#xing fair

[finalfantasyx]

POV: you're a prince who's busy trying to rescue your poisoned best friend while purposefully not telling your badass spear-wielding girlfriend for fear of her getting hurt but said badass spear-wielding girlfriend shows up to save your hide anyway after demanding information from your very royal older brother. SNGX Xiaoluo gifset: [2/?]

[adreamofsplendor]

邢菲❦ Xing Fei ❦ Fei Xing

© adreamofsplendor

[sapphired17]

Put Your Head on My Shoulder: A Review

After falling into C-drama slumps for a few months, I recently picked up an anticipated title and recommenced my journey with My Girlfriend is an Alien Season 2 (2022). I also wrote a review on the first season of My Girlfriend is an Alien (2019), which I quite loved as well. Looking back, I don’t think I have appreciated this series enough. Put Your Head on My Shoulder (2019) was one of the…

[naughtynanzhu]

[aleiiii]

how old are the kids and, do they get along with each other?

Zi Rui being the eldest, is 19- he’s first in line for everything, wether that was training with his dad or being able to go out on missions with his dad, he was the first to do it all. He can be a bit of a hardass, trying to lead his siblings, but his siblings are fully capable as well and just get annoyed when he’s like another authority figure to them. But it’s all in good faith, he loves his siblings and wants them to be safe.

Ruo Xing being requested for after Zi Rui’s birth, is 18 just a year younger. Being the middle child can come with a lot of difficulties, but he’s loud enough to make himself known to all of his parents. Him and Zi Rui bump heads a lot due to the fact that he is second in line, even though they are just a year apart. Mac tries to be fair with both of them, saying that if Rui started training at 5, so does Xing.

And finally Xiao Dan, being 13. The two eldest were a quite the handful as toddlers, so they decidedly took a break from the…baby makin (but Wukong knew he wanted more so 💀) So when the boys were a bit older, as mystic monkeys grow a bit faster, they were able to let loose just a bit to introduce another into the Sun family. Xiao Dan being the youngest, gets spoiled to all hell, however it just made her a brighter and happier child. Though, when it comes to her siblings, she knows when to levy this advantage.

+ a lil doodle

[dangermousie]

The fact that dramas not only have a whole category of "came to fuck them over, stayed to fuck them" romance but there are enough of them to have subcategories like:

The person I love is supposed to end the world, let's hope it goes out with a bang. Ours.

See Till the End of the Moon, Legend of Fuyao, Ever Night, Shine or Go Crazy, Kingdom of the Wind

They are a literal devil but everyone has their issues, don't they?

See Doom at Your Service, TTEOTM, The Legends, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Chong Zi, Journey of Flower, Scarlet Heart Ryeo, Legend of Zu, Ice Fantasy

Yeah, they killed (or hurt) my family but I can make a new one with them and that's a fair trade

See Empress Ki, Moon in the Day, The Wolf, Captivating the King, Goodbye My Princess, Siege in Fog, Royal Nirvana, The King's Woman, A Love to Kill, Whisper, Hotel King, Prosecutor Princess, Gaksital, Secret, Cruel City, Queen Love and War, Giant, Bloody Heart

I want vengeance on their family - by being an in law from hell!

See Beyond the Clouds, Queen of the Game, Love Song for Illusion, The Princess' Man, Innocent Man, Green Rose, Spring Waltz

He's the villain with corpse decor but it's good he's got hobbies, I guess

See My Villain Husband, Different Princess, Is Xianzun Whitewashed Today, The Romance of Tiger and Rose, upcoming Yong Ye Xing He and Offering Fish to Master, Legend of Condor Heroes (secondary OTP), Love for Immortality, Word of Honor

I came to rob them of their goods but robbing them of their heart is way better

See Robber, My Journey to You, That Winter the Wind Blows, Baker King, Call It Love

They killed ME before, but eh, let bygones be bygones

A lot of the ones above (Xianzun, Tiger/Rose, Different Princess) qualify but also Love and Redemption...(ETA Bulgasal as reminded by @crookedfandomquill)

A lot of them fit more than one category, too...

God, we are so blessed! :P

[theladysunami]

Many other people have already posted their thoughts on the various peaks of Cang Qiong Mountain sect, so I figure I might as well throw my own thoughts and preferred headcanons out there.

