#no matter how many danmeis i read

[shijiujun]

San Lang, who exactly are you?

(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )

HE'S YOUR MOST DEVOTED FOLLOWER AND WORSHIPPER

[asksythe]

Hi! I was looking into some stuff and came across a post talking about WWX’s arrogance. It was about WWX’s character and how the fandom insists that his arrogance was one of his main flaws when that’s not true and so on. Then I saw some people saying that arrogance is not inherently bad in Chinese novels and that I might have to do with the way the novel was translated.

I was just wondering if you had some insight on this. Thanks!

On some level, it can be considered a translation issue. But the real reason why WWX's characters, as well as countless other details in MDZS specifically (and Chinese novels broadly speaking), tend to be misunderstood on such a massive scale is... cross-cultural value mismatch.

Consider this:

1/ There is a tendency in the international fanbase to judge WWX (and other characters) on a modern Western moral standard. I don't have to tell you how illogical this is. Imagine if you come into the world of Game of Thrones and start spouting 21st-century judgment. You are likely to become human shishkebabs in less than five minutes. Most people who watch Game of Thrones or read the book understand that's not something you do unless you are a moron or looking to start shit. But for some reason, this is not the case for the MDZS fandom (and many other Chinese media fandoms out there). I'm not sure why this is the case. It might be because of the cultural distance making people not really realize they are coming into an entirely different world, and then they forget to check their modern expectations at the door. Like how tourists become obnoxious when they come to a foreign country, expecting the foreign country to cater to their whims.

I've once seen someone made an addition on TV Tropes saying WWX is a mass murderer that never got punished for his crime. I... I don't know what to say to that really. My expectation is that the person who wrote that is someone under 30, never left America, and never served in the military. For somebody who has never had this kind of experience, no amount of words will explain to them that for major parts of the world and for the vast majority of mankind's history, you have to be able to kill to survive. In fact, for most of our history, killers are our heroes. War is a reality that we live in. The ones who survive are the ones who win wars, the really accomplished killers.

2/ MDZS was not written for an international audience. That is to say, it's written with the expectation that it doesn't have to explain its intricacies and tropes to its intended readers. Because its readers already know. MDZS is xianxia danmei. Danmei has only had about 2 decades of modern history. But xianxia as a genre has stretched back millennia. Its tropes are very set. Chinese (and Sinosphere) readers don't need an explanation because we grow up consuming this kind of stories.

We don't need to be told in plain words to know WWX's only crime is to be possession of the Yin Tiger Tally, and the Jin's scheme is the real reason behind his tragedy. Because it's such a standard trope in our culture that there are millennia-old proverbs about it.

匹夫无罪，怀璧其罪 - pǐ fū wú zuì，huái bì qí zuì. Lit. The commoner is innocent, but his possession of treasure is a sin.

We don't need to be told that it doesn't matter if WWX goes along with the cultivation world's ceaseless demands (keep Suibian with him, consult more with Jiang Cheng before he does things) to know that none of that matters. Because none of those are actual rules, just trivial bullshit made up and used to socially isolate WWX and manipulate the public opinion against him. WWX's true crime is that he is alone. He is an orphan. No one will stand up for him. And unlike his big mouth, he's a real softie. Because if he wasn't then all of them would be dead ten times over with the kind of martial power WWX possess. Only WWX's good heart holds him back from really using his ability. Therefore, you can spit on him, you can cut him, you can trample on him without fearing retaliations.

Nie Mingjue has no sword. Ain't nobody try to lip him about it. Yu Furen has no sword. She uses a whip. Ain't nobody lip her about it.

WWX's undead cultivation is also not really the problem. That kind of cultivation is vanilla as girl scout's cookies. It's only made out that way because it's a method of cultivation that is very easy to learn and does not require enormous resources (i.e. caste issue, not class, caste) to cultivate. Which means it's a method that can be practiced far and wide by poor commoners. Which means it's an infringement on the cultivator House's power and financial base. That's its real crime. Not all that justice bullshit.

For many international fans out there, MDZS is their introduction to danmei (and xianxia). So they come in not knowing these things. They don't see the caste issues, the tragedy, the difference of philosophies and choices between WWX and JC. Their conclusion is built on ignorance and misunderstanding.

It doesn't help that most know little to nothing about Chinese culture which is a high-context culture, the polar opposite of most Western cultures (low-context culture). Something that may seem small and insignificant for a Western reader base can be a really big deal for the Chinese reader base, because it's inbuilt in five thousand years of history and culture. Like why Jin Guangyao buried his mother's corpse in the Guanyin temple and why he needed to reclaim it and take it with him when he tried to flee to Japan.

So it's no surprise there is such a massive divide in fandom opinion.

[mxtxfanatic]

Spooky Book of the Week: Global Examination

Author: Mu Su Li (木苏里)

Genre: unlimited flow, horror, modern-day, danmei

Rating: T for test you wished you'd studied for

My Synopsis: Two of the greatest minds in the world use their combined intelligence to fuck over a test in every way they can possibly think of, and no matter how many times they're split apart like a pair of troublemakers put in (life-threatening) time-out, they always find their way back to each other.

My Review: All the other unlimited flow novels I've read so far have been about protagonists coming together to solve the puzzle of each world in order to eventually make it out of what's essentially a haunted house of horrors. This is the first one I've read where the protagonists are insistent in not only not wanting to leave as their end goal but also in just completely fucking up every single level they make it to. It's actually pretty amazing. I love each of the characters, their interactions, how the cast is so large but is able to utilize every character uniquely, and the romance is beautiful. I have some minor trigger warnings for gore and body horror, and a content warning for there being a whole arc (the Language test) that's based around Romani stereotypes. I read the fan translation which uses the ethnic slur, but I'm not sure how the licensed translator will handle that. Either way, the whole arc is kinda bad because of the stereotypes, whether that word is changed or not, so be aware of that going in. On a similar vein, would love to know what the fascination with fake European settings is about in unlimited flow novels, but I probably won't like the answer.

Translation: fan translation complete (still floating around somewhere), licensed translation on pre-order

[aeternallis]

High-Context Culture at Play and Kim's Mode of Communicating // a rant

So, something I notice once in awhile when I go through the tags on Ao3 for KPTS fics are commentary on the lack of communication in the show—specifically, how Kim doesn't communicate. Tags such as, "Kim communicates, it's a miracle", "OOC because they actually communicate", "Kim uses his words", "Healthy Communication, so it's OOC", etc etc.

This isn't meant to call anyone out and mind you, this isn't something I've only seen in the KPTS fandom; tags like these are also used in a lot of danmei fics I see, as well as the sheer variety of anime/manga fics I've read in my time.

