“The face my husband loves isn’t mine. Nor are the eyes he looks into. The body that he worships so, and the heart that beats for him are not my own. The dead man’s lips are kissing his. And who am I if not a lie?”
Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu Identity Reveal
Shen Qingqiu felt it the moment he woke up in this world. He felt torn between worlds; A thin phantasmatic piece of paper. His entire being was separate as if split down the middle so perfectly, everything he felt was delayed. Where he ended and where he began sat parallel like glass panes, staring at one another
The sensations he felt in his bones and against his skin. The sun tickled the tip of his nose and caressed his eyelids in the early morning. It felt like it took a second to register what he was experiencing, a delay between sound and light. It was like a thin barrier covered his body, reminding him he was there yet not at all.
fic link: The Third Heart
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
well i don't think i'll be able to squeeze in another completed piece this year, so i think it's time to make a 2025 summary. i think i'd been too busy to draw as much as i wanted to, but im played so many wonderful games which inspired me so much. i've still got so many to play *siiiigghh* to another year of landscapes and emotionally destroying endings
This drawing is the singular reason I have failed inktober. HOW could I concentrate on anything but this?? She has consumed me I fear
(Yes her sword is a leek version of Virtuous Contract. YES she is standing on a pile of leeks. YES I felt the leeks were too important to only mention in the tags.)
The newest and youngest of the currently known existing Supreme-ranked ghosts. His emergence from the Kiln is treated by the Three Realms as the start of what could be a new generation of Calamities. His notoriety comes from his second "death" where he leveled the infamous Burial Mounds, swallowing more than half the ghosts and resentment within the Mounds, and releasing enough backlash to force Mount Tonglu to awaken.
Under the cut are more details about his reputation, appearance and abilities as a Supreme-ranked ghost.
REPUTATION (as a ghost)
His moniker, Devil Flute Upon Graves, references his use of the Devil Flute Chenqing to control the undead and harvest resentful energy from them.
Wei Ying is considered by many to be the first of a potential new generation of Great Calamities. His close association with both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian has others considering him as Hua Cheng's "successor" Calamity, much to the chagrin of both Ghost Kings.
His territory is considered to be the Burial Mounds and sometimes the greater Yiling area. Within the area, he has a few scattered worshippers after his short stint of helping the Yiling civilians post-Sunshot Campaign, and his "cleansing" of half the Burial Mounds in the wake of his "death". Turns out eating half of the vengeful ghosts/corpses and dispelling most of the condensed resentful energy around the area helped improve the lives of the Yiling civilians greatly.
Additionally, his existence as pure yin energy straight up unnerves many who come across him. Though he appears quite animated in the outside, many describe his presence as unnaturally cold or empty or still. There's no natural balance within him at all and the dissonance between his outwards appearance and his ghostly presence just freaks people out.
APPEARANCE
His true appearance is similar to his time as the Yiling Laozu, though healthier (as healthy as a ghost would look like) and more androgynous in the sense that the features that he inherited from his mother, like his eyes and nose, have been enhanced. His eyes have also become a more intense silver, though it could be just the effect of his red eye makeup. His clothing remains in his signature black and red palette although the black is more prominent now. His outermost black robes have bright red feather designs clinging at the end, giving them the appearance of dripping blood. Overall, his appearance invokes the feeling of a crow that had recently bathed in freshly shed blood.
After the failed summoning by Mo Xuanyu, Wei Ying's primary disguise is that of a young adult ex-rogue cultivator named Mo Shanxi. His facial features are a mix of his original appearance and Mo Xuanyu's, to claim distant blood relations. His clothes as Mo Shanxi are in whites with hints of deep, almost black reds, and are reminiscent of the clothing of his mother, Cangse-Sanren, and his martial uncle, Xiao Xingchen.
