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yeyayeya · 4 months

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I’ve wanted to make this post for a while but wanted to wait until the dub was officially over so

My Final Thoughts on the TGCF Season 2 English Dub

Howard Wang as Xie Lian is fucking perfect. Every single time he spoke it just, I don’t know how to properly put it into words, except it is so well done?? But when XL started basically having a mental breakdown in front of Hua Cheng after Lang Qianqiu found out about the truth of the Gilded Banquet, holy fuck did the emotions just hit me in the feels. The scream and he emotional fatigue after? Xie Lian’s voice is perfection omg

Shoutout to James Cheek for just voicing the gayest character ever (Hua Cheng) and writing the gayest script for TGCF. While I liked his voice in the first season, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of it. It wasn’t until the second season where almost everything improved, and James’s voice for Hua Cheng? *chef’s kiss*. Okay but at least tone down the gayness a bit. And seeing someone who has read the novel and having little easter eggs for the novel readers for them to go insane over is incredible. I’m going to miss his voice in Season 3 since they’re going to have to cast someone else as Hong’er, but that’s ok.

Male and Female Shi Qingxuan: OMG??? Perfect casting. I just know they both put so much effort into them and I am eternally grateful. They just sound like the best of friends (they are). Every single line from them was so fucking iconic, which is accurate to the Wind Master’s character. I love both their voices so much you don’t understand.

Lang Qianqiu: AAHHHHH. My son, my boy, they gave him justice and I am so happy. First read through of TGCF, I only cared for HuaLian, but reading it again has made me appreciate and fall in love with the side characters, with Lang Qianqiu being one of them. I’ll say it did take a bit for me to adjust to it, but he sounds so much like an anime protagonist that I am ok with it. Another perfect casting. I’m going to be so fucking sad that he won’t appear for such a long time, and while he does get brought up occasionally, his last appearance is going to be the finale. I’ll miss you my son 😔

Jun Wu: ASDFGHJKL. He sounds like such a manipulative/toxic ex and a father figure at the same time. wtf. But his voice is so sexy tho. I don’t like it but I do. And I thought his original Chinese voice was hot, and then the English one goes and surprises me. I hate that I love it

Qi Rong: Perfection, glorious, fucking incredible. HIS VA IS PERFECT. Original was slaying so hard, and English? Fucking killing it. He was actually the one I was looking forward to the most, and he 👏 did 👏 not👏 disappoint. I won’t get over the perfect casting. Ever. The crazy and mad laughs? The insults I’ve never heard about but decided to keep in mind? Literally everything. I’m sorry I can’t get over how great his voice is

Feng Xin and Mu Qing (of course together): I am so biased towards Lucien Dodge, so I immediately loved his voice for him. He slaying that tsundere cat boy vibe so well. I will admit that his voice made me like his character more tbh. Ok but Feng Xin’s? Every time I hear it, I always need at least 30 seconds to get used to it. Idk why. I don’t hate it, and I actually love it, but he sounds so much like a dad it’s so funny. I still love him tho.

Pei Ming: 😳. No but that was actually my reaction to his voice. Why is every single god’s voice so hot. Please calm down. I really did not like Pei Ming at first but damn. I can actually understand why every single woman went weak with him.

Ling Wen: While she didn’t get as much dialogue this season, I’ll still count her. I’ve heard some drama relating to her voice actress from a while back but I’m not bringing it up rn. But her English voice is almost exactly the same as the original, just, different languages of course. She has such a unique voice and it’s quite pleasing to hear. She also sounds a bit like Siri but it fits her character

Other major characters that got only a few lines but still slayed their roles (Ming Yi, Pei Xiu, Jian Lan, Yin Yu): Hello?? Can I be patient to hear their voices again? Probably not, but please I need more of them. Ming Yi sounded hot since he took voice lessons from Hua Cheng, Pei Xiu sounded like such a little wet cat (wtf where did this crush on him come from), Jian Lan slayed because she is such an underrated queen, and Yin Yu? I WAS NOT EXPECTING A DEEP VOICE FROM WTF. I will say I do prefer his Chinese VA a little more due to it being more in character with him sounding soft and somewhat tired. But I enjoy his confident and announcing voice. They should keep him for the QuanYin flashbacks.

All in all, perfect cast. I don’t have twitter/X but I see things from the VA’s from time to time. And seeing them interact with the fandom and trying to give more to their characters makes me so happy. I just desperately need for more of the characters to have voices (aka Shi Wudu, Quan Yizhen, Mei Nianqing, Yushi Huang, Male!Ling Wen, White-No-Face). Give me more please.

Please check out the dub it’s so fucking great.

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one-flower-one-sword · 4 months

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(this is illuminatedferret)

One little thing I am curious to hear your thoughts on, but that I don't really want to clutter our ongoing monster discussion with: considering his track record with orchestrating events across canon, if Jun Wu already knew about the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, do you think Xie Lian and co. stumbling upon it was genuinely happenstance, or do you think he was conspiring for them to wind up there?

it did indeed become a monster discussion, didn't it XD I cherished it though

ok so hi, this is an excellent question, thank you for sending it!! I wondered this exact thing myself many times while pondering those chapters. caveat that I honestly don't know if I can give a satisfying answer because iirc it's never stated clearly by the text. We do get this:

Mu Qing tore at the silk as he yelled. "I knew you were the one who threw us into that pit!"

[...] With the match decided, Hua Cheng sheathed his scimitar. "I threw you in to save you from disaster. Otherwise, you would've never had a chance to find this Cave of Ten Thousand Gods," he jeered. "And it was your yelling that caused the avalanche. Why don't you thank me for saving your puny little lives?"

(Vol 6, page 64)

but it has to be kept in mind that Mu Qing and Feng Xin accidentally causing the avalanche that landed them in the cave is based only on the information they have at the time.

so, on the the one hand, I don't want to fall into the trap of attributing everything that happened to Jun Wu's manipulation, and he could have simply used the aftermath of that avalanche to his advantage. on the other, he is the master of the Kiln, and the Mount Tonglu area is a place he has immense power over. there's also the fact that 1. Xie Lian had a nightmare/vision of seeing Bai Wuxiang after the avalanche and that B., it separated Xie Lian from Hua Cheng, at least temporarily.

I mention the separation because it provided Xie Lian some time to explore the cave without Hua Cheng there to try and steer him away immediately. I'm trying to side-step our whole "did Jun Wu know Hua Cheng is Wuming" discussion so we don't get entangled in that again, but I think what we did agree on is that Jun Wu knows, to some extent, that Hua Cheng worships and desires Xie Lian, yes? and also that he's correctly deduced that Hua Cheng still hasn't dared to tell Xie Lian any of this because he fears his reaction. so from that angle, it would make sense that he'd conspire for them to wind up there, especially with Mu Qing and Feng Xin in tow, since they basically do Jun Wu's work for him in how they try to change Xie Lian's opinion on and view of Hua Cheng as a person and of Xie Lian's relationship with him by force, by painting Hua Cheng's love, devotion, and desire as something twisted, disgusting, and dangerous. And when that isn't enough to sway Xie Lian, Jun Wu uses their likeness, as we've discussed previously, to try and manipulate Hua Cheng into hurting Xie Lian himself, because surely then Xie Lian would finally reject Hua Cheng and tell him to stay away :

It seemed like they were purposefully trying to provoke Hua Cheng. But there was no reason for that; they knew they couldn't beat him, so what did they want? Moreover, their tone subtly pointed the spear in Xie Lian's direction. It was like they wanted to stir up confusion - as though they wanted Hua Cheng to do something to Xie Lian in a fit of anger.

(Vol 6, page 72)

Then when all of that doesn't work either - and, in fact, only brings hualian closer together by causing them to confess their feelings for each other - Jun Wu immediately tries to fracture their relationship from another angle :

"Don't worry, I simply sent him outside the Kiln. Even if he wants to rush back in here, it's too late now." [...] "But it's probably for the best that he doesn't come in," White No-Face continued. "Even if he wouldn't agree right now, who knows if he'll still want to be with you when he sees what you'll become."

(Vol 6, page 106)

Of course, Jun Wu's main objective in getting Xie Lian and himself alone inside the Kiln is that he wants Xie Lian to walk the exact same path as him, to become exactly like him. But I'm bringing all this up because I think it can't be overstated how much Xie Lian and Hua Cheng's relationship was an obstacle to those plans, and how far Jun Wu repeatedly went to try and "prove" to both Xie Lian and himself that no one can be trusted not to hurt and betray you, and that no one will stay with you no matter what. Because, in his mind, Xie Lian would then come to the same conclusion Jun Wu did - "understand" the same thing he did:

"He guessed what I was thinking and asked me slowly, 'Are you leaving too, then?' [...] And then His Highness murmured to himself, 'It's all right. I expected that. No one would stay now that I've become something like this. I can manage on my own. I understand now - I've always been alone! I don't need anyone!"

(Vol 7, page 215-216)

All this to say - I'm not sure. But with what we know about Jun Wu's power and the way he tries to make it look like he's not meddling while actually meddling all the time, plus the way he repeatedly manipulates events to try and keep Hua Cheng away from Xie Lian... it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted them to land in the cave, and used an avalanche as a cover to make that happen.

