#mdzs ask game

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Wangxian goes to horse jail for their crimes against equines.

[holy--milk]

for the ship bingo... xisuyao

oh, did you mean the one true JGY ship????

btw, i can't stress it enough. one of the most important things about xisuyao (to me) is that neither LXC nor SMS want to be in a polycule. in general and especially together. like yeah, they will fuck at least once. they may even enjoy it (but they'll never admit it out loud). but this is not a functional throuple. the only reason they're investing into a bed large enough to fit three adult men is because JGY was getting too stressed out about having to choose one man to stay with and neither of them wants to see him stressed out.

meanwhile, JGY is having the time of his life in the middle of that large bed, sandwiched by two handsome men whose love for him is greater than even their mutual disgust.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

For the ask game..... what about you give me ALL of your headcanons about Wei Wuxian? 🤸🏼‍♀️

ALL???

Hmmmm personal favs:

When he's very deep in thought or while he's deeply engaged with a chore etc, he ends up sticking his tongue out a little

He starts giving any and all Lans a flower as his own inside joke whenever they do something for him

The only one he uses pet names for is Jin Ling ( how much is teasing how much is doting depends on the day)

He's the do it and find out what happens mom

He picks out his favorite pieces of food dishes to share, Jiang Yanli, now Lan Wangji

He plants rabbits in weird places that people come across in Cloud Recesses

He makes up bedtime stories and says it's because Lan Wangji needs more dream fuel (does he mean this to be dirty or not depends on the day)

He's a gourmet and knows when food is good

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello, new danmei fan here. I'm really late into danmei, just started last year (so I missed the hype). Just when I confused which blog to follow, I found your blog. Thanks so much for this blog of yours, it really helped me to understand more of the stories. I just finished MDZS, TGCG, SVSSS and now I'm reading 2Ha.

For this ask game, can I ask MDZS or SVSSS?

Before I start reading, many people said that SVSSS is inferior to other MXTX works, after finishing the books, I disagree, because I enjoy them all the same....

I mean, if starting last year is considered "late," then I'm also behind, because I only started reading things a few years ago lmao! But it's never too late when fandoms are still booming (for better or worse). So I see we're finishing out the mxtx novels.

MDZS

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian

Favorite Arc: all Drunk Lan Wangji encounters!

Character I Think is Underrated: Lan Wangji, if i have to hear “he’s boring” from people who can’t read one more time…

Character I Think is Overrated: all of the antagonists and villains. Jiang Cheng is not "single mother!jiujiu," he is just a bitchless Wen Chao. Jin Guangyao is not "poor little Meng Yao forced to do things against his will," he is a a calculating murderer who will scheme against, betray, and kill anyone who stands between him and ultimate power. Madam Yu is not a "girlboss" (unless we accept the real meaning of that word, which is a woman who gains power by ingratiating herself into oppressive systems as the female alternative to corrupt male leaders), she is a domestic abuser who made every single person in her family and husband's clan miserable.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Wangxian

Something I Love About the Book: I love the way this book is adamant about good always eventually being rewarded. That even if the outcome of doing good was terrible, that does not make the effort wasted or useless. Lan Wangji protecting Wei Wuxian at Nightless City was worth it even if he was almost killed for it, because it made sure that the yin tiger tally did not end up in the Jin Clan's hands as a completed weapon. Wei Wuxian saving the Wen was worth it even though he was killed for it, because A-Yuan got to live. Wen Qing and Wen Ning saving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was worth it even though Jiang Cheng betrayed them in the end, because their clan still got to live through its last descendant. None of their actions were met with immediate rewards, but the larger implications of them led to better outcomes than had they just kept to themselves and the status quo of corruption, as everyone else had.

SVSSS (my favorite of the three 🤗)

Favorite Character: Luo Binghe, hands down

Favorite Arc: Holy Mausoleum Arc, cause y'all (Shen Qingqiu 😒) gonna stop falsey accusing my baby, today!

