#queen of xianle

[save-the-earthworms]

One thing I didn't expect from TGCF was Xie Lian's daddy issues

[whatwhywhowherewhen]

TGCF Hot Take:

If one ignores that they had the first supreme ghost king directly targeting them, one could get the impression that Xianle fell because of the king and queen's mediocre parenting skills.

Which is just. So funny

The king is one of those parents who does not understand their kid's special interests. Like he's accepted Xie Lian wants to cultivate and "save the common people!" But he has no idea why he likes it so much or even what that means

They have an entire kingdom build temples for and worship him, but when an actual problem shows up. They. Tell everyone. To not pray to XL. As if that's not the entire point of worshipping a god. It's the classic acknowledging adult kids as independent and being proud of their success, but failing to give them a seat at the table as a responsible decision-maker. They do the same thing with the King's illness after Xianle fell. The king's pride and queen's gentleness prevents them from burdening their little boy... with problems he needs to know about

The queen doesn't know how to say no to her spoiled baby. Which is fair, some kids are just so rotten from outside or personal issues you can't control them. However said brat is Qi Rong, who beats up and ruins any chance of forgiveness from the guy who ends up leading an entire revolution against them.

And the problem with not understanding your kid's interests is that you also don't understand their abilities and skills' applications. Consider the king's attempts to send relief to Yong'An. It's made basically useless because of corrupt officials taking from it. Like gee. I wonder if his martial god son, who is a martial god, could have done something to help the situation.

I'm not saying he could have fought the rich people. I'm saying he could have sent Mu Qing and Feng Xin in human disguises or something to escort it without having to stop. Because they are heavenly officials. They stopped hits from landing by Xie Lian's command, and Pei Su got away with so much more with a disguise, why would delivery of mortal goods, from mortals to mortals, be where the line is drawn?

It's completely normal parenting mistakes and hiccups in giant and upsetting circumstances. I feel like I'm watching a cheesy movie about a dysfunctional family learning to understand one another but it ends in the worst way possible.

[fmd-art]

Xie Lian and his parents 🤍

[xielianlover2]

I'm in love with how similar they look. It makes me so emotional. They have the same eyes, too 🥺

[friedwizardwhispers]

Things that makes me sad: we are going to see her grave being desecrated by her nephew who she raised by the end of the season

[nekoning]

The queen had always liked Feng Xin

bonus xianle trio silly under the cut:

[pichirobi]

fire, air, water, earth.

prince xie lian is one of the most promising up-and-coming avatars the world has yet to see. that is, until disaster strikes his home earth kingdom of xianle. when his people die out at the hands of a plague spirit, bai wuxiang, the nations blame the avatar. with his reputation destroyed, xie lian joins the air nomads for 20 years and travels the world as a scrap-collector. although he has lost the respect of the people he is destined to protect, the spirit world is thrown into chaos without his guidance. xie lian works thanklessly to maintain global balance all on his own. but unbeknownst to him, there's one person, upon the throne of the fire nation, who still believes in the avatar.

welcome to my tgcf x atla au!

click here to follow this tag for updates. read more below for my story notes.

STORY

xie lian is born to the king and queen of an earth kingdom city-state, xianle, and is quickly discovered to be the avatar. a wildly talented one, at that. he learns firebending second, and waterbending third. still young and pampered, xie lian struggles with the humility associated with airbending principles.

at just the age of 17 he begins to travel the world to master the four elements and [katara narrator voice] to restore peace and balance in the world. he acquires a servant (firebender mu qing) and a bodyguard (earthbender & childhood best friend feng xin). it's during this time that he tours the fire nation, meeting with political figures and impoverished citizens alike, gaining a positive reputation for his determination and skills. to celebrate the summer solstice, xie lian is the face of a festival in which he proves his elegance, combative strength, and firebending prowess. during the ceremony, he controversially interrupts it to save the life of a 10-year-old urchin boy.

the lines between the spirit and mortal worlds bleed together during solstices. it's xie lian's festival which attracts a particularly violent spirit to emerge into the mortal world: bai wuxiang. the white-clothed calamity.

