#how he then did it again for xiaoge

[pangzi]

thinking thoughts about pangzi and xiao hua...

[forerussake]

Many-Coated Mayhem #3

In the wake of coat post #1 and #2 I promised I had more still, and I do, because lo and behold: Wu Xie is not the only one in TSF who wears nice coats. There are SO MANY nice coats in this show. Here's some of my personal favourites:

Coat 24

I've mentioned her before! One of the most glorious coats in this many-coated show: Pangzi's floofy, leather-and-fur wintercoat. He starts wearing this at the Retreat in episode 9, and he wears it for some time after that.

It's beautiful and amazing and gorgeous and it looks spectacular on him, and I WANT IT. (Or maybe I just want him to hug me?)

Coat 25

This is the robey coaty situation Xiaoge wears in the flashbacks of him visiting the Yinshaluo Shrine in episodes 20-21. It has furr lining the hood, and nice patches on the elbows and a red belt/sash to secure it around his waist.

It looks soft in a way his modern-day attire rarely does and it's an allround LOOK. Especially when paired with his fingerless gloves.

Coat 26

It's Yinshaluo and Second Bronze Door trip winter coat time!

First up: Zhang Haike. I grabbed this shot from episode 31, when he goes to the Spiritual Retreat to take on the position of Deren, because most of the other scenes it appears in were either too dark, too muted in colour, too snowy, or too fast-paced to get a decent screenshot at 720p, and maybe also because I only decided to include it at all when I realized by the end that I had nothing yet for ZHK for this post and I thought that was a little bit sad. He does have nice fashion, but rarely did this show allow me to screenshot it.

Anyway, it's grey and darker grey, and it's exactly the kind of coat you'd expect this brooding old man to wear on his secret missions into the mountains.

Coat 27

Zhang Haixing's white wintercoat! It's a white wintercoat. It looks good on her. She's ready to go skiing with the girls. Idk what else to say about it. It has furr and pockets!

She manages to keep it clean for a surprisingly long time... until she doesn't anymore.

Coat 28

THE MOMENT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! It's Feng's incredibly in character and on point bright orange wintercoat. Just look at it, isn't it amazing? (See also ZHK in the only other clear shot I managed to get of his grey coat.)

Anyway, Feng's fashion sense has been on point for the whole show, and he proves it again by pairing this orange monstrosity with a babyblue jumpsuit, which you can see here as he is standing there thinking 'well, damn, if it isn't the consequences to my own actions...' Can you tell I have come to love him deeply as the show went on?

Feng is also clearly the only person in this godforsaken party who wants to be saved should an avalanche occur, wearing a bright colour that will not camouflage him right into the backdrop of the mountain, a strategy that is almost undone in the first episode that all of these coats appear in, when they collectively decide to take them all off.

So, kids, what have we learned from episode 21? Keep your plot-relevant coats on!

Coat 29

This is baby!Zhang Haixing's incredible blue trenchcoat. She wears this in the sad flashback in episode 27.

Look, I don't have anything to say about this other than OMG LOOK AT HER SHE IS SO PRETTY. It deserves to be said okay.

"Coat" 30

Speaking of pretty, remember how I said I love Feng? Because I love him. He is ridiculous, a surprisingly compelling character despite also being this DMBJ installment's #1 resident white guy, and a walking model. Which brings me to: his blue robes from episode 28 at the Yinshaluo village.

"But Eru," you say, "none of these shots actually show his outfit." And yeah, I couldn't get a good shot of it, sorry, but it looks good okay. Trust me. These pictures of him being stupidly pretty and apparently a horse-whisperer will just have to suffice.

Coat 31

This is ridiculous leather coat Zhang Haixing wears when she goes to visit her big brother at the Spiritual Retreat in episode 31.

This monstrosity with its straps and lines and incredibly not functional off-the-shoulder slab of furr should not be allowed to look good on anyone and yet somehow she makes it work. Kudos ma'am. Also I am so sorry that your brother didn't hug you. He should've fucking hugged you, the absolute bastard. You deserved that much from him. Alas it wasn't meant to be.

Coat 32

Now we are getting towards the end. I've shown you in coat post #1 what Wu Xie wears on the trip to Yucun in episode 32. Now it's Pangzi's turn:

He wears something that is maybe technically also a shirt, but it's got a green pattern and I don't care I just wanted you to see him once more. Look at him. Isn't your heart healed now? I thought as much.

Coat 33

Xiaoge's Blue Coat™️ Is it really THE blue coat? Is this the one Wu Xie nabs off the statue and wears in a thematically meaningful way for a couple episodes? Is it THE blue coat returned to its rightful owner??? I don't know. The show doesn't allow me to look at it too closely. But it may well be.

I'm choosing to interpret it as such. If you want a closer look: see the final screenshot in this post, and decide for yourself.

Coat 34

Another Xiaoge coat. This the black one he wears on the mountain hike where they find the fisherman, and also when he steals a chicken from their poor neighbour. Oopsie.

Is it a coat? Is it a vest? Does it really matter? He looks soft and warm and happy, and isn't that all we ever wanted for him? The black is a nice return to his roots, though I personally have LOVED the visual shift to blue as his primary coat colour since Reboot came out.

I know for a fact he wears multiple different blue coats during the show, and maybe one day I will piece together another post in which I try to figure out how many different blue Xiaoge coats show up in this show.

For now though, I am leaving you with the Iron Triangle in Yucun, alive and happy and together. Who knows what (coats) the future still has in stall for them? (Sssst, don't tell them yet.)

