#duke!lwj

[limitbreaker23]

"You're so handsome," Lan Wangji rasped in a drunken voice and framed Jiang Cheng's face. The twitch of a smile on Jiang Cheng's face made Lan Wangji's drunken body feel quite warm, even in the pouring rain. He pulled Jiang Cheng closer, nearly catching his breath. "Wanyin."

With a sudden huff, Jiang Cheng turned his head away, and Lan Wangji grabbed him tighter, held him close, refused to let his eyes wander away, urged him: "Don't you know how handsome you are?"

Jiang Cheng submitted with a sigh, leant his forehead against Lan Wangji's, forehead ribbon pulled down by the rain, and held him steady against the sway of alcohol.

"Don't you know how drunk you are?" Jiang Cheng retorted. "Let's get you home."

And Lan Wangji sank against his shoulder, heavy and burdened, safe and sure not to fall, falling still, "Home…"

I will leave this clip here as well and invite you to think about Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng's paths crossing at the point where Hanguang-jun, following the chaos, must drink ungodly amounts of liquor to gamble to uncover the truth about corrupted cultivators, while Jiang Zongzhu has to deal with the aftermath of such reckless yet quite endearing decisions.

Jiang Zongzhu will carry Hanguang-jun home, safe and sound, and offer only one sentence to Lan Xichen as his explanation:

[silviakundera]

Oooh I like duke su from the show but the one from the novel sounds so much more interesting tbh I love a morally grey character with his own goals who doesn't give a f*ck what the lead is trying to do but has their own agenda and it's a much slower burn. Though with how Chinese dramas operate these days it's no wonder they made him like the FL and start helping her extremely early I don't think they know or even can with how netizens are write anything else.

Though I too love novel Su guogong, I think we're in a real quandary for the adaption.

The censors won't let him be characterized as black as the novel version AND be allowed to survive (see: Eternal Brotherhood where we can have a main character who is a dark schemer with blood on his hands that adores his wife -- only because he's doomed, doomed, doomed!) Boooooo!!! I do not agree that this softening was required for this work nor Story of Kunning Palace. Grr!!

But the change to make the FL and ML interact much more and work together in the 1st half, rather than him observing coldly and uncaring about her life or death -- imo that's a quandary about different mediums and how the audience reacts to them.

I wrote a lil meta post previously about the live action adaption of MDZS and why imo the production was forced to change the WWX and LWJ backstory. Once they decided on a linear storyline, imo the otp had to eventually be friends in his first life with a mutually acknowledged bond. The audience simply CANNOT be asked to wade through 20+ hours of episodes before LWJ as love interest isn't repeatedly rejecting the protagonist. 25 episodes and weeks in real-time of him being only cold & standoffish is too much for most viewers. When consuming the novel, the reader both won't have that stretched out real time delay until the couple are on the same page. And it won't take them 20 hours of reading to get there.

Things hit different for a crafted romance on page than performed live on screen for a 40-50 episode drama.

I can still see the adaption's struggle with this. Su suogong is truly a minor character in the novel and frankly not an active participant in most of the problem > scheme > resolution sub-arcs. He has this whole other full life of his own separate interests happening..... somewhere else. The novel mostly leaves his weekly activities as a black box, an obscured mystery. Drama boy is out there somewhere moving his chess pieces & murdering people for power but the reader often just sees glimpses of him ominously sipping his tea & ordering his minions around. In order raise him to a main, the drama is forced to make him involve himself in the play much earlier - to give him a reason to be on screen that is fully tied in with the main plot & its themes. He has to care about FL by the 9th hour in, and want to support her.... or give up ML status to Ye Shijie. 🤷

We can see the strain of this as 3 episodes may happen and all the screenwriter can do is have Su guogong show up for 5 minutes just to flirt a little and remind viewers he's alive 😂😂 but that's what you gotta do with 40 episodes tbh. I can't disgree that this is a more enjoyable viewing experience.

[simon-says-nothing]

tagged by the wonderful @dwarfsized! sorry for doing two ask games in a row im just finally at my computer haha!

How many works do you have on AO3?

9!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

141,123!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

bg3 currently! also used to write for the untamed, and unforchies vld!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1 - Staring at Eternity - (magnus bane/alec lightwood) (please this was in 2015.)

2 - don't make purple - (keith/lance) VLD

3 - fire on fire (wei wuxian/lan wangji)

4 - overcome the sirens (sigh. once again. i was in hs. but. todoroki shouto/midoriya izuku)

5 - the bane of my existence - (its fucking cassie clare again )

5. Do you respond to comments?

always!! mwah

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

ah, probably burden , my wyll/karlach (wyll grand duke ending) fic. tis a small oneshot abt them being long distance pining, n i uh. was gonna write a happier part two but. shrug!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably don't make purple haha, the only longfic i finished and definitely the happiest one :,)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

ah, i have a few times, not often! most notably someone calling my t4t wangxian. homophobic. bc they are trans men. lmfao.

9.Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have haha, in my wangxian fic, but its not my strong suit for sure. eager to get better at it one day!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i have not written any but i'd love to!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not yet!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

mmm no but writing w @sweetsuke in the doc will always feel like a fun collaborative process :))

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

oh man, i as leetle am a multiship bitch but. wangxian, wwx/lwj, has a rlly special place in my heart forever. love those dudes. they live up here in my brain forever.

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i swear to christ i will finish fire on fire. i will finish you wangxian fic. has it been. 2 years? yes. do i still think of them ? yes. one day.

16) What are your writing strengths?

hm, i think! im good at dramatic one liners. and character work, for Some characters but not All. sigh.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

describing things without feeling like the most boring encyclopedic shit is my personal hell. i suck at adding a little life a little flavor to It is a room. boom.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i like it if it tracks for the character and the authors done research!

