#xianle trio are all in love

[lemonzestedtea]

the significance of the number, 3 in tgcf gets me every time.

xie lian's third ascension is when everything changes (for the better)

hua cheng introduces himself as "san lang" when he meets xie lian after his third ascension. "san lang" means "third son." it's the third time, or the third form (his third life, if you will) that hua cheng has met xie lian in.

there are three calamities (if you ignore bai wuxian, and if you still count qi rong as a calamity)

there are multiple trios — xie lian, mu qing, feng xin; shi wudu, he xuan, shi qingxuan; shi wudu, pei ming, ling wen; and so on.

there were thirty three officials who disgraced xie lian; and were consequently destroyed by hua cheng.

hua cheng released three thousand lanterns for xie lian.

he also died three times for xie lian; first as hong hong'er, second as wu ming, and third as the supreme ghost king.

all this information, coupled with the fact that three is considered a lucky number in chinese culture just makes me feel so many emotions

#these are just things i noticed #i feel like that one meme “i have connected the dots” #feel free to add more!! i think i would probably find more if i went through the books #these are all just from my memory and i read the books last year ok #i just love them so much can you tell #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #xie lian #hua cheng #heaven official's blessing #feng xin #mu qing #shi qingxuan #he xuan #beefleaf #hualian #xianle trio #xianle quartet

[biboomerangboi]

Need a word for not shipping but like I know a situationship happened like it’s canon to me that these people did something romantic with each other this is a fact to me no matter how positively or negatively I feel about it, it did in fact happen.

#Dean and Benny in purgatory #Jet and Zuko on that boat #the heavily charged homoerotic teen friendship the Xianle trio had where they all wanted to make out and just didn’t know it #these are canon events to me #Denny #jetko #xianle trio #dean winchester #benny lafitte #Jet #zuko #mu qing #feng xin #xie lian #zee rambles #oh also Crowley and Deans summer of love

[mumuqings]

tgcf book spoilers, but one mu qing and xie lian snippet that I think about a lot is this one, at the start of xie lian’s second banishment when he’s surprised to hear mu qing being described as generous and kind:

as opposed to this memory from before his first ascension when mu qing started giving out cherries to the kids in the city:

I think it just really goes to show 1) how deeply mq’s actions truly affected xl and what he thought of him, but also 2) just how different mq and xl are fundamentally in the way that they think and approach things.

I don’t have a lot of commentary on xl that hasn’t already been said, but bc we get the story from xl’s pov, we see a lot of mq’s actions being framed as selfish or suspicious (which is fair, bc again, we know how much his actions hurt xl), but we also see a lot of misconstrued kindness, like in book 8 where it’s revealed that he knocked out fx in order to save him. it’s also pretty obvious how much mq still cares abt xl, with how quickly he volunteers as fu yao and the lengths he goes to protect him when he deems hc a threat, so I also think it’s very likely that mq leaving the trio first was exactly what he said it was — that he thought becoming a junior official, ascending quickly, would be the best way to take care of not just his mother, but also xl, fx, the king and queen, and himself, and so in a way, him leaving was him acting on his kindness. but ofc it doesn’t work out, and he spends the next 800 years fighting w/ fx about it, defending himself, his decisions, and his kindness, and nitpicking the accuracies of his statues while he himself remains completely misunderstood by the two people he probably cares abt the most.

and idk, I guess I just think that’s probably a really lonely way to spend 800 years.

#idk where I was going w this actually #but misunderstood mq who cares so much abt how he’s perceived is smth that I think abt a lot #really resonates w my eldest daughter scapegoat of the family trauma tbh #also to be clear I don’t think xl was in the wrong for chasing him away either #I think they were both just twenty year olds doing their best in a situation that twenty year olds shouldn’t have to face #that said I do think it’s hilarious and incredible that fq spent 800 years beating each other up instead of having one (1) conversation #anyway! I love all three of them! I’m glad they get a happy post canon! #oh also I think mq deserved more than just a ‘just so u know dianxia never thought that poorly of u! just be normal!’ #i think he deserves an apology actually #tgcf #tgcf spoilers #mu qing #xie lian #feng xin #xianle trio #yams thoughts