First, my thoughts on the peaks we know exist but don't know much about in terms of their specialties:

Xian Shu Peak: Textiles Peak

This is my favorite headcanon for the all women's peak! The textiles industry is a big part of Chinese history, and was traditionally considered to be women's work, so it would only make sense for it to be Xian Shu Peak's peak specialty. It's not just one specific skill either, as spinning, weaving, dying, garment making, embroidery, rope/cord-making, etc. are all a part of the industry.

As they are a cultivation peak, I expect some of the products of their work to be defensive robes with talismans or incantations stitched into the fabric, Qiankun bags or sleeves, spirit trapping pouches, etc. If rope making is included in their preview, they could also be involved in making immortal binding cables, nets, and so forth.

Ku Xing Peak: Rites, Rituals and Purification Peak

We don't know much about Ku Xing Peak except that they live an aesthetic lifestyle. As it's common for individuals to take on certain aspects of aestheticism (simple clothes, restricted diets, abstinence, etc.) before engaging in many types of rituals, I'm inclined to believe a peak that practices aestheticism at all times would be particularly well suited for such tasks.

I tend to imagine their peak being similar to the Gusu Lan Clan, minus the music aspect (music being Qing Jing's purview). They could specialize in things like summoning spirits, communing with the dead, dispelling resentment, exorcisms, purifying objects or locations, properly laying the dead to rest, etc.

Since SVSSS predominantly focuses on demons, not ghosts, it's only natural a peak that deals more in spiritual cleansing and laying the dead to rest wouldn't be involved in the plot much.

Zui Xian Peak: Potions and Elixers Peak

While lot of fanfics make jokes about Zui Xian being a peak for alcoholics (which is completely fair, as this is the dick joke filled world of SVSSS we're talking about), my first thought upon learning of Zui Xian Peak's specialty was the immorality granting heavenly wine in the Journey to the West. Looking into the matter more, I've since learned that wine has actually been a huge part of Chinese medicine since the Han Dynasty. The traditional character for medicine even includes the radical for wine!

With this kind of precedent, it seems only logical that Zui Xian Peak doesn't merely make alcohol for social and/or enjoyment purposes, it's quite likely to be the ‘external alchemy’ peak of Cang Qiong Mountain. I expect they grow and process at least some of their own herbs and ingredients, along with performing other alcohol and potion making tasks like brewing, distilling, extracting, fermenting, filtering, infusing, and so on.

Next, my thoughts on what the three mystery peaks might be:

I am not going to try and name these peaks, as I struggle with naming things even in my own native tongue.

Hunting, Trapping and Scouting Peak

Having read MDZS before SVSSS, I found the distinct lack of archery in SVSSS to be quite peculiar. As the peak of scholars and strategists, I suppose it's only logical Qing Jing Peak focuses on the four scholarly arts (the guqin, strategy games, calligraphy, and painting), rather then the six arts of Confucian gentlemen (rites, music, archery, equestrianism, calligraphy, and mathematics), but that does leave several ‘arts’ free to be claimed by other peaks! This inspired me to think up a hunting and scouting peak, where disciples excel at archery and equestrianism.

Since mounted archers became a significant aspect of Chinese warfare in the 4th century BC, thanks to King Wuling of Zhao, I'd say having cultivators of this sort in a Xianxia setting is perfectly reasonable. Giving Cang Qiong Mountain sect scouts also nicely fills the gap in their martial capabilities. Without this peak they have strategists, weapon craftsman, ground troops, and suppliers, but no reconnaissance forces!

I also consider this peak to be the rough equivalent of the ‘Beast Taming Peak’ so many works are fond of. Who else could breed and control hundreds of spirit eagles for the Immortal Alliance Conference but a group of cultivators focused on scouting missions? As supernaturally superior mounts and spirit (hunting) dogs would be incredibly helpful to them, they'd likely engage in horse and dog breeding programs as well! Their skill as hunters and trappers would also permit them both to provide game for Cang Qiong Mountain sect, and to aid in the rounding up of various living monsters for both alchemical ingredient harvesting and for releasing at events like the Immortal Alliance Conference.

In summary, this peak would produce disciples skilled at equestrianism, archery, falconry, animal husbandry, scouting, herb gathering, hunting, trapping, etc. For anyone familiar with D&D, I did basically make a Ranger peak here, but I stand by that decision!

