#on my hualian obsession again

[victorialovesstiles]

There’s something so subtle about the way Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian.

(Hold on, hear me out...)

In fiction, when we have a character who loves someone as deeply as Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian, we usually see the ugly side of that affection rear it's head eventually.

Adoration turns into obsession (any positive thing can turn ugly in excess). Obsession can drive behaviour that most of us cringe at; one worst case scenario is stalking, but even a best case would be the expectation (or worthiness) of reciprication.

This obsession can also be followed by huge, grandiose actions that leave the object of the affections no room to guess at the other's feelings and intentions.

Hua Cheng doesn't do any of that. His love is akin to worship, or rather, it literally is reverance for a god. No expectation, no indignance - just pure adoration untainted by the usual consequences of human love.

His love is so subtle, in fact, that Xie Lian can't even begin to guess at his intentions. Even going so far as to wonder continuously in the beginning why Hua Cheng spares so much time and kindness for him.

Hua Cheng expects nothing from Xie Lian - he demands nothing from Xie Lian, not even in the way a worshiper might. This type of god-worshiper love is so hard to fit into the mould of a romantic relationship.

Watching it unfold is so beautiful, complex, and fragmented. It's not the innocent love story you would expect, and honestly it's part of the reason why I love their relationship so much.

You rarely see such pure, unadulterated, and selfless love written this perfectly in fiction.

[carma-tjol]

Show me your worst. I love it all the same.

As long as it's me. As long as it's you.

[huachengsromcom]

My favourite Hua Cheng is actually during the Black Water arc when everyone around him is fighting for their life but San Lang’s flying on a magic sword, holding his Gege round the waist having the best day he’s ever had in his life ✌️

[hanniesunshine]

I’ve been off since Wednesday I really thought I’d have more work to do ://

[littencloud9]

Thanks for answering my ask. If you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them. Sorry if you've answered this before.....

HI!! no problem i LOVE talking about my favs. here’s like top 3 ships of some fandoms i’m in because there is simply too many LMAO

jujutsu kaisen

- itafushi: literally my number one ship ever. they make me so fucking emo. the tragedy of what couldn’t have been prevented. i pray for itafushi moments in the jjk manga but every time it happens it is somehow worse than the last. peace 🙏

- yutamaki: they mean so much to me. i love them both platonically and romantically! their moments in jjk0 are super sweet and i love that they’re always supporting each other 🥹

- satosugu: this is a ship i’ll put in a blender. i don’t usually think of them but when i do i want to throw up blood. they’re the cause of all my problems. i love them. they are so my tears ricochet core

other ships i like are nobamaki, inuokko, and mechamiwa! perks of being a multishipper lol

-

bungo stray dogs

- shin soukoku: MY YIN YANG DUO!! they are the dumbest. somehow they bulldozed past all the normal stages of dating and went straight to dying for each other. who does that.

- kunichuuzai: i’m cheating here because i love all individual pairings in this ship AND the poly ship. especially kunichuu which crept up on me and slapped me in the face. chuuya being downbad for kunikida is GREAT. they are so good when you dont have toxic shippers breathing in your ear about how one is better than the other ❤️

- tachigin: do u ever think about how they’re both liars. how they both have a hidden identity. how they both found family within the mafia not as the person they really are, but as the person they pretended to be. how the betrayal felt like when tachihara dropped his mask. OUGH

i also really like ranpoe and atsulucy! and beast!akutagawa x beast!tanizaki is cute too

-

link click

- i’m a liar. shiguang is the only ship i have in this show. my FAVS. their devotion to each other is insane. they make me genuinely feral. cxs being an annoying little shit x lg who stays hopelessly in love anyway. ARGH I LOVE THEM. THEY WANNA SAVE EACH OTHER!!!!

-

tian guan ci fu

- fengqing: the implications of this 800 year old situationship is very fun. knowing someone so well that you know exactly what to say to hurt them. loving someone so deeply and repressing it to the point that you mistake it as hatred. i’m obsessed with them

- hualian: how can i not include the most romantic (and canon) pair EVER. get you someone who loves you like hua cheng loves xie lian because holy SHIT. i have not read the books (only watched the donghua) and yet these two make me feral i need them to hurry it up and get married already 😭

i don’t really ship anything else as of yet. but i do like and acknowledged beefleaf. i’ve heard it’s horribly tragic. i cannot wait to find out

-

sk8 the infinity

- renga: RENGA!!!! MY PRECIOUS. they are fucking head over heels for each other i’m obsessed with it. their ‘breakup arc’ genuinely hurt my soul. but i love how confident they are about each other’s skills, how they’re each others biggest supporter, how they see the best in each other etc. insane. i need season 2 asap

- matchablossom: [danny motta voice] they wanna fuck so bad. the end

i don’t ship anything else. but do i think cherry and adam had a situationship back when they were teenagers? yes. anyway

-

avatar the last airbender

- mailee: MY GIRLS. THE BEST ATLA SHIP AND YOU HEARD IT FROM ME. mai who masks her emotions with blankness and ty lee who masks her emotions with a smile. but they both know each other better than that. they protect each other and they are also 🖤🩷 how could you not love them!!!!

