#but how awful the people are in mdzs-land

[xcziel]

i have to say, i have tried with the MXTX danmei novels (at least, the english translations) and personally ... i just can't

idk if it's the translations themselves (because everyone says the writing is so good in chinese, so something might really be getting lost) or just the style, but they are not enjoyable for me personally to read

the wording is clunky to me, the descriptions dry. there's just so Much stuff that's ... pointless (to me) ghost story/early-episode-of-Supernatural type of events, seemingly just plopped inside the plot? with one or two elements of relevant character or plot information scattered within? i'm guessing possibly this may be due to them being serialized web novels (got to keep people interested chapter to chapter i suppose)

and then the parts where i could really do with more authorial involvement or descriptions are rendered with: "and then that happened" and no more? again, this may be the unspoken genre conventions that i'm not aware of as a western reader, but if that's the case i feel i can be excused for going: wtf?

a character "ascended to the heavens"? um, how exactly? could you describe this process other than "there was a great disturbance that shook the foundations" and then totally side-tracking into petty disaster reparations? how does the character feel? bc all they actually seem to do is shrug and go "oh, okay whatever"

for stories with such high stakes and deep emotions running rampant, there's ... such a lack of affect? and i don't know if that's a cultural thing, a translation issue, or me just marinating in fanfic for so long, but honestly, reading a description of something that would be unimaginably painful happening to a character, but them going, in text, "oh. well, it was justified that happened i suppose. i guess i don't feel it anymore" leaves me literally like "???"

to my reading, the characters are opaque, it almost seems an issue of telling rather than showing. they perform impossibly romantic actions, enact modes of devotion and revenge, but there's no examination of their internal psychology. even inner thoughts are somehow rendered as passive, almost remote? it's like books full of cql lan wangjis. people talk and perform actions, and i'm meant to interpret their emotions purely from that, which is certainly a valid way to write, but i feel i'm not able to properly describe how ... distancing? how ... textbook-like? it makes the stories feel for me

it's like i thiiiink i can see where parts of the novels are deconstructing tropes that are almost sort of invisible outlines of things i've come to expect in fandom reading, made clear more from the spaces left by their absence, so i can guess at the author's intentions there. but unfortunately the execution is what i'm actually left dealing with, and it's ... not something i would ever read by choice? if i picked these books up off the shelf in a local bookstore (maybe they had a really great covers), i'd read the blurb on the back, flip through a few pages, see the rains of blood or the chatty disembodied heads, and put them back down again

i'm not even seriously addressing the sex scenes bc people have made it very clear that those do actually conform to genre and cultural conventions, however irksome they are personally to me as a western reader (they really do read like a straight female's version of gay sex, though. as though they were written het, and then she just switched a few things and the pronouns. the different translations change things considerably between them, but that part still really comes through)

and like these aren't just fantasy stories, they're ghost stories, they're very much Horror stories in aspect - there's far more curses and gore and gross spooky shit that seems to be there just for the sake of being gross and spooky as far as i can tell - than like the 'magic' magic a western reader might expect in a supernatural fantasy. MXTX's writing (or possibly the xianxia genre?) to me has a lot more in common with japanese horror than say, the dresden files or tolkien

and i know part of that is the culture: everything's related to spirits, reincarnation, ancestral honor or debts, and clearly that's why the genre doesn't map directly to the western idea of supernatural/fantasy stories, but like, i still, personally, hate horror stories? i don't care about ghosts either. buzzfeed unsolved and blair witch and the ring leave me equally cold.

so for me, the part of The Untamed featuring gorgeous people in amazing costumes being utter badasses? improbable fight scenes, mystery-solving, and heart-wrenching romance? yes yes yes, a thousand times yes!

the curses, creepy eye-sacrificing, tongue-slicing, flesh-eating, revelling in zombie/ghost/creature skin-crawlingness? a very big no thank you on my part. most especially on the written page

(they toned down a LOT of that in the adaptations)

tl;dr the MXTX books may be the basis for an amazing tv series and adaptations, plus the plots/characters by themselves are iconic and fantastic worldbuilding, but me trying to read through the translations is like making myself do homework, and i have enough other media waiting on my time and attention that fighting to read in a genre i don't normally care for is just not worth it.

i'm sorry mdzs purists, i can understand the frustration of endless bad takes, but fandomers pick and choose their canons, and a lot of us chose cql as the starting point. we're not doing it to be obtuse or obstructive - it's literally just the version that is most satisfying to engage with for some. no hard feelings okay? we all just want to enjoy ourselves, after all

(i mean, i've never read the lord of the rings either and i don't regret it. i still enjoyed the movies)

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

Here are some more, both from readers and proud authors. Enjoy!

~*~

I would like to say that this fic is lovely and should be appreciated. I hope you like it. ~ @astarshine

Come Back to Me

by s6115 (M, 9k, wangxian)

Summary: “Second Young Master!” Jiang Cheng, rushing forward. “Unhand our disciple now!”

“You-“ Lan Zhan said. But the confusion was starting to become more prominent, showing in how he flexed his knuckles, adjust his grip.

“You,” Wei Wuxian said. "Do you remember me?”

Lan Zhan froze. So that was a no, he didn’t remember. His fingers adjusted again, completely ignoring Jiang Cheng as his shoulders were pummeled. If it was anyone else, they’d be asking a thousand questions. Wei Wuxian could see some of them in his eyes. Who are you was the first. Why do I feel like this was the second. That just made Wei Wuxian so curious, as well. Why was Lan Zhan so emotional (in his blank-faced way) if he didn’t remember?

The resentful energy had swallowed Wei Wuxian whole, but it had only grazed Lan Zhan’s hand. Was it possible he remembered the emotions, but not the memories themselves? Did he remember feeling their friendship, as fractured as it was, but not everything else?

AKA Wei Ying traveled back in time, and it seems Lan Zhan's emotions did, too.

~*~

In the spirit of self-love, I want to share with you my first MC fic that I completed while you were on break, and humbly ask that you add it to your to-read queue! I'm sure you have many many stories lined up to read, so please don't feel any rush at all! Any time you get around to it, I would be honored to have you read it & hear your thoughts, if you’re interested. Thank you again for all you do for the fandom! 😊❤️ ~ @superheavyrainmemes [I just read this one, and I loved it!  Here’s my bookmark.]

let me sing to you

by greybird_crookedbranch (T, 61k, wangxian)

Summary: A close call drives Wei Wuxian to protect the people he loves at any cost. But the real battle is within himself, and retreat is impossible. There may be casualties.

Or: Dealing with ordinary threats of the more average variety causes Wei Wuxian to struggle with the resentful energy that lingers in him. Lan Wangji wants to help. Decidedly less-ordinary threats follow.

~*~

For the next time you do reader suggestions, may I recommend this underappreciated fic. It’s JZX/JLJ and diverges after the broken betrothal. It’s a kinda sad/cute what if the Jins joined the Wens side of the war

This other war

by Misila (T, 30k, xuanli)

Summary: History books would record the Discussion Conference in Qishan as the precedent of the biggest rift fracturing in the cultivation world in centuries.

Jin Guangshan announced, with a wide smile and greed in his eyes, that the Qishan Wen Sect and the Lanling Jin Sect would collaborate more closely to achieve their shared goals.

Jiang Yanli, however, knew that wasn’t the beginning.

The beginning had been about one year prior, when Wei Wuxian got in a fight with Jin Zixuan and was expelled from the Cloud Recesses. When Jiang Fengmian broke his daughter’s betrothal and the Lanling Jin Sect lost its chance to extend its influence to the fertile lands of Yunmeng.

~*~

Fic rec! This one is a modern serial killer AU. The Yungmeng trio are all serial killers, when Wei Wuxian reveals he’s caught the attention of a very big fish in the serial killer pond. His siblings are very concerned, but the Yiling Laozu is very sure that Hanguang-Jun won’t hurt him if he doesn’t ask nicely.

scienter

by synonemous (E, 67k, wangxian, 4 works, series in progress)

Summary: Different shenanigans in the MDZS serial killer 'verse.

aw, r u worried bout me~? dont worry, bby, I gots it covered<3 [Sent]

Yiling. [Received]

*kisses* [Sent]

Mark your words. [Received]

Wei WuXian shivered. That was a new one.

~*~

[shieldherostuffs]

Jade Blossom of Lan (Shield Hero/MDZS Crossover Prompt)

(Inspired by the MDZS/RotSH Crossover with Lan!Naofumi HERE. We're also going to ignore everything about Naofumi's name sounding nothing like everyone else, but he is Lan Naofumi here.

This turned into more of an overview of a whole fanfic than just a prompt. )

꧁*★°*:.☆.:*°★*꧂

Naofumi is the Third Young Master of the Lan Sect. He is only two years younger than Lan Wangji. He has less resemblance to his elder brother than they do to each other, as he came out with more of his mother's genes, giving his green eyes and more wavy black hair, apparently inherited from his grandfather and grandmother on his mother's side.

Therefore, Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen are still called the Twin Jades of Lan, while Naofumi gains his own nickname after people find out about a secret hobby of his.

Naofumi had first become interested in Fans during a visit from the Nie brothers, where he and LWJ were left to entertain Nie Huaisang. LWJ had quickly excused himself to study, while Naofumi decided to listen to NHS rant about fans and paintings.

After that visit, Naofumi tried painting fans on his own too, and during a visit to Caiyi Town, Naofumi found out about Veiled Fans and decided to get two white, pastel blue, and pastel green ones for himself, after watching a few dancers use them.

Secretly, Naofumi went to the back hills of Cloud Recesses and tried teaching himself by copying the dancers he saw. It's awkward and embarrassing at first, even if no one is nearby, but he slowly gets the hang of it.

Naofumi becomes incredibly good at dancing with veiled fans, after dressing down three of his six layers of robes.

During one of the yearly lessons at the CR, Naofumi meets L'Arc, a young sect heir. The two become friends, even though L'Arc is closer to LWJ's age, and one day, L'Arc takes Naofumi to Caiyi to meet his friend, Therese, since they can't see each other in the CR.

After months of spending lots of time together, and the two learning to easily read Naofumi's small expressions and wanting to see more of his bright smiles, Naofumi starts confidentially calling them both his Zhiji (I think that's what it's called, I just copied it from MDZS). And one day, Naofumi decides to take them to a secluded area a little away from Caiyi, and dance for them.

They're both in complete awe, at don't stop complimenting him until they return to the CR.

For months, there have been rumors from Caiyi about the Third Young Master of Lan spending a lot of time together with two sect heirs with ancestors of foreign descent. Therese's ancestors were traveling sword-dancers, hence her clan's love for jewellery, and L'Arc's ancestors were refugees of royal descent.

Their sect's small lands were bordering each other, and they often visited one another and became close, with the leaders usually forming sworn sister- or brotherhoods.

Because of the rumors, a few disciples had followed the three, and seen Naofumi dancing, and quickly spread the words with their friends.

As words spread of Naofumi apparently 'Dancing Like A Fairy', paired with his gentle and frosty beauty, he was nicknamed the Jade Blossom of Lan, though a few daring people even called him the Jade Fairy of Lan.

However, even now, the Wens are taking over the smaller sects to expand their territory and power. L'Arc and Therese's sects are some of the first to go, but L'Arc and Therese refuse to back down, even after most of their sects are dead. They refuse and fight back as much as they can, before Wen Chao, decides to reward them for their useless courage.

By throwing them into the Burial Mounds.

Rumors go all around, about how the two sect heirs that'd been so dear to the Third Young Master of Lan had been thrown to death in the BM.

When Lan Qiren gets confirmation of this, he decides to sit his youngest nephew down for tea and tell him the news. Naofumi is shocked, his face frozen and eyes wide as tears silently start streaming down his face. His hands are shaking as he holds the teacup unsteadily in his hands until LQR takes it from him and puts it down. Naofumi grips his robes tightly as he hangs his head low at losing two of the people he'd loved the most in this world.

Naofumi does not take the news well, and end up entering seclusion to process and mourn his love.

When LXC and LWJ as why their younger brother suddenly entered seclusion, when he usually enjoyed being with other people, even if he was generally pretty quiet unless the topic was something he was passionate about, they're shocked when they hear why.

The Love of a Lan is not something to be taken lightly, and something that only happens once. Naofumi fell for two people, and it becomes even harder. He lost his soulmates at such a young age.

Since the news, for the next few years, Naofumi has not danced even once. His favorite fans, gifted to him by L'Arc and Therese, are in pristine condition, but lay unused.

When the year Wei Wuxian and multiple Sect Heirs come for the Lessons at CR arrive, Naofumi exits seclusion, but he's different. Before he was more like a brighter, smilier version of LXC, but now, he's more like LWJ with an aura of sadness and mourning around him.

When the burning of CR comes, Naofumi flees with LXC, but they end up separated. While on the run, Naofumi ends up taking in and taking care of Raphtalia and Filo and teaches them as they travel together.

When Wei Wuxian is thrown into the Burial mounds, he end up finding himself being taken care of by two people in ragged clothing and bony bodies from too little nutrition, inside a Cave. L'Arc and Therese, they introduce themselves as. They've been trying to survive for years in the place, but they're getting weaker without their Golden Cores, and they've been unable to get out.

Wanting to help, and to survive without his Golden Core, WWX invents Demonic Cultivation.

In the end, he escapes the Burial Mounds with L'Arc and Therese in tow. The two decide to hide their identities during the Sunshot Campaign and act as sort of Trump Cards. They start using their lost sects' bloodline techniques. L'Arc starts using a scythe, and Therese starts using Sword Dancing.

After a while, Naofumi end up finding and joining the Sunshot Campaign, while leaving Raphtalia and Filo behind when he goes to the battlefield. He keeps sneaking glances at the two people who joined with WWX, who're either wearing hoods and veiled hats at all times.

The way they fight... It reminds him of L'Arc and Therese.

