#tgcf rambles

[glitter50000]

Low-key I’m obsessed with wulian’s dynamic. Like the infamous White Clothed Calamity and this ghost soldier who trails along with him. They’re like boss & henchman. Someone’s bothering them and Wuming’s like “I can kill that guy for you” and Xie Lian is considering it. I think Xie Lian would leave him out in the rain and he would just stand there like a sad puppy. He’s like “Can I try rizzing you up?” And Xie Lian just goes “No.” I fear Wuming’s freak would’ve even unsettled Xie Lian or he would’ve found it funny. Wuming’s like a trained dog who will attack on command and BITE. Wuming said “I am not fixing this man but I will jump down with him.” They probably would’ve been incredibly toxic as a couple and the sex would have made it worse but it would’ve been entertaining to watch. There’s actually something really sad about how much Xie Lian hated himself at this point and how he cannot accept someone being there for him simply for him. And Wuming having unconditional love but also no confidence in himself, like here I think is where he thought himself as unworthy or lowly the most. Unstoppable self-hatred vs immovable love and devotion. I think about how perhaps Wuming had maybe an actual fear of being dispersed or tossed away BY Xie Lian and while he would’ve accepted it, he does not want that possibility. So he shows he’s powerful enough to stand by Xie Lian’s side. But he’ll just hang his head or let himself get choked when Xie Lian gets angry at him. I think Bai Wuxiang must have lost his mind when he first saw Wuming.

[vyntagefragments]

thinking abt the very real possibility that fengqing’s first love/crush was xie lian and how it killed them then knowing that it wouldn’t be possible bc he’s their prince and they were just his attendants, seeing him continue to grow further and further away, finally ascending as a god—so close to them yet they could never grasp his radiance, an intangible essence just like a flower that would never bloom in their hands.

and when he fell, so did they. how soul crushing it must be to see the one person you adore and love slowly drown in demise. remember, that they were the ones who had to watch xie lian lose his sanity as his kingdom and people suffered. the absolute devastation, watching this cherished person unable to stop the impending calamity, all the while being suffocated in your own feelings of inferiority and helplessness—because he was supposed to be everything, the epitome of perfection. and you were nothing but a mere servant.

feng xin who tried his best to lift xie lian’s feelings and mu qing who was willing to enact revenge on his behalf. and oh, xie lian, poor sweet child. knowing that he could not tell them of the truth, because he would not have them dirty their hands to protect him, did not want them to carry that guilt nor inflict pain upon others.

what a lamentable fate they shared. a prince so brilliant his light was the envy of the same god who favoured him. dreaming to save the common people yet their only wish was for him to find happiness.

xie lian was doomed to fall. misunderstandings and unspoken words painted mu qing as a traitor, and feng xin was cast away by the one person he dedicated his entire life to.

and thus it began. mu qing who would continue to carry his guilt and shame, feng xin who had lost his purpose and direction. yet they would both tread on the same path of cultivation, never wanting to feel the dread of helplessness when their loved one was trapped in the twisted game of fate.

mu qing, who yearned for his god’s affection. feng xin, wandering wind who had lost his god’s faith.

they would meet again, many years later. red strings of fate crossing but never quite intertwining.

he is here once more, seemingly their equal, yet in their hearts he remains, the one and only god. amongst them, for them.

it is this belief that they will always be inferior to him, that stagnates them in their pursuit of growth. how can one become another’s equal, if they lack the innate confidence to believe in that possibility?

[clandestine-poet]

a full rewrite.

a full role reversal TGCF where Hua Cheng is the noble dianxia and Xie Lian is the ghost king but:

• make it a TRUE role reversal. What would Hua Cheng (Hong Hong-er) do in Dianxia Xie Lian's place? What would Xie Lian do in little Hong Hong-er's?

