#since the last time mu qing saw them was when xie lian and feng xin threw his offered rice sacks at him

[n3xxs]

ʚ𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛ɞ

Mu Qing x gender neutral! Reader.

Fluff, Angst

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Hello! I've been away since school started and yeah the whole education here where I live is shitty. But yeah Heaven Officials Blessing is like my new obsession but this fic is gonna take events a little after Xie Lian meets Mu Qing in the anime (donghua) so it's pretty much in the start and there'll be little to no spoilers! Hope you enjoy.

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One thing that was known for the crown prince of Xianle was that he tends to forget things that have hurt him in the past. Mu Qing was one of them. And he didn't think that could happen. Did it have to do something when he left him? He didn't know but something in his heart ached when he asked who he was but he remembed Feng Xin.

"Do you happen to know where Mu Qing is?" Another shaking of q persons head. And then another. And another. You haven't seen Mu Qing in 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔. You were starting to get worried for him and his health. You knew of the whole Xie Lian forgot who he was but you didn't know it affected him this much. Maybe because you didn't know why he was forgotten. Maybe you didn't know if he thought he was the one at fault like he always tends to think. That's why you wanted to find him. As his partner you wanted to be there for him and help him confront him and hold him in your arms. Hold him while he cried if he needed and let him talk about his problems as much as he wanted.

A few hours later you found one person who had seen him. He was in his chambers. Lucky for you you knew how to get inside via the key he gave you. When you opened the door you were met with darkness. Closed blinds and turned off lights. You turned on one and there you saw him. Mu Qing who was sitting on his bed with his head hung low. He really was beautiful even in this look. His hair disheveled and his clothes all wrinkly from moving too much. They closed the door and when they turned to look at him Mu Qing was already looking at them with clear eye bags under his light eyes. They came closer to him and sat down next to him putting a streak of hair behind his ear.

"I know what happened with Xie Lian but I don't think you should think too much of it. He just needed a little push that's it" You gave him a reassuring smile and he looked away from your face "It's not like that" his voice was raspy and could be heard clearly in the quiet room that they were in. She looked up at him and held his cheeks so he was now looking at them "Why are you getting so worked up over it? You don't have to its not like he hates you." He pushed your hands away "He forgot me!" He yelled and that left you speechless. You didn't expect that but you weren't gonna walk out. You countinued to stay quiet to see if he was gonna say anything else "I have hurted him before so now he forgot me but he remembered Feng Xin. Because he didn't hurt him while I did"

You felt bad for him. For what he thought. You knew Xie Lian didn't hate him. He actually wanted to be friends with him. Even if he did it was clear he was sorry. That he wanted to forgive himself but he just 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭. While you were deep in your thought you heard something. You turned your head and you were met with Mu Qings eyes. The same light eyes that's were always stern and weren't showing any kind of emotion were now at the verge of tears. Then you heard his question. "Are you gonna forget me too?" Your eyes widened. 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦? How could you forget him? He was the love of your life. You had set your eyes on him from the moment he ascended into the heavens and you were together for more that a century. You could never forget him.

"My love that's impossible" You were again met with teary light eyes and a questioning expression. You giggled "I have loved you from the moment you ascended and I won't stop until something managed to kill me. Which last time I checked is impossible so you are stuck with me" You said proudly and you heard a small giggle looking at the direction of the sound you saw a now smiling and clearly happier Mu Qing. You smiled at him "Thanks my love". You ended up cuddling the whole night with his head either rested on you lap as you played with his bangs or you were cuddled in his arms. Before he and you dozed off to you he kissed you softly on the lips " Good night my love " and with that you both fell asleep in each other's arms.

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Ok so I know I could write more but I'm a bit out of form so excuse me. Also schoolwork is gonna kill me soon and with these extra lesson it like a bonus weight to the already too heavy for me weights. (Idk)

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#mu qing #heaven official's blessing #mu qing x reader #fiction #fanfic #tgcf #hob

[m4caque]

A Soft and Distant Snow

Mu Qing X Feng Xin Fic

Ice Skating Fanfic

Also on Ao3 just wanted to post here

The sounds of soft music and someone gliding across the ice filled the young boy with a sense of belonging.

He admired the young skater that provided that noise. Hoping he could recreate it one day just like he did.

He watched the skater like a hawk. Watching as they twisted and turned in all sorts of ways. The young boy's eyes filled with admiration. His heart and soul filled with warmth.

Suddenly, his eyes went wide and dim. The skater lost balance and fell during a jump in the air. The young boy that was once smiling started tearing up and frowning.

As the skater got back up, the youngster looked at the scoring and pouted. His idol lost first place and went down to third. His heart shattered when the skater only got third.

The boy sighed as the competition came to a close. He made his way out of the rink but ran into the skater he admired. His eyes filled with that hope once again and thanked the skater for doing his best. The skater chuckled and patted the little one on the head.

"I'll make it up to you next time. Just believe in me.."

The young boy nodded and hugged the skater's waist. The skater smiled while a few tears stained his cheeks.

The boy eventually let go and waved goodbye. The skater waved back and felt a small sense of hope and happiness from that tiny interaction. He didn't know he would have such a young fan watch and cheer him on, even though he only came in third, but it was heartwarming.

"Mu Qing," Someone called from a distance. "Let's go over your performance today and discuss a few topics."

The skater, Mu Qing, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at his coach. "I don't want a lecture from you right now." His coach let out a sigh and walked past Mu Qing.

"I'm not going to give a lecture just yet. I actually have some news for you." Mu Qing tilted his head, interested in what his coach had to say. He followed behind his coach with his arms now behind his back.

"You'll be getting a new coach next season." His coach stopped in his tracks, arms crossed. Mu Qing's eyes widened. He frowned and looked to the ground.

"But." His coach turned around to face Mu Qing. "You'll be trying partner skating next season." He quickly looked back up at his coach.

"With who." Mu Qing held his breath in his throat. He had a good feeling who the person might be and was hoping it wasn't him. He held a grudge against them from the beginning of his skating career.

"Hua Cheng."

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Mu Qing faltered and fell on the ice trying to attempt a triple axle. He scoffed and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, staring down at the ice beneath him. He smacked ice out of anger before letting out an exhausted sigh. He got back up onto his skates before leaving the rink for the day.

He started to take his skates off when a familiar voice from the distance called out his name. He looked over at the boy who wore primarily white with hints of cyan here and there on his person. He knew that they would be arriving soon but didn't realize it would be this soon.

He overheard the other day that a group of well known hockey players would begin practicing at the rink. He wasn't hoping it would be them but in the end it was.

"Mu Qing! It's been a moment or two since we last saw each other in person." The guy smiled and sat down next to Mu Qing. Mu Qing returned the smile but went back to packing up. He thought about it, they have been busy traveling, haven't they? While he hasn't even gone to his first competition quite yet. Mu Qing also didn't attempt to contact Xie Lian during the past few years. He sighed and glanced back up at his friend. Letting out a small laugh.

"Hah... It has been a minute, hasn't it? How have you guys been doing with hockey and all that?" The guy in white laughed for a moment before responding. Eventually, he thought of a good response when he got interrupted. Mu Qing moved his head to look at where the voice came from. His eyes widened when he landed on a man in crimson red walking over. He panicked and quickly grabbed his things. Mu Qing's stomach filled with unpleasant and unnecessary feelings.

"Sorry to make it short, Xie Lian. I have somewhere to be in.." He looked down at his phone making up a time on the spot. "In an hour or so." He started walking away before bumping into someone his height. He hissed out a curse word to the guy before continuing on his path out the door of the rink.

The guy he bumped into looked at Mu Qing with a puzzled look on his face. The guy stood there for a moment before it dawned on him who the person was. His breath hitched as he turned around to stare at Mu Qing.

"WAS THAT FUCKING MU QING!?" The guy almost bolted after Mu Qing before Xie Lian got up and grabbed his arm.

"That was indeed him Feng Xin. Has it really been that long since you guys have last seen each other?" Xie Lian tilted his head. Feng Xin looked at Xie Lian with guilt. He nodded his head silently and Xie Lian just shook his head.

"You should really talk to him. It's been years since they broke up. Mu Qing might forgive you now." Xie Lian smiled. "He might even be happy to see you again."

Feng Xin just scoffed before shaking off Xie Lian's grip. "Like he would be happy to see me. I'm the reason why those two broke up in the first place and the reason behind his loss at the Olympics that year." Xie Lian frowned. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Feng Xin sighed and went to get ready for their practice.

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Mu Qing walked out of the rink with a slight frown. He wanted to curse the dude he ran into but thankfully he didn't. Mu Qing shuddered at the thought of one of Xie Lian's lectures. That was one of the few things he was actually scared of during his years in high school.

Mu Qing sighed and got in his car. He planned to go to the cafe down the road. He smiled at the thought of caramel-flavored coffee. He usually went there after practice.

He arrived at the cafe a few minutes later, quickly getting out of his car with a hop in his step. He entered the building and got in the line. He looked at his phone as he waited and saw a text. He pursued his lips while reading it. Xie Lian had invited him for dinner with a few others. He knew Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were dating now but it still left an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

He still held a grudge against Hua Cheng after all these years but he would brush it off for dinner and Xie Lian's sake.

Mu Qing made it to the counter and ordered his usual coffee and cookie. He went to sit down at a table by a window and pulled out his phone again. Xie Lian had sent him another text. Mu Qing rolled his eyes. Didn't he have practice? He quickly responded and went to scroll through Instagram. He saw a few photos of Xie Lian taking random photos of himself. He clicked Xie Lian's profile to see how he had been over the years. He noticed all the recent photos of himself and his teammates at practice. He shook his head but he narrowed his eyes on a familiar, caramel-skinned guy.

