#mdzs sillies are my fav kind of sillies

[kanene-yaaay]

Hi hi hii juno anon here, back from the jaws of death (5 different deadlines in the last weeks)

I wish I'd have had the time to send a few more asks but alas... :(

If you're still up for getting asks about the mdzs sillies I do have two different ideas for tickle talisman shenanigans up my sleeve, if that's something you'd be interested in!

AlsO! I've read your new mdsz fic a billion times by now (to keep me sane while working on all my stuff) so I feel qualified to provide you with some very neutral and productive feedback: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH you wrote them SO CUTE help meeeee!!!! What if I Start Cryingggg What if I Go InsaneWHAT THEN!!!!!

- juno anon

Heyaaaa Juno! I'm happy to hear about you again <3 and worry not, worry not, I understand being busy and I am glad that you're having more free time now. How are you? :D

!! I would LOVE to hear your headcanons about tickle talismans!!! Ehehe, I think the cultivation magic should be more explored in tickle scenarios w mdzs and I can already imagine who would be the gremlin that created such talismans jhgfdefghjk. Pls feel free to share those ideas \0/

Thank you thank you thank yooooou so much!!! I am so happy you liked that fic! It was a delight to write some silly fun w Jin Ling, Lan Shizui and bunnies. I am very proud of that fic, to be honest. So thanks thanks!!!!!

[askew-d]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "askew-d "?

hello, there! sorry for the long wait, i forgot to check my notifs :( i will do better next time. thank you for this question! i feel like i’ve waited ages for someone to ask me exactly that, lol. i could talk about well-written fanfics forever!! can i give you a hug? because this is wonderful, really.

let’s go for it! my range of fanfiction that i enjoy vary, but one thing remains: i will adore your fic, no matter the fandom, if it’s written with passion and if it contains good, poetic introspection. i love poetry. for me, if there’s melancholic tropes of any kind i’m into it. immortal character and reincarnation? give me now. supernatural elements or slice of life with doomed narrative? i’ll ignore sleep to read it. angst with happy ending? my endgame, for sure.

however, i also adore silly, comedic, cute pieces of domestic life or otherwise. i had a hard time choosing from my bookmarks for this, and i also reviewed some of my favorites, it was fun. before we continue, here are some of the tags that i don’t dive into for whatever reason: porn without plot (it personally just doesn’t interest me at all), non-con, gore, a/b/o dynamics, soulmates au. sorry if you were hoping for it! i’ll try classify them into an order of what i like most.

1. jellyfish, by mystery twin, for the haikyuu!! fandom — i read this when i was finishing high school and coincidentally the story talks about finishing high school! i have a personal attachment that makes me reread it every year. it’s some sort of tradition at this point. not to mention i love kagehina dearly.

2. teen project to change the world, by animeloverhomura, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — respectfully speaking, i would find this author and give them a big hug. their writing is spetacular! if you've never seen this one and you're into mdzs, know it's a story where the characters get to see every event from the novel and donghua, even the dead characters. they watch wei wuxian journey, can you believe it? so goddamn entertaining. promptly waiting for the next update!

3. a hundred or so hellos, by iwillstillopenthewindow, for the haikyuu!! fandom — remember i said i love melancholic stories? well, this one broke me so hard, i had to mention how i hold it with tenderness (we love things that breaks us, dont we?). this fandom manages to write the cutest, most unhinged things sometimes. even it's an anime about sports. i always get amazed by it.

4. no certainty of doors between us, by betts, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — certainly the most silly little fanfic i've ever seen, it's hilariously sweet. i want everyone to read this masterpiece because, seriously, whoever did this deserves only the best. so, so, cute. it had to be in my top 10!

5. their kindred encounters, by fireflavoredwhiskey, for the untamed rpf fandom (bjyx) — you know those kinds of shows, books, any piece of media, that tears up apart? well, this one was it for me. it's a very famous one that deserves all praise, certainly well-written and enjoyable to the core, with doses of angst, romance and beauty overall.

6. as the clouds part and clear, we finally meet again, by 12262325, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — aaaaa, i was truly torn between putting this in the third or fourth place, but i ended up putting it here. come on, i love an age difference kind of story, especially for wangxian, and this one was perfectly done. sweet and funny. the development? the yearning?? outstanding!! i read this many times already, i'll never get tired.

