#so he has to join Wei Wuxian’s team

[illuminchim]

MDZS Kingsman AU.

Is Wen Ning third wheeling? Yes, of course… someone save him

[lgbtlunaverse]

I'm a little bit insane about how in novel canon the whole xiyao ending where Jin Guangyao wants to die with Xichen, who accepts, which then makes jgy change his mind and pushes him away at the last second isn't actually explicit. A lot of adaptations chose to make it so but in the novel this is all VERY up for interpretation.

Here's what actually happens in the text: Lan xichen stabs jgy, jgy moves away from lan xichen, xichen follows him, wwx realizes jgy is about to open the coffin and calls "watch out!" to lan xichen. Jgy unseals nmj, pushes xichen away, nmj kills jgy and they are both dragged into the coffin which is sealed again.

Here's what wei wuxian, our narrator, thinks is happening: Jin Guangyao wanted to lead lan xichen to his death out of revenge for stabbing him. Lan Xichen, unaware, simply followed Jin Guangyao to try and stop him from getting away. Wei wuxian's warning came too late, but Jin Guangyao- for an unknown reason- changed his mind at the last second and pushed lan xichen out of danger before lan xichen had any idea of what was going on.

Here's what most fans as well as the teams behind several adpatations think is happening: Jin Guangyao leads Xichen to nmj's coffin to die with him, Xichen accepts, because of this acceptance, proof xichen still cares for him, Jin Guangyao pushes him out of harm's way. Wei Wuxian just doesn't get that gay people who aren't him or Lan Wangji exist.

Here's what ALSO MIGHT BE HAPPENING: Jin guangyao wants to die in a different way than he is currently dying. Maybe he's afraid of what'll happen to his body after his death like he was scared for his mother's, maybe he wants to confront nmj one last time now that there's nothing more for him to lose, maybe - if he can't take her body with him- he'd at least like his final resting place to be where he buried his mother. Lan Xichen thinks he's trying to get away and follows but Jin Guangyao, who despite everything doesn't want him to die, pushes him away. Xichen doesn't know what happened until it's already happened. What he would've wanted if he had known remains up in the air.

Or, alternatively: Jin Guangyao's reasons are as above, but unbeknowst to Wei Wuxian, Xichen DOES know what jgy is about to do and either misinterprets this as an invitation to all die together, or inidividually decides he, too, is done, and wants to join his sworn brothers in the grave. To Jin Guangyao this has nothing to do with Lan Xichen, and he still doesn't want him to die, so he pushes him away against Lan Xichen's wishes.

Every single one of these interpretations is unhinged and they are all supported by the original text. It's like a choose your own adventure of tragic gay endings.

[mryside]

Today’s WangXian thought:

Wei Wuxian loves spending time with his son Wei Yuan creating intricate Lego builds. They like building the kits sure, and even have some of their favourites on display, but the best part is taking those kits and seeing what else they can be turned into. What they can build with a random assortment of bricks and just their imagination.

So, when his son tells him about a Lego building competition that he wants to enter where the prize is a rare exclusive set, well that’s an immediate yes.

What he doesn’t know is that his brother in law Jin Zixuan is also a fan of Lego. It’s something he does to relax, and he doesn’t like to talk about it. He prefers making the kits and meticulously planning out his builds over just winging it. He has also heard about the competition, and has entered himself and his son (Jiang Yanli may had to convince Jin Ling who is not much of a fan “You know how much it’ll mean to your father if you join him, plus knowing him everything will be planned out and you won’t have to do much”)

Amongst the judges for the competition is Lan Wangji, a structural engineer. He’s doing it partly as a favour and partly because he’s intrigued by the idea and is interested in seeing what the contestants come up with.

The theme for their builds is Adventure, and all bricks will be provided. The Weis have discussed ideas but both have decided to just see how the bricks speak to them the day of. The Jin’s (mostly Jin Zixuan) have their build planned down to the last brick, with a detailed list of how much of each size and colour they’ll need.

Day of the competition and of course Wei Wuxian is placed next to his brother in law. He’s absolutely delighted about it. He didn’t know that both his nephew and his brother in law are also really into Lego. He has so many questions, and so much teasing to catch up on.

Jin Zixuan is less happy about things, especially once he finds out that Wei Wuxian prefers to 'wing it' with his builds. Jin Ling for the most part just wants to ignore things, but once he finds out his uncle and his cousin are here, well now it’s game on. There’s no way their team is losing to them.

Once time starts the two teams immediately get down to business. The Jin’s collect all the pieces from their list, while the Wei’s just grab whatever catches their fancy. There’s some mild teasing, like when Jin Ling is trying to ask his father something and Wei Wuxian just happens to (loudly) dig through the barrel of bricks nearest to them every time he starts talking, but overall everyone is just quietly working on their builds. Well, mostly.

Wei Wuxian can’t help but express his enthusiasm and delight with how their build is going to his son, nor can he help praising other's builds and encouraging them as well.

Lan Wangji is surprised at how much fun he’s having just watching. Yes he is looking at everything with a critical eye, he is a judge after all. But watching the wide variety of people and concepts is fascinating. And speaking of fascinating, there is one duo that his eyes keep coming back to. The father is so handsome and vivacious that he can’t help but be drawn to them.

Wei Wuxian has noticed the drop dead gorgeous judge, and he can’t help but flirt every time the man stops by their table to check up on things as he makes his rounds. Thankfully it’s not that often or he would never get any work done at all. When the man is around he practically forgets whatever it was he was trying to do.

Wei Yuan is a very bright child. He sees how his father acts around this judge, and vice versa. He can tell there’s a mutual something going on there, so he does what anyone would do, and makes sure to let the man know that why yes his father is single, and yes he would love to go out with you.

Anyways, 10 hours later the competition is done, and the winner announced. Both the Wei’s and the Jin’s builds fulfill the theme beautifully and they place in the top five. Wei Wuxian comes in one place higher than his brother in law, which he uses to tease the other, claiming that 'winging it' is the superior style after all.

While he didn’t win the competition, Wei Wuxian got the best prize anyways, Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji can’t help but disagree with him. While he wasn’t in the competition he seems to have gotten the best prize, Wei Wuxian and his son.

~End

Some minor notes:

Luo Qingyang and her daughter are the ones who won the competition.

Jin Zixuan won’t admit it but he does think that what WWX came up with is actually really nice and totally deserves to have beaten his design.

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Sep. 10, 2024

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (manhua) vol. 7 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu 

The mysterious corpse that Wei Wuxian has been investigating has finally been pieced back together, all save its most crucial part–the head. Yet even with the head missing, the evidence points inevitably in a single direction. To uncover the full truth, Wei Wuxian joins a delegation headed for Golden Carp Tower. There, a gathering of prominent cultivators is taking place. Yet for some reason, everyone in the Tower’s ruling clan harbors great animosity towards him…! Just what did the previous owner of his body do to earn so much resentment?

Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law (manga) vol. 3 by Yoshie Kaoruhara

Shiro and Ichiro’s investigation has led them through all kinds of twists and turns: close calls with members of the yakuza, dangerous trysts with political elite—all while maintaining their ruse as passionate lovers. And yet, with every step they take toward the truth, a tendril of a deeper mystery pulls it just out of reach, leaving more unanswered questions. Their encounter with a skilled assassin at an amusement park seems to be proof of a mastermind at work, if only they could identify who…

Perfect Buddy (manhwa) vol. 1 by Lash

As the new Design Team lead for the prestigious men’s magazine, City Casual, Seo Hyunsoo wants nothing more than to live a simple, routine life. But Planning Team lead, Baek Youngchan, is proving to be an irritating complication. The two constantly butt heads, and Hyunsoo cannot stand the other man’s sunny disposition! Try as he may to avoid Youngchan, Hyunsoo ends up catching the man doing something very not safe for work in the men’s bathroom. What’s worse, Youngchan won’t leave him alone after the awkward encounter! Can Hyunsoo keep his work on track, or will things heat up at the company retreat?

