it all comes down to this
a kiss for his husband
I can’t shake the feeling that Hua Cheng must’ve been so overwhelmed seeing the version of Dianxia he met on that ox cart. Like he would trust, support, and love even the darkest version of Xie Lian imaginable, but the one he ended up meeting, after everything, was gentle, sweet, adorable, delightfully silly, honest, and unguarded, ready to protect the old man driving the ox cart and share his steamed bun with a stranger.
Scenes from many gut-wrenching moments probably flashed before his eyes, yet here was his Dianxia, within reach. And they were just having a chat—not as a redacted and his redacted—just two people on a chance encounter on a beautiful autumn day. Hua Cheng’s heart must’ve felt so full that it was about to burst.
At the same time, he probably wanted so much more than having a casual conversation about the water tyrant. Imagine the amount of self-restraint he had to not just blurt out “where have you been??” “How have you been??” “Give me a list of people and creatures who have ever mistreated you in any way in the past 800 years…”
Saw something about Hua Cheng always being able to sense his ashes so he can always sense Xie Lian and I just think it adds a hilarious take to him giving Xie Lian his ashes. Like yes it’s a beautiful and romantic ghostly tradition but there is something so funny about him given them to him the moment he has to leave so he doesn’t lose him again after 800 years of searching like someone tagging a bird to track their migration habits. He is not taking no fucking chances.
he put an air tag on his wandering grandpa
what we lost that day
Time has brought your heart to me 🦋
everything I wanted
forever obsessed with the way hua cheng didn’t really intend to enter xie lian’s life. he just wanted to see him. check on him. was pleasantly surprised to have such a nice chat. i get the feeling that he just wanted to make true on the promise he made as a wisp—“I want to protect them. […] then I won’t let them know I’m protecting them either.”
then when they arrived at puqi shrine, he had every intention of leaving—he already did everything he intended to. it’s xie lian who invites him in and asks him to stay at the shrine.
A Game Between Ghost Kings // Amonimy's Official Heaven Official's Blessing Book 2 Trailer
Hua Cheng essentially cockblocking himself for possibly all of eternity will literally never not be the funniest thing MXTX ever wrote.
Xie Lian was pretty much completely in love with him the second he saw those lanterns (and completely oblivious about it) and then we get the wonderful first kiss underwater moment and Xie Lian is basically drawing hearts around Hua Cheng every time he sees him. While like quietly dying cause he literally has no idea what to do with it. Like at this point he doesn’t even really understand that he is head over heels totally gone for this man.
Until Hua Cheng is like I have a beloved I just haven’t won them over yet. Which he thinks is perfectly reasonable because his self esteem is the worst and he doesn’t understand how he could have won Xie Lian over yet. (He’s only on step 22 of his Marrying Dianxia 3000 step Master Plan ((that he debates throwing out on a regular basis because he doesn’t deserve to even dream about wanting Xie Lian)). So course he’s like yeah I have this wonderful noble beautiful beloved I just haven’t won them over yet wink wink nudge nudge.
But Xie Lian is like oh of course obviously I don’t deserve nice things and fuck I actually wanted him so badly I’m actually in love with him and now I will resign myself to never being happy for his sake. (Their combined self esteem is truly a so low it’s a hole in the ground which is hilarious because they think the other person is to good for them and unattainable forever because they literally have the same neurosis.) So he starts boxing up his feelings forever constantly wanting Hua Cheng and feeling guilty about it and literally dying inside because he wants Hua Cheng like he’s never wanted anyone.
Like essentially books 3 and 5 only happen because Hua Cheng has now cursed them both by saying he has a beloved because Xie Lian believes he isn’t wanted and therefore any nice thing Hua Cheng does is just him being nice and not Hua Cheng pulling out steps 23-34 of his plan thinking he still hasn’t won Xie Lian over. (He has he so has but he shot himself in the foot so badly it’s painful to read).
Like thank the Gods Hua Cheng is so unhinged and created the cave of 10000 Gods cause Xie Lian would literally be at his own wedding to Hua Cheng still convinced he wanted someone else and this was in fact a thing they were doing to solve a case together otherwise.
Like he needed something that unhinged to put 2 and 2 together otherwise he never would have caught on he’s Hua Cheng’s beloved. Meanwhile Hua cheng is like 🥺 he’s going to think I’m a weirdo now and I’m only on step 50 of the plan 🥺 like the two of them wouldn’t have been fucking nasty 2 books ago if he just kept his mouth shut and didn’t cockblock himself so violently.
If Wei Wuxian survived
pls assume i'm thinking about this moment 24/7 all week every week
oh god, my god.
Between Matches
I am late to the game but here some iwaoi caught flirting at the Olympics.
Wait, wait, wait,… what do you mean it’s me ???
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