#Yin Iron road trip

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Sep 10th

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1. For the next fic finder: I've been trying to find a Modern AU WangXian fic where WWX gets kicked out of the Jiang household (i think because he got pregnant? unsure about that though), he runs off with LWJ, and does not see them for several years. A majority of the fic focuses on Jiang Cheng stalking WWX after they accidentally reunite because Lan Sizhui & Jin Ling start dating? A few pivotal scenes I can remember include jc taking Jin Ling and friends to a concert (which upsets LSZ's parents because he's been stalking wwx) and JC cornering WWX in a car and trying to kiss him. For the life of me, I can't find it anywhere.

FOUND! I think this is the deleted "Meant to be (but not the way I wanted)" by sekhmetpaws. It is partially available on the wayback machine

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2. Hihi! By any chance do you know of a Wangxian fic where I think its the juniors who travel through a portal to the past (I distinctly remember the portal part), and they improve and change everything except future Guanyao finds about the portal and tries to use it, eventually past guanyao finds out the future Xichen is mourning and missing him so he travels through the portal to be with him? Thank you in advance ❤️❤️❤️❤️ @memeismemeismeme

FOUND? And They Lived Happily Ever After… by Morgana_avalon (G, 51k, wangxian, JL/LSZ, Burial Mounds Settlement times, hurt/comfort, fix-it)

FOUND? Time Charm by Jenrose  (E, 141k, wangxian, later queerplatonic LWJ/WWX/WQ, LXC/JGY/2nd Madam Mo, time travel fix-it, post-canon, everyone lives au, genius inventor WWX, BAMF wangxian, first time, pregnancy, childbirth, asexual character, aftermath of time travel, telepathic bond, slice of life)

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3. hi! this is for fic finder. i’m looking for 2 different fics with a similar premise. A) in one, there’s something wrong with wwx’s core and wen qing has to build a framework for a new one, and everyone (lan wangji, lan xichen, jiang fengmian, madam yu, jiang yanli, jiang cheng, etc.) take turns giving him spiritual energy for the new core while wwx lies unconscious on i think an operating room table. i think it’s a modern au.

B) in the second one i’m looking for, i think wwx has reincarnated and is reunited with lwj at the end, but there’s something wrong with his core. jiang cheng, who cultivated to immortality using wwx’s core, gives his core back to him because he was tired of being alive (or something like that, i’m not too sure). i don’t think there’s reconciliation between the two of them. thank you so much! @ieatkitcat

3A)

FOUND! please forgive my most passionate disruptions by pumpkinpaix (E, 65k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Modern: Still Have Powers, stripper!WWX, Graduate School, Internalized Homophobia)

3B)

FOUND!🔒Confusion by Vrishchika (Not rated, 4k, wangxian, time travel)

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4. Hi! I am searching for two wangxian fics if you could help me out! Thanks!

A. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji along with juniors are kind of on a road trip...I don't remember if it was a case fic or not, but I think they encounter Madam Yu's ghost and she scolds Wei Wuxian until she finds out he gave his core to Jiang Cheng and then gives Wei Wuxian a new core. Completed fic.

B. Post Sunshot Campaign Wei Wuxian is prisoned in Qinghe Nie and Nie Huisang is trying to bring Wei Wuxian back to his cheerful self by braiding his hair and bringing him books but he is being threatened by Jin Guangyao to not talk. Jin Guangyao is also intercepting all letters. Jiang Yanli is alive. Incomplete last I read it.

Thanks again!!

4B)

FOUND? Always walked a very thin line by tucuxi (T, 22k, NHS & WWX, JYL & WWX, WangXian, Depression, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives, except JZn and JGS, Self-Worth Issues, Slow Burn, Oblivious WWX, Golden Core Reveal, WWX Has No Golden Core, Chronic Pain, Chronic Illness, Yin Iron, Baxia Saber, baxia as mental health barometer yikes, Pining, everyone is morally grey, life is not fair and that's kind of the whole point of mxtx books)

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5. hiii! help! wwx has ptsd and goes to adpot a rabbit. lwj works in the rabbit rescue and at first thinks wwx won't take care of the rabbits but changes his mind. i think he saw wwx in the cameras woth the rabbits

FOUND? 🔒 silk linked together by theLoyalRoyalGuard (G, 6k, LWJ & MXY, Wangxian, Modern, Autistic LWJ, Cellist LWJ, LWJ, Runs A Rabbit Rescue, MXY Deserves Happiness, Fluff)

FOUND? 🔒Recovery by Unforth (G, 27k, WangXian, Modern AU, Rabbit Breeder LWJ, Veteran LWJ, Veteran WWX, PTSD, therapy animals, Therapy Rabbits, LWJ is an Asshole Sometimes, Doctor WQ, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Former Prisoner of War WWX, LXC is a Good Brother, Gray Asexual LWJ, Anxiety Disorder)

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6. I read a completed Jiang Cheng time travel fix it that I think was multiple chapters. I don't remember much except at the end him and Wen Qing end up together and have a kid.

FOUND? Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It)

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7. Hi, I'm trying to find a fic where WWX and LWJ were in a relationship but then WWX had to leave after someone threatened him and killed the Wens in a fire. And then years later LWJ is on a night hunt with the juniors and encounters Mo Xuanyu who is actually WWX in disguise. LWJ recognizes WWX because he is playing Wangxian and then after they all go back to their hotel that was selected by NHS. Back at the hotel WWX and LWJ talk and then bang it out. And the next day LWJ and the juniors and WWX in a new disguise go back to Cloud Recesses.

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8. Hi! I’m trying to find a fic I *thought* I had bookmarked but can’t find.

It’s a modern au where American Lan Zhan takes a holiday to someplace in Canada and meets bartender Wei Ying. There’s some reason why WY can’t/won’t return to the US, he’s illegally living in Canada.

They have a little romance, LZ goes back to the US, and later WY agrees to join him I think.

That’s pretty much all I remember. Ring any bells?? TYSM!

FOUND?🔒Stay with Me (Go Places) by LizzyPanic (T, 22k, WangXian, meet ugly, Anxious LWJ, brief discussion of panic attacks, marriage kink, Making Out, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Snowballing, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Body Worship, Coming In Pants, Mild Angst, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Vacation, somehow also a coffee shop au, wangxian go hiking, Tattooed WWX, Outdoor Sex, Phone Sex, Sexual Tension, Whirlwind Romance)

FOUND? Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)

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9. There is a fic , post canon wwx is mad lwj let him go. It starts with him waking up with mianmian in an inn. Well that's about it . I was so much into wangxian pairing. I dint read that fic then. Can someone find it @poongulali

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10. Hii, I was wondering if you could help me with finding an ao3 fic: I think it takes place during the siege of burial mounds and wangji takes a sword meant for wuxian and he screams and the battle stops and the ground shakes and we read everything happening from xichen’s point of view and wangxian teleport and wuxian gives wangji his heart and they get revenge on the sects during a discussion conference

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11. Hello to fic finder

So I'm looking for a fic where the entirety of gusu lan sect got sent back in time and now it's really overprotective of WWX I remember a scene where wwx lwj nws nmg and lxc are at the rabbit patch and wwx is introducing every rabbit because the rabbits resemble someone they know and he's holding a giant rabbit that resembles nmg @constancebloodstone

FOUND? Cluster of Clouds by Nika_Raven_Celeste (T, 21k, WangXian, LWJ & WWX, LQR & WWX, JC & WWX, WIP, Time Travel, The Lans from Post Canon Time Traveled to Cloud Recesses Study Era, ALL The Lans from Post Canon, The Lans ADORES WWX, Confused WWX, Soft LQR, Soft LWJ , LWJ CAN communicate, Not JC Friendly , not YZY Friendly, Genius WWX, Horny LWJ, but he still has some restraints, Oblivious WWX)

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12. There was this fic where wei ying and lan zhan got pulled into a statue to a cursed room where they were forced to have sex? I think it was a pregxian fic but I can't remember for sure

I do know it was bottom wei ying though and that it's set at a museum in modern cultivation au

FOUND!🔒End Racism on the OTW - The Jade Chamber by raitala (E, 18k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, case fic, pining, angst w/ happy ending, hurt/comfort, getting together, trapped together, there’s only one bed, light bondage, masturbation, oral sex, emotional baggage, ghosts)

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13. Hello! Thank you for helping with our requests. I'm looking for an AU where the Wen Remnants survive. Lan Zhan finds a hidden village that turns out to be where his mother came from. He brings Wei Ying and the remaining Wen there to keep them safe. I think they use bracelets to get in and out. @saharrashadow

FOUND! Arbitrary by devinokaze (T, 137k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, but live somewhere else, hidden society, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, POV Multiple)

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14. Hii this for a fic finder

There was a fic where wwx was imprisoned in the unclean realm, but he was isolated cause jgy threatened him so he didn't receive any letters/ information from the outside, i remember that huaisang kept visiting him tho.

FOUND? Always walked a very thin line by tucuxi (T, 22k, NHS & WWX, JYL & WWX, WangXian, Depression, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives, except JZn and JGS, Self-Worth Issues, Slow Burn, Oblivious WWX, Golden Core Reveal, WWX Has No Golden Core, Chronic Pain, Chronic Illness, Yin Iron, Baxia Saber, baxia as mental health barometer yikes, Pining, everyone is morally grey, life is not fair and that's kind of the whole point of mxtx books)

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15. Hi! This is for fic finder. Its modern au where wwx and lxc is a writer and they fake dating because wwx fans is too wild (stalk him, broke to his apartement, etc) and his manager told him to do that. The endgame is wangxian. I think wwx write porn? Lwj and lxc life together and wwx move in because his fans knows where he lives. Wwx and lxc kissed but no more i think. I think nmj is their publisher? Thats all i can remember. Thanks! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

FOUND! Badreads by arabii (M, 37k, WangXian, 3Zun, Modern AU, Writing & Publishing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Bullying as a Flirting Technique, WWX in WWX's Body)

does lan zhan write scathing reviews of Wei yings writing and they get better as the fic goes on?

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16. Hi, please could you help me

I remember I read a wangxian fic where they have sex surrounded by dead bodies they just killed. But I don't have them anymore on my bookmark.

Please help me asap 😭🙇🏻‍♀️🙏🏼thank you

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17. Yall hi I'm going insane. There's this ff where WWX attempts against his own life and JC is the one to find him locked in the bathroom. He calls 911 and tells them his brother needs help. They get him to the hospital and JYL gets there and LWJ too and they keep an eye on him after so he takes his meds and all. Please someone help!

FOUND? 总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near) by yiqie (E, 76k, WangXian, Modern AU, Pianist, Getting Together, Mental Health Issues, Suicide Attempt, Suicidal Thoughts, Depression, Hospitals, Overdosing, Eventual Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

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18. For the next FF, musical prodigy WWX! I remember a scene in particular where LWJ or LXC was playing something (clarity? Mending?) with LQR in the room who was surprised when WWX joined in halfway through. We find out that WWX has been playing by ear his whole life because YZY refused to let him learn. @mreisse

FOUND! Dispersing Clouds by dreamingofcake (E, 283k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Abusive YZY, Canonical Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Eventual Sex, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm (Background Character), Background Character Deaths, child deaths, Canon JC, Good Uncle LQR, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Cultivation Sect Politics, Homophobia, Heteronormativity, Feelings Realization, WWX is Not Oblivious) sounds like what happens near the end of chapter 7 / I think number 18 on September 10ths fic finders sounds like the very popular Dispersing Clouds. The Lans are like "Cool trick bro" don't share the music. Wei Wuxian is like "Chill my peeps. I got you"😀

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19. Hi! I’m looking for a fic I read a while ago about jingyi and sizhui and the beginning of their friendship. It was in jingyi’s pov and he started out not liking sizhui, because jingyi struggles with following the rules and focusing and is jealous of how perfect sizhui is, before they go on a mission together and jingyi learns about sizhui’s complicated family history and the issues he has to deal with and they bond over it. I don’t remember if it was complete or not

FOUND? Why Not Me? by Eleanor_Fenyx (G, 26k, LJY & LQR, LQR & LWJ, LJY & LSZ, LJY & LWJ, good uncle LQR, LJY pov, war orphan LJY, character study, LJY has ADHD, found family, rejection sensitivity dysphoria)

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20. Hii! This is for FicFinder, hope it finds you well.

I'm looking for a fic where wwx is some kind of special creature (kind of spirit, I think). I don't remember much, but I do recall lwj (I think😢) meeting a special fox spirit.

This is super unclear, but I really hope you can find something.

Anyway, if you have recommendations of fics where wwx is a creature of some kind, that'd be awesome 🤩🤩 @untamedlover

FOUND? cloudy autumn heaps the sky by anatheme (T, 23k, WangXian, Fantasy, Universe Alteration, Secret Identity, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Timeline What Timeline, wwx is a little older here, wwx piling gifts on lwj and encouraging hoarding tendencies, Sharing a Bed, Literal Sleeping Together, Arranged Marriage)

FOUND? A Baby Dragon’s Guide To Seducing Your Huli Jing by sweetlolixo (M, 102k, wangxian, Fantasy, But still in the Cultivation World, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Fluff, Humor, Eventual mpreg, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Boy A-Yuan)

FOUND? 醉 | drunk; intoxication by sweetlolixo (E, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mythical Creature WWX, everyone falls in love with weiying at first sight…, Besotted LWJ, Romance, Pregnant WWX, Fluff)

FOUND? 🔒💖 Hoards and treasures by apathyinreverie (T, 21k, WangXian, Siblings, Family, not particularly Jiang friendly, YZY Bashing, slightly darker Gusu Lans, LXC being the best brother, Some manipulation, But with the best of intentions, and not between wangxian, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Smitten LWJ, Fluff, perfect happiness, adorable WWX, Romance, Some worldbuilding, courting)

FOUND? To lurk, to lie in wait by trippednfell (M, 124k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Huli Jing, strangers to co-parents to lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Dragons, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, background NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Fox Spirit WWX, Dragon LWJ, Blood and Injury, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

FOUND? 🔒 Turnabout by apathyinreverie (T, 7k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX; LSZ & LWJ, WIP, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Tiger cub A-Yuan, Mischievous WWX, Smitten LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Domestic WangXian, LXC does his best, LQR wishes his nephews had better taste in men, Fluff, Romance, Mpreg mentioned, courting, creature shifts)

FOUND? 🔒💖 Tricks and treats by apathyinreverie (M, 12k, wangxian, dragon LWJ, phoenix LSZ, fox WWX, family, injury, fluff, romance, possessive LWJ, WIP)

FOUND? So You Accidentally Kidnapped A Qilin by Mikkeneko (T, 83k, WangXian, Juuni Kokki | Twelve Kingdoms Fusion, mdm yu’s a+ parenting, Identity Issues, Cultivator Politics, Yin Iron Poisoning, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, WWX Needs a Hug, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication, Getting Together, Temporary Character Death, Happy Ending, Pacifist WWX, MXTX Big Bang 2021)

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[mistakenvilliany]

Episode 8

Teens are on the loose! We will have adventures, we will get into mortal peril, and we can't keep secrets to save our lives! I love that we have Wei Wuxian chasing after Lan Wangji because he doesn't want to be left out of their quest, Jiang Cheng chasing after Wei Wuxian because he's sure his brother is an idiot, and then Nie Huaisang is there because he doesn't want to go home. Here we begin see that the (other 4) great clans are really behind the eight ball on this, and it's only going to get worse. Anyway, I have a surfeit of things to say, so without further adieu:

• So we go backwards a bit to have Wei Wuxian try and find Wen Ning, only to see that all traces of the Wens are gone. I like to think that strolling up to haul Wen Ning out for archery practice or other fun was just a thing that Wei Wuxian did regularly. My guess would be no since Wen Qing is there to be protective and not rock the boat with the rest of the Wens, but I think it's a fun theory anyway, so I'm gonna roll with it

• Back with bunnies, and I just want to point out here that Wei Wuxian is perfectly capable of holding an entire conversation on his own. Baby, that bunny cannot speak to you and if it could it would ask you to put it down!

• Wait, wait, wait - they really just tossed rabbits around like that for filming?!? I really hope that they did that one in one take. Please treat your rabbits with kindness!

• When Lan Wangji leaves and bids the rabbits farewell, he just looks so soft! I just want to cover him in bunnies. My guess, Wei Wuxian went back for the rabbits on his own, which of course was noticed by Lan Wangji, but he couldn't join because his brain went bluescreen at the cuteness of it.

• Wen Chao sucks

• Wen Chao is out in the rain and antagonizing Lan Xichen, just the look on Lan Xichen's face makes me believe that above and beyond the whole "your dad is trying to take over the world" thing these two have hated each other for years

• Wei Wuxian leaves in the middle of the night to chase after Lan Wangji, smart move as Lan Wangji is likely to sleep when it is dark, and WWX has some ground to cover. It's the smiley face though! Gets me every time. Just leave a note that says "I'm off to find danger! 😀" Not comforting, baby, just not comforting. Jiang Cheng clearly agrees with me

• Jiang Fengmian, what am I going to do with you? Actually, all the Sect leaders all seem to be locked up with an inability to act. Lan Xichen can do nothing to protect his brother right now, Jiang Fengmian can only acquiesce to WWX leaving and hope that things work out, Jin Guangshan is an asshat, and we haven't seen Nie Mingjue yet

• My babies are together again! And Lan Wangji, darling, please stop pretending you don't like him. I fully believe that Wei Wuxian is just talking to talk, he's offended to be left behind since he's an amazing companion in his own not so humble opinion, and literally the only thing he gets from LWJ is "how boring"

• Wen Chao sucks, but I want to know more about this bird

• The look on Lan Wangji's face when he gets hit with bonding/binding! It's 100% "bitch, you didn't!" which moves into 90% "fuck my life" and 10% "this is kinda hot"

• Yin Iron signal!! You are headed in the right direction! Okay let's be real here - does this mean that they picked a direction and decided that eventually it would work out? Because why, exactly?

• Nie Huaisang: "I know that laugh! I will pal around with my good friend Wei Wuxian instead of going home!" Sweetheart, why do you do this to your brother?

• In all honesty, I do think that WWX and NHS do see a reflection of themselves in the other. Conversation is easy, inside jokes are created on a whim, they can see how smart the other is, and their reasons for not conforming to the "I am intelligent and capable" mold

• Jiang Cheng is sneeking out of Lotus Peir via the very obvious front door. Really? That's about a subtle and sneaky as a ball through a window. Oh summer child, you have much to learn.