xie lian's life is filled with promise until he turns 22. he catches word of a disaster taking place in his home kingdom. he puts a pause on his tour of the nations to return to xianle. there, he finds that a strange and highly contagious disease has begun plaguing his people. its symptoms are unnatural; the work of an angry spirit. xie lian works himself to the bone trying to save his common people. he fails.

when xianle falls to plague, to chaos, to fear, its people blame the avatar. he is dubbed the avatar of misfortune. a failure. xie lian's reputation crumbles to dust and he is helpless to restore his people's faith in him. when the rest of the world learns of how xianle came to ruin, the avatar becomes not a figure of peace to be revered, but a bad omen.

having lost his two companions, his parents, his kingdom, and the global adoration he's come to rely on for his self-worth, xie lian runs away. he disowns his past identity and seeks to start a new life. he finds himself in the northern air temples, where the air nomads pay him no mind, although xie lian is a bit of an oddball. (xie lian might look rougher and jaded but they certainly recognize the avatar. they pretend to not know him—the nomads keep to themselves and as long as xie lian doesn't cause trouble, he is welcome.) he eventually befriends a monk named shi qingxuan.

xie lian seeks enlightenment. he incorporates himself into the monks' way of life, releasing all ties to material possessions and worldly indulgences. he abstains from sex, alcohol, anger, and, hardest of all, grief. he goes on to live 20 years as a scrap collector, practicing what he was taught by his teacher and guide, monk wu yong. xie lian knows it's time to leave the temples when he finally masters airbending.

humbled, xie lian rekindles his fighting spirit. the common people loathe the avatar, but he forgives them. he will save them.

as xie lian wanders the nations, he learns that during his darkest years, literature, art, and scholarly works of the avatar have been destroyed. most people don't even remember what he looks like and much less have the means to learn anything about him. (hua cheng carving xl's face into the side of a mountain: HOLD MY BEER)

meanwhile, there is a fire nation urchin boy who has grown into someone powerful enough to be feared. through his unmatched wit and charisma, he has worked his way up the capital's political hierarchy. a city governor who calls himself hua cheng, is the first aristocrat to challenge the firelord to an agni kai. he is also the first to win. he delegitimizes the royal bloodline and single-handedly reshapes a generation's idea of a competent ruler. bonus points for the previous firelord being xie lian's indecent cousin, qi rong.

now 35 years old, the new firelord, terrifying yet respected by all, leads his people to prosperity and vanquishes every enemy. peculiarly, he seems somewhat uninterested in his position of power. instead, he enjoys turning his attention towards erecting a shrine, a palace, in honor of avatar xie lian.

HUALIAN'S BACKSTORY

the avatar preceding xie lian, jun wu, oversaw great conflicts between the four nations. it is during one of these wars that a seemingly insignificant teenager dies. his soul drifts aimlessly in the spirit world, vulnerable, alone. he encounters the trickster spirit koh who steals his face. time is hard to account for in this realm, and the once-a-teenager forgets his past life, his own identity, simply choosing to refer to himself as wu ming: nameless. many years later, the avatar cycle begins anew with the birth of xie lian.

at 7 years old, prince xie lian and his best friend feng xin are outdoors playing with swords. feng xin takes a break, as he is called inside by the king of xianle, leaving xie lian outside and unsupervised. (feng xin will shortly be told that xie lian is not only his friend, but now his responsibility.) meanwhile, xie lian is left without a sparring partner. until a ghostly silver butterfly flits in front of him. it playfully weaves around the flourishes of the blade. xie lian chases it, away from the palace grounds, across the fields and into the brush, where he falls head-first through a burrow. when he stands up, his sword has disappeared, but not the butterfly. it pulls his attention upward, where he takes in his surroundings: the spirit world.

xie lian continues to play and greet spirits, who are all pleased to meet the new avatar, eventually finding a sad, dissipating ghost fire. the ghost introduces itself as wu ming. xie lian works very hard to cheer it up, promising they'll be friends in this lifetime and the next. wu ming brightens and confesses that koh has stolen its face. xie lian fails to tolerate this news: if he's to be the avatar, he must protect the innocent and slay monsters. with wu ming's warnings, he marches to koh's den to demand his friend's face back.

