#qianqiu spoilers

[hualian]

Fangxin Guoshi 🦋 | Heaven Official’s Blessing S2 Ep6

[friedwizardwhispers]

I just think of the consequences of taking the blame for the gilded Banquet and I get so sad and horrified.

The consequences were being nailed to a coffin and buried alive for 100 years and Xie Lian thinks he deserves it:

"It was originally my wrong doing so why shouldn't I pay the price".

Again, The price was a 100 years nailed to coffin underground, dying and waking up and dying again, a cycle. For a 100 years.

I need to reach through the book/screen and murder Jun Wu myself for this.

Also Lang Qianqiu is so incredibly lucky Hua Cheng never found who was the Guoshi and what happened to him before present day when Xie Lian is here.

[white-flower-blooming]

Very sorry but my memory is pretty bad. Template by @oshikasa

[princessofxianle]

"hm? I wonder why the donghua team added in Feng Xin's immediate reaction to Lang Qianqiu breaking his right arm with his left?" bc its not in the book

*ahem* Feng Xin in Book 2... seem familiar???

And heres the original scene...

[thatringboy]

It’s when Xie Lian said “You want to see me feel sorry for myself and self-destruct? Well, I won’t! I will never!” And then lost his only friend and worshipper and was alone for eight hundred years. And it’s when Xie Lian said “I won’t! I won’t! I won’t change! I won’t change! Even if it’s painful, even if I die, I won’t change, I’ll never change!” And sent White No-Face into an insanity filled rage

But it’s when Lang Qianqiu said “If you want me to fill my heart with hatred like yours, I surely won’t! If you’re gonna force me to abandon myself like you did, I refuse! I will never! No matter what you do to me, I will never become like you!” And when Xie Lian only laughed and responded with “Good! Well said! Good. Remember what you said today—that you will never become like me.”

[victorialovesstiles]

Xie Lian's carefully built walls breaking down for a moment as he allows himself to laugh and shed a few tears at Lang Qianqiu's hurtful words...

Hua Cheng noticing it even before the tears fall, even as Xie Lian is only laughing...

Hua Cheng deciding to reveal the truth to Lang Qianqiu immediately to stop Xie Lian from being sad or misunderstood...

[sokkalore]

going throw him at a wall and see what happens

[revel-inbluehues]

This is very much an essay. Consider this my praise for s2ep9. I'll fangirl in another post.

Xie Lian acknowledged that he's never seen Hua Cheng angry, but he approached him without any fear or worry. Even after he was unexpectedly paralysed, he still didn't doubt the fact that HC would never hurt. While he was confused and nervous, he still trusted HC with his life, despite having been out into a paralysis, and doesn't doubt HC's intentions for even a second.

Hua Cheng is angrier than we've ever seen him. He wasn't fazed at all by anything in season 1 except when XL mentioned being hurt or was hurt. He had, in the previous episodes, watched as the love of his existence discredit himself and hold back his tears. Even earlier, HC had accidently hurt him. Now, he gets to vent the anger at himself for his helplessness, anger at the Lang Qianqiu for his ignorance and anger at Qi Rong for his schemes. He is angry and one of the many people who hurt and mocked XL was in front of him. With every insult against XL, HC only gets angrier.

For the next part, I'd like to mention that LQQ in his daruma form is adorable and I laughed when he jumped out like a pokeball.

Onto the more serious look, LQQ is angry as well, but a lot more confused and the donghua team did a great job at expressing. He shifted between denial, confusion, reassurance and anger as he battles the words between XL and QR, and the donghua team did brilliantly to express this. The music was appropriately dramatic. It feels sharp, more like battle music, and paused and played at the right moments to increase the drama. He'd rather trust the man he thinks murdered his whole family rather than face the possibility that he condemned the wrong person and he lived a large portion of his life based on a lie, hating a person who might not have deserved and letting the men who did commit the murder get away with it (to some extent). Even Prince Anle was honoured as a friend of the king in death rather than a traitor to the nation.