One day, the two get captured by the Wens, and when they returns, they're wearing neither hoods nor hats.

Naofumi silently breaks down upon seeing them, and as soon as allowed, rushes to the infirmary to see them.

The three reunite, which includes tears and kisses, and after that, they start fighting together on the battlefield, slipping into it almost seamlessly.

Canon MDZS happens as it happens. Naofumi notices LWJ's love for WWX, and tries encouraging his younger elder brother to communicate with WWX, but it's still hard for LWJ to say what he feels.

Naofumi does not fight in the siege at the BM, not against his younger elder brother in the cave, he refuses to and has to be held back by multiple senior disciples as LWJ is whipped 33 times. Naofumi allows no one but himself and one doctor to tend to LWJ's wounds. They betrayed LWJ, and Naofumi won't stand for it.

When LWJ wants to look for WWX's remains and properly bury them, Naofumi offers to do so instead, and makes LWJ stay in bed.

Naofumi flies to the BM, and find nothing but blood and cloth scrapes scattered all over, and a feverish A-Yuan clutching a crimson ribbon.

Naofumi takes A-Yuan back, and LWJ sheds a few tears upon seeing the boy alive. Naofumi relates to LWJ about mourning his love, and they bond a little over losing their loves, and then raising kids in the meanwhile.

While all of this happens, Raphtalia and Filo and traveling around for a bit with L'Arc and Therese as Rouge Cultivators.

A few months later, A-Yuan is introduced to his two adoptive cousins, Raphtalia, some years older than him, and Filo, around his age.

A-Yuan grows up with a few visits from his cousins, and his younger uncle often leaving the CR to travel with his family.

Naofumi is overjoyed for his elder younger brother when WWX comes back.

At some point, Naofumi leaves the Lan Sect to establish one with L'Arc and Therese after they Elope, named the Rock Valley Sect, where they include teachings from all their sects. Raphtalia and Filo are the first disciples, but then some refugees Naofumi saved during the SSC come, and decide to join as well, and their sect grows steadily.

꧁*★°*:.☆.:*°★*꧂

————— Tagging: @rosesinbloom7love, @ideas-of-immortality, @crypid-called-ash, @eli-elien, @bluelovestoship, @queen-of-carven-stone, @zachy-akaya, @wisdomismyloweststattm, @maloteddy —————

[tangledinmdzs]

YES! A hug for every MDZS character!! They all deserved better!!! Well, may be not all of them but, like, a vast majority. Hence, can I ask for some hcs for some mostly lovely Sect Leaders (LXC, JC, NMJ, JGY) getting some kind of massage from their s/o? Shoulder, hand, back massage - whatever pleases you. Being Sect Leader is difficult, they deserve some rest! You too, btw, you living embodiment of writing talant and human sunshine! Don't overwork yourself, sleep and eat well :P

aha hi!

aw thank you thank you! i will take care of myself as well~  you all stay healthy too, okie?

caring for sect leaders, yes absolutely on board. 

here’s to your request~

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Lan Xichen

you love seeing Xichen like this,

after hours,

inner robes soft in the candlelight of the Hanshi 

forehead ribbon off

you sit on the bed, staring at Lan Xichen’s back as he shrugs on his change of inner robes for sleep

you notice the tenseness of his muscles, how every push and pull of his limbs feels a bit strained 

anyone can tell that Xichen was weary, to the bone

from his sect leader duties to his cultivation training

to being your husband

and in the spare time that you have for one another, you know Xichen would never ask you to do anything for him

you sigh at his selfless personality, 

one that he catches as he sits down on the bed besides you

“y/n?” Xichen asks you, worry and curiosity in his voice

were you mad at him? 

did he do something to upset you?

you shake your head at him, before roughly turning his back to you

he lets out a surprised breath at being slightly manhandled, one that turns into a sigh of relief when your hands begin to prod and massage his tired back 

slowly you watch as Xichen melts under your hand, feeling so relaxed that he basically ends up leaning into after a few minutes,

“you’re so tired, A-Huan,” you tell him as you’re massaging his shoulders 

Xichen shakes his head in front of you, lets you massage for as long as you please 

then takes your hands off his shoulder as you’re slowing down, and wraps your arms around him as he leans into you 

you smile as you hug him, resting your head against his

“i love you, y/n” Xichen whispers, brings one of your hands to kiss 

“i know,” you reply, and kiss the side of his temple where you can reach him

Xichen holds your hands to his lips, littering kisses there

a small thanks for all their hard work

Jiang Cheng

Jiang Cheng’s entrance into the bedchambers is quite loud, 

you hear the frustrated slamming of the door long before you hear your partner come into the inner portions of it to your shared bed

you’re sitting by your vanity, brushing your hair in front of the mirror

so you watch the reflection of Jiang Cheng head straight for the bed and simply

drop there

and let out a very noticeable frustrated shout into the goose feather pillows

you hide a giggle behind your hand, putting your comb down to walk over to him

imagine what the people of Yunmeng Jiang would think if they knew their gruff leader still threw tantrums

“rough day?” you ask softly, while a gentle hand lands on the nape of his neck, patting there softly before massaging 

you don’t really hear Jiang Cheng’s muffled affirming grunt as your hands move to his shoulders 

as you begin to massage you move to sit at the bottom of his back,

since he’s already lying on the bed, so it’s easy for your hands to come up

you work out all the tensions and stress in his muscles, smiling at each loosening feeling under your fingertips

Jiang Cheng’s breathing levels out, and he’s so quiet throughout this, that you wonder if he actually fell asleep

“A-Cheng, are you awake?” you ask, leaning down by his ear

your hear a half hum, that you interpret as a yes and get off his back 

slowly, Jiang Cheng turns around, eyes still closed and you move to get off the bed, to let sleep come easier to him

but before you can, a strong hand grabs your wrist, pulls you down into his open arms

you laugh a little as he wraps around you like an octopus, his loose limbs holding you close

Jiang Cheng doesn’t say ‘thank you’; not very often

but you know how thankful he is

by the kiss that he places on your forehead

and then the long one you both share into the rest of the night  

Nie Mingjue

you stare quietly, as you watch Mingjue settle down onto the bed

after so many months with him, you’ve come to read his expressions well

and as his cultivation partner

it was easy fo you to tell

he was tired

so tired

hair frazzled with a quick brushing

callused hands and aching muscles making his movements a bit more stiff than normal

you sigh at him, walking over to the bed to where he is sitting, 

still looking at scrolls even on the bedside,

“Mingjue,” you tell him, as you hover by his side

your hardheaded partner has never ever heeded your words, you know this too well

so you simply wrap the scrolls that’s he’s reading and take them away from him without another word

it’s a testament to how tired Mingjue is when doesn’t even put up a fight, just lets out a sigh

“i still have work to go over, y/n” Mingjue tells you lowly when you sit down behind his hunched back

“well, work can wait” you reply easily and begin massaging his back

Mingjue grunts, a bit in pain, a bit in exasperation as you begin working on his super tense and hard muscles 

your click your tongue at him, wondering how long he’d been pushing himself to get to this rate

“you need to take care of yourself better,” you tell Mingjue, as his shoulder begin to ease the tiniest bit under your care

“i need to care about my work,” Mingjue smart mouths you back

“no work will be taken care of when you fall ill” you tell him

and Mingjue sighs

knows that you’re right

but he can’t help it

you shake your head at him, squeezing his bicep just hard enough to be a borderline pinch

“you-” Mingjue scolds, turning around just to meet your worried eyes,

“if you can’t take care of yourself, at least let me take care of you,” you tell him, quietly

Mingjue blinks at you, 

you stare back at him, honest as can be

Jin Guangyao

when your hands land on Meng Yao’s shoulders, they are surprisingly tense, worked up

“it’s just me,” you reassure, breath tinkling the side of his ear before you lean back and begin to massage his shoulders

you hear a soft breath in front of you, one you hadn’t realized Meng Yao had been holding in anyways

but you’re glad that he feels safe with you

with each press the muscles under your hand relax, easing out into a more comfortable, less rigid form

you smile when you lean a bit to the front to catch Meng Yao’s face, eyes closed, the smallest of smiles from his lips

“better?” you ask him, as you’re pressing into his shoulders

Meng Yao blinks his content eyes open to look up at you

gives you that dimpled smile that he usually wears around the sect

you give him a smile in return

get back to massaging away the tenseness of his daily work

this close, you can see many details of him

like the tenseness of his eyes

one that you don’t quite know yet

how to ease

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

i'm so TIRED of people with vivid imaginations trying to convince every1 the things their brains came up with happened in MDZS, just saw some1 say about lan mom "SOMETHING went down between a creepy teacher and their mother. She gets forced into marriage with a man she doesn’t love and IMPRISONED before eventually committing suicide/ falling sick and dying" like WHERE? the only piece of information was LXC saying "i have no idea WTF happened" so he doesn't know, MXTX doesn't know but you do???

Some of this is a shock for my system so early in the morning... alright... I guess we're gonna go step by step with this just cause people are awful at reading, along with my stance on this particular bit of prevalent discourse.

Since this is greatly misinterpreted for whatever reasons, here is the relevant passage and only one in the text we get concerning the Lan parents. I'm going to add that this is alllll relaid by Lan Xichen and to keep that in mind with what is highlighted.

He spoke slowly, “The reason that my father often practiced secluded meditation was my mother. This place, compared to a place of living… was more like a place of detention.”

Wei WuXian was surprised.

The father of ZeWu-Jun and HanGuang-Jun, QingHeng-Jun, used to be a famous cultivator. He made his name at a young age and had many things waiting for him in the future. However, at the age of twenty, he suddenly backed away and announced his marriage. He had also ceased to care for much of the world. Although it was called secluded meditation, it was much more like retirement. People had come up with many possible reasons, but none of them had been verified.

Lan XiChen bent down amid the clusters of gentians. He gently stroked those thin, tender petals, “When my father was young, when he returned from a night-hunt once, he saw my mother outside of Gusu city.” He smiled, “I heard that it was love at first sight.”

Wei WuXian grinned as well, “The young are often sentimental.”

Lan XiChen continued, “But, the woman did not care for him the same way. In addition, she killed one of my father’s teachers.”

This was beyond imagination. Although Wei WuXian knew that asking too many questions would be very rude, however when he remembered that they had been Lan WangJi’s parents, he felt that he just had to ask. “Why?!”

Lan XiChen, “I do not know. But, I assume that it was something along the lines of ‘grievances’.”

Wei WuXian didn’t ask anymore into this and forced down his curiosity, “And… what happened later?”

“And then,” Lan XiChen explained, “When my father heard of this, of course he was in much pain. But, no matter how he struggled, he still took the woman to his sect in secrecy. Ignoring the objections from his clan, he knelt with her for the Heavens and the Earth without making a sound and told everyone in the clan that she would be his wife for the rest of his life, that whoever wanted to harm her would have to pass through him first.”

Wei WuXian widened his eyes.

Lan XiChen continued, “After the ceremony was completed, my father found a house and locked my mother inside. He found another house and locked himself inside. It was called secluded meditation, but it was in truth to repent.”

He paused before speaking again, “Young Master Wei, can you understand why he did such a thing?”

Wei WuXian answered after a moment of silence, “He could neither forgive the one who killed his teacher nor watch the death of the woman who he loved. He could only marry her to protect her life and force himself not to see her.”

Lan XiChen, “Do you think that this was right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

Lan XiChen looked somewhat lost, “Then, what do you think would be right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

A while later, Lan XiChen whispered, “It could be said that my father did this without a care for anything else. All of the seniors of the clan were enraged, but they had all watched him grow up. They could not do anything except guard this secret, hint to the outside world that the wife of the GusuLan Sect’s sect leader had an unspeakable disease and could not see others. After WangJi and I were born, we were immediately taken away to be cared for by other people. When we grew older, we were brought to Uncle to be taught."

“My shufu… has always had a frank personality to begin with. Because of how my mother caused my father to destroy his own life, he began to hate those who behaved improperly even more. Thus, he poured his heart into teaching WangJi and me. He was especially harsh as well. Every month, we could only see Mother once, inside of this cottage.”

They were two young children, who faced everyday only their harsh uncle, strict teachings, and mountains of books. No matter how tired, they had to straighten their soft backs to be the most outstanding disciples of the clan, the model students in others’ eyes. They could rarely see their closest relatives. They couldn’t fool around in their father’s arms, they couldn’t act spoiled in front of their mother.

But they had clearly done nothing wrong.

Lan XiChen, “Everytime WangJi and I went to see her, she would never complain about how tedious it was being locked inside of here, unable to step out once. She had never asked about our studies, either. She especially liked to tease WangJi, but WangJi, the more you tease him the less willing he is to talk, and the worse of an expression he puts on. He has been like this ever since he was young. However,” he chuckled, “even though WangJi never said it, I knew that every month he was looking forward to the day he could see Mother. He was like this, and I was the same.”

Wei WuXian imagined a young Lan WangJi hugged inside of his mother’s arms, his snowy little cheeks flushed pink. He laughed as well. But before his smile had even melted, Lan XiChen continued, “But one day, Uncle suddenly told us that we would have no need to go any longer."

“Mother was gone.”

Wei WuXian’s voice was soft, “How old was Lan Zhan back then?”

Lan XiChen, “Six.”

He continued, “He was still too young to understand what ‘gone’ means. No matter how much others comforted him, or how much Uncle scolded him, he would continue to come back here every single month, sit down in the hallway, and wait for someone to open the door for him. When he grew older, he understood that Mother would not be coming back, that no one would open the door for him, but he kept on coming here.”

Lan XiChen stood up. His dark eyes looked into Wei WuXian’s, “WangJi has been so stubborn ever since he was young.”

The leaves rustled and the gentian flowers swished alongside the wind, their scent lingering. Wei WuXian’s eyes landed on the wooden hallway of the cottage. He could almost see a small child wearing a forehead ribbon sitting with proper posture in front of the house, waiting quietly for the door to open.