Takara's Treasure (manga) by Minta Suzumaru

Taishin has moved to Tokyo from his hometown of Fukuoka in order to reunite with Takara, a stranger who had consoled him in his grief the year prior. However, despite finally getting a chance to express his gratitude to Takara at college, he is given the cold shoulder! But Taishin, undeterred, decides to pursue Takara anyway, and Takara finds himself becoming more and more enchanted by Taishin’s straightforward and earnest gaze.

There’s No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless… (novel) vol. 5 by Teren Mikami

Amaori Renako is walking on sunshine. Everything’s gonna be totally great forever! The End. Except the story’s not quite over. It turns out dating’s harder than she thought. Plus, she’s got that strange text from Koto Satsuki to reckon with. How on earth did things turn out like this? For now, Renako resolves to spend time with both Sena Ajisai and Oduka Mai while preparing to battle the Quintet’s rivals in an inter-class athletics competition basketball game! Welcome to season two of There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, where becoming lovers is only just the beginning!

Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! (manga) vol. 2 by Nmura

It’s been three months since the absolutely ordinary and plain office worker, Hashimoto, started going out with his boss, Shirase, and they’re reaching their first-month anniversary of moving in together. After the miracle discovery that “his online friend turned out to be his real-life boss,” Hashimoto and Shirase had quite the tumultuous start. But after a bunch of misunderstandings, the two are finally together…yet, their days are far from romantic when all they do are play video games and eat together! Getting worried, Hashimoto decides to try leveling up their relationship! But what do you do when your boyfriend’s successful, older, and super hot…?!

[fanfictionroxs]

A little analysis on who is the bigger meow meow between Black and Wei Wuxian. All blame goes to this post by @bl-bracket for making me go nuts and write all this 😅 Here we go:

On one hand, Black was betrayed by his own friend and was injured heavily and entered a freaking coma because of said betrayal. On the other hand, Wei Wuxian was dead for 13 years because he was betrayed and killed by his own brother. But since Black has taken his revenge on Todd (and confessed hehehheh) and he still has his brother, things are looking better for him. Because Wei Wuxian has Lan Wangji, but he'll never be able to reconcile with Jiang Cheng since he murdered A-Yuan's entire family. And when that shit hits the fan (and it will because no way in HELL will Sizhui let the murderers get away with this injustice), even Lan Wangji might have to leave his brother and sect since they're all responsible for the slaughter. Or they might both lose their son.

Now back to Black.. his troubles aren't over yet of course because even though Todd might be the love of his life/best friend, he's still a bad guy who stands on the unethical side. It's going to bring major troubles in Black's life and there's a bit of a parallel there with ToddBlack and WangXian since there was a time when Lan Wangji was on the wrong side. Yes, he didn't actively hurt the Wen remnants or Wei Ying, but silence/inaction of a good man is worse than being outright evil and stuff. Wei Wuxian refused to join the wrong side and Black is the same. No relationship can shake their morals (god damnit I love them both so much for this), so Todd will either have to do a Lan Wangji and join Black in walking the single plank road or they'll remain separated forever.

But one very important thing is that Black has White and for both of them that's enough. They complete each other in a way that Todd and Sean never will be able to do for them, though of course those two have a very high place in their respective twin's heart. Another thing is that Black never yearned for parental validation (and if he ever did then his mother did a good job destroying those feelings) while Wei Wuxian was always in control of his so called 'mother'. Both Black and Wei Wuxian were victims of emotional abuse by their mothers especially, but Black was able to move on from it while it still effects Wei Wuxian probably because he never got the unconditional support from his brother that Black got from White. They were like a team united against their parents' abuse since childhood and sure codependancy and stuff, but still it provided them an emotional security that made breaking away from their parents much easier even when the brothers were apart from each other.

Yeah so I'll have to give this round to Wei Wuxian. He's definitely the bigger meow meow 😢

[demoiselledefortune]

AU idea we brainstormed with @runespoor7 and vermillon (not on tumblr) that ends with zhanchengxian and xiyao. Still a work in progress because some of us didn't like some of the turns towards the end but so far we've got:

Meng Yao joins Yunmeng Jiang as a teenager, and becomes the Seventh Shidi of Yunmeng Jiang.

He gets along well with both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng.

He survives the slaughter of Lotus Pier by promptly joining with the Wen sect, and helps Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian rescue Jiang Cheng. He starts spying among the Wen for the Jang Sect very early this way.

Lan Xichen, without Meng Yao to help him, loses his Golden Core and spends the war in captivity among the Wen. He meets Meng Yao during this time and they bond to some extent.

After the war, Meng Yao becomes Jin Guangyao and swears Brotherhood with Jiang Cheng (in order to keep an eye on Wei Wuxian) and Lan Wangji (the current Lan sect leader who illustrated himself during the war who also wants to keep an eye on Wei Wuxian). The Nie sect is isolated.

Jin Guangyao mediates between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji in order to get the Tiger Seal more easily; and they both team up to be more active to “help” Wei Wuxian (who takes it as a betrayal). Wei Wuxian flees to the Nie, to complain to Nie Huaisang.

Jin Guangyao figures out about the Golden Core transfer because he has access to a lot of the clues. He decides to use this information to help out Wen Qing and Wen Ning in exchange for their cooperation to help Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen believes it’s a medical  treatment developed by the Wen. Wen Qing is publicly redeemed for her role in healing Lan Xichen but under the cover of the Jin sect who grabs all the merit for it..

When Lan Wangji tells Jiang Cheng about the miraculous healing of his brother, Jiang Cheng figures out that Wen Qing was involved in his Golden Core restoration but not necessarily that Wei Wuxian sacrificed his own. He goes to talk to Wen Qing, who admits the truth to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng has a nervous breakdown. Lan Wangji followed him but missed the reveal. They confront Wei Wuxian and that’s when Lan Wangji understands what happened. Tears and ship zhanchengxian happen.

After he threatens Wen Ning one time too many, Wen Qingl kills Jin Guangshan with the help of Xue Yang who realized he has a lot to learn from him. 

Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen are in love as long as Lan Xichen doesn’t think too hard about where his core comes from.

Happy ending!

[madtomedgar]

How Untamed Characters Behave on the PTA

everyone is wrong except me sorry :)

Wei Wuxian: rarely shows up to meetings, but chaperones and sponsors all the field trips. encourages trips that are... maybe not age appropriate. like maybe the 3rd graders shouldn’t be touring the smelting plant and participating in demos? nah it’s totally educational!

Jiang Cheng: “I’m his uncle, any last words >:[” He is there to advocate for Jin Ling and anything Jin Ling cares about, and that’s IT. He’s the reason the 7th grade math teacher got let go (was mean to Jin Ling), the reason that there are now eight (8) mandatory anti-bullying trainings per year (people were being mean to Jin Ling), and the reason there is all new shiny soccer (sorry, football) equipment when they actually really need some new art supplies and an additional special ed instructor (Jin Ling loves soccer). He also is the volunteer assistant coach and is one of Those sport dads. Insufferable. Ruins the games for everyone. Jin Ling MUST be first string, best position, but if Jin Ling plays badly (he’s ok but not like... the best) Jiang Cheng WILL yell at both him and the ref until he gets kicked out. This happens every game.

