#hua cheng no real man could ever

[anotherferalrat]

THE ONE THING.

THE ONE GODDAMN THING.

THAT NEVER FAILS TO MAKE ME TEAR UP. IS XIE LIAN'S-

It's been so long since someone listened to me, won't you stay?

Like he never asks for anythingggg and when he finally. FINALLY. thinks to ask for the first time in nearly 1000 years, he can't have it bc god (both mxtx and jw) hates him🫶

AND ITS SUCH A SIMPLE REQUEST

HE JUST WANTS SOMEONE TO STAY FOR ONCE

[itsjustelian]

BEEFLEAF THOUGHT (Mainly He Xuan thought but fuck it he's intertwined with Shi Qingxuan and therefore all He Xuan thoughts are beefleaf thoughts)

So so so, in my readings of tgcf and the wonderful mess that is all of the internet thoughts on it I've come to the personal conclusion that to become a supreme you have to have *big* feelings. Very big and very deep feelings.

Our big-brained, obvious example of this is Hua Cheng. Man's big feeling is devotion, love. He is absolutely besotted for Xie Lian. Would do anything for his God. We're so proud of him for it too.

But He Xuan? He's the only other real supreme we have aside from Hua Cheng (Jun Wu, I'm sorry, you're wonderful but Godhood fucks with a man) and the idea that his big feeling that turned him into a supreme was rage and hatred never sat quite right with me. It's not that hatred and rage aren't powerful enough emotions to make a supreme, and those being his emotions on the surface make him a wonderful parallel to Hua Cheng. But rage isn't really what fuels him. If it was, he'd have dissipated after the Blackwater arc. Taken his revenge and called it a day.

Yet, he sticks around. He *never* dissipates. He just sits at the bottom of the ocean for all eternity. Which doesn't sound like rage or hatred. I mean, you'd assume a calamity built on hate would continue his revenge path until all of heaven is gone and no one can have godhood because he couldn't. But he doesn't. He just... waits.

This isn't to say he wasn't angry, btw. He was absolutely angry, and he had every right to be. His desire for revenge had to come from somewhere, let alone the emotional payment to actually planning and pulling it off. I just don't think that was his greatest regret/feeling/desire at death. I mean, He Xuan had his whole life taken from him. All of it. His family, his fiancee, his passions, his work. Everything he worked towards and for got stolen from him by others. And while it's clearly very rage inducing for him (I mean he has a mental breakdown and kills everyone who's ever wronged him), the underlying feeling through it all was probably despair. He probably just wanted things to go back to how they were when his whole family was around and alive.

And this despair and longing doesn't just go away when he learns the truth of what's been done to him. He's still a person. He can't just throw away those emotions because new ones have taken center stage. But rage is a way easier feeling to work with than misery, so He Xuan defers to it. He jumps on the bandwagon of revenge against the people who wronged him once again and goes with it. And it gets him through Mt. Tonglu and up into heaven and right where he says he wants to be. Right up until he can execute his revenge. And then he just stops? And decides that he's going to be best friends with Shi Qingxuan for a few hundred years first? I'm no rage expert, but that doesn't sound very revenge like to me. Which leads very neatly into the point of this post, took me a while I know.

He Xuan's reason for sticking around is he wants to be loved.

I mean, look at it. He says he hates Shi Qingxuan's guts and wants him and his brother dead more than anything, but also spends hundreds of years hanging out with this person he hates so much when revenge is right there? He could have done it whenever. There was no logical reason I could wait to wait as long as he did. Unless he was enjoying Shi Qingxuan's companionship. And Shi Qingxuan clearly loved him (even just platonically. We love our friends in this house). And He Xuan hadn't had someone care about him that much since his death. It was probably insanely overwhelming and equally as wonderful.

And then he fucks it all by actually going through with the revenge but feelings are hard and he's clearly not great with them so oops. But but but, his great famous line during the Blackwater Arc is him telling Shi Qingxuan that they've used the wrong name. He, even if it's just subconsciously, wants Shi Qingxuan to see him as He Xuan, not Ming Yi. He, in some capacity, wants Shi Qingxuan to see and love He Xuan, not the mask he had on.

But then, after the revenge, he doesn't disappear. He straight up goes out of his way to return Shi Qingxuan's fan to them. To make something right. To return something to how it was before.

Except this time, he can't blame the people around him for the change. He can't turn his rage at the rest of the world because he's the one who ruined the only thing he wanted for himself. So he finally, *finally*, has to face this sadness and longing that's been plaguing him from the start. He got his revenge, he got all the anger out, and it still wasn't what he wanted. Because from the beginning, all he wanted was to be appreciated and loved and wanted and not have that torn away from him.

And he fucked it for himself in the end because lets be honest if he had a civil fucking conversation with Shi Qingxuan and didn't literally threaten their brothers life things would have gone SO MUCH BETTER.

Anyway, I'm crying now. If you read through my jumbled 2 AM thoughts all the way, thank you. I will edit this when it's not 3 am. and post it.

---

Editing me: wtf was I on? I don't remember half of these thoughts??? I'm posting it because somewhere in this hot mess is a point I'm trying to make, and I'm not going to deny 2 AM Elian the chance to share it.

[pockettgcf]

having some yin yu thoughts after seeing posts for huayin week and yin yu appreciation week

au where yin yu hates xie lian.

yin yu comes to start working for hua cheng to escape the eyes of heaven after the horrible Incident with quan yizhen. hua cheng tells him he's looking for someone, and yin yu agrees to help his new lord, of course. but then, yin yu starts to get the Xie Lian is Perfect stories. he listens to hua cheng describe xie lian. he listens to hua cheng declare his love and devotion over and over. he sees the paintings. he sees the statues. and jealousy burns inside him.

yin yu isn't worthy of such devotion. he knew he was Average (for a god) at best. he knew he shouldn't be jealous, but being so close to hua cheng and seeing this man spend CENTURIES searching for someone who may not even be alive anymore just makes yin yu's blood boil.

maybe it turns into huayin. yin yu wants to be someone's Perfect Someone. he doesn't imagine quan yizhen could ever think of him that way. hua cheng seems to be the only person in the world capable of such devotion, and yin yu could never live up to those standards, but by the gods, he wouldn't mind pretending behind closed doors. he offers to be the shoulder hua cheng cries on when his yearning for xie lian grows too strong in the night. he sits and listens to the same stories told over and over again. he offers small touches. small acts of affection. i'm here right now. i'm real. i'm in your arms. on your lap. at your feet. give ME attention. notice ME. love ME.

...i don't know where i'm going with this. anyway. bittersweet, slight angst huayin. happy huayin and yin yu appreciation weeks, everyone

[muzsmocsing]

Reviewing tgcf characters because I have thoughts

I finished S2 recently and I need somewhere to put my not exactly hot but like warm (?) takes because it's taking up too much storage space in my brain.

🤍 Xie Lian 🤍

It's a good thing I'm not into guys because if I was I would be on my knees for this man in every sense of that expression and his pet menace to society would mince me up like garlic.

So I'll try to be brief about my overflowing feelings about him. Xie Lian is the best main character I have come across in a WHILE. He's the embodiment of compassion and kindness. And also a cold blooded murderer. A babygirl. A father figure. A terrifying martial god. A silly little guy. A pathological liar. The most genuine man you'll ever meet. He's everything, and Hua Cheng is 100% valid in his obsession. I'm right there with him.

Rating: 10/10

❤️ Hua Cheng ❤️

Idk if we ever figured out who wrote My Immortal but I'm pretty sure we have our culprit.

"Hi my name is Hua Cheng Crimson Rain Sought Flower Red-Robed Ghost King and this is my evil weapon of death E-ming. I've killed soooo many gods with it!! My dark power is I can summon storms of BLOOD and SUFFERING. I have my own scary city of DEMONS and they all love me and think I'm HOT but I only want my BOYFRIEND who's the only REAL GOD so STOP FLAMING HIM YOU POSERS-"

Needless to say I love him. Being the 8 time winner of the Loverboy of the Century Awards with unbeatable records in the yearning olympics is truly a remarkable feat.

Rating: 9/10

(Bonus: E-ming. Cute little guy. Likes his stepdad more than his real dad. Not afraid to show it's feelings even if it makes it look like a muppet, 10/10)

🧡 Feng Xin & Mu Qing 🧡

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum gets a shared rating because they would hate to be grouped together like that and that's funny to me. Their dynamic is great, they're good characters, I wasn't sure which one was which until midway through the second season. But then also I have a pair of 7yo twin cousins who I still can't tell apart despite them not looking even a slight bit similar so that might just be a character flaw on my end. Oops.

Rating: 7/10

🩵Shi Qingxuan🩵

I'm doubling the rating because she is best boy and best girl at the same time. I love that I can use any and all pronouns for him because he's literally a pride parade personified and therefore all of them are correct. You don't get that type of chaotic fun just anywhere.

He is truly living my dream, presenting as whatever gender they want depending on what's more convenient and/or funnier in the moment. Super useful, for things like gathering intel and terrorizing Feng Xin by being a woman.

And I personally think we should crown her the new emperor. She'd look significantly better on that throne, with her Barbie-like radiance and flourishing Kenergy.

Rating: 20/10

🖤 Ming Yi 🖤

Listen, I hate to say it because I like a sunshine x grump moment as much as the next gay but he's just... not giving what he thinks he's giving. Everyone is whispering ominously about him having some dark devastating secret but MY point is no matter how big his boobs are in his female form, Shi Qingxuan could do better. I'm sorry. She really could.

Rating: 4/10

💙 Lang Qianqiu 💙

Just an honest man with good intentions and a sickass fucking sword. He did NOT hesitate to attack the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower on SIGHT and I respect a quick decisionmaker, even if it shows some himbo tendencies. He also has the same distinct energy as Fred from Scooby Doo.