xie lian succeeds. wu ming doesn't remember much these days, but he's sure that no one has ever showed him such incredible kindness. when wu ming expresses his desire to disappear, xie lian gives him a mantra: "live for me."

xie lian has to leave, to return to a very worried feng xin (who is scared he's already failed his new bodyguard job on day one), but wu ming is invigorated with life like never before. his soul persists, stubbornly, for the avatar. he is reborn back into the mortal world as a fire nation boy. although, the encounter with koh would leave a mark on his body: the sclera of his right eye would be an unsettling blood red. the people of his village would know him as hong hong-er.

elsewhere in the spirit world, the ghost of avatar jun wu senses young xie lian's presence. he also senses the persistence of the ghost fire—a soul reborn. could he, too, return to the mortal world? jun wu entertains a simple but horrifying thought: by swapping places with xie lian, could he achieve immortality as the world's last avatar? thus, jun wu hatches a plan. he strikes a deal with bai wuxiang, the white-clothed calamity, a malevolent plague spirit. bai wuxiang would possess the body of jun wu to eliminate the new avatar. to kill xie lian, and to be reborn.

the plan doesn't go—well, according to plan. the people of xianle are wiped out before he can get his hands on xie lian, and the destruction of a people leaves behind a universal distrust of the avatar. jun wu realizes he would be unable to seize power in such an environment. his new strategy must involve controlling young xie lian, manipulating him into a puppet. it takes a while to pin him down, but jun wu eventually finds him settled in the northern air temple, at his most emotionally vulnerable. jun wu will impersonate a monk teacher, changing his name to wu yong. he will bide his time and play his cards until the world is ready for his return.

EXTRAS

hualian are middle-aged men in this au because it makes sense timeline-wise, but also because sexy silver fox xie lian is what i see every time i close my eyes.

narratively, i'm torn between hua cheng loving the avatar, or hua cheng loving xie lian. thinking about this timeless lovestory, "you, not the state of you," i can see it both ways. hua cheng might love the avatar, xie lian and all of his reincarnations regardless of their body. or, he might love xie lian, regardless of the "avatar" title. ("avatar" may also be this world's equivalent to hua cheng respectfully calling xie lian "dianxia".)

firelord hua cheng presents himself at what he believes is his ugliest, most intimidating form: exposing his burned right eye. as san lang, however, he is at first ashamed to reveal such a vulnerable part of him in front of his love; he covers it with an eyepatch. (the people of the fire nation are like: "a platypus?" [san lang takes off his eyepatch] "PERRY THE PLATYPUS?!?!")

hua cheng teaches xie lian how to bend lightning. they easily trade bolts back and forth to each other in a cute and intimate way. feng xin and mu qing are horrified when they first see this in action.

hualian's first kiss happens when they're battling a sea monster underwater and xie lian loses his concentration enough to accidentally pop hua cheng's air bubble. a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation will do the trick until they can float back up to the surface.

ruoye = xl's spiritual serpent guide (kind of like roku's dragon)

e'ming = hc's super clingy fire ferret

[monhiio]

An arrangement no one is really happy with.

His occasional walks with his betrothed are as unavoidable as they are uneventful. She talks, he listens. He doesn't make the same mistake again of disagreeing with her on something, instead hes tasked with showing her around. A walk through the palace, a walk through town, through the market, around the city walls. He wonders if he can postpone the wedding for as long as he keeps finding places for him to take her. But then again Xianle is only so big, and he thinks suggesting that "Your majesty perhaps I can show her Yong'an first" would get his head cut off instead.

The Emperor and the Queen dont bother sending Xie Lian away anymore when theyre on these walks. And his occasional presence makes it all so much worse. Because he cant zone out when his Highness is there. Instead Feng Xins gaze follows him, miserable and pleading. that is until theres a tug at his arm and the sound of his fiancé clearing her throat, and hes forced to look away. Its absolute torture.

Part 1

Part 2

[essekknits]

… we know where Xie Lian came from. We know where Mu Qing came from. We even know a bit about where Hong’er came from. The only person from the Xianle quarter whose backstory we have NO IDEA about is Feng Xin.

