#hua er ye

[wushanju]

Last night was movie night at Wushanju ! They had everyone over and it was Xiao Hua's turn to pick a film so they watched Farewell My Concubine. If anyone asks he did not cry you didnt see anything. If he's hiding behind Xiazi a little bit that's just because he cant get comfy. Pangzi moved a box tissues to their end of the sofa, just coincidentally.

[koujaaku]

A gift for the awesome @kotaboda!

[emotionaldisaster909]

i am unwell

tiny hualian shatter my heart, i need more and i will draw more

[biboomerangboi]

I got really busy at work so I didn’t get finishing this before the new episode but last weeks episode put me in the mood for drawing baby prince Xie Lian and lil Hong’er playing together so this happened.

[galaxiesovertrees]

mind the warning !

he’s had enough !

[unfortunatelycake]

Finished watching Ultimate Note and unsurprisingly there are many loose ends, but it was still a satisfying watch.

And like. I did not go into any of these Graverobber's Chronicles adaptations looking for ships, but they happened anyway. The characters just had the kind of dynamics that press all the right buttons, and such great chemistry.

I'd like to write some kind of intelligent review but brain is made of goo and fixating on What Next???

I'm torn between moving onto the next drama chronologically (Tomb of the Sea, which is the first one I watched lol) skipping that and going on to the next I haven't watched (Reunion: The Sound of the Providence) or just... diving into AO3 to see what tasty meals are on offer.

Or raiding tumblr tags. Hm.

[pangzi]

i agree with everyone on giving yixing another chance as Xiao Hua but have we considered Yixing as Hei Xiazi 👀

[prettyflowr]

I don't understand why some people like to say that Hua Cheng is a stalker, when for me it's nothing like that at all.

He wasn't stalking Xie Lian for 800 years, he was looking for him. He spent 800 years looking for Xie Lian and only found him when he ascended for the third time. And the moment he found him, he went straight to him. He didn't show his true form at first, but he wasn't hiding. And every time he showed up it was just to help Xie Lian and he never took away Xie Lian's autonomy.

Yes, he has his fic cave, but let's contextualize here: he is xie lian's only believer, at that moment on mount tognlu he didn't know where xie lian was, the last time they saw each other xie lian was not in a good mental state. I think making the statues and drawings was a way for him not to forget (I know he would never, but yk what I mean).

And just like xie lian, we didn't had the chance to see the murals that feng xin and mu qing were so horrified by. I think it wasn't that bad, I don't trust their (or any heavenly official) opinion on hua cheng.

And when he was hong er he wasn't stalking either. I think when he was alive he just wanted to help and be close to xie lian (when he died too but yk...)

[yingatlas]

Hey! I want to request if you don't mind, Fu Hua x Mantis!Reader, basically this reader I really like that fic lmao, thank you anyway!

Hellooo <333 ofc I actually hadn’t read that one yet until you requested this and it was so cute I loved it

I hope you don’t mind any sort of plot holes or such cause I actually haven’t really finished the ER/PE story yet 😓 (also sorry if the ending seems kinda rushed)

I found you, you found me

Fu Hua x Mantis Reader

You had been in the moths much longer than Fu hua due to getting caught up in honkai attacks at a young age.

When both of your parents had died the moths was the only place left for you to go

You dedicated everything into fighting because in truth what else was there for you to live for?

Due to this you became a mantis at a young age, not caring for the risk of the outcomes, you were one of the few who volunteered and one of the even fewer that survived

But you couldn’t feel anything, your already dull life seem to grow even dimmer.

You lost taste in food and anything that affected the normal human senses seem to dwindle for you

However that does mean you can actually be near and interact with Kevin without feeling his coldness. (This makes him secretly happy)

Everything just felt empty though, no matter what you would do in the end it got you nowhere, life was simply a chore and fighting was all you knew how to do.

Then she had to walk into your life, a broken yet determined girl had suddenly came crashing into your life…. Well technically it was you who came crashing into hers, literally

Being flung through the battle grounds and crashing into the raven haired girl was not part of your usual routine but here you guys were.

Honestly it was just a simple clearing out mission nothing too big but you being you couldn’t feel an injury on yourself until it was too late and a sharp pain took over your body

A large honkai beast took notice of this weakness and immediately rammed into you sending you flying. You would had probably gotten more injuries had a certain young girl around your age appeared in your way and help break your fall

As you got up and were about to apologize/say thank you, you instead had to grab the other girl and duck as an attack was hurled at you two

Snapping out of it you both immediately got back into battle, on the battlefield you two were warriors, not human.

However after the battle, that same girl managed to find you again. She introduced herself to you

“Hua…” you said testing how her name rolled off your tongue. It was surprisingly easy and something just felt right about it.

Hua nodded her head with a small sound of confirmation. “And you? Who might you be”

“Call me Y/n” you said bluntly and a look of realization came across her face.

“Yes, I believe Kevin had mentioned you to me just before this” she said, which didn’t surprise you much. Kevin was fond of you due to you being unaffected by his current state and also one of the few who had successfully became a mantis.

“Mhm, Dr. Mei had mentioned another mantis would be in this mission. If I’m not mistaken we must be around the same age then.” Hua nodded in confirmation as silence fell upon you two.

Hua, not knowing what to do, studied you a bit and instantly noticed your injuries that you seemed to pay no attention to. “Are you going to treat your injuries soon?” She asked, pointing them out

You looked dumbly at her before looking down at yourself. “Ah… I had forgotten about these. Perhaps I should, but it would take too long.”