He spoke, “Madam Lan must’ve been a very gentle woman.”

Lan XiChen, “In my memories, Mother had indeed been so. I do not know why she did such a thing back then. And, in truth, I…”

He took a deep breath before confessing, “I do not want to know either.”

After a few moments of silence, Lan XiChen closed his eyes. He took out Liebing. A gust of night wind suddenly sent forth a sobbing note of the xiao. The sound was deep, like a sigh.

Wei WuXian had heard Lan XiChen play Liebing before. Its timbre was just like Lan XiChen himself, as warm and graceful as a breeze and the rain of spring. Yet, now, although his technique was as excellent as ever, the tone evoked a strange mixture of feelings.

The night wind swept by. Lan XiChen’s hair and forehead ribbon were already somewhat disheveled. However, the GusuLan Sect’s sect leader, who had always regarded appearance highly, didn’t pay any attention to them. He only put down Liebing after the song had finished, “Music is forbidden at night in the Cloud Recesses. Today I have overstepped far too many times. Excuse me, Wei gongzi.”

Wei WuXian, “How so? ZeWu-Jun, have you forgotten that the person standing in front of you is the person who has broken the most rules…”

Lan XiChen smiled, “The GusuLan Sect has never revealed these facts about Lan Wangji and myself outside of itself. I should not have told you. Tonight was my sudden urge to unburden myself, a spur of the moment.”

Wei WuXian, “I’m not the kind of person who talks too much. Don’t worry, ZeWu-Jun.”

Lan XiChen, “Regardless, I would assume that WangJi would not hide anything from you anyways.”

Wei WuXian, “If he doesn’t wish to talk about something then I won’t ask.”

Lan XiChen, “But, with WangJi’s personality, how could he say anything if you do not ask? There are some things that even if you ask him he would not say.”

Now that we have the context of the Lan parents laid out the only definitive answer for anything concerning their personal motivations for anything is "I DON'T KNOW". Their secrets and thoughts literally died with them.

And this entire story Lan Xichen told in the end, had nothing to do with his parents. He did not tell Wei Wuxian about them, he was speaking everything unsaid about Lan Wangji's motivations and his love of Wei Wuxian. He does not care why his parents did what they did, but he does for the one that is alive. His brother who he had just had a bit of a veiled conversation about Lan Wangji's pure trust in Wei Wuxian. Who, in Lan Xichen's eyes, had already rejected his brother's love and did not feel the same, mirroring the past of their father's apparent unrequited love. He is saying Lan Wangji is sacrificing his all, unvoiced.

His pressing of if his parent "are right" is him asking Wei Wuxian what he feels about those sacrifices, if he can see the sacrifices Lan Wangji had gone through. At this point he along with Lan Wangji have assumed Wei Wuxian knows and remembers what he had said within the cave. He is telling Wei Wuxian his brother has alway been this way for those he loves regardless of what they may be perceived as by outsiders.

"Today I have overstepped far too many times. Excuse me, Wei gongzi.”"

"I should not have told you. Tonight was my sudden urge to unburden myself, a spur of the moment.”

Meaning, it was not his place to tell this about his brother, but there is no one else that would, and Lan Wangji would never say anything about his feelings again. Lan Xichen is first and foremost worried about where his brother has placed his love, as he knows, regardless of what rumors surround those he loves, his brother will still be forever loyal to them without question if he believes them to be in the right.

Lan Xichen is warning Wei Wuxian he needs to take care in his actions as he approaches Lan Wangji as Xichen is well aware already of how Lan Wangji will go through hell for others he adores. From the start it was never about his parents, as Lan Xichen says, "I do not want to know either,". But what he does want to know is where Wei Wuxian stands with his own feelings towards Lan Wangji or if he is still using his brother as he has thought for years. Leaving Lan Xichen to protect him as best as he can while Lan Wangji stays hurt for others with no happiness for himself.

[kuronekonerochan]

Hi again....Do you mind if I ask a few questions?

Who is your fav main couple in mxtx novels (wangxian or hualian or bingqiu)? And why?

Who is your favorite love interest in MXTX three novels (luo binghe, lan wangji, or hua cheng)? And why?

And who is your favorite protagonist in MXTX three novels (shen qingqiu, wei wuxian or xie lian)? And why?

Sorry if you've answered this question before....

Fav Main Couple:

Emotionally, Wangxian bc sentimental reasons of reading it first. Objectively Hualian bc I love the sheer beatnik energy of Xie Lian being the prototype perfect model for Heaven Official as per JW’s wishes and then after graduating being all like “Nope, I don’t wanna climb the corporate ladder dad! I wanna go on the road and meet the real ppl and their struggles and explore the land!”... and then he meets his hot biker bad boy anarchist mafia boss boyfriend and all of evil wall street dad’s plans for him go to shit...and that’s beautiful.

Fav Love Interest:

Lan Wanji: I like tsundere disasters. LBH is too puppy love, HC is too cool (and secretly such an otaku lol). LWJ is the one who is constantly, silently, screwing up and freaking out about it. He is the messiest one and I love him. Also, and I know I’m in the minority here, characters whose only focus in life is their love interest lowkey freak me out. I mean, in fiction and if they are one of the MC’s it’s romantic, but imagine if it’s one sided...yikes. HC has a whole realm under his command but that is barely brought up in the novel (and they could elaborate on that, the thing is huge), LBH does everything for Shizun. LWJ is the only one who has more loyalties to consider, and while that is one of the things that holds him back and might contribute to the tragedy in MDZS, it also makes him the most interesting character. He has his brother and uncle, later on he has Shizui, and his actions, both when he holds back bc of his sect/family and when he chooses WWX over all of them...it has a lot more weight because he is the one out of the 3 ML’s whose choices come at bigger personal cost.

Fav Protagonist:

Wei Wu Xian: He’s the personification of disaster and that makes him so relatable. BQ is like a sassy best friend you love. XL is adorable and the type of character you want to hug and protect, but he’s not relatable, bc nobody is that kind and giving.

 WWX with his sense of justice, his rash decisions he eventually regrets (or not), his terrible memory, his adhd, his intentional flirting with ppl he doesn’t really want anything with just for the fun of it, and his “unintentional” flirting with the one he does, his obliviousness to love, his tendency to say everything is fine when it clearly isn’t, and the way he clearly avoids thinking about stuff as a coping mechanism, also the way he can stand up and speak his mind and be powerful to strangers but just lays down and takes all the verbal abuse from ppl closer to him (oh boy do I relate to this...not to my family thankfully, but I am usually such an outspoken person and then I let some “superiors” at work step all over me bc I don’t like confrontation and want to get along with everyone on my daily life)...and of course there’s the whole “I tried so hard to do things right, how did I end up ruining everything?”...There is just a lot of relatable and lovable things about WWX and his hopelessness does hit an emotional chord bc I think everyone has tried their best at some point in their lives and then had things turn out awful....and afterwards having to get up and move on. And yes, it’s all very wuxia and metaphorical, but all his attitudes post resurrection are so relatable: being ashamed, not wanting to be found by anyone he knew, later on after he was found just not wanting to talk about it and rather pretend it didn’t happen. Even the fact that the story ends and him and Jiang Cheng still aren’t ready to put it all behind them is relatable. There’s some relationships, some people, it’s going to take more time and more than one hard talk to fix things with. (See why I love WWX? his character makes me go all sappy and meta deep. I guess some of the stuff I said is also true for XL but he is like Jesus and I am much to petty to relate to him.)

[paradife-loft]

Hi! I absolutely love the meta about NMJ's Empathy memories being unreliable, and it's got me wondering about how his qi deviation and death actually went. Since LXC says he saw the qi deviation (and Fatal Journey says it was in public), what's your take on how JGY got NMJ into his secret room so he and Xue Yang could use the Tiger Seal (and eventually kill him)? Fatal Journey has the Nie sect holding a funeral for him, so presumably NHS had /soneone's/ body to bury, but then in The Untamed LXC later says something like he 'hasn't heard from' NMJ in years and had feared the worst, so things... don't seem to add up? What do you think?

Aaah, okay, so: first off, I’m incredibly sorry it’s taken me so long to answer this, and I nonetheless  very much appreciate your interest in my opinions here <3 If you’re still hanging around/following me/reading my blog, anon, idk how obvious it’s been that I’ve… not been having the best few months brain-wise, but that’s basically all I can offer as an excuse for why this reply is coming so late. Thank you for your patience!

So, okay, I think I’m going to try and tackle this question from a couple different angles. First of all, I think it’s worth looking at the material provided in the contained story of the 50 episodes of The Untamed on its own, to see what that suggests, before bringing in outside or supplemental sources, which is what for this purpose I’d consider spin-off movies, details in other versions of the broader MDZS story material, etc. to be. Also, I want to note upfront that while I do tend to incorporate different details and versions of events from both CQL and MDZS into my personal headcanon, what I write in my fic, etc. because I think they tend to provide interesting possibilities, elaborations, and what-ifs for a broader composite MDZS-adaptation-universe – for the purposes of this post, I’m going to stick to material from The Untamed and Fatal Journey only. Mostly, my reason for that is that there’s a few logistically distinct details of how the qi deviation happens in MDZS compared to CQL – one being, it happens at Qinghe rather than Lanling – that I believe affect the timeline of what Jin Guangyao is doing with Nie Mingjue’s corpse in the first place.

Alright so, in The Untamed alone, the evidence such as we have includes: the Empathy sequence involving the qi deviation in episode 41, and Lan Xichen’s statement in episode 39 recounting that he saw it happen himself at Jinlintai, and that after hearing nothing from/about Nie Mingjue since, he’s been “mentally prepared” - presumably, for the news that he’s dead. What I’m inclined to take from those two pieces of information, is essentially a story like this: NMJ qi deviates, very publically, and at some point while this is happening, he makes a break for it and leaves Jinlintai, and whatever presumably messy trail he leaves in the process ends up going cold for anyone trying to follow, with no NMJ around to be seen. With various factors at Jinlintai invested in retrieving him for attempting to turn him into a controllable fierce corpse, it’s pretty easy to imagine that, besides whatever above-board search party tried to follow him, there would also have been another party closely watching his movements for an opportune moment to slip in and scoop him up to bring him back to the secret treasure room for fierce corpse experimentation – hence why the trail would’ve gone cold.

Now, the actual scene showing the qi deviation itself doesn’t include multiple elements I’m positing or including here – specifically, the presence of a bunch of third parties actually witnessing it, LXC included, and then also the idea that NMJ ever left that one landing at the top of the stairs during the qi deviation at all. But, since we see in other parts of the Empathy sequence that the events shown can be… a bit more impressionistic than accurate; and furthermore since it seems reasonable to posit that the memories of the time when he has a literal break with reality might be even less literally reliable than the rest of them – I think those aspects can be reasonably explained away as that scene portraying more of what the qi deviation felt like from the inside, than what an outside observer would’ve seen. Nie Mingjue’s focus is Jin Guangyao, so Jin Guangyao is all he sees – up until Nie Huaisang breaks through that monomaniacal focus and is seen, finally, as himself.

(If you particularly want to pull out some feelings, I might even suggest the idea that finally seeing a distraught NHS was the thing that pulled NMJ sufficiently out of his rage to be lucid enough to flee – and that he booked it in part because he was terrified and ashamed to possibly hurt his younger brother, whether physically or emotionally by letting him see NMJ in such an awful state.

So then, aside from that: the question of what we see in Fatal Journey. I’ve actually been trying to find an answer about what kinds of mourning customs would be followed or even possible if a family didn’t actually have their loved one’s body on hand to bury, but thusfar my internet searching hasn’t really gotten me any useful information one way or another – if anyone reading has an idea or some good sources to point me to, I’d love to hear them! Everything I’ve read so far seems to very tightly marry the performance of appropriate rites and the presence of a body together.

That said, looking back through the actual funeral scene in Fatal Journey, I also wasn’t able to notice the presence of a coffin anywhere in the set, either? We see a memorial tablet, set up in the front of the throne room at Qinghe, and what looks like a brief shot of some offerings, and NHS stoking the fire, but in the couple brief scenes of the inside of the hall, I don’t think there was a coffin set up there? (Or, for that matter, out in the courtyard which we get a longer look at, either.) Compared to what I at least assume is a coffin with Jin Zixuan’s body inside during the mourning scene in episode 32, I feel like it’s reasonable to guess that, even with Fatal Journey included, whatever mourning rites took place at Qinghe after NMJ’s death, they may simply have not involved a body or a burial at all.

- And actually, now that I’m thinking about it, taking Fatal Journey into consideration overall suggests that it might ultimately be the norm at Qinghe to hold mourning rites without a body present – because per the lore additions in the movie, the Nie sect leaders go down to die on their own at the bottom of the saber tomb, and it sure doesn’t look like anybody had been going down there to retrieve them once they did? So, I don’t know, maybe there’s some sort of symbolic burial of something associated with the sect leader as a Nie custom, to keep things looking a bit more normal and less “we build a tomb for these resentment-filled blade spirits that eat our sect leader’s sanity”, and that’s also what ended up being done for Nie Mingjue?  But, yeah, there’s no real confirmation happening even in the movie that NHS was able to come back with a body to bury, so I don’t think that necessarily contradicts the idea that NMJ could have gone missing during his qi deviation and never been properly recovered for a 100% confirmed death.

(That said, I personally don’t tend to incorporate, oh, most of the specific events or points of lore from Fatal Journey into my own readings on various elements of the story? Like, quite frankly, I don’t really like the movie that much, and I think it opens up a lot more unnecessary character and worldbuilding questions without doing a good job of integrating them back into the rest of The Untamed’s continuity (er, such as it exists XD). So I don’t necessarily have an opinion on whether “the Nie sect generally doesn’t do bodily burials of is clan leaders” is an idea anyone should pick up for The Untamed canon; merely that if you do take the events of Fatal Journey as canon, it certainly seems like it could be a possibility.)

