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Ju Jing Yi as Shangguan Zhi In Blossom 花间令 (2024) – Ep. 12

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she's   utterly   pitiful.    the   prolonged   silence   had   indeed   pressed   upon   the  little   demon   with   discomfort,    a   deep   crease   sloping   her   brow   and  corners   of   her   mouth   pulling   downward   in   uncertainty.    her   pride  crumbled   all   at   once,    a   fragile   sandcastle   being   swallowed   by   ocean  waves.    she   could   only   stare   back,    eyes   almost   pleading   for   the   mercy  she   swore   to   deprive   yuanzhou   of.

spirits   sunk   with   the   push   of   her   finger,   to   which   she   gave   no  resistance,    and   pulled   the   offending   hand   behind   her   back,    out   of   sight.  the   bravery   and   audacity   that   filled   her   body   had   retreated   and   left   her  hollow. 

taohua   could   no   longer   meet   his   eyes,    and   instead   lowered   her   head   in  guilt.    but   she   would   not   admit   defeat,    not   quite   yet,     even   though  groveling is starting to   sound   particularly   enticing.

"    you know, that could be   an   underestimation   of   my   character,    "     she  tries, in a mutter. and   in   some   ways,    it's   true.    taohua   is   capable   of   more   harm   than   she  knows:    her   matches   are   a   brilliant   example,    with   most   ending   in  absolute   catastrophe.

but   in   front   of   zhao   yuanzhou,    a   remarkable   demon,    she   is   little   more  than   a   flower   capable   of   being   crushed   below   a   boot.     "    what   will   you  do   if   you're   wrong?   " 

He blinked, gaze flickering over her at the sudden change in demeanor before pausing on the finger she was pointing at him. Taking it in for a moment before raising his gaze once more to hers. One brow rising slightly as he allowed a silence to fill the air between them for a long moment. More because he knew it would make her uncomfortable, then anything else.

Finally he hummed before reaching forward and placing a finger on top of hers. Gently pushing her hand down as he mused. "It would seem that you're the actual butterfly here."

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curious   eyes   watch   the   liquid   drizzle   into   the   cup.   not   a   moment   is   spared   before   taohua   plucks   the   drink   with   such   enthusiasm   that   it   nearly   spills.   a   thin   line   trickles   down   the   side   as   consequence,   and   a   droplet   falls   perfectly   onto   her   lap   as   she   gives   the   beverage   an   investigative   taste.

 but   she's   never   been   great   with   strong   tastes...   and   so   the   invasion   of   wine   upon   the   sweet   aftermath   of   a   pastry   is   unwelcome.

 taohua   cringes   and   sets   the   cup   aside,   focusing   now   on   fengjiu.   apparently,   taohua's   never   been   good   at   schooling   her   expression   for   the   sake   of   manners,   either.

" snakes? "     the   girl   repeats.   she   bites   down   the   urge   to   point   out   an   imaginary   serpent   nearby   to   give   poor   fengjiu   a   fright.   it   wasn't   the   time   to   play,   though   she   so   hoped   it   had   been.

" i   suppose   so...   to   my   understanding,   you   have   a   very   important   role   in   this   world.   i'm   just   a   little   blossom,   so   i   can   afford   to   be   scared,   then.   but   aren't   you   sad   that   you   don't   have   much   of   a   choice? "    a   small   frown   emerges   on   taohua's   lips,   puckering   out   into   something   of   a   pout.

taohua   leans   back   now,   deeper   into   the   protective   shade   of   the   tree.   her   hand   breaches   the   perimiter   of   the   blanket   and   splays   half   across   the   grass,   half   across   the   fabric.

 a   look   of   contemplation   exists   on   her   features   for   the   briefest   of   moments,   before   bai   fengjiu's   movement   caught   fleeting attention,   and   she   watches   steadily   the   touch   of   the   mourning   flower.    she'd   never   taken   much   notice   to   the   symbol   before   this   moment.

" you   have   been   through   a   lot, "    she   offers.    “ it   sounds   like   a   wise   lesson.   maybe   one   i   can   learn. ”

Absently brushes the fallen petals out of her hair, stretching lazily across the small blanket laid out beneath the trees to snag the wine she had lifted out of her uncle's cellar on the way out into the forest that morning. She pours them both a cup - humming in consideration. "...Well, not NEVER. I'm deathly afraid of snakes."

Suppresses a shudder at the very thought, the memory of falling into a pit of snakes on her way home many thousands of years ago when she was just a baby fox arising unbidden in her mind. "...But mostly, I think it's because I know there are people that depend on me."

She has been lectured on the subject so many times her ears must have gained callouses - as the future queen of QIngqiu, she must be brave for her people. But it's only recently that she really began to understood what it was to be a shield. Absently touches the white mourning flower in her hair, and exhales. "...A friend - he's gone now - taught me that as long as I am able, I have to be strong to protect others. If I am in need of protection myself, who will my people look to?"