Jiang Yanli: sweet but ineffective. Really likes running bake sales. Enjoys chaperoning field trips but only the ones that are lower impact. Has a mini van even though she only has one (1) child.

Jiang Fengmian: Only joined because he needed the social points for something else. Never shows up and forgets he’s even on it. Sends a nice check once a year.

Madam Yu: Kind of like Jiang Cheng only she is 100% about this being a feeder school for ivies, because this is what she demands of her kids. A force to be reckoned with because this is the one socially acceptable outlet for her... everything. She puts all her energy to stamping out “wastes of time and money” like the theater club so she can expand AP offerings and SAT prep classes.

Jin Zixuan: like Jiang Fengmian but he shows up to the bake sales to support Yanli and mans the concession stand for sports once a year. Very much “that’s my boy!” regardless of whether the team is winning because isn’t the point that they have fun? (no, says Jiang Cheng. This isn’t tag. The point is to win).

Jin Guangyao: The best person to have on the PTA because he is the ONLY person who understands that all the students do better when all the students do better. He pushes for things that will improve the school for all, like free lunch and reduced class sizes across the board, making sure funding is fairly distributed between all programs, etc. He is a joy to work with and surprisingly effective for being so darn nice. Helps with the fundraising but doesn’t chaperone field trips of man concessions or volunteer coach. Does supervise some of the nerdier clubs (chess, econ, quizbowl (do they still have that?))

Madam Jin: oh boy. So like. take the worst things about Jiang Cheng and the worst things about Madam Yu and combine them. She is the reason the (racist and classist) G&T program exists, and, unlike Madam Yu, whose children are in it because she will personally murder them if they don’t score high enough, she threatened and bribed so that Jin Zixuan would ONLY be in G&T classes even though he is like a B/C student. Also paid someone to take the SAT for him. Chaperones the school dances and is like a heat seeking missile if the couples are getting too close. Lobbies against sex ed classes. Lobbied for insane football funding because her precious golden boy was the quarterback.

Jin Guangshan: Like Fengmian except occasionally he’ll show up to go “cougar hunting” just to piss off his wife and writes checks to get Zixuan preference on the regular.

Qin Su: Sweet, easy to work with, backs up Jin Guangyao on everything. Takes the minutes. Also chaperones the dances but is chill. Refs for the sports taken less seriously.

Lan Qiren: like Madam Yu, thinks academics is the point of school. Why do we have all of these frivolities like sports and theater club. Surprisingly involved. Chaperones the overnight field trips which is The Worst because it is Impossible to have fun now.

Lan Wangji: So like. You would think his priority here would be Sizhui. But his priority quickly became Ruin Jiang Cheng’s Life and so he basically exists to be hotter than you, more correct than you, and to block anything Jiang Cheng wants. He coaches something like cross country or track and has a cult following among the student body. Does not do bakesales or concessions but does chaperone field trips.

Wen Ruohan: made a big push to take the school charter and lost, had to move out of town because stuff got too weird.

Meng Shi: All the other people gossip about her because she misses a lot of meetings, her car, when she has one, is old and busted, and she doesn’t donate to the shool (she does but it’s like. $20). But she does show up, and she does advocate for things like after school study help and running the buses late so Meng Yao can actually like. go to after school study help, and for the school library to stock project supplies for free so Meng Yao doesn’t get lower grades because they couldn’t go to fucking Michaels for his assigned craft project, things like that. She brings store-bought stuff to the bake sales because their oven doesn’t work.

Xiao Xingchen: lol jokes on you Xiao Xingchen is an anarchist hippy who doesn’t believe in socializing children. A-Qing is “““““homeschooled”““““ by which we mean... yeah she’s not learning much sorry.

Wang Lingjiao: I know she doesn’t have kids but I don’t care ok. She shows up JUST to ruin madam yu’s life. She chaperones dances and the kids buy weed from her behind the gym. Brought laxative cookies to a meeting for Madam Yu and didn’t realize this was illegal until the cops showed up. Her public defender is trying to explain that “but it was funny tho” is not actually a legal defense.

[germy-yy]

MXTX football/futsal/soccer AU

I’ve been a goalkeeper for 1 quarter and idk how to drop properly so my arms and knees are a lovely magenta. Mxtx football/futsal AU!  Luo Binghe would be your typical “star” player. He’s a striker (protagonist and all) but is really good in the other roles. He absolutely RUNS OVER those who are physically weaker than him. His kicks are so fucking painful too. He’s like “ah, I better keep the ball far from the goal as much as possible so that shizun doesn’t have to worry”.  Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan would be a defender or a goalkeeper. He’s nimble (ehe) to jump towards the ball (read: out the window). One second he’s on the other side of the goal, the next he’s right in front of you and has tackled the ball. As a goalkeeper, he’s screaming the mantra “YOU WILL NOT FUCKING SCORE IN MY GOAL FUCKER” in his head so he doesn’t hesitate to take a ball to the face. He’s also a slippery defender where he’s running towards you and passes the ball back to his teammates in the field. I think he’s lanky so he has long legs to steal the ball away from your feet.  Lan Wangji’s kicks are so fucking painful. Like, no goalkeeper or any player really has never not gotten a bruise from him. Someone even blacked out because they did heading with one of the balls LWJ kicked. Someone fell over when the intercepted a ball he kicked. Idk what role he would be though I am leaning towards striker.  Wei Wuxian would be a goalkeeper. Absolute menace because he flails his arms around trying to mock the opponent and can slide his enter body in front of the goal area. He has a lot of bruises since he’s teammates with LWJ and during training, they do kick-ins (the one where all the players kick the ball and the goalkeeper must intercept it). Though that’s not the only reason why he has “bruises”. (”WY why do you have purple spots on your neck?? Do you intercept the balls with your neck or something?? LWJ, did you play as goalkeeper too today?? You shouldn’t catch the ball with your neck, you know.”) Wei Wuxian slides towards the ball when the opponent is RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE GOAL and hugs the ball, sliding between the enemy’s legs, and making them fall over LMAO.  Hua Cheng is a defender. His gege ran across the field and he isn’t wasting all the effort! Very reliable defender. He steals the ball away from the opponent and is able to make the ball fly all across the field to XL. He rams into opponents (without extending his arms, of course. They were just too...weak compared to his bulk). Like. He literally runs them over and sends them flying when he stops the ball while they’re dribbling with it. He wears an eyepatch and has a medical certificate deeming him suitable to play.  Xie Lian is a striker!! Him and LBH do long shots and it’s a beautiful sight to watch them passing the ball towards each other. Like. they pass the ball to each other from opposite sides of the field. He’s a fast runner and during corner kicks, he runs away from the opponent and is awesome at making openings for his teammates to pass it to him. Since his luck sucks ass, in recent years, he became susceptible to rolling ball kick-ins, hand balls, and hitting the post of a goal instead of scoring.  Extra: 

Shang Qinghua joined the team but doesn’t have much experience. It would look good on college applications. He plays as defender.  SQQ: GET THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY I CAN’T SEE THE BALL AIRPLANE!!! SQH doesn’t take it personally and when he finds out he’s blocking SQQ’s view, whenever he’s defender and the ball is coming towards them, he’s like: SQH: bro can you see the ball??  love him fr  Also, do you call the sport Football or Soccer? 

[sentienceisoverrated]

Thank you for that MDZS post! It was a breath of fresh air!

MDZS tumblr has its own sects dedicated to different characters. They all have each other blocked but they also can't stop making snide comments about each other... and I'm here like... I wanted to discuss MDZS and read impassioned meta,not RP inter-sect conflicts??

