#tgcf meta

[biboomerangboi]

Hua Cheng essentially cockblocking himself for possibly all of eternity will literally never not be the funniest thing MXTX ever wrote.

Xie Lian was pretty much completely in love with him the second he saw those lanterns (and completely oblivious about it) and then we get the wonderful first kiss underwater moment and Xie Lian is basically drawing hearts around Hua Cheng every time he sees him. While like quietly dying cause he literally has no idea what to do with it. Like at this point he doesn’t even really understand that he is head over heels totally gone for this man.

Until Hua Cheng is like I have a beloved I just haven’t won them over yet. Which he thinks is perfectly reasonable because his self esteem is the worst and he doesn’t understand how he could have won Xie Lian over yet. (He’s only on step 22 of his Marrying Dianxia 3000 step Master Plan ((that he debates throwing out on a regular basis because he doesn’t deserve to even dream about wanting Xie Lian)). So course he’s like yeah I have this wonderful noble beautiful beloved I just haven’t won them over yet wink wink nudge nudge.

But Xie Lian is like oh of course obviously I don’t deserve nice things and fuck I actually wanted him so badly I’m actually in love with him and now I will resign myself to never being happy for his sake. (Their combined self esteem is truly a so low it’s a hole in the ground which is hilarious because they think the other person is to good for them and unattainable forever because they literally have the same neurosis.) So he starts boxing up his feelings forever constantly wanting Hua Cheng and feeling guilty about it and literally dying inside because he wants Hua Cheng like he’s never wanted anyone.

Like essentially books 3 and 5 only happen because Hua Cheng has now cursed them both by saying he has a beloved because Xie Lian believes he isn’t wanted and therefore any nice thing Hua Cheng does is just him being nice and not Hua Cheng pulling out steps 23-34 of his plan thinking he still hasn’t won Xie Lian over. (He has he so has but he shot himself in the foot so badly it’s painful to read).

Like thank the Gods Hua Cheng is so unhinged and created the cave of 10000 Gods cause Xie Lian would literally be at his own wedding to Hua Cheng still convinced he wanted someone else and this was in fact a thing they were doing to solve a case together otherwise.

Like he needed something that unhinged to put 2 and 2 together otherwise he never would have caught on he’s Hua Cheng’s beloved. Meanwhile Hua cheng is like 🥺 he’s going to think I’m a weirdo now and I’m only on step 50 of the plan 🥺 like the two of them wouldn’t have been fucking nasty 2 books ago if he just kept his mouth shut and didn’t cockblock himself so violently.

#I hate them I love them they are both so stupid #hualian #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #hua cheng #xie lian #heavens official blessing #heaven official's blessing #hualian meta #tgcf meta #actually don’t know why I’m tagging this as meta I’m just bullying them but you get it #zee rambles #writing them and wanting to die #zees 2am text posts

[emotionaldisaster909]

ALSO NOTICE THAT

Hua Cheng smiled when qr said that Xie Lian has him on a leash

AND THIS IS THE FACE HE MADE

AFTER QR SAID THAT XIE LIAN WAS LICKING HIS BOOTS

THAT’S

A L L YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT HIM

#tgcf #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #tian guan ci fu #tgcf thoughts #tgcf season 2 #tgcf donghua #heaven officials blessing #天官赐福 #tgcf analysis #tgcf fandom #tgcf meta #tgcf s2

[estrella-etoile]

Hua Cheng's Very Different Loves

There is often a fundamental misunderstanding of Hua Cheng's love for Xie Lian. The biggest of them was Mu Qing and Feng Xin's assumption at seeing the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods.

They see Hua Cheng as obsessive, dangerous. And given the history with Bai Wuxian, yeah, not entirely in the wrong for that assumption.

It's hard to understand that Hua Cheng is one who has truly separated his devotion from his romantic love for Xie Lian. Because devotion/worship of a god and love of a person are different.

At least until now, the devout and obsessive level of worship that Hua Cheng exhibits is the first type. The type of a religious devotee. And that cave, that's what we see. Hua Cheng did not make the sculptures and the paintings for Xie Lian exactly, he didn't do it with a plan to bring Xie Lian there and ask for praise, he did it because Xie Lian was his totem, the very thing that could center him even at times of extreme suffering to pull through. Religious love is not something that expects reciprocation, it's not something that requires anything of the subject of worship except their existence. And the Hua Cheng of the past 800 years poured his obsessive love into this type of love, the love that he does not have any expectations for.