Mu Qing put his phone down as his name was called. He grabbed his coffee and left the cafe. His mind wandered to the guy that he saw and he almost dropped his coffee upon realizing who it was in the photo…

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Mu Qing went home for the rest of the day until the dinner he was dreading arrived. He didn't know who else would be there so he was quite anxious. He paced around his apartment, which was quite large for one person and a cat. The places you can buy when you're rich, you know? Mu Qing groaned and went to search his closet for nice clothing.

He picked out a fairly decent outfit that somewhat matched in his opinion. It had hints of gold, light grayish blues, and hues of red here and there. Plus, black pants because he couldn't find anything else nice. He laid the clothes out on a table in his closet and nodded. He didn't have the greatest sense of fashion but it was better than the average person.

Mu Qing went to his room and flopped onto his bed. His cat, Fu Yao, jumped up onto the bed next to him and laid in front of Mu Qing. He looked at Fu Yao and smiled while shaking his head. He reached a hand out pet Fu Yao on the head before going back to what he originally was going to do.

He pulled out his phone and went scrolling through Instagram for the 10th time that day. He went back to the picture that he saw earlier in the cafe and went to see who the tagged person was to confirm his suspensions.

Lo and behold, it was Feng Xin. Mu Qing rolled his eyes. He looked the same since he last saw him. He scrolled through his profile until reaching a peculiar picture. His face warmed up and tossed his phone to the side.

He didn't have plans on seeing Feng Xin's fucking abs that day. Mu Qing couldn't help but bring a hand to cover his face. He groaned in aggravation. If things couldn't get better that day, he thought.

Mu Qing turned to his side and reached to grab his phone. He looked at the time and bit his lip. He went to look at the text messages between him and Xie Lian again and sat up from his bed. He quickly started getting dressed and doing his hair. He put on very light makeup, perks of being a figure skater.

He looked himself up and down in the mirror one last time before heading out. He semi-ran down the hall and caught the elevator before it closed. He sighed and looked at the other person in the elevator. His eyes widened as he gritted his teeth. The guy next to him looked at the other and his jaw dropped.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE?!" They yelled in unison.

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

The two guys made it down the elevator without saying another word to one another after cursing each other out.

"When have you been living in this fucking building?" Mu Qing rolled his eyes at the other's question.

"I should be asking you the same damn thing." Mu Qing crossed his arms. They both left the building together and they stared at one another. Mu Qing didn't want to think about Feng Xin also going to the dinner but it wasn't an unlikely possibility.

"Please for fuck sake, tell me you weren't invited to Xie Lian's Dinner." Feng Xin said with a frown. Mu Qing scoffed and looked at the ground.

"If I knew you were going I wouldn't have said yes." Mu Qing elbowed Feng Xin in the side. Feng Xin glared at Mu Qing but didn't hit him back. He shook his head before turning his head to the side.

He cleared his throat. "Well since we are both going to the dinner... Wanna just take my vehicle there-"

"HELL NO.."

Feng Xin frowned and looked at Mu Qing's disgusted face. If one could describe it, Feng Xin would say it's like you just saw someone take your food at a fast food restaurant. Feng Xin sighed.

"Fine fine... I'll see you there then." Feng Xin mumbled and walked away to his car. Mu Qing bit his lip and groaned. He followed after Feng Xin with a hesitant step.

"I- Fine! I'll take you up on the offer. You look like a sad rejected puppy anyways and it's depressing." Mu Qing rolled his eyes as Feng Xin looked at him with sparkling eyes. Mu Qing just gave him a glare and shook his head.

They both got into Feng Xin's car and headed toward the restaurant. They sat in silence for a while with faint background music playing instrumental songs. Mu Qing had rested his head against his hand and absent-mindedly listened to the music. He felt that the music sounded familiar but he couldn't exactly remember where. He looked at the music player to read the name of the song and scrunched his eyebrows. Why would Feng Xin play instrumental music? And why were the songs one's he had performed to? Mu Qing looked at Feng Xin and smiled a little before going back to looking at the road.

Feng Xin on the other hand had a million different thoughts running through his head. He was happy that Mu Qing agreed to take one car, the car being his, and that they lived in the same building. Although yes, Feng Xin recently had moved into the building, he wouldn't have imagined Mu Qing was there as well. It could have been expected though since it was a pretty expensive building with large apartments. Feng Xin just softly smiled as he drove them both to the restaurant. He was a bit annoyed by the silence between them but he couldn't find the right words to say quite yet.

"Why do you have a playlist of songs I've performed to?" Mu Qing suddenly broke the silence. Feng Xin could feel a slight warmth appear on his face. He couldn't say it was a coincidence because it really wasn't. He has always had a playlist of all the songs Mu Qing had danced to on the ice. Feng Xin wasn't a big fan of instrumental music either but the songs that were chosen for Mu Qing just made his heart feel warm.

Feng Xin laughed a little. "I just think the songs you've performed to are really nice background music." He semi-lied to Mu Qing. Mu Qing in response rolled his eyes even though Feng Xin wasn't looking at him. He couldn't help but smile a little though.

"You're boring then." Mu Qing laughed. He hooked his phone up to the radio instead and played alternative indie pop. Feng Xin glanced over to Mu Qing and noticed the small smile on his lips.

Those lips.

He had always admired those cherry-red lips.

The ones that looked so soft after every performance.

He wished.. no.. wanted to know the feeling of those lips.

Feng Xin coughed before going back to looking at the road. His face filled with heat but he brushed it off. He knew it was just old feelings coming back to mess with him but he couldn't help but think of that smile with those natural cherry-red lips.

Mu Qing glanced over to Feng Xin when he coughed. He saw that his face was red but didn't ask why. He just thought he was having intrusive thoughts of women. He shrugged it off and closed his eyes.

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

They shortly later arrived at the restaurant. It was a pretty expensive-looking place and Feng Xin almost let out an annoyed groan. He didn't dress quite expensive looking, thinking they were going somewhere casual like a bar or something. Mu Qing made his way inside as the other hesitantly followed him.

Xie Lian was the first to see the two enter together and his eyes lit up. He waved them both over with a soft smile. Mu Qing waved a little back and walked over to the table. He sat down in front of Xie Lian. Feng Xin followed suit and sat next to Mu Qing. Hua Cheng and the other people who were invited paid them no attention and carried on with their conversation.

Xie Lian looked at the two before resting his head on the back of his hand. He squinted his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Mu Qing raised his eyebrow at Xie Lian with his arms crossed. Feng Xin didn't care about the exchange of glances and worried about what to eat.

"It's one thing for you to show up but it's a whole other surprise to see you show up alongside Feng Xin.." Xie Lian mumbled. Mu Qing stared him down and bit down his remark. He rolled his eyes before looking away towards the menu.

Hua Cheng almost spitting his water out, looked over at the two who appeared in front of them. He gave Xie Lian a small glance before looking back at Mu Qing and Feng Xin. He wasn't really surprised Feng Xin came since he was apart of Xie Lian's team but to see Mu Qing and Feng Xin sitting next to him..

An awkward silence between the 4 of them lasted a few minutes before Mu Qing coughed. "We get it. It's surprising to see me next to Feng Xin after who knows how many years it has been."

"4 years." Feng Xin spoke up before going back to the menu. Mu Qing rolled his eyes. Xie Lian gave a weak laugh before smiling. "Hah... Years don't matter..! It's just really nice seeing you guys get along." Mu Qing choked on his spit, holding back a laugh. Feng Xin groaned.

"Who said I was getting along with this dumbass!?" Feng Xin glared at Xie Lian. "I'm merely putting up with him for the sake of this dinner." Mu Qing nodded along to that statement. Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Moments later, their waiter came by and took everyone's orders. Shi Qingxuan walked over to stand behind Xie Lian smiling. "So.. Anyone interested in a drinking challenge!" Xie Lian shook his head. "I'll pass like usual."

Mu Qing raised an eyebrow. Usual? Does this really occur that often? He pondered on it before his train of thought got interrupted by the person next to him. "I'll join in this time."

Mu Qing in that moment felt a desire burn inside of him. He wanted to crush, no demolish Feng Xin in the challenge. He side-eyed Feng Xin. "I'll join as well. I know I'll win anyways." Mu Qing smirked. Hua Cheng let out a small laugh before Xie Lian nudged him in the side.

Feng Xin side-eyed him back. "Ha! Wanna bet on it, Xuan Zhen?" Mu Qing scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'll bet on it, Nan Yang."

The two stared each other down. Neither knew what to bet on, they both had lots of money so that was out of the picture. Mu Qing pursed his lips together. Shi Qingxuan giggled before smirking. "I have a great idea of what to bet on!" The two quickly turned their heads to stare at him. Shi Qingxuan paused before continuing. "Whoever wins gets to... Hm, how to put this.." He smirked. He didn't finish the sentence to allow the minds to wander. Feng Xin's face flushed a little knowing it was the usual bet Shi Qingxuan placed out while Mu Qing was confused as hell.

"Spit it out already." Mu Qing rolled his eyes. Shi Qingxuan giggled before walking around the table to stand in between the two of them.

"You'll figure it out later after the challenge is over..!"

