#everyone i know who likes tgcf is just !!! HUA CHENG IS NOT SEXY !!!
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
prefacing this post by saying this is not a ship bashing post; i like all these ships; i am musing on my own personal preferences
i think the reason why i like wangxian and bingqiu just a little bit more than hualian boils down to the misunderstandings, with the sex scenes of their respective stories being insights into those misunderstandings.
in mdzs, lan wangji and wei wuxian's misunderstandings come about because 1) they were acquainted but not seriously close friends 2) they had to deal with a massive war and its aftermath. lan wangji was worried for wei wuxian's personal safety and had romantic feelings for him. wei wuxian was slowly led to believe over time that lan wangji didn't really like him much and wanted to harm him just like everyone else in spite of wei wuxian's righteous actions.
combined with their respective upbringings as a respectable second son and the dubiously accepted son of a servant who always has to watch his own back, there's a lot for them to untangle after the death and resurrection and feelings realization! but the moment they do realize that they're mutually in love, they jump on the chance to stay together, no more miscommunication, no waiting, no more turning away from each other again.
and the respective sex scene: you explicitly see the peerless illustrious hanguang-jun lan wangji straining, apologetic and still openly nervous during his and wei wuxian's first time. because they didn't talk things out! they were too excited! they were too happy and intent to have each other after all those years of pain so they rushed into it without really discussing anything beforehand. so lan wangji doesn't actually know if wei wuxian is going nooooo~ in a sexy way or if wei wuxian actually seriously wants lan wangji to stop. it's flawed and they work out each other's preferences later on, but they both enjoyed themselves and continue to do so even in future sex scenes.
in svsss, shen qingqiu and luo binghe's misunderstandings come about because 1) former is a modern day transmigrator compelled to not reveal anything about the story or what he actually feels for any of the characters 2) the latter is desperate to understand the former's contradictory actions and to not be abandoned.
combined with several miscommunications and hasty assumptions (e.x. luo binghe thinking that shen qingqiu must've harmed him because he despised luo binghe's half-demon ancestry; shen qingqiu thinking that luo binghe intends to torture him the way he tortured the original story's counterpart shen qingqiu) and you get a fascinating and heartrending dynamic where they clearly adore each other and are dismayed at the idea that it's inevitable for the other one to despise them and want to hurt them. things clear up because they show each other their devotion and intent to stay.
and the respective sex scene: their first time isn't even written to be titillating! they're still in the middle of battle. luo binghe's mind is being overpowered by the demonic sword xin mo, so even though shen qingqiu is okay with dual cultivation/sex to pacify the sword's lust for conquering, it's extremely rough and unpleasant. it is violent and painful and leaves shen shingqiu so battered he looks like he's been assaulted, which horrifies luo binghe when he finally regains his senses.
they're distraught as hell! it traumatizes them both! and yet in spite of that and in spite of their fears of being hurt they want to stay with each other and they actively choose to keep being with each other. they improve their communication and clearly seem to understand each other's quirks and sexual preferences better in the extras and after marriage.
versus in tgcf: xie lian and hua cheng got along with each other from day 1. there was a spark the moment xie lian met san lang on the back of that ox cart. they talked for ages and were endeared to each other basically immediately! even during the ghost bride mission where they didn't really speak to one another, xie lian clearly felt a connection to the mysterious groom who gently and safely led him through the blood rain.
through all their present-day adventures and the final battle, even when they separate by choice or by force of circumstance, hua cheng and xie lian don't ever have a serious falling out. hua cheng is loyal to the bone and xie lian is also deeply drawn to hua cheng; both their respective insecurities are treated seriously and with sincerity by the other. there may be some confusion about each other's feelings, but even that isn't twisted to the point that they completely misconstrue each other's intentions and characters.
there isn't a central misunderstanding or miscommunication between hualian the way wangxian or bingqiu had; just a mutual past to be unraveled, and the looming question of if xie lian will actually act upon his feelings/the fact that he's attracted to and in love with hua cheng.
and the respective sex scene: we don't have any explicit sex scenes due to censorship. everything is in xie lian's rather selective point of view (and he's the type who hides certain details from readers for entire volumes on end!) so the most we get is the skimmed summary: xie lian really enjoyed it and hua cheng is kind of rough. just the implication that hua cheng was naturally amazing and satisfied xie lian fully, without any particularly humanizing aspects or awkward/upsetting first time moments.
of course tgcf is a beautiful story and a lovely romance in its own right, but personally, i found mdzs and svsss's main pairings more compelling because of the misunderstandings and how the sex scenes tied into the characters' personalities and overall relationship arcs.
#keri chats#wangxian#bingqiu#hualian#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#svsss#scum villain's self saving system#tgcf#tian guan ci fu#if you read this whole post and liked it/agreed with it/etc. i love you lmao#i just adore the way mxtx writes miscommunication and misunderstandings bc they're always 1) too difficult to untangle with just one convo#and 2) they always clear clear up w mutual love effort and faith
75 notes
·
View notes
Note
🔥 tgcf! im intrigued to know what u might have abt this
well vero I am home and I am so glad you asked because *pulls up a chair* hua cheng is a bad person and the failure of the story to genuinely reckon with that dramatically weakens it. he is a very good love interest - full of chemistry, exciting and mysterious, sexy and competent, with just a dash of insecurity that brings out people's protectiveness. he IS underdeveloped, and that's not controversial - I couldn't hope to improve upon the paragraphs upon paragraphs of speculation and complaints my lovely mutuals and others have committed to this very space. but that's not my argument here, as underdeveloped mxtx characters such as jyl are among some of my most cherished
MY argument is that hc is a shitty and unlikeable PERSON. and this isn't an objective fact, but it is my opinion and I don't think it's a very popular one. hc is constantly laser-focused on xl to the exclusion of other people, even other people in xl's life who love him and who he genuinely trusts. his grudge against mq (who had a MOTHER to care for! and the rice!) and fx (who xl TOLD to leave) comes off as petty and despicably immature. his virtues such as 'being a good mayor' are conveyed by word of mouth by the text and implied by the inhabitants of the city, but when he actually interacts with ghost people he treats them like shit- I distinctly remember jl bowing her head in gratitude and I don't think he even LOOKED at her. like. what an asshole!
and you can argue that's the point, he's supposed to seem like a bad boy and people are supposed to distrust him, and at least he DID give her shelter, but this isn't about him torturing qr (I respect it), or about him offering shelter to abused and murdered ghosts (his sole redeeming quality and even then arguably for profit) it's about him treating the people around him (including these ghost citizens he's apparently such a great leader for) like they don't matter, holding grudges against genuinely innocent people or people whose situation he didn't understand for eight HUNDRED years, summoning dancers just to treat them like set dressing and pointedly ignore them when xl shows up, and allowing fathers to trade their daughters' actual lives away, with the argument that 'they know what they're risking' NO THEY DO NOT!!!!THE FATHERS ARE TREATING THEIR DAUGHTERS LIKE TRADING GOODS!! the actual women whose lives will be lost have no place at this table! how the FUCK was this never followed up on? how was xl, legendary compassionate figure, so quick to overlook it? and for profit! for power! the story can put in all the little asides it wants about hc charmingly ruffling guzi's hair or that one time he sacrificed an eye to save a bunch of mortals (oh sure, big DEAL. 🙄) but his actual day-to-day actions tell the story of a man singularly obsessed with one person to the exclusion of literally everything else, who sacrifices and mocks and ignores and trades away and profits from every single other person in his life, given the right incentive.