#tgcf meta #answered asks #jun wu #hualian

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dumbkatsu · 2 years

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Hello! I was hoping you’d be able to write some Feng Xin hcs? Honestly anything you write will do because your writing is so good and I’m also starved for Feng Xin content 😭

Hello anon! thank you so much! I love to provide you guys some tgcf content any day! I love fx so much. I really like him as a character. Anyways here it goes.

I honestly hc him as a himbo.

But he loyal af. Like seriously you'll get no one more loyal than Feng Xin.

He'll love you for who you are, flaws and all.

He can look like a really tough guy on the outside with a frown 24/7. But when you are at home he's a huge softie. His expression looses the scowl and he's much more relaxed and has a soft smile.

He's very protective of you as well. He knows he can be a bit much so he tries to let you do your thing bcs he knows you are capable of doing it yourself.

Actually a thing he really admires of you is your self perseverance. The way you can always find a way to get through your problems. Even if you recognize that there's nothing it could be done, because it takes a lot of courage to admit that.

He's the type of guy that when you leave a building he slightly nudges you to the inner side of the sidewalk.

Definitely owns a motorbike and is a huge nerd about it.

When you ask him for a ride he's a bit worried bcs it's very dangerous and he worries for your safety.

Eventually you go out on a date and the feeling of your arms wrapped up around his waist with your head pressed against his back sends butterflies to his stomach.

Also I feel like his dates would be very active. Trying rock climbing, doing surf classes, going on park dates for sure.

If he finds a dog and it sniffs him he'll ask the owner to pet him and istg it's the most adorable sight. He looks so happy petting the cute doggo.

He's ok with hand holding when you're in public. But if you kiss his cheek or peck him. You'll have to give him a minute bcs FengXing.exe has stopped working.

Can't look at you for a while bcs he's afraid you noticed how red and embarrassed he is.

He loves to cuddle you while you're on top of him. Head resting on his chest.

We all know he's fit cmon now. He's a very comfortable pillow.

When you cuddle him be careful bcs he's super ticklish when it comes to his ribs.

Also he doesn't care if his arm goes numb when you sleep together.

He loves to kiss you on your forehead. The way you nuzzle into him has this guy weak for real.

He likes to sleep in your bed more bcs it smells like you but he'll never admit it.

He also loves the smell of your hair and always notices when you change scents or brands.

Also when he borrows his hoodies or sweats he low-key sprays them with a bit of his deodorant.

When comforting you he will be a bit blunt but he will always give good advice.

One day you offered to do his hair in the morning and now you do it almost every day you wake up with him.

He's never let anything rott in the fridge once. His appliances are very well kept. Overall his house style is simple and practical.

Actually find some pleasure and piece of mind when cleaning. It helps him clear his mind a bit.

Owns one plant and amazingly it's a fern!

Xie Lian gave it to him on his birthday and he takes such good care of it!

Names him Fred the fern.

I have an inkling feeling that Feng Xin would play cs:go and call of duty too.

Legit he's the guy who when you ask to but pads says "what size pussy do you wear?" but the thing is he says that unironically.

He a little confused but he got the spirit

I can clearly see Feng Xin as the person who says two trips to take the groceries are for losers for real.

And he definitely uses 5 in one shampoo don’t even try me

I could see him playing american football or volleyball in high school 100%

If you go on beach trips he’d convince you to go to the water.

When you ask him to put sunscreen on your back he blushes for a bit but he’s super respectful about it.

Be careful if he doesn’t try to throw you into the water.

Ok I have more beach trip hc. I’ll save them for later ;)

For now that’s all

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birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo · 1 year

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I pretty much don't care about tgcf at all, but I'm obsessed with how much you love your two little dudes. Please tell me about them.

asdsakj it's true, im always going on about them 🤣🤣

*autistic 8 yr old about to show u their pokemon cards voice*

OK SO these are my blorbos, they are called feng xin and mu qing, and most of the time they're like this:

they both love fighting and also looking after the crown prince but they don't really do that much anymore, except now they will since they're all friends, also they both protect the south and their believers fight each other over whose general is better (no one ever wins bc. both feng xin and mu qing are really rly cool and strong and powerful!!) they argue and fight a lot and i love that about them!! but ideally i would ALSO like more of this:

bc punching is fun but kissing is also good?? i think??? but yeah they are both dumb and clever and strong and insecure and hypocrites and cowards and brave and loyal and i love them. the end 😊😊😊

#birb answers an ask #what a fun ask!!!#thank u very much for the enrichment anon!!!#my enclosure has improved in quality by 100% ✨✨✨#birb's doodles #i hope u don't mind that i added a couple scribbles there 😅#(even tho i answered it silly i DO genuinely appreciate the ask!! thanks very much anon 💚)#fengqing

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web-novel-polls · 10 months

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Aroace-spec Tournament Round 1

The aroace-spec tournament will be a double-elimination tournament with 4 matches in Round 1. Polls will start Thursday, August 10th, 2023, at noon CST & remain open for 1 week (close August 17th).

Round 1

Chung Myung vs. Shu Yanyan

Kim Dokja vs. Baek Suryong

Zhao Yue vs. Cale Henituse

Song Lan vs. Liu Mingyan

Tag: #aroace spec round 1

Round 2

Shen Qingqiu vs. [Winner of Chung Myung vs. Shu Yanyan]

Yin Hanjiang vs. Wenren È

Xie Lian vs. Cheng Qian

[Winner of Kim Dokja vs. Baek Suryong] vs. Liu Qingge

Chu Wanning vs. [Winner of Zhao Yue vs. Cale Henituse]

Wen Ning vs. Mu Qing

Feng Xin vs. Wen Qing

[Winner of Song Lan vs. Liu Mingyan] vs. Jiang Cheng

Competitor List in Order of Seed under the cut

Shen Qingqiu from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission 1: Gay Asexual

I mean have you met the man? "Assuming you're straight because you feel nothing towards either sex but you have to be the default, right? before realizing you're romantically attracted to someone but not realizing you're romantically attracted to someone because it doesn't feel like sexual attraction which is how allos explain what love is until the romantic attraction hits you like a sledge hammer" is both a common ace experience and absolutely his story arc. Also I would have submitted him sooner but I thought he was a shoe in

Submission 2:

Asexual, somewhere on the aro spectrum - I would have submitted him earlier but based on the tags I assumed I wouldn't need to and didn't want op to be spammed with too many submissions ;_; anyhow he's here now!

Mod Propaganda

Was completely okay with not marrying anyone (because all the women in the world “belong to the protagonist”)

So fucking weird about sex. He has to mentally contort his brain seven ways to Sunday to even IMAGINE fucking someone (earning him the title of “most homophobic gay person”)

“He’s not gay, Binghe is”

Reads bad erotica and then complains about the plot inconsistencies

Accidentally wife beams/romances pretty much every single character he meets

Jiang Cheng from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: romantic and sex indifferent aroace

I love that guy, he’s the most aroace guy I’ve ever met. and his outfit is literally the ace flag plus he’s like wearing a ring that looks a lot like wearing a ring that looks a lot like the ace ring. and the fact that he has no canon love interest and is never shown to want a romantic or sexual relationship. he gives me very “romance is something other people do, I just don’t care for it, I got other things to do” you get me??

Submission 2: Aroace

Despite people trying to convince him to get married/get an heir, in 13 years he never finds someone. His list of bride qualities is absurd to the point of "no one like this exists so I'll never have to get married". Is grossed out by displays of sexual attraction. Purple

Submission 3: Both

No spouse. Wears ace colors. Case closed.

Chu Wanning from the Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Mod Propaganda

Mo Ran “unlocking” his sexual desire….ok

Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but it’s pretty definitive. He doesn’t really experience sexual attraction until a little bit after they start dating idk what you want me to say

I wouldn’t say he’s aromantic or aro-spec bc it was more that he was in love with Mo Ran for years, but he’s definitely ace-spec. If he wasn’t, he’d probably be attracted to SOMEONE, but he’s explicitly not even sexually attracted to Mo Ran (who he has a crush on) until much, much later (like, after getting together later), from what I remember.

And in comparison, Mo Ran… experiences a lot of sexual and romantic attraction to different people but doesn’t seem to show/experience it as much after he falls in love with Chu Wanning. It’s clear that he had it for other people, but he’s now devoted to Chu Wanning; even if he was attracted to someone else, I doubt it would be mentioned. Chu Wanning, however, definitely has not experienced sexual attraction to anyone other than Mo Ran, and that was only AFTER they started dating.

Liu Qingge from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission 1: Gay Grayace

He spends most of his life with one interest and that's fighting and then when he falls for a man he's confused by it and proceeds to flirt in the most awkward way possible. Also he has the grey-white-sometimes purple colour scheme

Submission 2: Aroace

The idea of him being asexual is presented right there on the page and you can't take that away from me. Yes I think he is in love with sqq yes I also think he is aroace. He can be both!