Unlike Mu Qing, we never hear about him having a family. We never hear about him wanting to visit family, or worrying about family when it comes to the war and the plague. Which makes me believe that either his family is inextricably tied to the palace and the royal family (generations of guards, perhaps) and he lost them all in the fall of Xianle… or by the time we meet him he doesn’t have any family at all.

But it makes it very clear that Xie Lian and Mu Qing are all he has, once Xianle falls, and even before it. He has Xie Lian and the king and queen and Mu Qing and this is all he has left. All he has to hold on to.

And then Xie Lian orders him to leave.

[unforth]

Was thinking last night about the decisions of the Xianle royal family, and the impact those decisions would have had on the common people, and the extent to which those decisions implied and accentuated the excesses we mostly don't see because of Xie Lian's rose colored glasses.

Like. This king and queen have only one son, and they let him go off to learn a cultivation method that requires celibacy.

Who is going to be the next ruler of this country?

If Xie Lian doesn't ascend, it could be him, but once he's emperor, who will come after him? Will he stop cultivating? Will he adopt? Will he pick a family member? Like they can't have expected/assumed he'd ascend but still had they thought about it all? Did they have a plan? And of course Xie Lian DOES ascend and a god can't be an emperor, but even though that happened several years ago, they still don't actually seem to have a succession plan.

And the only relative introduced to the reader who could presumably take the throne is fricken Qi Rong, a youth who constantly parades his indifferent, violent behavior all through the streets of the capital.

There's massive instability on the horizon for Xianle entirely aside from the events in Yong'an. How anxious the people must feel wondering who their next emperor will be, what will preserve the kingdom's storied stability?

And yet from Xie Lian's idealistic viewpoint none of this is ever even really mentioned (at least not that I recall??).

Is his father doing anything at all?

What does it say about a kingdom that willingly let's their crown prince go "naw I'm never making an heir" and then when he goes to godhood doesn't even bother naming a new crown prince?

Idk. I just love all the subtle evidence that despite Xie Lian thinking everything is great (of course he does, his needs and desires are being catered to), as a matter of fact... Xianle is a fucking mess.

[whumpbby]

What if an AU...

Where the Xianle quartet are dropped into another universe - one where MQ and FX never left XL.

Maybe it was some curse or some miracle that allowed people to see what would happen if their lives followed a different path? And all three - XL, MQ and FX - always wondered what would happen if they stayed.

So, they get to see it.

FX and MQ stayed by their prince's side and the misery continued - MQ tried his best to keep everyone afloat, but being constantly undermined and distrusted started to push him towards the edge. His pulling away caused FX and XL to distrust him even more, and it was so easy for Jun Wu to point them against each other.

And fire.

All it took was something small - the last valuable thing the Queen owned going missing in the night. MQ finding a suspiciously well-paid job for some travelling priest and bringing home actual money, happy to feed them all properly for the first time in months... but he didn't even get to the shack when FX and XL came to meet him and the accusations started. Thief. Disrespectful. Betrayal. Scum.

MQ, worn down to the bone, finally snapping and his anger pouring out. You're useless. Weak. Pampered little shits that wouldn't know how to light fire without him. Stand there accusing him of selfishness while all they do is take and take! The useless king who led the country to ruin, useless queen that can't prepare a cup of rice! Useless prince that wanted to save the common people, but cannot lower himself to walk amongst them! Useless bodyguard who cannot do anything worthwhile, but run his mouth!

And Feng Xin loses it - pain and hunger and despair and hate overflow, and in a moment of blind rage he stabs Mu Qing.

Mu Qing dies cursing them all - useless hypocrites. He dies laughing - who next they will turn on? He dies in the dirt, the food he brought spilled around him.

And, like in a play, the queen rushes to the scene - she found the hairpin! It wasn't lost! She must have misplaced it! It wasn't....

...it wasn't stolen.

But by then it's useless. Useless. Useless. Useless.

Feng Xin, hands covered in blood, breaks. The blade sill stained with Mu Qing's blood easily parts flesh on his neck, and before Xie Lian can react, Feng Xin falls into the same dirt he murdered Mu Qing in.

They haven't left - and Xie Lian still ended up alone.

