#looks at Tao hua

[loch-detected]

me trying to find a legends arceus fic without kamado bashing, me trying to find a legends arceus fic without ingo being the main focus, me trying to find a legends arceus fic that doesn’t have volo being shipped with the player, me trying to find a fic with actual characterization of kamado, me trying to find a fic where it’s survey corps or background character centered, me trying to find a good kamado fanfic, me trying to find

[welcometoteyvat]

 xingqiu, gold accents, ginkgo leaves, the light golden color tea gets in sunlight

hu tao, also gold accents, mahogany wood, smoky things, spider lilies unfurling in the dark. but it would be cool to edit her art so it’s more high contrast (darker outfit and hair) with stark black plum branches against winter snow 

chongyun, white, clouds, wisps of chill wind. fluffy things and a big fur coat

majority red palette ningguang would also be cool

and of course, zhongli with gold orange. old man can’t beat the geo lord cor lapis soulmates (ambiguous relationship) with azhdaha allegations

[strwbmei]

"Would you love me if I was a worm?"

(An extensive take featuring the HI3, HSR, Genshin Impact, R1999, and PTN women in my characterlist)

Would have no idea how to deal with it and just keeps you near them at all times:

Zoya, Mattilda, Lynette, Aponia, Seele, Yukong, Jean, Beidou, Barbara, Rahu

Would become a worm with you—you'd live happy worm lives together:

Lilya, Ninety-Nine, Kiana Kaslana, Acheron, Firefly, Yoimiya, Vertin, Hecate

Would experiment on you:

Arcana, Mobius, Ruan Mei, Silver Wolf, Lisa Minci, Sucrose

Would love you no matter what form you take:

Elysia, Eden, Dr. MEI, Seele Vollerei, Natasha, Raiden Ei, Sonetto, Nightingale

Would squash you the second they see you:

Mona, Rosaria, Herta, Tingyun, Sushang, Amber, Raiden Shogun, Macchiato

Would train you to be their partner in crime:

Raven, Tennant, Murata Himeko, Pardofelis, Trailblazer, Regulus, Uni

Acts disgusted, but they would still love you:

Eula, Asta, Guinafen, Topaz, Fischl, La Signora, Sotheby, Chief, Hella

Tries to build you a home and awkwardly stares at you every night before bed to make sure you're still alive:

March 7th, Serval, Hanya, Jingliu, Keqing, Sangonomiya Kokomi, Anne, Garofano

Jokes about eating you/feeding you to an animal except maybe it's not really a joke:

Black Swan, Sparkle, Kafka, Shenhe, Yae Miko, Hu Tao, Yanfei, Corso

Would panic at first thinking you disappeared, cries out of relief when they find out you only turned into a worm:

Raiden Mei, Bronya Rand, Ganyu, Kamisato Ayaka, Furina, Robin, Kelvin

Makes you the most extravagant terrarium perfectly tailored for your needs:

Countess Chelsea, Rita Rossweise, Himeko, Lynx, Yelan, Arlecchino, Druvis III,

Looks at you like you're crazy and just walks away without answering the question:

Fu Hua, Bronya Zaychik, Cocolia Rand, Fu Xuan, Pela, Ningguang, Kujou Sara, Iron

[xueyuverse]

The Five Songs of Mourning (four), by Yuan Zhen

An analysis of the poem and Hua Cheng

离思 五 首（其四) [Lí sī wǔ shǒu (qí sì)] 曾 经 沧 海 难 为 水 [Céng jīng cānghǎi nán wéi shuǐ] 除 却 巫 山 不 是 云 [Chú què wūshān bú shì yún] 取��� 花 丛 懒 回 顾 [Qǔ cì huācóng lǎn huí gù] 半 缘 修 道 半 缘 君 [Bàn yuán xiū dào bàn yuán jūn]

“All water is forgettable when you’ve seen the vast blue sea

No clouds so wondrous as those at Mt. wushan

Idly, I pass by some flowers without looking back

Partly to study Tao, partly to think of you”.

The poem “离思五首 (The Five Songs of Mourning)” was written by 元稹 (Yuan Zhen) after the death of his wife, describing his longing for her. Mourning is a recurring theme in ancient Han poetry. This is part four of five.

Yuan Zhen describes in every word the devotion he felt for his wife, the love he felt for her that would never be forgotten.

The sea water and clouds of Wushan are used as metaphors for the depth and breadth of love. After seeing the sea of Wushan, it is difficult to appreciate the water and clouds of other places. In other words, except for the woman whom the poet misses and loves, there is no other woman who can catch his attention.

曾 经 沧 海 难 为 水, (if you have experienced the rough sea, you will not be attracted to water anywhere else).

This first sentence is also quoted in "孟子·尽心上 (Mèngzǐ: jìnxīn shàng — Mencius: Chapter 1 of “Dedicate Your Heart”, free translation)", which talks about Confucian thought and encourages people to work hard and make a difference. It is one of the important classic works of Confucianism*.

It is interesting to talk about “高唐赋 (Gāo Táng Fù)” from 宋玉 (Song Yu) as well, which tells the story of a king who dreamed of meeting the goddess 瑶姬 (Yao Ji) of wushan:

“In the sun of wushan, blocked by high hills, clouds appear in the morning and rain falls in the evening (姜在巫山之阳，高丘之阻、旦为朝云、暮为行雨。) (Jiāng zài wushan zhī yáng, gāoqiū zhī zǔ, dàn wèi cháo yún, mù wèi xíng yǔ)”.

Nowadays, these two verses have come to refer to loyalty to love, indicating that love belongs to none other than the goddess Yao Ji, and this love is not for others.

The verses in these three poems express one's devotion to another, the dream of finding one's love in wushan, because the clouds and rough sea there are no match for those of others.

除���巫山不是云, (No clouds are as wonderful as those on Mount Wushan).

巫山 (wushan) is both a real place and a metaphor in Chinese poetry that refers to the encounter between men and women. In Yuan Zhen's poem “Li Si,” wushan expresses the loneliness, apathy, and love that the author feels after the loss of his wife.

取次花丛懒回顾, 半缘修道半缘君 (Idly, I pass by some flowers without looking back, partly to study Taoism, partly to think of you).

花 (hua) means flower. The flower here is not referring to nature, but rather to a place with many beautiful women, an allusion to brothels.

Taoism, also called Daoism, is a philosophical and religious tradition that is based on “Tao”, a word that means path or principle, and its goal is to find the path or tao to achieve liberation of the soul.

Taoism has two main branches:

Philosophical Taoism: Focuses on meditation and the study of the Tao to achieve wisdom and inner peace.

Religious Taoism: Involves rituals, worship and the veneration of deities.

The author, by saying that he passed by flowers without caring about them, obviously expresses that no other woman, no matter how beautiful, can compare to his beloved, because only his beloved is his wushan, the goddess Yao Ji. Experiencing grief, his attention has been to practice Taoism, perhaps as a way to find peace, after all Taoism is about the liberation of the soul, or even about continuing to worship, devotedly, his wife, and thinking about his beloved.