Submission 3: Asexual/Ace-spec

I think he’s sex repulsed given his icy or horrified reactions when sexual topics are discussed. He was also once forcibly aroused when hit by an aphrodisiac, and he responded in a way that implied he had never experienced that before. Additionally, his instinct was not to do anything sexual, but to commit acts of violence.

Mod Propaganda

Canonically not interest in romance by word of God

MXTX: “[Liu Qingge] isn't interested in Shen Qingqiu. He isn't interested in anyone. He's only interested in fighting. He wants to be the strongest and the best.” (Source)

Canonically had no clue he was sexually aroused in the Succubi Extra / interpreted it as “wanting to fight” (which isn’t the same as not experiencing sexual attraction, but that’s also not a trademark of allosexuality)

Speaking of, he never specifically seems interested in Shen Qingqiu romantically or sexually - he’s usually shipped with him bc of his devotion, not a clear desire for romance. Though that’s pretty much just up for personal interpretation

Xie Lian from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission 1: Demisexual

He's heavily demi coded. Man has no interest in sex what so ever for 800 years and then makes a strong personal connection to one (1) person and is shocked when he's suddenly interested

Submission 2: Demisexual

I think he is demisexual. He was canonically celibate for 800+ years and doesn’t seem to have too much of a problem with it, until he meets and binds with the love interest. Suddenly this whole celibacy thing becomes difficult.

Seeing a character similar to me was an amazing experience and I think he deserves all the love!

Mu Qing from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Mod Propaganda

He’s sworn off sex for, like, 800+ years, and also had no romantic relationships during that time (as far as we know).

Feng Xin from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission: Sex Averse Asexual and Aromantic

He had a sexual relationship with one (1) woman and had such a bad time he developed a fear of women in general. Also, he's a very good archer, so he has to be an aroace lolgetit?

Wenren È from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission 1: Asexual

I haven't actually read this book yet but I've heard it's ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he was submitted

Submission 2: Asexual demiromantic

Resubmitting him because I have now read the book. And oh boy. He is not allo. He spends the whole book being confused about love and romance, and why that, specifically, would be such a huge motivator for people. He has no interest in it besides how it affects someone else and causes them problems. He falls in love by the end but he still doesn't understand how love works for other people at all

Mod Propaganda

“Wenren È cultivated the Path of Slaughter, and when he saw a beautiful woman, his first thought would be what kind of difference there was to fight a woman versus a man.” - Ch.6

The beginning part of the story is just him trying to understand what romance is and why a novel is saying he was in love with Baili Qingmiao.

Interprets “love is always seeing the other person” as “I should force Baili Qingmiao to be able to physically see this boy at all times”

He eventually becomes stupidly in love with Yin Hanjiang, but it’s a Journey. He clearly does not experience/understand romantic and sexual attraction until then.

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission 1: Asexual

I haven't read this book yet but I heard it was ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he got into the poll

Submission 2: Demisexual demiromantic

Resubmitting him too because, having read the book, he is also not allo. He very clearly draws a line between love and desire, which allo people usually don't do. He spends the entire book being fairly platonically loyal to Wenren E and then when someone explains what love is and he notices that it lines up with how he feels about Wenren E, he's mad about it. Plus the aroace feeling of falling in love with someone and having that shake your entire being to the core. Also, when asked, he doesn't know what love is, but none of the characters in this book do, so.

Mod Propaganda

Literally only cares about Wenren È

“And as for Yin Hanjiang, he actually seemed to deeply believe he was an ice-cold sword, blind and heartless, not caring if what was in front of him was a man, woman, or beast, so long as it wasn’t Wenren È.” - Ch.6

One of the only characters that’s clearly in love/obsessed with someone at the very beginning, but the story clearly talks about how he Only Likes Wenren È specifically, romantically and sexually (probably. Haven’t gotten that far).

Anyway, demisexual and demiromantic.

Wen Qing from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Lesbian Asexual

She just has the vibe. Trust me, I'm ace

Wen Ning from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: Aromantic ("A Good Aro Boi")

He never shows any kind of romantic interest in anyone. He's definitely in a QPR with Wei Wuxian and tangentially Lan Wangji though.

Cheng Qian from Liu Yao: the Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Submission: Sex Favorable Asexual

He has the Vibes

Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Submission 1: demiromantic graysexual, romance/sex indifferent

bc yoohankim is the most qpr qpr to ever qpr

Submission 2: demiromantic graysexual

yoohankim is soo queerplatonic it makes my chest hurt. and ysa and kdj are THE qpr ever. also i read the submissions list and my jaw deadass dropped when i saw that someone else had the exact same kdj hcs as me like asjdnghfdhdbn!ksnk#**#*@*

Cale Henituse from Lout of the Count’s Family

Submission: Aroace

Not a speck of romantic interest in this man. The only thing he wants to do in bed is sleep

Song Lan from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Asexual or Demisexual

I love whenever I'm reading fic where he is ace-spec it feels very correct

Shu Yanyan from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission: Hypersexual Aromantic

She likes the sex. She loves the sex. Sex is how she does cultivation. But she states multiple times that she would never settle down with anyone, and when asked what love is she has no idea. Everyone should read this book

Chung Myung from Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Submission: Aroace

He's so aroace! to me!! He's hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, no matter what he wants us to believe. He also says it multiple times that what he loves the most is the Mount Hua sect! He clearly loved his father/older brother figure, and his best friend, and thinks of them every chapter (they have passed away). And his current friends!! I wasn't expecting them to 'found family' this hard and fast, but they did! These kids care about each other so much </3

Liu Mingyan from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission:

Aroacespec Liu sibs ftw! Only one of og!Binghe's wives he doesn't have sex scenes with. Writes freaky smut fanfic but has no canon love interest of her own (apart from binghe/in the svsss timeline) despite being an unparalled beauty, which is aroacespec behavior

Zhao Yue from The Bandit’s Strategy / Tu Fei Gong Lue

Submission: demisexual & demiromantic

He has a whole mental monolgue about how when he was a teenager, he never experienced neither sexual nor romantic attraction, when all other boys his age around him seemed to - and how he thought this was simply something that wasn't in his fate. And that this only changed after he met, & spent a lot of time with (the other half of main couple) Wen Liunian. (This happened when Zhao Yue was in his twenties)..........To me, this felt like the closest the author could come to describing a character as demi without using the actual word.

Baek Suryong from Best Teacher Baek

Submission: Aroace

Suryong ignores and shoots down, but mostly plainly doesn't notice any flirting attempts. Rather the ones he does notice make him uncomfortable. He shows no interest in either sex or romance, despite meeting many people he'd describe as beautiful. Found a neat lifehack for having children without the pesky inbetween process, and has since picked up a bunch of disciples. When thinking about his future he doesn't considered marriage, or romantic relationships, as future goals. At one point we get a side character's POV, who talks about the many lovestruck people around him. Said romantic attention just never shows up in his own POV.

#aroace spec character tournament #aroace spec round 1 #brackets #aroace spec brackets #long post #my posts

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weirdcat1213 · 1 month

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MXTX and Marie Lu: an unnecessary long post about writers I like very very much

spoilers for Heaven Officials Blessing and the Legend series but not that bad

tldr; They describe things and I like that but I had to make it this long and add some stuff about writing and cultural expectations cuz i guess ill always be an english major at heart

Ok so I need to get this off my chest so I hope youre interested in writing, describing things and cultural expectations

So I've started reading Heaven Officials Blessing cuz I like gay and sad people and I love the donghua so much but BOI THAT WOMAN CAN HURT ME SO GOOD >:D

The simplicity of her words may be due to translation, her own style or part of the normal style in China but it contributes a lot to the books in my opinion. It is because of her simplicity that the reader is able to follow her long and detail descriptions.

Now, a lot of writers like to describe things, and MXTX does this a lot. She describes clothes, places, faces, etc when it's necessary for the story. But what I love about her is how she describes certain actions and moments.

There are moments that just cannot be described in 3 sentences, they're too important. The example that I want to show has not left my mind since I read it because it was one of the best slaps in the face ever.

TGCF Vol. 2: (from the free version I could find but it'll do)

"Before he even finished, there was a loud scream, and Hong Hong-er leapt to his feet, running towards Guoshi to headbutt him.

His voice was young and tender, but his screams were filled with rage, as if his heart was filled to the brim with unspeakable pain and anguish, making many of those present shiver. That young child was covered in injuries, yet he tore and hit out at them like a red-eyed rabid dog, violent and aggressive.

The Deputy Guoshi blocked Hong Hong-er and Guoshi backed away, yelling, “MAKE HIM LEAVE THE MOUNTAIN, HURRY! Don’t touch him, I mean it! That fortune is too toxic, don’t touch him!”

The Deputy Guoshi hurriedly moved aside, and Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn’t know whether to act. Seeing that everyone was avoiding him like he was a poisonous snake, that child was

shaken and started thrashing even harder, biting and screaming.

“I’m not! I’M NOT!! I’M NOT!!!!”

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped him around the waist, encircling his small form. A voice came from above his head.