We know that Hua Cheng also felt the other type of love. His sexual awakening was downright traumatic. Seriously, imagine being fourteen, and having to defend your beloved god from sex demons who are forcing you to realize that your devotion to your god has an edge of desire, all while said god is stabbing himself to keep from acting on the extreme discomfort of sexual urges forced on him by those same damn sex demons. No wonder Hua Cheng is so absolutely freaked out and a little disgusted about harboring that type of love for Xie Lian.

When Hua Cheng finally finds Xie Lian again after 800 years, I fundamentally believe that Hua Cheng would have been content with an existence of watching over and protecting his god from the sidelines. His devotion mattering more than that sliver of self-loathing desire that would never be erased.

The story we got to read though, the one that makes TGCF so special is the way that the other love grows between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. They enjoy each other's company, enjoy teasing and talking, enjoy the little touches that they share. When Hua Cheng talks about his beloved, he speaks of his romantic love and winning over that person. He speaks of it shyly, because he knows it is something that has to be shared and has to grow naturally. It's what makes their love story so very human, because Hua Cheng treated his religious love and his desirous love as completely separate from each other. And the best part? Xie Lian knows this, understands this, has no doubt about this.

It means that the scene in the cave, where both Feng Xin and Mu Qing mistook Hua Cheng's obsessive devotion for obsessive desire, Xie Lian recognizes correctly.

And Xie Lian reciprocates those romantic feelings.

I like to picture those days that Xie Lian wakes up and finds the other side of his bed empty, then wanders to the Thousand Lights Temple to see Hua Cheng there changing the single white flower in his god's hands, then bowing his head and saying a prayer. Xie Lian rolls his eyes, because well, he's right there, but it's Hua Cheng's ritual, and whether they are husbands, whether they had rough and enjoyable sex the night before, Hua Cheng won't slack on his religious love just because he gets to share romantic love with his husband and god.

#hualian #tgcf meta #hua cheng loves xie lian in so many ways #and i think we get stuck on obsessive devotion vs obsessive desire #heaven official's blessing #heaven official's blessing meta #tgcf #hualian meta #hua cheng #xie lian

[missveryvery]

Some foreshadowing of FQ's precious friendship I missed before.

This means them working together looks exactly like them about to strangle each other.

It also means it's indistinguishable to Xie Lian, who both knows them best but also doesn't know them at all. Which is a reoccurring theme in the book, someone who is the most intimate with someone still not really knowing them.

Anyway, this literally means every time they've been seen arguing by third parties, they could have not been arguing at all. Can you fucking imagine. Seeing them at a table looking like they're hissing and barking and the end product is "...okay so we're getting the chicken and the eggplant." "And the salad." "Right, the salad, too."

Fucking maniacs.

#tgcf #tgcf spoilers #fengqing #feng xin #mu qing #tgcf meta

[magicpotatothoughts]

TGCF reread new finds #1

Xie Lian actively and consciously knows that he is attracted to HC the MOMENT THEY MEET in the Ox Cart. Like it’s not just blank gay panic, he knows.

His beauty was deadly like a sword, sharp and mesmerising. Xie Lian only met his eyes for a moment, then lowered his eyes in defeat.

MATE, normally wouldn’t you continue to be mesmerised and can’t peel your eyes away? That is, UNLESS YOURE WHIPPED. XL knows that SL's looks affect him to this degree. Defeat is the key word here.

Also

The distance between them had closed too fast. he suddenly didn't know what to do[...]Xie Lian blanked on the spot. He watched as the tall and slender youth walked away with his giant bag of junk as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, and it made him mutter inwardly, Forgive my sins.

Making a rich young lad carry your things? Making him sleep in your crappy temple? That doesn't warrant the weighty thought? FORGIVE WHAT SINS Xie Lian??!!!

Many village girls saw (HC) and blushed [...] Xie Lian didn't know what they were going to ask, but felt instinctively that it must be stopped at once, and cried, "No!"

Jealous jealous boi! XL WAS POSSESSIVE after ONE night spent together at Puqi Shrine. Didn’t XL just say to SL that he will have no problem in the love department because girls will throw themselves at him? Yo, why are you cock-blocking? Everyone says HC is insane, no XL is equally insane for the other!

