Pinned posts are a cute idea! I shall steal it now.
Fandoms: TGCF, TGCF, TGCF, Hunger Games (SOTR), Arcane, Percy Jackson, Genshin Impact, Sherlock (in order from feral and will post discursive analyses to casual, may reblog arts)
Call me Ren ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა
Writer on AO3 @/Arenareo
Fun fact: I like The Strokes!!
Main content: Meta analyses/theories, braincrackers, my art
⋆ Meta analyses/theories: Selfless Devotion and Foil Characters, TGCF Altair and Vega Parallels, Hua Cheng and Food
AU where ghosts can never become fully corporeal, no matter how powerful they are. Hua Cheng is a calamity, able to manipulate space around him, can wield a sword and build statues, but whenever he touches a human, only a human, his body passes through.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng fall in love still, but when they kiss, it's a ghost kiss, the flicker of a butterfly's wings. When they hold hands, they slowly, slowly interlock fingers, so that if they imagine hard enough, they're still touching, but if they move even a fraction, the ghostly hand will pass right through.
At a certain angle, the sun catches Hua Cheng when his skin isn't just pale, but clear, and when it first happens, Hua Cheng doesn't miss Xie Lian's slightly startled gaze.
Xie Lian sometimes forgets he can't touch him because Hua Cheng can touch inanimate objects, and when they reunite and Xie Lian runs into his arms, he holds onto thin air, until Hua Cheng chuckles into his ear, "Gege, is it fun standing inside of me?"
When it's winter and they've collected enough firewood for their cottage, Hua Cheng gazes at Xie Lian, breath fogging the air and hands held in front of the fireplace.
I wish I could be the one to warm you.
"What do you mean, San Lang?" Xie Lian asks.
Hua Cheng blinks, mind catching up to his mouth.
"You're cold, and the fireplace is warm," Hua Cheng says softly.
"Mn, but you're warm to me. Now come over here, San Lang, I want you to try this tea I made."
AU where ghosts can never become fully corporeal, no matter how powerful they are. Hua Cheng is a calamity, able to manipulate space around him, can wield a sword and build statues, but whenever he touches a human, only a human, his body passes through.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng fall in love still, but when they kiss, it's a ghost kiss, the flicker of a butterfly's wings. When they hold hands, they slowly, slowly interlock fingers, so that if they imagine hard enough, they're still touching, but if they move even a fraction, the ghostly hand will pass right through.
At a certain angle, the sun catches Hua Cheng when his skin isn't just pale, but clear, and when it first happens, Hua Cheng doesn't miss Xie Lian's slightly startled gaze.
Xie Lian sometimes forgets he can't touch him because Hua Cheng can touch inanimate objects, and when they reunite and Xie Lian runs into his arms, he holds onto thin air, until Hua Cheng chuckles into his ear, "Gege, is it fun standing inside of me?"
When it's winter and they've collected enough firewood for their cottage, Hua Cheng gazes at Xie Lian, breath fogging the air and hands held in front of the fireplace.
I wish I could be the one to warm you.
"What do you mean, San Lang?" Xie Lian asks.
Hua Cheng blinks, mind catching up to his mouth.
"You're cold, and the fireplace is warm," Hua Cheng says softly.
"Mn, but you're warm to me. Now come over here, San Lang, I want you to try this tea I made."
I will never get over how MXTX is such a genius in crafting such beautifully fleshed-out foil characters for Hua Cheng, maybe unintentionally, but the parallels are there. Xuan Ji and her obsessive attachment to Pei Ming. Qi Rong and his warped exaltation of Xie Lian, to the point of idealization and resentment. I see some people call Hua Cheng’s devotion obsessive. But reading deeper, it’s undeniable that his character and selflessness sets himself apart not only from his foil characters, but also from most people in the real world.
Xuan Ji believes she deserves Pei Ming's affection in return. She thinks that if she loves him hard enough, gives enough, sacrifices enough of herself for him, then it's only right that he loves her back. Hua Cheng is the opposite. He is willing to give anything, life or death, with no expectation of return. If Xuan Ji cuts off her limb, it’s to create obligation. If Hua Cheng gives up his life for Xie Lian, it’s simply because he would give up everything if it meant Xie Lian is safe and happy.
If Xie Lian hated Hua Cheng and never wanted to see him again, as much as it would destroy him, he would cast himself aside, or quietly protect him from afar. To Xuan Ji’s coercion is to Hua Cheng’s absolute sincerity, and it makes so much sense that Hua Cheng can back up his statement “You will never find anyone more sincere than me in the world." He is the most sincere. He never goes halfway. If he loves someone, he loves them fully, freely, without bending reality to fit his fantasy.
That's the other difference. Xuan Ji doesn't see Pei Ming as the honest, carefree playboy he is, but the version molded in her mind as her destined partner. Qi Rong doesn't see Xie Lian as a human subject to the whims of fickle public opinion, but as a perfect, untouchable being of greatness, which makes his fall so revolting in his eyes. It's love attached to image, inflated to the figment, or distorted by adoration and denouncement.