19) First fandom you wrote for?

its 2013. i am on quotev. i upload legolas/authors note (i have not learned the internet lingo yet and i thought authors note was the same as reader)

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

right now my darling is reflection , my wyllstarion one-shot, first fic in a long bit that i didn't harass myself over every sentence haha and! surprise! when you don't beat yourself up the words turn out better. insane!!!

i tagg @the-neon-pineapple @sweetsuke if ya want!

[fortune-maiden]

AU meme: MDZS is now a toku and the twin jades are the starting henshin heroes.

Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.

TOKU AU HECK YEAH!

I admit I was sitting on this one for a while because I was trying very hard not to turn this into a Ryuki AU.

I failed.

So now it's Ryuki based with Toshiki Inoue brand identity shenanigans because I loved them in Agito, Faiz and Donbrothers :D

Ryuki is the Battle Royale one where the Riders are duking it out in order to have their wish granted. I'm going to combine this a bit with Fate/Zero where the end goal is an ultimate power, but this ultimate power is actually EVIL!

(It's the Yin Iron) (pretty sure it was also EVIL in Ryuki but I have not watched all of Ryuki)

LWJ was not supposed to be a Henshin Hero but while investigating a haunting one day because he does that, he spotted his brother and shenanigans ensued resulting in the LXC's transformation belt getting split in two and LWJ is a Hero now! ....but he and LXC are only at half the power they should be individually.

Which for ✨Reasons✨ is still pretty much on par with all of the other riders.

WWX is the favorite to win this Battle Royale. In his hero form, he is the villain to defeat and every time he and LWJ run into each other, it's a death match. In civilian form, he and LWJ actually get along great, neither one knowing the other's identity but both having strong ideals of justice. Their identities get revealed to each other about 2/3rds through and there is much angst.

(WWX also forms the classic 2 guys & a girl Rider trio with WN & WQ)

LWJ owns a motorbike and there will be romantic sunset motorbike rides. And friendship sunset motorbike rides. And angsty sunset motorbike rides.

(The bike's name is Bichen)

NHS is not a powerful hero like his brother was, but he has his guile and is determined to get the ultimate power so he could resurrect his brother. (Sorry Da-ge is dead in this verse. For ✨Reasons✨). He's friends with WWX in their civilian lives. Naturally they don't know each others identities, but he and LWJ do learn each other's identities pretty early on, and help each other out. NHS is very definitely not plotting something!

JGY is also a part of this. He and LXC know each other's identities so he figures out LWJ's identity pretty quickly. He decides not to let on that he knows, but much like LXC & LWJ he is more invested in using his powers for good than fighting other heroes. Honest!

This is as far as I got haha (JC is here somewhere too.... possibly also partaking in the identity hijinks with WWX & LWJ). Also Bonus because you mentioned this in our chat and I loved it:

WWX makes his debut in the story when JZX throws his sister's love letter off a bridge and he jumps down to get it while yelling at JZX. (LWJ witnesses this and thinks WWX is an idiot. But a respectable one!)

hmm would it be fun if the Yin Iron shards are what actually allow everyone to become Toku Heroes...

[soyforramen]

Ok, not to be that guy, but LWJ is pretty Cold Duke of the North coded. Hot? Check. Unapproachable? Check. Absolutely soft for the MC? Boyo checked all the boxes he could find and then made some more.

Anyways, LWJ would totally pull the, “Hmm, interesting,” if MDZS was an isekai.

[rarepears]

#she also killed one of the lan elders so imagine sqq like how is it my fault the canon fodder died? release my student or suffer my husband#i love this just imagine the chaos#if they don't force her into seclusion aka domestic arrest she might accidentally introduce lwj to cutsle ves sooner thanks to her shizun via @caranmerya

Luo Binghe: I will exact my revenge on anything that makes Shen Qingqiu unhappy because Shen Qingqiu being unhappy means that he's Not In the Mood And I Can't Have That

(It's only fitting that the sect with people who are the Ultimate Horny For Their One True Love shall now duke it out with Luo "I Only Love Shizun" Binghe.)

Plus, Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen totally inherited all their musical genius-ness from Shen Qingqiu's training and you can't tell Luo Binghe otherwise. Shen Qingqiu's amazing teaching skills can indeed be passed down into his disciples' descendants. That's just How The World Works.

[More in #Lan Wangji's mom was a Qing Jing peak disciple AU]

AU where Lan Wangji's mom was a canon fodder Qing Jing peak disciple (or a hallmaster?) and Shen Qingqiu came down to Gusu Lan with the full force of his anger (and Luo Binghe's anger that his private time with Shen Qingqiu was interrupted by an idiot trying to bridesnatch shizun's precious cabbage student), ready to unleash it on whoever dare hold his student hostage!

[llycaons]

monster baru: notes as of ~halfway through

Dickinson's exploration of topics related to culture, sexuality and colonization is pretty neat to see in a fantasy series. I liked the discussion around cultural relativism, sexual fluidity, and Stakhi gender roles. a white man he may be, but careful and well-researched

I did think it was weird when baru extended sympathy to svir for the discrimination he faced as someone the reader would recognize as white, but ig it does follow the prejudices of the setting to their logical conclusion, and it makes sense that a series so involved in breaking down bioessentialism and misogyny would also challenge assumptions around white supremacy and the idea that white is the default

I kind of dislike that baru has non-sight senses/esp (?) on her blind side. I can't imagine this actually exists, but I suppose DIckinson would know

ulye xe is a GREAT character. her mannerisms and perspective are so cool to get into, and her sense of humor is subtle in a way that rules. also reminds me of lwj, actually, in that sense