• I kinda can see that Jiang Cheng is worried about Wei Wuxian, after all they are brothers and Wei Wuxian's overconfidence is super obvious to Jiang Cheng, but the main reason he leaves is so that he isn't left out. There's a super cute story about a similar thing I did following my sister on a tricycle, so I get it.

• Jiang Yanli (my treasure) has now been left by both her brothers to deal with home life. Yikes!

• Back in Tanzhou, we learn that Lan Wangji does not like crowds (unsurprising), but that he will still follow Wei Wuxian (as long as he is pulled along), and that Nie Huaisang is good at remembering things. Also that Lan Wangji is the best looking man alive. The look on WWX's face when NHS says that is perfect. It's a blend of "oh, I see now, yes!" And "why are you noticing that" and "just fell more in love, thanks!"

• The poor florist lady's place is entirely ash - Wen Chao super sucks, and I still want to know more about this "Dire Owl"

• Wen Qing is really trying, both in her attempt to herd Wen Chao (who sucketh) in another direction and her subsequent "fight" with Jiang Cheng to give him a direction. I do feel bad for the innkeeper though, poor man doesn't know who to serve and ends up not serving anyone

• Sure, let's follow the terrified old woman into the creepy ghost town, surely we'll find a place to stay for the night! It even feels weird to WWX, and they still continue on! But she said "spirit snatch" so off to obviously, now we climb a mountain (that's at least a mile straight up) to investigate

• Old man "you should leave, this statue (naturally formed btw) steals souls, but if you're going to stay, you might as well stay here. Night!" Old lady - here's some kindling

• Well, we're in for a creepy night in soul snatch temple! Might as well get what sleep we can until it all goes to hell

• In the fight with the statue we have impressive displays of teamwork and bravery (and hiding: NHS) and I love that bonding/binding is useful! I've also noticed it's now a gold color. At the end of it she's back where she belongs

• Zombies are here! Sorry, I mean puppets. I know that they are about to converge on the temple, but sir, why do you have a bucket? And what is that wheel going to do? It really just looks like they are headed to make camp somewhere.

• Trapped in a temple! Those doors are not sturdy, kids. Better figure out what your going do when they fail

[61below]

I love cql for a lot of reasons, but none of them compare to ~the climactic, traumatic FIRST SCENE is ‘guy with a crown(??)’s beloved(???) just fell from a cliff, this is SAD!~ and then later we learn that tHEY CAN FLY ON THOSE SWORDS. The very SWORD THAT WAS IN. HIS. HAND.

Like, it would have been such a neat in-text bit to have lwj mirroring wwx by losing his sword in his desperate rush to save him (especially if he doesn’t have the ability to recall Bichen for some reason— like, were his spiritual powers locked somehow? Was bichen stuck under a rock?? Idk. REASONS) bc otherwise it’s just… omg wangji, sweetie, your beloved has just plunged to his death from a high height, but you can fly.

[shangqinghua]

okay SO i want to work on my mxtx fics that have been sitting in my gdocs and uhhhh i would like to know. which of the following fics y’all would like to see first?

• airplane as ming fan (pre-abyss, lowkey airplane/binghe but also not really, airplane and shen yuan being weird friends, airplane wanting to live and keep binghe safe vs airplane wanting to avoid being a part of the plot)

• shang qinghua and liu qingge go to a festival together and have a weird time (post-canon, mutual pining, liu qingge as being embarrassed about existing 24/7, mbj as sqh’s weird and deranged wingman, sqh as the only cultivator any demon will talk to normally)

• jiang cheng, nie huaisang, wei wuxian and lan wangji go on a road trip together by accident and jc and nhs are subjected to wangxian so much they become famous food critics (this one is very stupid, replacing the road-trip they went on in canon to do yin iron stuff, no sunshot campaign/wen ruohan being evil, wangxian teen summer fling, sangcheng besties 4 lyfe, sangcheng are so fed up with wangxian existing near them that they start going to every food establishment they can and ranking them)

• fengqing bbc merlin au (feng xin as prince arthur and my qing as merlin, that’s all i have to say about this one)

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 11 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Absurdity) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Message from the Lan Clan

After dinner the Yunmeng bros go to talk to Jiang Fengmian in his study. They're quiet and respectful here, with no shoulder-shoving or arguing. This scene has such Brady Bunch energy, where Dad's Study is the Man Place where boys come to talk about Serious Things.

The boys tell Dad Jiang about the Yin Iron and he says yeah, I know. This is probably why he let them run off on their road trip without punishing them, but he could have, like, shared data with them so they might have actually achieved something related to the Yin Iron, rather than just wandering around the countryside bonding with Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang.

He shows them a letter from the Lans that basically says the Lan Clan is in the shit, and he tells them they've got to go to the Wen indoctrination because otherwise they will also be in the shit. 

He gives the boys a warning about the Yin Iron, which is that 

1. it can be refined and 

2. if you refine it carefully, it will not control you. 

Awesome tip, will definitely use, thanks pop.

(more behind the cut)

Jiang Cheng wants to argue about going to the Wen party, but Wei Wuxian vocally gets on board, not leaving any opportunity for whining. 

Wei Wuxian is only sucking up a little bit in this scene. He obviously has a lot of affection for Jiang Fengmian, but WWX doesn't play up to his favoritism nearly as much as he could. Compare, for example, how he leans into Yanli's preferential treatment of him.  

Fight Outside the Cold Cave

Over on the Gusu side of the country province township, the disciples have gathered outside the cold cave that previously none of them knew about, and Su She is freaking out. 

Most of the acting in The Untamed is naturalistic, but then there are occasional characters who are portrayed with a much more theatrical, broad style. Su She's villainy is not given a lot of layers; he's playing a type, more than a person.

Many of the villains in The Untamed are played this way, but not all. Wen Zhuliu, for example, is a genuinely horrifying bad guy while also conveying depth and ambivalence--despite having hardly any lines. And JGY is a masterpiece of a performance. For Su She, the directors or the actor have opted for "sniveling backstabber" as a type, which is unfortunate, because it robs his final scenes of emotional impact.

Lan Qiren tells the disciples to get to safety. He rushes forward, gamely getting his ass kicked by human cuisinart Wen Xu.  He's not as effective a warrior as either of his nephews but he's a brave S.O.B.

Hanguang Jun to the Rescue

Before things can go completely pear-shaped, Lan Wangji sails in with his guqin.

The Blue Steel technique of the Lan Clan

Like many gifted learners, Lan Wangji's musical abilities are more advanced than his social skills. Here he musically makes the ground literally explode, almost as if it had been specially rigged with incendiary charges.  

Lan Wangji is very pretty when he's worried, and his affection and concern for his uncle is touching. He's 100% not interested, as we will see, in Lan Qiren's whole "lets all die for the future of the Lan Clan while my nephews hide" agenda. He's on his own agenda of smiting the wicked and protecting the weak.

Notice how Su She is standing right next to Lan Qiren here, even holding his arm? The next thing that Lan Qiren says is to tell all the disciples to keep up as they run into the cave. Somehow Su She totally does not keep up, and he gets caught outside along with a bunch of other disciples.

Giving Up

Wen Xu and his men kill most of the other caught disciples, and then threaten Su She, asking him how to get into the cave. In fear for his life, he tells them. Not cool, Su She, but possibly forgivable. Although when you voluntarily join a, you know, battle cult, physical courage is kind of an important qualifier.

But this shit here...

They didn't fucking ask about the books, douchebag.  

Su She was there in Lan Qiren's house when the two heads of his clan knelt to each other, each claiming the right to be the one to stay behind and die. And he heard Lan Qiren say that the ancient books are the foundation of the clan and that only if LXC and the books survive, will the clan continue. By giving up both men, and pointing out the book situation, Su She has totally earned his expulsion. 

Lan Wangji Takes a Stand

Lan Wangji decides, for the first but not last time, to openly defy his uncle...and it's got nothing to do with Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji is a hero, who follows the dictates of his conscience. His conscience is extremely filial and extremely orthodox, but he’s got a growing open-minded streak.  This is going to cause a whole lot of conflicts for him over the next few years.

This time, however, he manages to skate out from under the whole disobedient, unfilial thing by citing Lan Yi's directive, which means Lan Qiren has to accept it because she's his predecessor and elder relative (She is probably not a literal ancestor, since she spent her life in a cave putting fucking headbands on fucking rabbits which probably didn’t leave time for having babies).

This is a pretty extraordinary moment for Lan Wangji and for Lan Qiren, because Lan Wangji just asserted his own form of authority to do the exact opposite of what Lan Qiren wanted, and Lan Qiren just sucked it up and let him.

It's also very different from western stories involving a holy McGuffin such as the Yin Iron. Lan Wangji's solution of "fuck it, just let the bad guys have it, it's not worth so many people dying for" is refreshing and surprising to me, a westerner raised on The One Ring, the Grail, the Death Star Plans, etc.

Lan Wangji steps out of the cave and uses a sword blast to save Su She, the ungrateful bastard, from getting stabbed by Wen Xu. Then he surrenders, and they break his leg to slow him down. This does not actually incapacitate him, because he is Lan Fucking Wangji, already a BAMF at like 17 years old. When they whack his leg, his chunk of Yin Iron falls out onto the ground.

That thing was in a magic bag of holding before. So...it just falls out when you whack him? If they whack him again will his guqin fall on the ground? What about candy?

Archery Practice at Lotus Pier

Meanwhile, back at Lotus Pier, the brothers are enjoying some quality time together before they head to the hostage-taking indoctrination.

Wei Wuxian is such a great cultivator that he can hit a distant target even when he jerks his bow upwards as he releases the arrow.

Jiang Cheng seems fairly pleased, and proud of his brother. He's competitive and fundamentally grumpy but not, at least here, a sore loser.

Club Ruohan

We go over to Da Club, where Wen Ruohan is yelling at Wen Qing for letting Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian go. He names them both, so they're becoming more and more known to their enemies. Which is not a good thing.

He menaces her with the zombie mosh crew, having them kill a dude in front of her and then saying her baby brother will be next in the circle of zombies if she tries any more stunts. Neither of them can imagine how much zombie ass her baby brother is going to kick, later in his (un)life.

Side note: What is up with WRH’s hair? Why bother pulling your hair up over your ears if you're going to leave an enormous curtain of it over your face? It's because he knows there's a wind machine next to his throne, isn’t it?

Leaving Lotus Pier

Jiang Cheng: when I ran off earlier in the year on my road trip you didn't pack a goddamn thing.

Wen Indoctrination

Is it even possible to stand next to this much active volcanic shit and not, uh, die? I live in the tornado part of the US so I don't know much about lava (yet. 2020 still has 2 months to go). But it seems like it would be hard to breathe the air. Also they appear to build houses on lava piles, which seems imprudent.  I say that even as someone who plays The Elder Scrolls Online, which is full of lava towns and nonsense like “ash farming.”

Nie Huaisang is adorable at all times, but particularly here, when he's so happy to see his friend who *didn't* fuck his gege and then abandon him without an explanation. 

Nie Huaisang: I'm so glad I can count on Wei-Xiong to be consistent and not vanish for months, or become a traumatized shell of his former self, or, like, horribly die.

Jin Zixuan isn't quite as happy to see Wei Wuxian.

Wen Chao enjoys the sound of his own voice way too much, and is malevolent and boring. On the plus side, he likes to stand with his hand stuck out in the air, which is fun for your resident photoshopper.

Nie Huaisang is so miserable every time he's holding a sword, or blade, or whichever we're supposed to call this. He's got his fan tucked into his belt, which is sweet. He is happy to give up his sword but don't you dare try to take his fan.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is worried about Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng isn't.

Lan Wangji shows up under guard, and takes his position at the front of the line, but without any extra disciples. The Wens let him change into snowy white robes after breaking his leg which will go well with arterial blood spray. He's focused and is determined not to interact with Wei Wuxian in this public context.

When I was little, I would sit near my best friend at church on Sunday, but not be allowed to talk to her until church was over, and it was exactly like this. She was good at churching and I was hyper and hated church. We are still best friends and these things are still true.

This interaction is like a thumbnail for the whole dynamic of these three boys: Lan Wangji outwardly ignoring Wei Wuxian while having many interior feelings about him; Wei Wuxian demanding attention and creating a bit of a scene, due to his very genuine caring; Jiang Cheng telling him to leave that boy alone for fuck's sake.

Lan Wangji: Stop trying to talk to me Wei Ying, I’m busy composing a song in my head about the two of us and our love for each other. 

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Episode 7

Their first vow together. So nice! I actually do like the parallels here between Lan Yi and Wei Wuxian, and Baoshan Sanren and Lan Wangji: you have one set being reckless and untamed (I said it) and the other set trying to restore order. It’s kind of funny that the ancestors are switched, though. So here we have Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji vowing to bring all the Yin Iron pieces back to the cold spring pond to neutralize them, and of course Lan Wangji’s first reaction is, “None of your business.” It’s cute how Lan Yi takes Wei Wuxian’s side and has a sense of pride for her close friend’s disciple. I think he’s an honorary Lan in her eyes.

And then Lan Yi gives them a warning to not make the same mistakes she made. Wei Wuxian’s like, “Yep, got it, I promise.” But we all know from the beginning that this obviously doesn’t go well for him, since he dies in the first five minutes of the series. He will go on to make some questionable decisions, most of which are driven by his emotions, which are often not in check. Side note: I love this series, but I don’t like how they took a great grey character like Wei Wuxian and turned him into a character where many of the things that went wrong were caused by other people.

Another side note. That fucking Yin Iron fell on the guqin so many times, and it didn’t dent it at all. Is the guqin made out of iron too? I thought it was wood. If I did that to my violin, I guarantee you the violin would not fare very well.

Forever a favorite moment. It was great enough that they were tied together by Lan Wangji’s headband, but even better that Wei Wuxian fell on him. So great—such a tease to the audience. And this is as close as we get to the scene in the book when Lan Wangji uses the body binding spell to keep Wei Wuxian on top of him all night (ooh, my heart skipped a beat when I read that).

Also, taking the screenshot, I noticed you can see the impression of the little metal piece from Lan Wangji’s headband. Little things like that interest me for some reason. I wonder if it bothered Wang Yibo—did it press too hard on his forehead? I remember him saying he’d get tan lines from the headband.

I love this little smirk he does. A moment when Wei Wuxian’s gift to gab really pays off. Instead of letting Lan Wangji talk and explain the situation, Wei Wuxian keeps speaking, lying about what they were doing. I’d like to think he does it in part to protect Lan Wangji and to stop him from breaking any of his clan rules, but likely it’s another chance for him to prove himself as someone Lan Wangji can trust. And I take Lan Wangji’s little acknowledgement of him there as his silent “thank you.” It says a lot, I think, that Wei Wuxian is willing to lie to Jiang Cheng in order to protect the Lan Clan’s secrets.

I’m sorry, but every time I hear Nie Huaisang say, “You were gone a whole day and night,” my mind immediately goes to the gutter—like the implication is that they were doing something inappropriate during that time. I keep expecting a sex joke, only to remind myself that this was on Chinese television and that would, of course, not happen. Jiang Cheng says a similar thing (and my mind goes the same way that time too), but in that case, canon book Jiang Cheng does later accuse them of having a more-than-friendly relationship, and he does not say it in a nice way.

Also, throughout the scene that precedes this, where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are discussing what to do next with Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen, it really feels like wangxian just want to go on a buddy road trip together, and they are so disappointed when they are turned down. Oh, I didn’t screencap it, but Lan Wangji has the saddest sad face at the end.

I think Lan Wangji is a little impressed here but he doesn’t want to admit it. Wei Wuxian has a great gift to come up with ridiculous stories and lies at the drop of a hat. I love that Wei Wuxian doesn’t have to come up with a scary snake story when he could have just told Nie Huaisang what he’d already told Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing, but he does anyway. Mad respect.

This also kind of amuses me because Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji can never really have a moment alone. They keep getting interrupted by other people when I think they just want to talk about what they experienced. Instead we just have all these shared glances. Nothing like a big fat secret to get close to each other, right?

Omfg Jiang Cheng is so jealous! I thought maybe I was imagining it or just projecting my own ideas onto him, but NO—he is jealous! He’s all like, “If you like Lan Wangji so much, why don’t you marry him?” I mean, that basically happened. I’ve gone on about this before, but I love the tension between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, and the fact that it continues even after Wei Wuxian dies makes it even better. Jiang Cheng is so stubborn and continues to hold a grudge against Lan Wangji, and it bothers the fuck out of him that there’s someone out there devoted to Wei Wuxian, by whom Jiang Cheng feels so betrayed.

And, I mean, by this point, it’s already started. As soon as they get to the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian starts paying more attention to Lan Wangji than he does to either Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli. And Jiang Cheng likes to say, “You’re worrying my sister, you’re hurting my sister” when he really means, “You’re worrying me.” His stupid pride gets in the way of having a good relationship with Wei Wuxian. And I don’t think Wei Wuxian would ever put Lan Wangji above Jiang Cheng, who he considers his family—at least not at this point. It’s not until the second half that things switch, and really, even then, in the CQL-verse, the two are probably equal in Wei Wuxian’s mind. He backs off from Jiang Cheng due to Jiang Cheng’s attitude toward him.

Okay, Jiang Cheng’s jealousy aside, I love how steadfast and supportive Wei Wuxian is of him. As soon as he catches on that Jiang Cheng is jealous, he immediately starts trash-talking the Cloud Recesses and talking up Lotus Pier. It’s very cute, very sweet. He’s a good brother to him, really.

Now who’s jealous? Just kidding. I love his wistful expression here, as he watches them go off. Anyone who’s read the book knows that Lan Wangji does get jealous at times and certainly frustrated with Wei Wuxian’s coquettish behavior. I would say he is more longing at this moment, maybe even wanting to get closer to Wei Wuxian, without really understanding why himself. There’s such an isolation to his world: even though he’s surrounded by other disciples, he doesn’t have any friends. He’s maybe regretting how quickly he refused to the invitation to Lotus Pier. I think, on the one hand, Lan Wangji has found one person in this world who not only shares a secret with him, but who has similar goals—on the other hand, his code of ethics are all over the place. His heart and mind are conflicted: he wants to get closer, but he doesn’t want to make the wrong decision. To his Gusu Lan Clan mind, Wei Wuxian is all wrong, but his heart says otherwise. And I’m not saying he loves him already—but he is already seeing a kindred spirit in Wei Wuxian, someone who he can rely on, someone he can trust, someone who has his back, even if it means bending a few rules. And in a relationship, you have nothing if you don’t have trust.