You're so right about the fact that these characters are put in impossible situations,on purpose. That is the joy of the story! The Jiang Cheng & Wei Wuxian relationship can't be fixed and it's meant to be that way and to hurt. On some days I relate to Jiang Cheng,who did his duty and rebuilt his clan,but betrayed his life debt to the Wens and WWX(he should not have done that!!). And on other days I relate to Wei Wuxian,who followed his principles and protected the Wen remnants at the cost of everything else,but also who tricked and lied to his brother by giving him a core he never asked for(he should not have done that!!). I can get angry on behalf of each of them. But I can also resent each of them. Which other story will fill me up so well with so many various conflicting emotions? Is that not why we're reading or consuming media? To feel?

Instead this place is like a sports competition now. Team JC or Team WWX or Team JGY. There is no fun in that.

Thank you anon!

I joined this fandom a few months ago after watching The Untamed and honestly I thought I was missing something with all those posts. After watching the animation and reading the books, I was even more confused.

People tend to pick favourites and defend them at all costs, and with a story like mdzs, I guess that also means hating on the characters that hurt them (which is literally every character). It bothered me, because when people hate others they often look past the things they can’t control, and after seeing so many of those posts, I just felt the need to raise a neutral stance.

You’re right, Tumblr does seem to have its own sects, but I’m glad someone out there agrees with me. ^.^

[unforth]

Okiedokie as requested brief synopses for things to watch next.

In all of these, the named characters are the main ship. All of these are canon m/m in the source material, and all have happy endings in the source material (but not always in the adaptations!) Most are also available in English as manhua. Some have official English translations of the books, as well.

Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed: universally beloathed raiser of the dead Wei Wuxian dies to general acclaim but utmost distress of his approx. three friends. About 15 years later he is resurrected the body of a twink everyone hated for being gay. When one of those three friends, Lan Wangji, finds him in this new body, Wei Wuxian decides his best bet to try to avoid detection is to play gay chicken. This does not work as planned. (Note: much angstier than I'm making it sound. Trigger warnings for mcd, graphic violence and gore, and others that don't apply to the animated version. The Untamed is the live-action adaptation.)

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: "Proud Immortal Demon Way" fandom anti Shen Yuan dies and is transmigrated into the PIDW world, a harem webnovel which he detested (but read all of and writes massive hate-filled comments about)...and specifically he is in the body of the main villain of the early part of the story. Determined to survive, but constrained by The System that docks him points if he acts OOC - and he dies again if he hits zero points - Shen Yuan tries to curry favor with the protagonist Luo Binghe and other characters who might be able to protect him so he doesn't befall the "original flavor's" fate. (Trigger warnings for violence, more for the book.)

Thousand Autumns: a nigh-saintly daoist Shen Qiao loses a fight so badly that he's nearly killed and left blind and with scant cultivation abilities. Worse, he has amnesia! This provides the perfect opening for Yan Wushi, leader of an evil cultivation clan, to try to turn Shen Qiao from the path of righteousness to that of darkness and thereby prove his personal belief that no one is actually good and that wickedness is the true nature of all humans. However, Shen Qiao proves much less biddable than he expects. (Iirc the only tw applicable to the available season is harm to children and starvation, and maybe implied sexual violence.)

Tianbao Fuyao Lu/Legend of Exorcism: young half-demon Kong Hongjun is happy living with his adopted demon dads, until he receives a summons to serve in the Exorcism Department to fight demons in the capital. Thus, he sets out into the mortal world accompanied by a carp demon and goes to join the Department. However, mortals consider all demons to be evil (if they believe they exist at all!) and Li Jinglong - newly appointed young leader of the Department - is a mortal...and the capital is being over run by demons aiming to take over the Empire! (Trigger warnings...not many? That I can think of? I've only seen s1 tho, there are 2 seasons, and I haven't read the book for this one. Note that it's set in the same verse as another series that has 1 season, Dinghai Fusheng Records. I've read the book for that but haven't found a good streaming source for the show so haven't watched it yet. Neither is needed to understand the other, both function as stand alone and take place hundreds of years apart).

Bonus 1: Lie Huo Jiao Chou/Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire. I'm watching this currently! I haven't read the book yet so I don't know the overall context/premise but what I know so far is: young fire...creature?... Xuan Ji gets duped into running the Aftermath Response Team for the government organization that deals with supernatural incidents. Though he's been told it's not a very active position, he's called to duty almost immediately to deal with what appears to be a minor encounter between some hikers and a sentient tree...but turns out to have been the partial summoning of a demon Sheng Lingyuan. But who IS Sheng Lingyuan, and what will he do when his summoning is complete? (Tw it's kinda dark overall - lots of dead random people - but nothing specific in the half-dozen episodes I've watched so far.)

Bonus 2: Can Ci Pin/The Defective. I haven't watched or read it yet but now that I have Crunchyroll it's up next. All I know is that it's science fiction and the main ship is Lu Bixing x ...shit, uh, Lin something? Lin Jinsheng? Something like that. I know the ship name is Lulin. 🤣 and the one surnamed Lin has a twin sister.

Bonus 3: Dinghai Fusheng Records: I haven't found the donghua streaming yet but I've read the book and comic and I know s1 exists. Assuming it follows the book, the premise is that the last exorcist in the world, bearer of the Heart Lamp Chen Xing leaves the mountain where his adopted father (now deceased) raised him and goes into the world to seek his true protector, the person who will stand by him and fight to make sure that evil doesn't win while Chen Xing tries to bring magic back into the world so there can be exorcists again. And he finds him! Except Xiang Shu isn't the shining perfect warrior he expects...he's in jail, nearly starved to death, in a city about to fall in a siege...oh, and he hates Chen Xing. (Trigger warnings for the early parts...mostly violence? Depending how far it gets, death of a child.)

Bonus 4: Tian Ya Ke, adapted to live action as Word of Honor: not available as a donghua. Word of Honor is a loose live-action adaptation of Tian Ya Ke/Faraway Wanderers. Zhou Zishu has led the Window of Heaven, a spy/assassination organization, for the emperor for years, but he's lost everyone he cares about and he wants out so he impales himself with nails that will kill him within three years and forces the Emperor to let him leave. Wandering as a drunk hobo afterwards, he catches the eye of Wen Kexing, a mysterious man who has phenomenal but unconventional martial arts in a style even Zhou Zishu can't identify for sure. He's probably up to no good, but that is so NOT Zhou Zishu's problem. But, despite his determination not to get involved, Zhou Zishu ends up netted into the mess, saddled with an orphan he has to escort to safety, and persistently followed by the stubborn, too-slick-for-anyone's-good Wen Kexing. All he wanted was to drink himself to death in a quiet retirement, damn it! (Tw: mcd, graphic violence.)

Bonus 5: Zhenhun/Guardian: another with a live-action only. Zhao Yunlan leads the Special Investigations Department, the government office tasked with dealing with the incursion of human-like creatures with superpowers (they're ghosts in the book. But censorship). During his depts. latest case, investigating a murder on a college campus, he comes across Professor Shen Wei, who seems over-interested and also...oddly familiar? And if that was all, Zhao Yunlan wouldn't pay much mind, but then his next case ends up involving Shen Wei...and his next...and his suspicions grow. Who IS Shen Wei, and why do supernatural things keep happening around him? (TW for the show is mcd, graphic violence, probably others I'm not remembering.)

