Can Y'all BELIEVE This Art? Tiira, You're The Best ;A;

For the WIP game, The Newcomer one sounds so cool!! I'd love to hear more about it!

Heavy spoiler warning for Heaven Official's Blessing. Hi! Right, so, The Newcomer. I came up with the idea around two years ago, while re-reading the Ghost City arc. Do you remember how the mortal who's betting against Hua Cheng when Xie Lian arrives uses his daughter's lifespan and fate in marriage as a wager? It established fortune/fate as a sort of currency in the world of TGCF, a notion that later got reinforced by things like:

-How Hua Cheng can transfer luck in games of chance to Xie Lian -How Shi Wudu could use He Xuan's divine fate to make Shi Qingxuan ascend instead -How Jun Wu physically took Xie Lian's fortune away from him with the second shackle and scattered it among mortals (or so we hope, because Xie Lian asked for that to happen, but with Jun Wu, you never know) -How Jun Wu can put his resentment to bake in the Kiln and cook curses of horrible misfortune with it, which was what made Hong'er's brief life so miserable

The whole thing is quite intriguing. Does the Gambler's Den have a vault of good and bad fortunes in different areas of life, that they've been hoarding for centuries in order to offer them as rewards to new patrons? How, where, and from whom did Hua Cheng learn the magic required for such a thing? Does part of his extremely good luck come from gambling earnings, or is it all his, and the house has its own separate reserves? Is there anyone able to audit these transactions and confirm that there's no cheating and everybody involved gave their informed consent, which seems to be the requisite for the magic to work without breeding resentment (as opposed to a stolen fate, like the Blackwater case), or do they have to believe in what Hua Cheng says because he's too strong to be opposed or challenged?

If I have those questions, surely some characters in the story could have them too. Cue the new Earth Master, formerly an overseer of a big mining operation at the service of the Chinese empire, who swears that he was coerced into betting his extraordinarily auspicious fate in marriage in the Gambler's Den, and claims that Hua Cheng used it to marry Xie Lian, because otherwise there's no way "any respectable god would agree to marry such a vile monster." He ascends shortly after Hualian get married, which in turn is not too long after Hua Cheng's return. Many gods are still resentful towards Hua Cheng for his past deeds and the fanfare of the bells singing him praises every day, so they rally with the new Earth Master to see if they can take him down. Naturally, Xie Lian doesn't believe any of it for even an instant. He's devastated by the turn of events, and when he's told that he should not only stay away from the case because he's biased, but also stay away from Hua Cheng altogether until they determine if their love is legitimate or the product of a fate switch, he almost gets into his second calamity era and locks himself in Paradise Manor, refusing to leave until the case is closed (he's too strong for anyone to force him out, so at least there's that).

As I mentioned, Ling Wen takes on the case to get some fresh air and see if that can get her out on parole. She's in terrible terms with Hua Cheng, but I think she's too pragmatic to try to use the chance to get back at him. Instead, I think she'd be genuinely interested in finding out whether the old fox is as cunning as people paint him to be.

That's what I have defined so far. The rest is rather nebulous because there are a lot of possibilities, both in regard to what actually happened, and also in regard to the POV(s) I want to focus on. I could stay with Ling Wen and show how the Earth Master mirrors the men who looked down on her and mistreated her through her life, or I could focus on Hualian, or do a mix of both... I have started the story two or three times, testing the waters, but I'm still unsure.

Thanks for asking!

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Back to WIP game main post.

🚨⚠️ATTENTION FELLOW WRITERS⚠️🚨

If you use Google Docs for your writing, I highly encourage you to download your work, delete it from Google Docs, and transfer it to a different program/site, unless you want AI to start leeching off your hard work!!!

I personally have switched to Libre Office, but there are many different options. I recommend checking out r/degoogle for options.

Please reblog to spread the word!!

This fic was written as part of the TGCF Gotcha for Congo initiative! The request was a piece featuring Ling Wen and Bai Jin, perhaps a character study or a look at their relationship, romantic or otherwise. Ling Wen is one of my favourite side characters, and the whole ordeal with the Brocade Immortal intrigued me greatly since the beginning. To say I was over the moon when the revised edition deepened their story, and allowed us to have a glimpse of Bai Jin while he was still alive, is a severe understatement! I greatly enjoyed working on this little piece, and I hope you enjoy reading it as well.

ABCDMXTX - Day 14: Nie Huaisang.

The man, the legend.

List of prompts.

the more sleepy i am, the more active my brain is🤙

( i'm practicing coloring but,,,, )

ABCDMXTX - Day 9: Items.