I never noticed that they were communicating telepathically here. Or something. I dunno. I guess it’s not that clear.

Also if it feels like I’m ignoring all these parts with the Wen Clan, it’s because I am. I mean, not really, but this is all the Yin Iron stuff that I don’t really care about. And I’m not in the Xue Yang fan club either, so I’m not going to spend time on him until he’s actually in it in Yueyang (possibly) and Yi City. Actually, confession: I’ve never watched the Yi City flashback episodes. I read it, so I know it, but I never watched it hahaha. I will this time around. I made that pact with myself.

AWWW, HE SMILED!!!

Ahem, excuse me. This is too fucking cute, though. The rabbit lantern that Wei Wuxian drew just for him, his cute baby smile, and the Wei Wuxian pointing it out with a grin. Cuteness overload—my heart can’t take it.

But I also had a sad thought that if Wei Wuxian hadn’t come over, Lan Wangji would be sitting here alone. He’d make his lantern all on his own, send it off into the sky, say his own prayer to himself, and never hear Wei Wuxian’s, which likely sends Lan Wangji over the edge with his feelings. Everything he thought about Wei Wuxian was true, and maybe it’s okay to like him, maybe it’s okay to consider him a friend, maybe it’s okay to trust him that way.

Just a shot that I liked. Enjoy.

I feel so bad for Jiang Yanli here. I also feel bad for Jin Zixuan, even though he’s a complete dick. I understand how they both feel here—to be tied to someone you don’t know, from the time you were small children is incredibly unfair in my eyes. That being said, I know this still happens in other parts of the world, and it’s implied that it’s common in our CQL/MDZS world (which would make sense, of course). I like the feeling of siding with Wei Wuxian, wanting to come to Jiang Yanli’s defense and protect her honor, while also still having an understanding of how Jin Zixuan must feel about the whole thing. His choice has been completely taken away. And he’s, what, 17 here? What 17-year-old boy wants to be reminded constantly about how he’s already engaged? It’s not typically a young man’s dream to settle down and get married—not that it can’t be! But the implication here, with all the girls tittering about it, is that they’re all excited about marriage, and he wants nothing to do with it. Of course, Jiang Yanli isn’t either. I think she really just wants to get to know him and spend time with him, before even thinking about marrying him.

Ah, a momentous occasion: the first time Lan Wangji tries to stop Wei Wuxian from getting himself into trouble (not counting the first time they met, when he was literally trying to police him while breaking Cloud Recesses rules). I like this shot, because you have Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji on either side of Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Yanli in the front, literally putting her body between him and Jin Zixuan (actually this parallels her final scene). It kind of shows the depths of their relationships (or at least what the director wants to show us). You have Lan Wangji, who grabs onto Wei Wuxian to try to stop him from further brawling; Jiang Cheng, who stands beside him, but isn’t really involved otherwise—standoffish, in a way; and then Jiang Yanli, who physically gets in the way. She’s the quintessential big sister. And I’m not saying Jiang Cheng doesn’t care—he does, but I think his first thought always has to do with the honor of the Jiang Clan and, while he’s standing beside Wei Wuxian, it’s almost as if he doesn’t want to show any involvement with this brawl, because that would look bad.

Ah, the old dudes meeting, while Jiang Cheng stands off to the side awkwardly, wondering if he should be there or not. At the outset, this meeting to decide their children’s future seemed kind of bad, but it actually turned out nice, with them agreeing to call off the engagement. Very progressive, I thought.

Two things I learned in this scene: Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to marry a woman and he doesn’t want to leave the Cloud Recesses yet (TL: he doesn’t want to leave Lan Wangji). He seriously looks so disappointed when she says they’re going home soon.

This feels like a mixture of “I’m worried about you” and “I don’t want to be left out.” We already know at this point that Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to leave the Cloud Recesses (more that he doesn’t want to leave Lan Wangji, because he doesn’t like all of the rules, obviously). He also is very interested in what’s happening with the Yin Iron, as he has also vowed to protect it with Lan Wangji. He is very perceptive—he knows something is happening, that Lan Wangji is going to go off on his own, and he wants to go with. It’s kind of hard to say if this is more out of duty or his adventurous spirit, but either way, he wants to help Lan Wangji.

“After his leave, things will be as quiet here as before.”

Look at how sad he is! The only person he considers a friend has just left, and at this point, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever see him again. It’s possible, sure, but then only at clan gatherings, and that’s if Wei Wuxian and Lang Wangji even happen to attend the same one. I believe we know from the book that Lan Wangji doesn’t typically attend gatherings (when he’s older), he often skips them. And Wei Wuxian isn’t necessarily important enough to even be invited, so he would have to be a guest of Jiang Cheng. Obviously we all know that they do go to gatherings and see each other again, but this is what I’d be thinking if I were Lan Wangji, okay? Like, when am I going to see him again? Will I ever see him again?

I leave you with a wholesome picture of Wei Wuxian and a rabbit. Also adorable that he contemplates bringing the bunnies back to Lotus Pier, but doesn’t because Lan Wangji might get lonely. MY HEART!

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 6

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Sexual Assualt

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 6 - Shame

On the way back, Yin Zhou rocked back and forth while laughing in the car. He patted his thigh and breathed out: "Haha, little. . . little girl, that makes me an uncle. Lin Yan, you're truly are blessed. You've got a Loli handed right to you!"

Lin Yan couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. After joking with Yin Zhou for a while, his expression sank again. His hope was shattered, and the things in his hands were in a mess. The sunset falling on the horizon looked like a roasted sweet potato slice. Lin Yan couldn't help but laugh at himself. The night was coming. Who knew what would happen tonight? With twists and turns on the country road, a squirrel squatting on the ground picking up fruit was frightened suddenly by the car. It turned around and bumped into the tree. The little guy held onto the pine cones dumbfounded for a while before changing directions and fleeing.

Lin Yan felt that his current state was not much different from that silly squirrel.

After sending Yin Zhou home, Lin Yan sat in a roadside noodle shop until it closed before driving back. Since the start of all these strange things, the word 'home' has become synonymous with 'nightmare'. He didn't even have the courage to open the door, and he was even more unwilling to face the cold and decayed hellscape behind the door. Lin Yan clenched his fists, and a strong hatred rose from his heart. He had never harmed anyone, and he hadn't interfered with anyone. Why shouldn't he be allowed to live in peace?

The elevator climbed up from one floor to another; Floor 5, Floor 6, Floor 7. . .

Suddenly a burst of cold crawled up his back.

Lin Yan was already familiar with this feeling.

After a second of utter shock, he madly pressed the button to open the door. There was no response. The elevator rose slowly. The number on the display jumped to Floor 11 and stopped. There was a soft bang, and the whole elevator fell into a deep, never-ending darkness.

Lin Yan fumbled around on the wall to find the emergency call button, but his raised hand was blocked by something that shouldn't exist. A long sigh sounded in the solidified darkness, and he was crushed against the wall by huge brute force almost at the same time. The hands holding his arms were like a pair of iron tongs. It wasn't the kind of power that a human could exert, and it couldn't be counterbalanced at all. However, Lin Yan still struggled with all his strength and cursed fiercely: "Get away from me!"

That thing had never been so overbearing and crazy. It seems that Lin Yan's action of going out privately to ask for help from a witch doctor completely angered it. It grabbed Lin Yan's neck with cold hands and picked him up from the ground abruptly. Lin Yan kicked his feet, his weight and the power of that strange hand making him breathless. If the suffocation of last night was only a warning, then now it was like murder, with his breathing getting weaker and weaker and his vision blurring.

Lin Yan closed his eyes, his last bits of consciousness not enough to help him resist. The enclosed elevator was like a small coffin, the walls closing in on him. A sense of despair walked over him. It's all over; after this humiliating game of cat and mouse, the evil spirit is finally going to end this.

It's a pity that his life didn't have time to officially begin, so he would end with this grotesque finale.

As if perceiving Lin Yan's submission, the strange hand loosened around his neck. After the support keeping him up was gone, Lin Yan leaned on the metal wall and slid to the ground. Then freezing lips kissed his face. They slowly moved down, kissing his lips, neck, collarbone. . .

Psychotic, paranoid, irresistible.

"Fuck you. . . Fuck your mother and all your ancestors. . . You. . . Ah. . ."

Moist lips blocked his mouth. Lin Yan shook his head helplessly, but the thing didn’t care about the disgust he showed. It spread Lin Yan’s legs apart, kneeled between his knees, bent down and hugged his waist. It stretched its tongue into Lin Yan's mouth and sucked hard.

Lin Yan could even hear hissing in the darkness.

Like a grumpy beast, it was enjoying taunting its prey before going in for the slaughter.

The sound of entangled lips and teeth twitched Lin Yan's nerves that were already taut like a bowstring. His chin was also being pinched by the ghost hand. He could no longer restrain it, sobbing in despair and fear.

The buttons of the short-sleeved shirt were unbuttoned one by one, and a cold palm touched his chest, its fingers rubbing against his nipples.

"Let me go. . ."

"I beg of you. Let me go. . ."

After devastating his body with the most violent and fierce means, the ghost was slowly insulting his spirit. The experience of dying, again and again, told Lin Yan that this invisible power was saying: Your life is in my hands. No matter where you go, you can't escape me.

The shirt was dropped and tossed aside. The cold and damp tongue twirled on his nipple, and then licked and rubbed his lower abdomen. Lin Yan sat paralyzed on the ground, covering his face with his hands. He was completely defeated in this contest. His voice shook as he cried: "Please. . . let me go. . ."

The thing stopped. It pulled on Lin Yan's wrist to make him stand up and kissed his eyebrows as if it were trying to soothe him. When the light flicked back on, the elevator trembled like it was suddenly awakening from a deep sleep. The hollow sound of the parts spurred, and the green arrow in the middle moved upstream like a fish.

On the eleventh and twelfth floors, Lin Yan couldn't see clearly, but his body's sense of touch became much more sensitive. The ghost squeezed him against the wall, rubbing his waist vigorously with both hands. There was a layer of goosebumps on his bare chest. He could even feel the monster's clothes; the soft fabric, wide sleeves, probably funeral clothes. There were silk-like things hanging onto his chest. It took a long time for Lin Yan to realize that it was hair.

He imagined strands of long black hair clinging to a rotten face, and his bones twitched.

The elevator door opened.

He was dragged out of the elevator by the invisible force, pressed hard against the door panel, and was repeatedly kissed and tasted as though he were a dish. Its hands untied his belt and unabashedly caught his limp member and threw itself down, impatient and eager. Lin Yan’s head hit the coffee table with a bang, and the pain stimulated his almost numb nerves. Lin Yan began to swear using the most vicious and vulgar language he could think of, but this power did not stop. The rough palms pressed roughly against Lin Yan's body, and then it swallowed even more once it got the sexual response it was looking for, desperately and madly pleased.

Lin Yan bit his tongue until it bled, spewing one curse after another until his throat became hoarse. The monster's swallowed faster and deeper. Each stroke made Lin Yan's words catch in his throat. His cursing became drawn out and weaker. He panted hard, clutching the man's hair carelessly; it was as smooth as silk.

He came into the ghost's mouth.

There was a swallowing sound in the darkness.

In these absurd nights and absurd affairs, Lin Yan remembered releasing himself four times in "his" mouth and hands, until his waist became weak and his throat was hoarse to the point he couldn’t swear anymore. Finally, he sat on the lap of the invisible "person" and sobbed into its shoulder.

He felt anger, hatred, fear, humiliation, disgust, but, most of all, powerlessness.

"What the hell are you?!"

"What do you want?"

"I haven't done anything to provoke you," Lin Yan said weakly.

"I will help you make peace with your death, burn some paper money during Qingming, and take the memorial tablet home with me to worship."

"Let me go."

Without answering, the ghost put Lin Yan on the sofa. No matter how much Lin Yan talked into the dark, it would not respond anymore. Instead, it silently disappeared again.

Lin Yan didn't dare to close his eyes at all. He rummaged through some boxes and found the amulet he bought during the trip and the rosary beads sent by his relatives when he moved. He placed a knife in his hand and tucked it under his pillow. The knife was charmed, meant to ward off and suppress evil spirits. After gathering everything together, Lin Yan turned on anything that emitted light in the house, and sat in front of the computer to search for information related to exorcism. The sound of typing on the keyboard sounded particularly harsh at night. Lin Yan's eyes were glued to the screen, but his ears kept paying attention for any movement behind his back. The tension in his back made him want to curl up under his blanket. Supported by unbelievable perseverance, he was entangled in such unholy things, and he had to do something before he was slaughtered.

The mantra of rebirth was chanted over and over through the speakers, and the whole room was filled with peaceful Sanskrit sounds.

"namo amitābhāya tathāgatāya

tadyathā

amṛtod-bhave

amṛta-siddhaṃ bhave

amṛta-vikrānte

amṛta-vikrānta

gāmine gagana

kīrta-kare svāhā"*

*This is the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra that Lin Yan is playing and I absolutely could not find a single translation besides the original Sanskrit version or the one in Chinese and I'm not about to butcher a Buddhist mantra.

If you recite it 200,000 times, you can produce the buds of wisdom. If you recite it 300,000 times, you can see Amitabha. You can get everything you want in this world without being deceived by evil ghosts and spirits. Lin Yan thought, maybe he should be a dojo to overthrow this vain ghost, but it was so hostile that no place would necessarily accept him.

[disastermages]

this is chapter 14 of the au where Xiao Xingchen raises Wei Wuxian

--

Xiao Xingchen didn't know what he expected. Part of him had known that his grandmaster would be accompanying them to Gusu, but he still hadn't fully grasped it by the time they were leaving the inn, the six of them walking with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan at the head of the group with A-Qing walking between them, and Baoshan Sanren bringing up the rear.

Another, smaller part of him had expected his grandmaster to take charge like she had on the rare and special occasions that she brought him and Cangse along on her shorter journeys down the mountain, her back straight and her shoulders square as she led them through towns, showing them how to pass through without calling attention to themselves. She’d shown them the signs of disturbances, too, stopping whenever the opportunity struck to let them see examples as close as she dared let them get.

He and Cangse had been competitive when it came to identifying whether something was a haunting or a possession or just a simple monster. Their guessing games kept going until Baoshan Sanren announced that she’d had enough of their arguing, but they’d always picked them back up the second she stopped listening.

He doesn’t realize that he’s smiling until he feels Song Lan bump their shoulders together, “Is  something funny?” The question comes quiet and soft, the smile on Song Lan’s face smaller than usual, though it still makes Xiao Xingchen’s breathing come easier.

“Just remembering something, that’s all.” Xiao Xingchen murmurs back, the tandem motion of the both of them swinging A-Qing over a mud puddle is muscle memory as she giggles. “My sister and I used to bicker whenever our grandmaster would take us off the mountain with her, it drove her to the point of using a silencing spell on us once.” Xiao Xingchen explains, his shoulders shaking slightly as Song Lan huffs out a laugh of his own, his smile starting to reach his eyes just a bit more.

The silencing spell incident had been one of their worst punishments, the two of them forced to follow along behind Baoshan Sanren silently until the spell lifted on its own. “Do you think she misses it? I think we could get A-Qing and A-Xian to bicker for a little while.” Song Lan teases and Xiao Xingchen snorts before he can stop himself, nearly dropping the horsetail whisk as he lifts his hand to cover his mouth.

“She might use the silencing spell on all of us if you aren’t careful.” Xiao Xingchen warns. Normally, Lan Wangji would’ve been exempt from any possible use of the silencing spell, but Xiao Xingchen had seen Baoshan Sanren pull him aside before they’d left this morning, her hands behind her back and her face strict. No matter how hard he tried, Xiao Xingchen hadn’t been able to make out what she was saying to him, though he’d seen Lan Wangji nod a few times.

He’d offered him a small, sympathetic smile when he and Baoshan Sanren had finished speaking, and if Lan Wangji had relaxed minutely, Xiao Xingchen didn’t call him out for it.

Silence never falls over them completely as they walk, Wei Ying’s chattering turning into comfortable background noise as he and Lan Wangji talk to each other and Xiao Xingchen tunes most of the conversation out, only stopping once to lift A-Qing onto his hip when she begins to look drowsy, Song Lan’s hand stroking over the back of her head softly as she buries her face in her father’s neck.

They’d woken up with her in their bed, wriggled in between the two of them, though neither of them could remember letting her in the night before, but the only thing they’d been able to do was smile at each other as they took turns trying to rouse her from her sleep.

It had felt suspiciously normal, and it still did, so normal that Xiao Xingchen can feel the change in the air on his skin, prickling like static and sending Shuanghua into a low hum in the back of his head. His grip on A-Qing tightens on instinct, his eyes squinting as he looks around them, Song Lan’s hand grabbing onto his sleeve as he does the same, bringing their group to a standstill on the road despite neither of them being able to identify any immediate threat.

“Uncle Xiao?” Wei Ying calls, and Xiao Xingchen turns his head towards his voice slightly, unable to turn his head completely, though he sees it out of the corner of his eye, the smile dropping further off his face as he begins to pry A-Qing away from his neck.

A group of fierce corpses were staggering towards them, their clothes ragged and their hair hanging in loose, messy strands around their faces. They’d gotten used to running into them over the last few weeks, following trails of them to see where Xue Yang had been and trying to guess where he was going, though usually, there were only one or two instead of the group of six or seven dragging their way towards them.

He doesn’t have to tell A-Qing to find a place to hide, though he still makes a point to stroke her cheek before he sends her off, watching as she ducks behind the trunk of one of the trees that line the road, smiling tightly and nodding as she peeks out from around it.

They find their positions, Song Lan pressing against his shoulder and Lan Wangji pressing against Wei Ying’s, Baoshan Sanren falling into step easily beside them, calling her sword out of her own qiankun pouch, though she doesn’t unsheathe it yet. Her eyes are hard, but the rest of her remains relaxed as she plants her feet.

“Corpses usually don’t group together like this,” Wei Ying points out, his voice low as they allow the corpses to come closer, their hands having long since turned into claws reaching out and pawing at them even though they were still a few yards away. “Do you think Xue Yang’s been through here?”

