private &. selective DEITY OF PESTILENCE &. CURSE based on chinese folklore / tradition / mythology; backstories and development are of my own creation &. worldbuilding. do not lift any ideas or characterizations from this blog. please read rules and DNI before following. low activity. summoned by NGUYET ( 26, they / them, viet-chinese ). est. 2022.
i have trouble starting ideas on the go, or finding a launching point at times, so i decided to compile a list of wishlist relations that i'd like to have for yixuan!! this is by no means an exhaustive list, but a hopefully a place to start from and branch outward to; one of my shortcomings is unfortunately not knowing how to respond and conversations dying so i am fingers crossed that this will work.... see below the cut for a short list of potential dynamics! i'll reblog this periodically and send IMs to those interested!!
hellbound gods / ghosts / spirits ; one of the easiest, i think, in terms of launching points and an easy way into neutral-to-high regard from yixuan. he sees most as coworkers in diyu and even if he's not personally familiar, there's at least an unspoken level of respect between them. with the exception of yanwang ( a tip-top level god who yixuan has absolutely no business trying to get buddy-buddy with in an attempt to get out of this stupid job he's found himself in ) he has at least heard of others in his rank. * coworkers, friends, found family
' righteous ' gods of heaven ; the complete opposite of the above, yixuan has an automatic dislike for the deities in heaven. their relationship has crumbled hundreds of years ago and a sort of resentment between tian / heaven meddling with the affairs of diyu / hell has led to a distrust and longstanding dislike for its gods. especially given his new job searching for the deity who leaked the pill of immortality to the humans, yixuan REALLY dislikes heaven.
* enemies, bridging understanding, begrudging coworkers
doctors / deities of life ; expanding on the previous dynamic, this one is a bit more specific to yixuan himself rather than the thoughts of diyu's gods. yixuan has a personal target on his back by shennong ( the god of medicine ) and his followers for SUPPOSEDLY stealing his eye. outside of shennong, yixuan has a neutral standing on those who give / extend life if only because they make his job a bit more difficult than he feels it needs to be. * enemies, antagonizing (yixuan ), new perspectives
mortals who have found immortality ; the Bane of yixuan's existence and his main purpose on earth. while yes, he's meant to cull loves for the return of souls to diyu, his target is finding who has gotten ahold of the pill of immortality and finding which god slipped it to the humans. whether they attained immortality through other means, yixuan is hellbent on reaping their lives if they aren't one of the heroes pre-ordained to be spared. that is, unless they can give him the information he's looking for: he's willing to look the other way for a price.
* enemies, hot on the trail, partners in crime (?)
necromancers / jiangshi / reanimated corpses ; cult followers of yixuan's craft and the very souls he visits to bestow his grace upon in order to create these creatures. so long as they don't meddle with the pool of souls, why can't he have a bit of fun from time to time? as a creature made of gu poison, yixuan has no problem with the art, but oversees practitioners to ensure they don't step beyond their boundaries. * mentor-mentee, teaching an old dog new tricks, troublemakers
killers ; workload lifters, he considers them. though it certainly isn't his preferred method, so long as there is a steady stream of souls returned to diyu then he has no qualms against the methodology. he's befriended town serial killers, creatures of the grove, mythical beasts, all who lighten the burden of his already heavy plate.
* friends, coworkers, partners in crime
followers ; he's a minor god, at least, until someone has a need to pray to him. even still, there are those who are devout to his name and he's willing to grace them a time or two, a ward of his protection.
* god and devotee, trailing puppies, knight and king
friendships ; though his face is well known across his domain and among the humans who have had the misfortune of being paid a visit by him, he isn't always immersed in work. it certainly seems that way at times, but yixuan is a playful soul beneath the layers of gruff annoyance. he's a bit clingy, a bit demanding, and is never quite direct with his thoughts, but is a steadfast rock should someone need it. never one to take anything too seriously ( save for... his work ) he's a lighthearted god who doesn't exactly act his age. * friends, pesterer and pesteree, found family
family (?) ; yixuan is a solitary soul, someone who doesn't fare well with himself much less his own family ( if they even exist-- he's yet to clarify that myth about his origins ) but it gets lonely at times. not that he would ever admit such a thing... having someone to rely on, pester, come to with victories and failures would be good for him, i think. if only to keep from going insane until he's relieved of this stupid position. admittedly difficult to get to know him to reach this point, but a greatly treasured role by the god of plague if achieved.
