#bts as mdzs character

[nattyontherun]

in a world that's a little bit tilted,,,,

[lgbtlunaverse]

After being in multiple fandoms you start noticing that certain subgenres and stockplots of fic are more common in certain fandoms than others. For example , bnha fics are more than twice as likely to be crossover fics as haikyuu fics. (6.6% vs 2.8%)

Sometimes these differences make sense. Mdzs has a ton of time travel fix-its because it's a story where shit went very very wrong. Haikyuu has a lot of university AUs because it's a between-period the manga largely skipped over in its time jump.

Other times though...

Can someone please explain to me why the premise of "there are animals-human hybrids who are second class citizens and can be owned by regular humans as part pet and part sex slave" was most prevalent in kpop boygroup rpf of all things???

[nixster627]

MDZS characters as things Jin from BTS has said

Nie Huaisang: I’m the only 10 here, while everyone else is an 8.

Wei Wuxian: I’m thinking of buying a bottle of vodka and giving up my noodles.

Lan Wangji: If your heart is not beating, it means you are dead.

[ilovealonelystar]

Random thought of the day:

I wanted to share with you my (and I found out some other people too - Cris?) experience with the CQL/MDZS/BJYX world. I've been a drama lover girl ever since the pandemic (k-drama, c-drama, j-drama, thai-drama, taiwan-drama, BL...). Even so, that I have a spreadsheet with all the dramas I've watched (170+ so far) reviewed 1-5 stars - the outstanding ones have an extra color - and with personal notes (crazy organization lady much?)... Anyways, all of this is to say that, obviously, I had already heard about The Untamed before watching it, especially when I dived into the BL world.

I added it to my watchlist years ago, but I kept postponing watching it because 1. I'm not THAT big of a fantasy drama enthusiast 2. I heard it was a bromance so I was kind of meh... 3. I've watched tons of c-dramas and I know some are suuuuuper slow burners to the point it's infuriating, so I was afraid CQL was going to be like that too.

Then, I decided to give it a try for the first time earlier this year. I stopped watching it on the first episode because I couldn't engage with the story and the fantasy aspect. Then, I tried watching it again. I slept through the first episode. BUT THEN, I came across one TikTok video that talked about how both leads were prohibited from seeing each other until 2026.

I was a little bit familiar with Chinese regulations regarding BLs because I've watched Addicted/Stay With Me, and I heard that Addicted was banned because of these regulations. But even so, being used to Thai BL dramas, and how the male lead actors usually THRIVE on fanservice, this information flared my curiosity about HOW GOOD of a chemistry those two leads had that caused all this ruckus (I wasn't fully aware of the whole 227 situation).

Then, for the third time, I began watching The Untamed with the promise to myself that I would finish it even if I had to play it at 2x or skip the boring parts (I confess I do this in a lot of dramas). So my journey began once again...

First, I tried focusing on the beauty of the lead (our own XZ) because... you know how it is, right... dramas with good-looking leads are indeed appealing. Then WYB appeared and I was like DAMMMNNN... then, I tried focusing on the plot to understand what was going on... then, I slept again HAHAHAH but I kept pushing and pushing, dozing off, rewinding some parts, fast-forwarding some... until we reached the third episode. I couldn't understand what was going on. So I had to google it and found a Reddit topic explaining the world's longest flashback, and promising that I would enjoy it if I hung on through these first few weird moments.

So I made myself a cup of coffee, sat properly on the couch, and hit the play button once again. And I kept getting more interested, more entranced, more hypnotized by those characters, the story, the silliness, the campy CGI, the beauty of the leads... and I kept watching and watching in my spare time (usually between 1am and 5am hahaha) and started digging deeper on the lead actors, why they couldn't see each other, then I bumped across 227, and started kinda retracing their steps from there.

I watched some YouTube YiZhan compilations, BTS videos, bloopers, CQL on crack, their interviews etc etc etc, then I looked up MDZS and was SHOCKED to discover that the original novel IS NOT AT ALL a bromance. Then I started reading the novel, DEVOURED the manhua, and mixing it with all the emotions I was feeling watching CQL - WWX and LZ carefully told love story with all the hidden details - a new door opened in my heart. Ever since my daily life has been flooded by YiZhan and WangXian. I've rewatched CQL 3 times after it, NOT SLEEPING THROUGH ALL THE EPISODES !!, and now I'm watching snippets of it but with a whole different perspective (I talk about it here if you're interested).

I was personally experiencing an emotionally turbulent moment in my life when I started this journey, questioning some paths I chose to follow in life, and going down the BJYX rabbit hole actually brought me so much fun, distraction and joy, and even reignited the flame I used to have for writing and reading.

I guess that's YiZhan's power, whether you are BJYXSZD or not. They spark our imagination, fill our eyes with lovely moments, grace our ears with their giggles and gremlin laughter, and genuinely make our hearts full with their Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan, and their own Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo.