“So you’re just going to go untreated” a hint of concern was present in her voice

“Perhaps, I’ll see what I can do for myself though-” you felt a hand grab your arm as you were dragged away

“Come, I will at least apply the necessary first aid needed” you dumbfoundedly followed Hua as she led you away from your previous spot. She made you sit down as she grabbed a box filled with medical supplies.

You both sat in silence as Hua begins to clean and bandage up the wounds that were littered around your body.

It was a comfortable silence and you couldn’t help but to feel relaxed and warm at this feeling of being taken care of

Wait….

Feel?

That isn’t right.

After that interaction you found yourself meeting with Hua more often. Whether it was coincidence or your own body unconsciously leading you to her you wouldn’t know

At the very least Hua doesn’t seem to mind the company so you’ll continue to stick around her.

Though this got some teasing from Elysia and intrigued looks from a few others. Your almost instant connection with Hua felt almost like second nature.

You’re not sure why, and Hua doesn’t seem to understand the extent of how out of character this is for you but you can’t help but want to stay with her and protect her from everything. Even her own mind sometimes.

Yes, perhaps jumping in front of an attack with an already unstable body that was on the verge of breaking due to overuse in battle was not the best idea you’ve ever had.

But in your defense, it was aiming at Hua and her getting hurt right in front of you es just unacceptable.

As you awaken in a hospital bed, your eyes immediately noticed the sleeping figure laying their head down next to you.

“Hua…” you mutter, unable to not keep her name from escaping your lips. It was such a pleasant feeling, to say her name, you could do it a millions times if it meant the warm feeling inside of you would remain

Hua stirred before her eyes cracked open. They seemed dazed for a moment as she processed everything

You were awake, her body snapped up, eyes looking at you in shock. You stared back with an unreadable expression like always

Hua simply relaxed a bit as her hand gripped the bed sheets tightly. “You’re awake, thank god” her voice was quiet with a bitter yet relieved expression

You nodded and took the hand she was gripping onto the bed so tightly into yours, loosening the grip of it. You didn’t like it when she did that all agitation and stressed, you liked it when she was relaxed. Hua knew this

“Even now you’re still focused and worried about me… why? You could have nearly died due to my ignorance.” Hua was frustrated, why did you always do this, why for her, what did she do to deserve such protection from you?

“I didn’t want to see you hurt” You responded calmly, almost like it was as obvious as what color the sky was

This only made her more frustrated. She stood up “you think I want to see you hurt too!? Y/n what you did was reckless and idiotic, had your body not mange to pull itself together you would not be here. The mission would have been a failure and I—…”

Hua’s voice died down at the end as she looked down

“I could have lost you too… and it would have been all my fault-”

Hua found herself not being able to continue as arms wrapped around her abruptly pulling her close. It was a bit of an awkward position due to you still being bed bound but it was warm

“Y/n! What-” “I’m sorry hua please forgive me”

She looked at you in shock as there were silent tears in your eyes. Why? Why were you shedding tears for her? How were you shedding tears? This all confused her

“Hua, none of what happened was your fault. I was so scared to see you hurt, I wanted so badly to protect you. I didn’t even know I could still possess these emotions or any emotions. But you still make me feel them and I latched onto it.” You didn’t even let her get a word in before continuing again.

“You make me feel things I never would have thought I could possess again. In this soulless life I found comfort in your warmth, so please don’t think badly of yourself.” Hua was in no way a love expert but even to her this sounded like a confession. It comforted her in a different way then normal, it was so warm.

So warm that the icy cold exterior she had melted immediately as she cried in your arms. You started to panic fearing you had done something wrong. “Hua? Hua I’m sorry please don’t cry.”

You tried to brush the tears away gently cupping her cheek only for her to lean into your touch… and upwards. A soft pair of lips met yours and you froze, the only thing you could manage was to close your eyes.

As she pulled away you both stared into each other’s eyes. A small blush dusted her face as your mouth was hung open in shock. “I have never once liked seeing a comrade put themselves in harms way. You are no exception to that fact. In fact, you are the one person that I cannot lose.”

Your eyes softened at her words. You let Hua curl up against you as you held her. Leaving a kiss on her temple. “I won’t leave you Hua, I never will. A moth cannot stray from it’s light, and you burn too brightly for me to loose you”

After that, you two were officially dating, though never stated out loud it others it was obvious.

When it came time for the previous era to come to end and the current era to begin, you were along side Hua.

However due to the complications it was decided that while you both were to complete the same task it would be in different areas.

This sadden Hua but you brushed it off “no matter how long it will take I will come back to you, whether you have forgotten me or not will not stop me from being by your side.”

These words brought her comfort as she knew you had meant those words. Entrusting Hua’s care to Fuxi and Nuwa. You two had to part ways

Eventually, Fu Hua’s memories of you had faded until they were completely destroyed in the fight against Sirin. This had broken her in a way she couldn’t understand.

In times of need she found herself longing for the comfort of someone familiar she couldn’t remember, she found herself unconsciously seeing certain fighting styles that made her lost in thought

You were someone that took on many identities over your lifetimes. Fading into the background was normal for you, you had done that a lot during your time with the moths.

Leading others to the goal while remaining undetected was much easier than actually being the leader.

However eventually someone had taken notice of your presence. A man by the name of Welt, Welt Joyce, the first Herrscher of Reason.

Then boom you were sucked into the chaos of Anti-Entropy generally assisting them from time to time while still keeping your identity mostly hidden from others.

You helped them make better tech using your knowledge from the previous era which basically had made you Einstein and Tesla’s go to test subject lab partner

In exchange, they kept your identity a secrete, help you fulfill the goal of passing on your knowledge to the correct era, and finally, gave you tabs as to how Fu Hua was doing.

