DEFY YOUR FATE.

"I did, once. I don't know, memory is a faulty thing and the past moves in circles. I don't think about some things for months, only to obsess over them for a week. Also, I don't think I know him now. I did once, and I loved him, loved who he was and who he could be. But I know he's a different person now, I am too."

-Ritika Jyala, excerpt from The Flesh I Burned

   fun fact !

   Iron Fan did NOT know how to deal with Red Son when he was born.. as in :  she didn’t know how to hold him, how / long to feed him, or when was the right time to burp him.

   she knows the basics of what you’re supposed to do, but had no experience to pull from as never had any  ‘ true ‘  children of her own and, even though she is the ancestor to other wind gods in the Taoist iterations, she more than likely would’ve handed them off to maids to raise them since she was an absurdly-driven workaholic. 

   Xingyin has.. a complicated relationship with romance. 

   when it comes to her mother, Chang’e, Xingyin has heard all of the various iterations of the tragic story between her mother and father.  she’s heard the tales where Chang’e was the greedy and vain villainess, where Hou Yi had an affair and planned to make himself and his lover ageless, and iterations where both parties were victims of terrible timing and at the mercy of the universe. 

   as for Xingyin herself, she’s only ever had two people in her life that she had ever seen romantic interest in ; however, both of these people, like her, had their own important secrets to keep.  

   Liwei, the only crowned prince of the Jade/Celestial Emperor, was not only a close friend, despite being the only son of the Celestial/Jade Emperor, but also her classmate as they tutored privately together for a handful of years.  they’ve exchanged gifts, been each other’s confidants, and developed feelings for each other through their constant closeness ; but, ultimately, it is suddenly revealed to Xingyin the day of an agreement for an arranged marriage between Liwei and another that comes from a powerful family to keep strong alliances.  the relationship between him and Xingyin was more a relationship filled with yearning and temptations, but after the fallout of their friendship, the girl throws herself into the military to put distance between her and the pain that came with the fallout.  by the end of the novel, the two become amicable enough to be friends.

"The nonhuman. People are afraid of her." — Anaïs Nin, Nearer the Moon