I really liked the depressing bath sex scene. it was perfectly appropriate and it made a strong point about baru. also the sex scene itself was really good! hasn't been as graphic as other I've read, but I think the vagueness really works in the scene's favor

the switching POVs is still kind of confusing, but at least they're not doing it in the middle of the chapter anymore. and xy's voice is so strong, and her backstory is insane, I love it. her passion! her outlook! her commitment to the common people! I didn't realize how much she hated the ducal system. but who is XY addressing? 'my friends??'

also antiroyalist XY killing the Duke fucks. WILL THAT BE ALL YOUR GRACE

I picked up on a sense of 'tear down the ducal system' in traitor but it was never explicitly laid out. it certainly doesn't factor in baru's plans

anyway xy's 'side' is so much more complicated than just 'empire or rebel', she's a tactician who sides with the masquerade strategically in order to protect the most powerless of her people.

tain ko is so fucking cool. all the tains are honestly they rule

TAIN SHIR!!! HOLY SHIT!!!! I want her. and to see how she started...oh my god

TS and TK's backstory... 'I am not mastered'. I have chills. star wars WISHES

I love seeing more of oriati society, and the class critique thereof was super compelling.

it's nice that orientalism was so thoroughly avoided (especially compared to the dany chapters I'm forcing myself through 🤮stop talking about ~strange spices~ dany you have lived there for YEARS just eat the fucking locusts) but imo the world seems kind of small (Taranoke, Aurdwynn, Stazhi, Falcrest, Oriati, with some other peoples to the far east and west) - I would love to see more places and peoples. they all feel like vibrant, living, dynamic places that could actually exist

baru's relentless self-reflection is endlessly fascinating. she never stops questioning, either herself or others

unfortunately I still dislike the try tryhard chapter titles. DIckinson got so excited about all the new elements he wanted o incorporate and is trying to do so much at once. it feels overburdened and needlessly complex. like, tighten it up!

many many beautiful women. it continues to astonish and delight me that so many characters just continue to be women

very confused by this passage

I'm going to ask a mutual but the matricide line jut has me so baffled. how are lachta and the tain family related? why would lachta need to kill HIS mother?

it's really neat to see how Falcrest took over a different country. the weapons adapted to the situation of the place they conquer

Stakhi sounds really cool too! I want to go there!. the concept of 'a necessary king' is so neat. they're a people who don't like to be ruled, by anyone

finally I wish they hadn't used to word weed. it sounds silly and modern and informal when stuck into the language of the narration. just say cannabis

baru's crush on lao seemed like it came out of the blue and I was slightly weirded out that they were cousins, but then she clarified second cousins and honestly I met my second cousin this weekend at a family reunion and I think he's kind of hot so I can't even judge

the interrogation island is REALLY neat

I think the oriati concept of trim, and the critique of the princes, is one of the most fascinating and realistic aspect of the worldbuilding. look forward to reading more

[cyndaquillt]

I posted 9,799 times in 2022

That's 5,989 more posts than 2021!

166 posts created (2%)

9,633 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@deathsmallcaps

@miggylol

@weaponized-mathematics

@violetstar250

I tagged 6,722 of my posts in 2022

Only 31% of my posts had no tags

#long post - 665 posts

#vid - 635 posts

#cats - 608 posts

#relatable - 463 posts

#mo dao zu shi - 371 posts

#pokemon - 338 posts

#meme - 290 posts

#animals - 280 posts

#mood - 263 posts

#comics - 195 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#it’s worse when you watch the show with heteronormative people and they start shipping the characters with any character of the opposite sex

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Shantanu first falls for Ganga, a river goddess and then Satyavati, who literally smells like fish. Guy has a type

116 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#4

WWX: *spews some nonsense*

LWJ: *looks lovingly at him*

LWJ: Mn. :)

163 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

#3

All these J High boys getting involved in gang fights, meanwhile Duke is just living his best rapper life

187 notes - Posted October 20, 2022

#2

They laughed at him! My friend Jonathan Harker was locked in his own room and they pointed and laughed at him 🥺

190 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Am I doing this right?

197 notes - Posted March 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dangermousie]

Picking fights with strangers is rude but since you started I will oblige.

This is a concept: people who are not like you like things that may not appeal to you.

This is another concept: people do not need to be consistent in their fictional tastes and preferences. I can like the greenest green flag in one story, and the reddest red one in another.

And finally, I like some of my fictional dudes to have humiliated sub vibes. There is a lid for every pot indeed.

Also, because apparently purity police found this tumblr. There is a difference between thinking a dynamic is healthy/viable and finding that you enjoy watching a dynamic. And in a way, XY x XL and Li with her ex husband are similar in the fact that I think it's an interesting dynamic for a couple in an AU fic but won't lead anywhere in canon for different reasons.

Do I seriously think it would be good for a woman in real life to hook up with a shoveler? Nope. Do I think Li will ever hook up with him in the story? Nope but in fiction it doesn't bother me because they are fictional. Will someone think of the (fictional) children does not really do much for me. Duke Su is a fun, attractive dude and it's a fun attractive ship, and it would be insane for Li to pick someone else over him, let alone the ex. Doesn't mean I won't think it would be an interesting dynamic to explore somewhere tho the drama obviously won't.

As to Xiang Liu? I ship XY with 17 but XL is a neat character, I can see the appeal in him for Xiao Yao and I actually WOULD read a fic where somehow they managed to be happy together after he's given up his cause but the problem is the way it's written what makes him not a choice is that he won't let XY choose him - he has decided that his cause is the most important thing and he won't make space for love. XY or any person cannot choose someone who wouldn't choose them back.

To conclude: what I find fun to ship in fiction, what I think is a realistic endgame within narrative, what I think is good in reality, and what character I find most interesting are not necessarily connected (since you brought up LYF, my favorite male character in it is Cang Xuan and I do not ship him with FL whatsoever.)

