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harmeu · 10 months

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omg you write for tcgf!!! your work is so good! would you consider doing pei ming, shi qixan, my qing and feng xin reaction to their (god/dess but non-martial god) crush getting hurt protecting them?

A Scar Opened

(TCGF Characters React To Their Crush Getting Hurt Protecting Them)

(GN!Reader)

Tw: Blood, Cursing

Pei Ming:

The infamous womanizer Pei Ming. He is known for sleeping with women, making them love him, then brutally dumping them with no remorse whatsoever. (At least he pays child support.) You from the moment you walked in hand him on a hook. You weren’t a Martial God but were still a God that got his attention greatly.

Oh he just wanted to make you his. You being aware of his so-called title brushed his advances away. But you would be lying to yourself if you said you hated him completely. Pei Ming also got desperate.

He found out what he was feeling wasn’t lust but love. He loved you. He had a crush on you. He still hasn’t accepted it and is trying to remove this so-called “crush” by hanging with even more women.

You both were in the main palace of the Emperor Jun Wu talking about a future mission in the mortal realm you two had to do until something caught your eye.

A spear blowing fast through the air about to hit Pei Ming. His back was faced to it and he seemed oblivious till you pushed him away causing you to get scarred on the chest. Blood dripped and slid down.

Pei Ming was mortified as he realized the situation and quickly checked where the spear came from.

“What in the heavens is going on?!” He yelled in a pissed off tone but concern was evident for you.

“T-this is kind of painful.” You utter out clutching your chest tightly.

“Shit.” Pei Ming mumbled and picked you up bridal style rushing you to a nearby medic. “Were you protecting me?” His eyes softened.

“Didn't want you getting hurt, you know?” You smile weakly.

“I won’t let this happen to you ever again. I’ll slaughter the asshole who did this.” He looked down holding you tightly.

Shi Qingxuan:

(Male Form)

The Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan. Known for his outgoing personality and bubbly appearance. First time you met them was on a mission you two got assigned together. Ever since then Shi Qingxuan had developed a crush on you.

He didn’t know why. Your beauty? Your personality? Your kindness? He doesn’t know. Though wherever you go he will cling to you like a little bat. It's cute and annoying at times.

“Oh you're going? Lemme come with!”

“If you're heading that way, so am I!”

“If you're in I’m in!”

Adorable really.

How did things go wrong today?

You two were making small talk and then from the corner of your eye you saw a pillar about to fall onto Shi Qingxuan. You couldn't save the both of you so you pushed Shi Qingxuan hard away making him yelp while a piece of the pillar slashed your arm.

Blood poured to the floor as you panted in pain.

“W-whats going on!?” The colour drained from Shi Qingxuans face as the situation slapped him.

“A pillar..hah..broke.” You were out of breath from the sudden attack on your arm and fell backwards till Shi Qingxuan caught you throwing you up into a piggyback ride.

“You need medical attention. Stat.” He said sternly, holding onto your legs tightly as you wrapped your arms around his neck trying not to fall.

“It’s..ow.” You mumble burying your head into his shoulder.

“Shush! No talking. I can’t believe you did that for me.” He smiles to himself but then goes back to strict. “I swear when I find the person who did this they won't ever see the light of day ever again.”

Mu Qing:

(God Form)

General Xuan Zhen, Mu Qing. He’s known for being an amazing Martial God as well as an amazing medic. (Two in one ig) He’s hard to approach from his rude personality. Though he isn’t really rude just closed off and thinks other emotions are weaknesses in ways.

As soon as you got introduced he had fallen in love with you. The 800 year old virgin actually fell in love. What a surprise to say. Though he believes that love is just a level higher than hate. Everytime you speak to him he gives you short and rude answers.

Though in reality he absolutely adores it when you talk to him. Keep talking to him. No matter how much he disses. Continue. He also glares at others who talk to you.

He’s jealous.

You were complementing Mu Qing on his skills, making him blush furiously.

“Are you making fun of me?” He says with a hiss. Though before you can respond you see a blade breaking through a window heading for Mu Qing. He couldn't see it since his back was faced to it and you quickly pushed him hearing him curse.

The blade instantly slashed your waist making you cough in pain and shut your eyes.

Mu Qing’s eyes widened in horror as his teeth clenched in aggravation.

“Who the hell did this?” His eye twitched as he got up and went to you to see how bad your wound was.

“Ouch. It hurts.” You say quietly.

“I know it does. Bare with me.” Mu Qing being a medic began healing you with a yellow glow cursing under his breath.

You hugged his arm softly, clearly not in a good state, making Mu Qing tense, then soften up and stroke your head unconsciously.

“Can’t wait to find the insect who did this.”

Feng Xin:

(God Form)

General Nan Yang, Feng Xin. Known for his heated temperamental problems and great strength as a Martial God. He’s more on the aggressive side and will not hesitate to harm the bad. (Or people who piss him off more than they should be) This man does not look like one to have a crush but that changed when you joined.

His heart began beating faster and his face flushed as he kept looking at you. Though sadly like Mu Qing he tends to be rude when you talk to him. Though when you catch him off guard he’ll just freeze dumbfounded while a huge blush creeps up on his cheeks.

He loves you deeply but won't admit it. At least he hasn’t gaslighted himself into thinking he just hates you a lot.

You were trying to ask Feng Xin about questions on Ghost City but he kept saying that he shouldn't tell you anything.

“Why should I tell you? What's in it for me?” He mumbles irritatedly but was secretly happy you were talking to him. You, having good hearing senses, could hear glass shards and looked up to see it falling. About to fall onto Feng Xin.

You couldn't pull Feng Xin from the immense power difference and pushed him, making him create a confused face till his face dropped as the glass shards sliced your arms repeatedly.

“Ow.” You say to yourself looking at the blood pooling down your arms like a river.

“What the fuck just happened?” Feng Xin says going to you and grabbing your arms roughly.

“I-I don’t know. Someone must have messed with the glass sculptures.” You wince as the pain got greater.

“Tch.” Feng Xin mumbled and picked you up like a potato bag gripping your thighs hard so you wouldn't fall as a blush made its way to your face.

“Is this necessary.?” You mumble.

“Yes.” He says holding your thighs even tighter ears going red.

#x reader #fluff #cute #romance #heaven official's blessing #tcgf #gender neutral mc #feng xin #mu qing #pei ming #shi qingxuan #gender neutral y/n #gender neutral reader #blood #injury #crush #womanizer #tw cussing #tw blo0d

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fierrochase-falafel · 22 days

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Making a case for Xie Lian's complex morality in TGCF

Finally getting over myself and getting this one out of the drafts...

Disclaimer: Any MXTX book has a very divided fandom on whether practically all the characters are "good" or not- Hua Cheng, Xie Lian, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, Pei Ming, Luo Binghe. I feel the way MXTX writes is such that our own interpretation of the book can grow to be the very thing we love about it. So naturally I am going to start off by saying this is my interpretation of her work- you can disagree with me, sure, and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, but I don't think it is something worth calling me wrong over. I'm not claiming to preach the 1 true reading or even claiming to be 'correct'- this is just my interpretation. This doesn't mean I don't find value in alternate interpretations, contradictory or otherwise. Please be nice to me!! :,)

Part I: Smart, but not smart

So anyways...there's this quote in book 3, when Xie Lian reveals Ling Wen as the creator of the Brocade Immortal, where this happens:

Ling Wen crossed her arms and shook her head. “Your Highness, someone like you…sometimes you’re smart, but sometimes you’re also not very smart; sometimes you’re soft-hearted, but sometimes you’re cold-hearted, too.”

And I've always loved this quote, it's arguably one of my favourites, because it emphasises what I think is the core of the story- to ascend is human, to fall is also human. What matters is appreciating that humanity, and nobody embodies this like Xie Lian. MXTX always pits together contradictions like this throughout the story: ascension with falling, soft-hearted with cold-hearted, laughing with crying. Humanity is a series of contradictions, and Xie Lian is the epitome of that. We see him saving a child with regal presence/grace and also drunkenly yelling swear words in a ditch; we see him calmly ascend to godhood at 17 and also almost violently kill a guy for insulting his street performance. Xie Lian is a man who can be kind, calm, endearing and spirited but also vengeful, bitter, jaded and broken. He has been naive and impulsive as well as strategic and controlled.