This is the favorite poem of Hua Cheng, who spent 800 years searching for his beloved, Xie Lian, being deeply devoted to him in both life and death. Unshakable and firm as a mountain, over the centuries his stubbornness only grew and strengthened him, leading him to commit acts of revenge, adoration, and romance, dreaming of finding him both to protect him and to love him romantically.

With Xie Lian being a god and Hua Cheng his last devotee, it can be said that Xie Lian is Hua Cheng's goddess Yao Ji, the one who ruined him for anyone else, because once you know something divine, nothing else compares.

Hua Cheng's name, 花城, means "city of flowers". Xie Lian's characteristic element is a flower: his first divine title was "Flower Crown Martial God, 花冠武神", his temples were decorated with many branches of flowers, and most of his statues and paintings depict him holding a flower in one hand and a sword in the other. Hua Cheng's name is about Xie Lian and a declaration of love for him.

“Xie Lian’s hand brushed against the red sand plate, leaving a few red traces on the paper as he struggled. On the paper, the words ‘wushan’ in the sentence ‘If you are enchanted by the wind and clouds of wushan, you will not be attracted by the clouds of other scenery’ were stained with small red marks, almost seductively… Xie Lian uttered, “San…” Before he could finish his sentence, Hua Cheng pressed his shoulders down and kissed him.

“San” is from “San Lang,” which is what Xie Lian calls Hua Cheng at Hua Cheng’s request. “Lang” is used by wives to refer to their husbands in Chinese culture. When they first met, Hua Cheng introduced himself as San Lang, and after his identity was revealed, he confessed that he preferred Xie Lian to keep calling him by that name.

The funny thing is that other characters knew Hua Cheng as San Lang before his identity was revealed, but no one dared to say his name other than Xie Lian.

The sedan scene was Hua Cheng finding his beloved wife after 800 years of searching, loneliness, and mourning, but he remained mostly quiet, as if he didn’t want to scare away the god he had dreamed of meeting, and as if he wasn’t yet ready to be anything more than a humble devotee. At that moment, Xie Lian was still a divine figure to be worshipped from afar. The carriage scene was his first courtship, and with a different appearance, Hua Cheng felt more comfortable acting ignorant and also paving the way for romantic love with Xie Lian.

*儒家 (rú jiā), one of the hundreds of schools of thought of the pre-Qin period, and grew out of the ritual and musical tradition of the Zhou Dynasty. Let people not be rigid or conservative, let them not be paranoid or extremist, let them advance with the times and not be complacent.

Sources:

Thinking of you, Yuan Zhen

Ancient Chinese Poetry Network

Wushan, Baidu 

Confucianism 

高唐赋

孟子·尽心上

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

I’ve been thinking of like what would happen if the CN and JG ppl somehow met each other, like

Childe would probably die of embarrassment from realising that Ajax and Morax were like lovers in CN while Hu Tao would laugh the shit at him while Zhongli just stood there confused

Then Hu Tao would coo at how cute little Xiao looked (and he DOES look cute who could blame her)

Zhongli would try to play it cool like “Haha wow who could’ve guess this alternate version of me was a god haha” while Xiao gives him the most stinkiest side eye ever.

genuinely zhongli would be more intrigued by all the timeline shenanigans and not really confused at the ship situation. he'd probably just go: actually? yeah i can see that, sure

the real kicker would be hua guizhong and ping yan and their possible angst at the fact their counterparts aren't dating nor even remotely as close (remember cyanide was before the crackship was revealed so neither guizhong nor madame ping are characterized there as having anything going on between them)

honestly? fanan and the fox siblings would be such a wild difference that when folks like xiao stare at zhongli like "what do you mean you're a god there?" zhongli would be able to just shrug it off and say "if fanan is from a completely different country why wouldn't i, an already acomplished thaumaturge, be an Immortal? it IS an alterlate reality after all" and xiao would be inwardly still kinda sus but have no basis on which to really argue LMAO

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF Season 1 the Recap!

Basically, I recap the First Season of TGCF with my reactions, before my Season 2 binge watch!

Ep 1

-Don’t go out there… don’t go out there… don’t go out there… don’t go out there… *Bride gets snatched* Okay, maybe you should’ve gone out there.

-Right after XL ascends, Lan Hai and Qing Tao then go, “Huh, Who is that?”  Then everybody yells at them, “PRINCE XIE LIAN!”

-So much Property Damage…

-Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

-Fu Yao, *Is sarcastic and rolls his eyes* Basically me: He’s just like me fr!!!

-Hehehehehehe Dick joke XD

-Sees Bride!XL: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’m Sorry XD!

-Yeah right a few alterations, she totally fixed his make up calling it.

-*Sees Bridesmaids NF and FY like* W H E E E Z E XD XD XD XD

-So that’s how he was able to last longer than the previous bride

-Pass me the Aux cord!  You better not be playing mainstream garbage! *Turns on One Flower and One Sword and vibes like there’s no tomorrow*!

-I now pronounce you both husband and husband!  You may now kiss the gro- I mean, bride!  

Ep 2

-Honey, He looks a little too good looking to be the Ghost groom

-That temple looks abandoned, and the animation camera for walking inside

-There’s the ugly mob

-Hehe Xie Lian’s aggressive kindness

-When the mob scooched away from Bride!Lian I freaking lost it XDXDXDXD

-And Nan Feng and Fu Yao inch away instead of defending him!  

W H E E Z E!

-The fact they both agreed to not explain anything XD!

-Xiao Ying is a real friend

-And hurting the injured is a real low for the mob

-They have enraged the ghost groom

-KO!  Flawless victory!

-Zombie brides!

Ep 3

-Didn’t know it a zombie apocalypse happened in Ancient Feudal China (I need to brush up on my history)

-Welp, now they’re grateful 

-Wait a minute, he was an acrobat???  Xie Lian Pre 3 ascension life spinoff when??? (That’ll prolly never happen)

-Man here comes the Bride Pun count: 3

-Now that is an Azula level breakdown

-They are not merciful with the body count in this whole series

-Woah saved by literal divine intervention

-Geez, Pei Ming this is why we don’t Ghost our Exes, Pun Count: 4

-Man, Xuan Ji, maybe you should’ve heard of the phrase, “Plenty of Fish in the sea”

-The way Xie Lian blinked when he realized he was still in the wedding dress XD!

-Restoring faith in Ming Guang

-Oh no Trauma

Ep 4

-He’s so distraught he couldn’t follow

-The telepathic matrix, is basically the world’s first discord server

-Thank you Ling Wen

-Aw he likes Hua Cheng’s name!

-That explains the fall of Xianle and the Moldy Face Plague

-Let’s be honest, Bai Wuxiang is totally responsible for Covid-19

-Woah Hua Cheng has made his mark on Heaven

-Aww he thinks the Butterflies are beautiful!

-Honestly, smart move Mu Qing and Feng Xin

-Oh she is so burnt out

-Yeah, who was the Prince of Xianle anyway?

-WHY IS EVERYBODY’S EYELINER GAME SO ON POINT?!?!?!?!

Ep 5

-The way he blew off that maple leaf

-Oooh that subtle hinting later on and symbolism with Xie Lian

-The way he moved in closer *fangirls like no tomorrow*

-I freaking love the instrumental version of Hong Jue

-Is he touched starved?  He is touch starved

-I love that when San Lang scared the Ghosts shitless they ended up running like no tomorrow, Ghost 1: Book it guys our lives depend on it!  Ghost 2:  But we’re already dead! Ghost 1:  Well it’s just an expression!