And ngl, when I see those tags...my gut reaction is often to feel that they sound very much tongue-in-cheek and somewhat mocking. Not just to the character himself, but to the narrative itself. It's a bit uncomfortable at times, reading those kinds of tags, even if I know to myself that there's likely no malicious intent behind it.

For what it's worth, I won't apply bad faith arguments on works of art and creativity, and I'm certainly not looking to police fic on Ao3, yknow?

Having said that though and just because I have yet to see a post talking about this topic explicitly, I also feel that it's important to some degree to understand how people communicate in Thailand, and Asia in general.

Mind you, I’m no expert in Thai culture, lemme repeat that yet again. They have unspoken social rules that I myself wouldn't understand because I'm not Thai, nor do I speak Thai. Asia at large, though sharing a unique set of many similar values, is not a homologous region; each country has a rich tapestry of history and culture and very much different from one another.

Yet, as someone who grew up in an Asian household who shares many of said values, I often feel like—when it comes to East Asian/Southeast Asian fictional characters at large—there has always been an unconscious, almost knee-jerk habit I often see in fanfiction to reshape their style of communication to a more western context, if that makes sense. As someone who used to translate doujinshi and Pixiv 小説 for fun, it was always noticeable and a bit jarring, once I moved over to read my fanfic of choice, yknow.

This isn't inherently or purposefully malicious in any way, but it can feel very dismissive, even if it's unconsciously done.

Thailand and most if not all of SE Asia operate in a high-context culture. High-context culture means that when we communicate, it’s not always so much the words themselves that matter, but the context surrounding those words: body language, tone, eye contact, a person’s social status, etc etc. The words sometimes only convey part of the intent, but it doesn’t convey everything. In some situations, the words themselves can even mean the exact opposite of what they’re trying to convey.

It's why so many misunderstandings happen between international fans on platforms like X, because the nuance is often lost in Google Translate.

On the other end of that, we can use Tumblr as the example: since this is mostly an English-speaking website, for the most part, this hellsite operates on a low-context culture, but is easily ignited with outrage based on seemingly high-context traits. LOLOL

This type of communication is not always easily translated into the subtitles, nor is it remotely perfect in any way. It can be quite complex, and hell, even in the context of its own culture, misunderstandings can and do happen all the time. And, as we've seen from the recent popularity boom of East Asian media from the past two or three decades to the American and western audience at large, some of the most compelling drama can come from these sorts of human error.

Besides that, if I’m being perfectly honest, almost always (one of) the source(s) of fandom drama when it comes to character interpretation is due to the nuances of the high-context culture the story takes place in that can have the loudest enthusiasts arguing back and forth.

This is particularly true for characters like Kim Theerapanyakul, who are meant to be portrayed as mysterious and unreadable.

(Lan Wangji and Hyakuya Mika are also a few that comes to mind in my personal experience, uh huh)

To be quite frank, it's why I personally avoid getting into any nitty gritty discussion when it comes to characters like Kim and LWJ, because they mean so much to many different people, as well as simply for the fact that I do not know everyone's emotional tolerance when it comes to disagreements. Lol What I'm saying right now can be taken to be hard-hitting fandom policing, when I'm really trying hard not for it to sound like that, nor is it even my intent. I'm not telling anyone that they're wrong or that they've misinterpreted the characters, but what I am saying, is that people in fandoms, especially for the English-Only Speakers at large, need to be more consciously aware of their cultural biases.

And before I go on, mind you, it’s perfectly okay to have cultural biases—we all have them, myself included, that's just a fact of life. No one is exempt from this, if anyone is itching to point fingers.

I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to say that if one is engaging in media that's not from their cultural context, it's good to be more aware of the surrounding cultural norms and values of that said piece of media when you apply your own interpretation to it, and especially when you may not be the intended audience.

It’s why “your headcanons are not my headcanons” is, I will always believe, a very good rule to adhere to, especially when peeps disagree with popular headcanons, so fandoms can be more respectful and tolerant of each otherrrrrrr when disagreements inevitably crop upppppp, but anywayyyyyy~

I’ve met enough expats who’ve lived abroad in my current line of work to say that trying to understand the unspoken social rules, norms, values, etc. of the foreign country they choose to live in is most often one of their biggest sources of frustration. Alas.

And, as a side-note: high-context cultures are in no way superior to low-context cultures. Both modes of communication have their pros and cons, and molds society in various different ways.

But I digress! An example of the high-context culture at play is the break-up scene in front of Kim's apartment, which I've seen a number of fic authors portray as a genuine apology from Kim:

Which—in terms of what was spoken, Kim did say he was sorry.

But let’s think about the context of the apology: he said the words as he was walking away, before pulling his arm from Chay’s grasp. He looks back at Chay coldly, and overall, his behavior is dismissive; from his body language alone, he portrays a picture of aloofness and treats Chay as an annoyance.

What he says is an apology, yes—but it's an apology with no sincerity whatsoever. It's why Chay broke down as hard as he did, because it's not just Kim's lies that had him reeling, it was the fact that in the context of how Kim dismissed Chay during that scene, it also heavily implies that nothing between them had ever been sincere. Kim completely reverses the understanding that Chay had of their friend/relation-ship and cuts it off completely.

And although what I'm saying may come across as "Duh, that's freakin' obvious," I also want to add another point: Kim would know the implications of what this non-apology is. He would understand the context in which he'd said those words. Whether he chose to regret them or not later on is up for debate, but it's interesting to see whenever fic authors use this scene as an excuse that Kim genuinely thought he apologized, just because he said the words out loud.

Do you see what I mean? In that scene, the canon's context is what matters, but I've seen enough fic where that scene is turned on its head and fic!Kim thinks and excuses himself, portraying the scene to somehow mean that it's the words that matter. The nuance is thus lost, so in turn, the emotional weight of that scene is also disregarded.

This is what I mean when I say that there is an unconscious habit some fic authors have in changing the communication style that the show is set in.

Because the reality is, Kim didn't apologize. He knew he didn't, and Chay most certainly knew he didn't. What he was communicating in that scene was entirely different from what an actual apology entails.

Be that as it may, the audience knows that the non-apology doesn't negate what he and Chay went through together in the show. He may have been lying to Chay for the majority of the story in regards to his involvement in the mafia, but it doesn't mean that the love and adoration he feels for Chay through his actions didn't come through. Kim may not have said much to Chay besides singing for him a (stolen) refurbished version of his own song, but it doesn’t mean that his intent wasn’t conveyed. It's why Chay cried the way he did, in that in some way or another, the song Kim sang is a reminder of everything that happened between them did have truth to it.

Just because they communicate in the way one may not be used to or unfamiliar with (especially in the low-context culture that countries like the US, Canada, Australia, etc. operate in), doesn't mean that they're not communicating to one another.

Healthy communication doesn’t always have to just mean “straightforward meaning in the words.”

