#interaction does not a ghost cultivator make

[mxtxfanatic]

Is it just me, or does the Lan Clan also practice a form of ghost cultivation?

Evocation summons spirits.

Inquiry, when practiced by someone of sufficient skill, can both force ghosts to answer and force them to be honest.

Rest pacifies resentful energy.

This all really seems like ghost cultivation to me, just with a spiritual buffer and without the “stirring up resentment” part needed for getting fierce corpses to fight on your behalf.

It’s not terribly surprising cultivation genius Wei Wuxian figured out how to manipulate ghosts and resentment directly via music after leaning from the Lan... or that after his return he can just play things like Rest and Evocation alongside Lan Wangji and get results.

What the Lan do is not ghost cultivation because they are not cultivating with ghosts. They are merely interacting with them. The Nie cultivate with the resentment of dead animals. Wei Wuxian cultivates with the resentment from the spirits of dead people. The Lan cultivate with music.

[tossawary]

I was thinking about Xie Lian being able to snap the Xin Mo sword in half with his bare hands again, and then I thought to myself... "Wait, Xie Lian and Luo Binghe interaction could be really cute, though?"

Like, let's say that Xie Lian, during his time as a wandering trash god, accidentally falls into an interdimensional rift and ends up in the SVSSS world. His luck is bad like that. But while this is weird, sure, it's not that bad! The worlds are pretty similar and he can still make his living! So, Xie Lian wanders along as usual, curiously learning about this new world, picking through trash, occasionally punching demonic beasts to death to rescue awed civilians.

And at some point, Xie Lian runs into a young Luo Binghe while he's living on the streets. Let's say that Xie Lian rolls into town shortly before the death of Binghe's adoptive mother, has a few sweet encounters with this cute and kind child who doesn't have much to spare for a trash collector, and is there to comfort his new young friend when Binghe's adoptive mother passes away. Xie Lian is still there when Binghe gets thrown out onto the streets and he agrees to help the boy travel to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect.

So, Binghe gets to spend a month or two as a trash-collecting god's apprentice! He doesn't know that Xie Lian is a god. He suspects that Xie Lian is just a very powerful rogue cultivator who is living very humbly for some reason. The time isn't entirely pleasant, because life is hard and Binghe is grieving, but Xie Lian understands pain very well and is an excellent companion. He sees Binghe safely to Cang Qiong.

At which point, clingy Binghe does not want to separate from this extremely nice person, but Xie Lian insists on it. He wants Binghe to have a better life. He's worried that his bad luck will somehow spread to this poor boy who reminds him of so many other people he's loved and lost. Xie Lian supervises the confusing entrance exam, while the adult Cang Qiong cultivators desperately try to figure out who this strange person is (Airplane Bro is going "???!!!"), and then leaves wistfully. Binghe will later look back on this particular period of his life very fondly.

Xie Lian can then go in and out of the SVSSS plot as a person pleases! I think it would be very funny if Liu Qingge ended up with an unwilling crush on Xie Lian as well, when they have a spar for some reason and Xie Lian handily SLAMS him into the ground. Xie Lian would probably end up running into Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang somehow, both of whom I think would end up being a little obsessed with him.

I think that the best place to bring Xie Lian and Binghe back together is maybe after Binghe escapes the Endless Abyss. So that Binghe can have a nice cry session on Xie Lian's shoulder. Xie Lian can possibly then introduce Binghe to Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang. Or else generally fumble his way through facilitating Bingqiu actually communicating and being less of a painful mess. Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan) is very confused by this character?! Where did he come from??? Who is he??? He's very nice, though, and Shen Qingqiu is feeling maybe a liiiiittle jealous over Binghe.

(I don't know how to handle the System in this AU, but I do like the idea of the System just... not being able to handle Xie Lian. Xie Lian is a god from a different worldbuild. He kind of just breaks everything.)

(If you want to get a little angsty and ghostly, you could have a plotline in which Xie Lian helps the ghost of Shen Jiu somehow. Qijiu resolution?)

Binghe would probably be open to the idea of getting together with Xie Lian as well as Shen Qingqiu. He has a type! He is full of love! But Xie Lian is definitely not interested and is very good at wiggling away from come-ons, so Binghe respectfully doesn't pursue that passing thought / childhood crush, no matter what Tianlang-Jun is saying about threesomes again.

Binghe ends up using the (tamed? broken?) Xin Mo sword to send Xie Lian (his "gege") back to Xie Lian's own world. (Or Mobei-Jun could maybe do it?) Xie Lian has been gone for years and wants to see how his world is doing. Binghe tearfully promises to visit him regularly and to come get him WHENEVER HE WANTS. Xie Lian pats his head and agrees to stay in touch.

So, then Xie Lian tumbles out back into his own world and into the start of the plot of TGCF. And at any point in the plot of TGCF, he's now able to summon a heavenly demon from another dimension (with a super powerful sword that can move mountains?) who would absolutely be willing to fight all of heaven for him.

Xie Lian generally isn't going to do this, because he doesn't want to involve Binghe in his problems, even though Binghe is CHEWING THE WALLS with the desire to help him in return. However, Xie Lian does really like to go out with Binghe and Shen Qingqiu (and sometimes people like Airplane Bro and Mobei-Jun and Liu Qingge as well) to nice restaurants every other week or so. "So, what's new?" "Oh, I've ascended to heaven again and it's a little troublesome, ha ha. How are you?"

Hua Cheng is... nonplussed. On one hand, he's a little jealous. On the other hand, FINALLY, people can recognize that Xie Lian is the best person in the world. Luo Binghe has GOOD TASTE and is just some well-meaning kid whom Xie Lian likes a lot and who rightly thinks heaven sucks. Hua Cheng is determinedly shaking Luo Binghe's hand and giving him advice from a Ghost King to a future Demon Emperor.

(Tianlang-Jun CANNOT be allowed into Ghost City. He will NOT leave. I think that Hua Cheng is strong enough to throw him out if necessary, but Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang would just keep slipping back in somehow. Permanently banned from the gambling tables no matter what he offers, but Tianlang-Jun is still allowed to hang out at the Ghost City playhouse because he quickly becomes the favorite audience member of all of the ghost actors. He has AWFUL taste. Yin Yu hates this guy.)

(Also, I do think that Xie Lian would not really like the Xin Mo sword at all. E'ming is a beautiful baby boy made from and by Hua Cheng, who is Xie Lian's favorite person in the world who has never done anything wrong ever. Xin Mo is some random blade that destroys Luo Binghe's mental health and turns him into the worst version of himself! Xie Lian could and possibly should snap that possession sword like a twig.)

[evilminji]

Weird/Unusual Crossover time?

Weird/unusual crossover time! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ (oh shit~! She's back on her billshit!) (That's RIGHT! Nothing is sacred and NO ONE IS SAFE!)

ANYWAYS~

Danny Phantom. Cultivation Novels (my current obsession). A match made in hell? Or an exciting new adventure‽ Cause like... the Zone DOES go EVERYWHERE, right? Infinite means Infinite means "Literally Without End" Infinite.

As in, Forever.

You COULD, in fact, pick a direction and just... keep going. Forever. For always. Without end or limits. The Zone is not just "really, REALLY big and we need a word your mind could comprehend." Not "as big as a galaxy or the known universe". It is? On a scale that even GODS can not comprehend.

The place GODS go to die. A place they are BORN from. The great primordial soup where universe end and begin anew. Where the cracks are glued backed together, and the souls of the living flow in and out. Endless scraps of fabric, realities, atop a churning sea of green. Keeping everything even.