“It’s possible,” Song Lan answers, the frown on his face deepening at the thought, “unless he’s learned how to expand the range of the Yin Iron.” That still wouldn’t explain the sudden grouping, though Xiao Xingchen doesn’t say it, his own face going still as he draws Shuanghua out. Fierce corpses usually bumbled around on their own, wandering aimlessly until they stumbled over a living person, or worse, an entire family of living people.

“A-Ying,” Xiao Xingchen says, hearing his nephew draw Suibian without seeing it, “Uncle Song and I are going to try and scatter the group, can you and Lan Wangji handle the stragglers?” The corpses wouldn’t truly be dangerous unless he and Song Lan ended up surrounded on all sides, but the four of them had taken down enough of them to have a system worked out by now. “Grandmaster, could you-”

“I’ll go where I’m needed, Xingchen.” Baoshan Sanren decides, her face betraying nothing as she draws her own sword out, the blade shining as though it were brand new.

Without another word, Xiao Xingchen nods and he and Song Lan move forward, Fuxue and Shanghua moving in tandem with each other as the two of them work through the crowd, cutting down two of the corpses as they carve a path right down the middle of the corpses, splitting it in half and only barely seeing it as Wei Ying and Lan Wangji take on one half while Baoshan flits through and cuts down the other half on her own. The expression on her face borders on annoyance, rather than an actual challenge as her blade cuts through another corpse, sending it crumpling to the ground.

Spinning around, Xiao Xingchen catches one of the corpse’s arms as it reaches towards Song Lan, his free hand finding his husband as Shuanghua stabs through the corpse before he kicks it away. He doesn’t register that Song Lan has blocked another corpse from making contact with Xiao Xingchen until he’s forced to turn around again, Fuxue sending it sprawling backwards. It trips over a stone hidden in the grass and doesn’t get back up again as Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan press their backs together for just a moment before they both push forward, cutting down the rest of the corpses until none of them make an attempt to rise again, cracks over their flesh healing before their eyes.

Xiao Xingchen opens his mouth to speak, but before anything can come out, A-Qing is crashing into him and calling out for Song Lan and himself, her fingers winding tight into his robes as she looks behind her. “A-Qing?” Xiao Xingchen says, kneeling down quickly and then frowning again as two more corpses come stumbling out of the woods, their movements somehow clumsier than their predecessors.

“They’re acting as though they’ve been dead longer than the other ones.” Wei Ying points out, coming to stand beside his uncle, but holding out his hand for A-Qing and nudging her behind him when she takes it without a second thought. Xiao Xingchen doesn’t stop himself from moving to stand in front of the both of them as he stares ahead.

There were visible signs of decay on these corpses, their movements stiffer and parts of them beginning to wear and break away from the rest of their bodies. How long had these corpses wandered? How long ago were they risen from the dead to torment those who had probably been their neighbors? Xiao Xingchen is almost certain that he doesn’t want to hear the answer as he holds Shuanghua up in a defensive position. Fierce corpses usually didn’t reach this stage in their lifespan, they were usually cut down a few moments after they were risen, or they fell limp to the ground like puppets who’s strings had all been cut.

He means to let the corpses come to him before he takes Shuanghua to them, but Baoshan Sanren appears in front of them first, her blade slicing through both of the corpses cleanly and easily, their shrieks cutting off as the last of the forced life leaves them completely.

None of them move for a long moment, all six of them waiting to see if anymore corpses would come stumbling out after them, but when nothing comes and the static feeling on Xiao Xingchen’s skin fades, he turns and kneels down again and opens his arms for A-Qing, checking her for injuries as he rises.

“Not a scratch on her.” Baoshan Sanren says, her voice almost proud as she comes to stand over Xiao Xingchen’s shoulder. “A-Qing, it’s very important for a rogue cultivator to know when to ask for help, do you understand that?” Baoshan Sanren asks, her tone lapping into something that almost makes Xiao Xingchen’s shoulders relax with the familiarity of it.

“A-Die and Baba told me that before,” A-Qing answers, nodding her head seriously, “only Xian-gege forgets to ask sometimes.” Wei Ying makes a scandalized noise at that, reaching over and poking at his sister’s cheek despite the look Xiao Xingchen gives him.

At his side, Xiao Xingchen hears Song Lan snort, his fist covering up the smile on his face, though Xiao Xingchen makes no attempt to hide his own, shaking his head as he bumps A-Qing further up onto his hip.

A-Qing and Wei Ying didn’t even need their nudging to start bickering and teasing each other, but Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan had both known that.

~

The fire is burning low in front of her, but Baoshan Sanren only barely makes a move to stoke the flames, the sun would be coming up soon, and they would be moving on as quickly as they could, there’d be no point in keeping a fire going only to put it out again.

She’d sworn she’d never go back to Gusu, she’d told herself that she would never set foot in Cloud Recesses again, but she’d also promised herself that she would never forgive Lan Yi, hadn’t she? It had been the first of the promises she’d made to herself that she’d broken, her eyes suddenly feeling heavy as she stares into the embers. She doesn’t notice Wei Wuxian until he’s almost standing next to her, a twig cracking underneath his foot and drawing Baoshan Sanren out of her thoughts before she can follow the spiral any further.

“You’ve either stayed up far too late, or you’ve woken up very early, A-Xian.” She sighs, sitting up straighter as he watches her from a few feet away.

“A-Qing woke me up, she talks in her sleep sometimes.” Wei Wuxian says, the smile on his face doing absolutely nothing to cover up the lie he was telling.

It’s almost refreshing, he doesn’t look that much like Cangse when he tries to tell a lie. He might look like his father, but Baoshan Sanren couldn’t say that with any sort of confidence, she’d never met the man, it wasn’t her place to wonder what he might’ve looked like when he was telling a lie. “Are you going to stand there and watch me until sunrise, or are you going to ask me whatever question that’s brought you here?” She throws another handful of kindling onto the fire as she speaks, letting it catch and bring the fire back to life before she throws a few more sticks in.

Wei Wuxian takes it as an invitation to sit himself right next to her, tanned skin and dark eyes seeming to glow in the firelight. “Uncle Xiao told me that talking about Lan Yi was forbidden on the mountain.” Wei Wuxian starts, looking nervous, even as his grandmaster pokes at the fire in front of them. She wants to laugh, what did he expect her to do? Push the same rule onto him?

“We aren’t on the mountain,” Baoshan Sanren reminds him plainly, but then she stops, “but if we were, I might have you carry water down from the stream for the next week.” She means to tease him, and she hopes that it shows on her face. It had been one of Cangse’s least favorite chores, and maybe one day, she would tell Wei Wuxian that.

Whether or not he knows he’s being teased, Wei Wuxian still laughs and leans back on his hands, the smile on his face making some of the sternness she’d forced on her own to drop away. “I guess I just wanted to ask you why? Uncle Xiao said that you loved each other.”

“We did.” Baoshan Sanren answers and it feels too much like a confession, perfect posture relaxing as she closes her eyes for just a moment. “You and your Lan Wangji remind me of the two of us, in bits and pieces.” She hadn’t intended on telling him that, but the words are coming faster than she can stop them. “He seems dedicated to you, and you light up when you look at him.” When she looks over, her grandson is smiling to himself, his own hands on his knees, his fingers tapping against them restlessly.

“I didn’t expect her to notice me, my clan was the smallest one attending the lecture that year.” Baoshan Sanren laughs, shaking her head at the memory. She’d been enthralled with Lan Yi, from the way she wore her hair, to the cut of her robes around her body, to the way her hand held her sword.

“How did she notice you?”

“I sprained her cousin’s wrist while I was sparring with him. I didn’t always know my own strength back then, A-Xian.” Baoshan Sanren grins with the admission and they both laugh, “The boy’s father, her uncle, wanted me expelled from Cloud Recesses right then, but Lan Yi defended me, she told her father the truth about the sparring session and that I hadn’t done it on purpose.”

The memory comes back, shiny and new as though it had only happened a few days ago. Lan Yi had wedged herself between Baoshan Sanren and her uncle, her face furious. Baoshan Sanren might’ve loved her then, too. “I thought I had made things worse for her, her father had no sons and he’d already refused to name his brother’s son the sect heir, but she insisted on sitting with me while I had to copy all 1,500 of the Lan sect rules 600 times.”

Wei Wuxian’s face falls then, his eyebrows knitting together as he frowns, “There are 3,500 Lan sect rules, though.” For the first time in a long while, Baoshan Sanren laughs, her shoulders shaking and a smile pulling across her face as she looks away from him.

“There are things Lan Yi and I did that you’re too young to hear about.” She might tell him one day, though. She might tell him about the time she’d shared the wine she’d brought from home with Lan Yi and the two of them had ended up in a brothel in Caiyi Town wearing nothing but their under robes and shoes. Or about the time she’d nearly fallen off the cliffs near the waterfall, only because Lan Yi had kissed her suddenly and the tree they were leaning against had given under their combined weight.

“Your mother might’ve added onto the rules too, you know, I heard that she passed through Cloud Recesses at one point.” It wasn’t the complete truth, she’d heard the tale about her daughter shaving a main family member’s beard off, and a few more about her sending unwanted suitors packing with little warning besides her sword slid between their legs.

The smile comes back to Wei Wuxian’s face then, a touch more mischievous when he looks at her, “That’s what Uncle Song said, but Grandmaster Lan wouldn’t give me an answer when I asked him.”

“A serial rule breaker? In their upstanding lecture? A-Xian you should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting such a thing.” Baoshan Sanren teases, trying to pretend to lecture him, though she can’t keep a straight face, even if she tried.

The sky begins to turn pink and Baoshan Sanren sits back, looking just over Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. “I wish you and Lan Wangji better luck than Lan Yi and I had.” Baoshan Sanren says seriously, her eyes focused on the figure in bright blue as Lan Wangji emerges from his tent. “I think you may already have it.” She couldn’t be jealous of them, she wouldn’t, they’d managed to stay by each other’s sides this long, she was proud of them. Lan Wangji hadn’t even looked afraid when she’d pulled him to the side and made her expectations of him clear.

“She talked about you when I fell into her cave with Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says quickly, and Baoshan Sanren looks up at him with wide eyes, something in her chest already twisting, “she sounded like she missed you.” She wants to laugh again, he’s trying to comfort her in the same, well meaning, but clumsy way she’d seen him comfort A-Qing, the smile on her face turning rueful as she nods.

“She might.” She agrees, blinking the feeling away, “She might also know that I’m coming to tell her “I told you so” a hundred years after the fact.”

The last time Baoshan Sanren had been in Cloud Recesses, she’d been escorted to the gate by Lan Yi’s mother and a handful of senior disciples and ordered to never return. Lan Yi’s mother had blamed her for what had happened, and Baoshan Sanren had allowed it, rather than letting the woman blame herself or Lan Yi for it.

They still had another day’s travel before they reached the gates of Cloud Recesses, and Lan Yi’s mother could no longer bar her from entering, and Baoshan Sanren isn’t sure if she wishes she were able to or not.

~

Lan Wangji moves to the front of the group as they draw closer to Cloud Recesses, holding onto Wei Ying’s hand until he walks too far for either of them to keep it up, though when he does glance back at him, Lan Wangji gets a smile in return, his throat feeling suddenly thicker as they climb the steps.

He’d hoped they would have longer together before he would have to return, but they’d had two months without the watchful eyes of his uncle on them. Wei Ying’s uncles had allowed them to be alone together, something his uncle wouldn’t have even considered once he knew the extent of their involvement.

“Lan Zhan, are you alright?” Wei Ying’s voice is a whisper, sounding as though he were standing beside him, rather than walking between his grandmaster and younger sister behind him, though, when Lan Wangji turns his head slightly, he can see one of Wei Ying’s papermen perched on his shoulder, holding onto the strand of his forehead ribbon to stay in place.

If they’d been walking alone together, Lan Wangji might’ve taken the paperman into his hand, it would’ve been more stable, but for now, Lan Wangji can only sneak another look over his shoulder. “Fine,” he thinks in answer, eyes flicking to his shoulder again, if he wasn’t careful, Wei Ying’s paperman would wind its way into his hair again, “only wish we had more time together.”

“This isn’t goodbye, Lan Zhan, we still have to find Xue Yang and bring him back to Qishan.” Wei Ying reminds him, the paperman pulling at his ribbon impatiently now, the same way Wei Ying did when no one was looking at them, the silk wound between his fingers while they both pretended they didn’t know the meaning of what he was doing.

“Mn.” Lan Wangji answers out loud, inclining his head as they reach the top of the stairs and the two disciples guarding the gates bow to him quickly, his uncle and brother appearing at the other side of the gate as though they’d been summoned. Lan Wangji bows to both of them, ignoring the smile on his brother’s face when he rights himself. He has no intention of answering Xichen’s questions until they were locked away in the Hanshi, away from the possibility of their uncle’s lecture.

The six of them are admitted into Cloud Recesses quickly, his uncle’s mouth falling open when Baoshan Sanren is introduced, and Lan Wangji swears for a moment, he pales, though he says nothing about it. His uncle recovers quickly enough anyway, bowing deeply to her and Baoshan Sanren returns it, thanking Lan Qiren for hosting not only one, but two of her disciples in the past.

There’s a look of mischief that Lan Wangji recognizes all too quickly.

“You didn’t think to write to us about this?” Xichen teases, leaning into Lan Wangji’s space and Lan Wangji only blinks.

“Grandmaster Baoshan only joined us a week and a half ago, haven’t had time.” He says simply and his brother gives him a look before he smiles again, a chuckle coming from deep in his chest.

“I’ve missed you, Wangji, Uncle has too.” Lan Wangji knows his brother is speaking honestly, but all he can do is nod, glancing up to where his uncle is speaking with both of Wei Ying’s, their faces serious. “How is Young Master Wei?”

“Wei Ying is Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji answers proudly, turning to face his brother and almost buckling under the weight of his smile. He wouldn’t be able to escape without answering questions now.

Xichen doesn’t get the chance to ask any of his questions though, after a few more moments of talking, they’re all moving again, setting out towards the backhill, and Lan Wangji takes the chance to walk beside Wei Ying, his brother falling in step behind them after they leave Qing Sanren in the care of a senior disciple.

“A great bit of research has gone into understanding Ancestor Yi’s condition,” Xichen announces, walking to the front of their group and taking on the duty of disrupting the ward hiding the entrance of Lan Yi’s cave long enough for all of them to walk through single file, the paths below them still just as slick and icy as Lan Wangji remembered them to be. One hand goes to hold onto the cave wall and the other wraps around Wei Ying’s wrist, genuinely hoping to steady him in case he slipped.

The caves would have been difficult for Qing Sanren to navigate, as it stood, the paths were most likely never intended to hold all of them at once, stray rocks and icicles giving way as they make their way down. “We’ve found that speaking with her more frequently aids in keeping her tethered to this world, though, we haven’t found a way to reverse the effects of the Yin Iron quite yet.”

A guqin can be heard as they begin the last level of their descent, a chill settling through all five layers of Lan Wangji’s robes, his eyes lifting to the front of the group just in time to see Baoshan Sanren’s shoulders draw together tightly, her step faltering for just a moment, but not long enough to allow Wei Ying’s Uncle Xiao to run into her back.

Lan Wangji can only throw a quick, backwards glance to Wei Ying then, his hand tightening around his wrist as they press forward.

~

“Lan Yi.” Baoshan Sanren sighs to herself, her hands hanging limp at her sides as she watches Lan Yi’s fingers move over the strings of the guqin, a rabbit perched on either side of her and nibbling at her robes.

It wasn’t as though she hadn’t believed them, because she did, she wanted to, she’d wanted Lan Yi to be alive, but she’d been preparing for the worst. She’d been prepared to come down and find that the Yin Iron had eaten away at the last of her spiritual cognition.

Baoshan Sanren almost doesn’t feel the water seeping into her robes and boots as she takes a step into the pool. It should chill her to the bone, but she doesn’t feel it. She doesn’t feel anything until her splashing breaks Lan Yi’s concentration and she looks up, her hands still frozen in place over the strings of the guqin.

“A-Shan?” Lan Yi calls, looking as though she were the one seeing a ghost standing right in front of her. “A-Shan, are you here? Or have I fallen asleep again?”

“I’m here.” Baoshan Sanren answers too quickly, stopping in the middle of the pool as Lan Yi stands, gathering her robes in her hands and Baoshan Sanren’s heart stops. Those were the robes she’d worn into the cave the night it had happened, the bright cerulean had burned itself into Baoshan Sanren’s memory through the years. She hadn’t weighed the possibility of Lan Yi being trapped in those robes for the rest of her existence. “How have you been?” She hears herself ask, instead of saying anything useful, watching as the water just barely ripples as Lan Yi walks through it, though the chill doesn’t seem to touch her.

“I should be asking you that question.” Lan Yi laughs, though it sounds like a sob, “You’re the one who’s been wandering and taking disciples while I’ve been sitting in a cave.” There’s only a few inches left between them now, close enough that Baoshan Sanren could set her hand on Lan Yi’s hip and feel her underneath her hand if she allowed herself.

“My disciples are why I’m here.” Baoshan Sanren answers honestly, cold shooting up her arm and into her shoulder as Lan Yi’s hand wraps around her wrist, and Baoshan Sanren glances back, shaking her head as she watches Wei Wuxian wave awkwardly at the both of them, standing entirely too close to Lan Wangji for an unmarried couple in front of their families.

“I have to destroy the Yin Iron, A-Yi.” Baoshan Sanren says carefully, swallowing thickly when Lan Yi looks back at her, her eyes wide and her hand tightening around her wrist.

“You can’t.” She decides, shaking her head as a frown replaces the smile that had been on her face too quickly. “You can see what happened to me, A-Shan, the both of us can’t be trapped here.”

Baoshan Sanren is the one to reach for her now, shaking off the hand Lan Yi had wrapped around her wrist and putting both of hers on Lan Yi’s shoulders. “I’ve already done it once, A-Yi, I can do it again.”

“It’s true!” Wei Ying interrupts, his voice too loud against the cave walls as he steps away from Lan Wangji, though he doesn’t step into the water with them. “Grandmaster crushed one piece in her hand, she’s had time to recover without any side effects.”

Looking between the two of them, Lan Yi doesn’t look any more convinced than she had just a moment ago, clasping her hands in front of her instead of reaching up to touch Baoshan Sanren again. “I’m tethered to it, Baoshan, can you let me go in the same breath you’ll use to destroy it?” She isn’t asking to be cruel, Baoshan Sanren knows that, but it still sends an ice cold hand down her throat to grasp at her heart.