Also, when HC revealed that it's his real skin after the Banyue arc, XL instinctively poked him. Then

He looked at his own finger then hid it away, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

What thoughts XL ?!! Explain yourself right now!

Jumping back to OX CART scene, Xie Lian's character development was foreshadowed when they were talking about the gifting of ghost ashes.

Book 1: Xie Lian sighed. "It certainly is painful to think about, to have given everything for love and lose everything in return."

This is what Xie Lian is most afraid of! Like even thinking back to Xie Lian pushing Feng Xin away in Book 4, he definitely operated under that mindset. Love is a risk, it's something to be feared. Even now 800+ years later, he still feels that way and doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone. It just hits so much harder thinking that he operated under that for so many centuries.

Then Hua Cheng says

"What there to be afraid of? If it were me, I'd have no regrets giving away my ashes"

Which I think really changed the way that Xie Lian thought about love. Book 5 Xie Lian completely operates with Love is empowering and isn't something to be afraid of.

TGCF isn't about XL realising his feelings, literally from Book 1 it's about him wondering if it's worthwhile to act on them.

Three things, is this person worth losing cultivation over for?

He needs the reassurance that this person must reciprocate his feelings.

Then HC changed his perspective on love from FEAR -> EMPOWERMENT.

XL is soooo self-aware (unlike SQQ from SVSSS and WWX from MDZS), he's an unreliable narrator in the way that he doesn't reveal everything to the reader, especially his own feelings until he was absolutely sure that there really was both a physical and romantic attraction. I wanted to make this post to dispel the assumption for XL it was easy to forego 800+ years of cultivation. It was not? He ABSOLUTELY thought about it carefully.

#honestly without the thousand caves reveal these two gays would still be 👉👈🥺 at each other #I was inspired by grimbravado's tumblr #tgcf #mxtx #heaven official's blessing #also these are my own perspectives #take it with a grain of salt #hualian #hua cheng #tian guan ci fu #xie lian #feng xin #fenglian #TGCF meta

[illuminatedferret]

also writing fic is REALLY interesting when trying to balance hua cheng as "respectful and would never impose himself upon xie lian" and "possessive and carnally desires xie lian". like the juxtaposition between respect and desire is basically the cornerstone of hua cheng's character when it comes to hualian. it's not even like a back-and-forth thing, it's like his respect is the dam holding back the flood that is his desire, and whatever hints we see for the first 75% of the novel is basically either overflow or intentional outletting. hua cheng wants xie lian in every way he can, but he refuses to impose himself where or how he's not wanted, which is why he gradually gets more visible about his desires the more xie lian sees and doesnt reject them.

#tgcf #hua cheng #hualian #tgcf meta #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #heaven officials blessing #illuspeaks

[average-hua-cheng-fan]

another reason i think that xie lian felt an instant connection on the ox cart is because he and hua cheng both grew up in xianle.

there are maybe 4 people still alive that grew up in that culture. based on my own experience, you can pick up on things like accent, cadence, references, and humor that suggest a person is from the same place as you without consciously noticing it. that sense of comfort and similarity probably played into their instant chemistry.

#thinking about how they are bonded together by being the only people who remember their dead culture... augh it kind of makes me want to cr #as much fighting as fengqing do they are really the only people who will EVER understand each other's childhoods #which. aughhhh #there's a lovely modern au fic by heavensturtle called ''i'm just there to admire you.'' where they talk about chinese diaspora go read it #fics that mention paradise manor being in the xianle style also make me want to bawl. especially when fxmq notice it #other people that remember xianle: qi rong. jun wu. mei nianqing. yeah. none of those people are easy to talk to #buried deep in the xianle quartets heads are things like xianxia silly bands and xianxia nickelodeon and xianxia hi chew that LITERALLY #NOBODY ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD REMEMBERS. DOES THAT NOT MAKE YOU FEEL INSANE #the immortality in tgcf and how it affects memory and sense of self and relationships. ourgh #i speak #tgcf meta #tgcf #tgcf spoilers #i guess? #tian guan ci fu #tgcf books #heaven official's blessing #hob #xie lian #hua cheng #hualian #feng xin #mu qing #fengqing #xianle trio #xianle quartet

