#graves jg

[thatswhatsushesaid]

as always i remain absolutely gobsmacked by the preponderance of takes in certain corners of this fandom that boil down to "lan xichen missed all of jin guangyao's red flags" while rarely if ever considering that nie mingjue himself should qualify as a walking red flag. the personification of a parental advisory notice. the human embodiment of a surgeon general's warning.

hangs this sign around nmj's neck like a cowbell

[carbone14]

Tombe du Hauptmann Erwin Aichele, pilote de chasse au sein du Stab I./JG 51 – Bataille d'Angleterre – France – 1940's

Le Capitaine Erwin Aichele du Stab I. Gruppe. Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51) est mort le 20 juillet 1940 à l'âge de 39 ans après une mission au-dessus de La manche. Son Messerschmitt Bf-109 E4 endommagé s'est retourné lors de l'atterrissage dans la région de Calais.

[playitagainmyjohnny]

[madtomedgar]

Actually that's not true I would also vote for nam seon-ho.

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for...

Aug 21st

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1. hii! ITMF fics where the cultivation world finds out the truth about the Wen remnants in burial mounds either through a memory viewing/array spying thing at a discussion conference or someone personally visiting the burial mounds and sees the truth for themselves. Some of the fics I've enjoyed that has this: A Step in the Wrong Direction by pupeez4eva, Revealing Truth by DreamNightmare, The Path by Seastar98, Green-gege Saves a lot of Lives by Eternal_writes, Righteous at a Cost by thunderwear

Teen Project to Change the World by animeloverhomura (Not Rated, WIP, 841k, WangXian, JYL/JZX, Watching the Show, With a bit of the Manhua and Book thrown in, BAMF WWX, Fix-It, JGS is his own warning, Attractive WWX, Homophobia, disturbing imagery)

Misunderstood by Silver_Flame_2724 (M, 250k, WIP, WangXian, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Heavy Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Worth Issues)

Discordant Rhapsody by nirejseki (T, 49k, LQR & WWX, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX & WN, LWJ & LQR & LXC, canon divergence, fix-it, hurt/comfort, trauma, politics, protective LQR, protective LWJ, protective WWX, LQR centric, whump, angst)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts)

while covered in mud by merthurlin (T, 12k, NHS & WWX, NHS & NMJ, NHS & Wen remnants, mentioned wangxian, canon divergence, fix-it, NHS goes farming and Hates It)

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2. Hi! I could have sworn there were reaction fics where both the older wangxian and younger wangxian were there but I can't find any right now, could you help me?

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3. Hi!!!!! Itmf request for any fics where LWJ is uber powerful and pampers the hell out of WWX but the focus isn't on smut? I don't mind sex being included,I just don't want it to be 90% of the fic or the driving plot point! Thank you!!! <3

我的皇后是農民 | sowing seeds in the cold palace by sweetlolixo (E, 84k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Imperial Consort WWX, Farmer WWX, Angst, Romance, Wingman LJY, Wife-chasing-LWJ, Arranged Marriage, Best Boy A-Yuan)

願陛下 | by his majesty's decree by sweetlolixo (E, 40k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Concubine WWX, Harems, Pining LWJ, LWJ is not a dragon in this one but he descended from them :), Childhood Sweethearts (sort of), Romance, minimal angst, Happy Ending, NHS & WWX are concubine BFFs, LWJ has NO EYES for anyone besides WWX don’t worry the harem is only for the plot setting, Fantasy, Pregnant WWX, Possessive LWJ, Fluff)

To Deliver an Heir by cerbykerby (E, 49k, WangXian, slight dubcon/noncon but wangxian are into it, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Heat Sex, Knotting, Royalty Medical, Emperor LWJ, Physician WWX, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Breeding, Creampie, LWJ literally cannot stop himself from coming in WWX, Breastfeeding)

~*~

4. Any good outside pov fics? ITMF any fic where a character sees wangxian's bond or is surprised at how much wwx can get away with irt the rules with lwj. Just... Idrc about the plot, I just wanna see some reactions to wangxian lol! Preferably not a modern or no cultivation au tho, I love the canon universe too much!!

pitfalls of greed by glitteringmoonlight (T, 3k, WangXian, POV Outsider, BAMF WWX, Kidnapping, Violence, YLLZ WWX, not exactly but the vibes are there, Post-Canon)

The following are time travel fics but involve outsiders being astonished by Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji's behavior towards each other

trouble with time by cloudpd (T, 5k, WangXian, Time Travel, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, POV Outsider, Humor, POV JC, he's so fed up with wangxian, rightfully so, wangxian are shameless, kind of crack, JC's inner dialogue for this whole fic is just: what the fuck, POV LXC, because LXC deserves to be subjected to gross wangxian as well!!, the third chapter is LJY going "WWX rights!!", and that's all im going to say about that, horny wangxian time travel: the thrilling conclusion)