Artifacts, Arrays and Invention Peak

Every time I read a work with some variation on the "Mad Scientist Peak" I adore it, so naturally I have to include this type of peak as well. This peak would be for the Wei Wuxians of the cultivation world, hoping to revolutionize cultivation society!

Their focus would be mathematics, spell geometry, arrays, talismans, non-medicinal alchemy (aka ancient materials science), engineering and of course artifact recovery, study and creation. The crystal mirror ‘surveillance equipment’ from the Immortal Alliance Conference? These guys would be the ones that developed it!

Agriculture, Earthworks and Architecture Peak

While I admittedly don't know the nuances of feng shui, I am at least aware there is far more to it then what you usually see in western depictions. In MDZS, it's noted that an area having bad feng shui (like Yi City) can cause premature death, disaster, and an increase in all sorts of nasty supernatural phenomena! With this in mind, a peak that focuses on connecting to and harmonizing with one's environment seems perfect for the final Cang Qiong Mountain peak.

I don't imagine this peak doing much of the actual building in the sect (that's An Ding's job) but when it comes to designing the sect's buildings, or altering its geography through earthworks, they're the ones to talk to. I also see them as producing at least some of the sect’s food supply, using their skills to encourage a positively supernatural abundance of plants.

In short, disciples of this peak would be skilled with things like architecture, earthworks, geography, topography, irrigation, agriculture, element manipulation, etc.

If SVSSS’s heavenly realms have anything akin to TGCF’s elemental masters, there is probably an unusually high chance they come from this peak.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy holidays. Could you do more edling engagement? Thank you!!!💜💜💜

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Well. Fuck.

They've finally figured out how to make a philosopher's stones and it's nothing they can actually do because they'd have to kill a country worth of people to do it.

He'd do anything to get Al's body back, but he won't do this.

"Seems doable," Ling says, reading over Ed's shoulder.

"Ling!" Al says.

Mei pats Al on the shoulder, but it's more absentminded than anything. "The south, maybe? Property values have been getting a little high."

Ed is going to stay calm and not screaming or weeping or strangling Ling with his bare fucking hands. Hand. He won't even use the automail to keep it fair. "We are not killing a country's worth of people just so you can be immortal and become emperor."

"Well, not just," Ling says, his eyes flickering to Al, which almost makes Ed not hate him. "Besides, country is an exaggeration. A city at best. We're Xing, Edward, we're not the size of your paltry little Amestris. If we start another war they might not even notice. Father does like a good war."

He opens his mouth to explain all the extremely obvious reasons that they're not going to kill a city's worth of people either then closes it, caught on something else Ling said.

The Amestrian population is almost the exact number needed for a true philosopher's stone.

It could be a coincidence. But he doesn't exactly have a great track record with those.

[mikuni14]

15 Day BL Challenge - Day 4

Day 4: Fave Ship Dynamic

Since I can't choose one favorite dynamic, I'll allow myself to write a few:

EQUALITY in a relationship will always be my top priority, which I understand as a situation where no one is exploited, or led like a child in the relationship, or dominated, even if one of them is naturally dominant. To make it more complicated, I actually like relationships in which one is clearly more dominant, for example stronger physically, or in the hierarchy, is richer, has power, BUT NOT OVER THEIR LOVED ONE, is actually even dependent on him. The point is that both have the same power over each other, are equally dependent on each other, both support each other to the best of their abilities, no one gives more or less. It is ideal when the seamingly "weaker" one has even a slight advantage in the relationship, to make it more fair. A good example of this relationship is Hannibal or Nagron 😋 There are many BL series with equal characters, most of them will appear below (but I'll start with a gif of these guys, equal in everything, and that widening of Zhou Zi Shu's eyes at the sight of Wen Ke Xing is one of the best things in BLs I've ever seen 💖)

most often, equality in a relationship goes hand in hand with my second favorite dynamic: when both are mature. I LOVE it when a couple is made up of adults, mature people who know who they are, know that they are interested in each other and the only obstacles in their relationship are external. From BL series, these are: Laws of Attraction, Manner of Death, Jun & Jun (excellent examples 10/10) as well as The Untamed, Word of Honor, KinnPorsche, 4 Minutes, Our Dating Sim, To Sir, With Love. This equality and maturity can just as well appear in series with young characters as in The On1y One