- zukka: [affectionately] there is something so wrong with these two. the original red and blue gays. to ME. i think they bounce off each other well and they’re a really funny duo. also. the prince and the fool. what more is there

- yuekka: personally i love love LOVED yuekka. i like how yue really loosened up around sokka and how sokka was head over heels for her LMAO they were a really cute ship. moon coded gf x ocean coded bf do you see how great that is. the tides follow the whims of the moon. they can’t exist without the other. ARGH

-

voltron

- klance: sigh. since we’re digging this deep into my fandoms list let us talk about klance. do i agree with anything that was written past season 3? absolutely not. they are definitely a wasted potential ship that ruined my life forever but like. yah. the ship you obsessed over at 14 is SERIOUS business. the homoerotic rivalry they had was seriously unmatched. nobody talk to me

- adashi: haha. my first experience with being queerbaited. they buried the gays before the gays even had lines. i was so upset about adam that i consumed an insane amount of fan content and then wrote 10k words in one sitting. thats how upset they made me

- romellura: the gfs ever. the writers screwed allura over so every ship i have for her is… very fan-based. but i’ll protect them with my SOUL. the softness of meeting someone who knows EXACTLY the kind of loss you felt. finding comfort and home in each other.

- veracxa: sorry one more. VERACXA IS SO GOOD AND SO UNDERRATED. lance and veronica having the same taste is so funny. also love that veronica went out of her way to make acxa feel welcome. and their matching judgy stares. the older sister and sister in law. i KNOW lance was sweating

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sorry for the long ass list. there’s lots of other platonic/familial relationships i enjoy in shows too i swear i’m not just insane 😭🙏. thank you so much for the ask!!

[17-million-years-of-pining-poll]

BEST LONG-TIME PINING SHIPS: ROUND 1 MATCH 8

Why you should vote for each ship underneath the cut!

Rysposito: They're police partners for about 9 years and they always give each other these looks of like "I would marry you if I could" and I believe that they were implied (I THINK) and then basically they were about to die in a fire, and they were like holding each other and cuddling and saying I love you and sappy shit like that and they've been (at least Esposito has) having trouble getting in relationships and then they fall back onto each other and they say sappy shit like "I'll be with you 'til the wheels fall off" and "I'm naming my kid after you" (!!!!) and they're so in love it's annoying that the producers didn't actually go with a canon Rysposito, but then again, the show was made in 2009, so it was less accepted (also the actors talked about wanting their characters to be dating) Hualian: Literally 800 and some change years. Hua Cheng fell in love with Xie Lian when they were both still mortal, then died and became a ghost, while Xie Lian ascended to godhood, then was banished, ascended a second time, and then banished again. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were separated after Xie Lian's second banishment, which lasted 800 years. They didn't meet again until Xie Lian ascended to godhood for a third (and final) time (this is where the book/series starts). Then they pined some more, Xie Lian fell in love back, and then after another year of separation after the Big Final Fight against the Big Bad, they could finally be together and get married <3 also during the 800 years Hua Cheng made statues of Xie Lian over and over that he could worship, and so he would remember what his beloved looked like. Other characters find out about this and they're like what the hell kind of obsessive freak..... and Xie Lian is like 😊 <3

[iri-desky]

A Real Life Example of "Two Painfully Shippable Characters"

From the makers of Soukoku, Klance, WebLena, HuaLian, and XiaoVen... /j

I give you the amazingly complicated relationship I have with my best friend (?), who for the purpose of this post and her own privacy we will call "Vulpe" (Fox in Italian) because she loves foxes and they're basically her symbolic animal. (She goes by any pronouns, like me. But I'll be using she for the both of us in this post)

Okay, so, anyway, me and Vulpe have known each other for three years. Since then, we've been with each other through thick and thin...that being said, in every way that matters, she and I are pretty different, and yet amazingly similar. We're both witty and sarcastic, but her way is more of a "bully in the back alley" way, and I'm a "scientist who's so done" (Dammit Jim! /ref) kind of way. We're both amazingly creative, but in different ways that I absolutely cannot explain. She's brusque and bold while I'm sympathetic and amazingly stubborn. To be frank; we're two halves of a whole. Or, we've become that.

Anyhow, our actual relationship is amazingly confusing. We have this "Hate-Love" relationship that can fluctuate between two extremes. The only extreme is NEVER goes to is violence, because we don't really, actually hate each other. Yet to an outside observer, it can be perceived in dozens of different ways, from "They absolutely loathe each other's guts" to "They're completely in love" depending on the day and the interaction. Again, from the makers of skk and klance... /lhj Nonetheless in truth we adore each other and pretty much are the biggest things standing between each other and death. Vulpe gets jealous of me sometimes while I occasionally want to punch her, but at the end of the day we won't do anything to each other.

Her symbolic color is red (with a touch of yellow) whereas mine is blue (with a touch of purple).

She's tall and I'm short. We have the relationship where we banter constantly and would likely marry each other solely for tax benefits and not love.

She wears band shirts end eyeliner, her wardrobe primarily consisting of monochrome hues with red or yellow, and, honestly, is emo, (don't tell her I said that /vlh) whereas I wear poppy and colorful, as well as preppy outfits, albeit consisting of pop culture references across the board. (To which she endearingly calls me "nerd")

Our brains work separately in such a way in that we likely would break each other's mind attempting to understanding the precise inner workings. The being said we either work together in such a way that we become the best team, or we completely shut down each other's brain cells. Just down for the count.