After all... you can't CREATE a soul. They got to come from SOMEWHERE. Where do you THINK they arrive from? When populations grow? Thin air‽

But... ah~, there in lays the rub, doesn't it? Would knowing the Zone? Knowing SOME of it's mysteries and machinations (for NO ONE, not even all the Ancients COMBINED, can ever claim to understand even a fraction of them all.) mean that Danny??? Was powerful in a Cultivation reality?

He's certainly a powerful GHOST.

But?? They FIGHT ghosts all the time. Wouldn't he be WEAKER and more in danger? As they try to hell the restless spirit move on? Not knowing he is balanced between life and death? They could very well kill him.

Which, given the moral standards of the Realm? Would NOT be viewed as a bad thing.

But! On the OTHER hand?

He is a ZONE ghost. Not a simple spirit. Far beyond what they are used to dealing with. Arguably? ASCENDANT. From a higher plane of existence. A lower one. Several steps to the side. He is, for all intents and purposes, shrimp colors to the human eye. The color blue to a blind man. An orb to the two dimensional.

CAN he even interact with the world's cultivation systems? Does it recognize him as a god? A dead man? Some sort of ascendant dead god?

Something... Not Right™

Yet still utterly natural? Clearly not meant to be here. Yet... not wicked. Granted, not, perhaps, benevolent. But...

Because what IS he? Is he a boy? A man? A corpse? Immortal, perhaps? Is this creature a demon? The resentful dead? They DONT KNOW! It... probably scares a lot of them. Makes some of them think he is a test. Probably makes OTHERS wanna fight (friend? Hey! New friend!).

And like? Why would Danny even BE there? He's already immortal. The swords are pretty cool... but he has Fenton tech.

So, WHY?

I propose?

His well know Anger Issues. His fear of becoming Dan. He's heard meditation is good for shit like that, right? Mindfulness and stuff. Sam recommended it. And? They were watching Fantasy Kung-fu 17, "bamboo monks of vengeance" (now with more slow motion aerial battles). So he was like? Hmmmm... those misty valleys and mountains shots DO looks relaxing... I could go camping...

Maybe find a mysterious old kung-fu monk? Is that what they are? Tucker. Tucker! What's the name of this genre again? Xanxia. Yeah. That! I'll do the whole "live, laugh, love. Hot girl, cultivation summer" thing! That'll fix my shit! This is a GREAT idea!

Thus? Danny. Terrorizing some poor Xanxia Cultivation world with his Zone Ghostiness. Pretending to be a human... very, VERY badly. Yes, hello Fellow Locals! It is him! Average Human Man! Take me to your *checks notes* Cultivation Sect! *smiles with far too many teeth*

#nailedit he's gonna get SUCH a good job at blending in! A thing that is both real and possible to achieve!

@babbling-babull @legitimatesatanspawn @mayfay @hdgnj @spidori @the-witchhunter @leftnotright @lolottes

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 4, Match 8: Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu vs. Xie Lian

Submitted kids:

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu: Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang, Liang Jiuxiao, arguably also Cao Weining and Gao Xiaolian

Xie Lian: Ban Yue, Pei Xiu, Lang Ying, Lian Qianqiu, Gu Zi, Lang Ying

Propaganda under the cut!

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu:

1: “Wen Kexing- the man has his entire life planned around an evil revenge plot yet somehow while becoming the Ghost Valley Chief he manages to take Gu Xiang (who must of been a young girl at that point) under his wing. Sure the woman in the unfaithful manor probably helped him out with her, but still she manages to come out of the Ghost Valley probably the least messed up out of anyone. Also he goes total protective dad the second Cao Weining starts courting her, literally nitpicks everything the man does, yet in the end he gives them his support in the marriage and even holds it on his turf, opening up the Ghost Valley to normal (warrior/cultivating) people for their wedding. His positive interactions with Zhang Chengling are to a less extent, especially as the boy is so embroiled in his revenge scheme, but none the less he teaches him and treats him decently especially as the spend more time with each other.

ZZS- He gets tangled up in WKX’s whole revenge plot because he promises to protect and escort the boy, Zhang Chengling, to the safety of one of his martial uncles, and yet before we even hit the halfway point in episodes (at least I think it is) he’s taken the boy under his wing as what is essentially a disciple, even though he is the last member of his sect and was ready to let it die with him. Not to mention the fact that his whole plan was to waste away mostly unnoticed and yet he somehow gets dragged into the biggest drama of the decade and repeatedly puts himself in harms way to save the kid! And he planned on passing over the legacy of his sect to him! His relationship with Gu Xiang is less intense, but if I had to describe how they act it’s a constant back and forth, he annoys teases her and she gets all frustrated. She spends the first couple episodes literally thinking he’s a weird old man, cause their whole relationship is just like that. He’s also much more sympathetic to Cao Weining’s continuous courting struggle though that’s not to say he doesn’t pull a fast one or few on him.”

Link to the rest here!

Xie Lian:

1. “a several centuries old disgraced god who keeps somehow getting mixed up in things that have nothing to do with him and taking in random kids in the process. Got dragged into being a soldier in a war between kingdoms he's not even from? suddenly single dad to these two random kids caught up in between. dealing with a malicious ghost who has been killing brides? boom, now he has a ghost son whose previous guardian was killed by the malicious ghost. psychotic ghost cousin posses the body of a man with a young son and continues being a piece of shit? well i guess your taking care of that kid too now (i know guzi is technically qi rong's kid since he's the one possessing his actual dad but if it weren't for xie lian intervening when he did the kid would be dead so he kinda counts too)”

2. “Xie Lian saves a young LQQ from being kidnapped, returns him home and end up becoming the/his grand tutor(which was NOT his original plan at all). He literally teaches the boy everything for years, raising him to become the best ruler he could ever be. The XL ends up accused for killing his family (because of a lot of different things) what is important is that he was not the perpetrator but he did kill LQQ’s father in an act to save the boy from making a horrible decision/outcome and also dealt with the actual perpetrators but kept it a secret cause he knew it would break LQQ’s heart to learn his dear friend planned to kill him and his entire family. LQQ took this betrayal by XL so hard he buried him after staking him through the heart when he was still alive. 300 years later when XL returns/is revealed LQQ is still not over it to the point he wants a FAIR duel to settle the score. FAIR with the man he still thinks killed his entire family!

Banyue and Pei Su are connected. XL took BY under his wing while he was a soldier in the army. He did his best to protect her and get her fed as she had pretty much no one. He also talked with her about his younger selfs dreams for the future which was so inspiring to her that not only did she remember it over a century later when they meet again in very different circumstances but she also apologized for essentially not being able to live up to the ideals he had accidentally passed on to her. While he didn’t have as much direct contact with Pei Su, the boy was BY’s only friend and so while XL was around he did also interact with the boy. However this all came to an end when in an attempt to save BY (which succeeded) he through himself in between two armies and was trampled when they began to fight. When they meet again (as I previously mentioned) XL takes BY under his safety until he is not safe and then sends her off to a safe place where she reunites with PS, who for all XL doesn’t give the same amount of attention to, XL does actually approve of some of him (not all his actions) and seems to find it cute that PS is courting BY.

XL meets Lang Ying first when he helps the boy burry his proxy sister, LY ends up running off after XL reacted with shock to LY’s uncovered face, but XL keeps a constant search for him. XL next saves him from getting beat up by ghosts and ends up taking him to live with him in the shrine he lives in. He does his best to take care of both LY and Gu Zi at the shrine and keeps his good treatment up even knowing LY’s a ghost it only ends when (spoilers for non book people, feel free to look up if you want to know).

XL takes in GZ mostly as his ghost cousin (whom he arrested) has taken over the body of the boy’s father. While I’m not sure how much this one counts, especially since by the end his cousin ends up caring for GZ, but he still does the best he can to feed and care for the boy as his entire life changes.”