When tags like the ones I mentioned earlier in this rant inevitably crop up, especially when it comes to characters who are non-American/British, one can't help but feel that their canon mode of communication is being mocked and made to be seen as inferior.

In which case, TL;DR, when one writes tags like these about certain characters, I sincerely hope that their cultural biases are in the forefront of their mind, and they're aware and humble enough to admit that there are some things that they may not understand in terms of the cultural context. And due to the fact that they do not understand it, hopefully not mock it in response.

[polycraftory]

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun / 2ha was the first danmei novel both Gabe and I read and it will always probably remain our fav no matter how many other incredible c-novels we read (of which there are...so many. Our danmei shelf overfloweth).

When they showed me this art they did of Mo Ran's red butterfly and Chu Wanning's golden haitang blossom, I was beyond excited at the idea of having an Erha t-shirt. They are currently working on some art of their whips twisted together that I think we are going to add to a sweatshirt version of this, so stay tuned for that!

You can find this t-shirt as well as a bunch of LGBTQ+, fandom, and D&D designs in our Polycraftory Etsy Shop! You can follow our tumblr / our shop on etsy for future danmei merch drops and more. Check out our pinned post for all of our links <3

[baiwu-jinji]

I think your comparisons of Ximang to Hualian/Wangxian are so interesting. When I first started reading 2ha, I felt like it was a much grimmer take svss (mostly bc I didn’t realize how big of a genre uh…”shizun-fucking” was at the time) so much that I felt like svsss and 2ha were two works in conversation with each other. Each felt like a parody of the other. Yuwu also reminded of Wangxian. Gu Mang and Wei Wuxian have many similarities. Their mischievous and laid back natures, their impressive genius, their lower-class status (although wwx doesn’t face discrimination on the scale that Gu Mang does), and obviously their eventual fall from grace. Mo Xi actually feels like a mixture of Lan Wangi and Jiang Cheng to me. He posses that cold countenance but also that terrible temper. His regret that he didn’t stay by Gu Mang’s when he was suffering but also his intense hatred at his betrayal. All this is to say, at times meatbun’s novels feel much more realistic and tragic compared to mxtx’s but they often share similar themes and it’s interesting how their two of the most popular danmei authors (at least in the western fandom). I never thought comparing Ximang to Hualian though, and it’s very interesting. Compared to Mo Xi and Lan Wangi, Hua Cheng is less concerned with certain societal and moral viewpoints, so he’s able to devote himself to Xie Lian entirely not matter what path Xie Lian walks. Obviously, the fact that they didn’t support the one they love in their time of need is something that Mo Xi and Lan Wangi both regret later on…but I think that Mo Xi and Lan Wangi’s upper class status compared to Hua Cheng’s lower class status plays a role in how they react to their beloved, for lack of a better term, going ape-shit.

Hi! :) Thank you for sharing you thoughts, and you certainly formed some interesting connections between novels and characters that I never thought of. It never occurred to me to compare 2ha with svsss because of their entirely different tones, like the former is all about shoving the depth and magnitude of the sufferings in your face while the latter is about hiding the tears and blood with irreverent humour.

As for Mo Xi, I keep thinking about him in comparison with Chu Wanning - not least because they both have a temper, and that's because they don't know how to express their emotions so every emotion comes out in the form of anger. But Chu Wanning has led a much more sheltered life than Mo Xi because of his extraordinary talent, which secured for him an untouchable position in the cultivation sect so he can just focus on his geeky inventions. Whereas Mo Xi had to fight through his family's downfall, start from the bottom, and survive the cut-throat palace intrigues etc.

The comparison between Ximang and Hualian that anon mentioned refers to this post I wrote - and I agree that with the romance side of things, meatbun's couples feel more realistic and tragic compared to mxtx’s. I think mxtx's strength is in exploring broader moral questions and philosophical themes, and she could do it in a natural, nuanced, and engaging way. Meatbun's attempts in this regard feels somewhat forced and meagre in comparison.

[olderthannetfic]

You know since I see this constantly brought up when anyone talks about Chinese novels, especially danmei and the tropes used, and one of the asks brought this back to the forefront again.

It's great that some of you have read MXTX's works, but you do realize that you're allowed to read danmei novels from other Chinese authors. And you're also allowed to talk about them. Just because MXTX's novels have the biggest fandoms out there in the West, doesn't mean that literally every vague mention of Chinese tropes or any mention of danmei is by default and exclusively about MXTX.

I love MXTX's novels as well, I enjoy rereading them, but I've also read and am reading novels from other Chinese danmei authors. Recently I'm reading the official Priest and Meatbun translations, and it's getting ridiculous with how many people take any vague mention of a danmei novel, or even just a mention of Chinese novels and common tropes in general and with full conviction claim it must be about MXTX instead of some of the hundreds of fan translated danmei or some of the tens of officially translated novels you can find. Especially when trying to avoid spoilers by being a bit vague.

There are actually small fandoms for these other novels as well, yeah maybe there are only a few hundred or thousand fics for them instead of like 100k+ combined, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I completely get that if you mention something that also happened in MXTX's work that most people will probably immediately point towards her works. But that doesn't mean that her works are 100% the answer just because in the West she has the biggest following. MXTX's works also have several common tropes that you can find in the works of other authors, that doesn't mean every time one of those tropes is mentioned it's about her works, or at least not JUST about her works. I think the main reason this irks me so much is because people start building a huge strawman because they've convinced themselves that it must be MXTX no matter what you say and there's just no way that it could be anything but MXTX, because they just don't read anything else. Don't get me started on show-series only people, they often don't even seem to realize that other Chinese danmei authors and stories exist period.

Spoilers used as an example: If I say "Shizun fucker pining after his dead Shizun." Of course people are gonna point at SVSSS first because it's a bigger fandom. Well but maybe this was about Mo Ran and Chu Wanning from Husky and his white cat Shizun instead, a smaller but still comparatively big fandom. But you have even smaller fandoms around novels with that premise. You'd actually be surprised about how many Shizun fuckers pining for their dead Shizun novels there are out there tbh. You can do the exact same thing for transmigration btw.

--

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

It’s definitely a majority of newer fans who both don’t get the history between Buck and Eddie, but also who don’t care. They came into the series because Buck kissed a man, as well as already knowing the rep that a lot of Buddie shippers tend to hate all the women love interests. So their entire experience watching the first six seasons is clouded by wanting be contrarian.

Which is not a terrible thing since the women didn’t deserve the hate as they got, but rooting for bi!Buck while actively ignoring the relationship built between him and Eddie just so you can not be called a Buddie shipper and champion for Tommy once you get to that season, is weird.