Mu Qing was left speechless. "That's not how you fucking bet.!" He almost got up to choke the hell out of Shi Qingxuan before Feng Xin coughed, his face falling back to its normal color. "We can figure something out later. If we really need to, we can let Xie Lian and them decide.." Feng Xin offered. Mu Qing slumped down into his chair like an angry toddler. Feng Xin took that as an agreement.

"So, Shi Qingxuan, what will we be drinking?"

"Mm... Beer! Spicy it from our usual wine." Shi Qingxuan smiled. Mu Qing frowned. Feng Xin looked up at Shi Qingxuan and laughed. "Will that really be a challenge then?"

Mu Qing glared at him. "That's why I'm the challenge."

*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿

Mu Qing slammed down his third round of beer, already wanting to throw up. The taste was shit. Shi Qingxuan laughed from across the table. "Giving up already~?" They teased. Mu Qing rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry it fucking tastes like shit." Feng Xin placed his cup on the table and laughed. "Can't disagree with that surprisingly."

The two exchanged a quick glance. Mu Qing rolled his eyes. "Like I was saying... It tastes like I'm drinking vomit. Can we please, for the love of god, change to something tastier?" Mu Qing gave Shi Qingxuan a side eye as they gave a small laugh in response. "If it doesn't taste good, you'll give up quicker!" Shi Qingxuan clapped their hands together with a cheeky smile.

This evil mastermind.

Feng Xin shook his head. "Why is no one else participating.." Shi Qingxuan smiled even more at that. "Wellllll~... We wanna be sober to see who wins and who loses to decide what the loser has to do!"

Mu Qing clenched his fist as his eye twitched. This mother fucking bi-

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly changed the topic to something else. "Mu Qing… How has your solo figure skating journey been so far?" Mu Qing loosened his fist and looked over at Xie Lian. He was hesitant to say it's been going pretty badly. He avoided Xie Lian's gaze as he responded. "It's been... Alright." He mumbled. Hua Cheng let out a short laugh. "Do people still use your old title, half-moon prince?"

Mu Qing's eyes widened. He clenched his fist and stood up quickly. He truly dared to use that name on him again. He hated that nickname with a passion. His eyes filled with pure hatred towards Hua Cheng at that moment. Hua Cheng was the reason for that nickname anyways. Xie Lian tried to calm Mu Qing down with a few words here and there but it didn't seem to work.

"You have.. no right to ever use that long-forgotten title.." He yelled under his breath. People in the restaurant turned their heads around and whispered a few things. He could hear the comments being said by the viewers. Mu Qing could feel the eyes on him. He hated that feeling sometimes, especially in public places. He sent an ice cold glare towards Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng pursed his lips and closed his eyes to ponder. He let out a short sigh and clicked his tongue.

"It's true I have no right.. Sorry." Mu Qing scoffed at the apology. "Such a pathetic apology." He looked towards Xie Lian. "I think I'm going to leave, it's been nice to sit down and talk after so long." He nodded his head toward his old friend. Xie Lian frowned a little but nodded back.

"We can have lunch together at some point in the future.." Xie Lian paused before speaking his next words. "..Mu Qing... Didn't you come here with Feng Xin though?" Silence. Mu Qing grabbed Feng Xin's hand and dragged him up. Feng Xin stared at Mu Qing, his face becoming a bit red.

"He's coming with me then." Mu Qing stared back at Feng Xin. He quickly looked away and looked over at Shi Qingxuan. "Sorry that we had to end the contest short... But also not sorry. That beer was shit." Feng Xin agreed with a few shakes of his head.

With those final words, he dragged Feng Xin out of the restaurant. Feng Xin followed him though with no hesitation. As they stood outside the restaurant, Feng Xin let out a soft laugh. Mu Qing looked at him with an annoyed frown. Feng Xin gave him a soft smile back.

"You know Mu Qing.. you've been holding my hand all this time now.." Mu Qing got all red and quickly let go of his hand. He wiped said hand on his pants and shook his head. He pretended to vomit as he rolled his eyes.

"Dare say to anyone that we ever held hands, you won't live to see tomorrow." Mu Qing threatened. Feng Xin continued to smile happier than ever. Mu Qing's face lingered red for a while.

Feng Xin laughed a little and walked off to his car. Mu Qing quietly followed behind him and stayed quiet for the rest of the time. They both got in and drove back to their apartment. It was a quiet ride back. Same music and everything. Except this time, there's a red Mu Qing and a happier Feng Xin.

As the two got back to the apartment building, Mu Qing quickly ran out of the car. He looked over at Feng Xin, who stared back at him as he, as well, got out.. Mu Qing bit his lip and nodded, averting Feng Xin's stare.

"Um.. Thank you for the ride." He muttered before running off. Feng Xin attempted to say something to him but Mu Qing was basically already in the building. He sighed and locked up his car. He wanted to ask something but he'll find another time.

Mu Qing walked, ran, inside the building, his heart pounding, his face still flush, he didn't know exactly what feeling was making him this way but he's felt it before during his time in highschool when around Feng Xin. He shook it off as he made his way to the elevator. He checked his phone for any new notifications once he got inside. Only a few normal one's he got but something new popped up.

It was a text, but it wasn't from Xie Lian or anyone who usually messaged him. It was from..

Don't expect me to update this very often, but I hope it was pretty good :D

Please do give me some tips and critism on things I could improve on :) it's greatly appreciated

#fanfic #mxtx tgcf #fengqing #feng xin #mu qing #xie lian #hua cheng #shi qingxuan #mxtx fanfic #modern #ice skating

[inhumanescreeching]

welcome to another segment of twisting tgcf canon concepts. for today we have tgcf four famous tales but we make them calamities instead

not for the faint hearted nor for the ones who've yet to finish the novel. this gets heavy, and real sad

The Crown Prince Who Fought The Gods

- after the fall of xianle, his highness loses everything; his parents, feng xin and mu qing, his kingdom, everything. he begins cultivating as a coping mechanism, all of his anger buried deep within his heart. neither the whole yong'an revenge nor the hundred swords arc happens, because bai wuxiang for plot's sake doesn't exist here since we're amidst the making of the new white calamity

xie lian's second ascension happens. as soon as he arrives in heaven, he unleashes all the rage he's been keeping inside. he fights every official he sees, screaming bloody murder about how they've left him, how they've wronged the citizens of his fallen kingdom

his banishment is where things go askew. instead of returning to the mortal realm with cursed shackles, xie lian demotes himself into a ghost, harnessing evil intent and resentment of all the people he could not save

his resentment grows strong enough to even break the shackles at some point, and when that happens heaven and earth shake as if a new calamity was born

the new white calamity, mortals and heaven officials alike would whisper, the prince who fought the gods

The Princess Who Slit Royalties' Throats

- this one's pretty gruesome but yushi huang, in a fit and on the last bit of her rope, goes on a rampage the day pei ming's army threatens her family (it was the build up of her resentment for their mistreatment finally blowing over). "if you won't do it, then everyone else's blood should suffice" she said to her greedy king of a father, and starts slashing everyone else's throats

the king, who's rarely showed any emotion, looked up at his daughter in fear as she stood over the bloodbath. she had mad killing intent in her eye as she walked past him instead, out into the pavilion for the entire kingdom to see

she screamed for bloody freedom, for bloody repentance, and cut her own throat. pei ming's army slaughtered the kingdom as promised. the kingdom cursed their king for not sacrificing himself, and pledged their malicious auras to the dead princess instead

yushi huang's ghost grows powerful thanks to this, and with her rose the green calamity, the color of her fallen kingdom's insignia and for faming yk but im just eyeballing for aesthetics sake

The General Who Broke Swords

- a sequel of sorts for yushi huang's tale, she haunts pei ming for a good portion of his mortal life as a general after her kingdom's downfall. she whispered to him white lies and half-truths until he turned insane, became paranoid his men would turn against him

in the end, the revolution to make pei ming the king just . never happens, and instead we get a bloody war of a hundred men against one powerful general with the ghost of a calamity over his burdened shoulders

pei ming leaves rong guang last, and the two former partners stand over the graveyard of their men's corpses. "you've changed." rong guang said. "no, i'm growing stronger." pei ming replied, and the two fought neck and neck until a surge of power lands rong guang's sword broken in half

pei ming kills off rong guang with the very sword named after them, and as per canon after he comes to he realizes what he's done and breaks ming guang in half, except this time he pierces his own heart

up rises the crimson calamity, with his near sentient broken-in-two sword ming (and) guang so imagine e ming for hua cheng that's how ming guang is for pei ming here except it's two pieces of a sword and not a scimitar with an eyeball

The Young Lord Who Poisoned His Wine

- the existence of the venerable of empty words and his brother's constant pressuring drives shi qingxuan into alcoholism. shi wudu has yet to find the fate-swap method so all he's been doing is keeping shi qingxuan locked up somewhere, in some city

shi qingxuan rarely saw daylight due to this, and even so alwags he'd move to a different city in the near future so it didn't really matter. wine did not help, nor did it lessen his worries or inhibitions but he kept drinking anyway

it got to the point that he just . hated living so one day, when he's grown just too antsy after migrating, he snatches a few jugs of wine and escapes

he asks around when he gets to a busy street, and he finds out he's moved to a little village near the beach side. a vendor approaches him, an old man who looks like he knew all of shi qingxuan's secrets, and gives him a small vial. "i hope you make the right choice." the old man said, and when shi qingxuan turned to where he'd walked away there was no one

shi qingxuan walks by the sandy shore with wine and that bottle. he doesn't even hesitate to open it, or pour it into a jug of wine.

the venerable of empty words finds him, whispers "you'll die if you drink that" as if it was a threat, and shi qingxuan smiles darkly. "that doesn't scare me anymore."

he finishes all the wine, and lets himself simmer in the poison. black calamity is born on those salty shores, and the first thing he does is finish off the venerable of empty words

fuck this was so fun i need more of this au send tweet

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hob #xie lian #yushi huang #pei ming #shi qingxuan #four famous tales #four calamities #the crown prince who pleased the gods #the princess who slit her throat #the general who broke his sword #the young lord who poured wine #white no face #night touring green lanterns #crimson rain sought flower #black water sinking ships #hualian #beefleaf #aesthetic #comparison #au

[spockandawe]

Hello! While I know this point must have already been talked about a lot in the fandom but since I have only recently read tgcf, I don't know much. I came across threads on where people talked about Hua Cheng being obsessive and toxic, with his existence being centered around Xie Lian and hence not having a grounding personality and life of his own + the scene of Ten Thousand Gods Cave.