Rating: 6/10

💚 Qi Rong 💚

He's got some odd dietary and moral choices going on. Definitely. But he's just such a fun villain!!! Being Xie Lian's nr 1 source of migraines SHOULD make me like him less but I'm sorry, every time he was on screen I was LIVING. He would do numbers on reality TV. Someone put this guy on Kitchen Nightmares, I need to see him 1v1 Gordon Ramsay.

Rating: 7/10

🌚 Jun Wu 🌚

He has his emperor status & DILF card going for him but something about this man just ain't right. If he came to a party I was attending I would cover my drink is all I'm saying.

Rating: 2/10

🔥Pei Ming🔥

I don't know much about him besides he had that one shady empolyee or whatever (could not hear the plot over the deafening sound of Hua Cheng's yearning) but I'm partial to a good manwhore character. The thought of people praying to him like "Hugh Mungus, who art in heaven-" really tickles me.

I know he's probably straight but I headcanon him as at the very least bi-curious because you can't be that hot with that much game and not use it for evil. (That evil being causing large scale gay awakenings among his soldiers.)

Rating: 7/10

❓Pei Xiu❓

Unreliable, unimportant, unattractive, unemployed.

I remember not a singular thing about him besides fucking up Xie Lian's daughter's life and also being on my last nerve from the jump. If you're going to be evil at like least be memorable about it, you know? You can't be a bad person and a bad character at the same time. Pick a struggle.

Rating: 1/10

📚 Ling Wen 📚

I heard she committed some war crimes but honestly if I had to do an entire realm's tax returns by myself AND teach Pei Ming how to read (I refuse to believe that man is literate, just look at him) I would want to rage on occasion too. I hope she has a hot wife waiting for her at home to give her massages after carrying the whole system on her back all day. It's what she deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Thank you for reading!! Opinions might change once I read the books but as of now this is it. Remembering everyone's names has been a journey and a half so this post is sponsored by @kirstenly 's character cheat sheet go look at it! and everything else too!!!

[linkspooky]

What in particular inspired you to write Burn This City, Burn This City Down? It's a very unique fic.

Oh man I hope you're ready to take my hand and go on a journey with me because this is going to be long ride.

The first version of this fic came from 1) the ending of the Search where Azula runs off into the woods and we were just left on that cliffhanger for years. The first story that ever gave me the inspiration though was Katanagatari by Nisioisin, especially after I read the translated light novel for the first time.

Katanagatari is a story of a former princess who wants revenge teaming up with a human who was raised as a weapon known as Yasuri Shichika who comes from an entire family of martial artists living on an island. She takes Shichika out to the world and they gather twelve magical swords for the shogunate government. Basically, it's easy to see how you could put Azula into this scenario. Except instead of swords it was just going to be Azula wanting to resolve different political issues or, my earliest idea was killing members of the red lotus in the colonies far from Zuko's jurisdiction.

Lio came from this initial idea and he was one, a person in the forest that Azula met, and two a very strong martial artist who is unhealthily devoted to her. Basically it's what Azula thinks she wants in a relationship, a perfect solider who follows her every order and is unconditionally loyal. That relationship eventualyl breaks apart though as Azula eventually has to go back to her real friends, because Lio mirrors like all her bad flaws at her.

I had serious trouble coming up with an overarching plot though, because Katanagatari's plot is just "go to the place, fight the guy, get the sword" and it was just hard to come up with 12 seperate guys for Azula to fight. Also it wasn't feasible because she'd basically spend all her time away from canon characters. I tried to throw Jet in too so it wouldn't just be Azula and this OC, but it never really got past the planning stages.

There were a few manga I read that were also Azula adjacent that helped further my ideas along. I've referenced Akatsuki no Yona before, and TGCF too, but those were a little bit too much like Katanagari. I liked the idea of like Azula roaming the country side with a partner character improving things by herself for awhile like Yona does with Akatsuki no Yona but I ran into the same problem again it would be 90% Azula and this oc with no canon interaction. I did like making Hua Cheng really weird though, and that became Lio like, developing entitled, posessive and borderline stalkery behaviors.

I'm sure you've noticed the fic hasn't become incredibly surreal and weird yet. So the actual tone and the way the fic portrays mental illness comes from three works in praticular. Tokyo Ghoul, which is kind of where I got my start on this blog, Kara no Kyoukai, and Tsukihime. The idea to make Lio a disassoicative disorder personality so Azula would have someone to sympathize with her and understand she's hallucinating came from a character named Shiki Ryougi who is also a character who has a system.

The prose style that is lowkey horror comes from my best attempts to write in a Nasu style in Tsukihime. Basically part of the reason the fanfic is so surreal is because I want to use elements of horror to add to the surrealism in order to make the audience viscerally fear the feel that characters like Azula do when they lose control over the reality in front of them.

When going in the forest for the Search I wanted to lean heavily on the Suicide Forest or the Forgetful Valley being an actually terrifying or unnerving setting to be in. I also thought the Mother of Faces was a cool idea for a spirit that the comics completely blew. So one of the improvements was making Mother of Faces a genuinely terrifying inhuman entity where the entire forest is basically her playground and humans are her puppets. It's a continued trend I want to do in this fic to make spirits like genuinely terrifying, and at the most indifferent to humans and at the worst extremely hostile.

The second was making the forest an actually scary and confusing place to be in. The forest is the head, and Azula is the head, and she's dreaming the forest. The forest is a metaphor for how Azula is lost inside her own head and trapped because no one in the world empathizes with her or tries to understand her, and like, Zuko sees her run into that huge forest twice and just watches her go even though she could end up dead in a ditch.

There's two big inspirations I took for describing the forest itself. The first was the book roadisde picnic and the movie STALKER which are about a zone in Russia which is fundamentally altered by aliens where nothing in that zone follows the laws of physics and instead follows their own abusrd laws. The second was from the book and movie annihilation. In annihilation the strange zone where strange things happen is nature actively like, retaking the earth, and changing the humans who enter that territory into something else.

As for Azula's narration itself and the way her mental health is depicted, I basically got her narration style down especially in her trippy points by reading Girl, Interrupted roughly one hundred times. My general rule of thumb is that Azula's narration is incredibly dry and mechanical and straight to the point, and her prose is very minimialist until it's not. Azula is very high functionning until she is not. Then the self-loathing, and the paranoia, and the voices begin to creep in. Yet on the surface Azula will do absolutely everything to pretend she is not loosing her grip of things until she has, full on meltdowns. This pattern continues ad infinituum, Azula just gets better at hiding her sympatoms and appearing more functional. Girl, interrupted though with the very detached kind of narration, the anachronistic order I employ a lot in this fic.

So the fic rewrite existed for awhile, like there were ten different drafts of the first chapter where Azula just finds a masked man in the woods after running away from Zuko.

So, okay I lied there is one more inspiration for the way I write Azula which is Zaregoto by Nisioisin and specifically the way he writes the main character IIchan and this very detached narrator voice who like, clearly suffers from some type of schizo-type and will have the most surreal moments of narration. That is primarily a mystery series so that's what gave me the plot in it's final form. It's basically like a mystery series that's led by two unreliable narrators Azula and Lio, and Zuko who let's be honest another unreliable narrator, and then Katara and Aang who are the most reliable narrators but they're also kind of like, they're not as aware of the dark side of the world and are more naive. I basically told myself like, I'll write it like a mystery novel. Instead of solving murders though it'll be political intrigue, where we have to follow two unreliable narrators. Two unreliable narrators who we don't know everything about bevcause the narration skips along their history in anancronistic order, and that'll be a metaphor for the weird way that Azula and Lio both experience reality because of how disordered their thinking is now.

The surraelist stuff started to finalize into like a solid plot when I read another fic. I don't know if I should like, mention this fic. I'm going to complain about it so I probably shouldn't mention it by name. Okay I'm just going to be vague about it. There was a Zuko / Sokka fanfic where Azula has been fully redeemed by her brother and they get along great and she is basically, playing political games in the court for her brother's sake. Sokka however doesn't know this and becomes suspicious of her and becomes embroiled in the politics too. In this version Azula is kind of just Zuko's attack dog which was very funny.

It's a fic where I did like Azula and Sokka's characterization, and like revitalized my desire to write avatar fic but I also had just as many faults in it. Basically my biggest nitpick in any Zuko and Azula fanfic is where they protray Zuko as a compassionate brother who helped Azula in her rehabilitation because like, that's just not what happened. So Zuko kind of just felt like a non character because there's no acknowledgment that Zuko can really be just as bad to Azula as Azula is to him and like... I need that drama in my life.

It also like timeskipped past her entire recovery and like I don't want sane Azula, I want barely functional Azula wearing a mask of sanity and convinced she peaked at fourteen and just trying to feel like the way she did when she was fourteen. I need her to be like "oh yes, I'm fixed now" and then have her start to break down again because she never actually learned to deal with stress.

The other was that the ocs in the fic were absolutely boring, like the villains were one note. It was this grand spiraling political plot but the villains behind the plot had no human motivations and Azula killed them in like five minutes. I was like no, no I can make my own ocs. I will have this new fic have actual compelling antagonists who feel like they are characters in the story and actually move the plot and challenge the main characters.

So to Summarize this long ramble, basically my idea for this fic came from the collective works of Nasu and Nisioisin. It started out as like, a journey through the colonies and help people fic to like, taking place entirely in Caldera City. That's where the current idea of Azula dealing with factions who are trying to take her brother's thrown from her, and also she's trying to play the political game that everyone else is playing comes from. Azula is playing political games but like, also, the people she's playing against aren't one note bad guys they're actually interesting characters.

I also want to basically adapt a kind of like, mystery novel character following the mystery through all the political intrigue and finding the answer. I guess you'd call that "Noir". Like the confusing surrealism stuff in the search part of the story shows how lost Azula is in the forest. The confusing surrealism stuff in Caldera City will now be about how Caldera city is a city of liars, where everyone has their own hidden motivation and Azula has to navigate all of that again.