These differences often seem to happen at the same time in him, even. Xie Lian as a prince was still relatively calm and controlled, but it didn't stop him from being naive and desperate at various points too- sometimes at the same time. His decision in the Land of the Tender (T/W- to stab himself) was arguably a sign of him losing control of his senses yet remaining just on the cusp of controlling his actions. He is holding on to his no-sex cultivation by saying the Ethics Sutra and making the impulsive decision to turn his sword on himself voluntarily but also reacting sexually to the flower demons involuntarily. He is placed in situations where he is distinctly both in and out of control at the same time! Later when he's lying in a ditch (T/W- having stabbed himself AGAIN), there's a lens to it that he's waiting for someone to be kind to him, just once. He's optimistic in giving people a chance- hopeful and altruistic on some level while also being angry and bitter at nobody having helping him yet. In present day he's still impulsive at times but also level-headed, jaded and also optimistic. Hua Cheng fully recognises this in him, and his recognition of Xie Lian's utter humanity is what makes him the one person who truly understands Xie Lian.

"Your Highness, I understand your everything. Your courage, your despair; your kindness, your pain; your resentment, your hate; your intelligence, your foolishness."- Hua Cheng

Part II: Mass murder is...a big deal

Xie Lian is nowhere near perfect, like Feng Xin tends to see him, but neither is he just pretending to be altruistic to make people like him, as Mu Qing tends to believe. Both of them have these ideas in their heads of Xie Lian being amazing or awful, when really Xie Lian has the potential to be both, and that's what makes him, ultimately, just a human above all else. And Hua Cheng gets that about him, more than anyone else, which is important. Hua Cheng loves him and believes in him not because he is inherently, fundamentally good but because of who he is entirely. Part of that 'being' for Xie Lian is trying not to indulge his worst emotions, trying to be good as much as he can, but part of that 'being' includes parts of him that can't be perceived as 'good'. See, no matter how traumatised you are, and even though I'm not judging Xie Lian for his mental state, choking some man on the street almost to death is a no-go, okay.

Xie Lian's will to keep to his principles of what is right and wrong is one thing, but TGCF stretches these boundaries over and over as we watch Xie Lian's view evolve from being a child. I don't think Xie Lian is a 'good person' because he never strays from his values, because he does. Save the common people? The people of Yong'an he intended to mass massacre were the 'common people'. And yes he tried to save them before, and yes it took very little to make him not massacre the people of Yong'an, but the fact that this was something he started at all? He himself used Fangxin to collect the souls from the battlefield- no matter how much he subconsciously wanted to believe in the worth of humanity with his self-stabbing social experiment, he created the conditions necessary to commit mass murder and that in itself is a sign that a part of him meant to go through with it. This isn't just a byproduct of his rage, a response befitting of an uncaring society, no, this is a big deal, and I don't think we can still argue Xie Lian is / has always been a beacon of virtue. Xie Lian isn't just flawed in ways that are easy to forgive, it's not just that he's inherently 'good' with flaws such as impulsivity or naivety that do not really reflect on his moral character. He is also morally flawed, in a way all humans can be but may find it hard to recognise within themselves.

To be fair to the guy, most humans don't have their kingdoms destroyed, their bodily autonomy violated and all their loved ones gone from their lives. Particularly not the first one. For trauma of such epic proportions and disasters of such epic proportions, this intense of a response to commit mass murder isn't shocking. Given his exposure to all this power through his godhood and descent, the power to commit mass murder is less massive-seeming than needing the power to save his own people from it. Given the deaths of so many Xianle inhabitants, this is almost an eye-for-an-eye response: something which some people or cultures may see as morally righteous (the Locrians in Ancient Greece were huge on this, for instance) and some see as morally wrong. However, the way I see it that does not make potential mass murder easily ethically justifiable. MXTX doesn't shy away from giving us insight into Xie Lian's vulnerable and broken mental state and reasons for attempting this, but his actions are still consequential in a huge way. Had he committed the murder; had he not been pulled up by the farmer or had he not found it in him to stop, would we view him as morally good? Could we? What if he did murder the Yong'an citizens but then realised how awful that was then, and spent the rest of his life trying to be good? It feels a bit like a cop-out to say, "well, he didn't do it so that's that", because even the idea, the intention of him doing it and the fact it almost happened raises so many questions about how much blame would be attribute to him if the people of Yong'an really were killed. Even if Xie Lian hadn't done it himself: if he failed to stop Bai Wuxiang from killing them all, for instance. If he were stabbed over and over again but his body couldn't take it, if the rest of the people of Yong'an weren't willing to stab him, and Wu Ming didn't take the bullet then what? It's not like Bai Wuxiang had any reason to go out of his way to call the spirits of Yong'an to Fangxin, for to him the biggest matter was getting Xie Lian to do it and solidify the latter's allegiance to resentment and apathy (just like himself). That would have been done by Xie Lian's hand, and how much the consequences would lay on Xie Lian's head is really difficult to think about. Even if he'd have done his utmost to stop it, but it would've happened atleast partially because of him.

Part III: Morality measured

It's interesting to consider how we measure morality as individuals- somewhere in-between intentions and consequences we diverge, and this tension is what fuels MXTX's conflicts. This is why it's so hard to assign blame in TGCF. Shi Wudu's intentions with the fate-swap were not malicious at all but the consequences for He Xuan were utterly disastrous, and that's on Shi Wudu. Quan Yizhen's intentions were never to make Yin Yu feel bad, but his obliviousness and shining talent hurt Yin Yu anyways. Of course, Yin Yu was the one who kept silent until he couldn't take it anymore, and said the worst possible thing at the worst possible time even if all he wanted was to be nice to Quan Yizhen and not project his feelings onto him. Book 3 contains an increase in these dynamics where the intentions and consequences are SO vastly incongruent that it plays with what morality means, encouraging you to ask: "Who do you believe was in the right?" "Do you think anyone here is or isn't entitled to what they want?" "Is there any way to objectively assign blame here, or are some scenarios too complicated for there to be a direct conflict of right and wrong?" So when it comes to Xie Lian, all that he could have been and all that he is, book 4 naturally stretches the limits of his heart being in paradise.

In conversations I have had or opinions I've seen on this platform and others, people's opinions on how much Xie Lian caused aspects of his own downfall range from "he did absolutely nothing wrong ever" to "he was the epitome of hubris and ignorance", the latter usually accompanied by a favourable analysis towards another character such as Mu Qing. When getting into MDZS, I was reminded of this when seeing Wei Wuxian-Jiang Cheng discourse actually, people talking about Wei Wuxian as a model of goodness who never hurt anyone unless his hand was forced (as if the Wen Chao toruture scene didn't happen) or as an irresponsible and disloyal rascal (as if he wasn't protecting defenseless people including JC's rescuers in the Burial Mounds). This sort of range can be seen with many characters in TGCF: particularly with Xie Lian, Hua Cheng and Mu Qing but you also get many for Jun Wu, He Xuan, Shi Wudu and the like. Xie Lian, as the main character, is possibly the most complicated of them all. The series is in his perspective, he recognises and regrets both his glory days and his fall from grace- the former due to his naivety and the latter due to his resentment. Since then all of the plots he has involved himself in have involved him taking on as much of the pain as physically possible for himself because his desire to help other people flourished again alongside and mingled with his shame and lasting trauma. He is ashamed of both his highest and lowest moments for not being able to offset the consequences, but while you're reading the story it feels very often like there's nothing else he could have done. Partially because (although this is debatable imo) this is somewhat from his perspective despite the 3rd person narrative, so we know what he's like before anyone else. Plus, with how book 2 plays out like a classic tragedy where his greatest strength (will to help his people despite tradition) becomes his greatest weakness, it's the age-old question of how much he can be held accountable for his kingdom's downfall or how much was completely out of his control or in the hands of fate.

One take I remember very strongly that was quite popular was about MXTX's characters being ultimately morally good characters, in which Xie Lian's character was said to not change or develop. Rather, Xie Lian has always been inherently morally good and TGCF is about the world around him not rewarding that goodness yet Xie Lian remaining good and pure-hearted all the way through no matter what, even in his darkest times. While this may be an interpretation some people have, I think it's more complicated than that. Xie Lian's morality was seemingly very clear-cut in book 2 because he had no huge reason not to be 'good'. Yeah sure, he was chastised for saving a child during the lantern festival parade, but nothing was genuinely going to happen to him. He was the crown prince! The stakes for him were never as high, and he had no reason to believe he could fail at all. When put to the test, given the fact he did set up the conditions for the immediate slaughter of Yong'an, I don't think any goodness automatically present in his character was being channelled in his decision. Morality can be as easy as "I want to always do what's right" when you have money and security, but becomes more difficult when you're consumed by grief and rage, or when you've lost everything you once had. Morality is more than an inherent aspect to one's character, and how we perceive someone's moral nature depends on their intentions, their choices, the consequences of those choices and whether they accept responsibility and accountability for the other 3 things.