Since I have been reading your metas, I was curious about your thoughts on this? Thank you!

Sure thing! Apologies for the slow response, this whole thing with my back has been really disrupting everything I want to accomplish. Now, I think that Hua Cheng is obsessive in a way that could easily become toxic, but calling him obsessive+toxic relies on only a shallow reading of the character and limiting yourself to the point where he is at the very start of the story, ignoring all the character/relationship development that happens over the course of a very long book.

Now, when it comes to the flashback books? Hua Cheng can have a little obsession, as a treat. I’m not going to say that the way he feels back then is any kind of basis for a healthy adult relationship, but Hua Cheng is approximately ages 10-17 over the course of book 2, and isn’t much “older” after his death as the ghost fire and as Wuming in book 4. He’s not relating to Xie Lian in a way that’s going to lead to a relationship of equals at that point, but he’s also a kid who’s worshiping a god who saved his life at a young age, twice, and who comforted and reassured him when their kingdom’s guoshi told him that he was doomed to bring misfortune to everyone in his life. All of their interactions in book 2 are extremely good reasons for why Hua Cheng would idolize him and obsess over him in that way, and I’m not going to fault him for any of it.

Now, I would say that the end of book 4 illustrates how badly that kind of idolization can go better than anything set in the present day, but it’s telling that this is also the point where Xie Lian abruptly realizes how much he doesn’t want to be Like This, and hauls his life around. Even eight hundred years later, he’s more ashamed to speak of this part of his life than anything else. He’s way more willing to laugh at his own pain and suffering than he is to even mention a time where he was cold and controlling with someone who offered themself to him.

SO. In the present, Xie Lian has a very good reason to know that he does not want to take advantage of someone else’s offered devotion. It’s an old memory, but when we see how much he doesn’t want to talk about it, it’s clear that it made an impression. If the direction of this book was only up to Hua Cheng? He’s already made it abundantly clear that he’s willing to sacrifice his everything, including his sense of self, if Xie Lian asks, but Xie Lian has confirmed very strongly to himself that this is not what Xie Lian wants.

And Xie Lian is walking a very fine emotional line in a lot of ways that he himself isn’t even fully aware of, but the early development in the book has this really interesting balance in the dynamic between him and Hua Cheng. He’s happy to rely on Hua Cheng for advice and help, but he’s also completely willing to worry for him (when he jumps into the sinner’s pit) and to gently scold him (when he jumps into the sinner’s pit). Hua Cheng worries about what will happen if Xie Lian finds out who he really is, but Xie Lian pretty much confirms it to himself, and when Hua Cheng is finally anxious enough to ask about it, Xie Lian’s main reaction is ‘isn’t the important thing that I like you as a person?’

If Hua Cheng was left to his own devices, he’d obsess over Xie Lian in a way that let himself suborn his entire identity to whatever Xie Lian wants from him, but Xie Lian has been so horribly lonely for so long, and even before a relationship enters the picture, what Xie Lian wants is a friend. And Xie Lian, on his own, is determined not to let himself take advantage of a person the way he took advantage of Wuming. And no matter how much Hua Cheng wants to submit himself to Xie Lian, what’s more important to him is what Xie Lian wants. The meta that’s been doing good circulation that I bet you saw was about how Hua Cheng developed his own independent sense of self over the last eight hundred years, no matter what he’d originally wanted, but as he gets to know Xie Lian in the present, Xie Lian makes it clear that Xie Lian likes who he became. 

Hua Cheng does still definitely take the position that ‘whatever Xie Lian wants is more important than what I want’, and that could go badly in so many ways, but from the very beginning, Xie Lian is firmly, firmly expressing, ‘I like who you are and I want to be friends.’ Xie Lian doesn’t scold Hua Cheng for being a dick to Fu Yao and Nan Feng, or for breaking heavenly artifacts, even one that used to be one of his own treasured possessions. He scolds Hua Cheng because ‘you jumped down into that pit and I was afraid you would be hurt.’ He doesn’t try to sand off Hua Cheng’s sharp edges or change him, and isn’t willing to sit back and relax as Hua Cheng puts himself in harm’s way. He doesn’t give Hua Cheng room to make himself a less-than, and (probably unintentionally) positively reinforces Hua Cheng when he lets bits of his own true personality show through. One of the reasons I love this book so much is because that relationship could have so easily turned toxic and controlling, but the main pair like each other so much that they manage to pull through into a healthy, balanced relationship.

It’s not a perfect relationship, because perfect relationships are boring and unrealistic, and there’s no tension in a story if two characters are perfectly in step. But by the end of the story, this is a more perfect relationship than I’d ever expected to be invested in, because they’re so in sync, haha. 

I think the moments that show the ways it’s not obsessive in a toxic way best come through in the times when Hua Cheng has some sort of grudge against a person that Xie Lian genuinely cares for. It starts with the shitty teens in the Banyue arc, but even near the story end, Mei Nianqing is Xie Lian’s old beloved teacher, and is also the person who told Hua Cheng ‘wow! you’re destined to fuck over everyone who ever gets close to you’ when Hua Cheng was just a little kid. It’s clear that Xie Lian likes and respects him a lot, and Hua Cheng feels not at all compelled to play nice. He’s happy to continue being nasty as hell to Feng Xin and Mu Qing, who are Xie Lian’s next two closest friends. He’s not even willing to be nice to E’Ming even as 1) Xie Lian pampers it, and 2) E’Ming is literally a part of himself. 

And he doesn’t hide this at all. He’s willing to act in ways not at all aligned with Xie Lian’s own opinions, especially as time goes on and Xie Lian doesn’t correct him. He’s willing to act against Xie Lian’s wishes in order to protect him (taking back his spiritual energy in the black water arc, overexerting himself to the point of dissipation at the climax), and it becomes more clear as the story progresses that he’s a person who wants only the best for Xie Lian, but who exists independently from Xie Lian, and isn’t willing to completely defer to Xie Lian’s desires or to override Xie Lian’s desires for what he thinks is best. To me, this relationship is primarily defined by how much the two of them like each other, and especially early on, I could see it easily tipping in an unhealthy direction, but it feels like most of the later relationship development specifically exists to undermine that particular flavor of toxic dynamic, and what we end up with is a very sweet, very balanced relationship. Hua Cheng’s willingness to submit himself to what Xie Lian wants is overridden by Xie Lian’s desire that Hua Cheng be himself, because that’s the person who Xie Lian loves.

#spock replies #tgcf #long post/ #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #i hope this is coherent my back is really undermining my words more than it's messing with anything else ;u; #Anonymous

[lonelyloneliness]

To say that Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn’t get along was an understatement. With how often those two fought you could tell that they had deep grudges that after 800 years were still left unsolved.

We all know why Feng Xin is mad at Mu Qing. He hates him for betraying Xie Lian and turning his back on him the moment things got hard. Their arguments always start like this: him asking why the hell does he pretend to care about His Highness when he shamelessly deserted him in the past. At this point, we have 0 doubt about why Feng Xin resents Mu Qing.

Mu Qing is mad too, their quarrels are not one sided after all. But why exactly is he mad? The last time we saw Mu Qing and Feng Xin interacting before the present day was when he went to give them rice, at that time they seemed to be on almost good terms. What did Feng Xin do that Mu Qing couldn’t accept?

We said that FX always started their fights by accusing MQ of leaving XL. What does MQ respond? Something about the pot calling the kettle back. In other words, FX is no better than him in the end. But it doesn’t make sense, why would he resent him for being as bad as him?

Well, because MQ cares, he painfully cares about XL (but is also horrible at talking about his feelings lol). When he left XL, he did it knowing that the ridiculously loyal FX would be by his side and would stay. It was their unspoken promise, that no matter what, FX wouldn’t leave. MQ didn’t mind playing the role of the bad guy as long as FX was there to ensure His Highness well-being. It was also a way to make himself feel better. Since FX was there, XL would be ok anyway so what he did wasn’t that bad.

MQ counted on FX, he trusted him. So when FX left XL too, he was obviously mad. Mad at FX and mad at himself who no longer had an excuse for what he did. He was also hurt because FX had broken their unspoken promise and let him down. MQ is not a person who trusts easily. Having someone like FX break his trust was a huge blow. And since the only emotion he knows how to express is anger, he spent the last 800y fighting with him and never communicated what the real problem was.

In conclusion MQ is an idiot and I love him for that.