I do enjoy him in a lot of scenes. I don't like most of the officials he insults, and I don't thnk mq or fx really need defending. the romance scenes are usually very good when he's an ADULT, he's very charming and funny and clever in a scandalous way that makes you giggle, I think he's hilarious and justified when he's taking revenge on the assholes in heaven. but look at how he treats everyone else! truly! fuck hua cheng, fuck his sad little story about losing an eye, fuck his insecurity complex, fuck his willingness to be a literal gangster of the ghost city in the absolute worst sense, and honestly? fuck the other characters for seeing all this and just thinking it's cool or sexy or whatever. this bitch is one of the WORST characters we're supposed to find fun and perfect I have ever read
#wutheringheightsfilm#wow it's so sad you lost and eye now you have an incredible amount of power#you want to talk to the women who's lives you allowedto be gambled away without their input. hm. who knows how many#im so mad!!! misogynistic piece of SHIT!!!#this was so cathartic ty vero :)#asks
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
tgcf livetweet
“when the people said you were a god, you were a god. If the people said you were shit, then you were shit.” This is delightful
I read TGCF in spring of 2020, sitting on my porch roof amongst blooming dogwood trees, and it was the most pleasant experience reading a book I may have ever had. I livetweeted and since twitter seems to be barrelling towards self destruction I am archiving the live-tweet here.
this book is hilarious and I am 2 seconds in
“Body in the abyss, heart in paradise” is a cool phrase in translation but I bet the chengyu is better
what say a good crown price you have there—would be a shame if SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO HIM
Crown Prince Is A Total Himbo
“when the people said you were a god, you were a god. If the people said you were shit, then you were shit.” This is delightful
“Blood Rain Reaching Towards A Flower” is a metal af name
I fell asleep during my reading time last night but: team XIE LIAN IS A HIMBO & I’m waiting to be proven wrong about this
this book is funny & xie lian is peak Dumb Baby
xie lian + wei wuxian = forgetting everyone’s names
Xie Lian gets sassy
I love Ruoye. almost as much as the butterfly baby
I too want to be with the woman holding a knife to my throat
PUTTING UP AN UMBRELLA TO PROTECT XIE LIAN FROM THE RAIN OF BLOOD IN THE CORPSE FOREST IS SO ROMANTIC
Wait this is way too early in this very long book for me to have feels about Xuan Ji & Pei Ling
magine if your favorite scarf was also a pet and friend & that’s Ruoye, my new favorite magical accessory
I’m pretty immune to body horror & the Human Face Plague is Not Cool Not Cool Not Cool
Oh Xie Lian was about due for a Himbo moment huh
ten thousand withered bones
OUR LOVE INTEREST IS FIRST NAMED! WE LOVE HIM ALREADY
Among the Four Calamities and Four Famous Tales...there are NATURAL pairings here
But we love every one of His facets, our Demon Lord, Hua Cheng
OF COURSE Hua Cheng lives in a volcano city. I have met him once for three pages & I already know he Respects Aesthetics
Xie Lian sighs, contended, proud of his Demon Crush
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT XIE LIAN WOULD HAVE DONE IF HE COULD NO WONDER HIS CRUSH IS SO STRONG
Xie Lian, after hearing eight pages of description of how everyone is scared of Hua Cheng: mmmm sexy
Ok i got really into this part and fffff i have to be at work in 6 hours. Ch 13 later with more Himbo Xie Lian & Lonely Yet Too Smart For The Room Hua Cheng
Xie Lian....the Himbo who got kicked out in 15 minutes for calling out eerybody.....Hua Cheng who is so fed up he was like “fuck it im out ANd im better than all of u”........energy
Xie Lian replying to all in the email chain & everyone like SHUT UP BOOMER
Xie Lian just wants to be debt free. Millennials would worship at his shrine
Xie Lian eating trash. Man mxtx really loves to drag this guy
I love their dappled sunlit ride in a haywagon together #romance wait what’s their hashtag what’s the wangxian of #TGCF (it’s #hualian)
oh no Hua Cheng is Soft crying emojis
I would apologize but I’m loving my Exquisitely Slow Stop-Every-Page Livetweet read of #TGCF lets appreciate these soft gays
LOVE! SOFT GAYS!
God their dynamic is so sweet and Soft
Scaring away the ghosts for your crush and then telling him “no you did it” #justHuaChengthings
Xie Lian renowned himbo tries to flirt & be smooth
AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED
san lang i love u
Omg these gay babies
gay BABIES who go STARGAZING TOGETHER
(3/26/20) reading tgcf at work is the most enjoyable day I’ve had at work all week and NO ONE GOT STABBED TWENTY TIMES, UNLIKE YESTERDAY
Xie Lian giving up his hat......so soft..... Hualian standing shoulder to shoulder staring at the stars.......soft
Omg Hua Cheng breaking the sword in the sheath....the inexpert power dynamics of Nan Feng & Fuyao trying to trick him & failing....Xie Lian couldnt dissemble if his life depended on it....it’s Good Fucking Food
“WHO THE FUCK DECIDED THAT MY BOYFRIEND SHOULD GET SNAKE BIT IM REAL OVER Y’ALL” -Hua Cheng, probably
Xie “I’d rather die than risk the possibility of my boyfriend getting snake bite” Lian
they’re moving real fast huh
This person buried in the mud who became a demon is also v creepy there’s a lot of creepy stuff in this book!!!
from one demon to another, bro—
XL: I’ve known San Lang for two days and if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself
Even the Pet-Weapon-Fashion Accessory Ruoye ships them
OH MY GOD HE KILLED EVERY DEMON IN THE PIT I
THATS GODDAMN ROMANCE
Murder pit?? But i wanna see my boyfriends new body
Murder pit? 4/10. My hot “friend” 8/10
Okay i did NOT see this twist coming
Lolololol #hualian
Substantial Boyfriend Himbo move by Xie Lian here
incoherent screaming FLOWER UNDER THE UMBRELLA IN THE BLOOD RAIN
Nan Feng: STOP HAVING A ROMANCE ITS MAKING ME FEEL ICKY
incohereNT SCREAMING HUALIAN
Archive note: for interest, this is where season one of the Heaven Official Blessing donghua stopped!
continued in part 2.
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
bestie!! have u seen the tgcf live action casting!! what are your thoughts!!
i couldn’t not see it, it was all over weibo 😂 i personally don’t like the casting because MOST OF THEM ARE LITERALLY IDOLS (r1se and qcyn) & have no acting experience? and they’re so young… idk if they can pull it off; visually, i don’t see hualian as a fit either 😭 shi qingxuan’s actor is the best if anything // i wished the actors were older and had some experience because i want to live action to somewhat live up to one of the more popular danmei novels in china; i hope they end up pulling it off tho, but my first impression still remains unsatisfied
#replies#anon#my friends said i was gonna flip a table when i see he xuan#and i almost did.#black water is my fav character & the actor does not exude black water energy 😐#i hope the live action ends up good.#my luo yunxi xie lian agenda DOWN THE DRAIN SJFJSK#at this rate lmao call up luhan 😂#everyone i know who likes tgcf is just !!! HUA CHENG IS NOT SEXY !!!#and my pei ming stan friend is v unsatisfied
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
honestly re ‘reading’ tgcf (jamie reading choice parts aloud in sequence as we both make commentary) has just convinced me further of my ‘he xuan’s revenge was kind of thrown together at the last minute’ theory (which i will be taking no criticisms on i’m not tagging this i just had the urge to write out my semiserious thoughts in a post. we good? okay)
because like. taking sqx to his tourist trap hometown to look at a cool spookyday parade that tells his backstory is inspired!