[khattikeri]

several thoughts on this part of my read through volume 7

first: tbh feng xin and mu qing's mild hysteria at hualian kissing is extremely funny to me KHLDJFLSDKF

like you have all this eight centuries long childhood friend trio drama, miscommunication, angst, working together again, and boom! their dear friend is now engaging in mid-battle PDA with a smug eyepatch demon motherfucker neither of them like. ancient china has no eye bleach but damn do these two wish it existed.

second: i think im gonna actually LOSE MY MIND over mu qing agitatedly revealing that you can literally just HIGH FIVE for spiritual power transfers. SO THESE TWO CLEARLY KNEW THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THAT FAR BUT WANTED TO KISS ANYWAY AND USED SPIRIT POWERS AS A THIN EXCUSE. HELP???? THAT'S SO CUTE...

#keri chats #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hualian #xianle trio #not sure if i wanna tag them all individually but know that i love em all in my heart

[yea-baiyi]

someone just posted this quote and it just hit me that it wasn’t that nobody loved xie lian after knowing how far he’d fallen and everything he’d done. it was xie lian who was too terrified to lean on them and share what he was going through, or he tried and they didn’t have the full context to understand him, and it just made xie lian feel more alone which made him push them away even more. he had feng xin and mu qing the whole time and they never ever stopped loving him even when they saw him falter and fail. and it wasn’t that hua cheng was unique in loving him anyway but it was hua cheng that happened to be present for all of xie lian’s worst moments and none of it made him love xie lian any less, and hua cheng is not the exception to the rule but the proof that xie lian was always loveable and always deserving and always loved despite despite despite. and after finding hua cheng he opens his heart up to his friends once again and accepts their love back into his life when he had shut it all out for centuries. i am in TEARS rn when i said i can’t think about feng xin and mu qing this is one of the reasons why

#tgcf #tgcf meta #meta stuff #fengqing #xianle trio #yelling is a love language #idk i just came across something someone posted on twitter and saw this quote #and it just SENT ME #i still just cannot think about fengqing ok ok ok my asexual ass can’t handle it #they loved xie lian so much both of them did and they never stopped #all those arguments. hundreds of years of anger. all that rage just misplaced grief. which was just love with nowhere to go. #i am in TEARS over them

[evakant]

what i need is xianle trio fic recs

#even xianle quartet don't get me wrong #i love when the four of them /together/ are the focus of a fic !!! they all have such compelling dynamics #fra.txt #tgcf recs #xianle trio #xianle quartet #tagging everything to give myself the best chance to actually get fic recs lmao #xie lian #hua cheng #feng xin #mu qing

[onhoude]

I adore the idea of Mu Qing being either a parent, mentor or older brother to his juniors.

Especially (even if there is some foreshadowing here) because of one of my favourite moments right before disaster.

Mu Qing is depicted as being genuinely considerate towards children back in Xianle: he's sharing food and is recognised and referred to by the street kids with fondness.

The three of them had just turned into the alley when five or six children in rags surrounded them. "Gege! Gege is back!"

Xie Lian was a little confused at first, wondering why they would call a stranger "gege." But then he discovered that the "gege" they were calling to wasn't him but rather Mu Qing.

Heaven’s Official Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Volume 2, p. 340.

Yes, Mu Qing acts the proper part of a reluctant and exasperated older brother, but he is letting the children play with him and pester him for some treats. And we can pick up on how his attitude isn't even entirely convincing. He tells them he has nothing to pass around, but his tone is gentle and he indeed caves quickly and gives them some of the cherries he picked (quite the moment itself) anyway.

"There's nothing this time. Don't 'gege' me so easily." His face was wooden, but his voice wasn't cold. He turned to Xie Lian. "Don't mind them, Your Highness, they're just kids from the block."

Still, this group of children obviously knew him well, so they were clearly used to playing with him and weren't scared at all. They giggled and surrounded them, their dirty little hands extended, begging for treats from Mu Qing. In the end, Mu Qing reached for the gem-like red cherries in his bag and handed them out.