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✶ closed with @realmsethereal ꣑ৎ continued from here .

neither. the answer is, taohua is just a very bold, lowly peach blossom with a penchant for telling fibs. usually the bad habit exists only to erase boredom, but there are times she lies to get out of trouble. like a tiny cat wearing a great lion's mane to trick and scare off anyone who dared bother it. with a damaged root, she is neither great nor terrifying in any sense of the word.

taohua purses her lips and holds on to the air in her throat whilst zhao yuanzhou ponders her status. to call herself either would be a boundary even she is afraid of crossing.

the breath she held on to releases in a sudden, powerful puff of nervous laughter. taohua didn't know what to do. " terrifying is, um... generous. and i'm actually having a bit of an off day, so... " she begins to inch away. the speed at which her mind raced was dizzying.

" i've got it! " she straightens up now and points at him. " don't you know it's very rude and daring to ask a respectable young lady, such as myself, the status of what they are? i'll treat it as a mistake and let you leave unharmed. i won't be so merciful next time. "

covering lies with... accusations of rudeness, and more lies. if this works, taohua will fancy herself a genius.

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✶ closed with @roscvcins

eyes are downcast, and the length of taohua's eyelashes tickle against her plump, rose dusted cheek. short fingers are restless and they bunch the fabric of her clothes, a soft jade colour much lighter than the grass they sit upon.

cowardice. it had always been among taohua's greatest weaknesses. stunted opportunities to grow, to discover, and to help. the peach blossom draws in a breath, scrunches her eyebrows together and wears a composed, nonchalant expression.

   " how come you're never scared? " she wonders out loud, stealing a sideways glance at her partner for the afternoon.

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✶ closed with @sanctissimx

taohua jitters like an arctic wind had placed a frozen, icy kiss upon her flesh. her teeth chatter like it, too. but there was no chilled breeze, no reasonable explanation for the fear that took hold of the plant's small existence, and gave shake to an outstretched index finger pointed in accusation.

" you want to go in there ? " the peach blossom near shrieks in disbelief.

following the finger would lead one's eyes to a cave with a jagged entrance. darkness seemed to seep out in slow rolls of fog, and if one strained their hearing, the distant chittering of a creature or an entity unknown echoed to the opening. just thinking about the potential culprit caused every drop of colour in taohua's skin to dull.

" haven't you heard the stories? we'll be goners, this isn't how i want to die! i've got more tasty food to eat before that happens! so... you'll be going on your own! "

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give this a little heart for a short starter from taohua, based from a random dialogue generator? these are short due to time constraints :(

for example! :DD

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i've been super busy with life these past few days! been filled with documents and phone calls, and simply not enough energy to relax and get the creativity flowing. my start date isn't until late march, so i'm hoping there's a window of time between where i can play catch up!

did a response, got offered a job, it's snowing outside! life be so good sometimes. extending some of my luck to my beautiful moots.

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this dynamic for taohua when .

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[ ... ] 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙳𝙸𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙾𝙳𝚂 𝙰𝚂𝙺 𝚈𝙾𝚄, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙱𝙴 ?

R O S C V C I N S, an independent, selective, mutuals only multimuse feat. canon and original characters from Chinese, Korean, and Japanese medias. Loved by Ro, established May 2024. Mature and dark themes present. Minors DNI.

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fun fact in deep thought, taohua has a tendency to start braiding strands of hair absentmindedly :(

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was dozing off, but i'm quickly making a humorous appearance to say that "and there was only one bed!" tropes would NEVER work with our favourite peach blossom, because she quite simply would roll over and yap your ear off all damn night. and then have the nerve to say how tired she is after literal hours 😭 taohua they cld never make me hate you !!

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idea hot off the noggin: we all contribute one character to a ragtag group of losers & create a Found Family that is so Found ( i am once again yearning + asking )

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Ju Jing Yi as Yang Cai Wei In Blossom 花间令 (2024) – Ep. 23

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AS SAID BY LUCANIS DELLAMORTE - PARTY BANTER *  assorted banter from dragon age: the veilguard

we have company.

death is too good for you.

time to die.

it's over. we should move.

no worries, i have you.

that will make a mess.

you never fail to impress me, [name].

whatever it was meant for, it's a pit of misery now.

we made a deal.

i am an assassin. a paid killer.

i noticed you weren't at the supper table last night. are you not feeling well?

i heard we're on a rotation for cooking.

that's exactly what i was wondering. how do you get your jobs?

how do you get paid?

don't apologize. if anyone knows that people die, it's an assassin.

what about your family, [name]?

you left the book you were reading in the kitchen. i found it in a basket of onions.

it was a bit like being stabbed in the gut.

you can hire professionals for anything.

we're seeing how things go. you know. testing the waters.

you should know, all the people who ever tried to kill me are dead.

i'll take my chances.

we're honest about our work.

most of you don't last very long.

it must haunt you.

there was a contract.

it's my job.

you kill for a living, too. how do you sleep at night?

good, bad, everyone dies eventually. we just speed things up.

do you think you'll survive this one?

i wouldn't mind you sticking around.

solve one problem, another takes it place.

i missed my target.

if you're going to kill, do it in style.

that doesn't bother you?

sorry, cannot help you.