(it got a bit ruined by fucking xie lian who is now always around for some reason (seriously xl is ALWAYS showing up again during the black water arc and i honestly don’t blame hx for bopping him once. hua cheng you shouldn’t have punched him into the ground for that he DESERVED that one) but ANYWAY)
and then we go to the pavilion where sqx ascended. nice, nice. and tell him the truth...... uh........ somehow..... look, I’ll trust it was cool and effective due to how it wound up with sqx screaming in horror and all. sexy, inspired. and shi wudu’s locked him up! I fully believe that he xuan’s plan at this point looked something like
rescue sqx like a total badass, take him to nice quiet honeymoon cottage in the place none of the three tumors will go, maybe leave him there while you go kill shi wudu? like, SURELY he’ll get over it at this point. maybe even
if things seem good reveal yourself and then hold hands with sqx and maybe kill shi wudu TOGETHER?? but let’s not aim too high this is a stretch goal
but like, clearly he hates his brother now! this is fantastic! everything’s gonna go great revenge is awesome
but Then. sqx goes! to help! his shitty brother again! COMPLETELY DERAILING phase 2. you rented that honeymoon cottage for nothing. fuck this
but fine. okay. you can pivot. you can change up the plan you spent like 10 years coming up with. yes it wasn’t a very detailed plan but like, you have a lot going on. spying and sinking ships, etc, and sometimes you forget you actually have to decide on what you want to do for revenge, but WHATEVER. you drag everyone into your turf (surf?). you split up the group. you have a palace with shi qingxuan’s name on it and a prison with shi wudu’s. yes shi qingxuan has to have a brief time out in the jail first but that’s what you get for siding with shi wudu and insulting your shovel. anyway! draw up the distance shortening array, drop shi qingxuan in a nice palace room, now you can go hunt shi wudu for sport.
shi qingxuan leaves the room. you forgot he can do that
well you know, maybe you should figure out something else to do with him! you’re still very pissed that he sided with his horrible no-good brother, after all. of course you’d still rather stab yourself than so much as scratch him but it’s whatever.
shi wudu somehow figured out you’re sketch?
shi qingxuan is standing with his brother again and acting REALLY weird in general
you are having a very bad mental health day at this point
...you know what, fuck this, let’s ALL go to the cave where i’ve currently stashed my family’s urns, it’s as good a showdown place as any!
grab some of those haunted house actors you hired and tell them to babble and scamper and caress shi qingxuan a little bit but nothing below the belt or you Will kill them
(the ~crazy gross people~ hordes are deeply unfortunate and i will mentally rewrite them as i choose ok)
now you can at least force Shi Wudu to bow and apologize but honestly you’re not having that much fun at this point
Listen: the ‘ooh swap your brother’s fate with one of my curated weirdos’ thing makes WAY more sense to me if you assume... it was never something he xuan intended to happen. like, seriously, the process was something shi wudu did from heaven, quite probably with Ling Wen’s assistance. how’s he xuan gonna make him go through with it if he lets him go enough to do it in the first place? (for my sanity i assume that if sw wasn’t having his own mental breakdown he’d also have been like ‘wait’). but the thing is! he xuan does not want that to happen! i fully believe he’s lying through his teeth with both options, because he demonstrably wanted shi qingxuan to side with him (’I gave you chances!’) so like. here’s what the options actually are
shi wudu (bastard; incapable of finer feeling) shows his true evil colors and condemns his brother to have a horrible fate! by agreeing to swap his brother’s fate when his life was threatened, he’s shown that he clearly didn’t do it for sqx’s sake in the first place. sqx is shocked, realizes his brother is Evil, he and hx hold hands??? maybe we can get some use out of that honeymoon cottage after all
yeah we don’t think this one will work but it’d be nice to see sqx kill sw. sigh. obviously we’re not going to leave him alone afterward, though, it’s his first murder, he’ll be vulnerable and in need of comfort!
ALSO ACCEPTABLE: sqx goes ‘pls he-xiong spare my brother and i’ll do anything to pay for his crimes 🥺🥺 ANYTHING’ and then you can break out the villainous but oddly compelling offer of marriage
but instead the shi brothers just start CRYING all over each other and acting like they actually care about each other?? (with sqx specifically saying that only they care for each other and nobody else cares for either of them? OUCH) and despite ample opportunities sqx is barely trying to appeal to your relationship (you’re best friends! you even admitted it as the ~Reverend~ in that restaurant oh wait shit did you curse yourself a little bit) and not coming up with Any tearful but attractive offers of atonement. come the FUCK on
then shi wudu snaps and things kind of go to hell
yes this revenge is not very satisfying at this point but fuck him for pointing that out
and after hx gets mad enough to rip off sw’s head, we have... just a super awkward, not-a-bang-but-a-whimper finish. he takes sqx somewhere offscreen, and eventually dumps him half-heartedly in a big city to be a beggar or whatever
and genuinely I think a lot of the weird gaps and awkward joins and weak finishes of certain plots in this book are, doylistically, just... the product of tgcf being a WAY huger and more ambitious book than even mdzs, there’s bound to be more flaws, but watsonianly. hx’s plan for revenge, at the time he kicked it off, didn’t include sqx, up until the end he’s still giving sqx (confusing, unadvertised) chances to earn his mercy, and i think him dumping sqx and staying at an awkward distance from him afterward has less to do with revenge and vaguely promising he’d leave sqx alone if certain conditions were filled and more to do with him just not knowing what to do at that point.
he doesn’t want to hurt sqx (much) but after losing his temper and ripping off sw’s head in front of him sqx was just going limp, if he xuan kept him was he just going to keep being suicidal on him? can’t kill him can’t keep him prisoner don’t want to directly hurt him but you’re still mad at him ok i guess drop him in a homeless camp and stalk him from afar for a while. write an AITA post on reddit and then delete it. shi wudu died laughing and the cute one you wanted to keep and maybe learn to call you your actual name is severely depressed and terrified of you now. revenge sucks
#added to this mess is the fact that hua cheng's shitty boyfriend KEEPS SHOWING UP EVERYWHERE#black water arc is 2/3 farce 1/3 tragedy tbh#why did i write 1k of this. i mean why do i do anything but#¯\_(ツ)_/¯#it's just very funny in a sad way & i wanted to share that feeling#anyway sorry hx but going thru the arc again has actually just made me adore shi wudu more#'even if you kill me i win and you lose' is SUCH a choice mad laughing breakdown flavor and i can only stan#(but also like. the fascinating irony of hx modeling himself as a dark mirror to sw)#(and the fact that the thing that the two of them want desperately in that last scene is for sqx to be okay)#(BUT they're both terrible traumatized people who can't reach outside a certain view of the world and they bring out the Worst#in each other. so it all gets fucked)#(and neither of them get that what sqx wants is to NOT have to choose between them)#(hell i don't even know if sqx knows that he wants that!)#(okay enough genuine feelings on this dumb funny post)
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
TGCF donghua Episode 9 Thoughts (SPOILERS! for episode and novel)
I've heard of the words Sinner's Pit a while back, probably when I first heard of TGCF, but it wasn't until a couple weeks ago when I started reading the book that I finally understood what they meant, and why it was an event in the saga of HuaLian. Even though I've only been acquainted with it for such a short period of time, I still teared up when watching the scene, so I can only imagine how much more emotional this moment was for fellow fans who have been waiting years to see it. I really hope it lived up to everyone's expectations cuz it kinda blew my mind.
When the episode was delayed in its broadcast I actually felt dread, since I immediately assumed that the HuaLian Sinner's Pit scenes didn't pass the restrictions and it was going to be edited to death or worse yet, completely cut out. Thank God that was not the case. I was looking forward to much groppage of Hua Cheng from Dianxia, and that's exactly what I got...with an extra large dose of romance too thanks to the amazing score. If anything was left out in the scene I sure couldn't tell nor did I feel anything was missing.
I've watched countless fall and rescue scenes in cdramas, to the degree that sometimes it feels like it's a required element in romance cdramas, and of course it's usually the woman in the couple falling from somewhere and the man coming to her rescue and catching her. And they're usually so poorly done that I either eyeroll so hard my eyes feel like they're gonna pop out of their sockets or I feel almost nauseated from the cheesiness.
But the donghua did it PERFECTLY. Those stupidass cdramas should learn from them. HuaLian's fall and catch scene was paced just right, scored just right, shot just right...simple PERFECTION. Not at all cheesy or cringey, utterly sublime...and everything that followed between them was utterly sublime as well.
Talk about another perfectly captured scene. I loved this line. So sweet and wonderful. No wonder Hua Cheng's in love with this man.