[gothsuguru]

kairo’s fun facts! 𓂃𓈒⟡

get to know me: hi! my name is kairo! i’m in my twenties, i’m a woc, i go by she/her pronouns, i’m an aries, & i’m an enfp-a! <3 i love jjk! (the jjk stands for jujutsu kaisen and jeon jungkook!)

fun fact: toji is my favorite character of all time, but suguru gives me the most brainrot — so you’ll see suguru here the most! also… i’m a FERVENT lover of hot mean DILFs. <3

favorite anime/mangas: jujutsu kaisen, the apothecary diaries, demon slayer, haikyuu!!, mob psycho 100, skip & loafer, gakuen babysitters, a sign of affection, my new boss is goofy, the yuzuki family’s four sons, life lessons with uramichi oniisan heaven’s official blessings (tgcf), grandmaster of demonic cultivation (mdzs), gokurakugai, mononoke (2007), dungeon meshi, chainsaw man, the elusive samurai, sakamoto days, kamisama kiss, ouran high school host club, dan da dan, the yakuza’s guide to babysitting, fruits basket, etc…

favorite book: the song of achilles by madeline miller.

favorite artists: BTS (i’m jungkook biased! yoongi & jimin are my bias wreckers!), hozier, florence & the machine, beyoncé, megan thee stallion, dpr ian, doechii, kendrick lamar & agust d.

✮ this is my favorite fanart! by @owwllly

✮ these are my two favorite fanarts! by @to00fu

✮ i follow back from my main; this is a side-blog!

✮ thanks for reading, i hope you have a wonderful day! <3

[stormblessed95]

Hi, sorry if it's late, but can I ask for your persoal top favorite queer books and (maybe) your top fav fanfiction (from any fandom but your all time fav)? Thanks so much.....

Also why do you think mlm or wlw romance is more interesting than mlw (het) romance?

Feel free if you want to ignore the last ask, thanks for your blog....

Why do I personally enjoy gay romances to het ones? Preference and taste probably. I also tend to enjoy the angst, longing, tropes, passion, etc in the way its written more than I do in the ways those things are written between a straight couple. And that's not to say I don't enjoy straight romances either! I have plently of het ships I love too, and a few good romances that aren't gay 😂 I just have a preference, and that's okay! As for recommendations!! I have a LOTS! If you want to tell me about what YOU like to read, I can give even better recs. But for in general, some of my favorites...

I have posts about QUITE A FEW here already that you can check out (please do)!:

^ you'll find queer characters in most of the lists of recs honestly at least somewhere. BUT I do have posts specific for Sapphic, Achillian and Ace recs there. So start there!

I'll also throw in that I'm recently quite obsessed with fantasy Sapphics with swords in my books lately! So books like "The Jasmine Throne." "This is How You Lose The Time War." "Priory of the Orange Tree." "Gideon the Ninth." "Girls of Paper and Fire" and "Legends and Lattes."

Come back for me if you want more!

And some of my favorite fics (of various fandoms! Exciting!) In no particular order, I'll link a few for you!

That Isn't Nothing by Taekookschanbaek

(I KNOW OKAY, in my defense I didn't realize the authors name until AFTER I read and loved the fic lmfao but it IS SO good, I promise lol)

Fandom: All For The Game

Ship: Andrew x Neil

Summary: "A look into the lives of pro exy players Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten. The world says they hate each other, but when Andrew gets transferred to Neil's team, their teammates begin seeing something else between them."

In Which Neil is a PR Nightmare by CoverYourEyes

Fandom: All For The Game

Ship: Andrew x Neil

Summary: "Eve was not the best person in the world. Sometimes she didn’t hold the elevator open when she saw people rushing to catch it from the other side of the lobby. Cutting the line at Starbucks was a semi-regular action. But Eve did not deserve to be Neil fucking Josten's publicist.

**********

Or, the one where Neil does what he wants, picks fights with reporters, discovers Twitter, breaks the internet, and really shouldn't be allowed out of his house. Andrew does nothing to discourage him."

The Men In Apartment 22B by jjmash

Fandom: All For The Game

Ship: Andrew x Neil

Summary: "Andrew and Neil's new neighbors are extremely confused about the two mysterious men in 22B. Are they dating? Are they in the mafia? Are they rival assassins who've fallen in love? As always, the truth is stranger than fiction."

Blame It On My Youth by youreyestheyglow

(Locked fic, you need an account. This fic is THICK but it's by far one of the best Andriel fics I've ever read or just in general. SO GOOD and so emotional and so sweet and so cute)

Fandom: All For The Game

Ship: Andrew x Neil

Summary: "10 years after the end of The King's Men, Andrew and Neil have decided to foster a kid. They have low expectations for themselves--they're not exactly ideal parenting material--but at the very least, the kid will be safe with them. But neither Andrew nor Neil do temporary very well.

Full disclosure: highly character-driven, minimally plot-driven."

(Wangxian and MDZS IS my newest hyperfixation and I love the juniors dynamics fics so much lol)

The One-Body Problem by metisket

Fandom: MDZS

Ship: Wei Ying x Lan Zhan

Summary: "The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life.

The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch."