Among the most fascinating parts, however, is that we are uncannily similar to HuaLian, specifically. Much akin to Hua Cheng, she... has eyeliner, has horrible handwriting (Don't worry, I can say that), possesses foxes as a symbolic animal, is highly nonchalant, neutral in nature in a variety of actions, and is typically highly confident... in most aspects. As for me, further akin to Xie Lian, I'm obsessed with the arts, wear my hair in a similar pullback, possesses a strong association with "paradise" and rabbits, possesses great emotional confusion often, and willing to see in the best in others.

... and thus, here we are, planning to do a wattpad-esque relationship scheme should her mother not allow me to come with her to Japan.

Hope y'all enjoyed this account of real life "painfully shippable characters", even though if the both of us saw a fandom was shipping us we probably would either both laugh our asses off and/or kick the Fandom's ass.

End scene.

[neutronity]

Heaven Official Blessing Thoughts

To avoid shouting into my friends' faces about this series, I'll shout some things here. Be warned, spoilers (sort of).

HuaLian is a god tier ship.

Why? Easy. Because it's another take on the fan ascending trope, which is hard to do well. It's a ship that at first, XL is a literal God who has asked a small hopeless and luckless child to live from him. Talk about an imbalance, right?

Well, sometimes those worshipful and obsessive relationships end in tragedy and darkness. But here, while Hua Cheng's obsessive worship never disappears, it becomes something that is consented to. Xie Lian knows of this, and he leans into it.

Add to that, Hua Cheng spent 800+ years growing himself to become someone worthy of protecting Xie Lian. He became matched in power and cleverness to the one who he devoted himself to.

When they finally reunite, Hua Cheng is Xie Lian's equal. Not just in terms of martial prowess either, but in terms of banter and intelligence and power. Hua Cheng might not have been working so hard to guarantee that he was a worthy partner to Xie Lian, but he sure became one.

Fate ordained that their paths would cross and they would be bound to each other by the red string of fate, but it was ultimately their choice too. Hua Cheng chose Xie Lian when he was still a fledgling god, and his choice never wavered. Xie Lian too chose Hua Cheng, over and over again. There is no doubt that although Hua Cheng would continue to protect Xie Lian, he never would force Xie Lian to be with him.

People say that these two invented love, but I think the thing that made this work so beautifully well is not the destined love, but instead the chosen love.

BeefLeaf is what ships are made of

MXTX does a really good job wading into moral ambiguity. The demon kings are good as much as bad, and the gods are as bad as they are good.

So when Shi Qingxuan finds out that his brother stole someone else's fate to make him a god, and that person lost so much because of it, we're faced with asking what the price of revenge is.

We also find out that Shi Qingxuan does not bear a grudge for what He Xuan does to his brother, and that he does not change who he is when he's stripped of godhood and becomes a beggar. He is still cheerful and gregarious, still makes friends easily.

A ray of sunshine who forgives the vengeance-driven (ghost) king of gloom? And once He Xuan has gotten his revenge, instead of fading away, he's still there fixing the windmaster fan? Delicious. Delectable. Scrumptious.

We also learn that most of the gods had abandoned Shi Qingxuan nearly the moment everything fell apart, even with how generous and gregarious he always was. Xie Lian is one of the only people who remains his friend.

He Xuan, even against his will, also can't help but remain friends with the former Windmaster.

It's not canon at all, but my BeefLeaf loving brain says He Xuan stays and takes care of Shi Qingxuan until Shi Qingxuan ascends again. And even though it's clear that they're married, He Xuan still denies it.

Banyue and Pei Xiu

Ghost/God pairings are just too good. We know what Jun Wu was going for in setting up Xie Lian to take the fall for Pei Xiu's banishment, but it's also clear to me that instead of making an enemy, Xie Lian's defense and protection of Banyue (and likely jogging Pei Xiu's memory of General Hua) earned Xie Lian another dedicated ally.

I don't think Pei Xiu ever told Banyue that he was in love with her. And honestly, a 200 year banishment into the mortal realm meant 200 years away from Heavenly duties so he could be with his beloved ghost girl.

Another not-canon, but I like to imagine Banyue decides to restore her land and the oasis, and goes the route of the kiln to do so, becoming the third kickass supreme in love with a god.

Ling Wen deserves a vacation

Yes yes, the grandmaster scholar bends the way the wind blows, but can we really blame her? Poor woman has not gotten a break in centuries because she is so damn good at her job that people mistake her for a man and Heaven falls to shambles when she's gone for less than a week.

She is a queen amongst gods, and even as she will stab you in the back if she has to choose between you and her survival? Well... maybe if you gave her a vacation and some rest here and there she wouldn't have to plot your demise, okay?

Xie Lian seems to be one of the only people who comments on this and actually insists she take a vacation, and Hua Cheng is basically the worst person in the universe to make an enemy of, so perhaps Ling Wen will determine that loyalty to Xie Lian is the best way to go, and even finds that she doesn't hate that fact.

What can I say, I am a Ling Wen stan.