Heaven’s Official Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Volume 2, p. 341.

I'd also like to add, that although Feng Xin is (a bit rightfully so) confused, Xie Lian thought this cold facade and the contradicting gentle actions were entirely in character for Mu Qing.

Feng Xin was astonished at this sight, as if Mu Qing doing anything like this was nothing short of a miracle. It was no wonder, since Mu Qing's pretty-boy face always looked extremely selfish and coldhearted; he seemed like the type that, seeing someone die from starvation on the streets, would still keep a tight grip on his own food.

Xie Lian, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all.

Heaven’s Official Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Volume 2, p. 341.

To briefly and inadequately address the elephant in the room: Mu Qing is suspicious of HongHong'er specifically.

Though in retrospect and with circumstantial knowledge that treatment may have been cold (though in my opinion somewhat appropriate for both his standing and duty to His Highness), it's not indicative of how he would treat children in general. Unless this is contradicted at some later point I'm yet unaware of, he seems rather doting on misfortunate kids.

And I think that's very sweet.

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven's official blessing #mu qing #i do love how they had to include another reminding detail that mu qing is very pretty #xie lian #xie lian saw all that and immediately knew it made sense #xianle trio #give mu qing a disciple or junior to dote on right now

[moodyseal]

Finally gathered the courage to read No Paths Are Bound and wow is that some serious type of commitment when you're a stubborn person who just won't leave things unfinished

#i have this thing where i either pull all nighters until i finish something #be it a project or a movie or a book or a fic #or i don't do it at all #i got too invested to choose the latter :) #a million words......... #oh btw! #i don't remember if the og novel was like this but wow is it giving us some sweet sweet xianle trio angst #absolutely lovely i hope they cry #lonely thoughts

[hopeheartfilia]

i dont know if ill survive getting to the end of mo paths are bound.. im almost halfway and i have no clue where ill go when there isnt a next chapther

#im holding on by a tread and that tread is currently this fic #..... i uh. didnt have any antidepressants for a few days due to pharmacy stock issues #and it hit and i dont know how i couldve dealt with it in any other way then completly just. reading #ive been reading this fic for several days #and if nothing else ive been wlking and feeding the dog #not... yeah okay i think ill need to reread it several times #but like processing the lack of emotions emotionally #dealing with the apathy and all that #no paths are bound #xie lian is sometimes what you need to keep going in life you knoe #also it IS visible that the autour loves mu qing especially right now and im. here for it in an emotionally consitpated way #yeah its the xianle trio flashback part weee. chapther 66 #the butterfly man dreams are. a touch i think its kinda hilarious but yes! youll meet him soon #and like. its so fucked up they really need to tlk this out #and i know they dont but damn i want them to #im back in I just want you to have some very serious conversations where all of you actually understand eachother and #and #.... ah

[cocsdraw]

when you finally say the f word (friend)

#tgcf spoilers #i guess lol #finished reading it on friday who knew all i needed to get back into reading shit in an absurdly short time frame was just some gay gods #mu qing you absolute dumbass bitch i love you #anyway this chapter made me cry the most lmao #like waiting 800 years for your beloved is cool and all but #what the xianle trio has??? ohhhhh fuck yeah #something something you and not the state of you #my stuff #tgcf

[squaloropera]

My favourite thing about the Xianle trio is just how sickeningly codependent close they are. Like, what do you mean you haven’t been friends in 800 years, your friend group fell out in the most painful and traumatic way it possibly could have, and you all have the absolute most reason to hate each other- but in The Cave Of 10,000 gods Mu Qing and Feng Xin were absolutely appalled at the disrespect to their prince. They were fiercely protective, refusing to let Xie Lian bear witness to what they thought was an incredibly perverted insult to his honour. They went toe-to-toe with one of the most terrifying ghosts who ever lived, all in defence of him, and did so without ever thinking twice. They dragged him through that cave system with desperately protective determination, caring for him fiercely despite being misinformed about the situation, and even though they had no obligation to. I’m biting people. Mu Qing and Feng Xin never stopped caring about Xie Lian. He’s no longer their prince, he’s no longer their employer nor even their friend, but they would still put their lives in peril for him. Even when they thought he was a violent criminal (Lang Qianqiu ily but pls kys) they visited his palace to give him medicine for his arm (something about Mu Qing brushing off his injury and saying it isn’t that bad cause all martial gods get injured, then being the first in line to go heal him is so sickening and vile I love him) and make sure he’s alright, then physically fought over the implications from each other about the other having been a bad friend. All of the bullshit trauma, all of the heartache, all of the reason they could have to not give a shit about him, and they were throwing hands over who was a better friend. I hate them. (I love them.)