[hils79]

Hils Watches Tibetan Sea Flower - Ep 19

I didn't get as much Tibetan Sea Flower watched on my week off as I'd hoped, but I suppose the slower I watch it the longer it is until it's over and I'm back to having no DMBJ to watch

YES WHERE IS PANGZI

It's no wonder Wu Xie ends up with lung disease when he runs around inhaling caustic gas

Wow he's really going through it at the moment. He's been stabbed, gassed and now blown up. How delightful for me as a whump writer.

I thought this dude was dead! Well, I'm now enjoying two half dead men stumbling around helping each other to walk. This is what DMBJ is all about

This is what he does. He adopts people then risks his own life to save them. Sometimes in the opposite order.

Oh, good, I'm crying again. He's so determined that Xiaoge will remember him when he gets out from behind the bronze door, because the alternative isn't something he wants to even consider.

It's interesting that both Zhang Nian and Zhang Jiuri blame Xiaoge for things that happened to their loved ones, even though it was their own actions or decisions that were actually responsible. Zhang Nian put saving his work ahead of saving his wife, and Zhang Jiuri was waiting for Xiaoge when his parents died in an accident.

This is also what happens. The people Wu Xie adopts also become willing to die for him, and quite often do.

When I started watching this drama I really did not expect it to make me cry as much as it has

REUNITED AT LAST

I was today years old when I learned that horses eat salt

XIAOGE HAS A TINY BUNNY! If anything happens to this bunny I will quit DMBJ forever and go and live in a cave

[traineecryptid]

NPSS Weibo Q&A (20240831) Part 9

This is a Q&A session held on Weibo. People will tag their questions with the hashtag #南派三叔藏海花在线答疑# (#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#) and NPSS will look through the tag to pick some to answer. The event started at 1500 hours on 2024 August 31st.

Folder with screenshots and big compilation google doc is here. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Part 8 is here.

1301

Q: Shu, what’s the flower language for the Tibetan Sea Flower? A: The distance of a step. (T/N: this is a proverb meaning something that is very close either in distance or as in close to success.)

1302

Q: If the black spot’s tunnels can go from Inner Mongolia to Mount Kunlun, doesn’t that mean that it’s a good candidate for making train tracks? Could it be that the few key locations have tunnels connecting them? When Xiaoge disappeared during the West Queen, did he go somewhere tens of kilometers away?

A: Uh… That’s not my profession. 

1303

Q: Sanshu, Sanshu, I really need to know this. When Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen finish their mission and go back to their hotel at night, would they chat and drink wine to unwind?

A: On the way, Hei Xiazi would suggest eating at all the street food stalls but would be rejected every time. In the end, the two of them would buy some bread and make do with sitting by the city’s river.

1304

Q: Why does the Zhangs' names always have to do with seafood? Then why isn’t there a Zhang Cuyu? (T/N: Zhang Vinegar Fish.)

A: Now there is. It’s you.

1304

Q: Does Wu Xie like to eat Chinese bayberries? Would he go up to the hills to harvest bayberry during summer while sightseeing the spring in the hills and then make bayberry wine?

A: He likes them but worries that there’s bugs [inside them].

1304

Q:Sanshu, Sanshu, can you describe Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen’s story in Iceland in three characters? A: Insanely crazy. (T/N: this was four characters in chinese.)

1305

Q: I would like to know how Sanshu picks the questions to answer. Do you just scroll and pick whichever that you like?

A: [I pick] the ones that I have answers for at first glance. I won’t answer those that require me to think for half a day.

1305

Q: Lei, why do you say that you want to lose weight every year? But why are you still a little fatty every year? Did you say that you’ll do Pilates? Didn’t you say that you want to act as Wu Xie? How will this work if you lack determination?

A: I walked ten thousand steps at 5am yesterday.

1307

Q: What is Hei Xiazi better at, the violin or the erhu?

A: Violin, but musical instruments are interconnected.

1311

Q: Shu, will we see Zhang Yixing act as Eryue Hong again in this lifetime? The prettiest Honghong.

A: I don’t know. Leave it to fate. I’m very chill. (T/N: the term he used here “佛“ is an internet slang meaning to be unconcerned, let things be like Buddha would. )

1312

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A# A lot of people wanted to know how the paper dolls move around. You’ll understand it after looking at this explanation picture about the Kumuli Snake Disaster from Zang Hai Hua.

1317

Q: Is it a leader-follower relationship between the big paper doll and the small paper doll? Then why did Wu Xie see the big paper doll eating the small paper doll?

A: Snakes eating snakes.

1319

Q: I can't stop thinking about this: When Wu Xie and the gang are on the road of adventure for so long, would their hair get oily? How do they deal with this? Would they bring shampoo and wash up now and then? A: What’s wrong with Xie oil? Is Xie-oil inauspicious? (T/N: the comments say that there’s a pun here, but I can’t figure out what’s the pun.)

1323

Q: Does Zang Hai Hua’s Zhang Qiling’s muscular body fit your imagination? A: It’s not bad.

1326

Q: Sanshu, Sanshu, when there’s nothing to do around Yucun, would Wu Xie feel like his current life is like a dream?

A: This feeling is very nuanced. A dream is too shallow of a description.

just one update for today! i've gotten a bit lazy with translating today because there are a few long ones in a row... wah wah wah whine whine.

