#love that fengqing are together here

[incorrectly-quoting-mxtx]

Absolutely loving @foxyjoy ‘s stickers from the Heaven Official’s Blessing special edition!!!!

[tea-cat-arts]

Ranking mxtx couples by whether or not I think they'd be good parents

(I'm 90% sure I'm forgetting someone)

Yep, next question (S)-

Wangxian: tried and tested good dads. I wish them luck with the whole “trying to get wwx pregnant” thing 

They have some shit to work through, but after that I think they'd be fine (A)-

Ling Wen/ Bai Jin: if we're just going off the original publication, I would put them in a much lower tier, but since the revised edition added that thing about them raising orphans together and said orphans turning out alright before unfortunate circumstances, I'm putting them up here. I think they'll be alright once they work through the miscommunication

Xiao Xingchen/ Song Lan: They obviously have a lot of trauma they're working through, but I'd like to think they and A-Qing will be a loving family in the long run 

One of them would be a good parent, the other wouldn't be a bad parent (B)-

Jiang Yanli/ Jin Zixuan: there's no canon reason for me putting them this low. Jin Zixuan just gives off a mediocre parent vibe to me (and we all know Jiang Yanli is the best)

Yushipei: Yushi Huang has good mom energy, and Pei Ming has been shown to be a not terrible mentor. I'd want the misogyny fully beaten out of him with a mace before I'd think he should have kids of his own though 

Lang Qianqiu/ Little Guy: at the very least, they're making sure Guzi is fed, clothed, washed, vaccinated, and has access to education. Neither of them know what they're doing, but I think Little Guy is good at faking it. I wish them luck in their upcoming custody battle  

You know what, surprise me/ I'll hear you out (C)-

Bingqiu: My first instinct is “no, do not bring kids into this,” but then I remembered tharnShen Qingqiu has a surprisingly decent track record? Like, Ning Yingying and Ming Fan both turned out a lot more health than they did in the original novel, and though I wouldn't call him in a good place, Binghe is doing a lot better than Bingge. The wild card for me here is Luo Binghe because I have no idea how he'd be with kids

Quanyin: Yin Yu had a decent track record until he was pushed into snapping. I think rn, he needs a couple centuries of being a babygirl before he's ready to parent again. No idea how Quan Yizhen would do though 

Born to “dual income, no kids, rich uncles/aunts” (D)-

Fengqing: Feng Xin is canonically a bad dad. I know he's working on it, but it is what it is. Mu Qing has been shown to be decent with kids, but I think he’d have a melt down if he had to deal with the mess constantly. 

Hualian: I mean, Xie Lian has raised three kids at this point and one of them became a god, another became state preceptor and then sorta complicit in a genocide, and one became god AND committed genocide + he babysat a ghost king for months and didn't even realize that's what he was because it was a miracle if he remembered to feed him… so, a mixed bag. Hua Cheng may be schrodinger’s child hater, but I'm intrigued by the idea of him raising kids just because I want to know how his own childhood would influence his parenting abilities. They should probably just stick to babysitting for now though 

Mingling: Liu Mingyan is too busy writing gay porn to be dealing with kids, and I just can't imagine Sha Hualing as a mom

Please don't bring a kid into this mess (F)-

Beefleaf: Do I need to explain this one?

Mobeishang: Shang Qinghua should not be put in any position where he has to teach someone about consent (Binghe’s early attempts at flirting being a prime example of why that's a bad idea). I also think Mobei Jun is still working on the whole “why hitting people is not cool” thing. 

QiJiu: I think the original timeline is a prime example of how they're just not in a place to be raising kids 

Jun Wu/ Mei Nianqing: Xie Lian would like a refund on his adopted father figures. They had one kid and he only made it to age 20 because he was cursed to not die

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

TGCF couples at the beach

Because i want to go to the beach so bad rn

HuaLian:

Hua Cheng isnt too fond of the sun or the water but gege said he'd like to go so they're going.

Everything is fancy and luxurious, only the best for gege.

A large beach bed with a canopy, drinks and snacks served at all times, the whole nine yards.

He wears those fancy sunscreen lotions with foreign names cause he may be dead but he also burns easily and turns into a big baby about it.

Xie Lian insists they dont need to do all that and can just chill in the sand with a towel, which Hua Cheng finds preposterous.

They have a big ass umbrella over the canopy bed too cause the sun is a deadly laser.

So much affection - cuddling, kissing, being all sweet and lovey, feeding each other watermelon and gathering seashells

Theyre sickeningly sweet

Hua Cheng is able to keep his hands to himself for about 5 seconds max

If there are any noisy kids or families around, Hua Cheng sends Yin Yu to scare them off

(They take Yin Yu with for this express purpise but hey free all inclusive vacation, a win is a win)

Xie Lian never burns ever and refuses to wear sunscreen. Hua Cheng pouts about it because 1) dont want gege to get a sunburn and 2) cant teasingly rub lotion over him smh

Hua Cheng builds one of those fancy sand statues of Xie Lian and he thinks its the most romantic thing ever

It is

So many kisses in the water and swimming together all lovey

Hua Cheng is never seen not drinking a margarita

"You do not need to keep your swim trunks that low, San Lang." "Gege, tan lines are terrible."

BeefLeaf

SQX cant get He Xuan out of the water once they arrive to the beach. Nope. That is his habitat now. He belongs to the fishes.

SQX rents out beach chairs by the bar because how can one tan without a drink in hand?

Skimpy swimsuits because SQX also abides by the tan lines are the devil mentality

Manages to get He Xuan out of the water with the promise of ice cream

Talking shit about everyone around while eating ice cream and drinking martinis

So many seashells. He Xuan gives them to SQX as an offering aw

"XuanXuan you cant drown people that say indecent things about me!" "Who says" "the law??"

He Xuan brings SQX little fish he catches if they look colorful or pretty

"XuanXuan, put some tanning oil on my back!" And He Xuan spends like 10 mins trying to find the correct bottle because SQX brought like 50 and the tanning oil SQX wants looks like literally every other bottle there

So many selfies

He Xuan digs tunnels in the sand whenever he isnt in the water. SQX has to talk him into not using the Earth Master shovel

Theyre checking out hot people together

He Xuan puts on sunglasses to pretend he isnt staring at SQX

"XuanXuan you cant throw jellyfish at children!!"

SQX flirts their way into free drinks and He Xuan broods about it but also he is deeply in debt so he can't turn down free shit lmao

FengQing

Arguing, so much arguing, but hey thats their love language

"Thats a shit spot for a towel" "okay find a better one then" "here!" "Thats like a foot away whats the difference??"

Feng Xin refuses to put on sunscreen cause he thinks its not manly

"You cant beat the fucking sun, Feng Xin!"

Mu Qing refuses to get his hair wet. Feng Xin makes it a point to dunk him in the water at least once

Feng Xin falls asleep in the sun like an old man and Mu Qing draws dicks on him with sunscreen lmfao

They argue about who goes to get drinks and snacks and just end up going together

Feng Xin insists to exclusively drink beer until he tries one of Mu Qing's deadly cocktail combinations and hes hooked. He insists they add a little umbrella to his drink now so he and Mu Qing match

Sand castles competition turned chasing into the waves turned underwater kisses

Mu Qing judges everyone and Feng Xin cant help adding in to the commentary because its surprisingly entertaining

Beach sports! Theyre so competitive too so its extra fun and they make bets over everything

[kitakikikitkat]

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.