Okay, I hope that answered your qusetion. I can cite some more sources on scenes that inspired me. That scene where Lio saw Azula and the first thing he thought about was how he wanted to stab her a whole bunch is a reference to Tsukihime where Shiki meets Arcueid for the first time.

The story for Azula, Interupted of someone else framing Azula for killing cats and turtleducks comes from a really brief flashback in Tokyo Ghoul where Mutsuki remembers killing cats as a child and gets made fun of for it. Then she remembers running all the way to where she buried all the cat's tongues, and picks the jar up and cries and begs for the cats to forgive her. I know that's kind of a weird scene, but basically that whole chapter came from my idea of Azula remembering getting slapped by her mom for killing the turtleducks and begging someone to believe her and then it suddenly flashes forward to the future and Azula is still crying about it.

That's all I can remember referencing or getting inspired by for now.

[ladydostoevsky]

𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍

male!reader

TW: J*n W*, abuse, spoilers to the 5th novel? and Jun Wu backstory, DARK CONTENT

Jun Wu or now known, Bai Wuxiang, could see the rebellious fire in his eyes. Y/N or now known, Bai Wu, glared at him, his eyes full of betrayal, hurt, sadness and anger. "I trusted you. You were my third father after my real father and Mei Nianqing. I followed you, I wanted to be like you. Now I know that you were the one who tortured us and made me and Xie Lian suffer for years. You are worse than a monster."

Tears started to flow one by one from his eyes making his cheeks pink. Jun Wu tried to touch his face for which Y/N dotched away a little. With a shaking voice he said, "Don't you ever, try to touch me again." Jun Wu looked at him with a natural face like the situation didn't bother him at all. "I see myself in you. You are the perfect image of me, I wanted to make you even more perfect ruler." Y/N, through his tears, looked at him with disgust. He moved closer to Jun Wu to look him dead in the eye. "I'm not you. I will never be you. And I don't want to be you, Bai Wuxiang. Do you know what's the difference between us? My body may be in abyss, but my heart will always remain in paradise."

Jun Wu, with anger grabbed his wrist and yanked him against his front with force. "Do you know what happened to Xianle 800 years ago when he said that to me?" he said with a low voice. "I would rather suffer in the mortal realm with Xie Lian for 800 years, than be with you in Heaven." Y/N said with confident voice.

Next thing he knew was the aching pain on his left cheek. His wrist was painful and Red from the Emperor's iron crip and now he had slapped him. Jun Wu shook him with anger, "You dare to rebel against me? I am your ancestor. I have guided and helped you for hundreds of years. I wanted to make you the most powerful being in all three realms. This is what I get in return? I knew these two boys would be a bad influence on you." Jun Wu stopped shaking and let go. He reached for Y/N hair to rip out the beautiful glass butterfly clip, which Hua Cheng Gifted to him. Y/N looked in horror at how he threw the clip against a wall and shattered into pieces. More tears started to flow down his cheeks and he ran to the broken gift on the floor. "NO!" Jun Wu followed him behind.

"NO! no no no no no." He took the pieces and looked at them. It couldn’t be fixed. Hua Cheng had Gifted it to him when they were in the Ghost City with Xie Lian. It was his handy work. It could never be replaced. Y/N turned his head and looked up. Before he could do anything Jun Wu had him already in a tight grip again and lifted him up to drag him away. "Let me go! LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!" Jun Wu said nothing and only dragged the shaking and tossing Boy farther away into his palace.

They came to a stop in front of a beautiful tall double doors with many locks. 'What's this room for?' though Y/N. Jun Wu opened it and threw him inside, on the floor. The Boy looked at the man standing at the door. "What do you plan to do?" he asked with a scared and shaky voice. Jun Wu smirked darkly. "I'm gonna make sure that they will never see you again. You are gonna be my successor, I'm gonna make you one. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian will never even dream about touching you again."

After that, Jun Wu closed the door. Y/N could hear many locks which means he was now locked up in the Emperor's palace. He ran to the door and banged with all his might to get Jun Wu's attention to let him out, nothing. "Your majesty, please! Please let me out! Uncle! Uncle I beg you, don't do anything to them!" He cried all his frustration and stress out against the door. Thinking about what is gonna happen with his two lovers now? What in the heavens was he gonna do?

He was scared. He was afraid of Jun Wu, afraid of their future. Now he could only pray and hope that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng wouldn’t come to save him.

Oh how wrong he was...

[thornycoconut]

Do people not realize the people who enjoy mu qing as a character like him because of his flaws? It's not that he can do no wrong. It's not that we think he made no mistakes lol. He makes them and has a shit attitude.

We aren't celebrating his wrongdoings. We're loving his willingness to apologize.

We're appreciating him finally admitting he wants to be f-f-friends. There is a reason that word pops up like that in posts and fanfic all the time. We are definitely making fun of him. He is ridiculous.

No one makes fun of or criticizes mu qing better than a fan.

Where many draw the line is at unfair or inappropriate criticism. Or excessive grudges (looking at you hua cheng 🤣).

Mad at him for quitting his job? Inappropriate.

Mad at him for the spiritual land fight? Appropriate, but we have things to say about the grudge being excessive.

Mad at him for little honger not being kept by xie lian? Unfair.

Etc etc.

We make fun of this man all the time. everything from his terrible disguise, his dramatics, emotional constipation, to even his weapon etc from canon. Also, memorizing a poem about your rival? Yeah okay, totally normal.

In fanon we even exaggerate or expand on his flaws. Ever read some mu qing centric fics? You'll notice a pattern of making life harder for himself because of them. It makes it all the more satisfying when everything goes sideways on him and he has to actually do a real simple emotional thing he'd avoided initially. Only now it's so much worse than before.

In fanon mu qing's greatest obstacle is his avoidance of saying, "I care about you" or some other thing that most people say easily. That's it. He could even pass it in a note, but the ridiculous man is too scared and fussy.

That isn't to say mu qing fanon creations are simple or easy. He as a character just turns something that should be easy and makes it an anxiety inducing trip to hell. and you have to prod him every inch of the way to claw his way out. Ao3 is full of fics where he has to tell someone he loves them or he'll die, and he really is set on dying half the time. The other half he really has to think about it and wait til last minute. Like he is REALLY RIDICULOUS in fanon.

Another major part of mu qing fanon is getting him to face and work on his major flaws. Like sir, you can't just say friends? It has to come out like f-f-friends? Really? Get it together, man. Let's get you some therapy and an emotional support dog. You'll be acknowledging you might love someone in 50k words.

Anyway, yeah, mu qing is appealing because of his flaws.

[c-h-pictures]

TGCF as Taskmaster Part 2

Part 1

Hua Cheng: Hello and welcome everybody to a tantalising Taskmaster treat. I have decreed that ghosts take a new year's break from humiliation and I have sent my minions out to scoop up five players from the heavenly court. Some would say that they are fools to have said "yes", that their credibility in their area of expertise will be destroyed by appearing on this show. I am one of the people who would say that. I agree with that statement.

-

Hua Cheng: Let's meet them! *Motions to Qi Rong* Not Lang Qianqiu.

He Xuan: So, Lang Qianqiu is sick. He's sent his representative. Who is... Obviously... Qi Rong.

-

Hua Cheng: Xie Lian, what's your beguiling and unwieldy, shiny thing?

Xie Lian: I brought in a jar.

Hua Cheng: A jar?

Xie Lian: A pickle jar.

-

He Xuan: *waiting Xie Lian to open the task*

Xie Lian: *distracted by an old cookbook he found*

-

Hua Cheng: I was ever so excited when I heard you were coming on this show.

Shi Qingxuan: Oh no, don't!

Hua Cheng: Expecting a bit of glamour.

Shi Qingxuan: Ahh.

Hua Cheng: Reality is a man throwing an egg over a cow.

Shi Qingxuan: Okay, but let's just unravel that!

-

Xie Lian, steps out, mildly embarrassed, wearing shorts: 5 meters?

He Xuan: Yes.

Xie Lian: Now, what I had in mind, was this on the grass. But bearing the word "daring" in the task.

Xie Lian: I'm going to crawl on concrete.

-

Shi Wudu: Ooh, shots.

Pei Ming: This looks like a great night.

Shi Qingxuan: I'm a bad drunk. I had to have a nap at my own wedding.

-

Hua Cheng: Why did you have to have a nap at your wedding?

Shi Qingxuan: Because I had a glass of wine. And I went in there, thinking this was alcohol, and I wanted to point that out to He Xuan because all I'd had was a wotsit.

Hua Cheng: Hold on, is this wotsit separate to the pot noodles you had?

He Xuan: Uh, yes.

-

Shi Qingxuan: WHAT'S THAT? WHAT'S THAT?

Shi Qingxuan: Oh, I see what you've done. Sweet into sour. *Dips his finger into the "sour" to taste, immediately gags*

Shi Qingxuan: Can you taste that?

He Xuan: Uh, sure?

Shi Qingxuan: You can? Drink that, what is it?

He Xuan: Apple juice.

Shi Qingxuan: Ahhh...

-

He Xuan: For the rest of the day, he shouted at me.

Shi Qingxuan: In a nice way!

He Xuan: No.

Shi Qingxuan: I couldn't find the vinegar and I'm still mad about it to this day.

He Xuan: The real question is if there's any vinegar. There was one shot of vinegar.

Shi Qingxuan: YOU EVIL EVIL MAN!

-

Hua Cheng, to Ling Wen: Watching you pass a pole under a cow and being so proud of it. All I could think was "they're going to take her title from her"

He Xuan: They are.

-

He Xuan: We've got to stick up for Feng Xin, because he only struck things 15 times.

Hua Cheng: We're going to stick up for Feng Xin? Because the first thing he did was try to ram the door with the pole.

He Xuan: Yes, but overall his pole was 232cm. Meanwhile, Shi Qingxuan started off with 420cm and hit things 41 times. So his pole was 10cm.

Shi Qingxuan, stands up and hides behind his chair: I can't come out!