Operation Old Men by Chiharu

Fandom: MDZS

Ship: Wei Ying x Lan Zhan

Summary: "An ill-fated parent teacher conference reunites Jin Ling's wayward uncle with Sizhui's father. AKA: A matchmaking disaster as told by Jin Ling, Sizhui, and Jingyi."

And Time Is But A Paper Moon by Sami

Fandom: MDZS

Ship: Wei Ying x Lan Zhan

Summary: ""Zewu-Jun. You once told me about a house surrounded by gentians, where you visited once a month, and how Lan Zhan still waited there, even when the door no longer opened."

Xichen feels light-headed. He feels shocked, and angry. He has never told anyone such a thing, but Lan Zhan is giving Xichen a look of utter betrayal.

"You told him?" Lan Zhan whispers. "When?"

Wei Wuxian takes Lan Zhan's hand. "About twenty years from now."

*******

Wei Wuxian starts again from the beginning."

(the first time) he kissed a boy by buzzcut__season

Fandom: Sk8 The Infinity

Ship: Langa x Reki

Summary: "Reki is insecure about his lack of kissing experience. Langa just wants to help him feel like he's good enough, even if teaching Reki to kiss means breaking his own heart."

The Gambler by MooeyDooey

Fandom: Sk8 The Infinity

Ship: Joe x Cherry

Summary: "Joe and Cherry run into a problem. Conspiracy theories have started to surface in some fan forums of "S" that the two of them are secretly dating one another.

Both of them agree that the idea is absurd, but can't agree on which one of them would be the better boyfriend if they actually were dating. So they decide to have a competition, to see who can be the better romantic partner when pitted up against one another."

The One Where Nico Has 30 Boyfriends by a_million_stars

Fandom: PJO

Ship: Will x Nico

Summary: "“Seriously? Me and Lester?” Nico looked ready to kill him. “If you keep speaking to me I think I’m going to throw up.”

Or, a new friend from college desperately tries to figure out who Nico's secret boyfriend is. He messes up. A lot. If only Nico didn't have so many weirdly close friends from high school."

Burgundy (not Maroon) by Eggplant_Crusader

Fandom: Wednesday

Ship: Wednesday x Enid

Summary: "They're driving each other insane. It can't last. One of these days, one of them will surely kill the other. Enid wants to avoid that. Wednesday can't wait."

Like Everything Glows by Annie_Vi

(One of the only people I'll read RPS fics from. Everything this woman writes is gold, this is my favorite though, and the first i read of hers)

Fandom: BTS

Ship: Jimin x Jungkook

Summary: "Jeon Jeongguk watches the sun rise and set on the water every day without wondering what may lie far beneath the surface. One nighttime walk along the beach upheaves his entire life, sending his human morals into a tailspin as he questions what his beliefs really are."

(I need more shows with good wlw ships that have good fics too!! If anyone has any good recs, send them my way!! Also there are so many good fics I've read that i realized i never bookmarked and now i cant remember what they are. Lesson learned. Bookmark everything! Thanks for the ask!!)

[stoopid-turtle]

My Turtle Origin Story

Hi. I'm a rando on the internet. I make stuff up for fun and giggles. Nothing I say is real. Everything is fake. I'm fake. I bet you're fake. Fakity fake-fake.

Here's the intro post for this whole thing.

That being said, I got into The Untamed after reading MDZS last year. I'd never watched a c-drama before, though my wife and I have watched some k-dramas and j-dramas before. I was fascinated by a BL adaption in a country where gay relationships are censored.

I'm a nerd at heart, so I wanted to learn more about just...what this was about. How did this get made? Was it just for $$$? Did the people behind it take it seriously or was it a big joke? A cash-grab on a wildly popular web-novel? How was it received? How on earth was it discussed when the main relationship is a gay romance?

So I started watching the behind the scenes footage (bts) and interviews. And reading a bunch. And watching more. And reading more. Basically, I immersed myself into the swamp trying to figure this whole thing out.

My big fear going in was that there'd be a bunch of no-homo stuff in the bts. That nobody took it seriously. That the male actors were icked out by the minimal amount of subtext they did.

So I found it refreshing from the start to see that wasn't the vibe behind the scenes. Honestly, it reminded me a lot like the vibe with Xena. Back in the 1990s, an explicit lesbian couple just wasn't a thing on TV. The network wouldn't allow it.

So the show got as close as they possibly could with what ended up being referred to as "subtext". Xena went way further than The Untamed (Xena and Gabrielle are canon soulmates who have multiple kisses and swear a life commitment to each other). But behind the scenes was a cast and crew who genuinely wanted to show as much of the romance as possible. Who wanted to push the envelope as far as they could go. After a couple seasons, with the actresses' chemistry, they knew it was an epic love story, and they treated it as such.