#i love mu qing but i also believe that no heavenly official should be bullied except for him #I’m currently reading the gilded banquet arc and I have to say that MQ is a mess #that boy has no clue how to talk to people without being rude #mu qing internally: I care about you Your Highness and I’m worried about your arm injury so I came to give you some medicine #MQ externally: *throws bottle at xl* #i want to write about how in this arc we can see how much MQ wants to stand on equal footing with xl #(how his happy when it turns out that xl is not as perfect as he seems and being the first to call him by his name #but he still cares deeply about him #how he tries (and fails) to defend him #how he’s worried about his injury and when the silver butterfly come #how he wants to hear xl version of the story #but I’m too lazy #anyways if you’re still reading the tags I love you #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #xie lian #mu qing #tgcf spoilers #feng xin

[pesewla]

Hua Cheng taking care of an injured, exhausted or sick Xie Lian ❤

“What happened?” Hua Cheng growled. Mu Qing’s head whipped over his shoulder in surprise. His expression instantly morphed to barely-concealed disdain.

“Crimson Rain Sought Flower, you can’t just waltz into the Heavenly Capital whenever you like,” he scoffed. Feng Xin was standing at his side, and shot Mu Qing a look that clearly said, you’re fighting a losing battle. 

Hua Cheng glared at them both, then shouldered past to the cot they were looming over. Xie Lian was sprawled out on his back, his long hair fanned out in waves behind him. His features were troubled and stormy, even in slumber. 

 “What happened?” Hua Cheng repeated, his voice sharp. 

Feng Xin exhaled. “It was a stink sprite. From what he told us, he protected a few children from one’s antics, but breathed in too much of the noxious fume. It’s a slow-acting narcotic, so he didn’t fall ill until he returned to the Capital.” 

Hua Cheng’s expression was icy. “When did this happen?” 

“Yesterday.” 

“And why wasn’t I notified?” 

Mu Qing shrugged. “His Highness is the martial god of the north. We can care for him in the Heavenly Capital. Besides, it’s not like we had your private communication array password?” 

Hua Cheng’s fist tightened minutely, like he wanted to lash out at Mu Qing, and his eyes were very dark. Suddenly, his anger was wiped away. He stepped forward and carefully swept Xie Lian into his arms. 

“Hey – “ Feng Xin protested as Hua Cheng turned and began walking out of the golden palace. “…He’s always acting like he’s the only one who gives a damn about His Highness…” 

 //

It wasn’t until much later that night that Xie Lian finally stirred from his heavy sleep. He blearily opened his eyes, and was surprised to find himself in a dark jade bedroom, rather than Feng Xin’s golden palace. A feeling of panic surged over him for a moment, before realizing that there was an arm slung over his shoulder and a body pressed up against him. It was Hua Cheng. 

Hua Cheng must’ve noticed him wiggling, because he twitched too. 

“Dianxia?” Hua Cheng whispered. 

“San Lang, how did I get here?” Xie Lian asked in confusion, then winced. His head felt cloudy. The Demon King, having much better night vision than him, seemed to notice his discomfort. Smooth, cold fingers brushed his forehead, sweeping his unkempt hair to the side. Then, the lights in the room were raised on their own, and Xie Lian saw Hua Cheng’s handsome and concerned face staring at him intently. 

Xie Lian quickly schooled his expression, attempting to erase all signs of pain from his features, but Hua Cheng’s brow remained furrowed. 

“Gege was gone on official business for three days and three nights. I got lonely and went to search for him in the heavens, and good thing I did, too. Those stupid servants were hoarding you away.” 

“What happened?” Xie Lian wondered, eyebrows creasing. Even though he was laying down, the room felt like it was moving. He felt nauseous and, above all, felt a permeating sense of dread and sadness for no apparent reason. “Last thing I remember, I was talking to Pei Ming in the Heavenly Capital – ” 

“Dianxia,” Hua Cheng interrupted him, pushing himself into a sitting position. “You’re shaking.” 

Xie Lian looked at his own body in surprise, and indeed, he was trembling like he’d been caught in a snowstorm. “Huh? I…” 

Without another word, Hua Cheng gathered him up into his arms and held him tight. One hand was raised, and began stroking Xie Lian’s hair slowly and rhythmically. 

“You inhaled the fumes of a stink sprite,” Hua Cheng murmured. “It’s not lethal, it only temporarily intensifies some of your most negative emotions. For gege, that’s probably – “ 

“Regret,” Xie Lian whispered ruefully. “Now it makes sense.” 

Hua Cheng tightened his hold on him, and Xie Lian allowed himself to melt in the embrace. They sat in silence for a few beats, and Xie Lian allowed himself to wallow in waves of guilt and fear. It was a familiar feeling. 

Xie Lian’s feelings must’ve showed on his face, because Hua Cheng’s expression tightened. “Gege…” Hua Cheng said, almost as if he wanted to break Xie Lian out of his thoughts. “You don’t have to have territory. I can give you spiritual energy, I can give you anything you need.” 

He hoisted Xie Lian up again so that he was sitting in his lap, rubbing small circles on the small of his back and kissing the hollow of his collarbone. Xie Lian, however, shook his head. 

“It’s not about spiritual energy,” he said slowly, eyes closing slightly when Hua Cheng’s lips pressed against his neck. “Since Pei Ming is leading the Heavenly Capital, they needed a martial god to oversee the north. Plus, I like… fulfilling my duties. Completing requests and prayers. It gives me a sense of purpose.” 

Hua Cheng nodded. “I expected you to say that.” He lifted his head to kiss Xie Lian’s forehead, and then his mouth. “I understand... but don’t be gone for so long. It drives me crazy.”

“You’ve never kissed me so gently before,” Xie Lian teased, but he was grateful for the distraction. Every time Hua Cheng peppered him with another kiss, his exhaustion, nausea, and dread were momentarily displaced from his head. 

“Because Dianxia is sick,” Hua Cheng whispered, dark eyes solemn. He rocked back, pressing Xie Lian more firmly into his chest. “Useless servants. ‘We can care for him in the Heavenly Capital,’ my ass. When only I have the medicine.”

 Xie Lian smiled as Hua Cheng kissed behind his ear, but the smile soon faded. “San Lang, it hurts…” 

Hua Cheng’s gaze shot over to meet his. “What hurts?” he questioned, sounding worried. 

“It’s like… every single feeling of remorse, every single feeling of grief over 800 years has been pulled back to me. There’s no space for happiness. All I feel is doom.” 

Hua Cheng stared at him, eyes murderous. “When you are well again, I’ll go hunt down this stink sprite.” 

“No need, it’s been dealt with,” Xie Lian said quickly. “I’ll survive, don’t worry, San Lang, it’s just… it hurts.” 

The grip on Xie Lian’s body tightened, and Hua Cheng pulled him so close that his face was buried in the other’s chest. Xie Lian shuddered even more violently, and soon his whole body was wracked with convulsions and shivering. 

Hua Cheng resumed stroking his hair with one hand, like he was a scared animal in need of comfort, and with the other hand he clasped Xie Lian’s waist tightly. 

“Dianxia…” Hua Cheng breathed, voice low. 

“Please just stay with me right now,” Xie Lian said, voice small and body still trembling.

“Nothing in the world could convince me to let go of you.”

#thanks for the request! #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #hob #hc? not being erotic? hmmmm.... #my favorite headcanons are those in which xl regains his prestige/territory as a god lmao #even tho prob wouldn't happen in canon bc bAd LuCk

[akatsuki-shin]

Review: 天官赐福 Tiān Guān Cì Fú (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Notes:

(Very) long post ahead

Contains spoiler

This is my personal review and does not represent the entire audience, you are free to agree or not agree with what I’ve written here

Feel free to reply/send me a message if there are things you want to discuss

Summary:

The most beloved Crown Prince, pride of the Kingdom of Xianle with abundance of talents and achievements, Xie Lian, ascended to Heaven and became a martial god at the young age of 17 on the path to fulfill his dream "to save the common people".

Three years after his ascension, he saw his kingdom beginning to decline and in order to save his beloved country, Xie Lian defied the rules of Heaven and descended back to the mortal realm. Nevertheless, instead of saving them, his interference ended up accelerating the fall of Xianle, annihilating the once prosperous nation under the war of rebellion and a mysterious, horrifying plague.

The people who once praised and worshipped him day and night now condemned him, his devotees left him, they burnt his temples and divine statues, and Xie Lian himself was ultimately banished from the Heaven.

He ascended for the second time a short while later, but was banished once more very soon after. Since then, he lived among the mortals - surviving by collecting junks as he was now branded as the "God of Misfortune", the "Scrap Collecting Immortal".

800 years later, Xie Lian ascended again for the third time. Though having neither temples nor devotees, he accepted his responsibility as a martial god and carried on with his duties until one day, there came a certain, incidental encounter with a mysterious youth clad in red.

STORY: 7/10

TGCF overall is an (almost) complete, satisfying read with well-written twists and development.

Unlike the two previous MXTX's novels, the main pairing here (HuaLian) did not have to go through complicated misunderstandings and is a beautiful representation of love and devotion. Of course, this means there is a lack of conflict between them, but considering all the trials and tribulations the characters have gone through, this lack of conflict feels like a relieving fresh spring amidst the painful and exhausting journey throughout the entire five books.

The best and my most favorite plot twist is the Earth Master Ming Yi having been dead for a while, and the "Ming Yi" we know turns out to be the Black Water Submerging Boats, He Xuan. I'm the kind of person who always suspects characters, but even my furthest suspicion was "only" him being the Reverend of Empty Words, not He Xuan.