my other favorite dynamic also goes hand in hand with equality: when both are smart, they are professionals in what they do, like in The Sign, Laws of Attraction, The On1y One, Be Loved In House: I Do, Jun & Jun (see the gif above) and of course The Untamed and Word of Honor (I can't help but mention Beyond Evil, The Devil Judge, Killer and Healer, not BLs we all know better 😎)

when both are good at communication, I love it when characters TALK to each other, even when they argue, as long as they COMMUNICATE

the best and the rarest: when they trust each other and believe in each other, that the other person will handle the truth, the problems, that they will help, that TOGETHER THEY WILL DEAL with whatever life throws at them, when they talk about what's going on in their lives including the bad stuff, no noble sacrifice and keeping the loved one in the dark "for their own good". It's very possible that in all the BLs I've watched there was a couple who was honest with each other from the beginning until the end, but I can't remember one now... (Beyond Evil, Love in Translation started doing it by the end)

but I also like it when someone in the couple is unhinged, crazy, like Sahashi in Cosmetic Playlover, or a himbo like Sprite in Twins, or a golden retriever type but a real one like in Sing My Crush, especially when the other one is a bit grumpy and gloomy, like in those series, I love it!

I also like calm, stoic, solid types, at the same time totally whipped for their loved ones 🥰 such as the characters played by Noh in Nitiman and Oh! My Sunshine Night. Special mention should be made of someone similar to this type, but also noble and old-fashioned in a charming way, like San from Century of Love, and the guys from To Sir, With Love

[askew-d]

Fanfics ideas, cause you love MXTX works . Your top 3 fav MDZS characters will be besties with who (in your opinions) if they were in other universe, with characters from TGCF & SVSSS? Hope my questions are not confusing.....

hi, anon! sorry i’m terrible late for this ask. hope you don’t mind :) i am not sure i can provide great fanfic ideas, but here’s my opinion about who’d be besties with who in the mxtx universes, and i added more than three or favorite characters, by the way:

1. wei wuxian would create a group of besties with xie lian, shen qingqiu and hua cheng (and get together really often with nie huaisang group of friends)

wait up! i mean, wei wuxian would get along with xie lian because of his obvious fair morality principals and they would eventually get along with shen qingqiu for their intimate experiences with their husbands. if shen qingqiu was frustrated with luo binghe, of course xie lian and wei wuxian would share advices. wei wuxian would love to hear xie lian's lifetimes of stories and xie lian would love to hear his in return. shen qingqiu would slowly warm up to them.

and now, why hua cheng? i personally do not see hua cheng warming up to a human other than wei wuxian. not only because wei wuxian is a demonic cultivator, but also because wei wuxian would always thoroughly respect xie lian and have him like a great friend because he also has been treated like shit by others and understands xie lian. i think hua cheng would appreciate that. shen qingqiu would not judge xie lian either, so i guess they would all be ok nicely hanging out.

and they would spend time with:

2. nie huaisang, shang qinghua, shi qingxuan and sha hualing

you cannot tell me that nie huaisang would not become friends with sha hualing. they are both capable of everything. nie huaisang would be a little scared of her at first? surely. but something would happen, perhaps a case in which only he could help her out, and they would end up turning into acquaintances bordering into friends. one hand helping the other (perhaps not always for the greater cause).

anyway, shang qinghua and shi qingxuan though? personally, i think they would hit it off right at the first sight. shang qinghua would help him with writing, even, and open a new word for nie huaisang.

3. jiang cheng would slowly start being friends with feng xin, mu qing and liu qingge (even if none of them will admit it)

jiang cheng? admiting he made friends with those angry idiots mu qing and feng xing who cannot stop fighting? admittng that he made friends with that weirdass liu qingge? and vice versa? no, they will never say it. but fairly enough, i think jiang cheng would end up getting drunk one day, they would all start complaining, being angry, hitting things over, discussing over those gays kissing at their feet all their time, and the next morning, they would just grow an inch closer.

they would still roll their eyes at one another every time they are in a social conference. they would still be tsunderes even if they just spent an afternoon hanging out gossiping back and forth. yet, i think they would grow closer, and in a life and death situation, they would fight together like reluctant sworn brothers.

