

When Fu Yao quickly glances at you, you ignore. This isn't about you and you know that Fu Yao is truly a prick. No need to make something out of nothing.

Your group's attention is caught when the same girl from yesterday begging them not to go do anything dangerous and a man bitching at her because she refused to join them.

You don't care about anyone's affairs unless it has something to do with Xie Lian. You perk in attention when the man pushes the girl roughly, Xie Lian ever so kindly catches her.

Xie Lian uses Rou'ye to smack down the man and then just as quickly hides back in Xie Lian's sleeve. You snicker softly at the slumped man in the dirt. The man is not happy though, he's having none of it. He brandishes his sword and yells that Xie Lian is using wicked magic.

Nan Feng uses his palm to snap a wooden pillar of the tea shop and the group of men run in fear. You side eye Nan Feng. You have mixed opinions on him, but even after so long... "You're still just a brute dummy. You're paying for that" you smile behind the veil and return to Xie Lian's side.

The four of you eventually head back to the temple. With newly acquired information from Ling Wen, you now know that you're going to need a fake bride. However you can't use any mortals since it's a wrath level ghost.

"Well if we can't use women we'll have to use men" said Fu Yao.

"What man is going to want to dress up as a bride?" Nan Feng sighs.

The two suddenly have the same idea and look over to you and Xie Lian.

"???"

"No." You glare.

**********************************************************

Nighttime, the temple of Nan Yang.

You watch as Xie Lian walks from the back in a brides dress, hair down and flowing. You sigh into your hand. It doesn't look like a bride at all

Nan Feng has a more extreme reaction, "Fuck!" He just can't stand to see Xie Lian in a brides dress, it's awful.

Fu Yao scans Xie Lian with a complicated look.

"Do you have something you wish to say?" He asked

Fu Yao nodded "if someone sent a woman like this to me..."

"you'd kill the whole town was it?" You snicker.

"No I'd kill the woman." Fu Yao replied frigidly.

Xie Lian smiles, "Then thank goodness I'm not the woman."

You hum, "A-Lian let me help you, obviously these two have and never will see a bride in their lives" you smile, "not unless it's each other..." You mutter the last part out.

"Excuse me..." The four of them look at the voice. It's the girl from earlier. She has a white robe in her hand and stands with trepidation. "I've washed these clothes to return them to you and thank you so much for yesterday and today"

You see Xie Lian smiles in response but suddenly remembers his attire.

"Are you... if you want I can help?" She asks, no longer shy.

"No miss you misunderstand this isn't a hobby of mine" Xie Lian laughs nervously.

You on the other hand are happy with this development. "Yes! Come help us."

And so that began Xie Lian's makeover. The girl has a sewing kit on her and helps Xie Lian fit into his dress. You do Xie Lian's hair - you do it all the time anyways - and together the two of you do Xie Lian's makeup. After you're finished with him, he looks like a proper bride and a damn good one too. If you weren't a ghost there would be a blush on your cheeks.

__________________________________________________

Guys. If anyone has actually read all of these parts I need y'all to tell me if Y/n is making sense. 😭 Like do we understand the background and his character? Do we understand the b i r d s?

Time gap between here and first glance

First Glance

[rose-tinted-kalopsia]

xavier x mc hualiand coded u say......can you explain why im so curious

omg. omg anonie. are you familiar with tian guan ci fu (heaven official's blessing)..... hualian refers to the main couple of the book (hua cheng x xie lian) !!! in case anyone out there is trying to avoid spoilers for it i'll answer this under the cut 🥰 but they have a very very very beautiful love story, one that's been Ingrained in my head since the first time i read it. it's so whole and deeply rooted, and sincerely xavier and mc give off similar vibes. like SO. MUCH. probably more than any of the other LI's!

so this's going to talk about things like: the "fallen from grace" trope, the mirroring between xavier and mc, how xavier's love for mc transcends time, how all he thinks about is... her.

(i'm also going to talk a lot about xavier's myths (both lightseeker and lumiere) and maybe a lil bit of the no restraint card! so this'll be long...)

but so on the tgcf side: ESSENTIALLY the very basic explanation of hualian's love story is that hua cheng has loved and admired xie lian for more than 800 years. and it's a love that's very very deeply rooted. a love where xie lian becomes his everything.

THE OFFICIAL SUMMARY OF TGCF READS—"Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Xianle. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the Heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again – only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension. Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the Heavens for the third time as the laughing stock among all three realms. On his first task as a god thrice ascended, he meets a mysterious demon who rules the ghosts and terrifies the Heavens, yet, unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this demon king has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time."

now, two things to understand are—(1) hua cheng was born an unwanted child, and (2) xie lian, the crown prince, has always had a kind heart. these are important to the story. because eventually it goes that hua cheng, who was unwanted and discarded and overall regarded as a disgrace, disgusting to look at, bad luck, etcetc., found solace in xie lian's kindness—his warmth. his light.

chronologically, as the story goes, xie lian, as a very esteemed crown prince of his nation, ascends to the heavens and becomes a 'martial god' (this gives him things like immortality and the ability to use magic). but his nation falls into chaos, and the long story short is that he absolutely fails to save it. instead, he ends up turning his own people against him. he falls from the heavens as quite literally a fallen god. ridiculed, no longer worshipped, despite how much love and praise he always used to get. and for several, several years, he has to deal with coming to terms with his past. there's a lot of quite graphic trauma here.

and now, hua cheng... he's been there through all of that. he's stayed by xie lian for as much as he could stay with him. he fought as a soldier for xie lian, died in battle for xie lian—and the thing about his death was that,, he didn't want to rest in peace afterwards. and when that happens—if you have a strong enough reason to remain, you take on the form of a ghost, starting out as a little ball of light (a "ghostfire") to eventually getting a ghost form.

so he stayed.

even as a baby ghostfire, until he got his own ghost form... he stayed. he's seen him get beat up, and hurt, he's seen him make the wrong decisions, he's seen him manipulated, and trampled on—he's seen him at his worst. but he stayed, because he wanted to. that might have been all he did sometimes, and xie lian might not have particularly noticed him then, but he stayed.

of course; it wasn't enough for him to just stay, not when it was all he could do, so naturally—he'd get stronger, right? they separate at some point, and hua cheng loses contact with xie lian for several, several several years.... but he keeps looking. he literally becomes the most feared ghost (a "demon king"), while xie lian essentially has been banished from the heavens to redeem himself.

and, what's interesting to note is that xie lian—always kindhearted, always meaning to do the good thing—is a lot morally different in comparison to hua cheng. it's not that hua cheng is a bad person, but just that he's willing to do more extreme things for xie lian's sake, especially now that he's plenty powerful. he only thinks of xie lian, while xie lian, as a crown prince, tended to be selfless and think more of the betterment of the general people. it's like a balance, or sorts? xie lian is able to act as his moral compass, in a way, because simultaneously hua cheng's ultimate goal is to make xie lian happy, and he wouldn't do things that won't make him happy.

regardless, they only meet again after 800 years, in the first arc of the book. during this time, like the summary says, xie lian had ascended once more, but still not very well-liked in the heavenly realm, and hua cheng meets him as he's sent to investigate a case. it's at this point that they grow naturally closer through various book events (because right now, xie lian doesn't yet know that this is the same little ghost, that one soldier, from the past).

the point is, though—xie lian had really become hua cheng's everything. he's been looking for him for that long. he's remained a ghost still on this earth for that long. because xie lian showed him a kindness that no one else would when he was ridiculed... and now, hua cheng is returning the favor.

from the start, being by xie lian's side, hua cheng has always been promising "forever". and he's been keeping that promise. xie lian believes it.

at its core, tgcf has always been a story about a fallen god and his last believer.

and the following quotes really bring out how deeply rooted their relationship is! the book is very beautifully written, and hualian's relationship flourishes under this kind of writing. they're quotes that will stick with you a lot.

“If you don’t know the meaning of your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as your reason to live.” (xie lian, in the past, to the hua cheng who wanted to give up)

“To die in this battle for you is my greatest honor.” (in the past, soldier hua cheng to xie lian)

"i pray to never rest in peace.” (hua cheng to xie lian, when xie lian finds out he is a ghost)

“I have a beloved who is still in this world, I want to protect them.” (in the past, ghostfire hua cheng to xie lian)

”To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled on and ridiculed, yet be unable to do anything. That’s the worst suffering in the world.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, and not the state of you.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“If I could, I would have you use me as your stepping stone, the bridge you take apart after crossing, the corpse bones you need to trample to climb up, the sinner who deserved the butchering of a million knives. But, I know you wouldn’t allow it.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“If your dream is to save the common people, then, my dream, is only you.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“Only after having met you did I rediscover that it’s such a simple thing to be happy.” (xie lian to hua cheng)

“There’s no banquet in this world that doesn’t come to an end, but I will never leave you.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“I will be back. Your Highness, believe me.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

“‘Forever’ exists. There’s one person who can truly achieve it. I believe.” (xie lian about hua cheng)

“He believed that this man would die for him again and again, and would be reborn for him over and over. Even if he fell into the depth of hell, he would break through the abyss for his ‘belief’.” (xie lian about hua cheng)

“Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.” (about hualian)

“I am forever your most devoted believer.” (hua cheng to xie lian)

so how does this relate to xavier/mc?