[darlingpwease]

Charming Dove,, amazing brain as always,,,,

Uuwaahhh Hua Cheng my pretty boy <<//333 The hem of his clothing becoming slightly faded due to him adjusting so much,,, he always wants to look his best for you, and it's become a bit of a habit. Even when you tell him how handsome he is,, how he is absolutely stunning,, he can't help but want even better, he wants to be the best for you. Hua Cheng getting comfort from when you rub his ears, even if it's just a little bit <<333 He doesn't admit it, but whenever you two cuddle, he'll try to subtly suggest for you to touch his ears. He really doesn't understand what you like about his ears, he doesn't think he ever will. But he knows that it's one for your many ways to show your love to him, so just as much as he shows it in different ways, whenever you play with them he is filled with joy,, he can't help but want to be close to you even more <<333

You can swear that you've seen him before, there's something so familiar about him,, you feel so drawn to him but you can't understand why. But when you see those cute ears peaking out,, you just have this urge to.. play with them. Touch them, kiss them, bite them,, hhhdnsks you can't help but feel like it's natural to feel that way. He's so stunning, you just feel like you should be with him all the time. And when your eyes meet, all you can think of is yeah, he should be right next to you, even though you know that you aren't worthy to stand next to the demon, it's almost a need.

Lol, Hua Cheng trying to act like he didn't do anything when he sees you again,, trying to act all innocent. You teasingly talk about this very attractive man coming up to you, but all you could think about was him, your perfect Hua Cheng <33 How you couldn't help but want to know how he'd be like if he were there with you,, hey, maybe he should come next time? And as Hua Cheng keeps on trying to act like he doesn't know what you're talking about 'how dare someone go up to you!' But the way his ears are twitching just keep giving him away. His grip on you shirt tightening as he hears you say you love him in all forms,, how you just love having him close to you in general and never want to let him go <33 his words coming out as mumbles when he marks hiding his face, but you still understand him, kissing his pretty head. The way how every time you compliment him, how you say how happy you are to be with him, every time you say something he just moves closer to you, he leans more into you, he presses soft gentle kisses against you hhhdhsabdksl

AHHH YES!! He slips into bliss whenever he sees it <333 so incredibly happy that it real. You're his, and he's yours. He has proof, right here. This isn't a dream, not like the ones he's had for years, not like the hopes he's held for so long, it's real. He treats it like it's the most precious thing, as if he'd die without it. He just adores you so much

He can't help but feel like it's too much yet not enough. He wants, no, craves more, even though he knows that you're both exhausted, even just a quiet murmur of "Are you alright?" from your lips has him embarrassingly wanting another round. He doesn't want to let you know, but the way his ears flutter and his body trembles already tells you what you need to know. He tries to be quiet, but you know every place that makes him feel so good, that he can't stop the noises falling from his lips, drool dripping from his chin as all he can even begin to muster up is how good you are and how thankful he is that you're with him.

-panna cotta

hehe pamna,,, stop making me blush,,,, smooth talker, smooth,,,,,,, mwah♡

he always looks at you with such adoration and shamelessly simps you up to "wow, the love of all my lives broke my thing / burned down my house / almost killed me. can we do it again?", but once you tell him that he is handsome or flirt with him, and he immediately becomes even more red, embarrassed and nervously adjusting his clothes. say that these clothes look good and he will buy a few dozen more sets; share what you think that pigtails or high tails suit him and now he only has pigtails and high tails. tell him that you love these "inhuman features" of his and he will overheat with delight, embarrassment and excitement. for sure, for the first time, he will blush desperately when you see how delighted ye-ming is at the sight of you and how he will almost vibrate on his belt. no, Hua Cheng is not ready to explain why the weapon of a person whom you have met, if not once, then only a couple of times in your life, is so delighted with you. "have you met before?"?... ugh, of course not, hahaha... haha... ha...

jahshdhdhdh pamna cotta big brain moment huh,,,,,, hua cheng who curls up on your chest and puts his head on your chest, but if he sees that your hands are not busy, then he definitely twitches this beautiful ear slightly, pretending to be asleep or deeply resting, although you see that he twitches it only when you look,,,,,,,, how he magically stops pulling them when you finally take and play with him, and you can feel how he relaxes even more, starting to really doze off while you stroke and rub him, although he is a little ashamed — but at the same time so good,,,,,,,,,,, or, listen, but when the habit becomes so frequent that he actually starts unconsciously twitching his ear when lying on you,,,,, even if you are busy with something,,,,,, and he doesn't even realize it until you pay attention to this fact,,,,,,,,, or when he specifically lets you decorate his ears somehow because he doesn't care about anything as long as you're happy, even if sometimes it leads to, mhm, interesting events...

he looks so familiar,,, especially if you still lived during the time when Xie Lian just became a god, while you were his potential spouse or close servant — you know, for some reason, the sight of his beautiful face reminds you of the past, but you don't understand what exactly, as if something through the veil of the past breaks through, but you don't understand what... until you see the tips of the protruding ears. yes, he is suspicious and a little strange, but — his ears. his ears. his elongated, pointed, slightly moving, pale, hidden behind his hair ears. his beautiful ears. it's not like you have a kink on ears, but when do you see his ears?... you're willing to bet that you've never seen the same interesting and even, uh, attractive ears in your life. you try to listen to what he says, it's obviously very important, but when his ear twitches and you see a little more of the tip,,,, or when a small tip is sticking through the hair, although it is usually hidden,,,,, and you realize that your interlocutor is silent for too long, and you try to make it clear as if you listen to him, but it's so hard when you first experience such a strange and embarrassing attraction,,,,,, you are not a person who rushes at every person you meet — at least, at every suspicious person you meet — but there is something in him. could it be his ears? you are not sure what exactly, but for some reason you like to look at him, even knowing that he is potentially not just "dangerous" but damn dangerous, especially if your suspicions about his personality can be called a little more than just "I think so". but... ears... IMAGINE LOOKING AT A DEMON THAT COULD BE A CALAMITY AND BEING LIKE, "yes. ears. he will be mine. I love troubled guys with a mystical past and strange tendencies. and his cute ears. and the latter made the decisive choice." like? sounds normal for panna cottas /t /hj

he has many forms — including feminine ones if you are interested — but two or three basic ones, and trust me, he uses them to the maximum. you don't mind — you know, it's like playing "hide a lover from a lover", only all lovers are the same demon and they all "know" about each other and that you like them. of course, he is not so stupid yet (which, however, may be a matter of dispute, given that in 9/10 situations his first reaction is "what if they think I'm ugly / not good enough???") so as not to understand that you, uh, suspect him, but he's still hounding you from all sides. ah, what a coincidence that you told San Lang that you like such things, and Hua Cheng brought just such! oh, wow, they all have the same taste! Mmm, what a coincidence that they know the things you told the other! it's like they're communicating with each other while you're not around! such cohesion! and even when Hua Cheng's ears twitch slightly or you see San Lang smiling frivolously enthusiastically, blushing, slightly shaking, you pretend not to notice, snuggling up to him or watching the stars together. it's just that he's a little silly sometimes, but that even makes him more attractive. after all, you love him even when his fox tail is practically sticking out while he's watching you, as if waiting for the moment to steal you away and take you somewhere while others are trying to figure out where you've gone. you're okay with that though; this game of "secret lovers" is even funny — especially when you approach each of them with an increase in romantic tension, or when you are very close to one, while not with the other, but he cannot keep his hands and tremble in his voice, even knowing that in another form he may dare to kiss you, although he can't even hug you in this one so as not to look strange; his skin almost hurts from this, especially when he glances at you, impatiently waiting for you to feel feelings for "this" him, too. he becomes so clingy when he is overflowing with love,,,,, almost throws himself at you when you praise him too much and desperately kisses your face, blushing, trying to show that he feels the same way, pressing his cold body against your hot,..... he regrets for the first time that his brain is so confused and slow, and words are spinning on his tongue, but he just can't pronounce them, only passionately kissing you, combining with gentle touches, almost sliding his lips over yours to immediately dig in, unsure whether he should be passionate and gentle, which will better reflect this lump inside, how can he show you in the best way how he adores you and how he appreciates you and how he loves you and how he wants to pamper you and how good he feels with you and how great you are that his brain just can't work unlike his body, which knows that he should just cuddle up and be affectionate with you,,,,,,,,

just know that internally he is writhing with delight and almost licking his lips knowing that you have a paired thing and you want to have a paired thing with him, you want him to be yours and for everyone to understand that he is yours and you are his</////3

but!!! his body is so sensitive and soft and needy, and the fact that he can change his shape doesn't help too much, especially if you ask him to play along with you and he almost dies when you touch his body again, praising how well he behaves; when he keeps his legs apart while you praise him for obedience and responsiveness, although this only excites him even more and makes him want to squeeze his hips; or when he jerks violently during orgasm, writhing, trying to move away on instinct, but you don't let him, burying his face in the pillow, biting his shoulder, almost growling that you haven't finished, and that's enough for him to immediately soften, suppressing hypersensitivity, arching his back for your comfort,,,,,,,, when you let his hair down, letting it fall forward, exposing the back of his neck and bending forward, whispering that you won't be too intense, not understanding (or teasing) that being intense is exactly what he craves from you when you caress his body, his ears, his shoulders, his neck, his arms, his chest, his thighs, his stomach, his thighs, his ankles - his hot mouth with sharp fangs and saliva dripping down his chin while you play with his tongue, convincing him that of course you're using lube, but it's only fair if he helps himself too, right? he's a good boy, isn't he? such a good, obedient boy, such a beautiful boy, spreads his hips in front of you on the first command, such a sweet boy,,,,, when tears flow from his eyes from overexcitation and excessive sensitivity, but he shakes his head negatively at the question of stopping, moving his hips, assuring that everything is fine, even if his the nipples are slightly swollen from how often you pinched and slightly bit him if he was naughty,,,,,, </////3 when he comes while you bite his ears, whining your name? the best boy<3333

[eyes-of-mischief]

weekly fic recs | 41

fandoms: bsd, dc, hp, svsss, tgcf

bsd

A Game of Chance by freefan1412

Instead of following Oda himself, Dazai arranges for his life to be saved by making a call to someone who has the means. That has consequences, chief among them that he could not have handed Mori a better card against him if he tired.

dc

Brother Wanted by Vamillepudding

Well-behaved boy (10) is looking for big brother (11-15). Must meet up with me three times a week, for at least two hours each. Overall duties include helping me with homework, playing videogames with me, and showing me how to play catch. 10$ per hour.