Despite the many years that have passed your memories of your light was something you treasured. Even if her journey didn’t include you in it, it doesn’t matter to you. Knowing she’s safe is enough for you.

Only after the whole HoS and HoD incident was when you two finally reconnected. Fu Hua had obtained some of her memories back and that included those with you. At first it pained her a bit to know she had no idea of someone she had treasured so deeply before.

She didn’t know how you were or if you were even alive. Had you change? What were you doing for so long? Had you kept you promise or did you forget about her by now? It was all confusing to Fu Hua

Due to the injures she had sustained in the battle with Dominance, Fu Hua was referred to a few days of rest (despite saying how she was feeling fine)

She was getting an examination with Tesla and Einstein when they had told her how they were expecting a “lab partner/a stoic idiot” to show up soon. They said how they would like her to meet said lab partner, which confused her a bit but she didn’t questioned if.

“Doctor Einstein, I had gotten your signal. Was there something you needed to discuss-…” You paused at your eyes took in the very familiar face and body of your (past?) lover. You stood in shock as Fu Hua looked back mirroring your expression.

Einstein ushered doctor Tesla out as she gave you a knowing look and felt you two alone.

You blinked “Hua..?” You asked trying to see if she had recognized you. Which the answer was obviously yes. “Y/n” the name had rolled off her tongue so easy. Yes, it felt right

At that confirmation, the room grew silent. Fu hua didn’t know what she could say to you. Not like either of you two were big talkers before anyways.

Then, when the silent tears rolled down your face that reminded her so much of her memories of that night she stood closer to you and cupped your face.

Wiping your tears she was greeted with the realization of how the roles were reversed now yet it still felt so right.

“Hua… I found you”

“You found me, y/n”

Fu hua gently held you as you basked in her warmth, like a moth to a flame, you had been guided to her once more.

[fallloverfic]

TGCF donghua Season 2, Episode 3 thoughts

Screaming through my tears of happiness. Spoilers under the cut (also book/story spoilers, for folks just coming in from the donghua).

We may only get him for a minute or two BUT I LOVE ALL THE PRECIOUS SECONDS OF YIN YU, MY BELOVED T-T The second he started talking I had to pause to scream adlkjaldaj

I also love how obvious this is. It's a nice way to set up for the audience "yeah, something's fishy here and it's not just He Xuan". I'm just imagining Hua Cheng like taking Yin Yu's bandages off and unrolling his sleeve to properly set the scene for Xie Lian to see the shackle alkdjalj Cause it'd be funny. Yin Yu, tiredly, "Yes, Hua Chengzu, whatever you want, Hua Chengzu..."

They are so cute. I love them so much.

I imagine a bajillion people have said this but this is very funny as a comparison to Beast giving Beauty the library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Hua Cheng knows what makes his gege happy: a fully stocked armory. Xie Lian's pose is so adorable T-T "I really do" indeeeed. Their back and forth kills me T-T

E-ming, babyyyy T-T gets some sparklies cause it's so happpp cause Xie Lian is noticing it :3333

ALSO E-MING'S CHIRPING???? IT'S SO CUTE????? THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD????

Xie Lian leaning over to pet Hua Cheng's weapon while Hua Cheng is wearing it ends me. Just ends me. Bless them all.

Spider-man Xie Lian was hilarious aldkjalj You think "oh he's not being good at this whole sneaky thing isn't he, Yin Yu is probably like "how long do I pretend I can't tell he's like 10 steps behind me"" and then WOOP SPIDER-XIE LIAN alkdjaldkja

Spider-Lian, Spider-Lian, does whatever a scrap collector god can...

I also love the parallel stuff with Lang Ying and Hua Cheng, setting up for Hua Cheng to later impersonate him. I know part of it is just twigging Xie Lian's memory of Hong-Hong-er, but the first time it happens (with Lang Ying's silhouette after dropping the bandages fading into Hua Cheng's face in the present), I think it's a clear set-up for the later plot of Hua Cheng pretending to be him.

Also Ruoye and Xie Lian being badass: I am always here for it.

Qi Rong getting a second of reference. I'm so excited to see how he's handled, terrible man that he is, love him.

Wind Master was also really funny, "I never want to go on patrols with you ever again!" aldkjaldja He's so mad aldkjaldaj

Wonderful episode. I cried. I screamed (no literally I had to pause and make myself be quiet alkdjaldja). E-Ming's chirping T-T Yin Yu T-T Hualian. So adorable.

Other episode thoughts for season 2 (didn't start till episode 3):

S02E03 (you are here)

S02E04

S02E05

S02E06

S02E07

S02E08

S02E09

S02E10

S02E11

S02E12

[onmyo-jin]

for the ship and kiss->exes pangzi/ xiaohua and no. 48: out of habit! OwO

ohohoho I love your mind, thank you for this one! (I'm still taking prompts, you can find the list right here)

When Pangzi and Xiao Hua were together it was love, but also not quite love. It was never about the romance, not really, but to call them friends with benefits seemed wrong. For one thing they never cared about the 'benefits' more than they did about being friends. For another it just felt wrong to use the term friends with benefits where Xiao Hua was concerned.

They were friends even now-- and if their spa dates weren't technically dates these days that wasn't going to stop Pangzi from referring to them as such.

They hadn't been expecting anyway else to show up in the tiny village beside the waterfalls. Perhaps that was where it went wrong.