WELL I'M GLAD YOU ASKED! 🥰

(1) in relation to xavier's lightseeker myth.

i talk a lot about this in more detail here! but a lot about xavier is very deeply rooted into his past, as the prince of philos.

in this sense we can compare him to xie lian—princely duties, tasked to care for a nation, a lot of responsibility on his shoulders... but unlike xie lian, these are duties that he doesn't want. he doesn't accept them. he'd rather not, thank you very much.

however—what exactly did his experiences as the crown prince give him? xavier, like i've talked about many times before, was forced into a role he didn't want to be in, essentially having his identity chosen for him. it's identity foreclosure. and this leads to: (a) difficulties with commitment, (b) weaker sense of self, (c) lack of confidence, (d) weaker mental fortitude, (e) self doubt and low self esteem issues. this is where he's comparable to hua cheng; both of them had identities forced onto them that lead to an onset of insecurities. it's where you have no choice but to ask yourself questions such as: who am i, really? who do i want to be? am i doing enough? am i enough?

because you never feel enough.

and combining both factors with xavier—the pressure to do his best and be the best, all that burden of responsibility that he never wanted... with all the insecurities that manifest as a result of that?

just like hua cheng found solace in xie lian's kindness towards him, xavier finds solace in the freedom that mc grants him.

(2) ”To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled on and ridiculed, yet be unable to do anything. That’s the worst suffering in the world.”

this is hua cheng's quote!

but doesn't it remind you of how upset he was over philos mc being labeled as the sacrifice? so much that it tore his relationship with his father more than it had already been torn? so much that it would be the breaking point for him to step back from the throne entirely?

xavier, in that moment, had to make a choice. he felt the need to do something; he couldn't just sit back and watch his beloved be treated that way. he was aware they weren't seeing mc as a person anymore, and he didn't like that—that's his beloved.

(3) "No matter how many times it takes, and no matter where you are, I'll find you."

pretty self-explanatory, right?

we're all familiar with this. that anecdote broke our hearts. we know that xavier is willing to wait for mc, to look for mc, to love her in ever universe and in every timeline—

he'd wait for mc for 800 years, too, if he had to. just like hua cheng.

it's a promise for forever—that his love for mc transcends the bounds of time and space, that... his forever belongs with her. he wants it to belong with her. and he hopes that she wants that, too.

(4) Fallen from grace.

similarly to xie lian's situation, in a way!

I feel that this is not necessarily a topic talked about a lot regarding xavier, and i may or may not make a separate post about it in the future... but his storyline is definitely some variation of this trope.

maybe it's not outright obvious; xavier isn't a god, after all. but... he is a prince.

he was a prince.

he was the crown prince of philos, set to inherit the throne, set to lead his people.

he's not anymore.

and maybe that was a title that meant little to him, and one that he definitely intended, wholeheartedly, to relinquish, but—at this point, he doesn't have the favor of his people, whether it be the general philosians, or even the (majority, it seems?) team of backtrackers that he's lead to earth. and with losing that title, like i have talked about before, again—means losing his identity. an identity so strongly associated with being a prince, with being a leader... it's gone, now, because that isn't who he is. it might not have been who he wanted to be, he might have been so averse to it, but it's always been part of him. losing the title means losing a piece of himself he can't really go back to, only that it sits there with him now at an awkward angle.

unfortunately for him, this was always the xavier that he's known mc to love—all of him, all of his identity that he's shaped around being the prince of philos, that's the xavier he knows mc loves. he's not quite sure if this mc will love the xavier he's changed into. so "fallen from grace" to him refers more to the fact that—will mc love me like this?

(5) MC is his everything.

and this point goes across virtually all possible cards of xavier's, and all possible events, and all possible moments—any interaction that he's had with mc.

mc is his everything. just like to hua cheng, xie lian is his everything.

he doesn't think about anything else. he doesn't care about anything else.

even our previous point—about the fallen from grace trope—is centered more on mc herself, than the rest of the people he's dealt with.

we can legitimately go through all of his cards and pinpoint how this is.

precious bonfire. he joined the camping trip for mc. he notices mc prioritizing the rest of the team more than herself. he plays the game because she's playing it. he'd drag mc away to rest with him instead of joining the bonfire event. he's only thinking of her. fluffy trap. we know how this unfolds—he legitimately let her do whatever she wanted. he saw what kind of booth she intended to drag him into; the setup, the costumes she wanted... and he let her. for her. to make her happy. fragment of time. less obvious, maybe, but it's still there—he had her on his mind when he wanted to complete those 100 steps, too.

heartstring symphony, unique aftertaste... prime examples of how he'd virtually let mc do whatever she wants, whether it be to reprimand him for getting injured again, or drag him around fo a little holiday. he's basically freely indulging her in her whimsies? and heartstring symphony quite touches a lot on his promises to her to take care, and how he misses her when he's away... etc. it's still... all about her.

romantic afternoon. he generally helps her with her sleeping problems—again, centered around her. faint sensation. he's trying to get her heartbeat to rise because of him—again, still centered around her. even tender nights. he's attentive to her needs, notices her heels aren't comfortable. that conversation they have by the bay proves meaningful; he wants to share that special moment with her, and he wants to reassure her somehow that he does—that he's thinking about her. that he always does.

then some more obvious ones, like 21 days (which i also kind of talk (yell) about here), and no restraint (which i talk about here).

and we get to the myths—the lightseeker myth. how he's willing to go to the ends of the earth just to find a way to ensure she won't be sacrificed. how he's willing to completely abandon his post... for her. not for the people, but for her. the lumiere myth, and the whole essence of lumiere being lumiere. how it's lumiere who saves mc not once, but twice. how in this myth, xavier pushes his limits to the point of exhaustion multiple times, all for mc.

and that's just the five-star cards. but in every single one of them... he's always thinking about her. centered around her. that if he's the stars, the moon, the planet—she's his sun. and he would gladly orbit around her. she's all he needs.

“If your dream is to save the common people, then, my dream, is only you.”

xavier might as well have been saying that to mc herself.

he doesn't care about anything else.

(the event is proof of that too!)

(6) Mirroring.

I mention this first here!!

and there is so, so, SO much of it throughout all of his cards and interactions with mc too, because it's founded on his love for her... and the love she returns back to him.

xavier who is willing to do anything for her. xavier who would prioritize her, think of her, love her—at the cost of himself. he would love her in every universe. he would love her no matter who or what she becomes.

he doesn't know how to receive the same in return.

yet, we know that mc does exactly that.

she does return it.

in regards to the lumiere myth, i talk about it a lot, too: "i think what's most beautiful about the lumiere event is like? she's not even trying to belittle his feelings of jealousy? she'd tease, yeah, but i think the gist of this event, and the myth, was mc still trying to convey that—she'll love him no matter what, even if it's lumiere, even if it's the him that he isn't fond of, himself."

and you realize that the entire theme of their storyline is "i will love you no matter who or what you become"—they say it to each other. they convince themselves of it.... that they love each other just that much. that they're willing to do whatever it takes.... for each other.

that they mirror it.

“To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, and not the state of you.”

doesn't it sound like a line they would repeat to each other?

(7) Moral compass

this goes back to, again, how MC is his everything—and, conversely, how “If your dream is to save the common people, then, my dream, is only you.”

for a prince, xavier isn't one who necessarily prioritizes others—he's not a hero, he's not the chosen one, he's not.... someone who would sacrifice the world for his people. he's not like that.

i think that there's a lot of selfishness that's embedded into him because he precisely does not want to be a prince, and he's always been extremely averse to this role—that kind of aversion sticks with you. it's hard to take things seriously when the hatred is all you can think about.

but like hua cheng, it doesn't make him a bad person.

it just means he has other priorities, which—happen to be mc. because everything he's ever done, again, is for mc. everything. always. and sometimes they're selfish, sometimes they're a little extreme or hard to understand... but the fact is that, well—everything is about her.

it goes without saying, then, that xavier isn't the most morally-aligned person out there.

because mc, as we know, is founded on justice. on protecting the people she loges, protecting thevpeoole around them—she became a hunter for that purpose. she took on the throne for that purpose. she helped the backtrackers for that purpose.