Part IV: Complexity is the key

Having said all this, I hope it's clear I am NOT saying Xie Lian is an immoral character. In fact, I WOULD argue that he is a 'good' person, that is, a person who embodies what goodness would look like despite all the complications involved. What I'm saying here is that he is a good person not because he always sticks to his standards/beliefs, or even that he always believes in his own standards, but because he chooses to try to believe. In humanity, in the power of his own actions, in the kindness of strangers after he was shown kindness once himself. And this is something earned and learned, not something he had in the beginning. In the beginning it came natural to him because he had the privilege of that as Crown prince. "If something goes wrong, I'll fix it, and everyone around me will always be looking out for my best interests even if I disagree with them. Murder is wrong, following the path to ascension is the ultimate good." etc. etc. When he has to face the world as someone with nothing, those are the experiences that mould his current day understanding of why people do the things they do even if they seem completely morally wrong. Why people would stab someone knowing they would feel the pain, why people would murder someone, why they might steal or rage or drink. And in most cases, it can be hard to judge someone as completely morally wrong for doing actions deemed morally wrong if you believe intention has any bearing on morality.

Xie Lian to me is not inherently good, but someone who chooses to try to be a good person, thus arguably being a good person. And I would defend him as such on that premise, not because his righteous morals have remained static and intact throughout the novels. It isn't that he didn't choose to be good as a child, but he didn't really have to TRY because he hadn't faced the sort of crisis that shook his foundations and forced him to grow, understanding and adapting to the complexity of living in the real world. Where you fail, where falling upon hard times can force you to resort to things you once thought beneath you. Where your actions have power over your circumstances, but your circumstances also hold power over you whether you like it or not. The root of Xie Lian's compelling character, for me, is in his growth from a man with a static morality to a man with moral complexity. A belief in one's principles that accounts for its limits and recognises its flaws in the face of circumstance, and adapts accordingly. It's not like Xie Lian wanted to betray and murder the Yong'an king who was so kind to him, and to actively do that seems pretty horrible until you remember he did it to save a whole group of people, Xianle descendants. Xie Lian still blames himself for this in book 1 even though in this act he saved numerous civilians, but Hua Cheng reminds him that he made that choice for a good reason, and has faith in Xie Lian's choices.

Speaking of the devil...Hua Cheng, even though he loves all of Xie Lian, does not love him blindly or without consideration of the worst parts of himself. He would follow Xie Lian into the abyss of his mental state but still try to help Xie Lian out of the sort of guilt, back from the point of no return. One interpretation of his refusal to let Xie Lian kill Lang Ying is that he wanted Xie Lian to not have Lang Ying's blood on his hands as well. If this would affect any future cultivation or make him feel any more guilty in the future. He also tried to gently tell Xie Lian that he still has believers to calm him down when he sees the white flower. However, to Hua Cheng, whatever Xie Lian would've chosen in the end would still be a decision taken by the same Xie Lian, and Hua Cheng would follow Xie Lian no matter whether he's engaged in the worst parts of himself or not. I think it's very easy for us to assign a specified amount of goodness to a character based on just 1 thing- be it just their intentions or just their choices or just the consequences of their actions. A few sample assumptions I've seen (that do not reflect wider society or anything, these are just opinions I've seen around online): To want to save people is good, therefore Xie Lian is good. Hua Cheng has no qualms about killing 33 gods for Xie Lian, so he must be amoral. But the nature of what is good is variable- under the light of different interpretations, Xie Lian is more morally grey and Hua Cheng is more morally inclined than those assumptions would give them credit for. My point essentially is that many characters, but Xie Lian in particular, are more complicated than we sometimes give them credit for. It's also why he's so easily put up against Jun Wu- someone who is the antagonist and committed several heinous crime, but also parallels what Xie Lian at his worst could have been. If Jun Wu really did repent on everyone he damaged at the end of the novels, you can't call him a good person just based on newfound intent and he can't be so easily forgiven, but to imply alternatively that after all he's done he will always be a bad man and that's that...doesn't sit right with me either. Of course, the question of Jun Wu seems even more complicated somehow, funnily enough.

I think when I first read TGCF years back, Xie Lian is the character who showed me not to judge multidimensional characters or people on a consistent metric of goodness but rather on numerous aspects of how they live that can change over time and leaves room for circumstantial flexibility. I also think that acknowledging complexity in how we view morality in each other can allow us to gain a better understanding of what it is to be a human. And in my view, what makes Xie Lian such a well-written character is that he's nothing if not a human.

#tgcf #xie lian #tgcf meta #hua cheng #hualian #bai wuxiang #white no face #tgcf spoilers #tgcf book 4 #tgcf book 2 #posts originating from my brain #analysis time by me so I can track them in my tags #this has literally been in drafts for like a year- it just felt like the post least other people would also agree with lol #looking over this some of it was maybe worded differently than I would word it now but I didn't really feel like changing it #either I have grown as a meta-writer or completely collapsed...don't have the energy to properly change it now though #for what it's worth I appreciate my past self for writing it though...need my complex characters to stake my life on after all :)

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kitakikikitkat · 14 days

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So I’ve been listening to God Games from Epic the musical, I haven’t listened to all of Epic the musical songs.

Anyways every time I listen to it I think of an au where it’s tgcf x svsss crossover. Where Odysseus is Luo Binghe (maybe after Shen Qingqiu’s death he causes too much chaos and like the martial gods are like woah there sunny boy we gotta have a talk or something) and Athena is Shang Qinghua and he’s like trynna help out LBH (bros his son so he gotta help him out plus bros the protagonist). I’m not sure about that I just thought the role fit SQH or made more sense in my mind (he doesn’t necessarily have to be like the god of wisdom in this crossover just LBH’s advocate or something along those lines).

I’m not sure who Zeus would be though, in my mind the timeline this takes place in is after the ending of tgcf where Jun Wu isn’t the heavenly emperor anymore (I haven’t read all of tgcf yet so I might be wrong on a few details, I have gotten a lot of spoilers about tgcf so I know the gist of how the story goes so I mean no offense if I get any details wrong). Plus mind you that the martial gods who will be deciding whether LBH should be released will be those who are in the upper heavenly court, I’m not thinking if the Greek God would fit the character more like they’re going to be judges of some sort mind you. Like they’re considered “high up” enough to be like “oh your opinion as a judge like martial god is important we gotta see what you say” kinda thing (and the tgcf/svsss characters I put to the epic the musical characters only fit for this song).

Anyways I thought Apollo would be Shi Qingxuan (in this au crossover he’s still there let me be delusional and not remember the unfortunate beefleaf ending) or let’s just think that maybe SQX somehow became a god again (because I really want them to still be a god and madly in love with He Xuan and get their happy ending because I can’t accept the beefleaf ending).

Anyways and then I thought Hephaestus would be Pei Ming (I don’t know why I thought that would be him but then again maybe it would be someone else, I thought he might also fit Ares but there’s a reason why I don’t think he’d fit being Ares but I also thought he’d fit Zeus).

Then Aphrodite would be Mu Qing because of the whole mom thing that happened with him, I think he would misunderstand LBH and how dedicated he was to the washer woman and might think that LBH should have stayed by his mother’s side and all that jazz. Anyways I think the person that just has to be Ares in my mind is Feng Xin, mainly because I love Fengqing and I want FX and MQ to be together, and in the song there’s this lyric that goes “and tell your lover” etc etc so whoever I thought would fit Ares and Aphrodite had to be two people who I shipped.

The person who I can just think would fit Hera would be Hua Cheng, SQH would be like “oh and he really loves his first crush like would do anything for him” and HC would be like “oh shoot release him then” because it just so happen that SQH “forgot” some details (how SQQ and LBH met again) and HC just thinks to himself about himself and Xie Lian and is like “this kid fr is like me I gotta have him be released so he can continue serving/looking after his crush”.

Anyways the part of the lyrics where it’s “is she dead?” Instead of it being Ares (FX) who asks that because Athena (SQH) gets struck with lightning maybe during this time it just so happens that LBH had been here during the whole trial just in a cage (a see through invisible cage that seals him up or something), and he wakes up and wants to ask the martial gods if SQQ is actually dead and if there isn’t anything that he can do to bring him back. SQH is like “what should I do” because if the gods say “oh yeah he’s dead” then LBH could go on a rampage and end up messing up all the progress he made in convincing the martial gods.