Bonus 6: Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven Official's Blessing: I know the whole point is that you just watched it, but on the off chance this post spreads I figure a synopsis might help people. Pathetic fallen god Xie Lian manages, through his remarkable cultivation, to ascend to godhood for the third time, but in so doing he accidentally destroys two heavenly palaces. Broke but needing to repay the money for what he damaged, he accepts a mission from the Heavenly Emperor to investigate a murderous ghost who targets brides. While doing so, he meets a strange glowing butterfly and a man in red who seems to control it, and many more of them. The other gods tell him this is Hua Cheng, one of the four evilest ghosts in the world. But is Hua Cheng really a force of devastation in the world? And why does Xie Lian think those glowing butterflies are...actually kind of cute? (Tw: nothing major for s1, minor character death I guess? Definitely more for the books.)

Happy watching!!

Ok finished S1 of Heaven Official's Blessing

Really enjoyed it. I think... I kinda get why people jumped on the ships.

Will keep exploring for sure.

[connectjump]

okay modern-day au with the MDZS characters, but make it a ghost-hunter au because it's been rattling around in my head for a while.

the unlikely four-man squad starting: wwx, jc, nhs, and lwj.

wei wuxian -

the unofficial leader of the group made it after a night of drinking and eating snacks with jc & nhs where he brought it up and they all went "sure why not".

wwx is the dude who always has something funny to say and jc is always ready to throw a response that others will quote or make fan art of.

makes a lot of equipment since he likes making things, and tinkering with whatever they do own to make it even better.

even better meaning it'll annoy the living hell out of jc.

is a bit of a spirit magnet. this is both good, and dangerous due to nhs's sensitivity to spirits.

he picks the places that the group will go to and is always ready to drop extra history of the place at the worst time.

aka the things, a ghost or demon might have done to a living person.

wwx : SO! it was in this very room that this one dude died [very horrible death]. jc is very much on the side of team, "stop talking before you freak out nhs anymore than he already is."

may or may not have talked lwj into joining their group. he may or may not also tease lwj any chance he gets.

jiang cheng -

jc is the voice of reason on the team. for every three ideas wwx has, jc has four ready in response of why, no, and absolutely not.

in charge of finding places to stay, and finding local shops in the area to interview folks.

probably hates the sound of the spirit box.

jc very much seemed the one whose not so easily startled when something happens, and usually has a logical explanation to keep himself and others calm.

jc can repel spirits to a small degree, the zone is about a 5mm radius around his person and those near him are safe and unaffected by the spirits. he isn't aware of this skill.

the designated driver of the group. can read a map, but uses the GPS that was gifted to him.

He's also the one who comments on the layout of everywhere they visit because if nobody is going to mention how POORLY thought out these old haunted buildings are. he will bring it up.

"these blueprints fucking suck. i would come back to haunt this place and the son of a bitch who made it if i died here." - jc

nie huaisang -

nhs joined the group because what's more fun than doing something with your friends after doing things you do not want to do.

poor nhs.

nhs is very much the sort of guy in the group who is like "i know a guy, who knows a guy and that guy knows something really interesting about this place."

wwx and jc never ask how nhs knows people or the more cryptic things about the building because nhs's only response was "the ghosts told me" in the most serious voice and they've been too scared to bring the question up again.

how and what nhs knows can be for nhs to know only.

wishes that he wasn't the one left alone in an area all by himself without the lights on, a mag light, a radio, and a spirit box.

spirits like the little guy, but nhs does not care much for them.

the one who's the most sensitive to spirits. but lwj is helping him with training to better resist the push & pull from spirits.

lwj and nhs are an unlikely duo when working together and outside of ghost hunting. the two know one another prior to ghost hunting due to their families, but never really interacted much more than was needed of them.

lan wangji -

the fourth member of the group! a surprising addition to the ones who know him and a fan favorite.

lwj is good with the equipment that they use and watching cameras when at base camp.

his family has knowledge of spirits, how to handle them, bring them peace, and help them crossover.

lwj makes sure that the group is well-protected and safe if the location is truly dangerous to them. wwx is always happy to show off whatever little charm (sometimes a little rabbit is often doodled on the charms!!) or a talisman lwj has made for the group.

he helps to round the group out, and fans enjoy how monotone he sounds and how unaffected he seems by the supernatural occurrences happening.

lwj is often paired with wwx when the group splits up into pairs. fans seem to enjoy their interactions, especially seeing how close the two of them become since lwj is very much still lwj.

lwj finds himself impressed with the group as a whole, everyone works well with one another, and their personalities mesh well.

when on break from ghost hunting wwx gifts lwj two rabbits, he will often post pictures of them online or send pictures of them into the ghost hunting group chat. the rabbits are spoiled rotten, most of it is lwj, but jc is also the next biggest spoiler of the rabbits with wwx and nhs being tied.

[admirableadmiranda]

Less of a rant and more of a quibble, there’s so much information dumped into Nie Mingjue’s flashback that it’s easy to miss things here and there.

I had a couple thoughts on Nie Mingjue’s motivations on joining 3Zun and how really this was a brotherhood destined to fail.

Recently I’ve seen several takes suggesting that he was manipulated into joining up with Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao because they wanted to get to get a third sect leader on their side and raise up Jin Guangyao, or pressured by Lan Xichen to forgive the unforgivable. Which... there is some of the latter in there; Lan Xichen has a very strong blindspot for Jin Guangyao and tends to believe his first impression is correct and not re-examine it until he has to do that. I’m not here to talk about Lan Xichen though, there’s more than enough of that going around.

The first take is incorrect. Nie Mingjue not only knew exactly what he was doing, but he was not some innocent pressured into joining and giving up his morals by a devious tag team of wily manipulators. He got into it to do exactly what people accuse Lan Xichen of doing. Pressuring people to do exactly what he wants. It’s not even subtle or hidden. It’s baldly stated in the text.

“Wei WuXian had once found it strange as well. Ever since Meng Yao betrayed the QingheNie Sect, the relationship between Nie MingJue and him hadn’t been the same as before. Then why did they later become sworn brothers? From his observations, aside from how Lan XiChen brought it up, having always hoped that the two would reconcile, the most important factor was probably the gratitude of saving his life and writing the letters. To be precise, in his past battles, he had more-or-less depended on the information that Meng Yao sent over through Lan XiChen. He still thought that Jin GuangYao was a talented person whom one would rarely come upon, and intended on leading him back onto the right path. However, Jin GuangYao wasn’t his subordinate anymore. Only after they became sworn brothers would he have the status and the position to urge Jin GuangYao, like how he disciplined his younger brother, Nie HuaiSang.“

Chapter 49: Guile, ExR translation.

There we have it. Nie Mingjue joins 3Zun of his own free will to pressure Jin Guangyao into doing what he wants and acting on what he sees as the right path. Which as he told Jin Guangyao before involves killing himself.

And before people get into defending him, remember that he thinks the right path is executing everyone who is a Wen, but also being in your face and aggressive. He is not an arbiter of justice who remains fair, he is a blatant hypocrite who enjoys having the power to pressure people into acting black and white. There is a reason why the Jin sect keeps manipulating the Lan through banquets and Jin Guangyao’s schmoozing and donating to help them rebuild Cloud Recesses, yet does nothing about Nie Mingjue till he starts insisting they assassinate Xue Yang. He’s already an ally of theirs in all the ways that matter.

Not a single sect leader in the past is innocent. That includes Nie Mingjue. So keep that in mind when examining 3Zun. He’s in it for his own agenda from the beginning.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: what if jc was lxc's age (and jyl maybe 2 or 3 years older) and wwx was lwj's/nhs' age when he was brought to lotus pier? (Or anything that involves a much bigger age gap bw the jiang sibs and wwx - where wwx is babey)

Untamed

“You know what,” Jiang Cheng said to his sister, who looked at him. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not marrying a woman.”

