#dianxia

being given immortality as part of a plan to destroy you (partially because his ascension was going to happen anyway but it also happened prematurely) and then settling into the same immortality living peacefully and deciding to choose by yourself. the plan to doom you failed and yet you give your hand out to your torturer. don’t you love it when a story is rooted in love and compassion and relying on someone else to help you get through the work you must do to free yourself.

its is often mentioned in conversations that this man has the power to destroy and the only person who seems possibly strong enough to take him has explicitly said that he would not try to stop him ever.

but the story is not a battle of muscle and martial prowess alone, not even strategy (shout out twice i love that song). that being said, as powerful as he might be his strength to continue and the conviction to his ideals is unmatched. so the story is more about the inner workings of the heart and fighting through the wounds born out of abuse and hatred.

i think it's worth noting that both the strongest characters by the end the story became that strong out of love if you strip it all down to the core.

and i believe that says a lot.

bro was doomed for his ideals and lived long enough for the payoff of his kindness. it took him 800 years but the world proved him right, it’s a bit of a butterfly effect. 

except no, it didn’t exactly go that way.

even if that kindness hadn't come back to him in the end in the form of hua cheng, in a way it wouldn't have changed his conviction because the reason he's still himself is that he was offered kindness at his lowest point by someone who didn't even know him. by a kindness that wasn't connected to him at all. a kindness he really didn't have to do anything to deserve. he knows kindness and love matters because it has already saved him in the past. the proof was already there centuries before the start of the story. thats fucking crazy.

anyway yeah choosing to be happy and to follow your own way. it's like saying "you tried to shape and groom me to your liking but even your divine will won’t overshadow the path i forged myself because I am not you and I will not be you" 

love is the ultimate form of strength and rebellion.

body in abyss heart in paradise. 

jun wu saw himself in xie lian and he made it his mission to show him the cruelty of the world so that he could justify himself, his own demise and his own loss. to convince himself that no other outcome could've been possible, that no matter what he had done it was always going to end like this because such is the nature of the world.

if he proved this was the absolute truth maybe that way it would hurt less, maybe he could be freed from his own guilt and rage. he tried to bend the world so that he was right: people are evil and selfish to their core if you push them hard enough.

but if kindness is possible, it’s a gamble worth taking. it's something worth believing in.

it wasn't that xie lian was being proud or self righteous with that phrase he said when he was 17. or well, even if he was. i think its beautiful that both on top of the world and in the depths of hell the story allows him to keep believing in that ideal. in the right time, just one person was enough. and i think that rings true.

maybe people can be evil and selfish and cruel if you push them hard enough. but kindness is easier to come by than you'd think, and every single act of kindness matters. he knows it true because sometimes, when you feel you're at the edge of the world, one little action can change the outcome.

Feng Xin: So Dianxia, how did your cooking go?

Xie Lian: Pretty good if I do say so myself

Feng Xin: Okay, what are we having?

Xie Lian: Alright, so for appetizers, we have a potato

Feng Xin: A whole potato?

Xie Lian: Yes. And then, for the main course, we have grilled cheese sandwiches!

Mu Qing: These just look like big slabs of black

Xie Lian, *smiling* : Because that's what they are!

Feng Xin: Where did you come from? And don't insult His Highness' cooking skills!

Xie Lian: And then, for desert, we have chocolate

Mu Qing: These are just burnt chocolate chips?

Xie Lian: They sure are!

Xie Lian: And then for drinks, we have toast!