“There’s nothing else here that you can tether yourself to?” Baoshan Sanren asks, her eyes scanning through the cave, and only finding the guqin and the Yin Iron. She’d hoped to see Lan Yi’s sword somewhere in the cave, maybe buried in the ice, but the longer she thinks the more clearly she remembers seeing it carried out by senior disciples and handed over to Lan Yi’s mother as she wept.

Baoshan Sanren’s hands had been slapped away the second she’d reached to touch it.

“My guqin cannot hold my spirit, I’ve tried.” Lan Yi smiles sadly, her eyes looking wet when Baoshan Sanren manages to catch sight of them again. “Whatever holds my spirit must have some sort of importance, it can’t be something simply picked up off the ground, I’ve learned that much while I’ve been here.”

Stubborn silence fills the cave, and Baoshan notices for the first time that Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren had eased out of the cave some time ago, leaving the six of them to plan and agonize on their own. Baoshan Sanren almost envies them, being able to leave under the guise of giving them privacy.

“I have this,” Wei Wuxian offers, his voice much quieter as he pulls something out of his robes, a jade pendant held tightly in his hand, and Baoshan Sanren’s eyes flick back up to Lan Wangji. “Lan Zhan gave it to me before I left with Uncle Xiao and Uncle Song.” The two of them come closer to the edge of the pool then, and Wei Wuxian tosses the pendant to Baoshan Sanren, the catch made easy as Lan Yi’s hand finds hers again.

Looking at the piece of jade in her hand, Baoshan Sanren wonders if this had been the only thing Lan Wangji had given her grandson that day.

“Lan Yi? Will this be enough?” Baoshan Sanren holds the pendant out to her, watching as Lan Yi drags her fingers over the carving, her fingers twitching around her own.

“I believe so,” Lan Yi breathes, looking up at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji as though she expected the offer to be rescinded as quickly as it had come. “Young Master Wei is truly alright with this?” She asks, and Wei Wuxian smiles at the both of them.

“I can break down the ward if I need to get back in.” He says and Lan Wangji gives him a look that she swears she’s only given Lan Yi before.

Lan Yi takes the pendant into her own hand then, pressing it to her chest and squeezing her hand tightly. “A-Shan?” Lan Yi asks, leaving most of the question unsaid, and Baoshan Sanren allows herself to smile and nod.

Neither of them get another word out before the earth above them shakes, shouts echoing down to the lowest level of the cavern, and Xiao Xingchen, Song Zichen, Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji all move back towards the path they’d walked down.

“Xingchen?” Baoshan Sanren calls, the softness in her voice dropping away into the usual sternness she’d worked hard to keep.

“This is what it sounded like the last time we were under attack.” Lan Yi announces, her eyes staring up at the cave ceiling, as though she could see through it, distantly, they can hear voices calling out names, and Baoshan Sanren watches as the four of them make a move towards the entrance of the cave.

“Sect Leader Wen was correct,” Xiao Xingchen says, turning his head and looking at Lan Wangji, “Xue Yang has returned to Cloud Recesses.”

[kenzieam]

Beauty and the Blackheart - Chapter One

@jewels2876​​  @moonbeambucky​  @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​​  @iammarylastar​​@captstefanbrandt​​  @badassbaker​​  @pinknerdpanda​​  

I know I’m forgetting people, sorry. If you want in, hit me.

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Rating: M

Warnings: Language, general nuttiness, smut

Word Count: 2750+

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Okay, so……

Lev, the serious one, is visiting her wild-child twin brother, Clint. There she meets Bucky, a tall, dark, brooding mystery who’s her total opposite in every way. Of course, she’s intrigued even as her mind screams to run for safety, but what could go wrong, right??

***********************************************************************

As the seatbelt light shut off, Lev exhaled a deep breath and stood, pulling on her plain white button-down shirt to smooth the wrinkles and drew her backpack from the overhead compartment. Slinging it on her shoulder, she waited quietly to exit, grimacing faintly as a Karen behind her began to object loudly to the order, demanding she and her little darling exit first.

Lev agreed wholeheartedly, about to push the bitch out of the plane herself, boot her offspring out behind her, but held back, taking another deep breath.

Thankfully, no one else seemed inclined to indulge Karen and she subsided with a few indignant, unladylike sounds, falling into line with something resembling humility.

And, thankfully, Karen headed off in the opposite direction once they hit Arrivals. No doubt to find someone else to pay for her inconvenience.

Jesus, that was why she’d chosen Trauma medicine as her specialty, the situations were too life-and-death for such foolishness. Shaking it off, she raised on her tiptoes to see over the crowd, looking for a certain familiar face.

“Hey, Trouble!”

Lev startled, whirling. “Jesus, Clint!”

He laughed gleefully, killing himself and Lev fought a smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You’re a bastard.” She said, by way of greeting, which only added to Clint’s mirth. Still howling, he slung an arm around her neck, giving her a close-up view of his heavily tattooed forearm.

“I missed you,” he laughed, pressing a messy kiss to her hair, roughing it up just the way he knew she hated.  

The perfect definition of ‘good twin/bad twin’, Clint and Lev were alike only in a shared birthdate and parents. Even from birth it was obvious they were polar opposites; the fair-haired little Clint wild and incorrigible, the darker Levka all seriousness and calm serenity. While Clint could rock and roll for hours past bedtime, infant Lev would settle right away, ignoring the antics of her slightly older brother as he weebled and wobbled the next crib over.

The dichotomy continued throughout their childhood, with Clint deciding to refer to his serious little sister as ‘Trouble’ entirely to illustrate just how ‘un-trouble-like’ she truly was, while he happily answered to anything she threw at him, up to and including ‘you little shit’.

“I missed you, too.” Lev admitted, fighting a grin; although complete opposites, they were inseparable, yin and yang all though their shared lives.

“C’mon.” Clint pulled her towards the luggage carousel, squinting at the rotating bags. “So, which plain black bag is yours?”

Lev made a face, just because he preferred shades electric didn’t make hers plain. Reaching for the familiar case she smirked when Clint whistled.

“Whew, a silver one? Who are you and what did you do with my baby sister?”

“Shut up,” Lev laughed, dropping the case unceremoniously in Clint’s arms, grinning when he grunted under the weight. “Take me home, I’m hungry.”

Clint rolled his eyes, jerking his chin in the right direction as he turned and walked away.

“So, how’s the life of a doctor?” Clint asked as they roared down the highway, perched high in his jacked-up pickup.

Lev grinned. “I’ve just finished my residency, I’m not a true doctor yet.”

“But you will be, soon?”

Lev nodded. “Yeah, I took a few months off but I’m pretty sure I’ll be working with Dr. Hawkins.”

“That ER guy? The one you trained under?”

“He’s the one.”

“What is it with you and that ER trauma stuff?”

“What is it with you and tattoos?” Lev shot back mildly. “You never even had a tattoo until you met Nat out here.”

Clint shrugged, glancing down at his fully inked arms. Ten years ago, when Lev had been heading directly to university after high school graduation, Clint had thrown a duffel bag into his old beat-up Camaro and gone on a road trip, no destination in mind, no real plans. After a while he’d met a similarly spirited woman named Natalie and, after a whole whirlwind week of romance, married her in her hometown city hall, calling afterwards to inform his family that he was surprise! married and moving in with his new wife.

If Clint had been anything less than a Tasmanian Devil all his life, this might have surprised his family, but his parents took the news in quite a blasé way, even laughing as they told Lev during their weekly check-ins.

While Lev had met her sister-in-law a few times in the decade since, it had always been when Clint had flown home to visit, and Lev happened to be home from school as well. She’d never gone out to visit her brother, and these few months after her residency had been the perfect time to remedy that.

“You going to let me give you a tattoo finally?” Clint asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Lev leveled a glare at him. “Are you any good?” It was a joke, and they both knew it. Despite having never touched a tattoo gun until after he’d married Nat, Clint had proved himself an absolute prodigy, joining Nat’s brother and his friend as an apprentice in the local parlour and quickly becoming a startling skilled artist.

Five years ago, that brother-in-law, his friend and Clint had all gotten together to open their own shop, Blackheart Ink and Body Mod, where you could get a wrist tattoo and a nipple piercing all in the same day.

“You know I am.”

“No.”

“C’mon, get a piercing at least.”

“No!”

“It doesn’t have to be visible-”

“Clinton Derrick Barton!”

“Levka Valentina! Or should I say Dr. Levka Valentina Barton!”

“Don’t,” Lev rolled her eyes. “I still say mom was high when she named me, you at least got something normal, which is ironic, since you’re anything but.”

“Love you, little sis.”

“Love you too, ass. Are you taking me to your place?”

“Nah, I thought we’d stop by the shop first.”

Lev hesitated, she felt dirty and wrinkled, always preferred meeting strangers looking her best.

“You look fine.” Clint deadpanned. “Stop worrying.”

Lev huffed at her infuriating brother, pulling down the visor to check herself in the mirror. Frowning, she pinched her cheeks for color, making Clint shake his head and chuckle. Running her fingers through her hair she contemplated grabbing some facial wipes from her backpack, but by then Clint was slowing down, flipping on his signal light.

“Here it is.” He announced proudly, pulling up in front of a large storefront. Painted black, with the shop’s name displayed prominently you would be hard to mistake this as anything but a black hole of debauchery and Clint grinned, elbowing Lev when he saw this in her eyes.

“You’re such a snob.” He teased, laughing.

“And you’re deranged.” Lev lobbed back, sticking out her tongue.

“Do that again and one of the guys will pierce it.” Clint snickered, yanking open the glass door. “Hey assholes, I’m back! Oh, hey Spider, didn’t know you were here, getting a touch up?” Instantly Clint integrated himself into his habitat, heightening the difference between him and his sister, who stood just inside, looking lost.

“Christ, baby. You could introduce her to everyone.” Nat scolded mildly, elbowing Clint as she passed. “Hey, honey. Welcome!” She opened her arms, gathering Lev into a tight hug, pulling back to grin at her. “You look great, Lev. How are you?”

“I’m good, Nat. Thanks. What about you.” Lev replied, grinning, almost stupidly grateful.

“Oh, getting by. These guys keep me busy.” Nat gestured over her shoulder with the flip of a wrist, which seemed to be some kind of signal for Clint and a tall blond holding a tattoo gun and leaning over whom she assumed was ‘Spider’ based on the giant Black Widow tattoo on his bald head, to start hooting like monkeys. Nat’s gesture morphed instantly into the bird, which she doubled by adding her other hand when she spun to face the men. “Oh, shut the hell up!” Glancing back at Lev she grinned fondly. “See, barbarians and fools.”

“Hey.” Spider protested with a grin.

“And bikers.” Nat teased back, taking Lev’s hand and pulling her nearer. “Lev, this is Spider, as I’m sure you’ve figured out.”

Lev offered a timid smile, received a crooked grin and wave back, one gold tooth glinting underneath a thick goatee.

“And this big dickhead is my brother, Steve.” Nat continued.

Steve pulled his attention away from Spider’s tattooed bicep and nodded, a surprisingly handsome smile lighting up his face. “Hi.” His deep voice was gentle, a startling contrast to his intimidating bulk, highlighted by a fitted tank top that hugged each muscle and showing miles of velvety, inked skin. A short crewcut showed off strong, clean-shaven features and his blue eyes sparkled with good humor. “So, you’re Clint’s twin sister. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Lev felt her cheeks warm; she could only imagine the stories Clint had told. “Oh, really?” She squeaked, flicking a glance at Clint, who grinned merrily back.

“Uh huh,” Steve turned his attention back to Spider’s arm, wiping carefully at a spot before speaking again. “He says you’re a doctor.”

“Yeah,” Clint broke in, slinging an arm around Lev’s neck. “She can take a look at that growth on your ass-”

“Clint!” Both Lev and Nat screeched, and he yelped as Nat connected with the back of his head.

Steve threw Clint a look, one of mild exasperation and brotherly tolerance before turning his blue eyes back to Lev. “I don’t have a growth on my ass, but maybe you can prescribe your brother some sort of heavy sedative.”

“Hey!”

Steve grinned at him, lessening the dig then winked at Lev. “Welcome, Lev. Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Lev replied, feeling herself relax. He may have looked like a barbarian, as Nat had put it, but Steve seemed to be a kind soul, a genuinely benevolent person.

“I was wondering where you were hiding!” Clint suddenly shouted, pointing as if Elvis himself had just appeared from the back room. “Lev, this is the other third of the Blackheart team, Bucky.”

Lev turned at Clint’s direction and froze, her heart suddenly afflicted with tachycardia.

If she’d thought Steve was big, she was wrong, for Bucky was bigger still. Thick, corded muscles flexed as he paused, brow furrowing slightly as he seemed to be working out what Clint was babbling about. A thick but neatly trimmed beard obscured most of his face, while his chocolate brown hair brushed his shoulders and fell over a pair of startingly blue eyes.

He looks like he could pick me up and snap me in half, Lev thought shakily. She’d seen similar builds and musculature on heavyweight cage fighters, brought into the ER with some gruesome injury after their latest match and she couldn’t be sure if her pulse was racing in fear or something else entirely.

Bucky, the name didn’t belong on such a giant and Lev licked her lips nervously, feeling like she was standing in the entrance of a dark forest, able to hear a low growling from inside.

The silence in the shop was suddenly overwhelming to Lev, she could feel her heartbeat making ripples in the surrounding air and she stumbled to speak.

“Hi,” it came out little better than a squeak, broadcasting to everyone in the room that she was scared shitless of the newest arrival.

Piercing blue eyes locked on hers and a shadow passed through them, too fast for Lev to understand. He started moving again, lumbering to a workstation closer to where Lev, Clint and Nat stood. The padded stool groaned under his weight as he sat, setting a series of drawings on a light-up tabletop and he grunted, nodding once at her, before returning his attention to his papers.

“Okay,” if this was unusual, Clint gave no indication. “Let me show you around, kid.”

Lev followed obediently, saw Bucky glance up at her once as she passed, then look quickly back down and she hoped she didn’t stink from her plane ride.

In the back was a supply room, large break room and three private rooms. All three men, Clint explained, had a private room for quote ‘nervous’ customers or ‘intimate’ piercings, in addition to their spaces out in the front and the customer was free to choose where they wanted to be, however most decided to stay out front to be a part of the varied conversations that flowed like cheap beer.

“So, you all do body piercing too?” Lev clarified, eyeing a clearly sterilized and sealed tray in what Clint had said was Bucky’s room.

“Yeah,” he answered, peeking over her shoulder. “Bucky does the most of the three of us, but we all do a fair bit. Why, you thinking about one?” He elbowed her and snickered, then grabbed the side of her head and pressed a loud kiss to her temple. “Shit, I missed you little sis. It’s been too long!”

Lev agreed, for all their differences, there was nobody Lev loved more than her infuriating twin brother and smiled at him, leaning in for a quick hug.

Clint squeezed her bone-creakingly hard for a moment then released her. “You want to go? You’re probably tired.”

Relief washed over Lev, she’d kill for a shower and nap. “Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”

“So….” Lev began, then wished she’d kept her damn mouth shut. Steve, Nat and Spider had bid her goodbye with friendly calls and waves, while Bucky had continued to glower, like a toad on a stump, Lev thought sourly and it had continued to bother her, even as they left Blackheart in the rear-view.

“So?” Clint asked leadingly, cocking a brow in question as he kept most of his attention on the road. The truck rumbled underneath them, the obligatory air freshener, in the iconic silhouette of a Trucker Girl, swinging from the rear-view mirror.

“Is Bucky always that talkative?” She gritted her teeth, hating herself instantly for asking. Clint could take this as anything from a dig at his friend’s personality to a thinly veiled show of interest and, with her luck, he’d assume the latter.

“Yeah….” Clint drew out the word, as if considering what to say next. “Just be careful around him, little sis.”

Lev jerked her head to stare at him. What was he talking about? Had he opened a business with a convicted murderer or something?

Clint chuckled, reading her horrified gaze correctly. “Nothing like that, kid. Buck’s just…. intense. He parties hard, lives hard. Nicest guy you’ll ever meet if you’re a friend, but I’ve never seen him with the same girl more than once or twice.”

Oh. That was crystal clear. Hands off.

“I didn’t-”

“No judgement,” Clint interrupted. “But we all know he’s a handsome guy and you wouldn’t be the first to get burned if you tried to touch him.”

Sometimes, a completely different side of Clint appeared; a stable, rational man and Lev knew better than to waste that guy’s wisdom by not listening the rare times he did surface.

“Don’t worry, though. He’s alright. He won’t, like, try anything with you. You’re not his type.”

“Oh, really?” The sand in the Sahara was wetter than Lev’s voice.

“Yeah,” Clint nodded, signalling to turn down a residential street, waiting until an old lady hobbled slowly through the crosswalk. Lowering the window, he leaned his head out. “You need a hand, Sylvia?”

Sylvia peered upwards to see the speaker then smiled. “No, dear boy. I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

Clint sat back upright, completing the turn and glanced sideways at Lev’s surprised look. “What? She’s a nice old lady, asks us to fix little things around her house, brings cookies by the shop.”

Lev grinned, warmed by her brother’s sudden display of heart then remembered their earlier conversation. “Not his type, huh?”

“Nah,” Clint took the change of subject easily, turning into the driveway of a modest little Craftsman. The only hint that someone like him lived there was a ‘Tattoo Gods Only Parking’ sign above the garage door. “You’re too buttoned-up, too serious. He dates girls that can twist cherry stems into knots with their tongues and deep throat like a porn-star.”

“Ewww!”

Clint shrugged before gesturing out the windshield. “We’re here!”

[djinmer4]

Matchmaking for the Greater Evil (2/4)

He’s always had a soft spot for Nie Huaisang.

Granted, it hasn’t always been a priority for him.  Between trying to pass classes at Gusu, running after Wei Wuxian, that road trip trying to locate the Yin Iron, his crush on Wen Qing, the Sunshot Campaign, then finally rebuilding Lotus Pier and raising his nephew, there had been plenty of things to distract him.  But it had always been there in the back of his mind, driving him to let the other copy answers off of his notes, watch him take hours to paint his fans, protect him against the various threats on the road trip, and preventing him from raising a fuss whenever the Second Young Master would come by with orders that he’d rather ignore than follow.  Really, he’s just lucky Huaisang’s not the type to take advantage, otherwise, he’d be completely screwed.