Jiang Yanli’s lips started twitching uncontrollably and she hid her smile behind her sleeve. “Oh?”

“Nope. I’m going to marry Chifeng-zun.”

“On the basis of…?”

“If you take two adult men in charge of two Great Sects,” Jiang Cheng said, doing his utmost best to keep a straight face, “with all the power we can generate between us, we might – maybe – have a chance at disciplining our baby brothers.”

Jiang Yanli burst out laughing.

“There, there. It’s all right,” he said, grinning, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. “You can join us if you’d like. There’s enough room in Qinghe for two wives.”

“We are not both running away to Qinghe,” she said, giggling. “A-Cheng!”

“What? I think it’s a great idea. If our parents want us back, they can negotiate with Chifeng-zun for it – may they have more luck than they had with the whole medicinal herb debacle.”

“A-Cheng, I am officially tabling this idea,” Jiang Yanli said, still snorting. “Older sibling privilege.”

“I let you out of the womb first as a matter of courtesy,” Jiang Cheng sniffed. “And now you use it against me? A-Li, how could you?”

“Call me jiejie! It doesn’t matter how much older, a few shichen or a few years, older is still older.”

“You probably elbowed me with those sharp pointy things you have on your arms. Weapons of war.”

“Older is older!” she sang. “Now tell me, what did A-Xian do this time?”

“Would you like it in chronological order, or in order of severity? I can also group it by theme, if you prefer.”

“Oh no,” Jiang Yanli said, covering her eyes. “Oh no.”

“And the chief-most theme,” Jiang Cheng said, continuing anyway, “is still called Lan Wangji.”

“Oh no!”

“He has the worst crush,” Jiang Cheng said, shaking his head with endless amusement. “And he just – refuses to admit it. ‘Nooooo, shixiong, we’re just friends, he can’t even stand me most of the time, he’s always trying to get me in trouble, but sometimes he lets me sit next to him and spend time with him and he’s so handsome and I really just want to make him laugh –’”

“We have,” Jiang Yanli said thoughtfully, “raised an idiot.”

“He was fine when we got him,” Jiang Cheng disagreed. “We have spoiled an idiot.”

“This is true. Maybe we should go form a mutual complaining society with Chifeng-zun; isn’t his little brother also an idiot?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jiang Cheng said. “Worse: they’ve teamed up. Nie Huaisang buys Wei Wuxian porn now.”

“Oh no…”

“In return for help cheating on his tests!”

“Oh no!”

“So that’s why I’m going to marry Chifeng-zun,” Jiang Cheng concluded. “Our parents may be disappointed by my decision, but with our powers combined, we might be able to save the world from our respective younger idiots.”

“Maybe,” she said, and shook her head. “A-Cheng – about our parents…”

Jiang Cheng shook his head as well, echoing her action but more in denial. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that she took after their father and he took after their mother, that she was born a shichen prior to midnight and he a shichen after and their personalities completely different as a result; it was no one’s fault that their parents didn’t get along, with their mother disdaining what she perceived as Jiang Yanli’s passiveness and lack of passion and their father despising Jiang Cheng’ prickly temper and difficulty communicating his affection without scolding.

It certainly wasn’t Wei Wuxian’s fault for being younger and more brilliant, talented at everything he did and with just the sort of personality their father liked best – the combination of his former best friend and the girl he’d once thought of marrying – and that he’d always made that preference very clear to everyone, even to their mother who often worried that her husband would dispossess her children in favor of his foundling and who lashed out at everyone in response.

That had hurt – hurt a lot, even, and Jiang Cheng was soft and sensitive underneath all his defensive layers, but any time he got angry over it he would look at Wei Wuxian, their little A-Xian, baby Xianxian, who adored his older siblings more than anything and was adored in return, and he forced himself to get over it. He was old enough, by the time Wei Wuxian arrived, to know to whom the blame really belonged.

“I spoke with Nie Huaisang while I was at the Cloud Recesses,” Jiang Cheng said in an undertone, one reserved just for his sister. “He’s asked me to pass along a message to his brother, the next time I go night-hunting, about the whole debacle – he’s so terribly apologetic, you understand, he couldn’t wait for the post – if we get to Qinghe by tomorrow, Chifeng-zun will be able to get to Gusu in time to intervene before our father does something wretched like cancel your engagement and take A-Xian home early from his studies.”

“The engagement I wouldn’t mind,” she remarked. “If Jin Zixuan feels so strongly about it that he’d get into a fistfight with A-Xian, it’s better not to marry, no matter what our mother might think. But on no account is A-Xian to be sent home early! He needs his education!”

Unsaid was everything else he needed, things he could get better at the Cloud Recesses than anywhere else.

“Then we go?”

“We go,” she agreed. Between the two of them, Jiang Cheng had more talent at cultivation, but she was steadier, even in her overall mediocrity: when the two of them flew on a sword together, they could make it much further and faster than anyone expected.

Qinghe wasn’t really close enough for a quick jaunt – they flew all night without stopping – but Chifeng-zun was amendable to their scheme, jumping at once onto his saber and making his way straight to Gusu. A waste of spiritual energy all around, really, but far faster than their father would move, with his Sect Leader’s dignity and retinue, rushing to the Cloud Recesses to save his precious little Wei Wuxian from having any connections in life that weren’t to the Jiang sect, and the Jiang sect alone. 

And never mind how much he needed those connections: needed to have friends his own age, needed to have more time with that crush of his, needed independence and freedom and everything the Jiang sect supposedly stood for - needed for them to support him and act as the foundation beneath his feet, rather than the chains tying him down to earth.

Chifeng-zun – who was only a few years older than they were – was really a very understanding person, getting the problem at once and immediately agreeing with their view on things. Perhaps there really was something to be said about the difference in generations…

“Let me show you to rooms where you can rest,” Chifeng-zun’s aide said, a slender young man with a polite smile on his face as he saluted. “I’ll arrange for refreshments as well.”

“We hate to trouble you, but in all honesty you are a lifesaver,” Jiang Yanli said to him warmly, and he unexpectedly flushed red at the cheeks. “A-Cheng, let’s follow this handsome young man and rest a while before we return to the Lotus Pier.”

The young man was blushing.

“What’s your name?” Jiang Cheng asked, and the blush faded away at once as the man paled a little: it would be one he expected them to recognize, then, and not in a good way.

“This one is Meng Yao,” he said, and saluted again even though he’d already saluted once before, and Jiang Yanli’s eyes flickered to Jiang Cheng’s very briefly before she caught his arms and raised him up.

“I’ve heard of you. Smart and talented enough to get Chifeng-zun’s attention, even so far as becoming his personal deputy - you must be brilliant. Truly, you deserve a better father,” she told him, and he stared up at her, dumbstruck.

“Don’t mind her,” Jiang Cheng said. “She’s trying out this new thing in which she says everything she feels without thinking first.”

She elbowed him. “And isn’t it your fault?” she asked snappishly. “You’re the one who needs to speak your mind more; I’m just modeling good behavior!”

If she’d been older than him – really older, rather than just a few shichen – maybe she would have held her tongue more and played the role of the peacekeeper, trying to protect him from his father’s indifference the way she had tried to when they were both younger, just as he had tried to distract his mother from her with his hard-fought accomplishments. It wasn’t until they had little Wei Wuxian to spoil and care for, a joint task that required both of their attention, that they realized that splitting their forces like that was pointless and self-defeating: it wasn’t actually helping that Jiang Yanli suppressed so much of her spirit until she felt like little more than a reflective mirror with no content, nor that Jiang Cheng nearly worked himself to death trying to prove that he was worthy of his father’s love and respect that he would never receive, and it never would.