#heaven official's blessing #tgcf #xianle trio #mu qing #feng xin #xie lian #xianle #tgcf donghua #mxtx tgcf #tgcf spoilers #tian guan ci fu #heaven officials blessing #they’re not friends #They’re more than friends #They’re less that friends #They’re something sickening and disgusting and entirely specific #you get it

[evie-doesnt-write]

You can tell someone lacks media comprehension ans critical thinking skills the moment they blame one of the XianLe Trio for their fallout. Each one of them played a part in it and I would go as far as saying there's was no one actually who could be blamed for the choices they made.

Not XL who had the blame of an entire nation's downfall placed on his young shoulders (despite the fact he had been set up to fail from the beginning) and had lived his entire life loved and innocent, so was entirely unaccustomed to this new life he was thrust into. His entire worldview was shifted, he deals with severe depression and he's hurt and kicked down again and again. Not to mention he had to deal with BWX's cruelties, abuse and manipulation

Not FX who had grown up being told he needed to be unwaveringly loyal to the Crown, putting it above everything, especially over his own needs and self-worth, loving XL, and being his friend, but never truly because they aren't equals, not in FX's eyes, so when XL commands him to leave then he's forced to listen by his own code of ethics.

Not MQ who had to abandon his own mother in order to take care of four other people despite not being obligated to any more but because he cares for XL (and FX) for years on end, taking on all the chores, the brunt of the work, the finances, whilst no one listens to him. Not for leaving (despite one of his main motivations for cultivating and ascending was so he could support the others) and, while this may be controversial, not for not defending XL against the 33 because while he definitely hurt XL, he had both his and XL's (+XL's parents and FX's) best interests at heart (not saying he was right but he also wasn't wrong).

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #mu qing #xie lian #feng xin #xianle trio #heaven official's blessing #mxtx

[taihua]

Thinking about Feng Xin again (relapsed) (relapsed again) and his self-destructive loyalty in the sense that when he meets Jian Lan again, he doesn't really like her and he certainly doesn't like Cuocuo, but he still offers to be with her because that's what he's supposed to do. And I think this gets misinterpreted sometimes as "Feng Xin still loves her after all this time!" but it's sadder than that because he doesn't. She's sort of off-putting and crass and her monster baby is violent and Feng Xin hates it, and despite all that he still believes it's his responsibility to take care of them

and because we love parallels, he'd also kind of reached that point with Xie Lian. Xie Lian tried to murder a guy in front of him and he was still forcing himself to stay even though they obviously weren't on the same page anymore

Anyway. Feng Xin is not the emotionally stable one in Xianle trio (there is no such thing) and I will once again protest fanon's fixation on making him into a shallow himbo when he's actually all kinds of messed up the more you look at him

#stroking his hair patting his head

[yea-baiyi]

xie lian is the “all my friends hate my significant other” trope except it’s because hua cheng is his only healthy relationship, all the other relationships he has with the people in his life are trauma-bonded and deeply dysfunctional

#hualian #tgcf #rambling #xianxia jesus #xianle trio #hua cheng has a wildly supportive family (aka ghost city) and they all love xie lian #yknow i’m like neck deep in sqx angst rn and i’m just hualian posting to let off steam

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

im so happy that the xianle trio was able to make up because the more i think about it, the more factors there were at play that would cause them to NOT make up. the 800 years of sitting with their emotions. jun wu trying deliberately to turn them against each other. class dynamics and being in a hierarchical society that would naturally keep them apart. heavenly politics and the atmosphere of being cutthroat and competitive.

and these mfs still held all the love in their hearts for each other and refused to stop caring through it all.