[aroacedm]

here’s 12 pictures of my art! context after each and my references at the end

tgcf spoilers!

12th

redrawing of the official art from tgcf volume 4! shi qingxuan is my favourite character and he xuan is a close second

this took me a while until i liked it but i wanted to recreate how the original created the ominous feeling and had so much detail and contrast while being in greyscale

11th

from the tgcf manhua, fengqing! i think their my favourite ship, and i hadn’t drawn them before so i tried to give it a go. not a big fan of the proportions but i think it turned out ok.

10th

@oceantherat (this is their favourite character from rain code) showed me the reference picture and i decided to try drawing it as perspective practice. it ended up a little bigger than i though so i couldn’t fit the whole reference, and the mask doesn’t feel rounded, but overall i like it

9th

same guy again! i wanted to try drawing him again but i think the shadows got a bit messed up. my cheap pens smudged a bit but overall i like it

8th

also from the tgcf manhua, this was from a meme that’s become an bit with me and ocean, just felt like drawing something and saw this in my photos

7th

after a dnd session with ocean and some other friends, i drew a scene from ocean’s character’s (also called ocean because that’s not their irl name) flashback! this guy killed her family! he’s one of her relatives! but i really wanted to focus on how dark the scene was, with almost everything being pitch black. i wanted to recreate the scene that left my players going D:

6th

here’s a younger ocean and her cousin that’s more like a brother! i hope nothing bad happens to him… i wanted to draw a picture that helped me as a reference for the backstory, to help build the character relationships and motivations

5th

it’s another character from that dnd campaign when they were younger with their brother figure! except this one is an NPC helping them out! i wanted to try and make the effect of torn paper but didn’t want to risk anything, so i left a bit of uncoloured paper to imitate a layer of partially torn paper. this was also to help when i was writing backstories

4th

this is the npc from the last picture in present time, i wanted to make canon designs for all the characters to help me visualise everything. i hid a few lore elements in this but because ocean is going to see this i can’t explain

3rd

i tried to redraw a picture of me and a friend on a ride together but in a more simple style (no eyes and mouth, ect) i haven’t shown the friend yet but i will soon. i’m the person looking at the camera. i really loved the photo and wanted to try drawing it

2nd

i drew this a while ago, but i still really like it. i used my own hand as reference (for some reason i used the hand i was drawing with) i’ve always been fairly good at drawing hands and when i sent this on an art group chat i’m in, i was quickly accused of being a witch. i can only draw to a level i like when i have a reference, and i always have my hands so it’s the thing i’ve drawn the most. i didn’t have the colour for my hands, but i think it turned out good

and finally,

i’m really proud of this one, i was sick and really bored when i drew it. this is from tgcf vol 6, but i’ve always been really impressed by the tgcf official art and how they look hand drawn but also digital. (you can see brush strokes but they look too perfect). i didn’t have all the different shades of grey, but i think i did well.

thanks for looking at all my art, here are the references i used and where they’re from

i don’t have the reference for number 9 but i’ll reblog with it when i find it

also i plan on showing more of my art but i need to find the original authors of the references

[drawthemoon101]

Hiya! Here I have a pair of drawings of Modern AU of FengQing! Honestly they’re probably my favourite non canon couple, I don’t know, like I love them both separately and together. Honestly I took one look at them in the Donghua as their ‘secret identities’ and Immediately recognised them and knew everyone already would call them a couple before I even joined the Fandom!

This was incredibly self indulgent, I just decided to draw these two as I’d like in a modern AU.

With Mu Qing’s hair, I see a mix of people drawing him with both silver hair and black hair, personally, I think he’d have black hair, and prefer him with black hair, but I also couldn’t help but give him a few highlights of sliver…

Anyways love these two so much! And I’m planning to draw BeefLeaf next!

[nemaria]

you put in the tags in touchstarved that the fic was full of unpopular opinions, but I didn't really notice anything? so I was just curious what parts in particular you were thinking of as unpopular!

Thank you for the ask and sorry for the delay! I've debated whether or not to post this tbh, but personally I get so excited when I see other people post about their unpopular headcanons that I share - I figure if even one person feels the same about this post it'll be worth the risk!

So here are the ones I included in Touchstarved that I can recall:

Characterizing Mu Qing as...softer, I guess? Especially in dialogue.

I think a lot of the perception of him being an asshole comes from us seeing him through XL's perspective, since XL is still kind of pissed with him for most of the story. But if you look at what MQ actually says in the books, there are fewer sharp lines than you'd think, and in general he's more sassy than bitchy, imo!

Hua Cheng growing to genuinely like/care about FXMQ outside of respecting XL's affection for them (however reluctantly)

Mu Qing being a night owl who prefers to stay up late and sleep in late if he can, and Feng Xin preferring going to bed early and getting up early

Mu Qing not being interested in jewelry (though I love the idea of him wearing a matching earring once they are married 🥺)

Mu Qing being older than Feng Xin (if only by a month)

Fengqing going hard on the PDA after they get together

And finally, likely the most controversial one:

Feng Xin not being attracted to women

If you know me, you know I absolutely love a good bi headcanon (I'm bi myself!), but when it comes to Feng Xin...I just can't see it lol. The entire time I was reading TGCF (before I even really shipped FQ!) I was so convinced he only liked men that the Cuocuo reveal almost made me spit out my drink.

I do think he did love Jian Lan a lot!! But I feel like he was going through some serious comphet and didn't realize that it was more platonic than he assumed at the time until much later.

In Touchstarved he's definitely demi also, which certainly didn't help him figure things out any faster. But I think that's somewhat more common of a headcanon!

( obligatory disclaimer: absolutely nothing against any headcanons that contradict any of this! this is just how I write them, that's all. pls be kind! )

[grungiiuvu]

omg i just read the „London Calling” since you recommended it and respectfully holy guacamoly, it was so good, no wonder it’s your favourite, i especially enjoyed it since i visited london for the first time like a month ago AND THE PRIDE of knowing what they’re talking about was enough to let my ego rise, thanks so much for recommending this it was awesome please drop more im a starving man in the middle of the desert with 50 fengqing bookmarks and over 200 read fics abt them

YES!! LONDON CALLING IS SO GOOD!! I fully understand the pride of understanding what's going on lol - I'm actually English, so being able to read and comprehend something without having to remember Americanisms was so fun lol. The most accurate London I've ever seen in fanfic and that earns it a soft spot in my heart. Also, it's just so cute!

Some other recs I have are:

This fic, which is another modern au get-together, and one of the first fics I read for fengqing :) it's a 24k oneshot and SOOOO good!!

There's this one!! which is just.... these fools <3 it's a 6k oneshot and very funny :)

AND THIS ONE!!! its so sweet, i absolutely love modern au childhood best friends Xianle Trio, and this one is very similar to a massive au my friend @astrowaffles and I have going on, so it makes me smile :))

And, for Cheap Villain fans, here's another fengqing transmigration fic!! It's really good :D

And what kind of fic writer would I be if i didn't plug in a oneshot of my own?

[taihua]

And now for the fun meta post!!!!!

@delilhhatesyou: And now since everything is clear out, do you think fengqing could have worked out? I’m on the fence between no they will still be so messy lol even as friends but the shipper in me is like fuck yeah. Why not? Great learning experience for both of them. I’m sorry for clogging ur post with my comments!!

FENGQING CAN ABSOLUTELY WORK OUT! And here is why!!!