Wait, What? by MarbleGlove (G, 1k, WangXian, Time Travel, POV Outsider)

the world is but a stage for the two of us by MandMandM (Not Rated, 10k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Established Relationship, Shameless WangXian)

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5. Hello, can i get wangxian fic recs where meng yao is a good guy and close friends with wei wuxian? canonverse, modern day, etc doesn't matter. I'd also love wangxian recs where they adopt jingyi please <3

Meng Yao becomes more like a brother to Wei Ying than a close friend so I hope these are okay:

what builds a home by Stratisphyre (T, 45k, WangXian, MY & WWX, Canon Divergence, Adopted WWX, POV Multiple, warning for JGS behaving exactly as expected, child endangerment, Brother Feels, Minor Character Death, [Podfic] Cold read of "what builds a home" by Stratisphyre by KeriArentikaiPods (KeriArentikai))

and

Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters., hurt no comfort for Jiang siblings.) (link in 8C)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse)

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6. Hello! I finished reading Digging Graves by nirejseki so i am itmf any fics where someone asks/begs wei wuxian to bring someone back to life/turn someone they loved who died into a fierce corpse. Thanks :D

some good mistakes by Lise (T, 18k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Post-Canon, Road trips, rescue Missions, Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, [Podfic] some good mistakes by kisahawklin)

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7. Hi! for the next itmf, i was wondering if there are any fics where wei wuxian gets his core back after giving it to jiang cheng? not him cultivating a new core but getting his original core back

i just find that idea fascinating. thank you for your help always!!

A Child’s Wish by Hauntcats (Not rated, 13k, wangxian, WWX & Wen remnants, Celestial meddling, Not JC Friendly, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone gets what they deserve, Age Regression/De-Aging, Child LWJ)

💖 Return to Sender by Thesaurus_with_no_words (M, 73k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX , WangXian Get a Happy Ending, YLLZ WWX, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies, canon JC characteristics, Temporary Amnesia, Partial Memory Loss, Literal Emotional Manipulation, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, they are all unreliable ok, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon typical horror and gore, Slow Burn)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence)

Can’t Tell Me Nothin by natacup82 (T, 35k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Family Feels, Communication, BAMF Women)

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8. Hello! itmf these three types of fics:

A) canonverse, Madam Lan lives, wangxian (i didnt know madam lan lives was a tag now I need to see how her existence in canon can change the storyline and wangxian as a whole)

B) Yiling Wei Sect fics (could be wangxian or other wei wuxian M/M ships)

C) Fics where Wei Wuxian takes disciples (whether as Yiling Wei sect Yiling Patriarch or any other reason... preferably xue yang or mo xuanyo)

8A)

💖 An Unexpected Visitor by Hauntcats (G, 8k, QHJ/Madam Lan, wangxian, fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, not jin friendly, happy ending)

Every Mother's Son by Chrononautical (T, 11k, WangXian, Madam Lán Lives, Madam Lán Deserves Better, Madam Lán Leaves Cloud Recesses, Madam Lan rescues women from abusive husbands in feudal Japan and honestly that's so valid of her, mentions of rape/non-con between Madam Lan & Qingheng-Jun)

no step had trodden black by Stratisphyre (T, 32k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, JYL/JZX, canon divergence, madam lan lives, past rape, golden core reveal, hurt/Comfort, referenced to attempted suicide & suicidal thoughts, canon-typical violence)

8B)

🔒 a star called sun by thelastdboy (E, 120k, wangxian, SL/XXC, JC & JYL & WWX, JYL & LWJ, WWX & WN & WQ, JYL/JZX, Canon Divergence after Xuanwu Cave, Fall of Lotus Pier, But worse!, Power Imbalance, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Not Everyone Dies AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Sunshot Campaign, Miscommunication, Heavy Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Major Character Injury, Loss of Limbs, Chronic Illness, Seizures, WWX’s Three Months in the Burial Mounds, Wēn Remnants Live, Wēn Remnants Deserve Better, WWX Creates a Sect | Yílíng Wèi Sect, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note, Hurt/Comfort, Selectively Mute LWJ, Service Animals, Crows)

body and soul by TooSel (E, 41k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Marriage Proposal, Everyone Lives AU, Cultivation Sect Politics, Yílíng Wèi Sect AU, Adoption, Smut, Friends to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts)

💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27, Mojo’s post)

Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 302k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death) link in #8C

the sea meets the moon-blanched land by rkivees (G, 44k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Childhood Trauma, Sect Leader WWX, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WQ, Good Parent LQR, First Love, Love Confessions, minor jiang sibs appearance, Mentioned LXC, Past Child Abuse, Drunken Shenanigans, Past Violence, No Golden Core Transfer, Non-Linear Narrative)

8C)

Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters., hurt no comfort for Jiang siblings.)

Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 302k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death)

🔒necromancy is a valid career path! Series by coslyons, Skadiseven (T, 41k, WangXian, XY & WWX & WN & WQ, Modern with Magic AU, Seattle, Necromancy, Found Family, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Gardens & Gardening, Mathematics, Running, Growing up)

~*~

9. Heyo, this is for ITMF!

Can you rec any fics that have WWX return to his old body? Can be post-canon or during canon after his resurrection. I wanna see how people react to him being in his Glorious Beautiful Sexy self :>

Transcend by covalentbonds (not rated, 7k, WIP, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Smut, YLLZ WWX is prettiest fight me) features Wei Ying transforming into his original body and being lusted after.

Tripped at Every Step by brooklinegirl (E, 28k, WangXian) These

the hidden source is the watchful heart by o_honeybees (E, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Domesticity, Touch-Starved, Grief/Mourning, Misunderstandings, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Unresolved Sexual Tension,Eventual Smut, reflections on selfishness and selflessness) fics

This House of Ill Repute by Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (M, 13k, WangXian, First Time, Post-Canon, Getting Together) also have Wei Ying in his original body but it's not the focus of the story

Saw My Life in a Stranger's Face by timetoboldlygo (T, 27k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Married Life, Domestic Fluff, Light Angst, wwx's face changes post-canon to look like his original face, Slight Panic Attack, because lwj doesn't recognize his husband, the mortifying ordeal of not knowing your own body, the terrifying inevitability of change, taller!wwx theory)

~*~

10. hello! thank you for the work you do.. do you have recs for novel canon only (no cql) fics?

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11. hello this is for itmf! do you have any fics where sizhui remembers wei wuxian after the fever/doesn't lose his early memories, or lan wangji making the effort to talk about wei wuxian to sizhui? thank you!

although my mind is young, it is not gentle by everythingispoetry ( T, 27k, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Disability, Parenthood, Growing Up, Family Dynamics, Character Study, Self-Discovery) Sizhui doesn't really know who he remembers about but there are moments of him remembering wei wuxian through dreams

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12. I was rewatching the show recently and got to the scene where the Lan juniors and LWJ all stood in front of WWX when Jin Ling approached him in the caves after the stabbing. I was wondering for ITMF if there were any fics where the juniors are protective of WWX? Preferably if Sizhui is a prominent character in the fics, but I'll take any junior being protective tbh. Thank you!

🧡 the stone-filled sea by yukla (T, 9k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, Post-Canon, senior wei defense squad, a study of the way prejudice and injustice and anger trickle down from generation to generation)

bespoke by cafecliche (G, 3k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff, LSZ is a very good boy, which is specifically a tag for the fic but also just true in general, mostly novel-compliant but could easily be CQL-compliant too)

🔒 The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (T, 19k, WangXian, In-Universe RPF, Romance Novel, LJY’s sense of justice, OYZZ’s sense of romance, Featuring a surprise appearance by WWX’s oft-absent sense of shame, Look the ducklings just want their sort-of dads to be happy okay?, And it’s not like WWX or LWJ are doing a good job of ensuring their own happiness, LJY rejects canon reality and substitutes his own, highly relatable actually, Post-Canon Fix-It, primarily drama-canon with cameos from novel-canon, Podfic Available, Russian Translation Available)

one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, 5+1 Things) has Lan Jingyi, as well as other Lans, standing up for Wei Ying.

~*~

13. Wwx as royal prince with hidden identity

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14. Wwx gets badly hurt while protecting jzx during jl 100 day celebration

the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by sunsandships (M, 40k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Mutual Pining, Golden Core Reveal, Happy Ending) Wei Ying gets badly injured at Qiongqi Path while protecting Jin Zixuan in chapter 8 but Wei Ying was escorting betrothal gifts from the Jin, rather than attending Jin Ling's celebration.

Cradle by Dragonesque (T, 196k, WIP, Canon Divergenc, Adopted children, Yiling Wei Sect, BAMF WWX) Wwx gets badly hurt while protecting jzx during jl 100 day celebration - cradle by dragonesque on ao3 (and its inspiration fic) both feature wwx getting badly hurt and origins of yiling wei sect

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15. I finished reading a wangxian oneshot in which lan xichen tries to get wei wuxian in his bed but fails and so...itmf lan xichen/wei wuxian, nie mingjue/wei wuxian, wen ruohan/wei wuxian fic recs. Preferably complete with bottom wei wuxian if they have smut. Thank you!!