7. pursuit, by emleewrites, for the haikyuu!! fandom — mystery, romance, lawsuits, poker games, adventure, slice of life, AMAZING depictions and so, so goddamn well-written? that's what you're looking for in any fanfiction. the author dedicated herself entirely for this story, and, like i said, i love stories that are written with passion, you can see it pouring through every paragraph. besides, highly entertaining. i'm not very into long fics, but once i started it off, i couldn't stop. that's how addicting it is.

8. linger by the door (i’ve always been yours), by piecrust, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — epistolary?? have i mentioned how i love it?? some of the phrases in this are gold, in my bookmarks you can check some of them (i ought to make a list of my favorite fic quotes, btw, i will sure do it). through each letter i could comprehend more of wei wuxian's feelings and his internal conflict. i love feeling this connected to a character.

9. all the world is ours to take, by khrys, for the fugou keiji fandom — i have more than one favorite fanfiction for this couple. you know these kinds of developing relationship where the transition from (maybe enemies too) friends to lovers happens so smoothly that it feels like they've been soulmates first and foremost at the end? i don't even know how to explain. i just love how, when they finally are together, it's like they've been together for years. and they just... made it official? i like it. i love my mr. kambe haru.

10. he won’t tell you that he loves you, by hellshandbasket, for the house m.d fandom — i found this to be the most fitting, perfect story for this specific couple. they deserved more stories like this, but we dont see it anymore. i would hightlight the feelings realization in this one, that is so fucking real? haha in any case, it's a fanfic that i enjoyed a great deal.

that's it, i guess! i wanted to add link click fanfics also, however i barely started reading fanfictions from its fandom, i'm drowning in it lately but it's just a start. perhaps very sooon!

oh, i’m gonna finish explaining about the name! in my native language, i’ve heard someone tell me before that ‘life’s a little askew, nothing’s ever perfect’, and that quote remained in every biography of any english website i ever went to. then in literature class someday i had to write about historical women and came across this one named anne askew (i wanted to write about the mostly barely-spoken women). it was the second time i saw this word. i didn’t think of it as a proper name before, but then i had to create a nickname for my ao3 profile and thought, humn, why not just ‘askew’? the quote has been engraved in my heart anyway, so i went for it. we’re all flawed and askew. so, yeah, it just… fit? the ‘d’ here on tumblr it’s only because my surname has a ‘de morais’ in it. i also liked that it resembled ‘alaska’, the john green character i was kinda of obsessed with back in my teenager grunge phase. i don’t like these kinds of books anymore, but i guess some details stay with you. do you think it’s weird? never thought of changing.

thanks for this outstanding ask, it certainly entertained me. and hope you have a nice sleep today, big hugs coming your way! 🤍

[bi-turtle-enthusiast]

Danmei ask, from all 3 of MXTX works,

a). Who is your fav protagonist? Why?

b.) Who is your fav male lead (love interest)? Why?

c.) Who is your fav canon couple? Why?

d.) Which is your fav story from those 3 works? Why?

e.) Are they a certain quotes from those 3 works, that are your fav?

sure!

a. Xie Lian. I love everything about this man. He's silly, but also serious, but also kind, but also human. He's guyfail and he's girlboss. He's so funny. He's so resilient, and gives me hope.

b. Ok so it's kind of a tie between Hua Cheng and Lan Wangji because I like and dislike them both in equal capacities. The Untamed made me like Lan Wangji a lot more, and upon rereading MDZS I realized I had misinterpreted him a lot. Rereading TGCF made me realize that,, Hua Cheng really is kind of insane and Feng Xin and Mu Qing had a point. So yeah I have my gripes with both. But also, their unflinching love is so powerful. I love how they love so deeply and unabashedly. I love how they're both neurodivergent to an extreme /pos.

c. Hualian. They make me insane

d. TGCF! MDZS is a close second but it's just too sad despite WWX's attempts at lightening the mood by being himself. I'm kind of insane about every single character in TGCF and I find myself going back to it the most.

e. Ough this is hard. I think right now it's

"Don't you understand? If you insist on protecting them, it means I can't protect you!" -Jiang Cheng

I'm insane about Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's relationship and I love how this quote beautifully showcases Jiang Cheng's struggle of caring so deeply for his loved ones but being in an impossible situation where society's demands of him prevent him from protecting and caring for them the way he wants to.