That said, my post was mainly because I was trying to scroll the tag and was only seeing post after post after post about Tommy being the greatest friend and love interest Buck has had, so I was being mildly petty. Because Buck has great relationships with the people in his life, and Eddie is extremely important to him regardless of if they become a couple. There is no need to punch down on him because folks want to uplift Tommy, but they don’t seem to get that.

And I know there are Buddie shippers who punch down on Tommy, but I’ve said before, they’re the same people who dragged the women. So at least they’re consistent. This new wave of drama is purely because Buck is bi now, and a lot of the shippers who defended the women no longer care about them and are actively dismissing Buck’s past relationships to praise Tommy. Which is hypocritical and very common in fandom, but goodness is it annoying sometimes. Especially when it’s as unnecessary as it is in this context.

Heya! There's a lot of magical overthinking in fandoms because it comprises a very large group of different people from different places writing essays about a text (like the nerds we all are). Fandoms are kinda big tutorials and when things become toxic it's a little like when academia becomes toxic. Do you know how many articles I've read that were basically hating on the previous article? I was an English Lit Major— there are entire novels that are aggressive refutations of the arguments made in other novels (so much effort).

Toxic divisions in fandom aren't so much about people trying to be contrary or consciously hateful. It's fear of in-group rejection and trying to say something bigger about themselves, their experiences, and their beliefs and using a text to do so. Cycles of creating in-groups and out-groups within fandoms (which is what ship wars do) is more about what state the individuals are in, and what they're trying to communicate and signal about themselves then it is about the characters or relationship. Protecting a fictional relationship becomes about protecting the ego, the pride, a world view, a sense of self, of self worth, of decorum... Etc. Therefore, a position is chosen and ground cannot be ceded because doing so is an ego death and others doing so feels like a betrayal.

It's why I hate ship wars so much. It's not about the bigger picture or the queer narratives or about championing anything. If it were then conceding would be easier. I could say something like, "I think the writing for Karen, and Buck and Eddie's love interests is misogynistic but indicative of network television" and it wouldn't feel like an attack. Instead they'd want to expand and evolve my points on misogynistic storytelling. I could talk about how the choices they made with Buck and Eddie were homoerotic, how denying it is unhelpful, without triggering a flurry of passive aggressive refutations. Instead they'd want to engage in why television storytelling is full of socialist brotherhoods (thank you Chinese danmei fans for that term). I could talk about how honestly amazing it is that Buck can explore an attraction to men at all, no matter who he's with, without it feeling like I'm hurting people. Because it is a big deal. I'd argue Stiles and Dean were more bi-coded and they absolutely weren't coming out of that celluloid closet.

Speaking of Dean. Another thing that ship wars do is choose an enemy. This can looks like one side making an enemy out of the institution of television itself and that being the justification for harassment (it's not). When that happens the other side can overcorrect by being the institutions greatest protectors and that becomes the justification for harassing fans in the out-group (it's not). However, unlike people in television who have systems in place to deal with harassment, disenfranchised queer fans do not. And, honestly, the thing that made me hate Supernatural was not Destiel. It was watching a young woman tell Jensen Ackles that Dean meant so much to her as a bisexual woman and the room turning on her immediately. An overcorrection. The rage I felt as I watched her tremble as they boo'd her... I can't watch Supernatural without feeling some echo of it.

[miyamiwu]

I’ve been very busy with school, but no matter how busy I am, I will always have time for my bedtime stories (danmei novels). Lately, I’ve been reading this very good Palace Intrigue novel.

And hear this, I’m not that fond of palace intrigue. Not that I hate it… it’s just not a genre I’d first look at when I’m looking for something to read. Palace Intrigue tend to be either too complicated and serious with the mysteries and scheming, completely neglecting the romance aspect (the reason why I even read danmei and not no CP works), OR they are just not serious and complicated enough and everything seems like fun and games.

Palace Intrigue needs to be at a very specific sweet spot for me to enjoy it. This is why although I’ve read many such novels under the genre, the ones I really like and can even remember the title of are just two—Si Tian Guan and I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country (though I have not yet finished both because of certain reasons)

But now, I can finally add a third one to that list: 可是他长得美啊 (lit. But He Looks Beautiful Ah)

The romance and the intrigue aspects are perfectly balanced, and I guess it has a lot to do with how the romance itself is also full of intrigue—and not a political or a love-hate type of intrigue, but simply… on what it’s really like to love someone.

The novel realistically explores what it’s like to love someone whose morals and principles you may not always agree with.

I initially thought the novel was going to have a typical Yandere Top x Submissive Bottom kind of pairing… But it doesn’t. Instead, it challenges this Yandere Top archetype and shows how it won’t work at all in a real loving relationship, and it does this without being puritan over it.

The protagonist Jingzhe would stop the male lead Rong Jiu from doing extreme acts, but at the same time he tries to understand why the latter would do such a thing. He doesn’t try to “heal” Rong Jiu, but instead he coaxes him to a middle point that they agree on. They argue a lot over this, but that just shows how much they care for each other.

There were instances where Rong Jiu tried to force Jingzhe to the dark side, but Jingzhe never once gave in. Then, slowly, little by little, Rong Jiu learns to restrain himself and understand what Jingzhe values, while Jingzhe also understands Rong Jiu and makes him feel more secure in their relationship.

Instead of either getting converted to the other’s side, they learn to meet each other in the middle.

And I like that.

[lansplaining]

Protagonist-centric readers will do anything but admit that their MCs did lie and impact other characters' decisions. It's not the side-characters fault that they did not know the whole truth because *drum roll* they weren't told anything and/or was deliberately lied to.

LQQ being hated bc he impaled XL in a coffin for a long time but like... XL admitted to killing the King of Yong'an and committing the bloody massacre so what was LQQ supposed to do? Sit down and ask his Guoshi for the truth when we know damn well XL will just continue to admit to it? XL didn't want to tell LQQ the truth to protect LQQ and the two groups of people, and that's completely admirable, but what LQQ saw was his Guoshi stabbing a sword through his father's chest and admitting to everything so him reacting the way he did was completely valid. The single act of killing the king was treason 100x already, and as the son of the king, LQQ's reaction was not out of the ordinary. we don't want XL to suffer and be even more traumatized, but XL already knew that the consequences wouldn't be pretty and lied anyway. idk why fans can't grasp that.

Or for JC's case, HE IS LITERALLY THE ONE PERSON ALIVE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD WHO ACTUALLY DESERVES SOME KIND OF EXPLANATION FROM WWX HIMSELF, THE MAN WHO ACCIDENTALLY CAUSED WN TO KILL JXZ AND INDIRECTLY KILLED JYL DESPITE CLAIMING THAT HE HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL. These two aren't strangers to JC at all; they're his sister and his brother-in-law, or more importantly, his sister's beloved husband and father of his nephew. He deserves to be angry and bitter at the one person who did all that, and there is no time limit for how long he should remain bitter and angry about it. The GCT was a whole mess and they both made HUGE sacrifices out of love but the only one whose sacrifice is made invalid is JC because one, it was short-lived and two, they already didn't like JC so no matter what he does for WWX, it will be seen as something negative.