Maybe before SQH went to advocate for LBH he sent a letter to SQQ (let’s just say SQQ didn’t take years to get back and SQQ and SQH had met up secretly) so he just sent a letter informing SQQ of all the things happening and SQQ is the one who’s praying/saying “let him go, please, let him go” and it shows this. Because maybe SQQ isn’t dumb and actually knows that he might have actual feelings for LBH (or maybe he’s still dumb and just telling himself that he is just worried over the system punishing him if LBH is punished by the heavenly court) and the only reason SQQ didn’t try and go with SQH is he still thinks LBH hates him and that he’ll kill him if he sees him or just doesn’t want to cause LBH any trouble or pain from seeing him. So the martial gods are like “Ight the truth is he’s still alive” and it shows this like the whole SQQ praying (SQQ is obviously Penelope) and etc like some sort of projection and that’s how god games song ends for this au.

I don’t know where I was going with this, I just wanted to get people’s opinions over this huge delusional hyper fixation plus write it down before I forget this thought process.

#epic the musical #god games #tian guan ci fu #scum villian self saving system #crossover #shang qinghua #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #bingqiu #shi qingxuan #he xuan #beefleaf #pei ming #mu qing #feng xin #fengqing #hua cheng #my delusions #hyperfixation

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double-rat · 5 months

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TGCF Avatar Au

Okay guys bear with me here. Just sharing some loose thoughts on a Heaven Official's Blessing Avatar universe coupled with excerpts from our Sketchbook.

Okay so first of all, obviously Xie Lian is the Avatar because the avatars are loved and hated by the people they safe etc. But I thought for this, it's more of an idea where the avatar has to roam the Earth until they fulfill "their purpose" so Xie Lian has been partaking in different cultures as different men (Fang Xin style) for over a hundred years trying to find what he is here for.

Of course one day, he meets the last dragon that has survived all this time by taking the form of a man. Cheesy? I don't care.

They can bond over being hoarders and being centuries old/hunted by humanity.

Hua Cheng would definitely start off cheeky and "dangerous" but you know Xie Lian - he sees right through it.

Okay so yes I have a whole plot in mind that involves Pei Ming and Wudu and spirits and whatnot but that's not what we are here for today. Let's just skip to Feng Xin(Fire Bender) and Mu Qing(Water Bender) : basically, Feng Xin's family line has been entrusted with watching over and caring for a temple dedicated to the avatar/ the avatar's return but as time went on people stopped believing in the avatar but Feng Xin kept watching over the temple anyway - waiting. Mu Qing, on the other hand, believes spirituality is leaving their world and that man needs to fight for himself and not depend on heroes and legends.

Side note: I can't remember if it's a head canon or legit because im delusional but I like to pretend the Northern Water Tribe is so high and mighty and looks down on the Southern Water Tribe. Anyway, Mu Qing is def from the South but pretends to be from the North.

Okay while I'm here, I also want to mention that I loved Nan Feng and Fu Yao so much that in every AU I make, Nan Feng is Feng Xin's little brother and likewise with Fu Yao and Mu Qing. Because like... them as big brothers on top of everything else they have to deal with? Cry my eyes out.

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #heavens official blessing #xie lian #hua cheng #hualian #san lang #xianle trio #feng xin #Mu Qing #fenglian #mu qing tgcf #heaven officials blessing #fengqing #fu yao #nan feng #nanyao

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grungiiuvu · 5 months

Note

Redacted factor notes, i spent the last 6 hours gathering! May have missed some things

Redacted factor gets first triggered by the bath scene in chaoter 6

Decreases when:

MQ says he doesng care about FX’s words, chapter 8 (decreases less than the protagonist satisfaction).

Chapter 15: increases and decreases simultaneously (see chapter 15 notes in increase)

MQ calling FX useless, chapter 15

MQ says he doesn’t need romance cause he has his sect siblings, chapter 18

MQ mentions SQX, chapter 27

MQ explains the ribbon Deal to FX, chapter 29

Increases when:

MQ wears a dress.

FX reveals that MQ went “missing” (bandits), chapter 11.

MQ insults FX, again, chapter 11 (also edits Feng Xin’s wiki).

MQ shows affection to his horse, chapter 13.

Chapter 14: FX sees MQ in a dress, hua cheng calls FX MQ’s dog, and MQ insults FX

MQ and FX “finally agree on something” , chapter 14.

Chapter 15: MQ or rather, FX’s reaction to MQ, gives the system whiplash, saying he doesnt see FX as an equal causes the redacted role to BOTH increase and decrease at the same time, creating conflicting info and is eventually cancelled out by the system.

MQ correcting FX’s stance, chapter 15

FX sees MQ with flowers in his hair, chapter 16

In chapter 17 but im not fully sure what triggered it. MQ refered to FX as shixiong, but also insulted him. Could be either one, or both.

Big increases when MQ is observing (ogling) FX when he’s training. Happens 3 times over, at least. Chapter 18

Two MASSIVE increases when MQ calls FX handsome (good job MQ), chapter 18.

Increases twice in chapter 20, when MQ asks Feng Xin to take a conversation seriously (did feng xin think much qing was gonna confess maybe..?)

Big increase when MQ tells FX they’re still friends, chapter 20 (ANOTHER EDIT TO THE WIKI! But this time, Qing’er’s wiki is updated too!)

Small increases when MQ stays close to, and walks with FX, chapter 21

they hold hands! (Dear god, they hold hands), chapter 21

when fx (and pei ming) come to save Mq and Xl, chapter 22

When Mq tells Fx he can do better he just needs to try harder, chapter 22

Increases when Mq teases fx, and mq punches him, chapter 23

Multiple increases when Fx calls mq his prize, chapter 24

Mu qing smiles, chapter 25 (twice)

Mq calls Fx his dog, chapter 25

Mq calls himself an angel. Chapter 25

Mq falls asleep on fx, chapter 25 (the factor upgrades again!)

FX calls MQ a wildcat, and MQ hits FX, chapter 26

THE ENTIRE CLOSET SCENE WITH FX’S “DAGGER”, chapter 27

MQ being bossy, Chapter 29

Updates to the factor:

Chapter 14! A side quest with a redacted title shows up! Accompanies XL’s wife plot quest. dont think that all the instances of redacted words are about the same words. its mq’s own wife plot quest?. Also, in chapter 14 the factor is upgraded, implying levels to this factor.

With chapter 15, we unlock P points, confirmed to mean Pretty Points (anqelbean being the first one to guess that correctly) They advance the redacted factor, and narrative role more than b points, so the redacted factor has some sort of beauty aspect to it. The narrative role for Mq’s beauty was, as we know, to spark insecurity in XL, but that’s likely changed

Chapter 18! The conditions to the factor get edited, after a discussion about nicknames, and MQ says he’s hard to impress.

Chapter 21. We can probably say that its not Romantic Rival, due to how the system talks about it

Chapter 22. The Redacted side quest reappears, when MQ (and xie lian) get captured again! Im pretty convinced that it stands for Be wife Plotted or something to that effect. the redacted factor gets edited when MQ says he doesnt want to wait around to be rescued.

Chapter 23! Big update. Quoting the system

“Achievement, ‘[REDACTED]’, has been unlocked. Plus 50 B-points! [REDACTED] Trope Convention unlocked! [REDACTED] Factor increased by 30 B-points. Excellent work, Host!! We’ll make a [REDACTED] out of you yet! q(≧▽≦q)””

A redacted achievement, a trope convention, and “we’ll make a X out of you”. (The system singing “I’ll make a man out of you” but its about the redacted factor

So many questions. And confirms that there are multiple redacted words, probably.

You also say that the whole “punching in the gut, and going “good luck, i hope you fail” is the most Redacted thing MQ has done.

Chapter 26 and 27

The factor leveld up to level 3! MQ earns two [Redacted] badges.

“Some good Redacted”

And ANOTHER Redacted badge (convinced this one is related to sexual interest because dear god the closest scene)

One of the three redacted badges levels up

Cryptic ace, chapter 6: “something like hotness”

AroVibes, chapter 11: “Plot? Drama? God potential? Angst? Sexiness?”