As time goes on and their childhood companions fall away, Nie Huaisang becomes a larger and larger part of his life.  By the time Chifeng-zun passes away, Jiang Cheng takes it upon himself to aid the new Sect Leader.  Lianfeng-zun and Zewu-jun were there to help, of course, but neither of them had rebuilt their sects from the ground up the way he had.  The Unclean Realm’s in much better shape than Lotus Pier was, but on the other hand, Nie Huaisang had never dedicated himself to learning how to run a sect the way Jiang Cheng had.  The other is grateful for his advice, although perhaps a little embarrassed to be losing face by revealing how ill-prepared he was for the role.  Huaisang is fine pushing off his diplomatic duties on his brother’s sworn brothers but hesitant to ask for help on internal matters.  Fortunately, Jiang Cheng finds he enjoys helping the other out.  He always felt like such a helpless mess compared to his older siblings; it’s nice to be the one someone else depended on.

And it gives him a chance to reminisce with someone who doesn’t need everything spelled out.  Huaisang had been there for most of it after all.  Even when nostalgia turns from bittersweet to just bitter and the words choke in his throat, the other man will take up the narrative, bleeding some of the pain off as he cites some unimportant detail or forgotten memory to distract him.  Nights like that, Jiang Cheng finds he sleeps better, the nightmares not so dark.

~~~~~~~~

“Jin Ling!  What the hell are you doing?  I could do a better job with my eyes closed!  You don’t have to get a bull’s-eye, but at least hit the damn target next time or I’ll break your arm!”

“Now, now, Sect Leader Jiang.  Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”  He turned and saw Sect Leader Nie coming up to the Lotus Pier training grounds.  The fan he waved in front of his face did little to hide the soft smile he directed at the trainees.  “It’s a shichen past noon and the hottest part of the day.  Surely you can let them take a break now?”

Jiang Cheng tried to ignore the pleading glances of his trainees but made the mistake of looking at Jin Ling.  The boy had just reached his eighth year and had already mastered the art of using puppy eyes to get his way.  “Fine, you’re all dismissed.  Make sure you practice and do a better job tomorrow or I’ll have you all restring your bows with your own hair!”  The disciples bowed in a hurried manner, thanking him for the training then headed towards the cafeteria.  “Jin Ling!”  A single yellow petal in a river of purple lotuses swam upstream against the current.  “This time make sure to maintain your own bow and arrows and quiver.  Your servants won’t be accompanying you on night-hunts and if you try to foist that task off on the quartermaster again, I’ll break both your legs!”

“Yes, Jiujiu!”

Satisfied he’d made his point, he turned to his other honored guest.  He held out his arm for Huaisang to take and ignored the Zidian-like thrill that went through him as the other accepted.  “You’ve completed your correspondence then?” 

“Most of it anyway.  There’s one issue, not urgent, that I’m going to need to deal with in person when I get back to Qinghe.  And two border disputes with some minor sects, one about fishing rights to the East and one about a river that changed course in the West.  I’ll forward both of those to Jin Guanyao.”  The shorter man looked around and pouted.  “This isn’t the way to the commissary.”

“It’s not.  If you’re done with your correspondence, we might as well take the time to have a meal in private.”  Jiang Cheng waves down a passing servant and orders a meal for two with tea (no alcohol this early in the day) to be served in his private study.  He felt his face fall into a familiar frown.  “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Let Zewu-jun and Lianfeng-zun handle all your diplomatic relations.  You’re smart enough to do all that yourself.  I know you are.  I’ve seen how you handle everything in the Unclean Realm and you’ve always been ten times better than I am at dealing with people.  Why not prove all the fucking idiots who think you’re an idiot wrong?”

Huaisang looks up at him through his lashes, one corner of his smile curled up just a little higher than the other.  He stretches up and Jiang Cheng can feel his breath on his cheek.  He can also scent a recent change in the incense the other uses, from citrus to something that smelled of pine and apples.  “Let me tell you a secret.”  He feels his heart skip a beat at those words.

“You’re absolutely right.  I could handle all those issues with other sects by myself.  But do you know what the reward for doing a good job is?”  Jiang Cheng shook his head.  “The reward for doing a good job is more work.”  Huaisang’s voice adopted a familiar, whiny tone.  “Running a sect is so hard, Jiang-xiong!  It takes so much effort, I barely have any time to paint anymore!”  They continue to walk along the docks, the taller man deftly guiding the other along a more circuitous route that showed off Lotus Pier’s best features.  “And San-ge always loves being needed.  Really, if he didn’t want to help me with these things, all he would have to do is either push them off to Er-ge or leave them for me.  Why should I bother when he’s so willing to do the boring stuff for me?”

Despite himself, Jiang Cheng feels his mouth twitching into a smile.  Some things never changed, and he’s glad Huaisang’s still has the laziness from Gusu.  “Besides, you know what the best part is?  Since everyone’s expectations are so low, they never ask anything extra of me.  Or if I need something from them, they’ll just say yes without arguing because obviously, I’m too incompetent to take care of things myself.  I can foist all sorts of unpleasant duties on other Sect Leaders.”

He gives up and lets the grin spread across his face (two Jiang Sect cultivators stop dead in their tracks, quickly turn and all but run the other way).  It’s ridiculous but he feels like bubbles are rising through his chest.  This secret, this thing that no one outside of Qinghe Nie knows except him, makes him feel special.  Like Huaisang is giving Jiang Cheng a little part of himself to keep.  The thought of being allowed to know something so precious makes him giddy.

Then the last statement registers and the smile drops off his face as if it had never been.  “Wait a moment.  Have you been tricking me into accepting some of Qinghe’s night-hunts?”

Huaisang drops his arm, laughs, and sprints away from the enraged cultivator.

“I don’t know!  I don’t know anything about that!  I don’t know anything at all!”

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

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1. hi!! for the next itmf, it was always spoken in the novel, and sometimes in fics how jfm favoured wwx over his children. despite the fact that as readers we definitely see the contrary, are there fics where this is true? where jfm actually prefers wwx's company over his children, or even just jc?? no wwx bashing pls, i just found out it exists and i hated every word of that fic. thank you!! <3

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2. Itmf fics where wangxian are on a battlefield fighting in a war. I love the angst of being in love in a place with little hope. @gentil-minou

The Vermillion Ribbon by Unforth (E, 233k, wangxian, Wen WWX, politics, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, hurt WWX, hurt LWJ, whump, serious injury, off-screen torture, hurt/comfort, angst, marriage of convenience, abusive father figures, panic attacks, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, pining, suicidal thoughts, miscommunication, touch starved LWJ, light dom/sub, feels, family feels, brotherly feels, LQR is a dick, abusive lan sect, emotional hurt/comfort, healing, recovery, Happy Ending)

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3. Hi! I think this is an ask for the itmf but I’m not sure actually :/ anyways I’ve had exams for about the last two months so I couldn’t read any new fics and now that I’m finally free I don’t know where to start! Can you rec the best (completed, wangxian) fics you’ve read in the last months? Thanks luv :D

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Going on charmingly by scribbet (T, 21k, WangXian, Teenage LWJ, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX is BSSR's Disciple, Genius WWX, Petty LWJ, Meddling LXC, Canon Divergence, JFM Doesn't Adopt WWX, Technically pre-relationship, but in the typical Wangxian way of them being in deep but just not acknowledging it yet, POV LWJ)

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4. (This is my first time asking, so pwease pardon mistakes ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ)

I'm in a mood for a fic where the drama version of Wangxian(or either one of them) meet the cql version! Thanks in advance ❤️ @dizzydandelionsandhyperhydrillas

The Young, the Horny, the Jaded and the Jade: Partners in Time by Admiranda (M, 55k, WIP, WangXian, Established couple, Crossover, road trip with your older selves, teasing your younger selves about their obvious crushes, yin iron does yin iron things, mdzs/cql crossover, adult wangxian, Teenage Wangxian) i don't know quite if it fits (asker said drama version meet cql (did they mean audio drama?)), but a potential for #4: post-canon novel wangxian meet teenage cql wangxian (WIP, very cute)

#9 of this post might have some recs you would like

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5. Hi, for the next in-the-mood-for, can I request fake!dating of the "I will be your intentionally annoying fake date to your family function / work do/ ex's wedding/etc" flavour. Many thank!

❤️ save a sword, ride a socialist by sysrae (E, 33k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Single Parent WWX, Homophobia, LQR’s A+ Parenting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Idiots to lovers)

Their Side of the Bargain by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Minor ChengSang)

we don't need to talk about it by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 48k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake Dating, the slimmest of premises, there was only one bedroom, There Was Only One Bed, kissing to prove you're dating, being idiots to prove you're dating, Pining while fucking, background NieLan)

The Mistletoe Virgin by Vamillepudding (G, 12k, WangXian, Modern AU, Romantic Comedy, Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Deaf LWH, Christmas)

Veritas by trickybonmot (E, 19k, WangXian, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Modern: No Powers, Humor, Mutual Pining, There Was Only One Bed, Jins Being Jins, Wine Bro JZX, Good Sibling JC, light consensual non-consent, Surprise Fix-it Fic, Weddings, Wine, Hijinks & Shenanigans)

Gremlin Twitter Boyfriend (Twitter thread) by nyanxian Podfic + transcript (T, 5-6H - 38k, wangxian, modern, Social Media, Failboats In Love, Twitter Fic, Pining, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Matchmaking, Podfic, Multiple Voices, Sound Effects, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Warning: Jokes about Suicide)

~*~

6. has anyone found a fic where wwx tells jc to put him down if he becomes an actual threat to their family, and after it seems like jyl died, jc does mercy kill wwx as agreed?

~*~

7. ITMF request! I have a hankering for fic where the Jiang siblings turn against LWJ b/c they think he's broken WWX's heart. Would love it to be CR arc era, but modern AU is okay too. I really just want JYL to go off on LWJ, either freezing him out or giving him a piece of her mind. No Jiang bashing, tho'. @kimboo-york

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation) Modern AU, JYL engages in a cold war with LXC because LWJ doesn't know how to communicate his feelings to WWX and keeps hurting him

could you find a way to let me down slowly, if you're leaving baby let me down slowly by ravenditefairylights (M, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, Implied/Referenced Sex, Miscommunication, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Hurt WWX, Mutual Pining, Unreliable Narrator, Self-Esteem Issues, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Protective Siblings, Trauma, Slightly dubious consent, courtesy of drunk sex, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Phoenix Mountain, Chronic Pain, Getting Together, Fix-It of Sorts, One Braincell Trio, PTSD) has both Jiang siblings angry with LWJ after he and WWX sleep together while drunk, only for LWJ to run out the next morning

~*~

8. Hi! Is there any fic where wwx and lwj really had their own garden? left the cultivation world (or maybe not) but they have a simple life

call me home and I'll build you a throne by ana_cp (E, 51k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Post-CQL, Canon Compliant, Getting Together, Developing Relationship, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics, Touch-Starved Non-Sexual Intimacy, ... and then Sexual Intimacy, Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Farmer WWX, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Mutual Pining, Communication, Quietly Falling Into a Married Life, Light Angst, (because they don't think they deserve each other), Wholesome, POV LWJ, POV WWX, LWJ in braids agenda, Sharing a Bed, WWX's Birthday, Semi-Public Sex, Inventor WWX, Jealous WWX)

~*~

9. Hey for the next itmf post can you rec some post canon protective LWJ

Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 11k, WangXian, Protective LWJ, Genius WWX, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Soft WangXian, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, a very very small amount of smut, also a possessed squirrel, [Podfic] Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark)

~*~

10. itmf nmj refusing to swear brotherhood to jgy? could still do that with lxc and/or someone else! i would love to see the ramifications of that 💙

~*~

11. In the mood for… I want to know if you all can share stories were A-Yuan is at Koi Tower when he's a child. Specially with Wei Wuxian. Fix its, time travel, second chance, anything where A-Yuan and Wangxian are happy at the end. Specially if the Wens are all alive and also having a chance for happiness!! Thank you!! Be well, Monica @monicaop21

To Mourn the Young Man by Iamnotawriter (T, 56k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF WWX, Most people live, but not the bad guys, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal)

changing the path by aurora_chiroptera (G, 2k, LSZ & WWX, WWX & JC, Canon Divergence, POV WWX, wn jzx and jl all appear briefly as well!)

~*~

12. any fics like three changes by orange crushed? something where they’re good friends before they get together? and/or ones that are kind of like a romantic comedies? @willesnelson

undone (the spreadsheet song) series by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 282k, wangxian, modern, Artists, Communication failure, Mutual Pining, mutual obliviousness, Demisexual WWX, Eventual Smut, Gossip, Getting Together, Mentions of Past Lan Wangji/OMCs, Crack Treated Seriously, Friends to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, LWJ's horniness for WWX accidentally turns him into a sex god with everyone except WWX (sorry WWX), POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

only bought this dress so you could take it off by mirrorofprinces (E, 13k, WangXian, Modern AU, Roommates/Housemates, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Crossdressing, well wwx wears slutty fashionnova outfits a lot, and lwj thinks about it a normal amount, Brief Misunderstandings, mentions of lwj/others, Bisexual WWX, Idiots in Love, Getting Together, let wwx be tan, let wwx have wavy hair, background NieLan, background sangcheng if you squint)

living in my memory/living in my mouth by tardigradeschool (T, 32k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reincarnation, Canon Divergence, College/University, Modern with Magic, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Nightmares, Light Angst, Epistolary, (sort of), POV Alternating, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers)

r/relationships by vespertineflora (T, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Social Media, Viral Reddit Post, Pining, Crushes, Friends to Lovers, Awkward Flirting, Romantic Gestures, Romantic Comedy, Love Confessions, Kissing, Happy Ending, r/relationships [podfic] by someplacelikebolivia)

🧡 Baby, You're the End of June by panicking (T, 24k, WangXian, Recreational Soccer, Modern AU, Single parent WWX, Fluff, Slow Burn, Mutual pining)

Lans Never Kiss and Tell by FeelsForBreakfast (E, 30k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Humor, lwj FUCKS, Mutual Pining, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, modern diaspora au)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

live from new york by varnes (E, 87k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, This is a SNL AU, however the juniors are featured and there are lots of shenanigans!, slow burn, friends to lovers, pining, getting together, happy ending)

~*~

13. ITMF: I know I had a fic in my bookmarks that involved the Cold Spring Cave refusing to let Wei Wuxian leave if he and Lan Wangji didn’t consummate the handfasting. I can’t find it, though, so I’m looking for fics like that with a fuck or die sort of feel. Found it lol, but would love other suggestions (In the Cold Dark by mondengel) @rosethornewrites

~*~

14. Hello there! I've read a lot of fics where WangJi gets cursed with a truth spell or similar and he has to, like, speak his mind and can't shut up. But!!! I haven't read any with a cursed Wei WuXian! And I think it would be hilarious! He tends to minimize his worries and his pains and always jokes around everything, but what would happen if he had to be SINCERE?! Do you have fics like this to recommend??? @randomsuggestedname

i'm a drop in your ocean by starknjarvis (T, 11k, WangXian, truth curse, Post-Canon, so much dialogue, drama characterizations, Get Together, Truth Spells, Love Confessions) and Silence Like a Cancer Grows by julomaiboulomai (M, 12k, Yunmeng Siblings, LXC & WWX, truth curse, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon Divergence, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, WWX Needs a Hug, Golden Core Reveal, LXC did not sign up for this, Hopeful Ending) both have WWX cursed to tell the truth.

~*~

15. Hi! I recently read an MDZS/Harry Potter Crossover where WWX & LWJ went to Hogwarts to help with something and now I just crave more MDZS crossovers where MDZS characters interact with other stories and are BAMFs, do any of you have any recommendations? (PS, It doesn't have to be Harry Potter, it can be any other story, I've read an MLB one I liked as well, so.) @i-like-snakes-and-spiders

Darkness shrouded in light by MomImBusy (T, 68k, wangxian, erasermic, crossover, BNHA, Canon Divergence, Mineta Minoru Doesn't Exist, WWX is a Little Shit, WWX is here to fuck some shit up, mentions of abuse, Courtesy of the entire mdzs cast, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Angst,bBAMF WWX, Necromancy in a quirk world, WIP)

Diplomatic Incidents by Ariaste (M, 35k, WangXian, IB/DP, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Getting Together, Linguistics, Translation Spells, canon-typical borderline alcoholism, Fluff, a touch of angst for spice, being in love but not admitting you want to sleep together, Versus, sleeping together but not admitting you're in love, Post-Canon, post-canon for MDZS anyway, during-canon for DAI)

Come by it Honestly by ladyshadowdrake (M, 25k, Geraskier, WangXian, The Witcher Crossover, Crossover, Adventure)

Wei Wuxian Makes a Wish series by natcat5 (M, 119k, wangxian, major character death, underage, madoka magica au, modern w/ magic, time travel, high school au, body horror, self-harm, angst w/ bittersweet ending, time loop, mental instability, suicidal thoughts)

The Hanging Tree series by chatonnerie (T, 41k, wangxian, hunger games au, minor character death, violence, blood, limb loss, sickness, recovery, torture)

Wei Wuxian is the Actual Bogeyman (no, really) by chatonnerie (T, 57k, WangXian, Rise of the Guardians AU, Crack, not gonna lie, i mean they literally call wwx the bogeyman my poor brain could not resist, TW:Death, I mean, Jack Frost cannonically dies)

Castle in the Wastes by ailuridae (abigailnicole) (T, 41k, wangxian, Howl’s Moving Castle fusion, personified Chenqing, canon typical violence)

The Altogether Ooky WangXian Family by FluffyHippogriff (T, 57k, WIP, WangXian, 3Zun, Modern AU, Addams Family AU, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, mostly because death can be overcome with the help of a little necromancy, Kid Fic, Comedy)

Grandmaster of the Magical Arts series by HollowNightmare (T, 305k, WangXian, Hogwarts, Harry Potter Setting, Chinese Hogwarts?, Slice of Life, Developing Friendships, POV Alternating, lwj is an anxious bean, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort)

~*~

16. Hello! I wanted to ask if you know any WWX appreciative/wwx protection squad type of fics? I've check the wwx centric tag, everyone loves wwx tag and even the wwx protection squad tag itself but I'm having a hard time finding fics where other characters are protective over wwx (preferably at least 2 people

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days)

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

~*~

17. Hi! I just read the amazing fic "Say my name and his in the same breath" that was linked over on WangxianFicRecs, and it reminded me of one of my favorite things to read, which is LWJ harming WWX — intentionally or unintentionally — and being very, very guilty about it. Do you have suggestions for fics with that element? Thanks!