* found family, annoyances, rare soft spots
romantic partners ; admittedly yixuan has had sparse experiences here and there, with immortals and humans alike. there aren't many who capture his heart and those who do flee too soon. truthfully, i really enjoy shipping and i'm tired of doing the dance and being hesitant to ask or be asked. i've been writing for too long and i'm too busy ( and will only get busier as a resident ) to kiss the ring and pay the toll bridge. if something is cute they should kiss and that's that!
* right person wrong time, reincarnated love, old gods learning humanity
anything else that comes to mind ; please don't let this post limit you!! if you have your own wishlist dynamics i would LOVE to see how yixuan could puzzle into that role, or if something in this list sparks an idea, that's awesome too!!
yixuan's worshippers say that his mercy comes at the price of riches; amulets of protection are forged of rubies and sapphires dangling in necklaces and charms. carrying a likeness of his eyes might allow them to foresee misfortune before it befalls them and laying the jewels at his altar might please him enough to bestow a pardon on their souls. human drivel is what he thinks of it, but it is of no consequence to him to receive a pretty trinket every now and then.
once hell-bound deity, yixuan had only the ablility to see souls destined for death. figures in the miasma, outlines clearing as the minutes ticked until their time to reap, his kind deals with the dead sort: picks them out of crowds to drag them to hell without distraction. two ruby eyes crafted only for the departed.
a dog without a leash, they called him, unshackling pestilence without care nor calculated delicacy. with such limited vision, plagues ran rampant among the earth, cast into every crevice he could find to fill their deficit of souls. but yixuan is only a god and try as he might to distance himself from the name, he is not immune to the extinguishment of their existence when their last worshipper dies.
he says that their "saving grace" was freely given, a sapphire treaty of peace between diyu and yuhuang, gods flocking to offer him anything in exchange for sparing their idolaters. none were willing to fix the mistake they had made, and even less considered it their responsibility now that wenshen had taken it out of their hands. acts of placation, pleas to slow his scourge, yuhuang gave their finest in exchange for more time to look for their supposed traitor. among such gifts was shennong's eye. that haughty god of medicine hardly had a choice but to offer it on a silver platter when suspicion grew of his bounty of herbs: perhaps this was where the jade rabbit found the means to create the pill of immortality that started it all? no matter, if it would allow him vision of the living then it would be an adequate tribute. yixuan has always been a gracious god, relinquishing his own in fair trade.
the whispers among yuhuang are... different. no god of diyu would dare step foot into heaven's grounds nor the palace of the three sovereigns, lest they be punished by yanwang himself. a dog without a leash. barreling into the empire of heaven to engulf it in the miasma of his anger, rolling waves of lava setting fire to the grand fineries of their empire. he growls his demands, blames their holy city for the human acquisition of immortality. he'd left their altars intact for the price of shennong's livelihood: his eye. gouging it from the socket, wenshen barked his laughter as he dangled it before the remaining two sovereigns, swallowed it for his own. a warning, a show of his threats come to life.
regardless of its origins, wenshen has since promised tact in his work, hangs the lives of worshippers to force heaven's hand in finding the culprit. taunting them with the proof of his ferocity. one ruby, one sapphire.