I don't even want to get into the hell-hole regarding LXC but... damn...

the revelations after a character found out the truth should be "oh man, so that's what really happened" not "this character was a dick because they didn't know about the major sacrifice the MC made for them that would only be revealed many years later, and it's not even voluntary because someone else told the truth, not the MC themself"

I'm not the first nor am I the last person to say this but a protagonist is just a character we see, mainly, from their POV or the character that we follow the story through. That's all there is to it. I feel like a lot of danmei readers have yet to read a variety of stories about an MC that's completely shit but serves to tell a story just as important and interesting.

okay, first of all-- people hate LQQ?? The sweetest, most violent himbo of all????????????? even Xie Lian doesn't hate him for what he did??????

i have nothing to say to such people

i'll be honest, it is really only relatively recently that i've fully come to realise how completely Jiang Cheng deserves an explanation or even just acknowledgement of any kind from Wei Wuxian, and how cowardly and selfish it is that Wei Wuxian refuses to give it. and I say this with a heart full of love for WWX-- he is dealing with Some Trauma (tm) but that doesn't mean his refusal to even speak to JC isn't hurtful and unfair, even if it's what he needs... but man everyone in fandom and fanworks is focused on WWX taking what he needs in this situation and not even remotely considering that just maybe he also justifiably owes something to someone he harmed and who he supposedly (formerly?) cared about (i think he still cares)

the lan xichen thing is literally inexplicable to me and i will never understand it

[ultfreakme]

Danmei ask, what are your top 5 (or top 7) favorite moments from MDZS? Also, can I ask why you love those 3 (JC, WWX , XXC)?

(Riki, I'm so glad when found out you also love Jiang Cheng. You must know how many haters on his character in tumblr and twitter. Like, I was blocked 4 times by MDZS lover blog, when they knew I love Jiang Cheng.)

I love reading your MDZS/ SVSSS crossover, they're so in character.....And yes, SQQ must love Sukuna and Jogo if he ever read JJK...

Thanks for the ask Anon!!

Top 7 moments:

When we find out the Jiang Cheng sacrificed himself to the Wens to save Wei Wuxian. It was dropped so casually and I had to backtrack and go "wait, wait, WAIT! DISCUSS IT PLEASE!!"

The juniors in the Yi City arc, they were so adorable, I loved reading them putting on a brave face and investigating.

Wei Wuxian murdering the crap out of Wen Chao with his sexy undead ladies. Him and Jiang Cheng together torturing him while Lan Wangji was sent out and it's like, LWJ is confused, shocked, and horrified.

The scene where Wei Wuxian's roasting Jin Guangshan at the conference post-war and everyone's scandalized. I love it when Wei Wuxian gets bitchy.

Jiang Cheng's intro scene in the donghua where he emerges from the shadows of that tree, pushing aside the leaves. That's so hot of him.

Wei Wuxian covered in blood in the second siege of Burial Mounds and Lan Wangji is defending him. That scene's so cool and romantic in all its iterations. The donghua went above and beyond and made it seem like a wedding.

Jiang Cheng giving Zidian to Jin Ling ;_; It hurts me. It's so much worse knowing that MXTX was planning on killing Jin Ling soon after to really hurt Jiang Cheng.

Reasons I like:

Jiang Cheng-

He's so complicated! You can't immediately look at him and say he's the good guy or the bad guy. I personally think he leans more towards the good guy category.

He's the perfect opposite of Wei Wuxian, he's not a genius cultivator like wwx, he had to work for every bit of progress he made. He started off simply wanting to keep his family together and at peace, but the war happened and his priorities shifted. He's duty-bound, he's always fighting and scraping to be recognized but no one ever does. He wanted so bad to help wwx, but duty made it so that he was forced to pick between his sect and wwx. Forever chained, closed off.

He's jealous and vicious and so, so angry. I get it, I understand the worst parts of him and relate to it.

Wei Wuxian-

Again, super complicated as a person. Wronged at every turn. He wanted to do good and protect people, and for that he kept sacrificing himself over and over again with little value given to himself as a person. He's got his sharp edges and cruelty too, and I feel like people often forget that Wei Wuxian's traumas and his lack of self-appreciation and value on himself show in ugly and vicious ways.

His story obviously shows a key message of MDZS, which is that when people sacrifice themselves thinking that they're protecting their loved one, they only hurt them in another way. I understood his desire to do good, protect people, but there's no one to stand at his side. The loneliness and fear that comes with fucking up so bad that no one even tries to hear you out, no one's listening no matter how loud you shout.

Xiao Xingchen:

He's like Wei Wuxian but 100% times worse and more self-sacrificial. Too trusting, too good, and everyone kept taking advantage of that without bothering to guide him or be honest with him. Like legit, no one told him what they were truly thinking.

I love that xxc wants to be a good person, i hate that he was ruined for it. God I really wanted him to have a happy ending because he's just, he's so NICE. In a world filled with betrayal and deceit, xxc wanted to spread goodness. And yet.

AAHHHHHH

I think these characters made me see the point of MDZS in a very clear way, or in a way that impacted me most. So they're my faves.

Being a Jiang Cheng liker is a struggle! I was getting into MDZS even before the donghua started airing, like around 2018 and back then Jiang Cheng hate was so bad. I kept waiting year after year for the hate to go down but it just got worse the more popular MDZS got. The misunderstandings built up too. I got black and got into a million arguments too ;_; We have to stick together!!!

i have so many thoughts about Jiang Cheng specifically because, okay I read and watched everything about 3 years ago, so I don't remember much other than my fav, so I'm always thinking about everything he did.

nbsdhfb SQQ's monster-loving ass would go gaga for Sukuna. Four armed man wrecking people??? Yes sir! (side note; big tall powerful man who is called king who is only nice to his close servant and confidante???? SQH come get your boy!)

[bloomingapricots]

Dreams of Divergent

AKA Give Zhuzhi-lang a cultivator too

Updated here first at AO3

The reader is called Dúzhě (读者) which means “reader”

Make it more dramatic by making this Duzhe related to Su Xiyan

Reader is called Su Duzhe

To be clear, this Duzhe is blood related to Su Xiyan and even though Duzhe calls her Jiejie, Duzhe is not Su Xiyan’s blood sister. It would be weird, to me, that an uncle and nephew pair after marrying a pair of sisters then become brother-in-laws.

This Duzhe will be female as this work is even more self-indulgent

You do not remember much of your previous life in the modern world because you are a bit of a daydreamer. Even now, you hazily went through life in a daze, lost in your imagination reading and writing. Making your only blood relative, Su Xiyan, who is also your caretaker, worried.