I agree that they're unavoidably messy--I was in a discord chat once where some people were talking about all the therapy techniques that Fengqing could use to get along better and I kept thinking stop it noooo you're neutering them like feral cats this isn't who they are

There's a line somewhere in the revised version of TGCF that I found as I was skimming that amounts to "9 times of 10 Feng Xin and Mu Qing's fights were just verbal disagreements." Sometimes it escalates to a full-scale brawl, but the root issue is just communication problems--and by the time we get to the epilogue, they've worked through some of that problem. Feng Xin has been reassured that Mu Qing doesn't have bad intentions, and Mu Qing isn't reading a bunch of negative stuff he made up in his head to Feng Xin's words because the trio has affirmed their friendship.

So they're tolerating each other and their fighting is mostly surface level at this point, and now we can get to the best part about their relationship, which is how they're perfectly suited to meet each others' needs.

Feng Xin can't hover around Xie Lian anymore now that Hualian are together, but... that's his job! That's what he wants to do! He likes protecting people and hanging around them and supporting them with all his heart. He's a little moon without a planet to orbit.

Meanwhile, Mu Qing's name is literally "I crave affection," and he was so desperate to have a friend who cares about him--and also he's vain and likes being the center of attention.

So you've got a guy who is desperate to give all his love to someone and take care of them, and a guy who is desperate to be loved and doted on, and they're always around each other, going on unofficial double dates with the most annoying PDA couple in the three realms.... Plus they already perfectly understand one another's movements and are perfectly synchronized without even having to think about it, which shows a certain deep trust they have in each other which is hot

Anyway I tend not to see them as a marriage-and-kids-happily-ever-after kind of ship, but I think they are absolutely destined to be codependently obsessed with each other for the rest of their careers and all their non-canon reincarnations ❤️

[vamptux]

FengQing Canon Divergence

I have over 70,000 words of a FengQing canon divergent fic written, where Feng Xin and Mu Qing fall in love in Xianle in the early days and then break up soon after Xie Lian gets banished. And then get back together as FWB during the 800 years that Xie Lian is off the radar. And then break up again. And then get back together, of course, post-canon. (,,♡ᵕ♡,,)

Wrangling the plot is squishing my brain rn, and it's not really ready to start posting on AO3, so I have had to take a break from it to go work on my JJK series...which is also squishing my brain...

I am not sure why I've been getting hyperfixated on writing fix-its these days. Maybe it's because the world's so fucked? At any rate, here I go, chugging along.

[margarrivergod]

I’m bored so i’m here to recommend some of the brain rotting fics i’ve read recently(all on ao3):

BSD:

A Dolls House by Abyss_In_Wonderland_likes_sexy_cannibals

Rating: M

Warnings: NA

Description: “Chuuya and Dazai get trapped inside of an ability made sigil. Now there's a creepy lady telling them that in order to get out they need to complete five tests. If they don’t pass they’ll just stay there forever or die, but no biggie, right?”

this is a high favorite of mine, the author does a PHENOMENAL job at characterizing the characters, plus the story is *chefs kiss*🤌🏼 i pray that they’ll write more skk fics in the future!!

the liars house by burgundytshirt

Rating: M

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Description: “Dazai, Chuuya, and four others are trapped in a cursed house where you cannot lie—each time you lie, you lose an organ. In seven stages, they are asked deeply personal questions that need to be answered in order to escape. Welcome to The Liar’s House.”

Dare I say this is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, skk fanfic?!? Like holy shit this is SO GOOD! This is a translation of the original, which is in mandarin, but it’s 12/10 regardless!!

TGCF:

Thank You For The Venom by xoTsundoku

Rating: E

Warnings: Underage, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Description: Mu Qing is guarded and hollow after losing his mother but he's content in his darkness until he moves in with the Fengs, and a light pierces his comfortable solitude in the form of his soon-to-be stepbrother. Two people who can never be together fall in love.

There’s a tag that’s reads “pseudo incest” and idkw but i found it to be the funniest shit lmaoo. But in all hknestly I REALLY like this fic. I still reading it currently but i’m bulldozing through it. I also believe the author does an amazing job at characterization while tying them into a modern au

Bad Intentions by bizzybee

Rating: E

Warnings: NA

Description: “Despite their hatred for each other, renowned cook Feng Xin and first-timer Mu Qing co-judge an amateur cooking show with a strong following on social media. As filming wraps up, Feng Xin is set to go on an international tour for the release of his debut cookbook. Their public relations coordinators team up to devise a plan that will not only jumpstart sales of Feng Xin’s book, but also boost Mu Qing’s rising fame and satiate the thirst of their shared fans: They will accompany each other on the book tour. Together. As a couple for the cameras. Whether they'll kill or kiss each other first is anybody’s guess.”

This is the first fengqing fic I’ve completed and it will forever hold my heart it’s SO GOOD! My emotionally cknstipated boys thrown into a cooking au!

if you can’t summon the flames directly from hell, store bought is fine by buthgoth (GremlinGirl)

Rating: E

Warnings: NA

Description: “Shi Qingxuan gets more than he bargained for when he steals a candlestick from a mysterious magic shop's private collection. A haunted apartment may be the least of his concerns, however. The demon he awakened is ancient and hungry, and it seems Shi Qingxuan might be his new obsession.”

Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with butchgoth’s work?… YES! this is the first fic of theirs that i’ve read and one of my faves. If your a beefleef stan then PLS read this fic plus their others!

as if by destiny by debwriting

Rating: M

Warnings: NA

Descriptions: “Hua Cheng stumbles upon the mysterious Midnight Cafe. He enters for a much-needed meal, and stays for the enigmatic owner, Xie Lian.”

A cute hualian coffee shop au with a twist!

MDZS:

Back to Bite One by diamond bruise

Rating: E

Warnings: NA

Description: “or, lwj, wwx and a couple of lan disciples get stuck in a haunted manor”

this one is cute and a tad angsty (like i wanna ram my head in the wall cause y’all r dense lol) but nothing too serious imo

RAWR! is I Love You in dinosaur by FireAwayy

Rating: E

Warnings: NA

Description: “Xue Yang has spent a life running only to find himself as an animal wrangler at Jurassic Park. He spends his time managing previously extinct monsters, and loving every second of it. Until Xiao Xingchen shows up.”

i love this author i love this fic i love this author i love this fic i love this author i love this fic!!!! if i couldn’t make that clear enough

Furry Porn Costs Extra by Fireaway

Rating: E

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Description: “Lan Xichen is the CEO of one of the richest companies in the world. He's efficent, savvy, and altogether bored. Lan Wangji is a ruthlessly efficient police officer with the highest moral code of anyone who had ever donned the uniform. Jiang Cheng is living day to day, getting by with his art. And when that doesn't work, robbing people blind. Wei Wuxian is the thief who hides behind a guileless smile and his uncanny ability to simply vanish when needed. What happens when their lives intertwine with one another? Will they find the answers they're looking for, or will they end up losing more than they ever bargained for?”

If i didn’t make it clear enough this author writes lovely fics! this is my fav Xicheng fic to date, it has its serious plot plus the humor is spot on (there is no actual furry porn)

Thicker Than Water by athena_crikey

Rating: M

Warnings: NA

Descriptions: “A disaster, is Lan Zhan’s first impression as the bike squeals to a halt on the far side of Song Lan’s car. The man riding it – and he’s tall, and lanky, and sure-footed – hops off and locks it to the car’s back door. The back door of a police vehicle. He pulls his helmet off to reveal long, sweat-soaked hair with a shaggy undercut, bright grey eyes, and a smile that launches like an arrow straight through Lan Zhan’s chest. No, he thinks, watching this trainwreck of a man shimmy between the narrow space dividing Song Lan’s back bumper and the next car’s hood like he’s doing some kind of dance step. Absolutely not.”