Perhaps you should go back on twitter with your fellow purity police fans. Or at the very least block my tumblr for your own peace of mind.

PS I love Jiang Cheng! I don't know if more than LWJ, but definitely up there.

Clearly my communist childhood made me predisposed to like red flags since Shen Yurong is by now by far my fave character and ngl I’d totally read all the fic where he and FL hook back up after she gets her own back on him.

Yeah I realize he brained her with a shovel, I’ve shipped worse. Have you guys read the novel Till the End of the Moon is based on?! Or Love in Another Life: My Gentle Tyrant? Remember my fixation on Goodbye My Princess? I like my fictional ships like people fixing shelves to the walls - screwed seventeen different ways.

[besanii]

paper-thin

[ WangXian ; XiXian ]

--

The war is won!

Gusu is victorious!

Hanguang-wang is alive!

--

A sizeable crowd has gathered on the streets outside of the palace gates by the time Lan Wangji arrives, freshly bathed and changed out of his travel-weary and battle-worn armour into his formal robes. He dismounts as the guards approach, keeping the reins in his hand as he shows his pass; they grant him passage with a low bow, moving to the side as he leads his horse through the gates as quickly as decorum will allow.

The maids and eunuchs he passes on his way to the Hall of Mental Cultivation pay their respects with low bows and bent knees, lowering their gazes as they murmur his title with something akin to awe. He nods curtly in response but otherwise does not halt in his progress—it would not do to keep the Emperor waiting, war hero or not.

It's been over a year since he went to war, defending Gusu's coast against the invading forces of Dongying. The war had been harrowing and brutal and there were many times Lan Wangji where hadn't been sure he would survive. But he'd fought on with grit and tenacity, acutely aware of his role as a member of the Imperial family to lead and inspire his troops by example. That is, until a well-aimed arrow caught him in the shoulder between the plates of his armour, and sent him overboard in the midst of battle.

He’d survived. Barely.

The doors to the Imperial study are open when he arrives, and the eunuchs kneeling on either side of the door touch their foreheads to the ground in greeting. He walks up to the eunuch standing closest to the door.

“I am here to see the Emperor,” he says.

“Yes, Wangye,” the eunuch replies.  He gets to his feet and turns to the door, raising his voice to announce: “Huangshang, Hanguang-wang begs an audience.”

They do not have to wait long for a response.

“Enter.”

The Emperor is still dressed in his court robes despite the lateness of the hour—the afternoon court session had been over for at least two shichen already—the black silk sleeves stark against the embroidered gold draped over the desk where he works. He puts his brush down as Lan Wangji parts the beaded curtain hanging from the archway leading into the main chamber, a smile already forming on his lips as he watches Lan Wangji kneel in the centre of the room.

“Your humble servant greets Huangshang,” Lan Wangji says, touching his forehead to the floor. “May our Emperor live for ten thousand years.”

“You may rise, Hanguang-wang,” the Emperor says. "We are very pleased to see you returned to the capital alive and well. Your service to the Empire will be duly rewarded."

Lan Wangji rises to his feet, sweeping over the invisible creases of his robe and shaking out his wide sleeves.

"Huangshang gives your subject too much credit," he replies. "I live to serve the Empire and will gladly give my life a thousand times over in its protection."

"Your devotion is recognised, Hanguang-wang, and appreciated," the Emperor says. "Nevertheless, a great victory such as this should be rewarded. Come, brother, is there anything you would wish for? Name it and it shall be granted."

Lan Wangji's hands curl into fists by his side.

"Huangshang would grant anything your subject wishes?" he asks quietly.

The smile on the Emperor's face freezes. A muscle twitches in his jaw as he swallows; he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly. The smile smooths into something cooler, but no less genial.

"Anything within reason," he clarifies.

Lan Wangji exhales and bows his head.

"Your lowly subject dares to presume Huangshang knows what it is I wish for," he says, keeping his voice carefully level. "There is only one wish—one request—your lowly subject would make."

He hears the Emperor sigh, a low, disappointed sound, and his stomach sinks with realisation. But he had not dragged himself out of the depths of hell and back here to give up so easily. In the three months he had allowed himself to be presumed dead, laying feverish and close to death with an infected wound, it had been this one hope, this one wish that had kept him clinging to life. If he survived the war, won the war, then nothing would stop him from coming back and finally—finally—asking for the one thing he's wanted more than life itself.

When he chances an upward glance, the corner of the Emperor's lips are drawn in tight and the crease between his brows have deepened. Lan Wangji has had years to learn the shape of the Emperor's moods, even the ones he hides behind pleasantries and polite smiles, and he knows the Emperor is displeased.

"We would advise Hanguang-wang to make another request," he says finally. Do not continue to pursue this.

Lan Wangji drops to his knees. "Huangshang, you know there is nothing else I would ask for.”

“Wangji, enough!” The room stills. A sigh. “Leave us.”

The eunuchs and maids turn in unison and bow, backing out of the chamber without a word; the door to the study shuts behind them. Lan Wangji curls and uncurls his fists against his thighs, breathing heavily through his nose as he struggles to get his heart rate back under control. He hears the rustle of fabric, followed by footsteps from behind the desk coming towards him, but he dares not raise his eyes.

“Wangji,” Lan Xichen says in an odd, stilted tone Lan Wangji has never heard before. “There is something you should know.”

--

Eunuchs and palace maids alike cower in the wake of his fury, scattering to the winds as soon as he passes. No one stops to question why a male member of the Imperial family aside from the Emperor and his sons is here, unaccompanied, within the gilded walls of the inner palace. Perhaps word had been sent ahead of his arrival, perhaps they had been expecting him--whatever the reason, Lan Wangji knows he would cut down anyone who dares stand in his way right now.