The Joke of Fate by ShallChair (E, 357k, LXC/WWX, Canon Divergence, Marriage First Love Later, Love at First Sleep, Smut, First Time, First Kiss, the Flower Banquet's timeline is before Baifeng Mountain hunt so, Comedy, a little bit humor in the lines, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, The man who succeeds in both Love and Career-LXC, Dark LXC, Dark LWJ, The Dark side mean "Fuck off Cultivation World!", The Exchange of Fate, LXC-centric, DoubleJade centric, The one who stands against the world-LXC; A/B/O, Alpha LXC, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Mpreg, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bites, Scenting, Historical, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Slight Drama, Bad Parent YZY, Cultivation Empire, Alpha NHS, Older NHS, The flustered Alpha and the handsome Omega, Half Lime Half Plot, YLLZ era, YLLZ WWX, The Thirsty LXC, Martial Arts AU, Wuxia AU, General WWX, Emperor LXC, Qianyuan, Kunze, Zhongyong, Enemy to lover, Concubine WWX, BAMF WWX, Precognitive Dream, the Second elopement, Wen Remnants Live, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Intervention From the Outside World, Teleportation, Sunshot Campaign, Those Days When LXC Chased After YLLZ All Over the Central Plain)

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16. itmf some wwx & jzx bonding similar to 'watch what we'll become' by glitteringmoonlight modern/canon/au it doesn't matter just give me that sweet sweet friendship/brotherly bonding

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 828k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

atlas in his sleepin’ by anatheme (E, 48k, WangXian, XuanLi, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Reincarnation, Family Reunions, Dimension Travel, temporary transmigration, Transmigrator!LWJ, Yunmeng Shuangjie Reconciliation, jzx motherhenning wwx, First Time, Sharing Clothes, Angst with a Happy Ending, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies)

~*~

17. itmf a fic where wangxian get horny about "ruining" a hole. You know, there's penetration, or a lot of penetration, and the body is different afterwards. Idc who bottoms, omegaverse, consent, whatever. But no underage please. Thanks!

~*~

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

[jesuisgourde]

A list of all the books mentioned in Peter Doherty's journals (and in some interviews/lyrics, too)

Because I just made this list in answer to someone's question on a facebook group, I thought I may as well post it here.

-The Picture of Dorian Gray/The Ballad Of Reading Gaol/Salome/The Happy Prince/The Duchess of Padua, all by Oscar Wilde -The Thief's Journal/Our Lady Of The Flowers/Miracle Of The Rose, all by Jean Genet -A Diamond Guitar by Truman Capote -Mixed Essays by Matthew Arnold -Venus In Furs by Leopold Sacher-Masoch -The Ministry Of Fear by Graham Greene -Brighton Rock by Graham Green -A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud -The Street Of Crocodiles (aka Cinnamon Shops) by Bruno Schulz -Opium: The Diary Of His Cure by Jean Cocteau -The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson -Howl by Allen Ginsberg -Women In Love by DH Lawrence -The Tempest by William Shakespeare -Trilby by George du Maurier -The Vision Of Jean Genet by Richard Coe -"Literature And The Crisis" by Isaiah Berlin -Le Cid by Pierre Corneille -The Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon -Junky by William S Burroughs -Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes -Futz by Rochelle Owens -They Shoot Horses Don't They? by Horace McCoy -"An Inquiry On Love" by La revolution surrealiste magazine -Idea by Michael Drayton -"The Nymph's Reply to The Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh -Hamlet by William Shakespeare -The Silver Shilling/The Old Church Bell/The Snail And The Rose Tree all by Hans Christian Andersen -120 Days Of Sodom by Marquis de Sade -Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke -Poetics Of Space by Gaston Bachelard -In Favor Of The Sensitive Man and Other Essays by Anais Nin -La Batarde by Violette LeDuc -Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov -Intimate Journals by Charles Baudelaire -Juno And The Paycock by Sean O'Casey -England Is Mine by Michael Bracewell -"The Prelude" by William Wordsworth -Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Atalli -"Elm" by Sylvia Plath -"I am pleased with my sight..." by Rumi -She Stoops To Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith -Amphitryon by John Dryden -Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellman -The Song Of The South by James Rennell Rodd -In Her Praise by Robert Graves -"For That He Looked Not Upon Her" by George Gascoigne -"Order And Disorder" by Lucy Hutchinson -Man Crazy by Joyce Carol Oates -A Pictorial History Of Sex In The Movies by Jeremy Pascall and Clyde Jeavons -Anarchy State & Utopia by Robert Nozick -"Limbo" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge -Men In Love: Masculinity and Sexuality in the Eighteenth Century by George Haggerty