[fixaidea]

Re: that last post about Xiaoge, I have a fic idea that keeps rattling around in my head...

It's a crossover with Guardian, set post-canon for both stories.

It starts with Shen Wei, on a random patrol as the Ghostslayer, finding Xiaoge caught in a death trap and saving him.

When regaining consciousness he tells the SID that a) he was there in the tomb with the rest of the Iron Triangle legally, as a group of acrhaeologists hired them as guards b) not long before being thrown into the trap he suffered a mild concussion and c) the person who led him into the trap and left him there looked like Wu Xie, but keeps swearing that it could not have possibly been the actual Wu Xie.

Zhao Yunlan is full of pity and sympathy, but for a long while he's pretty much convinced that the simplest explanation will end up being the right one, that it really was Wu Xie.

See, because of various complications the SID only learned about the Bronze Gate with a considerable lag, when it was already largely a moot point. But they DID learn, eventually, and they also learned about the complicated story of the Zhang, the Wang and Wu Xie around it*, so at this point Chief Zhao knows exactly how Wu Xie lost Zhang Qiling, how long he waited for him and what he did to get him back.

And then Zhang Qiling did come back. What if he wasn't worth it?

Wu Xie is only human, not an immortal with an immortal heart like Shen Wei, what if the real Zhang Qiling couldn't live up to the one in his memories? It would be more than enough to explain how the poor man found himself in a death trap, left to die alone**.

Of course that's not what happened. After combing through the crime scene once again, the SID finds a discarded face-mask and from there they are able to track down the actual culprit.

(It was one of the professors in the archaeology team. He was completely obsessed with some sort of ancient ritual and needed a sacrifice to complete it. This was why he insisted his team hire a group of ex-graverobbers instead of more respectable guides, because he counted on them not turning to the police, should one of them go missing.)

*part of the reason why Wu Xie is still free, despite the number of tombs he disturbed over the years. Zhao Yunlan counted his part in the saga as community service. Also any time he gets dangerously close to being caught Xie Yuchen bribes his way out for him.

**Wu Xie and Pangzi did not, in fact, just leave him but they needed to shake off the archaeology team and re-group before they could go back to look for him.

[extraordinarilyextreme]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

tagged by @bbcphile～ thank you my dear 🫶

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

30 right now～ what a nice number!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

363,479!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

so many, lol. right now, i'm actively writing for LHL and YRZX (and a bit LZTJ), but i previously wrote a lot for QYJ, CHSSN, and DMBJ.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

may we tie our hearts together again ⚫️⚪️ QingYa

9k, red string AU, canon + post-canon

NOTICE: Seeking Marriage Partner 💙💚 PingXie

5k, post-canon

青山仍在 | as long as the green hills remain 🪷🐕 HuaFang

7k, post-canon fix-it

but ask for no regrets 💙💚 PingXie

5k, canon-compliant N+1 things

a ghost walks into a soldier's house 💙🤍 SuiTang | 🖤💚 WeiLan

16k, crossover + crack treated seriously

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i try my best to, but for various reasons comments will accumulate in my inbox and i might not respond to them until even a year later. but please believe me, i do read every single one.

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

i write a lot of HEs... perhaps only an echo, since the entire premise of that (unfinished) series is an AU where Wu Xie isn't there to fulfill his ten-year promise with Xiaoge. rather than angsty endings, i write more angsty stories? in which case, the angstiest might be 千里自同风 | no distance too great as a canon-compliant post-canon fic that follows Fang Duobing's journey of grief. (but i don't think the ending of that is sad, tbh.) alternatively, 飞蛾扑火 | for you, i'll gladly burn is another contender given Shen Yi's big reveal in the last chapter (but also don't think the ending is sad). 红尘似水，万事入歌 | the world becomes song is pretty sad too if only because we the readers know the characters' fates in canon.

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

honestly, i think most of my fics are HEs. or if not "happy," comforting for sure. most of my fics end with a promise to be together, to spend an ordinary life together, to have the chance to be in the moment together. it might not be super, like, grand or dramatic or anything - but i genuinely think all my fics have peaceful endings. so take your pick, peruse my works～

8. Do you get hate on fics?

rarely, and the few times that i have, i've simply deleted them.

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

nope. i don't know how to, LOL

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

i have a guilty pleasure of writing crossovers, lol. i think they're all kinda wild:

a ghost walks into a soldier's house

镇魂 Guardian & 成化十四年 The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

do not speak as loud as my heart

盗墓笔记 The Grave Robbers' Chronicles & 镇魂 Guardian

红尘似水，万事入歌 | the world becomes song

鬓边不是海棠红 Winter Begonia & 老九门 Mystic Nine

懷月夢 | on the summit, sun and snow

三生三世枕上书 Eternal Love of Dream & 封神演义 The Investiture of The Gods

照猫画狐 | tracing a cat to draw a fox

猎罪图鉴 Under the Skin & 无眠之境 Desire Catcher

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of. don't steal my fics.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! 此生如梦 | this life, a dream was tl'ed into Russian～

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes～ @naiwong-bao and i somehow churned out the 111k monster that was 懷月夢 | on the summit, sun and snow. to this day, i have no idea how we did that, LOL

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

impossible for me to choose～ recency bias will suggest 🦊���� 青也, 🪷🐕 花方, and 🎨🔍 城心城翊 though～