Character I Think is Underrated: Bing-mei version of Luo Binghe, not because he's "unpopular," per se, but because mainstream fandom's perception of him seems to be that he is just Bing-ge who cries, and this is a complete mischaracterization of his character based on popular fanon. I see too much hate for him in this fandom because of it

Character I Think is Overrated: Shen Jiu. The man was a child abuser and died to one of his victims because he chose to be a child abuser. There is nothing tragic or unfair about that. Leave that man in the ether where he'll hopefully never have a chance to harm another person again.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Bingqiu

Something I Love About the Book: Shen Qingqiu. The man is trying his damndest to do right in what he considers a doomed narrative, but the moment he realizes that his efforts have actually made things worse, he immediately pivots his actions. He never tries to justify himself, deflect from criticism, or misplace responsibility. He has one goal in mind, and that is to make as many people's lives as he possibly can better than what they originally ended up as.

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

chengxian for ship bingo pls!!!

Hey bbg 💜❤️

I think that shipping them because of canon and in spite of canon can and should co-exist. Cause look at those CQL acting choices, the way novel Wei Wuxian tries so hard to not think about him but then goes and subconsciously looks for him in everyone he meets. He tells Jin Ling to stop acting like Jiang Cheng at Yi City, why is that Wei Wuxian? WHY IS THAT??

Anyways I'm insane about them. Which is pretty apparent. I'm not too sure about wanting them to be happy, cause Xiao Zhan and Wang Zhuocheng both look really pretty when they cry so like... 🤷‍♀️. But I'm also not sure if they haven't kissed already, cause you know Wei Wuxian would be the type to say they should kiss "for practice"

THESE BASTARDS ARE SO AESTHETICALLY PLEASING!!!!!!! They fit so well together it isn't even funny. They grew up together, they trained together, they slot in together in order to function properly like those cardboard aeroplanes

It's great

I am also a very big fan of this video

And here's the blank bingo sheet

[panther-os]

Six Sentence Sunday

tagged by @reconstructwriter

rules: post the last six sentences you wrote

this one's all I've got for something tentatively titled "the river garden"

"What was it?" Jiang Cheng grumbled to himself, scratching at his temple with the hand holding his brush and leaving a smear of ink on his cheekbone. "A-Yuàn, A-Yuǎn, or A-Yuán?"

The sleeping, feverish child he'd only met once - so very briefly - did not respond.

Jiang Cheng sighed and looked down at the list of eleven different characters he'd sketched out. "Fuck it," he decided, circling the one that meant fate, "whatever it was before, it's A-Yuán now. I'll come up with a courtesy name when you're older, one your Xian-gege would approve of - from wherever he's laughing his ass off at me now."

tagging @atohii @mogseltof @noxsoulmate @blackbirds-on-the-marsh

[xie-lians-cooking]

Headcanon for Lan Wangji?

He’s named every one of his bunnies and is the only one who can tell them apart.

[peridot-tears]

Fic Writer Q & A!

Tagged by @dragongirlg-fics UwU

How many wips do you have currently?

2 for Lianhua Lou, 3 for Mo Dao Zu Shi.

Lianhua Lou

strings played against his throat, my whumpfic in which FeiHua's escape from Jiao Liqiao goes wrong, and Di Feisheng marries her to ensure the wellbeing of Li Lianhua, who becomes her concubine. Just updated uwu

My unpublished modern AU where Di Feisheng is an MMA fighter cowboy, Li Lianhua is his chiropractor, and Fang Xiaobao is the new sheriff in one of those Chinese towns they built purely for tourism. In this case, it's an Old West theme. Here's a preview.

Mo Dao Zu Shi

My Mo Dao/Percy Jackson crossover where WangXian and friends romp through Camp Half-Blood!

My Wen Xu/Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji AU where Wei Wuxian is adopted by the Wens instead of Jiang Fengmian. I swear I subvert so many jianghu tropes, this could be its own original novel, but here we are lol.

My two-part where Jin Zixuan flees to Lotus Pier and manages to alert the Jiangs in time for the Wang Lingjiao's attack. It's mostly written from Yu Ziyuan's perspective, and it's been a delight.

More Q&A below the cut!