Tim, lonely and in desperate need of company, decides that if his parents are not going to give him a sibling, he's going to hire one instead. Luckily, Jason Todd-Wayne shows up in the nick of time.

hp

family and other wonders by resonance_and_d

Harry was supposed to pick- move on and be with his parents, or go back to finish the battle with Voldemort. But even Dumbledore doesn't know everything, and Harry finds that there are actually a lot more options than those two.

Harry wants more than what he got. He wants a home. He wants a family. He wants a chance to be happy. He isn't sure he deserves all that, but he's going to try anyway. If only to spite Dumbledore and Voldemort's plans both.

OR: Harry Potter wakes up ten years old but with all of his memories from age seventeen. He immediately begins to make Mistakes.

my head is bloody, but unbowed by NorthernRanger

Once again, she lifted the spell, and the wizard behind him moved forward. He reached down and took hold of Harry’s arm, pulling his shaking body up and twisting his arm behind him. “We should take him to the Dark Lord,” he said, and Harry’s heart beat wildly. Voldemort was dead. The war had ended. What was going on?

Ouroboros by NovusArs

(mature) (graphic depictions of violence)

Salazar Slytherin woke up in the body of a three-year-old boy with the most ridiculous head of black hair & a runic scar carved into his forehead. The last thing he recalled was dying. Now it is over 900 years in the future. There are a million things to deal with between new inventions, lost knowledge, missing spirits, & parasitic dark lords.

svsss

hey. by Nomette

(explicit)

After a strange artifact transports Shen Qingqiu to a world where the Peak Lords are demons, he is captured by Demon Lord Liu Qingge of the Burning Valley. Demon romance ensues, and Shen Qingqiu is forced to confront the fact that maybe he didn't know his world's Liu Qingge as well as he thought he did.

take me home, bury me there by nyoomerr

(mature) (graphic depictions of violence)

When Shen Qingqiu transmigrates, he finds himself in a world where heartbreak can make a person fall apart - literally, since those who are heartbroken crack open starting from the space over their heart, and only cultivators can survive the blood loss by using their qi to hold their blood inside their bodies where it belongs.

Having a physical indicator like this that alerts Shen Qingqiu in real time of the hearts he's breaking... well, it changes things.

Luo Binghe, somehow, still ends up suffering more than Shen Qingqiu ever wants him too.

tgcf

Something Foreknown by crowdedcafe

E-ming is born with a hole in his heart and an emptiness in his soul. Through centuries of hearing stories about Hua Cheng's beloved, E-ming grows to love the man he was born missing.

Whoops, I Almost Killed You Again 天官赐苦，鬼拂🈲️忌 by TentativeWanderer 

As if on cue, the silver chain snapped for no reason whatsoever. Xie Lian startled and attempted to catch it as it fell, but a burst of bad luck ensured that it slipped through his fingers and went tumbling merrily down the slope. Catch me, come catch me, the ring winked in the sunlight. Naturally, Xie Lian attempted to do so. Naturally, he stubbed his toe on a root, toppled over, and rolled down the hill in hot, uncontrollable pursuit of the ring.

For a ghost, giving your ashes to a loved one is a high-risk decision. Giving your ashes to the God of Disaster is a tremendously high-risk decision.

Hua Cheng is the most qualified being to make that decision. And, as Xie Lian discovers, a Ghost King does not do take-backsies.

💍🔪💍☄️💍☠️💍⚠️💍🎭💍☢️

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S1 Ep 12

Ok then, last Episode of Season 1 let’s make this though reaction compilation count!

-We are back in Puqi village folks

-Ooooh pure domestic moments!!!!

-I freaking love how Xie Lian says ‘The Crimson Rain Sought Flower’ Howard Wang’s voice could act as my new sleeping aid

-No he hasn’t called him ‘his highness’ throughout this whole

-Oh yeah San Lang does treasure you dude

-Heck Yeah he was your groom, and I even officiated that ceremony in my first reaction! (I’ll type that iconic quote near the end of this Episode peeps!)

-It’s totally the first possibility ‘nuff said

-Never change San Lang, never change

-It was the lack of the heartbeat in Ep 9

-Hua Cheng didn’t strike fear into my heart as well

-Oh Pot!Yue unintentionally cockblocked em!  Pot + Ban Yue = Pot!Yue

-She’s rolling own her own and he opened the door for her!

-She got herself upright in the pot!

-Ban Yue’s in their custody my heart. (MXTX you probably won’t see this but Hua Cheng and Xie Lian have been through so much in that 8 book series, please let them be parents!!!  That’s just my prayer that probably won’t get answered)

-She still calls him ‘General Hua’

-I don’t think Pei Xiu’s a bad person either

-Ban Yue deserves all the head pats!!!!

-Don’t worry he does forgive you after what you’ve done

-Oh Xie Lian gets flustered at his past dream being brought up in front of San Lang

-Aw San Lang still likes his past goal!

-The way Ban Yue moves in the pot it’s so cute!!!!

-She was so young and innocent AAAAAHHHH!!!

-Honey I don’t even think you were being dramatic for a minute when you were a soldier

-And now she made the pot hop!

-Ban Yue my beloved!

-I love how I’m good at remembering stuff like Ban Yue

-I don’t think it’s nonsense at all honey, I think you’re amazing in whatever personality you display right now the good ones and the bad ones - prolly me and Hua Cheng’s opinions on Xie Lian, for HC it’s romantic, but for me it’s platonic

-Facepalm

-Awwww Baby Ban Yue

-At least it put an end to the war

-What have I been doing all this time either???  Aww man…

-Ban Yue, I think you should keep living despite all the mistakes you’ve made… other than that I also don’t know the answer like Xie Lian

-And Ban Yue’s now watching the moon and stars outside

-Aww San Lang got concerned!

-San Lang is dropping facts people

-San Lang is touch starved again!!! It’s official!!!  I am a Touch starved!San Lang truther TGCF fandom!!!

-Oh yeah it does look nice Xie Lian

-Oh you’ll see the real him, soon enough dude

-Oh no the Vegetable stir fry got overcooked!  I am not even gonna touch it when it’s all purple and blanched!

-Later that night

-And there was only one bed!  Oh my gods there was only one bed!!!!!!

-Ghosts are more freer than Heaven is

-Best boss ever!!!  San Lang obviously

-Hua Cheng really did make a name for himself among the other Ghost Kings

-Oooh he’s giving Qi Rong a bad name and defeated him good!

-More about Black Water later folks

-Aw man the way James Cheek says bologna, Wait a minute how do the Chinese know about bologna sausage, Ah right the Silk Road (I just like to imagine TGCF takes place around the time of the Silk Road capiche?)

-That’s cause they’ve got a ton of officials up there

-Oh yeah San Lang, valid stick it to all those gods

-They really do have the vibes of two concerned fathers (see what’d I tell ya, Hualian is just pure paternal material)

-Aww he liked his goal about saving the world!!!! AAAHH

-Aww and Xie Lian got all embarassed at his compliment

-Oh that was a really good opinion from San Lang!   He doesn’t think his goal is foolish at all!!!

-“What was life?”   My whole ass answer:…42?  (You guys’ll get the reference in the comments)

-Ohohoho now Xie Lian moved in closer!

-Honestly Xie Lian’s quote about him becoming someone’s new meaning in life does speak a lot about us as a society when looking up to famous living people like celebrities and what not

-I think he might be sitting next to you Xie Lian

-Well said, San Lang

-Their interactions added at least 8 years to my lifespan

-Oooohhhh!  Xie Lian talked about setting up boundaries

-Aww Xie Lian will love him no matter if he’s hideous or a monster he really does have the best standards from Ep 9!

-See boundaries!

-“I don’t buy it!  Good night!”  Awwww Xie Lian’s hot when he’s mad

-Oh he withdrew his hand when Xie Lian moved away

-Another Reason why Hualian works so well is that San Lang also Respects!  Xie Lian’s!  Boundaries (Yep still not getting involved with the Helluva Boss drama folks)

-Hua Cheng my beloved

-Oooh it was raining!

-Oh No San Lang’s gone

-Ban Yue’s back inside

-Ooooohhh what’s around Xie Lian’s neck

-It’s official!  That looks like an engagement ring people!

-Dude pass me the Aux cord!  Ya better not be playing mainstream garbage *Puts on Hong Jue at full blast and vibes like no tomorrow!*

-That confirms it he has seen Hua Cheng’s true form

-This line’s from my very first reaction post at the start of this season:  I now pronounce you both husband AND husband you may now kiss the gro-  I mean, bride!  (I should officiate more weddings as a living!)

-Aiaigasa! As a flashback one last time!

-Oh he’s running back to see if he returned inside!

-Get used to it people, this is just how he says ‘Gege’ in English, and honestly it’s kind of grown on me so no judging please!

-I wasn’t kidding when I said the kid Xie Lian saved would be important later on, called it~!

-It’s like they’re running towards each other AAAAAHHH!!!

-He really did paint him in his glory days

-Welp, see you guys later for Season 2!

-Ah the freaking rescue parallels

-*Casually continues to keep playing Hong Jue while wrapping up this whole reaction

-Man this was a long one!

Well that was Season 1.  I’m going to take a long break from doing these reaction posts, because I have an upcoming final project to complete in art, and I’ve got Christmas gifts to make.  So I’ll update the Thoughts I had on TGCF series once Season 2 finishes airing in Chinese and English See ya next time!