His mind is still reeling as he turns the corner along the once-familiar path that winds through the Imperial gardens, his feet following the route ingrained into him as a child still living within the palace walls.

He hasn't walked this path in close to fifteen years. Not much has changed: the trees and the flowers are the same--still the delicate gentians favoured by the previous mistress of this particular courtyard—only now there are also lotuses surrounding the small pavilion in the heart of the man-made pond, filling the air with their sweet fragrance. And inside that pavilion, an entirely different person is silhouetted against the afternoon sun.

A skirmish arose between Yunmeng and Qishan involving Qishan-hou's second son. 

Wen-er-gongzi was injured in the confrontation.

He takes a step forward, his feet suddenly heavy as though weighed down by boulders, dragging along the gravel. The person in the pavilion is still too far to have noticed him, but Lan Wangji has a clear view of the long black hair twisted up into a half-knot to expose the line of a long, slender neck, held in place by a fanzhan made of silver and set with blue sapphires. The sight of it makes his throat run dry.

Qishan demanded retribution for the injuries inflicted on Wen-er-gongzi. The life of his attacker.

Both Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen were each presented with a set the rare jewels at their coming of age, a mark of their status as members of the Imperial family. To see the same jewels adorning the familiar head of hair—

We believed you dead, Wangji. 

He drags his feet another step forward, the breath catching in his throat as the person in the pavilion half-turns at the sound.

We needed to protect him.

“Who goes there?” a eunuch calls, hurrying around the corner along the path around the pond. “This is Wei-xuanyi’s private garden, outsiders are not perm—”

“It’s alright, let him through.”

A lump forms in his throat so large he can barely breathe around it without pain; whatever hope of this being a cruel joke is crushed at the familiar voice. How many times in the past year has he heard it in his dreams? How many times has the memory of that voice called him back from the gates of Hell itself, when the rest of the world thought him dead?

The eunuch drops to his knees on the side of the garden path and bows his head; Lan Wangji takes this as a sign to proceed.

As a child, the garden path had always seemed wide and inviting; it had always led to his mother, the late Empress, the only source of light and happiness and home in his childhood. And yet now all he feels is dread, cold and dark, seeping out through the cracks in the surface of his façade with every step.

Lan Xichen’s words ring in his ears.

Wangji, it was the only way we could save him.

He stops at the bottom of the steps leading into the pavilion. Four steps. Just four steps, and yet his legs refuse to move, to take even just one more step forward; it is as though his body is fighting with everything it has against it. He can't move.

He is unsure how long he stands there at the bottom of the steps boring holes into the paved stones—it is difficult to keep track when one's mind is filled with the deafening roar of one's own heartbeat. It is not until the sound of footsteps, followed by a rush of activity in his periphery as the palace maids and eunuchs fall to their knees in unison, does he finally raise his eyes.

There, standing at the top of the steps, clad in soft, flowing robes of Gusu blue and Yunmeng purple, with Lan Xichen's jewels in his hair—

Wangji. Wei Wuxian—

Wei Wuxian lowers his head and bends at the knees, his fingertips clasped lightly by his hip. A demure greeting, wildly unsuitable for a member of the gentry.

“Hanguang-wang,” he murmurs. He raises his eyes slightly, enough to peer at Lan Wangji from beneath his lashes. Demure. Restrained.

The ground crumbles beneath Lan Wangji’s feet.

—I have taken Wei Wuxian as a consort.

--

Translations

Wangye (王爺) - equivalent of a Duke, usually Emperor’s brother or uncle

Huangshang  (皇上) - the Emperor; as per usual, I only use the pinyin when the term is used when directly addressing LXC

hou (侯) - equivalent of Marquis, second highest rank after 王

xuanyi (宣儀) - lit. ‘Propagator of Deportment’, a variant of the Tang dynasty concubine ranking pin (嬪) that doesn’t use feminine qualities; the second highest rank after furen/zande (夫人/贊德), used between 662-670 (possibly under Wu Zetian’s influence)

fazhan (髮簪) - hair ornament/pin

--

Notes

Title is taken from the Chinese phrase boming (薄命), which means to have an unlucky fate (usually in reference to women). It literally translates to “thin life/fate”. Inspired by a line in the song 雪落下的聲音 (the sound of snowfall; Story of Yanxi Palace OST):  此生 如纸般薄命 - this life, my fate is as thin as paper.

For those of you wondering where the hell I’m going with this—I have no fucking clue lmao. I just wanted to write WangXian angst with a dose of XiXian that doesn’t involve Dark!LXC for once. I also cannot be bothered to look back on this anymore, so any mistakes are purely cos I’ve given up working on this any further hahahahahaha *dies*

Inspired by a mish-mash of Story of Yanxi Palace (Fuheng x Yinglou reunion anyone???) and Empress of China (mostly the OST, but also the gorgeous costuming and setting of the Tang Dynasty).

Will I continue it? Maybe??? It took me weeks to even get my ass into gear to write this one snippet, I honestly don’t know if I will get around to writing more. But if it interests you, send me an ask about the ‘verse and I’ll try and expand more on it, even if it’s just headcanon form and not fic.

--

buy me a ko-fi!

--

[professorsparklepants]

Tfw your crush starts randomly doing fucked up magic while you're afraid for his life and you have no choice but to express an actual emotion for the first time in your life

[angstymdzsthoughts]

Add-on to the royal au thing about a possible 'mistake' resulting in A-Yuan being stillborn, and apologies in advance if it's at the limit.

The 'mistake' was by a midwife loyal to the Emperor, absolutely sure that the disgraced consort they were attending had cheated. So they think - why not deal with the problem before anyone realises? For someone of their calibre, without anyone around them likely to notice or intervene, it's not that hard.