Wang Pangzi, Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling were here to investigate some of the seemingly-unnatural natural rock formations that surrounded the foot of the falls. Pangzi hadn't yet figured out if Xiao Hua and Hei Yanjing were there for the same reason or for something different. It hardly mattered if they were: too many unnatural phenomena was as bad a sign as their mutual interest in the same phenomenon.

While Tianzhen and Xiao Hua pored over maps and Hei Xiazi and Xiaoge gave comment on their plans with varying degrees of usefulness, Pangzi excused himself to the excellent baths their little hotel boasted. Most of them were not as young as they had once been, but not all of them had fallen into the icy river at the foot of the waterfall while trying to dodge a snake who had taken personal offence at Pangzi's presence near it's lair.

He was still shivering several hours, a trek through the forest, and a whole pot of tea later. They didn't need him that badly for this planning session, he was going to get warm.

/

Later, Pangzi would blame his exhaustion. That and the atmosphere in the baths (quiet, luxurious, foggy with steam) reminded him of certain spa dates.

Coming out of the baths was always an exercise in willpower, the hot water's grasp on his muscles a siren-lure that sang for him to stay, stay, soak a little longer, until your skin is all pruned and wrinkly. Xiao Hua would always frown delicately at those wrinkles-- never at Pangzi's, only at the wrinkles on his own skin-- and decide to get out far sooner than Pangzi could on his own. Xie Yuchen's willpower was truly fearsome.

The thing that made him make up his mind this time was the way his stomach was grownling at him, demanding food after the hard work of the day. He heaved a sigh, and willed his weary limbs into actions, dragging himself up and out of the water. The thick air was warm enough that he didn't feel cold yet, and carried him to the changing rooms.

Seeing Xiao Hua was already in the changing rooms he stepped up behind him, wrapped an arm around his skinny waist and pressed a kiss to his shoulder-

It wasn't exactly one thing that signalled his mistake, but a combination of simultaneous events: the way Xiao Hua stiffened under his touch, however briefly. The skin under his lips being dry, not bath-warm. The way a familiar voice said 'Good evening Pang-ye,' and he didn't even need to look to see Hei Xiazi's shit-eating grin.

"Ah. I. er..." Being lost for words was not something that happened to him often. It made it all the harder to recover from this one. Stuck there, too close to Xiao Hua, he tried: "Hua'er-- no, Xiao Hua, Hua-ye, I wasn't thinking, I'm so-"

"You had better apologise," oh no. That was not his Xiao Hua voice. That was his Xie-ye voice. In the back of his head Pangzi was already preparing to leave, maybe if he packed his bags quickly enough Wu Xie and Xiaoge wouldn't notice he was gone until after dinner. Pangzi stood frozen, his arm floating less than an inch away from Xie Yuchen's waist, bathwater droplets painting evidence of his crime across Xie Yuchen's skin.

Xie Yuchen didn't move away, didn't attack him, so perhaps, for the sake of their friendship, if Pangzi grovelled- "You call that a kiss?"

Xiao Hua's words made no sense. The man in his arms turned around to face Pangzi, a bright grin (Pangzi's favourite, the one that spoke of mischief, and fun) on his face as he slung his arms around Pangzi's neck and pulled him close. Cold lips met his own, not yet warmed by the baths, and kissed their way past his surprise, so sure of their welcome as Xiao Hua pressed himself closer.

It was surprise, even habit, more than conscious choice that made Pangzi tighten his hold, letting his hands drifting their way down Xiao Hua's back before thinking better of it. Breaking the kiss was infinitely harder than getting out of the baths had been, but Pangzi managed, powered by thoughts of 'what would Wu Xie say', and 'Hei Xiazi is right there'.

"What...?" was as elonquently as he could phrase the many questions that needed asking.

Xiao Hua laughed: "You look a little shellshocked, Pang-ye."

"Ha, yeah, that's one way of putting it." He stepped back, and Xiao Hua let him go without complaint. "That was dumb- I mean, that was definitely my fault, but you really scared me there for a second, Xiao Hua..."

"Really? That didn't look like it was all you, Pangzi," Hei Xiazi's smirk was even wider as he unfolded himself from the bench to plaster himself over Xiao Hua's back. "Looked pretty mutual form where I was watching."

"Did you enjoy the view?" They were talking in their usual way, which was to say, as if there wasn't anyone else there. Pangzi couldn't exactly feel jealous when he had Tianzhen, and Xiaoge, and when he'd just kissed Hei Xiazi's boyfriend. And yet...

Xiazi parked his head on Xiao Hua's shoulder to stare at Pangzi, and his grin never moved. "I'd enjoy it more if I could join in."

[bloomingapricots]

The Indulgent Friend

Posted here first at AO3

Summary:

As a good friend of Hua Cheng, you know how to get him to help you without falling into debt with him. And Xie Lian learns that you had made 800 plush dolls of him.

The reader is called Dúzhě (读者) which means “reader”

Kinda crack-ish, it is like 2 am when i wrote this

Duzhe is good friends with HuaLian and Beefleaf

Duzhe is implied to know Hua Cheng since the beginning of his ghost ruling but I left is vague

Duzhe calls Hua Cheng, Gege, and Xie Lian, A-Lian

though that doesn't mean Duzhe is younger than Hua cheng

Probably OOC He Xuan

Happier timeline

Duzhe has shadow powers just cuz

Duzhe statues of being ghost or god is left unsaid so interpret what you want

“You want me to ask Hua Cheng a favor for you?” You asked He Xuan.

“Yes,” He Xuan replied.

“Why?” You questioned.

“My debt is high enough as it is and he won’t be too harsh on you,” He Xuan replied.