[highwarlockkareena]

Every month of 2023 ✨

tagged by @sandushengshou and @eohachu to link my favorite or/and most popular creations from each month of 2023 & then tag some ccs!

January most popular:  word of honor wen kexing babygirl for wohdaily - the most 🥺🔪 my favourite: our flag means death - the foot touch!!!

February most popular: semantic error - jang yaeyoung being the gremlin he is my favourite: wangxian the untamed - wwx's diary edit - this was so much fun to make

March most popular: everything everywhere all at once my favourite: the untamed from yanli's pov - too many women died, we need this version

April most popular: lan wangji the untamed my favourite: barbie wen kexing word of honor - everyone was making barbie sets, but i had to give wkx his own barbie house plus pony!

May most popular:  howl's moving castle my favourite: taecyeon in xo, kitty - for reasons. the reasons being his character name and outfit.

June most popular:  delenn being a badass in babylon 5 - good taste, tumblr my favourite:  pride tinted with you - i've giffed this show before, and i'll gif it again!!

July most popular:  star trek strange new worlds (lower decks crossover) - the best ep of both shows my favourite: wkx word of honor - yeah, I love him

August most popular: tgcf - flirty hualian my favourite: birthday edit for byeongkwan

September most popular & my favourite:  barbie ken set for usergif

October most popular:  wangxian for mxtxtober my favourite: wwx flirting with lwj on grindr - y'all are cowards tho

November most popular: junhee in effortless - listen idk why they turn him into a demon in the music video but it looks great and i am obsessed my favourite: my usergif effortless set

December most popular & my favourite: this my country: a new age secret santa I had a lot of fun making this & i like how it turned out

tagging: @meliorn @gege @violets @chrrispine @weiwuxian @hoppipolla

[stormblessed95]

Thanks for answering my ask.....if you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hi! Thanks for another fun ask! I actually have one post up about some of my favorite OTPs from books from a little while ago. All are canon couples from book series. But you can find that here in this post:

But why would I NOT take the chance to share more OTPs that I love, especially if I can dip into some of my favorite non canon ships too and now ive got some new ones and from other media as well. 🤣 the limitations of only 10 though is always hard. Here are another 10 of my current favorite ships I obsess over. I won't include any from the post above though even though I'm still in love with ALL of them too. Some of my favorite couples, 10 of them, in no particular order:

Victuuri (Yuri On Ice, Anime)

I watched this anime and fell in love with it and their chaotic but adorable and sweet relationship SO HARD. And the relationship is right there in canon which is SO NICE to see in anime where it's just another small portion of their lives. The way they are both obsessed with each other too 😍

Edwin and Royai (FMAB, Anime)

Both canon. Royai is canon, argue with the wall! Lol I guess Royai is like half canon, but whatever. Explicit confirmation is not needed to know those 2 are married. Ed and Winry are the peak childhood friends to lovers arc in the most adorable. Plus she is a badass mechanic. HIS badass mechanic. The way their love grew organically is adorable and so sweet. They take such good care of each other. And Royai are the epitome of a married couple. They also are both so equally badass and have such infinite and complete trust in each other?? It's AMAZING. The way they literally trust each other with their lives and their mental well being. The way Roy literally trusts her to be his eyes when needed also? He literally calls her his queen. I love them so much

Clexa (The 100, TV Show)

CANON yet they did us dirty with the bury your gays trope. But like the "I'm only soft for you" bullshit they had going on. UGH I ate it up so hard. Lol they are both such extreme badasses, morally Grey anti heroes. OF COURSE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS INTENSELY PERFECT TOO! I love the bellarke ship with the best of them too, but out of all Clarke's relationships, the best and my favorite will always be with Lexa. She loved her SO MUCH and the way Lexa always protected her 😭

SasuNaru (Naruto, Anime)

Not canon, I know, but I'm obsessed with the ship anyway because it SHOULDVE BEEN CANON. I could write whole essays over how painfully gay and queer coded these 2 are. Canonically soulmates and everything. Lol their characters and their relationship was the most flushed out in the show and therefore, them being shipped together just makes sense. Especially with how homoromantic and angsty half the shit they did was.

Shakadolin (Stormlight Archive, Book)

Not canon, but the author said it would've been in a different timeline and that even in the current on, Adolin and Shallan (the Canon couple) probably would've been willing to go for it. Lol you can't convince me otherwise thay they aren't both lowkey in love with Kaladin. They invite him to be their bodygaurd on all their dates for a reason! 😂

HuaLian (TGCF, Donghua)

I've read these books for the first time recently and now these 2 live rent free. Like honestly, the OBSESSION with each other. The adorableness. The respectfulness of boundaries. The ICONIC one liners dropped. The do anything cross any line be wherever you need devotion. The way one of them is the sweetest human alive and the other embodies the "I hate everyone but you" trope. Lol the awkwardness of the positions they find themselves in. The jealousy of each other that they make up themselves. Lol the slow burn is painful!! It's been literally 800 years just tell each other you love each other and get married!!!!

So many ATLA ships lol but I love a good Zukka, Sukka, Zutara, Kataang, Korrasami, Rangshi, Suzukki as my ot3 love too lol (TV Show)

There is a good mix of canon and non canon ships here lol what can I say, I'm easy to please! But I will say that it speaks to my Sapphic soul in the best way that the wlw ships are CANON! Thank you ATLA universe for that blessing. And they are canon in the most amazing of ways. Korrasami will always be my favorite. The bi icons those girls are and they way they are EVERYTHING and are so freaking sweet and cute and BADASS.