• role swap EVERYONE. BUT don't do the obvious. because i have seen the obvious, and i am quite annoying in finding a new way to do this. for example, instead of switching shi qingxuan and he xuan, switch shi wudu, shi qingxuan and he xuan with pei ming, pei siu and ban yue. why? cause it's interesting. and i like it.

• make it hualesbians because i am a useless lesbian and also just like lesbians. but don't just gender swap, make that fact effect the story, since sexism is canon in tgcf. think ling wen.

• also ngl, im in the works of this. i just don't have a beta reader and i kind of feel bad but tbh I just like writing

• don't make it blow for blow, but def follow some stuff. because like, this whole series carved out my heart. i just now want to throw a bunch of "what if's" at it because it's funny and i think i need to stop re-writing classical literature as lesbian (so far, my list is: the great gatsby, lord of the flies, the count of monte cristo, of mice and men, a christmas carol and a few others)

• come up with all their designs yourself because you're petty and want to be historically accurate and boy has anyone ever mentioned you have a hyperfixation on historical textiles and weaponry because oh boy i'm so sorry in advance

[glitter50000]

there IS a difference between Wuming and Hua Cheng and it’s this: if Xie Lian (during his calamity era and after) ordered a burger and asked for no pickles, but pickles were given anyway, he would just take them off. Wuming would be silently mad at this cause “your highness, you told them no pickles” but would stay put because Xie Lian had said so. Whereas if Hua Cheng were presented with the same scenario he would simply take the burger up to the counter, despite Xie Lian’s protests, and be like “hey sorry to bother you but my friend over there asked for no pickles” and then return with a new burger.

[vyntagefragments]

sour grapes. | fengqing drabbles

푸릇 쌉싼름해 (it’s green and bitter) i don’t want to taste

뭐 그리 달콤하진 않을 것 같아 (i don’t think it’ll be that sweet)

설익은 감정들이 (half-ripe emotions) i just feel afraid

i’ll never bite, i’ll never bite the pain.

(lyrics: sour grapes by le sserafim)

•

feng xin’s aversion to women had always been a joke between the three of them, something to poke fun and jest about. but for mu qing, it stirred a small spark of hope—that perhaps it wasn’t due to fear for the fairer sex, instead because of a preference for the other. so when he discovers feng xin’s meetings with jian lan, it makes it all the more devastating to see him laughing and smiling. and mu qing can see it in the way his eyes crinkle and cheeks flush that it wasn’t just out of mere courtesy or sympathy shared between fellow xianle survivors, feng xin genuinely enjoyed her company.

it hurts.

mu qing thinks himself to be a fool for naively hoping otherwise, betrayal twisting in his guts despite knowing that there was no lie told, no sacred bond broken. it was his own imagination that had conjured a false illusion made from mu qing’s deep insecurities and want for affection. his desperate need for it.

there’s a sick twisting in his stomach that tightens every time her hand brushes away feng xin’s hair, fingers grazing his temple—enough to leave lingering intent like a kiss yet just faint enough to dissipate like a dream, it is a delicate dance deliberately designed to appear as a mere accident. mu qing knows that it’s not. because how dare she touch him so casually like that? as though she were the closest person in his life, like they were promised lovers since their youth. there’s tension building in the veins of mu qing’s arms, frustration bleeding from nails digging into his palms, anger biting down on his lip. but he is too prideful to ever admit to anything, yet all the more afraid to see what is right in front of him.

mu qing is a skilled warrior, his nerves steeled and mind ever quick when it comes to fighting. but here and now, his instincts tell him to run and flee, a hammering so loud it reminds him of war drums.

run, run, run.

because what can he do but run away from reality even though he knows it makes him a coward. how ironic that he has always chastised xie lian for being naive and yet he is now doing the very same thing.

perhaps it is not love itself that is blind but rather our own hands that choose to cover our eyes from the truth so that we may continue to love despite any and all rational reason. because what is living without love? i would sooner cut my eyes out to follow and love you blindly than face a reality that would turn my love into hate.