[crowning-art]

TGCF SPOILERS!

------------------------------------------------

Ohhhh today we get into some lore bits!

As annoying as Pei Ming is, this was so funny that I actually liked him for 0.2 seconds lmao

Pei Ming was probably also startled by her, and was in shock for a long time before he spoke.

“You are…”

Xuan Ji sneered coldly.

Yet unexpectedly, after a pause, Pei Ming asked, “Who are you?”

Wait this line.....

Pei Ming’s voice came. “His Highness’ spiritual device is pretty useful. I’ll have to forge one for myself too, sometime.”

“If you knew how it was forged, you wouldn’t say so…” Xie Lian thought.

I remember reading a spoiler by accident but wasn't Rouye his mom or smt?? Lmao did he kill his mom or smt? I don't think he would do that tho...

UNLESS THEY GOT THE HUMAN FACE DISEASE?????

I CANT BELIEVE THE WHOLE THING I SAID ABOUT XIE LIAN WATCHING EVERYONE LIKE IT'S A SHOW WITH POPCORN BECAME CANON LJDJDJDJDNFJFK

“Yeah, I could feel that female ghost’s love has morphed into hatred, she’s going nuts!”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure she couldn’t do it. Want to eat some melon seeds?”

“Give me another handful, thanks.”

“How can everyone be in the mood to munch on melon seeds?” Xie Lian frowned.

“Your Highness, didn’t you munch a bunch too?” the people said.

“Huh?”

Only then did Xie Lian realize that while he was so focused on the show earlier, he unconsciously received a handful of melon seeds they had passed over, and he’d eaten them all. He slapped his forehead.

Lol I was so confused like wait Yushi Huang is a female??? I thought it was a male this whole time? But then I realized it was because she was addressed as Lord Rain Master instead of Lady Rain Master! She seems cool so far

MAN MY PREDICTIONS ARE COMING TRUE...ish

I mean I did say Lang Ying was bad news a year ago! I mean he hasn't even shown up yet BUT STILL

“What did he look like?” Xie Lian pressed.

“It wasn’t clear,” the Rain Master said. “Because his head was wrapped in bandages.”

Head wrapped in bandages?!

Xie Lian was dumbfounded. “Was it Lang Ying?!”

WAIT I JUST HAD A THOUGHT! WHAT IF THERE ARE TWO WHITE NO FACES! AND LANG YING IS ONE OF THEM????? OR ATLEAST THE CAUSE OF THE DISEASE FROM YEARS AGO????

Anyways, reunion when?

They are living in a rom-com and completing every trope for reals lmaoo current trope: sleepover!

Xie Lian walked off for a bit and had wanted to just find a tree to lean against and lie down for a bit, but Hua Cheng dug out a bunch of ropes and cloth from who knows where, and set up two swinging hammock beds between two trees. The two of them climbed in, and there was ample space, very comfortable to lie in.

Ok, just like the others, Yushi Huang's story was so tragic! Not as bad as the others (but also theirs did take a turn for the worst later on and there might be a later on with her story too...) ALSO GENERAL PEI??? WHAT??? HOW IS HE EVERYWHERE THO??? I wonder if Yushi Huang ever liked him....

The people at the bottom saw someone stuck on top of the roof, unable to come down, and all thought it funny. Even the princesses and princes of Yushi were snickering with their mouths covered. It was only a general of Xuli who, after chuckling, leapt up and brought her down.

This general was of course Pei Ming.

HOLY OH MY GOD I HAVE TO APPLAUD THE GENIUS OF RONG GUANG'S PLAN That was literally so chillingly well thought out and beautiful that I kinda just HAVE to appreciate it, yknow? Like genuinely stunningly beautiful and genius

The Xuli troops brought over hundreds of felons on the death row from Yushi, dressed them up as normal civilians, and dragged them before the palace gates. Then, he told King Yushi: if he should come out himself and kowtow three times to show penance for oppressing his people, and kill himself in atonement, then he would let those civilians go and not lay a single finger on any of the remaining members of the royal house. If he should refuse, Pei Ming would chop off those civilians’ heads. He gave the royals three days’ time, and every passing day in those three, a new group would be killed. After three days passed, they would invade the palace to kill the royals, then kill the rest of the civilians.

If King Yushi refused to come out, then he was selfish and didn’t love his people. The awkward thing was, King Yushi had always publicized that he loved his people like his children; if his words and actions didn’t match, it would for sure produce resentment in the people, thinking they’d been deceived. “Didn’t you say you loved your people like your children? Why would you turn around and have the civilians be sacrificed for the sake of royalty?” This would then destroy their loyalty to the Yushi royalty.

OK WHAT I LOVE THO IS THAT FOR HOW PERFECT AND WELL THOUGHT THE XULI PLAN WAS, THE YUSHI HUANG PLAN WAS EVEN MORE STUNNING FHFJFJJFJGJF

Thus, in less than an hour, in the crudest and most rushed succession ceremony in the history of the Kingdom of Yushi, the monarch who was the least likely to become queen was born.

The new Queen of Yushi slit her own throat, and blood poured like a fountain; no doubt, beyond saving.

Like Xuan Ji had no right to disregard her as Queen after everything she did

Rom cooooooommmmmm this time the trope is: cute motorcycle/bike ride (well ox in this case lmao) while holding your beloved's waist lmao

The black ox sped rapidly, and Xie Lian’s body was leaning back slightly from the force, almost like he was sitting in Hua Cheng’s embrace. He smiled as he listened.

“There sure isn’t anything San Lang doesn’t know; it’s like no tales or classics can trip you up.”

Hua Cheng smiled too. “Is there anything else gege wants to know? I’ll tell you everything, if it’s within my knowledge.

Obsessed with the imagery here! Just putting it here so I can find it again in the future lol

The reason why this mountain looked like it was dyed in the colour of blood was because the forests on this mountain were all red. They weren’t maples, but they were crimson like maples; the colour of blood. Xie Lian could also smell the stench of blood. It seemed the nutrients of the plants here consisted of plenty of resentment and human blood.

OK THERE IS TWO POSSIBILITIES: so it's Jun Wu as White No Face OR Lang Ying since they both have strong connections to the human face disease incident

“Since this person destroyed the other two murals, then why didn’t they destroy this one too?”

Hua Cheng asked. “Why did they leave just this one? And it just had to be the one of the Human Face Disease?

NEVER MIND! THIRD POSSIBILITY! IT IS A WHOLE NOTHER PERSON

“The third possibility is, it wasn’t that this person didn’t want to destroy all the murals, but they didn’t make it in time. Just as they were destroying the other two, we came in. So now, they’re hiding in the grand hall this very moment.”

Ahhhhh I wonder who it can be~ I'm gonna be sitting with anticipation the whole day tomm!!! And I imagine tomm's read will go a lot like this lol

[edenwolfie]

🥺,🛒,❌,💲,👀,🧠(Hua Cheng, Xie Lian),🎉,✅ for the writing meme!!!

Hoooo boy! Thank you and hello! Let's gooo

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? A good old passionate smooch! as someone who irl hates kisses, oh boy the concept of them? mmmm yess, very good. Also just, casual touching, love that shit. Folks crying on each other or an emotional confession??? wrecks me.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc. I love,,,soft. Found family gets in there a lot. Adding women into settings where there's not many of them in canon (ie. compass and tangled by the night). I think all my fics have a getting together component. A little angst, h/c, etc always gets in there cause 👌👌👌.

❌ What's a trope you will never write? Write? oh man...less of a trope, more of a genre, different setting AUs are not it for me, ie. modern AUs, historial AUs, I always like the settings of whatever it is I'm writing of and that's the world I want to play around in, and even when I'm reading fic, those are the fics I only really read when I'm desperate for something. Tropes wise I could probs see myself writing any if it suited me?

💲 Would you ever open commissions? Probably not, mainly because if I do not have a clear plan of the overall structure of a fic, it will not get finished. I am however defo open to suggestions of fic ideas, they may or may not take me anywhere, but they also might! I had so much fun with my artist partner angie-s-g when working on 'let our walls cave in' for the mdzs rbb22 as that was a very collaborative process in laying out the story beats together which I then went running with. All my other fics v much get written p much in a vaccuum without outside eyes (which, not the greatest i will say, and, one of the reasons i started posting compass before it was done was so i could get a little feedback as we went, but it is what it is). I think i got off topic here....whoops

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please! Oh, hm...let me check the wip doc...hmmm, of these I have no idea if any will get finished or even shared...I've been working on Compass for like, a year and a half now and I only really dip into these when I get stuck but want to keep the writing habit going and oh man there a lot of very shameless smut/abo/nonsense in here . So short answer is, no idea what the next actual project is, maybe one of these, maybe a new idea!

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. For the both of them, its the ace-spectrum headcanons, because lets be real, its barely a headcanon and as an ace person, I fuckin love that shit.

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success? Anyone else reads the thing! Honestly, in classic writer form, all my fics have been written very self indulgently for me, that anyone else likes them is awesome. That a few have become p well loved is legit mind blowing to me as someone who does not have a huge amount of confidence in their writing!