you're not very good at subtlety.

do i belong?

have you thought about what i asked yet?

what's the point of bringing back corpses?

there is a difference.

it's a waste of hard work.

i hope i didn't offend you yesterday.

i've never killed an innocent.

death comes to everyone in time. i get paid to deliver it. like a letter not everyone wants to read.

i am so sorry.

i'll make a run to the markets.

how do you feel about cheese?

i mostly just wanted to know how to make churros.

please stop staring.

how did it go?

you're not that different.

you actually like being around each other.

that's why we don't work there anymore.

what's your assessment of the targets?

what's it like when you use your magic?

you cannot help but flinch whenever i use my skills.

what was your dream about?

i'm not dwelling, i'm analyzing.

if you're looking for apples, i put them in the kitchen.

i definitely do not like the sound of that.

looking for a little light reading?

you're keeping an eye on me.

if you do want coffee, let me know.

when we met, you didn't trust me.

i suppose the world hasn't ended yet.

i wouldn't put it past me.

you don't sleep much, do you?

this explains so much about you.

we kill people. you already know how to do that.

that's too casual.

it isn't usually this hard to explain.

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　 an impromptu lore post for táohuā +updated regularly.

welcome to our favourite peach blossom's lore post! the current plans for this post are to keep organised bulletpoints until enough has been established about her to turn them into lengthy descriptions.

overview. detailing the misadventures of a young peach blossom — táohuā wanders the lands bringing new couples together and cultivates on their blooming romance, a process that is deeply important to mending her damaged spiritual root. due to this instability in taohua's foundation, the romance is almost always doomed, and she unknowingly leaves a trail of chaos behind.

• damaged root. after steadily gathering spiritual energy over the years, taohua was on the brink of capability to become human. this critical stage was disrupted by a fierce nearby battle between a cultivator and demon, and taohua's tree was caught in the crossfire. the land shook with a blast of energy, and taohua's spiritual root sustained a wound that would set her cultivation back by a century.

• first disciple. taohua spent that long stretch of time rebuilding her reservoir of energy and trying, but not completely succeeding, to mend her damaged root. but the world marched on around taohua, and a family inn was erected upon the same soil. generations on, a shy young boy would come along and read to the flowers in his garden, stories which taohua found herself enjoying. when taohua is finally strong enough to change her form, she joins the boy and befriends him, essentially growing up together. their young adult lives are spent traveling the lands together, making matches, and finding a high point to drink and overlook the towns they visit.

note. this aspect of taohua's story was a collaboration between myself and my dear friend grey, who writes taohua's first and current disciple. it cannot fully be claimed as my own. thank you grey!

• the matches. are often hopelessly doomed, and taohua is none the wiser. though she does have the ability to get a sense of fate between two people, the strong pull between "lovers" that she feels is actually... a pull between you and your worst match. but you wouldn't know that at first... as a peach blossom, taohoa lets off a scent that blinds her clients to their incompatibility and instead gives them a blissful honeymoon phase that lasts as long as she's in the area. what this means is, as soon as taohua moves on to the next town or city, it wears off, and disaster ensues. they have sometimes ended in death.

• a demon? with chaos unknowingly in taohua's wake, the towns she leaves behind sometimes whisper about her as a demon preying on innocent young lovers and cursing their love prospects forever. while these matches have been tainted by disaster, the intention behind them was not malicious. i stand by my cancelled wife !!!!

• a gossip! remember the fight where taohua was caught in the crossfire? well, her favourite story to tell when meeting locals is how she hunted the two down and taught them a lesson! is any of that true? no, not at all. but she sure loves the locals reactions.

• one in a million. though taohua's matches are poor, there is one that succeeded. her first disciple and his wife. they went on to have a large family, which resulted in the young man leaving taohua to journey on her own during his wife's first pregnancy. he was eternally grateful to the flower that guided him toward the love of his life and ensured that he would not feel the familiar solitude that tainted his early life. years pass, taohua still visits the inn where he retired, but he grows older and she stays younger. eventually, the little boy is an old man, and then he is a memory, all in the blink of an eye for taohua.

inspiration. lan taohua, or rotten taohua / peach blossom. to my own understanding and web crawling, taohua is a word also used to describe romantic relationships. to have rotten taohua is apparently to have had a sour experience. this concept was the driving motivation to have made this little loser! but if it's incorrect, that's going to be embarrassing. so lets hope it's not! once again, if there are any errors, don't be shy to let me know! i'm open and receptive to learning and making adjustments.

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　　 　 ໒꒰✿ ⸝⸝•᷅ ヮ•᷄⸝⸝꒱১ ✧　 #5ateful.tumblr.com　 !

an independent and selective portrayal of táohuā following the adventures of a meddlesome peach blossom trying her cursed hand at matchmaking. 　　+ dawn, she/they, twenty3.

⁰¹ guidelines. 　 　⁰² dossier. 　 　⁰³ lore. 　 　⁰⁴ musings.　

featuring an original character lightly based in the xianxia genre, please do not replicate or lift inspo without asking me first. this is a sideblog & follows are from 6ivines.