4. lan wangji would befriend ling wen, mobei-jun and luo binghe

lan wangji and ling wen i think its clear that they would be nice friends, helping each other and having tea together. mobei-jun would just be there because, if shang qinghua must have his time to be with nie huaisang and other human friends, at least hanguang-jun is one human that he tolerates for the simple fact that he does not talk much. so that is enough for him. luo binghe would only become close to lan wangji because they would trade nice recipes for their husbands. and also, it would be nice if lan wangji also helped ling wen, binghe and mobei-jun out with understanding how human works. they would be so confused and would want explanations of human experiences from hanguang-jun (one time or another, i can swear that mobei and luo binghe would want to receive advice towards their sex life too).

5. lan xichen would grow fond of yue qingyuan and he xuan

lan xichen, my dear! for you, i think you would have a good friendship with yue qingyuan, only. with he xuan, i think its horrible to say that he xuan would seem to be a wise guy, so you would become close to him, you would have tea together, only for at the end you have another disappointment to discover that he isnt exactly who you think he is and another time you will be crumbling in sadness, so i will not say it. but there, i will leave you all with this angst side. or perhaps you would get along with shi qingxuan better because he sure been through this whole experience just like you, huh.

6. the juniors would be besties with shang qinghua, shi qingxuan, lan qianqiu, ning yingying and ming fan

do i need explanation for this one? hahah, they would all love to learn more from shang qinghua and laugh at his antics, follow around shi qingxuan just like ducklings, be impulsive with lan qianqiu, play around the town with ning yingying and judge others with the company of ming fang. perhaps beat some that threaten their superiors in the middle :) would love to check their shenanigans.

[milkyaa-krystal]

Xavier Love and Deepspace

Xavier is a tall young man with grey-blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He is typically seen wearing a white sweater and dark pants. Despite his youthful physique, his real age is unknown.

𓆩♡𓆪 Appearance: Xavier is a tall young man with grey-blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He is typically seen wearing a white sweater and dark pants. Despite his youthful physique, his real age is unknown.

𓆩♡𓆪 About Him: Age: ??? - Height: 6'1 ft 185 cm - Birthday: October 16th - Sign: Libra - Job: Deepspace Hunter - Evol: Light - Workplace: ???

𓆩♡𓆪 Name Variations: CN: Shen Xing Hui (沈星回) - JP: Seiya (セイヤ) - KR: Sim Sunghoon (심성훈)

Word from Milkyaa Krystal

♡ I really like his calm and gentle side. He always reacts gently. A simple personality that I really like, but be careful not to provoke him too much, especially with the Valentine's Day event, he hides his game well (｡・//ε//・｡)

[adreamofsplendor]

邢菲❦ Xing Fei ❦ Fei Xing

© adreamofsplendor

[worldsokayestdragon]

GreedxLing Week Day 4: Haunted

Read here on AO3

The Imperial Palace of Xing was haunted. 

Of course it was haunted. In a building so old, one that had housed centuries of royal plotting and backstabbing for power, hauntings went without saying. Ghosts were an unremarkable feature of the place that the living residents mostly coexisted with. 

Occasionally, when a room remained cold no matter the steps taken to warm it, or wailing echoed down a hall with no apparent source, or shadowy figures danced in the corners of one's vision only to disappear when looked at directly, a royal sage would be called in to cleanse the space and set up a shrine to appease the restless dead. And then life would carry on as usual.

Before his visit to Amestris, Ling had been skeptical of these reported hauntings. He'd never visited the palace himself to verify–not ranking high;y enough among his siblings to be invited by the former emperor–but it seemed to him that there was probably another explanation. 

Certainly his Amestran friends would argue that there were no ghosts in the palace. Ed in particular would probably call him an idiot for even thinking there could be and then launch into an explanation about small cracks letting in a draft and animals trapped in the walls and mold spores that could cause hallucinations.

But Ling had seen far stranger things. A few restless spirits no longer seemed impossible.

So after becoming emperor he kept up with the little routines developed over generations to keep the palace ghosts peaceful. He even had the sages preemptively make a shrine for his father, just to head off any revenge the man might want for being tricked into thinking he had the secret to immortality just long enough for Ling to make his play for the throne.

Ling just wished there was such an easy solution for the fact that he was every bit as haunted as the palace.

Greed had lived inside of him–had occupied his brain and body like a house–and now Greed was dead. 