“If your dream is to save the common people, then, my dream, is only you.”

it's starkly different for them.

mc would act on the behalf of others, xavier would act on her behalf. all he's ever looked at was her.

yet at the same time, it means that—like hua cheng and xie lian—xavier's ultimate goal is to make mc happy. he won't do anything not to make her happy. he doesn't want to upset her.

so he'll go along with her wishes, enough so to genuinely think positively of his actions too—because it's what mc wants.

and i think that's it—it is all i can think of—but xavier and mc's relationship perfectly capture the essence of hualian that i've always associated them with each other, and perhaps that's why mc and xavier also mean so incredibly much to me ... because hualian does, too.

and granted all of the LI's have aspects that reference hualian as well—not to mention, sylus being incredibly hua cheng coded—but imo xavier/mc truly comes closest

and maybe it has to do with the sheer devotion that comes with xavier and mc

that it feels really... close

BUT ANYWAY THIS WAS LONG 🥰 AND UH 🥰 YEAH 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[lttawnymadison]

TGCF Thai Edition Foreword by MXTX (2018 novel version)

Ghosts and demons have a long history in Chinese culture. Literary works themed around occult records that were popular during the Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern dynasties such as “In Search of the Supernatural” still remain as entertaining today as they once were. At the same time, “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio” from the Qing dynasty gave the ability to love to all things inhuman, from ghost ladies, to fox demons, to a flower spirit who falls in love with a young scholar and comes to visit him in abandoned temples and houses at night. They were far more lovesick than actual flesh and blood humans.

In 1989, the movie “A Chinese Ghost Story” was born, and became a perennial classic in the decade to follow. A little girl who hated reading watched this movie, back then, and fell in love with the story of the incredibly beautiful ghost lady with her grievances, exorcism arts that call forth a spectacle of lightning and thunder, great martial artists who soar through the sky and dive through the earth, and last but not least, the myriad ghosts and monsters who like to peel skin, pull apart limbs and tear out hearts and lungs...that little girl fell head over heels for it, indeed.

Still...all this combined still can’t fully explain where my fondness for mysterious supernatural things came from.

One problem has always been sticking in my mind, though: why is it always ‘gorgeous ghost ladies crazy with love’? Why not ‘gorgeous ghost men crazy with love?’

Problems always have solutions. Luckily for me, this is a problem I can find a solution to by myself. And thus Hua Cheng was born.

Red garments. Skin as white as snow. Moves around without a trace. Magic unfettered.

Maybe it’s because I cut out the whole thing about a ghost’s aura of grudges, but sometimes I feel that he’s more like a fox demon. While the ascetic gege is meditating, he’ll be sitting there lazily sunbathing on a rock, red fluffy tail shining in the light and caressing the back of the ascetic gege’s hand. He’ll quickly pull his tail back to his chest and sit there behaving himself while his gege sits there meditating. He’ll sit there just to be that person’s company, but also constantly shows off his fur in the most noble and regal of manners... (okay I’m getting sidetracked).

The period while I was writing Tian Guan Ci Fu was not an easy period for me. To tell you the truth, I was in a very bad place mentally back then, always drowning in stress and pain that I couldn’t get myself out of. Yet every time I got to a Hualian scene, I’d feel like I was making some delicious sweets for myself, and even if this may sound like I’m tooting my own horn, if a single piece of sweets can reach your hand and you feel that it’s delicious, too, I’ll be ten times as happy.

Let me bless my readers in Thailand with that spell: May heaven’s officials bless you, and no paths be bound (Tianguancifu, baiwujinji)!

———————————————

Translation source: https://x.com/faelicy/status/1428555536635731973

[xueyuverse]

Translation of the artist's note

I feel like I've never drawn such a smooth picture. It took me three days in total, and my inspiration went straight to tian ling gai*. This is probably my favorite illustration in recent years~ Even though I'm progressing every day, I still like this illustration! The specific process is for Tian Guan Ci Fu.

The entire composition is determined by the “stability of the triangle*”: 1. Xie Lian used an almost self-destructive method to show mercy to the world and raise the sword for the common people, with determined eyes (because I liked reading some books and also studying some secondary cultures, so I always thought that there are worshipped gods who did not have their eyes painted to show respect, so I paint the statues of the gods without adding the eyes), so I didn't highlight the details here. The color I used is a mix of beige and purple to give Xie Lian a soft background. Under the sword is Qiong Lou*, which is the human world, but I have reduced it for comparison. What is striking is that people are the center and God is also a person. 2. Hua Cheng holds an umbrella in one hand and Xie Lian's self-destructive sword in the other, while protecting Xie Lian from the wind and rain, he cannot bear Xie Lian's sacrifice. The two are framed in a triangle by me because I don't want them to be separated. 3. Hua Cheng is sitting on a flower tree. The flowers are butterflies flying all over the sky with longing. The reflection of the sword's body turns into a silver butterfly resting on the tip of the sword, the hand blocking the hilt echoes Hua Cheng's protection and longing for Xie Lian. Even if I am among thousands of flowers, I am too lazy to look back; this is partly because of the asceticism of a monk and partly because of you I once had (取次花丛懒回顾，半缘修道半缘君).

This image is inspired by “The flowers are blooming on the other side, and there is sadness on the other side, and love is so helpless and so lonely. This caused the string to break at the end, and the flowers fell onto the shoulders, in a trance. Tonight or any other night, I am no longer a stranger to you. Don't break the promise of three lifetimes, it's easy to look at Zhu Chengbi*. I am proud to be worthy of the world, and when I look back, I have kept my promise.”*

I wish everyone a happy appreciation~ If my illustrations can bring happiness to your life~ Then I will also be very happy~~

🔗 Official art, by 全国旅行中ing-cidacc

*天灵盖, refers to the bones on top of a person's or some animals' head, the second refers to the skull.

*三角形的稳定性. When all the lengths of the three sides of a triangle are determined, the area and shape of the triangle are completely determined. This property is called the stability of the triangle.

*琼楼, originally referred to the palace of the legendary Moon Palace, but now describes a beautiful building.

*看朱成碧, means to see red as green, to describe dazzled eyes.

*I don't know where this text comes from, whether it is the artist's own or from somewhere else, and I couldn't find it when I searched, if anyone knows, please tell me so I can add it to the post.

Sorry if I translated something wrong, I'm not that good at Mandarin.

[yingfelis]

Hey! I want to request if you don't mind, Fu Hua x Mantis!Reader, basically this reader I really like that fic lmao, thank you anyway!

Hellooo <333 ofc I actually hadn’t read that one yet until you requested this and it was so cute I loved it

I hope you don’t mind any sort of plot holes or such cause I actually haven’t really finished the ER/PE story yet 😓 (also sorry if the ending seems kinda rushed)

I found you, you found me

Fu Hua x Mantis Reader

You had been in the moths much longer than Fu hua due to getting caught up in honkai attacks at a young age.

When both of your parents had died the moths was the only place left for you to go

You dedicated everything into fighting because in truth what else was there for you to live for?

Due to this you became a mantis at a young age, not caring for the risk of the outcomes, you were one of the few who volunteered and one of the even fewer that survived

But you couldn’t feel anything, your already dull life seem to grow even dimmer.

You lost taste in food and anything that affected the normal human senses seem to dwindle for you

However that does mean you can actually be near and interact with Kevin without feeling his coldness. (This makes him secretly happy)

Everything just felt empty though, no matter what you would do in the end it got you nowhere, life was simply a chore and fighting was all you knew how to do.

Then she had to walk into your life, a broken yet determined girl had suddenly came crashing into your life…. Well technically it was you who came crashing into hers, literally

Being flung through the battle grounds and crashing into the raven haired girl was not part of your usual routine but here you guys were.

Honestly it was just a simple clearing out mission nothing too big but you being you couldn’t feel an injury on yourself until it was too late and a sharp pain took over your body

A large honkai beast took notice of this weakness and immediately rammed into you sending you flying. You would had probably gotten more injuries had a certain young girl around your age appeared in your way and help break your fall

As you got up and were about to apologize/say thank you, you instead had to grab the other girl and duck as an attack was hurled at you two

Snapping out of it you both immediately got back into battle, on the battlefield you two were warriors, not human.

However after the battle, that same girl managed to find you again. She introduced herself to you

“Hua…” you said testing how her name rolled off your tongue. It was surprisingly easy and something just felt right about it.

Hua nodded her head with a small sound of confirmation. “And you? Who might you be”

“Call me Y/n” you said bluntly and a look of realization came across her face.

“Yes, I believe Kevin had mentioned you to me just before this” she said, which didn’t surprise you much. Kevin was fond of you due to you being unaffected by his current state and also one of the few who had successfully became a mantis.

“Mhm, Dr. Mei had mentioned another mantis would be in this mission. If I’m not mistaken we must be around the same age then.” Hua nodded in confirmation as silence fell upon you two.

Hua, not knowing what to do, studied you a bit and instantly noticed your injuries that you seemed to pay no attention to. “Are you going to treat your injuries soon?” She asked, pointing them out

You looked dumbly at her before looking down at yourself. “Ah… I had forgotten about these. Perhaps I should, but it would take too long.”

“So you’re just going to go untreated” a hint of concern was present in her voice

“Perhaps, I’ll see what I can do for myself though-” you felt a hand grab your arm as you were dragged away

“Come, I will at least apply the necessary first aid needed” you dumbfoundedly followed Hua as she led you away from your previous spot. She made you sit down as she grabbed a box filled with medical supplies.

You both sat in silence as Hua begins to clean and bandage up the wounds that were littered around your body.

It was a comfortable silence and you couldn’t help but to feel relaxed and warm at this feeling of being taken care of

Wait….