Truthfully, prior to reading this novel, I've seen Shi Qingxuan's "MING-XIONG, I'M SORRY x9999" post before without context, and I thought Ming Yi was going to die a tragic death because of Shi Qingxuan. Turns out it's kind of the opposite, huh? Nice one, really.

I also like how each character's "end" feels satisfying. Especially for the villains, they didn't necessarily have to die some tragic, vengeful death, but was provided with an ending that perfectly fits their background story and deeds. For example, in most stories, a character like Xuan Ji would be most likely be given some well-deserved punishment as her death, given everything she's done. But no, in the end she was given a reality check and was finally able to let go of her hundreds of years grudge. And then Qi Rong - I will talk more about him later on in the "Character" section.

One part I really love is the Extra Chapter about the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods. The chapter itself overall is mostly nonsensical and chaotic, but it was just so touching when HuaLian created a "Little Hua Cheng" statue to accompany Xie Lian's "Crown Prince who Pleased the Gods" statue, especially when this Little Hua Cheng statue gave Crown Prince Xie Lian statue a flower, and then Crown Prince Xie Lian received it, lifted him up and carried him in his arms. This one was maybe a bit biased because as much as I love the current HuaLian, I have a special soft spot for the young Xie Lian carrying, cradling the little Hua Cheng back then in the past. ;v;

Though, with all due respect, I must say that TGCF is actually below my expectation.

The biggest issue I have with TGCF is... What is Xie Lian's motivation? What drives him to move forward in the story? What is even the whole story's purpose?

I'm not quite sure how to word this properly, but let me give some examples.

When you read Harry Potter, you know immediately that Voldemort is the bad guy and he must be defeated.

When you read the Lord of the Rings, you know immediately that the One Ring must be destroyed to prevent Sauron from regaining his power.

Or, in MXTX previous works...

In SVSSS, it was clear since the beginning that Shen Yuan's mission is to fix the "Proud Immortal Demon Way" if he wants to survive.

In MDZS, it was clear that Wei Wuxian, together with Lan Wangji's, needs to unravel the mystery behind that fierce left arm. All of their past stories and WangXian getting together in the end are just something they discovered along the way, not the initial "motivation" that drives the character to move forward.

What about TGCF? The Xie Lian who ascended for the third time actually looks like he just wants to go along with the flow, carrying out his duties day by day with responsibility. When Bai Wuxiang later, later, later on appeared to haunt him again, it didn't seem like Xie Lian has any ambition to hunt him down or exact a revenge, just that he wanted to forget about Bai Wuxiang and never recall anything about him ever again. The main character looks like he's not being driven by anything, just...carrying on where the plot takes him? It's just missions after missions and whatever huge things happening in between is just something they accidentally passed by along the way.

At this point, the only purpose of the story I can think of is bringing Hua Cheng and Xie Lian together. The romance is great, I have no complain. But if it's just that, no need to jammed-pack 250+ chapters just to make two people getting together?

Speaking of which, I also think that the way new characters keep being introduced all the way to almost the final showdown of the story feels info dump-ish, because the background story needs to be dropped there along with the characters, but then most of these characters fade away immediately after.

For example, the previous Civil God before Ling Wen, who looks like he’s going to pose some real trouble, but then was easily defeated and was never mentioned again afterwards. And this is especially true for He Xuan; after such a huge arc where he committed such extreme things, after that he was barely mentioned again, even having his “strong impression” leveled down by the joke about him being the poorest Calamity and owing lots of debts to Hua Cheng.

Basically what makes TGCF a long story is because there are too many stories about the side characters in addition to the main characters that are dumped out of the blue instead of slowly being revealed along the way.

Though, I love how the story gradually unravels the "Four Famous Tales" because initially, I thought it wasn't something crucial, and I wished they could've done this for other characters, too.

There is a little bit of plot holes here and there, as in who actually cut open Jian Lan/Lan Chang's baby and made it a ghost, and for what? Even if it turned out that she just met a bad guy or nobody important, at least provide an explanation in one paragraph? Especially because important side characters like Feng Xin and Mu Qing are involved here, so I'm pretty sure us readers need some explanation.

And more importantly, how can Jun Wu become the Emperor martial god? There's no mention about him ascending, only that he annihilated a dynasty of gods before sitting on the throne of the Great Martial Hall. But how can he, like, emitted god-like aura and not some evil aura? Is it because he used to be a god? But he's a ghost? Explanation where???

The gags and comedies are pretty fun, but honestly, the more I read, the more they ruin the atmosphere and suspense, added with the uncalled PDA between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian even during the most important moments. Honestly, I was bored the fuck out of my life from the moment they start fighting Jun Wu with those divine gundams, and only start gaining interest again much later on when Hua Cheng dissipated into butterflies.

Not saying the story's bad. Just... It's not up to my expectation... Characters being inserted here and there with a bunch of background story, gags and a show of PDA being flaunted during crucial moments. And when Mei Nianqing started telling the truth about the Kingdom of Wuyong, that's just plain info dump right there, seriously...

CHARACTERS: 7/10

Interesting characters, but only a few bore a lasting impression on me. Other than the main characters, which are Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, the only side characters (minus Bai Wuxiang as the main villain) who left quite some impression on me were probably just Feng Xin and Mu Qing.

Pei Ming is okay, at least he is still memorable until the end, and his character improved, too.

He Xuan, after having been introduced with such extreme, after his arc is over, was easily forgotten just like that.

Mei Nianqing, is borderline Deus Ex-Machina with a huge chunk of info dump that could solve everything, then he stopped being useful for the rest of the story.

Shi Qingxuan... Honestly, he's almost annoying, too noisy. I don’t hate him (and I kind of like him initially), but the way his character was being handled and presented post-Black Water arc feels disappointingly lazy and he was just there to make the party more merry.

Xie Lian himself, as the protagonist, how do I say this... This is maybe due to the translator's writing style (not MXTX’s fault), but whenever he screams in all capslock, it feels too extreme and borderline OOC? Of course, the original novel written in hanzi couldn't have included capslock.

What's great about him, though, is that despite all he'd gone through, he can still retain a pure heart and could not be swayed to be evil, just as he himself said "Body in the abyss, heart in paradise".

Now Hua Cheng, he is overall a super interesting character and I personally love this type of male characters. But he seriously is way too OP, almost like the original Luo Binghe (Bing-ge) a.k.a. too ideal, too perfect, no flaws, always capable of easily finding a way out in every single peril. I only forgive him for being like this because he dissipated into butterflies at the end of the battle with Jun Wu, making me think "oh, finally he's actually not invincible".

Still, his devotion to Xie Lian is very well written, very well presented, and his "I am forever your most devoted believer" is just downright the most powerful line in the whole story.

Now I promised to talk about Qi Rong, yeah? I haven't the slightest idea why it is even necessary to have Qi Rong as the Night-touring Green Lantern. I mean, yes he is there to make up the number of the Four Great Calamities, but that was for the characters who live in that world. As the novel's reader, I don't see any particularly important roles there for Qi Rong other than being an annoying meme fodder despite his actually pretty-cool first foreshadowing and appearance? Even his issue with Lang Qianqiu does not seem to give that much impact on the overall story, it could've just passed simply being explained in several pages.

Though I'd say he's got the best character development compared to others. Instead of dying as some hateful villain, the way he ended up deciding to protect Guzi at the cost of his own life can already be expected from miles away, but still bittersweet and touching nonetheless - how this crazed, mental person could still love when being presented with such pure, innocent feelings to the point that he acknowledged Guzi as a his own son.

By the way, E Ming and Ruoye are cute, I take no criticism.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS: 8/10

I can't really describe this with words, but MXTX's overall writing technique has greatly improved since MDZS.

It feels more "solid" to read instead of scattered here and there.

The info distribution has improved (fewer info dump compared to before), the story's no longer switching between past and present all of a sudden.

Description of characters and environment are sufficient, the plot is progressing steadily.

Several issues I have with this aspect though, the Prologue being ten pages is just way too long, I don't think I need that much information being stuffed right to my face right from the beginning.

There are excessive use of "Turns out..." every single time an explanation is going to come.

"Xie Lian didn't know whether he should cry or laugh" is honestly has been used probably more than 50 times just in the last two books. Although I'm reading a translation, I'm pretty sure the original Chinese version is being repetitive with this phrase, as well, because the translators couldn't just whip up any other phrase from thin air and put it in someone else's novel.

Almost half of scene transition is always caused by some sudden, external disturbance like "All of a sudden they heard someone's coming", "All of a sudden X visits their room", etc.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.3/10

Worth to read, satisfying overall. The main pairing's love story is just so well written and sweet. As long as you can withstand the violence and gore, though. 😂

TGCF highlights perhaps one of the ugliest natures of mankind: Being nice to someone as long as they're beneficial, and immediately throwing them away once the benefit was no more.

Once that person does not seem to be beneficial anymore, everyone would leave them instantly, even turning on them and start spitting on them without even trying to understand the reason why said person "stopped being beneficial".

Both as a Crown Prince and a martial god, Xie Lian and the Crown Prince of Wuyong were praised, revered, worshipped by the citizens of Xianle and Wuyong respectively. Because they were always helping, always fulfilling the people's wishes. But how easily it was for those very same people to turn on Xie Lian and the Crown Prince of Wuyong when they encountered misfortunes, completely turning a blind eye to the laborious effort both characters have been putting to save them from annihilation, even if it was visible in broad daylight.