You slightly recognized her name from a Danmei you read, even more when you learned the name of her Scet, Huan Hua Palace. You reincarnated into Scum Villain Self-Saving System, probably, as Luo Binghe’s only other maternal blood relative that you are pretty sure did not exist in the lore. But it does not matter to you currently as you are living in pre-canon time. Specifically, right before your sister's assignment of getting close to Luo Binghe’s father.

“Duzhe-meimei!” Your sister called. You looked up from your writing as you make a living as a writer, unlike your sister. Though she did buy this house for you to live in as she did not feel comfortable with you living with her in the Huan Hua Palace, not that she sleeps there, because even she knows that the Old Palace Master is not looking at her like a master should. She worried that when she goes on night-hunts or business trips that the Old Palace Master would do something to you even though she was the one who taught you cultivation.

“Jiejie, you're here,” you greeted as she sat across from you.

“How is my Meimei?” She asked.

“Fine, I recently published Heats of One and Heats of Many,” You mentioned, your sister couldn't help but snort as she remembers the draft of that story. It shamelessly was an omegaverse story. “It became quite popular.” It indeed did. After all, this world after all was originally a smut novel.

“How shameless,” she teased.

“Money is money,” you retorted.

“Anyway, I have to go seduce a heavenly demon,” she mentioned. “Don’t get kidnapped… again,”

“Please, I got returned immediately,” you jokingly huffed, which caused your sister to laugh.

“Still, you wander too far in your head, which means your feet will also wander too far,” she said.

“I… cannot refute that” You do indeed walk too far when you daydream, you once wandered all the way to another village. But in the end, you reassure your sister that you will be fine. You may not go on night-hunts often, but you are a cultivator in your own right. She left after a week, double checking that the Old Palace Master does not know where you live, to go find Tianlang-jun.

[Host, what will you do? Allow destiny’s design or will you thread their fate yourself?] Your system asked. A cute red panda floating in slow circles around your head after you waved your sister as she rode off. Your system, unlike Shen Yuan’s and Shang Qinghua’s, is not restrictive, allowing you freedom to fuck things up. Your system acts more like a familiar than a system, it is because your system is on the younger side and grows as you grow.

“Well, since we are in SVSSS and not PIDW, I like that Yuan made the harem protagonist gay for him,” you giggled. “But I don’t know how it will develop, as there are many scenarios to consider.” You slowly walked back to your home. Luckily, people cannot see you talking to your system. “I do know my sister will not stand Shen Jiu mistreating her son, much less Tianlang-jun, I think, in the case that I made sure Binghe has them in his life. Actually, will Binghe even be called Luo Binghe?” You asked mostly to yourself. “I could influence my sister to call him Binghe but he will definitely be called Su Binghe,“ You shrugged, “That’s not too bad, oh but his demon heritage, how will Tianlang-jun feel about sealing his heritage,” You continue to mumble your thoughts and worries to your system who patiently listens.

[shysublimecoffee]

Tsuna Sawada will always be a loser and even towards the end of the manga he still is one and I will always love him for not changing. Face it all those reunion fics I used to read back in the day really be enjoying giving every person who bullied or were mean to him give everyone face slaps as if i'm reading a chinese revenge dogblood danmei novel lol. This is pre-2017 I belive when I binged a lot of fics in the previous years of that particular KHR era lol. So take it in mind my knowledge was from back then.

Hell this shit is even applied to his parents especially Nana like maybe I can go more indepth if I have time in another post but like this women certainly loves her child. I know the infamous chapter really got me heated not gonna lie I don't think the way she treats her kid is fine but damn sometimes I feel she be villainzed too much. From the way I see their relationship it's one of love but I don't think Tsuna could rely on his mom when it comes to emotions and feelings hell he avoid it together it's kinda why he was a little shit if I remember correctly in the beginning of the manga but what 13 year old isn't. Like their relationship is more she wants her child to be like his manly father and hopes he can grow out of his ugly ducking dame tsuna phase but he can't because it's more than that the dude whole school normalizes calling him dame tsuna instead of his actual birth name and the way the faculty treat him and his peers who go back and forth in their treatment of him if he surpasss their expectations they acknowledge him if he doesn't he goes back to being just lame old tsuna. So tsuna gives right up at the start then even try because he's afraid at the attempt he'll just fail. Iemitsu I get 100% because he prioritzes work over family and expects his son to be like his mother and be fine he shows up out of nowhere. I'd be pissed too. Ironic he's the 1 shounen protagnsit with 2 parents that just aren't that great as role models or when it comes to teaching him but they do love him certainly. It's why when it comes to the basis of how their characters are written yes there are defintlly problametic things going on because of how dysfuncitional they are as a family but they do love each other so I really dislike it a lot back in the past since a lot of the times writers really try to up and take it to a 100 to make both of them more hurtful or cruel in fics than they are in canon just to really give them faceslaps X double. And the result is Tsuna being a depressed sucidal kid to really get it and the fic writer just blackening the parents even more lol. Like please a little nuance would be appreatied in their family dynamic would be nice.

Tsuna no matter what anyone says is a strong kid. He really doesn't get bothered like I don't recall him talking shit about the students in his school who bully him like yamamato and him are straight parells in their treatment because I'm damn sure yamamato has to be aware of others treatment of Tsuna because it's a refelection of how he could end up if he becomes a failure too. One tries their hardest to be the best and tries to jump because he can't handle it no more. But Tsuna the other isn't even bother by his mistreatment wtf he's just Tsuna he's normalized it but he isn't a sucidal depressed mess he's just accepts he can't do it and says welp whatever and he's fine. My boi is strong.

I know some can't accept how the ending is. But, You're reading KHR so many weird things are in the manga that make 0 logical sense and I just go through with the motions accepting it. A baby for a tutor, oh Mukuro went through literal hell, oh what do you mean fucking time travel is involved. You really expect me to care that much how the ending went lol. KHR is a legit a parody telling of a shonen manga, which evolved into a real shonen later on.

I get the appeal but Tsuna is Tsuna. I think he's a normal boy who doesn't fit the shounen mold and himnot fiting the package kinda fit the bill because he doesn't suit the audience fantasy on how they want their MC's to be. They want him to be a Naruto how everyone who hurt him apologize or acknwledge his awesomeness but nah Akira Amano really just sticked to this dude core character from start to finish. Tsuna grew when it comes to areas he lacked but he never changed about his personhood because that sorta what makes him define the story. Tsuna being himself got him allies and people who rely and look towards him and what made Reborn impressed with his student. He defines the genre he's like is a Deku from BNHA reversed when it comes to their development.