Like look at this! This moment cant be longer than 2 minutes and its described in such way that breaks me. The voice and actions of the little kid (who is kinda doing a bad job saying "hey im not actually dangerous/toxic") get under your skin. The descriptions of his voice, his figure, how he looks yelling, how everyone reacts to this moment, how the MC reacts to this...its all just so amazing. The description grabs you by the ear and it makes you listen, it makes you watch. And thanks to that harrowing description the last bit really gets to the reader. Finally someone bothered to actually listen to the kid and console him. It's so fucking beautiful and it makes me want to eat glass. It really gives you the feelings that an angel really came from above to save a child from the pain in his own heart.

“You’re not. I know you’re not. Don’t cry, now. I know you’re not.”

That young child pressed his lips closed tightly, grabbing on to that pair of snow-white sleeves around his waist with a death grip. He forced himself to hold back for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t. A stream of tears suddenly rolled down from that round, black eye, and he burst out crying."

And all this emotion, this care for the craft reminded me of something, of someone. The queen the legend Marie Lu.

Although I would say she follows the regular American conventions when it comes to writing (she is american after all), she also takes care in her descriptions. However, in this case I want to talk about how she describes feelings. Marie Lu's characters are not just happy or sad but they have Feelings that just need to be expressed on the page otherwise they will explode. An example:

LEGEND SERIES BOOK 4 REBEL:

I nod again. "I'm sorry. I-"

"I find myself nodding through my tears, wishing I could have turned to him sooner, wishing I could be more like him in every way. "I see them every night," I say to him, my words breaking. "They're there every time I close my eyes, I jump at every sound. I see a soldier in every person standing at a corner. I thought- I thought if I could just drown it all out in the Undercity, if I could replace it with something else so loud and overwhelming, that it might go away- I thought if I could just see the Republic again, return home and understand my past..."

The pain in Daniel's eyes is raw and real. The fear of this was what had kept me silent for so long. He nods once, his hands firmly on my shoulders. "I see them too," he says quietly. "I should have talked to you about my nightmares. I can't expect you to open up to me if I don't do the same."

"Don't be." His eyes soften, and he pulls me into a hug. "You didn't do anything wrong."

It is his embrace that finally breaks my last barrier. I cry and cry and cry. I cry because I'd never let myself truly understand my own brother, because I'd never understood myself. I cry for all the lives that our pasts have set on different paths- for June's loss of her family, for Tess's loss of her childhood, for Daniel becoming a parent when he was himself just a boy. I cry because I'm grateful that we still, in spite of everything, have all found each other.

Because sometimes, broken pieces find a way to make a new whole."

NOW WHY AM I BOTHERING WITH ALL OF THIS. A couple of days ago one of my favorite video essayist youtubers said that his best writing advice was to keep things simple, that that was the best way to write.

This is just one of my favorite moments ever. The MC has been bottling things up for the whole book and on that scene he finally let's everything go. His brother also finally let's go his own fear and allows himself to be soft with his brother. The scene, however, would not work as well as it does without the description of the moment right before he breaks down crying. The feelings he can sense from his brother, his own feelings about his own perceived weakness, etc. These descriptions just gives the reader a window to see how much the characters have in their hearts. Again, it's so many emotions they could explode. Like this scene could have cut short in multiple ways and if it was recorded for a TV show it would not feel as long as it does in the book. Lu bothers with these descriptions to remind the reader that the characters have real feelings inside. They twist and change as it would happen to someone real and that's amazing. I love how she does it every time.

So how come these scenes, really description heavy, are this fucking cool and a short and fast description would not have been able to make them justice?

It's because usually when we talk about "keeping things simple" or "show dont tell" we want to apply them for everything. We want to apply them no matter the author, genre, target audience, etc.

This book explains it way better that I ever could but basically, writing tips and advice are based on what we consider normal. Most people consider the american conventions the rule, so when someone doesn't apply them to their writing, the writing is flawed. In the same book it is mentioned how typical Chinese writing prefers telling over showing things. They just love the details and that can be seen in MXTX's writing. She is following conventions that usually would be deemed as "wrong." Going back to Marie Lu, I want to think that she knows a bit about Chinese writing but she also knows that, even if its not the rule, descriptions help her writing alot; which is why she does it.

This is a nice and long way to tell you that when you read something pls do it with an open mind. Please dont have a mental list of what makes good of bad writing ready to point out an author's flaws. You could be discovering a new convention from a different culture, a convention that can be game changing for the book.

#heaven official's blessing #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #legend series #marie lu #mxtx #rebel #this was long but i have Feelings #and again english major at heart now and always #wow this was fun i havent written an essay in a while #also um im by no means an expert on chinese fiction/writing #im just someone who read a book #so if you have way more knowledge that i do please share it! i would like to know!

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astronomicalfluffweek · 7 months

Text

Fluff Week FAQ

General

Which characters/dynamics are you particularly interested in?

JJK – literally all common ones unless they’re illegal, particularly the first years & gojo (including all the variations - itafushi, platonic!itafushikugi, the gojo-megumi thing, the gojo-itadori thing, and of course, the much less explored megumi-nobara thing). No very-rare-pairs please, unless 100% platonic! I usually don’t like them. Also, bear in mind I may have to google characters if they come from Kyoto school because I literally forgot all their names.

HQ – I like most characters, but am especially fond of iwaoi and bokuaka (sakuatsu at a push). I love all team dynamics, with a special soft spot for the JNT and Seijoh. Again, no rare pairs please (even platonic, in this case) but I will know who most characters are!

TGCF: fengqing. I’m obsessed with fengqing. And hualian, of course. Basically Xianle trio + Hua Cheng and all their dynamics.

My favourite character is Hua Cheng, followed by Feng Xin, and then – you’ll hate me for this – Pei Ming. Please bear in mind that if you write about any niche characters from tgcf, or those that only appear later in the books, I will not know who they are :( He Xuan is about my limit for late-appearing characters, and he does not appear very late.

Do you mind which ships I use?

Not at all, as long as they aren't a major rarepair, or use characters I've never heard of. If you're not sure, don't be worried - you can always just ask! Either DM me or drop an ask in my inbox.

Are there any examples of found family you could suggest?

Yep! JJK is 100% found family, so there's no issue there - the school dynamic, gojo's dynamic with the students (particularly megumi), the first years' dynamic, the second years' dynamic, the teachers/adults dynamic...

HQ also has plenty of examples. Each team dynamic, duo dynamic, and mentor/mentee dynamic offers something new!

TGCF is a little harder. Nearly all the ships have an element of found family, but there's the Xianle trio and, if you want to get a bit ridiculous, the calamities can also be pretty funny if you wrangle them properly...

Fanfiction

Is reader insert ok?

I'd rather your not, but if you're only really comfortable with that, then go for it!

Is there a word count?

I'd like it to be over 1000 words, but I've yet to meet a writer who struggled with writing too little....

How would I post my work when the time comes?

Assuming you're posting on A03, please submit it to the Astronomical Fluff Week Collection (astronomical_fluff_week), and you can gift it to me if you like. More on this closer to the time!

Art

What kind of art are you looking for?

Any and all! You can do a comic, a drawing or painting, some silly doodles, a meme, anything!

How would I post my work when the time comes?

If you're posting on tumblr, please post with the tag #astronomical fluff week, and tag me in it! More on this closer to the time...

If you have further questions, my DMs or inbox are only a click away! Please only submit asks to @astronomicalfluffweek, but you can DM @astrowaffles or any sideblogs I have!

@grungeeuvu

@jdjdddnn

@vintageskeletons

@love-nakamura

@erros429

@fridakahloblvd

@drpepper-spokesman

@eternally-tired-muffin

@mmmcheetos

@average-hua-cheng-fan

#astronomical fluff week #haikyuu #jujutsu kaisen #tgcf

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princessofxianle · 5 months

Note

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

well THANK YOU for asking, you are the first to!

tbh ive been meaning to do this on my main blog bc I take these wayyy too seriously lol but ANYWAY heres my top 10 faves (in no particular order) that I can think of (tbh theres prob more i forgot about, or i wanted to keep only 1 per fandom... except tgcf)

Huge Spoiler Warning: for ALL of tgcf, 2ha, aot, AND JJK MANGA!!!

1. Feng Xin (tgcf)

do i even need to explain this one? loyal to a fault, just a cute lil puppy, one hell of a sculpted archers back, and he's head over heels in love with Xie Lian (but tbh same) i have a lot of thoughts about him on a daily basis on this blog (and also theres the #fx backstory au tag)

2. Noé Archiviste (the Case Study of Vanitas)

MY BABY

the absolute bestest boy of EVER... with a LOAD of unprocessed trauma (yknow the typical stuff like seeing your childhood bff get decapitated in front of you) and a lot more to come once we find out how he kills his boyfriend best friend, Vanitas...

i ALSO think about him a lot but over on @noes-pillow

3. Sejanus Plinth (The Hunger Games: tbosas)

hated reading as a child... HATED it... picked up the og trilogy when i was 12 and i was a goner. The funny thing is i still hated reading for YEARS up until i picked up the prequel novel then in 2020, and now ive read all of tgcf, 2ha, and more fanfic than i could ever imagine... all because this stupid boy (i love him) chose to trust the WORST person as his friend, rip sejanus my baby

the movie is v good btw, if you havent seen it you should

4. Xie Lian (tgcf)

*Taizi Dianxia Fang Xin Guoshi General Hua Xie Lian*

how this man survived 800 years of being physically unable to die and never went insane is a mystery i will never be able to fully comprehend (aaand im in love with him... hmm i wonder why...)