Feel?

That isn’t right.

After that interaction you found yourself meeting with Hua more often. Whether it was coincidence or your own body unconsciously leading you to her you wouldn’t know

At the very least Hua doesn’t seem to mind the company so you’ll continue to stick around her.

Though this got some teasing from Elysia and intrigued looks from a few others. Your almost instant connection with Hua felt almost like second nature.

You’re not sure why, and Hua doesn’t seem to understand the extent of how out of character this is for you but you can’t help but want to stay with her and protect her from everything. Even her own mind sometimes.

Yes, perhaps jumping in front of an attack with an already unstable body that was on the verge of breaking due to overuse in battle was not the best idea you’ve ever had.

But in your defense, it was aiming at Hua and her getting hurt right in front of you es just unacceptable.

As you awaken in a hospital bed, your eyes immediately noticed the sleeping figure laying their head down next to you.

“Hua…” you mutter, unable to not keep her name from escaping your lips. It was such a pleasant feeling, to say her name, you could do it a millions times if it meant the warm feeling inside of you would remain

Hua stirred before her eyes cracked open. They seemed dazed for a moment as she processed everything

You were awake, her body snapped up, eyes looking at you in shock. You stared back with an unreadable expression like always

Hua simply relaxed a bit as her hand gripped the bed sheets tightly. “You’re awake, thank god” her voice was quiet with a bitter yet relieved expression

You nodded and took the hand she was gripping onto the bed so tightly into yours, loosening the grip of it. You didn’t like it when she did that all agitation and stressed, you liked it when she was relaxed. Hua knew this

“Even now you’re still focused and worried about me… why? You could have nearly died due to my ignorance.” Hua was frustrated, why did you always do this, why for her, what did she do to deserve such protection from you?

“I didn’t want to see you hurt” You responded calmly, almost like it was as obvious as what color the sky was

This only made her more frustrated. She stood up “you think I want to see you hurt too!? Y/n what you did was reckless and idiotic, had your body not mange to pull itself together you would not be here. The mission would have been a failure and I—…”

Hua’s voice died down at the end as she looked down

“I could have lost you too… and it would have been all my fault-”

Hua found herself not being able to continue as arms wrapped around her abruptly pulling her close. It was a bit of an awkward position due to you still being bed bound but it was warm

“Y/n! What-” “I’m sorry hua please forgive me”

She looked at you in shock as there were silent tears in your eyes. Why? Why were you shedding tears for her? How were you shedding tears? This all confused her

“Hua, none of what happened was your fault. I was so scared to see you hurt, I wanted so badly to protect you. I didn’t even know I could still possess these emotions or any emotions. But you still make me feel them and I latched onto it.” You didn’t even let her get a word in before continuing again.

“You make me feel things I never would have thought I could possess again. In this soulless life I found comfort in your warmth, so please don’t think badly of yourself.” Hua was in no way a love expert but even to her this sounded like a confession. It comforted her in a different way then normal, it was so warm.

So warm that the icy cold exterior she had melted immediately as she cried in your arms. You started to panic fearing you had done something wrong. “Hua? Hua I’m sorry please don’t cry.”

You tried to brush the tears away gently cupping her cheek only for her to lean into your touch… and upwards. A soft pair of lips met yours and you froze, the only thing you could manage was to close your eyes.

As she pulled away you both stared into each other’s eyes. A small blush dusted her face as your mouth was hung open in shock. “I have never once liked seeing a comrade put themselves in harms way. You are no exception to that fact. In fact, you are the one person that I cannot lose.”

Your eyes softened at her words. You let Hua curl up against you as you held her. Leaving a kiss on her temple. “I won’t leave you Hua, I never will. A moth cannot stray from it’s light, and you burn too brightly for me to loose you”

After that, you two were officially dating, though never stated out loud it others it was obvious.

When it came time for the previous era to come to end and the current era to begin, you were along side Hua.

However due to the complications it was decided that while you both were to complete the same task it would be in different areas.

This sadden Hua but you brushed it off “no matter how long it will take I will come back to you, whether you have forgotten me or not will not stop me from being by your side.”

These words brought her comfort as she knew you had meant those words. Entrusting Hua’s care to Fuxi and Nuwa. You two had to part ways

Eventually, Fu Hua’s memories of you had faded until they were completely destroyed in the fight against Sirin. This had broken her in a way she couldn’t understand.

In times of need she found herself longing for the comfort of someone familiar she couldn’t remember, she found herself unconsciously seeing certain fighting styles that made her lost in thought

You were someone that took on many identities over your lifetimes. Fading into the background was normal for you, you had done that a lot during your time with the moths.

Leading others to the goal while remaining undetected was much easier than actually being the leader.

However eventually someone had taken notice of your presence. A man by the name of Welt, Welt Joyce, the first Herrscher of Reason.

Then boom you were sucked into the chaos of Anti-Entropy generally assisting them from time to time while still keeping your identity mostly hidden from others.

You helped them make better tech using your knowledge from the previous era which basically had made you Einstein and Tesla’s go to test subject lab partner

In exchange, they kept your identity a secrete, help you fulfill the goal of passing on your knowledge to the correct era, and finally, gave you tabs as to how Fu Hua was doing.

Despite the many years that have passed your memories of your light was something you treasured. Even if her journey didn’t include you in it, it doesn’t matter to you. Knowing she’s safe is enough for you.

Only after the whole HoS and HoD incident was when you two finally reconnected. Fu Hua had obtained some of her memories back and that included those with you. At first it pained her a bit to know she had no idea of someone she had treasured so deeply before.

She didn’t know how you were or if you were even alive. Had you change? What were you doing for so long? Had you kept you promise or did you forget about her by now? It was all confusing to Fu Hua

Due to the injures she had sustained in the battle with Dominance, Fu Hua was referred to a few days of rest (despite saying how she was feeling fine)

She was getting an examination with Tesla and Einstein when they had told her how they were expecting a “lab partner/a stoic idiot” to show up soon. They said how they would like her to meet said lab partner, which confused her a bit but she didn’t questioned if.

“Doctor Einstein, I had gotten your signal. Was there something you needed to discuss-…” You paused at your eyes took in the very familiar face and body of your (past?) lover. You stood in shock as Fu Hua looked back mirroring your expression.

Einstein ushered doctor Tesla out as she gave you a knowing look and felt you two alone.

You blinked “Hua..?” You asked trying to see if she had recognized you. Which the answer was obviously yes. “Y/n” the name had rolled off her tongue so easy. Yes, it felt right

At that confirmation, the room grew silent. Fu hua didn’t know what she could say to you. Not like either of you two were big talkers before anyways.

Then, when the silent tears rolled down your face that reminded her so much of her memories of that night she stood closer to you and cupped your face.

Wiping your tears she was greeted with the realization of how the roles were reversed now yet it still felt so right.

“Hua… I found you”

“You found me, y/n”

Fu hua gently held you as you basked in her warmth, like a moth to a flame, you had been guided to her once more.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 2, Wave 1, Poll 2

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Hua Cheng-Heaven Official’s Blessing / Tian Guan Ci Fu

Qualifications:

Hua Cheng is the main love interest in Heaven Official's Blessing, a ghost who has been in love with the hero Xie Lian for over 800 years. As if being dead isn't enough, he once clawed out his own eye in order to save a group of humans from marauding ghosts shortly before his ascension to Ghost King.

Propaganda:

Sexy pirate ghost king swag. Gay for His Highness.

Fun fact: between when he was submitted and when this poll was written the mods both read all of TGCF. Also low key I feel like gay for his highness is a little bit of an understatement.

Keyla Detmer-Star Trek Discovery

Qualifications:

She was in a space battle which resulted in a severe unspecified injury to her head and left eye. Because of this, she relies on a prosthetic eye and a prosthetic of unknown use on her head. She also suffers from PTSD due to this and other incidents. It is popularly theorized that she is a lesbian, and should be in a relationship with Joann Owosekun, another character.

Propaganda:

She may have very few actual character beats or lines, but she is very cool and very gay! Let's give it up for lesbian spaceship pilots!

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[beautifulsnake2162020]

We have it all (Hualian adopted daughter fanfic) Chapter 4

Gif by shiruba-tsuki

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I only do this for fun.

Premise: Not long after comforting a bullied girl named Meng Ai, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian find themselves adopting her and together they form a family they didn't know they had needed for awhile.

Story/Genre tags: Slice of life-ish (mainly), Family focused, Hua Cheng's houses finally become homes, there may be an overarching story but that's not the focus, Hualian being parents, Fengqing being uncles, Lang Qianqiu falling in love with someone who was raised by the Xianle squad, technically post-canon (though I haven't read the books so if there are some ooc moments please forgive me).

AO3 Link

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 , Chapter 3

Follower tags: @anonimgato1507

CW: If you are sensitive to things involving blood (it will just be discussed not shown), self-harm or self-harm adjacent things (discussed not shown) and potentially the dark side of things please proceed with caution.

Chapter 4

"Aiai, have you finished your dinner?"