ButterflyDreaming, chapter 11: “FQ affection points”

otaku_lady89, chapter 11: “SECRET MASOCHISM”

reinvanteal, chapter 11: “Sexiness”

anqelbean, chapter 14, and chapter 15: “degradation kink”

oxytocarb, chapter 15: “related to how attracted feng xin is to mu qing”

hailpyre, chapter 17: “wow FX do you have a degradation ki—//bonked”

Imraekio, chapter 18: “romantic points”

anqelbean, chapter 18: “Love Interest Factor”

ButterflyDreaming, chapter 18: “Love Interest points? Or Romance Protagonist points?”

oxytocarb, chapter 18: “how attracted they are to each other?? romance sub-plot progression or smth”

thetowerofbabel, and ButterflyDreaming chapter 23: “tsundere”

SillyRinnie, chapter 23: “"wife" or "protagonist"”

Writesforfun (that’s me :3), chapter 23: Rivals to Lovers

Pink_Muffins, chapter 24: “potential love interest” “prime love interest”

OOC out of Mind (guest), chapter 24: romantic appeal

septemberme, chapter 24: "Oops accidentally turned Feng Xin on" points

Kresnik, chapter 24: waifu factor

Pink_Muffins, chapter 27: “‘eye candy’ or ‘fanservice’”

l1ls4y0, on Tumblr: “mating factor”

I..... idek what to say to this. Holy shit, bro. That's a lot of hours you've spent reading my semi-crack fic.

Actually, i might just pin this. This is incredible. Holy shit dude, I don't even have a joke for this. This is a LOT of shit you found oml

#cheap villains presentation on the importance of road safety

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xieliansbignaturals · 3 months

Text

I'm still thinking about Ye Olde MXTX Crossover T4T Meetup.

Hua Cheng is wearing a different pronoun pin and a different outfit every time you look at xem. Just having so much fun with shapeshifting. The one consistent thing about her is how lovingly he's looking at Xie Lian, whose Just Some Guy energy is off the charts.

Shen Qingqiu insists that she only came to support Luo Binghe. That's also the reason behind the she/her pronoun pin, which she picked up just in case Luo Binghe was the only one using those pronouns and felt left out. And, you guessed it, yes, that's why she's been on fantasy HRT for several years. It would be so cruel to let poor Binghe go through that alone!

Wei Wuxian hasn't figured out she's trans yet, but the pronoun pins were her invention. She's attending as an ally to support Lan Wangji, who does not want to be here, and Jiang Yanli, who is very happy to meet other people like himself and Jin Zixuan.

Shi Qingxuan and Nie Huaisang have bonded over their shared enjoyment of fans and chaos. Banyue is talking with Zhuzhi-lang about how great snakes are. Mu Qingfang has set up a little table talking about medical transition options for those who can't shapeshift, and is happy to talk about his own experiences.

The Liu siblings didn't come because being trans, to them, is like being born as a 5lb baby instead of an 8lb baby: completely mundane, why do you need a meetup? Mobei-jun feels similarly. Shang Qinghua is too busy with paperwork, but maybe he'll make the next one. He Xuan refuses to admit that they have anything going on with their gender, and they have no motivation to attend a social event anyway. Nie Mingjue is unfortunately otherwise occupied. Jun Wu is not attending for multiple reasons.

Pei Ming attempted to attend as an "ally", but got bored and left when the only person who wanted to sleep with him was some lizard-headed dude from Ghost City. Better luck next time, Pei Ming.

#tgcf #mdzs #svsss #hualian #bingqiu #wangxian #t4t #trans #genderbend #i had so much fun with this

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thatswhatsushesaid · 28 days

Note

Xiyao or Peishui?

gotta be xiyao for me, anon.

i love peishui. i love that one of shi wudu's last promises to shi qingxuan is that if he goes to pei ming, pei ming will protect him. the mental image of pei ming being one of the only people to attend the disgraced shi wudu's funeral is going to live in my heart forever. but peishui shared centuries of immortal friendship, and while i obviously stan water tyrant-shixiong's rights and (let's be real, it is mostly) his wrongs, the real tragedy of xiyao is that not only is his life so heartbreakingly short, jgy does not even die for something he has actually done wrong. he did not try to attack lan xichen, and he is not punished for the things he is objectively guilty of, but for the crime of protecting himself in a 'dishonourable' way, and for being different from the rest of the cultivation world around him. and he is dealt his mortal injury by the only person in the jianghu who has always loved him and seen him, from day one, as his peer and equal.

there's just nothing crunchier than xiyao to me. i'll be chewing on it for the rest of my life.

#asks answered #xiyao #peishui #jin guangyao #lan xichen #shi wudu #pei ming #i love them both but if forced to choose between them there can just be no contest

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cecropiacrown · 4 months

Text

Little mini-fic for Fengqing 💜

Modern AU

Word count: 1075

TW: alcohol mention

Mu Qing crosses one leg over the other as he settles in on Hua Cheng's ridiculously comfortable loveseat. He smooths down the fabric of his pants and pretends to inspect his nails, while in actuality he's assessing the scene around him.

Shi Qingxuan is animatedly talking to He Xuan on the couch opposite from Mu Qing, her legs thrown over the man's lap as her hands move excitedly with each indecipherable word. How anyone understands her fast-paced speech is lost on Mu Qing. He Xuan gently guides Shi Qingxuan’s sandal back onto her foot where it had begun to slide off, never lifting his eyes from her face. His own face is as stony as ever, but Mu Qing sees the undeniable care in his gesture.

Xie Lian is giggling from his place on Hua Cheng's lap as they both sit in that gaudy leather wingback. Mu Qing is sure Hua Cheng had such an ugly piece of furniture custom made because there's no way something as horrid as that came from off the shelf. Hua Cheng kisses Xie Lian's cheek again and Xie Lian breaks out into a wide smile, nuzzling his nose against Hua Cheng's temple. Gag.

“Do you want anything, A-Qing?”

Ah, and there's that voice again. Mu Qing shrugs and waves off Feng Xin as the man stands nearby in the kitchen doorway.

“Whatever.” he says offhandedly, running his nails over his scalp as he pushes his hair back.

Feng Xin has made himself bartender for the night and has been back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, distributing drinks of varying colors and alcohol contents. He sighs in reply to Mu Qing and ducks back into the kitchen.

Pei Ming and Ling Wen are over by the monstrous record player in the corner, sorting through records and debating on which one to play. Pei Ming holds up a contender and wriggles his eyebrows at Ling Wen, only for her to shake her head and turn her attention back to her sorting. Pei Ming pouts and gently puts the record away, returning to helping Ling Wen sort.

Inwardly, Mu Qing sighs.

He's not sure why he comes to these parties Hua Cheng hosts. All he knows is that he's here now, a carefully constructed look of nonchalance on his face, while his heart hammers in his chest.

He and Feng Xin have been dating for three months now.

Secretly, that is.

They're taking things slow, with this being Mu Qing's first relationship and all, and it's been going really well. The only thing that's not going so well is figuring out how exactly to act around their friends.

Mu Qing wants to slowly ease their friends into the idea that he and Feng Xin could be dating, but old habits die hard and Mu Qing, especially, is struggling. The vulnerability required of him to… openly express his feelings, is gargantuan, to say the least. It took years for him and Feng Xin to even form a friendship and Mu Qing was in love with the man. Admitting those feelings to Feng Xin alone was difficult enough, he has a hard time imagining he'll ever feel comfortable letting people outside their relationship know, even if those people are their… friends.

It was Mu Qing's idea for them to start calling each other A-Xin and A-Qing, respectively. But even just that got them suspicious glances from their friends. It's been a weird situation to navigate. Mu Qing simultaneously wants to push Feng Xin away and pull him in for a kiss. It's frustrating. Ah, but they're managing. They'll drop some hints here and there, and maybe in another three months, Mu Qing might be ready to talk about it.

Feng Xin shoulders his way through the kitchen door with two fancy glasses in his hands and makes his way over to the loveseat. He stays standing as he holds one of the drinks out to Mu Qing.

“Here, try this. It's like mine but without vermouth.”

Mu Qing eyes Feng Xin warily but quickly plucks the small glass from his hand. He can hear the faint pop of carbonation and he studies the, admittedly pretty, gradient of the drink as it goes from blush red at the base to shimmery clear at the top. He swirls the drink once, then twice and brings it up to his nose. Sharp brows furrow and then raise for a moment in surprise as he lets out a soft oh. He smooths out his expression and forces his voice to come out evenly.

“It smells nice.”

In very Mu Qing fashion, Feng Xin rolls his eyes, but waits expectantly for Mu Qing to just try the damn drink already.

