**HEAVENLY HEADPHONE WARNINGS**
We’re finishing Volume 4 and starting Volume 5 today! And OH MY — things with the mob of cultivators after Hua Cheng get INTERESTING and Xie Lian is NOT letting Hua Cheng live down his “transformation” any time soon — of course, Hua Cheng has a way to get right back at Xie Lian, as he tries to uncover the events of their…”fight”…in the Thousand Lights Temple!
What a way to start off this volume! I am EXCITED, y’all!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
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Incorruptable Chastity Meatballs to the rescue!
I don't know if you've read many romcom BLs, but I've seen quite a few that have extra chapters full of fluff and one common scenario is – one of the partners wakes up one morning in the body of a five-year-old (with his adult personality). They don't know why or how, but the other always finds it the most adorable thing ever and proceeds to tote around and coo over the child version, who is totally embarrassed and frustrated but also kind of likes being fussed over. It's especially fun when the one who turns little is the cool, manly "top" of the pairing.
The one who stays older becomes the stand-in for all the readers, I swear. Who reads this and doesn't imagine pinching a cute little Hua Cheng's cheeks and squealing at the idea of him pouting and being dressed up like a doll? This is one of those things that I feel is uniquely BL and also completely targeted toward women/the feminine spirit because there's something in us that already tends to look at these characters like our babies who we just want to be happy and then we get all "mommy" (or "babysitter" or "let's play with dolls") when we see them turned into actual children. It only works though because we know they'll turn back and they keep their mental age for the whole event. It's similar to chibi imagery, but even funnier because one partner is actually seeing the other in chibi form rather than it being a visual cue for readers that a scene is cute/sweet/funny.
MXTX gave us this imagery because she's a boss, but then she also added some poignancy to it…because she's a boss. Poor Hua Cheng has done nothing but hate the younger version of himself who wasn't strong enough to help Xie Lian and strive for 800 years to make sure he'll be able to protect his beloved. Now here he is, reduced to childish size and power again and he fears it and is humiliated. But for Xie Lian, this is a golden opportunity to finally return all the favors he's been getting from Hua Cheng and it also lowers his inhibitions and awkwardness, allowing him to relax a little without that constant sexual tension (even if he doesn't recognize it as such). Also, I can't help but contrast this with the past version, where XL met HC as a little kid but didn't coo over him or think much of him. So I'm sure some part of HC is enjoying this, just a little bit.
"Wait for me," HC asks.
"Of course. No rush," XL reassures.
It's perfect and sweet and touching and kind of also reflects their entire relationship for the past 800 years.
But, aside from the cuteness overload – Ling Wen earns her "Tumor" title in this arc. Not that she's automatically to be judged (we don't know the whole story) but because she clearly has some sort of scandalous behavior in her past that she's worked very hard to keep hidden. And also, her…temperment/attitude is still, "Damn, I'm tired, you're boring, I'm better than you, and I don't care about promises made under duress." So she peaces out – or tries to – wearing the Brocade Immortal who (which?) turns her into a martial god with awesome fighting skills. But she can't quite control it (him) so she ends up fighting her way out instead of calmly walking away.
And poor Puqi Shrine collapses in process. Aww, the first place they played househusbands in! But that's fine – we'll worry about it later. Time for playing hooky and dressing up! But who are they on the run from this time?
well… Romania the English version of Heaven Official's Blessing is longer than the Chinese version so they added an extra volume (volume 5) so the cover is basically meaningless soo umm…. idk if that's a spoiler or not but yea. The art used in vol 5 was originally made for murch
Thanks for the reaction! I just love a baby HC and XL showing his sassy side.