Btw, I know it says friendship, but just in case anyone's worried the donghua is trying to friendzone HuaLian, those Chinese characters can just be a general way of saying getting along, usually in a friendly way, but it's not as friend zone-y as it sounds. Although, I doubt anyone actually watching the show and paying attention to it would even think Hua Cheng only wants to be bro-friends with Xie Lian.
I mean, I guessss bros can be touchy feely and eyefuck eyelove each other all the time, but I would personally like to meet them bros like that.
Also, not fair of the donghua team to cuteify these boys even more. My poor heart almost couldn't take it. Too adorable!!
Honestly, after that HuaLian-ful sequence, my brain was barely able to register anything else. Doesn't help that I already know how things will resolve in terms of this mystery. I am mostly looking forward to how the "new" characters whom are being introduced to looks and how they will bring to life certain non-HuaLian related events that sounded dramatic or even epic in writing.
For example the Banyue Guoshi...was totally not expecting her to look this adorable. She looks so innocent and pretty, who in their right mind would bully such a beautiful little girl??
Although, when she is on the attack, she definitely does feel like a wraith bringing instant death upon her victims. This was so beautifully animated: it looked both terrifying and truly impressive.
Lastly:
Hiiii puppyyyyy!!!! Nice to finally meet you!! Who's a good boy?? 😂 E-Ming's a total cutie pie and his first appearance was cool AF too. I freaked out a little.
OMG I almost forgot!! I LOVE the new ED theme!!! I hope they release an official MV for it soon!
~
NOVEL SPOILERS
Current Reading Progress: finished book 1, currently in book 2, knee-deep in Yong'an famine crisis. Every HuaLian interaction is a treasure, I know I didn't mention them at all last week but pretty much every time they meet up again I scream a bit. The temple scene, when Dianxia told chibi HC to live for him, got me so emotional (I also really want to hug little HC and protect him forever). Seriously felt like I finally reached some kind of important milestone since I read that line somewhere even before I even knew who or what HuaLian was. I don't know how many seasons of the donghua we'll be blessed with, but if we don't get as far as Dianxia's past, then I do hope we at least get to see Ghost City, Gambler's Den, Paradise Manor,and Qi Rong's cave. I can imagine getting into some of that next season but unless it's a long one, I doubt we'd be able to see all of it in one season.
And also, I don't think I love Qi Rong anymore. He really is a bad, bad boy...and not in the sexy way, but more in the holy shit you really are fucked up way.
Finally, the Yong'an thing... I'm already bracing myself. I could be wrong but I already see how that could lead to Xianle's downfall. The knives are probably coming, huh?
TGCF novel translation can be found at: https://tgcfmxtx.carrd.co/
73 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi....If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite MXTX characters (top 5 from each novel)? And why? I'm sorry if you've answered this question before.
Aw of course I don’t mind! Though I feel like my answer is going to be a disaster bc I love these casts so so much aha let’s see:
✨ SPOILERS AHEAD ✨
MDZS/CQL
1. Wei Wuxian
Ah so I feel like this is obvious based on the sheer quantity of things I produce and the effort I put into hurting him ��� but yeah! I love how much of a classical tragic hero he is and I love how much love he has and how that gets twisted around and shaped into a collar of spikes around his own neck. I saw gif sets of wwx before I ever knew about CQL and my reaction was “fuck. I’m going to love him” and I do! And I love that he does learn from his past and I love most of all that he learns to accept the love he is given and is able to make a happy ending in a place of being loved and held in respect and appreciation
2. Wen Qing
On the other hand, I did not expect to be like “mine now” with Wen Qing. Don’t get me wrong, the sexy immortal look got me but it wasn’t really till I started writing fic that I was like ohhhhh Oh Boy. Wen Qing is brilliant and ruthless, fiercely loving and aloof and cold. I love that she gets the lose-lose challenge of balancing what is right for her family vs what is right in the world, what she owes to her sect and what she owes to individuals. The golden core transfer is my favorite dubious science experiment in p much all media I’ve consumed. She gets to be so human—prickly and tough and also achingly gentle and afraid and putting on a tough face and sometimes still crying. “I’m sorry and thank you” ! Im!!
3. Jiang Yanli
The first fic I wrote for this fandom was literally “Jiang Yanli died no she didn’t” lmao I do feel like I underserve Jiang Yanli in that I often fall prey to using her to further the complexity that the male characters are permitted while denying her the chance to be given the same space for development and breath — something to work on! But in that, I really genuinely love how tightly she binds herself to her family and how she tries so hard to be what others need her to be—and then she does make a choice for herself and for a single moment at least, she gets to be loved and to be happy and to have this, a husband and a son and a place, for herself. And terribly I love how much she permeates the story still after death. She is the unspoken voice, the face turned from the camera but always still present, carried in the hearts and names and memories of the ones left behind
She deserved better but—I am weak for the tragedy of it all
4. Jiang Cheng
Another surprise (tho hardly surprising in hindsight): Jiang Cheng is just...horribly understandable. He makes terrible choices and his greatest heroism is undone by a choice made for him or, in the case of “killing the Yiling Laozu” is a lie. He is such a youngest sibling who doesn’t want to be the youngest until all at once, he’s the one in charge and he doesn’t want it at all. He is full of anger and hurt and so much love he doesn’t know what to do with it, doesn’t want it anymore, has no place to put all of its terrible, overwhelming flood.
5. Lan Wangji
I almost didn’t put Lan Wangji or Jiang Cheng on here and then I realized that this is sort of a list of characters I’m pickiest about in fic and...yeah. I think what I love best about Lan Wangji is his journey of grief and healing and through that, his decision to step into world. Where Wei Wuxian’s decision to travel and be removed from the cultivation world (in varying degrees depending on your headcanon preference lol) is really, really important to me, Lan Wangji’s decision to go from being an isolated lone agent working apart from the systems of the world to being involved and invested in changing those systems and working to make them better is also really important to me. I’ve talked before about how relatable Lan Wangji is to me (esp with regards to our interaction with the outer world) and there is something deeply hopeful and comforting about post-timeskip Lan Wangji being in his like mid-/late-30s and still making decisions and growing and changing and choosing to invest himself in the world and the future
yeah. i have thoughts here that I don’t really have the maturity, life experience, or articulation to put into words but Lan Zhan Good basically
TGCF
1. Xie Lian
suuuurpriiiiise!! Yeah honestly mxtx’s mains in TGCF and MDZS really just hit all my buttons basically. What appeals to me most of all about Xie Lian is, fittingly, how he is humanity taken to extremes. His capacity for incredible kindness and compassion is equaled with his capacity for cruelness and ruthlessness. His heaven-shaking highs are matched with calamitous lows. He is the hyperbolic of what it is to be human—and he is also the small moments, the wildflowers and the maple leaves and the mundane chores and the comfort of whispered conversations late into the night. I could quite literally go on for pages about what I love about Xie Lian but I am not Hua Cheng and can restrain myself LMAO
2. Hua Cheng
of all the characters on these lists, Hua Cheng is the one I’m pickiest about tbh! When I say I love him for similar reasons as Xie Lian I don’t actually mean this as being similarities between the two but the fact that both of them so richly convey mxtx’s points about the nature of humanity and what it is to be human. Hua Cheng is both the boldest and most arrogant of all and also the most vulnerable, the one who shies away from the truth because he’s braced for it to hurt and isn’t sure he can take it. He is gory blood rain and an umbrella to shelter a fragile bloom; he is a blade whose wounds only heal if he permits it and he is a sacrifice that he brushes aside as a fit of madness. *pats his head* this boy can fit SO MUCH inside him that he refuses to acknowledge
3. Jun Wu
Definitely my favorite antagonist in recent reading. I was doubtful of him from the start (something something issues with authority something something probably should talk to my theoretical future therapist shhh) but the unfolding of his reveal was so delightfully painful and exquisite that I was like “YES!!!” reading all of it. About the epitome of a satisfying plot twist imo. But about the character himself, I love how he parallels so many �� Xie Lian in his rise and fall, his glory and disgrace; Hua Cheng in his fixation and ruthlessness; He Xuan in losing himself to the plot and not knowing how to move forward. I love that he feels beyond human in a way the others don’t—he’s so old and has gone through so much and he doesn’t feel things the way humans do anymore, doesn’t remember right how love squeezes the heart or how hate can exist without acting on it. I love that he thinks he knows how to control everyone and that it’s such mundane things that fool him: Xie Lian’s absurd stubbornness, Hua Cheng’s foolish faith, Yin Yu’s...emotional maturity??? Not Sure how to verbalize that one. But in the end, he is defeated by both the humanity of others and by his own—he’s so tired. He’s exhausted in a way that gods and ghosts aren’t meant to be. He is, under the armor and the masks, the curses and the power, human—benevolent and cruel, evil and good.