ABILITIES (as a ghost)
Pure Yin Energy Body: Wei Ying's ghostly body is made of pure, condensed yin and resentful energy straight from the Burial Mounds. Just by being in his presence alone can agitate the most peaceful of spirits. WY can either consciously suppress his yin energy or he hangs around people with an abundance of yang energy to balance him out (hint: LWJ). The composition of his ghostly body means it's ridiculously easy for him to switch back and forth between male and female forms, though his natural form remains androgynous in appearance thanks to the abundance of yin energy.
Ghostly Cultivation: His signature cultivation style. His main instrument for this is Chenqing, which is known as the Devil Flutein the Three Realms. Since he is now a ghost, practicing this path has no repercussions to him anymore. In fact, using resentful energy boosts his natural ghost powers. At some point in time, he will also learn how to use other people's hatred of or negative emotions towards him as a power booster as well
Ghostly Demon Crows: Everywhere he goes, he is accompanied by a murder of red-eyed, crows made of condensed resentful energy. They seem to be empathetically connected to him and can act as additional eyes and ears. They're chatty, yappy things who are notably fond of Lan Zhan, Wen Ning and the junior quartet (LSZ, LJY, OYZZ, JL).
Wei Ying's crows tend to eat Hua Cheng's silver butterflies, but they quickly spit them out because according to Wei Ying, the butterflies "taste super nasty". This habit of his crows is often a point of contention between the two Ghost Kings.
Demon Crow Transformation: His outermost robes seem to allow him to transform into a demonic crow at will, sort of like a corrupted version of the "Swan Maiden". According to him, he gained the robes/ability long before he became a Supreme/Devastation rank ghost since it was apparently a "gift" from the Burial Mounds itself
Connection with the Burial Mounds: Since Wei Ying was "born" as a ghost from deep within the Burial Mounds, he seems to have an empathetic connection with it. He doesn't know the full extent of this ability since he is still technically a newborn ghost.
WHERE ARE HIS ASHES?
His ashes are in the form of a near-indestructible chai hairpin that he wears. It looks like it's made of a silvery, metallic material and carved into the shape of a crow's wing. It seems to be held in place by supernatural means since it never falls off even in the heat of battle.
(Yes, he does give his hairpin-ashes to his Lan Zhan. Yes, he gave it before the Big Confession. No, he isn't aware that the entire hairpin exchange gave off the vibes of a newly-engaged lady giving her fiance a hairpin as a love token.)
Ongoing, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12/?, Words 9k: Friends to Lovers, Emo!Till, Jock!Ivan, College Au, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings
𓂃 ࣪⋆💿˚ ༘ Fic Link Here 𓂃 ࣪⋆💿˚ ༘
Ivan had never experienced love before. Usually, his crushes were short and fleeting, but with Till… It was different.
Ivan thought throughout his entire life, his sister would be the only person to truly understand him. But when Till came along, he made Ivan feel new to the language that made up his entire being. Like translating text over and finding nuances to words you never would have known beforehand. Until someone took a close look at you and appreciated you in full.
After only a few months together, Ivan doesn’t remember where he began or where Till ended anymore. They were emulsified.
Everyone thinks Till and Ivan are dating, which is impossible when Till is in love with Mizi. Hijinks Ensue.
Ongoing, Chapter 12/?, Words 180k: Friends to Lovers, Emo!Till, Jock!Ivan, College Au, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings
𓂃 ࣪⋆💿˚ ༘ Fic Link Here 𓂃 ࣪⋆💿˚ ༘
“Really?” Ivan’s eyes are so big and glossy. Like the biggest boba pearls Till had ever seen. He wanted to eat them all up.
“Really.”
But he feels so relieved to know he did something good. Relieved that this shameful past of his that he never wants to acknowledge. One that haunts him every time he sees the outline of a mother on a train or when he hears faint children laughing. Who knew opening up about it would lead to so much cheering and happiness?
Somehow, all that baggage of his life had seemed to feel eons away. Like it was nothing important to who he was now, and it truly wasn’t. It used to weigh on his chest. Like he was submerged in the ocean and sat on the ocean floor, a cinderblock on his chest to hold him down.
Ivan finally opens up, finally letting himself have all that he ever desired. All he ever deserved.
