Any Day Now

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

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

It’s Wu Ming Wednesday! So here is my humble contribution to the fandom ^^ (I posted this on monday but shhh)

Expect angst, protective Xie Lian and a hopeful/open happy ending. The rating is Teen and Up, and this is a canon divergence. The fic is complete.

Here’s a little extract: 

“He is at his side in an instant, closing his arms around Wu Ming’s flickering form only moments before he hits the ground. He should not be here, Xie Lian thinks, frantic as he desperately calls the ghost’s name, to no avail. He should not be here, bleeding out his very essence in the blinding light of the Heavens for all to see. Because he should be gone.”

Many thanks to the amazing @nootcatt for beta reading 

Hope you enjoy!

Paper Memories Update

So it's been a minute. I'm here to inform those of you still suffering the ill-effects of a god-awful cliffhanger that Part Two will probably begin posting sometime this month! 💪

That said, Paper Memories isn't actually finished. It's been fighting me a little bit and so has my schedule.

I'm actually going to release Part Two in three arcs (or seasons, if you will) with a little hiatus between each as I finish up the next part. This is mostly because at this rate, if I wait until its Completely Finished, y'all might be waiting here till fall lmao. And I'm patient, ok, but I'm not that patient. I also want to be able to share to keep me motivated.

Not to worry tho. Arc 1 alone is sitting at 74k words posting over 8 weeks, so this bitch is gonna be long. Yes, I have a problem.

But anyways, I suppose that's all I wanted to say.

Psyche! You KNOW I got Teaser Images. ⤵

Yes those ARE Xie Lian's boobs at the end. You're welcome.

To me, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian’s relationship always felt like relief. Relief that they finally have somewhere (someone) they belong. Somewhere to rest. Like they’ve both been on high alert for 800 years, never able to rest, never able to rely upon someone, to trust with their whole soul. And then suddenly, quiet. Peace. Relief.

Idk, that might be a very personal interpretation that nobody shares. But. That’s what it always felt like to me, first and foremost. This is why HuaLian is my ultimate comfort couple. Because they feel like coming home after a hard day and finally being able to just relax and place yourself in someone else’s hands, not only trusting but knowing they will never take advantage and always cherish it.

I was thinking about how in modern AUs XL is often portrayed as liking to wear things that are typically considered “feminine” (skirts, heels, makeup, etc.) while HC is more “ masculine”

When in reality… am I the only one to think that the one wearing heels and make up would be HC? He’s canonically very careful of his appearance and the way he dresses, always wearing make up and carefully chosen jewellery, he has his own style, etc. He also gives off (that´s only my personal opinion though) massive non-binary/gender fluid vibes

So. Idk. But I think he would have an androgynous and refined style while XL would stick to something basic (maybe gender neutral) like baggy pants and sweatshirts. And crocs.

“Such a simple thing to be happy”

Some bw Hualian I did for my instagram :')