Solangelo (PJO, Book)

Loves of my life, this relationship is grumpy x sunshine trope personified. They are so sweet, so cute, so perfect for each other it hurts. I clearly have a dynamic I love here. Lol because they are also both insanely badass. Plus the ghost king who controls death and his medic doctor boyfriend? Yes please. Literally made for each other and the way they help each other heal and be happy 🥺

The Iron Triangle, aka Yizhi, Shimin, and Zetian (Iron Widow, Book)

Love triangles done correctly and ended perfectly, aka bisexually. Lol to quote the author, "Iron Widow is just 400 pages of Zetian and Shimin suffering nonstop while Yizhi has the most bisexual time of his life." Lmfao. They are the morally Grey anti heros and lowkey villains in love badass scifi/fantasy cast of characters who ALL fall in love with each other and are only stronger for it. And it's a true triangle, where all 3 are in love and feel more complete for it. There is no choosing.

Darrow & Virigina, and Sevro & Victra (Red Rising, Book)

Unhinged characters falling in love. What could be better. They both match energies so well, bring out the best in each other and fight so hard for each other or sometimes fight each other too. These books are so good, but so brutal. Lol the relationships follow suit. But I freaking LOVE them. I cried so much reading it all and yet I'm obsessed and have been since I first read them. It'll probably never stop.

[astronomicalfluffweek]

Fluff Week FAQ

General

Which characters/dynamics are you particularly interested in?

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

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

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

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

Do you mind which ships I use?

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

Are there any examples of found family you could suggest?

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

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

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

Fanfiction

Is reader insert ok?

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

Is there a word count?

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

How would I post my work when the time comes?

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

Art

What kind of art are you looking for?

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

How would I post my work when the time comes?

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

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

@grungeeuvu

@jdjdddnn

@vintageskeletons

@love-nakamura

@erros429

@fridakahloblvd

@drpepper-spokesman

@eternally-tired-muffin

@mmmcheetos

@average-hua-cheng-fan

[cherryhua]

First of all, thank you for accepting me in the fandom, and the platform in general. I am in no way shape or form, a professional review\analysis character but only a huge fan of TGCF , and I love to scratch the plot as a fan as well as a long time Danmei reader and share my little thoughts with the fandom. please feel free to call me out on my bs,i love discussions and food for thoughts.

The reason behind this post is to add my little two cents regarding something that, I believe in my humble opinion, is a little something about HuaLian that doesn't get enough attention. Hua cheng is portrayed as this romantic,obsessed bad boy, who has no interest or compassion towards others ( which to an extent is true, but i'll get into that in a bit), and Xie Lian being this good, oblivious meatbun, who made some mistakes and now just roams aimlessly in peace.

putting Hua Cheng in front of Xie Lian is literally like one of them looking into a mirror ( just with a different set of clothes hehe ) , and in order to explain my point I'll divide it into little parts,so this might be long but please bear with me.

- Arc and character development :

when we Meet Xie Lian at the beginning of the novel, we meet him at the end of his arc ( or close to it ), his rise and fall, taking responsibility and humbling himself, and realising his limits and make peace with it was already done in the past ( Book 2 and 4).What remains to complete his arc is him finding his happy ending, which is mainly: learn to love himself again ( and of course being with Hua Hua). loving oneself, is not limited to gaining confidence, or self worth, but it's also the gain of freedom to be oneself without any fear of judgement, including to love for one's selfish reasons : in the past, Xie Lian, loved his country, his people, his friends and his parents either because that's the natural thing to do or out of responsibility and commitment. However, his love for Hua Cheng is different: he fell in love, deeply to almost a damaging degree because he found THAT missing piece that will finally complete him, but as someone who always puts others first, this realisation was something new, extremely scary, but freeing . ( ''only after meeting you, did i realise is such simple thing to be happy").The same thing is applied to Hua cheng, we meet him at the beginning of the book, but at the end of his arc, he has matured, took control over his fate and changed it, avenged his God, and made himself the strongest to protect him, however his arc needed his happy ending to finally be completed : knowing he is worthy of love too ( and of course being with his Taizi Dianxia ).

Their arc, and character development is always mirrored through book 2 and 4, only it's backwards: they always meet at crucial points of their lives, when one is rising and the other is falling, yet at the same time being each other's light at the end of the tunnel,And I think that's MXTX's way of telling us that these two are destined soulmates despite the impossible circumstances surrounding them them . at the beginning of book 2 ( which is the start of their arcs) : in their first meeting, Xie Lian was this magnificent, privileged, powerful Crown prince destined to only greatness, who's confident, low-key arrogant ( and little sassy hehe ), loved by his parents, friends and people and overall at the highest points of his life,. While Hua Cheng, was this impoverished, bullied self hating child. who's abused by his family ( and it's heavily implied that his mother died out of illness), beaten by strangers, and is in so much pain and agony that he wishes to put an end to everything, himself included. This encounter resulted in Xie Lian ( being in the highest point ), saving Hua Cheng from falling to his death ( who was at his lowest point), but this encounter was the start of the change in both of their lives.