(And again, big, big big disclaimer here that, e.g. if holding any kind of mourning rites without a body present is actually super Not Done, then what I’m saying with this part might be totally moot, and then well…. who knows, there’s plenty of speculation that could be used to cover that gap up – maybe “they never found the body” wasn’t actually widespread knowledge, but rather just information LXC had special access to due to the relationships he had with the people involved? – and some set of people depending on your preferences conspired to get another body to stand in for NMJ’s to allow them to hold a funeral? ….Which honestly sounds incredibly sketchy to me on its own, but considering all the other professionally Yikes-style desecrations of bodies that happen in this story…. who knows? I’m really just tossing out ideas here at this point, not saying I necessarily endorse any of them outside of “I think this could potentially work in some way without being out of character for anybody”.)

Anyway… I hope that answers your question, anon, and is otherwise interesting for everyone else reading? Thank you for the ask, and apologies again for taking so long to respond! <3

[angelrider13]

Alright, so I mentioned in discord yesterday that Thalassa’s been dimension hopping. (We all have that one OC.) She’s currently hanging out in MDZS/Untamed world and causing chaos - as she does. @starofthemourning asked what specifically she was getting up to. So have a ramble!

- Thalassa was just minding her business, cruising through Death’s realm as she does from time to time, visiting past children and friends, helping newly deceased souls cross over, etc., etc., when she gets yoinked into a completely different land of the living.

- Thalassa: Toto, we are not in Eos anymore.

- She’s been summoned into the body of a young woman by a group of demonic cultivators that pushed some buttons they should not have. They are a cult, because of course they are, and Thalassa has no idea what’s happening, but they are cuckoo bananapuffs and leaning WAY too hard on the cult thing - virgin sacrifices, child sacrifices, torture, lotsa bad things. Thalassa in her new, 100% human body, says no.

- Enter JC! Who, as we know, hunts down demonic cultivators with a single mindedness that is probably more than a little unhealthy. And this is...I’m saying like 3 years after WWX died, so some things as still fresh (and also, other people are still alive to react to Thalassa and her...Thalassa-ness).

- JC arrives to find that Thalassa has already solved the problem. Very thoroughly. This strange woman covered in blood, with lines of fire burning across her skin and a smile that’s all teeth and gold, gold eyes that burn with power, escorting children and missing travelers out of the smoking ruins of their former prison, carrying the dead and dying with her. Because she cannot save them, but they will die free.

- JC is immediately Suspicious. This woman is not a cultivator. She is also not human. He is sure of it. He absolutely cannot prove it. (The body she’s currently inhabiting is human, she used to be human in body and soul and still is to an extent - she’s not lying.)

- Thalassa ends up being dragged to Lotus Pier along with some of the kids she saved, because orphans and we all know that Thalassa can and will adopt everything that breathes if it stands still long enough. She has technically done nothing wrong and has earned the gratitude and good will of quite a few people, so it would look bad if JC just disappeared her. But Something Is Afoot, so JC isn’t about to let her go gallivanting across the countryside either.

- Thalassa notices pretty quick that these people bow a lot. In greeting, in farewell, to show respect. Thalassa is Not About That. She is the Sea and the Sea Does Not Bow. It’s not such a big deal at first because the circumstances of meeting are...messy. But once they’re in Lotus Pier, people start noticing that she never bows, even after they’ve bowed to her, and they are Offended. The only ones that are not are the kids that she adopted. No one says anything at first, but they all make spectacular pissy faces that Thalassa delights in. JC eventually snaps at her, snarling about respect, and Thalassa calmly replies that if she ever bows to him or anyone else, they will have earned it. (”I have only ever bowed to my Mothers, to Death and to the Light of Dawn, and no other.”) JC, knowing that she’s not human, but not knowing exactly how, doesn’t bring it up again.

- Thalassa likes Lotus Pier. It’s bright and colorful and loud and surrounded by water. It’s not as good as her waters, of course, but it’s nice to be able to swim when the mood strikes. It’s nice to be able to swim with the children, nice to know that everyone learns to swim at Lotus Pier and that they take it seriously. The first time she catches JC teaching the kids she brought with her to swim she stares because he’s not gentle exactly, but...softer. These people operate on different rules than her, but it’s nice to know that somethings always stay the same.

- It takes Lotus Pier a little while to figure out that they’ve been adopted, but they get there. Thalassa is the weird big sister/aunt/mother figure that will be getting you into trouble one moment and then helping out get out of it the next. She doesn’t bow and they don’t make her. She’s chaos in human skin, but some of them (far, far too few) remember that Lotus Pier has always had a soft spot for chaos gremlins and their antics. It brings smiles to their faces when they see this strange whirlwind of a woman trail after their Sect Leader, tugging at his sleeves and leaning into his space and laughing with a smile brighter than the sun when he swats at her, a secret grin tugging at the corners of his scowl.

- At some point, Thalassa meets other sects. It goes...well it goes. For maximum chaos, let’s say its a discussion conference. At Jinlintai. Which brings us right back to the Thalassa and bowing thing.

- JC and YunmengJiang have been dealing with Thalassa’s bullshit for - months? a year? who knows, it’s been awhile - at this point and know that it’s better to just Roll With It.

- The rest of the cultivation world has very much not learned this lesson.

- The Lan are Offended. So Offended. Depending on the Lan, at least. LXC is pretty chill and would probably also be offended, but not let it bother him much. LQR leans so much on propriety that he might just qi deviate. LWJ also leans pretty heavily on propriety but he is also that person who is So Done With Everyone’s Bullshit that he’ll just walk right out of the room so who knows.

- The rules of propriety! Broken!! Without cause or care!!! The Lans are flipping their shit. Quietly. And with great dignity.

- The Nie also kinda offended, but not nearly as much as the Lan. It’s not often that a woman will look Sect Leader Nie in the eye and refuse to bow to him, but NMJ can admire the guts it takes. He’s also the most likely to bring it up and Thalassa will calmly tell him what she tells everyone who asks - that she does not bow. Most especially not for social niceties that mean next to nothing at the end of the day.

- She absolutely bonds with NHS over the arts. He shows off his fans, she does a dance or two with them, they ramble at each other, they are now best friends. (JC is in the background being a Dispair because he knows, he knows, the NHS is an Enabler. He should never have allowed them to meet.)

- The Jin...well. Thalassa is a woman. Thalassa is very pretty. Thalassa knows she is very pretty and flirts as she pleases and moves with a grace that draws many a eye. And JGS...is JGS.

- You know that post that’s buried in my STotS story tag where Mera, literal Queen of Atlantis, breaks a man’s arm because he put his hands on her without her permission? I’m not saying that happens...but that 100% happens.

- JGS tries to be all smooth and Thalassa is Not Having It. She is well aware that 1) this jackass is married AND absolutely does not have the permission of his wife to fuck around and 2) JGS has a reputation among women. And it is not one that endears JGS to her.

- So he puts his hands on her. Pulls her close and tries to flirt. She tells him to let go. He smiles in that ‘aw you’re playing hard to get, how cute’ way that he probably thinks is charming but really wants to make women punch his face in, and gropes her. So Thalassa breaks his arm, snaps it in her hand and doesn’t let go. She uses the pain and the leverage of her grip to force him to his knees before her.

- It draws attention. JGS doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who gets in physical fights much - he probably doesn’t have much pain tolerance. He’s likely screaming. And you know cultivators are trigger happy little shits so swords are drawn. Thalassa smiles, all teeth.

- JGS is probably demanding that JC ‘put his woman in her place’. JC, having witnessed what happened and far less inclined to put up with this man than he was in the immediate aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign when all he had was the ashes of his sect, is having None Of It. He’s like well if she’s my woman why are you touching her and if she said no, why are you still touching her?

- NMJ approves. JGS deserves this. He’s had it coming for years. He is so happy he gets to witness this. As far as he’s concerned JGS brought this on himself and if he can’t handle it, maybe he should try keeping his dick in his pants.

- Thalassa is not impressed. She’s heard the titles thrown around. Sect Leader, Chief Cultivator, Your Excellency. She is well aware that leaders do not represent the entirety of the people, yet these people overthrew a tyrant and let this take his place? (”So you allow an oathbreaking rapist to lead you. This explains so much.”)

- JGY steps up and tries to smooth over the situation. Thalassa does not allow it. (”The next time he touches me, I will cut off his cock. If any woman he’s touched comes to me for help, I will rip out his intestines and strangle him with them.”)

- The Jiang are the only ones who know that she means this 100% literally. More than a few of them are okay with her following through. JC is standing at her shoulder, glowering at the whole room because Thalassa is one of His People at this point and you better believe he’s not going to let someone, not even another Sect Leader, not even the Chief Cultivator, disrespect her this way.

- JGY continues to deescalate with varying levels of success. (Thalassa is old. She is old and has lived through much. She knows what a viper looks like no matter how honeyed the words or how silver the tongue or how sweet the smile. This child thinks he can manipulate her. How cute.)

- In the end, no action is taken against Thalassa. JC is loud in his defense of her actions and NMJ and LXC side with him. JGS was in the wrong and his behavior was disgraceful. The Jin have no choice but to concede fault.

- Thalassa may or may not spend the rest of her time in Jinlintai teaching as many women as she can how to cripple a man twice their size.

[ellayuki]

06.03.20

The Untamed / MDZS / Wei Wuxian / (mentioned WangXian)

~

There are still whispers.

The dreaded Yiling Patriarch, the awful, murderous traitor, the monstrous necromancer who would sooner eat a child whole than raise it gently.

(Nevermind that said Yiling Patriarch has married into the Lan Clan, has married THE Hanguang Jun himself, and is now busy spending his life night-hunting and teaching and raising rabbits and being blissfully happy.)

Yes, even months and months after the exposure of Jin Guangyao’s machinations, of his awful treacheries and horrendous acts, Wei Wuxian is still, in some corners of the land, the stuff of children’s nightmares, the boogeyman parents tell them to keep them in line.

He laughs, more amused than anything about the stories weaved about his supposed dastardly exploits, and how entirely blown out of proportion some moments, some events of his life have become. Even the more painful ones still manage to make him smile, because it’s been years, and he has learned to let go of the guilt.

Lan Zhan worries, of course, in that quiet way of his, whenever they catch wind of such stories, whenever they run into someone in their travels who swears up and down that any bad thing happening is the fault of the Yiling Patriarch. Wei Wuxian does his damnedest to reassure him because if there is one thing he can’t stomach, it’s Lan Zhan suffering any more, in any way, because of him.

(He can take the world’s fear and hatred, as much as it still stings.

He absolutely cannot take what the world’s fear and hatred for him does to his poor Lan Zhan’s heart.)

He can only hope that, one day, by the end of this second life of his, the good things he’s done (and will continue to do), will outweigh the bad things people scorn him for.

[queenmorgawse]

transmigration for dummies

chapter five. mdzs scum villain au. concept credit goes to @lee-luca. read on ao3 for end notes. previous | first | next 

She said the lunatic killed her son!

At the servant girl’s words, gasps ripple through the group of disciples. “What?” Lan Fan asks, her face full of disbelief. “That funny-looking guy with the ghost makeup?”

The other girl opens her mouth as if trying to explain, but she’s shaking so badly only a few garbled, incomprehensible words come out. Jingyi takes pity on her. “It’s fine, we’ll go.”

“Yes, you’ll be safe,” Sizhui intervenes, shooting Jingyi a grateful look. Jingyi sternly tells his heart it is not the right moment to feel so pleased with itself. “You,” their leader points at half the group, “stay behind in case other corpses show up while we’re gone. Everyone else, come with me. Jingyi, send off one of the flares now. This is an unexpected development, we’re not supposed to deal with it on our own.”

If there’s one thing Gusu Lan disciples can do mindlessly, even with fear rising at the back of their throats, it’s follow orders. They fall easily into disciplined ranks again, packing up their weapons and talismans and checking their supplies, sharing them evenly among themselves.

The servant girl looks on, eyes wide ; Jingyi tries to give her a smile, even as he feels his own heart hammering at his ribs. ( If it’s out of fear or excitement, he honestly can’t tell. ) Fumbling with his pockets, he draws out one of their flares, igniting it with a flick of a flame talisman. The fireworks whistle through the air, exploding in a shower of pale blue sparks and forming the Gusu Lan cloud pattern overhead.

They hear the East Hall before they reach it. Horrified murmurs and hushed comments buzz around Jingyi, the crowd’s fear almost tangible. When the young cultivators enter the hall, some of the Mo family relatives turn to them with such hope in their eyes he doesn’t have the heart to think of what comes next.

Jingyi gently taps Sizhui’s elbow, pointing to a human-shaped object covered by a swath of white fabric with a nod of his head. “Look, over there…”

They carefully skirt around Madam Mo’s slumped form. For a moment, Jingyi almost feels sorry for her, but it’s hard to make the feeling last when he remembers how fast she turns on the rest of them, or what Mo Xuanyu went through at her hands. At least, she doesn’t protest when Sizhui bends down and, murmuring apologies, uncovers the corpse’s face.

Mo Ziyuan looks like he’s been dead for days, not minutes. His skin looks like it shriveled up, both water and life draining out of him, and Jingyi feels his stomach twist at the expression of pure terror frozen on the boy’s face. “It’s like an old man’s corpse,” he whispers to Sizhui, whose face betrays similar confusion.

“They found the corpse less than three minutes ago, is what I overheard,” Sizhui replies in a hush. “In the hallway outside of the East courtyard, apparently. He was already like this when they got to him.”

“Da-shixiong, what happened to him?” Tao Ming whispers as he catches up to them. When he takes his first good look at Mo Ziyuan’s corpse, his face turns an interesting shade of green.