"Yes mama."

"Okay, wash-up and prepare for bed."

"But mama it is still early. The sun just went down." Meng Ai whined as she helped clean the dishes.

"If you wash-up early I'll give you something."

"Oh what is it?"

"Wash-up first." Meng Ai knew that tone well enough to know that her mother did not allow any disobedience from her right now. There must be something happening tonight that she's not allowed to know about if she's being made to go to bed early.

And it must be so terrible that even her mother is scared.

She's a good girl, she doesn't want to cause her anymore pain. It's why she never told her or her father about the bullying children. She pretends not to know that they are worried about something. Something involving her going missing. She doesn't know what it is but ever since she met Hua Cheng and Xie Lian she wants to tell her that everything is going to be okay.

But she has something in her mind and has been watching the new soldiers put up protections around the shrine. So she'll just be a good girl and do as she says.

"Our soldiers have made preparations, they'll inform us when they arrive."

"I've also made a barrier around the shrine. So as long as you both stay inside you'll be fine."

"Thank you General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen. Have you two eaten dinner yet?"

"Oh we don't need to eat-"

"Meng Ai will wonder why you two haven't eaten yet but still have plenty of energy."

"Eh, she already knows we're not mortals." Mu Qing says non-chalantly.

"I insist Generals, think of it as my offering of gratitude to both of you. It will also save me time from repeating the story multiple times when the time we have is uncertain. Especially tonight."

"Hmm" Feng Xin takes one last look at the protections that they've placed and the positions of their soldiers.

"We've done all that we can. We're just waiting for them to show up."

"And if they show up while we are having dinner?"

"You know, our scouts are going to immediately run inside and get us. Might as well be comfortable while we still can."

"Excellent." Mu Qing follows the priestess inside. After taking one last look and running a few checks with his second-in-command Feng Xin follows them inside.

Thankfully, her cooking was a lot better than Xie Lian's.

"Hmm, maybe I should convince her to be in charge of cooking for Dianxie's temple."

"You'll have to ask permission from Xiwangmu."

"And?"

"You really are an idiot if you think Xiwangmu is going to give one of her oracles to you just because you like her cooking."

"I could use an oracle. None of my followers have that gift."

"You're supposed to give it to them you bone-head. But maybe that's all for the best since they all think the only gift you're capable of giving is D-"

"DON'T. Not now."

Mu Qing couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny Fu Yao?" Meng Ai asks as her mother helps settle her in the bed.

"I'm just reminded of a mistake with massive consequences involving Nan Feng's God, Nan Yang."

"You don't have to tell her that!"

"Huh?"

"You'll find out when you're older Aiai." She herself chuckles a bit as she makes sure that Meng Ai is settled in the bed before she goes back to the kitchen area and returns with two dishes.

"Aiai asked me to ask you two which among these is the best flavor for her birthday moon cake."

"Because I can only have one flavor each year!"

"She couldn't decide between Lotus Paste and Red Bean filling. So I made a few experiments. This dish-" she puts it on the table between them.

"Has three with Lotus Paste and Three with Red Bean filling. And this dish -" She places the second dish beside the first, this time closer to Feng Xin.

"Has variations of both. Two of them with exactly half of each, Two of them with more Lotus and a touch of the red bean, and the last two are more of the red bean paste and a touch of the lotus paste."

"Can't we have all three?"

"You can't have three birthdays in one year Aiai."

"Please."

"You can get the other two if you can buy the ingredients with your own money."

"Aw." Her frustrated expression was so endearing that it made both generals laugh.

"Don't worry Meng Ai, we'll take this decision very seriously." Feng Xin says as he takes a large bite out of a red bean filled moon cake.

"We better be invited to the party."

"Of course you are Fu Yao. Both of you, and Hua Cheng and Xie Lian."

"Speaking of birthdays, here is one of your first presents." Meng Ai is given a book to her delight.

"Is this a new story mama?"

"Yes, a rare new story. Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Yes please."

______________________________________________________________

"Don't worry your Holiness, I made sure to make a few detours before going to the temple."

"Thank you Meng Zhiyuan, while we serve the Goddess who has power over life and death, I'm afraid we will need the assistance and protection of a nearby martial God if anything should happen."

Those were the last couple of things Xie Lian and Hua Cheng heard before the priest exits from a private dining area. He bows before both of them as he makes his leave.

"Good evening, Ji Huifan." He looks up at them as he hears Hua Cheng call him by the name he had thought long dead. But here on front of him was the couple the Great Mother had showed to be the best option to raise and protect Meng Ai. He just needed to do his best to convince them.

Meng Ai was innocent of the crimes he and his family had done. His sins should not deprive her of the chance to live.

"There's no need to be nervous Ji Huifan. We just want to know a few things." Xie Lian says in a calming voice.

"Of course, what would you like to know?"

"Start from the beginning." Hua Cheng says firmly.

______________________________________________________________

"Long ago, there was a beautiful Goddess named Chenxi, who loved dwelling in a place where many cultures met. She was a scholar with a natural curiosity to know more about the world beyond the lands she and her family were worshipped in. For it is well known that Gods cannot go into lands where they are neither worshipped or known."

"Why mama?"

"Gods need worshippers for them to dwell anywhere. And if they cannot have worshippers, they must at least be known by people to still have power. It is why whenever a new temple is built dedicated to a God, that God is happy."

"Oh."

"Chenxi loved meeting new Gods from other cultures. This place was the further most spot she could dwell in without depriving herself of the power of her worshippers or scholars. One day, a bright mortal man named Hou Lijie entered into her city as a scholar, and the two fell in love. But Chenxi's heart was heavy for she was born as a Goddess, and the love between a Goddess and a mortal almost always do not end well."

"Why?"

"Because the mortal almost always dies first."

"Oh." Her mother gives her a sympathetic smile.

"It's perfectly fine if you don't understand it now. Sometimes things only get clearer the older we get." In her periphery she could see that the two Generals were also paying close attention as they were snacking on the mooncakes she gave them.

"For their love to bear fruit, either they must both be mortal or both must be immortal. Chenxi asked her parents if she could give Hou Lijie a peach of immortality, for it is easier to make her beloved immortal than to make herself mortal."

"I thought the opposite would be easier."

"Aiai, the mortality that Chenxi must face isn't in the form of an avatar but her entire being. To become mortal is to enter the uncertainty of the cyle of Life, Death, and Rebirth. Chenxi cannot choose what face she will have, what body she will inhabit, or even where she will be born. And Hou Lijie loved her for who she was and she didn't want to change that."

"Hmm so what happened?" Feng Xin asks now curious and intrigued.

"Her parents refused, but Chenxi loved Hou Lijie so much that she snuck inside the orchard of her parents and gathered several peaches that granted immortality. She knew that Hou Lijie loved his family and would be upset if he were to leave them. She came to dwell in his home bearing the peaches, only to discover that her beloved had already passed. She realized then that the reason why her parents did not want to give her the peaches was because Hou Lijie was already dead. His family gathered because they were grieving. And then she realized her mistake as the family of her beloved surrounded and trapped her."

______________________________________________________________

"After they trapped her, in their grief of not wanting to lose anyone else, they gobbled up the peaches of immortality amongst themselves. But they didn't realize that it is only because of Chenxi's love for Hou Lijie that the peaches still had their power in a place where their power as Gods are not as potent. Chenxi's love was a spell on her own, and the moment she became frightened and trapped by that family, the power of the peaches was darkened."

"Darkened how?" Xie Lian asks as he took mental notes of the story.

"The peaches will still give them immortality, that is not something Chenxi could change. Normally when a peach of immortality is fed on whomever consumes it will become ethereal and more enlightened. But in this case, the family members who have eaten the peaches...while they are still immortal the curse is that only the life of anyone frightened, or in pain will satisfy them. But even then, that satisfaction will not last long and it only leads to more suffering. I...I think I don't need to say out loud what my family used to do."

Seeing that Hua Cheng and Xie Lian nodded he gathered himself for a bit to continue. He may not be able to read their expressions but no matter what they think of him he just needs to keep reminding himself that this was for his daughter.

"One of my relatives soon realized that we cannot continue to live in a place wherein our cursed immortality was present to anyone who was smart enough. So as we continued these blood rituals to keep our temporary satisfaction, we worked extremely hard to make Fu Dao into a prosperous kingdom. A kingdom's royal family doesn't need to make frequent public appearances, and only those we most trusted would know our secret. It would be easy enough to be isolated from everyone else and to hide that another effect of the curse is that all members who have partaken in it will be infertile."

"Let me guess, because when you're mortal in order to continue being on this earth you need to reproduce to pass on the family line."

"And that is no longer necessary or a concern when you are immortal. Is that right?"

"Yes, Xie Lian, you both are. I've never really liked consuming blood and when I was grown enough I endeavored to study magic of various kinds to try to find a cure for our suffering. I got tired of everyone of us taking turns to rule the Kingdom when all I wanted was to be free from our suffering."

"May I ask Ji Huifan, how did you manage to keep up appearances for so long?" Xie Lian in curiosity.