[yonemurishiroku]

Do you think that the solangelo contains more of a forceful representation, and if so, what is your advice to authors who are trying to make lgbtq+ representation seem more a part of the story/flow with the story then the opposing option?

May 22nd. I'm so sorry, my mind has been going off track for a while. I'm really sorry for the delay. 😭😭

So, regarding Solangelo as a representation, well this is gonna be hard to say lol. This has been circling the fandom since the day of its emergence, and this is certainly not a good time but eh penny for my thought ig.

Now. I suppose I have a very varying definition of representation, but let's not dwell on that. As for now, I can say that I do consider Solangelo somewhat forcefully developed. As in, the term of writing, plot-wise, etc...

It's quite difficult to say. I have no problem with Solangelo as a couple - or their dynamic - per se. Rather, it's the pacing that throws me off. This has been addressed in many posts - Solangelo has a quite... abrupt (?) takeoff. I just felt like Rick did not mean to make them a thing but just a spur of a moment - something small and... promising that you left hanging at the end of the series for reader's interpretation, for whatever reason (This actually lines up with Boo's time of releash I think? The LGBTQ+ literature being unpopular I mean).

In fact, Solangelo's whole developing process happened behind the curtains - as in, we're told, not shown. Imagine. In BOO, their friendship just barely sprouts, and the next time we see them again in TOA, they're already a couple. For the longest time possible, it was left to the reader/fanfic writers to deduce wth happen for them to become a couple in like idk 6 months? (A pretty fast process for someone like Nico imo. but that's just me).

Something like that is bound to raise some doubts.

The full picture itself is only revealed - partly, and through second reminiscence, mind you - in TSATS. It's also the reason TSATS feels kinda off to me, ig - the fact that some parts actually misalign with the established canon events, or appear like a patch to cover a hole in the piece of fabric. And some others just straight up fall into the what-the-f-was-in-your-mind-rick category. I doubt it was even Rick's initial plan to come up with TSATS in the first place.

However, it's also worth acknowledging that, whilst it would certainly help, Rick hardly has the capacity to fully-build another 5-book romance for Solangelo. That's as far as it can go (I usually think this to placate myself at the thought of the ship being undeveloped). Nico is not the franchise's protagonist (more like deuteragonist I guess), no matter how far this story goes and how widely loved he is, let alone Will.

On to the advice part.

Please keep in mind that I am, in no way, a professional or good writer, nor do I study sexual orientation and/or identity theory (I barely know the flags). I've also grown up and received education in an Estern (somewhat conserative?) country, so please take whatever I say with a grant of salt.

Now. When it comes to "make it seem more a part of the story", I... actually don't know how to say this...

Just look at the all the BL mangas (Japanese comics) and danmeis (Chinese BL literature) and BL manhwas (Korean comics). I have been reading BoyLove longggg before I even came to PJO, you know? The Eastern fandoms have surprisingly extensive LGBT content for a conservative culture, anw they have been telling and/or drawing stotries upon stories about same-sex couples since the dawn of internet. They don't even need to try. They have the image of a love, a story in their mind and just... go along with it.

You don't make it a part of the story. The story is either about it (much or little), or just nothing at all.

I'm saying making a story about it - rather than trying to incorporate it into the story. Give it background and enough development, it'd progress itself. You don't give it anything, of course it'd feel flat. This goes with any type of romance, not just LGBTQ+.

The problem with Solangelo itself, imo, is not the nature of their relationship (tho I do admit somtimes Rick makes me go wtf), but rather how they're portrayed. And furthermore, said portray in proportion to people's expectation. Solangelo, by all means, is a side-story at best (unless Rick manages to come up with a trilogy about their journey from start to finish idk 🤷‍♀️). People like it, so they tend to expect more from it, but the author's just a human.

I think this is everything... My thoughts are kinda in a jumble as I'm writing this, so feel free to ask if something doesn't make sense... This is also just my personal view lol don't take it too seriously if it differs from yours too much.

Lastly, I know my advice would probably not do much, however I hope for you to find your way to tell your stories the best you can!

[kukuandkookie]

wip titles meme

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

Tagged by @crimsonrainseekingflower! 💕💕💕

Thank you for the welcome surprise—another one I finally discovered once I looked at my notifications and stuff! Fortunately this time I’m remembering to make my own post haha. 😆

I hope you don’t mind if I also divide by fandom, and these only vaguely include a couple art wips!:

SVSSS:

Grave Matters

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time AU!?

Just a Dream (is this unfortunately a lame-ass title 😔)

Haunting You

Singles’ Day

TLJ/ZZL/LBH/SXY ADDAMS FAMILY AU??????????

Bingqiu White Snake (animated movie) AU

Waiting for the Tree Branches to Bloom Again

Safe from the Storm

I See in Both Your Eyes (Something Indigo)

AU: The Lion King II??

Family Meal Goes “Wrong”

TLJ’s Lament

LBH²

狗哥狗哥，你真了不得 (Gou-ge, Gou-ge…)

Slavic Vampires…

CNY Dumplings Competition

Enchanted (because we’re doing this now, I guess)

Limb Regeneration What If?? 🤔

Of Costumes and Candies (Something Orange)

Something Old, Something New, and… (Something Blue)

SV OTGW AU

I Ship My Rival x Me AU

I Have to be a Great Villain AU

Happiness Just Out of Reach

Lost and Found

Words to Heart

Breathing Smoke Into the Lungs

HORRIBLE NEW IDEA: Maybe title: Just Enough. Just Enough for Me

Love Letters (that’s all I got so far *insert deepfried emote here*)

Daycare AU???

Hmmm. Prince x Princess AU?

Xi Yang Yang AU

Gongzhu

Followers Milestone Celebration

Teacup scene

I Think My Uncle Ships Us Help

Unattainable

I’d Like to Try Staying Awake (for You)

Breaking the System (aka Fuck the System? Literally or—jk jk lmfao)

Bonuses include the latest chapters for I’d Rather Spend My Whole Life Asleep (With You) and To Tame a Beast, except the former doesn’t have a wip title. The latter does in the sense that the chapter title is Pixiu!

Erha:

Putting the Musing in Amusement Park

This Venerable One Will Not Be Outdone

What You Left Behind/Do You Also Miss Me?

[The] Romance of Wolf/Husky and Haitang

Ghost Bride (Corpse Bride but Chinese?? And Reincarnation)

Reconciliation

Fifteen Growing Up Flirty

Out of the Closet (and Into Your Arms)?

The Prince and the Pauper (but based on The Princess and the Pauper because I’m a criminal who hasn’t read the original 😂)

Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng but with an Erha Twist

TW WARNING FOR THIS ONE but Passive suicide ideation fic

IDK WHAT TO WRITE FOR CWN’S BDAY… GOD SOMEONE SEND HELP GFGKDFHGKSDFHG (this one has a more polished but still wip version titled CWN Birthday Fic: Past, Present, or Future, I Want to Celebrate With You 😆)

Jiaoren CWN

Priest CWN & demon MR…hehehe (now a Dianran AU?)