Hua Cheng stands in contrast, again. He doesn't see this static image of Xie Lian the Crown Prince. He doesn't yearn for an ideal. He worships and loves Xie Lian, the person and god who changes, falls, grows, keeps on persevering. Everything he does, he does for Xie Lian, not for himself. If Xie Lian is selfless to the world, Hua Cheng is selfless to Xie Lian.
This also makes reading TGCF from Xie Lian's point of view so interesting, because there's an intrinsic "unreliable" quality to it. Hua Cheng is selfless when it comes to Xie Lian, and Xie Lian is so blasé about his own hurts that he subconsciously expects others to view his sufferings the same way. It takes Hua Cheng directly stating what upset him for Xie Lian to ever consider the possibility that Hua Cheng is upset because Xie Lian got hurt. Xie Lian assumes that he must've done something wrong.
In the revised text, when Xie Lian gets bitten by the scorpion snake, Hua Cheng stares "at the wound on his hand, a blank look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe it, and was having an out-of-body experience. That look only lasted a short time, then his face fell." Hua Cheng feels Xie Lian's pain as if it is his own, looking at his wound with such a pained expression that it prompts Xie Lian to ask him if he's alright. Hua Cheng trembles holding Xie Lian's hand, just knowing Xie Lian has been hurt, but Xie Lian doesn't realize at the time why their linked hands tremble.
As they walk to Banyue City, Xie Lian is confused why Hua Cheng seems upset, unusually quiet and with a bad expression, wondering what exactly he did wrong to offend him, not realizing that it is because Hua Cheng is distressed by Xie Lian being bitten and Hua Cheng's own perceived failure and fault. In the revised text, he tries to coax Hua Cheng back into conversation by asking a question he already knows the answer to.
Nan Feng: “There’s no door, how can it be a prison?”
Xie Lian was about to reply, when he suddenly had a thought, and instead said, “I don’t know that.”
Lest San Lang not catch it, he hastily added, “Ai, but I really would like to know.” He finished speaking, and waited anxiously.
Sure enough, the young man opened his mouth. He said, “They were thrown in.”
Xie Lian looked at him, and although he was unfamiliar with it, he said with a shy face, “Ah, really? Thrown down from on top?”
San Lang said, “Mm. Also, there would be venomous scorpion snakes and starving fierce beasts down there.”
Having finally gotten him to speak, Xie Lian sighed softly, and secretly moved a little closer, saying exaggeratedly, “San Lang really does have such exceptional knowledge.”
The young man looked at him. This look was as if he had seen right through his intention; for Xie Lian, it was hard to avoid being a little embarrassed, but fortunately he saw the corners of his eyes curve upward a little.
Xie Lian doesn't usually do this; he is "unfamiliar" with such deception. It shows how much he already likes Hua Cheng, that he'd do this because he cares about what the other thinks and whether he likes him. It's endearing to see Xie Lian being a little sneaky, but also to see how well they both know each other. Xie Lian knows Hua Cheng wouldn't ignore him if he was really curious about something. And Hua Cheng knows what he's doing when he looks at him. It carries this romantic tension like spinning cotton candy: I know what you'll do because I know you, and you know what I'm doing because you know me.
But still, perceptive as Xie Lian is, he doesn't realize the full depth of Hua Cheng's selflessness until they grow closer. And that gradual realization is what makes their arc so compelling.
My very traditional Chinese friend just said that Xie Lian dresses like the ancient Chinese equivalent of a goth. Now I can’t get the image of modern au Xie Lian dressed all goth with combat boots and a motorcycle out if my head.
So. So. I've seen a lot of fanfics where Hua Cheng hears about Xie Lian's ascension, and that got me wondering whether it's at all possible that he could've witnessed Xie Lian's ascension. Imagine that feeling, of having found him after 800 years, and soon after he finds him, he ascends. And yet, rather than seeing it as something bittersweet, like "so close but so far," Hua Cheng just sees this as a very beautiful moment, because he knows he can see him again.
NOW here I was, writing my fanfic, right, and then I started getting invested in numerology. I was trying to figure out how many days it would take Hua Cheng to find Xie Lian while following one of his leads. (I imagine that he goes on trips in extended bursts, like he'll search for him for days on end following a certain lead, and when nothing comes to fruition he'll go back to ghost city and do everything else he does: amassing knowledge, rebuilding his manor, buying properties, gambling, making statues/art, practicing his sword forms, terrorizing (helping) the residents, watching through his butterflies, protecting the city etc.)