I absolutely ADORE athena crikey and her work- ALL OF IT!! this one in particular is one of my favs- here we have a modern cultivation au with my fav neurodivergent duo

Every River, Every Stream by athena_crikey

Rating: E

Warnings: NA

Description: “Wei Ying, rookie architect and chronically unable to prioritize his love life, in a moment of madness turns out to be tested for compatibility with famous new entertainer Lan Zhan, struggling with the after-effects of chemo. Unexpectedly matched with a man on a very different career trajectory, he's presented with a litany of unappealing choices. Oh, and also love.”

Another work by dear ole athena. This was the first fic I’ve read of hers and it will forever be a strong favorite.

Post Mortem by Cataclysmic_Calamity

Rating: E

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Descriptions: “Life is a horror movie sometimes. You ignore all the warning signs. You end up standing there in the final scene, covered in blood, contemplating your life choices. Wei Ying is used to that. But it’s harder when you’re in love with your best friend.”

If you guys are heavy into the tgcf or mdzs fandom than you’ll know exactly who this author, Evie, is. She wrote NPAB and The Soul Remains, along with a bunch of other beautiful fics. BUT MY GOD THIS ONE!!! I never see anyone talk about Post Mortem and I will proudly say this is my fav Wangxian fic, and one of my favorite fics period. The story is wonderful, characters r well written, beautifully paced, plot is to die for(lol). She’s an amazing author all in all so check her work out if you haven’t!!

[astrowaffles]

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.

A03 | Exclusives | Tip Me | Commissions

[beautifulsnake2162020]

We have it all (Hualian adopted daughter fanfic) Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I only do this for fun.

Premise: Not long after comforting a bullied girl named Meng Ai, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian find themselves adopting her and together they form a family they didn't know they had needed for awhile.

Story/Genre tags: Slice of life-ish (mainly), Family focused, Hua Cheng's houses finally become homes, there may be an overarching story but that's not the focus, Hualian being parents, Fengqing being uncles, Lang Qianqiu falling in love with someone who was raised by the Xianle squad, technically post-canon (though I haven't read the books so if there are some ooc moments please forgive me).

AO3 Link

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 , Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Follower tags: @anonimgato1507

AN: This might be my last chapter for awhile since my midterms will start at the end of September. But this isn't the last chapter of the story. Updates are just going to slow down for awhile (because I want to graduate already). Chapter 7 and 8 are already in the works. So I made this chapter extra long to make up for the more delayed updates.

Chapter 6

"Now you know all you need to know. Please, I don't care if I have become despicable in your eyes. Meng Ai doesn't deserve to live in fear as the consequence of my sins and the delusions of my family." He stands up to briefly relieve himself leaving them alone in the room to discuss.

"Hmm."

"What are you thinking?"

"With all things considered I would like to adopt her..."

"But?"

"But I wonder if Xiao-Ai will even like it?" Xie Lian couldn't hide his worries even if he wanted to.

"What if she thinks we are taking her away from her parents?" He sighs as he leans into his seat.

"Gege." Hua Cheng says gently with reassurance as he puts his hand on Xie Lian's.

"Do you want to adopt her?" Xie Lian now looking into Hua Cheng's eyes could feel his love no matter what choice he makes. He also knew that Hua Cheng already knows the answer. But hearing him tell him was also his way of making whatever his decision was become real.

"Yes, I do." Hua Cheng smiles as he now holds both hands both of Xie Lian's hands in his.

"But what if she doesn't want to be adopted by us?" Hua Cheng thinks a bit before finally speaking.

"The four of us will have to be honest with her. That way the transition from one set of parents to another won't be as difficult. At least she'll know from the start that we are doing this because we care about her." Xie Lian smiles.

"You too?" Hua Cheng lets out a small chuckle.

"She's a little hard to resist." Not long after they hear a commotion outside.

"Will she be safe here?" They hear Ji Huifan ask someone, the concern in his voice was evident.

"I've already summoned some of my best soldiers to come and be discreet while guarding Xiwangmu's temple." Mu Qing's voice reverberated throughout the halls of the temple. The couple shared a look. No words needed to be said with what they've just learnt.

If Mu Qing was here then that could only mean that Meng Ai was in danger and was targeted while she was staying in Puqi shrine. And so he brought her here to keep her safe. Feng Xin was probably still in Puqi dealing with what's left of the threat that remained. From the brief time they've had with Ji Huifan the "she" in question must either be Jing Mei or Meng Ai.

They later learn it was both.

By the time everyone assembled in the room they were in while soldiers from both Mu Qing and Feng Xin were discreetly guarding the temple, they already knew deep in their hearts that they were going to adopt her.

It was more of a question of how to make the transition easier for her.

______________________________________________________________

"Where's Fu Yao and Nan Feng?" Meng Ai asks as Jing Mei places her favorite breakfast congee on front of her. Her favorite part of it was of course the hard boiled tea eggs, there were three slices of egg halves today. That was generous of her mother Meng Ai thought since normally she would be lucky to get two.

"They are taking care of something that their Gods ordered them to do. Don't worry you'll be able to see them soon." Xie Lian says reassuredly as he takes his place beside Hua Cheng. While Jing Mei was a patient woman, teaching Xie Lian how to cook actually palatable food was not a one day affair. After almost setting the kitchen on fire she quickly ordered one of the chefs to let him out and told him that they'll try again some other time.

"Aiai, there's something your mother and I have to tell you." Hearing the seriousness of Ji Huifan Hua Cheng discreetly orders for all other servants except for Yin Yu to leave. Yin Yu was needed since he was in charge of Paradise Manor's security.

"What is it?" Jing Mei takes a seat across Meng Ai, not wanting to do this but at the same time understanding why Xie Lian and Hua Cheng wanted for her to know.

"Do you remember when we were still moving from place to place before we lived in Hu village?" Meng Ai nods.

"Was it because of bad people almost kidnapping me on the last village?" Jing Mei nods while in her periphery she could see Hua Cheng raise an eye brow and Xie Lian's look of concern.

"Yes, well those people are after you and your father and I are doing everything we can to protect you."

"I know mama." Jing Mei smiles sadly as she takes a breath before continuing.

"Do you remember why I don't tell you my visions?"

"Because if you tell the ones in your visions what you saw things might change so much."

"Yes...that's right." Meng Ai takes a guess to help ease Jing Mei's burden.

"Did you see a vision about me mama?" Jin Mei's eyes begin to water but forces herself to hold them back for now.

"Yes, a very horrible one. I saw it after I gave birth to you. So your father and I prayed to Xiwangmu what we could do to keep you safe and live a life to the fullest."

"What did Xiwangmu say?" She asks as she turns to her father.

"She said that as long as you have one parent who is alive and one who is dead, then you will be safe from those who have been chasing us and live a full life." Meng Ai's widen in shock.

"But I don't want either of you to die!"

"Aiai, we know." Ji Huifan says as he embraces her.

"Do you remember when a pretty woman with the suanpan that you liked visited us in the last village before Hu village?" Meng Ai nods and makes a guess.

"Is she Xiwangmu?"

"Not exactly. But she's related to her." Jing Mei says as she stands up from her seat and puts herself on front of Meng Ai.