Sizhui’s barely opened his mouth to reply when a loud crashing noise resounds at the entrance of the hall. The crowd looks on as a few servants drag ‘Mo Xuanyu’ in, their hands like vises around his arms. Though they don’t let go of him, Jingyi catches Wei Wuxian’s slight movement to be able to get a better look at the corpse. He can practically see the gears turning in the man’s brains.

Moments like these remind him that for all the times he called Wei Wuxian the dumbest main character to ever walk the Earth, he really is whip-smart when it comes to everything but Lan Wangji.

Movement at the periphery of his vision catches his attention just in time for him to move out of the way as Lan Sizhui surges forward, gently wrapping his fingers around Madam Mo’s wrist and knocking a silver dagger out of her hand. It lands at Lan Fan’s feet, and Jingyi quickly bends to pick it up before the woman can wrestle out of Sizhui’s - admittedly light - grip and try for round two.

“My son died a tragic death, so I am only avenging him! What are you stopping me for?” Madam Mo screeches, her frantic gaze darting between the two of them.

In the meantime, Wei Wuxian’s captors have let go of him. The infamous Yiling Patriarch tucks himself behind Sizhui’s back, his eyes barely peeking out over the boy’s shoulder. “How does your son’s tragic death concern me?”

Well, he’s not wrong, but he could have worded it better!

Jingyi doesn’t need to speak, anyway. It’s obvious Sizhui won’t raise a hand against the ‘lunatic’ ⎯ at least, not yet. Instead, his fellow disciple forces a smile, standing tall between Wei Wuxian and his would-be attacker. “Madam Mo, seeing from your son’s condition, his flesh and essence have been drawn out of him, which means that he was killed by evil beings, not him.”

Next to Jingyi, Tao Ming squeaks out a little ah, while Lan Fan winces. Despite himself, he considers it a family resemblance.

Madam Mo looks more ready to either blow up or faint by the minute. Instinctively, Jingyi steps forward, putting himself between her and the younger teens.

“You know nothing!” she heaved. “The lunatic’s father was a cultivator. He must have learned a lot of demonic spells from him!”

“Madam, there is a lack of evidence, so…” Sizhui starts, before she interrupted him again.

“Here’s all the evidence you need! Look for yourselves! A-Yuan’s remains already told me who murdered him!”

Another wave of whispers ripples through the servants and family members. Jingyi makes a move toward the white sheet, but before he can get to it, Wei Wuxian scampers to the corpse’s side and gives the fabric a sharp tug. It slips away without a sound, revealing the awful detail for all to see.

“What happened to his arm?” Lan Fan asks, her voice almost an octave higher than before.

Madam Mo gives a triumphant cackle. “See? Everyone who was there heard what the lunatic said, even you children! He said that if A-Yuan touched his belongings again, he would cut off his hand!”

Almost immediately, she buries her face in her hands. Whatever she says comes out as wretched sobs, which Wei Wuxian is perfectly fine with ignoring, taking advantage of her distraction to bodily shove his hand into the folds of Mo Ziyuan’s robe and fishing out a black scrap of fabric.

Jingyi snatches out of his hands as soon as a spark of understanding lights behind his eyes, holding it out towards Sizhui and the other disciples. Their eyes collectively widen, the truth of the situation dawning on all of them at once.

“What an idiot!” Lan  Fan exclaims under her breath, earning herself a disapproving glance from Sizhui. Jingyi can’t help but share the sentiment, though. When someone repeatedly tells you not to disturb a flag formation unless you want to get seriously hurt, listen to them, dumbass!

The look on Sizhui’s face says otherwise, though. Our fault, he mouths to Jingyi, eyes suddenly downcast.

“It’s not your fault,” he feels compelled to say. “We were busy subduing the corpses or resting between waves, we couldn’t keep an eye on the stuff literally everyone was told not to mess with.” He awkwardly pats Sizhui’s shoulder, hoping the gesture conveys everything his brain is not letting him word properly at the moment.

The other gives him a wry, grateful smile, but the moment is quickly interrupted when Madam Mo pulls herself out of her stupor again and hurls a teacup at Wei Wuxian’s head, the porcelain shattering on the wall where he would have stood had he not moved in time. “If you didn’t frame him in front of so many people yesterday, would he go out in the middle of the night? It’s all your fault, you son of a bitch! And you!” she screams, whirling toward Sizhui. “You bunch of useless fools! You cultivate and ward off evil spirits, but you can’t even protect him! A-Yuan is still a child!”

Sizhui’s face darkens, but he somehow keeps his expression neutral. Jingyi, on the other hand, is burning up with the need to introduce his fist to Madam Mo’s face, but the invisible, hovering presence of the System keeps him from acting on that impulse. From the slight movement behind him, though, he’s not the only one entertaining these kinds of thoughts, even if they’re all too used to discipline to crack so easily. At least, there’s nothing stopping him from mentally clapping for Wei Wuxian’s tirade. That’s right! Suck it, Ancient Chinese Mrs Robin!

Madam Mo grows visibly red in the face. Her hand whips out, slapping her husband on the shoulder. “Call everyone! Call everyone inside!” Her shoulders shake violently. “You… You… You, get out of here as well!”

Jingyi does feel a bit sorry for the master of the house. Grief wraps around him like a cloak, making his movements sluggish. Kind of like watching a fish jerk around on land, he thinks regretfully. Rest in peace, my dude. Or maybe just a bit, because you were maybe also shitty to Mo Xuanyu, but, you know.

He’s entirely prepared for the shrill scream that pierces through the air, just seconds after A-Tong the servant leads Mr Mo out into the courtyard.

He and Sizhui don’t need to look at each other twice to rush out of the hall, closely followed by the other disciples. Barely a few steps out the door, they almost trip over two twitching bodies. At first glance, even an idiot could tell there’s nothing to be done for Mr Mo. His corpse lies on its side, left arm missing, looking as thoroughly drained of life as his son’s. A-Tong, on the other hand, is still drawing in shallows breaths, as if trying to crawl back inside.

Madam Mo, following close behind, lets out a quiet wail at the sight and crumples. One of her attendants catches her right before she hits the ground, looping her arm around her shoulders.

The others’ faces look as pale as Jingyi’s must be. Despite knowing what happens next, fear twists in his gut all the same. In theory, everything should be fine, but he’s already proven that canon can veer off the ‘correct’ path. What if it does again? What if he’s not as fast as the original would have been and someone gets hurt?

As soon as the thought worms its way through his head, Jingyi resolutely shakes it off. Worrying about things like that is exactly the kind of distraction that’ll actually impede him.

Sizhui’s voice cuts through the haze, although it still sounds rattled at the edges. He helps A-Tong up, his grip surprisingly steady. “Did you see what it was?”

The boy’s mouth moves, though he’s unable to form more than a few strangled sounds. Seconds last hours in Jingyi’s mind before the servant starts shaking his head, unable to calm down or stop trembling. “Fan-shimei, help him up,” Sizhui finally says. “Jingyi, you did send the signal, right?”

Jingyi nods. “Yeah, but if there aren’t any seniors around, no one’s gonna be here in less than an hour.” He takes a deep breath, crossing his fingers behind his back not to get pinged by the System, then adds : “Let’s stay outside. There’s more room to move around here, if people panic inside, we’ll never get anything done.”

A quiet whimper interrupts their conversation. Horrified and fascinated, Jingyi watches A-Tong slowly draw himself upright.

“A-Tong, you’re awake!” the girl supporting Madam Mo sighs. Dude, you’re about to have so many regrets, Jingyi thinks, and lights a candle in his thoughts.

As if on cue, A-Tong’s hand curls around his neck. Lightning-fast, Sizhui gets to his side, tapping a few acupoints to get him to loosen his hold. When the other boy looks to him, Jingyi grabs the boy’s left hand. Even a Lan disciple’s arm strength is no match for a resentful Nie Mingjue’s, it seems ; even knowing exactly how it goes, he’s tempted to close his eyes.

It ends when A-Tong’s head drops with a sinister crack. Shocked, Sizhui lets go, leaving Jingyi free to follow suit.

The servant girl moans, hiding behind the group of cultivators. “… A ghost! There’s an invisible ghost here. It made A-Tong strangle himself!” At the same time, all the lanterns in the courtyard are blown off, plunging them into darkness.

The scene plunges into absolute chaos. Masters and servants alike trample each other in their attempts to flee as fast as possible, stumbling over themselves. “Stop!” Jingyi shouts, hoping his voice carries over the screams. “Everyone shut up! Stay right where you are or I’ll drag you back!”

It works better than expected. More than a few people stop in their tracks, stunned, and Jingyi’s friends ( can he call them his friends now? ) make googly eyes at him like he just grew a second head.

【OOC behavior detected : uncharacteristic outburst : -20 ⎯】

Before the System can announce points deduction, Jingyi interrupts : I’ve got to try and keep things from escalating! Original’s an asshole but he wouldn’t risk more people getting hurt, okay?

He marks the silence that follows as one of the proudest moments of his entire life.

“Most people still left,” Lan Fan observes after the commotion quiets into faint sobbing. “Nice try, ge.”

“Yes,” Sizhui echoes kindly. “Let’s just...let’s do our best now, okay?” He pulls a flame talisman from his sleeve and ignites it, creating a reassuring burst of light to keep the shadows at bay. While he goes to restore the lanterns’ glow, some of the disciples approach the remaining members of the Mo household, murmuring reassurances.

This is a lull. Jingyi’s no soldier, and the courtyard is not a battlefield proper, but he can tell they’re only getting a few moments’ reprieve. He spares a thought for the others. If he’s this scared knowing more or less what comes next, what about them?

“Hand… His hand! A-Tong’s hand!”

There we go.

He doesn’t need Sizhui to turn toward A-Tong’s body, burning talisman in hand, to picture it. The servant’s left hand is gone, chopped off at the shoulder, just like Mo Ziyuan.

Wei Wuxian lets out a wild cackle that startles the breath out of several disciples, including Jingyi himself. “Why the hell are you laughing? Is this the right time?” he hisses at the man. Does the lunatic cover really need this? He’s definitely going to scare the household further!

“No, no!” Despite knowing the truth, he has a hard time repressing a full-body shudder when Wei Wuxian pulls at his sleeve, pointing at the corpses. In the low light, his hanged ghost makeup stands out all the more harshly, making him look like one of the undead himself.

“What, no? If you’re not going to stay quiet ⎯”

Wei Wuxian pffts and shakes his head. “These aren’t them.”

“What?” Tao Ming asks, a tremor to his voice, at the same time Sizhui adds “What do you mean, these aren’t them?”  

“This isn’t Mr Mo, and this is not A-Tong either,” Wei Wuxian states, uncharacteristically serious. “Look at their hands! I know they’re right-handed, they always hit me with the right one.”

Lan Fan looks like she would have crossed her arms if she wasn’t so determined to cling to the hilt of her sword. “So what?” Whether she or any of the other teenagers will admit it, they’re all hanging to ‘Mo Xuanyu’s’ lips, out of dread or anticipation or both.

“He’s right,” Sizhui says slowly, his face pale. “I remember, when he was in the hall earlier...” His eyes stray toward Wei Wuxian again, a hint of suspicion creeping into his gaze.

Nope, nope, nope ⎯ not if he can help it. The hint’s too obvious, and Jingyi can’t risk jeopardizing Wei Wuxian’s cover ( read : the OOC function for himself, too ). He grabs Sizhui by the shoulder, ignoring the little surprised noise the other makes, and nods towards Madam Mo. “We should check on her state."

He can pinpoint the exact moment Sizhui sees what he’s meant to see : the disproportionate fingers of her left hand, thicker and longer than they should be, calloused like a wealthy mistress’ would never be. “Grab her!” he shouts.

Tao Ming and another few boys surge forward, seizing Madam Mo’s arms and twisting them behind her back in a hold most people would struggle to break out of, let alone a rather frail, middle-aged woman. For a moment, everything feels like it’ll be alright, until her arm snaps back in a humanly impossible angle and shoots towards Sizhui, who stands poised over her with a talisman in hand.

Jingyi moves before he can think. Later, he will remember spell-embroidered robes and the protective patterns woven into the fabric, but right then there is only Sizhui, the ghost hand about to tear out his throat, and his own lack of impulse control.

He almost screams when the corpse slams against his shoulder, biting down on his lip to stifle his voice. In Sizhui’s eyes, staring up at him, he can see the reflection of green flames as his tunic bursts into flames. Madam Mo shrieks and lets go, crumpling to the ground in a heap.  

Jingyi shrugs off the rest of his ruined outer robe as fast as he can, but half of it has already been burned to a crisp. He throws the remains over Madam Mo’s corpse, but it’s too late : her left arm has detached itself from her body, crawling around like a difform spider, veins and muscles bulging in a grotesque way.

As if waking from a haze, the other Lan disciples wriggle out of their own robes, ball them up and throw them at the ghost hand, engulfing it in a circle of emerald fire. “Sword formation!” Sizhui orders, visibly still shaken. His gaze crosses Jingyi, and he mouths thank you.

Light flashes across the courtyard as they draw their swords, planting them into the dirt in a near-perfect circle. The ghost hand writhes, crashing against the fence again and again. Jingyi can see sweat beading on Lan Fan’s forehead right across from him, her face lit by the glow of her blade, but she’s too focused on pouring spiritual energy into it to keep her hands steady to notice him looking ⎯ or Wei Wuxian sneaking back into the shadows. Good.

When he spots the first signs of corpses moving at the edges of the courtyard, Jingyi screams, “Look out! Let go of the swords!”

A few of the others look ready to protest, but an inhuman roar cuts them short. They move out of the way just fast enough to avoid being trampled by three newly-awakened fierce corpses. There’s little to do but stare as the late Mo family hurls itself at the disembodied arm, tearing at it with nails sharp as knives, teeth protruding like needles from their distorted mouths.

Jingyi makes a move to stand in front of Lan Fan ( as, he assumes, a good big brother should ), but she nudges him aside, leaning forward. She looks...absolutely enthralled?