“What is the favor you want me to ask?” You ask after some thought. Out of curiosity, you will probably help out He Xuan plus he has forgotten he will end up owing you a favor.

“I need a present for Shi Qingxuan’s birthday, one that will outshine his older brother’s,” He Xuan stated. You looked at He Xuan incredulously but then shrugged.

“Alright, I have an idea,” You slightly laugh menacingly.

—

“Hua-gege,” You called Hua Cheng at the bottom of the stairs that led to Hua Cheng's seat.

“Xiao Duzhe, what brings you here?” Hua Cheng asked.

“I need you to get me a birthday present that Shi Qingxuan would enjoy incredibly,” You stated.

“Am I expected to do that for free for you, Xiao Duzhe?” Hua Cheng asked.

“Of course not, I have something to trade for that favor,” You smirked.

“Would it be really worth it for all that effort I may have to go through?” Hua Cheng questioned.

“Absolutely,” You grinned as a pedestal rose with a box covering the item from your shadow. You walk to the side and place your right hand on top of the box. “I know you are incredibly rich, Hua-gege, with vast wealth and treasures but I also know what will entice you and I have made you something that will get you to help me with what I ask for,”

“Oh?” Hua Cheng was intrigued. It is not every day that you show your devilish side.

“Behold,” You pulled the box off the pedestal and chucked it into your shadow which sunken away. On the pedestal was a fabric doll (Image the plush doll by Mini Doll) of Xie Lian in his Daoist attire. “Xie Lian,” You presented and your tone changed lightheartedly. You were originally going to give the fabric doll to Hua Cheng on his birthday but decided to do it now as you wanted to see his reaction. And you decided to make a porcelain doll of Xie Lian instead for Hua Cheng’s birthday. After all, your artistry surpassed Hua Cheng’s.

Hua Cheng’s left eye widened as he gazed upon the cute fabric doll of his husband. Handmade by someone he probably could call his closest friend, not that he will ever say that to your face. You smirked again,

“Well, Gege? We have a deal?” You prodded. With an intense stare at you,

“Deal,” Hua Cheng stated.

—

“Duzhe-er?” Xie Lian called.

“Yes A-Lian,” You replied.

“Was it you that made 800 fabric dolls of me?” Xie Lian asked.

“Yes,” You nodded. “Isn’t the doll cute? Like you?”

“Duzhe-er, the dolls are cute and I thank you for that compliment,” Xie Lian smiled. “But… It’s taking up our bed,”

“Ehhhh Hua-gege has all 800 that I made on your bed?” You questioned.

“Yes, it was fine in the beginning,  San Lang even built a bigger bed but he gets sad when he finds even one that has fallen off the bed,” Xie Lian sighed. Over the centuries you have handmade and given Hua Cheng many fabric dolls of Xie Lian as it was your way of being a good friend. You had thought Hua Cheng would have some plush doll Xie Lians on the bed and the others spread around his mansions. You assumed wrong.

“If you distract Gege long enough, I’ll move the majority of the dolls to the room near his office. It’s spacious and with the help of Yin Yu, we can add shelves and have all of the dolls displayed,” You suggested.

“Alright, thank you,” Xie Lian said.

—

Now sitting in the room you dubbed “Plush Xie Lian padded room” you looked at your hands.

“How the hell do I make so many?” You mumbled. Having most of the plush dolls neatly organized made you realize that you made enough plush doll Xie Lians over the centuries to fill a room. And this room could have been used as another parlor.

“Didn’t you in a moment of sadness, you locked yourself away and sewed like 10 years away?” Yin Yu mentioned.

“Ah, that might have done a good majority of this plush,” You grimace. “When will the couple get back?”

“Later probably,” Yin Yu replied.

“Shall we grab dinner now?” You asked.

“Yes,” Yin Yu replied.

—

“Xiao Duzhe, how could you?” Hua Cheng does not whine perse but you know he is slightly upset with you.

“With that many fabric dolls of Xie Lian and even with the size of your marital bed, you and Xie Lian will have to lay on top of most of the fabric dolls,” You explained. “I thought you have some on your bed and the rest displayed or spread around the mansion but all 800 hundred on your bed, that’s too much, Gege,”

“There can never be too much of Dianxia,” Hua Cheng said.

“But you have the real one next to you every night though. Do you really need 800 dolls of him in your bed too?” You asked.

“...Dianxia is glorious on his own too,” Hua Cheng replied. You smiled indulgently,

“Yes, he is,” you laughed.

—

“Thank you, again, A-Duzhe,” Xie Lian thanked.

“As your most devoted follower’s supportive friend, anything for you Dianxia,” You joked.

“Also…” Xie Lian started but trailed off.

“Yes, A-Lian?” You question.

“Can you… Can you also make a fabric doll of San Lang?” Xie Lian asked. You smirked as a large pedestal raised from your shadow.

“Already ahead of you,” You took the cover off the pedestal and two plush dolls of Hua Cheng were displayed, one in his San Lang form and the other in his ghost form (Again, imagine the plush dolls from Mini Doll). “I have other forms of Hua Cheng in the making,”

“Ah, so cute,” Xie Lian smiled as he grabbed the dolls and rotated them around to look at your craftsmanship.

–

Later you saw a plush doll of Xie Lian and San Lang tucked in on Hua Cheng’s and Xie Lian’s marital bed. You were in their room to replace the tub in the bathroom.

“Dorks,” You mumbled and shook your head in fondness.