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

my 往前走 莫回呀头 | go forward and don't look back series 🥹 i had two more parts planned originally after Xiuxiu's POV... one was Liu Sang, the other was Xiaoge. (there was an undetermined Bai Haotian POV fic too.) i also definitely won't be finishing the sound of snowfall (and don't want to LOL)

16. What are your writing strengths?

atmosphere and rhythm, i think. maybe because i used to write a lot of poetry? i also have faith in my world-building (bc i do a LOT of research) and dialogue. in terms of tropes, it must undoubtedly be hurt/comfort.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i'm not good at writing fight/action scenes (probably another reason why i literally cannot write smut). i also don't think i'm super great at description, but i think i've been improving.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

this is an interesting question because i actually write all my dialogue in Chinese first and then tl it to English since i pretty exclusively write for c-media now 😆 i like that a lot bc i think it helps me to more accurately characterize these ppl - but also it sucks tremendously when English is just the ugliest-sounding language in the world, LOL. (i always think my original Chinese dialogue is prettier and has more depth～)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

the first fandom i posted fic on AO3 for was Good Omens: i love(d) you. but in my life, it was probably like... Warriors (yes, the cats) or Shugo Chara..? idk, or maybe Case Closed (still love that series despite how insufferably long it's gotten).

20. Favorite fic you've written?

only children need to choose; adults can have everything～

tagging: @rongzhi, @elenothar, @difeisheng, @asterdust, @willowcatkinblossom, @starlitwishforu, @tunnelofdusk

[dual-domination]

He couldn’t stop himself from heading to Xiaoge, to lament his struggles with their Tianzhen to the other man that was also stuck with Wu Xie. Pangzi knew he wouldn’t be asleep. Lounging? Sure. But not actually asleep. He wasn’t capable of sleeping in. “Xiaoge! Of course, you were right. He’s fine. But this kid is trying to stress me out I swear!” He came into the room already complaining. "Hm." Xiaoge mentally nodded with a vague hum, not moving an inch.  "Did he say what it was?" Xiazi's voice came from somewhere in Xiaoge's hair, although his body still looked dead. ... Stroking the cat's silky fur, the Old Monk briefly glanced at the direction Zhao Yunlan had not yet come from. "He used to be my loudest disciple..." "He's really loud when he decides to take away my bonuses at the end of the month, Shifu," Lin Jing complained as he fit another box into the backseat of the car. "Mourning for someone who doesn't die. I think he reached a paradox I wouldn't know how to resolve." ... The classroom full of students waiting for his words reminded Shen Wei of his own time at college. He had a clear objective when he had decided to start that new life in the human world from an early steps, in the supposed youth that his ethereal appearance gave him. That objective had changed drastically because of a single decision, made hastily, in the pouring rain.

Chapter 7 of @tazzy-ace 's and my beloved co-written fic! Enjoy our boys!

[lunanoc]

im intrigued by literally every single one of your wips but i want to know about the dmbj time travel and abo ones (and also the sleep fic, if you need an excuse to talk about it 👀)

to be honest i've had a look at what these wips are because i didn't even fully remember some of them, so the abo ones are actually just two versions of the same thing 😭 so since someone else asked, the abo one explanation is here"

"dmbj time travel" is the first ever dmbj i ever started writing waaay back when i hadn't even finished the dramas yet and it shows. i want to fix it because i like the basic idea behind it, it just needs A Lot of reworking because the characterization is uh. yeah. so no snippets from this one even if it's technically like 14k or something

it's supposed to be canon time travel where for some reason (i'm not sure yet since it's getting revamped) post-restart yucun wu xie, xiaoge, and pangzi transmigrate back into their own bodies from the start of canon (so think even before jin wantang comes to wu xie with the copy of chen pi ah si's silkbook) except none of them know the other two remember. it's supposed to feature, among other fun things:

wu xie and existential crisis #476, is this real life or it is just snake fantasy?

unresolved sanshu tension™️ part 3 because good things come in threes because wu sanxing is still around at this point, and for all he's resolved most of his grievances about his uncle, wu xie doesn't quite know how to face him, partly because their relationship carries so much baggage, partly because he knows how shrewd wu sanxing is, which leads into wu xie rushing into wu sanxing's shop with the silkbook becoming a 4d chess conversation where both parties are aware on different levels that the person they're talking to is hiding things. something something wu xie notices wu sanxing test for a face mask etc

because pingxie are established at this point, and because so far no one else has remembered anything except wu xie, xiaoge angst™️ the remix and wu xie thinking he'll have to love him from afar again

which leads into sand sea wu xie™️ the remix, because if he's gone that far back, why not take on the wangs earlier than planned

the scene that's the reason why this even exists an excuse, wu xie and xiaoge (who didn't meet in front of wu sanxing's shop like the first time bc wu xie was too busy playing 4d chess with himself) realizing at some point on the trip to the seven star palace that they both remember because wu xie decides to test their shared knocking code language on a whim. and then xiaoge looks at him. and they both have A Moment that they can't express because they're not supposed to know each other

another scene where they're both bastards who decide to troll pangzi when they meet with him, partly to test whether or not he remembers too (he does), which leads to pangzi sussing them out eventually and yelling at them, then hugging them

i don't really have much of anything else mostly because they do eventually go back to their own time, because i don't really see the point in rewriting canon, i'll think about it someday. maybe

the sleep fic is kind of the sister fic to the sleep xiaoge pov one and it's pretty unoriginal because it's been done 50 times already i am deeply unoriginal unfortunately , it's the "wu xie has insomnia after ten years later" fic. my personal take on it is wu xie, after book 8, went from mild to severe depression, and then spent the next five years after that in go go go mode where he essentially forced himself to shutdown as far as his own basic emotional needs went. and like a lot of people who suddenly stop after not allowing themselves to for a long time, things start coming out of the woodwork. so once xiaoge's back and he's finished tidying up in hangzhou, the iron triangle move to yucun, and suddenly wu xie can't sleep. he never had insomnia that severe before (and if he did he'd just take sleeping pills and be done with it), but now he either can't sleep, or when he does he has nightmares

xiaoge eventually notices wu xie doesn't look well (among all the other things he's noticed) and is increasingly tired, so he tries to help in his own ways. eventually they get together. i wish it was more thought out than that 😭