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

-Aw he caught him staring

-I believe you Ox cart man

-Heck with how popular TGCF is right now, Xie Lian would be worshipped today by fans like us

-His luck did rub off on you and you should take it all Xie Lian

-Welp time to go start the next arc

Ep 6

-Woah, that old man is traumatized

-Of course being a martial god, he has experience in combat.  Have you seen him in a sword dual at Yinian bridge? (Subtle Phineas and Ferb quote)

-Yep called it, and the gong noise when the door opened!

-“How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean???”

-Awww look at San Lang’s emo hoodie!

-You know what’s better than one evil Daoist?  Two evil Daoists!

-And he drank the whole thing like a boss

-Now Nan Feng’s acting like an NPC from a fantasy video game

-The woman in the teal cloak saw him

-He’s touched starved again!

-Best chemistry ever!

-And after Rouye grabs San Lang and Xie Lian says, “I didn’t mean San Lang”. Rouye goes: “Really? Ok!”  And then lets him go, that’s just the hypothetical dialogue I’ve got for the silk band

Ep 7

-It’s official!  Xie Lian is shorter than San Lang people! 

-I’ve heard of a close knit unit but this is just insane!

-There’s so many people

-Ooooohhh That poor poor general

-SO MANY COBRAS!

-Oh no and 4’s an unlucky number in China

-He is sucking the venom out like a G!  Get yourself a man like San Lang people!

-You know we’re all thinking what Xie Lian’s thinking about how he’s going to clean San Lang’s bloodied lips (I’ll let you share your answers in the comment section)

-And Fu Yao’s stuck with merchant sitting

-Really lovely desert travel music!

-Yeah he does know an awful lot

-Uh oh the woman in the black cloak spotted them

Ep 8

-Thank you San Lang for protecting your man like a champ!

-Ooooh cool more Ban Yue lore!

-Ooooh his poor, poor head

-And San Lang’s expression, is worried if he hurt him, but it worked!

-Yeah but our faces don’t stick out of the ground like a fresh tater!

-Aw no they’re gonna need sacrifices

-Zhao’s fight response kicked in

-Eeenie meanie meinie that kid (probably Kemo)

-“Sully not thine honor on innocent blood” That almost sounded like a bible quote…?

-Dude Xie Lian was royalty

-Trust fall!  (You’ll see next ep peeps!)

-Oh and Xie Lian’s scream!  Kind of needed more raw emotion though

Ep 9

-He’s gonna jump into the pit, he’s jumping into the pit, he jumped into the

-Xie Lian’s like: Well I am going down there, but I won’t go down alone!

-The pit’s entrance is sealed!

-Trust fall!  TRUST FALL!  

-He touched his throat!

-There’s your answer Xie Lian

-Dance fight!  Dance fight!

-You’re just gonna excuse the mass murder San Lang committed in the pit?????

-Let me just find somewhere that isn’t covered in blood

-Oh yeah you’re grateful for San Lang carrying you

-The faces they made when he called them out for jumping into the pit XD Xie Lian’s eyes are wide and blank while San Lan has a cat face! XDXDXDXDXD

-She came down!

Ep 10

-She saw Xie Lian and San Lang

-So many fallen Ban Yue soldiers

-Hi Fu Yao

-I wasn’t kidding when I said Fu Yao isn’t great at crowd control

-Thank you Fu Yao

-She’s holding his hand and he’s patting her head my freaking heart!!!! 

-Oh No! Vomit trigger warning for this episode people

-Xie Lian raised her more than her Yong’An father did (and to some extent her late mother)

-It was still a good choice after all Xie Lian

-Take it easy with the ‘Bad Cop’ routine Fu Yao

-Oh no a scorpion snake

-Well that’s bad

Ep 11

-Aiaigasa!  It’s Aiaigasa again folks AAAAAHHH!!!!

-Scorpion tailed cobras why’d they have to be Scorpion tailed Cobras?!?!?!?!?

-That explains the sandstorm

-Ooooh Pei Xiu army backstory

-Ugh Classist general

-No Ban Yue!!!!  She was so young!!! T - T

-Yeah where will Xie Lian go from here?

-Oooh Yizhen got name dropped too!

-Uncle Jiang is cured!

-And the way he’s running away from the duo XDXDXD!

-Here’s why Fu Yao left early, as they healed Uncle Jiang he contacted Nan Feng through the telepathic array and Fu Yao’s reason is:  Come on, you know how horrifying his highness’ cooking can be.  This is just my theory, and I’d love to hear your possible ones in the comments!

-And the way Hua Cheng moved in closer and just preferred to be called ‘San Lang’ my freaking heart!!!

Ep 12

-We are back in Puqi village folks

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

-Oh yeah San Lang does treasure you dude

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

-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

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

-Awwww He’s hot when he’s mad!

-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)

-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!*

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

-Welp, see you guys later for Season 2!

Season 2! Here I come!!!!

[fishii28]

the ranpo cosplay 🔥🗣💯🙏🏽 (lots of writing ahead lol)

bro i was meant to meet at my friends house so we and another friend could all leave together but i thought i was running late so my only mirror pic of my full outfit was blurry. so, i put some emoji over my face, behold top part of my outfit. i didn't wear the regular pants, so i wore white knitted tights with a black skirt.

also, i did wear a wig, but since i accidentally ripped couldn't fit my hair in it, i ended up just having my hair open under it. and later when my friends showed me their wig caps, i realised i didn't actually have one and it was the thing that covered my wig when it came 💀. anyways that doesn't matter... 👍

a pic of the cosplay will be under the cut!

tho it was tiring, i will say the event was fun, chaos and definitely something worth waiting so long for :)

under the cut, i'll write some stuff i did because i really enjoyed most of it!

there were so many pretty cosplays, they were amazing! i took lots of photos, with mostly bsd cosplayers. some people came up to me and said i looked nice, a few asked for a photo and a few asked if i was ranpo. oh my lord, whenever people told me i looked nice the moment they left i turned to my friend and silently screamed.

there was just dance! and me and my friends lined up twice. first time, we did a vocaloid song, i think it was called Ievan Polkka. the second time, we were gonna do Judas by Lady Gaga but ended up doing Rasputin.

here's a list of some of the cosplays (characters/fandoms) i saw and took pictures with :)

jjk - gojo

bsd - chuuya (pm, beast!), dazai (dark era, ada), akutagawa, kyouka, atsushi, ranpo (another one!), nikolai, sigma, mori

tgcf/heaven official's blessing - xie lian, hua cheng

vocaloid - miku, emu, rin, len

lucky star - konata

genshin impact - kazuha

and here is a list of some of the cosplays (characters/fandoms) i saw but didnt take pictures with (💔) (yes i had to search some of their names.)

jjk - itadori, riko, toji, choso

genshin impact - xiao, raiden shogun, furina, hu tao, yae miko, nahida, navia, neuvillette, venti, alhaitham, baizhu, wriothesley, scaramouche

demon slayer - inosuke, tanjiro, nezuko, shinobu, douma, kokushibo, obanai, mitsuri

seraph of the end - shinoa, krul

hsr - aventurine

twd - rick grimes

i didn't eat much, but i brought a pack of lollipops to share with my friends and i bought a crepe! my first time eating one, it was a Nutella and strawberry one.

also, i bought a jjk Hidden Inventory poster (for like $20). this pic's from the internet but this is the poster i bought!! :D

its so pretty!!

and as said earlier, a pic of the cosplay :) @starzcoded convinced me to post it here :>

hope that wasn't too much yapping!! :D

[huasahyo]

I have read Qiang Jin Jiu and honestly think I'll never recover

(Spoilers ahead!)