They realise their actual mistake once they hand the silent little body to WWX and he cries that he has his father's mouth, gently strokes the little eyes to open them and-

- oh fuck.

They assassinated the crown prince before he even took his first breath. Now the consort is catatonic, the Emperor is spending almost every waking moment (when he isn't, say, personally picking and laying toys down in A-Yuan's coffin with him) pleading with the consort to say something, and the young Duke Jiang and Duchess Jin are this close to seceding or committing regicide, it's anyone's guess as to which.

LWJ eventually finds out - one of NHS's little birds took a while to get back to NHS, but they did, and what songs they sing for NHS to investigate and bring to LWJ and JWY. The sole reason the midwife isn't whipped to death on the spot is Duchess Jin ordering JWY to stop - bind them and bring them to WWX. He deserves to know.

It's what finally brings WWX out of his catatonia. Despite his weakened state, he practically flies at them, screaming and clawing them. He's too weak from prison, then childbirth, then catatonia to actually do much, and eventually JYL pulls him off more out of concern for him hurting himself (or knowing WWX would be haunted by murdering someone) than anything else.

The midwife dies via lingchi. Yes, that lingchi. WWX only speaks to LWJ just enough to agree to that, then ask for a divorce and never to see him again.

Another more angsty possibility:

The midwife was somehow even less professional. Both consort and presumed bastard die quick, bloody deaths in childbed from their 'mistakes'.

The midwife had an assistant. The midwife had an assistant who suspected something was going on, but didn't dare question their superior - a very real, documented issue in strongly hierachical, Confucian cultures. In a moment of pity and curiosity, while wrapping the baby's corpse in the swaddling-turned-shroud, the assistant decides to take a good look at the baby, trying to see if it resembles any of the palace staff they recognise, the only other people with access to the consort around the time of conception - the dark eyes of the majority of the servants, the warm brown of one of the servant boys usually bringing food up, maybe the weird blue eyes of that guard from the northern border.

Oh... oh fuck. The assistant's eyes catch on the little mouth next, matching it to the Emperor's. The little odd things the midwife did, noticeable only to someone trained, the lack of surprise, all move from suspicious to potentially a treason worthy of miezu, the entire family being extinguished.

They scream.

.

[adhdo5]

OK fine

So you follow adhdo5 and now have to deal with sword wizards (MDZS spoilers if you care)

This isn't gonna be a comprehensive list but is enough to get one up to speed on wtf I'm talking abt

MDZS/CQL - Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), the novel and donghua adaptation, and Chen Qing Ling, AKA The Untamed, the live action TV show adaptation. Arguably these versions of events are three canons and I'm SCP-ing it

Cultivators - They cultivate their qi for various superhuman abilities. This is a learned ability that technically anyone can acquire, but for it to really work one has to start studying extensively at a young age, so this is very much a class thing (at least in the context of this story; this is not original to MDZS)

Jianghu - Cultivation society. In MDZS, vaguely feudal, controlled by sects with hereditary clan leadership and individual martial traditions. The real villain of the story

Mo Xuanyu (AKA MXY) - Looks like Wei Wuxian usually but with their face powdered and made up badly. Bastard child of the Jins, demonic cultivator, kicked out of Jin Guangyao's black ops detail on harassment charges probably trumped up for being crazy and visibly queer and returned to their mother's abusive family whereupon they eventually snapped and killed themself to summon Wei Wuxian into their body, thereby kicking off the modern day plot

Wei Wuxian (AKA WWX, AKA Yiling Laozu/Patriarch, AKA YLLZ) - Guy in black and red, often with a red hair ribbon. Plays the flute. ADHD. Necromancer. People in canon and in general talk abt her like a man bc they don't know her like I do. War criminal. Jack Bright demeanor and sibling drama level with JC and JYL, Dr Kondraki coded down to being transfem and being able to do Duke 'Til Dawn

Lan Wangji (AKA LWJ, AKA Hanguang-jun, AKA the Second Jade of Lan) - Stoic expression guy in white/light blue with forehead ribbon. Plays the guqin. Autistic and mean. Down hopeless gay style for WWX and experiences 30 years of internalized homophobia pining about it. Stands with his cancelled wife. Younger noble brother to Lan Xichen. He and Arron should stand in a room together and not talk and maybe they'll finally know peace

Lan Xichen (AKA LXC, AKA a-Huan when I'm being annoying, AKA Zewu-jun, AKA the First Jade of Lan) - Normal expression/smiling guy in white/light blue with forehead ribbon. Plays the xiao (flute but vertical). If you're unsure which Lan it is know that if he's smiling, has a flute, or is with Jin Guangyao it's LXC. He knows life isn't fair but believes that one day it might be. Loves ignoring. Terrible throuple situationship. Should've been at the club. He could be an O5 but he'd hate it but he'll do it anyway

Jin Guangyao (AKA Meng Yao, AKA JGY, AKA MY, AKA a-Yao, AKA Lianfang-zun) - Guy with dimples, either in nondescript gray robes and braids or in fancy gold robes, a funny hat, and a red dot on his forehead. Shorter than the rest of the cast. Transmasc to me sometimes. Desperately wants to believe in class mobility, but will always be the son of a prostitute and thrown down the stairs. Momma's boy. War criminal. Terrible throuple situationship. Entire plot in the modern day consists of taking the gun away from him. He doesn't have to apologize for anything. O5 CODED!!!!!!