"We've been praying to Xiwangmu to find another way to save you. And the pretty lady with the suanpan was sent by Xiwangmu to clarify that being a parent does not mean they have to be related to you by blood." This time Meng Ai's eyes widened in realization as she turned toward Hua Cheng and Xie Lian for the first time since the conversation began.

"Xiao-Ai." Xie Lian begins "It is okay if you cannot make a decision right now. This is a lot to take in-"

"Would staying with you and San Lang keep mama and baba alive?"

"I could send some assistance to protect your parents." Hua Cheng says in a reassuring and gentle tone.

"But it's uncertain?"

"Aiai, my darling nothing is absolutely certain." Jing Mei says as she looks at Meng Ai in the eyes.

"All we could do is do our best. This is what the four of us have talked about, all we are waiting for is your choice. Is it okay if Xie Lian and Hua Cheng become your parents too?" Everyone was silent as Meng Ai was slowly realizing what is going to happen.

"I don't want to lose you and baba." Ji Huifen embraces her as tears slowly begin pouring down her eyes.

"You will never lose us, a part of us will always be with you. You are not losing anyone, you are gaining two more people who will care and love you just as much as we do."

"We won't be leaving now. But we have to so that you will be given the life that you deserve and become the person that you want to be. What is it that you keep promising your baba and I every new year?"

Meng Ai struggles as her parents wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I won't ever give up on my dreams to become who I want to be. No matter what it takes."

"Are you going to start now?" Meng Ai stubbornly shakes her head.

"No mama."

"Good, making dreams come true is not easy. But it can be done. Always remember that Aiai." She nods as she hugs both Ji Huifan and Jing Mei. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian let them have their moment. No one knows when Ji Huifan will need to leave to finally put an end to his cursed family or when Xiwangmu will once again require Jing Mei to act as her oracle. It's better to let them savor each other's presence while they can.

Their sacrifice to give them Meng Ai as their daughter will not be in vain.

______________________________________________________________

"Are you sure that they've disappeared from and after Jingdezhen?" An intimidating figure asks as one of the mage mercenaries who was giving her a report.

"We cannot locate them anywhere after someone transported them to somewhere from within within the shrine to Jingdezhen. As expected they sought refuge in Xiwangmu's temple but they had divine assistance."

"I'm not surprised. My sister-in-law is one of her priestesses. I wouldn't put it above her to request aid from the other Gods." The female figure then throws a knife at the mage mercenary who was reporting. The blade being a little too close to his ear while still missing him completely.

Instead it latched itself on Feng Xin's armor.

Or it would have, had he not moved out of the way.

"What God are you?"

"What makes you think that?" She smiles as she throws another knife his way.

"You are absolutely right. You are not a God, you are a clone." Fuck! Feng Xin curses internally as he dodges attacks from all sides as he attempts to make his escape.

But his clone is overwhelmed and instead he ends up on his knees towards the woman who has been throwing knives at him. Now that he was close he could see her skin was pale with a grayish undertone. Her lips had dried up blood surrounding it.

"You know I've always been curious. I've never drunk directly from a God before. I wonder if a clone's blood will taste any different from other mortals?" It was only then that Feng Xin noticed that none of the mercenaries were close to them as the woman puts him on the ground as she begins to straddle him. She was a lot heavier than he had expected to feel. The pressure made by her sitting on top of his clone's ribcage was making breathing difficult.

"Get off me!" He tries pushing her off only for her to restrain his hands.

"Don't worry." Her fangs begin to make themselves more prominent.

"I'm skilled enough to make sure nobody feels pain. You might find yourself enjoying it." But before she could do anything she was blasted away from Feng Xin and outside of the tent they currently occupied.

"You idiot!" He knows immediately who his savior is and he couldn't help a smile from appearing on his face.

Mu Qing's clone manages to deflect then shield them from further attacks as they make their escape.

"Really!? This is how you do a reconnaissance mission?" Mu Qing immediately scolds him when they meet in private in heaven.

"I used a clone, I didn't expect anyone to detect anything from it. Normally nobody could even tell that our clones had anything divine in them."

"In case you forgot, these aren't normal people. These are cursed immortals who are only satisfied when they drink blood preferably from victims who are scared or in pain. Weren't you listening to Jing Mei?!"

"Mu Qing I'm fine now." He looks at Feng Xin unconvinced.

"Thanks to this experience at least now we know that they could even tell the difference between a clone and when it's actually us even though we would be in disguise." Mu Qing couldn't help but snort.

"I could have figured that out without having to get close to one of them." Feng Xin gets up to walk closer to where Mu Qing was standing. He sighs as he's finally on front of him.

"I'm sorry for not telling you. But I couldn't wait to investigate after Hua Cheng and Xie Lian brought them to Ghost City. My curiosity got the better of me." Mu Qing sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"If you want your curiosity satisfied then read a book."

"Not fast enough for me, and Lingwen and her officials were already busy."

"Then contact Chenxi, that's what I did." Now it was Feng Xin's turn to be exasperated.

"I've tried that she wasn't responding."

"Did you use the conventional channels?"

"Yes, why?" This time Mu Qing couldn't help but have a smug expression. A little bit of revenge over Feng Xin for making him worry.

"Like her mother she doesn't respond to conventional channels. She doesn't like being here as much as her parents, so like them she ignores messages from conventional channels. It's why she and her mother have oracles as their priests and priestesses. Oracles are receptive of messages from the otherworldly and serves as their informants. Since no one in heaven typically sends messages from other immortals through their priest or priestess this was how I was able to make contact with her."

"Fuck." Mu Qing now breaks out in laughter savoring being a few steps ahead of him. Serves him right for making him use a clone to save his.

"I was going to tell you that I've arranged for the two of us to meet her. She's willing to tell us all she knows. But nooo! You just had to do a poorly done intelligence mission in a campsite filled with mage mercenaries who could summon and control any creature. And don't get me started on how a cursed immortal almost-" He was stopped midrant as he felt Feng Xin's lips on his. Through the kiss he could feel the sincerity Feng Xin always had and that he truly was remorseful.

He knows what this is really about. And he now sees his mistake.

"How do I make it up to you?" Feng Xin asks in between kisses that he has begun reciprocating.

"If we are going to make this work you tell me your plans. You don't have to be detailed - I could figure out the rest on my own. Or is that instruction only for me?" He says as he breaks away from their kiss looking him straight in the eyes.

"No it wasn't. And you don't have to figure things out on your own. Not anymore."

"I could say the same for you." He couldn't resist anymore and brings Feng Xin closer for another more deeper kiss.

It's a good thing he found another cultivation path that was a sufficient replacement for his current one. While it was still early on in his new relationship with Feng Xin and they haven't gone that far, he had already begun taking steps in the alternative path of cultivation. There's no limit to how many paths of cultivation one could take. But if one became a God with a path of cultivation then for their powers to not be decreased too much another path of cultivation should immediately replace it. And he was nothing if not thorough.

______________________________________________________________

"Well?" Xie Lian asks nervously as Jing Mei tastes the simple broth that he has managed not to overcook. Even though Hua Cheng insists that he doesn't need to learn how to cook, he can't help but feel guilty at not being able to. So when he noticed Jing Mei's cooking was praised by Feng Xin and Mu Qing he asked her if she could teach him. And under the condition that Hua Cheng wouldn't interfere with her sometimes harsh instructions, even he has to admit that Xie Lian's cooking had improved under Jing Mei's tutelage.