5. Mihael "Mello" Keehl (Death Note)

the chocolate-addicted blonde boi that was my first anime crush... by proxy I must also add Mail "Matt" Jeevas because they are a package deal

these two are also the reason i started writing fanfic so they will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart

6. Xue Meng - (2ha)

*sigh* he's just everyone's fav peacock (yes technically the image is XM 0.5 but he had a cool ass bird so im using this photo bc its COOL anyway...) mengmeng is another one of my trauma bois who has lost next to everything and yet is STILL kicking ass and taking names #thatsmyfuckingsectleader so proud of you my son

also this might get me into hot water here but imma go ahead and say it...

this is what i wanted Jiang Cheng to be... (i LOVE my angy grape but...) through thick and thin, despite EVERYTHING, and even mo ran fucking abandoning him he will still call mo ran his "ge"...

fgjhdfhfdg THEYRE BROTHERS, OKAY???

7. Howl Pendragon (Howl's Moving Castle)

ok this one i just simply do not need to explain... if you think i do, go watch this whole movie and then there ya go thats your answer...

GENDER

8. River Song (Doctor Who)

aside from being the character that unlocked my unhealthy obsession with :) Main Character Death :) at the ripe ol' age of 8 YEARS (although Will Turner from POTC also helped on that front... Orlando Bloom my beloved) River's story was a stroke of absolute GENIUS from start to finish and i simply love how Alex Kingston played her...

"You don't expect a sunset to admire you back."

I just love the doomed ones, okay...

9. Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)

look... theres *gojo girlies* uwu and then theres GOJO GIRLIES... i couldn't give 2 shits about how he's fan-serviced (tho im not complaining) but have you SEEN the amount of grief pumped into that man? he could explode in a fit of fucking insanity at literally any moment and take the whole goddamn world down with him bc what happened with suguru WASNT FAIR to him and satoru has more than enough power to go apeshit... but he DOESN'T... even after losing so many of his co-sorcerers... he still puts on a brave face to the end in order to protect the childhood of his students even tho his own youth was stolen from him during hidden inventory...

SEE? The DOOMED ones!

10. Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan)

i read the manga during my last year of uni and when i tell you i SOBBED at the end... yes ofc for obvious reasons, but mostly bc my little Levi loses EVERYTHING. He is the SOLE survivor of the veteran scouts. He's missing multiple fingers, an eye, and the ability to walk. He was the strongest (yowaimo) but wasn't even granted the mercy to die at the end of his narrative! Broke my fucking heart.

BONUS: Morph (Treasure Planet)

he's a morph!!! nuff said <3

fin

#thanks for the ask friend!#gonna rb this to my main too bc i needed a new one of these #alex talks #asks #i swear im gonna wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night remembering a character i forgot lol oh well i tried

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manglewoods · 2 months

Text

roleplay rules

triggers:

please do not state anything suicidal or rape wise. yes there's some characters who may have done suicide but if stated don't elongate it. keep it brief.

***********************************************

role play style:

i usally do semi lit. but depending if im busy depends on the response. and if im in a major rp mood i can due more then semi lit.

*********************************************************

ships- mdzs:

i'm a multi shipper so im willing to try any ships.

some of my fav ships currently are:

xue yang x xiao xingchen (played)

(played) nie huaisang x jiang cheng/ (played) wei wuxian

(played) lan wangji x wei wuxian

nie huasang x wen ning

jiang cheng x wei wuxian

(played) lan xichen x jiang cheng

(played) lan sizuhi x lan jingyi/ jin ling

i am willing to try other ships!

ships-svss:

ive played shen qinqqiu, both binghes, tianglang-jun, shen jiu and i ship the whole sqq harem with shen yuan.

ships-heavens offical-

(played) xie lian x (played) hua cheng

(played) mu qing x feng xin

(played) Shi Qingxuan x He Xuan

ive also played qi rong!

********************************************************

remember:

roleplay is about fun its not a completion on who could out word whom.

if u wish to rp let me know, dm me or comment ill get back to u as soon as i can.

i do allow 18+ because i am over 18 and im ok with it just be over 18 and make sure its ok

discord is open!

au-

Omegaverse (especially omega lwj)

NSFW

Genderbend and trans characters

High intensity plots

High emotion

Sexual tension

Enemies to lovers

Rivals to lovers

Infidelity

Adult age gaps (this one reminds me of binghe and shen qingqiu)

Forbidden love

Getting caught

Fantasy creatures

Fantasy royalty

Animalistic/shapeshifters (predator/prey is juicy)

Angst

horror

#mxtx rp #mxtx mdzs #mxtx roleplay #mxtx tgcf #mxtx svsss #mxtx

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crowning-art · 1 year

Text

TGCF SPOILERS AAAHHHHHHHHHHHGHHDHHFDHJFJX

GUUUUYYYTSSSSSS WTTFFFFF I DID NOT EXPECT THIS I DID NOT EXPECT TO READ THEIR FREAKING CINFESSION TODAY OH MY GOD I CANT EVEN TYPE RJFBFJFNFJTJFJGJ

Accurate depiction of me reading the absolute wild events I read rn:

Literally, like that exact face of disbelief, happiness, confusion, shock, conflicted, etc etc

First of all I DID NOT EXPECT WHITE NO FACE TO SHOW UP SO MUCH WHAT????

YAASSSSSS LETS GOOOOOOOO NEW PEEPS ADDED TO THE REUNION AND THIS TIME IT IS MY FAVES DJDJJDJXJD AHHH IM SO HAPPY I MISSED FENG XIN AND MU QING SO MUCH DJDJDJFJ

Ok but like I was trying to take this part seriously but all I kept thinking of was that one scene in that one barbie movie from like ages ago where she gets buried in an avalanche (mainly cuz I used to re-enact it with my siblings ALOT when I was kid lmao) the point is....I couldn't take this scene seriously lmao if you know, you know

When Xie Lian turned back to save Nan Feng and Fu Yao, that moment he delayed allowed the wave of snow to swallow him whole. The cold and heavy wave of snow surged without rest, breaking him and Hua Cheng apart. Xie Lian was falling all over from the force, tumbling down with the white wave, but still managed to keep struggling somehow. However, there was too much snow, the surge too powerful, and time and time again covered over Xie Lian’s head, bringing a series of sudden suffocations.

In the end, Xie Lian shouted, “SAN LANG!”, unable to hang on, and was buried down after all, disappearing within the icy snow current.

It was from this exact scene that I started feeling anticipation cuz I knew stuff here and there about the statues and confession but I didn't really know what I was getting into...

Xie Lian was already used to Hua Cheng having the answers to everything, yet this time, Hua Cheng replied, “I don’t know. Most likely under the snowy mountain.”

Xie Lian was amazed. “And here I thought it was a shelter San Lang found. I can’t believe not even you know where this is?”

“No,” Hua Cheng said.

LMAO THIS WAS SO FUNNY THO

The moment Xie Lian fell into the pit, those white strings of silk instantly charged forward and tied him up nicely. The rest of the cobwebs were then slowly crawling about, further securing the “cocoons” on Nan Feng and Fu Yao’s bodies. Fu Yao was going mad with rage.

“How come you fell too? Now look at us, three dumb fools! Let’s all just die here together!”

Yooo they are 2 brain cells shared among one another and today it is with NEITHER LMAO

It was like Fu Yao couldn’t believe his real identity was so easily seen through, and was relentless. “When exactly did you find out? How did you find out? There must’ve been something that gave it away, what was the flaw?!

But like this part was so cute, like I genuinely love their friendship so much and like vice versa cuz they also recognized Xie Lian's statues just as quickly

If he couldn’t guess who were under those two skins, then he would’ve lived all those years for nothing.

Ah, wait, hold up, what deed are they talking about? When Mu Qing was accused of stealing or is it something else that's mentioned later? I'm confused :(

Feng Xin also added, “Stop thinking people are as narrow-minded as you. Even when that shitty deed of yours landed you in Heaven’s Prison, His Highness still tried to help you…

LMAO OK THIS WAS ALSO HILARIOUS

“…What’s with those faces?” Xie Lian asked. “Don’t get me wrong. The red string I’m talking about isn’t something so frivolous as the ‘red string of fate’, it’s a spiritual device. Just a spiritual device.”

Only then did the two stop their twitching.

Feng Xin replied, “Oh, I see.”

Mu Qing on the other hand, was doubtful. “And what kind of spiritual device is that? What does it do?”

“It’s quite useful,” Xie Lian said. “It’s a red string tied on both our hands, with an invisible connection in between. One can use this red string to find the other, and as long as one is still breathing, the red string will never break…”

Before he even finished, the other two couldn’t listen anymore and cut him off.

“HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT THAN THE ‘RED STRING OF FATE’? IT’S EXACTLY THE SAME THING!”