@killdivine sent a letter : cups his face, thumbs pressing slightly against his cheeks. " such a gooood boy. " leaning in to press a kiss to his nose. " pretty too. " then, a proper kiss. just a peck to his lips. so cute. cute. cute. cute.
it is not pouting; contrary to what wuya would call it, the response is warranted, perhaps even expected. to return to her ship only to find the shapeshifter settled high on her bed with his wretched mutts flanking her on either side, tails wagging in that incessant goading motion every time she presses a kiss to their snouts and calls them cute. huodou turns to look at the god standing stiff in the doorway, his tongue lolling out before yipping dazedly and turns back to wuya. little brat. yixuan's tongue clicks in a call to heel, watches them scramble to sit at his feet before his hand waves and they manifest back to diyu. yanluo can babysit for a while. flames flare in anger, annoyance underscoring every heavy step until he's taken their place and feels the warm patch in the bedding. more evidence of just how much time she had spent here like this. spoiling those ingrates.
" you're going to make it difficult to keep them under control if you continue on like this, " ⸻⸻ she kisses his nose and the god of pestilence retreats, crinkling beneath a smudged lipstick stain. when yixuan settles, it's not with his arms around her waist and his nose in her throat. instead, a hand grips her wrist, grasp sliding upwards until her palm is pinned beneath his and their fingers lace, the pressure of his hold keeping it well above her head on the pillows. " and then who will be burdened with the task to re-train them? hm? "
" this is hardly an apology, if even one at all. i expect genuine atonement, wuya. starting with you taking me seriously, " ⸻⸻ free hand snakes cold and firm to grip her jaw. it's achingly gentle despite his snarl, the way his thumb presses into her chin and tilts it up so he can watch her meet mismatched eyes that hover mere centimeters from her now, holding her in place as he stoops over her. cute, she had called him. his gaze burns, and somewhere between a kindled scarlet and a gelid azure lies the spark of something that turns in his stomach at the praise. he has to bite his lip to keep it from curling up but the canine flashes in the light anyway. there's hardly any time to notice it. not when such scant distance is closed by his lips pressing to hers, waiting for that little gasp of surprise so that he can lick messy and demanding into her mouth. yixuan nips, perhaps demanding, perhaps punishing, revels in the taste of surprise turning to defiance.
his breath moved the hairs upon her head. a chill went up her spine as body leaned away from him , stepping away watching the curl fall from his grasp. what game he decided to play with her , she did not want to be a part of it. however , he would only become more of a nuisance if she continued to ignore him. her hands balled in fists relaxed , a sigh upon uncurled from her mouth. fine. ❛ tell me then , tell me what you know about me ? ❜ steps walked ahead , moving sideways around a bush , her focus trained on him. brow raised , blue hues became narrow slits , measuring him. he did not seem a threat , more like a mosquito buzzing around where it did not belong.
her finger drew in air , the wind swirled around her picking up her skirts &. swept her hair like a curtain dancing. she braced herself for a moment , gritting her teeth before she let out another exasperation. ❛ if &. only if i accept your invitation to this amazing party will stop being a braggart ? ❜ figure danced across the space between them , a small , mischievous grin upon her visage , ❛ but ... i have nothing to wear but this simple frock , it wouldn't do at your lavish event ... i suppose i would be an eyesore. ❜ shoulders shrugged in defeat , ❛ you wouldn't want me staining your esteemed reputation , would you ? ❜
displeasure morphs into something more akin to disdain, as it seems, the way that her brows furrow and her eyes narrow like a sparrow fleeing from a man throwing seeds too close. rather than withdrawing, the sight makes yixuan laugh and it's something quiet, as if it were a poorly-held secret to be held under his breath crinkling his eyes and shaking his shoulders. elodie sizes him up so unabashedly that it takes him back, curls that infuriating smile wider. " something tells me that if i continue to prod more, you will only grow more upset with me. "
" fear not, little dove, i will not chastise you for your state of dress. it seems i uncover more biases you have of me the more you speak and i'm unsure whether i should be alarmed by how judgmental they are. " ⸻⸻ he straightens then, arms crossed over his chest when he leans closer with furrowed brows, amusement unrelenting despite to scoff that escapes him before he can stop it. a wicked man, it seems, elodie has taken him for: one who would twist her around his finger and scorn her for such trivialities.