"We still continue to age - why we do I don't fully understand, but at some point those who appear elderly will take three times the amount of our regular consumption and they would be rejuvenated back into their forms as children. That's how we kept the public thinking that there were different generations ruling in our family."

"I see, but then how were you able to have a daughter?"

"I fell in love. Jing Mei was the first person who loves all parts of me and is stubborn enough to join me in my quest to find a way to remove this curse. Since she was an adept at the time she arranged for my family and I to consult an oracle asking for the cure to our suffering."

_____________________________________________________________

"What did the oracle say?" Mu Qing asks finding himself intrigued by the story. He and Feng Xin had since moved their stools closer to Jing Mei and Meng Ai. Meng Ai had since fallen asleep and Jing Mei had touched a pressure point to ensure that she would remain that way for awhile. This is the part of the story that she isn't ready to hear yet.

"Blood for blood, blood that you take will be cured by the blood that you give."

"Ominous."

"It is General Nan Yang. But I also don't blame my Goddess for giving that as a punishment. It is her daughter whom they have trapped, kept imprisoned, and tortured."

"Why didn't they just release her? They already had immortality although it is cursed." Mu Qing asks as he starts theorizing in his head. Jing Mei gives a sigh of frustration.

"I also don't know why. But after the oracle gave this answer things got worse for Chenxi. Bocheng, the patriarch of the family began interpreting it in a gruesome way. Before then, Chenxi was merely imprisoned and given the bare minimum to keep her satiated. Probably to make sure she isn't strong enough to give them another curse. After the oracle's answer to what would free them from their suffering, Bocheng began draining her of blood, feeding her blood to whomever the intended victims were before they were consumed in the family blood ritual. The worse part was because she is immortal, she too cannot be free from suffering and will carry this trauma for the rest of her immortal life."

"Fuck"

"I know. When I learned of this, I gave Ji Huifen, Meng Ai's father an ultimatum. He could continue to blindly join his family and the depraved acts they did; but in doing so I am going to completely cut ties with him and take the path of cultivation through abstinence. Or he could marry me under the blessings of Xiwangmu and get the freedom he had sought for."

There was a mutual relief shared in the telepathic bond as they both realized that Meng Ai's very existence was proof that her father had changed.

"But my Goddess loved me and did not make it easy for him. Before she allowed us to be married, she gave him two tasks. Cure himself of the curse, and free Chenxi. Obviously his grandfather's interpretation did not cure anything but merely made their relief last longer. He managed to free Chenxi and I personally nursed her back to health. In gratitude she clarified what her mother demanded from them to cure them from their suffering."

"Which was?"

______________________________________________________________

"An offering of my own blood. I won't tell you the details but Chenxi explained that by refusing to grieve we have tainted the nourishment of the peaches of immortality. It was why the more blood we consumed the shorter our relief lasted with each successive one. Had we dwelled with the discomfort of the loved one we all lost, had we learned to let go, the seemingly insatiable hunger for the lives of others while painful would also go away. But because a lot of the blood that now flows in our veins are from the blood of our victims, it is only cured by pouring them out." He takes a drink from his cup to refresh himself.

"And so I did, on front of Jing Mei, on front of all of Xiwangmu's priests and priestesses, and on front of Chenxi. They all witnessed both my blood and my grief finally pouring out." He doesn't need to see them to know that they are probably horrified. Hou Lijie while technically a cousin was more of a big brother and one of his best friends. When Hou Lijie fell in love with Chenxi he could now admit that he was jealous and didn't want to lose someone so dear to him.

Only for death to have claimed him first before Chenxi ever did.

And so he joined in the family in imprisoning and torturing her thinking that she was the cause of his death.

"The next time I woke up I no longer felt the underlying thirst to consume blood. And not long after Jing Mei and I were married with Chenxi present. I was excited to share the news with them, to tell them that I now understand the words of the oracle and that there was hope. Sure I was mortal again, but after centuries of being immortal and being satiated only with the thirst for blood drained when the victims were in fear and in pain...it was a relief that I had never thought possible. The opportunity came when it was time for another blood ritual to take place. What better time to tell them of the solution? Xiwangmu through her powers prevented me from being physically there. And it was on that night that I discovered that they had been spying on me but now they somehow believe that the cure for all of them would be to sacrifice Meng Ai, the first new life in our family in centuries. Under Xiwangmu's protection I tried to tell them and explain to them what the cure was. Then I was branded as a traitor. And so gathering everything I could, I took my family and fled from Fu Dao."

"You changed your name to Meng Zhiyuan to cover your tracks."

"More to extend my life by a little bit. When Meng Ai was born, Jiang Mei had a vision of the three of us dead. Or more specifically that she and I were dead and my grandfather personally skinning her and letting her blood pour out on Xiwangmu's altar. We panicked and Xiwangmu herself came into our dreams."

______________________________________________________________

"What did she say?"

"That as long as one parent is dead and one parent was alive, she would be safe from that cursed family." Jing Mei stood up and brushed a stray strand of hair that was covering Meng Ai's left eye. She presses a kiss to her forehead before she makes her way to her satchel.

"Chenxi knew us well enough that we wouldn't want Meng Ai to grow up with only one parent. And clarified that being a parent does not mean that there is necessarily a blood relation. So we began praying to her mother to help us find a loophole, even if it means we will only have her for the first few years of her life. Meng Ai deserves to live life to the fullest, and if it means that someone else will be her parents then so be it. After we've been fleeing from place to place Xiwangmu lead us to Hu village and told us that she has found a solution but nothing is certain yet. Then recently when Meng Ai went missing and we were worried. Xiwangmu then showed us that she was with Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Then everything made sense."

From her bag she brings out two thicker books. And hands each one to each General.

"These copies contain the more extensive version of the story that Ji Huifen and I have personally written. I don't know how much time we have left with her - but when you feel that she is ready to know the actual story, have her read this."

"Two copies?" Feng Xin asks as Mu Qing carefully stores one magically.

"The other copy is for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Hopefully, if Ji Huifen is still alive, he would be able to convince them to take her in. The sooner she's with them, the safer she'll be."

"General Nan Yang." A soldier enters as Feng Xin stores the other copy magically.

"It's starting. They're using some sort of cloaking magic."

"We'll be there." He nods to Mu Qing as he makes his way out.

"Thank you again Jing Mei. Just stay inside and don't come out until we get both of you." It was obvious to him how much she and her husband loves Meng Ai. So much that they would sacrifice their life with her to ensure that she lived life to the fullest.

It reminded him of his own mother.

Filled with newfound determination he headed out and joined the ensuing battle.

AN: Wow consecutive chapters in one week! That's a personal record for me. I hope the dark subject matter and triggering potential elements weren't too painful.

Chenxi - Morning sunlight

Hou - Lord/Nobleman, Li Jie - To reason

Jing - Bright, Mei - flower (Confession: I just picked Mei because it was one of the more common female names)

Meng - Dream, Zhiyuan - Distant Ambition

[littencloud9]

Thanks for answering my ask. If you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them. Sorry if you've answered this before.....

HI!! no problem i LOVE talking about my favs. here’s like top 3 ships of some fandoms i’m in because there is simply too many LMAO

jujutsu kaisen

- itafushi: literally my number one ship ever. they make me so fucking emo. the tragedy of what couldn’t have been prevented. i pray for itafushi moments in the jjk manga but every time it happens it is somehow worse than the last. peace 🙏

- yutamaki: they mean so much to me. i love them both platonically and romantically! their moments in jjk0 are super sweet and i love that they’re always supporting each other 🥹

- satosugu: this is a ship i’ll put in a blender. i don’t usually think of them but when i do i want to throw up blood. they’re the cause of all my problems. i love them. they are so my tears ricochet core

other ships i like are nobamaki, inuokko, and mechamiwa! perks of being a multishipper lol

-

bungo stray dogs

- shin soukoku: MY YIN YANG DUO!! they are the dumbest. somehow they bulldozed past all the normal stages of dating and went straight to dying for each other. who does that.

- kunichuuzai: i’m cheating here because i love all individual pairings in this ship AND the poly ship. especially kunichuu which crept up on me and slapped me in the face. chuuya being downbad for kunikida is GREAT. they are so good when you dont have toxic shippers breathing in your ear about how one is better than the other ❤️

- tachigin: do u ever think about how they’re both liars. how they both have a hidden identity. how they both found family within the mafia not as the person they really are, but as the person they pretended to be. how the betrayal felt like when tachihara dropped his mask. OUGH

i also really like ranpoe and atsulucy! and beast!akutagawa x beast!tanizaki is cute too

-

link click

- i’m a liar. shiguang is the only ship i have in this show. my FAVS. their devotion to each other is insane. they make me genuinely feral. cxs being an annoying little shit x lg who stays hopelessly in love anyway. ARGH I LOVE THEM. THEY WANNA SAVE EACH OTHER!!!!