[silver-grasp]

I'm like 7 episodes into Lost Tomb 2.5 now, my review so far:

I don't like how they've re-styled A-Ning >:( they've made her way too delicate and feminine. Like no shade to the actress I'm sure she could do a good job but they are NOT giving her anything to work with. Why is she in a dress and delicate choker???? she is the head of a paramilitary force lol. TLT2 A-Ning was much better.

Once again we have at least seven discrete sets of actors working at cross-purposes descending on one small town/tomb ksjdhfksjdhf. I literally cannot keep track of everyone's motivations and alliances I've completely given up.

I've also lost track of Xiao Hua's angle here lol I know he's gotten Jason to work with him and he says he's helping Wu Xie but you'd think he could communicate Any of that to Wu Xie if it's true

Everyone should definitely have died in the woods by now. Why the hell did they all go out in a blizzard. That's how you die

I really want A-Ning to cut off her shitty abusive foster father. Like Hendry is so awful to her, girl you can leave you don't have to feel indebted to him for eternity!! (I suspect this will not happen)

Wu Xie worrying about Everyone Else being in physical danger when he is definitely the least useful person in a physical emergency is incredibly funny but also annoying. Bro why are you worrying about whether Xiaoge is okay. Xiaoge is Fine. You should be worried about how you definitely should have died of exposure by now.

It seems that the whole plot bit at the end of TLT2 with Wu XIe being amnesiac in the snow is simply not going to happen this time lol. Literally what is continuity? Never heard of her.

[bowsie22]

Whumptober 2023 #1

Whumptober 1 - "How many fingers am I holding up?"

His head hurt, why did his head hurt? Wu Xie groaned, not wanting to open his eyes. After so many head injuries he already knew what would happen. He'd open his eyes, light would hit them and then Wu Xie would wince and move, making his head hurt even worse.

It really was a sad state of affairs that he was this familiar with head injuries, wasn't it? Taking a deep breath, Wu Xie cracked an eye open, hoping to find some answers. He remembered standing at the entrance to the main room in the tomb while Xiazi argued with Pangzi over how much dynamite was needed to blast through the door. Everything was a bit of a blur after that. Xiaoge shouting for him, Xiao Hua swearing, loud noises. Then a lot of pain.

Wu Xie swore, realising what had happened. He’d been caught up in the explosion. And separated from his friends, which was just typical of his luck. Taking a deep breath, he prodded at the sore spot on his head, hissing at the sharp pain that burst through him. That was a lot of blood, wasn't it? Xiaoge was going to be furious with him, he promised the other no more head wounds, at least not for a month. And that was only three weeks ago.

Oh, his eyes were going weird. Had there always been that many torches on the walls? Or so many figures on that mural? Were they dancing? Wait, Wu Xie squinted, no. That was Xiaoge and Xiao Hua moving through the rubble. Wu Xie starts humming, trying to get their attention. He cycles through a few different melodies, settling on Baby Shark. Annoying but effective if the hurried scrambling he heard meant anything.

Xiaoge fell to his knees beside Wu Xie, fingers probing his head wound, ignoring the wounded look sent his way. “Xiao Hua, let the others know he has a head wound and it’s bleeding a lot! Wu Xie, look at me sweetheart. How many fingers am I holding up?” Oh, he wasn’t falling for this again, Xiaoge has tricked him too many times with this. “You’re not getting me this time Xiaoge, the thumb is not a finger.” He hears Xiao Hua snort in the background. “God, I forgot how annoying concussed Wu Xie is.”

Xiaoge hummed, more concerned with getting Wu Xie to his feet. Turns out more than his head hurt. The older shushed him as he whined, “I know. You got a bit more buried than the rest of us, there’s a lot of cuts and bruises. We’ll get you out and to a hospital and you’ll feel better in no time, ok?” Wu Xie nodded, always trusting Xiaoge. He could relax now; Xiaoge and his friends would look after him, like they always did. Wu Xie giggled to himself, he had good friends, the best, he was so lucky. He should tell them that! “You guys are the best and I am so lucky you came into my life. Otherwise, I’d be stuck with my uncles, and they suck.”

He rambles as he’s lead out of the tomb and deposited into the car, continuing through the medical examination in the hospital, everything that came into his mind being said. Wu Xie only stops talking when he’s settled into a hospital bed and told he can sleep for a while. Xiaoge sits at his bedside, holding his hand while Pangzi and Xiazi argue over what to watch on the TV in the private room. Xiao Hua, ordering food to the room, takes the remote and switches to the news. Laughing, Wu Xie relaxes into the bed as the familiar routine carries on. He really was lucky.