LMAO THEY ARE SO OVER PROTECTIVE IT'S SO CUTE FJFJFJFJGUC but like ughhh get you some besties who would point out all the bad things in the new dude u bring home and are willing to put their lives on the line to protect you T-T

The whole convo really went:

Fengqing: He has red flags ALL over him!!!

Xie Lian: well...umm..red is my favourite colour *twirling hair shyly*

Ya so at this point I was like oh dear lord....things are going down

“I can’t believe there’d be a day that an arrogant character like Crimson Rain Sought Flower would be afraid to cause unnecessary trouble,” Mu Qing said.

Ok guys be prepared for a literal essay lol

I'm going to use different words to describe Hua Cheng's feelings for Xie Lian but bear with me for a bit.

This paragraph is the first to start to explicitly state how obsessed Hua Cheng is with Xie Lian and like ya we knew all along with the subtle (or not so subtle) hints but it has now been "exposed under the sun":

Looking closely, every single statue here was carved as if they were alive, the details more than detailed, almost to the point of frightening. It was easy to see just how closely the sculptor had observed the subject of his divine statues. Xie Lian dared say that even the most renowned of sculptors of Xianle back then would not be able to carve to this level of excellence. It was as if the sculptor’s mind was completely filled with this person, and his eyes only saw this person.

Like I don't think the magnitude of Hua Cheng's...love? Obsession? Worship? Is truly comprehended cuz imagining a HUGE cave filled with 10 thousand sculptures of varying heights like that's insane (essay continued after the next bullet point lmao)

Lmao there are so many lines in here that are my favorite ESPECIALLY THIS ONE LOL

Mu Qing could not believe his ears. “…Did he actually cast something on you to confound your mind? I think even if he was to write ‘suspicious’ on his face you’d suddenly become illiterate.”

Uh oh........

“Didn’t I say not to touch things randomly in someone else’s territory?”

Back to essay!

As seen in many places, Hua Cheng has made Xie Lian his everything and clearly he is so shaken up by everything like genuinely rejection from the one and only person who matters to him is the one thing that would make him wish for death...(you see what I am getting at 😏)

Both Xie Lian’s face and mind were going to burn up. He was scared Hua Cheng might see, but Hua Cheng didn’t look at him at all, keeping to his promise completely, never crossing the line. He kept his head slightly turned, averting his gaze from that half-exposed white shoulder.

And this part! Oh my God! This part works so much in Hua Cheng's favour because despite how crazy he is for Xie Lian, he doesn't lose the respect he has for him and retains both of their dignities in such an honorable manner (and it is also seen when he was young and Xie Lian had been in that cave where the whole temptation thing was going down, both retained that dignity and honour there as well).

But at the same time, it's like the mere the thought of Xie Lian being parted from him for even a second is enough for him to want to die

By then Hua Cheng had already come to his side and clutched one of his hands. He pulled him up and pressed him hard into his embrace, whispering, “…How can I possibly let go.”

I think the main point that I was trying to draw at was that I saw people say many times 'oh my God Hua Cheng is a stalker' 'He is so creepy' 'That's taking things too far' 'he's too obsessive' (yes looking at fengqing as well lmao) and while I had the same thought when I heard about this scene a while back out of context, now I actually disagree with this. We look at this from the lens of normal people but that was NEVER Hua Cheng. He always WORSHIPPED Xie Lian and i think people tend to forget that ALOT. What happens with them (which makes them so perfect as a couple imo) is that while Hua Cheng treats Xie Lian as the revered God he is, he also treats him like a normal person and act like a typical couple which gives such a perfect balance of unconditional love while acknowledging flaws within the other person. It just works so

✨️perfectly✨️

As Xie Lian says himself, none of them are normal in this world so how can they expect their love to be normal?

So ya, the 'stalking' and 'obsessiveness' is not weird in the slightest. (Obviously in the real world it would be major problem tho lmao)

WTF

Wtf

WTFFFFFFFFF OH MY GOD

Soon after, “Feng Xin” and “Mu Qing” before them disappeared, and what replaced them was a tall and slender white-clad young man.

Judging by his form, this young man was about seventeen or eighteen years of age, and he was wearing a mask, half of it crying, half of it smiling. While his face couldn’t be seen, the crisp and bright voice of a youth came from behind his mask.

He said warmly, “How are you, Xie Lian.”

HE IS HEREEEEEEE IN THE FLESH OH MY GOOOOD WHOEVER THE HELL WHITE NO FACE IS THIS DUDE IS HERE OH MY GOOOOOD

And the finale....

IT IS THE CONFESSIONNNNNN RJFJFJFJFJFJJFJFNFJ AHHHHHHHH FJFJFJFJFJFJFJFJF

After a pause, Xie Lian asked, his voice flat, “You…don’t want to know…how I feel about this?”

“…”

Hua Cheng turned his head slightly, like he wanted to look back but at the same time was afraid to look Xie Lian in the eyes.

I was like holding my breath the entire time when this happened like pin drop silence

So, only the two streaks of blood on his cheek could be seen.

“Will Your Highness…not tell me?”

Even his voice was cracked.

And THE ABSOLUTE FEAR LIKE MY MAN WAS READY TO LIVE IN THE SHADOWS AND NEVER MEET XIE LIAN AGAIN BUT EVERY DAY WOULD BE LIKE LIVING A THOUSAND DEATHS

And then

He heard Hua Cheng’s staggering voice coming from above.

“…Your Highness. You really…will be the death of me.”

WHAT HE WAS GIFTED INSTEAD WAS JUST ONE DEATH BUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND BLISSFUL DEATH OF THEM ALL AND IT IS JUST SO POETIC AND BEAUTIFUL AND IM LITERALLY ACHREECHING WHAT THE HEELL THIS WAS AMAZING IM LOSING MY MIND OH MY GOD I can't I genuinely have so much to say but like U GET THE IDEA and u don't understand how perfect the whole scene was created for me cuz I have a tgcf playlist i listne to while reading and the moment I started reading this part, the opening song for the donghua started playing and I was shook like IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL I CANT

#tian guan ci fu #tgcf #heaven's official blessings spoilers #heaven’s official blessings #hua cheng #xie lian #tgcf spoilers #tgcf journey #ch 173-177 #Oh mt god #like i know the confession is like yes finally #but its so more than that for hua cheng #and like all the emotions that he must have felt in that moment #i genueinly cant imagine #wow #so well written #i cant even imagine how much better it can get

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ao3feed-fengqing · 6 months

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something bigger than the sky

by xuanzxns An elusive Crimson Rain Sought Flower once ascended to heaven. And what an ascension it was! Straight out of the myths and legends old storytellers enraptured their audiences with, like paintings of gods in gardens commissioned by the richest men in the country, a fairytale. Plum blossoms, perfumed air, butterflies fluttering like silver stars, a burst of brilliant light and then he's in the heavenly realm. It's an ascension so perfect that it turns Hua Cheng's memory into a blank, bright, brilliant void when he thinks of the past. He was a slate wiped clean, with a mind so blank it could very well have been empty. He never knew what to do when all eyes were on him, God of Something, ascended from Somewhere, a god who had no idea how he got to heaven and why. Crimson Rain Sought Flower ascends to a heaven that has remained static, unchanged for millennia. The gods of heaven live as legends, flickering in and out of existence with the memory of mortals. Hua Cheng searches of memory in a sea of erosion and chances upon a ghost in the Mist, who might hold the key to the world. Words: 8422, Chapters: 3/9, Language: English Fandoms: 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Cartoon), 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Webcomic) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen, M/M Characters: Huā Chéng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Xiè Lián (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Mù Qíng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Fēng Xìn (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Qī Róng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Líng Wén (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Jūn Wú (Tiān Guān Cì Fú) Relationships: Huā Chéng/Xiè Lián (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Feng Xin & Hua Cheng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Huā Chéng & Mù Qíng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Fēng Xìn & Huā Chéng & Mù Qíng & Xiè Lián (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), past+onesided, Mù Qíng/Xiè Lián (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Fēng Xìn/Mù Qíng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), very vague implied huaqing if you squint but they're exclusively platonic Additional Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Ghost Xiè Lián (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Huā Chéng and Xiè Lián Invented Love, Huā Chéng has Self-Esteem Issues (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Fēng Xìn & Mù Qíng Friendship (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), Xiānlè Trio (Tiān Guān Cì Fú), but also i personally believe in Xiānlè Quadro ok, self-created lore loosely inspired by genshin impact please bear with me, Slice of Life, trust me it is slice of life in some ways, too many conversations about memory and erosion, Out of Character Mù Qíng (Tiān Guān Cì Fú) via https://ift.tt/KtSsPYa

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #fengqing #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #feng xin #mu qing

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sophia-sol · 9 months

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TGCF volume 1

Over on mastodon I'm participating in a group readalong of TGCF, one chapter per week, and a few weeks ago we finished the first volume of the official translation so I might as well crosspost all my thoughts over to here as like, my book review? Yeah okay here we go! Putting it all below a read more to save your dash.