#xianle trio #feng xin #mu qing #xie lian #tgcf

[good-vs-evo]

saw some ppl on tiktok getting SO PRESSED about polycules and relationships other than hualian and that was kind of funny so i needed to make and explain my relationship chart

i’d love to explain to them (as a polyam person myself >:3) that love is not a limited commodity and hua cheng falling for yin yu doesn’t mean he suddenly doesn’t care about xie lian at all but i fear that would be lost on them HAHA

also if you… don’t wanna see that kinda stuff… just don’t look at it… don’t hate on people who do… life would be easier for everyone… but moving on

i debated splitting yin yu x he xuan x hua cheng from the moon quartet then decided against it because it was getting waaaay too chaotic

rip to quan yizhen, either he has no manhua art or i couldn’t find it (i haven’t read the manhua yet ffjhshd)

uhhh i got a lot of inspo abt huayin from @devotedbutterfly’s tiktoks and stuff (sorry for going thru like all of ur stuff and generally being a demon on ur tiktok and tumblr ahsjdj) and xuanyin/blackmoon stuff from @ghooostbaby so. yes their stuff is very cool :]

anyways-

first chart is different explanations for everyone’s relationship with one another

the second is me trying to simplify them into categories

BUT i’ll explain this a lotttt better in text

quanyin

uh. this one feels self explanatory

hualian

if i have to explain this one it’s over

fengqing

same as the first two LMAO

xianle trio

yes, i had to break the trio and quartet into different categories

mulian: mu qing always admired xie lian for his self-assuredness, strength, and also beauty. he was a bit jealous of him for a long time, but they were able to talk about it and they both forgave each other for everything that happened in the part. he's had a crush on him since the beginning, but was bad at showing it. xie lian thought mu qing was pretty and a very interesting person; when he got older, he regretted not spending more time getting to know him, so he makes up for it later on in life! he loves when mu qing is softer and shy and more vulnerable than he is usually, and loves how mu qing is a good listener and is pretty emotionally intelligent.

fengqing: well. you get the idea

fenglian: feng xin was always loyal, the first person to have fallen in love with xie lian, and dianxia’s first kiss. he would’ve never left xie lian if xie lian hadn’t told him to. he respected xie lian a lot. xie lian loved how much feng xin cared, and felt immensely guilty about being unable to give him anything more. when they reunite, he showers feng xin with gifts and words of affirmation (he got better at expressing his emotions) and they spend a lot of time together

xianle quartet

all the other ones stay the same, so i’ll just explain the two new ones

huaqing: they were once stuck together and had to talk just out of boredom. they bickered a little but the more they talked the more they realized that there was more to the other. mu qing feels genuinely bad about what he did to hua cheng. he has a hard time apologizing but he tried his best to express his remorse, and hua cheng was pretty shocked (previously thought mu qing was a bit of an asshole) and, since mu qing was being sincere, decided to accept his apology. they hit some rough patches now and then, but xie lian and feng xin help them through it. they realized they’re pretty similar, and team up to stir up trouble with people they don’t like sometimes!

huaxin: feng xin was jealous of hua cheng because he was the one who won xie lian’s heart after 800 years and was really happy when he found out that xie lian liked him too. he admires that hua cheng was strong enough to help xie lian so many times. he also likes that hua cheng is a little cocky sometimes (read: very often), and finds hua cheng very good looking. hua cheng was jealous of feng xin for being the first person to be that close to xie lian, but appreciates how loyal he was throughout everything that happened and finds him pretty cool. he likes the way feng xin curses a lot when he’s pissed (finds it endearing)

huayin

ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVES!!!