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to? My own little kinks always slip in there rip 🫣

ask game :)

[darlingpwease]

So you know how sometimes when people are absentminded they will sometimes rub things or fidget with things?? Cuddling with Hua Cheng, and starting to daydream while you do that with his ears </33 It's nothing too bad, just gently rubbing them, or even just lightly tracing them. He'd get confused and shy, but despite how sensitive it is, he can't deny how nice it feels, especially because it's you. Maybe he wasn't fully aware how how his ears can twitch with certain emotions. He knew they would move, but he didn't know how obvious it was, at least to you. So whenever he feels certain ways, he makes sure to cover his ears with his hair,, even though you can still see them peeking out a little bit <//333 If he ever gets self conscious, or goes back into thinking that his San Lang form is more attractive,, I wanna just hold him and praise him beyond the heavens, even if it's overwhelming for him. How cute would that be?? Hhhakjsglsf he's so precious he's so cute wtfwtf I'm not someone who enjoys wearing jewelry,, and I've never understood wanting to wear earrings,, but what about getting matching ones with Hua Cheng?? Yours on your left and his on his right,, so now he can't help but feel more proud showing off his ears than before,,,

yes yes yes,, biting and kissing them because you can't help but adore the way he lets out little moans, not having a single thought in his mind to try to cover his mouth because all he can think about is how good you feel 😌😌

-paNna cotta

paMna, lovely,,,, big brain, huge brain,,,,,,,,,,

yes, I know, this is the thing he definitely does with clothes when you're not looking or when he's very engrossed in conversation and doesn't watch his hands and body,,,,, definitely constantly fidgets and adjusts his sleeves and other clothes because secretly he still can't rate himself as handsome enough, especially for someone as stunning as you<////3 you know, it's as if only the clothes he wears are pretty enough, and if they are rumpled, then you will notice his strange and ugly features;;;;; so true,,,,, you play with them a little when you think, but Hua Cheng pretends not to notice, even if his cute ear sometimes twitches in response to touch, but you just grab it slightly and rub it a little, as if trying to calm it down :((((( he blushes but is still silent, even if he feels his ruddy ear fluttering in your hands, but you don't let it,,,,,,, perhaps his heart shouldn't ache from such love for you just because you play with strange-looking ears, but it's just torn by how much he adores you and what you do with his ears and with him and with his soul</////3

I'm begging,,,,, like, one day you meet a devilishly handsome and charming, but strangely familiar man, and you try to remember who he is, clearly realizing that he is definitely not a god and not a human — only to freeze when you see the tip of ears twitching under his black hair, and you just hang looking at him before you realize that it didn't seem to you, it really is the tip of cute ear and it really sticks out, even though they are covered, and twitch a little when he catches your eye,,,,,, yes, it was a walk where you could potentially meet a powerful demon, but his cute beautiful ear slightly peeks out from under his hair and even twitches, and, listen, you can always see demons, but can you see such interesting and charming ears again??? you're not sure, even knowing it would definitely be rude to stare at them — but they are!!! they stick out!!! you see the pointed tip!!! hhhhh....

listen,,,, but when he really thinks that you like his kind of spoiled and pretty young man, like a pet impudent cat who is affectionate only to you, and he is sure that at least that-he will definitely cause you good emotions before he shows you his real form, but you are shamelessly claim that you prefer it when a man has twitching beautiful pointed long ears and leads you under an umbrella and he understands that you guessed who he is, and can't hold back a slightly nervous laugh, trying to continue to behave as if he didn't understand anything and your words weren't a hint, although now he feels even more pitiful and blessed at the same time :((((( at least, you still continued to play along as if he was a human, since even by the aura of his perfect disguise is indistinguishable, and he has no idea how you realized who he was, although you could not even see his face at that time, but at the same time, for some reason he is so enthusiastic glad to know that you recognized him anyway,,,,,,, he may be really tall, but he curls up like a cat on your chest when you stroke him, especially because he simultaneously wants to hide his face so that you don't see shame and show so that you can stroke him<////3 you say that you adore him as a san lang and his real form equally strongly, but these words only overwhelm his brain, which is so sensitive to your words and reactions<//////333 sjshdhdhdhhd

look, yes, I can break the canon, but— Hua Cheng, wearing your earring in his ear instead of a braid & has had it since the moment you took care of him while he was a child,,, and although he used to wear it on rare occasions, treating it as the most valuable reward, when you offer him to wear them as a matching ones, since you still have your own, and he is so embarrassed and happy, seeing the earring in your ear / on your wrist / on your neck and immediately remembering, that the very ear with which he twitched for joy has the same earring :(((( or when he looks in the mirror, seeing it's color there and realizing that it's true, you're a couple. you're his mate. you're in a relationship with him. you're with him. he's not delusional at all, you really are his now, and he's yours. just... explodes his brain.

his ears are rosy by the time you finish, almost completely in your bites, just like his cute waist and chest, his wet hair sticks to his hot skin, while he looks at you with adoration with a slight doom and despair, feeling how your mouth again leaves a bite on his inhumanly white skin, causing his ears to tremble and twitch like butterflies again, — but you can easily bend down and gently kiss them, whispering about how hot and responsive he is, although he was colder than you just recently, after all, so needy and thirsty huh, and even if he tries to be quieter or to restrain himself, his ears give out all his real reactions, much more honest than he is, apparently, you need to be even more gentle and affectionate with them, since they are so useful,,,,,<33333

[talesfromunderland]

Ex martial arts student Xie Lian has chronic pain, which on a good day means he won't feel any other pain ("WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOTHING, YOU'RE NEARLY MISSING A FINGER" -Feng Xin, after a kitchen incident) and on a bad day means that happiness is an illusion and only the pain is real. One day, after a bad episode, he decided to take the next day off, if only so his friends wouldn't give him an earful, but after a few hours of staring at nothing, he decided to explore his neighborhood, something he never got to do before because if it  wasn't pain, it was his chaotic schedule keeping him busy all the time. So he starts looking at everything with new eyes and suddenly finds himself in front of a bookstore Ghost City. 

Despite it's name, it's a rather warm and calming place, existing like a mixture of the woods cottage and gothic library aesthetics, feeling like a true place inside a book. For the next hours, Xie Lian gets completely absorved in the place, taking everything, gasping at swords decorating the walls and feeling absolutely delighted at an entire section dedicated to martial arts. He doesn't even pay attention to the man sitting in a couch by the fireplace, his eye intently on Xie Lian's expression.

Hua Cheng didn't think much of the new customer when he entered, not even bothering to glance up. His interest only piqued when he heard the rapid-fire, whispers of the other man as each and every weapon was identified for what they were and even naming a few correctly, not just seeing "sword" or "saber". No, they were more than just that and the other man clealy knew. So when he raised his face to take in the new customer, he found himself unable to look away. Completely and utterly entranced. Another hour went like this, Xie Lian completely oblivious to his admire and said admirer trying to work up the nerve to approach.

But lo behold, a chance was presented when Xie Lian had taken a ladder to see the top shelf, when a customer below bump to it, to absorbed in their book. Xie Lian, with his extremely bad luck and tired limps, uselessly tried to regain his balance before falling altogether. 

Now Hua Cheng may have been the owner of a bookstore but he was by no means weak, all those gothic stone carvings or cute wood statues? All by his hand, precision and strenght the main points. So, quicker than the customer below could squeeze out a cry for help, a startle Xie Lian found himself on the arms of the equally started Hua Cheng.

After that, Xie Lian visited the bookstore daily, Hua Cheng preparing a cup of coffee just like he liked in the bookstore's little cafe. They learned that they actually shared the same apartment building, thought a few floors away from each other, and so also started visiting each other outside of the store.

Xie Lian had being blown away Hua Cheng, smitten without his own knowledge. His San Lang semmed to know everything, from all the stories in his store to all the historical facts about his decoration's styles and about baking. It turned out all the pastries on the cafe were from Hua Cheng's own recipes, who took to cooking when he was bored. His food was divine, even more so compared to Xie Lian's abysmal attempts but Hua Cheng never complained. But what truly threw Xie Lian off was that Hua Cheng stayed. Due to his bad luck, most could only take so much before having enough, even his friends needing certain periods of time before going back to his presence. 

But not his San Lang. 

No matter how many bookshelves fell, coffee spilled, accidents befell them, he never asked Xie Lian to stop visiting and only ever looked eager, as if there wasn't anyone else he wanted to see more. It was interesting. And so were all the apartment visits, with Hua Cheng bringing either a new fact, book or even weapon of the day. Xie Lian couldn't also wait to see him again after each visit. But what really, took the cake was how he took Xie Lian's disability.

When most people hear "chronic pain", "bad episodes" or just "needs certain help those days", people would either pity or consider him a burden, cutting him off their lives as soon as they knew. And while that reaction hadn't stopped hurting over the years, he had grown used to it, in fact already expected. So when one day, when he woke up unable to move either his left leg or arm and his stomach made in stone, he cried.

He panicked, he prayed, begged the gods to not let San Lang see him like that, begged, his body to stop hurting long enough to get his usual coffee with San Lang so he wouldn't suspect anything and then back to bed for the rest of it. 

But knowing his luck, he got neither. 

Hua Cheng had knocked on Xie Lian’s apartment door that afternoon after closing shop. While it wasn't uncommon for Xie Lian to sometimes to arrive a little late or even minutes before closing, he never actually missed it, much less forget to let Hua Cheng known to wait for him for X reason. So the fact neither happened had really worried him. He knocked a few times without hearing a response. He was fully prepared to sit in the hall waiting when he heard the thud of a book falling. With all their frequent visits, they had long ago exchange keys, under the excuse that it was more convenient but also for emergencies. 

 Hua Cheng had expected many things but Xie Lian curled into a ball, crying as he held his left arm and the smell of vomit by the side of the bed was not it. So Hua Cheng panicked. He panicked so much that in his turmoil of whether calling an ambulance or driving himself to the, hospital, he nearly missed Xie Lian finding him and reaching out. 

The sight of that trembling hand reaching for him was enough to calm Hua Cheng somewhat. He took it, carefully sitting down in the bed and asking Xie Lian what he needed. In the hour that followed, meds were drank, showers taken, sheets cleaning and dinner cook. All the while, Xie Lian had been under a state of delirium, wondering when it would pop and drop to reality. What was happening around him was better than any of his dreams.

Hua Cheng tried not to pry but he had being shaken to his, core and wanted to know what was happening. So Xie Lian explained, how it'd been like this since he could remember, how sometimes the medicine works but other times didn't, how he had to quit marcial arts after an injury to his left arm had made all of it worst, how he lived alone because he didn't want to burden anyone but it also scared him for the episodes like that one, on and on he rambled, the fear at the bottom of his heart growing, waiting for the moment Hua Cheng's eye fill with pity, gently telling him it would too much for him and they better stop spending so much time together, or not spend any anymore. 