Nie Mingjue (AKA NMJ, AKA Chifeng-zun) - Guy in usually green, sometimes gray, usually braids; either tall as hell, has a mustache, or both. Usually has his huge cursed saber. Hereditary magic anger issues. Not strictly a war criminal. Extremely morally uncompromising man. Terrible throuple situationship. Killed and dismembered as a result of the previous. Not O5 coded but he could do it for a little

Nie Huaisang (AKA NHS) - Guy in usually green, sometimes gray, usually braids, always with a fan. World's premier slacker, layabout, dilettante dandy, know-nothing, 10 year revenge plot schemer, birdwatcher, and Wei Wuxian sidekick in summer camp. Fucked up little rich boy. As part of his plan, throws himself into JGY's arms weeping about how he's going to kill himself over this week's responsibilities. Bad aroallo rep. Containing the hereditary cursed sabers falls to him when his brother NMJ dies. Runs the entire plot. Site director coded primarily but he can have greater ambitions.

Jiang Yanli (AKA JYL) - Guy in pink and/or purple, usually with fancy hair and jewelry including two braided buns. Lotus imagery common. Older sister to WWX and JC, betrothed to a guy not appearing here, conciliatory to a fault; this is where her characterization ends in the novel. I am deeply interested in discussing her as a character who reacts to the expectations placed on her whole her whole ass life nobody gaf what she wanted. No SCP character comparisons to make really

Jiang Cheng (AKA JC) - Angry looking guy, usually strong jawline, usually in purple, has a lightning whip. Baby brother to WWX and JYL. Lashes out due to the terror and anguish of being unimaginably ineffectual to protect the people he loves. Nobody respects him. Mother's son (the whip was hers). War criminal. Kind of like Mikell Bright if he was a youngest sibling and significantly angrier and only slightly less doomed

Wen Ning (AKA WN, AKA the Ghost General) - Really really pale guy with his hair down and scraggly, usually in tattered all black, usually with chains, black veins/cracks on his neck. Victim of the war. Resurrected by Wei Wuxian as a super special mostly-sentient fierce corpse; not always volitional but fiercely loyal to Wei Wuxian of his own free will whenever he has it. Baby brother to Wen Qing. Vague social disorder even before dying. This is actually not dissimilar to what goes on with Tamlin and Nazarene in my canon but I don't think that's actually informative

Wen Qing (AKA WQ) (NOT to be confused with a-Qing) (I know) - Guy in red robes, sometimes black and red, sometimes white and red, usually makeup, often with Wen Ning. Wen Ning's very protective older sister. Short temper but can match wits with Wei Wuxian. Doctor, and while she definitely has a priority order wrt who she protects and understands she can't save everyone, is still dedicated to her practice, moreso than important and respectable pursuits like "war" and "revenge". Could probably work at the Foundation. Could work anywhere though

a-Qing - Small teenage girl with all-white eyes who disability fakes (being (fully) blind) to scam people on the streets for a living. An icon. Matches wits with Xue Yang. Unapologetically mean. No SCP comparisons to make but she is important; I don't actually post abt her much but needed to differentiate her from WQ

Xue Yang (AKA XY, AKA (Xue) Chengmei) - Guy in all black, vaguely WWX-esque but with less red and more evil, and usually not portrayed with the people she is. Da Joker baby. Wei Wuxian's dark 4chan fanboy; loves necromancy for multiple reasons but they are mostly at best extremely evil. Jin Guangyao's black ops detail. Serial killer. Motivated by sweets. Genuinely bonds with a-Qing until she catches him serial killing and he kills her too about it. Also has a situationship with Xiao Xingchen/XXC, a guy not appearing in this post

Lan Sizhui (AKA Lan/Wen Yuan, AKA a-Yuan, AKA LSZ) - The only surviving member of the family that headed the losing side of the war, a cousin to Wen Ning rescued by Lan Wangji and raised in the Lan sect as a favor to Wei Wuxian. The world's nicest and politest teenage boy. Takes after Lan Xichen. Very sweet and open-minded. Also no SCP comparisons I can think of

Jin Ling (AKA JL) - Little guy in gold robes with a red dot on his forehead. Usually grumpy expression, often with his dog and either Lan Sizhui or one of the other kids. Born to Jiang Yanli and her betrothed and made the most famous orphan in the cultivation world before he was a year old. Nephew to over half of the preceding characters. Breaking the cycle. One last time no SCP comparisons

Should I make an MDZS/Untamed character cheat sheet for SCP mutuals who have to deal with this now

[drwcn]

《Without Envy》 snippet 10

AU: concubine/sleeper agent!wwx & prince!lwj

Plotlines are explained in chronological storyboards and snippets are detailed scenes which I felt more inclined to explore. All can be found in the masterlist here

~ two years before main plot line ~

Meng Yao knelt in the taishi's presence, head bowed but back straight. (taishi 太师 - the emperor's teacher/master)

"Huangshu," Meng Yao showed no fear. He understood his husband's uncle well. This was a man of stubborn constitution, who put the interests of the country above all else. Between him and his elder brother Qingheng-di (di 帝: emperor), Lan Qiren was the more suited leader. (huangshu 皇叔 = royal uncle)

"I did not summon you at this hour to hear your invariably colourful excuses. I only wish to know how you would like me to lie to Xichen after your death, to protect his heart which will no doubt be broken should he ever learn the truth of your treachery."

"I…have committed treacherous actions, many in fact." Meng Yao kept his eyes lowered, but his voice was calm. "To which is huangshu referring -"

His audacious reply was met with sharp clatters of tea cups smashing against the floor, spilling warm tea everywhere including the front of Meng Yao's robes. In his anger, Lan Qiren picked up the inkstone and made a motion as though he wished to fling it at Meng Yao's face (he probably did), but at the last moment set it down with barely controlled rage.

"Your collusion with Jin Guangshan is enough to remove your head from your neck, though perhaps I should first remove your silver tongue!"