Speaking of XL's words to LQQ, the fact that he yelled against QR's words the moment he could talk was a testament to his nerves and desperation and a shock to both LQQ and QR. It is an absolutely absurd situation from LQQ's view. He's watching a man argue that he was the guilty party behind the murders when normally, people would be trying to blame each other and prove themselves innocent. It's very obvious the XL is hiding something but LQQ chooses not to chase the answers and settles with XL's story because if it isn't true, then he would have to reevaluate the past few centuries and face the reality that his personal feelings blinded him to the facts, not that anyone can quite blame him for it. Meanwhile, Qi Rong is shocked because, from his view, a random man showed up and called him a liar, despite him very much telling the truth, or what he believes to be the truth.

When Xie Lian is talking about his second demotion, I love how they cut to HC, softer now that he was looking XL. HC knows exactly why his 'heart was uncertain' but he is also clearly hoping that part of it was because XL missed Wu Ming and he mourned him. The implications is something that novel readers can see and cry about; XL's second shackle was his own punishment for getting Wu Ming killed and it was sign that he did care for Wu Ming, the nameless ghost, his last believer. However, HC doesn't know that. He can only hope that he occupied a modicum of XL's heart but never think of asking because he's afraid of the answer. His love may be unconditional, but rejection would hurt and meaning nothing to XL would be a painful existence for him. In a single frame, I see the love, hope and adoration that HC has for XL.

There are a lot of good Hualian scenes in this episode. There is a lot more casual touches, where Xie Lian is trying to calm HC down and HC is too angry to be panicking about it. The irony is absolutely not lost when QR asks about who'd worship XL and make statues of him while HC, XL's most devoted follower who carved thousands of statues of him, was standing right there.

XL takes every one of QR's insults with a smile because he genuinely isn't offended. It's hard to be insulted by children's jabs after everything he went through. To him, it isn't a big deal, while HC was only getting progressively angrier at QR for insulting him. The moment QR insulted HC, however, was when XL instantly turned to violence, striking before he could fully finish. It wasn't that big of an insult, calling HC blind, but it was enough of a transgression that XL slapped him like a fly. To XL, HC quickly became someone he cared for, respected and wanted by his side, for what was probably the first time in forever. It only makes sense for XL to be viciously protective of the first person that he cared for on a personal level rather than 'the world should be protected' stance. Meanwhile, HC was genuinely surprised by XL's actions. While he would protect XL against everything, he was never expecting that protection returned but HC, in his insecurity and devotion, does not fully understand the fact that, while true devotion can be one-sided, true love can't be. XL does care deeply for HC, a fact that he hasn't comprehended yet.

Even when Hua Cheng blocks Feng Xin with E-Ming, he is extremely gentle. He knows that all of this is going to hurt XL but it needed to happen and Hua Cheng was there to catch. It was also fascinating to see Lang Qianqiu realise that he won't be able to stop Xie Lian from killing Qi Rong if it came down to it and there was a true worry that he might never find out the truth if Xie Lian got through him. On the other hand, Xie Lian was truly desperate; this was a secret he buried, and faced 100 years in a coffin to ensure that it stayed buried. Now, without much of a warning, all of it was coming out and Xie Lian is panicking.

One of my favourite parts in this episode is Qi Rong himself. His voice actor did a brilliant job at portraying the wild, manic and immature personality of Qi Rong. He is somewhat intelligent; you can't survive 800 years without some serious planning, and he did plot the gilded banquet along with other skirmishes everywhere else. However, he is childish and arrogant in a way that the other ghosts aren't. He's powerful enough to stand above other ghosts and too weak to stand as equals with the calamities, so despite his attempt to escape his mediocrity compared to certain others (e.g., Xie Lian and Hua Cheng) failed. His immaturity shines through in the animation. He is the most animated and restless character so far, moving constantly and expressing himself in his limbs a lot more than others. It makes him feel a lot less composed than the others, and his actions cement that. He crawls around, he holds his knees, and he gets red in the face when people don't respond to his riling. It gives a much more maniachal yet silly vision of him. While it doesn't make him a completely terrifying presence like White No-Face, he does make people weary with his antics. He is definitely one of the characters that I hate as people but love as character. I think Qi Rong was the part where the entire donghua team truly and absolutely outdid themselves, even though I do think they do an amazing job every day.

[missveryvery]

We need to discuss LQQ's cute friend that's been by his side since he was a child.

I hope they hold hands and sleep cheek to cheek.