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish?

Definitely #1 under Mo Dao. It's a huge labor of love, but I'm thinking maybe I thought too big with the plot. It could have just been a fun teenage romp, but then it turned into a drama that handles much larger themes, and the trouble is in being able to tie up all the plotlines I suddenly have.

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

Usually when I have two days in a row off of work, so my brain has had at least 24 hours to clear out and think about fun. I go into a pleasant fugue state, meaning I'm focused, but I can occasionally take a five-minute break to chatter about it with my frens or listen to a song. (I'm answering this post while I'm working on fic btw.)

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

Oh nah lol. I sometimes line some chill songs or ballads up in the background or like a Buzzfeed Unsolved marathon for background noise, but sometimes it has the opposite effect where I can't focus at all. So sometimes I just write in complete silence.

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organized?

Balls to the waaaaaaall babeeeeeee. Aside from the ones that're born from me chattering with frens. Both my Lianhua Lou fics and #2 under MDZS are from very specific and thorough chats that I screenshotted for reference.

I tag @westiec @theleakypen @kingsandbastardz @tavina-writes @heyholmesletsgo @the-wintry-mizzenmast and whoever else wants to do this, how do I know this many people lol.

[whetstonefires]

ask game for fanfic writers: 7. tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote (that you remember). OR 11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general? (yeah, I just want to listen to an infodump)

hi!!!!! lmao confession, the time lapse between when you posted that ask game and when i reblogged it from you was me keeping it open in a tab trying to send you an ask, like a polite person. but sending asks is, like watching television, one of those things that ought to be straightforward but which i find astonishingly difficult for no clear reason. so while cleaning out my tabs i just lowered my standards and reblogged it.

7. oh, this is a funny one actually! so this was around two years before i learned fic was a thing, so i'm in like the sixth or seventh grade. i had this really inexplicably intense dream about spiderman. i woke up and it stuck with me, you know.

so i was like, well loads of people write stories about spiderman, i don't need permission, i'll write it down and then it will leave me alone.

naturally i forgot over half the dream before i finished getting it down. but the plot definitely involved being stuck to the ceiling due to inexplicable spider-powers and a very strained conversation with spiderman on one of those external cornices you get on the fancier class of brownstone. i think whatever OC i was inhabiting was mad about spiderman existing and he was increasingly fed up with me being insane, but trying to be patient.

ig there was no plot. strictly speaking.

11. gonna answer these in reverse order.

so first, there's two classes of research for fic, as far as i'm concerned, probably because i spent too long in comics. there's general knowledge about real things, and then there's finding the correct reference points within the canon you're working from.

the first one i'm not that intense about. sometimes there's a thing i really have to Get Right so i go looking, or i'll commit to including something and then need to go read up for verisimilitude, but i generally do not get into the deep factfinding tunnels people talk about.

because i enjoy the process of learning and the process of writing, but i tend to find it very stressful to suspend the act of writing in order to pursue knowledge, so that particular constellation makes both experiences worse. so i'm more likely to redirect the story around a knowledge roadblock so i can keep moving, than really dig in to break through it, and i'm very willing to go 'okay that'll work' and return to the story if i do break for research.

rather than try to track down That One Datapoint, if i'm writing fic that requires or would benefit from knowledge of [subject], i will tend to do general reading on that subject, and then let my improved background knowledge and store of Fun Facts shape where i go with the story.

this is more fun and more likely to come in handy for other purposes later, and the writing result tends to be more natural. same approach with original fiction.

with the kind of research designed to get my fic latched into canon correctly, on the other hand, i keep trying to be more casual about this, especially for fandoms where the canon material is a hot mess, but i also keep regretting that attempt. because it lets me get a fic actually started rather than bogged down in preliminaries, but then i reach a certain point and get frustrated that this is a good fic except it didn't bother to be chronologically coherent and now it's too late.

i didn't write any ffvii fic until i'd played through the original game and taken notes, and i definitely don't regret that!

now, cool things i've found out...the first one I think of, i stumbled across an unexpected gem while browsing to brainstorm night hunt ideas for mdzs fic.