When it comes to favor Duzhe asks of Hua Cheng, the form of currency Duzhe gives him is Xie Lian merchandise Duzhe made

Hence the 800 plush dolls of Xie Lian in various outfits

The implication that Duzhe probably did the presentations again and again for many of the Xie Lian dolls

Oh and Shi Qingxuan’s birthday present from He Xuan was better then what Shi Wudu gave him

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

What are your opinions on mobius?

*stares at current icon, which is Mobius in a santa outfit, drawn by my friend @cloud-ya*

She’s my favorite character

To be a bit less meme-y and more detailed, her chapter in ER is my favorite part of Honkai— she’s hyped up JUUUST right, painted as this deranged mad scientist and villain, and then you peel back the story through upgrading the vessels and talking to other characters more and you realize there’s more to her.

I love that.

Mobius is undoubtedly fucked up. She’s lacking a bunch of morals, and the ones she does have, like specifically ensuring consent to her experiments (the Sim didn’t but the real one reportedly did) can be very… contractual. Like how she gets Hua to agree to experiments by pushing her— sure, she said yes, but she said yes because they’re desperate and Mobius is insisting, and agreeing to retrieve the box didn’t mean agreeing to get possessed for science. Obviously this isn’t true consent, but on a technicality it respects Mobius’s moral code. It’s like a kid getting asked whether they ate yet who pops a single candy in their mouth then says yes. Honestly I relate to that dhdhdhf

I like this contrast, though!

Another fun thing is that she’s probably the eldest of the Flame-Chasers, and the one who’s worked with MOTH the longest, and she absolutely does not have the patience to be. She’s also super autistic? I relate to her a lot. Did you know that when she gets mad she just plops herself on her couch and pops bubble wrap for hours. Iconic work ethic. I love her.

Her stubborn fascination with life and death leads her to subvert some mad scientist tropes, for example her insistence to humanize the MANTIS. There’s also the way she treats her assistants and creations, very unusual for the archetype which tends to be all SCIENCE and no time to raise anybody.

If you paid attention, for all that she can troll them or punish them a little, she’s never cruel and nurtures them properly.

When she hears Fuxi and Nuwa messed up and tried to hide it she makes them copy the lab safety rules, this was very much a pedagogical decision with their safety in mind, not her taking her anger out on them. In fact I don’t think she really does that at any moment?

Even the Sim (more morally dubious already) attacking Mei is doing it with a set purpose, nothing personal. For such an overtly malicious character she… doesn’t actually act on malice very much lol. At most she’s very selfish, and her curiosity drives her to perform cruel actions, rather than an intent to harm. The rest of the time she’s quite serious, wants what’s best for everyone, on paper that’d be quite pleasant uh?

When there’s interpersonal friction it usually comes down to what you can easily read as neurodivergence; Elysia and Hua observe that Mobius makes no difference between herself and others. In other words, she assumes that what SHE can tolerate, anyone can or should be able to, which isn’t true. Struggling with that stuff is very autistic coded. I relate. It makes her struggles and everyone demonizing her more tragic, too. I’d wager that everyone calling her names and alienating her greatly contributed to her cynical ways, making the issue worse.

Despite all that though, she treats her creations well, and instead of trying to control them she makes a point of giving them the freedom to be themselves and supports their choices, even if she doesn’t agree with them (like trying to push ELF Klein away by showing her what working together would be like, because she thought Klein wouldn’t be able to handle it, but since Klein could she gave up and accepted both that she had projected her anxieties and Klein’s own choice).

Big subversion to mad scientist tropes there! This leads to pretty much all of her creations adoring her (aside from the Sim but like, self-hatred go brrrr).

It makes lots of sense when you keep in mind that she’s also a child abuse survivor. She claims she throws her creations to the wolves because even humans are only left to themselves, but she’s lying.

The sim sacrifices herself for Klein’s sake (both of them lovingly protect and raise Klein), the real one leaves a loving message for her sim, to the Gray Serpents of the early days she was so important that they dedicated themselves to understand what it would mean to follow her wish to be free by CREATING MULTIPLE CULTS, and they still lowkey worship her as their creator after 50 000 years…

Yeah she cares a lot. She cares a lot about Griseo too, as well as other Flame-Chasers, like Eden, Vill-V or Elysia (despite being annoyed).

Her relationship with Vill-V is also interesting, because when Mobius realizes she’s similar to herself, her first impulse is to kill her immediately. Ultimately she doesn’t, but it was really a “recognition of the self through the other (derogatory)” moment. She also warns Vill-V multiple times about the weight of failure, and I think she pretty much sees herself fifteen years younger in her— a brilliant neurodivergent scientist with a few moral screws loose about to get smacked with the reality of the Apocalypse. Really can’t see this as romantic but ymmv.

TLDR

My opinion is that she’s just full of interesting character depth and I just eat that up, especially since I have a particular fondness for morally dubious mom types that care very much deep down.

[difeisheng]

So you know how Sha Hai came out of nowhere and said that Xiao Hua and Wu Xie were almost engaged when they were younger?

Xie Yuchen is fifteen when he calls off the engagement. He's too young to take fate into his hands but it's not the first time, and so while he stands on top of the world with his whole decade and a half of life, he tells Er-ye that he doesn't need a boy from another family to keep his own strong. It is all he says.

Er-ye is the only one who has guessed, or maybe he knows, that the house of Xie will have its own man to lead it soon enough.

The next winter, the southern families of Jiumen come to Beijing again for the new year, and across the room from Xie Yuchen stands a boy made awkward by a growth spurt, glancing at him but not daring to come close. The gossip that goes around the room laughs that the Xies and Wus won't have a second generation of happy union. That for all of Er Yuehong's warm heart and legendary marriage, tragic though it was, he couldn't give those things to his disciple.