[yea-baiyi]

ok but like imagine being hua cheng. and when you were a teenager you were trapped in a cave with your god when he got hit with sex pollen and you already felt ugly and unlovable but he stabbed himself through the gut rather than touch you and you saw him shirtless and horrifyingly that’s how you found out you were gay

and then you meet him again centuries later when you’ve grown up and become comfortable in your own skin, and you think you might be in love with him except a part of you still feels terrified that he’ll look at you and find you hideous again. but you want to trust him so you show him your real face. and. turns out he finds your adult self so hot that you make him horny for the first time in his life and he keeps doing and saying absolutely deranged things because he does not know how to cope. he panics and tries to give you, a ghost, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and while you’re lying there trying not to freak out he is beside you acting out his one man humiliation-style comedy show because he has never wanted to kiss someone before let alone fuck. he agrees to get locked in a coffin together because he never even considered the possibility that he might pop a boner except he does pop a boner and now you are stuck under him while he squirms and you are trying very hard not to think about your own boner

i don’t know how to end this post i just think that’s so funny. and they live happily ever after and have lots of gay sex. hua cheng keeps winning. slay king

#tgcf #hua cheng #hualian #xie lian #aroace mxtx analysis #tgcf meta #meta stuff #my hyperfixation demon #grey ace xie lian #does this count as meta #i’m sorry i’m still on this train #funnies #i wrote this post last night and i still don’t know how to end it but god. it’s just so funny #hua cheng deserves to get railed after all that. king #i swear to god this all started as me trying to articulate hua cheng’s devotion and instead i just keep running into #how hua cheng is just here vibing and then xie lian is all skdhgshdkdhb and he’s just like. well this might as well happen i guess

[149panda149]

TGCF: My theory on the inspiration behind the 4 calamities

In some of the oldest Chinese myths and legends, there are 4 guardian gods of the four cardinal directions - the green dragon, white tiger, crimson bird, and black tortoise, and each have a colour, season and element associated with them. I'm not sure if anyone has made this connection before, but I'm writing it down if anyone is interested. There are spoilers about the calamities' identity.

First, the 青龙 （qing long, green dragon) --> Qi Rong, Night-touring Green lantern.

The qinglong's territory is the East, and its colour is qing, which means green, or turqoise. Its element is wood, and its season is spring. Closely associated with royalty and the imperial family.

Now, for the similarities with our favourite green goblin. "qing" is literally the colour in Qi Rong's title, and his colour scheme. Qi Rong has a habit of hanging corpses from trees, which may be his relation to the element "wood". He does not have any obvious coleration with the season "spring"- perhaps he was born in spring. He is royalty, part of the imperial family as cousin to the crown prince.

Second, the 白虎 （bai hu, white tiger)--> Bai Wuxiang, White Clothed Disaster upon the Earth.

The baihu's territory is the West, its colour is white, element is gold/metal, and its season is summer. It is the king of all beasts, associated with disease and war, often used as a guardian symbol by soldiers.

On the other hand, Jun Wu's title, alias and colour scheme are all white, and has plenty of weapons that may be his link to the element of "gold/metal". I don't think he has anything to do with summer, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. He is king of the gods, a god of war, and the one to spread the human face disease.

As east and west are considered a pair, the guardian spirits are meant to reflect each other. In Chinese poems and such, symmetry is important, and both Qi Rong and Jun Wu were princes, one becoming revered by the highest of gods, covered with masks and false identities, one becoming the object of disgust by the lowest of ghosts, using his real name and face. There is a certain poetic symmetry to it, don't you think?

To the second pair. The 朱雀 (zhu que, crimson bird)----> Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower

The zhuque rules over the south, its colour is red, element is fire, and its season is summer. It is the king of all birds, more powerful than even the phoenix, immortal and undying. As such, in many places it is also considered a symbol of life.

Now, to the most popular ghost king: Hua Cheng. The english translation of his title is "crimson", and his colour scheme is indubitably red and autumn-y shades. He also re-re-met Xie Lian in autumn ( I think - I mean, the leaves were all red in the donghua??), and has died again and again to return like the zhuque. He is the king of all ghosts, with a great determination to live(sorta? are ghosts alive??) for his love.

Lastly, my personal favourite, the 玄武 (xuan wu, black tortoise)---->He Xuan, Black Water Sinking Ships

The xuanwu, also called a tortoise, is actually the only spirit to be a combination of 2 animals, a snake and a tortoise. It rules over the north. Its colour is black( sometimes depicted as dark blue), element is water, and its season is winter. In earlier legends, he is considered a guide and guardian to the netherworld, of death and of long life.