Were there jokes? Yeah. The actresses had a running joke of flubbing a scene by saying "Now come here for a cuddle". There's a fantastic outtake of Lucy Lawless jokingly going in for a kiss at the end of a scene. But it wasn't a mocking atmosphere. It was sincerely felt and experienced, and it meant a lot to little gay me to see that in Xena. It felt similar to see the same spirit in the Untamed background. Much like Xena (the show) included an episode where she commissions Sappho to write a love poem for Gabrielle, The Untamed snuck in little hints with chickens and historical gay erotica. They took it as far as they feasibly could without the two male leads actually physically interacting much. (I'm putting aside the whole mess where they tried to make WQ a love interest)

There was an immediate difference between Xena and the Untamed behind the scenes, though. The actresses in Xena were close friends. They attended each other's wedding. Had great chemistry. But nobody ever thought they were a real couple, for various reasons. There is 0 chance they are or were ever a couple. Even with all the gay jokes behind the scenes, it's obvious.

As soon as I started looking up TU bts, Youtube started recommending this mysterious bjyx stuff to me.

"Aha!" I thought. "Is this what they call 'fanservice'?"

(I'm sorry. I know I'm not funny)

Okay, so I've been in fandom before with fictional characters. I've always been aware of real-person fiction and had mixed feelings about it. I've also known that some bands do gay fanservice and that BL live-action stuff often comes with fanservice. I'd never really seen it, though.

Still, what I could see in the videos wasn't THAT fanservice-y. A lot of bickering. Singing. Fighting. Lewd jokes. Making faces at each other. Completely nonsensical conversations. Not a lot of, like, handholding or kissing stuff like I'd expect from fanservice.

At the same time, the videos seemed to make wild leaps sometimes in showing that these two - GG and DD - were a thing. Much like the Xena actresses joked with each other about their characters being a couple, GG and DD and others joked about WWX and LWJ being a couple. Sometimes the videos seemed to conflate moments like that--clear jokes--with actual coupleness.

So I kinda dismissed them at first. I mean, it's part of fandom. Some people get into it. Not for me.

But I was still interested in the actors. I wondered how they got the roles. What they thought of them. What they thought about the gay elements.

So, again, reading and whatnot.

It's impossible to read about this stuff without coming across bjyx and turtles. That's where most of the background is discussed in English, honestly. So I read that. Usually kinda putting aside whatever they were trying to imply. Just trying to figure out more about the political situation. The vibe of the actors.

But as I watched and read, these bjyx candies

just

kept

coming.

Some easily dismissed. Some kinda compelling if you squint. Some that required some thought.

I watched a bunch of DD's other stuff (I guess my bias is for him? I adored DD from the start). Took note of his, um, clear lack of interest in women. I mean, yeah, as an idol, I'm sure he didn't want to cause a scandal by acting too familiar. But he seemed even more standoffish than that warranted. It was often commented on by...well, everybody around him.

And then I hit a bts scene that left me gawking. I said I wouldn't link the bts, so I'll just describe this scene. I've only come across it twice in two different bts compilations with slightly different translations, but the gist is the same.

GG and DD are in Cloud Recesses clothes. They're on a brightly lit green screen stage. The camera is shaky and the sound isn't super-great. (I've watched this so many times, I don't even need to look at the video to write down the interaction. I have it memorized)

DD: So flirty. (The translator notes that he's using northern slang here and I think that it came across differently to GG than he intended)

GG: *sarcastic thumbs up as if to say, "Um, rude, but ok"*

DD: You don't like it? *a moment* So beautiful. (the translator notes that this literally means "fairy-like")

GG: *a little swoon. then he stops* No, this word doesn't fit.

DD: Why doesn't it fit?

GG: It just doesn't fit WWX.

DD: I'm not talking about WWX. I'm talking about XZ.

GG: *shy smile with adorable nose crinkle*

DD: So beautiful.

Okay, I was floored. There went my whole, "joking about the role" ambiguity. DD was just straight-up flirting and GG was just straight-up accepting and enjoying it.

That kinda rearranged my brain.

Okay, so they were flirting with each other. But fanservice, right? Maybe the bts were staged?

So I read some more about the context of the releases and the boys' reactions to some of those releases. And I read more about what CP fanservice typically entails (shared endorsements, overt physical interaction, an abrupt ending when promo was done).

None of these matched up with what I was watching.

But still.

Like, seriously?

A huge TV hit based on a BL series, and the main leads are actually dating? That's...that's a story. That's the plot for a book. It's not something that really happens. Come on, now.

Then I came across the other candy that left me gawking. Old cow eats young grass.

I'm not gonna link. If you know, you know.

That's not even fanservice. That's just a couple bickering with each other.

Once I turned that corner, looking at the array of candies...even with the ones I don't take seriously, it just became...well, there's this thing about preponderance of evidence at a certain point. It doesn't mean any one candy is absolutely true. But it definitely indicates a more general truth. BJYXSZD

This is all fiction, though, and I'm a stoopid turtle.