"What's on my sleeve?" post-timeskip Wei Ying edition.

List of prompts.

The ByTheBi's Collection: Style Your 20cm Minidoll After Three Selected TGCF Fanfiction Stories

Yaban's Doll Atelier is proud to present the ByTheBi's Collection, an indispensable addition to the closet of your 20cm Minidoll. Re-enact three beloved stories by acclaimed fanfiction author ByTheBi with these exclusive sets of accessories.

—

‘One Man's Treasure’ - A set worthy of love

Read the fic on AO3

Some habits are hard to break, even after millennia. Hua Cheng knows this best, as he always accompanies Xie Lian on his dumpster-diving adventures.

This set includes one raggedy fox plush, two poorly translated shirts, and a clean bin to keep things organised. The fox has already been taken care of, and his hand-embroidered eyepatch is removable to reveal Hua Cheng's signature red eye.

In honour of Xie Lian's scrap-collecting passion, everything in this set is made with recovered/recycled materials.

—

‘Your Package Has Been Delivered’ - These toys are not for kids!

Read the fic on AO3

Hua Cheng's packages keep getting delivered to his cute neighbour, which is all fine and dandy until some special toys get mixed in the mail! While Hua Cheng is the one who sees the contents of Xie Lian's discreet package in the fic, here we picture the opposite because Yaban's Doll Atelier can't afford Hua Cheng's modelling fees seeing Xie Lian's reaction in that scenario would've been very funny.

This set includes two labelled black boxes, two invoices, two receipts, one bottle of lube, a cock ring and the infamously dubbed "Colon Destroyer" with its remote controller. Hua Cheng did his best to conceal the fact that he opened Xie Lian's box, but you can see some traces of the debacle if you look carefully.

—

‘With Patience, With Love’ - A cosy set to eternal happiness

Read the fic on AO3

Hua Cheng is acting strange, and Xie Lian doesn't know what to think when he catches him lying. Deciding to trust him no matter what, his loyalty gets rewarded with a surprise made with the utmost patience and the utmost love.

This set includes a long ivory scarf, a thrifted mug that says "Coffee isn't my cup of tea", fairly lights, and 25 paper butterflies with the motives and colours described in the story.

—

The ByTheBi's Collection is an exclusive, ultra limited edition made for @peachylixir as part of the Puqi Shrine Secret Santa 2024. Happy Christmas, Peachy!

My personal ranking of Uramichi's borderline revealing work outfits

Bacterian

Tbh this isn't that bad. The shorts are a bit short Ig but not out of reason. What gives this outfit the 👀 energy imo are the long gloves and thigh high boots, tragically not seen in this photo 😔 I'll give it a 6.5/10

Absent minded cat (idk if it has a proper name?

I'm begging you give this man a kirugumi or something!!!! This is not a cat! This is a bodysuit with catlike features! This is the most covered he'll be on this list but somehow I feel like I'm seeing way too much, and that's saying something. 2/10

Uramino kun

I'm not the kind to dismiss the appeal of less conventionally appealing creatures, but let's not kid ourselves; bagworms aren't cute. Unless you find pinecones cute ig. I do appreciate having even more leg from bacterian but otherwise this is a miss for me. 4/10

God of Shiso

I'm in love with this look. And that probably sounds hypocritical since this might be the most revealing outfit yet but hhhhh muscle,,, I think I also like it because it's probably the closest thing to a normal outfit on here, although maybe not on a kids show lol. My favorite. 10/10

Right Left Man

Another banger!! I'll be honest, idk why this does it for me. I think probably those straps on his arms that really accentuate his muscles? And the thigh highs are back! I know he is a caution sign but damn if he's not the hottest caution sign I've ever seen! 9/10

Bonjour man

I feel the same way as Uramichi does about this look lol. I know a lot of folks like it but I cannot stand it. I want to burn it. The shorts being the color of the french flag is a nice touch but the color and stripe pattern clashes SO BAD with those of the shirt. It looks like someone gave you two minutes to buy an outfit that you felt says "France" from your local thrift store. I can't even appreciate all the extra muscle on display because they're being drowned out the anguished tortured SCREAMS coming from this disaster of a costume. "Kill me," it says, "I don't want to suffer anymore." But we're in different worlds, so I can't offer it the sweet release of death. I can only bear witness to its suffering while I seethe with hatred. 0/10

have you ever been told you look like a celebrity?

yes (who? 👀)

no

WIP Game!

I was tagged by @e-n-t-r-o-p-i-c-f-r-o-g. Thanks!

Rules:

Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder.