Mu Qing takes a tentative sip, letting it sit on his tongue for a moment before swallowing it down. His face stays still except for his eyes, which glint with satisfaction.

“That's not bad.” He admits.

Feng Xin sighs and relaxes his shoulders, a little relieved.

“Huh, well, I'll take it. That's a compliment in my book.”

“You can read?” Mu Qing asks innocently.

He touches the cool glass to his bottom lip for a moment before deciding he doesn’t want to appear too eager to have another taste. He lowers the glass only slightly and swirls it again, watching the gradient dissipate.

Feng Xin groans and crosses his arms, but the way he looks at Mu Qing is much too fond to be called a glare.

“You’re absolutely insufferable, did you know that?”

“Wow, that's a pretty big word for you-- and also,” Mu Qing can’t help it. He takes another sip of his drink, not as reserved as the first sip, and does well to mask his pleasure.

“I'd argue that you actually suffer me quite well.”

The smirk he offers too closely resembles a smile and both men realize in this moment that the room has gone silent. Everyone is staring at them.

The atmosphere of the room is thick with tension and Pei Ming, ever the chivalrous one, cuts through it with his stupid, teasing voice.

“Since when have you ever been this nice to each other? Did you two lose a bet or something?”

“Yes.” “No.”

Mu Qing and Feng Xin say simultaneously.

They both visibly bristle, their cheeks red as they each take sips of their drinks and pointedly look away from each other.

Yeah.

Things are going just great.

#fengqing #feng xin #mu qing #tgcf #mini fic #happy goddang pride #in between working on my main fic #I'm gonna start sharing my little fengqing drabbles #I've got literally 10000 words worth of ideas for them #it's gotten a little out of hand haha

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wuxianxkexing · 10 months

Text

This face. I'm going to talk about it. Spoilers below!

So my pathetic little meow meow looks kind of unhinged here. I've said that much already. But what exactly is he thinking in this moment?

From a storytelling perspective Heaven Official's Blessing doesn't really have a main villain by this point. Pei Ming is the closest thing to one since he caused and ignored the Bridegroom and he tried to sweep his deputy's crimes in Banyue under the rug. However while those things might make him a "bad" guy that isn't quite main villain of the story material since he hadn't really gone after our main character Xie Lian all that hard. Yeah, he tried to shift the focus onto Xie Lian hanging out with Crimson Rain, but it wasn't really personal. He wasn't trying to drag Xie Lian down since he also spoke in his defense and said that Xie Lian was probably just tricked. He just wanted to shift the focus off of his deputy but failed to. Still a dick move to Xie Lian, but at least it wasn't personal? 😅 Or at least it wasn't personal until the very end when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to save his deputy after all.

But from a storytelling perspective having Mu Qing make this expression puts him on the radar as potentially being the story's main villain. At this point all we know about Mu Qing is pretty negative? He used to be Xie Lian's servant but left/betrayed him to ascend to godhood. He clearly still remembered Xie Lian though Xie Lian didn't recognize him and he seemed miffed by that fact. In the books it is revealed that he hangs out in the communication array all day every day, supposedly because he is catty and loves gossip and he has no friends. He is shown to have beef with General Nan Yang, who forgave Xie Lian's absolutely massive debt out of the kindness of his heart and who in this very episode publicly sides himself with our main character when he is concerned about him getting hurt. The audience realizes that Feng Xin is actually a pretty good dude, and naturally we are suspicious of anyone who openly hates him as much as Mu Qing does. Then Mu Qing makes that face. At this point the audience can only assume that Mu Qing made that face because he is a huge asshole and hates Xie Lian. The main villain has to be either him or Pei Ming. Right? They both have personal beef with him, and figuring out which of them is going to be the main villain gives the audience something to think about. I think this is why MXTX decided to have him make this face. The story needs a main villain but she wasn't ready to reveal them just yet so she kind of pretended to throw us a bone to keep us interested.

Ignoring the overall story reasons and focusing on the in world reason that I think Mu Qing made this face: He is just vindictive. Not towards Xie Lian, but Yong'An. Xie Lian describes him as both petty and spiteful. Up until Mu Qing makes his friendship confession and tries to kill himself afterwards the audience doesn't really know any better of him. I've seen some people say that he made that face because he was glad that Xie Lian isn't as perfect as he thought, but I don't think that is the case at all. If you actually hated someone for being too perfect would you even /want/ to be their friend? Let alone be willing to throw yourself into a volcano for them? Nah. Most people try to avoid people that they hate, so Mu Qing wouldn't have even helped out during the Bridegroom arc, or if he did then he would've only done it to sabotage the mission (which he didn't).

But knowing how spiteful and petty Mu Qing is having him make this face upon hearing that the former crown prince of his kingdom massacred the royal family of their invaders? That makes perfect sense for his character. This scene reveals that deep in his heart he is glad that the Yong'an royal family "got what they deserved." They destroyed his home country and they set into motion the process of him losing his 2 best friends as well. Arguably they are the root cause of a lot of his suffering. As for the frown after he was done having his moment I think that the revelation of why/how Xie Lian did it kind of ruined his revenge fantasy. Xie Lian did kill the Yong'an king to protect the former people of Xianle, but he didn't go on the cool V for Vendetta campaign that Mu Qing had hoped for. Which maybe that is a problem too but at least you can see where he is coming from.

Ultimately I think Mu Qing had a very real and human reaction to the news, but it only makes sense with context. Otherwise he just seems like a crazy person. Like all I can think of when I see that face is that if Mu Qing was the one poisoned by the Land of the Tenders instead of Xie Lian he would've had the worst bloodlust ever known to mankind. He is still my little meow meow though.

#heaven officials blessing #tgcf #mu qing #pei ming

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astrowaffles · 2 months

Text

i only want to be with you

Teen audiences for language | banter, marriage pact | for @fengqingaction and juyangism on twt!

“Don’t get soppy with me now,” Mu Qing snapped.

“I’m not! I’m just saying, I remember 30 being some far-off mystical number…”

Mu Qing sighed and let his hands drop, turning to face Feng Xin. “Well, we lived for that day and not the next. Personally I never wanted to hit 30. Too many wrinkles.”

“Well that’s just a lie.”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes. “You got me. You know everything, of course.”

“Uh-huh.” Feng Xin gave up on getting his hairpiece out. “30 was like a wonderland for you.”

“How so?”

“You don’t remember? We were gonna get married and everything.”

“What?!”

“Our pact? ‘If we’re still single by 30, we’ll just marry each other-‘”

“I remember, it was just never gonna happen-“

“I guess we’re over 30 now, and we’re still single-“

“I swear to heaven if you say what I think you’re about to say-“

“Why don’t we get married now?”

“……You said it.”

OR: a birthday, a marriage pact, and a wedding: what next for fengqing? falling in love????

Pei Ming’s 830th birthday dawned loud and annoying – at least, if you were anywhere near his palace. Unfortunately for all involved, Mu Qing was near his palace, and was nearly knocked off his feet by the scurrying attendants. Even worse, Pei Ming’s obnoxious ass had thought it was a good idea to start the day with a loud trumpet call; that one had almost caused the birthday boy death by Feng Xin, and it wasn’t often that Feng Xin killed people without any emotional investment.

How did Mu Qing know this?

They were getting ready together, naturally.

Of course, they’d all received invitations to Pei Ming’s banquet. His ninth 30th birthday party would be the greatest yet, apparently – Mu Qing dreaded to think what his tenth would be like – complete with far too much food and a hall far too overdecorated to look even slightly appealing. In order to look down on the décor, one has to be dressed better than it; hence, Mu Qing had been up for far longer than anyone else, trying to get his stubbornly straight and thick hair to sit nicely where he wanted it. He’d managed to bully Feng Xin into doing the same, insisting he wouldn’t allow Feng Xin to be an embarrassment if he could help it. Feng Xin, who liked bullying Pei Ming even if his own taste in décor was potentially even worse, grumpily went along with it.

Now, they were both stood in the first of Mu Qing’s immense dressing rooms; Mu Qing poked his hair around, aided by his full-length mirror, while Feng Xin complained about “having to carry all his clothes to the Xuan Zhen palace” and how “this is ridiculous, why is he even here”.

“Shut up,” said Mu Qing. “Your servants carried most of your things, anyway.”

“I don’t even want to be here,” Feng Xin complained. “I don’t give a fuck about upstaging Pei Ming’s banquet hall!”

“It’s not about upstaging, it’s about being superior,” Mu Qing corrected. “Don’t you want to make fun of the curtains? Remember last year’s horrors?”