Love your reaction ♥️ also keep questioning everything you see cuz you'll never know what mxtx had behind it😂
Also i love your theories 😊
I CAN'T WAIT for you to get to book 4(not volume 4) and yeah with all this hinting and side stories tgcf IS darker than mdzs
The true merit of a fighter is in weaponizing their short-comings. Xie Lian truly is the best of the best. 🤭 (#IncorruptibleChastityMeatballsOfMassDestructionForTheWin)
I LOVE your reaction and discussions❤❤❤ Your opinion and theories are so fresh and interesting that I can't help but listen to your discussion twice or even more times! And even though I've already read TGCF, with you I discover so many new fascinating details! Thank you so much😊😊😊
Im so excited for you to read volume 5! I really enjoyed reading it
Did you know mxtx is currently releasing a revised version of tgcf? A lot of things have been added and changed and there's a new extra. So far, we only have snippets online from Chinese readers and it's heavily censored, but the Taiwanese version will be uncensored. We have no word so far on when or if we'll get an official translation.
Also, it was stated when they were in his hometown in the Reverend of Empty Words arc that he xuan died after taking bloody revenge on the people who wronged him. It was like a mutual kill, he killed them and then died from his own injuries.
I've never been able to relate to other women saying that they don't like straight romances because of the way the female leads tend to be. I never understood it, for various reasons. But I'm also autistic, which is definitely a big part of why I never understood people's feelings about female characters in the media. I don't view media the way a lot of other people do (I know this is not every autistic person's experience, I'm specifically talking about my own experience). It's hard to explain, but I'll cut the comment here because it's starting to get rambly.
Have we come to the point where the amount of times you couldn't wait to read ahead surpassed the times you could? 🤣 ❤
I think it's a great time to bring back this phrase from Hua Cheng: “To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet be unable to do anything. That's the worst suffering in the world.” If you link that with now him saying he needs/wants to be strong, you really can't do nothing but cry T.T
I never would have guessed I would laugh SO MUCH because of meatballs!!! From the triple questioning from Quan Yizhen to them creating sparks when meeting the blades OMG
TGCF aside… the reason you gave for liking BL is one I think many female readers share, yeah. I'm not saying there aren't well done fictonal hetero relationships in this aspect but it's also not the norm – or wasn't when I used to real nonBL lmao
A personal addition as an asexual cis female BL reader: it's something talked about in the community how reading sexual and sensual relationships between males is a safer/more comfortable form of media for us than reading f-m and f-f stories because it kinda allows one to disconnect more in those scenes while still enjoy them. Following that I wonder if a similar form of disconnection might let us female BL readers "let pass" these particular form of gender discrimination (a weaker, prettier, always-being-saved person in the couple) in some BL stories a tiny bit more than in hetero stories, since we don't always inmediately feel offended, disgusted, angry, etc or not as much as if those qualities and situations happened to a female character. Just suddenly thinking 🤔
Yay! I finally caught up to the reactions! And just in time for one of my favorite parts, little Huahua!
Some weeks ago I found your MDZS reactions and I've been binge watching your MXTX videos. Your reactions are awesome! I myself am a passive reader for the most part so it's really entertaining and kind of fascinating the way you analyze things and come up with theories! And as you say, I love seating here with my hot beverage of choice snickering in the background lol The previous arc theories had me giggling like a maniac xD
Also this scene with the meatballs is so good, it's been a while since I read TGCF but I always remember this scene, peak comedy 🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, I’m sad that Puqi Shrine is destroyed. To me, that’s Xie Lian’s and Hua Cheng’s house, where his cousin and nephew hang out and play around in, with an awkward orphan puttering about and now with the new addition of Qi Ying also playing around and where Xie Lian would serve his friends dubious meals and where his colleagues would leave him offerings of gold bars and where the villagers come to offer him food in exchange for his (and Xiao Hua’s) help and labour. I love that place. And I sooo wanna see Hua Cheng’s face as Xie Lian was proclaiming his godly status. He must’ve been filled with awe and pride for XL.
RIP Puqi Shrine 😢 The place our Hualian spend their first night together, and fixed the house together😭 But their bonds is to strong to be shaken by a hut anyway😅
I like how Hua Cheng set a clear boundary on what he don't want to do even Xie Lian asked. He's hopelessly in love, and obviously willing to do anything for his Gege, but still make it clear that he's uncomfortable and don't like being a kid when Xie Lian asked him.
PS. I'm sure Ruby's barking was "I ship HUALIAN!!!❤"