But it never came. Instead, Hua Cheng drew him into a hug and said "Gege is so strong. Just the characters from those books: people trying to make it through time". 

Xie Lian wept. He wept until he felt he had, no more tears, until the world stop spinning and it was only San Lang's heartbeat beneath his ear. How soothing it was, to be held and protected by another. Xie Lian didn't mind the idea of getting used to it.

(Hehe, okay, so I might turn this into a fic if enough people comment and if I find the time to write, my schedule has being worst than anything Xie Lian can come up with and I am tired all the time but you guys won’t believe how happy it made me to write this. Warning, I have not finished TGCF yet, I really want to and while get to it but please, still enjoy my small offerings, thank you. @calligraphywitch)

[sheadre]

It Has Been Long Since We Met (Hua Cheng x Male!Reader) One-shot

Summary: Reader was the cousin of Xie Lian who's kingdom fell right after Xian Le. He met a gruesome death, however, his want for revenge turned him into a ghost. After avenging his death by killing the culprit of his kingdom falling, he secluded himself and never left his lands. Until his cousin appears with a red clothed companion. Said companion is none other than Hua Cheng who seems to be more than just a ghost king.

Requested: yes / no by @thanajs

Word count: 1952

It has been long since you last left your domain. The constant darkness that engulfed your lands and palace was suffocating for others but for you, it was warm and filled you with contentment. Looking out at the gardens you took care of, you spotted two figures approaching the entrance, one dressed in all white interrupting the darkness of the scenery, one dressed in red with shiny trinkets. You furrowed your eyebrows as you watched them.

Did something happen that these two decided to visit your lands? Not that it mattered. You had nothing left in the world of the living. Turning away from the window, you went down to greet your guests, after all, they made it here through the many tricks and traps that littered the path to your palace. You carefully sat down behind the table in the center of the hall and motioned to one of your undead soldiers to fetch some tea. By the time the skeleton soldier returned, your guests knocked on the doors.

“You may come in!” you called out. The doors opened and the two figures slipped inside the palace. The white clothed looking around in wonder as he took in the interior, his eyes quickly landing on your collection of swords. It was not much compared to collections you saw back when you were a mortal, but you decided to keep one in memory of your cousin. The red clothed man walked behind the white robed, his posture straight, hands behind his back, his steps sure as he walked. His one good eye was trained on your sitting form.

You smiled at them and lifted your cup as a toast to them.

“You’ve been the first ones to enter my palace, congratulations! Come, let me serve you some tea.”

You carefully poured them each a cup of steaming hot oolong tea, then looked up at them. Your eyes widened at the sight of your cousin. Never in a million years did you expect to see him again. You thought he died when his kingdom fell. Back then, you were quickly escorted back to your own kingdom so as to not let any harm come to you. It was a mistake though. When you reached the palace of the capital, the dead bodies of the entire court awaited you with your murderer in the middle.

“(Name)!” Xie Lian broke out in a wide grin, his handsome face lighting up with happiness. You blinked a few times, then got up from your seat and approached him quickly.

“Xie Lian! It has been so long! I thought you died!” you smiled back at him. “Come, come, sit with me! Tell me everything!”

“Thank you, (Name).” he nodded and quickly sat, accepting the cup you gave him. He told you how things ended in Xian Le then started asking you about your kingdom. Exchanging stories and what the other missed, you both reminisced in the old times. Then your cousin patted his companion’s arm and introduced him to you as Hua Cheng. You knew about him or the tales told about him but you never saw him in real life. The lord of Ghost City was extremely good looking, his confidence and arrogance could only be noticed if he was facing an enemy. Which he did not at the moment as he looked at you, meeting your (e/c) eyes. The half smile he gave you made you blush and duck your head.

“Ah? What’s wrong?” Xie Lian asked, his gentle voice laced with worry.

“It has been long… since I interacted with anyone… forgive me for being a little bit awkward…”

“Ever since you emerged from the Tonglu mountain, you have never stepped foot outside of your lands, your highness.” Hua Cheng noted as he stared at you. “Everyone expected you to kill thousands of ghosts and take over a place from someone. I wanted to meet you, to be honest and was very disappointed when you did not show up in Ghost City.”

“Ah… That is…” you rubbed the back of your head nervously. “I… didn’t want to cause trouble. This is a place I very much like. I bother no one here.”

“You’ve always been like that, (Name), but the servants were rather annoyed because they were supposed to serve you. If you had no orders, they didn’t know what to do and if they weren’t busy, they got punished.” Xie Lian said. “I never understood why father or uncle wouldn’t change that way of thinking by forbidding the head servants to punish maids.”

“I never liked when others tried to dress me up…” you averted your gaze embarrassed.

“Why? Isn’t it nice when someone takes care of you, your highness?” Hua Cheng asked suddenly, his tone implying something entirely different making the blood in your body rush up to your face.

“San Lang, be nice to (Name), we are his guests after all.” Xie Lian scolded his friend, then turned back to you. “By the way, we came here because someone told us that you could gather information from everywhere. Could you help us out this time?”

“What is it that you want to know?”

You were paying attention to each word your cousin told you while explaining the situation, giving him a hum in response sometimes. When he finished, you called one of your undead soldiers over, ordering him to find the information your cousin needed. Xie Lian watched in awe as your servant was swallowed back into the ground.

“Under the ground, they can exchange information quite quickly. The ones buried in the earth are still very much alive if they couldn’t find closure.” you explained shortly before your servant came back and you translated the information to your cousin. Patting the undead soldier’s head, you dismissed it.

“Do you want one of my servants to accompany you? That way you can ask it to gather information for you anytime you need to.” you raised an eyebrow.

“I cannot ask such a big favor.”

“Nah, I have plenty of others here besides, I can watch over you if you need some help.” you shook your head.

Your guests stood from the table with you as you escorted them over to the door, seeing them out. Xie Lian was already out when Hua Cheng turned back to you, his eye looking at you with something unnerving yet it had no bad intentions.

“Your highness, I am glad I had the chance to meet you in the end. Would you mind if I come back for another visit sometime later?”

He was leaning so close now that you could almost feel your noses touching. Hua Cheng was staring deeply into your soul, taking your breath away with his gaze.

“I will make sure to turn off the traps, just send a servant forward when you arrive.” you replied breathlessly, feeling like your head was about to explode. Then he smiled and left.

For days, you sat in your bedroom, looking out the window while trying to not freak out. What did the lord of Ghost City want from you? Did you do something? Filled with nervousness and anxiety, you just sat there, waiting for him to come back. Then another few days passed and he didn’t show up yet. For the first time in centuries, you wished to know what was gonna happen once he showed up. It filled you with questions, uncertainty and fear. You’ve spent so many years alone that you grew used to the silence. Ever since your cousin and Hua Cheng appeared, you felt the empty halls and quiet suffocating.

The darkness was a constant presence in your domain, engulfing everything around. Staring out the window, you sighed for the hundredth time that morning, hoping that the red clothed ghost would return and put you out of your misery. You were startled out of your thoughts by an undead soldier announcing Hua Cheng’s return. It was a little startling that you didn’t notice the creature you created and fed with your power. Jumping to your feet, you ran down to the main hall, your heart beating rapidly in your chest. If he was here to kill you, then you should quickly get over it.

You watched as the doors opened, revealing the Lord of Ghost City. He was now dressed in more lavish clothes and seemed to be younger? With two eyes? What? Confusion filled your mind as you stared at him, trying to comprehend what was going on. He just smiled back at you as he walked up to you nonchalantly.

“Your highness, I hope I do not inconvenience you by showing up so out of the blue.” he said.

“It is… wait, why are you insisting on calling me by a title that is no longer mine?” you furrowed your eyebrows. Hua Cheng’s steps faltered for a fraction of a second then continued his way to you.

“People like us, always stay in the past, that is why we become ghosts. We cannot let go of grudges, right?”

Even though he looked younger, he was still towering over you. You felt your heart rapidly beat in your chest as he stopped right in front of you, his body almost colliding with yours.

“Perhaps that is kind of true.” you nodded and turned away, leading him back upstairs to the large balcony. You created your palace to be the exact copy of the palace of your long perished kingdom with each column and statue in the right place. When you came to this balcony, you were reminded of your parents sitting there, enjoying their tea and watching over their home they loved. Then you spoke up again once you stopped by the railing. “But leaving those meaningless titles behind means that I moved on even if the memories are burned in my mind.”

“Then what may I call you?” Hua Cheng asked. Suddenly, he was right behind you, his chest pressing lightly into your back. The contact was foreign yet you felt right being so close to him.

“Whatever you want to. I don’t mind.” you shrugged trying to play it cool.

“What about…” for a while he stayed silent, then you felt him lean forward, his breath fanning against your ear and neck. “A-(Name), can I call you that?”

You knew your ears must’ve betrayed you as you felt them growing a deep shade of red. In response, you could only give him a terse nod and was planning on getting away from him, when Hua Cheng trapped you in a hug, resting his weight on you.

“I will stay with calling you your highness. That is how I met you.”

Your eyes widened at that. Have you met him before? Scrambling out of his hold, you turned to him with your eyebrows furrowed deeply. You grabbed his chin, turning it left and right to take in his face. Then, you spotted the little, almost invisible scar beside his right ear. With a gasp, you let go of him, tears gathering in your eyes. It couldn’t be. This couldn’t be him. The kid who tried to follow you back to your kingdom. The kid who was beaten by the servants escorting you. He was almost dead when you could finally get close enough to him, shielding him from the beatings.

Hua Cheng just smiled at you gently with a warmth you haven’t felt in quite a while. That scar was left by a knife one of the servants tried to use on him but due to your intervention, they didn’t manage to.

“It has been long since we last crossed paths, your highness.” he said.

End ~

A/N: I will probably do a smut sequel but it will be only posted on deviantart. I will link it in once it's out! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!