[darlinglotys]

PIdw Au/fanfic idea

ok so my idea is a Shen Jiu x reader and a child wei wuxian. Its very random i know but imagine the angst potention. I only have a rough idea regarding the plot but here are the main points i have in mind

-Shen jiu and reader have a good relationship but the reader is sickly so they are almost never seen outside and have to depend on Shen Jiu with couses him to get a little overprotective

-dispait readers illnes they manage to have a healthy son Wei Ying thet thet they bouth adore(Shen Jiu made an outh to raise him to be extremly respectfull tovards women）

-they have a good family life untill Lou binghe returned from the abyss and they are seperated from Shen Jiu and go in hiding becouse Lou binghe will use anyone and anything to torment his teacher

-reader and wei ying end up in Yiling where reader dies due to theyr illnes but ends up as a ghost thanks to the resentfull energy from Burier Mounds and reader continued to try and take care of Wei Ying

-meanwhail Shen Jiu is tortured to death by Lou binghe but he becomes a ghost as well but he no longer has a filter so he is very volcal about his emotions (mainly anger）

-when Wei Ying is around ten years old Shen jiu and reader meet again whail reader is exploring the forest neer Burian Mounds trying to figure out how to give Wei Ying a comforteble life insted of a curent one and after a reunion between the lovers Wei Ying finaly meets his father

-Shen Jiu now know as Qi rong disaids to teach Wei Ying how to cultivate alowing them to get closer

-when wei ying is fifteen he does to gusu and meets the main gang of mdzs becoming best friends with Nie huaisang and having a frendly rivery between him and Jiang cheng

-wei ying gets in trouble and his parents have to come to guse acidently cousing a scene mainly Shen Jiu who is angry at wei ying for geting kicked out after them trying to get him in so hard and making his 'mom' woried

-whail Wei Ying now Wei Wuxian was in gusu Shen Jiu becomes more known as Qi Rong as he is doing anything he can to get revenge on Lou Binghe becomes a wrath/sevege level ghost almost a suprime and gets added to ghost kings and the four ghost kings becomes a thing (the main diference between She Jiu Qi rong and og Qi rong is thet Shen Jiu is a lot more cunning/he is a streategist and refuses to harm women ghost or human）

-now mdzs plot continues not long after Wei Wuxian the Wen sect attacks yada yada. Now Wei Wuxian gets thrown into burial mounds Shen Jiu found out and goes after him. Now Wei Wuxian actualy died from the fall and ends up absorbing a lot of the resentfull energy and a instantly becomes a wrath level ghost and for the next three months he gets traind by Shen Jiu.

-they leave the burial mounds and Wei Wuxian goes to get his ravenge like in cannon he takes in the inosent Wens/ women and children

-now you may be asking what is the reader doing? managing theritory of course. So whail Shen jiu is gone thraining their son Reader is handeling the politics and making deals with the other ghost kings mainly He Xuan becouse they share a bourder as in my au the burial mounds a next to his theritory so they are forsed to interact from time to time

-now for th second question you may be heaving what about Lou Binghe he is traveling and geting his harem up and ranning and whail he pases by Qi Rongs theritory he hears the stories about the local ghost hing and his Queen at first he doesnt really care becouse why should he but then he hears more and more about them and realises thet the green ghost sounds suspishously like his beloved teacher. A Palace hiden by a bamboo forest thet apired seemingly out of nowhere. then he hears about how all of the slawers have been found skined and hanging upside down creating Qi Rongs iconic forest of heanging corpses and all the slaves have disapired

-Lou Binghe isn´t stupid he knows about his shizuns history so he starts investigating and looking for him so he can torment his old teacher once more. he is surching untill he gets to YIling and by now every one knows about the Yiling Patriach and thet he is sean the most around the city of Yiling and whail Lou binghe rests in one of the ins he lais his ayes on the Yiling Patriarch and indtantly relaise how similar he looks to Shen Jiu his hair, face and even ayes in short an almos a carbon copy of his old teacher the only diference his ayes are gray almost blue

-Wei Wuxian doen´t notise Lou Binghe is folowing him as he goes home Lou binghe only stops to hide when he notises Wei Wuxian calmly walk inside a dark Bamboo forest. Now whail Wei Wuxian doesnt notise Lou Binghe Qi rong does and begans planing almost instanly on how to get back on Lou BInghe/get him out of his theritory

Welp thets all but i still need to figure out how to end it and who to pair Wei Wuxian up with and if to ad beefleaf and more inportantly how to work it out but i will figure it out hopefully soon. anway this is the end of my word vomit. have a good day/night

[path-of-grass-and-leaves]

Localizing A Magical Journal

When I was starting out, every book I read on the subject of witchcraft seemed to contain a long list of crystals and imported herbs. Many of these were not easily accessible and didn't fit into my personal practice. Magic came easier to me and became significantly more meaningful after I started localizing my practice.

It has also made writing my magical journal that much easier. Even after over a decade of practice, I still found the task of writing a grimoire to be a daunting one. Adding more local and personal elements to my practice has helped me to organize my journal, making the act of actually writing in it much less strenuous.

If you're looking to localize your grimoire and don't know how to get started, here are a few ideas:

Sections for Native and Invasive Plants

This section can include folklore, culinary uses, medicinal uses, cultivation, a planting calendar, which animals/insects they attract, and a personal correspondence list. I would write one chapter for invasive plants and another for native ones. Additionally, you could add a section for garden crops if desired. I would also add notes on toxicity to humans and pets.

Why work with invasive plants? Because they're abundant! Foraging them helps reduce their population and we get the benefit of a new plant to use in our practice. In fact, mugwort, a popular herb among the occult community, is an invasive plant where I live.

Local Animal Symbolism Section

I organize my animal symbolism section by mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish. These chapters can include folklore, physical characteristics, behavior, habitat, diet, and correspondences/symbolism.

Entries can be made more personal by observing animals and recording experiences (just no hand feeding or interacting). I also like to include different forms of veneration. This can be spiritual in nature, like leaving offerings, or mundane, like installing a nesting box for birds.

A chapter on bugs and insects is also a good idea. This could be helpful if you keep an outdoor garden and want to record information on common pests and pollinators.

Local Stones and Crystals

One of the least ethical occult practices, in my opinion, is the use of crystals. The rising popularity of crystals is the cause of a lot of suffering. Does that rose quartz really promote love when it was sourced through child labor? It's important to know where your crystals come from and how they are harvested.

One way to localize your stone and crystal collection is to research which are specific to your area and where to find them. For example, there are certain rivers in my area that contain agate, jasper, and quartz. If you can't go out and search for them yourself, finding an ethical distributor to purchase from is more than sufficient.

Entries can include their composition, how they are formed, what they are used for, and personal correspondences.

Family Recipies and Local Edible Plants

I imagine that having a recipe section would be very important to a practitioner who performs most of their workings in the kitchen. I love to cook, but it rarely makes its way into my practice unless I'm preparing an offering of some sort. Either way, I think that having even a small section of culinary recipes can be beneficial, because it adds a personal element to a grimoire.

I would include your favorite recipes, family recipes, and even dishes that can be made from locally foraged plants. Correspondences can also be noted for each dish and recipes can be specific to certain deities, holidays, or workings.

Urban Legends and Local Superstitions

Urban legends and local ghost stories can be a fun addition to any personal grimoire. You can research the origins of these stories, read the personal experiences of others, and record them in your journal. You can also visit places associated with urban legends (only if it's safe and legal to do so) and record your own experiences.

Another way of localizing your grimoire is to research common superstitions in your area and where they come from, or record your own family superstitions.