Onward to the next post: Consuming Candies Pt 1: DD and GG are le Gay

[berryberrytaeberry]

Mutuals and weary travelers who come across this post, alike, I must ask you for real book ™️ and BTS fic recommendations for the very particular niche aesthetic of my interests 🙏🙏 This is going to be incredibly hyperspecific because I want to experience these exact specific vibes plspls

Here is the collection of things that I think maybe make up the vibes:

- there must be very emotional verging on dark angst, and if not, the story then has to be very existential instead. Both at the same time is kinda great tho

- I prefer Sci Fi over fantasy, but the blurry line in between is A-OK

- if there are male mc or love interests one of them must be brooding and dark (i.e. the grumpy of the grumpy sunshine pairing), and/or shy, but ultimately soft. I stray really far away from toxic alpha male energy BUT I do love a character who is mistaken to be that but isn't.

- I love vapid prose fight me

- I do prefer when the plot is there to move along the romance, but will read the opposite. I'm just mainly here to feed my hopeless romantic self ngl.

- I love a good nighttime neon lights city in the rain aesthetic

- I like betrayal, I love unreliable narrator, I like when the mc is irredeemably flawed etc.

- min yoongi

Things/aspects of things I have read/watched in the past that fit the bill:

- mdzs ofc (I've only read the books)

- ukiyo by sharleena on Ao3 (yoonmin, mafia boss × succubus, yoongi pov fic)

- altered carbon (I've only watched the Netflix show, and don't reaaaally want to read them just yet, but I have the books)

- the 100, particularly Bellamy blake

- Damon in the vampire diaries but none of his actions only his face and his backstory

- yes I was a loki girly in 2012 at the ripe age of 12

- RE: vapid and existential things and being 12 at one point in my life: I like John Green. I love John Green

- I only like ACOMAF in acotar, and only like Rhys in ACOMAF, otherwise I don't like him

- I like the dragons in fourth wing but don't like anything else

- I really like house of the dragon. Aemond fascinates me.

- early 2010s dystopia is a yes but if it's written for a middle grade audience it's a no

- the host by Stephenie Meyer is a 5 star book for me. I take no issue with twilight. But hunger games is my favorite ya series obviously

[theladyyavilee]

Tag Game: Fandom Edition

Tagged By: @mistmarauder my beloved <3333 thank you jess, this was sooo fun to fill out actually!!!

Current Hyperfixation: LOTR/The Hobbit/Sansukh - for like, the 37th time or so, it always comes back and also is kind of a christmas/new year's tradition at this point

Previous Hyperfixation: Love between Fairy and Devil (and other cdramas, honestly they still kinda have me in a chokehold and I'll probs return in a day or two) and BG3 (always always always, this one's gonna stick with me I think <3)

honorary mention to 9-1-1, the never-ending hyperfixation that sometimes quiets down a bit, but never vanishes - you'll get to watch me act like a sleeper agent being reactivated in the coming weeks once bts stuff starts to really get going 😌

Top 5 Ships of All Time: Buddie (9-1-1), Wangxian (The Untamed/MDZS), Eowyn/Faramir (LOTR), Spirk (Star Trek), Everlark (The Hunger Games)

honorary mention to Catradora (She-ra) and Viktuuri (Yuri on Ice) whom I very much love just for themselves, but whom I also wish I could send back in time so early teen me could have them as well <3

Top 5 Ships at the Moment: Wyllach (BG3), Legolas/Gimli (LOTR), Xiao Lanhua/Dongfang Qingcang (Love between Fairy and Devil), Varaday (The Magnificent Seven, thank you jess ://///), Jiang Xuening/Xie Wei/Zhang Zhe (Story of Kunning Palace)

Top 5 Fandoms of All Time: Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, 9-1-1, The Untamed/MDZS, Critical Role

Favorite Female Character of All Time: Eowyn of Rohan (Lord of the Rings)

Favorite Minor Character of All Time: Lan Jingyi (The Untamed/MDZS; I don't really know what exactly constitutes a minor character, but the loudest little Lan should count <3)

A Rarepair that you love: Wyllach my beloved (BG3; people are sleeping on them so bad it makes me want to tear my hair out!)

honorary mention to Jiang Xuening/Xie Wei/Zhang Zhe (Story of Kunning Palace) because I am a firm believer of OT3 solves the love triangle, especially if all three involved have insane chemistry <3 it's so sad this ship has like only 3 fics ._.

An OT3+ that you love: Hardison/Parker/Eliot (Leverage) and Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey (White Collar), because you literally could not make me choose between those two ships <3

Favorite Movie: Star Trek (2009), very closely followed by Three Wishes for Cinderella and The Martian <3

Favorite TV Series: 9-1-1 (nobody is surprised xD tho The Mentalist sure is a close second)

Favorite Book: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

First Site you Ever Read Fanfiction on: [redacted] because teeny tiny fansite in my first language that existed only for one single fandom and has long since vanished off the internet

Where You Find Most of your Fanfiction Today: Ao3 my love <333

Favorite Social Media Site for Fandom: Tumblr (don't think any other social media site is suited for fandom actually 😌)

Tagging: @like-the-rest-of-la, @oneawkwardcookie, @stagefoureddiediaz, @captain-hen, @kitkatpancakestack and any of my followers that want to do it, I genuinely really really love reading through people's summarized fandom histories like this 👀👀👀👀

[yume-x-hanabi]

Concubinage Behind the Scenes - ch.9

And finally a new one :)

It's been so long since I started this bts series, never mind updating the actual fic. I'm in a good mindspace for it atm tho, so maybe??? Soon??? But I'm not keeping my hopes up too much because I have lots of work things pending, so we'll see if I can maintain my fandom drive this time around...