Oh god, where to start this? Maybe I should start with the very begging: I didn't understood shit. I just saw a kid being tortured and lots of information. When I felt it was too much, I went after the translated map and OMG that was so helpful! Bless the translators for that. After looking carefully at the map, things started to make sense.

As the story went, before the end of book one I was not very familiar with all the characters. I kept mistaking Hai Liangyi for Hua Siqian lol. But during my reading I started to take some notes and was never confused again. The thing is, this book has A LOT of characters and some of them are introduced early but only become major players later (Yao Wenyu, Hua Xiangyi...)

Even though this huge ensemble would make characters easy to forget, this doesn't happen. The author managed to create likeable and rememberable characters pretty easily??? I fell in love with many of them at first read, even if they didn't show up a lot. And there were characters that got me completely off guard, I wasn't expecting them to be so cool and relevant, BUT THEY WERE (Fei Sheng, Kong Liu)! And the antagonists were also brilliant, I love a good story where everyone has a point and no one is actually evil: People from Biansha had their truths and in a war there are no right sides, Xue Xiuzhuo wanted the best for Dazhou (even though I can't forgive what the did to my baby Yuanzhuo), and Li Jianting??? WHAT A LEGEND! Also, Feng Quan plot twist left me speechless, what an interesting character. Every character was very human (in the good and bad way), everyone had their own goals and beliefs. I actually might do a second post screaming about every character because I have a lot to say about them. (hello hasen my love)

The Plot??? Perfectly done. AND WELL EXPLAINED! I was always a little afraid of reading novels with a lot of politics, but I really dug this one. The problems with grains, provisions, registry, army and BRO THERE WAS EVEN SOME AGRARIAN REFORM SHIT

The way this author write the MOST well written battles I have read, without using any magic... it's just... I never thought I would be so enthusiastic about cannons, rocks and GRAINS.

The conflicts in Zhongbo could be all repetitive, but they weren't at all. Each prefecture that Lanzhou took back had a interesting story.

The war with Biansha was also brilliantly written. The way Amu'er was attacking Dazhou from the inside out and the scorpions with those hammers??? My man was a genius. Sadly, he could never have predicted Bai Cha and her son.

Talking about that, the family relationships are a great point in this. Seeing flashbacks about Lanzhou, Ji Mu, Ji Gang and Hua Pinging made me CRY! They were so happy... And seeing Xiao Chiye with his brother and HIS DAD LIKE... Xiao Fangxu and Ji Gang best daddies. Fei Sheng and Yin Chang too, what a beautiful chapter the one that they talk after Fei Sheng has a fight with Qiao Tianya.

Talking about Qiao Tianya, it was refreshing to see a novel with more LGBT characters. The secondary pairings were great, they didn't steal the spotlight from cezhou, but were very enjoyable (even though THAT happened between Songyu). I just wished we could have seen more Qihua moments and OH GOD KONG LIU AND LUO MU??? That got me truly off guard, wasn't expecting at all. Also, I found really interesting how Lanzhou basically got a LGBT parade following him at the end, that was truly the gayest empire ever. I have so many headcanons here, let me scream them: Xue Xiuzhuo is AroAce, Li Jianting is a non-binary legend and Huo Lingyun a Bi King. Also, Fei Sheng is not straight. Said it.

The little animals in this??? I WAS TERRIFIED WHEN LANG TAO XUE JIN FELL IN THAT HOLE YALL I THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA DIE. But luckily he didn't. Meng, Hunu, Feng Shuang Ta Yi were all the cutest, I need more novels with cats.

THE CHILDREN - Ding Tao, Li Xiong, Xiao Xun and Jiran. They served chaos, humor and cuteness. I really liked whenever they showed up.

THE LADIESSS - If you have read my other posts you know I love some powerful women. This story did not disappoint me in that sense. Hua Hewei had some despicable acts, but she really got everyone on her hands despite never leaving the inner palace, good for her. Hua Xiangyi is a way better version of her aunt, my girl was smart and cared for the people, an amazing woman. QI ZHUYINNN owns my life, I really adored the fact that she was a badass and that she never hated the fact she was born a girl, slay. Bai Cha was really out there helping women that were sold and their children, that is some real sorority there. Lu Yizhi was so kind, loved seeing her interactions with Lanzhou. Li Jianting was everything, her story was one of the saddest and yet she was doing her best to become a ruler. Duo Er'lan was amazingly brave, even more than Hasen, mad respect for her.

And last, but definitely not least, there is cezhou. I have no words to explain how much I adored these two. The way both of them got their own development and had their own private goals and went after them, so good. They are so well written that I wanna scream. The chapters that are focused on Lanzhou's feelings are not big in number, even when he is the main character, his feelings are shown in discreet ways (the handkerchief!) and most of the time we don't know what he is plotting or thinking. But when we take a peek at what's going inside of his heart, it's... astonishing. And I love seeing how he actually cared for the side characters, even though he doesn't show a lot.

And Ce'an kind of caught me off guard, I thought he was going to be a totally different character but he went and delivered

Xiao Chiye was a perfect fit for Lanzhou and Lanzhou was a perfect fit for Xiao Chiye: they were both in similar situations where only them could understand each other's suffering, and after they leave Qudu we see how much of a match made in heaven they are (not just romantically, but strategically).

THE SEXUAL TENSION AT THE BEGINNING YALL... They were scheming/fighting and flirting at the same time. Iconic.

Read this, you won't regret it!

By the way, I started reading the story in December and finished by March, but I completely forgot to post this! College has been frying my brain these days.

Hopefully I will resume my Sha Po Lang reading and come back here to tell my opinions on the book. (Not sure when though.)

See ya!

[handsome-girl-competition]

now that thats over i can finally share the competitors list! here's who made it into the competition:

Gideon Nav from The Locked Tomb Series

Rika from Whichever Pokemon Game That Was

Vi from Arcane (League design doesn't count, obviously)

Haruka Tenou/Sailor Uranus from Sailor Moon

Rachel Lindt/Bitch from Worm

Yuu Kashima from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Scorpia from She-Ra

Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena

Undyne from Undertale

Susie from Deltarune

Noi from Dorohedoro

Lady Oscar from The Rose of Versailles

Haruhi Fujioka from Ourah High School Host Club

Beauregard Lionett from Critical Role (Campaign 2)

Han Sooyoung from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Catra from She-Ra

Kaoru Seta from BanG Dream

Olivier Mira Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist

Quanxi from Chainsaw Man

Juri Arisugawa from Revolutionary Girl Utena

Kotoko Yuzuriha from MILGRAM

Eda Clawthorne from The Owl House

Mitsuki Koga (my specialest lil guy) from The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All

Bismuth from Steven Universe

Jolyne Cujoh from Jojo: Stone Ocean

Merrin from Fire Emblem Engage

Sevika from Arcane

Kira Nerys from One of Those Star Treks

Ermes Costello from I Think That Same Jojo?