Local Spirits and Places of Importance

For spirit workers, research local spirits and entities, their associations, appearance, and origins. In addition to this, write individual entries on spirits that you work with personally. I would include their assumed appearance, location, personality, how to call them, preferred offerings, and areas of strength/weakness. You can also add a section on thoughtforms, if you use them in your practice.

It's also important to think about which local areas are significant to you personally. Is it a river? A clearing in the woods? A hiking trail? Your own backyard? Make a list of areas that inspire you. How can you get there? What grows there? What kind of animals live there? Are there spirits? Would you perform specific workings in these areas?

[cattewife]

@cherryhazze encouraged me to be brave and go ahead and post this so HERE.

is catte's entire m/xtx snz headcanon notes! including t/gcf, s/vsss, and m/dzs mains.

these are not complete and only partially cleaned up from my personal notes draft, fair warning! [non-snz/kink blogs pls do not interact, ty!]

whiterobes all ended up with the fetish. this was not entirely on purpose it just aligned with my vibes i had no control here and just LOVE when one of a couple have the kink....

kink alignments:

xie lian: caretaking kink.  likes to watch hc out of control and suffering.   doesn't know it (didn't know he was into this at all!!) but would be more on the sickies side of the kink (even tho i'm mostly writing allergies bc this is For Me). mostly here to provide (tissues medicine support).  gets nothing out of his own sneezing. 

shen qingqiu: full internet gremlin kinkster.  more into allergies (slight contagion squick). wants lbh to make a mess of himself. wants lbh to make a mess of HIM.  wants to get railed while EXPERIENCING uncontrollable allergic reaction.  most likely to do really gross stuff with mess.

lan wangji: likes to watch wwx suffer (full stop) (no caretaking) (only aftercare). inducer. tells him to hold it a lot.  always known he had a weird interest in this but assumed (of course) he was a freak.  highest key voyeuristic about this (partially due to cloud recesses study era lol). hates himself sneezing.

---

redblacks ~sensitivities~ alignments:

hua cheng:  specifically weak to ghost repelling type energies (obv) but also secretly kind of sneezy in general (when alive).   [modern au (/living hong-er somewhat) notes: allergic to spring, autumn, most furry animals, incense. lesser extent dust/summer.]  groups of five sneezes usually.  holdbacks (uselessly) like it's an olympic sport. -> "ahH! hah-ah-aHH! ISSCHhuh!! hIIESSCHH!! hh- hh-- ehh!? hIH'tSCHHiew!! ha-aH'ESXCHh!'IHDSCHhh!!!"

luo binghe: demon repelling plants and incense, etc.  noted back when he was a disciple as well- before cultivation made him less susceptible to those kind of maladies.  generally has to have his cultivation reduced in some way to exhibit symptoms now.  not very sensitive other than to that category but makes up for it with willingness to keep problem plants around for play on purpose.  groups of three sneezes but often chained for more.  LOTS of dramatic buildup.

(sqq aside: sy was not particularly allergic to anything (singles mostly, which does almost nothing for him), sj was desperately allergic to dust with slight smoke/pollen/fur sensitivities.  repressed faultily thru cultivation such that he is desperately sneezy whenever triggered but almost fully unable to actually sneeze.  when he does it is endless (10+) kitten sneeze chains.) -> "ishh-ischh-itschh-tshh-tshH-hiSHh-iSHh-isshh-'sch!! hhhHH! ih'tzsch! kshh-kssh-isSHh-iSCHh-'schh--" etc

wei wuxian:  allergic to certain kinds of pollen over others.  also dust (cql basically made it canon, i don't make the rules!)  very shameless. since coming back as mo xuanyu, a LOT more sensitive to scent, so perfumes and certain incenses can set him off. also now hilariously sensitive to dry spices actually (& allergic to the bunnies, look, i need it).  double-sneezes.  little buildup if he's not holding back/being induced very specifically.  -> "itchiew-- hIH'tchoo! ih'tsschu-hETCH!'schiew!!"

these are all very self-indulgent ahah i'm blushin (/▽＼) (don't hold me to any of these snz sounds LMAO i'm working!! lbh doesn't get a defined snz because my original writings had him and hc being very similar in sound with minor distinctions but then i got out of control writing too much about hc and lost track of the differences so now i am.... buffering on lbh.)

[nashiriel]

Aemond’s delulu self gave me a lot of enjoyment in Chapter Four! So looking forward to his reaction to the Cannibal. It might have been a very different situation at Storm’s End if Luke arrived on a dragon like that, so how that’ll change their dynamic now is so exciting!

I’m so glad you enjoyed Aemond and his unique interpretation of history (at least when it concerns Luke)!

Cannibal at Storm’s End…Now that is a pretty interesting scenario, actually.

The thing about Luke being bonded to Cannibal at that point in the timeline is that it means that Arrax is either dead early on, or never hatched, both of which are intriguing prospects for the Lucemond dynamic!

Let’s say Arrax dies some time after Driftmark (struck by lightning in a storm? Caught in a rockfall? Vanished suspiciously close to the Cannibal’s cave, with Cannibal hastily draping a wing over a pile of gnawed bones when Luke comes calling?)

For Aemond, he might be grappling with sudden empathy, knowing as he does the pain of being without a dragon. But probably he’d mainly be filled with vicious satisfaction, knowing the bastard who took his eye has received karmic comeuppance for it (and the Greens would be even bolder with their jabs now that Rhaenyra’s side is down a dragon).

Maybe Vaemond also gets a boost, and uses the loss as evidence of the gods’ disfavour over Luke usurping a seat that was never meant for him…in which case, there would be a lot of unhappy faces when the Blacks unexpectedly rock up to King’s Landing with Luke’s gigantic feral rescue kitten. 

Cannibal would probably have to roost quite close to Vhagar as well given their respective sizes and inability to live in the Dragonpit…so lots of opportunity for some spicy Lucemond interactions!

Whereas if Arrax never hatched at all…the Greens definitely get a ton more ammo about the bastardry rumours, so Luke is under a lot of pressure to claim one. He and Aemond are both the misfits then with the potential for bonding over their shared desire to prove themselves Targaryens…but Aemond might also feel the need to differentiate himself from the boy his mother so clearly scorns.

In which case, the eye incident is probably far more layered for both; Aemond finally leaves Luke behind by claiming a dragon, but Luke permanently leaves his mark on his uncle. If he claims the Cannibal after that, Aemond is going to be raging.

But on the plus side, in this AU, Rhaenyra probably makes far more of an effort to cultivate a relationship with Laena’s daughters early on (“Look, another 100% legitimate Velaryon/Targaryen kid who didn’t hatch their egg! Clearly can happen to anyone”). Luke and Rhaena’s relationship is also deepened by their shared determination to claim a dragon, and Rhaena probably makes her own opportunity when Luke’s attempt to lure the Grey Ghost ends up drawing another dragon entirely…

I have too many WIPs, you can’t get me excited like this over AUs-

But if we disregard a lot of that and assume canon is broadly the same except that Luke arrives on Cannibal, Storm’s End definitely gets dicey.

For a start, the Cannibal’s body language makes it very plain to all other dragons that literally all that stands between him attempting a buffet of their carcasses is the willpower of a 14-year-old - and he’ll be on edge from the moment they land because of Luke’s own fear and uncertainty. So the two enormous dragons are already loudly getting very, very agitated as they wait outside, which likely has a decided impact on the conversations in the hall.

Secondly, the Cannibal’s bond with Luke is close enough that the Cannibal tends to perceive Luke’s rage, terror and pain as his own and react accordingly. So if Luke gets suddenly panicked - say, by someone rushing him with a knife demanding his eye - it’s quite possible that the Cannibal attempts to either physically smash his way into the hall to respond, or Aemond’s speedrun to Vhagar gets interrupted by one of the Cannibal’s sudden ambushes (in which case, the brawl between him and an enraged Vhagar probably ends up crushing Storm’s End anyway).