yin yu fell first, because hua cheng was so fascinatingly determined and also like the prettiest person he’s ever met. he was intimidating, but could be quite kind, as he was to yin yu when they broke past the employee/employer relationship and became closer

hua cheng began to notice the way yin yu came off as so meek and unnoticeable, but had a kind of poised anger and strength beneath all of that. he trusted yin yu with a lot of more important tasks, paid him well, and considered him as more of a right hand man or partner in crime than a henchman, then eventually as just a partner

e’ming also likes yin yu, and trusts him to take care of it

hua cheng finds it endearing when yin yu gets protective of him (both of them know hua cheng is perfectly capable, but hua cheng finds it sweet regardless)

yin yu cheered hua cheng on a lot with xie lian and patiently listened to everything hua cheng had to say about him

huayinlian/hualianyu

ANOTHER PERSONAL FAVE

ppl keep being like “oh but hua cheng would never cheat on xie lian” HOW IS THAT CHEATING! GOOD LORD! HUA CHENG STILL LOVES XIE LIAN, BUT HAS ALSO DEVELOPED FEELINGS FOR THE PERSON HE SPENT THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME WITH

i digress

yin yu fell for xie lian because he heard about him all the time. how could you spend so much time hearing about how wonderful, kind, gracious, and amazing someone is without catching feelings a little? additionally, hua cheng allowed yin yu to visit xie lian’s temple and leave offerings, trusting him to be genuine in his actions. yin yu saw some of the paintings and sculptures of xie lian and found him beautiful. he knows a lot about xie lian's life, and truly wants him to find peace and happiness

xie lian loves how devoted yin yu was to hua cheng and how much he helped him. he knows those years were hard for hua cheng, and he’s glad that he had a companion (contrary to what people say about “cheating”, xie lian is incredibly happy that hua cheng managed to find love while he was waiting). i know yin yu is canonically “plain”, but xie lian loves him and thinks he’s very handsome :) he gives him a lot of compliments and words of affirmation

blackmoon (yinxuan)

taking a moment to appreciate that very awesome ship name

yin yu thought he xuan was terrifying and intense, only to discover that. he’s just a guy (/pos). but he does have a lot going on! he has urges and a complex history and emotions he doesn’t show to a lot of people and plans within plans and is generally such an interesting person with so many layers to him. beneath a lot of those layers is a guy who’s kind and smart and would’ve stayed kind and smart if his life wasn’t utterly ruined

he xuan initially thought yin yu was just kind of pathetic, but learned more about him and started to like him more. he finds his passion really attractive, loves how genuinely sweet, kind, and gentle he is as well as how harsh, cruel, and unrelenting he can be. he treats he xuan well and makes him feel human and real and knows when to leave him alone and knows when he wants attention and cooks for him and-

they feel seen around each other, having experienced similar things (such as having their destiny “stolen” in different ways though) and have experienced suffering in such a firsthand way. they’re ready to just chill together now :)

moon quartet (hua cheng, xie lian, he xuan, and yin yu)

xie lian finds he xuan cool, doesn’t have too many thoughts about him. he xuan thinks xie lian is cute and also mildly terrifying (i’m definitely editing this later on, i just don’t have a lot of thoughts about them yet)

hua cheng and he xuan have been close for a long time, helping each other out with ghost king business. hua cheng let he xuan relax and chill at ghost city when he needed to, and he xuan kept a close eye on the heavenly capital, so they met often and bonded. they’re both motivated by something and are incredibly passionate about that thing, so they mutually admire the other’s drive and courage

i have the least for them so far, but i just think they’d be sweet together :] they’d all help each other heal and be able to talk to each other. they’d love each other a lot and take care of one another when they need it and be there when someone needs someone :3 idk they’re so traumatized and deserve to recover from that i’ll form more thoughts i swear

ANYWAYS. that’s it for now i’m def gonna write stuff for all of these ships :0 they’re all very special to me 💖 i might add them to my 30 day fluff challenge :3 cuz they all deserve some nice fluff! (ill also keep updating + editing! feel free to ask me to explain relationships more, id love to <3)

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #xie lian #hua cheng #hualian #feng xin #mu qing #fengqing #quan yizhen #yin yu #quanyin #xianle trio #xianle quartet #fenglian #mulian #huaxin #huaqing #christ this is a lot of tags #huayin #huayinlian #hualianyu #blackmoon #xuanyin #yinxuan #moon quartet #huaxuan #oh god is it over #i think i just gotta give up now #evo yaps