Tao from Gokurakugai

Jasper from Steven Universe

Amanda O'Neil from Little Witch Academia

Maki Zenin from Jujutsu Kaisen (post-shibuya look... dreamy sigh)

Lady Maria from Bloodborne

Korra from The Legend of Korra

Pyrrha Dve from The Locked Tomb Series

Fu Hua from Honkai Impact 3rd (did you know i thought it was 3d until now for some reason? the more you know)

Reinhardt from Alchemy Stars

Rekka from Hi Fi Rush

Akira Kenjou from One of Those Pretty Cures

Lupe García from A League of Their Own

Ellen Ripley from Alien

Percival King from Epithet Erased

Adora from She-Ra

Shima Nishina from Kiss Him, Not Me!

Joan Watson from Elementary

Baiken from Guilty Gear

Anne Lister from Gentleman Jack

Cassandra Jones from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Max Chapman from A League of Their Own

Gebura from Lobotomy Corporation/Project Moon

Sakura Oogami from Danganronpa

Zero from Final Fantasy XIV

Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess

Imperator Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road

Graham Eaton from But I'm A Cheerleader!

Tsubomi Kido from Kagerou Project

Lin Beifong from Legend of Korra

Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell

Villanelle from Killing Eve

Pearl from Steven Universe

Tain Hu from The Masquerade Series

Amaya from The Dragon Prince

Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4

[liberty-or-death]

Hua Cheng’s Poem (Part 1) - “The Song of Mourning: Fourth Segment”

(I planned to post this initially in Jan 2023 but I realise i have to post this soon or I can't finish the next few parts LOL. And it's part the poetry club discord homework so here it goes!)

In TGCF, Hua Cheng says he loves the poem “离思 Mourning” and it has been referred to several times in the novel. There was even a scene that went like this: 🥰

“Who knew that Hua Cheng wasn’t done hugging him and violently pushed him onto the jade table, scattering the brush, ink, paper and ink stone onto the ground. Xie Lian’s hand brushed over the plate of vermillion sand, leaving a few traces of crimson on the paper in the struggle. On the paper, the words “Wushan” on the phrase “If you’ve been enchanted by the wind and cloud of Wushan, you won’t be attracted to the clouds of other scenery” were stained with small red marks, almost flirtatiously so. Xielian uttered, “San…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Hua Cheng pressed his shoulders down and kissed him.” - Translated by me. Chapter 127

This poem is the fourth segment of the “The Five Songs of Mourning 离思五首” (aka known as Mourning 离思) written by the poet Yuan Zhen 元稹. Mourning was a common theme in ancient Han Poetry. This poem describes the love for his wife, and his how much he misses them when she passed on.

For the record, the whole poem was in the novel.

曾经沧海难为水，

If you’ve experienced the rippling sea, you won’t be attracted to water anywhere else

(This is a line now used in modern times to describe the intense love one has for their lover)

除却巫山不是云。

If you’ve been enchanted by the wind and cloud of Wushan (Mount Wu), you won’t be attracted to the clouds of other scenery

取次花丛懒回顾，

Even amidst all the flowers, I’m lazy to take another look. (The “flowers” refer to the prostitutes or women)

半缘修道半缘君。

This is because, half of it the reason is due to a Tao cultivator’s pure mind, and the half is because of the you that I once had.

Analysis

The first two lines are about how the poet is in love with his partner. The third line is about how he is no longer affected by the prostitute he sees. The fourth line means that he’s not interested anymore because firstly, he’s not interested in matters of the world anymore as he’s cultivating the Tao and secondly, he’s not interested in other women as his beloved has passed on.

🦄 My Analysis - TGCF

The third line caught my eye when I read this poem. I personally thought it could be interpreted literally that the writer wasn’t interested in women in general in the TGCF context. (Idk if that’s why MXTX picked this poem? Lol )

And hmm “walking among the flowers” seemed particularly fitting as Hua Cheng 花城‘s name literally means “a city of flowers.”

And Wushan 巫山!! I love that little point where Wushan was smeared with red. Wushan’s an allusion to a couple’s rendezvous in chinese poetry. And lol so that imagery of the words Wushan “stained with small red marks, almost flirtatiously so.” HELP

Okay, this will be a three part meta. I promise you it'll be interesting.

Additional Links

身在无间, 心在桃源” (Body in Avīci (अवीचि), Body in Taoyuan) 

Xielian’s Sword - 芳心 (Fangxin) / 诛心 (Zhuxin)

Alternate analysis - @fwoopersongs has done a brilliant job!

[lazulisong]

Posting this without correction to explain why I am now staring into the void about how alike Hu Tao from Genshin is to Hua Cheng from Heaven Officials Blessing

Hua Tao squinted at Childe. "Do you want to be threatened?"

Childe crossed his arms and leaned against Zhongli's desk, a well composed picture of unconcern. "I'm curious about what you would come up with," he said.

Hua Tao raised her eyebrows and said, "Fine. If you don't behave I'll tell your grandpa Boris on you."

Childe, in the middle of languidly shifting his weight to show how much he didn't care, startled and almost fell. "How did --" He recovered. "Little girl, my grandfather isn't around any more."

"Obviously," said Hua Tao. She rolled her eyes. "If he wasn't, how could I talk to him?"

And I woke more (Hipster Cafe was not open and it took me a while to have full brain function due to lack of caffeine) and realized that I had a strong urge to make Zhongli call Hu Tao "Hong'er"* -- which was when I was like "I wish I had stayed in bed and started a new farm in Stardew Valley"

* Hu Tao is a Pyro user so she's pretty strongly associated with the color red

1. Hu Tao, who lays ghosts to rest

2. Hua Cheng, who is a ghost

3. Hu Tao's signature weapon -- the jewel in the blade probably isn't looking at you. Maybe.

[kanonavi]

Tagged by @radellama to share the last line of a wip/project

(Rads did more than one too so I'm also breaking the rule lol)

~

When he hops onto the stage, Hu Tao is shaking her head and tutting, “Well now, look who finally decided to join us! Are you ready to go?”

“Yep, I’m ready! Sorry for losing track of time, ehe…”

~

Tagging: @hua-fei-hua @mango-jpeg @burrferns @dragongock (But no pressure, of course!)

Thank you Rads for the tag, and I'd love to see what you guys have all been cooking <3

[darlingpwease]

Reader name now please :)) /j that's insane tho, I've read TGCF and SVSSS, and I've recently started reading MDZS. SVSSS is my favorite tho, but Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's works are amazing omgomg– There's very little content of them here on tumblr so it was like a blessing (no pun intended) when I saw you upload content for it!! You never cease to surprise me that's for sure /t /pos

I know damn well that I'd worship him so much that I'll challenge Hua Cheng 🛐🛐 I wanna cherish him and love him loads n loads– and even when you don't remember him, everytime you see him again you can't help but feel a tug towards him, a need, a crave,, and it drives you crazy, but when you find out he feels the same you can help but be blissfully happy about it. How no matter how many lifetimes you go through, you always remain his most loyal follower <333

-panna cotta

no<3 I know your fox habits, I won't fall for them again to let you escape~ /t /hj /pos she's my precious little thing~ she was very shy, but she wrote huge texts and was very deeply interested in asian mythology and elements of culture. I still remember how we discussed about the SVSSS and Luo Binghe & unhealthy dynamic.