His absence was like a missing limb, like those horrible few seconds between Gluttony biting through the muscle and bone of their shoulder and Greed’s healing growing their arm back. 

Ling's head had felt like it was going to explode back when Greed had first merged with him under Central Command, too small to hold both of their consciousnesses. Now it felt much too big for him alone, full of an eerie echoing silence that should be filled by another person. Even the screaming souls of the philosopher's stone, once so terribly overwhelming, has become a familiar (if never pleasant) background noise over the months, and he found it hard to focus or even fall asleep without them now.

For a time there was only that emptiness–that crushing grief no other person could understand. Ling couldn't even pause to process it himself, too caught up in the mad rush back to Xing to give Fu a proper funeral, the careful plotting and maneuvering needed to seize the throne from under his father, the steady and fair decision making necessary to calm the court and hang onto his new position in the chaos of his rise to power.

There was so much that Ling had to do–so many people relying on him–and if he stopped moving for even a moment the grief was waiting, threatening to swallow him up.

As time marched on, it became clear that the crippling emotion wasn't the only thing lurking in Ling's mind.

There was also a ghost.

It started with the voices, a little over a year after Greed was first joined with Ling.

Not voices. A voice. 

Greed's voice.

Ling recognized it as easily as he'd recognize his own. It was too distant and muffled to make out any words where it had always been loud and clear before, but it was unmistakable.

At first it happened rarely, and usually late at night when Ling was struggling to stay awake to finish just a bit more of his seemingly endless work. Ling could explain it away as his overtired mind playing tricks on him.

But it happened more and more frequently, Greed’s voice getting louder and more distinct as time went on.

It wasn’t the cocky tone Ling used to expect from Greed. There were never any demands or complaints or stupid jokes. It was usually just Ling’s name, and the odd word–normally please. Greed sounded desperate. He sounded like he was begging for Ling to listen to him, to help him.

But when Ling tried to listen, when he called back to Greed, there was nothing but silence once again. 

It wasn’t just Greed’s voice either. There were other strange things happening to Ling. 

Sometimes he caught a glimpse of his reflection and was certain his eyes were purple. When he looked closer they were always the deep brown they’d been his whole life, other than those months he’d shared his body with Greed.

He would find himself reaching for something without the conscious thought of picking it up. It didn’t feel like absentmindedness. It felt like his hand wasn’t under his control. He of all people would know the difference. But then it would always drop back to his side before reaching its goal. When he tried to move aside, to slip out of the controlling position in his own mind and let someone else take over in the way that had become easy and familiar, nothing would happen.

The one time an assassin managed to slip past Lan Fan long enough to take a swipe at Ling with a knife, he tried to block it with his bare hand. The resulting cut was deep and painful, and he was lucky it wasn’t severe enough to threaten his use of that hand. 

Lan Fan had yelled at him for such a stupid move (later, in the privacy of his chambers where no courtiers could see a mere bodyguard acting so familiar with the emperor himself) and he couldn’t blame her. 

He couldn’t even say it had been habit. It had been months, and he’d practiced fighting with his sword for hours a day in those early weeks, until he’d rewritten the instincts he’d picked up from relying on Greed’s power in battle.

But in the moment, he’d been so certain it would work. He had felt the cool tingle across his skin of Greed pulling up the Ultimate Shield for him, still nearly as familiar as the hilt of his sword in his hand after all this time. He thought he’d heard Greed shout a warning as well, still more distant than it should have been but so, so real. There hadn’t been a doubt in his mind that the blade would glance harmlessly off his hand.

So Ling was haunted. 

It wasn’t the sort of thing he could go to the royal sages about, of course. A possessed emperor was a liability Xing could never afford, and a crazy one was even worse.

He didn’t even tell Lan Fan. He knew that she knew that he was hiding something from her, and he hated how that must be hurting her. But he couldn’t stand to see pity in her eyes if she found out how much he was falling apart without Greed. Or worse, the betrayal that he was so caught up in mourning the homunculus when she’d lost her grandfather, a man who had been like family to Ling too.

And on his own he didn’t know how to appease Greed’s spirit, or stop himself from going even further into madness. Whichever one was needed.