Let people send you asks with the title that most intrigues them, then post a snippet or reveal something about it.

Tag others to continue the game.

I'm going to provide a little more information besides the titles, because otherwise, picking one feels too much like a shot in the dark.

UNPUBLISHED:

In Memoriam: MDZS, postcanon. Wei Ying is asked to pretend he's Mo Xuanyu and bid farewell to the former nanny of the Mo family, so she can pass away in peace.

Scars: MDZS, postcanon. Wei Ying asks Lan Zhan if, given the chance, he'd erase the scars left by his punishment.

First night: TGCF, missing scene. During the first night he spends in Puqi shrine after meeting Xie Lian on the ox cart, Hua Cheng ponders about what kind of life the prince has lived the last eight hundred years, and about the function of his second shackle.

Clarity: TGCF, canondivergence. Hua Cheng comes back from his second dispersion early, but he's barely there, unable to move or speak on his own. Afraid of exposing his beloved to any malignant actor while in such vulnerable state, and tormented by how much and in how many ways he missed him, Xie Lian locks them both inside the Mt. Taicang's shack until he can come up with a solution.

Pearl Memories: TGCF, postcanon. Xie Lian decides to learn how to style hair properly, and in return, he learns about what happened to the lock of hair he tied around Hua Cheng's finger during the land of the tender incident.

Haifisch: TGCF, mermaid AU. To unwind from his gruelling job and difficult circumstances, Xie Lian has got into the habit of screaming underwater while he swims at the bay, unaware of the fact that his sorrow smells like blood in the water for Hua Cheng, a siren that feeds from despair.

The Newcomer/King of the Ghosts: TGCF, postcanon. A new earth master ascends and immediately accuses Hua Cheng of having stolen his auspicious fate in marriage and use it for himself in order to marry Xie Lian. Seeing in this a chance to free herself from her bureaucratic prison, Ling Wen offers to take care of the case.

The Secret Garden: TGCF, postcanon. Xie Lian is a tireless worker, and while Hua Cheng deeply admires that of him, he's also desperate to make him settle and rest after so many years of struggle. Perhaps making Paradise Manor feel like a real home could do the trick.

Picture perfect: TGCF, modern AU. Hua Cheng begrudgingly agrees to participate in a photography project of his fellow uni student He Xuan, under the condition that he won't have to remove his eyepatch. However, when he arrives to the studio and meets Xie Lian, an incredibly charming man who's missing the right leg, he fears he might be persuaded into exposing his own scars.

The fantasy creatures pitches: SVSSS, MDZS, TGCF (but they aren't crossovers). Chinese mythology AUs. I wrote six pitches for the Tails And Scales fanzine, two for each novel. They picked one from TGCF, but I can talk about the other five.

Fairy Boy: Zelda BotW, missing scene. The story of Link growing up and how he ventured into the Lost Woods to find the Master Sword at age 12. It's entirely told in rhymes, like a children's bedtime story.

ONGOING:

Heavenly Damnation: TGCF, modern AU, metal music. After eight years of taking on awful gigs to stay afloat, Xie Lian is forced to confront his past when issues with the registration office bring him back to the capital. The difference? Hua Cheng, who has been his biggest fan since the beginning, is now ready to help him out of the hell Bai Wuxiang put him into.

Treasure Hunting in the Clouds: TGCF, modern AU. Hua Cheng bought a first class couple's pod to fly back to London after a business trip to the USA, but the airline forced his hand at the last minute and shoved a stranger in the other half of the bed. Hua Cheng hates this at first, but he changes his mind when he sees who's his impromptu pod mate.

Within Reach: TGCF, canondivergence. During their long walk towards Mount Tonglu while Hua Cheng is in his sealed child form, he and Xie Lian encounter humans who tell stories and legends of Crimson Rain Seeking A Flower, and decide to make a game out of it in order for Xie Lian to learn more about his secretive companion.

The Perfect Gift: Zelda BotW, post canon. Unauthorized sequel of the orphaned fic "A Most Convenient Marriage". On a mad race to eliminate the new threat looming over Hyrule, Link comes to terms with his strained relationship with Zelda and the blooming love he shares with Prince Sidon.

This... is hella lot more than I expected to have, lmao. Feel free to ask about as many titles as you want. I'm just now starting to use Tumblr again, so I'm sorry if I'm being inopportune with the tags: @ardenrabbit, @edenwolfie, @peachylixir, @callmefoxypepsi.

Answered questions:

The Newcomer/King of the Ghosts

In Memoriam

Treasure Hunting in the Clouds

Within Reach

Clarity