A/N First entry for Whumptober 2023. The plan is to do all 31, but we’ll see how that goes

[pangzi]

@thecrowcollective replied to your post “someone, anyone who wants to share their favourite...”:

I like to think that Pangzi was a street kid raised by gangs and that's why he has such a terrifying reputation that a lot of people are like: ahaha, cross Pangzi? No thank you! Don't you know he once beat a man to death with his own shoes just for some bread!

And attached to that, Pangzi got into tomb raiding because he was physically strong.  He was an asset - but one that was meant to be discarded.  He knew that going in, but the money was too good to resist (heh) so once they got into the tomb and all the traps were disabled, he cooked a large meal to poison everyone and took the treasure for himself.  Until Wu Xie (and a little bit Xiao-ge) he was very much "every man for himself" and "survivors get the goods" 

His geniality was a cover.  But with Wu Xie it became real & the Iron Triangle became a family.  And now Pangzi actually keeps  a rainy day fund just in case something happens and they need to retire.  He no longer thinks as every day as his last.

​pangzi probably had to fend for himself from quite young. i think he did have to care for his family for a while. fits his personality quite well if you ask me and why he’d have to find ways to make money fast.

once his family is gone, though, he’s got nothing left to lose. he’s smart, he’s strong, he’s crafty and he knows he’ll be underestimated because of his size. he learned at school how to stay in the background, unnoticed. all these things help when it comes to tomb raiding. I also like to think he met hei xiazi early on, who saw great potential in him and helped him grow into the confident loud tomb raider he is now.

but yes as you said once he find wu xie and xiaoge, he finds a family again. a home. a reason to live. then money only matters because it’s what keeps them safe, helps him keep them happy. helps him build a good home for the people he loves.

[hils79]

Hils Watches Tibetan Sea Flower - Ep 7

Wu Xie: this meeting could have been an email

Wu Xie saying 'Just watch me' is like Baldrick saying 'I have a cunning plan'

He's just vocalising everything I wish I could say during a work meeting

Pangzi: it's been at least 2 minutes since I last touched Wu Xie. Must correct this immediately

Does 'unique constitution' mean 'somehow he's still alive despite all the odds'

"I've been tricked so many times I'm a pro at it now" is very much something Wu Xie would say. This might be the most in character adaptation yet

Pangzi's face says this isn't the first time he's heard Wu Xie say 'but I can't bear to leave these murals/these scrolls/this cool piece of architecture behind'

Pangzi knows exactly the right thing to say to calm Wu Xie down

CANONICAL BACKSTORY REFERENCE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COPE WITH THIS 😭

Fashion icon Wang Pangzi strikes agian. God, look at him

LOOK AT HIM

I don't think you understand how much I love these idiot losers

I'm imagining when Xiaoge gets back Zhang Haike will be like 'with the greatest respect let me tell you what your cringe husbands did while you were gone' Xiaoge: 😐 (which means he is listening with the utmost fondness for his two cringe husbands)

These are two grown-ass men

Pangzi offering the one thing that might tempt Wu Xie into not walking into an obvious trap

Stop. No. I hate it when Pangzi is sad. Is this how it starts? Is this how we end up where we do in Sha Hai where they're working together but separately because Pangzi can't bear to see Wu Xie destroy himself

I hate it when they fight 😭

Of course he came back

FFS I'm crying again. I just love how much the three of them love each other

I want to make this my new desktop wallpaper

I love that even Zhang Haixing is kind of amused by their shenanigans

Ah, we're back to the baby Zhangs now

I'm surprised he's not doing more to try and stop the other baby Zhangs from killing Xiaoge, considering his sister is the one who started the fight

Well, is it really DMBJ without some more horrifying traumatic backstory for Xiaoge

Zhang Haixing knows what's going on with her brother

[traineecryptid]

NPSS Weibo Q&A (20240831) Part 7

This is a Q&A session held on Weibo. People will tag their questions with the hashtag #南派三叔藏海花在线答疑# (#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#) and NPSS will look through the tag to pick some to answer. The event started at 1500 hours on 2024 August 31st.

Folder with screenshots and big compilation google doc is here. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here.

0237

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A# There is always a special smoke-fire fragrance on Hei Yanjing's body. The components of the fragrance are very complicated. When the components change, it would transmit a lot of information to those familiar with him.

0243

#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#  You all should go to sleep and continue tomorrow. I’ll continue scooping questions from the front tomorrow. (T/N: i think this means that he’ll take the older questions instead of the fresh questions, so people won't keep spamming to keep their questions on top of the “sort by newest” section?) Don’t sleep too late.

1832

Q: Sanshu, if Wu Xie had gone to Mount Changbai but didn’t manage to fetch Xiaoge, what would he do?

A: Which scenario of “didn’t manage to fetch Xiaoge”? Did he go to the wrong place or had Xiaoge come out earlier?

1837

Q: Shu, if [one] were to get a gift for Xiaoge, what would Xiaoge like to receive the most?

A: Noise canceling headphones

1839

Q: Shu, what would the Iron Triangle think if they saw ZHH while watching TV?

A: Eh? Why have all the names of the places changed?

1841

Q: I’m curious, what is the present that Xiaohua would like to receive the most?

A: A peaceful sleep.

1842

Q: Wu Xie has so many dogs. Is he usually the one who walks them? Has he ever had the experience of losing his slippers while chasing after his dogs? Then he would really become shoe-less (T/N: No Shoes is a homophone for Wu Xie.) If the dog stepped on moss and slipped into the pond, and he has to go scoop it up, is he then Wu Scooping Dog? (T/N: Wu Scooping Dog is a homophone for Wu Laogou.) A: Wah, you’ve finished writing it all.