They haven't left - but this was worse. Worse. Worse.

They haven't left - and all it accomplished was more arrows in Jun Wu's quiver, more ways to hurt Xie Lian, more ways to try and break him. They haven't ascended, they just died, hungry and worn out, curled in the dirt at the feet of their prince who, once again, has proven himself to be useless...

Them leaving when they did, as painful as it was to admit, was the only thing that saved their lives.

[xielianlover2]

I keep thinking about how I still don't really know anything about the Xianle trio's past and their feelings about everything. When did Feng Xin find out about the King and Queen and how and when they died? Did he find out immediately? They committed suicide like a day after he left (which is so heartbreaking for Xie Lian). Did he come back to check and find out? Did he find out years later? Did he blame himself at all?

Did Mu Qing know anything? Did he figure out exactly why Feng Xin left? Did he know about how much Xie Lian changed in that period of time?

Xie Lian was alone. He was so numb and angry at the world. He could have become Jun Wu's successor that day or something much worse if he was pushed even further.

But Feng Xin and Mu Qing don't know about that at all. They don't know anything. They don't know how much Xie Lian suffered in that period of time. I just really need all three of them to just sit down. And talk. That time period was so awful and depressing, and both of them didn't even know the full story.

I just want Feng Xin to know why Xie Lian was acting so cynical and different. I want Mu Qing to truly express what he felt. I want them all to just talk it out 😭

Of course, that might never even happen as most people don't just sit down and decide to hash out their trauma...

[weirdocat83]

Sometimes I think about Xie Lian’s past in Xianle and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think he had all that much of a childhood. He was a crown prince so yes, everything he asked for was given to him on a silver platter but he mentions that he frequently quarreled with his father and is shown to only really tolerate his cousin. The only person in his family that he really shows deep bonds to is his mother who no doubt must have been busy as a queen for the most part. Also because of his station he always needed to be seen as “proper” as well as the relationships he had being affected because the rank difference played a big role whether he acknowledged it or not (*cough* Mu Qing *cough*). He went off to cultivate at a young age and ascended at 17!!! He was held up to the standards of an actual god at 17! And I’m pretty sure that that expectation didn’t start there. It was there even before because he was the crown prince. So when at about 20 years old with little to no experience with common people and a mountain of expectations to live up to of course he’d inevitably fail! And it makes me so sad because putting that on someone’s shoulders when they are brutally unprepared and blaming them when they can’t carry the weight to the point they’re pretty much breaking down and blaming themselves is so tragic and I feel like it isn’t acknowledged enough.

[impatiencegyu]

Note: Feng Xin is older than Xie Lian here (15 and 9 years old respectively).

"Mama, where are you taking us?" Xie Lian wrapped his arms around his mother's waist, looking up at her with a big smile. "Did you bring me a new gift? Or is it for Xin-gege?"

"Patience, A-Lian," The Queen laughed, ruffling his hair as she turned to look at Feng Xin. "You're quiet today. Is there something wrong?"

"N-no, your highness," Feng Xin stuttered. There really wasn't anything wrong, but for some reason, he had been feeling weird since morning. And he couldn't tell if it was good or bad.

"Where are we going, your highness?" He asked. They were entering a part of the palace he and Xie Lian had been forbidden from entering before, and he was a bit nervous. What did she even do in here?

"I have a surprise for the both of you," She smiled, opening a door and standing to the side. "Go on in, children."

Xie Lian jumped inside, and Feng Xin followed, looking around. The room was...nothing special. Most of the walls were bare, and there was a small table a few feet from the door with stuff that artists use? Paints, brushes, knives, and all that. And in the very centre stood what looked like a statue, veiled in a rich red fabric.

"Mama!" Xie Lian exclaimed, "Did you make this?"

"Yes, A-Lian," The Queen walked towards the statue with an amused laugh, and waved them over. "Come on, don't you want to see it?"

The weird feeling built inside Feng Xin. He felt like he couldn't breathe. It was as if the fabric concealed something that could influence him for the rest of his life.

What is wrong with me?

The statue was almost the same size as him, and as he watched the Queen of Xianle lean down to reveal the veil, his heart started beating really fast. Involuntarily, his hand went to his chest, and he took a deep breath just as the statue was revealed.