I,,,, won't deny that I know the plot a little and spoilers, but I can't sit down and read it completely, it's much more interesting for me to read synopses, theories and headcanons than the original<///3

I mean, then why don't I see anything about it from you? huh? I caught you by your fox tail, didn't I? <333 /t /nsrs But seriously, I don't know, it's not that I've ever been passionate about these novels, but after I started hanging out with ai all the time... maybe I've become weaker towards them😔😔😔

I love you too, dear, I was also surprised when I saw that you even know about this novel,,,, although I probably shouldn't have, considering how much I talk to you and how little I know, because you just don't talk🙄🙄🙄 /t /j /nsrs

yes!!! yes, yes, Hua Cheng, you're cute and pretty, and you've done a good job and you're a good boy, now move away, I want to kiss this prettiest hubby<3333

whenever you see red earrings, dark hair, white clothes, gentle smiles, flowers, hear about the Gods and catch yourself thinking that your lover should definitely dance beautifully and do calligraphy, although it's not that you have someone who taught you such preferences or something like that — you just always knew that your lover is a picky eater, that he does not know how to cook well, that he loves flowers, that he believes that he can make people happy and will be ready to follow you to heaven and descend into the world of demons, just like you for him. even if he is naive and idealistic, believing that everything can be easily solved, loved and spoiled by everyone around, you loved him even before you met him, and you knew that it would be mutual, necessarily mutual. it doesn't matter what he looks like, it doesn't matter how you look, after all, this is your common tao of "loving each other" — at least that's what he tells you, gently kissing your face, whispering that you've already seen each other, you already know each other, while his thin fingers squeeze yours, intertwining just as your destinies are intertwined.

so gentle and loving when he clings to you, finally having the opportunity to hug you and cuddle, kiss, touch, love, knowing that nothing else is burdening either you or him, and seeing that you are as much the most devoted follower for him as he is for you, always knowing God about which no one taught you.

of course, you may be confused or confused, hearing that he is a God, knowing that the Gods cannot descend, but he does not regret it at all, in blind despair, clinging to you, kissing, feeling how the bitterness fills him when you do not look so absorbed in him, already wondering rather why he is so familiar do you know why this gentle smile and eyes full of adoration fill you with longing and sorrow that you could not live in past lives, still carrying a traumatic experience, and Xie Lian understands why you react this way, he understands everything, he's not as selfish and ignoring as before, but he can't help distracting you with petting and cuddling to you like a puppy, as before, and you feel a strange bitter joy seeing him trying to shrink into a hot lump on your chest, hiding his face like he did before. you know he's done this before.

but you can't remember when.

I look at him and think, "he's so cute. and so innocent. and so pretty. I want. I want to make him suffer or corrupt. or both. yes, both are good."

[canmom]

Animation Night 165: New Gods

嘿朋友动画的晚上正在上映电影！

One day I'll make a new friend who speaks Chinese and I can ask to come up with a different intro for donghua-related posts ;p

Long time Animation Night viewers might remember Animation Night 102 a little over a year ago, in which we watched a film called 新神榜：哪吒重生 (New Gods: Nezha Reborn) - not to be confused with other recent Nezha-related films like Ne Zha.

And it was pretty sick. Essentially you've got a CGI film set in a kind of FF7-like dieselpunk world in which various mythological figures now run crime syndicates or ride cool motorbikes. The film followed someone who turns out to be the reincarnation of Nezha - where Nezha's old enemy, the East Sea Dragon King, is also reincarnated as a kind of mafia kingpin who doesn't know to leave well enough alone, and picks a fight, hoping to stop the new Nezha fully incarnating.

As CG films go, there's not a lot to compare it to - except perhaps Lupin III: The First, which also has the kind of smooth, slightly stylised figures and fancy effects. It was a bunch of fun, lots of twists and turns, guys who look like Sun Wukong but aren't (...maybe?), betrayals, and of course plenty of slickly choreographed fantastical martial arts.

Well, sure enough, Nezha was the first in a series! The second film in the series, New Gods: Yang Jian came out last year...

This one focuses on another character from the Investiture of the Gods, Erlang Shen (二郎神), who's got a bunch of other names, notably Yang Jian (楊戩), which is the name he takes in Investiture of the Gods. I definitely needed to read up on this guy, so here's a primer: Erlang Shen's a god, nephew to the Jade Emperor, and a rather righteous one, associated with traits like purity, decency, and slaying monsters. Physically, his major trait is the truth-seeing third eye in the middle of his forehead; he also likes to carry a three-pointed spear, and his signature technique is '72 eartly transformations', i.e. turning into pretty much anything.

In Investiture, he shows up as a discple of the immortal Yuding Zhenren (玉鼎真人) during Chapter 40, in which Jiang Ziya battles the four 'Diablo Brothers' Mo Lihong, Mo Liqing, Mo Lihai and Mo Lishou, essentially a bunch of evil wizards who are causing havoc. Now, bear with me here. Mo Lishou has a powerful flying mink (or maybe an elephant). Yang Jian deliberately lets himself get eaten, and then when Lishou sends the mink out to attack, he transforms inside its stomach, popping it from the inside as it's about to fight Jiang Ziya.

Then, Yang Jian transforms himself into the mink, and uses this disguise to get close to the brothers and steal a magic umbrella from Mo Lihong, giving Jiang Ziya the chance to win the battle. Pure TTRPG player strategems here honestly. Love it.

He also shows up in Journey to the West, in which he's sent to try and deal with the Sun Wukong problem. They have a classic transformation battle, which Yang Jian eventually wins by seeing through Sun Wukong's clever disguise as a temple, and teaming up with Laozi (yeah¸ the Tao Te Ching guy) to capture him.

All in all, Yang Jian is not a god to be trifled with.

However, the main story about Erlang Shen/Yang Jian is none of these, but a folktale called The Magic Lotus Lantern, in which he plays the role of antagonist.

The Magic Lotus Lantern tells of the goddess Huayue Sanniang, who falls in love with a mortal scholar called Lui Yanchang. Her older brother Erlang Shen, here a god, does not approve, to the point that he's willing to fight her about it. However, Huayue Sanniang wins the fight using her magic lotus lantern, and marries Liu Yanchang. Together they have a child called Chen Xiang. With me so far?

Unfortunately, Erlang Shen isn't about to take this whole thing lying down. After seven years, he tracks them down by the light of that same lantern, and briefly abducts Chen Xiang, before stealing the lantern and sealing Sanniang under a mountain (Mount Hua).