But if Luke manages to keep him steady long enough for them to leave without incident, you unfortunately still run into the following issues when they’re in the air:

The Cannibal makes better headway against the winds because of his size, but he is still less nimble than Arrax and cannot hope to dodge in the same fashion 

The Cannibal has incredibly limited social experience with other dragons, and in particular, does not understand the cues that a dragon is being playful rather than challenging

Without the unholy rage fuelled by watching Vhagar kill Arrax + trip on the Drowned God Express, Luke probably doesn’t have the experience or willpower needed to control the Cannibal when he means business (aka: exactly what Rhaenyra feared would happen in Ch.3.)

In short, the first time Vhagar snaps at the Cannibal in the storm? He’s not fucking around with any evasive manoeuvres or warning shots; the war of fire and blood starts then and there.

[river-in-the-woods]

Describe Hekate as a person? From what I can guess she seems like a stern but reliable "parent" that wants you to understand the tools or lessons they give so that you don't second guess yourself. Generally, I love these types of personalities since it makes me want to strive forward either for them or because they make learning worthwhile.

I don't know if I could describe Hekate as a person... Because she isn't one. Quite literally, I mean.

She is a vast, multi-faceted, transcendental power and force of nature, whom we can experience through many different guises. Her most popular guise is indeed that of the stern, cunning yet nonetheless caring witch goddess. But I think that is more to do with the qualities people prefer to call upon when they invoke her, rather than being indicative of Hekate's true nature.

One should never mistake one's perceptions of a being, for the being itself. Whatever visions or knowledge we receive from a deity is more about what they are trying to tell us, and how they have decided to express that teaching.

I think that if you call to Hekate as a compassionate mother, she is more than capable of answering with overwhelming love and gentleness. If you call to her as a wise and benevolent mentor, she'll answer as that. And if you call upon her as a fearsome bringer of destruction, she will not necessarily protect you from your own actions. Of course, there's every chance that she'll decide to respond differently, because as vast as Hekate is, she also has her own will and agency.

(See here for a long list of Hekate's epithets)

One of the things people discover when they do extensive cultivation, de-conditioning and work on the Self, is that the Self is very malleable and endlessly faceted. From this work, the personality begins to loosen up a lot, and the rigid lines we draw between our identity, other people, and our environment, gets very blurry. If you go deep enough with this kind of work, the distinction between Self and Other become meaningless (i.e. enlightenment). If that can be experienced by a human, well... what about gods, when they're much older and not even confined by a physical body like we are?

When I describe my interactions with Hekate, it is interpreted through the witch goddess lens because that's how I invoke her all the time. When I hear her speak, it is in a very straightforward, pragmatic, and sometimes sarcastic way. But the person who taught me all about her is also straightforward, pragmatic and very often sarcastic.

And to be honest, when you describe a torch-bearing nocturnal goddess followed by dogs, ghosts and monsters, whose hair is entwined with serpents and oak leaves... People are inevitably going to imagine her in a certain way, right? But these things are symbolic of Hekate's power; they will draw certain kinds of people to her, but they are not necessarily indicative of her personality. And it does not mean that those things are the only expressions of her power.

The gods and spirits speak to us through our own thoughts. It is very common for them to use our memories, experiences and imaginations in order to communicate with us. That is why, by the way, one of the best things you can do in your practice is to regularly seek novel experiences.

The other thing to know is that Hekate has a host of nocturnal nymphs who act as her representatives in the world. These are the Lampads – torch-bearing infernal nymphs associated with the local land. They provide inspiration and guidance to Hekate's followers and act in her stead, and they will take the voice and form of Hekate when standing in for her. So there is every chance that a message or teaching received from Hekate was delivered through her Lampads.

When trying to understand Hekate – given that she is all about transcending boundaries, and that her most popular depiction is of three goddesses standing together – probably the worst thing you can do is try to define her.

However, if Hekate inspires in you the desire to go beyond, evolve, learn, grow, and transcend your limits over and over. That is Hekate. That is exactly what will help you resonate with her.

Thank you for your question :)

[hprewetts]

what’s the backstory of your oc maisie?

thank you so much for asking @spooky-albi-bumblebee ! particularly because it gives me the opportunity to yap about Maisie, which is something I'm always more than eager to do

(I don't often post about Maisie in this sideblog, but @romulumiko is my archive for all things maisie, where i usually reblog posts and pictures that I exclusively use when i'm creating and plotting maisie. i haven't decided in what blog i'd post her fic though)

Maisie's backstory is not something fixed in the narrative (because i love torturing myself and decided to write her into all seven books) so her character expands and grows as the series goes on

I can't exactly go into details, since my plans include writing all this into a proper full length fic, which I've been chipping away at since ealier this year

But as you can see, I have many things arranged for Maisie and her place in the series, so like I said, there is no concrete "backstory" for maisie as much as there is a background for her life before Hogwarts (being Ron's more academically inclined twin) and the things that happen thereafter

But despite the tremendous effort, this also lends itself to a more dynamic handling of her personality and relationships with others throughout the story

Indeed, much like her developing friendship with Harry and later romance (because I'm a sucker for protagonists), my plans have Maisie colorfully interacting with many characters in the books, from Cho Chang to professor Lupin and Snape

Regardless, I do think there is a certain character that shapes Maisie more than others, and which catapult her place in the story and character development, that being Tom Riddle

I don't remember when exactly I decided that maisie would be using the diary instead of ginny (sorry ginny fans), but by the time maisie's second year rolls around, she is in a particularly vulnerable spot, isolated from her family, who all got sorted into gryffindor, and alienated from her peers in ravenclaw.

much of maisie's conflict throughout the books relies on her being the only member of the weasley family to be in a different house to Gryffindor, although it does not stem only from her sorting, but by a life long sense of otherness she has cultivated for feeling the only different one in a big family like the weasleys

Maisie's curiosity and love for magical creatures (and consequently her understanding of magic as a dynamic force present in the world that surrounds her), makes her more susceptible to the temptation of learning about the Dark Arts, as she is prone to more shades of grey in its use and interpretation than most characters in the series. This makes her understanding of magic similar to characters like Snape and Voldemort (as @ saintsenara brilliantly illustrates in her voldemort/hermione and snape/hermione metas) who are, not coincidentally, prominent Dark Arts users.

Likewise, her sorting in Ravenclaw is not just for show. There is an interesting overlap between Ravenclaws and Slytherins in relation to their ambition and how they approach Dark Magic. Unsurprisingly, all the ambitious and/or popular characters we see in the series (those who don't belong to Slytherin), like Lockhart, Cho Chang (or even the House's Ghost the Grey Lady, who stole her mother's crown due to a feeling of inferiority), are pointedly Ravenclaws.

As we are told by JK in Pottermore, Quirrel first embarked in his journey to Albania to "find whatever remained of the Dark wizard, partly out of curiosity [...] [Quirrell fantasised that he] at best, might learn skills from Voldemort", attenting to this trait of Ravenclaws sometimes disregarding communal perceptions of right and wrong, whereas for academic recognition, personal curiosity or outright eccentricity.

All of this is to say, the most important part of Maisie's story is definitely, as I envision it now, her encounter with Tom Riddle's diary during CoS and their year long situationship.