💙 Wish I could forget the taste of your skin and the feel of your hands pinning me down by KizuKatana (E, 63k, wangxian, WQ & WWX & WN, modern w/ cultivation, getting back together, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, case fic, pining)

🧡 Life as a House by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 55k, WangXian, Modern AU, Post-Divorce, Father-Son Relationship, Reconciliation, Therapy, Angst with a happy ending)

Honesty is the Best Policy (Except if You’re an Asshole) by piecrust (E, 22k, WangXian, Porn with Feelings, College/University)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined]

tagged by @brynnmck​ and @twelvemonkeyswere​, thank you!!

What is the colour of your hairbrush? just plain black

Name a food you never eat: Quite a few because I have weird tastebuds, but mushrooms for the texture, and any kind of peppers basically taste like poison to me, bleugh

Are you typically too warm or too cold? always too cold until it gets humid, and then I basically cease to function

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Zoom yin yoga :) Although, admittedly I took ten minutes out halfway through because my sister did a video chat so we could see my niece dancing...

What’s your favourite candy bar? I don’t tend to buy candy bars as such any more, but probably Snickers or a Mars Bar? 

Have you ever been to a professional sports game? I’ve spent my entire life avoiding being dragged into any of my dad’s many sports obsessions, so nope. Although I’ve ended up at point to point racing a couple of times, does that count? And then there was a very fun rodeo when we were in Montana.. I mean, define sports?

What was the last thing you said out loud? Probably thank you to my yoga teacher over zoom (it always feels weird doing Ommmms and namaste when you’re in a room by yourself before that, but that’s yoga for ya)

What is your favourite ice cream? Haagen Dazs Pralines & Cream, but it’s never ever on sale so I always end up with their salted caramel instead.  I used to have an obsession with Ben & Jerry’s Totally Nuts but you can never find it anywhere these days...

What was the last thing you had to drink? Coke I think? Or tea? I forget to eat or drink a lot when I’m working from home

Do you like your wallet? I do! My mama bought it for me years ago and it’s got cute different coloured leather linings (except we call it a purse over here lol!)

What was the last thing you ate? Clam chowder soup and crackers I think? I was in a random soup buying phase in Waitrose last week apparently...

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? I haven’t bought any clothes since March, because of the obvious.. I do keep finding bags of clothes I misplaced during the move last year, so honestly I don’t need anything. I just like buying stuff!

What’s the last sporting event you watched? Yesterday I sat through highlights of... four different 2015 F1 races but I kept falling asleep. I definitely saw Austen and Japan and then Sochi because I yelled at @ajoblotofjunk​ about the hats. And about Putin showing up...

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? sweet and salt mixed!

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? an actual text message rather than what’s app... My dad, to tell him someone we knew had died...!

Ever go camping? Ha! So very many times. I HATE IT. I HATE IT SO MUCH. I am the worst camper in the history of the world and I have been forced to camp so many times and it’s always been an unmitigated disaster. The only way we could afford to do our six week road trip across the US in 2010 was to camp for a lot of it, and I basically drove 200 miles a day and didn’t sleep for weeks on end. Rednecks, stray dogs, bear country, hailstorms in Montana (when we ended up stranded in a laundry room for most of the night with more rednecks (they wore tshirts saying they were rednecks, so, whatever - they were very nice and very confused by us), sprinklers, noisy roads, food poisoning, impromptu hippy guitar parties at the next tent over, a weird dude who joined us at our campfire in Klamath and proceeded to tell really tall tales about 9/11 for so long we missed going orca spotting (oh and the fact the Klamath site was washed away by a tsunami in the 50s and I got paranoid about that happening again. Did I mention I was very tired?)

Do you take vitamins? All of them in great quantities... well, a general supplement with mega doses of B complex and iron and starflower oil and D3 (and then I top that up with a D3 mouthspray because it’s more easily absorbed and virtually impossible to overdose on, and I have barely seen the sun for weeks). The gelatin capsule also does wonders for your fingernails...

Do you go to church every Sunday? Nope, which isn’t really unusual for the UK to be fair. Having said that, I live in a town full of churches that’s also named after the 13th century church down the road from me, and has a lot of active church communities. Just not my thing.

Do you have a tan? I am the factor 30 every single day girl, I kinda hate the sun. Having said that, after we did six weeks driving California, NV, Utah, Arizona and NM... I was definitely looking very freckled and slightly less the colour of milk?

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? Pizza. I need to go buy some pizza shortly (and eat it in the bath, which is my current lockdown friday night routine)

Do you drink your soda through a straw? I probably should do that more because my teeth are falling to bits and my dentist yells at me, but usually only if it’s served in a takeaway cup with a straw

What colour socks do you usually wear? Black as much as possible (although I have bed socks in all kinds of freaky colours)

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? I mean? I don’t drive so much these days, but I am terribly impatient and driving fast is more fun (if you can do it safely). I used to happily hit 100mph on the regular when I had a more powerful car and was commuting back to university twenty years ago. I’m not gonna jinx anything by saying I have always been lucky to drive safely, but I’ve only been stopped once for speeding in two decades, and I got out of that without a ticket (it was 5am on an empty dry road and I asked nicely).

What terrifies you? So very many things, I’d rather not dwell on them? Losing my job (and therefore everything propping up my life) in the current climate. Spiders. Tsunamis. Claustrophia is a BIG thing for me.

Look to your left. What do you see? The abstract painting one of my very talented friends did, and the very pretty pink fake orchid one of my other lovely friends gave me as a housewarming present.

What chore do you hate most? All of them? Washing dishes SO MUCH.

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Depends on the context? The Aussie guys I work with (who are a nightmare to schedule meetings around because Sydney is So Far Away), whichever former Aussie soap star popped up recently (Jason Donovan is doing a new Cadbury’s advert and it’s super weird), my family in Perth my mum was talking about calling today...

What’s your favourite soda? it’s almost impossible to get decent soda in the UK any more since the sugar tax kicked in, so Cherry Coke, but I have to go to great efforts to hunt it down these days.

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru?  I’m currently minus a car (but also minus any fast food places being open lol!). Mostly go in...

What’s your favourite number? 42 (and not for Douglas Adams related reasons, weirdly enough)

Who’s the last person you talked to? My sisters and my 18 month old niece, we did a videochat when I was supposed to be in my yoga class!

Favourite cut of beef? Filet, cooked properly (i.e, still mooing)... Having said that, I’ll happily eat steak tartare if it’s on offer

Last song you listened to? I’ve just listened to Portions for Foxes by Rilo Kiley on a loop for twenty minutes (mostly because I was checking my AO3 stats and I have a fic named for one of the lines in that). Also notable for being the first song played in the first ever ep of Gray’s Anatomy... 😂😂

Last book you read? Probably the very battered Tennyson poetry looking sad next to me on the couch

Favourite day of the week? Saturday

Can you say the alphabet backwards? I... probably? why you’d want to, I’m not entirely sure?

How do you like your coffee? I loathe coffee, weird tastebuds lol!!

Favourite pair of shoes? I have a pair of black jeweled embroidered mary janes with heels that I bought for a Christmas party when I was 19, and I still wear them now two decades later. It’s gonna break my heart when they finally die...

Time you normally get up? Ugh. I have not been sleeping well and it’s all over the place. I haven’t been in the office properly for six months now, so 7ish if it’s a good day. I used to set my alarm for 6am when I was commuting, but I also went through a phase of waking up at 5am every morning Just Because. I’ll still probably wake up by 7am if I got to bed at 3am, my body clock is not doing well these days.

Sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets! If I’m looking out at a sunrise, something is seriously wrong lol!!

How many blankets are on your bed? The duvet and... two blankets? And two blankets on the couch downstairs for when I end up sleeping there..!

Describe your kitchen plates. Still the crappy white Ikea plates I bought when I moved out to live on my own three years ago. Two of them are seriously starting to crack and at some point I have to be a goddamn adult and buy a dinner service.

Describe your kitchen at the moment. Stuff EVERYWHERE. Only one of the orchids is living there at the moment so I remember to mist it regularly. But my brain basically has no object permanence, so unless stuff lives on the kitchen counters, I tend to forget it exists (or to eat it)

Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? Innis & Gunn beer (brewed in whisky barrels) and First Cape Merlot (and god I love dessert wines and PX sherry but they make me so sick)

Do you play cards? Nope, I hate games of all descriptions :)

What colour is your car? Currently non-existent. Need to buy one when this current madness eases up...

Do you know how to change a tire? Nope, honestly, what’s the point when you pay so much for a breakdown service to do it for you.

Your favourite state? Oh god... Oregon? Maine? Bits of California? Vermont? Tennessee? North Carolina? I couldn’t live in the US in a million years but I’ve been there an awful lot.

Favourite job you’ve had? I don’t know that any of my jobs have been a favourite as such - I’ve worked with people I liked and done some interesting stuff. My current job pays enough I can afford rent and has some fantastic health cover (they have to, mostly because the work causes so many nervous breakdowns, idk?)

How did you get your biggest scar? I lost most of the skin on one knee after running for a train and tripping up, and then not getting it cleaned properly and basically I had gravel emerging for months on end.. it was not nice. I’ve got worse and more annoying scars from being bitten but they’re definitely not as big.

Tagging, if you want to do it: @beesreadbooks @djeli-beybi @serhumfreysbrokencollarbone @couragethecowardlygirl @unadulteratedkr @tawktomahawk and anyone else who feels like doing this! :)

[justalittlelitnerd]

Cruel Prince by Ashley Jade

Honestly, I was surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. At first I was hesitant because while I liked the sound of the description and the quotes I’d seen pop up on my social media ads for this book I wasn’t sure how I felt about a self-proclaimed “bully romance” and was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it, but was willing to give it a shot. 

And then I was hooked. I’m still not a fan of the bullying and downright abusive elements of the book, but Jade created insanely complex characters in a fucking complicated situation where it was almost understandable why the characters acted the way they did. Basically, the book starts with the Covington siblings (Jace, Cole, and Bianca) talking about how their brother, Liam, committed suicide because he was bullied and they make a pact to essentially be the biggest bullies and make everyone pay. 

Things get even more complicated when Dylan returns to town expecting to rekindle her childhood friendship, if not romance, with Jace only to find out he blames her for Liam’s suicide. He makes it his mission to drive her out of town, but somehow unexpectedly finds himself falling for her all over again. Through a series of seriously fucked up misunderstandings, lies, and an unexpected amount of violence the truth finally comes to light.

HUGE TRIGGER WARNING for suicide and some dub-con elements because it was pretty graphic and I honestly had to skim over it because by the time it showed Liam’s suicide I was too invested to just put it down, but I want others to know before they pick it up so they’re not shocked.

Keep reading for some of my favorite quotes because I really liked the way Dylan’s brain worked.   

His edges are sharp like broken glass…deterring someone from getting too close. And while most people would walk away out of fear of being cut…I want to merge my broken pieces with his.

He’s my person. He’s always been my person. The only one who can reach me when it gets too dark. When it hurts too much. For the first time in four years, my universe feels right again. 

Some people run and hide at the first sign of a scandal. Not me. I prefer to confront the jerks responsible for spreading rumors head-on. See what they’re really made of underneath all their hair extensions, push-up bras, and makeup. “We’re late for class,” the tall blonde declares before they make a mad dash for the door. Shocking. People rarely have the balls to say the shit they spew behind your back to your face.

I, however, thought I was safe, because the person I gave my heart to…was my best friend. And best friends aren’t allowed to break your heart. It’s against the rules.

One second Jace looks at me like I’m the answer to some unspoken prayer. But the next? It’s like I’m the Devil dragging him on a road trip to Hell. 

He’s the opposite of colorless. Jace Covington is blue. A beautiful, turbulent ocean full of depth…and an incandescent sky that only gives you small glimpses of all its radiant colors…before turning gloomy and dark. “I see you,” I breathe between kisses. “You’re my favorite color.”

Jace might not act like his feelings for me are mutual, but he’s kissing me like he’s been trapped in the desert for days and I’m the only source of water for miles.  As if he wants me every bit as much as I want him. Maybe even more. 

My reaction to his close proximity is visceral. Instantly, my pulse, my breathing, my emotions—slam into overdrive.  When I was a kid, I didn’t understand why I’d experience such an extreme response whenever he was near, but now I do.  No one in the whole wide world has the power to make me feel both love and hate simultaneously the way Jace Covington does. He’s the yin to my yang. The down to my up. The crazy to my normal. The damaged pieces to all my broken parts.

I want all of Jace. Every fucked-up piece and broken part. All to myself. 

His lips curl in a slow smile. “You have no idea, do you?”  “About what?” The intensity of his stare makes my breath catch. “How deep my feelings for you run.” No, but if what he feels for me is even a fraction of what I feel for him, I fear we’ll both spontaneously combust.  “How deep are we talking? Puddles? Ponds? Lakes?”  Tell me oceans, dammit.  His hands frame my face.  “The Mariana Trench isn’t deep enough.” 

Makes me want to merge my broken pieces with yours. “Cracks me wide open,” I whisper, because friends or not, I’ll never be able to keep anything from him. “I guess my broken pieces missed yours as much as I missed you.” He exhales sharply. “You say the weirdest shit sometimes.” I can’t help but laugh. He’s not wrong. He’s also the only one who ever truly got me. “Yeah, but you love it.” He grins before his expression turns serious. “Yeah…I did.” I wish I knew what caused that change, or how to fix it, but Jace has built his walls so high, they’re impossible to climb. However, I’ve never been the kind of girl to give up. The locks to his fucked-up kingdom might have changed, but I still remember the layout.

He’s right. But the heart doesn’t choose who we love by their worth. Because love isn’t a choice. It’s an illogical, all-consuming consequence that results from someone stealing a vital piece of you. And I wish like hell Jace would give me my piece back. 

“Breathe, baby. I got you.” With a heart full of lead, I carry her inside.  I’ve spent the last four years pining for the opportunity to destroy this girl’s life so I could watch her break.  Who knew success would taste so fucking bitter. 

The muscles in my chest draw tight. Our demons are almost identical, and it’s clear hers are wreaking havoc right now. For once, Dylan can’t fight them off on her own. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her close. “It’s okay. You don’t have to.” I’ll fight this battle for you.

“Maybe everything isn’t so absolute, you know?” He exhales sharply. “I used to believe everything was black and white…right and wrong. But now I’m starting to think people might not be the sum of their greatest achievements…or their worst mistakes.” He swallows thickly. “Maybe someone can do the cruelest thing imaginable…and somehow…still be a good person underneath.” 

The tips of his fingers press into my jaw and he searches my face, as if seeking permission. I nod. He already has my heart, if he wants my body and all my fucked-up fragments too, I’ll gladly hand those right over. God knows I want every single jagged piece of Jace Covington there is to have. I don’t care how sharp and deep the cuts will be. 

Ironic that a shade representing the best things in the world—the sky, the ocean, the color of Dylan’s eyes—also symbolized the worst.  

I loved her first.  Hell, I loved her before I even knew her name. Back when she used to sit on the playground by herself with her headphones on…tuning out the world. I wanted to join whatever world she’d built. 

Now he’s dead, Dylan’s heartbroken…and I’m still sitting here choking on the goddamn ashes of the mess I made. 

It’s impossible for me to be truly happy without Dylan. She’s the one this fucked-up thing in my chest beats and bleeds for. I’m tired of living without the other half of my soul. I’m tired of missing my best friend. I’m tired of waking up every day with nothing when my everything is right there. 

“I lost you once…and I’ll burn the whole fucking world to the ground before I ever make that mistake again.”

[jennygoeseastbay]

2018 in Review

So I used to do one of these every year on my Livejournal, and I completely blew it off in 2017 because I kind of abandoned that medium, and because the last month of that year was complete consumed with packing and moving. I’m not entirely certain I want to get more active on here, but for now this is a good place for me to post this, simply to have the written record of my existence that I need in order to process all that has happened and reflect on how it has helped me to grow and improve as a person. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I might even backtrack and do one for 2017 next week, because I like to be complete in my self-documentation. ;)

01. What did you do in 2018 that you'd never done before? Visited Washington DC for the first time.

Visited the Los Cabos region of Mexico for the first time.

Closed a major gift from someone who had not already had decades of cultivation from their University.

Visited even more areas of California that were new to me, including Anaheim, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Pismo Beach, Paso Robles, and Lake Tahoe (I guess that also includes Nevada since we stayed in Carson City)

Visited Ashland Oregon for the first time.

Sold a piece of real estate. Phew!

Practiced Yin Yoga. (And walking meditation!)

Engaged in a yoga hike!

Also tried yoga with goats!

Attended WonderCon

Attended a county fair.

Road a bicycle somewhere other than a residential street

Tried kayaking

Ran a trail run race

02. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I never really make concrete resolutions, just some general proclamations about eating better, and putting more time into fitness and writing. Of these three things, the one I was most successful at this year, surprisingly enough, was eating better. In September I realized that it was time for a physical tune-up, and so I rejoined WW after a long time away, and though I still have a few pounds to go, I’ve been happy to have gotten a bit sleeker after dialing back the bread and cheese. I also attended a writing group called Shut Up and Write a couple times, and I’d like to become more of a regular at their cafe sessions in 2019, because I’ve found that their method (literally a concentrated hour of shutting up and writing) has been helpful the two times I’ve gone.

03. Did anyone close to you give birth? My dear friends Drew and Kelly had their first child in September. And my friend Lynn had her second child, a little girl, just a couple weeks ago. 04. Did anyone close to you die? Not super close, but a professor at UC Davis who I had worked with closely, passed very unexpectedly right before Halloween. 05. What countries did you visit? Mexico! Finally broke in my current passport with a new stamp! 06. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? Good novel progress. Or more discipline on some other fiction and an essay that I just started tinkering with. A legit boyfriend. 07. What date(s) from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 2 was my first day on the job at UC Davis.

January 7 was a super fun evening at the Museum of Ice Cream in SF