While doing my numerology research, I happened to read about the Qixi Festival, which takes place on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. At first I was like, "eh. it's not possible that Xie Lian actually ascended on Qixi because that'd be a really weird coincidence, right?? for him to ascend on such an important day. ahaha." A side note for those who don't know: Qixi Festival is a festival for Altair and Vega, the stars of Niulang and Zhinu, a story about a mortal cowherd and weaver maiden/goddess who fell in love. Such love was forbidden by heavenly law so the father of the Weaver Goddess split them apart with the Milky Way. Every year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month a bridge of feathers forms and they can reunite for just that one day. It's a classic myth of longing, of prevailing love even against the world.
I searched up the date of Zhongyuan, which is when we know Xie Lian meets Hua Cheng on the ox cart, and it's on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. And I was like. Hold up. That's pretty darn close to Qixi.
I tried doing the mathematics. Now, there are multiple interpretations, because the text can be a little vague at times, but I've concluded that it is a possibility that he ascended on Qixi. (It's also possible that he did not ascend on Qixi, lmao.) But hear me out.
START of Totally Skippable Mathematics:
Let's assume that he ascended on the day of the Qixi Festival, 7-7 (going by the Lunar Calendar). It says that he "squatted at the edge of the Immortal City's main street" for "almost three days." We could take this literally, because it could make sense for him to actually squat for 3 days. He has an immortal body and high pain tolerance. Coupled with the fact that he didn't want to reascend (his biggest regret was his second ascension), squatting for 3 literal days could track. However, I discovered that "three days" can be a hyperbole in Chinese, an exaggerated way of saying a long while. This makes me think he was squatting for a few hours, a day at most, perhaps. With the first, literal interpretation, it'd be around 7-9 by the time he enters the array. With the second, more likely interpretation, it'd still be 7-7. The next clear time indicator we get is when it says that the next day, Ling Wen informs of the mission on Mt. Yujun and he embarks on his journey. We get another clear time indicator that 3 days passes because of his collision with the cloud while descending from heaven. This puts us at either 7-13 or 7-11 when he arrives at Mt. Yujun. (From now on, let's use our 7-11 assumption.) He meets Fu Yao & Nan Feng. They plan for the mission, sleep at the temple. Next day is 7-12. Mission is solved by the morning of 7-13.
Now here's where it gets ambiguous. It says that "Despite how some time had passed before the Official remembered to redeem his vow because of his daughter’s death, he still fulfilled his promise with a broken heart, although inevitably, he ended up paying less." This implies that there was a passage of time of at least a couple of days, maybe even a week before the official pays up his merits (+ Feng Xin clears his debt) and Xie Lian becomes debt-free. We don't know for sure. But a couple of days is a possibility, and if we use 2 days as the number of days that passed since the completion of the mission, we are now at 7-15, the day of Zhongyuan. Next!!! Xie Lian goes on to talk about how he's been trying to get along with the gods and do godly matters, appearing in the array, but every time he talks, the array falls silent (this is sad and I'm gonna yap about this, but that's for another day).
After that it's a matter of determining how quickly he gave up "and as a result, stopped being gloomy," and subsequently came up with the idea to return to the mortal realm and build himself a temple. It's possible that he took multiple days to do this, but I think it's likely that all of the conversation attempts in the array could have happened within less than a day. If we use the conservative estimate, this means that he arrives at Puqi Village on 7-15!!!!!!! Now, with all these conservative estimates and assumptions, this aligns with the canon meeting with Hua Cheng on the ox cart.
END of Mathematics!
What's the point of all this, you ask? I think it'd be very, very poetic if Xie Lian ascended on Qixi. Hualian's story is about love, but also about 800 years of separation and devotion. The cowherd and weaver girl are separated every day of the year except for the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. The heavens split them apart in that story because it defied heavenly law, a parallel to a theme in TGCF. in the flashback, Xie Lian was forbidden to descend to the mortal realms because gods cannot interfere with mortal matters.
But also, it's a story about love, between a mortal cowherd of very humble upbringings, and a weaver goddess, known for her beauty, for weaving beautiful cloud tapestries across the sky. Xie Lian grew up as the beloved crown prince, then falls from godhood and wanders as a scrap collector for 800 years. Hua Cheng grew up poor, then turns his circumstances around and becomes one of the wealthiest men on earth. (This dichotomy and shift in dynamics, and yet the unchanging respect between these two is ANOTHER topic I could cover on another day.) But no matter what, that's another parallel theme, of a love that isn't about wealth, or status, but about whether they like a person. That precisely reflects one of Xie Lian's most famous quotes, "If I like you, you can be a beggar and I'll still like you. If I dislike you, you can be the emperor and I'll still dislike you."
Xie Lian's ascension is the start of their reunion, the start of everything new. If xie lian ascended on Qixi, his ascension becomes a simultaneous inversion and parallel of the cowherd and weaver maiden. Where that myth is about lovers torn apart by heaven, Hualian's story is about lovers finding each other... Two stars, separated by the milky way, or two stars, crossing that separation. But in both stories, there's love, defying heavenly law or taboos, transcending status, and enduring across time.
Every single person from Xianle has one move and it’s go put on a little disguise and go hang out with the prince for varying reasons and wildly different results.
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