It is also worth to note another trait of mankind that this story underlines: To always find a scapegoat or blame others for one's own misfortune and failure - be it another human being, another group of people, the government, even the gods - after having taking their generosity for granted.

Which is why I think the true villain of the story is not Bai Wuxiang, but those citizens of the ancient Wuyong who were now nothing more than resentful spirits eternally burning within the lava of Tonglu Mountain - a well deserved punishment after what they did to their Crown Prince.

#Tian Guan Ci Fu #TGCF #Heaven Officials Blessing #HuaLian #Xie Lian #Hua Cheng #Review #Danmei #MXTX #Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

[uoongs]

[translation] MXTX Interview - TGCF questions

this is rlly for everyone to love hc more TT // split by general/book1, book 3 spoilers, and book 5 spoilers via headings (though all are minor spoilers imo, except for the one in bk 5?)

there’s another question that pertains to TGCF’s comments, which I found interesting but have left out for now because it’s very very long. it’s half translated, so maybe i’ll finish it later

CW: domestic violence, Q.21 suicidal thoughts

the mdzs parts were prev translated here by @bigbadredpanda

original interview here

reposts and translations OK, but pls give credit!! twt @/uooongs, tumblr @uoongs, ig @/duoj1ao

GENERAL / BOOK 1 REFERENCES

Q14. TGCF characters’ heights?

Xie Lian 178cm (but can perfectly seem like 180), Hua Chen 190 (first appearance as a cute fresh youth was 185cm), Jun Wu 191, Feng Xin 188, Mu Qing 188, Mo Shui 189, Shi Wudu 187, Shi Qinxuan 186 (woman form 176), Pei Ming 188, Ling Wen 180, Quan Yizhen 184 (but has a very tall presence), Yin Yu 186 (but miraculously no matter how tall he is it’s hard to notice this person).

PS: Yu Shi [rain master?]’s cow is 150 without standing up

Q17. What was XL doing after his second time getting banished to the human realm? What was HC doing? Why couldn’t he find XL? HC previously swore to not let XL know he’s protecting him, so why did he decide to meet XL again after 800 years?

XL tried doing other jobs, but all didn’t go too well, and would bring sadness/strife to others, so could only collect trash by himself.

HC was looking for him while also working on his skills + earning money, expanding his power, and worked hard to become the strongest dude!

Really, it was because XL’s luck was so terrible and stuck to him so closely that he couldn’t meet HC. Actually, many times they almost saw each other, like in Banyue, and also when XL was Fangxin head priest, but both times they just missed each other. Finally XL ascended by himself and CEO Hua couldn’t contain himself and rushed over.

T/N:

strongest dude: the word here used is “jiahuo” 家伙 which is an informal, sometimes affectionate way of calling someone, kind of like “brat” ? but without the parental figure tone

CEO Hua: 花总 “hua zong” the zong here is used as a suffix of respect, usually used for business partners/ ppl holding business positions

Q18. When they first met again, why did HC not let XL touch him?

Because he loved and respected him. He was scared he’d get too excited and do something wrong. Later, the reason was that sometimes if he thought he made a mistake, like not protecting Dianxia well, he would not let himself touch his idol. Even if he wanted to a lot, he wouldn’t let himself touch, because it’s his own punishment for himself.

Q19. What did XL like doing as a kid? Did he whine like a kid?

He liked going on swings, calligraphy, drawing, reading books most people wouldn’t read, building and knocking over golden toy block houses. Whined a lot, and would insist on sleeping with his parents. So when he stopped whining like that the king didn’t find him as cute.

T/N: the “whine” here is the best English equivalent as far as I know, but perhaps you’re more familiar with the term “aegyo”? lol. Original word is 撒娇 “sa jiao”

Q20. Where did HC’s name and San Lang come from?

Why Hua Cheng, only he himself would know, since names are based on intuition and he didn’t tell me anything. San Lang was firstly because he was actually the third child at home, secondly because he fell during the third lap during the Offering to the Gods parade, thirdly because BLABLABLABLA many reasons to guess. Being the third seme of the novels is also an interesting Easter egg, but that wasn’t the main reason. Just as why Lan Wangji is Lan Er-Gege, or why Qiu Chi is called Si Shao, one can find many fitting explanations in the novel.

T/N:

BLABLABLABLA is actually what appeared in MXTX’s response lol

Qiu Chi 秋迟 is the name of a character (not sure MC or ML) for her next novel, and Si Shao 四少 means fourth, or fourth child/youth ?

“Offering to the Gods ceremony” translation is taken from Sakhyulations translation! https://www.sakhyulations.com/novel/heaven-officials-blessing/chapter-1/ bless them uwu

Q22. Why did HC not have confidence in his looks?

Because he was always told he was ugly, a monster, etc as a kid, so there was a deep “I’m ugly” impression of himself. Later he started suspecting that “maybe I’m kind of good looking”. But before the person he likes the most, he would still instinctively be self-deprecating, and sometimes will wonder if he’s an ugly person.

Q24. Why did XL give himself the surname “Hua”? 

Because he likes flowers, and used to be called the Flower Crown Martial God. Also, in the initial character sketch, when XL was banished he became a flower god, in charge of flowers’ blooming and wilting.

T/N: The word for “wilt”, amazingly, is 花谢 “hua xie” which is HC’s surname + XL’s surname (!!!). Also is the fake name XL used in Banyue, and the surname he gave to HC in the amnesia extra.

Q27. When will edits be made on TGCF?

Edits have already started, and when they’re done they will all be added with an announcement. Because it’s a long process, and because JJ has inconvenient limits on edits, Iwon’t know when. Not sure if it’ll be before or after the fourth novel. Also will depend on novel adaptations (of prev novels) and how the fourth book goes.

Q28. Will there be more extras for TGCF?

I’ve been wanting to write a human realm commoner storybook, a collection of short fairytales.

BOOK 3 SPOILERS

Q15. Where was Hualian’s first time? Does Hua Chen know that Xie Lian made the first move in kissing him in Qiandeng temple?

Huangji temple in Taicang mountain! HC didn’t know at first, but later Huahua teased it out + closely interrogated it out of XL.

Q16. What was the last mural and the lying down sculpture of XL in Wanshengku (hundred thousand-gods temple)?

It was that you know. That.

T/N: papapapapapa

Q21. Why did HC always have bandages on his face as a child? Why did he fall from the building? Why was he always getting bullied but still physically very strong/healthy?

He was always beaten up because his right eye is red. Others thought it was scary, and his face had a lot of scars that had to be covered;

One day he was beaten up so much that he wanted to kill himself, and also he’s a very bratty and petty kid, so when he heard there’s going to be a Offering to the Gods ceremony -- which if went wrong will bring strife to the whole country -- he especially chose that day to ruin the ceremony. As in, “if I’m unlucky and having a hard time, I want this entire country to die with me”. But he ended up climbing up there saw his wife and was shook, so he forgot to kill himself. But because he wanted to see more clearly, wanted to be closer so badly, he accidently fell off. 

He is just very tenaciously surviving! He’s strong like XL, won’t die even after getting beaten up hundreds of times, and forever will be able to hold onto a last breath and crawl back up again to return, against fate.

Q23. What did Mu Qing say when he drove HC away?

MQ just speaks like that...like, you brat are not even useful to Taizi Dianxia, you’ll only weigh him down, the army doesn’t need trash like you, don’t think you actually have talent! etc. Also because in the army the youths’ death rate is actually quite high, so MQ didn’t think he was doing anything wrong in driving HC away.

BOOK 5 SPOILERS

Q25. So is Shi Qinxuan a human now? Will his hands and leg ever recover? If he reincarnated, would he still have a hard life? Is Shi Wudu really gone? What did Mo Shui take the water master’s head for? What did he say to Shi Qinxuan on Moshui island at the end?

SQX is human. He can’t recover, and he doesn’t want to. Heavenly Officials won’t reincarnate. SWD is gone for good. The head was used for an oblation. He didn’t say anything in the end, because SQX was very out of it, so even if he said something SQX wouldn’t be able to understand.

T/N: To refer to SWD MXTX uses 15° (15 degrees) because phonetically it sounds like SWD’s name.

#mxtx #tgcf #hob #tian guan ci fu #heaven's official blessing #mo xiang tong xiu #tgcf translations #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian

[mihanada]

Heaven Official’s Blessing Liveblog

Chapter 2: Scrap-Collecting Immortal’s Third Ascension to Godhood

Xie Lian is honest and self-deprecating, Ling Wen is serious with a dry sense of humor. Put them together, and the first proper conversation of the novel is funny in a low key sort of way. Xie Lian being self-deprecating and humble is a little refreshing, in that he is also quite confident about it. He knows full well that he is dirt poor in material items and heavenly currency, and it makes one wonder how exactly he got from raging god of revenge attacking the heavens to this person who jokes about his own failures so easily. But, well, that’s why this novel is so long, isn’t it haha. Plenty of time to figure it out.

Lian Wen is great fun for all her acerbic comments, and I like how she’s so professional. At least there’s one heavenly official who is polite and helpful to Xie Lian despite his reputation?

I also laughed at the ancient xianxia chatrooms for the gods that is basically just used for them to gossip and gamble. Does humanity ever really change, even when they ascend to the heavens? I’m thinking the answer is a no.

So, I forgot how Mu Qing’s voice was first described all the way back in Chapter 2 and it’s honestly so contradictory. A soft voice, appears to be gentle but in reality is cold and indifferent. Therefore, “it made that gentleness seem as if it harbored some evil intentions.” Like, hello.