4. He Xuan
I love my fish man! No but really I love how He Xuan is so fixed on his one goal that he refuses to acknowledge anything else in his (after)life—which doesn’t make it go away. I love that he is left unmoored, purposeless through the very act of completing that which gives him purpose. I love his long con and the ways he clings to himself but loses himself not in the act but in the telling himself it’s an act. I love that he tries to be a moral man and then becomes a ghost king, a calamity. His reveal is also terribly badass and I do love his bone fish wholly unironically. Like I’m not going to get a He Xuan tattoo (for one thing I’ve been meaning to get a tattoo for 5 years and still haven’t gotten around to it) but also. B o n e f i s h
5. Mu Qing
Of course! The Jiang Cheng of tgcf lol Mu Qing (which my phone desperately wants to autocorrect to my Qing) is so...gah he’s such a mess! And he so fully commits to the belief that no one will ever see and understand him as he is but will always view them through their own convictions about him and his actions — which is simultaneously heartbreakingly lonely and also. Sir You Are a Clown. I genuinely think he’s owed apologies from both Feng Xin and Xie Lian for their treatment and assumptions of him and think that he would be HORRIBLY offended at the thought (while secretly touched? But like secretly even to himself). He will never explain himself and will just clam up tighter the more people accuse him and it’s such a self-sabotaging behavior and also so horribly relatable. I love u sir, you’re a disaster
SVSS I have not read but I do really like the moshang art 😂
#long post#asked & answered#lol sorry this is so long and incoherent#the truth is that I really love these stories and their casts#and I think it’s v hard to extricate the characters from the cast#because they are so deftly and beautifully interwoven#but here are the characters I think are my favorites lol#loosely in order#tgcf spoilers#also this is why I prefer tgcf to mdzs tbh?#jgy is intellectually interesting to me and a good antagonist#but not personally compelling in the way jw is
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
@queensconquest says: 001 for tgcf !
meme || accepting
001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:
Favorite character: i love a lot of them but fam it’s always gonna be xie lian
Least Favorite character: hm. okay. once again i don’t want to include “love to hate” characters like bai wuxiang or qi rong or whoever. maybe pei xiu? i just don’t care about him, y’all.
5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): hualian, fengqing, beefleaf....okay i know there’s plenty of other good ones but i haven’t actually read/engaged with many others?? i’m very willing to be converted but i haven’t thought deeply about too many tgcf ships (though, granted, i’m limiting my choices here to romantic ships; otherwise i’d have plenty more i could list)
Character I find most attractive: hm okay. hua cheng is obviously the hottest, like, in terms of abject sexiness, but i’m an ace creature and i think i’m going to say xie lian because he is just very pretty
Character I would marry: see, i can’t say xie lian even though i love him, because we’re too similar and we wouldn’t push each other to be better. everyone else is a disaster waiting to happen, except shi qingxuan maybe. OH wait i know. can i marry yushi huang please
Character I would be best friends with: god i don’t KNOW. i would like to be friends with both xie lian and shi qingxuan jointly, i think.
a random thought: i was looking at a list of tgcf characters for this and i saw jing wen and had to look at his wiki page bc i completely forgot who he was? like wow, that guy sucks, but how did i erase his entire existence in the novel from my brain
An unpopular opinion: pei ming is just not that interesting to me as a character sorry (this is nothing against him or those who love him he’s fun he’s just!! my brain does not grasp on to him) (blows 1000 kisses @ pei ming rpers i adore you don’t be mad)
My Canon OTP: hualian, of course
My Non-canon OTP: points upwards to where i could only think of three ships to even LIST. y’all need to write ships with my tgcf characters so i can get some brainrot for noncanon ships, clearly.
Most Badass Character: i don’t want to keep saying xie lian for these but i do have a lot of feelings about him and his strength and nerve underneath all that dissembling
Most Epic Villain: he xuan in terms of top-notch aesthetic, but bai wuxiang (SPECIFICALLY bai wuxiang, jun wu go away) may have to win for sheer horror factor
Pairing I am not a fan of: i’m not not a fan of it but i’m not immediately sold on quanyin as a romantic ship. i could be convinced but right now my brain still looks at quan yizhen and goes “loved-but-annoying little brother” rather than “romantic interest.”
Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): i don’t have a ready answer for this one and i’ve dithered around long enough trying to decide on one that i’m just. gonna skip it
Favourite Friendship: okay there are lots of good ones but i’m going to be very real with you here and say: hua cheng and yin yu. perhaps “friendship” is not the right word but i am fascinated by them.
Character I most identify with: i’m not saying one time at work i almost started crying because i was reading a fanfic and had to put it down and Take a Moment bc a line about xie lian hit me so hard but. it’s xie lian, my friends. i relate to xie lian A Little More Strongly Than Is Healthy.
Character I wish I could be: i know i already said i’d marry yushi huang but also maybe i would like to be her. she is simply very competent and also knows how to stay far away from all the drama. oh to be a god existing completely outside of all usual heavenly etiquette, tending your farm, able to get away with not showing your face to anyone if you simply don’t feel like it
#; out.#; answered.#queensconquest#@ the peis sorry for victimizing you personally i truly have nothing against you i'm just very [shrug] about your existence#pei ming at least has the virtue of being very funny#not because he tries to be just because he's Like That#ty for sending this!!#what we're learning here is that my go-to type in xianxia is 'pretty woman who's smart enough to stay out of the drama'
1 note
·
View note
Text
TGCF Ep 3-4 reactions/rants
Am I doing these in twos? :) Or was I too unremittingly :) anxious :) last week about [redacted] to make a post?
whatever let’s go spoilers spoilers
Episode 3
SO many things that I didn’t notice while reading that become apparent via the visual medium--like how Feng Xin repeats “So she was a bitter and vindictive bride” to Xie Lian--the FORESHADOWING,, ah, good stuff good stuff
the horror elements are great just wanna say
RUOYE GOOD
Ling Wen knows it all DAMN RIGHT SHE DOES
Love the sound design for Xuan Ji and how her resentment manifests physically in the animation, don’t love her character--unfortunately these first two arcs of tgcf really do lean back on these sexist (ghost bridegroom arc) and racist/Islamophobic (Banyue arc) caricatures--hope it doesn’t stifle the international popularity of tgcf as a whole, given that the first season of the donghua will probably only get to just the end of the Banyue arc, but I’d definitely understand if it turned ppl off (I get the feeling that these issues that are more subtle in written form are more apparent in audiovisual media--granted, I haven’t actually seen much discourse on twitter outside my own circle about the Banyue arc even though the manhua is near the end of it, soooo...)