Xie Yuchen quietly mixes wine into his drink when everyone else isn't looking, and studies Wu Xie. There's a sadness that shouldn't be there in eyes like his, wide and accentuated by glasses that weren't there the last time Xie Yuchen saw him. Wu Xie was always the one who smiled more freely, the one who had the freedom to.

If you're sure this is what you want, Er-ye told Xie Yuchen, once he decided the dead wouldn't dictate this part of his future. It wasn't about Wu Xie. It wasn't supposed to be. That day had been about Xie Yuchen the distant horizon coming at him too quickly. On that, he hadn't looked back.

One day Wu Xie won't, either. He graduates next year. Xie Yuchen has heard he'll be going to Europe for university. Architecture, away from all this.

Maybe he'll get to stay like that.

Under the windowsill Wu Xie is leaning against is a mark driven into the wall. Xie Yuchen is the only other person who knows it was made over a decade ago, on this occasion, from when Wu Xie hit his head trying to carry Xie Yuchen up onto the ledge to see outside. The fireworks were beautiful that year.

Wu Xie's fingers tap against the polished wood of the sill. Maybe some memories burn brighter than they both thought.

Xie Yuchen tosses his wine back and goes to get another glass. Heartbreak can mean nothing to the people they need to be.

Right?

[aeonophagic]

New honkai impact 3rder here hehe, I come to you with question, I am so unbearably confused on how I’m supposed to consume this media, I know about like the chronological and recommended orders for the manga and all but… I don’t know what to do… how do I consume this… what do you recommend… please beseech your wisdom upon me oh great one… tell me what to do… if you want to or whatever… please and thank you…

My sweet child… I am so sorry. I will do my best.

I know everyone suggests the comics. My friend did when I started playing too.

HOWEVER, HOWEVER, HOWEVER, reading all of them one after another before playing the story makes for a lot of different, disjointed information to take in at once, some of it isn’t even relevant until later, some of it is even a bit of a spoiler for the main story. Which is overwhelming, I understand. It also makes a very different first impression of some of the characters.

So let me explain how I’d do it to help digest it all better:

Play the story in the game, in its order that’s already put together (remember to read the supplying CGs and Collections outside the story stages! edit: this is what i mean) and read the comics when they’re relevant to the chapter you’re at.

I’m doing this off of memory, so it might not be accurate, but I’d do something like this. Take it at your own pace, don’t rush through it:

Read Second Eruption before anything. It adds context to many of the earlier events of the story. It’s the longest manga but it’s very much worth it.

After reading Second Eruption, go to the Chronicles section in the game, and play through Theresa’s. After that, get to the main story! You can play the story normally until -

- When you get to the chapter where Bronya is hijacked by Cocolia, or the Sea of Quanta arc, you should read Azure Waters, as it gives context to both Bronya and Seele’s stories.

When you get to the Arc city and/or Nagazora arc, you should read World Serpent. You will notice one of the scenes of chapter 13 is almost word for word a scene from that comic.

When you get to Fu Hua & Senti arc, you can read Shattered Swords. It’s relevant for Thus Spoke Apocalypse arc too. It’s unfinished so you don’t have to read it but I still recommend it as it’s a huge part of Fu Hua’s past as well as good insight into Otto. It also explains who and what the very first scene in chapter 26 is. If you’d also like to refresh your memory as to why Senti is acting like that towards Otto, chapter 9 stage 9.

When you get to Immortal Blades (25 EX) I recommend reading London Holiday as well as Second Key.

If you want to, you can also read the Durandal Visual novel, but I personally actually don’t recommend it. It is relevant to the story, yes, Durandal brings up those past events in Thus Spoke Apocalypse too, but I personally didn’t like the visual novel.

When you get to Thus Spoke Apocalypse I recommend reading Elan Palatinus. I also not only recommend but highly suggest, perhaps even request reading the Anti Entropy visual novel. I know it might be long but it explains 75% of events the character talk about in the chapter.

I also suggest Shattered Swords, again, as it gives insight into his character but also explains the very first scene of the arc as well as some others.

Both of these suggestions apply to Thus Spoke Apocalypse arc, until the end of chapter 28. After that, you have to redirect yourself to the Elysian Realm until its 3rd chapter.

In ER you also unlock conversations, lore, etc as you progress through the Elysian Realm, clearing any difficulty, unlocking Hero’s Memories (the eggs) and whatnot. Hero’s Memories and Recollections are essential to their stories, sometimes even apply context to the current story for characters like Kevin that are present in it, but you can take all the time you need to unlock the interactions in the lobby that aren’t part of the storyline.

also, for supplemental ER stuff, there’s a comic that’s not on the official site called Secret of The God Keys. I am unable to link it, but you’ll find it if you look the title + Honkai up. Some information is outdated, I think, but it’s a nice read.

Once you finish the 3rd chapter of ER, you have to go back to the main story at chapter 29.

After chapter 29, all story is found in the main story tab without supplements.

for the finality arc, I suggest Second Key again, for some insight into Kevin. when you get there, you can ask me to refresh your memory about Kevin, I’m normal. I promise. Lots of insight into him in Nagazora arc.

…I don’t exactly know where to place the Open Worlds.

I think they make you play through Sakura Samsara at the beginning so progress that- I recommend trying to finish it before chapter 9 as the characters there are the early story versions of the valks.

I don’t remember Schicksal HQ having any story relevant to the main plot. But I also recommend it before chapter 9 for immersion reasons (same as above).

APHO takes place 8 years after the main story. You can play this once you’re done with it, or even leave it be for a while until the 3rd part of it finally comes out, unless you’re interested in Void Archives or any character exclusive to it.