(chapter | DW post | previous posts)

So, chapter 9...

This is the start of a sort of "filler" arc (if this were an anime lol); not much plot advancement, but character moments and development. This one is about Arst and Lin's improving relationship in particular, and also an excuse to extend the setting beyond the castle grounds, for once.

My mental image of the part of town they visit is inspired from Kyoto's Kamogawa river banks. In fact, ancient Kyoto and Chang'an are my main sources of inspiration for Xian Yang in terms of urban structure and architecture, though Xian Yang has a large river splitting the city in two, with the castle in the middle of the river. It's a completely different vibe from the towns we get to visit in the game, but the worldbuilding of Auj Oule being made of different tribes, plus the endless possibilities given by spirit climes made me want to develop other kinds of environments and structures.

(No but seriously spirit climes are such a brilliant worldbuilding elements. It's such a good excuse to have a town with hotter climate close to other mountainous and super cold areas XD Man I love Xillia's settings so much.)

Anyway. It's kinda funny to write Gaius going sight-seeing or leisurely eating ice cream at a terrace, but this is what fanfiction is for ;) That's especially something I love about this fic, it's that it's a more... "mundane" setting than Gaius' actual backstory. At this point of the story, he's just busy being married. That's it. Domestic life with a sprinkle of political intrigue: the fic. And there's nothing I love more than portraying characters in situations we don't get to see in canon x)

There's been a short time jump since the previous chapter, and in the weeks since then Arst and Lin's relationship has started improving a lot. They're still awkward around each other at times, but they're getting to know each other, are communicating, and are spending more and more time together. Of course, it's not all perfect yet, hence their discussion about trust (as an aside, the fact Arst is openly talking about it is a huge improvement in itself).

I didn't want things to be too smooth for them once they start getting along, because there's a lot of heavy baggage behind them. And this kinda reflects their canon backstory in reverse: Wingul was the one who used to see Gaius as an enemy and had to learn to trust him. Here it's Arst who has a lot of reservation about Lin and doesn't give his trust easily. This sort of "role reversal" from canon is also a major underlying theme of this fic.

And Arst, it is totally a date :p

Their talk about city defense is very Gaius and Wingul, though. Here I'll admit something: I haven't actually planned yet how they're going to take control of the clan. I have a number of ideas in mind, but I haven't decided yet. I think that's something that'll come more naturally when I get to that part of the story. So Arst's "strategy" to take the city could be foreshadowing... or not lol. If they go the "conquest from outside" way, I'm definitely keeping this bit in mind as to how to plan it. But it could also be a "take from the inside" thing. Or more like canon. As I said, haven't decided yet :p

The token thing is kinda inspired by MDZS/The Untamed (which I was very into at the time lol) and how the Gusu Lan clan uses jade tokens to enter/exit the Cloud Recesses. Here they don't have magical properties, and serve a bit as ID cards in a way; Arst gets the ones reserved for concubines, but there are actually many other types depending on the person. Servants have their own (though their uniform is usually enough for the guards, but if they want to be diligent they should check it's not just a disguise), as do courtiers or council members, official suppliers etc. And for everyone else, there are visitor tokens distributed at the entrance if their visit has been approved. Long Dau family members don't need one ofc, and could technically bring anyone in without handing them a token (though they should, but again, for all the security measures, they've become quite lax and complacent in some areas).

Concubines not being allowed to leave at will is not an Arst-exclusive thing in this case, they're all bound by the same restrictions. Gilded cage and all that...

Lin letting Arst hold on to his is a big thing. As much as he wants his respect and friendship and love (tho not yet atp), he doesn't entirely trust him yet either. After all, Arst does have a reputation as a troublemaker. Plus at this point of the story Lin is still very reluctant to go against clan rules. But this is a sign that he's already changing under Arst's influence: where he used to be passive and go with the flow before, he's now starting to make his own decisions, and this is one early significant example. He's looking at the future here, a future where he and Arst have a good life together. And that future won't come on its own, so he has to plant the seeds and nurture them. So this is his move.

Not being familiar with the system, I don't think Arst fully realized just how significant this was for Lin to do, but he does appreciate the gesture.

Last point, I don't know if readers noticed, but the narration (which is closely following Arst's POV) stopped referring to Lin as "Prince Lin" in this chapter. This shows the difference in Arst's view of him since the previous chapter. "Prince Lin", when not derogatory, was neutral/polite but distant. Now that they've become closer, he's started seeing him as just "Lin", a (tentative) friend. Of course, protocol still had him use his title when speaking to him, but in his mind he'd already dropped the "Prince" part, hence why he slipped at the end out of enthusiasm. And Lin welcomes this of course. It's a big step in their relationship.