More Than Just Puppy Love

Flower Shop…Redemption…Thingy?

From Wanton Wants to Wonton Wonders

A Taste of What Could Have Been

Screwdriver

First Bow to Heaven and Earth

Hidden Love AU

Mo Ran pulls a Bing-ge

Mind(-Reading) Games

Stone Lion

Swallowed Flowers

Confessions (Role-Swap AU)

TXJ Week (help we’re way past that now 😔): De-Aged Fic

A Tear in My Heart aka Read You Like an Open Book aka To Leave a Piece/Page of Me in the Nooks and Crannies of You?

Shi Mei Jiaoren Fic: [I’m] Afraid to Live Without Breathing

I also have a lot of Erha and SVSSS fic ideas that are unfortunately just blurbs in my ideas document right now and not full-on wips so they don’t have any titles I can share. 😔

Misc:

First Times, Second Chances, and Third Time’s the Charm…s (?) (Link Click)

Missing a You of Another Time (Link Click)

Danmei, xianxia-esque story (Link Click)

Suriel/Sariel

Call of the Wolves (specifically chapter 78)

Chuju the Chou

Papillon and Akuma’s Story

Papillon and Akuma Role Reversal AU Story

Circinus and Pyxis

Smoke & Mirrors

Dimension Hoppers

Take Me Back to Hell (All Saints Street)

I’ll Love You Until All the Stars Fall from the Sky (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei?)

Fengxi like Shade in Firewing (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei)

Mafia AU Xuanli x Laojun (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei)

Continuation of Falling for You (White Cat Legend)

How Could I Ever Ask You to Love Me? (White Cat Legend)

My Shadow It Follows Me

The Us of the Present Could Perhaps Be Just as Tender as the Us of the Past (Scissor Seven)

A Conversation With a Dead Man (MDZS)

Magical Girl AU (MDZS)

Xue Yang’s Regrets (MDZS)

Ao Bing and Nezha in a shoujo high school AU… That’s it. That’s the whole idea (Nezha 2019)

Surprising the Un-Surprise-Able (I Have to be a Great Villain)

Xianxia AU (Kiss the Abyss)

Breathing New Life (Kiss the Abyss)

I Will Chase You to the Ends of Time and Space (Kiss the Abyss)

A Family Outing (Beryl and Sapphire)

Just Some Gay Little Dudes (Beryl and Sapphire)

Steven Universe AU (Beryl and Sapphire)

Something as Sweet as You (I Ship My Adversary x Me)

A Present to be Cherished (I Ship My Adversary x Me)

I Ship My Adversary x Me and 严禁造谣 Crossover? AU Swap?

Additional misc wips I haven’t touched in forever are the latest chapters for The World Doesn’t Deserve You (MDZS) and Frostbite (All Saints Street). 😅

And as a bonus, these aren’t at all “official” yet but the more I read for some manhua the more I’m tempted to write fics for them… For example, a fic for Blemishing the Contaminated or My Lovely Troublemaker season 2 would be so cute, even if I don’t exactly have any clear or obvious ideas for them. 🥺

Phew, wow. I had way more wips than I expected AKFJSKFHSJS. Some are honestly just super half-baked documents tucked away in a folder with only a title and outline, but I hope something here was of interest to you guys. 😆💖

As for tagging…

I also don’t think I’m capable of tagging as many people as I have wips otl. So I hope you guys don’t mind if I tag just a few of you!

@ezrathesplit @levia-kun @yumichanhamano @softdekus @rongzhi @azunshi

(Of course, if you would rather not, feel free not to do this!)

[talk-danmei-to-me]

Danmei Fanfic Nightclub - Ao3 prompt fill

(I know it’s not Friday, but I’m deep in my Ximang feelings right now)

Feeling very inspired by Mo Xi spilling his feelings to all the nobles in Chonghua so here we have Gu Mang trying to scold his princess and failing miserably.

Enjoy!

***

Gu Mang stared at his empty bowl, unable to put his feelings into words. Tonight, his princess admitted to being with someone to all of Chonghua. Little did the noble that spoke down to him know, that someone was him… All the effort Gu Mang made, to keep Mo Xi safe, to ensure his happiness in life, to grant him the world and not drown him filth… all of it had been squandered by his confession.

Now everyone knew the ascetic Xihe-jun carried no intentions of marrying Princess Mengze. They would ruin him. Mo Xi would never know peace again.

Finally, Gu Mang found the words, ‘You shouldn’t have done that.’

‘Done what?’ Mo Xi asked, undoing his hair for bed.

‘Admitted to being with someone. What if they tell Princess Mengze?’ Gu Mang tried to keep his tone even. He didn’t want to alarm Mo Xi, but he certainly wanted to scold him.

‘I already told her.’

‘Told her what?!’ Gu Mang squawked, so startled by the confession he lost all sense of propriety.

Mo Xi merely smiled and embraced him from behind. Gu Mang’s back remained ramrod straight, though he relaxed a little when Mo Xi pressed his lips to his neck.

His breath felt hot against his ear as he spoke, ‘That my heart belongs to another.’

Despite his misgivings, Gu Mang leaned into him, his mind a mess of worry and joy, ‘Who does she think it is?’

‘A common maiden,’ Mo Xi said, planting another kiss against his pulse point.

To hear Mo Xi speak of him, as honestly as he could, warmed Gu Mang’s heart. He turned round in his seat to gaze upon him.

‘Is that how you think of your Gu Mang-gege? As a common maiden?’ He teased.

‘Of course not! But what else could I tell her?’

‘Hmm… I guess you couldn’t say you’ve been fucking a traitor.’

Gu Mang meant it as a joke, but he failed to hide the bitterness in his voice.

His words sparked something within Mo Xi. His eyes turned fierce and he captured Gu Mang’s lips in a searing kiss, only pausing to scold Gu Mang himself.

‘Don’t talk about yourself that way. You’re a hero and they’ll all see that one day.’

With that sweeping statement, Gu Mang lost himself completely to the heat of Mo Xi’s mouth. Still an uncomfortable feeling ate away at him. His memories continued to flow from him. No matter how many times he read his writings, he couldn’t make anything stick. He needed to restrain his princess, stop his happiness from ruining him whilst he still could. When Mo Xi finally broke their kiss, Gu Mang opened his mouth to say something, but his words died on his tongue as Mo Xi led him back to the army standard cot they currently shared.

‘You’re so silly sometimes, princess.’

The barrier around the tent remained firmly in place and in that moment, Gu Mang thought that maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad to cause a few more rumours.