[arbitrary line break because tumble hates lists apparently]

-Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky -Innocent When You Dream: the Tom Waits Reader -"Identity Card" by Mahmoud Darwish -Ulysses by James Joyce -The Four Quartets poems by TS Eliot -Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare -A'Rebours/Against The Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans -Prisoner Of Love by Jean Genet -Down And Out In Paris And London by George Orwell -The Man With The Golden Arm by Nelson Algren -Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates -"Epitaph To A Dog" by Lord Byron -Cocaine Nights by JG Ballard -"Not By Bread Alone" by James Terry White -Anecdotes Of The Late Samuel Johnson by Hester Thrale -"The Owl And The Pussycat" by Edward Lear -"Chevaux de bois" by Paul Verlaine -A Strong Song Tows Us: The Life of Basil Bunting by Richard Burton -Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes -The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri -The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling -The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling -Ask The Dust by John Frante -On The Trans-Siberian Railways by Blaise Cendrars -The 39 Steps by John Buchan -The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol -The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol -The Iliad by Homer -Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad -The Volunteer by Shane O'Doherty -Twenty Love Poems and A Song Of Despair by Pablo Neruda -"May Banners" by Arthur Rimbaud -Literary Outlaw: The life and times of William S Burroughs by Ted Morgan -The Penguin Dorothy Parker -Smoke by William Faulkner -Hero And Leander by Christopher Marlowe -My Lady Nicotine by JM Barrie -All I Ever Wrote by Ronnie Barker -The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys -On Murder Considered As One Of The Fine Arts by Thomas de Quincey -The Void Ratio by Shane Levene and Karolina Urbaniak -The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro -Dead Fingers Talk by William S Burroughs -The England's Dreaming Tapes by Jon Savage -London Underworld by Henry Mayhew

[jiangchengisapurpleraccoon]

Reminder none of the assholes were justified for what they did to Wen Remnants, LQR, NMJ, JGS, JC and every other cultivator who was involved in that first siege WERE NOT JUSTIFIED IN ANY WAY, why does this have to be pointed out?? You'd think the reappearance of Granny Wen's dead body with her head bashed in would be enough of a wake up call, no? How about their bodies being thrown in a blood pool hidden away from public eyes? No?

They had full rights to avenge their homes, kill and torture Wen Chao? Kill Wen Xu and hang his body? Fucking dance on Wen Ruohan's grave, all the power to them.

But they had no right, none, to kill the toddler or the elderly woman or the innocents who didn't participate in said bloodshed.

[jocu-reads]

""It's gorgeous." "It's a grave," said Harrowhark." (p 68)

"The whole place had the look of a picked-at body. But hot damn! What a beautiful corpse." (p 70)

"Once she paused on a blasted terrace outside, gazing at the rusting, hulking pillars that stuck up in a ring around the tower. The sea on one side was broken up with flat concrete landings like stepping-stones, set wet and geometric in the water, mummified in seaweed: the sea had covered up more structures long, long ago, and they looked like square heads with long, sticky hair, peering up suspiciously through the waves." (p 95)

Maybe I'm late to realizing this, but it seems the castle/tower thing that GtN takes place in is... at the top of a drowned city? Are those skyscrapers Gideon sees below the waves?

I almost want to read JG Ballard's The Drowned World into this. I'm not sure how useful that would be beyond the similar imagery, but Muir is certainly no stranger to pulling on older works of sci fi. I would not at all be surprised to hear a Ballard connection was at play here.

[xluna-reclipse]

Love your interpretation on Jin GuangYao's character. What's your opinion on the death of JGS? Forcing those women into those acts, and then killing them afterwards, was not an act of self preservation or even necessary for revenge, as he could have killed JGS in many other ways, he just did not value those lives.

Do you also think that JGY would hurt LXC to save himself?

Jin Guangshan was a rapist who raped his own subordinate's wife THEN FORGOT ABOUT IT and died in a manner that at least one person thought would deliver poetic justice for Jin Guangyao, his mother, and his sister. Jin Guangyao's subsequent allowance of the death of those he had hired for the job was to eliminate witnesses. It was a pragmatic, though cruel, solution, perhaps partially mitigated by the memories of his mother's fellow prostitutes ridiculing her for being able to read/having "airs", stripping her, and pushing her onto the street and him down the stairs. He still couldn't stop that pesky trait of mercy and spared Sisi, who was kind to his mother. As we all know, without knowing who she was brought to testify against, she later helped bring him down.