[axiang-n-chengling-s-dads]

MDZS Donghua Review:

(Thoughts on it as  (i) an adaptation of the novel and (ii) as compared to CQL  ((this is kinda long))) 

As an adaptation of the novel: (feel free to add your thoughts and discuss!)

Beautiful imagery, does full justice to the locations and aesthetic, the hyperrealism (though a bit jarring against the 2D animation of the characters), is breathtaking on its own

Action scenes are amazing, all the different camera angles used in them make it a legit treat to watch

Things like the Inquiry process and shields are shown very beautifully

Maximizes the gore potential, zombie cannibalism is everywhere and is great

Fully portrays the strength of both wwx and lwj (and just cultivators in general) 

The plot is concise, but not to the point of cutting out important parts, the story still holds well. 

The donghua takes up max angst potential, wherever there can be angst, there will be angst. (this makes me particularly excited for the scene after the Nightless City Massacre, imagine the angst). 

(More points below the cut!)

I have a few problems with th characters, but i’ll leave that for the CQL comparison, I want this one to be full of (fully deserved) praise for the donghua

A non-linear timeline may sometimes be difficult to depict, but the donghua does this well, especially since it retains the novel vibe of going continuously back and forth between the past and present. 

 Its two seasons in with a lot of stuff gone by, with regards to the romance, I have been told it is also subjected to the same censorship so we don’t have much hope there. (More on this below) 

It does a great job in portraying humour and fun and the highschool kind of silly romance in the first bit (by which I am referring to the linear beginning, the part where adolsocent wwx comes to study at Gusu.) 

All in all, it’s a great adaptation of the novel, and anyone who loves the novel will like this version too!

In comparison to CQL:

I’ll talk about the things they did better than CQL right off the bat: the action scenes were much, MUCH better, and I think that the type of action scenes in the novel are much better suited to animation. 

They also didn’t have as much gore restriction as the live action, so they didn’t have to do much canon divergence and deliver well there.

Concepts like power fields (like those circular shields) and Inquiry etc are explained much better. Cql cgi is pretty shitty in a lot of parts, so the Donghua takes all the awards there 

I mean i do have some minor concerns like why do ljy and lsz look the same, and also lwj and lxc HELP HOW DO I TELL THEM APART

Okay now my concerns with the donghua/ what cql did better: the thing i miss most from cql is the light moments. The donghua does very well in that section in the linear beginning (read: when young wwx first comes to gusu), but later this deteriorates to a few seconds of happy scenes that mostly give away to plot. Wwx also seems a lot less his usual gremlin self (which can be explained with y’know, the fact that he sacrificed his golden core, stayed three months on a burial ground and probably did some cannibalism there) but one of my fav (read: not good for your mental health bb) character traits about wwx is his insistence on always smiling and trying to be light-hearted no matter what, and he loses a lot of that charm in the later parts of the story. 

While the donghua maximizes on the angst potential it leaves out many key character-defining moments, like the part where it’s revealed jc was the one who wanted wwx to name jyl’s baby, the shijie catching baby wwx as he falls from the tree, jc being proud of wwx moments, wwx and wq camaraderie moments at burial mounds, these are just some from the top of my head. I hope they can somehow fit these in for the next season, (also will we get to see a drunk lwj??? pls), but yeah these are some that i feel heartbroken are not there. 

Cql deals with improving things like jin zixuan’s character dev, the part of how lwj fell for wwx, the complex relationship between wwx and jc, and some other things better. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that it’s animated: for example, it is absolutely too much to expect them to animate micro-expressions by lwj to explain his internal emotional journey.

If cql is said to sacrifice plot for character, the donghua does sacrifice a bit of its character dev for the sake of the plot (which is really not necessarily bad but unfortunately i’m a slut for character moments) 

As for the romance, they are also subjected to censorship, so eh, but (maybe i’m too used to cql saying fuck censorship lol) i feel there could have been more soft moments between the two. I really like the cql change that they were already friends before the resurrection, but even in the donghua post-resurrection there are maybe two moments that i can truly call soft, wish there were more of them 

While everything else about the donghua is great, my biggest problem will probably be that it lacks heart– those moments that make you smile and feel warm inside. 

Final conclusion: the donghua is a great adaptation of the novel, but lacks heart. Cql is a great adaptation of the novel, but sacrifices plot for character development. But if you put the two together, you will find an unstoppable, amazing force that has both heart and plot.