Enter The Mult-iverse

What is this?

Short answer: Absolute bug insanity.Long answer: A silly little AU that balloon'd way out of my control and started having its own spin-offs because I love Hua Cheng / Xie Lian and making up new designs for characters in AUs.

What do you mean by 'Mult-iverse'?

Mult-iverse (moth + cult = mult) is a joking way to refer to all the variations of the AU created which feature around one or more of the characters from TGCF being half-bug half-human hybrids.These variations include:

  • Canon-inspired Moth! Xie Lian / Butterfly! Hua Cheng

  • Cyberpunk Modern Moth! Xie Lian / Butterfly! Hua Cheng

  • Canon-inspired Moth! Xie Lian / Moth! Hua Cheng

  • Moth! Hua Cheng / Flower God Crown Prince! Xie Lian

  • Butterfly! Hua Cheng / Flower God Crown Prince! Xie Lian

  • Moth God! Xie Lian / Maned Wolf! Hua Cheng

  • all the variations of this that have been made for fun

Are there tags for this?

Yes! At the moment I keep track of a few tags and use them on my Tumblr and BSKY to indicate when something belongs under the 'mothualian' AU.These are:

  • #mothualian

  • #mothhualian

  • #realistic mothualian (for realistic bug depictions of the characters)

  • [cyberpunk mothualian]

  • #mothua (moth Hua Cheng)

  • #mothlian (moth Xie Lian)

  • #flowerlian (flower god Xie Lian)

  • #flutterhua (butterfly Hua Cheng)

  • #mothlang (moth disguised San Lang aka Xiao Hua form)

Please use them freely for anything you want!

Are there warnings for these AUs?

These AUs are spoiler territory for the entirety of the series and many events draw directly from the original text as inspiration. As such, the level of content warnings in these AUs is roughly equivalent to the same things you'd find in the canon text. However, there are a few minor bits that I should note:

  • body horror (extra limbs, inhuman features such as mandibles)

  • explicit nsfw at times

  • recreational drug use / abuse (in the form of lights)

What can I do with this? Are there rules?

Like everything I make and post, you are welcome to draw, write, pick out parts of, remix, use for other ships, lore build for characters I haven't spoken on -- anything you want! There is technically a "canon" for all of these AUs that I follow in my own head, but knowledge of it is not required for you to just do whatever you want with the concept.

I do not have any rules in mind with these AUs. I am open to people making sfw and nsfw spinoffs / art / etc. of whatever parts they like most. I simply want you to have fun with them! I love seeing all the different way people interpret the concept or put their own spin on it.

I think I still want some more info!

Then click next and let me lead you into the world of Mothualian!

Character Basics

Hua Cheng

  • If he's a moth, Hua Cheng is a Crecopia moth.

  • Here are all the Moth! Hua Cheng arts on Tumblr.

  • If he's a butterfly, Hua Cheng is a red scarlet peacock butterfly.

  • Here are all the Butterfly! Hua Cheng arts on Tumblr.

  • He disguises himself as a rosy ermine moth when he's "Xiao Hua."

  • Here are all the disguised as a moth "San Lang" arts on Tumblr.

  • During his period as "Wu Ming" in the cyberpunk AU, he is disguised as a black-bodied peppered moth.

  • Thank you DH for this INCREDIBLE reference of butterfly HC's tattoos and wing patterns for both moth and butterfly. (mild NSFW and body horror cw for bug legs)

  • Hua Cheng's blood is red, resulting in a red tongue and blush.

  • The loss of Hua Cheng's eye is a result of damage to and leakage from his chrysalis / cocoon in almost every AU. The cause of this damage is varied though.

Xie Lian

  • Xie Lian is a white silk moth.

  • Here are all the Moth! Xie Lian arts and here are the Flower God! Xie Lian arts on Tumblr.

  • Xie Lian's blood is gold, resulting in a gold tongue and blush.

  • In many AUs, Mothlian's antennae are either damaged or deliberately snipped short. This results in lessened sensitivity, impaired hearing and pheromone scenting and drooping of his left one.

  • If Mothlian has a cursed shackle (also depicted as a bramble pattern on the skin), the hair of his cuffs and collar will naturally fall out over time, leaving the skin usually covered by them red and sore. As long as it is on him, it will continue to make the fur grow in patchy or wrong.

Mu Qing

  • Mu Qing is a black blue spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

  • Mu Qing's blood is blue.

Feng Xin

  • Feng Xin is a comet moth.

  • Feng Xin blood is yellow.

Jun Wu / Bai Wuxiang

  • Jun Wu is a dotted grey moth AND a white orchid mantis (this form is usually reserved for Bai Wuxiang).

  • Jun Wu's blood is gray.

He Xuan / Ming Yi

  • He Xuan is a giant water bug.

  • Ming Yi is a type of terrestrial spider (undecided).

Shi Qingxuan + Shi Wudu

  • Shi Qingxuan and Shi Wudu are water striders / gliders. The wings gene skipped SQX's generation, leaving them without them while SWD has wings.

Additional Characters

  • Qi Rong is a luna moth. His blood is green.

  • Yushi Huang is a type of bee (undecided).

  • Lang Qianqiu is a hornet.

  • Hua Cheng's mother was a white wood butterfly or a scarlet peacock like him.

  • Xie Lian's mother (Min Ying 闵莺) is a white silk moth like Xie Lian.

  • Min Ying's name was created by Zhizhi on BSKY. Min, canon name, similar to the words for sympathy and consolation. Ying, meaning oriole or warbler.

  • Xie Lian's father was a giant emperor moth.

  • Mu Qing's mother (Mu Lin 慕琳, once again created by Zhizhi) is a common black house spider.

  • Mu Qing's father was a black blue spicebush swallowtail like him.

World Basics

Moths v. Butterflies

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General FAQ

Are the characters tiny since they're bugs?

Not exactly! It depends on the AU and your preferences.In most "canons", they are human sized but their sizes also vaguely reflect the size they would be as a bug in comparison to one another. For instance, compared to Xie Lian, Bai Wuxiang is a massive mantis.There's a lot of leeway in this though because I am also very very fond of the tiny little bugs.Furthermore, the world outside of the "tamed" areas (such as major cities or patrolled lands) has vegetation that is roughly the same size as it would be if they were bug-sized. The further into the wilderness you go, the bigger everything gets until despite being people size, nature is so large that they're roughly bug sized.

Can they fly?

Yes! If the original species has the ability to fly then so can they in the AU! As far as I am aware, all the types of moths, butterflies and other bugs that I picked can fly.However, Xie Lian does prefers to walk post banishment and Hua Cheng will happily accompany him on foot.

Are they still gods / ghosts?

No, unless outright stated, in most of the mothualian AUs the characters are not gods, ghosts or something otherworldly like in the original canon. There are, of course, exceptions to this (Flower God Crown Prince Xie Lian for example) and you are, of course, welcome to completely ignore me and make them gods / ghosts anyways!

AU Summaries

Canon-inspired Mothlian / Flutterhua

moth! Xie Lian / butterfly! Hua Cheng
cws: explicit nsfw, canon-typical violence, body horror, stalking

Cyberpunk Mothualian

moth! Xie Lian / butterfly! Hua Cheng
cws: explicit nsfw, canon-typical violence, body horror, stalking, drug use (in the form of lights)