Thus, to our poor indebted water ghost. He Xuan's name is "xuan", the same! goddamn! character! as the spirit! His title and colour scheme are all to do with the colour black, and he is a water ghost because he died because of the Water Master. He has been marked by death, yet survived and vowed revenge. This, and the fact that his house is called the Nether Water Manor, is probably his relation to the netherworld of the xuanwu.

To the pair of south and north. Both Hua Cheng and He Xuan have suffered and suffered again, yet Hua Cheng chooses to linger on due to hope and love, and He Xuan due to revenge and hatred. But hatred and love are two sides of the same coin. If Hua Cheng hadn't experienced the hatred from his childhood, he wouldn't have thrown himself from the city wall and met Xie Lian. If He Xuan hadn't loved his family, so much, he wouldn't have broken that hard after their deaths to lose himself to hatred and empty vengence.

Aaaaaand that concludes this essay. Keep in mind that this is a theory, and probably even isn't true, but if anybody wants a more detailed description of the guardian spirits, or to know more about the similarities between the mythical creatures of ancient china and tgcf, I will be more than happy to make a part 2.

Thanks for reading!!

#he xuan #tgcf #bai wuxiang #hua cheng #qi rong #four great calamities #heaven official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #black water submerging boats #black water sinking ships #night-touring green lantern #crimson rain sought flower #white-clothed calamity #shan hai jing #meta #tgcf meta

[hualianschild]

crying again cuz i just realised hualian are both mama's boy ohmygawd there's xie lian who intentionally cooks food in a horrible way and names them weirdly in remembrance of his mother and immediately went to talk to his mother in her resting place after finding out abt qi rong and then there's hua cheng who left home at the age of 10 after his mother (the only person who loved him at that time) dyed and still remembered one of her love songs that he sings for xie lian (it's not in the book and the author said she that she scrapped that draft off and SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE I'VE BEEN ROBBED) and i also like to believe that they both got their mom's genes CUZ HELLO ??? THEY'RE SO BEAUTIFUL ??

#hualian mama's boys agenda #yes i will believe his mother loved him idc #my hong'er deserves all the love in this world #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #tgcf meta #hua cheng #san lang #xie lian #hualian #tian guan ci fu #mxtx #heaven officials blessing #hob

[baiwu-jinji]

I received a very thoughtful anon ask about Qi Rong and in the process of doing research for the ask, I came across a meta about Qi Rong on the Chinese website Zhihu that I absolutely loved, so I translated the meta into English - anon I will answer your ask ASAP, in the meantime I hope you're interested in this excellent meta:

I think Qi Rong's feelings for Xie Lian isn't that of a fan for his idol, but that of a child for an imaginary "father". So he wouldn't try to understand and study XL's character like Hua Cheng; he's only looking up to this "father figure".

This isn't a baseless conjecture - the relationship between father and son has always been a topic that can't be averted when it comes to Qi Rong. I'm guessing that when he was bullied and excluded by other kids in his childhood, it didn't occur to Qi Rong to hate the circumstances of his family; instead he wished for his father to stand up for him and help him teach those nasty kids a lesson. This wish had always existed in Qi Rong's heart and became a traumatising shadow of his childhood.

Whereas his cousin, the prince Xie Lian, who suddenly appeared in his life to help him, was unconsciously used by Qi Rong to fit his expectation of the "father". XL did what he expected a father to do, so he placed XL in his fantasies about a father. Since his abusive and useless father doesn't cut it, then someone as gentle and strong as XL must be the standard for what a "father" is like. Subconsciously Qi Rong had this idea.

Therefore I think a lot of the dumb and horrible things that Qi Rong did for XL is only due to the anxiety that a son feels towards the indifference of the "father", so he tried to do something compensatory to win the father's attention and approval; but this didn't work out at all.

This is also why he's good to Gu Zi, because Gu Zi is just another Qi Rong - he's abused by the father but still begs for the father's love and doesn't allow others to hurt his father. It's probably because Qi Rong understands what this feels like that he'd pretend to be a seemingly decent "father" for Gu Zi.