Nine years later, Chen Xiang - now 16 - learns what happened to his mum. He goes on a journey running into a number of mythological figures, including Sun Wukong, who teaches him martial arts. Indeed, Sun Wukong is like you know what kid you're pretty strong, I'll make you a big old axe to get your mum out of that mountain. At the end of it all, Chen Xiang goes and battles his uncle, and loses... but at the last minute he gets a special lotus lantern powerup, which gives him the chance to win the battle and free his mum from the mountain.

Incidentally, if you will permit a tangent (that is at least animation relevant lmao) - this story was adapted to animation in 1999 as 宝莲灯 (Lotus Lantern), and in fact that's quite a notable film in itself. To briefly tell the story again, from the 50s onwards, the vast majority of animation in China happened under the roof of Shanghai Animation Film Studio. However, during the Cultural Revolution, most of the major animators at SAFS such as Te Wei were cast as reactionaries sent to the countryside to do hard labour, practicing drawing only in secret. Chinese animation entered a period where the only permitted form was propaganda films in a narrowly defined realist style.

Following the end of the Cultural Revolution, many of these animators returned to the studio, making celebrated films like 哪吒闹海 Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979) as well as all sorts of short films celebrating an end to their ordeal and railing against artistic censorship. However, the studio's output - and Chinese animation in general - declined in the ensuing decades, with Chinese studios mostly doing outsourcing work and younger audiences turning to anime and western animation. So far so familiar.

In 1992, the studio started to reorganise itself along Western lines, collaborating with a company called Prrfect Animation from San Francisco. [This information comes from an article in Animation World Network, which is incredibly light on details. I can't find any other mention of Prrfect Animation outside of its connection with SAFS.] The studio would soon become part of the new Shanghai Film Group Corporation.

And in the middle of that period comes this movie - a kind of turning point for donghua. You can a restoration on Youtube, albeit unsubbed. Visually it's definitely got traces of the Cultural Revolution-era style, narratively it hews fairly close to the Mouse's formula complete with songs; indeed, allegedly this movie beat them at their own game in 1999.

Anyway, we're not watching this movie tonight - vibeswise it would be a weird combo, and it's going to take a little work to find suitable subs and mux them in, but put a pin in this, we might just come back to it.

So what about this film? In this world, Yang Jian is now living a quiet life as a bounty hunter. Here's the official English-language plot summary, which is very brief:

Twelve years after imprisoning his sister underneath a mountain, Erlang Shen, a god known for his all-seeing third eye, now works as a bounty hunter. A woman hires him and his crew to prevent his nephew, Chenxiang, from obtaining a magical lotus lantern that holds great power.

Beyond that? I can tell you that at some point he wears a fedora. Look, it's in that gif right there. Yeah, I'm flying a little blind on this one ^^'

As things turned out, I didn't end up seeing this at Annecy, since it clashed with Rintarō's new short film... but fortunately, it is now available in the usual places. So the plan tonight is pretty simple: we will be watching both New Gods films, first a reprise of Nezha and then the new Yang Jian.

Also! We're actually on time! I'm gonna go live a lot earlier than we've managed lately, namely 8pm UK time, which is about 3 hours from this post (if you're in the States, that will be midday Pacific time, 3pm Eastern time). The place is, as ever, twitch.tv/canmom. Hope to see you there~

[mynamesaplant]

Love is a Cold Bowl of Soup (Finale)

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

Welcome to the end!! I'm so glad I was able to finish this one up ^-^ I hope you enjoy!! Thanks to Monsoon-of-Art for the beta! Don't want to read it on Tumblr? I have it on AO3!

Summary: Akari's been tasked to find some ingredients for soup and learns to ask for help from the people in her life.

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

The duo decided that they would bring Laventon into the fold later. He would be more open to the possibility than the captain would be. The captain distanced herself from the idea of the supernatural as much as possible because she hated messy things, which all a god really was in the end, wasn’t it? Akari and Ingo had formulated a convincing story that they both thought Cyllene would buy before returning. Although her eyes were a little bloodshot, her face still blotchy from crying (which only accentuated the bags under her eyes even more), and her uniform looking rather gross, Akari felt better than she had in ages, because she finally felt she had someone on her side who wasn’t constantly scrutinizing her every action like it was wrong. The warden accompanied her back to the lab, only for the captain to whisk her away to personally interrogate her. That was fine. She could handle that. They were sequestered in one of the rooms in the basement, far away from Tao Hua’s office and the rest of the Supply Corp.

The captain asked for an explanation of the noise and her behavior, so Akari obliged. She was stressed by a request on top of all her other duties. The task was extremely demanding but required the utmost discretion. This tidbit did make Cyllene’s forehead crease and her mouth purse, but she did not say anything contrary to what Akari said, so the girl continued with her explanation. The strange sound was made by a wild mischievous Rotom that had possessed something on her person.

“I caught it once I found out what it was, captain. I apologize for not answering you promptly, but I did not know myself.”

“The wild Pokémon is caught now?”

Akari plucked and tossed a Pokéball off her belt and showed her captain the sheepish looking Rotom. The one that had been possessing a fan in her quarters. Cyllene looked it over briefly before making a motion for Akari to put it away. There were a few loose Pokémon in the hall, but they were very well trained, all other ones had to be confined to their balls.

“Good. Now, about your behavior-”

“I know, it was very unprofessional of me. Just because I’m stressed doesn’t mean that-”

Akari had planned out a speech with Ingo, something that they both thought would placate the captain after that catastrophic and hasty departure. She was stopped mid-sentence by Cyllene raising her hand and fixing her with an intense look. She looked at Akari – really looked at her young recruit - and realized just how tired she looked. Her dark eyes, once bright, if a little cautious, were dull and guarded. The dark bags and the pink rimmed eyes didn’t help.

“You have the next week off.”

There was a tense silence, Akari’s mouth flapping open and shut like she was a beached Magikarp. There was a fear in her eyes, sudden and intense, that made Cyllene quickly amend herself.

“It has occurred to me that in your time here that you have failed to take any shore leave, so to speak. All members of Galaxy Team are entitled to shore leave, although, not as much accumulated time as you seem to have. I must insist that you take it next week as it was an oversight on my part as well as yours, do we understand one another?”

The girl blinked at her rather like the Rowlett that had been in Laventon’s lab, taking a moment to process with the fear slowly fading from her eyes. Was… Was the captain trying to cut her some slack? She didn’t dare get her hopes up. She asked for clarification. Was this a punishment or genuine leave time that she needed to take?

“I don’t see the importance in the distinction. I do highly recommend that you take this time to relax, as much as you can relax in Hisui. We should return to the lab. The professor will be quite upset with me if I let his creation get any colder… Akari.”

The girl had her hand on the door handle, and she looked back at her captain with just an ounce of shock, surprised that she had called her by name. Cyllene stood tall and straight, her expression just as unreadable as ever.

“We cannot change the circumstances of the past, but I am proud to have such a diligent and remarkable member such as yourself in my corps. Although they try not to let it show, people such as yourself are allowed to be in pain – I would rather not lose a good member because of something so trivial as the occasional outburst.”

“Captain…”

“Come now, the professor is waiting.”

Captain Cyllene did not give her the opportunity to get emotional again, her superior clearly feeling uncomfortable going as far as she had.

“Thanks captain.”