When you’re done with APHO, or If you plan to play HSR, you can read Alien Space.

Do I know when you should play the Chronicles also? No I have no idea. I forgot about most of them cause they’re old. I only know you should play Theresa’s before the main story (if it’s even possible as Ai Chan forces you to play thru some of it. After she stops forcing you, hop to Chronicles)

Most Chronicles are supplemental or lighthearted or… old, old story, but also not really. Play these when you want, or ask me about specific ones- I already said when you should play Theresa’s, so let me say that you should play Fu Hua’s when her and Senti’s arc in the main story starts. You will know when it does as the first story stage is in a first person POV, talking about the EGO and whatnot.

And about the other comics…

Things like Moon Shadow, AE invasion, other comics I didn’t name etc…

I don’t know man. They’re so old they give a really bad first impression with some of their scenes. Read them when or if you want to.

NB: first few chapters have some outdated information and are kinda ass. You have to be strong. I believe in you. I have to use a VPN to access the site so I have no link at hand but you can read the comics in much higher quality on mangadex

Good luck! Enjoy! Sorry about my mental illness

[volann]

Everyone in tgcf is a foil character

Pt 2: Banyue

(here's pt 1)

While I'm sure something clever can be said about the meeting between Xie Lian and San Lang, if I do decide to compare them, I’ll do it later. So let's go straight to Banyue. I’ll start with Tian Sheng, and this is why: he is like Xie Lian when the latter was the crown prince. He believes in justice and wants to save everyone. He's also coincidentally seventeen years old. Tian Sheng represents the ideals that Xie Lian believed in his youth – he doesn’t understand why common people should suffer if they’re not the ones fighting. All the people who lived in wartime – Xie Lian, A-Zhao and Fu Yao – can see why this logic doesn't work in the midst of the conflict. There's not much more I can say about Tian Sheng, so let's move on to Kemo. We learn that he was weak when he was a child and people bullied him, so he swore to become stronger. He trained his body with stone mortar slate and thus gained his name (quoting wiki bc I can’t quote the books, I don’t have them in English). This sounds a lot like Hua Cheng, even though his motives might be different. Hua Cheng also gained his name by becoming stronger – the title “Crimson Rain Sought Flower” if taken literally and his reputation if taken figuratively. I don’t know what conclusion it leads to, but the similarity exists. By comparing Kemo with Xie Lian we can see how differently they treat people from countries that caused their respective homelands to fall: Kemo is still cruel to the people from the central plain even though Yong'an is long gone, while the prince, after almost bringing a disease to the same state, no longer wishes harm to anyone. He even protected and trained Lang Qianqiu, the crown prince of Yong'an.

Now, finally, about one of the more important characters – Ban Yue. With Hua Chen, or rather with Honghong-er, she is united by her difficult childhood and the fact that people around them treated them badly because of something they couldn't change - in Honghong-er's case it's appearance, in Banyue's case it's her mixed origin. Xie Lian helped them both survive. But her similarity to Xie Lian seems more obvious to me. During the war, Ban Yue tried to save as many people as possible from both sides, but it was hard. As a result, all of Banyue's citizens died because of her actions. She feels guilty for everything that happened even though it was impossible to save more people. Xie Lian compares himself to Ban Yue when they are speaking near Puqi shrine: he believes that the outcome of his actions was far worse than the consequences of Ban Yue's actions. Both characters don’t try to avoid the "punishment" - Ban Yue does not respond in any way to Kemo's beatings or resist when Fu Yao ties her up, while Xie Lian doesn’t try to get rid of his cursed shackles. They believe they deserve it. Another similarity is that both prefer to remember good things: Ban Yue forgets those who wronged her but forever remembers those who helped her, while Xie Lian prefers to remember tasty food rather than all the times he got hurt. They also died many times: Ban Yue let Kemo kill her to dispel the hatred of Banyue's warriors, and Xie Lian... the list is much longer here and it also includes deaths meant to save other people.

I don't think Pei Xiu can be called anyone’s foil, but it is still possible to compare his actions and opinions with those of Xie Lian. The situation here is somewhat similar to Kemo: Pei Xiu hates people with whom his country was at war. The difference is that he succeeded in getting rid of all the people of Banyue. Yes, it's worth noting that they were going to kill as many people from Yong'an as possible if they lost, but it seems to me that Pei Xiu would have been happy to get rid of them even without that. He talked quite a lot about revenge for what they had already done. Of course, there's still the question of how much he said to justify his actions, and whether the motivation of "I don't like Banyue" was stronger than "I need a better position in the army". Another aspect of his character that is completely opposite to Xie Lian is his treatment of the common people. Pei Xiu sent innocent people to certain death to maintain his position, while Xie Lian, as we know, wants to save the common people.

Perhaps I'll find out something else when these characters reappear, but let's stop here for now. I'll put off Nan Feng and Fu Yao for later again. It could be fun to compare Xie Lian and general Hua – as Xie Lian himself points out, their stories are quite similar, but I don't really want to compare the character to himself, especially when he has already done it. So it's time to step away from the characters for a bit!

In Banyue, you can only save a stung person at the cost of everyone’s lives. Many characters in tgcf are forced to choose who gets to live and at what cost, and I think in Banyue this problem appears for the first time – from General Hua, who saved the common people by interfering with the military and paid with his life in the end, Ban Yue  and probably even Pei Xiu to the place itself and the legends about it. Banyue is like the desert from the question of which of two people dying of thirst to give a glass of water to, and in the stories of many characters this is the central conflict.