(Here the author also points out the connection between Qi Rong and Gu Zi based on their names, which needs to be explained to English readers in more detail - Qi Rong's name "Rong," in Chinese "容", is comprised of two parts: 宀 and 谷. The latter part is "Gu" (谷) as in Gu Zi's name, and the former part 宀 stands for a house or a home - in this sense the character "Rong 容" (Qi Rong) incorprates the character "Gu 谷" (Gi Zi) and provides a "home" or "shelter" for "Gu".)

Qi Rong shows off all kinds of places to the kid that he's never been to, deliberately bigs himself up, and protects the kid at the dire moment, because all of these are what Qi Rong hoped his father would do for him. However, Xie Lian was only a kid himself; how could he answer Qi Rong's expectations for a father?

Qi Rong undoubtedly loathes his biological father, because when Qi Rong was a kid, his father was useless and crass, made a laughing stock of Qi Rong and his mother and became the reason Qi Rong was mocked by other kids. But when Qi Rong needed his father and needed him to scold those kids, his father didn't care about him at all (probably only the father could accomplish this sort of task since Qi Rong's mother was depressed and sickly; this plot is repeated later on in Feng Xin and his son).

When the entire country was being destroyed, his other "father," Xie Lian, became a laughing stock too. XL didn't manage to help him before and after his death. For Qi Rong, this is a replay of the events that happened when he was five years old; this perfect "father" proves no different from his biological father.

So fundementally Qi Rong hates Xie Lian for the same reason that he hates his biological father. He indeed projected too many wishful fantasies on XL, but I think it's more about the son's disappointment towards a "father" instead of a believer's disappointment for a "god". In fact, whether XL activated the human face disease or whether he managed to saved Xianle is of secondary importance to Qi Rong; the complaints someone could voice out loud usually aren't what he actually cares about.

Of course, Qi Rong is possessed by the idea of avenging Xianle to some degree, otherwise he wouldn't have plotted revenge with other Xianle descendants. But what Qi Rong really cared about, he only managed to speak when his soul dissipated - it's what he always wanted to say to Xie Lian and his biological father but never could: "I worship and need you so much, but you don't care about me at all". This is more the case of a son who craves the father's love and complains about it. The relationship between Qi Rong and Gu Zi is comparable to the relationship between Jun Wu and Xie Lian. At least Gu Zi received some paternal love and won't grow up to be like Qi Rong, which is nice.

(For anyone interested in reading the original Chinese, here's the link: https://www.zhihu.com/question/372905885/answer/1735047946?utm_psn=1754070720630493184&fbclid=IwAR0eSI0gya5ERovl1C1Fphv2ZjnXGuKUalA378VWcZjoCj4NiUD7Pw6BDS0)

#qi rong #xie lian #tgcf #tgcf meta

[biboomerangboi]

I just realised we’ve all just assumed that Xie Lian looks at the wraith butterflies and assumes they are beautiful and ethereal because they are soft with him and not weapons but I think we are forgetting this guys special interest is swords and weapons in general he could probably sense just how deadly they were and that only made them more beautiful to him.

#I love him he’s a freak he would see flying knives and go prettyyyyy #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #xie lian #hualian #Xie Lian meta #tgcf meta #zee rambles

[emotionaldisaster909]

CAN WE TALK QI RONG?

And the fact that

Donghua team performed an OUTSTANDING JOB of a character study through animation

Like I’m watching him insult Lang QiangQui

And it suddenly hits me that I kinda understand and feel him???

Like Ke Mo

Even though he is wrong

He has a right to hate Yong An

Xie Lian has much more of it, but-

Have you ever thought that

We never get to know

How Qi Rong died?

Even though he didn’t care for XianLe, it was his only home

So when you see him talk about this-

You can see that underneath his arrogant hateful craziness

There is genuine pain

Which he HIDES BEHIND SMILES

HIS EXPRESSIONS KEEP SWITCHING

AND I APPLAUD THE DONGHUA TEAM FOR THIS DECISION

He laughs in one second

AND IN THE NEXT YOU SEE THIS

This GENUINE ANGER

and a RIGHTFULL ONE AT THAT??