“I kind of liked last year’s curtains,” Feng Xin admitted, and dodged the lethal hairpin Mu Qing flung at him.

“Get dressed,” Mu Qing told him. “You’re a disgrace to my palace.”

“You’re the one who asked me to come here! And I’m already dressed!”

“Get dressed for the banquet, you moron.”

“Excuse me? I’m a moron?”

“Yep.”

Feng Xin launched himself towards Mu Qing, who sidestepped. “Don’t, you’ll ruin my hair!”

“Like I give a fuck about your hair?!”

“Well you SHOULD, this has taken me FOUR HOURS-“

“Four hours for THAT? What have you spent the time doing, a crossword?”

“You have two seconds to leave the room or so help me-“

“What? You’re gonna hurt me? Oooh, I’m so scared~”

Mu Qing lobbed his wooden hairbrush at Feng Xin’s head. Feng Xin caught it and threw it back; it hit Mu Qing’s shoulder, falling to the floor with a clatter. Five of Mu Qing’s carefully placed hairpins went with it.

Mu Qing watched them fall in silence.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Feng Xin defended, backing towards the door. “It was supposed to hit your arm-“

“GET OUT.”

Feng Xin got out.

Eventually, after Mu Qing and Feng Xin had been tied into their banquet outfits and had gold decorations pinned slightly precariously into their hair and Mu Qing had approved Feng Xin’s jewellery and Feng Xin had obediently found Mu Qing’s other outer robe because he suddenly wanted to change, they still had to wait to make sure they wouldn’t be early. In the constant battle between Mu Qing’s hatred of being late and Feng Xin’s hatred of being the only person at the function, they’d agreed to set off once they’d seen the first guest enter Pei Ming’s palace.

This compromise had Mu Qing pacing nervously – yes, he didn’t like Pei Ming, no, that didn’t mean he wanted to be late – and Feng Xin standing ominously by the window so they didn’t miss the guests starting to arrive.

“See anyone yet?”

“I thought Shi Qingxuan was gonna go in, but she just turned around and left again.”

“Shi Qingxuan was here on time?!”

“No, because she left.”

“Yeah, but she turned up on time. That’s what I’m amazed at.”

“No, because she’s not on time, because she’s not at the banquet yet.”

“Yeah, but she was there and therefore she was ready.”

“For all we know, she’s ready on time every time and just doesn’t want to come.”

“I don’t blame her,” Mu Qing grumbled. “I’m only going so Pei Ming leaves me alone the rest of the year.”

“You know he’ll be at your banquet, too.”

“And yours. There’s no end to this shit.”

“There truly is no end to Pei Ming,” Feng Xin agreed. “Oh, someone’s just gone in. Who was that? I don’t recognise-“

“Alright, community cop,” Mu Qing sighed. “You don’t know everyone in heaven, there’s thousands of us. Let’s go.”

Feng Xin allowed Mu Qing to drag him away from watching partygoers arrive, content to follow his friend through the Xuan Zhen halls and out towards Pei Ming’s palace.

“Oh, gods, it really is as bad as we thought,” Mu Qing noted gleefully, handing both of their invites to the attendant at the door.

It was truly horrendous; gold, jewels, and heavy drapes covered the hall they were ushered into, tones clashing and guests tripping over the unnecessarily thick rugs. Attendants tried to offer around various nibbles and drinks, only to be caught up in long brocade curtains, ornate tapestries, or crowds of guests with ill-timed entrances.

“Anyone would think it was an imperial wedding,” Feng Xin muttered, stepping carefully over one of the jewel-encrusted cushions that had fallen from its seat onto the floor. “And I’ve been to a few of those.”

“Isn’t it horrible?” Mu Qing beamed. “Aren’t you glad you wore the robes I picked?”

“Very,” Feng Xin agreed. “I still think I could’ve worn my other hair piece, though.”

“No you couldn’t,” Mu Qing told him dismissively. “You look best like this, as I thought.”

“Oh, you think I look nice?” Feng Xin teased. “Maybe you think I look handsome~”

“Shut your mouth before I shut it for you.”

“That wasn’t a no-“

Mu Qing swiped drinks from a nearby attendant and shoved one into Feng Xin’s face. “I don’t want to punch you at a banquet, but I will if I have to.”

“No-one’s going to make you punch me,” Feng Xin argued, taking the drink and sipping it. He pulled a face. “This one’s yours.”

“Oh. Whoops.”

They swapped. More guests filtered in, slower this time as the attendants finally worked out how to stop them from crowding the parts of the hall where the serving staff needed to be. Mu Qing cackled over a few outfits, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Feng Xin; an over-eager junior official bounced in to introduce herself and nearly caused Feng Xin to pass out by grabbing his hand and shaking it enthusiastically. In the end, Mu Qing rescued him and swept him to the other side of the room where they could get lost in a crowd of men arguing over the merits of longbow vs crossbow, although – tragically – he wouldn’t let Feng Xin join in.

It was forty minutes before Pei Ming finally made his appearance, allowing the guests to take their seats along the long table. His outfit was suitably gaudy and made jingling sounds when he walked; Mu Qing hauled Feng Xin up the table by the wrist so they could sit close enough to the birthday boy that he’d hear any snide comments, if they were loud enough. Feng Xin rolled his eyes, kicked aside the uncomfortable-looking bejewelled cushion, and sat down. Mu Qing sat too and immediately began eyeing Pei Ming’s boots.

“Handmade,” he said approvingly, but then- “Red leather. Ew.”

Pei Ming raised his glass, waiting for the hall to fall silent.

“My 830th birthday,” he began – Feng Xin let out a quiet groan – “Is truly special to me. How many of us thought we wouldn’t reach 30, never mind eight-hundred-and? Certainly, on the battlefield, I was not always certain.”

There was a slight hum of approval; Mu Qing rolled his eyes.

“Dramatic ass,” he whispered to Feng Xin. “He was always gonna make it.”

“And so,” Pei Ming continued, “I would like to take this opportunity-“

“-To change your shoes?” Mu Qing suggested, just loud enough for Pei Ming to catch.

“-To wish you all long, happy ascensions, but most of all, to wish myself a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” He clinked his glass with his nearest subordinate; Feng Xin and Mu Qing clinked theirs together, drank, then turned to look at the food.

“This looks disgusting,” Feng Xin noted, helping himself.

Mu Qing snorted. “It’ll never be as bad as Pei Ming’s new hairstyle.”

“He had a point, you know,” Feng Xin mused, allowing Mu Qing to support his slow, wobbly steps.

“Who does?”

“Pei Ming.”

“This is why you shouldn’t drink,” Mu Qing told him. “Drunk people always say stupid things.”

“We can’t all be you, Mr Abstinence Cultivation.”

“I’m honestly surprised you can still pronounce that in your state.”

“Shut up.”

“Ah, finally some eloquence!”

“Shut up!! Let me finish what I was saying!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mu Qing snarked, nodding to the attendant who opened the Xuan Zhen Palace doors for them.

“Like, we didn’t think we’d reach thirty.” Feng Xin reached up with fumbling hands and started pulling the hairpiece off his bun. Mu Qing left him in the corner of the dressing room and retreated to the mirror to delicately pull his hairpins from his ornate hair arrangement. “Hell, we didn’t even think we’d reach twenty-“

“Don’t get soppy with me now,” Mu Qing snapped.

“I’m not! I’m just saying, I remember 30 being some far-off mystical number…”

Mu Qing sighed and let his hands drop, turning to face Feng Xin. “Well, we lived for that day and not the next. Personally I never wanted to hit 30. Too many wrinkles.”

“Well that’s just a lie.”

Mu Qing rolled his eyes. “You got me. You know everything, of course.”

“Uh-huh.” Feng Xin gave up on getting his hairpiece out. “30 was like a wonderland for you.”

“How so?”

“You don’t remember? We were gonna get married and everything.”

“What?!”

“Our pact? ‘If we’re still single by 30, we’ll just marry each other-‘”

“I remember, it was just never gonna happen-“

“I guess we’re over 30 now, and we’re still single-“

“I swear to heaven if you say what I think you’re about to say-“

“Why don’t we get married now?”

“……You said it.”

“C’monnnn, it’ll be funnnnn-“

“It will not. Being married to you would be like being married to a fucking, I don’t know. Donkey. Something useless, anyway.”

“Donkeys aren’t useless! They’re intelligent, strong, social-“

“Shut the actual fuck up and go to bed. Come back when you’re not drunk.”