The second time they met, was in the Xie Lian small temple, at that time Xie Lian had ascended to godhood ( the highest level a human can reach ), and was dealing with the whole Yong'an fiasco, which would eventually be his downfall. At that moment, Hua Cheng was dealing with su*cidal thoughts, poverty, being homeless, hunger, bullying.. ( the lowest state a human can reach), in a moment of despair, He asked Xie Lian what is the meaning of life, since he is in such pain he doesn't want to live anymore, ' tell me God, what should i do?', to which Xie Lian asks to make him his reason to live, and if he doesn't have a reason, then he should live for him, making him that reason. This moment of guidance is also mirrored again in the present at the end of the novel, when hua Cheng was at the edge of dying. in a moment of despair Xie Lian broke down " no one listened to me talk for years, just tell me what should i do ?", to which Hua Cheng replied that he is Xie Lian's most devoted believer, and as long as Xie Lian is in this earth, he will refuse to die. Of course, we need to read a little between the lines here, there was no doubt that if a God has no believers, or statues he will vanish from existence, but what kept Xie Lian alive up until this point, was his one true believer's existence : Hua cheng, and because of his Love and devotion he will defy death itself to come back and live, and continue on living for Xie Lian, the ame way Xie Lian is the reason that kept ( and still keeping ) Hua Cheng alive.

A third, and important instance and the real changing point in both of their arcs is in book 4 : When Xie Lian met Wuming ( Hua Cheng ) as Bai wuxian. The outcome of this interaction was : Hua cheng dying a second time, sacrificing himself to save Xie Lian's humanity, while Xie Lian deciding to take responsibility for his deeds, Resulting in Xie Lian's second banishment, getting his powers sealed, his Luck sucked dry, and becoming a magnet to evil fortune, and finally he become this nobody, impoverished scrap collecting guy, living for the sake of living. While Hua Cheng's fate changed, raised as a ghost king, his luck turned from bringing disasters to bringing only good fortune, and the rest is history.

After this, the two never met again. Part of it is due to Xie Lian's bad luck, but another part is that their character development is almost completed, and what remains to finally give it closure is their final meeting.

There are many other instances like this throughout the story which i won't go into all of them all otherwise i would be writing for days hehe.

- character treats :

Hua Cheng is described as this nonchalant, non caring ,cold, sassy, strong, know-it-all guy, which are all true characteristics of his. He's also known for not caring about anyone who isn't Xie Lian, not even himself. Xie Lian is no different either, but a lot of those character threats are not as obvious as Hua Cheng's for the simple reason that Xie Lian is polite, and keeps most of his thoughts to himself. Xie Lian is very snarky, and thankfully because we are reading the novel from his point of view, we get to know when he is mentally rolling his eyes, or being genuinely annoyed with something. Xie Lian also forgets everyone's existence when Hua Cheng is present, he's just a little low key about it. I think the reason why one is outspoken about how he feels while the other keeps it to himself, is how the two were raised and brought up : Xie Lian after all was a royalty, a crown prince who was properly educated, although we know there were times where that education was blown away by the wind ( ehm book 4 ehm ), reason why he isn't lacking any manners ( and it will be unfair to say Hua cheng does, only he feels that his good manners are only for his Dianxia, he doesn't care too much if the rest of the world found him rude), but also, because Xie Lian was born, and raised in privileged environement , he was always surrounded by good, and hope since he was little, everyone was nice to him, respected him and loved him, or at least pretended to be, after all he was the king and queen's only child.Unlike Hua Cheng who was born into poverty in an abusive environment, he only saw the evil side of humanity since he was a child, making it very hard for him to have the slightest consideration to anyone's feelings, or at least feel obliged to be nice to anyone. After all, no one was ever nice to him, so why should he burden himself with casual formalities ? Of course, other than being sassy queens, the two of them also share the same insecurities : Both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng thought they were unworthy of love. Both of them were petrified by their past selves, and both of them made peace with the idea that they're destined to be alone.

- Morals :

Both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian shared the same views, that in my humble opinion summed up the message behind TGCF : first, Fate is something that can be changed and controlled, thus you get to decide which path you walk in, and when you do, you should accept the consequences of it. Second, when you love someone, you love them for who they are, in their glorious and lowest moments, and not for what they are.

The two expressed these ideologies throughout the book simultaneously, but I think Hua Cheng takes the credit for this more than Xie Lian in the fandom : Hua cheng told Xie Lian in HX arc : "the one standing in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is 'you' and not the state of you", but Xie Lian also told Hua Cheng in the Banyue arc : "If I like you, you can be a beggar and I will still like you. If I dislike you, you can be an emperor and I will still dislike you". and this is one of the reasons why the two support each other's decisions despite sometimes not agreeing ( like the Gambles den for example) .

Hua Cheng Also made it clear, that people have the freedom to choose which paths they walk on, himself included.it doesn't matter if you would succeed or fail, what matters is are you brave enough to take that step, and stand up for what you believe in. This way of thinking is expressed by Xie Lian over and over again as well, especially through the first book, when he openly defies the heavens or when he chooses to create a third path, one that aligns with his own beliefs .