[canayams-art]

H,, himb,,,,,,

[muzsmoux]

When Qi Rong goes on an episode long rant about how he and his homie planned and executed the most devestating event of his life, Lang Qianqiu does NOT go on a quick inner journey and chooses to move on despite everything. No.

He goes "Well, that's enough of that. You are going in the soup." and tosses that mf into a boiling pool of sludge like the world's most lice ridden bouillon cube.

What a Chad.

[lynns-cornerr]

you can't understand how much this makes me laugh every. single. time.

[friedwizardwhispers]

Season 2 is going to be so funny because it gonna go from: aww 🥰,oh look, Hualian flirting in the gambler den, they are so cute, to: oh Shit, Xie Lian just burned down Hua Cheng's house to: Oh Fuck now Xie Lian is being accused of singlehandedly doing a red wedding and he is confessing to it even though he didn't do it, to: OH MOTHERFUCKER, Qi Rong, desecrated his aunt's grave and put a child in it in less than 12 episodes.

But at least that means we'll get to meet Guzi.

[biboomerangboi]

Still thinking about last night episode and the cycle of Jun Wu to Xie Lian to Lang Qianqiu. Particularly I’m thinking about how Jun Wu wanted Xie Lian to become exactly like him yet when Xie Lian was placed into the mentor role of a young Prince exactly like him he did the complete opposite.

Thinking about how Jun Wu saw a mirror and he tortured him to make Xie Lian suffer like he did by bringing down his kingdom then physically and psychologically tortured him for years after to create the perfect heir.

Then looking at how hard Xie Lian worked to be sure Lang Qianqiu didn’t suffer because he saw him like a mirror to him and even though his kingdom played a part in Xianles downfall he couldn’t bear another prince suffering like he did and when he did suffer Xie Lian made sure he got closure and revenge and didn’t have nightmares and worry’s and boogeymen even if it meant Xie Lian suffered again because he wanted Lang Qianqiu to be nothing like him.

Thinking about how Xie Lian constantly proves he will never be Jun Wu over and over and over again because he’s his own person and how good he is at his core.

[starbiology]

chapter 228

[mae-i-scribble]

Soooooo about that new tgcf episode, right? (novel spoilers for those who have not finished book 1)

Across the board tgcf season 2 has honestly been blowing away all my expectations for just how *good* of an adaptation it was going to be. It definitely helps that the 2nd half of book one is probably my favorite arc in the entire series and it brings me great joy to see it animated with such care.

Case and point, I was not expecting them to go quite so hard in showcasing the history of Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu but it is by far my favorite scene in the episode. There is just. So much attention to detail here.

First up we have how they actually transition into the massacre.

The returning thematics of the 3rd glass of water problem being presented and what that means for Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu specifically are clear enough from how the novel presents them, but this is just a perfect way to showcase that visually. By having Qianqiu's statement of "he shouldn't have intervened from the beginning" into Xie Lian becoming that 3rd person to take responsablity for the Gilded Banquet. The way that this also shows how it will reflect Qianqiu's views on what Xie Lian did when the truth is revealed.

Also shoutout to how menacing Xie Lian is as he walks up to the king. The donghua is really selling you on the possibility that maybe Xie Lian did do this. However, important to note, Xie Lian does not have a speck of blood on him- until he kills the king. A clever bit of foreshadowing to how the only blood Xie Lian actually has on his hands is the king's, no one else in that room was killed by him.

I wish i had the screencap of when Qianqiu has overtaken Xie Lian because this is such a miserable and perfect parallel shot between the two of them.

Circling back to the initial transition with the 3rd glass of water question, we see Xie Lian becoming that third person to prevent Lang Qianqiu from having to do so in his stead. He turns that 3rd person question in to a simple good and evil scenario. Upcoming we'll have Xie Lian's declaration of "Good! I hope you never become like me!" to Lang Qianqiu and furthering the parallels between them, and this is such a classic shot to establish such parallelism. Lang Qianqiu is so young and terrified and eerily similar to Xie Lian. And Xie Lian, who we have come to know as a apathetic but ultimately compassionate and kindhearted person, fully assume the mask of the villain.

Anyways if anyone needs me i am going to chewing this episode between my teeth