Genre conventions didn't really allow for any exploration of how Tom Riddle's manipulation of Ginny post CoS affected her later on, which I believe is definitely a pity. I emphasize my definition of Maisie and Tom's relationship as a "situationship", even if they are never explicitly described as being in a romantic relationship, because of the grooming qualities in the canon text of Ginny's relationship with Tom Riddle (once again explained masterfully in one of saintsenara's meta) which I'm choosing to run along with very excitedly

(I have, after all, a lot of Fionna Apple songs in my tomaisie playlist)

If you made it to the end, congratulations! And thank you so much for bearing with me and my needlessly wordy response. I'm leaving a excerpt of "Maisie reviving Tom" scene from the wip archive and a little low effort study i did of a picture of Lily Cole, who I liberally use as a faceclaim for Maisie

[veliseraptor]

I think it's almost obligatory to ask for at least one hard head canon and one soft head canon for each of the Yi City crew, if someone hasn't already beat me to it!

well since I've done song lan and xue yang, that leaves a-qing and xiao xingchen! delighted to do them both.

A-Qing

hard headcanon: It's actually rather important to me that A-Qing couldn't become a cultivator. I feel like this is a less hard one than some of my other hard headcanons, but I'm putting it here because I have seen it come up and I actually prefer her to be very thoroughly a normal human being with no superhuman abilities whatsoever (other than the ones she acquires as a ghost), because it's important to me that she does everything she does, and is as capable as she is, and as brave, without being ~special~ in that particular way.

That being said I do think Xiao Xingchen would put a lot of effort into trying to get her practiced in some meditation techniques but A-Qing is not really on board for that and consistently blows him off about it.

soft headcanon: I am not terribly attached to a definitive A-Qing backstory but I do tend to prefer one where, rather than her parents being dead, she was abandoned as being (a) more mouth than they could feed and keep other kids alive, (b) a girl (hence less valuable and potentially expensive because dowry), and (c) her eyes are weird, because I tend to like to keep the novel canon where even before Xue Yang blinds her, she has white eyes. (I do not know how that works scientifically; I have chosen not to worry about it.)

I also want her to know this, specifically, though I think she would actually tell people that she's an orphan rather than admit that she was abandoned voluntarily.

Xiao Xingchen

hard headcanon: Xiao Xingchen is really, excruciatingly bad at normal social interaction. Which is not to say he's awkward, or shy; he is, in fact, neither of those things. I think Xiao Xingchen is delighted to meet new people, and would happily talk to strangers, particularly pre-eye trauma. He's just a very friendly person who generally likes people, I think (again, particularly pre-eye trauma; after that I think he gets more withdrawn and reluctant to connect to people, because it feels like he's putting them at risk and also he doesn't deserve it).

But the thing is that he also doesn't have much of a sense of social norms or graces. And sometimes that can work for him because he is a very pretty powerful cultivator who has a certain level of fame, so he can get away with being a little weird. But every so often it's just.

This is more relevant the more important manners are in a place. Put Xiao Xingchen at a cultivation conference and he will (as someone wrote a post about at some point) eat the garnish, and casually insult someone to their face (not in a mean way! he's just giving his opinion and it happens to be less than politic!), and the infuriating thing to everyone involved is that (a) they can't do anything about it, because he's Xiao Xingchen, and (b) he doesn't even really seem to notice.

Song Lan notices. This makes Song Lan's life very hard. but also it is kind of fun, sometimes, to turn Xiao Xingchen loose on people, particularly when they are people Song Lan would really rather not interact with.

Less major but still important to me is that Xiao Xingchen has a deeply stupid sense of humor. He will and does laugh at anything, and hard.

soft headcanon: I think I've mentioned this one before - it's a soft headcanon mostly because it's pretty frivolous and doesn't come up much for other people writing against it, but Xiao Xingchen likes to nap, and will do so at odd hours and in odd places. It is one of the few truly frivolous indulgences he allows himself.

send me a character or ship and i’ll tell you my soft vs. hard headcanons for them

[mysterycharacterflowers]

A bouquet of buttercups, yellow hyacinths and cyclamens VS A bouquet of cockscomb, white poppy, white acacia and pink chrysanthemum

First, let's talk about the bouquet of buttercups, yellow hyacinths and cyclamen

Meaning and why these flowers were chosen: Buttercups suit him because of their symbolism of hatred and distaste, both of which he is strongly characterized by (especially towards the world at large), and their symbolism of immaturity, which he also often exhibits, though I can’t blame him for being a little childish (and a lot petty). Yellow hyacinths suit him because of their symbolism of jealousy, as he’s jealous and envious towards one attribute his spouse may or may not have and that has long been one of the few things he has that he somewhat values. Cyclamens can represent separation and resignation, and thus suit him because (among other reasons) he ultimately is parted from someone that was very important in his life, and because for related reasons, he had spent all his life resigned to whatever fate he was led into, knowing he could not really choose a path of his own. Description: He’s a funny, foppish pretty boy with a somewhat twisted personality. He is most certainly not doing his best, but he deserves a hug all the same; he was born to be a puppet, with neither his life nor his mind nor his body truly his. Despite the use of dark magic to get him onto the political scene (which he generally regards as worse than useless), he’s only ever wanted to be an artist. He cares so much about physical beauty in everything, which makes a fair bit of sense considering that an appealing outer shell is the best his life could have anyways. He has an apathetic air about him but is easily frustrated; his constant and powerful bitterness leaks out in fits and starts. He has a sadistic streak that was cultivated by his childhood environment. He tends to be treated as a threat, a tool, a sacrifice, or some combination thereof. To be fair, he is quite a threat, just not for his own reasons. He’s been tortured often, both on purpose and incidentally. I’d say he’s absolutely sopping wet but that’d be pretty ironic in this case; regardless, he is a manipulated malewife. He’s also vaguely a-spec and a big mood.

Check his post here

Now, let's talk about the bouquet of cockscomb, white poppy, white acacia and pink chrysanthemum

Meaning and why these flowers was chosen: Cockscomb ("Foppery"; He's very concerned with his appearance. Victorian dandy type beat) White Poppy ("Death and Forgetfulness"; Many of his memories were taken from him shortly before his death) White Acacia ("Friendship"; It's a strange situation, but he'd die (again) for his best friend in the world, who is also his minion) Pink Chrysanthemum ("Cheerfulness in Adversity"; Despite being dead and a partial amnesiac for almost two centuries, nothing gets him down!). Description: This character was alive in Victorian times and a fan of anything aesthetically pleasing, he probably has a much better understanding of flower language than this submitter does! He's the ghost of a prideful magician who's forgotten the words of magic and can't remember how to cast any spells. He wandered the earth as a lonely spirit for decades in the hope of finding a way to access that knowledge again. Through a miraculous (to him) coincidence, he gets to read from a spellbook over the shoulder of a nosy trespasser, and casts a spell that makes her do anything he says! Having a minion comes with all sorts of benefits which include but are not limited to: dramatically monologuing at her, making her explain all this weird new technology that's popped up in the past few decades, and having someone interact with the physical world in his stead to resume his plans for world domination!...he's also forgotten what said plans even were, but he's pretty sure they'll come back to him! Despite his... everything, he's surprisingly very attentive to his minion's needs and loves her to bits, and he eventually learns how to be an actual friend so they can bring out the best in each other! This character is silly, optimistic, a little bit evil but also kind of sweet, and a BIG presence! A presence that most people can't hear. Which might be for the best. (Just don't tell him I said that!)

Check his post here

[rayan12sworld]

The fanfics, we all want to tell lan xichen that wei ying isn't a mistake

Like how can wei ying be your brother's mistake when your brother didn't even confessed his feelings untill the very ending in wei ying's life

And it was right after his shijie death

Enough!

By:Jeeny271196

Summary:

Wei WuXian had enough of them blaming him for everything. Or say Wei WuXian snapped out!