(somehow bc tumblr feels so much more like a ghost town lately I’m more open to posting wank and unadulterated opinions here :P which I’d be more careful about on twitter)
BUT YEAH MAN I MEAN THE STRONGEST ARCS IN TGCF DON’T START UNTIL LIKE BOOK 2 WHEN I THINK BACK ON IT
Book 1 seems to mainly exist to quickly introduce everyone and ship tease ship tease ship tease to suck ppl in
Little Ying :’(
oh there he is, the imperialist symbol, with his imperial background music
I’m sorry I don’t like Pei Su at all
mmmm do love the narrative parallels of Ping Ming reacting to a woman about to slit her own throat
LMAO THE SEXY CANDLE SILHOUETTE SCENE
WHY AM I REMINDED OF THE ROOM
hey can hualian have one of those bilibili just how much can you imply eh
like what about when Hua Cheng goes ghost!feral in book 3 and Xie Lian has to suppress him by blowing kissing him could we also have sexy candle silhouette scene for that
OH MY GOD THAT MONTAGE IS THE CHEESIEST. HETEROSEXUALS ARE YOU OKAY
it is good that in the end Xie Lian’s like ‘can’t judge as an outsider’ w the implication that we are really only getting two unreliable narrator sides of the story (even tho the story ends up implying that pei ming was for the most part in the right)
Pei Ming is an interesting character imo, bc he has a very consistent moral code, which puts him on various different sides throughout the story. I don’t really blame him so much for his sleaziness as I do for his corruption (sorry I don’t like Shi Wudu either) and how he pressured Pei Su to military glory (leading to a genocide of the Banyuese). do agree with leila (don’t think she has a tumblr?) that he should have suffered more in his character arc of slowly learning to respect women tho (whereas Pei Su suffered but didn’t really have a character arc, unless ‘dating Ban Yue against Pei Ming’s wishes’ counts as a character arc)
okay here’s the thing
here’s the thing
you can go on and on about not liking a character and you can dig up tons of receipts of them doing bad things to justify your dislike
but what you’ll find after a while is that the people who do like that character aren’t wrong either, bc they can also pull up tons of ways they did admirable things or had interesting motivations
after a while you just realize it comes down to vibes
like Pei Ming’s awful, but later on I just find myself positively enjoying that chauvinistic pig. And Shi Wudu has good motivations/his actions are p typical ‘just vindictive god things uwu✨ ‘ but to me, his vibes are positively rancid and I just cannot like that bourgeois pig
this is why it’s important to take Taixi Dianxia’s advice 😌
(or be like Mu Qing and just judge absolutely everyone)
(most of all himself :’) )
OH HERE WE GO AGAIN DISRESPECTING MU QING
HE IS RIGHT
if he didn’t get reinforcements they would have to clean up the bodies on their own GOD no one considers logistics
it’s just Ling Wen and Mu Qing running heaven for real
😂 oh my god I love fengqing
YASSSS BAI WUXIANGGGGG
OOF ngl that’s some good-ass cutting between Xie Lian being reminded about the fall of Xian Le and the clip of Ruoye’s origin in the EC (WHY DONGHUA TEAM WHY)
Episode 4
One thing I was never fully clear on was whether Bai Wuxiang placed the piece of his soul onto Lang Ying like, right after his death? or if Jun Wu put it on him when Xie Lian takes him up to heaven later
actually I never read the edited version of tgcf maybe mxtx made that point more clear
MU QING STOP BEING TRANSPHOBIC CHALLENGE
OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK THE PILES OF SCROLLS
Ling Wen of all the corrupt evil ass bitches in heaven you are the one I will never blame for being corrupt and evil
lmao everyone being like “bruh” when Xie Lian’s like “ah, Hua Cheng, what a nice name for the helpful youngster” 😂
LMAOOOOOO LOVE THAT QI RONG IS THE KIND OF ATTRACTIVE THAT ONLY QI RONG STANS WILL FIND ATTRACTIVE
mallgoth ass bitch
FISH
FISH
FISH MAN YES
(He Xuan is sexy in exactly the kind of way that He Xuan stans find sexy which is Actually the objective standard of sexiness I’m sorry I don’t make the rules)
I mean he’s being voiced by Wu Lei who no doubt is gonna give it the full Yan Wushi, again, I don’t make the rules
interesting how Jun Wu is facing camera but tilting the mask so you can only see the crying side--to ppl who don’t know who he is it looks like he’s turned to the side and his head is kinda incorporeal, whereas to ppl in the know you can see him towering over you
I like that you can kinda see through Xie Lian’s expression & tone that his gears are turning, how there must have been something significant about the 35 officials Hua Cheng challenged, and he even already suspected Mu Qing & Feng Xin were the two who didn’t accept
LMAO PEI SU THINKING HUA CHENG AND QI RONG ARE WORKING TOGETHER this is like centrist Democrats who are like, “well I think that it’s the socialists who ultimately helped [redacted] win in 2016″
NO QI RONG IS NOT BERNIE SANDERS IN THAT ANALOGY
I’M SORRY QI RONG STANS BUT QI RONG IS NOT THE SOCIALIST ICON YOU THINK HE IS
ALTHOUGH I ADMIT THE OTHER FIGURE IN MY COMPARISON WAS KINDA HARSH QI RONG ISN’T ACTUALLY THAT BAD
pfffft all of Ling Wen’s miserable employees
awwwwww fengqing helped their f-f-friend out owo
Ling Wen’s like “Wait! You were supposed to ask His Majesty for help and become completely dependent on him! No, Your Highness, he’s gonna take it out on me now!” 🤧
YES MY FAVORITE LINE STAYED
“Collecting scraps is better than ascending” :)
AAAAND THERE HE IS. THE BOY.
I like how Hua Cheng has a kind of know-it-all, nerdy arrogant voice, it does fit San Lang and I think it will be a nice contrast when we finally see him as Hua Cheng
WELL THAT’S IT HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH GHOSTFUCKERS
30 notes
·
View notes
Note
favorite moment of tgcf so far???????????? lol enjoying this read along
HEHEHEHEHEH THANK YOU I’M JUST MONOLOGUING BLINDLY AND I’M GLAD YOU CAN PARSE THE VOID
ffffff okay it’s so hard, lemme just see which events come to mind if i try to recall what i’ve read so far:
jesus christ the bride & groom hua hua intro? slick boots, gentle hands, 血雨探花 bitch ass sexy motherfucker, just moving through this world loving his gege? I was really. Holy fucking christ. Hooooooly jesus. the layers of unknowing on the characters’ part and on the reader’s part, yet the absolutely undeniable eroticism of Xie Lian experiencing that? f u c k m e e e e e e
Xie Lian’s intro tbh; he’s got the easy-going frankness of someone who really isn’t afraid of further humiliation (’cause he’s been through the Worst of it all ahahahahah) and that felt so fresh!! I love the moments in the narration that point out how everyone around him is or would be appalled/horrified/ashamed, but he’s just like “...aight. ^^”
Testing San Lang’s humanness, and the tropey and delightful build to the curtain over the front door. I’m also nutting for how San Lang just goes and carves a whole ass door for him. Like he learned carpentry. For his gege. Out of gay, gay love. He’s an honorary wlw.
Xie Lian confessing to not know shit ‘cause he’s been out of the loop for so many centuries lolololol
aND THEN LING WEN/THE EXPOSITION GOING LIKE, “lol you think i’m gonna lay out the plot of books 3 & 4 here? think again fucker, we’ll handwave and skip over the other 3 Great Beautiful Scenes or whatever and leave the other 3 Calamities for later.”
.....that was really a hilarious & cheeky writer thing to do, mxtx.
the two sexy 女冠, one in white and one in black, walking side-by-side with such power. that intro really made an impact on me for obvious songxiao reasons. as has been repeatedly established, i’m highkey terrified of book 3!!!!
Hua Cheng keeping hold of Xie Lian in bridal carry, and just answers very seriously, “it’s dirty,” after being asked why. and that it’s true--he’s just standing in this cesspool of Murder he’s literally just committed. iconic. iconic.
i really just have a thing for service tops ask anyone
FENG XIN BEING WORSHIPPED AS LORD BIGGUS DICKUS AND HOW THE NARRATION KEEPS BRINGING IT UP
Sqx being friends!!!! with Xie Lian!!!!!!
