#tgcf volume 7

[radiantmists]

oh...

"If I wasn't destined to be perfect, I at least wanted to be perfectly kind. But I couldn't even manage that."

I think most people stop trying to be perfect pretty early; it's seen as almost egotistical to think you can be. But I think most people hold on to the desire to be good, and for a lot of us being a 'good person' means at least not doing terrible things, and ideally not having terrible feelings and impulses either.

And that's not achievable, not for real humans, and not even for the gods of this world. As the preceptor said, those who ascend are still human. The world has no true gods.

But in the wake of that truth, what Xie Lian says earlier is important. Everyone has the capacity and the impulse to do bad things, and everyone screws up and hurts someone sometimes. All you can do is shamelessly go on living, and keep trying to do good things and help people and make the world better.

[crimson-rain-flower-countdown]

7 days until tgcf Volume 7’s release!! 🦋✨

[imnotpoppunk]

I'll always be so obsessed with the part where Xie Lian is bracing himself for Hua Cheng finding out about the part of his life that he's most ashamed of. He knows how bad it was, how low he stooped, and truly believes that it would make him unlovable.

And then Hua Cheng kneels before him and reveals that yes, he already knows. He was there. He lived that nightmare with him.

And despite all of that, he still loves Xie Lian. Loved him then and loves him now.

Xie Lian's tears were so real and I could feel how cathartic it was for him to get that reassurance. I could feel his fear dissipate as he realized and WOW.

wow.

[glosschi]

Men or women, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy.

Heaven Official's Blessing

[goatpunches]

“do you want to borrow spiritual power, gege?”

[fancy-rock-dove]

Hua Cheng and He Xuan are both assholes, obvs. But one of the things that will pull me right out of my immersion is any take on either of them that turns them into classist assholes. I just absolutely cannot see it.

Hua Cheng is wealthy because that’s one of the ways he decided to make himself powerful, but it’s pretty central to the way both ghost kings view power and the system that they were both deeply impoverished in life. They respect the common worker and are fully ready to eat the rich.

Admittedly they also both fell in love with spoiled rich kids, but only the ones who are unflappable defenders of justice in spite of the circumstances of their birth and defy social convention and the advice of the people around them to be so.

[we-are-ignited]

Guess I’m staring book 7 oh no

[kousagi7hikari]

Happy volume 8 release day!

[schrodingers-hoarding-problem]

guess who now owns 6/8 of the english heaven official's blessing volumes? me!!

im so excited to start my reread (first one since i read the fan translation oh so long ago and im so excited)

[wolfriver777]

Just finished book 6

[shijiujun]

SENSE Book Publishing | Thai TGCF Ver. Volume 7 Cover Art by 长阳

[radiantmists]

This is such an interesting comment because of course this is how Hua Cheng sees the world, and of course it's heavily informed by how he saw people treat xie lian, but the imagery of slicing up oneself immediately reminded me of the Land of the Tender.

And it makes me wonder-- does hua cheng think of himself as an exception to this, at least when it comes to xie lian? Or is the boy who stole that pearl earring from his savior and then kept coming back for more, the man who has just been offered more of his god than he ever thought possible and is now eagerly teasing for every bit of affection he can scrape up, speaking of greed from thorough self-knowledge?

and then, the inverse. Hua Cheng has offered so much to xie lian, gone through so much for him, literally been ripped apart for him-- and xie lian hardly asked for any of it. back when they were discussing ghost ashes, hua cheng said something along the lines that if *he* gave someone his ashes, it wouldn't matter to him if they destroyed them.

to hua cheng, love isn't about the trust that someone will value that first slice of you; its the willingness to cut yourself down to the bones, if they need it.

[crimson-rain-flower-countdown]

1 day until tgcf Volume 7’s release!! 🦋✨

[one-flower-one-sword]

As for Jun Wu, he stood up. "Xianle, calm yourself!"

Xie Lian was falling apart. "I...I..."

Had it all really been his fault?! If it truly was, then what should he do? He didn't know!

Just as he was drowning in confusion, a voice rang out in his mind. "It's not possible! I can swear that you are you. You're no one else. Trust me."

"..."

San Lang. San Lang!

Hua Cheng had told him that this couldn't be - it could never be his fault!

Xie Lian's mind instantly cleared. He steadied himself, finding his footing once more.

Jun Wu, however, had already descended from his throne and come to his side. "Xianle! Calm down first -"

TGCF Volume 7, page 106

another one of those small moments that really goes to show not only how much Xie Lian trusts Hua Cheng but also what an immensely positive effect Hua Cheng's support has had on his mental health. by this point, not only has Xie Lian started to seek Hua Cheng out for physical and emotional support and comfort when previously he used to severely neglect himself and his needs, here Hua Cheng isn't even present and just by remembering his words Xie Lian is able to calm himself down, all on his own.

it's also kind of really romantic in the sense that like... Hua Cheng really is always with him in some way, isn't he? even when separated, they're never truly apart, not now that they both know they are loved by the other.

also notice the contrast with Jun Wu repeatedly telling Xie Lian to calm down and it doing absolutely nothing to help him actually do so. at this point, Xie Lian still trusts and admires Jun Wu but the fact that it's Hua Cheng's remembered words and not Jun Wu's spoken ones that actually steady Xie Lian and make him trust himself again speaks volumes about which of the two of them is actually acting in a way that is helpful and supportive to Xie Lian's well-being and to his understanding of himself - in this scene but also throughout the whole story

[glosschi]

I can manage on my own. All alone, alone, alone, alone, alone, alone, alone. I don’t need anyone, I don’t need anyone, I don’t need anyone, I don’t need anyone…

Heaven Official's Blessing

[nebulathunderwave]

TGCF volume 7, potential spoilers

Hua//Lian just confirmed how SCANDALOUS the XiYao box scene in CQL was (we KNEW. But STILL.)