Some Bw Hualian I Did For My Instagram :')

TW : discussion of death and suicide. I know these themes are present in TGCF, but this post delves further into them and broaches the subject in a way that might be triggering, so please proceed with caution.

When you think about it, what drove Xie Lian mad during his first banishment wasn’t the Temple. It wasn’t his friends leaving him, it wasn’t the blessed land incident, nor was it his parents’ suicide. It wasn’t even Bai Wuxiang (at least not directly).

No, what really drove him mad was his inability to die, and the complete loss of the ability to choose his own path.

When Xie Lian returns home after the 100 swords, he has no intention of turning to BW. He has no intention of taking revenge on Yong'an (not seriously, anyway), let alone considering anything close to a genocide.

It is only after trying—and failing—to commit suicide that he loses himself entirely. Because the shackle took the last shreds of control he had over his existence from him. Of course, the fact that he heard festivities going on in Yong’an didn’t help, but it was no more than a trigger, I think

The shackle strips Xie Lian of his right and capacity to dispose of himself, which is one the worst thing I can imagine happening to someone. And after his only way out is taken away from him, Xie Lian is left with literally no possible course of action. He cannot live because Bai Wuxian won’t let him, he cannot die because the shackle makes it impossible.

He is stuck in an impossible position. So of course he snaps.

Note : That is not to say that suicide is okay or should not be actively prevented. But the way Xie Lian is kept alive is a terrible violation of bodily autonomy. People experiencing suicidal thoughts need help so that they no longer want to die ; forcing them to remain alive by force alone, and without doing anything to help them get better, is not only a terrible idea but outright torture, and complete lack of consideration for human dignity.

If any phrasing I used was insensitive, please let me know in the comments and I will correct it: English is not my native language and I make mistakes sometimes. Take care 🤍

Do we all agree that Xie Lian would LOVE Tumblr?

He’d get to ramble on about any and everything. And find other weirdos with the same special interests as him

Hua Cheng would like and comment and repost every time. Perhaps even create a second account to re-like and re-comment et re-repost all over again

Hua Cheng: “Oh, for the love of you!”

Xie Lian, laughing: “You mean for the love of God?”

Hua Cheng: *stares at him*

Are you a top or a bottom?

personally I prefer the 2nd or 3rd floor of the building because I like being at tree level (i could not live somewhere without trees sorry) on the 1st floor it's too easy for people to look in through the windows so you need to add curtains for a reasonable degree of privacy but then the lighting situation is just horrible. and anything above the 4th floor is just too high off the ground ... how will I be able to appreciate the whimsy and joy of the forest from such an absurd height? the 2nd and 3rd floors are clearly a happy medium between these two extremes

There’s something so subtle about the way Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian.

(Hold on, hear me out...)

In fiction, when we have a character who loves someone as deeply as Hua Cheng loves Xie Lian, we usually see the ugly side of that affection rear it's head eventually.

Adoration turns into obsession (any positive thing can turn ugly in excess). Obsession can drive behaviour that most of us cringe at; one worst case scenario is stalking, but even a best case would be the expectation (or worthiness) of reciprication.

This obsession can also be followed by huge, grandiose actions that leave the object of the affections no room to guess at the other's feelings and intentions.

Hua Cheng doesn't do any of that. His love is akin to worship, or rather, it literally is reverance for a god. No expectation, no indignance - just pure adoration untainted by the usual consequences of human love.

His love is so subtle, in fact, that Xie Lian can't even begin to guess at his intentions. Even going so far as to wonder continuously in the beginning why Hua Cheng spares so much time and kindness for him.

Hua Cheng expects nothing from Xie Lian - he demands nothing from Xie Lian, not even in the way a worshiper might. This type of god-worshiper love is so hard to fit into the mould of a romantic relationship.

Watching it unfold is so beautiful, complex, and fragmented. It's not the innocent love story you would expect, and honestly it's part of the reason why I love their relationship so much.

You rarely see such pure, unadulterated, and selfless love written this perfectly in fiction.

Ghostcity Pride

clémentines et cigarettes

Traduction en cours de « clementines and cigarettes » par @silentheiss

7/11 chapitres ont déjà été postés ; lien vers la traduction ici 👇

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59159077

Ongoing french translation of clementines and cigarettes. Chapter 7 has just been posted!

Currently working on a small wip… I didn’t know it was SO DAMN HARD to write in HC’s POV. Wu Ming? Easy. Xie Lian? Easy. Hua Cheng?

Hahaha

Hell.

I think what I like so much about Hualian’s love is their profound respect for each other. They never try to change one another. They respect each other’s autonomy, choices, and conception of morality. The only time Hua Cheng ever tries to oppose Xie Lian is when he thinks Xie Lian is about to harm himself.

And that is just so precious and important.

This took FOREVER but here's my tribute to A Long and Slow Recovery by @ardenrabbit