so he runs, he keeps running. away from feng xin, away from everything that he is not, in vain hopes of running away from his own feelings.

still, mu qing can’t help but wonder,

would he love me if i was a girl?

yet as soon as the thought crosses his mind, he immediately dismisses it,

no, even if i were the prettiest woman, he still wouldn’t notice me.

it doesn’t matter because he is feng xin, the loyal and upright general of xianle’s crown prince, and mu qing is a stray who was (un)lucky enough to be noticed. the only reason feng xin even tolerates or acknowledges him is because of xie lian. why would he ever care about mu qing outside of niceties and formalities? he’s never realized mu qing tailing him for years, why would he realize now?

it’s funny how the human mind can be so perceiving and altogether deceiving at the same time. it sees all that it believes to be true, yet dismisses any possibilities it deems unlikely. how fickle the human mind is,

if only mu qing had noticed, the way feng xin’s gaze lingers in every corner, trying to trace the outlines of a shadow.

mu qing is a skilled warrior indeed, but he forgets that feng xin has spent the better half of his life next to him. how could he not recognize the faint smell of fresh linen and rain that seemed to follow him around everywhere? it is unfortunate that familiarity blurs lines that neither have come to the realization that the lines have been crossed a long, long time ago.

these feelings that have yet to ripen,

only time will tell if this love is sweet or sour.

[glitter50000]

Imagine having a crush (you just really wanna be near him cause he’s kind and nice and really pretty and brave and genuine and-) on your prince who is also a god and the two of you get trapped in a cave by these demons who feed off of lust. Well they clearly won’t give you any problem cause women just don’t have any appeal to you so that means you can focus on more important things, like protecting your prince and keeping watch. Then those flowers turn into the prince and OH, it seems you can get affected actually cause hey what the actual fuck. And then the flower sex demons see this and make fun of you for it. They make fun of you for it. You are Hua Cheng and you are like 14.

[glitter50000]

Continuing my other post I genuinely wonder sometimes what Bai Wuxiang must have thought about Wuming. Cause I imagine he wanted Xie Lian isolated so he could sink his ideals and manipulations deeper without anyone interfering but he just left Wuming alone. Did he just see Wuming as Xie Lian’s little pet freak? A ghost who showed up and started trailing along his highness like a dog? Like a duckling imprinting on someone? Was he laughing to himself knowing about the way Wuming feels and watching Xie Lian treat him coldly? “His highness isn’t going to fuck you.” There might have been some bitter jealousy and envy too because how can one person watch their god at their lowest and still continue to have faith in them. I imagine he didn’t kill him due to the fact that Xie Lian basically showed no affection towards him and so killing him would be pointless in the long run, and he probably thought that Wuming would just leave. That Xie Lian would successfully push him away like he did everyone else but that doesn’t work cause what he didn’t account was Wuming’s bottomless devotion. Who’s gonna win: A calamity who’s lived for centuries and has been able to successfully pull many strings to land on top or a savage level ghost who has a huge crush. The savage level ghost is starting to win. Then Wuming sacrifices himself and Bai Wuxiang is like “ah now HERE’S where I can twist the knife.”

[glitter50000]

Feng Xin and Mu Qing with Hua Cheng post canon dynamics are funny cause they could get their revenge by becoming basically Hua Cheng’s most annoying older brothers/brother-in-laws. Feng Xin would do that shit like “I bet I can still pick you up” and would lift him cause Hua Cheng is basically a twig. Mu Qing’s like “why are so tall? You were so tiny how did you shoot up like a weed? This is not allowed actually.” And try to push on his head to make him shrink. Or they become his unofficial bodyguards. Like they know full on well Hua Cheng can protect himself, but there’s a lingering part in their mind’s of just “we cannot let this guy die because he is Xie Lian’s husband and he will be crushed.” Why are they protecting him? Well shit it’s because he makes their friend really really happy, what other reason do they need? So it’s like they’re escorting the boss’s wife.