He’d made a shrine to Greed in his bedroom. Not an official one, just a collection of things he thought Greed might like on his bedside table. An especially gaudy trinket that had been gifted to him by one of the clan heads here, a black bracelet with spikes that he’d seen at a festival stall during his royal appearance and sent a servant with money to buy for him there. And, in the center, an ordinary rock that he’d found tucked in his pocket after the Promised Day. 

Greed had seen it while they were making their way into Central City from the forest where Al had captured Pride. He’d nearly sent them sprawling to the ground when he’d skidded to a halt to go back and pick it up. It hadn’t looked like anything worth the trouble to Ling, but Greed insisted it was an interesting color. He’d put it in their pocket, and Ling had forgotten about it until he’d pulled it back out himself after Greed was gone.

Ling began treating this collection of things more like a proper shrine, burning incense and leaving little cakes nearby. It didn’t help.

And why would it? Greed wasn’t haunting the palace, wasn’t a ghost in halls he’d never gotten to see. He was haunting Ling, and there was nothing to be done about it. 

Ling would rip his ribcage open and build Greed a shrine there, but if only he could heal from that sort of thing.

That’s a little dramatic, don’tcha think? Greed’s voice asked. Not that I’d expect anything less. I’m totally worth it.

It was the first time Ling had heard a full sentence from the ghost, and it was so clear and loud that he jumped in surprise from where he’d been staring morosely at Greed’s rock.

“The day I start taking criticism about being dramatic from you, I’ll know I’ve lost it,” Ling snarked back before his brain fully caught up with himself, though luckily he had the presence of mind to speak quietly enough not to disturb Lan Fan where she’d fallen asleep on the settee in the corner. (She’d been worried since the failed assassination attempt. Ling thought this might be the first time she’d slept in days.)

Just then, Greed hadn’t sounded like a ghost, wailing–distant and mostly unintelligible–for help that the living couldn’t provide. He’d sounded like himself. Maybe a little tired, but as real and present as he’d ever been.

“Greed?” Ling whispered.

You can hear me? Greed asked. He sounded almost as disbelieving as Ling felt. Oh, thank god! I’ve been trying to talk to you for forever, but I couldn’t work up the energy. Turns out getting mostly ripped out of your body and having all your extra souls siphoned away really takes it out of you. Who woulda guessed?

Disbelief and joy bubbled up in Ling’s chest, and he laughed. It turned into a sob halfway through, and suddenly Ling couldn’t stop crying, all the tears he hadn’t allowed himself since losing Greed rushing out now that–against all odds–he had him back.

Wait, I didn’t mean to make you cry! Greed sounded panicked now. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t pull that shit again, if it makes you feel better? Dying twice was enough for me.

“You’d better not,” Ling sobbed. “How could you lie to me?”

I’m sorry, Greed repeated.

Ling could tell he meant it. “I forgive you, just don’t do it again.”

“Ling?”

The commotion had woken Lan Fan. She sat up and looked at him with bleary eyes, before shaking off all apparent sleepiness and rushing to his side when she got a good look at him.

“My lord, what’s wrong? Are you hurt”

She stood over him, patting along his arms in the beginning of a familiar check for injuries. Ling caught her hands to stop her.

“I’m okay Lan Fan. It’s wonderful news. Greed is back!”

The alarm left Lan Fan’s eyes, replaced with a softer worry. She looked sad.

“Ling, I think you should try to get some sleep now,” She said gently. “I know it’s been hard for you, but–”

Greed pushed for control of their body, and Ling could tell that he was too weak to take over by force. Ling stepped aside for him easily.

“So little faith in me still,” Greed complained. Lan Fan reeled back at the sound of the homunculus’ voice coming from Ling’s mouth. “I’ll win you over eventually, girlie. Just you wait.”

“Greed?” Lan Fan asked. It sounded less like a question and more like verifying something she already knew.

“The one and only,” Greed answered. “Try to contain your excitement.

Lan Fan did not look excited. She didn’t even look particularly happy. But she also didn’t immediately demand Greed give Ling his body back, so Ling would take that as a good sign.

“Very well,” Lan Fan said. “I know my lord is pleased by your return, so I won’t object to your presence, homunculus. But Greed?”

Lan Fan grabbed the front of Ling’s sleeping shirt and pulled Greed up off of the bed to glare into his eyes, an action she would never dream of taking with Ling himself.