I mean, good for her.

Despite the apparent entertainment potential of the fight, it quickly becomes clear who’s winning it. Slowly but surely, the fierce corpses are losing ground, tossed around like chiffon dolls, the shocks punctuated with the sinister crack of bones. Jingyi looks anxiously between them and Wei Wuxian, still half-hiding in the dark, ready to distract any of the disciples should they point out the lunatic’s sudden change in attitude.

Just as Madam Mo lurches toward the ghost hand again, a hoarse, wheezing sound tearing from her dead throat, two vibrant notes cut through the air, clear as silver bells. They seem to echo through Jingyi’s very core, stealing the breath from his lungs.

The creatures freeze, cowering.

Around Jingyi, his friends come back to life. Tao Ming almost faints, Lan Fan breathes the biggest sigh of relief Jingyi’s ever heard from anyone, and Sizhui wipes blood off his face, beaming. “Hanguang-jun!”

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

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Hello Mojo, hope you're doing well and that you had a good break! I wanted to signal boost the MDZS May Diaspora event collection on AO3, and point out my favorite fic from there: 归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home by dragongirlG! It's both tender and bittersweet and it features such mature writing. The author got some hate for it when it initially got posted so I wanted to counter that and give it some love instead! [Who would do such a thing?!  @dragongirlg-fics I’m sorry that happened to you, and here, have *so many hugs!* I’ll try to do a thing just for the diaspora event, but meanwhile, I’ll just treat this as a follower rec.]

归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home

by dragongirlG (M, 8k, wangxian)

Summary:  The destruction of the Yin Tiger Seal does not kill Wei Wuxian; it ages him instead. He takes shelter in a cave expecting to die, but instead he lives, slowly learning to embrace life with each new day.

Thirteen years later, a young man with a Lan forehead ribbon stumbles into the cave. His name is Lan Sizhui.

~*~

Hi Momjo!!! I recently read the most *adorable* fic, and I loved it so much that it dragged me out of seclusion (read: social anxiety cave) to rec it. It's called 'Covered in Bees' by ScarlettStorm in which the Cloud Recesses is an apiary, and Wei Wuxian has suddenly found himself host to a swarm of bees. ~ @akyra-talanoa

Covered in Bees

by ScarlettStorm (T, 8k, wangxian)

Summary: “Cloud Reccesses Apiary,” says a toneless, deep masculine voice, with zero question in it. Wei Ying doesn’t care, because whoever possesses that voice is probably going to come save him from bees like a fucking hero while wearing like, a suit of armor. That’s what you wear to catch bees, right?

“I have like, so many bees outside my front door right now,” he says, mouth running out ahead of him before he can even begin to think about reining it in. “It’s like a sandstorm of bees out there. There are so many bees. I got out of my car and there were just bees and I don’t want these bees. Do you want these bees? Please tell me you will come get these bees. I can’t leave my house and I have enough food for maybe a week but then I’m gonna have to learn how to cook dry beans and no one wants that, especially not me.” Wei Ying runs out of air, takes a breath, and belatedly adds, “My name is Wei Ying. Hi.”

Or: The beekeeping AU that no one asked for.

~*~

Hi, you are a bless to this fandom. Your blog feels like a library, so thoroughly arranged and always within hand reach. [Thank you, wow!]  Recently, I was going through Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn is a Wēn tag and came across a fanfic, it has 3 chapters till now and is so intriguing that i thought to recommend it to you. I don't know if I can recommend or if you have already checked the story, The legendary Phoenix and his Dragon by Devipriya. I am in love with this story. I hope you will enjoy it too, do check it out

The legendary Phoenix and his Dragon

by Devipriya (T, 7k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wen Wuxian, the essence of who he is, he is a naughty child, a prankster, an enchanting dizi player, a graceful dancer, an irresistible lover, a truly valiant warrior, a ruthless vanquisher of his foes, a man who left a broken heart in every home, an astute statesman and kingmaker, a thorough gentleman, a righteous individual of the highest order, and the most colorful incarnation.

He has been seen, perceived, understood and experienced in many different ways by different people. Different people saw different facets of who he is. For some, he is God. For some, he is a crook. For some, he is a lover. For some, he is a fighter. He is so many things.

But the phoenix, seen from the eyes of time was just a playful man. A man who plays with his awareness, with his imagination, with his memory, with his life, with his death. An individual who does not just dance with somebody. He dances with life. He dances with his enemy, He dances with the one he loves, He dances even at the moment of his death.

To taste an essence of who is Wen Wuxian, be with me in the journey of exploration, NO! playful exploration of life of a playful man.

~*~

Hi! Thanks for running this blog, it's helped me find so many fics. For your next follower recs post, I wanted to rec "This love like a flood, a fire, a fear" by natcat5. Its summary is vague (which I suspect is why it isn't better known) but it is a beautiful retelling of canon from LWJ's POV with slight canon divergence. I love the author's characterization of him and the prose is gorgeous. It is easily my favorite fic in the entire fandom, and I don't say that lightly. ~ @nyanja14

This love like a flood, a fire, a fear

by natcat5 (M, 57k, wangxian, lan wangji & lan xichen)

Summary:  “I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves innocence, and as justice loves to sit and watch everything go wrong.”   - Lemony Snicket

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i came to this ask to rec this baseball one called "Waiting for Spring" by thievinghippo on ao3. It somehow made me care about baseball soooo 'nough said ~ @scifikimmi

Waiting for Spring

by thievinghippo (E, 131, wangxian)

Summary:  “It is a well-known fact across the major leagues that one does not smack Lan Wangji’s ass.”

Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes. Everyone smacks everyone’s ass in baseball. It’s how the game is played. Lan Wangji does not get to be exempt from this most sacred of baseball traditions.

Wei Wuxian will make sure of that.

Or, a Major League Baseball AU

~*~

hi mojo! i wanted to rec Something Good by boxoftheskyking (a loose sound of music/canon divergence au) and also MDZS: The Golden Engine by iffervescent (immortal wangxian modern au where they gotta solve a mystery and save china, featuring jiang cheng/lan xichen)

Something Good

by boxoftheskyking (T, 43k, wangxian)

Summary:  "That Wei Wuxian, you know he used to be such a promising cultivator. Head Disciple of the Jiang Clan, can you believe it? You see, juniors, the punishment for traveling the path of demonic cultivation. No golden core, not so much as a whisper of spiritual power."

As a punishment for real and imagined crimes, Wei Wuxian is sentenced to work at Cloud Recesses as the lowest of servants. When a surprising reassignment lands him with eleven children to care for, everything changes again.

A Sound of Music AU

MDZS: The Golden Engine

by iffervescent (E, 82k, wangxian, xicheng)

Summary:  In the modern era, immortals Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian return to Gusu. New evil and old friends + new friends and old evils.

~*~

Hi Mojo! First of all let me just tell you that you are amazing and this blog is like a gift from the gods! Bless you and your endless patience and hard work. [Oh, thank you so much!]  I know that you have just accepted follower recs and I have missed miserably but I still wanted to write and bring attention to a writer by the pseudo Xiao_Hua on ao3, I think they are quite good and I just recently found the account with so much content. If you do have the time to check them out, I'd rec catfish, my fox or the red ribbon.

The Red Ribbon

by Xiao_Hua (M, 21k, wangxian, TGCF crossover)

Summary:  Wei WuXian died but not before saving HanGuang-Jun and A-Yuan, leaving so much more behind than just his ribbon.

My Fox

by Xiao_Hua (E, 13k, wangxian)

Summary:  Once he headed to YiLing that all changed for him. His priorities have been mingled with and ordered in complete disarray even without him noticing as he was left heavily influenced by a creature.

Or one where Lan WangJi is a dragon-spirit and he finds his mate in the form of a fox.

Catfish

by Xiao_Hua (E, 15k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wei WuXian has a common sense that believes it has a nine-to-five job while Lan WangJi finds that incredibly hot.

Or one where two catfish realise that neither of them truly catfished.

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Hi Mojo i'm recommending this amazing fic it is called song of joys and regrets. it's a time travel AU it's amazing. And your Blog is a Godsend Thank you! [Aw, you’re so sweet!]  ~ @highgoddess

Song of Joy and Regrets

by HelloKitten (not rated, 59k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  The Archery competition at Qishan this year has hit a snag. As the Sects face the wrongs perpetrated by their future selves, Wei Wuxian finds himself adopted by half of the cultivation world who are determined to save him from himself.

Baby Wangxian suffers. Adult Wangxian's job here is done.

"I'm starting to see a pattern to all his plans..." "Do they all involve him being bait?" "Yes" came deadpanned responses.

~*~

Here’s a 2021 Reverse Big Bang entry, in time for Father’s Day; [Oops, my bad, sorry!]  Under a Blanket of Black Wings, by ChaoticAndrogynous (#31398395); LWJ, recuperating from the 33 lashes, tells A-Yuan a series of fairytales about a heroic monster and the brave little boy he befriended. Vampire! WWX (in the framing story as well as the story-within-the-story); happy ending.

Under a Blanket of Black Wings

by ChaoticAndrogynous (T, 19k, wangxian)

Summary:  Lan Wangji tells A-Yuan a bedtime story about a beautiful monster and the brave little boy who was his friend. Thirteen years later, the monster returns.

~*~

Hello Mojo! Have you read ‘Key Differences’ by Pupeez4eva? Its a MDZS!WWX meets CQL!WWX and its really good! [It’s on my list!]

Key Differences

by pupeez4eva (T, 6k, wangxian)

Summary:  “I don’t understand,” Wei Wuxian said, while his alternate self continued to stare at him with almost a look of hurt in his eyes. There was longing in there too, which Wei Wuxian would have easily recognised if he paid enough attention. “How could you not get together, after everything. What even went on in the Guanyin Temple if you didn’t confess?”

“The Guanyin Temple,” Wei Ying repeated incredulously. “You’re asking me if I confessed at — honestly, a lot went on that day. It was a life and death situation. There was no confessing.”

Wei Wuxian stared at him, appalled.

(Wherein Wei Wuxian ends up meeting an alternate version of himself who, much to his horror, never married Lan Wangji. Obviously he has to do something to fix this).

~*~

Hey Mojo i would recommend this fanfic if you already haven’t, it’s called “ take me back to a time “ by DizziDreams. It’s sooooo good

take me back to a time

by DizziDreams (T, 144k, wangxian, 3zun)

Summary:  Wei Ying has a lot on his plate right now.

It’s finals week -- which isn’t so bad. He’s never had to study much to do well in classes. But that just means that things are that much more tense with Jiang Cheng, who, as far as Wei Ying can tell, only takes study breaks long enough to glare at Wei Ying where he sits on the couch playing video games.

It’s not studies that have Wei Ying stressed out. It’s everything else. It’s the recruitment for the research trial he’s coordinating. It’s jiejie and her impending marriage to His Royal Douchebag Jin Zixuan. It’s the volunteer work at the palliative care facility. It’s Wen Ning’s worsening condition. It’s Wen Qing working herself thin to care for her brother and Wen Yuan. It’s the way Wen Yuan never seems to have enough food.

So, yeah. There’s enough on Wei Ying’s plate already, meaning it’s not entirely welcome when he comes home and finds a man standing in his bedroom. A man in extravagant white robes, a ribbon tied around his forehead, long hair gathered into a topknot, fist clutching a sword at his side, who asks him, “Where am I?”

~*~

Idk if this has already been rec’d (I’ve been off the grid for a while now), but there’s this absolutely incredible fic called Restitution by an anon on ao3 people should definitely check out!

this one?

on restitution

by Anonymous (M, 78k, wangxian, jin ling & wei wuxian, lan sizhui & wei wuxian, WIP)

Summary:  When Wei Wuxian regains consciousness, he is in a bed. A real, proper bed, not the slab he called a bed in his cave in the Burial Mounds.

Jiang Cheng is glowering above him.

Wei Wuxian doesn't die during the siege of the Burial Mounds. Rather, he is captured in secret and confined at Lotus Pier. Things change accordingly.

~*~

Hi momjo! I feel like every time I come to your blog there's twenty more new and amazing fics for me to read. Thank you for everything you do for this fandom!  [Thank you, sweetie!  And yes, I think there ARE 20 new fics every day out there in the fandom.  It’s amazing!] Today I come bearing my own rec to you. I've recently read this and it's IMO one of the best fics out there. It's called Lapsteel by carriecmoney and it's a modern stormchaser AU featuring country songs and coming home. ~ @manaika-chan​

Lapsteel

by carriecmoney (T, 42k, wangxian)

Summary:  Now and then, I think about you now and then...

It's been thirteen years since Wei Ying ran for the prairies, leaving behind a family in shambles and a secret on the Pacific wind. What happens when the storm he swirled catches up to him?

Modern AU with country music star Lan Zhan, stormchaser Wei Ying, and shared crossroads.

~*~

[taotrooper]

Held with two hands

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi Characters: Wen Ning, Lan Sizhui, a bunny, Lan Wangji, and guest appearances by the two loudest people in Gusu Genre: Fluff, family, cuteness Summary: In which one of the Cloud Recesses bunnies makes an escape, and Wen Ning ends up getting a pet with Sizhui's help. Written for MDZS Zine - With Love, go check out the rest of the fanworks!

AO3 link ++ zine link

Over his head, up and above in the clear firmament, the white clouds danced across the blue sky, slow but determined, their shapes changing with the wind. He craned his neck up and looked at them in the silence of the morning. One of the largest ones looked like a duck swimming in the water if he squinted.

Looking for shapes relaxed him and made him forget about the weight of his body, about the old suppressed resentment that slept within him, about how dull this life was sometimes without pain or fear or hunger. But clouds, clouds were good. They made him remember of the soft texture of cotton gauzes.

"Hey! Uncle Ning!" A voice rang from the distance. The person he was expecting had arrived. The highlight of a day that otherwise would have been ordinary. A smile bloomed inside of Wen Ning's heart.