1845

Q: If he could do it all over again, would Xiaoge still choose to be the patriarch and receive the Tianshou? A: Of course he will.

1850

Q: What was in Sha Hai Wu Xie's mind when he fell off the cliff?

A: He thought of a song.

1856

Q: Has Hei Xiazi met Xie Yuchen when he was little? If the current day Hei Xiazi could meet little Xie Yuchen, what would he say to Xie Yuchen? 

A: Remember, you have never seen me before.

1859

Q: Shu, I'm still doubting if it was really Xiaoge who gave the mission of defeating the Night King to Wu Xie. I feel like in the books, Xiaoge wants to get Wu Xie out and wouldn’t voluntarily let Wu Xie be in danger. So was it really Xiaoge’s mission or is Zhang Haike lying to Wu Xie?

A: Please watch the drama closely.

1902

Q: Shu! If Xilaimian got set up with negative reviews, how would the Iron Triangle react?

A: Squeeze their phone till it explodes.

1931

Q: What is Xiaoge’s display name in Wu Xie’s Wechat? (T/N: You can set a different display name for the contacts in Wechat, just like normal phone contacts.)

A: Cashier.

1935

Q: Shu, can there be a series that uses all the same actors some day? Like in Harry Potter.

A: In the future, maybe it can happen in some movies.

2012

I’ve had a mental breakdown. No replies for now, I’m going to go watch the drama.

a very funny point to stop at really. but as promised, double updates today!

[inthegreyspaces]

WIP Game

Okay, so the lovely @farawayanddreaming tagged me for this WIP Game…earlier this week? I hope it’s only been that long… Oh well. So. This could prove to be a little bit interesting as I don’t actually title much until it’s finished. Most of the files in my WIP folder are “titled” with the first line of the work which may or may not be the current first line. Aaaaaand, I have a LOT of WIPs. Are we ready for this??

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Wei Ying stumbled up the steps of the pavilion just as the visiting students…

Jiang Cheng had not struck him a blow, not physically at least, though Lan Zhan…

You Are and I Love You As You Are

Take My Pieces, Make Me Whole

Ghostlight and Memory

Sins We Shall Not Speak Of

“Lan-er-gonzi?”

Nearly two years had passed since Wei Ying’s resurrection into the world, and…

“Professor Lan, we appreciate you taking on this additional class for the semester…”

Wei Ying flopped back on the warm roof tiles with a satisfied sigh…

Gank This Bat! WangXian Style.

“You said ‘always’—when did that start?”

“Xiao Wei!”

“Kunlun…where did you come from?”

Shen Wei didn’t have any scars. Not visible ones anyway.

Wu Xie woke trembling and gasping on the cusp of a hacking cough before he remembered…

Wu Xie blinked blood from his eyes and frantically smeared it away from his…

“Xiaoge! You’re back!”

It was raining. Again.

He took one last look around the room before he yanked the zipper on his bag…

Told you. I really wasn’t kidding. I work on a lot of stuff. At the same time. And since I know absolutely no one on Tumblr save the person who tagged me in this to begin with I shall instead tag some of my favorite writers on AO3 and we’ll see what happens: @canary3d-obsessed @majorenglishesquire @laireshi @jockvillagersonly @robotmango

[fixaidea]

This is not something I intend to sit down and seriously write up until I've read all the relevant bits of Xiaoge's backstory first-hand, but the idea won't leave me be, so here's a Concept:

At the great joint-effort Mystic Nine dig in the 1960s, an amulet is found. Those present theorise that it is something that can give the user a glimpse into their future (and yes, I've written this plot before AND I WILL WRITE IT AGAIN!). After much Shuffling of Feet and Averting the Eyes from the others Xiaoge decides to test it himself.

After entering the vision, he immediately calls the amulet's authenticity into question, as he finds himself in bed with a naked man.

It is a testimony to his calm willpower that he doesn't immediately kick the guy right through the wall, but pauses to asses the situation first. He is not restrained and feels perfectly clear-headed, so this supposed future self of his probably got into this situation on his own accord.

He gets up to investigate - and in the process wakes the stranger up. Thankfully all he does is grumble about how early it is, and then asks Xiaoge to check something in the garden when he's done training.

...All right then, so this future Zhang Qiling has known this man for a while, long enough for them to have an estabilished morning routine. Curious.

Instead of training though he explores the house. He finds another, much more sparse, bedroom with his own black-gold sword hanging on the wall. ...So he's supposed to live here? With that man? And it's not even just the two of them, he can hear someone snoring further down the hall. Do either of these people know who and what he even is?

...And it is at this point when he spots a large portrait of himself hanging on the wall. So yeah, they probably do know. Or did they assume it depicted one of his ancestors?

He intends to keep assessing the situation and observe the other inhabitants (the guy he woke up with and a slightly older and much larger man) but the two clock that he's acting weird with surprising ease. Apparently he has a number of different silences.

He tests the waters by telling them that he doesn't recognise them, which is met with some dismay, but no surprise at all. Again, curious. Instead of acting hurt or panicking they introduce themselves (Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi), tell him where and when he is (Yucun, 2020) and ask him what's the last thing he remembers. Seems like they've been through this before?