I don't think you can say he did not value those lives. He understands what he has done and does it because he must, in terms of having those women killed. In his outburst with Nie Mingjue, a part of what he screams, besides the surface of "of course my life is worth more than theirs", what he brings up is that all life is equal and murder is murder no matter the circumstance. Just because you think you killed for a greater cause does not mean you did not kill.

And I think it very much was revenge. Revenge (like what NHS does) is personal and messy and brings in innocents (perhaps even the way Wei Wuxian uses corpses can count towards this, but more apt is the way he made Wen Chao eat his own legs and fingers then tortured Wang Lingjiao to insanity via horror then death by making her eat a table leg). BUT Jin Guangyao's revenge is also motivated by future troubles. He gets rid of people who will continue to make his life miserable, not solely out of revenge. He had his father killed the way he did because of all that Jin Guangyao and his loved ones have suffered at Jin Guangshan's hand. AND because Jin Guangshan would continue to ask Jin Guangyao to whittle away at his soul (corpse refinery, murder, dirty work motivated by Jin Guangshan's desire to be the first chief cultivator).

Honestly though, Lan Xichen has this same gripe, not that Jin Guangyao has killed his father, but that he chose that method. I think that's a fair critique. Considering the kind of person Jin Guangyao is, it really was "in seeking revenge, dig two graves". He is a person who tries to be kind whenever he can. In the end, it's these kinds of deaths that must get to him most.

There's a saying, "If you haven't suffered, don't ask others to forgive." I can't comment on Wei Wuxian's, Jin Guangyao's, Xue Yang's, Nie Huaisang's desire for revenge because I haven't suffered what they suffered, I haven't lost what they've lost and it's very easy for me as an outsider to be calmer and say that I wouldn't have done what they've done. The most I can say is that I'm not as talented and even if I wanted, I would not be able to accomplish what they've done and hope that I would not desire revenge in the first place.

As for Lan Xichen...

Jin Guangyao, in all universe, uses one of his very last actions to save Lan Xichen, the Lan Xichen who has stabbed him (even if it was an accidental stab). Lan Xichen has been repeatedly described as the white moonlight in Jin Guangyao's life. I'm not sure if you've read it, but I'm sure I've written meta about the common juxtaposition of "white moonlight at the foot of the bed" and "red cinnabar mole on the heart". In essence, Jin Guangyao will not intentionally hurt Lan Xichen because to him, Lan Xichen is all that is good and kind in the world and will die before he does. And actually, he does--die before he intentionally hurts Lan Xichen.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

I think it's pretty weird how antis act about JGY's marriage to Qin Su. It's like they think he was rubbing his hands together, cackling all the while. The text is clear about JGY's horror over the accidental incest and how trapped he felt. But they don't even really seem to care about Qin Su. It's like she's just something to use to attack JGY rather than her own character. Or nonexistent. Weird how they view these characters, hmmmm? 🤔

yeah, i’ve already written a fair amount over how strange it is that jgy’s marriage to qin su is continuously interpreted as something he was super hot for, as opposed to what is actually given to us in every version of the canon: a horrifying revelation that leaves jgy trapped between a rock and a hard place no matter what decision he makes.

to be crystal clear on this point: every decision available to him is terrible, full stop. we see the consequences of what happens when he chooses to go through with the marriage, intending to take this secret to his grave, but i really do wish people who insist that jgy should have said something to someone paused to consider what the consequences of revealing such a shameful secret would have been for someone in his position, or for qin su. the tl;dr version, imo, is that i think they both would have ended up dead anyway (qin su from shame, jgy as retribution from jgs for revealing such humiliating information to the jianghu)—just much sooner than in the canon timeline.

also, like... let’s assume jgy manages not to succumb to some mysterious accident in the event he goes public with this knowledge. (it’s a stretch, but let’s assume.) even when meng yao’s conduct is unimpeachably perfect on the hejian front, nmj’s cultivators still wipe their tea cups rather than drink directly from something the son of a prostitute has touched. can you even imagine what his life and prospects would be like after everyone finds out he’s slept with his own sister and conceived a son with her? it would not matter that his father is the one who committed the truly heinous crime of raping madam qin, because the whole jianghu already knows what jgs is about. jgy’s birth status would make this horrible situation a further indictment of his character. because, to quote da-ge, ‘what else can you expect from the son of a prostitute?’