Wei WuXian reacted differently after Lan Xichen blaming him for Lan Wangji's suffering at guangying temple. Which changed lot of things.

Chapter:5/?

Words:12,484

Status:ongoing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

💙Wei Ying Was Not A "MISTAKE"

By:Jeeny271196

Summary:

Most of FF shows how pitiful Lan XiChen is,

Showing that he was the biggest WanXian Shipper, A good brother, how kind he was, etc etc.

Deliberately ignoring his flaws.

The mistakes committed by him, knowingly or unknowingly.

This FF is short of Lan XiChen and Lan Sect Critical.

Let Lan WangJi SpeakUp for Once.

Chapter :1/1

Words:16,636

Status:Completed

I'm sorry, I forgot, this is no more Lan An's Lan Sect. there is a new tradition in this sect. 'Spouse does not count as part of the family.' First, my mother never counted as family and now my own spouse." They both stare at wangji as though they saw a ghost, Lan Qiren's face went red "Wangji!!!" he shouted. Lan Wanji stare indifferently at Lan Qiren, "not today Uncle! I kept silent for my whole life. Today is my day to speak. By the way, Shouting is forbidden, But again if Grandmaster Lan Shouts, throw things at the guest disciple, has Prejudice toward a dead woman, has presumption towards the very same woman's son who was an orphan at the mare age of four, it's completely alright. But if my Wei Ying Laughs loudly and plays some harmless, childish pranks. he commits a grave crime" "Hypocrites" Lan Qiren was struck dumb, unable to speak anything.

~~~

"WangJi, don't be cruel to your brother. He is already suffering." "I'm doing the same what he did to my Wei Ying." Wangji told with indifference.

~~~

I Want You to Look In my Eyes Sect Leader Lan!" Lan XiChen looks at him. In his bloodshot eyes. Lan WangJi continue again looking straight into his eyes, "People call me Hanguang-Jun, Light Bearer. That means I do not have a light of my own. Just like Moon Depends on Sun for its shine, I depend on Wei Ying For Light." "Such a Pure soul, such selfless and Righteous being, who fought till the end, who walked in the fire to do the right thing. Who did not draw himself in grudges and hatred, who is Innocent just like a child, who doesn't have any envy towards anyone, who is actually free from worldly affairs. Only Knowing that such a person exists somewhere is an achievement in life." "I must have performed so many good deeds in my previous lives, that I got a chance to fall in love with such a person" "A Person whom I referrer Heaven's gift to me, you dare to call him My mistake??"

~~

He took out the jade token, "I defect myself from gusu lan. I finally took the hint that we are unwanted here." Lan Qiren was horrified, "WangJi you are not thinking properly. This is your home. Who said you are unwanted?" "Wall of your sect said we are unwanted. Do not interact with my family." "We have suffered enough. My husband still can't sleep at night because of nightmares. From the age of four, he never got home. I thought I will make cloud recesses his home. I was wrong. Now I will build a home for him on my own. He sacrificed enough for the cultivation world who never acknowledge his sacrifices. Now it is time to live for each other." He looks at them for the last time, "One Last Advice, stop being a hypocrite, you used all inventions of Wei Ying, and shamelessly wrote on the wall do not interact with him. If you hate him that much why not discard all his inventions, all his research regarding resentful beings??" "Remember, I'm not Qigheng-Jun, I will not Confine my spouse nor myself. I will burn down this whole place if you dare to harm him physically or emotionally. I am not as forgiving as Wei Ying nor I'm selfless like him. I will not think twice before firing this whole world to save Wei Ying. Once I failed, not again, never again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

💠💙When has silence saved anyone?

By:Vrishchika

Summary:

Wei Wuxian accidentally lets it slip that Lan Xichen called him Lan Wangji's only mistake. Neither his husband nor his son are happy about it.

Chapter:1/1

Words:6,051

Status:completed

Wei Ying hesitates and presses a kiss to his cheek in silent apology. His voice is low and blank as he recounts the remainder of the conversation, "The way he looked and talked to you when he saved you, even someone who was blind or deaf could perceive his feelings. That was why my uncle was so -. Wangji was a model for the disciples when he was young, and a prominent cultivator when he grew up. He had been honest, righteous, and immaculate—you were the only mistake he made." Wangji's fingers dig into Wei Ying's arms with bruising strength. "And you say you do not know. After you returned, how did you pester him and confess to him? Every night, you had to… And you say you do not know? If you did not know, why did you do such things?" Wei Ying huffs a laugh, "I really wanted to go back in time to kill myself-" Wangji freezes. "Really, your brother set me straight. Without him, who knows-" "Be silent." Wei Ying stills, turning to him with concerned eyes. Wangji's thoughts roar like fire from one edge of his mind to another, eliminating all measures of restraint. He doesn't know the right words, the proper method to express his fury and disgust. Wei Ying knows him well now and remains silent, just pressing light kisses to his chest, his hand rubbing Wangji's arm soothingly. "Which is why you were so insistent on declaring yourself immediately," Wangji observes. He cherishes the words Wei Ying spoke back then but… thinking about what his husband had to endure to reach his resolve is unbearable. Wangji had been willing to be patient. He was content to wait until Wei Ying understood his own heart. Wei Ying deserved gentleness. Xiongzhang had, again, decided to meddle where his interference had been unnecessary. Selfish. So selfish. His brother forced that realization through pain. He had trapped Wei Ying, broken him down, and blamed him for the audacity of not returning Wangji's feelings immediately. He had implied that Wei Ying was inferior, that he was undeserving, that he was Wangji's mistake. Wangji can't bear the thought. He curls around Wei Ying and feels the agony of it tear his heart apart. Their love, the most noble emotion Wangji has ever felt, was declared a mistake. His heart, his very life, the freedom that he breathes every day, the warmth that sinks deep into his bones, the love in precious grey eyes, the heat that he burrows into every night… All a mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

💠💙break

By:justdoityoufucker (orphan_account)

Summary:

Wen Ning doesn’t hear everything, not at first. He can tell that Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao are speaking, within the temple complex, but he cannot get the specifics of what the men are saying until he presses himself closer to the rear walls.

-

Or, Wen Ning listens in.

Chapter:1/1

Words:3,535

Status:completed

[yuexuan]

[Review] 这该死的求生欲

Title: 这该死的求生欲 This Damned Thirst for Survival

Author: 望三山

Length: 224 chapters + 13 extras

Rating: M

Tag: Book transmigration, supernatural, teacher-student relationship, mystery, enemies-to-lovers

Summary [taken from novel updates]:

《Devil》 tells the story of Chi You, the protagonist shou, who was killed by someone and cultivated for revenge with the help of Feng Li, the protagonist gong. When Jiang Luo woke up, he transmigrated into the body of the cannon fodder that killed the protagonist shou.

What’s even worse, he transmigrated at the time when the protagonist shou was already killed by the original body.

At the funeral, Jiang Luo was pushed in front of the coffin.

The deceased body of the protagonist shou in front of him was serene, with a smile at the corner of his lips. However, Jiang Luo knew that he had turned into a malicious spirit and was eyeing covetously at him.

The more dangerous it was, the calmer Jiang Luo became. When his desire for survival reached the critical point, he knelt on the ground with a puff, and forced himself to cry.

With his sincere emotion, he said: “Chi You, I love you so much. Please don’t leave me…”

The chilliness around him smothered slightly.

Novel | Novel[translated]

Comments **contains spoiler**:

I saw this title pop up several times in different places so I decided to give it a try and let’s just say, I have mixed feelings about this book lol The basic premise is that MC (Jiang Luo) transmigrated into a supernatural-cum-fantasy novel as a cannon fodder, to be killed by the ghost of ML (Chi You) after he murdered the ML. In order to survive, MC continues to fight against ML’s ghost. However, their relationship gradually changed, especially after ML realized how similar MC and him are in their “evilness”. As such, ML shifted from wanting to kill MC to wanting to recruit him in his grand mission to bring down the whole xuanxue world. 