turns out one of the many many many many many archaic chinese words for ghoulies and ghosties, for which it's very unclear what the specific differences between one term and another were in any given usage, is wangxiang. translations proposed include both 'mountain spirits' and 'water demons,' but it's definitely some sort of supernatural entity, and an unfriendly one.

there's a semi-major plot point in the book where, when they were teens, Lan Wangji named a song he'd composed Wangxian, which is also their portmanteau shipname. which by his standards was a romantic declaration. but Wei Wuxian passed out, and didn't actually hear him say it. so whether it would have worked as a romantic declaration remains unclear lmao. lan wangji refuses to tell him again later.

i think a very funny element for an AU would be if he only almost passed out, and just went away believing the song was named 'wangxiang,' which sounds very similar and is a word he's reasonably likely to have relatively high in his lexicon on account of their job is monster hunting and his education is distinctly monster slanted, and was just like, 'what a creepy name for such a pretty song?? lan zhan is so weird lol.'

bonus misunderstanding points if he said it was creepy but didn't explain why and Lan Wangji was like i have been brutally rejected 😢

you aren't actually in that fandom though, so this feels like a lame answer. uhhhh.

for my Earth-3 fics when I put mirror Dick Grayson through a recovery/redemption arc and he was laying low in Europe to avoid both Bruce and Slade ('With Tongue of Wood'), i basically stuck a pin in the map and spun a dial in my head and was like he's in...Romania...working in a...bakery.

so then i had to take a hiatus to research Romanian bakeries and it turns out Romanian cuisine is in possession of many fantastic varieties of fancy pastry, and i want to eat them. it's been what, seven years? but still. curse of knowledge. there are delicious pastries in romania.

[regrator-the-ninth]

Now that I've finished all of the MXTX series, drop a ship in my ask box and I'll fill this out for them!!

[flowersdiceandlove]

I feel like I'm in a creative slump, SO! here is a list of all the WIPs I have that I still have the tab open for on my computer! Ask me about them if you want and maybe that'll get my creative juices flowing and reignite my passion to get. these. done. But, they get more unhinged the further down the list you go.

tgcf

Xianle Quartet Fourway-Soulmate Marks AU

God of Spring: Xie Honghua

Of Course He's a God, We're In Heaven

All The Things I've Loved, I still Hold In My Heart

Rarepair

svsss

Kid!Amnesiac!Shizunshroom

Eminence in Shadow!SY

crossovers (tgcf, svsss, mdzs)

One Descendant After the Other!

mdzs

Who I Used To Be (Have I Really Changed?)

BSSR WWX

Wen Reincarnation + Girl!WWX

Fem Reincarnation!WWX + Time Travel

Only Wen Qing

Inc!WWX

WWX's a Siren

I Love Him, You Love Him, We Love Each Other

Brained by a Dizi on Dafan Mountain

Ghost!WWX & LQR Team Up

The One w/ Suibian

Humanesque Suibian

edit: rearranged the list. also, yes, I am still accepting asks about them. I've just gotten caught up in writing. but, ask away and I'll answer eventually.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

This new official yi city art from the Japanese audio drama reminds me so much of the essence of your creachers .. personally I think they're taking inspiration from your wonderful fellas

https://twitter.com/mimifm11/status/1679083183613300736?t=IslUVs4um6QsmoIG1iEYYg&s=19

They're in the recording booth!!!!

[holy--milk]

AU where Suyao is canon

... so like. just the canon?

asdfghjkl okay, on a more serious note:

LXC dies from a qi deviation, his famous last words being "you're actually choosing THAT GUY over me????"

after that, everyone kinda forgets about the whole XY thing. even NMJ. so JGS is no longer pressing JGY to get rid of him in a timely manner, NMJ passes away on his own like a year later than he did in the canon.

with the lan and nie sect being weakened by the loss of their respective leaders, JGS is sure to take over the cultivation world now, right??? WRONG. SMS offs him as a 5th anniversary gift for his beloved. no prostitutes are involved, this is a very ethical murder this time.

oh, and JGY never married QS in this AU because SMS was very open about his feelings from the start and they've been secretly dating since like. a couple of years after the sunshot campaign ended. JGY doesn't know QS is his half-sister since madam jin never felt the need to disclose that information, but they end up having a wholesome friendship!