"It's on the bland side, the vegetables you placed weren't able to release their full flavor since you placed them a little too late. But on the bright side you didn't burn the food and it is easier to add flavor through spices. Good Job Dianxie." He sighs in relief over his progress.

"Jing Mei, by any chance you could teach me how to make some of Xiao-Ai's favorite foods? It might ease the change of her moving in with us." Jing Mei couldn't help but snort a laugh.

"I'm afraid if you do that she'll grow up to have the sugar disease. It's already enough that I inherited it from my own mother. I hope that Aiai doesn't get it, but it is something to take note of. She has a sweet tooth which is why I'm strict with how much mooncakes she gets for her birthday. And it doesn't help that Ji Huifan likes to sneak Nan Gua Bings and Tanghulus behind my back whenever he returns from one of his missions."

"Oh? But I thought she liked congee?"

"She does, in a way that it's a necessary sustenance to avoid being hungry. It's for her health and it also teaches her that some things are sweeter when they are earned. It makes it that much more special." Jing Mei releases a sigh.

"At least that's what I hope would happen." Xie Lian offers an understanding look.

"I wonder if she'll even open herself up to me and San Lang after your talk with her. Sometimes I doubt if she'll be able to trust us after that."

"She will." Jing Mei says confidently as she looks at Xie Lian straight in his eyes.

"She may be a little closed off now, but if she really didn't like you she would simply ignore both of you and suffer in silence. The mere fact that she's not afraid to express herself to either you or Hua Cheng shows that she has already begun trusting both of you." Jing Mei then sprinkles some spices from the spice rack. A part of her is still in awe that Hua Cheng was not only able to have this many spices but also that he was able to preserve their freshness for far longer. But given that Hua Cheng was practically one of if not the most powerful ghosts and is the wealthiest she isn't surprised that rare spices occupied space in his kitchen. Back in Fu Dao spices that the traders called Saffron and Cardamom were so expensive only the elite could afford them. She was able to have an indulgence of them every now and then when she was lucky enough to recieve gifts of such.

And now Meng Ai would probably grow up indulged in it if they weren't careful. Or she would probably be bored with it and not understand why these spices were so coveted.

"She thinks Huifan and I don't know about how the children of Hu village were bullying her. But I noticed it right away when she didn't talk much to them and would actively do things in order to avoid them. In her mind she's thinking that they won't listen to her anyway and just want to make fun of her and make her day miserable. So why bother talking to them? We have tried speaking with their parents in private but they see us as outsiders to their community. One day out of the blue we arrived and began changing things in the village."

"Not everyone liked it." She nodded.

"The ones in power didn't, those that weren't were grateful for our services. But then again it's hard to please everyone." She then gets a bowl and pours out the broth that Xie Lian made that was made palatable with her choice of spices. She then places noodles that will be cooked just right from the broth's residual heat. Finally she then garnishes it with a quickly diced spring onion before serving it to Xie Lian.

"Stir it a bit but don't eat it yet." He looks at her puzzled.

"Why not?"

"A volunteer has arrived to help us. Hello Hua Cheng, please have a seat." Xie Lian relaxes as he feels himself embraced from behind.

"I hope you haven't been too hard on him while I'm gone." Jing Mei couldn't help but internally roll her eyes at Hua Cheng's underlying threat. Out of respect for Xie Lian she restrained herself from actually doing it.

"He has made a great improvement today. Please have a seat - there is something I would like you to do."

"Which is?"

"Feed the broth to Dianxie." Xie Lian couldn't help but blush as Hua Cheng begins to relax a little more.

"I appreciate that you've decided to include me in your culinary lessons."

"Actually there is a reason why I want you to do it. Dianxie will have his eyes closed and won't be able to feed himself." Xie Lian makes himself comfortable now understanding what Jing Mei is trying to do. She wants him to focus on the food.

"Ready Gege?" Xie Lian was about to say yes when Ruoye decided to turn itself into his blindfold to the amusement of both his husband and teacher.

"I wasn't going to peek Ruoye."

"Ruoye just wants to make sure you could focus."

"Okay San Lang, I'm ready." He opens his mouth as Hua Cheng feeds him a right amount of the noodles that he slurps up.

"Focus on the food Dianxie, what do your senses tell you?" With his tongue he could taste how the noodles were just right. Not too soggy nor stiff, but the way he chewed and the way the noodles had spread the broth he and Jing Mei had created was filled with flavor. He could now understand why Jing Mei had called his earlier attempt bland when the plenty subtle flavors complemented each other as he swallowed it.

"The subtle flavors are sublime, I could now appreciate why you added them to the broth."

"What else?"

"Um I will need another serving San Lang."

"Say ah." This time Xie Lian got more of the broth than the noodles. With more of the broth there was a suprising layer of sweetness that he did not expect from a broth. How the cabbage and string beans added an interesting texture to a simple meal. It made him reflect on the times when he was fortunate enough to recieve the best meals made by the best chefs of the land. He appreciated their efforts and savored their works. A part of him was jealous of how they could create works that was immediately beneficial since everyone had to eat.

Jing Mei was right in making him return to the basic senses of appreciating food without his sight.

______________________________________________________________

"Baba what type of spirits are Xie Lian, Nan Feng, and Fu Yao?" Meng Ai asks as she and Ji Huifan are on a tour lead by Yin Yu of the gardens. Yin Yu reccommended that they explore the gardens section by section. The gardens were too vast to be explored in a week, and even less by a few hours in a day. Today was their first day and the tour had just ended with Yin Yu needing to take his leave after being summoned by Hua Cheng. Ji Huifan, followed by Meng Ai decided to sit under one of the trees to avoid harming the flowers.

"Before I tell you the answer, tell me first what you have observed." Meng Ai reflects back on what she had felt and sensed with them. She remembers that they had a heart beat, that there was a lightness? No, she thinks to herself. That's not the right word. The best she could come up is that they didn't cling to their forms. But San Lang also didn't cling to his form but he had the tell tale clinginess that ghosts had. That's why when she first felt his presence she knew he was a ghost. But he was also the first ghost to actually talk to her and not just simply ignore her or scare her away.

"I don't know if this is the right word but compared to ghosts like San Lang, they don't really cling to themselves and they have a heartbeat. I wanted to say that there is a lightness to them but that's not quite it. Nan Feng and Fu Yao are soldiers and there is a bit of darkness that also comes with them. Which is why I don't think lightness is the right word."

"Mmhmm, what else have you observed Aiai?" She closes her eyes as she focuses even harder on what she could remember.

"They are powerful - but San Lang is also powerful but their powers feel very different. San Lang's power is more grounded? Or at least that's how I feel whenever I'm around him. But with Xie Lian, Nan Feng and Fu Yao their power comes from the air? The sky? Something from above or somewhere we cannot see." As she opens her eyes she sees him nodding in approval.

"And given all of these observations - what do you think they are Aiai?" She thinks back to a few days ago when she just learned that she will be staying with San Lang and Xie Lian and that they are going to be her new parents and keep her safe.

They were the best choice because San Lang was already dead since he was a ghost, and somehow Xie Lian was considered to still be alive.

And this was something shared with Nan Feng and Fu Yao - but what? Despite San Lang being a ghost he still felt very much alive in her opinion.

Before she could think further an attendant was sent to get them. It was time for dinner. Since one day her mama and baba would be going away she wanted to have dinner with all of them present. Even her new parents, San Lang and Xie Lian.

She couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty since she didn't mean to act badly towards them. But they will have her for the rest of her life and she doesn't know when she will see her mama and baba again once they leave her here for good. San Lang promised that he would make sure they are protected as much as possible and she knows that her baba is working on stopping the scary people that keep following them around.

As they enter the manor something catches her eye.

She takes a quick glance at where her father was escorted by the attendant. The dining room was just straight ahead of where they were. She promises she'll just be quick. She just needs to know what was it that caught her eye.

So she moves closer to what appears to be a shrine.

It's similar to the one at Puqi but it was so vibrant. The mask the crown prince of Xianle appeared to be like the ones she would sometimes see rich people wearing. The sword in one hand looked so dangerous yet at the same time it was beautiful. Both in what it could do and on its own. And the flower on the other hand looked so much like the floating lotus flowers that Yin Yu had showed them earlier. She told him that this was her first time seeing them with her own eyes and she would only see pictures of them. And then her mother taught her how to make paper lotus flowers and whenever they visited a temple of Xiwangmu's or Chenxi's that had a river created for the temple, she would help her place their paper lotus flowers on the water and watch them float away.

"But what if it sinks?"

"Then it is no longer a paper lotus flower." She remembered getting upset.

"But what if I want it to still be a paper lotus flower?"

"Aiai." Her mother settles herself next to her.

"Why do you want it to remain a paper lotus flower?"

"Because you and I made it together. I don't want it to be ruined."

"Oh Aiai." Her mother brings her in her embrace.

"Do you still remember the time we made them?" She nods as she wonders why it seems her mother was sad and yet she was smiling.

"Those paper flowers won't erase the experience we had of making them. That will never go away. But the paper flowers don't need to be preserved just because those were good memories. What matters is the time we shared."

She was younger then, and she is only now starting to understand what her mother was trying to say. It's not the object that matters. It's the people.

"Do you like it?" She felt before she heard San Lang behind her. She was about to apologize for being late when she noticed his expression showing that he already knew and wasn't upset.

"It's so beautiful, I couldn't help but want to look at it." He goes beside her as they look at the portrait of the crown prince of Xianle together. It was only then that she realized that there was no food offerings.

"San Lang why are there no food for the crown prince of Xianle?" He couldn't help but make a small chuckle.

"Because Xiao-Ai, he couldn't appreciate them if they just stayed here."

"Huh? Why?" Hua Cheng heard that Ji Huifan was asking her to make a guess on what type of spirits Xie Lian and his two former attendants were. He could understand why he didn't simply want to give her the answer since she needed to learn how to think for herself.

And also arriving at the answer on your own was its own reward. A concept that is difficult to explain to a little girl. Which is why Ji Huifan only lays out clues but wants her to arrive on the answer by herself.

"Food deserves to be consumed, savored, and enjoyed. He already does that whenever and wherever he is."

"Even here?"

"Especially here." She glances at the painting that called to her. Hmm another mystery that will occupy her mind.

Speaking of mysteries, she realizes that there is another mystery that she hopes she could get the answer too.

"San Lang, may I ask you something?" He lowers himself so that his eye was at the same level as hers.

"Ask away little one."

"My parents say that you and Xie Lian are the key to keeping me safe. Because you are a ghost and are already dead and Xie Lian is still alive...I'm worried."

"About what?" He asks her gently and tenderly. Her heart already feels safe whenever he is around. But she wants to know so badly.

"Aren't you worried that one day Xie Lian would one day die? I'm already scared that mama or baba would die because of the people chasing us. What if because of me, Xie Lian dies? I don't want you to be lonely." San Lang gives her a reassuring and knowing smile. Something about the way his eye glistens is telling her that there is something she doesn't know. Something just out of her reach.

"That is the one thing I can guarantee will not happen. You don't need to worry about that little one."

"But how can you be so sure?" Her voice almost breaks asking.

"I am sure because I am still around. As long as I love him and never ever forget him he will never die." He then rises up as he offers her his hand. A red thread is attached to one of his fingers. She takes his hand and he escorts her back to the dining room. She watches as everyone was waiting for her.

"Don't worry - she was just looking at the shrine."

"Oh what do you think Xiao-Ai?"

"It was so beautiful and vibrant Xie Lian! It reminds me of the painting in Puqi Shrine." He chuckles as he glances at San Lang.

"Should I?"

"If you would like." He then turns to her with a grin.

"I'm not surprised why you find them so similar. San Lang made both of them." They turn to him in amazement as his stance was relaxed. As Xie Lian continues to explain how the shrine in the manor came to be, what really caught her eye was the absolute love and devotion San Lang had for Xie Lian.

If only she could find someone who would look at her the same way he would look at Xie Lian. Or the love she could still feel between her parents who after adjusting to a new environment have managed to make it feel like home was always with them wherever they went.

Later that night as she settles in her bed she wonders what Chenxi must have felt to have lost Hua Lijie to the arms of death before she could marry him.

Did he treat her as person with otherworldly powers? Or did he treat her how a follower worships a Goddess?

Her love preserved the peaches in a place where she didn't have that many followers compared to other places that made her one of their patron Gods. For Gods to survive in such a place they must at the very least be known if worship was not possible. Did he perhaps notice this and loved her so much that he became so devoted to her so she could continue to be with him in a place where she didn't have as much power?

She touches the silver butterfly that San Lang gave to her. It wasn't hard to see the love between him and Xie Lian. And even though she wasn't paying attention to every single word that was said, she could sense the gratitude and love from Xie Lian as well.

But why would he have that reaction when San Lang painted the crown prince?

"Had trouble sleeping?" Xie Lian asks her as she joins him in practicing calligraphy.

"A question refused to let me." She adjusts her grip to experiment if her calligraphy will improve.

"And what was it?"

"I was wondering how Chenxi feels when she lost someone who was so in love with her. I was wondering what their relationship was like to make her go against her parents to try to make him immortal only for him to die before they even got married. Mama says her love is what preserved and affected them. So when Hua Lijie's family scared, trapped, and abused her in a place when she wasn't worshipped or known as much her change of feelings is what lead them to have a cursed immortal life that was worse than death after eating them." She decided that her new grip must have had better results since her strokes were now clearer.

"Did Hua Lijie love her as a person? Or did he already love her as a Goddess? Though one with less power in the place where he lived. Did he in the course of their relationship decide to be a devoted follower so that she won't ever leave his home or his side?" Xie Lian simply smiles at her from his seat across her. He reaches out to correct her grip so that her wrist won't be strained from practicing. On his own hand was a red string also tied on a finger similar to San Lang's. Perhaps it was something married couples who were both men did. A part of her couldn't help but wonder how they managed to prevent those red strings from getting into their food.

"I may not know Chenxi's exact feelings to Hou Lijie but I do remember how I realized I was in love with San Lang." She became intrigued as she finds herself putting down her brush to listen attentively.

"It was gradual. I couldn't help but feel something in my heart towards him early on. I didn't know what it was exactly. All I could feel whenever I'm around him is that I wanted to be with him. If I could help it I don't want to burden him with anything. But he insisted anyway and no matter what I did, no matter what decision I made, he stayed." He lets out a small chuckle as he lets his hand rest.

"One time before we became a couple I set this place on fire." She feels her eyes widen.

"Huh? How?"

"I was trying to save someone and tried to prevent from some of my friends and San Lang from fighting. It didn't work so I maneuvered myself in a way that they won't hurt each other. E-ming sliced me instead and when we were leaving I set fire to the armoury to prevent further fights from breaking out."

"And then what happened?"