Highlights:

I’m not usually a fan of the enemy-to-lover trope because most novels tend to make the ‘enemy’ part shallow, but man, does MC and ML hate each other at the start. They genuinely wanted to kill each other, so it’s rather refreshing to read about it. Also, I like how MC’s constantly trying to out-think ML’s actions, just to prevent himself from getting killed. 

There are adorable side characters, such as Lu Youyi, one of MC’s friends who is just so innocent and dense at times. Or the alive-dead human Teng Bi, who grew fond of MC’s group of friends despite being their enemy at the start. One thing I appreciate is that the author elaborate on some of the side characters’ development/stories. E.g. When Teng Bi died, the MC and his friends spent quite some chapters grieving for him and tried to find ways to bring him back. I’m used to danmei novels where the whole focus is on the main couple, so even if the side characters die, they sort of just shrug it off. It’s nice to see the side characters getting some love too!

Plot-wise, the mystery surrounding ML’s death is intriguing. At first glance, MC is the murderer. But we get more clues later on that there might be something bigger at play, involving different members of the xuanxue world.

I’m also a fan of learning about Chinese mythology and the supernatural, so it’s nice to see these information sprinkled throughout the novel. 

Things I don’t like:

As much as the enemy-to-lover trope is interesting, the way that MC and ML interact, such as their dialogues and behaviors, is…very cringe. MC acts normally around other characters, but the moment he interacts with ML, he starts talking like an edgy teen (e.g. talking about his ‘evil’ compared to ML’s ‘evil’ and how ML found his evilness intriguing). 

The story drags quite a bit at the start with the main couple constantly goading and challenging one another. At some parts the dragging out of the story is too obvious and hard to get through. The plot gets good ~ch 100 in, when the mystery finally picks up and the main couple has somewhat reached a truce. Then the ending gets quite rushed. In the end, we didn’t get to know how Ge Zhu and Ge Wuchen reconcile their differences; Or what happened to Lisha despite ML saying he would use her; and what happens to MC is the real world and so on.

MC is very OP - there’re a lot of times where he would just acquire new abilities out of the blue to deal with tricky situations. It definitely decreases the suspense of the story.

[adversitybloomed]

🌸  ┊ letter received from   @debelltio : violet :   how does your muse respond to betrayal ? / ❥     𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒    [   𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂    ]   .

violet :   how does your muse respond to betrayal ?

Mulan does not handle betrayal well, for she is all about loyalty. she gives her all in friendships, family and relationships. she makes sure that they are happy and cared for and that they feel safe with her. so to her, being betrayed is a big deal and it does not often end well as she may end the relationship depending on how deep that betrayal is.

a physical response from her is typically a cold and angry silence. her eyes are like icy daggers and she may not speak, but simply turn from the person and walk away. if she is chased or if she is asked to say something, her words may be cutting and cruel. often times it will be short responses.

now, if someone is trying to murder her or someone she cares for, forget it. it will not end well for that party, because there is nothing and i mean nothing she wouldn't do to protect those she loves, including taking a life, even if it breaks her heart and sends her spiraling into a depression.

there are rare times though, if the reason for the betrayal is well enough, that she may forgive. but its a rare chance scenario and it really has to depend on the situation.

daisy :   did your muse ever feel as though their innocence had been lost ? what moment in their life could be described as the end of their innocence ?

yes. when she was six, her childhood was shattered a great deal, though seven was one of her best and worst years (depending on the verse).

it is important to note, that Mulan was a very lively child. as someone who can interact with ghosts, she often times found that she tried to help them (not realizing they were dead) and tried to make friends. because of this, she was nicknamed "Ghost Girl" and it caused a great concern for the majority of her small family, because it was scary to witness.

One day, because of a how poorly a meeting with a dark spirit had gone, her dad had sat her down to explain how she is not a son and she should not go down a path of a cultivator. instead, he advised her that as a daughter she should listen to her stepmother and become a proper lady so she can marry well and do her part for her family.

however... Zhao (i headcanon), is not very good with words and does not fully explain himself well. so, though he meant well by it because he wanted to protect her, it came out very harshly and because of this reason, she started to truly realize just how different she was from those around her. she started to see how she scared other children. started to notice that though she was kind to others, many stayed away because they were afraid she would bring a curse upon them.

it also too broke her heart to realize that not even her own family could understand her and it made her sad when she realized her dad would stop training her if she did not learn to behave better and to hide her skills and desires to participate in martial arts. it was after this point she started to actually go to lessons and it was the first case of when depression truly started to show.

[polytropic-liar]

The thing about this that has always fucked me up particularly is that Wen Ning is the one who tells Jiang Cheng the truth. Finally, after over a decade! It's their first direct interaction in the entire story, I don't think they've ever had an actual conversation before. The first thing Wen Ning ever says to Jiang Cheng is this world-shattering reveal! And it's one of the only times Wen Ning takes initiative and does something on his own agency, against Wei Wuxian's orders even! It's one of the rare glimpses we get into his internal world and what he cares about, and it has to do with this guy he has zero relationship with but also they're narrative foils somehow.

And the narrative contrasts between them are so crunchy too....like, no one ever chooses Jiang Cheng. He's always abandoned for someone or something else. And at the same time, he moves closer and closer to the center of the orthodoxy, of power, of safety: he's never targeted by Jin Guangyao's assassination spree, by the end of the story he's the leader of the most stable sect left who have a reputation of being untouchable...internally, emotionally, he's clearly extremely precarious, but politically and physically, he probably ends the series in the best position out of everyone. Meanwhile, people consistently choose to protect and care for Wen Ning: Wen Qing chooses protecting him (and the rest of Dafan Wen) over her own moral compass, and Wei Wuxian chooses saving him over remaining in the cultivation world. (I wasn't a huge fan of the Wen Qing/Jiang Cheng romance the show added, but I do think it makes it additionally delightful that both of these people choose Wen Ning over Jiang Cheng directly, too.) By the end of the story Wen Ning is the living ghost haunting the fringes of society as a reminder of their failures and hypocrisies, but he also has loving, mutual relationships with blood and chosen family and a clear sense of inner peace. Everything Jiang Cheng lacks, but with absolutely no access to the securities he has.

I am rotating both of them in my head like a microwave at all times actually. MXTX gives me impostor syndrome as a writer every damn day, how is she so good.

No one asked Wen Ning about whether he wanted to be zombified and turned into a terrifying instrument of vengeance whose soul may or may not have been imperiled by this process, but also: he was dead or unconscious when the people who loved him made that call. They may not have thought very hard about what he would have wanted, but they also did not deliberately take away the chance for him to choose. When he comes to no one lies to him about what was done to him or what the costs or consequences were. He becomes a monster in the eyes of many, but he gets to make his own informed decisions about what he wants to do with that information and how he’s going to deal with whatever feelings he has about the process that lead him to still being (kind of) alive.

Conversely, Jiang Cheng initially experiences his own brush with mad science  as an unambiguously positive salvation. It’s a restoration rather than a loss of personhood in the eyes of his society. However! Unlike Wen Ning, his opinion of the procedure was available at the relevant moment; the people involved not only declined to ask but deliberately lied to him, and then lied more later on. He doesn’t have the opportunity to know the truth of what happened, let alone come to terms with it. By the time he discovers the full truth of what went down he has to contend with the consequences of 18 years of ignorance as well as the reality of what the surgery itself entailed.

And I just think that’s neat, and they should talk about it sometime.