What. The. Hell.

Feng Xin's breath stuttered, and he had to double over, coughing. Not because it was ugly, or disgusting. No, no, never.

The statue was of a boy of his age, all long hair and sharp eyes, with a beautiful smile as he held his saber out in a graceful position, as if it was challenging him to come fight. It was unlike anything Feng Xin had ever seen — no wonder the Queen looked so proud of her work.

It was the most beautiful thing Feng Xin had ever seen in his entire life.

"It's so pretty, Mama! Who is he?" Xie Lian asked, eyes wide.

"We don't have a name yet, dear," The Queen responded, smiling softly. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"I'll think, Mama," Xie Lian put his hand to chin, clearly brainstorming names.

Suddenly, a name rose up out of nowhere in Feng Xin's mind. Nothing else had place there except for that name, and he was so surprised at this realization (that was now flowing through his entire being like pure, fluid gold), that he accidentally said it out loud.

"Mu Qing."

The Queen and Xie Lian turned to look at him, surprised, before the former asked, "What did you say, A-Xin?"

"Mu Qing," He repeated, not taking his eyes off the statue even for a moment. "Mu Qing."

"That's a beautiful name!" The Queen clasped her hands together, and turned to Xie Lian, "What do you say, darling?"

"Yes, yes, it's pretty!" Xie Lian giggled, "Mama, Mama, A-Lian wants to draw Mu Qing!"

"You do? Ah, there's no paper left here. Come on, let's go get some?"

"Yes, Mama!" Xie Lian laughed as his mother ushered him out of the room. Just as they reached the door, she turned.

Feng Xin was still standing there.

"We'll be right back, alright A-Xin?"

He nodded, and they left to the Queen's room to get paper.

The weird feeling was dissipating now. All he felt was a powerful awe, a magnetic pull towards the statue. Towards Mu Qing. He reached out a hand to touch, then snapped it away.

What's wrong with me? It's just a statue! He thought, an irrational frustration building up in him.

Then why hesitate, something in his heart murmured. It's just a statue.

Feng Xin reached out, and pressed his palm to the statue's cheek. Mu Qing's smile was in his palm now, his sharp eyes looking into his, and it felt so real. It was almost as if he were a real person.

Feng Xin took a deep breath, and whispered, "If only you were real." He pulled his hand away, and turned around to leave.

Then, he froze.

A warm hand had wrapped around his wrist.

[neithoftheveil]

Masterlist of my AO3 fics:

no light, no light

Word Count: 11,655

Rating: T

Ship: Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: Wuming turns into a Wrath sooner into the temple scene, helps Xie Lian recover from his injuries, and teaches him it’s never a mistake to care.

-

spectrum

Word Count: 597

Rating: G

Ship: Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: An extra for no light, no light. Xie Lian’s mother finds out about her son and San Lang’s relationship.

-

never let me go

Word Count: 872

Rating: M

Ship: Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: Extra for no light, no light. A wedding, a gift, and a future together.

-

forever is a start

Word Count: 4,104

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: After his emotional outpouring in Qi Rong’s lair, Xie Lian gives into his feelings for Hua Cheng and stops fighting the magnetism between them.

-

borrowed finery

Word Count: 3,668

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Xie Lian decides to dress up as the God-Pleasing Crown Prince for his husband’s birthday. He does not anticipate how worthless imitating his former glory makes him feel.

-

your most obedient servant

Word Count: 2,697

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian; hints of Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: A shameless, stand-alone addition to borrowed finery. Hua Cheng gets wrecked by his husband for his birthday. That’s the whole fic.

-

my dream is only you

Word Count: 4,995

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian; Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: Hua Cheng has one request for his birthday: that his god fuck him in his Wuming form. Xie Lian is more than happy to spoil the sweet boy he took for granted. And spoil him a little more after that, if he’s good.

-

to yearn for affection

Word Count: 3,356

Rating: G

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing

Summary: Mu Qing is cursed to cry unless he’s being touched. Feng Xin offers to hold his hand but makes one joke too many and hits a sore spot.

Or, Feng Xin jokes he’s in love with Mu Qing at the Worst Possible Moment and they each have feelings about it.