“You’re not saying no?”

Mu Qing sighed. “No. I’m not saying no.”

And that was how Mu Qing found himself in his study several months later, subtle ring glistening on his finger, attempting to choose flowers for the wedding decorations, because – to his surprise – Feng Xin had remembered, and had proposed again. And – to Feng Xin’s surprise – Mu Qing had said yes, on the condition that Feng Xin went nowhere near the décor and just focused on the invitations. Feng Xin’s fancy ass education would finally come in handy as he could use his calligraphy script.

“These for the garlands,” Mu Qing decided, handing off the various images to the servant on standby. “Do you think they match- DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT FENG XIN’S PUTTING IN HIS HAIR?” he hollered, so he could be heard by the servants in the hallway.

An attendant who had been quietly standing by in the corner stepped forward; he was wearing Feng Xin’s palace uniform and approached Mu Qing with a diplomatic smile. “My Lord has not chosen anything as he believed this to be your prerogative, sir,” he explained.

Mu Qing sighed. “Well. I suppose I did tell him not to touch anything. Serves me right..” Quickly, he rifled through the remaining images on his desk, before shrugging. “He can just match with me and suffer the consequences.”

The servant holding Mu Qing’s choices nodded, bowed, and hurried away; Feng Xin’s attendant returned to his corner.

Mu Qing sat back in his chair and sighed. They’d decided on simple-and-quiet, as far as weddings went, but even that needed a lot of preparations. They were certain they wanted to invite Xie Lian, but that probably meant the Ghost King would tag along and that was a mess all in itself; they definitely wanted Pei Ming so Mu Qing could flex on him with his event hosting skills and Feng Xin could just physically flex on him (their competition was complete nonsense and Mu Qing thought it was hilarious). Feng Xin had invited some of his weirdo friends that he liked to spar with. Mu Qing had invited some of his educated friends that he- well, okay, also liked to spar with, but they were so much more civilised than Feng Xin’s collection of jocks and morons!

They'd invited everyone that still counted themselves as Xie Lian’s friends as added incentive for him to leave Hua Cheng at home. They’d picked responsible attendants to bear the rings, and strong attendants to bear the weapons. Mu Qing had smugly picked three for his sabre, well aware of how heavy it was, and was laughed at by Feng Xin for being overdramatic; in the end, he’d had to pick four out of concern for his subordinates’ safety, and forced Feng Xin to assign an extra to the bow in case the original attendant overbalanced. They’d swapped dowry gifts, uncertain who was supposed to play ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ in this wedding and compromising on them both playing both parts, and sourced a biased officiant from Feng Xin’s clerk department who was certain to be Completely Normal about two men getting married because of an 800 year pact (and if Mu Qing had threatened him a little just to make sure, then who’s to say?).

And so, with wedding preparations almost finished, all that was left was to decide what they were telling everyone.

“I still think we could just be honest,” Feng Xin shrugged. “These guests are mostly martial gods, they understand the concept of a pact.”

“It’s not just a normal pact, though, is it?”

“…Yes it is?”

“It’s not! We made a pact to get married!”

“And?”

“And that’s not normal.”

“Says who? What’s wrong with saving a friend from a life of eternal single-ness?”

Mu Qing stared at him.

Feng Xin stared back.

“You think, after all this, we still count as just friends?” Mu Qing asked.

To his credit, Feng Xin actually thought about that. He thought about it for around 30 seconds before throwing his hands up in defeat. “Okay, maybe we’re not. But who cares? Do you care?”

“I’m marrying you, aren’t I?”

“Alright then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Freesias. That was the first thing guests saw as they found their places in the decorated hall, brushing petals from their seats and pollen from their hair.

“Out of season,” one guest whispered, “Must have cost a fortune.”

“Not at all, just the cost of manpower,” another pointed out, “This one’s been preserved with spiritual power.”

“Did General Xuan Zhen do it himself?” a third joined. “Or was it his servants?”

“I think it was him,” the first answered, inspecting the flower carefully.

“Trust,” Xie Lian interjected, making all three jump. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you all.”

“Not at all,” one of them answered. “But I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean by ‘trust’.”

“Freesias mean trust,” Xie Lian said, as a petal landed on his head. He brushed it off with a smile. “The happy couple have something very special,” he added, with a knowing look.

Whatever the others had to say in response was lost to the startlingly loud music that had begun from the back of the hall; the guests all stood when they spotted Mu Qing climbing from a sedan chair.

“He looks wonderful,” one girl giggled. “I can’t wait to see Lord Ju Yang…”

Her friend elbowed her and they both giggled a little more before they were silenced by a more conscientious subordinate. However, they didn’t have to wait for long; a second sedan chair arrived soon after, allowing Feng Xin to climb out, cheeks red with embarrassment, and take Mu Qing’s hand.

“So they are both the bride,” someone murmured in understanding.

“They’re both grooms,” another corrected. “It’s odd, though. Aren’t they only supposed to go in chairs for the first meeting?”

“They couldn’t really have a first meeting, though, they’ve been here for, like, millennia-“

They were shushed before they could reach a conclusion – the grooms were making their entrance. They processed elegantly up through the middle aisle, coming to stop at the front of the hall. Feng Xin cleared his throat.

“So, we’re gods,” he said. “We don’t have parents or family to honour with a tea ceremony at the moment since they’re, you know…”

“Dead,” said Mu Qing, making himself wince a little. “But we still want them to be part of this. We ask for your patience while we honour them as best we can.”

With that, a junior official placed the tea tray at their feet, prompting them to kneel and begin pouring. They set out cups for their parents – Mu Qing only set out one – and then cups for remembered cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and others. Feng Xin’s collection was looking a little ridiculous by the end, covering the floor with tea for his siblings and cousins.

“Big family,” Mu Qing tutted under his breath, neatly lining his own cups up.

“Small family,” Feng Xin returned in the same tone, giving up on trying to organise anything.

They left the tea where it was, standing in place of the honoured guests that were missing, and went to sign the marriage license. Pei Ming cheerily officiated as the main witness – “I don’t want it to be Dianxia in case he brings the Ghost King,” Feng Xin insisted – and they offered Xie Lian the last cup of tea as Most Honoured Guest (“You should’ve been the witness,” Mu Qing grumbled). By this time, most guests looked bored and confused, having sat for an hour in formal robes and watched Feng Xin and Mu Qing bicker, poke each other, make sharp quips about divorce, re-fit each other’s hair pieces, make fun of each other’s signatures, complain the other wasn’t taking the ceremony seriously, trip over their long clothes (Feng Xin) and squabble over the correct way to pour tea (the classically trained Mu Qing).

“You all look cheery,” Pei Ming commented.

“They’re sick of your face,” said Mu Qing.

“Bring on the banquet!” Feng Xin agreed.

And so the guests were treated to another few hours of watching the pair argue, punch, and then push favoured dishes closer to each other while everyone around them tried to dodge the rice that went flying when Feng Xin made a wild gesture while storytelling or when Mu Qing’s chopsticks slipped from laughing too hard.

“He can laugh?” one of the Xuan Zhen subordinates marvelled, watching her boss’s eyes crinkle at Feng Xin’s ridiculous reenactment of an archery tournament he’d won.

“Only with my Lord,” a Ju Yang official nodded. “I’ve seen it often.”

Feng Xin imitated a competitor’s bowstring snapping in his face. Mu Qing buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with mirth. Pei Ming moved a few seats down the table, further away from the couple, when Feng Xin nearly decapitated him while miming his opponent’s dramatic wailing after a heavy loss. He had a sneaking suspicion Mu Qing had positioned his husband to achieve this, but he had no proof of that.

They were congratulated by Xie Lian; Mu Qing surreptitiously wiped his tears away with Feng Xin’s sleeve and adopted his signature poker face when questioned about it.

They were accosted by Feng Xin’s sparring partners, jostled for space in their seats at the head of the table; Feng Xin laughed heartily and

“Can you focus on the question at hand?!”

“What’s the question- oh yeah! Well. Uh. Do you want it to be real?”

“Isn’t that literally what I just said?”

“Well you said ‘what if’ so I wasn’t sure if that was actually-“

“Gods in heaven, do you ever shut up?” Mu Qing complained, and surged across the room to plant his lips on Feng Xin’s.

“So they did work it out,” one official noted, watching Feng Xin and Mu Qing spar, grins high on their faces and cheeks flushed as they fought to keep their focus.

“I kind of wish they didn’t,” another agreed, watching them give up on the fight to make out instead.

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