Hua Cheng “kidnapping” Xie Lian; all the sexy butterflies; mq & fx fucking losing their shit and brawling
...Hua Cheng beating the crap out of Qi Rong njnfjdnfjdnfnd
Xie Lian unconsciously relying on Hua Cheng and then being embarrassed about it—every single occurrence
BABY HUA HUA SHOWING UP AT ALL THOSE LITTLE MOMENTS IN BOOK 2 WHEN XIE LIAN’S SPIRALING INTO DOWNFALL
I REALLY GODDAMN CRIED WHEN HE YELLS FOR XL TO NOT GIVE UP, THAT HE’S GONNA KEEP WORSHIPPING HIM THAT HE’S NEVER GOING TO LOSE FAITH IN XL
I REALLY GODDAMN CRY FOR BABY HUAHUA IN GENERAL WHAT THE HELL HAS THE WORLD DONE TO HIM. WHO HURT HIM. WHY. IN HIS “I DON’T HAVE A REASON TO LIVE” SCENE I REALLY WAS JUST BITING MY ARM AND UGLY CRYING. I HURT!! HE HURT ME!! THAT REALLY HURT!!!!!!
...and then the fucking play and the fucking lanterns. we get it hua cheng your money has money, and it’s all for your fucking bae he’s so embarrassing get it together man.
.........so that’s my favorite moment of tgcf so far!!!!!!! It hurts!!! but I’m cackling!!!!!
#tgcf read along#THANKS FOR THE ASK#i'm going nuts#tgcf#spoilers????#i'm enthralled with great humor until i'm not#y'know what i mean?#anon#asks
123 notes
·
View notes
Text
So I’m reading TGCF... (part 3)
Welcome to the third part of my TGCF readthrough. The story got really exciting so this part is even more incoherent than the previous one:D *WARNING: SPOILERS EVERYWHERE:)
Stick around if you’ve already read the book from chapter 43 to chapter 57.
Chapter 43
(Hua Cheng’s palace is full of traps and they keep falling into one after another. They have to fight with giant worms, then cannibals, then upon finally finding the Earth Master whom Hua Cheng captured, they fall right into....) - Well this was like a weird dream falling to scarier and scarier places every time they roll the dice. - Wind Master is a fun guy. I can’t help but laugh imagining him running from crazy cannibals in a sexy purple dress XD - All these gods are so spoiled! Flipping out because of one tiny scratch?:D - And yet again, the end of the chapter is a cliff-hanger... asdasdasd
Chapter 44
(...Hua Cheng’s lap! At least Xie Lian does. It turns out that the Earth Master was spying on Hua Cheng for years, that’s why he got captured. They start to fight and even the crown prince of Yong’An gets involved. Xie Lian tries to stop them and gets injured and burns down Hua Cheng’s palace as a result) - He fell onto his lap! This is too good! Such a shame we can’t enjoy the situation! - This was painful to read. Xie Lian is powerful and really cool with a sword in his hand, but hell, this could crack a ‘friendship’ (I’m sure it won’t crack their relationship, but still). I mean, I’d be slightly annoyed if someone burned down my armory and rescued the person caught on spying. - Okay, what is going on. Xie Lian as Guoshi? That’s one hell of a cliff-hanger. AGAIN
Chapter 45
(When they get back to the Heavens, the crown prince of Yong’An declares that Xie Lian murdered his whole family, and he just now managed to recognize him from his swordsmanship. Xie Lian doesn’t deny the accusations. The princeling requests a duel, which Xie Lian refuses and asks to be banished instead. He gets house arrested for the time being) - kjsfkavféqabfb - Did I say that Xie Lian is not exciting? I’ve changed my mind! Damn, that was sexy:D - ‘Fight me, and you will for sure die.’ - very factual, very cold, and very cruel for a chapter ending line. <3
Chapter 46
(In the house arrest Xie Lian laments on the past. Turns out he really was the Guoshi of Yong’An. Two visitors appear - these are his past subordinates (Mu Qing and Feng Xin) who either came to laugh at him, or to give him medicine, that’s not clear:P And Hua Cheng also pops in. He casually breaks into the Heavens and ‘kidnaps’ Xie Lian) - They came~ It was so exciting to see these three together again. I heard a lot about them and I really like the dynamic between Mu Qing and Feng Xin. - Also it really was him! And I don’t mind. But I’m really curious, why? There has to be a reason. - Hua Cheng! I’m abnormally happy whenever I see him XD
Chapter 47-48
(Hua Cheng has no ill intentions, and he is not angry about that small arson either. Everyone who tries to follow them gets trapped in that dice labyrinth from chapter 43 and has to face their biggest fears. Only the prince of Yong’An is able to catch up to them, and he keeps pushing for a duel, which he basically gets, and Xie Lian wins with a sneak attack, then Hua Cheng turns the princeling into a daruma doll) - Was that dice labyrinth part really necessary? I was slightly bored for a few pages. And I really wanted the story to move on, since these were quite exciting chapters. (the woman’s bath trauma was funny, tho XD). - My heart melted slightly when this exchange happened: “I rolled snake eyes earlier. Does that mean every time snake eyes are rolled, I’ll be able to see you?” Hua Cheng replied, “No.” Xie Lian felt a little awkward and scratched his cheek. “Oh. So that’s not the case. I got it wrong.” Hua Cheng, walking in front of him, said, “If you wanted to see me, it won’t matter what you roll. I will appear.” Hearing this, Xie Lian swallowed hard, and forgot everything else he wanted to say. - They are too cute!!! <3 - This princeling really wants to die. He’s lucky, that Xie Lian doesn’t want to kill him. - Hua Cheng’s sword is crying. So cute! He didn’t want to cut Xie Lian. Can I pat him, please? - I never thought this arson incident will change their relationship, but I’m happy that it really didn’t. - Also this quote: “That’s right, I ambushed you. So what? I succeeded. Yes, I was cunning, but so what? I won. If your opponent was anyone other than me, you would already be dead.”
Chapter 49
(Hua Cheng leads the group to a cave, because he wants to show something to Xie Lian and his daruma doll. The cave is the nest of the Night Something Green Lantern Qi Rong. They disguise themselves as dinner, and get close to Qi Rong, who happens to have a very familiar statue as a foothold) - And we’re sneaking again. Half of this book is sneaking into and sneaking out of places XD. This time they are sneaking into the cave of the Green Night Something-Something Qi Rong, who sounds like a real dick (also I just can’t seem to memorize his name) - A statue of.... who? O.o
Chapter 50-55
(Qi Rong turns out to be a familiar face: the cousin of Xie Lian. They hate each other quite a lot. Hua Cheng brought Xie Lian and the daruma doll here, to let Qi Rong tell them (or more like to beat out of him) what happened at that banquette, where Xie Lian presumably killed the whole family of the princeling. As it turns out, Xie Lian, who was, by the way, the teacher of the prince, did kill the prince’s father, but did not kill everyone else. The murderer was Qi Rong and the prince’s best friend, the last living descendent of the Xianle bloodline An Le. After the daruma doll turns back into a prince, he cooks Qi Rong alive. (don’t worry, he’s a ghost, he can’t really die). When all is settled the Wind master and Mu Qing arrives just in time to see the aftermath of everything. The heavenly officials return to heaven.) - This was the point where the story picked up so much I couldn’t keep up with the notes. I just read it in one swing, and the only note I wrote down is this: Oh so we know Qi Rong? I shouldn’t be surprised. Xie Lian is 800 years old, he knows a lot of people... but that was sudden. - I really liked how emotionally brutal these chapters were. I don’t know whether I’m a masochist or a sadist, but I loved to see Xie Lian getting rude and violent and broken. The backstory was also very engaging, and Qi Rong was a fun antagonist, who you can hate wholeheartedly. - I also loved the way Hua Cheng comforted Xie Lian after everything went down. - Oh! One more thing! The gore. I loved the descriptions of Qi Rong getting... cooked ^^; (literally)
Chapter 56-57
(After reporting back to the Heavens, Xie Lian descends to the Earth to visit his family tomb, where he finds that someone burnt the remains of his parents. Who could that be? Of course it’s Qi Rong. He possessed a young father and dragging his child along he broke into the tomb. Qi Rong refuses to leave the body. Xie Lian gets really furious. He almost beats the man to death in front of his son.) - And that cliff-hanger! Dang! I was literally shaking by the end of these chapters. -The tomb parts were really creepy. When he realized that he can only see the ashes of his mother, my stomach turned. - His rage is so earthshaking that I can’t wait to continue reading. -This last sentence, tho: ‘With a flash of a swing, the ominous black blade struck down!’ I’d be raging If I’d have to wait for the next volume after reading this.