So they stopped.

They were trying very hard to stop, anyway.

“You’re very kind,” Meng Yao murmured, and led them to their rooms.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Jiang Yanli turned to Jiang Cheng and said, “I’ve changed my mind about your plan – we can run away to Qinghe. You marry Chifeng-zun, and I’ll marry that charming boy out there.”

There was an audible thudding sound from the corridor outside, as if someone had accidentally walked into a wall, and they both grinned at each other.

“Mother would kill you,” he warned her in an undertone.

“And being married to someone who disdains me enough to fight over my worthlessness in public wouldn’t?” she retorted, smiling even though her expression was tinged with pain: if she had one ambition in life, it was to never become their mother. “The marriage agreement might have been forged by our mothers, but the text of it says ‘the Jin sect leader’s son to the Jiang sect leader’s daughter’. Why can’t I marry him?”

“He hasn’t been acknowledged.”

“Only technically. Everyone knows he’s the real deal, or else his father wouldn’t have made such a fuss about it.”

“But –”

“Anyway, he must be a good man, or Chifeng-zun wouldn’t have promoted him.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jiang Cheng said. “Chifeng-zun doesn’t have the sense of self-preservation the heavens bestowed on a lemming.”

There was a vaguely audible snort from outside their door. It seemed Meng Yao, at least, had the good sense not to leave guests in his house unattended, and no discrimination against the very useful business of listening at doors.

He also had a sense of humor, which was good given Jiang Yanli’s newfound ambitions in his regard.

“Yes, well, I wasn’t saying I’d elope with him tomorrow or anything,” she sniffed, eyes dancing. “Give him some time to prove himself to me.”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but smile back. “That’s true,” he said, raising his voice a little. “At Chifeng-zun’s side, he’ll be able to make a name for himself until the whispers all say that his father was an idiot for keeping him away.”

“And if even that doesn’t work, I’ll marry him in and make him help me run the Jiang sect,” she said cheerfully. “Who needs Lanling Jin?”

“Wait, since when are you inheriting the Jiang sect?”

“I’m older! And anyway, aren’t you marrying Chifeng-zun? That means you’ll be away helping run his sect, and that leaves an opening at home for me.”

“…huh. Good point.”

“Maybe you can just swap places with Meng Yao,” she said, starting to giggle again. “And we can all see how long it takes anyone to notice…”

“Our parents might not,” Jiang Cheng said dryly. “But Chifeng-zun would. If only because I have my sights set on his bed, and I don’t think Meng Yao does.”

“You don’t know that; everyone wants Chifeng-zun. Maybe you have competition.”

“Better to have competition than be oblivious. Do you want to hear the whole story about A-Xian and Lan Wangji’s tragic mutual pining disaster? Xichen-xiong told me all the details he’s been leaving out of his letters.”

“Tell me everything!”

[hunxi-guilai]

I just think. That modern AU LQR is exactly the Asian parent that was always like "HMPH no pets allowed! No dirty animals in my house!" and then once LXC and LWJ go off to college he gets one of those little white dogs (you know the ones) and whenever his nephews come back the dog is coddled more than they ever were as children and they're just like :|

sldkfjsdklj okay anon but you recognize where that comes from and why it’s so hilarious right

parents get pets when their kids go off to college precisely because they miss their kids, so they find something else to take care of

and because pets don’t have to like, become productive members of society or make a living or otherwise carry the responsibilities of existing as beings with thought and feeling and aspirations and dreams and expectations and obligation, you can ruthlessly coddle a pet the way you maaaaybe shouldn’t spoil children

so like, modern AU single uncle Lan Qiren raising the Twin Jades is like, Constantly Stressed out of his mind, of course he’s not going to get a dog, he already has two boys (very good boys, mind you) to take care of and send to after school lessons and attend parent-teacher conferences for while working a full-time job, he doesn’t have the temporal or emotional bandwidth to take on a dog as well

but after the Twin Jades go off to college, he comes home every day to a thickening layer of silence settling in the halls like dust, and, well sue him, maybe he does miss being stressed out of his mind picking Xichen up from soccer practice and dropping Wangji off at his violin lessons while on the phone to his team at work

(maybe he misses his nephews)

so he does it! he gets a dog. it’s small and white and fluffy and everyone kind of looks at him oddly for it but she runs to greet him at the door whenever he comes home and settles down on the couch next to him while he reads and goes quiet and thoughtful whenever he puts a record on in a way that reminds him a lot of a certain nephew

(modern AU Lans have one of those fancy record players that can also link to Bluetooth and radio, and a collection of records that consist almost exclusively of classical music and like, some John Cage if they’re feeling spicy, you cannot change my mind about this)

(look, I simply wish for us to contemplate: single uncle Lan Qiren taking baby Twin Jades downtown to poke through the bins at a record shop when the weather is nice and before their lives get too busy)

anyways Twin Jades home from school on break, opening the front door to be greeted with the smallest fluffiest little white dog, and Lan Wangji is so surprised that his eyebrows move almost half a centimeter

Lan Xichen, of course, immediately starts cooing over the puppy-- “what’s her name, shufu?” “Migao” “...........”--but Lan Wangji’s face settles into something stonier than usual

over dinner Lan Qiren asks why, and Lan Wangji says something passive-aggressive like “if uncle did not approve of my boyfriend, he could have told Wangji directly”

and Lan Qiren is just “??? you leave for one semester and you have a boyfriend???”

and Lan Wangji is like “yes, it’s Wei Ying, who you disapproved of in middle school”

Lan Xichen watching from the side with his popcorn-eating smile

anyway Lan Wangji has made up his mind to dislike this dog on principle but then after dinner they are sitting on the couch with some gentle Ludovico Einaudi on, and the dog creeps its way into his lap and looks up at him like:

Lan Wangji fucking melts, you can see it in the microscopic softening around his eyes, and Lan Xichen is internally losing it over how cute this whole picture is

(Lan Wangji says that he merely respects Migao for her impeccable taste in music, since she, like him, appears to prefer Rachmaninoff over Tchaikovsky, but Lan Xichen is onto him)

tl;dr Lan Qiren gets a dog, Lan Wangji joins Jin Ling on the reconcile-Wei Wuxian-with-dogs agenda, and Lan Xichen wins everything

[minsarasarahair]

I don’t know about you but there’s something endearing about characters that are not no. 1 in their story but still work hard. They don’t have the protagonist halo and don’t have the best personality but watching them to strive for a goal make me want to cheer them. It’s similar to cheering a developing Shounen manga protagonist who’s weak in the beginning but grow as the story goes on or cheering a team in Sports manga that will never win. You’ll be cheering to someone who might be despicable and someone who will not be the best but good enough just because you see them work hard. 

Jiang Cheng (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation)

The fandom especially the toxic fans has a lot of say about this character. Jiang Cheng was trained to be the next head of Yunmeng Jiang sect but he grew up with the protagonist Wei Wuxian, a talented genius cultivator and his parents always compare them. There’s lots of elements in his background why he developed a toxic moody personality but because he work hard to be acknowledge in his achievements to please his parents, you can’t help but root for the guy. I interpret him as someone who lack love or warmth because barely no one praise how diligent he is but I don’t think he want to outshine Wei Wuxian and actually capable of expressing love towards his nephew in his own way. He just don’t want to be compare to someone and simply wish someone will acknowledge his efforts. He’s actually a decent good son, student and sect leader but obviously not perfect. Yes, he did atrocities and we can’t excuse him for that but just the fact that he work hard to prove himself about his strength as a person make me want to praise the guy because he deserve it. He rebuild Yunmeng Jiang sect at young age after the Wen massacre it and became a sect leader in the middle of war time so I can’t help but think he’s such a strong person even though he has a very fragile emotion that he can’t control when he’s angry. I just feel sad that he only know his worth if he has achievements or if he's better than WWX so he tried to please his parents but bc his toxic parents don’t have a happy relationship, he’s badly influenced by it.  