At the end, Lin's totally changing the topic to hide a blush ;p

[saunsausilu]

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last updated: jul 27/24

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[dyouevendraw]

About me

So, I thought I’d probably be best to just make a pinned post with some info so I’m not just a void who throws art a a wall. (I’m probably gonna edit as things change) But here we go:

My tiktok is dyoueven

My instagram is dyouevendraw

My name is D, sometimes people still call me Fay, I don’t mind that either

I’m 22 years old

I use they/them pronouns, I’m fine with he/him too. I’d call myself nonbinary or even agender, leaning towards the masc side. It’s a struggle

Additionally to that, I am ace and my romantic attraction is 🤷🏼. I like androgyny and femininity if that says anything lmao

I have a hypermobilty condition, thus, my physical health is very inconsistent. Sometimes I feel fine for weeks, sometimes I can barely move my arms. Luckily, I don’t dislocate easily, I mostly get joint pain, pinched nerves, random bruises and badly healing wounds. Additionally, I seem to have a mild variant of long covid, which is making my lungs weak, so sometimes physical activities winds me badly even though it’s not hard work.

I am autistic and only found out around 2 years ago, thus, school burned me out! I was bullied by my teachers and they ignored all the signs of a struggling student, so I developed bad social anxiety (added by other events with former friends and general genetics probably). I took a year off of art to focus on getting a better mindset, and I guess I’ve been back since this year.

I am a clumsy and unlucky person, that’s why I say I am like Xie Lian a lot (send me a Hua Cheng)

I like k-pop. Currently, I like BTS, TXT, SKZ, LE SSERAFIM, New Jeans, Red Velvet and SHINee.

Other artists I like are: Tatsuya Kitani, Eve, The Oral Cigarettes, Vaundy, King Gnu, Queen Bee and MCR (what a mix)

Fandoms I’m in include(I’m sure I’ll add more danmei when I’m done reading them):

TGCF (I have beef with it but I’m deeply in love)

MDZS

SVSSS (still reading, on volume 2)

JJK

AOT

Sometimes I like Marvel. I only care about Spider-Man and Loki

TLOZ

Pokémon

(Always open to suggestions for more things, especially when they’re queer🤠👍🏻)

I write my own stories and am working on an AU that includes many fantastical being, though I am not entirely sure if that’s ever gonna see the light of day bc I don’t see anyone caring about my writing lol (it already has 137.000 words I’m not even joking it’s not funny, why am I writing this)

I’m sure I’ll post more of my OC’s when I find the time. My favorite is Harumi, he’s the main character in the fantastic beings AU, as a werewolf

I am so sorry my humor is super trauma based, bare with me it’s okay to laugh at my pain, it’s how I process, I swear

My favorite food is anything indian (especially aloo mutter, I bathe in that), pizza (only the one I make), and (red) thai curry.

That’s the only thing that sets me apart from Xie Lian, I eventually did learn how to cook and apparently people like my food!! (I add cinnamon and chili to everything, maybe that’s the key?)

I love building lego and organizing things by category (why I didn’t get diagnosed with asd is beyond me, I’ve always been like that)

I mostly draw on an Ipad with procreate, but I wanna get into watercolor and copics too, I just feel like I’m wasting the suff when things don’t turn out how I wanted them to be

I am horrible at texting and get anxious over it

I had another account here I was running for years, but I was in a pretty icky fandom and didn’t want to associate with the reputation that came with it, thus, I left. I am not the stupid, hurt and depressed teenager I was anymore, and that’s great!

I am german, though, I speak English so much I might as well be a native speaker

That’s it for now, you can always feel free to ask my questions, my (anonymous) asks, submissions and reblogs are always open, I just won’t answer if you’re rude🤠✌🏻

[marikodraws]

Tada! Finally got around to making a proper pinned post ✌️ 🧑🏻‍🎨 about me page 🛒 shop

fandom tags: MDZS - TGCF - BTS - BT21 - Haikyuu!! - Persona 3 - Persona 5 - Lionesses JJBA - SMT Nocturne - Hunter x Hunter - Garzey's Wing - all fanart

original characters: Natsu no Akari - original character tag

other tags: process - sketchlog 2025 Convention Schedule

tba!

will be back to edit as needed 👋

[stormblessed95]

Storm's Recommendations

Posts about things other than BTS and my Recommendations or reviews or general fangirl posts for them. Could be for shows, animes, books, movies, mangas, fics or whatever else shows up on here. Lol