- Love for each other :

Hua Cheng's Love started in the past, while Xie Lian's in the present. I see a lot of comments saying that Hua Cheng falling in love was too easy and didn't make sense. isn't that what love is ? emotions are never meant to make sense. With that said, Hua Cheng feelings started as a child's admiration, and slowly turned to love and a deadly obsession ( deadly to himself since he died for his love three times ) and it only kept on growing every time he met Xie Lian and got to get a little glimpse on who he TRULY is ( keep in mind that of all people, Hua cheng was the only one who saw Xie Lian at his best, and at his worst). The same also happened with Xie Lian, he met Hua cheng for the "first" time on the ox Cart, and instantly thought "damn bruh ,you fine AF!", to the point he couldn't look at him directly into his eyes without feeling uncomfortable ( which reminds me of a similar incident in book 1 :  when Xi Lian was with Hong Hong Er in the cart, having the same conversation they are having on the current Ox Cart, which is Hua Cheng introducing himself and telling Xie Lian that he has nowhere to go.Hua hua was also so shy he couldn't look at Xie Lian straight in the eyes without blushing --> remember what i said about mirroring their experiences ? *wink**wink ) , but this admiration only kept on growing until it reached an explosive, destructive level, especially after finding out who Hua Cheng is to him. Hua cheng might have died for Xie Lian before, but i have no doubt in my mind that Xie Lian would do the same for Hua cheng in an instant : remember in the last extra ( the birthday gift one ), Xie Lian, while dealing with the most agonizing pain, he ran away looking for Hua cheng; and held into him with a deadly grip more than he would held into his own life, asking him to stay by his side and never to leave him again : he can take the pain, he can take thousands of swords piercing his heart, but he can't take Hua cheng being away from him.

Overall, in my humble opinion, although Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are present as different individuals ( which they are in some aspects), they also have so much in common that I feel it's a crime not to point it out.

[edenwolfie]

Hi Edenwolfie! 🥺 just wanted to thank you so much for writing Compass for us, I love this story with all my heart!! I come back to reread it every week, ahh I think I’m obsessed 🤣 and just wanted to ask you two questions - could I tweet about your fic to recommend it for others on twitter in tgcf fandom? I always give a link to the story and write the name of the author / so people know who wrote it, and I would just love to see more people reading your wonderful story, If not then I understand!! Just wanted to ask for permission to do it 💖

and my another question is, I know you’re probably busy, I also noticed that you mentioned sometimes here about your health, I hope you’re feeling better now and I wish you the best! but just wanted to ask, will you write something again with hualian in the future? 👀

hallo anon! thank you so much, thrilled you've gotten so much enjoyment out of it, and you're so very welcome! it was my utter pleasure to write!

of course! always happy for people to share/rec the fic about! (i've got a general permissions thing on my ao3 acct page which, in case anyone has similar queries, that's here)

yup! i'm still quietly working away at the extras for Compass. the first one is getting closer to completion, but i've been pretty busy with work and moving house (on the upside health has been really stable the last 6 weeks which is so so nice, meniere's is a fucking bitch when it wants to be!) so has been slow going. NaNo starts in a couple days tho, so hoping to use that to smash out the rest of that one and hopefully start on the others!

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

From a like, "what if this relationship existed irl?" perspective, Wangxian and Hualian both have Concerning Elements.™ But, I mean, most of my fave ships do. Fiction is fiction, yada yada yada. However, for my tastes, Hualian's Concerning Elements are SO much more my jam (at least thus far, as of being halfway through the 6th official English volume.)

TW for mentions of Wangxian sex antics below the cut. (ie CNC at best, rape at worst.)

This is very subjective, but I think the problem I ended up having with Wangxian once I got to the sex was that while the book did a good job convincing me that Wei Wuxian is into everything Lan Wangji does to him, it didn't do a good job convincing me that Lan Wangji knows that for sure, or is in control of himself, or would stop if Wei Wuxian didn't like something. I can see the bits that could be interpreted differently and suggest that it is all clearly consensual, but it just...wasn't quite enough for me. I'd pretty thoroughly spoiled myself and I thought I'd just be kinda meh about the incense burner bits, but when I actually got to that first one I was just stuck like 😬😬 the whole time. I don't think I will ever be comfortable with blood in that context. Just...yikes. (And yes that's complicated by it being a dream and whatnot, but it did still give me the ick, alas.)

Hualian are so different because the bottom is literally the god the top worships. (Which, y'know, again; if that scenario were somehow translated to real life would be A Problem lmao.) I know there aren't any full-on sex scenes between them, but whatever shenanigans they're implied to get up to, I'm already coming at it from the perspective of trusting entirely that Hua Cheng would never even dream of hurting Xie Lian in any way unless it was 250% consensual. If Hua Cheng has darker fantasies, they're probably of Xie Lian using him...and then he beats himself up for 50 years just for daring to besmirch Xie Lian's goodness in his head like that or something.

And again, this is subjective. This isn't some anti rant where I suggest everyone else should dislike something just because I did. Though I did relate to him in some ways, I don't feel like I bonded as much with Lan Wangji as a character as I did with Wei Wuxian, Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian. Maybe I just don't understand what's going on in his head enough. But my personal comfort level is always gonna be: rough sex needs the top/dom to be very much in control and checking in with the bottom/sub regularly. And in the end, that wasn't how Wangxian felt to me. Which is kind of a bummer.