At this point he decides to take the risk of not being believed and tells them the truth. The two are bewildered, but not entirely incredulous. Sure, Pangzi half-seriously checks for a human skin mask first, but they do take him seriously, and soon they are deep into a discussion about the details of his situation - a discussion that makes it obvious that this Wu Xie is fully in on all the secrets of the Zhang.

Could it be that he's some officially assigned partner of his? It would be a bit strange, but then again, the world was already rapidly changing just in the couple of decades Zhang Qiling can remember, and this is more than half a century later still, who knows what counts as normal these days? He might have to ask though, because so far Wu Xie himself hasn't brought up the matter, he was more focused on the possible mechanics of this time travel situation. Zhang Qiling himself expected a simple vision but now he's interacting with the people in his supposed future, and one of them is rambling about 'the question of a time-loop versus the Multiverse Theory'. Zhang Qiling thinks he gets the grist of it, but the one thing he learns for sure is that Wu Xie is very bright and he likes the sound of his own voice a bit too much. That is, when he gets to hear it, because Pangzi is even more talkative.

How did he end up living with these people?

(...Meanwhile Wu Xie is internally screaming over what he can and can't tell this younger Xiaoge, like, what would even be relevant if this is a parallel timeline and not a time-loop? Maybe THEIR Zhang Qishan is a perfectly nice, standup guy? Because if not, and if there's and way at all of sparing this version of Xiaoge 20 years of medical torture at Golmud then WU XIE WILL DO IT, CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED!)

(...At least all this overthinking keeps him from dwelling on the small matter of waking up beside a Xiaoge who is at this point a virtual stranger.)

[elenothar]

For the WiP titles meme, I'd love to know more about:

Tomb Sirens

Wu Xie & Xiao Hua

Academic Colleagues fic

wu xie birthday week

Forest Weilan

I'm cheating a bit because I know about several of those already. XD

And if you don't want to do all of these, you can pick however many you want. ;D

Only half the list, huh ;D

I'll do brief bits on all of them, let's see...

Tomb Sirens

Not much written for this, though I'm still invested in the idea. Another installment of my ace!Wu Xie agenda, this time featuring tomb critters that seduce with their voice, and only Wu Xie being unaffected and for once getting to save Xiaoge and Pangzi both.

Wu Xie & Xiao Hua

Post heihua movie, Wu Xie and Xiao Hua getting into (and themselves out of, because they can both be terrifying) some trouble

It’s not every day that Wu Xie gets a message from Hei Xiazi that’s not a terrible joke or an even more terrible meme.               Keep an eye on Hua-er for me, will you? The contents of the message, on the other hand, aren’t very surprising. They might both deny it until they’re blue in the face, but Hei Xiazi and Xiao Hua have soft spots for each other a mile wide, and Wu Xie should know. He’s caught them sneaking off for a quick fuck often enough, and besides only people deeply invested in each other can attain that level of personalised bitchiness interspersed with over-the-top protective gestures. Again, Wu Xie should know.

Academic Colleagues fic

That one was a bit of a vague idea, but I wanted (surprise, surprise), to write some more about Shen Wei and Dragon City University, post canon.

These days, Shen Wei keeps his office door open out of sheer stubbornness, overlooking the frequent invasions of people who have no business at the university in order to keep being as approachable as possible to the spooked student body. Which is how he hears Zhang Ruonan, recently returned from her sabbatical looking rather healthier than when he’s last seen her, say loud and clear: “Oh, you’re looking for Professor Shen’s office? You’re in the wrong building, I’m afraid.” She then proceeds to give very detailed directions to a storage closet in the maths faculty building halfway across campus, and a female voice thanks her for her trouble. When Zhang Ruonan appears in his office a minute later, looking rather self-satisfied, Shen Wei raises a brow. “Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Zhang Ruonan says. “You don’t need any more reporters haranguing you.”

wu xie birthday week

ignoring the fact that this was meant for wu xie's birthday last year just general tomb shenanigans, vaguely inspired by daemons

“Xiaoge,” Pangzi said, speaking out of the corner of his mouth as if to avoid spooking someone – ok, so maybe Wu Xie was a little spooked at this point, but still, rude – “are you seeing what I’m seeing?” “Hm.” That was definitely Xiaoge’s assenting, which begged the question – what exactly was it that they were seeing? Slowly, he turned his head to the right, expecting a monster maybe, or a heap of treasure, or the entrance to a side chamber they’d overlooked earlier. He very much did not expect to find himself face to face with a hovering, translucent in a kind of glittery way… snake? Furry snake with gem-like eyes in disturbingly familiar shading of brown? He might have to give the other two a pass for staring because Wu Xie was also staring.

Forest Weilan

Just me marrying my thing for trees with my thing for Guardian, featuring Shen Wei getting stuck in a tree (not that I got there yet in the writing).

In retrospect, they probably shouldn’t have split up. Nothing good ever comes from splitting up, particularly when it comes to Shen Wei’s propensity to seek out trouble. Shen Wei, incidentally, says the same about Zhao Yunlan, but really, only one of them keeps ending up tied to pillars in various places as soon as he goes off alone. It had seemed the logical thing to do at the time. They’d been asked to help find a missing snake tribe kid (well, Shen Wei had been asked, because he can cover a lot of ground with his portals and Zhao Yunlan had invited himself along). Zhu Hong had been pretty certain there was no foul play involved, just a curious youngster who’d strayed too far into the woods, probably frightened out of his wits by now. Normally the Yashou would handle the matter themselves, but lately they’ve been making an effort at increased cooperation.

WIP titles here