LWJ absolutely hates their guts but can't do anything about it because "chief cultivator has a shit taste in men" (which is objectively untrue btw) is NOT a valid reason to overthrow someone.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

HI IT'S ME AGAIN. So, 2, 7, 12, 20, 21, 22 and 23 for Wen Qing!!

2: 2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Her no nonsense practicality and as always, with many of my favorites, the kindness she is able to exhibit.

7: What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Knowing that Wei Wuxian is just as capable and smart as she is and whey they're a team in desperate times.

12: What's a headcanon you have for this character?

She's either lesbian or very heavily aroace.

20: Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Hmmmmm, Qin Su. Because I feel like she's a lot like Wen Ning, and she herself likes mellow but strong in spirit people.

21: If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I like being able to explore her realization that Wei Wuxian really is just a good kind person and how that was able to have her to choose to try to save him. And she ultimately had a lot of respect for how much he was willing to help others even if people say it as not worth it or stupid.

22: If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I don't like when they literally just make her Jiang Cheng as if she didn't go to Wei Wuxian for help because he was honorable and knew he was kind as the reason she asked him to help her.

23: Favorite picture of this character?

Her manhua introduction!

[thatswhatsushesaid]

Okay, but what do ✨YOU✨ think JGY would think about LXC’s flute solo trait? 🤣

I'm experiencing deja vu, anon, because I feel like I have for sure answered an ask about this once before!! but I can't find it, woe etc.

anyway, jgy will patiently sit through as many flute solos as his er-ge feels compelled to perform, both because it is always a joy and a delight for him to listen to lxc play, and also because it's not like anyone else in lxc's life is granting him the space to express his feelings in whatever way makes him feel the most at ease!

like in all seriousness, lxc spends so much of his time and energy across all adaptations of the canon taking care of everyone else around him, and there is exactly one person in his life who makes space to provide him with support (emotional and material), both before and after he actually has the power to do so.

jgy's love language in the text consistently manifests through gift-giving (e.g., fairy for jin ling, all the presents he gives to huaisang which are tailored specifically to his interests) and acts of service (e.g., protecting and sheltering lan xichen during the war, using his newly acquired influence to secure the funds to rebuild the cloud recesses, as well as [iirc] preventing lwj from facing too much political blowback after wwx's death; literally dropping everything in the middle of hosting a banquet to help huaisang with yet another problem, etc).

so basically, imo, if what lxc needs every so often is to exorcise his own emotional demons through impromptu flute solos, there is no one in his life better equipped to understand why than jgy.

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

zhancheng for the ship bingo!

Oh God here we go 💙💜

It's a crackship but it's also not, you know? I think it's very funny and has great potential.

I do not need or want these men to be happy, i want them as miserable as possible and i want them to hate each other by the end of the relationship.

Sunshot campaign is where the majority of their potential lies. They're forced to rely on each other, they're both incredibly efficient, and they both seem quite intent on NOT bonding. Which is why i think they should bond. And then kiss.

And get into a scrap, which ends in biting, RIP Jiang Cheng's shoulder.

Obviously I'm shipping them in spite of canon, cause I think if lan wangji was obsessed with Jiang Cheng instead of Wei Wuxian then he would've been extremely better off

However I do think that when this relationship crashes and burns it should be very tense for everyone surrounding them

I don't think they'd last very long coming out of the war + long distance, also Jin Ling would probably hate him even without the bullying so Lan Wangji would stand absolutely zero chance

But I still love the ship, and I think they'd balance each other out within a war setting very well.

A War Situationship. That's how I'd sum it up 🫶

I very much enjoyed reading:

Saturdays by lycheewine (Modern AU single parents)

And

Home, wherever you are by feline_somnambulist (Modern AU with cultivation clans still)

And here's the blank bingo sheet