PROLOGUE

I've read the whole book once before, and I just finished the prologue for this read-along, and it's fascinating to read now in the full knowledge of things that get revealed later; on my first read I absolutely did not realize how much backstory was just glossed over here!

It's fascinating how it both reads very differently and also still entirely the same when you know more!

this is one of the bits that uhhhh really strikes differently!!

[Only then did the crown prince realize that he had just encountered the Heavenly Emperor, who had personally descended to the Mortal Realm to subdue evil. The deities had already taken notice of this exceedingly outstanding God-Pleasing Warrior since his time in the Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession. After the meeting at Yinian Bridge, they asked the Heavenly Emperor, "How does My Lord find this Royal Highness?" The Emperor answered, "This child's future is infinite."]

CHAPTER ONE

ok and now I've read chapter 1! ahhhh I just love xie lian so MUCH, what a guy, what an endless delight. Both the hint we get of wee baby newly-ascended 17 year old xie lian earnestly introducing himself to every single other heavenly official, and the current xie lian, cheerfully accepting of his misfortunes

Also: ling wen my beloved <3

also, this time I vow that I WILL keep Mu Qing and Feng Xin straight, no matter how much I have to work at it!

I also love in this chapter how indications given from early on that xie lian is unusually unlucky and also has no spiritual powers, but it's just breezily passed over as if it's no big deal and to be expected under the circumstances....oh ho ho

I do love how much xl and his pov just like....avoid noticing or expending attention on the things that suck in xie lian's life!

Mu Qing (tgcf) and Mu Qing (nif) have impressively divergent character vibes, to the point that I literally didn't even notice they have the same name until it was brought to my attention today!

CHAPTER TWO

Interested by the detail about how much extreme effort even a fairly well-placed lord has to go through in order to get the attention of any of the gods in heaven. Really checks out with respect to how much the heavens seem more interested in their own interpersonal dynamics than in, like, actually doing things for their followers!

It is extremely funny to me that Fu Yao is capable of criticizing the Nan Yang statue for 2 hours straight, and that that's how long it takes before Xie Lian thinks it might be time to change the subject

Kind of heartbreaking how completely Xie Lian doesn't consider that someone might be upset by seeing how injured he got from his fall from heaven! what? little ol' him might matter to someone?!

I was talking last week about how to keep track of which names go with which of Mu Qing and Feng Xin, and I'm very sad to report that my strategy does not completely hold up, because Ju Yang has a u in it, and is a name for Feng Xin. Mu Qing does not have a monopoly on u names after all :( RUDE

CHAPTER THREE

Fu Yao criticising the inefficiency of Ling Wen's palace...as if Mu Qing's palace is able to do anything useful in this situation!

Xiao-Ying is delightful. Willing and able to stand up for herself, but also happy to lend assistance to people who need help, if they were kind to her. But assistance only on her own terms!

hua cheng introduction!!

ahhhh when hua Cheng first finally encounters Xie Lian, he holds out his hand in offer, and doesn't demand or force anything. of course!

"If he was a real groom, then he'd genuinely be a most gentle and considerate one."

Xie Lian is just full of thoughts about how wonderful this mysterious person is, in character and appearance and action, despite the context of meeting him

what a meet-cute! lol

I am really loving #TGCFReadAlong ! such a good way to inspire lots of conversation about this book that I pretty much always want to talk about!

CHAPTER FOUR

I loved Xiao-Ying, how brave and how kind she is, how hard she tries to do what's right, and it's very sad that she ends up dying :(((((

This is the chapter where we get introduced to Pei Ming's womanizing misogyny. Xuan Ji....you could have done SO much better than him! What IS it that makes so many women actually attracted to him?!

But I also do wonder what it was that led Xuan Ji to such an extreme response to being abandoned and rejected by her lover. She was apparently a very capable general, previously, so what led her to all these bad decisions!

CHAPTER FIVE

I do find human face disease to be kind of a silly concept. Like it's developed in interesting ways over the course of the book but the defining symptom has always seemed just a bit silly to me.

I genuinely do not remember though how this kid ends up with human face disease though, all these centuries after the plague! too many things happen in this book lol

ahhh on first read of the book when you see xie lian's reaction to the boy's face, you're like, oh it's a combo of body horror plus fear of the plague that destroyed his home. On second read.....oh it's The Trauma.

It's so sad, too, that it means he doesn't manage to have a chill reaction to this kid who was so worried about showing his face!

on another note, I love how thoroughly hua cheng managed to trounce the 33 gods, and how thoroughly he punished them afterwards when they renege on the parameters of the challenge

it's so funny to me how it makes so much of the heaven terrified of hc, even though hc was behaving perfectly honourably. he issued a challenge and he abided by the agreements in the challenge, that's only scary if you plan to do dishonourable things yourself!

during this week's reading I went back and forth approximately a thousand times about whether Xie Lian has already recognized Feng Xin and Mu Qing or not! I just CANNOT decide. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for further clues as we continue in this book

CHAPTER SIX

it's so funny and charming how xie lian's efforts to engage with the communication array basically come down to those spammy email forward chains that old people used to send all the time!

(I suppose that that energy has been redirected to facebook or something these days?)

I'm also super charmed by how xie lian has basically made himself immune to feeling awkward about things he does. everyone else is super embarrassed for him, to be his own only worshipper, but xl is chill. And thinks "amusing himself could be fun"!

but ohhhhhh xl's inability to come up with anything to say about why he should be worshipped, when the villagers ask him about his shrine! this is what you need hua cheng for!! xl might be chill about many things but it's because his self esteem is in the basement

oh man thinking from hua cheng's perspective about this meeting between him as san lang and xie lian, it's so cute. He looks languid and carefree on the other side of the cart, seems to only start talking with xie lian out of boredom, but you KNOW how carefully he orchestrated this meeting!!! (him and his attractive legs in tight-fitting boots, which he absolutely chose to make sure he looked good for dianxia)

I've been wondering for a while already just how early on xie lian figured out the identities of fu yao and nan feng, but now I also need to remember to pay attention to how early I think he figured out san lang's identity! If he knows it right from the start, it's pretty cheeky of him to be questioning him so thoroughly about hua cheng :P

awwwwww interacting with san lang is the first time in centuries xie lian feels really embarrassed!! because san lang's good opinion actually matters to him!

CHAPTER SEVEN

I love how Xie Lian is already so sure that San Lang is going to be sticking around, that he's not just a transient part of Xie Lian's life. And throughout the chapter it's so clear how Xie Lian just likes San Lang so much!!!

he does his due diligence by testing sl and so forth, but doesn't let that stop him from simply liking and trusting sl regardless, and enjoying his mean streak too lol

and San Lang has such swagger, I love it. He makes it look like he couldn't enter the shrine with the seal on the curtain-door, but actually he just wanted the opportunity to flex. He's just like constantly showing off in this chapter, and making it clear that he doesn't care about anything except Xie Lian

Anyway it's time for the intro of the next plot arc, Banyue Pass, now that the ghost groom is resolved. Nan Feng and Fu Yao are sooo uncomfortable with the fact they're volunteering to help - whether it's bc of the specific mission or bc it's to help Xie Lian is unclear, but could well be both!

Also it's clear to me that nan feng and fu yao recognize san lang & vice versa and they're all mad about it. Xie Lian's uphill battle to get them to peacefully coexist begins!

One question I had was that earlier it seemed evident that Puqi Shrine was named after the fact that the villagers gave Xie Lian water chestnuts, but now apparently the village is named Puqi, so is the shrine just named after the village after all?

First mention of state preceptor Fangxin! If I'm remembering right, this is actually Xie Lian. Love the way that the complex parts of xl's history get seeded in from so early on without, like, making it clear what the actual situation is. This happens a lot in the book iirc, with things being casually referred to early on and then later when you get into it there's like a whole well of trauma for xl!

and one final small observation. xl's perspective on his own cooking: "unable to bear the sight of such a tragedy" ahahahaha

CHAPTER EIGHT

the ongoing attempts to unmask San Lang are sooooo funny

it reminds me a bit of the sort of fairy tale involving endless tests to try to prove that a character is actually a woman dressed as a man, which the character always passes easily but the testers are never convinced. same vibe!

the captain/general the stele is remembering is a guy who tried to keep civilians from being killed in war. this is very like the teenage Xie Lian wanting to save the common people! and Fu Yao criticises the captain's actions, which xl both expects and doesn't seem happy about :( though he doesn't say anything against Fu Yao

and then San Lang cheers Xie Lian up (who had been feeling "a bit woeful") by being mischievous and by convincing the merchants to prostrate before the stele! ahhh I love how attentive sl is, and how much he knows just what to do for xl!

and then San Lang's REACTION to xl being stung - and stung because xl was trying to protect sl! "the expression on the youth's face was /off/" and then the vibes remain off balance for the rest of the chapter and xl is toootally bewildered. what could have upset San Lang, xl???? what could it POSSIBLY have been?? don't strain yourself too hard in wondering!!

anyway I do not remember lots of what happens next in this particular arc, except BEEFLEAF and also chekov's pit of snakes, so I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with the rest of it as we continue!

