#tgcf hcs

[marloviandevil]

So, I have been looking up what kinda critter was tattooed on He Xuan and came upon this dragonfly: Rhyothemis fuliginosa.

Is it a stretch from this

Probably.

But LOOK AT THAT MF

[profmori]

hua cheng probably knew that xie lian was in the ghost city. so can you imagine the near-legendary ghost king running around the paradise manor picking up his best outfit, choosing the jewellery, selecting the eye patch and panicking cause his hair just won't sit right. And then he's sitting in the gambling den all poised and fancy, pretending he didn't just have a full freak episode a few minutes ago.

[marloviandevil]

Following a conversation with @muigiel about He Xuan's donghua design featuring a dragonfly tattoo, I suggested that if Bai Wuxiang (and Jun Wu, we could argue) was to have the mark of a winged critter, it would be Acherontia Styx, the Death's Head Hawkmoth (the one found in Asia, as opposed to Acherontia Atropos and Acherontia Lachesis).

Now, besides the fact that this moth was one of Nature's coolest design, it could fit for the following reason:

1. The species used to scare the fuck out of people (skull on its back and loud chirp that people probably would not except). Bai Wuxiang is a terrifying mf.

2. You could argue that the skull on the moth's back is a call-back to the mask Bai Wuxiang wears - it is not its real face but it's the one people would focus on.

3. Chirps loudly when irritated. This moth has DRAMA. Bai Wuxiang IS the drama.

4. This moth actually likes honey and will invade beehives to get to the goods and can do so without getting bee-ted into the afterlife by mimicking the scent of bees. Just like a certain someone.

5. It would be cool, don't deny it.

[marloviandevil]

To fall back on 'Pei Ming is Hua Cheng's dad', which I find extremely compelling, I will add: Hua Cheng was the one of two children Pei Ming ever fathered. The rest is him helping things along, but the children were not his.

He lost track of Hua Cheng even he was even born, and when he found him again, there was nothing he could really do. Possible reasons: Pei Ming and Hua Cheng's mother had a fling BEFORE he ascended. And after his ascension, there was just too much going on for him to look for the child, and once he found him, he was stuck because he just could not intervene just like that - how the hell do you raise a child??? Or he was already a god, but it was not like he could just do whatever the fuck he wanted.

Either way, maybe he foils all attempts of others at killing Hong-er, which might explain how the fuck that child born unlucky would even survive Qi Rong. He could not intervene more than that (and I feel that Pei Ming would not trust Jun Wu either because the last time he trusted royalty... well...). It gnaws at him. He's glad that Xie Lian finds Hong-er, and he keeps watch. (Maybe he had to promise never to intervene, I don't know, I'm throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks.)

He did father another child, later. But the circumstances were different: it was a couple that was absolutely desperate for a child, and BOTH parties petitioned for his help. And so he did. It was the only time he did, and it took a lot of convincing - it's also what made him a god of love. The only reason why he accepted was because he believed that this child would be loved. He would refuse to risk another child facing Hua Cheng's own fate. That child would turn out to be Pei Xiu's ancestor. (Look at the manhua: Pei Xiu is a mini-HuaHua.)

Anyway, thank you for your time, now I'm going back to my ghost king pei.