-

tian guan ci fu

- fengqing: the implications of this 800 year old situationship is very fun. knowing someone so well that you know exactly what to say to hurt them. loving someone so deeply and repressing it to the point that you mistake it as hatred. i’m obsessed with them

- hualian: how can i not include the most romantic (and canon) pair EVER. get you someone who loves you like hua cheng loves xie lian because holy SHIT. i have not read the books (only watched the donghua) and yet these two make me feral i need them to hurry it up and get married already 😭

i don’t really ship anything else as of yet. but i do like and acknowledged beefleaf. i’ve heard it’s horribly tragic. i cannot wait to find out

-

sk8 the infinity

- renga: RENGA!!!! MY PRECIOUS. they are fucking head over heels for each other i’m obsessed with it. their ‘breakup arc’ genuinely hurt my soul. but i love how confident they are about each other’s skills, how they’re each others biggest supporter, how they see the best in each other etc. insane. i need season 2 asap

- matchablossom: [danny motta voice] they wanna fuck so bad. the end

i don’t ship anything else. but do i think cherry and adam had a situationship back when they were teenagers? yes. anyway

-

avatar the last airbender

- mailee: MY GIRLS. THE BEST ATLA SHIP AND YOU HEARD IT FROM ME. mai who masks her emotions with blankness and ty lee who masks her emotions with a smile. but they both know each other better than that. they protect each other and they are also 🖤🩷 how could you not love them!!!!

- zukka: [affectionately] there is something so wrong with these two. the original red and blue gays. to ME. i think they bounce off each other well and they’re a really funny duo. also. the prince and the fool. what more is there

- yuekka: personally i love love LOVED yuekka. i like how yue really loosened up around sokka and how sokka was head over heels for her LMAO they were a really cute ship. moon coded gf x ocean coded bf do you see how great that is. the tides follow the whims of the moon. they can’t exist without the other. ARGH

-

voltron

- klance: sigh. since we’re digging this deep into my fandoms list let us talk about klance. do i agree with anything that was written past season 3? absolutely not. they are definitely a wasted potential ship that ruined my life forever but like. yah. the ship you obsessed over at 14 is SERIOUS business. the homoerotic rivalry they had was seriously unmatched. nobody talk to me

- adashi: haha. my first experience with being queerbaited. they buried the gays before the gays even had lines. i was so upset about adam that i consumed an insane amount of fan content and then wrote 10k words in one sitting. thats how upset they made me

- romellura: the gfs ever. the writers screwed allura over so every ship i have for her is… very fan-based. but i’ll protect them with my SOUL. the softness of meeting someone who knows EXACTLY the kind of loss you felt. finding comfort and home in each other.

- veracxa: sorry one more. VERACXA IS SO GOOD AND SO UNDERRATED. lance and veronica having the same taste is so funny. also love that veronica went out of her way to make acxa feel welcome. and their matching judgy stares. the older sister and sister in law. i KNOW lance was sweating

-

sorry for the long ass list. there’s lots of other platonic/familial relationships i enjoy in shows too i swear i’m not just insane 😭🙏. thank you so much for the ask!!

[bloodbxrn]

DEEP DIVE

NAME: Kalpas

BODY

height: 190cm / just shy of 6'3

strength ★★★★★ [ how funny would it be if I docked him a star because he can't beat Kevin hahaha no jkjk sorry buddy of course he gets five stars could you imagine ]

dexterity ★★☆☆☆ [ his fighting style is described as splattering chunks on those nearby ]

health ★★★★★ [ see Kevin re: genetically modified supersoldier ]

energy ★★★★☆ [ has wild swings, he is only ever hyper-manic or super sedate. there are a lot of implications for both that I could pick at, but I think that's a meta for another time ]

beauty ★★★☆☆ [ well I think he's handsome ]

style ★★★☆☆

hygiene ★★☆☆☆ [ likely not a slob, but I don't think it's a priority ]

SKILLS

perception ★★★★☆ [ a huge part of chapter 30 is how much sharper he is than everyone gave him credit for  ]

communication ★★☆☆☆ [ most of his flavor text opines how he can't communicate properly, and during Elysium Everlasting his whole deal is basically laid out for us ]

persuasion ★★☆☆☆  [ less persuasion and more intimidation, although there are moments when he does try (and fails) to use his words ]

mediation ☆☆☆☆☆ [ cussed out su once. su. ]

literacy ★★☆☆☆ [ no evidence suggests that he can't read ]

creativity ★★★★☆ [ dawg he outwitted su and fu hua. ]

cooking ★★★★★ [ Golden Courtyard indicates that he's the best cook of the Flamechasers. I know that Golden Courtyard is kind of its own can of beans wrt bias and self-perception and wish-fulfillmet, but I'm willing to take it at face value bc I think this one's cute ]  

tech savvy ★★☆☆☆

combat ★★★★★ [ yes the ripping yes the tearing. his signet is Decimation and a literal computer virus learned to feel fear at coming face to face with him so like. ]

survival ★★★★☆ [ docking a point for being dead ]

stealth ☆☆☆☆☆ [ Kalpas is not who you call for a stealth mission. on top of being Like That, I think similar to Kevin his presence is just absolutely suffocating. ]

street smarts ★★★☆☆

seduction ☆☆☆☆☆ [ I think we should put Kalpas on a dating show I think it would be enriching. for me, not for him ]

luck ☆☆☆☆☆ [ listen if I'm so fr I think all of the flamechasers deserve this obviously I can't speak for the others but like just look at their lives oh my god ]

handling animals ★★☆☆☆

pacifying children ★★☆☆☆

MIND

intelligence ★★★☆☆ [ see perception above ]

happiness ★★★☆☆ [ all things considered, and if the scene where his sim is deleted is any indication, i think the direction his life took after being taken in by MOTH and the way that he went out was what would have made him the most happy ]

spirituality ☆☆☆☆☆

confidence ★★★★★ [ bro thinks he can beat kevin idk what to tell you ]

humor ★★☆☆☆ [ "nothing flies over my head, my reflexes are too good, I would simply catch it" type mf. Elysia does mention that he tells jokes, however ]

anxiety ★★★☆☆ [ interestingly, we see Kalpas be the most actively skittish in the Elysian Realm of all the sims. although this is also due to a number of factors going on in the plot, it's still an interesting trait he doesn't display when he is chained, but rather when he's allowed to roam and interact freely. ]

patience ★☆☆☆☆

passion ★★★★☆

nice         ☆☆★☆☆     mean [ he is rude and brusque and aggressive. the most polarizing of his teammates, outside of Mobius, but whereas hers is deliberate maliciousness, his is due to his inability to communicate his wants and needs and intentions properly ]

brave       ★☆☆☆☆     cowardly [ thinking about the Herrscher of Corruption situation makes me fucking ill ]

pacifist     ☆☆☆☆★     violent

thoughtful ☆☆☆☆★    impulsive

agreeable ☆☆☆★☆     contrary [ he isn't entirely intransigent just mostly ]

idealistic   ★☆☆☆☆     pragmatic

frugal        ★☆☆☆☆     big spender

extrovert   ☆☆☆☆★     introvert [ shockingly shy ]

collected   ☆☆☆☆★     wild [ glances at his Trial Transcript recollection. shrekmmh ]

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ★★☆☆☆

empathy ★★★☆☆

generosity ★★★★★ [ spoilers for his backstory but he let himself be tied to a pillar by strangers and have his blood ritualistically siphoned to attempt to cure honkai sickness for an indeterminate amount of time. he just let them do it ]

wealth ★★☆☆☆

honest   ★☆☆☆☆ deceptive

leader   ☆☆☆★☆   follower

polite     ☆☆☆★☆  rude [ aggressive and to the point, but can be smacked with a newspaper to say yes maam sorry maam ]

political ☆☆☆☆★  indifferent

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★☆☆ [ seems the type to be superstitious. was worshiped as a god for a period but it's implied he has more complicated feelings on it which is a meta for another time ]

fate/destiny ★★☆☆☆

magic ★★★☆☆

soulmates ★★☆☆☆ [ complicated. not in a romantic sense, but I do think he thinks that his rivalry with kevin is preordained in some manner of fashion, and the situation with emile  ]

good and evil ★☆☆☆☆ [ I think he acknowledges them as concepts but insofar as believing that they have a tangible effect on the way people behave? he's willing to compare himself to aponia in saying that he thinks they both belong in hell, but that it would disgust him to go there at her side ] 

luck ★★★☆☆

PRIORITIES

family ★☆☆☆☆ [ don't ask him if he considers the flamechasers family. he does, but I don't think he's willing to come to terms with what that means just yet ]

friends ★★★★★ [ he will turn up for his friends ]

love ★★☆☆☆ [ complicated. for the purposes of this I will refer to only romantic love here, otherwise this would get long. we get implications that Kalpas would like to see what a future with a romantic partner is like, but acknowledges that it isn't an option ]

home ☆☆☆☆☆ [ he. well. he isn't from here. I think the concept of home is complicated for Kalpas, outside of him literally being an alien - between sunrise alley and fire moth and the flamechasers, I think he's searching for home and coming up short, which leads to a bit of a cyclical devaluing of it ]

health ★★★☆☆

praise ★★★★★ [ one thing that I've noticed in a not-insignificant amount of his interactions is that the people that Kalpas is kindest towards, or those in whom he holds the highest esteem (see: Kevin, Elysia) talk to him like he's a dog. please tell him he's a good boy he needs to hear it so bad ]

justice ★☆☆☆☆  [ not in an unbiased sense, mind you ]

truth ★☆☆☆☆ [ the truth is what you make of it, and if it isn't true yet, then you haven't made it yet ]

power ★★★★★

fame ★★★★★

wealth ☆☆☆☆☆

others' opinions ★★★☆☆ [ one might think that this is in a similar vein as praise, and while that's not entirely inaccurate, I think he's accepted that he'll never fully have another's good opinion. is often made a joke of, and knows about it. at the point, unfortunately, where I think he thinks fear is just as good as respect ]

[strwbmei]

Hey mei, I haven't been here for a long time, I'm too busy with college and also my part time job. But I want you to know that I always read everything you post. And yeah I'm still Fu hua lover. Since many things that happened in my real life, I would like to request again to regain my mood again.