[poorlittleyaoyao]

this is a list for my benefit, but if I put it in a semi-public space maybe that will jog the part of my brain that responds exclusively to externally-imposed deadlines

IDEA LIST

THE SABER TRAINING BACKSTORY FFF*

MY joins the Wen clan early for a comprehensive family health care plan*

What killed Rusong? Not JGY, not some angry rando, but a secret third thing.*

Local tween seeks righteous cultivator to avenge daozhang, finds flop Qinghe sect leader instead*

No getalong coffin in CQL Canon means LXC makes guarding a grave his fulltime job*

The Comprehensive MS Backstory*

NHS’s wretched Groundhog Day timeloop*

JGS facilitates brotherly bonding by dropping dead and there was much rejoicing

JYL Survival Scenario 1: The Mingli One

JYL Survival Scenario 2: The Yaoli One

Surprise! JZX has been ace the whole time!

QS is part of MY’s wartime espionage network

Madame Jin, repressed lesbian, attempts gender solidarity

* works that have Word documents in existence (are the words therein GOOD or PLENTIFUL? unclear)

[playitagainmyjohnny]

[jaimebluesq]

Today in "Ideas I would love to write one day but don't know if I will ever get around to it":

An alternate universe where Jin Guangshan is not the worst person in the world - he establishes early with Madame Jin that he wishes to bring in concubines and they come to sensible ground rules, the women he brings in are loved and well taken care of, and all of the children they have are treated well and loved even if only those from Madame Jin will be heir, etc etc. And this Jin Guangshan dies young, murdered in his sleep by a woman with some sort of grudge against him, and his death devastates his children and wives.

Jin ZiYao in particular takes his father's death hard, and he goes out seeking people who work in dark arts to find a solution because he misses his father so much and cannot accept that he is gone. He finds a woman who gives him an array that will send him to the past where he will have a day to change what he can, and then he will be returned.

So A-Yao is sent back to a day before any of his siblings have been born, before his father had even married Madame Jin. He meets with his father and gives him grave warnings about the woman who will kill him one day, says as much as he can with as much vehemence as possible in the only day he has available to him. And when the day is done, A-Yao is brought back to the day he left.

But the world is intrinsically changed. Because of A-Yao's interference, the Jin Guangshan he comes back to is the one from canon. JGS became the way he is because of interference from a beloved son who did not want to lose his father, instead losing him in an entirely different way. A-Yao's warnings about the woman who killed his father sparked in Jin Guangshan the beginnings of a life-long attitude of objectifying and disrespecting women, seeing them as threats and things to use rather than people, and this attitude was transferred onto the children they begat him.

And no matter how much A-Yao tries to create another array, he fails. He can't change the past, can't change what has become of his father - and he knows that the father that raised him would have detested the man he became in this timeline. And so A-Yao does like he did in canon, engineering his father's death, this time seeing it as a mercy killing that the father who loved him would have wanted.

So yeah, good times!

[screamingforyears]

MINI_REVIEW(s):

The review template of choice for the TL;DR Tribe…

‘I HOPE YOU’RE OKAY' (@juliaswarrecs @candlepin_records) is the debut LP from @glaringorchid & it finds the New Brunswick-based trio of Quinn (guitar/bass/vox), Jordyn Blakely (drums) & Buzz (synth/guitar) bringing the head_downing goods across 11 tracks chockfull of pedal_gazing, soft_grunging & quietly/loud AltRawk as heard on the crunchily blown-out “Sweater.”

‘MAXBAND ON ICE' (@holm.front) is the debut LP from @maxbandnyc & it finds the New York-based quartet of Max Savage, Patrick J Smith, Eric Read & Tim Nelson wielding their winsome personalities across an 11-track spread that astutely deploys their brand of stoically deadpanned, propulsively post_punked & six-string driven IndieRock as evidenced on the emotionally earnest “Recreate the Start.”

‘THE SUNSET VIOLENT’ (@warprecords) is the latest LP from @mountkimbie & it finds the London-based quartet of Dominic Maker, Kai Campos, Andrea Balency-Béarn & Marc Pell (w/ a little help from their pal @edgar_the_breathtaker) mining the minimally maximized well across 9 tracks that ride a head_bobbingly grooved, righteously reverbed & spaciously textured AltPop template as witnessed on the airily hazed “Yukka Tree.”

‘FUNERAL SANCTUM’ (@20buckspinlabel) is the latest LP from @witch_vomit & it finds the Portland-based quartet of Tempter (lead guitar/vocals), Filth (drums), JG (bass) & CL (rhythm guitar) furthering their “Death Metal From a Bottomless Grave” vibe across 10 tracks that relentlessly & methodically worm their way into your mealy minds through sheer riffage & blood curdling movements as evidenced on the blistering “Blood of Abomination.”