She said under her breath as Cyllene brushed her aside and led her back upstairs, into the lab where Laventon was loudly lamenting over the temperature of his soup. He had to take it off the heat for fear of scalding the milk and ruining the whole pot.

“It still smells wonderful.”

The warden said to the professor, tipping his hat back with his hand to peer into the pot as superior and subordinate returned to the room. Ingo shot Akari a look to which she returned an almost imperceptible nod. She would tell him of that conversation later, for now she was fine. Laventon’s bellyaching quickly changed once Cyllene returned, tutting and hovering over Akari as she closed the door behind her. Was she alright? Could he do anything for her?

“Later, professor.”

She told him, eyeing Ingo over his shoulder, which Laventon did not fail to catch. Clearly, the warden and the surveyor had been conspiring and intended to include him when they had the room to themselves, but for now, Akari was not going to talk about the previous events. There was very little Akari wouldn’t tell him, until she told him, he would just have to be patient.

“I’m sorry about your soup. It’s probably cold by now with how long you waited for us.”

“That’s quite alright, my girl.”Quick to forget his mourning period for his Kalosian creation, the professor ushered her and his other guests over to the large stock pot. “There were some footnotes about how the soup can be served cold.”

“There’s a difference between cold and room temperature, Amaranth.”

Captain Cyllene said without thinking, mouth twitching when Laventon ladled the still somewhat chunky looking white soup into four bowls. He garnished with some of the chopped up, grassy heads of the wild garlic, and distributed bowls and slices of fresh bread.

“Ah, now, what do they say in Kalos? Oh! Bon appetit!”

He was the only one not to pause when he brought a spoonful to his mouth and sampled the soup. When the professor’s reaction was instantly negative, Ingo and Akari copied. When neither of them spit out their mouthfuls and when Laventon didn’t immediately drop dead, Captain Cyllene also had some spoon. They all exchanged looks. It was edible. Which was more than anyone, including Laventon, could say about his last culinary creation.

The temperature did not affect the flavor in the least. Would it have been better if it had been warm? Probably, but Akari didn’t mind it at all. A bowl of soup was a bowl of soup and, as her mother said, soup was always made with love. She toted her soup and bread back over to the armchair, thanking the professor vehemently as she sank back into the cushion. The fresh bread tasted as divine as it smelled, she ripped off a chunk and dunked it into the cold soup. Heavenly. The professor had out done himself (even if Akari could taste something bitter and medicinal lingering on the back of her tongue with each bite).

“This is so good, professor!

From the corner of her eyes, Akari could see him blush faintly as Ingo and, surprisingly, the captain chimed in their agreement. The warden was quick to further his praise by addressing the heartiness of the sootfoot pairing surprisingly well with the medicinal leeks.

“I honestly expected it to taste like something straight out of Pesselle’s mortar.”

Cyllene admitted, stirring the soup with her spoon, and selecting a chunk of sootfoot. Perhaps the Moomoo milk had mellowed out the more medicinal tastes present in a little less than half of the ingredients. None of them were quite sure, but they could all agree that it tasted good. Akari even asked for a second bowl, which made Laventon beam with pride as he nearly skipped back to the stock pot. After her second bowl, the teen could feel her eyes growing heavy with sleep. After a highly emotional day and all the running around she had been doing to help make the soup, Akari was exhausted. She was doing her very best not to nod off, but it wasn’t working. Laventon came over and took her bowl from her when he saw her head drooping forward, her grip slackening.

“Thank you for all your help. Get some rest.”

“B-But-!”

Akari began and stopped when Laventon tilted his head back toward the captain, currently engaged in conversation with the warden, and offered her a knowing wink. Obviously, they still had to talk because he was still very worried about her, but he also recognized that she needed to rest. He nodded his head and told her gently that they could talk more in the morning. Something about more massive mass outbreaks in the highlands that he and the captain wanted her to go investigate. Akari, playing dumb, nodded. Ingo got to his feet with a small hiss and then a smaller sigh before moving over to her to offer a hand up.

“I can escort you back to quarters. I’m headed that way anyway; I’m headed back to the highlands this evening.”

There was a brief and hushed deliberation between the adults as Akari lingered by the door, rubbing her eyes and yawning hugely as she waited for the warden. He probably had something else he wanted to say to her without certain ears listening in. Ingo walked her back to her quarters in silence, nudging her through the door before he asked if the captain had accepted her story.

“She did, but I hate lying to her.”

The teen admitted with a frown, folding her arms, and kicking off her shoes by the door. She recounted the whole conversation as Ingo quietly slid the door closed, nodding his head in agreement. He folded his arms over his chest, considering her story.

“I understand, but we must make concessions at times.”

She could always explain the situation to the captain someday, but what Cyllene didn’t know right now, wouldn’t hurt her.

“I implore you to get some rest – real rest. I would like your permission to have Tangrowth use Sleeping Powder on you.”

Judging by Akari’s face, she didn’t seem too keen on the idea. She mumbled under her breath that the effects of any powders produced by Pokémon made her extremely groggy the next morning.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that the captain has so kindly assigned you to leave… It will ensure sleep, Akari.”

“I know…”

It didn’t mean that Arceus wouldn’t continue to harass her in her dreams.

“You can use Tangrowth, but I need to go grab some Pokémon.”

She hoped Marie would still open up the pastures for her at this late hour. Ingo waited patiently with his Tangrowth towering at his side, the bundle of sentient vines swaying back and forth in anticipation when Akari scurried back into her quarters. The warden noticed immediately that two of her balls had been switched out. She released a deep breath while she plucked the two new balls off her belt. Ingo had never seen either Pokémon before but both of them had certainly exuded a presence and contempt as they glanced at one another. Akari told him that they were Darkrai and Cresselia. When she said the names, he realized that Cresselia had taken up residence temporarily in Moonview Arena – much to Melli’s chagrin - after the incident at the top of Mount Coronet. Darkrai had been lingering around Clamberclaw Cliffs late at night not long after Cresselia had appeared. They appeared linked in some strange way.

“They’re good for dreams… and nightmares.”

Akari explained, reaching up to tenderly rub the slender neck of Cresselia and gently pat Darkrai’s jagged red collar. Both Pokémon melted into her touch, whatever animosity the beings held for one another vanished when Akari informed them that any dreams and nightmares that tried to take her in the night, they were free to…

“Well, I don’t exactly know what you guys do with them. Do you eat them like a Drowzee?”

When both looked at her, completely mystified, she shook her head and turned to Ingo. She needed a moment of privacy so she could get ready for bed. He obliged and returned with his Pokémon at his side when she slid the door open. Samurott was laying on the mat, a blanket that he recognized as one produced from the loom of a Diamond clan member half covering him. Cresselia was curled where Akari’s head was supposed to lay, head tucked under a wing with the feathers of her body all fluffed up like a pillow. Darkrai was posted and leaning in the corner, eyes closed and something akin to legs sticking out from their wispy body. Akari lay down by her Pokémon stroking his snout and hugging his neck, he gurgled affectionately. The teen turned to Ingo and nodded. Tangrowth raised her arms and held them over Akari, she saw a couple of flecks of whitish-green spores before she was out like a light.

She had a blissful night’s sleep.

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