"I had thought that he would be upset with me because I burnt the old version of this place down. I also felt guilty because I only told him half-truths about why I was here the first time. When we met again, it turned out we both thought that we hurt each other so deeply that we expected hatred from the other."

"Wait - what was he apologizing for?"

"For getting carried away with the conflict that lead to E-ming injuring me." She heard a cooing sound from behind Xie Lian. E-ming's eye had once again opened and it felt teary eyed.

"It's okay E-ming, I know you didn't mean it. I've already forgiven both of you." He grabs the hilt and gives it a few pets.

"Would you like to give E-ming pets?"

"But my hands are messy. E-ming I don't want to make you dirty with ink." A sad whining sound comes out of E-ming as he places him back in their previous place.

"She has a point E-ming."

"I'll pet you after my calligraphy practice!" After E-ming lets out a happy yelp she returns her attention back to the story.

"San Lang didn't care about you burning this place?" Xie Lian nods.

"I was surprised too. I apologized to him first and then he apologized for things that he thought I would hate him for. What a pair we were even back then." He giggles as he resumes his calligraphy.

"He explained that those things could be easily built again. And after that and all the incidents after he says that no matter what choice I've made, what path I've taken, whether those were mistakes or not or whether it was acting as the worst version of myself...all of those things were simply states of myself. But I have always been myself, and it was this person that he loves and is devoted to." Xie Lian then notices the stick on the incense clock has finally burnt out. Practice was over.

"After he told that to me, it was then I knew that I loved him and was in love with him even before that. To have someone accept you for who you are no matter what happens...I never knew I would be one of the lucky ones to have met their mate. Or to even have a mate at all."

Later on she would see them looking at each other lovingly as they took a stroll on a part of the gardens she hasn't toured yet.

And then she realized something.

The reason why the paintings in both shrines seemed so similar was not only because San Lang made them. She couldn't explain how but something about both paintings made her feel devotion, belonging ...

... and love.

She felt love whenever she was within the presence of either painting. It's why she felt safe in Puqi shrine after she first met them. It's why after meeting them she wanted to visit Puqi shrine whenever she was trying to escape her bullies.

Because there was love...

...and that made it feel like home.

And now she has the answer.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this more lengthy chapter to make up for the more delayed updates. I wrote this while listening to Hong Jue (Red Supreme) and Wei Chen (In front of the red curtain) on a loop. I wanted to give Meng Ai a moment with each of her parents to hopefully show what each one gives her. And also I wanted to give Fengqing a romantic moment while at the same time also clarifying the power level of the vampire family (that's what I call them in my head).

[emandapen]

“I pick my poison, and it’s you.”

A fic inspired by @luckymoonly’s prompt for the @fengqingaction event for Gaza: Xie Lian, tired of his best friends pining, devises a plan to get them together.

No Archive Warning

Teen audiences and up

Fluff and humour

FengQing being idiots ft. background scheming HuaLian

Canon-typical violence, canon-typical levels of Feng Xin cussing

Pining, confessions and a kiss

A sweet and fun fic but as always, read the tags first <3

Thank you so much to fengqingaction for organising the event, and luckymoonly for the lovely prompt! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

You can find the fic here:

[askew-d]

Hello...Have you watched Haikyuu movies? It's great....And we got lots of Kuroken moments and "that"one Kagehina moment.... So, as Kagehina shipper, have you ever ship Hinata or Kageyama with other character? For me, I have read Kageyama with Oikawa fic (I enjoy it but not really into that ship, all the time thinking of Iwaoi) and Hinata with Atsumu fic (one of my friend love that ship, wrote a fic and asked me to read them). And as much as they're all good, my otp will always be Kagehina. Like they were made for each other and it has to be them...

Do you also have other ships that you love from MDZS and TGCF? Sorry, if you asked me this, I have at least 8 ships in total from those two series, all of them are non canon (Xuexiao, Xiyao, Zhuiling, Beafleaf, Fengqing, Quanyin, Peihuang, Xuyue)....

Sorry for this random and long ask, hope you don't mind....

hello, anon!! sorry i am late for this, hope you understand. life has been crazy, haha. anyway, let us go: i did watch the haikyuu films and recently in was at the cinema with a friend watching the dumpster battle, let me tell you i was OVERJOYED!!! heavens, i could not control my anxiety. though my friend also likes the anime, she isnt as obsessed as me and didnt even finish the last season when we talked about watching the brand new release, so i had the OUTSTANDING experience of rewatching it with her so we could buy the tickets after!! i lost count of how many times i watched it and how many times i made other friends try it out (at some point, i recommended it to even one of my students during a totally unrelated discourse, hahahaha, hope he shares his opinions once this winter break finishes).

since i watched haikyuu about... five years ago? i must have rewatched some seasons more than ten times. its my comfort show! love every film also. about the ships, kagehina is my endgame, but i definitely love kuroken, iwaoi, bokuaka and sakuatsu (though i consume kagehina content much more). of course every ship is valid, i cannot judge anyone, however, i personally cant see hinata or kageyama with anyone else and do not read stories too focused on other relationships :) i can comprehend why fans see something with oikawa and kageyama, or even oikawa and hinata (considering their interaction in rio), but i do not settle with it in my heart. its just profiles and options, anyway! dont mind, dont mind.

i agree with you. for me, they are soulmates through and through. perfect for each other. one is the promise, the other is the anchor. they might be one of the couples i have seen anywhere that matches each other's vibe the best.

about mxtxt works, my favorite side ships are moshang and beefleaf. i can see the appeals in each one you mentioned, but i just never quite got interested to the point of reading about it, sorry!! some of them maybe its because they did not have a finale extra shot, or at least they were not as spoken/seen together as they were individually. for fengqing, though i like them as a side couple in hualian fanfics, i never quite got engaged in their story together, many times they just annoyed me (god, im scared of saying that and people coming at me, but there you go). but i know they have their values and some interactions i could almost forget my light, petty resentment for their actions and laugh along. beefleaf though? mobei-jun and his creator shang qinghua? heavens, i wanted to see more of them.

so, this is it! do not worry about asking whatever and whenever you want to ask. i love coming here to answer them when i have the time. thank you!! hope you can spot a nice sunset and take a relaxing shower today.

[yeyayeya]

TGCF Season 2 Ep 1 Reaction (Part 2)

Had to do a second part cause I had reached my image limit

Novel spoilers under the cut

Hmmm I wonder who this could be

It’s Shen Qingqiu don’t worry guys Scum Villain Season 2 just released as well look at the weebs design

THE WIND MASTER IS SO PRETTY. I absolutely adore his design here, and his voice?? Shi Qingxuan is connecting all MXTX works together just by himself. Also when is the Shi Wudu design going to drop

GAY

I am kinda sad Feng Xin is a built like a dilf, unlike Pei Ming, but that’s ok

Take another look at my precious son holy shit he is the most adorable thing ever. I hope nothing bad happens to him in this arc :)

Ok in this pic I seem to notice both BeefLeaf in their female forms, LQQ in the front, FengQing, Ling Wen, and Pei Míng. Is the one behind Ling Wen in the very back supposed to be Pei Xiu? I honestly cannot tell it is way too far away

Father and son having some small talk :)

It’s also incredibly funny seeing everyone (especially Jun Wu) talk about how E’Ming is the most cursed thing in the whole world and all that, but I keep remembering how cute E’Ming is. Don’t bully him, he already gets bullied enough by Hua Cheng

I love him so much

Hope nothing bad ever happens to him :)