Books/Fics

Top Reads of 2022 / Book Recommendations

YA Fantasy Recs / YA Fantasy & SciFi Recs

Sapphic Book Recs / Achillean Book Recs

Disability Book Recs / A-spec Book Recs

Tress of the Emerald Sea Review / Cosmere Art

Cosmere Quotes / Mistborn Era 1 Rec

Percabeth/Solangelo Quotes / Bitten Rec

Red Rising-Dark Age Review

Heaven's Official Blessings Vol 1 Review

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation V.1 Review

AFTG Quotes / AFTG 3 Airport Photo Scene

AFTG Enemies To Lovers Arc / AFTG Memes

AFTG TikTok / Andriel Tweets

Alpha Book BFs /Cosmere Reading Order

RW&RB Memes / Book & BTS Random Q&A

BTS as Book Characters / BTS Characters Pt 2

Bookish OTPs / Favorite OTPs / Favorite Ships

Favorite Characters / Wangxian MDZS Angst

Ao3 Fic Recs

Animes/Shows

Fav ATLA episodes / BTS as ATLA Elements

Yuri On Ice Thoughts / Naruto / Itachi Uchiha

Sasaki & Miyano Rec / Sasaki & Miyano Movie

Given / Nimona Movie / Buddy Daddies Rec

Your Name / Demon Slayer / Haikyuu: Yachi

Sk8 the Infinity / Matchablossom / No. 6 Anime

Magical revolution of the Reincarnated Princess

[cryiling]

2, 23, and 26 for the writing ask game :D

(ask game from here)

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

absolutely not 😭 iri I have no idea how you do it but my hand cramps so bad after writing for 10 minutes like ??

I will say, though, wayyy back in 6th I had this notebook that I wrote the cringiest fanfics in, like I'm ngl they were kind of risque why tf would I put it in physical writing ???? 😟😟 anyways I would never be able to do it now, I would just have to pass on my fanfiction verbally like my ancestors did 😞

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

honestly I do not write consistently enough to have an actual writing workspace, it always changes depending on where I am. like sometimes I'm at school IN CLASS, or in the library, or on a couch, or in the car, or at my desk (but I usually feel like it's harder to write at my desk because it feels more forced than if I was writing spontaneously when I actually had inspiration)

back during covid, I was a much more consistent writer, and I would fr take like 2 or 3 hours a day to just write 😭😭 I wish I could do that now lmao, but school is saying no 🙁 but yeah back during the pandemic, my writing workspace was in my room, I had my laptop hooked up to a monitor and I would put on an instrumental playlist to get myself in the mood and then just write. my window was usually open but it never let enough light in so I also had my overhead light on. also my room was literally wallpapered in bts posters so if I ever needed a break, I would just lie on my bed and stare at the pictures ajdbakdbk

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

basically just self project as much as possible 😭 umm let me give you an example, like for my sick fic, I was writing in link's perspective, and he's very sick. so I was trying to think of times I've been sick or mentally not present, and I tried to channel those hazy emotions into the beginning of the story. I also thought of how I would like to be taken care of if I was sick and then made that happen for link 🤭 it was vv therapeutic tbh

I'll be honest, depending on what the fic is about, it ends up being based on a lot of my own experiences. a year ago I was not having a Good Time so I decided to write a mdzs fic where lan wangji went through about the same stuff that I was going through. but to do that, I had to take my mindset back way further to like late elementary school/early middle school, which honestly brought up some not so great memories for me. it was tough to write the fic! and I never did finish it, and I probably never will, because I'm just not in that headspace that I was in at the time of starting the fic

as for getting out of the headspace of my characters, I sort of do a detox from whatever media I was writing for ajsbsjfn 😭 like for mdzs, I wouldn't consume any content for it for a day or two, for bts I wouldn't watch any of their videos, for botw I didn't play for a couple days. it helps a lot!

[damiemontclair]

Is The Journey of Chongzi worth watching? (Disclaimer: I would watch only for Wang Zhuocheng).

Hey hey,

Well, full disclaimer, I did start watching for Wang Zhuocheng. I didn't know anything about the story, but I have been enjoying it.

I think if you enjoyed MXTX's work, this could be one for you. No spoilers or anything but it has similar plotlines and themes to both svsss (without the whole isekai thing obv) and mdzs and even tgcf, except its straight (with all the things that usually come with that). The premise is as follows: she is a street kid who's having a rough go of it, is rescued by an immortal, and goes to an immortal sect for training, where she is immediately discriminated against for a couple of reasons. She is taken as the most powerful sages only disciple. The story unfolds from there.

The plotlines seem very well done so far and the reveals for some of the characters were perfect, they had proper build-up for them so if you were paying attention you could already guess before the reveal which imo is important (and no bs 'lets hit you with the most unexpected character without ever hinting at anything before in the story' a la marvel). You also had logical progression for the (side) characters, no sudden 'I'm gonna change my mind for no reason at all'.

The main downside is uh... The animations. If this is a big issue for you it might not be the right show to watch. It seems a lot of their budget went elsewhere so the backgrounds can look a little unnatural and lets not even talk about when they interact with cgi animal. It can be mildly painful ngl.

If you can ignore that and not cringe too much when they try to pet animals, I think its worth watching. And Wang Zhuocheng really does look very nice in it XD

This uh. This ended up longer than expected, have a Wang Yue gif:

And a bts Wang Zhuocheng one I just found:

Oh! One last thing! If you watched WoH you will encounter other familiar faces! :D