[novel-emma]

Find the Word Tag

I was tagged by @vsnotresponding. Thanks!! I liked the way you formatted your post, so I'm stealing it. Muwahahaha!

My words are alone, details, lie, canvas, and mind

Tagging: @enchanted-lightning-aes @tabswrites @heymacareyna and @emwhyarentyouwriting

Your words are crash, eat, yours, route, and palm

Alone

"You had fifteen summers and an eternity On a shelf alone, dated and labeled"

part of a poem from my Juniper Graves WIP

Details

Other people call this place a home. They know all its details and its history, they’re part of it. Their voices knock on the door and I’ve been ignoring the call.

From Juniper Graves WIP

Lie

She lies about wanting to sit. A quiet, solitary room is better than a public hallway. Juniper doesn’t have the energy to explain why; sometimes lies are easier.

You guessed it: JG WIP

Canvas

404 not found

Mind

I wonder if the magical cooperation class will bother to touch the mind magician issue or if I even want it to. What history will this class get wrong? Will it make me the victim or the villain or somehow both?

Juniper Graves WIP

[marjaystuff]

Interview with John Gilstrap

Zero Sum

Jonathan Graves book 16

John Gilstrap

Kensington Pub

August 20th, 2024

Zero Sum by John Gilstrap has corrupt officials, drugs, political intrigue, human trafficking, greed, power, and fear. Additionally, there’s a sub-plot featuring twins that are kidnapped that add another dimension to the story.

The plot has a child under Jonathan Grave’s protection killed with a deliberate drug overdose. A twelve-year-old dies after consuming fentanyl disguised as candy inside the dormitory at Resurrection House, the school he created for the children of incarcerated parents. Jonathan, a former special ops agent, now runs a security investigation business. This crime crosses a line for him, and he enlists the FBI Director, Irene Rivers, to help bring those responsible down as well as his team.

Per usual, readers will be grabbed from page one with all the intensity, action, and suspense.

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for this story?

John Gilstrap: It is a set-up book for the new Irene Rivers series that will be out next year. The idea comes from what the cartels are doing. A news story in the last few days speaks of using poisoned candy in Australia. What kind of animal would do such a thing? There is always a conspiracy in all my books. The underlying theme is that the drug problems in America are underwritten by politicians and law enforcement personal.  Their careers advance by looking the other way. This is a difficult time in society where no one looks after each other.  Instead of helping or calling 911 they take out their phones to film it.  

EC:  Can you talk about the Irene series?

JG: I am under contract for two books. The Jonathan and Irene series will not have crossovers and will not co-exist because of the way it ends for Irene in this book. 

EC:  What about Roxie the drone?

JG:  The technology does exist and has people quite frightened. 

EC: Is the book also about the political elite in the US?

JG: There is a book quote, “Disloyalty among sworn agents and civil servants have become a distressing new normal.” There is the real world and the fictional world.  Jonathan’s world feels more real than it probably is. People seem more willing to go for the clicks today than the patriotism. They have their own agenda. 

EC: What would you say is Jonathan’s attitude in this book?

JG: I think he is angry and sees this as personal, not political.  He is upset that one of the children he was responsible for was killed by an overdose. He takes the battles to the cartels and called everyone’s bluff. He sleeps with a clear conscience because he believes he is on the side of the angels. He cares about bringing justice even if it is not within the confides of the law. 

EC:  What about Irene’s attitude?

JG:  She was shamed into acting by Jonathan. This was possibly at the cost of her career and civil liberties. She ended up taking the high road.  Over the course of the series, she has been very admirable.  She has looked the other way in previous books.  But in this book, she has had it and decides to blow the lid off all of it. Her attitude is that at the end of the day there is right and wrong.  And right is not about allowing children to die from drugs. Politics is not about enriching oneself. She has always been a patriot. She along with the other characters live within the grey space. She is bitter and beaten.

EC:  What about Gail?

JG:  Gail is on a reverse course. She started out as a girl scout: the lawyer, sheriff, someone who quotes the Constitution, and is appalled by Jonathan’s shortcuts to achieve the goals.  Now she is drawn to the dark side of the anti-hero Jonathan, who never works within the confines of the law.  Early on Gail was appalled but now has become more comfortable with living in those guidelines. She sees that justice and the law are often at odds with each other in Jonathan’s world. 

EC: Next book?

JG: It will be the first in the Irene Rivers series titled Burned Bridges out next summer. Irene will be leaving the FBI to become a private investigator living in West Virginia with her daughter and nephew who she is raising. 

The next Jonathan book is being written. 

THANK YOU!!