ANYWAY THIS IS ALREADY IN MY HEAD IN A LONG TIME AGO, Fu Hua x Dragon!Reader in heat duh...

I can imagine the size difference..., the way readers breed Fu hua, at first reader is careful and still gentle to hua even if they are in heat, they don't want to hurt their little birb.

But then, Fu hua said "Don't hold back, I'm all yours." Heh, the readers sure are gonna make whimpers and cries.

Mira! It's been a while. I was worried you didn't like my posts anymore 😭

Anyway, this idea is very hot and I've added it to my drafts. Just wanted to answer this ask to tell you that user _maiqo on Twitter has really good spicy art of Fu Hua and Mei in her dragon form. And just really good art of honkai characters in general.

[iwanttofuckereh69]

Now reading: tian guan ci fu

I'm at chapter 81: Land of the Tender; Body of Gold Hard-Pressed Against Desire (can we spare a moment to talk about how amazing the chapter titles are?????? HHHHH)

And like holy shit i did not expect THAT. MXTX really sat down and wondered how to fill this book to the brim with spice without it actually being spicy (and avoiding censorship in the process). Because holy shit, the suggestive imagery is top tier. Not only in this chapter though. Back in the Gambler's Den chapters, the way Hua Cheng teaching Xie Lian how to toss the dice was described made me blush ok.

He instructed softly, "Like this." And just like that, the back of Xie Lian's hands were enveloped within Hua Cheng's palms. When skin touched skin, Hua Cheng's hands felt temperate like jade. (...) His hands guided Xie Lian's and shook the black wooden gambling cup in a rhythm that was neither hurried nor slow. (...) Even though the shakes were gentle, Xie Lian could feel waves of numbness from the back of his hands, travelling along his arm, spreading to the rest of his body. As he was shaking, Xie Lian lifted his eyes to sneak a peek at the other person, and realized that Hua Cheng wasn't looking at the gambling cup at all. Instead, he was watching him intently, with the corners of his mouth curved up. Xie Lian couldn't help but return the fond smile, but immediately controlled himself when he remembered the crowd of ghosts that were watching him from above and below. He lowered his head and diligently studied the gesture that Hua Cheng showed him. "Like this?" he asked. Hua Cheng widened his smile. "Hm. That's right, just like that."

TGCF, Chapter 37: Admiring the Flower through Red Clouds; A Heart Full of Sympathy 2

LIKE HOW TF DO YOU READ THAT AND THINK YE THATS A NORMAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DICE BEING TOSSED

But ok, back to the Land of the Tender. It's, well, much more straightforward, but it's also interesting to see how Xie Lian struggles in the face of desires. And I bet someone wrote a fan fiction based on that setting. And JUST WONDERING what shape could the fruits take in order to tempt Hong-er..... nobody knows lmao

[xxladynenexx]

Heaven Official's Blessing S2 Ep1

Why do I have to wait for episode 2 TT_TT

I want to have it all at once and then neglect every aspect of my life to watch it TT_TT

Spoilers for the ENTIRE story of Heaven Official's Blessing/Tian Guan Ci Fu below the cut!! Have my thoughts and excitement!

I will say, knowing what I do about Jun Wu and how close he was to Hua Cheng's ashes right then? Seeing it was so different to reading it. I unfortunately lack the ability to visualise things so reading, while fun for me, is quite difficult with character descriptions lol.

I did say that the idea for [Tenebrous] came to me in a dream, and that is true, but it's not the same way other people I know dream. I actually have a little thing I sent to friends to explain how I see things in my head, which I will paste here.

You are in a dark room. You can sort of see shapes of objects around you. There are no details on anything. You're pretty sure you saw a white cat. So you look for it. But you can never look at the cat and see it, you can only see it when you look anywhere but the cat. The cat is only ever very faintly visible. It's never clear, always blurry, and you can't see the whole cat. Only parts of it. You have to keep your eyes moving, because if you look at one spot too long the cat vanishes, and you have to look around for it again. There are never colours. The images are never sharp.

I also can never imagine things actively, I have to fully zone out or be asleep for anything to be 'seen' in my head. Also means when I get high I don't hallucinate lmao.

Back to TGCF spoilers.

I read some funny headcanons about how Hua Cheng probably had his little panic on "Shit, it's gege, how do I sit in this chair to look like the coolest Ghost King ever?" (Tbh I think he sits like that all the time because he gives off those vibes) and it gave me a giggle.

I love Shi Qingxuan's design. And I also really liked the animation/art style of the opening. I read a few people hated it but I quite like it. It's a unique style. A few angles may look awkward, but QI RONG?? DID YOU SEE THE INCREDIBLE TRANSITION FOR HIM? FAM.

It was so beautiful and I loved it.

Man even though I know what happens I am still so stressed about HOW CLOSE TO HUA CHENG'S ASHES JUN WU WAS!! Like, he didn't know they were there but I DID!!

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

@onyxstrike Ok so the English fan TL isn't done yet (there's also videos but I haven't watched all of them, hard for me) so this might not be fully accurate but basically the story is set in 1500s China with tons of Wuxia tropes and era-appropriate social standards. Keep that in mind.

This guy's name is Yanqing in Star Rail and later Ma Feima (AKA Horse the Unhorsed, it'll make sense in a sec) in Hi3 . Good? Good.

He's number 6 out of 7 of Fu Hua's disciples/children back in the 1500s, the ones who murdered her, and she stays dead for a couple decades.

The novel starts after those two decades and flashbacks sometimes but ESSENTIALLY during those two decades, Ma Feima got married to Fu Hua's first disciple/adopted daughter, Zhaoyu, who was like. WAY older than him. Like she was in her 50s after the timeskip.

Ma Feima is not in love with her and she's not in love with him, it's more of a political thing and Zhaoyu founded a martial arts school as a direct continuation from Fu Hua's.

HOWEVER. Ma Feima is in love with the red-headed Su Mei, disciple number two, who's also a lot older than him but about a decade younger than Zhaoyu. Su Mei does not like him either but she manipulates him and he'll do anything for her even if he doesn't like it.

(Context: Zhaoyu was the only child Fu Hua had around for a very long time so she has a big age gap with the others and raised her fellow disciples/siblings when Fu Hua was off setting infected villages on fire. Su Mei was the second child they took in, by that time Zhaoyu was already a young adult, and Su Mei hated Fu Hua's guts because she killed her infected parents. She did respect her as her master for saving her life, but like, she never got over it, unlike Zhaoyu who accepted they needed to die since they were beyond saving. Most of the other kids loved Fu Hua well enough, but Su Mei is a manipulative bitch and eventually orchestrated her murder in the name of protecting their infected fellow disciple/sibling soooo. Yeah. Ma Feima has bad taste).

SO HERE IS THE KICKER. My man Ma Feima, the day of his fucking wedding, runs off after a red horse (you know, like Su Mei's hair?) and it becomes his best friend forever who he spends more time with than his wife. Hence red-haired obsessed furry. He doesn't get called a madman in-universe for nothing, have you SEEN Zhaoyu— ahem.

Lingshuang, disciple number 5, later asks him whether his horse tastes good. Yes this can be understood as a sexual joke. No he was not amused.

As for the slurs he's very, very rude to Otto. "Raksha"/"Luocha" (same word different reading) is also a slur actually, 15 years old illiterate Sushang can't pronounce his name so she calls him it constantly despite actually getting along. He takes a bunch of deserved and hilarious Ls in the VN.

The name TL is a bit different but you can read about these characters here, voliyu made a summary

Has a tag on their blog too

The VN is unfinished even in CN, but a lot and I mean a LOT of Star Rail's Luofu stuff is inspired from it, from characters to the aesthetic. Makes me quite happy honestly!

THEY TWINK-IFIED HIM.

WHO IS THIS??? NOT EVEN A BIT MUSCLE?? WHERES THE SCAR?? THEY DID BRONYA SO GOOD AND THEN DID HIM SO DIRTY??