"Good morning, A-Yuan," he looked back to the Earth and nodded. The excited grin he couldn't put on his lips was nonetheless plastered in Lan Sizhui's.

"Good morning," the boy hugged him briefly and rubbed Wen Ning's upper back. "Sorry I'm late! I had to do extra chores. Jingyi got punished today so, he can't come."

"Oh no!" Wen Ning's head dropped.

He didn't mind that his little cousin had taken his time. It's not like he had much planned that day. He had hoped the other loud yet kind boy would come and visit as well. He was doomed to be rather fond of loud kind people. After Sizhui, he was the friendliest of the young boys towards him.

"It's okay, it's just an extra reading and not lines this time. He says he's definitely coming with us next time."

"I-I'm looking forward to it."

Sizhui giggled with his hand covering his mouth. The sound was music to Wen Ning's ears.

"Right, let me show you this cool trick we were taught in class today. Hold on a second."

The teenager took out a Qiankun pouch from his long white sleeve. As he opened it to get a stack of talisman paper, Wen Ning noticed that Sizhui's sleeve started to move on its own.

Sizhui froze and stared at his robes with confusion in his eyes. He bent his arm and shook the sleeve until something white and fluffy landed on the grass.

One long ear rose forward and a nose twitched in the air.

How did a bunny get inside of A-Yuan's clothes?

"Aw!" the boy lamented. "It must have sneaked inside while I was feeding the rabbits!"

"Feeding the rabbits?" Wen Ning repeated. This was the first time he had heard the Lan Sect raised animals of any kind in the Cloud Recesses. Then again, he had never stepped inside and only knew the things he caught from the boys or Wei Wuxian's stories. And hadn't A-Yuan mentioned that Lan Wangji had buried him with rabbits when he was younger? Suddenly that odd story made perfect sense.

Meanwhile, the creature was running in circles and jumping in the air. Wen Ning wondered if that was its way of playing. Sizhui didn't seem alarmed by the hops, so that couldn't be a bad thing. Despite that, the man's shoulders stiffened further.

"W-What should we do? Do we catch...?"

"It's okay, Uncle, I don't think it'll leave too far if it hasn't already. Besides, it's happy!"

"Is it?" Wen Ning tilted his head.

"When they jump like that, they're saying they're content and glad to be there. It's like a little dance."

"Oh..."

The bunny skipped a few more times before stopping to explore the area. And that meant it looked around, approached the stranger carefully, and then stood up on its hind legs to lean on Wen Ning's calf with its front legs. He looked down and glanced, and their eyes met. The bunny's right ear was naturally crooked, as if folded. The nose was still twitching. The cuteness was so strong that an impulse invaded the dead man's mind.

After a moment of hesitation, Wen Ning crouched and reached so the rabbit was then cupped within his two hands. It made no attempt to escape; instead, it just moved its head around. His heart felt a tender tug that had nothing to do with any wounds in his chest. With utmost caution, he shifted the weight in only one hand, and with the other he caressed the bunny's back with his fingertips.

It was not spooked, as he had feared. The fur was so soft and fuzzy. The rabbit's teeth started to make clicking sounds that made him recall a cat's purr after petting for a while.

"Whoa!" Lan Sizhui said with a gasp.

"I-Is it comfortable...?"

"Yes! It's actually really happy!" the boy beamed.

While he was physically unable to shed tears, Wen Ning strongly felt like crying.

He kept running his fingers through the bunny's back. Once he was more confident, he moved on to its head and later scratched behind its ears. The animal was delighted and tilted its bended ear closer to the ashen hand. High-pitched muffled noises came out of the man's throat, a stark contrast with the deafening deep roars of a fierce corpse.

"Are you by chance good with animals, Uncle?"

"Um... We had a couple of kittens when I was little, but other than that... I don't know. Ever since I became like this, I try not to get close and scare any animals." After all, they usually can tell he's unnatural and dangerous. "This is the first one I’ve touched this much."

"Aww, Uncle Ning..."

"Ah... Sorry..." A realization, a sadness that was visible in his frozen expression regardless. "Here, you have to take it back."

As he grabbed the rabbit under its front legs to give to Sizhui, it started to struggle. It couldn't escape the inhuman iron-like grasp, but it still let them know it disagreed with this decision. When Wen Ning turned it again to face him, it stopped the thrashing.

"..."

"Huh, it doesn't want to go back yet." Sizhui tapped his chin, lost in thought. "Let's do something, okay? I'll talk to Hanguang-jun."

"What for?"

"Well, the rabbits are his. But we have so many, so maybe he can let you have it. I mean, if you want it as a pet?"

Wen Ning couldn't blink, but his voice was but a whisper loaded with surprise. "A pet? Can I?" The idea of taking care of a small, fragile living being like that seemed wild to him.

"You don't lose control anymore so as long as you go on night-hunts together and such, I don't see why not?" Sizhui glanced at the makeshift shack that Wen Ning had made by the foot of the mountain to protect himself from the elements, as if evaluating whether a bunny could remain indoors or not without dying.

Wen Ning was holding the rabbit under its butt, in a way where the pads of its paws were visible. In that position, they could tell she was a girl. Also, she was too adorable. He didn't want to get his hopes up, and to be honest the idea was giving him some anxiety. Yet he really longed to have her company.

"I know a lot about bunny care, don't worry about the details. Let me fly back and ask!" Sizhui smiled. "Even if you're not allowed, at least I can buy you an afternoon to play with her."

"I-Isn't that too much trouble for you?" Wen Ning fretted.

"Of course not. I'll be back before curfew! Have fun!"

"W-Wait! A-Yuan?"

Sizhui didn't reply and instead unsheathed his sword.

Such a good boy, he thought as he saw his cousin get closer to the clouds above.

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

Sizhui went through the words he wanted to say one last time in his head, when he reached the Jingshi's door. Carefully, he placed his ear on the wooden surface and listened. No noises, no voices, no heavy breathing or alarming sounds. These days, it was essential to take a few seconds to make sure you didn't interrupt the happy couple during their time together. For your mental health, mostly.

Confident, the boy knocked and waited a few seconds. It was possible they hadn't returned yet and the house was empty, but a familiar voice rang from inside.

"Come in."

Sizhui opened the door carefully and greeted with a bright smile. "Good afternoon, Hanguang-jun. Welcome back!"

Lan Wangji was sitting at his desk. He nodded and put down the book he was reading. He seemed as solemn as usual but Sizhui knew better. There was an almost invisible yet tender spark in his eyes inside the stern complexion.

"Am I interrupting? I can come back later," the boy asked as he sat in front of the desk. He could smell the comforting scent of sandalwood from the incense burner, and he could see his father's guqin resting on a bamboo stand in a corner.

"No need, you are more important." Sizhui felt warm and loved at the words. "Are you just visiting or is there anything you wished to talk about?"

"Ah, yes. Um... It's about one of the rabbits. When I was feeding them this morning, one of the girls jumped inside my sleeve and well..." Sizhui sighed. "I went outside the Cloud Recesses and she managed to stow away." He made a pause to see if there was any reaction in Lan Wangji's face. His face was unchanging, which was even more intimidating. "She got away from me but don't worry, someone caught her."

"I see. Be more careful next time." Lan Wangji's voice was quite neutral at least, not giving it much importance.

"I will, but that's not the problem. I—"

They were interrupted by the faraway noise of an object breaking, two thuds, a clang, a donkey's outraged bray, and another familiar voice yelling something about either something black, a hound or a skull. That could be either of these things, considering this was Senior Wei in question. Neither of the two Lans decided to dwell on it.

"Anyway," Sizhui shook his head. "I wasn't the one who retrieved her. A... another person was nearby and he caught her. The thing is, the bunny really likes him. We already have so many, so I was wondering if we could allow him to keep her as his pet? Please? I feel bad breaking them up."

He bit his lower lip while his father figure was lost in thoughts. What if this was a mistake and he had given his uncle a false hope?

"As long as this person has no intentions of eating her," Lan Wangji finally said, "I have no objections."

"Hahaha, no!" Sizhui chuckled. "He doesn't eat." Realizing the mistake of ending the phrase there, he quickly added more to it. "Meat, I mean. He doesn't eat meat. No rabbit meat in his diet. Ahahaha..."

The pause was too long and awkward! Nonetheless, Hanguang-jun's face remained the same.

"Mmn. Make sure to tell him about proper care," he said. Sizhui let out the breath he was holding. "If he's a cultivator or you think he could partake in dangerous business, you may add a general version of our protocol on how to handle and keep small living beings safe during night hunts. In case that might be useful."

The boy wondered if that last part meant his father figure suspected this stranger's real identity. But since Sizhui didn't know Lan Wangji's actual opinion on Wen Ning or if he'd let one of his bunnies in the hands of a fierce corpse, he preferred to leave it at that.

"Thank you so much," Sizhui bowed, his ponytail bouncing up and down, and then stood up. "I'll leave you to your reading, okay?"

"Stop," Lan Wangji said after he had turned on his heels. "I need to discuss something with you as well, so please take a seat."

That didn't bode well, but Sizhui complied and hoped it didn't involve copying lines while doing a handstand again.

"Uncle has given me a series of complaints about you. He wants me to put sense into your head."

"Oh..." Indeed, this could end up in punishment. "About the night hunts?"

"About the night hunts. He's upset about you inviting Wen Qionglin, about you staying past the curfew, about you dragging the other disciples your age and about you being a bad influence to your juniors. This is a level of indiscipline improper of you."

Sizhui opened his mouth, but he immediately closed it before defending himself. He had no idea how to do that, how to explain how he felt about spending time with his Uncle Ning, how warm and fuzzy it was that Jingyi and the others were nice to him as if he wasn't the Ghost General. Yet he understood their teacher's worries, even if he thought they were unfair.

"I will appreciate it if in the future you act with prudence..."

"Hanguang-jun..."

"...and come back to the Cloud Recesses long before nine, if possible."

Sizhui blinked and waited for the rest, but Lan Wangji was already picking up his book from the desk.

"You're only concerned about the curfew?" he dared asking.

"I politely disagree with Uncle. Wei Ying and I don't think Wen Qionglin is a danger to any of you. "

Lan Sizhui let out a sigh. He straightened his back and returned to a serious expression that didn't match his relief.

"Understood. I'll do my best to follow the rules, and make the others follow them too."

"Mmn."

As he was about to leave the room, he heard Lan Wangji's voice behind him.

"I respect that he's your family, just like we are."

Sizhui's eyes started to prickle with hot tears, but the door opened and he saw a surprised smirk in front of him.

"Oh, it's Sizhui! Hey!" Wei Wuxian's hand pet the boy's head and ruffled his hairstyle. "Talk to you later, there's an emergency and I have to redraw suppressing talismans on a skull. Okay?"

"Y-yeah, please do so, Senior Wei. And welcome home!"

With quick steps, the fastest he could without running -as it was against the rules after all- the young man left the Jingshi with no questions for his other father figure about whatever mess he was solving or creating.

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

"Uncle Ning? Are you home?"

The voice and knock came from beyond the makeshift door. Without making sudden moves, the owner of the miserable but sturdy hut answered. "Yes."

The vision that awaited Lan Sizhui was quite amazing. Wen Ning lay on his back, on the body-long mat he used as a seating space or for a guest's bed. Over the length of his torso, the bunny flopped on her belly. Front paws under her head, back legs stretched out, ears laid back at an angle. She didn't mind the vein-marked hand that was scratching her in a lazy manner. No matter how you looked at it, the rabbit had come to trust this strange gray giant to the point of being able to completely relax on him.

Wen Ning couldn't see his relative's face until he sat next to him. Sizhui had a cute expression of delight that to him matched not only the animal but the state of his own heart.

After he regained some composure and stopped suppressing silly sounds —a struggle his uncle had understood too well for the entire afternoon— Sizhui coughed into his own fist and attempted to sound solemn.

"I have news. I spoke to Hanguang-jun, and he says he doesn't mind."

Wen Ning's eyes opened wide. He sat up in a jolt, not before placing a firm hand over the rabbit's body. She escaped his grasp in protest and jumped off, away from his arms. The man was too busy staring at the boy's honest grin in disbelief.

"I-Is it true? Really?"

"Really, really! She's yours!"

He had been bracing himself for a negative answer for the last hour. He had resigned himself to just enjoying a short time with the rabbit before returning her. As sad as it was, he had been used to things never going the way he hoped -even when he was alive his luck had always been beyond terrible. Despite this unusual positive response, he couldn't believe his ears.

Was it childish to be this happy for being allowed to keep a pet? It was as if the adult had been Sizhui instead of him, and that gave him a bit of shame. And yet... and yet... he felt so blessed he knew he would weep if his eyes could. His heart was swelling with joy.

"Thank you." His whisper left his lips in a broken voice. "Give Young Master Lan my thanks."

"Hahaha, he says there's no need."

"Did you hear, A-Ju?" He turned to the rabbit. "You're staying with me."

The bunny flopped again on the mat, this time on her left side and with her front legs folded near her chest.

"She keeps doing that," Wen Ning explained. "It's cute."

"It's a good thing," Sizhui assured him. "So her name is Ju?"

Wen Ning nodded. He would have blushed if he could. Despite his pessimism, he had still decided on a full name for her. He had thought for a long time.

"Written which what character?"

"Like chrysanthemum," Wen Ning drew 菊 in the air with a finger.

"Ah, that's pretty! I thought it was from bent." He drew 局 and pointed at the bunny's quirky ear.

"Ah, that too. She, uh... Her full name is Ju Juju."

"And the other Ju?" Sizhui leaned closer with sparks in his eyes.

Wen Ning picked up A-Ju and grasped her with his two hands as an answer. "Ju." His cousin drew the right character in the air, 匊, before cracking up.

"Pfffft, Uncle!" Sizhui snickered.

"I know, it's kind of silly..."