"Huangshu, you are mistaken. I am not colluding with Jin-guogong. He believes so, but I am not." (guogong 国公 - a very high member of nobility, which for ease of understanding you can think of as duke)

Lan Qiren's brows furrowed tightly, as was his clenched fist. "Explain."

"Jin Guangshan has betrayed Gusu and defected to Qishan's Wen Ruohan. Wen Ruohan has intentions to invade and annex Gusu, and in exchange for Jin Guangshan's cooperation, he will be granted a princedom. Jin Guangshan has…information about me, about my past, and he seeks to undermine Gusu's imperial government and bixia's rule through the information he receives from me as well as the influence I have with bixia."

"And have you been providing him with such information?"

"Indeed I have."

"Then how are your actions not collusion?!"

It was then that Meng Yao raised his head to look upon Lan Qiren with a rage - a hellfire - in his eyes that had the older man internally bracing for a blow that he feared would rock the foundation of the nation.

"It is not collusion because Jin Guangshan only thinks he knows everything. He asks me to inform on the emperor, but what use is that to him when the emperor doesn't even know everything. I have realized long ago that the only way to prevent Jin Guangshan from completely destroying Xichen's rule is if Xichen doesn't rule -"

Meng Yao put his closed fist to his chest and thumped it once, the echo like an artillery exploding beneath his painted skin.

"- I rule."

And rule he did. In the dark. Behind the walls of the harem where his little birds whispered to him. Between the sheets where he whispered to Lan Xichen. There are maps of mountains and lakes and webs of plots and ploys that existed in no archive except the one in his mind, the only place in this world that was safe.

"It's you." Lan Qiren rose to his feet, shaking with emotions too tumultuous to put to words. "The dark presence I felt in court, what I assumed was Jin Guangshan's growing influence…it's you."

Meng Yao laughed. "I hide in his shadow you see, and in Xichen's shadow too. That way, they only ever see each other, and they'll never see me. So you're right, Huangshu, I have committed acts which can easily cost me my head ten times over, but I have no other choice."

"Of course you have a choice! You could choose to be honest with your husband, your ruler -"

"He isn't FIT to rule!!"

Meng Yao's outburst shocked Lan Qiren into silence.

"Xichen is kind, he is benevolent, but he is swayed by sentiment and sees the good in everyone! As his consort and his bedfellow, I love that about him, but as his subject I condemn his fitness to govern a nation. You have to know that, Huangshu, and you do, just as you knew that your older brother was not fit to wear the crown either. They both lack a certain degree of bloodlessness. Jin Guangshan has it in abundance, and Xichen is no match for him."

For a long heavy moment, Lan Qiren said nothing. So Meng Yao continued.

"I know what you're thinking, but you cannot remove Jin Guangshan. Not like this. His roots are deep and vast. If you arrest him, all that'll do is bury the rot he has left in our court. Give me time, Huangshu, and I will uproot him and all of Qishan's spies when the time is right."

"Some would say you're too clever to be allowed to live, and they would be right. Why should I trust you?"

Meng Yao smiled. "You should ask Da'ge."

"Mingjue -"

"Yes." Fengjun Nie Mingjue - the famous Chifeng General - was still alive. (fengjun 凤君 - a title for the "male empress", which doesn't exist historically but is something that is frequently used by online cnovels)

"I see."

Folding his hands behind his back, Lan Qiren raised his head towards the sky and heaved a heavy sigh. "This conversation is not over, Meng Yao, but I think it is enough for tonight."

"Then I shall disturb taishi no further." Meng Yao rose to his feet and bowed at the waist. "I bid you goodnight, Uncle."

"Before you go, tell me, what is it that Jin Guangshan has on you?"

Meng Yao hesitated, but in the end he only laughed. His secret, in comparison to everything he confessed tonight, seemed so inconsequential now.

"My mother was a... lady of the night. I was raised in the trade and had worked for some years I found myself under Dage's command."

Lan Qiren grimaced despite himself. Meng Yao could see the muscles of his jaw clenching as he worked this new transgression through the pristine moral catalogues of his mind.

"And were you, " He cleared his throat. "…Popular? During your…employment?"

"If by popular you mean to inquire if I was well known in the entertainment circles, I was not. The place that owned and trained me, the place I was sold to after my mother died, was situated in the province of Yunmeng and not in the business of being main stream."

Though his tone remained nonchalant, inside, Meng Yao was trembling. Before today, he dared to say no one within the capital with the exception of Jin Guangshan, who had searched extensively into his history, knew the depravity of his past. Now Lan Qiren knew, knew that a prostitute controlled his court and ruled his nation.

"If you were not popular and it was so many years agO, how is it that Jin Guangshan came to know about your past?"

Oh, so that's what the old man was worried about.

"Huangshu, you need not worry. Jin Guangshan was not my client."

…

"He is my father."

[stiltonbasket]

lwj and jiang cheng are quietly trying to out-husband each other? jiang cheng is buying his wife fancy events outfits and practical work clothes, but lwj out-buys him? Jiang Cheng wins a victory by having a better game for doing spousal makeup, though.

In any universe where NMJ is alive, he emerges as the unquestionable best husband. After Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng finish duking it out with each other, they make a solemn pact to spy on Nie Mingjue as much as possible and pool any superior husband knowledge they obtain during said espionage.

[three--rings]

Wait a minute, wait a minute, what?

According to the writer, the Chinese word zai in the north was another way of saying “rabbit” ( tuzi , 兔子 ), referring to a young passive partner in male same- sex relations. 

   from:  Wenqing Kang, Male Same-Sex Relations in Modern China. Published by Duke University Press  2010    

Uh, sorry, rabbit means WHAT?  This certainly puts LWJ’s love of rabbits in a different light...

(In seriousness, I assume if this was commonly known slang, I’d have heard something about it by now.  Still... The article is talking about an incident in the 1920s.)