Xuan Zhen = Mu Qing

Self, remember that.

Gotta remind yourself that it’s been 800 years since Xie Lian ascended and according to him, it’s been 500-600 years since he last saw Mu Qing. It sounds really silly that he didn’t recognize him, but then again, he isn’t seeing him in person and apparently Mu Qing never used to sound so cold when he spoke to Xie Lian. So, I guess he gets a pass haha.

I’ve never hated Mu Qing as a character, or even disliked him, even before I read spoilers about the rest of the novel. I did think in the beginning that, oh, so he’s that sort of asshole. Because - yeah. The quick summary of what went down between these two paints a really clear picture. And it also makes a lot of sense because, hey. People are assholes. If the crown prince promotes you on a whim, take and run with it. But his foolish failure doesn’t have to mean the end of your life either. So, I get it, and I could kind of respect him for being that pragmatic of a person and not being overly sentimental and all undying loyalty.

Nan Yang = Feng Xin

If I type it enough, maybe it will stick in my head one day.

So, by the end of the reveal that Feng Xin stuck with Xie Lian a little longer but ultimately went their separate ways, I had formed some thoughts and liked the set up with these two former generals of his. My thoughts on this are kind of complex and I’ve thought a lot about how to express them. In the end, I decided to leave those thoughts for later on, once I’ve learned more about these two.

In terms of the narrative, we have a goal set for Xie Lian in this chapter: earning merits to repay the damage he caused by ascending. And that may take a while seeing as no one worships him anymore and 8 million something merits might be a bit difficult to come by. Soon after, his bad luck kicks in and he runs into two of his former generals who dumped him a few hundred years ago for better prospects.

A lot happens in the next chapter, so I’ll save that one for another post. Plus, I tend to lose my immunity to my cat’s dander every time I leave home for an extended period of time and now that I’m back, I am suffering and my eyes are bugging out lol. Until next time!

(masterpost)

← back・onward →

#tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #tgcf aka a trial by fire and tears

[monstersqueen]

I posted 4 052 times in 2021

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My Top Posts in 2021

#5

oh! I wondered what akio’s seduction of utena was about - besides making us all uncomfortable - since it seems counterproductive to try and corrupt her when he needs the noblest sword he can get, and basically wrote it out to akio being akio and just not being able not to be a creep - or, simply wanting to have a control hand pn any of the duelist - or anyone in school, see wakaba.

but maybe it’s about anthy more than utena? he’s taunting her - they’re all the same, even utena - the right words, the right acts, and even utena will betray her principles. AND he assess his control over anthy by making her complicit. what he’s doing is making sure that HE is still anthy’s first loyalty, by sabotaging what utena and anthy are building.

that and he’s a creep and he can’t stand that someone is outside of his control and needs to bring her in

because he’s the worst

33 notes • Posted 2021-04-04 18:52:09 GMT

#4

So! at the end, jon was still recognizably jon, and that’s all i wanted. bonuses: whatever happened to them, jon and martin are still together and together and in love. the admiral and rosie are fine. georgie, melanie and basira are fine.

also that last statement was good. i did love it.

and! i adore simon fairchild and i am also very glad for whatever was done to him. he deserved it.

34 notes • Posted 2021-03-25 21:28:05 GMT

#3

also i ALWAYS forget - every rewatch - that utena looking at her ring and thinking of her prince is not really her thinking about dios|akio - she’s nottrying to be loyal to a shared promise with him - it’s made explicit! it’s basically said! but her ring is not a symbol of her being ‘engaged’ to the prince, nor of the promise of staying noble, or of becoming a prince herslef - it’s a symbol fo the promise she forgot, sicne she can’t remember clearly. when she looks at her ring and wonder if she can love akio/someone otehr than her prince, she’s not wondering about betraying her prince or the nobility of ebign a pricne herself, she subconsciously realizes that there’s a much more important promise linked to that ring, a much mroe important purpose she swore herself too.

how do i, EVERY TIME I REWATCH, forget that her ring is not about akio or dios, but about anthy? despite very much remembering WHAT SHE SAW THAT MADE HER LEAVE THE COFFIN

37 notes • Posted 2021-04-04 19:10:27 GMT

#2

thinking about ‘ I always wanted my friends to call me Gerry. ‘ like. they’ve known each other. half an hour? max? they’ll never meet again on account of one of them being dead? but gods.

gerry who never had friends? despite being. such a good person? the fucking loneliness of those two men meeting up and ! ok we’re friends now! jon who was. in fact looking up to gerry for a good part of the show?the whole thing

damn AUs where gerry and jon get to be the brest friends they were MEANT TO BE are so good

47 notes • Posted 2021-05-09 11:45:29 GMT

#1

yeah but the beginning of tgcf is hilarious.

--SPOILERS--

so xie lian ascended for the third time! he broke a bell who landed on Mu Qing! and Feng Xin's palace!!!! what kind of awful coincidence. it's not like he could have planned it! but wow!!!

And then! he goes quietly to the communication array, mu qing talks to him, and xl doesn't recognize him! which mu qing doesn't know! xl doesn't know either he's talking to the peson the bell landed on! mu qing doesn't know that either!

and the xie lian learn about the bell, apologizes - ok good, mu qing - AND THEN ASKS FOR HIS NAME. no wonder mu qing thought he could get away with the whole fu yao thing, btw. so, while that truly awkward moment is going on, for once in his life, feng xin coming in is making the situation much, much better for mu qing. Because he knows what feng xin doesn't, ie the identity of the person responsible for his palace's destruction. and, there, he does know feng xin doesn't.

so yeah of fucking course he's snickeringwhen feng xin starts yelling about his palace. because he knows who feng xin just screamed at, and probably knows tha if fx knew, well. he wouldn't be screaming.

after that absolute disaster of XIE LIAN NOT RECOGNIZING HIM, at least he gets to see feng xin make an ass of himself.

what a reunion. amazing. unsurpassed. awful for everyone involved. very much not what any of them would have wanted it to be like.

solution? COME UP WITH THE MOST TRANSPARENT DISGUISES AND START AGAIN.

and it keeps being hilarious. xie lian strats getting busy keeping the narration away from the realization of fu yao and nan feng's true identity,a s well as from the fact THAT YES, HE KNOWS.

one of the best things i've ever read, honest.

185 notes • Posted 2021-08-08 18:23:15 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #myposts #i love that my not liveblog of fha tags has enough posts to make it to the top ten :D #long post #though :) #(and yeah the ration of created vs reblogged sounds about right....)

[tiaowu-han]

nasturtium, oak, gladiolus <3

|| Flower Headcanon Meme Status: Closed nasturtium :   describe your muse’s relationship with their birthplace ,   or homeland //The best way I can describe Xie Lian’s relationship with Xian Le is bittersweet. It is like a fleeting dream to him, most of the time. He was younger then, more naive, and more hopeful. It was an idyllic time, looking back. But there is no thinking about Xian Le without addressing the catastrophe of what it became. Not only was his entire kingdom destroyed, but his view on humanity was deeply impacted. He did not just lose people physically. He lost them emotionally as well.  Such is the case with Mu Qing and Feng Xin, actually. They are the last remnants of that idyllic time and he regards them in the same bittersweet manner. There is a deep part of him that wishes to reconnect-- but he is simultaneously terrified of opening that sort of door again. In a way, he wishes to protect what remains of his fondness towards them and that time. He would be absolutely devastated if that bond broke anymore than it has. 

oak :   who would your muse consider the strongest person they know ?   //Hmmm... I think Xie Lian has different categories of what ‘strength’ means. If we are talking power and influence, for a long while it would default to Jun Wu, for obvious reasons. Naturally, as he comes to know Hua Cheng, that opinion becomes muddier since the spheres of power and influence that HC and JW rule over do not 100% overlap.  But there are different kinds of strength that Xie Lian also admires. He admires the strength of the common people for overcoming the daily adversities of life. He admires the strength of Banyue for following what she believed in and taking the more difficult path to protect it. He deeply admires Mu Qing and Feng Xin for overcoming their shortcomings in their affiliation with him and ascending to gods. He also is incredibly blown away by SQX’s unwavering character, even as his life completely collapses on itself.  In short, I don’t think Xie Lian has a rank order system of who is the strongest. He does certainly have people that come to mind when he thinks of ‘strong’.  gladiolus :   describe a moment from your muse’s life that they will never forget 

// SPOILERS: I am going to give SQX some love here even if the moment is anything but lovely. All of it surrounds the events leading to the murder of his brother. There is a lot to unpack, so it would be impossible for SQX to forget. Now I can get into the details of it all, but I feel regurgitating the novel does not really add to the character. So, instead, I am going to talk about specific features of the situation that are burned into his memory.  The actual death of his brother, no surprise.  The cruelty of He Xuan (even if, on some level, he understands it) And, finally, when the dust settled, just how miserably hilarious the entire thing was. A sort of grim joke how even with reversed fates, his own had returned to where it belonged in a most catastrophic way. It destroyed his brother and the bond he thought he had with ‘Ming Yi’. And while early on he likely saw it as his carefree life being also taken away, as time passes and he comes to work through his emotions, he comes to understand that the splendor of his life was bought in the suffering of another.  It would take a lot of time, but I think he would come around to forgiving his brother, and ultimately He Xuan. More for himself to heal if anything. So he can move forward and be genuinely happy again. 

#pcachlovc #ask #meme #tysmmmmm for the ask #don't mind me #as I perpetually angst #over sqx #aaaah #headcanon