-

i talk to god but the sky is empty

Word Count: 69,959

Rating: E

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing; Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: When a tongueless spirit appears in the south and curses ghosts, gods, and mortals alike with catatonia, Hua Cheng, Mu Qing, and Feng Xin must work together to solve the mystery behind the curse and save Xie Lian from the horrors ravaging his mind.

They may never find a cure, however, if the villagers plagued by the spirit don’t stop lying to them at every turn.

-

i hope we shall meet again

Word Count: 2,190

Rating: T

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian; hints of Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: On Mount Yujun, Hua Cheng appears before Xie Lian in a variation of an old form, not expecting that Xie Lian carried Wuming in his heart for eight centuries and would know his ghost anywhere, mask or no mask.

-

i’ve got my mind on you

Word Count: 1,384

Rating: G

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Walking across campus with Shi Qingxuan, Xie Lian quite literally runs into the hottest man he’s ever seen in his life and has no idea what to do when attraction slams into him like a semi truck.

-

strap the wing to me

Word Count: 37,996

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: When a second Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession is ruined by Xie Lian’s personal bodyguard and childhood friend Hua Cheng, the King and Queen of Xianle decide to pull their son out of the Royal Holy Temple to arrange his mating and rearrange his guard. Their goal is to keep Xie Lian far away from red-eyed, ill-fated, alpha Hua Cheng, who is hopelessly in love with Xie Lian and would doom the country given half a chance to mate the crown prince.

But Hua Cheng can’t stand to see Xie Lian’s dreams dashed. He offers a solution to his best friend in secret: he can break the law and bite Xie Lian to take him permanently off the market so he can cultivate, but he’ll have to go on the run after he does it to avoid execution.

-

your love is sunlight

Word Count: 28,697

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Sequel to "strap the wing to me." As Xie Lian takes the next steps in his relationship with Hua Cheng, trouble brews in Xianle.

Meanwhile, Hua Cheng has suspicions someone is behind the sudden chaos—or maybe he’s only looking for a culprit to prove this situation isn’t owed to his cursed fortune.

**Series ongoing**

-

just do what feels right

Word Count: 2,010

Rating: G

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing

Summary: Mu Qing contemplates what it means to be in love on a cool spring day. Feng Xin has some advice.

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Mu Qing’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Word Count: 4,583

Rating: M

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing; Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: When Mu Qing wakes up in Xie Lian’s body following a routine mission, he doesn’t have enough time to explain he isn’t Xie Lian before Hua Cheng rolls over and kisses him good morning.

Or, a body swap spell gives Mu Qing a panic attack and forces him to have a conversation about his sex repulsion with Feng Xin that he’s been avoiding for fear of being dumped.

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i’ve got you

Word Count: 5,479

Rating: E

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing

Summary: After a rival martial god drugs Mu Qing with the intention of destroying his cultivation, Mu Qing decides his cultivation is a weakness others can exploit and approaches Feng Xin to ask for help. Feng Xin might think Mu Qing is the most annoying person in all Three Realms, but he’d never let anything happen to him.

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Ache of Separation

Word Count: 2,200

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Convinced his husband writes extra poorly during their calligraphy practice because he finds it amusing, Xie Lian agrees to let Hua Cheng direct his efforts to a canvas he’d hesitate to ruin: Xie Lian’s naked skin.

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hopelessly devoted

Word Count: 1,383

Rating: G

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: In the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, Xie Lian finds a mural Feng Xin and Mu Qing missed: a familiar ghost wearing a white smiling mask.

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i will never leave you

Word Count: 23,338

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Hua Cheng doesn’t appear all at once a year after his dissipation on the Heaven-Crossing Bridge; rather, he corporealizes at Xie Lian’s side on Mount Taicang over the course of four seasons. As he regains his ability to be seen, heard, and touched, he and Xie Lian navigate loss, longing, and love.

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nobody

Word Count: 1,827

Rating: G

Ships: One-sided Mu Qing/Xie Lian; one-sided Feng Xin/Xie Lian, Feng Xin/Mu Qing

Summary: When Mu Qing brings up idle gossip floating around the mountain that disciples may never have their first kiss, Xie Lian solves the problem for both of them, to unforeseen consequences.