January 13-15 was a wonderful weekend in Seattle where I got to meet my nephew Apollo for the first time and photograph his first swimming lesson for his parents.

January 20 was my second Women’s March outing in Sac with my friend Jade and her little ones.

January 27 was a day when I got to play tour guide for my friend Gricel and her husband when they were in SF visiting for the first time.

Feb. 10 and 11 was a fun weekend in Berkeley and SF, being silly and singing loudly with my former Cal colleagues who had become dear friends.

March 23-25 Was my whirlwind Anaheim weekend at Wondercon, and I got to catch up with my friend Mike, whom I’d not seen in a couple years.

March 30-April 1 was an epic road trip weekend, the first of what my friend Maya and I now call our Girls Gone Sensibly Wild excursions. We drove to Santa Barbara and visited the deserted UC campus there (it was closed for spring break) and also enjoyed an amazing live show featuring Dave Hause, Dan Andriano, and Cory Branan, among others at the Cold Spring Tavern. And then got a joint membership at Peachy Canyon Winery on our way back, because it was one of the few establishments open on Easter Sunday.

April 22 was Earth Day, and prompted me to venture out to Marin for an impromptu yoga hike at Rodeo Beach.

May 14 was my first appointment with a new hair stylist who would also unexpectedly become a trusted friend.

May 24 was my first time seeing Depeche Mode live, and it was incredible.

June 8-10 was my second of two hit it and quit it Chicago trips (although really, the first one wasn’t so much Chicago as it was Joliet) this year, and allowed me to reconnect with my dear friends Drew and Kelly (Drew finished his PhD at UChicago and I attended his commencement and hooding), have a day at the zoo with my friend Dawn, and also road trip to WI with my friend Mary for a beautiful and moving Lights Festival experience together.

June 30 was the day I attended my first ever CalShakes performance with Maya and our mutual friend Paola (Girls Gone Sensibly Wild continued!), and Maya also got me on a bike for the first time in ages, thanks to LimeBikes being available at the Pleasant Hill BART station. We took a short, wobbly, but fun ride down the Iron Horse Trail.

July 1 was the day I learned to kayak and surprisingly got myself through 5 miles of the Russian River without tipping over or running out of steam.

July 26 saw me reuniting with my dear pals Shannon and Glenn, when they were visiting the Sac area for a wedding.

July 27-29 was the weekend I drove up to Ashland to enjoy some time with my friend Debbie and to experience the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the first time.

August 3-6 was when I somewhat unexpectedly had the delight of hosting my friend Clarise for a weekend visit. We drove down to Pacifica for the International Dog Surfing competition and I schooled her in the ways of California wine as much as I could with my limited knowledge.

The following weekend, August 9-13, I had a lovely time hosting and touring around with my 16 year old niece, and got to introduce her to the joy that is Santa Cruz. And yoga with goats!

August 30-Sept. 4 was when I hosted (this is a recurring theme in August, isn’t it?) my Aunt Sherrie for local sightseeing and a road trip up to Lake Tahoe.

Sept. 22-24 saw me heading down to L.A. for my cousin Katie’s wedding and some work meetings. It was the first time in ages that I got to connect with that specific branch of my family, and get to know them a bit better.

Sept. 29 was my first AFSP walk in Sac. And i was joined by Jade, her visiting mom, and her three little ones.

Sept. 30 was the really long hair session with Mason that helped solidify that we were legit friends (and included a shared sunset from the window of his hair studio!) and a quick follow up appointment on Oct. 3 allowed us to enjoy a rainbow and storm together.

Oct. 19-21 saw Maya and I doing another Girls Gone Sensibly Wild road trip. Back to Peachy Canyon to pick up some wine, and also Pismo Beach and Santa Maria for our first visit to a really lovely winery called Foxen.

Oct. 26 was quite possibly my all-time favorite Brian Fallon performance. It was just him alternating between his acoustic guitar and an electric piano, and he was joined by Craig Finn from The Hold Steady, who also did his own acoustic set.

Oct. 27 I got to introduce my new friend Torrey to the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, and we did a fun wine and Halloween candy pairing and some epic day drinking.

Nov. 3 saw me reuniting with my Cal crew and a sprinkling of East Bay friends at Fillmore Karaoke, for an epic night of loud singing as an early celebration of my 40th bday. So much wine. Actually too much, but for a birthday, that’s acceptable!

Nov. 4-6 I was in Indianapolis for work, and though the work part wasn’t particularly memorable, I was super honored and thrilled that my BFF Dawn drove all the way down from Joliet IL with her two boys to have dinner with me on my first night there.

Nov. 9 was an epic Local H show in Sac. Also a welcome break in the midst of a period of forced solitude, after the Camp Fire residual smoke prompted my whole office to work from home for about a week to protect us from the terrible air quality.

Nov. 18 was the day we had the beautiful service honoring the life of a beloved professor who passed.

Nov. 24-29 was my trip to Cabo with my Aunt Sherrie, and was also my official bday celebration.

Dec. 9-12 was my DC trip, which also allowed me to catch up with my friend Max, who lives in Baltimore, and my friend Stacey, who also happened to be there for her own work purposes.

Dec. 15 was my full day of yoga retreating at Green Gulch Ranch in Marin, and then I drove to the East Bay to catch up with Maya at Calicraft, which is one of our favorite craft distilleries in the area.

Dec. 16 was a white elephant celebration in Pleasant Hill that allowed me to unexpectedly meet a new, interesting friend.

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year? So far, meeting all expectations at my new job and closing a major gift earlier than is required. Also not losing my shit during the condo selling process, even though there were a lot of reasons to do so.

09. What was your biggest failure? I wrote VERY little fiction. But I did dip my toe back into writing in general, so I guess there’s that. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I took a tumble at home that left my tailbone a bit tender about a month ago. But otherwise, no, pretty healthy, even after getting rear-ended in my car! 11. What was the best thing you bought? Various travel tickets, both air and rail. A beautiful new necklace that I found at the holiday market in D.C. All the concert tickets that provided soul-fueling live music.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Mine! I adjusted to a new job and an unfamiliar setting and managed to acquire a few new friends while also maintaining the East Bay friendships that meant the most to me. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Who else but certain immediate family members? 14. Where did most of your money go? Rent. Travel. Wine, and to a lesser extent, craft beer, now that I’ve picked up a taste for stouts and sours. 15. What song will always remind you of 2018?

Anything off of Sleepwalkers by Brian Fallon

Anything off of  Be More Kind by Frank Turner

Chariot by Gavin DeGraw

Tall Green Grass by Cory Branan

16. Compared to this time last year, you are: Thinner and sleeker, weight-wise

More willing to make room for others and open my life and space to them (friend and lover both) Still as sleep-deprived as ever 17. What do you wish you'd done more of? Novel writing, as always. Flirting. And kissing. 18. What do you wish you'd done less of? Angsting over adulting-related things that were either beyond my control or that ended up working out just as they should.

19. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?

I’m driving to Santa Cruz on Xmas Eve and treating myself to an overnight stay so that I can indulge in my happy place and a sunset hike. Also get to celebrate Boxing Day for the first time with my friend Jade and her brood back in Sac.

20. How will you be spending/did you spend New Year’s Eve? Original plan was to hang at my friend Jade’s place with her kids, movies and snacks. But just learned the wee ones are ill, so now I’m not sure what I’m doing. That was how I spent last year (the original plan, that is), with the main difference being that last year I also went to a two-hour yin workshop beforehand, which was how I discovered my current yoga studio, and discovered how much I enjoy yin practice in general. 21. Did you fall in love in 2018?

No. But I made more effort to pursue it, and had more options than I think I’ve ever had in a single year. Which was kind of encouraging even if each one was relatively short-lived.

22. How many one-night stands? I always laugh when I read this question. How about I just wink knowingly and say a lady never tells? 23. What was your favorite TV program? Supernatural. iZombie. To a lesser extent, Riverdale, even though I’m still pretty behind on that one. Sons of Anarchy (which I know is old but I’m playing catchup via Netflix and Hulu) And as a guilty pleasure, Total Divas. And of course, I'm still casually following WWE on the WWE network, though the only thing I’m finding compelling aside from the women’s matches are the Brits featured on the UK specific programming. 24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No, I don't think so. 25. What was the best book you read? I finally got into the Harry Potter series and I’m really enjoying it. I just finished the Order of the Phoenix, and have the next installment requested from the library. 26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Not entirely new, but my appreciation for Cory Branan was reinforced and amplified after seeing him in Santa Barbara. And I’m also on a rediscovery tear with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Cold War Kids.

27. What did you want and get? Reassurance that this move to Sac was the right next step, after I settled in to my new role relatively easily. 28. What did you want and not get? Romantic love for an extended period. More down time. 29. What was your favorite film(s) of this year? Bohemian Rhapsody, even though I know it had some historical inaccuracies.

A Quiet Place was hard because of the ending, but decent as well.

And the latest Halloween was hella satisfying, especially since I caught it after needing an escape after learning about the passing of the professor I mentioned earlier.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I prepped for my Cabo departure, went exploring at the Cosumnes River Trail, which is also a bird sanctuary, and caught the movie Widows with my work friend Christine. Then she took me to Panera for dinner. Couldnt’ do much more than that since I had a 5 am flight the following morning. I turned 40.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Love, as always. 32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? Activewear as much as possible. But never enough. 33. What kept you sane? My friends. The various trips I took and rock shows I attended. Junk food. Wandering in nature.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Jensen Ackles. Tom Hiddleston. Charlie Hunnan. Idris Elba. My taste doesn't change much. 35. Who did you miss? Dawn. Becca. Kelly and Drew. Stephanie and Scott. Rob. Elspeth. Mike K. Jason. 36. Who was the best new person you met?

Lu

Ellen

Mason

Torrey

Anthony

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018 Never underestimate my own ability to adapt to new situations, and to handle my own shit like a boss. I had a few challenging things thrown at me, namely the condo selling process, and the logistical gymnastics that followed after having to bring my car in for a bumper repair following a recent rear-ending, and though I felt tested by both of those situations, I ultimately succeeded at navigating both of them to a positive end.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I’m always starting over....

I don’t wanna waste the nights in my life

But I never fit in, or felt home in my skin.

I’m waiting on a big love, baby.

--Brian Fallon, “Her Majesty’s Service”

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 08 first part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary goodness)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Rabbits

The Jiang kids have some quality time with the rabbits. Initially Jiang Cheng says it’s wrong for gentlemen to hold rabbits, which is definitely in no way related to gay-rabbit-god symbolism, but changes his mind when he discovers how fun men rabbits are to cuddle. 

Jiang Yanli says, in a moment with zero foreshadowing, that if they take one rabbit away from the others, it will miss its family and be lonely. Also if a rabbit were to watch from the rooftop while a mean enemy rabbit poured wine on the corpses of its parents, that would be extra upsetting. For a rabbit. So let’s leave all the rabbits where they are. Check. 

Speaking of cute fluffy creatures that are upset, we see this distressed look on Wei Wuxian’s face kinda often when he’s talking with Jiang Cheng.  

There are some sibilng relationships where you will always do anything to help each other because you survived a shitty childhood together, but as adults you find you don’t actually share values, and that your interactions are kinda toxic -- for both of you. This seems like one of those. 

Even though he’s younger, Jiang Cheng is in the role of the elder sibling who is being abused by the parents, and is handing the abuse on down the line to the “younger” sibling, in the form of constant criticism and casual hittings. Wei Wuxian isn’t actually younger, but he is lower ranked because he’s not a blood relation, and he gets plenty of parental abuse as well. It’s...not a healthy family. 

(more after the cut!) 

Lan Wangji has been lurking nearby during this conversation, and after the Jiangs leave, he looks at the rabbits and says farewell.  He clearly means farewell to Wei Wuxian, or else he has a really unhealthy level of yearning being directed toward the rabbits. At least, for a vegetarian.

Uninvited Gusu Guest

Lan Xichen is meditating, and because the Director of Photography loves us, we get a bunch of nice closeups of his exquisite face. He hears a noise thing and tells Wen Chao to come in, which results in a dire bird scream and Wen Chao’s muddy feet intruding on his day. Why did Wen Chao bring the bird with him? He’s trying to be sneaky, right? So...ok whatever.

Wen Chao acts like a dirtbag and menacingly reminds Lan Xichen that his didi just hit the road all by himself. Lan Xichen gets so upset he curls his fingers slightly. His beautiful, beautiful fingers.

Is it slapping time yet?

Road Tripping

Fortunately for the Lan brothers, Lan Wangji isn’t going to be alone for long. Wei Wuxian is determined to follow him, and where friend-maker Wei Wuxian goes, an assortment of other helpful cultivators will soon follow. 

Wei Wuxian leaves a note to say “I’m running away from home with the hot boy I met in summer school” and signs it with a smiley face, the dork. Jiang Cheng is angry, as usual; Yanli has confidence in Wei Wuxian, as usual, and Jiang Fengmian is autocratic and doesn’t explain what he’s thinking, as usual. JF is aware of the Yin Iron, however, so he may understand that WWX will be useful in protecting it on the road.  

Lan Wangji has changed his hair, upgraded his crown, and put on the most absurdly beautiful outfit of the entire show to go on a solo road trip totally without any hot infuriating boys. 

Quick, Lan Wangji, catch this callback to that time you rejected my advances back in Gusu! This time Lan Wangji catches the offered fruit and keeps it, presumably to consume furtively when he wakes in the dead of night, restless with unslaked thirst for Wei Ying. Or, you know, to have with his lunch while they’re riding on the boat. 

This is a level of synchronized walking-with-shoulder-contact that would make the Guardian boys proud. Lan Wangji is all touchy feely now that he’s out from under the eyes at Cloud Recesses. 

He also has upped his troll game, actually smirking after he says “boring” to Wei Wuxian’s declaration of I’m-gonna-come-along-you-can’t-stop-me. 

He also...doesn’t seem angry? Like, he is still seriously on edge, but it feels like he left the boiling rage at home.  Lan Xichen is right; having a friend IS good for Lan Wangji. And for whatever reason, Lan Wangji is ready, now, to accept Wei Wuxian’s friendship.

We Rate Birds

Wen Chao has the weirdest fucking pet. This bird has a resentful energy problem, obvs, but it also seems to be invisible except for resentful energy, but it leaves random feathers behind at places, and then when Wei Wuxian kills it, it’s a regular bird corpse with a little smoke. “Imbued with Yin Iron energy” seems to be the explanation. But Nie Huaisang said they see a lot of these in their neck of the woods. Did he mean “just a regular bird” and didn’t notice the billowing black visual FX? Either way I want to see a nest full of baby dire Yin birds, I bet they’re hideous cute. 

Wen Qing has a new outfit and an elegant fiery golden crown. There’s probably some plot stuff happening here. Wen blah blah Yin Iron blah blah. She’s so pretty. I love her ears and her cool double hair parting. The girls’ hairlines are always nice and soft, presumably because they get to wear their own front hair instead of a lacefront like the boys are glued to stuck with. 

I Call it Bondage

After the fun they had in the ice cave, it’s only fair that Wei Wuxian gets to have a turn tying up Lan Wangji. 

One of the fun things in clipping The Untamed is that the show’s editors generally didn't drop any frames when they intercut the various scenes, meaning that some longer shots can be spliced back together by removing the other camera portions, as with these two string-pulling bits.

Lan Wangji totally lets Wei Wuxian put a leash on him, quickly declaring it boring and taking control of it, pulling Wei Wuxian along behind him. 

Incidentally, at this stage about half of Wei Wuxian’s talisman’s are blue. After he loses his core, they are 100% red, but nobody notices that. Well, maybe Nie Huaisang does because he notices a LOT, but nobody says anything. 

After they play around in the field for a bit, Lan Wangji’s magic bag of plot advancement goes off, sending them to Flower Town. 

He’s Leaving Home Bye Bye

Meanwhile, at Lotus Pier, we get a nice view of the rooftops. I’d hate to be the guy whose job it is to hang up bells and tassels at any of these places. 

Jiang Cheng sneaks out to go join his brother’s road trip. He gets caught, because his idea of sneaking is to walk out the front door in broad daylight and leave the door open behind him. 

Jiang Yanli tells him to go ahead, though and he scampers off to have...the last carefree fun of his entire life, actually. Sigh. 

Flower Town

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji go to Tanzhou and immediately run into Nie Huaisang, because sure, why not. China’s not very big.

Lan Wangji’s startle response

Wei Wuxian’s startle response

Nie-Xiong and Wei-Xiong are delighted to see each other, once Wei Wuxian explains that Lan Wangji isn’t there to bust them. 

While Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang squee over each other, Lan Wangji ...tries to deal with that. His reaction is probably a mix of jealousy and social anxiety. This town has got to be overwhelming for him after the order and quiet of Cloud Recesses; he even admits--aloud!--that it’s too crowded for him at one point. Add in his boyfriend’s travel partner’s number one enabler, and it’s not a comfortable situation.

Oh great now they’re going to want me to get high and make out with them, ugh

However, with Lan Wangji in the mix, the Nie-Wei dynamic shifts away from mischief making, and they very quickly become a friend trio sharing a serious purpose. When Wei Wuxian, in his second life, refers to NHS as “that old friend of ours” when talking to LWJ, he’s not wrong. Nie Huaisang and Lan Wangji become friends during this trip, and arguably remain friends, within the limits of Nie Huaisang’s revenge remit. 

From one point of view, Nie Huaisang is grown-up Lan Wangji’s very best friend (not counting his eventual husband). Everyone in the cultivation world knows what Lan Wangji’s heart desires most, after Nightless City, and Nie Huaisang gives it to him. By, uh, manipulating a crazy guy into ritual suicide. Hey, no gift is perfect.

Continued in Next Post! Soon!

[theburiedgay]

Ok I now understand the yin iron plotline

It helps preserve a few elements of the original novel that the TV writers did not want to leave as is.

In the novel the murder victim’s body is in pieces which they have to find in various hidden locations and combine them together to identify the victim. In the TV show the victim is only beheaded, but crucially the resentful spirit that leads their investigation is the spirit of the blade, not the man, so they aren’t picking up gross fragments of a corpse lol.

The yin iron being in pieces that need to be assembled parallels this without the gruesome baggage. Plus WWX and LWJ get to go on a little road trip before all the tragedies happen.

More importantly though, the Yin Iron replaces Wei Wuxian‘s Yin Tiger Amulet as the tool used to raise armies of the dead and violently slaughter people. Wen Ruohan‘s most disturbing actions in the TV show are committed by WWX in the original narrative.

I adore the TV show and I really appreciate the lighter tone but I can see why fans of the novel were so upset that the show changes so many things.

Wei Wuxian in the TV show really is a very different character!