CHAPTER NINE

To start, I do not love the othering framing the narrative uses to discuss the Banyue people and language, which from what I understand ties into common stereotypes in China about northern people groups. Huge dark-skinned people who are beast-like, and the language is "ghastly, guttural, and heavy with tongue rolling." Not great.

xie lian your trauma is showing again 😭

[He stepped forward and said in a small voice, "Don't worry. If anything happens, I will go forward first." Xie Lian thought that if they all must fall, he might as well be the first one to check things out. It couldn't be worse than venomous snakes and beasts or menacing ghosts. He couldn't die from the fall, from getting beaten, from bites, or from poison. As long as it wasn't lava or fire, or some pool of corpse-dissolving water, it shouldn't be too terrible when he jumped down.]

San Lang continuing to act way too unbothered, then coolly throwing himself into the pit -- at first it seems to accomplish what xl wanted to do but couldn't (keep the mortals from having to be thrown in first) but then it becomes clear that sl is fully aware of how likely xl is to end up in the pit in short order and wants to be in there first to clean up the mess and CATCH XIE LIAN. (and then xl immediately jumps in after sl, no thoughts present, so good work there sl)

hahaha xl, head empty, taking the opportunity to feel sl up. and then he gets the opportunity to feel awkward for the first time in centuries. sl has inspired him to rediscover embarrassment!

[Maybe it was because the stench of blood here at the bottom of the pit was heavy and disorienting. Who knew what was going through Xie Lian's head, but his hands continued to roam upward until he reached a strong, hard Adam's apple. He snapped out of it in shock and immediately reprimanded himself, withdrawing his hands.]

ahh xl just finds everything about sl so attractive

["Don't worry about him," San Lang said, still holding Xie Lian tight. he made a small sidestep and spun around. In the dark, Xie Lian heard a series of fine clinking sounds: pleasant to the ear, clear and intense, swishing here and there.]

xl is sooooo not used to someone taking care of him!!!

["Why can't I get down?" Xie Lian asked in spite of himself. This guy couldn't possibly enjoy fighting while carrying someone, could he? He didn't need to go that far to look down on his opponent, did he? San Lang's answer was only two words: "It's dirty." "..." Xie Lian had never imagined that would be the answer -- and said with such seriousness too. He thought it was a little funny, but it also made him feel inexplicably strange, his chest growing slightly warm for some reason.]

and then xie lian and san lang's conversation after kemo is defeated!!!!! xl's main concern: making sure sl is safe in the future. sl's main concern: xl judging him for showing irrefutable proof that sl's not actually human. to the degree that sl actually prompts xl with a question about it because he's SO confused that xl isn't concerned!! SAN LANG!!!

Our first encounter with someone xl knew during his time of banishment in the mortal world! Poor Banyue had a rough childhood.

(but also: Banyue kingdom's state preceptor has the same name as the kingdom? Why was she named that? It does allow for xie lian to not realize until now who the state preceptor is, because he thinks people are referring to her by the kingdom she's state preceptor for, rather than by what her name is, but it's weird to me that she'd be named that?)

I had forgotten that xl was actually the general-captain of the memorial marker from the cave in chapter 8! I went back to reread the scene where the captain's story is told and xl's reactions are very illuminating in light of this knowledge. He's not just identifying with the captain for also being a person who wants to save everyone; he IS the captain

"around two hundred years ago, due to certain reasons, Xie Lian couldn't muck around in the east anymore and decided to stay out of sight for a while." HMMM I'll look forward to being reminded later of what those certain reasons were! Gonna guess: one of the various other horrible traumatic experiences from his past that he doesn't like thinking about.

or actually - does anyone know of a good resource that lists out all the relevant events xl's life in chronological order, unlike the reveals of backstory that happen in all kinds of different orders in the book?

CHAPTER TEN

Now that we are at the end of it, I feel like one of the main themes in the Banyue arc is about how much the heavenly court sucks. Which like. YEAH. and WHO'S ALLOWING that unpleasant culture to flourish, hmmm jun wu?!??

(context for the third quote is that Xie Lian is worried the Wind Master will put all the blame on Preceptor Banyue to protect Pei Jr)

["I knew that for close to two hundred years there was something causing havoc, but none of the heavenly officials cared, and no one dared speak of it. So there had to be someone no one wanted to offend keeping this scandal under wraps."]

[The Upper Court wouldn't bat an eyelash at something like this; everyone needed to spill some blood if they wanted to do great things. But slaughtering a city wasn't anything glorious, after all. If the story spread too far, it would affect the number of new believers, so of course there would be some cover-ups after ascension.]

[Xie Lian relaxed. "Much ashamed! I was suspicious." "It's normal to be suspicious," the Wind Master said. "There's certainly an unpleasant culture in the Upper Court, after all."]

The other thing this arc is about is solving a mystery from hundreds of years ago, and relitigating the past between ghosts and gods. Do I see thematic foreshadowing? :D

I love seeing Xie Lian get his first new human believer! and telling the kid his title is the Scrap Immortal - but taking so much convincing to give any name at all, and telling it in the narrative in such a sideways way that it took me a moment to realise what was even meant, lol. xl has Issues around being worshipped

and then of course I LOVE the name reveal at the end of the chapter. it's so them!!!!

[He turned to look at the youth next to him and smiled cheerfully. "He's not hungry, how about you?" San Lang smiled cheerfully back. "I'm starving." Xie Lian grinned and stood up again, before turning around and casually tidying the altar table. "All right, then. What do you want to eat, Hua Cheng?" Behind him, there was silence. Then chuckling. "I still prefer the name 'San Lang.'"]

but my favourite thing about this chapter is that BEEFLEAF ARE INTRODUCED. Hiiiiiiii beefleaf my beloved! Cannot wait to watch that spiral out in the way it inevitably must

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I did my reading last night for #TGCFReadAlong for this week, but what I did was take pics of the sections of text that I had thoughts and feelings about and wrote zero notes....so I am going to have to formulate my thoughts into something coherent now

In this chapter we got to explore a bit more about Xie Lian's current feelings about himself back when he was still the god-pleasing crown prince! Between his feelings about being called "Your Highness," his embarrassment at having told someone to make himself that person's reason for living, and how he reacts to the idea that he used to have as his goal in life to save the common people....it's a lot.

But I appreciate that Hua Cheng pushes back on all of these! hc calls xl "Your Highness" in complete sincerity, and tells xl that his goal was a good goal, and that it is not embarrassing for xl to be someone's reason for living. hc is just like: "you're worthy of being admired!" without ever coming on too strong about it.

It's interesting though - xie lian has complicated feelings he doesn't want to look at about Hua Cheng calling him "Your Highness" in earnest, but he flat out does not want Banyue to do the same thing.

(also, shout out to Ling Wen for not making a thing in any direction out of xie lian's title! she calls him your highness simply because that's his title and then moves on with things.)

can't not point out more content in my "heaven sucks!!!" agenda

[Hua Cheng replied quietly, "They're heavenly officials. Mortals are nothing but ants in their eyes."]

also my hualian being cute agenda!

[That's not necessarily true," Hua Chen said. "Besides, you can always kick me out." Xie Lian replied, "You're so powerful. Even if I kicked you out now, if you really wanted to do something bad, wouldn't you just change your skin and come back?" The two met eyes and grinned.]

[If anything must be blamed, it would have to be the look on Hua Cheng's face, like he was welcoming Xie Lian to test it out himself. Without thinking, Xie Lian raised a finger and poked Hua Cheng's face. After poking, Xie Lian snapped back to himself in shock, yelping /Oh no!/ in his head. He was only curious to see what a supreme Ghost King's fake skin would feel like, but apparently, his body moved faster than his mind and poked him! How extremely outrageous of him! To have someone suddenly poke him, Hua Cheng looked somewhat shocked too, but he was always calm and collected, so his expression cleared instantly. He didn't say anything, but his arched brow raised even higher, as if waiting for Xie Lian to explain. The laughter in his eyes was apparent. of course Xie Lian couldn't explain himself. He looked at his own finger then hid it away, betraying nothing of his thoughts. "...Not bad." Hua Cheng finally burst out laughing, and he crossed his arms with his head tilted. "What's not bad? Do you mean this skin?"]

[Xie Lian was thunderstruck. He flipped over and curled into a shrimp, wishing for another pair of arms so he could cover both his face and his ears. He groaned. "...San Lang..."]

I didn't quite understand this bit though - why does hua cheng laugh in response to xie lian's reassurances about hc's appearance?

["...Well, we're sort of friends now, right? So if we're friends, then we should be honest with each other. My wanting to see your true appearance has nothing to do with how you look. You asked what I would do, but of course I won't do anything. Don't worry, as long as it's your real face, I'm sure I'll... Why are you laughing? I'm being serious." When Xie Lian reached the last part, he could feel the youth next to him shaking. He froze for a moment, and thought, /Are my words so moving that he's touched like this?/ and was too embarrassed to turn around to see. But after a while, the soft laughter from next to him very obviously leaked out. Xie Lian felt rather deflated and placed a hand on his shoulder to give it a little push.]

and then we end with the RING!!!!!

#tgcf #mo xiang tong xiu #heaven official's blessing #book thoughts

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