“I am no alkahestrist, but if you ever hurt Ling again I will find a way to put you in your own body, and then I will make you pay.”

“Understood, ma’am,” Greed gasped. He sounded mostly scared, but Ling could sense that he was also a little admiring.

“Good.” Lan Fan let go of them and turned toward the door. “I’m going to bed now. Try to keep that idiot out of trouble.” 

It was unclear who was the idiot and who was supposed to be doing the keeping out of trouble, but Ling didn’t mind. He appreciated Lan Fan giving them some privacy for now. Starting tomorrow he would be launching mission “make Lan Fan and Greed get along,” but for the moment he was glad to have a Greed all to himself.

Greed slipped back into Ling’s mind before the door could close behind Lan Fan. It was less a smooth transfer of power, and more like Greed had simply run out of steam and lost his hold.

Damn, can’t believe I’m still this wiped out, Greed complained.

“You’ll get your strength back,” Ling reassured. “We have plenty of time, and I don’t mind waiting.”

Ling would gladly wait forever. He couldn’t imagine being impatient with Greed’s recovery. 

He was too full of joy to feel much of anything else, in fact. Greed was back! They could finally rule Xing together, just like Ling had promised they would. The work would still be hard, the job of a ruler never over, especially when said ruler was trying to carry out major reforms in the way his country operated.

But now that he had Greed back–had the second half of his soul once again where it belonged–Ling was excited to face that challenge in a way he hadn’t been in far too long.

Ling and Greed would be the best emperor Xing had ever had, and they would change the country for the better whether it liked it or not.

The Imperial Palace of Xing was still haunted, but Ling swore that, by the time he and Greed were done, it would no longer be a place filled with the type of dirty tricks and backstabbing that led to thousands of angry ghosts. 

[platypus-love]

More art for my Chimera Ling AU! Currently also working on a story with it. A fair few changes with canon thanks to Ling’s differences in this AU.

Mainly all plot relevant chimera are gonna make it out alive in this story, and that includes a certain someone from the start of the series.

Ling and Greed remain separate, but they’re still going to develop a super close bond.

The AU also deals with Ling’s mental state quite a bit. He’s mixed with a fennec fox, which are skittish animals for one, so he’s going to have those instincts fighting with his usual mind and bringing his struggles to the front of his mind. I see Ling as someone keeping his hurt back in his mind while he shows an aloof and silly personality to keep people from seeing what’s wrong. This is going to make it harder for him to do that.

On an added bit, Mei is going to help redeem Envy and Envy will be able to survive. A lot of folks are heading to a new home in Xing with Ling and the girls!

Anyways! Feel free to ask me about this AU I’d love to talk about it while I work on it!

[the-monkey-ruler]

What’s your review on JTTS? If it’s like 100 chapters I do not have the energy unless it’s JTTW quality.

Well if you open the link then you can see it is about 18 chapters with around 100 pages. It's not that long but that doesn't take away from being more boring than usual. It follows Huaguang and how he seems to piss off someone in heaven, runs away, avoids capture, still gets reincarnated, and repeats the process about two more times. Some highlights in the book are seeing him marry Princess Iron Fan, fighting Thousand-Mile Eye and Fair-Wind Ear who turned to a life of crime and then turned to be his subordinates. There is also an interesting segment where he helped two demons escape a prison in one of his own escapes in a past life and just so happens that one of those demons becomes his mother in the next life.

Honestly, only the latter half of the book is all that interesting cause it follows his third and like most exciting life where he tries to save his demon mother from feeling the urge to eat humans. He goes to heaven to steal heavenly peaches to finally quell her hunger but he disguises himself as Sun Wukong to do so. That is where Wukong comes back into the story (he was in the first chapter and isn't seen until like the last two chapters) when Wukong has to arrest Huaguang to clear his own name. And his daughter Yuebie Xing comes along to help.

Overall I remember that there were more boring bits to slog through than exciting ones cause I wasn't really that engaged with Huaguang as a character, but I am glad that I read it at all, and honestly, it wasn't that long really. Huaguang does go on some fun adventures and maybe people can take enjoyment in that at least but I never felt he was that interesting, but he was quite funny when people pointed out his crimes and he would be offended as if HE DIDN'T COMMIT THOSE CRIMES HIMSELF. His audacity is something else. At least the end of seeing Yuebei Xing in action was well worth it to me.