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made manifest

Word Count: 725

Rating: E

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: Hua Cheng’s mouth gets away from him during sex, and he and his husband stumble upon a new kink.

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plum blossom

Word Count: 2,546

Rating: G

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary: When a curse array blanches Xie Lian’s hair white, he attempts to dye it back before his husband gets home.

In his defense, the dye didn’t look pink in the bottle.

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pieces of you

Word Count: 37,417

Rating: T

Ships: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian, Wuming/Xie Lian

Summary: After Xie Lian and Hua Cheng encounter a strange bear spirit in the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, Hua Cheng is split into three past versions of himself: a ten-year-old Hong-er whose last memory is being tossed in a gunny sack, a thirteen-year-old Xiao-Hua who just snuck into the Xianle Army, and a Wuming who still smells of smoke from the burning of the Yong’an Royal Palace.

Trapped on Mount Tonglu with no spiritual energy, no way to call for help, and no basic necessities, Xie Lian and his three companions must keep each other alive while scouring the greater Tonglu area in search of the escaped spirit, all to bring back Xie Lian’s “husband,” a man Xie Lian won’t identify for fear of complicating an already complicated situation.

Jealous of a man they’ve never met, grappling with feelings of inadequacy, and frustrated with each other’s failings, Hong-er, Xiao-Hua, and Wuming are determined to help Xie Lian—even if a successful mission means they disappear.

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my heart was not made for this

Word Count: 785

Rating: T

Ship: pre-slash Yushi Huang/Ling Wen

Summary: Nangong Jie is the first witness on scene to Yushi Huang’s ascension. It’s far from what she expects.

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use you as a warning sign

Word Count: 5,222

Rating: G

Ship: Feng Xin/Mu Qing

Summary: When Feng Xin drinks too much at a heavenly party, he can’t shut his mouth about how pretty Mu Qing is.

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Ongoing:

all that defines me (is falling away)

Last update: September 16, 2024

Rating: T

Ship: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian; Feng Xin/Mu Qing; Yushi Huang/Ling Wen

Summary: Three years after his life falls apart, Xie Lian attempts to start over by reconnecting with old friends and taking over a small flower shop to keep his mind busy, but pretending he can’t see the dark spirit that haunts him doesn’t make it go away. It’s been there forever—along with the nightmares, the deja vu, and the bone-deep longing for someone just outside his memory’s reach.

When a stranger named San Lang wanders into his shop one rainy evening, Xie Lian can’t help but feel like he’s grasped a piece of the puzzle, but his friends are convinced “San Lang” is dangerous, and what’s worse? They might be right. As they investigate his intentions and Xie Lian unravels the mysteries of his life, they find themselves targeted by someone or something hell-bent on taking them out one by one.

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all these colors fade

Last update: September 8, 2024

Rating: E

Ship: Xie Lian/Hua Cheng

Summary: War has officially broken out between Xianle and Yong’an, and Xie Lian knows exactly which god is to blame—but he’s helpless to reverse the chaos. With Hua Cheng at his side, he descends, but the first cracks in his resolve appear when he’s forced to kill the very people he’s been working so hard to protect.

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Codename Catastrophe

Last update: August 14, 2024

Rating: E

Ship: Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen/Song Lan

Summary: When Detective Xiao Xingchen and Lieutenant Song Lan cross paths with an elusive necromancing serial killer nicknamed Jiangzai who is responsible for their five-year estrangement, they’re pulled into the young man’s seductive web and offered a deal: if they spare his life, he’ll lead them to the men who contract his kills and provide all the proof they need to prosecute. He claims he works for the Jin Corporation, which owns their province and has recently legislated against omega rights in the workplace, the very reason Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan have been brought back into each other’s lives.

Leaping at the prospect to expose corruption at the heart of their province and to put a stop to further contract kills like Jiangzai’s, Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan accept the deal, but working as a team proves difficult: not only do the three have a complicated past and hidden agendas, they can’t fight the attraction building between them, especially when they’re forced to save each other’s lives after the Jin Corporation puts out hits on all three of them.