"I like that wordplay, though." The boy tickled the belly of the now named Ju Juju. "I do think it's clever!"

A-Yuan was one of the few people Wen Ning knew who genuinely found his jokes and puns funny. He had stopped saying them during his childhood when he only received exasperated groans, and it was wonderful when he accidentally discovered that they had a similar sense of humor.

"Ju as the flower for short," Wen Ning added, ruffling Sizhui's hair very softly.

"Yep, it's the most name-like. And her tail is fluffy like that flower so it suits her."

"Yes." Wen Ning forced a smile on his lips. Sizhui looked around and saw the small bowls of fruit and water on the ground, and a couple of sticks and stones that his uncle had offered as prospects for temporary toys.

"Okay, should I tell you how to take care of her?"

"Please do."

He was going to love to take care of her.

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

Epilogue

"Hey! Wen Ning!" Wei Wuxian's voice rang out, this time not enticing with orders but just appealing with the cordiality of an old friend. It was not a summon but a call. Behind him, Lan Wangji was holding Li’l Apple's reins and two boys trotted next to their seniors.

"...Young Master Wei." A tall, meek figure came out of the bamboo forest.

Wei Ying grinned as the Lan clan members exchanged greetings. Was it his imagination, or did Wen Ning's chest look a bit more buff? Couldn't be, and yet he looked slightly bulkier.

"Coming with us to a night hunt?" Wei Wuxian said.

"Y-Yes, I'd love to... Just give me two minutes." Wen Ning's well-worn boots were twitching, as if he wanted to run away.

"What's wrong?" Lan Wangji asked.

"Uh? N-Nothing, I need to... drop something at the hut..."

That's when Wen Ning's pectorals started to rustle and jingle. Before anyone could say anything, a white head emerged from his shirt. It was a rabbit.

Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi shared the same guilty look on their faces which meant that, unlike Wei Wuxian, they understood what was going on.

"Why is there's a bunny here?" Had it been anyone else, Wei Wuxian would have also asked Wen Ning a question about the possibility of catching it to roast it, but he knew the his friend wouldn’t appreciate that. Besides, for some reason there were two ribbons, one white and one red, forming a little bow around its neck so it was probably a pet. Tied to the ribbons, there was a little round silver bell which explained the noise.

A white blur slowly passed by everyone until he stood in front of Wen Ning, who started to shake. Lan Zhan just glanced at the animal. After some seconds of indecision, Wen Ning took it out of his shirt and raised it towards his old master's husband with reluctance. The boys seemed as nervous as the fierce corpse.

Lan Wangji didn't grab the bunny, though. He moved his hand to place it over the fuzzy ears. Just like that, he started to pet it. It closed its eyes and leaned closer to the elegant fingers of jade. Neither his or Wen Ning's face had made any change in their expression, just them staring at the fluffy white thing, one holding it and the other one caressing it.

Wei Wuxian couldn't take it. They were too much. His stomach was hurting from the strain of suppressing the laughter.

"Oh, I can't with this!" he guffawed. Lan Wangji stopped and turned around. Wen Ning quickly let the bunny climb to his shoulder, where it licked its owner's cheek. "You two..." Wei Ying giggled, unable to restrain himself. "Adult men shouldn't be this cute!"

"Right?!" Jingyi nodded furiously.

"Senior Wei can be cute as well sometimes," Sizhui helped.

"Well, I guess that's—" Wei Wuxian pouted, unable to feel fully complimented or insulted. He crossed his arms. "Wait, why only sometimes?"

"Let me take A-Ju back inside," Wen Ning said. "She has a big corral."

"Mnn," Lan Wangji said, ignoring the return of his beloved's loud laugh. "As in the flower?"

"Yes, Young Master Lan."

"Good name."

Wen Ning couldn't beam at Lan Zhan's comment but he sure looked the happiest they had seen in a while. After a string of thankful sounds, the undead man ran to his hut with the bunny on his shoulder. The bell rang with every step.

Lan Wangji didn't smile either but Wei Wuxian glanced at the tenderness in his eyes. The latter wasn't sure if it was the rabbit or warming up to Wen Ning over a common interest that wasn't protecting Wei Wuxian or the juniors' asses for once. Still, he was mesmerized by the soft expression on that beautiful face until Jingyi's voice broke the spell.

"But Senior Wei has a point," he said. "I don't think anyone would believe us if we told them that we witnessed Hanguang-jun and the Ghost General, two of the strongest and scariest men of the cultivation world, basically coo over a bunbun together."

"Hahaha, yes!" Sizhui agreed.

"That's part of their secret charm!" Wei Wuxian grinned and clasped around his husband's arm. Wen Ning returned with a little hop into his steps. Wei Ying in turn was also content to see this man, whom he had cursed with such a miserable afterlife, so full of love.

In fact he decided it was better than any teasing or cooking joke he could make. Adult men like those two could and should be this cute, especially around him and the kids.

[queenmorgawse]

i am in the birds that sing (i am in each lovely thing)

THIS FIC HAS SPOILERS FOR CHAPTERS 123-124 OF TGCF. as a disclaimer, though, i'm only caught up with suika's translation, so i don't know how these two actually end up. pls don't spoil me!! content warnings : suicidal thoughts / ....suicide equivalent? think what mo xuanyu pulled in mdzs canon. nothing graphic, but it's not lightly implied either. please take care! here's some soundtrack, if reading with music is your thing.  read on ao3 + end notes.

He Xuan,

This is a graceless beginning to a graceless letter, isn’t it? Of course, it hardly matters. I wish for you to never read this at all, so you can remain as happy as you can be. I don’t even know if this will survive my endeavor. If it has, and if you’re reading it, I urge you to fold it again and burn it. It will bring you no joy.

Why write the letter at all, then? The truth is, I am awfully lonely, these days, and this is hardly something I can simply tell my neighbour when I invite her over for tea. She’s a sweet young woman. I hope she fares well after this. I’ll have to ask her to leave the pinwheels where they are, and see that they don’t get blown away.

I keep getting lost in thoughts, but again, it doesn’t matter. All I have to waste is paper and time, and though I’ve spent much of one already, I shall not run out of the other before I am done.

I suppose I just want to clear my head and go...wherever I am going serenely, without dragging a heavy heart behind. I am also selfish in that special way humans are, and want to cling to the possibility, as infinitesimal as it is, that someone somewhere will know of me.

To the core of the problem, then ⎯ or, actually, the core of the solution.

I have a little divinity left in me, you see. Oh, not much ; figuratively, barely enough to fill a teacup. It will not keep me immortal, or give me my spiritual devices back. Ultimately, it will not save me, so I thought I might devote it to something that will be worth it.

I’ve been doing an awful ton of research. My brother attempted the impossible and, against all odds, succeeded. I made my best attempt at doing the same. There are many spells forbidden and forgotten to find, if one works with single-minded purpose.

I unearthed the one I wanted, after a while.

-

Shi Wudu’s sixth birthday goes by without a hitch. So does the year that follows it, and the next, and the next. He never presses his ear against his mother’s door, waiting with baited breath for a newborn’s first wail. There is no longer a nursery and no new cradle in the Shi family’s mansion.

When he leaves, stubbornly holding his head high as whispers and gossip surround him, what remains of his belongings tucked in the bag hanging at his shoulder, he leaves alone.

-

I thought of looking for a way to bring your family and fiancée back to life, at first. Then I realized that if they did, they would still be mortal, and your happiness would be fleeting. It was a great shame to lose them once ; it would have been a tragedy to watch them die again. I discarded that idea soon after I came up with it.

-

A group of children wades through the shallow current of the stream that runs like a silver ribbon around the town of Fu Gu. The boys rolled up their pants to their knees, the girls hiked up their skirts as high as they dared. They kick and splash water at each other, and the air rings with startled yelps and breathless laughter.

One of the girls latches onto the shoulders of the boy next to her and bears down with all her weight, dragging them both into the river. She bolts to her feet as fast as she can, expecting him to catch her and pull her back again, giggles and wrings water out of her soaked mess of a dress. Instead, he stares at her like he’s never seen her before, like she caught the sun shining high above them and set it into her smile.

Not for the first time, she is mesmerizing. For the first time, he is charmed.

-

When I found what I was looking for, it took me one year to translate it, then another to check it over again and practice. Aren’t arrays that must be drawn perfectly in a single line so very annoying? I had to make sure it worked.  

These are bold words from me, though. Even as I sit here, writing this, I do not know whether it will succeed. All I know is that I won’t be able to live with myself if I do not try.

-

Red robes rustle as the couple kneel and bow their heads before the family shrine.

There is no gold to line the bride’s veil, and the clothes themselves have been handed down three generations. But the joy ⎯ the joy they radiate changes everything. In that aspect, an emperor couldn’t dream of a lovelier wedding.

As is tradition, the bride and groom bow thrice : once to the heaven and the earth, once to the aging couples looking on with tears in their eyes, and once to each other. They rise to the sound of cheers, their hands still clasped in each other’s. The wedding party wishes them good luck, prosperity, healthy children, their words running together like songs.

Blessings come raining down on them, and the road ahead is endless.

-

Here is how it works : the only person who needs to disappear is me. The rest is all consequences, like ripples in a pond. Without me in the middle, there is no stone to be thrown, and the surface remains peaceful. There will be no newborn baby for a hungry spirit to latch on. My brother will never go to the lengths he did for someone who never existed to begin with.

You will have the life you should have had from the beginning, without knowing you ever suffered.

-

In a beautiful two-storied house, a young woman slumps against the bed frame, her face flushed, breathless but somehow glowing. The midwife hands her a small, wailing bundle. She takes it into her arms with infinite gentleness, cradling it to her chest.

The door opens. A young man in dark robes half runs, half flies into the room, a little girl on his heels. The child climbs onto the bed, babbling at her mother the entire time, while her husband leans over her, his gaze softening.

Three dark heads bend together, cooing at the newborn. The baby opens its eyes and chirps at them, small and soft. The mother starts to cry, while the girl whoops and claps until her father shushes her.

A few minutes later, another woman bursts into the room. Gege! she calls, then gasps. Oh, she’s so cute!

He Chunhua, they call the infant, for the spring flowers blooming outside the mother’s window.

-

It is a simple and elegant solution. The best I could come up with, anyway.

Don’t think I rushed headlong into this. I could have, as I rushed into many other messes ⎯ but I thought this time, neither ge nor you would be here to catch me if I fell, and so I proceeded as carefully as I knew how.

I made a list of everyone my disappearance might affect. Of course, my brother and yourself were the first. I used to be upset at this, but now, I am glad the other heavenly officials were never as fond of me as they claimed to be. Fewer ripples in the pond to mind.

I thought of all the prayers I answered over the years, the little demands and the big. But I trust that you, the version of He Xuan I never knew, are a good person, and that you will attend to your worshipers as I have to mine. Hopefully, you will also help His Highness in his time of need.

I suppose that with all this covered, there is not much more for me to say.

-

Three children tug each other by the hand. One is, to tell the truth, a teenager already ; the second doesn’t appear older than eleven or twelve, and the third is only a small boy, eight years old at most. The eldest leads them up the temple’s steps and into the semi-darkness.

There, the shadows are broken by thousands of candles lit by a steady stream of worshipers. Even now, as the dusky sky stretches into night, many still pray at the god’s feet. They ask for kind winds on their journeys, for good fortune for their businesses, for beneficial matches for their children. A hundred prayers rise into the sky, with the smoke of a hundred merits. All over the land, there are such temples, with such people sending the Lord Wind Master their wishes and hoping for his blessing.

The eldest sister lights an incense stick for each of her younger siblings. Together, they kneel among the other devotees.

Unlike the others, their prayers do not ask for anything. They tell the god about their mother, and how hard she’s been working lately. They talk about their grandmother, whose health has been improving a little with the death of winter, and about their grandfather, whose extraordinary resilience still has him running the family’s shop despite his old age. They talk about themselves, too ; how their education goes, the friends they’ve made, the life ahead of them.

It always ends the same way. Father, I hope you are doing well. We miss you very much.  

They will come back next week.

-

If you’ve read up until here, you have thoroughly disregarded the advice I’ve given in the first lines, and I must scold you for it. I understand, though. There are few things more tempting than the truth, once it has shown even a glimpse of itself. I hope this doesn’t upset you too much. You were in so much pain that first time ; even after all that has happened, I do not want to add to it, even in a lifetime where you will not remember.

Well, now you know. If this letter exists at all, that is. The person who wrote it was never here, so it is unlikely, but I cling to the childish hope that it will make it through somehow.

I don’t know what will happen to me. The ritual says very little, only that it goes against the rules of the world. I don’t know whether I will be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation again, or if it is forever barred to me.

What I said that day is true. I wanted to die then, and even now, I cannot bring myself to mind the idea. What changed since I left the island is that I decided I would rather not die in vain. If the letter survived, then at least one person in the world will remember my name. I’m quite happy with that.

I hope it doesn't hurt. I hope it feels just like falling asleep.

I want to say more, I really do. But, He Xuan, if you have read this to the end, I don’t want to burden you with anything you might feel towards the shadow of a ghost, be it hatred, or guilt, or (dare I hope) gratefulness.

Once again, I am sorry. The wrongs of this lifetime will never appear in yours, but I will remember them all the same. I cannot bring myself to forgive that version of you for what you did, no more than I can forgive myself for what I took part in.

It is all right, though. There will soon be a blank slate, a world in which neither of these things happened, and we are happy ⎯ or at least, at peace.

Just know that even though you might think I have done much for a stranger’s sake, you were the furthest thing from a stranger to me.

With hope once again,

Shi Qingxuan

-

In the middle of a convoluted array stands a forgotten god. Blood drips down their fingertips as they bend down to complete the circle with a swift, decisive stroke.

The dawn explodes into shards of light.

When the dust settles, the field is almost empty. A gentle spring breeze blows across neat rows of pinwheels.

All is quiet, and all is new.