But Hualian are just...ARGH they're so much, and the obsessive worship and centuries of yearning are so unhealthy is such delightful ways.

[i-never-even-wanted-to-be-here]

Hi........if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hey! Sure, I can do that.

In comparison to the big amount of ships I have I only have a handful I'm actually super serious about. So here are a few I like:

Merthur (Merlin + Arthur) from BBC Merlin: This goddamn kids show still has me deep in my feels after all this time. They're doing things to me. It's so sad that the series didn't get the treatment it needed and deserved because it was just for children. It had so much potential! The mutual trust and protection between the two is *chef's kiss*. They're soulmates in the most literal sense and belong together, are canonically destined to be with each other. What more do I need to say? And still, they're not canon. Unbelievable.

Andreil (Andrew + Neil) from the aftg trilogy: they have a super interesting, thrilling story, both the plot of the book and their relationship are fascinatingly fucked up and it draws you in. Despite their many issues and their rocky start they do have a really healthy relationship based on mutual trust, support and protection. I also like the imagine where we add Kevin and make it a throuple.

Mikayuu (Mikaela + Yuichiro) from Owari no Seraph: They're not canon but if they don't get together at this point it'd literally be unspeakably disrespectful because the way they act is so romantic, I've never seen a non-canon couple be so obviously in love. This is the most blatant queer baiting I've ever witnessed. Anyways, you could argue that they have a reason for their feelings, meaning that they're not genuine and only fabricated emotions, but idc, they're still obsessed with each other. Just because they have a reason for feeling the way they do doesn't mean that it's not genuine. Literally made for each other. The other characters also notice their fixation on one another.

Hualian (Hua Cheng + Xie Lian) from tgcf/ heaven official's blessing: I literally just finished this book series and already love them so much. It's a tragic and comedic story at the same time. I love when those genres are well balanced so that one doesn't destroy the other. They have their weird moments, like Hua Cheng being a little bit of a creepy stalker, which is why at some point I was slightly intimidated by him and completely understand why the side characters were terrified of him, but we know he's a great person and would never deliberately do anything harmful. They have a healthy relationship and as you may have noticed that's a really important aspect to me. BUT I do love angst and that's why beefleaf (He Xuan + Shi Qingxuan) from the same franchise are very dear to me as well, even though they wouldn't make a healthy couple.

Kanej (Kaz + Inej) from Six of Crows: badass characters that make me so emotional istg. But they make a power couple like no other. We stan the queen and the king. Again, a healthy couple, even though they're murderers. I just love how profound their relationship is. It isn't easy to cope with that kind of trauma and still want to be together. Also, the other two ships from soc are amazing as well.

Patrochilles (Patroclus + Achilles) from The Iliad: the OG gays. This story takes place 3200 years ago and it still makes me lose my mind when I think about it.

Caitvi (Caitlyn + Vi) from Arcane: I love their dynamic. They are both so cool in their own ways. And I have the biggest crush on Vi. I'm so impressed with this show tbh.

Yumihisu (Ymir + Historia) from Attack on Titan: Although aot/snk doesn't focus on romance at all and I like it that way, I do really like these two and I wish they could've gotten a chance.

Renga (Reki + Langa) and Matchablossom (Joe + Cherry) from SK8 the Infinity: Both are great ships respectively. The whole show is just for shipping and I love it.

Honourable mention: Khunbam (Khun + Baam) from Tower of God: I love colour coded relationships, they're kinda blue and red like Renga and Merthur. It's just funny to me that they don't romantically care about anyone else and their friendship is so intimate, at least from Khun's side, and while I don't think that they're ever gonna be a couple, it'd certainly be funny if the creator just pulled a gay trap on the readers. Reel them in with a battle based shonen webtoon and some straight baiting and then boom actually it's been setting up the queer ship all along. Oh how I'd laugh.

Honourable mention 2: Yoonmin (Yoongi + Jimin) from BTS: I'm sorry. It's just that I loved this ship when I still went to school. I hyperfixated on them because I needed something to obsess over to distract myself from my crippling depression. I don't normally ship real people because I don't want to make them uncomfortable, it's just for fun or as a joke. I am not serious about them, I just projected ship dynamics like grumpy + sunshine onto them and it brought me great joy. I even wrote a ff au when I was 14. Oh heavens, I have sinned.

[weizhiyuan]

Last song: anklebiters by paramore

Currently watching: a few shows hehe the list is: be my favorite, Tokyo in April is…, hidden agenda, stay by my side, wedding plan, jun and jun, and… tharntype 2 (LMAOOO)

Currently reading: …tgcf. I’m like always rereading tgcf tbh (I should be rereading it faster but lol)

Current obsession: UM I’m still gonna say tgcf bc I just reread the hualian confession (which isn’t even chronological to what I was rereading) and lost it all over again. Otherwise maybeeee paramore lol also nothing new abt that 10 year long obsession

Tagging: @komediebrvte @joyladagang @loserlesbianongsa @iliketodecompose @jyuubin @justafriend-ql <333333

thank uuu @hikikowife for the tag :DD