No matter how deeply twisted everything about his mindset is

At its core it’s a lack of any established moral guidelines in his upbringing

And the worst coping mechanism of fighting pain, insecurities and fear of abandonment

By going batshit crazy in defense and grabbing onto everything that makes him seem “important”

Yet by doing so he succeeded in becoming so unimportant

That even his remaining family thought about him so little

That we never got an explanation of how he died

He definitely died alone

And at least for this

He has a right to feel angry

Because anger is just helpless pain

#as it was said in NPAB #it takes a village to raise a child #and the fact that this child is him #says a lot about the village #nobody ever loved him enough and in the right time to make him change #yet he #by the way #does NOT use it as an excuse #and it makes him an awesome villain #tgcf #qi rong #tian guan ci fu #tgcf thoughts #tgcf season 2 #tgcf donghua #heaven officials blessing #天官赐福 #tgcf s2 #tgcf analysis #tgcf meta

[estrella-etoile]

I think that when the heavens are returned to normal, Xie Lian starts a little cultivation temple up there. He figures it's never a bad time to keep up good cultivation practices, to help gods keep true to the path. One of the rules is godly powers stay at the door.

Feng Xin and Quan Yizhen are the first to join him, never missing a single combat session. Feng Xin is still in awe of how outclassed he was during the final showdown, and he wants to get better. Quan Yizhen just loves to fight, and Xie Lian has become his second favorite person. He still loses, but the matches are excitingly close.

Pei Xiu joins next, nearly as soon as his detention as a mortal has been lifted. He's never fought with General Hua, and still can't believe that the man who saved his life is right there and beat the crap out of the Emperor.

Pei Ming wants to know what all the hubbub is about. He's a martial god too, who are these younguns who are forgetting this? He has a lot of fun, but no one misses the frustration on his face that he can't hold a candle to Xie Lian. He vows to train harder (but often gets distracted by beautiful ladies).

Lang Qianqiu was hesitant at first. He is worried his old Master would bear some grudge (and vice versa), but more and more, he finds himself slipping into calling Xie Lian "guoshi", and it doesn't feel so weird on his tongue. In fact, it's starting to feel nice again.

Mu Qing holds off as long as he can. He calls the practice a waste of time, claims that the martial gods are all shirking their duties by participating. Okay fine. He guesses he will participate too. His complaints are met with a patient smile by Xie Lian and a lot of swearwords by Feng Xin. No one allows Mu Qing and Feng Xin to spar, afraid of the damage to the capital, and to being even more in debt to Hua Cheng.

Once in a blue moon, Hua Cheng himself joins! Those are the days that only Quan Yizhen volunteers to spar. No one else dares to join, but everyone hides nearby to watch. Someone boldly asks Hua Cheng why he no longer offers up his own ashes should he lose.

Hua Cheng simply says, "They are in a place that I will not take them from, and I hope that they remain in that place for as long as the world turns."

Xie Lian blushes, and clutches the ring so near his heart.

#tgcf storytelling #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #hualian #kinda meta? but not really #a cute little post-canon tale #what if xie lian opened a temple in heaven #a lot of cute interactions is what #tgcf meta #tgcf spoilers

[missveryvery]

I like everyone screaming over them glancing at each other like "can't believe they made out right there on the screen"

Let me say that the in-universe reason they're looking at each other is probably that they are SCREAMING at each other in their array like "WHAT IF THEY ASK IF WE WERE THERE?!? BE COOL. BE COOL. I AM COOL, YOU BE COOL! SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU SHUT UP! IF YOU RAT ME OUT I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. IF WE GET FOUND OUT, IT'S NOT THAT BAD. IF WE GET FOUND OUT I'M KILLING MYSELF AND THEN YOU."

#feng xin #mu qing #fengqing #tgcf meta #tgcf spoilers

[rejectedfables]

Lacking any spelled out canon reason for Feng Xin's fear of women, I can only infer that after nearly 800 years of being accidentally known as "Mr Huge Cock, God of Massive Dicks" and having to suffer through how NOT NORMAL people get when they sexualize strangers to the point of dehumanization, as well as being bombarded with sexual prayers he didn't agree to or want to recieve, that all of that has resulted in cumulative trauma in a way that nobody considers legitimate and everybody seems to think is funny

#tgcf #Feng xin #Nan yang #tian guan ci fu #heaven's official blessing #heaven official's blessing #Hob #Tgcf meta #I'm aware this is a doylist problem of classic/tired tropes more than a watsonian problem but it's more interesting this way #Man needs a break #Shoutout to when I googled 'why is Feng Xin' and the autofill was 'afraid of women' and the upvoted answer was 'he's gay'