#tgcf thoughts#tgcf reading#tgcf#reading tgcf#hob thoughts#reading hob#heaven official's blessing#saját poszt#so i'm reading tgcf
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
tgcf liveread 3
archiving my live-tweeting of the novel Heaven Official's Blessing / Tian Guan Ci Fu, one of the most delightful reading experiences I ever read, because I reread this live-tweet series constantly because HuaLian brings me all the joy in the world. check my tgcf liveread tag for the full series if you want. please purchase official licensed copies from Seven Seas! liveread from 3/27/20:
resume but with my kindle app settings changed in honor of my first ever visual migraine. Also thanks to @thegeekgene & @snarp who put this all in one ebook for me!
Oh look: there’s the one brain cell in the heavenly realm
Listen I’m a big fan of shi qing xuan rn
This passage drives home a lot of points about Xie Lian’s personality as Good Boy:
“I’ll pay him back with my entire life” like............ getting married........Hualian
MXTX loves Angry Brothr relationships & Mu Qing being v Jiang Cheng here
So both these dumb babies ignore Xie Lian for a couple of centuries but then get mad at each other for ignoring him
Hua Cheng: i Heard someone was being mean to my boyfriend
me: *swoons*
I know I read this yesterday but Hia Cheng kidnapping Xie Lian so they could apologize to each other I could read EVERY DAY
No hua cheng in a murderous rage is so sexy oh no
Xie Lian: Im not prepared for someone to touch me back. please send help
“oh honey it’s fine I can deal with my own shitty family ty ily”
Hualian both like “insult me all day but IF YOU INSULT MY BOYFRIEND I’LL DESTROY YOUR FACE” which is ESPECIALLY charming from Xie Lian
I really appreciate them translating Qi Rong like this
Glad we get the clarification that Xie Lian is also real OP
I love when Xie Lian is like “this certainly can’t be the same-name person i had an important relationship with in the past” and it ALWAYS IS
just think about how Hua Cheng is feeling in this scene !!!! watching his loved one go through so many emotions, watching Xie Lian’s calm exterior finally crack!!!! how much Feelings
this is how Xue Yang would be if he were actually a Yiling Wei disciple
COME BACK TO GHOST CITY WITH ME is what xie lian WANTS him to say
what an adorable exchange between our heroes??? The way their cases are tender & warm while also being full of pretty intense horrors??? they manage to be so shy & sweet & Seen to each other while being so fierce & mysterious to everyone else??
the pacing in this book is truly incredible
Also the dynamic of hualian is so good??? So kind and giving & bringing out the best in each other??? Solving important mysteries but also eating domestic dinner together??? I’m tears
continued in part 4!
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
tgcf liveread 2
archiving the twitter thread I made when I first read Heaven Official's Blessing, Tian Guan Ci Fu, one of the most delightful reading experiences of my life, in March of 2020 (this post from 3/26/20):
Chapter 30 starting with some STRAIGHT HUALIAN ROMANCE
"the two were just staring at each other, grinning"
just BROS HANGING OUT IN BED TOGETHER
Yall Ghost City is so cool & creepy & gruesome???? I can’t wait to see what the donghua does with this???? The animation will be INCREDIBLE
I’m sitting on my roof reading & when Shi Qingxuan said “Ghost City is Hua Cheng’s territory” I cackled so loudly someone down on the street looked up at me
“There’s a path for you in Heaven, but you refuse to take it, and instead, chose to barge into Hell. What shall we do with you?”
Hua Cheng slouching behind the curtain is like ALL THE LIFE GOALS OF SEXY
Hua Cheng watching Xie Lian roll into his casino like “honey did you think I wouldn’t notice you”
Hua Cheng, to all the bouncers: if you see the Crown Prince of Xian Le THAT IS MY BOYFRIEND AND BE NICE TO HIM. also BRING HIM TO ME BY WHATEVER FLIMSY EXCUSE NECESSARY
IM SO INTO THIS I CANT STOP YELLING TO THE CAT SITTING NEXT TO ME ON MY ROOFTOP CAN YOU BELIEVE HE HAS THE EYEPATCH NOW??? CAN YOU CAT WEVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!!!!!
cat & I enjoying the sunset While I Yell ABOUT THE CASINO LORD HUA CHENG
gentlemen I know you’re in love but EVERYONE IS STARING AT YOU
the sheer SEXUAL TENSION OF THIS SCENE
Oh good people in-scene are literally fainting because the sexual tension is too strong
Xie Lian: oh no all I can bet is my lunch leftovers which is this half eaten bun Hua Cheng: thank god my boyfriend hasn’t changed & always carries trash around in his pockets
this Dramatic Bitch I Love Him
Did I say Xie Lian was a himbo? I was wrong. Lang Qianqiu is the REAL himbo around here
The Two Himbos Win Out: we can’t lie to a friend that breaks bro code
oh my gOD IM LOSING IT
Okay let’s stop & talk about this personally & narratively
As an obligate extrovert who needs to be around 2-6 (but no more) people at all times to be happy: SAME, HUA CHENG, SAME
Narratively: if Hua Cheng our a flashing neon sign around his neck that said SINGLE it could not be more obvious than this comment (which was immediately preceded with “I never go to brothels”)
Hua Cheng, in this scene: I DON’T SLEEP AROUND, I’M SINGLE AS FUCK, CAN I MOVE INTO YOUR TINY APARTMENT SHRINE
and thank god the reaction from Xie Lian is “omg please move in with me immediately, we’ll share a pillowless bamboo mat and eat trash” and Hua Cheng is so happy
why is Hua Cheng so sexy ughhhhhh
this is a hell of an image
Noooooo don’t keep secrets from each other nooooooooooooooo
Jun Wu: don’t touch the scimitar no matter what
Xie Lian:
Jun Wu: don’t touch the scimitar no matter what
Xie Lian:
Xie Lian: is the scimitar his penis
Dad:
Xie Lian:
Nooooo why are they keeping secrets from each other is so stressful
Nooooooooo THIS IS GAY PANIC FROM XIE LIAN
AHHHHHHH THIS BOOK IS HITTING EVERY SINGLE HIGH NOTE
I had to read Hua Cheng’s lines here out loud in the sexiest voice I could think of bc threatening someone for your significant other is Sexy
Omg I Love E-Ming as much as Ruoye im sorry i was ever scared of this cute little pup if a sword
oh!!!! Soft!!!!! he is a Soft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh i should’ve quit after.... so many parts ago I have to work tomorrow BUT i couldn’t leave if Hualian were Upset At Each Other now that theyre holding hands i can finally sleep
Okay I’ll resume tmrw with ch 49 in #tgcf, #heavensofficialblessing, this delightful delightful charming delicious piece of fiction please tune in anytime you like for a read along at https://sakhyulations.com/novel/heaven-officials-blessing/
(Full resources for mxtx translations at https://google.com/amp/s/thelostintern.tumblr.com/post/181315156804/mxtx-translations-masterpost/amp…)
archive note 2022: please buy official licensed publications of Heaven Official's Blessing, published by Seven Seas publishing, available where all major novels are sold!!!!!
1 note
·
View note