Leona Kingscholar (Twisted Wonderland)

His character was inspired from Lion King’s Scar and he’s the Housewarden of Savanaclaw dormitory in Night Raven College. He’s the second prince and all his life others compared him to his big brother who's now the King of where he came from. Because of this, he developed something like an inferiority complex. He thought that life don’t play fair and everything is set in stone even if you work hard so what happened is he developed a lazy kind attitude. He repeated college because he failed so many times not because he don’t study but because he’s lazy to attend the class. He’s actually wise, knowledgeable and work hard but only few people who follow him know this. He looks arrogant and has attitude problem but he respect women and weak at someone who needs help like Epel and Jack. He was seen helping Epel in potionology and helping Jack from bad sophomores. He also do underhand tactics to achieve goals that he later admitted. He’s a lion with a little attitude but I still find him attractive as character.

Zhang Jiale (The King’s Avatar)

He was a retired E-sports player of Glory RPG but because he never won the first place, he can’t move on from it. After retiring, he goes back to playing in season again but this time he joined other well-established team and bc of that he's treated like a betrayer. His fans hate him for leaving his team and even throw things at him during press conference. The protagonist, Ye Xiu was seen always teasing him for being 2nd place in the story and he usually respond to Ye Xiu by cussing him. He’s indeed a tragic character in so many ways. Despite his strong hatred against Ye Xiu, he actually get along with Ye Xiu if they are not against each other and want to hang out with him sometimes. His character development to the story is him realizing that what’s important is progress not the result and the irreplaceable relationship he build with his teammates along the way. He’s an Okay guy if you ask me. He’s actually polite when he was first introduced in the story but when Ye Xiu became a threat to his victory, he suddenly show strong dislikeness toward Ye Xiu to the point that he tell his teammates to not talk with Ye Xiu explaining Ye Xiu is a sly guy. At the end of series, he joined the China’s National E-sports team for Glory to fight against other countries and Ye Xiu is their team coach. I literally cried when his team lose against the protagonist’s team. I don’t know what will happen to me if I see that scene in the donghua form. 

Kyoya Ootori (Ouran High Host Club)

He is the vice president of Ouran Host Club and manage their finance. His family own medical related business like hospitals or medical supplies and because he’s the youngest third son, no one really expect him to be the heir. He find it a challenge tho and determined to outshine his brothers to the point of trying to earn the trust of Tamaki Suoh, a Half-Japanese classmate who came from overseas. Tamaki is unlike him, he’s an only son even though he’s the illegitimate child so he will surely inherit his father’s luxury. Kyoya hated him for that but to his surprise, he developed a good friendship with Tamaki and became one of the few people where he’s comfortable with showing his bad side. Despite how good he is as student and his business mindset, his father acknowledge his intelligence but cold to Kyoya. In the anime, he was slapped by his father just bc he spend time to senseless things like a Host Club. He and Tamaki are the founder of Ouran High’s Host Club. For some reason, it so satisfying to watch Kyoya unveil his evil side to Tamaki and after all that Tamaki still accept him. My favorite Ouran anime episode are about his relationship(first meeting) with Tamaki and the funny one when they forced the sleeping Kyoya to go to a commoner Shopping Mall.  

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Good to Evil

Evil Former Friend

Broken Bird

Fallen Hero

Fallen Angel

Deceptive Disciple

Rival Turned Evil/Rival Final Boss

Revenge Through Corruption

Minion Manipulated into Villainy

Les Collaborateurs

Corrupt Church (or any Former Good Organization/group)

Then Let Me Be Evil

More than Mind Control/Not Brainwashed

Being Tortured Makes You Evil

Create Your Own Villain

The Corruption

With Great Power Comes Great Insanity (Abilities? Experiment? Object? Political Power?)

A More 'Mystical' Reason? Reincarnation? Magical Sickness or Injury? Dark Corruption? Vessel? 'Magical' Position? Transformation? Supernatural Deal?

Drunk on the Dark Side

Became Their Own Antithesis

Despair Event Horizon 

Love Makes You Evil (Obssession? Betrayed? Rejected? Seduced by the Dark Side? Lost Lenore?)

Go Mad from the Revelation (the opposite variation is a reveal that makes the villain help you or turn sides)

A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil

Temporarily a Villain

Knight Templar

Peer Pressure Makes You Evil

He Who Fights Monsters

Hidden Villain Reveal

In Between

Neutral No Longer

True Colors

Heel Realization

Going Native

Moral Pragmatist

Falsely Reformed Villain

Came Back Wrong 

Becoming the Mask

Well-Intentioned Extremist

Face/Heel Double-Turn

Literal Change of Heart

Ignorant Minion

Rivals Team-Up

Post-Mortem Conversion

Reforged into a Minion

Forced Transformation

Brainwashed and Crazy

Face–Monster Turn

Heel–Face Brainwashing

Freak Out

Madness

Fake Defector

Predator Turned Protector

Amnesiac Villain Joins the Heroes

The person has Heel/Face Turn and their friend follow.

Creating your Own Rival (this one is Intentional. For a thrill seeker? death seeker?)

A Manipulative Bastard 'turns' one Hero character into a 'Villain', giving him a excuse to kill/betray/use/usurp said Hero or convince other people to do so.

Forced into Evil/Trapped in Villainy (maybe you are in a faction since childhood, its a family things or you are just a soldier).

Antagonists that are too young, pawns most likely manipulated against the Heroes.

That characters that start to mess with the wrong things (dark magic?) and wrong people, maybe even with good intentions (they could be just trying to help, but seeking good things the the bad way in a wrong place)

Good all Along/Not Evil, just Misunderstud (the villain had a good reason to rebel? They are just pretending to be the enemy? The ghost/monster/mysterious or divine being was secretely helping or trying to help? Working with the Evil Empire because of self-preservation? Some situation like Te Fiti? Or even Wei Wuxian?)

I love when there a 'Evil Folk/Race' and the hero character ends up spending time with them and finds out its bullshit and they are good (not perfect, sure) people. How? Infiltration? They saved him? Or can just be a 'Evil' Person, you were send to kill him maybe? Then him/her decided to adopt you into their found family. And reveal because you were most likely hidding you identity. Or one of the Hero Team was one all the time.

And now needs to convince the people they aren't bad?

Changelings in MLP, HTTYD's Dragons, Wildlings in Asoiaf are good examples

Related Tropes

Army of Child Soldiers

Bring Them Around

Pretends to be Evil/Good all Along

Neutrality Backlash

Identity Breakdown

Tomato in the Mirror

Morality Pet

Redemption Rejection

Rejected Apology

Villain Decay

Heel–Face Door-Slam

Hazy-Feel Turn

Heel–Face Revolving Door

Villain with Good Publicity/Hero with Bad Publicity

My Master, Right or Wrong

Blind Loyalty

Second Chance

Villain Has a Point

Freudian Excuse

Hidden Heart of Gold

Misery Builds Character

Cynicism Catalyst

Pretend to Be Brainwashed

Smaller Silly Villain Become Dangerous

Bootlicker (can be friendly, romantic or servant, change sides as long it suits him, generally joins the winning side)

One's Trash is Another Treasure: one side don't wanted them (abandoned? exiled? rejected?), the other end up getting them

The child of a enemy begin given a second change to prove themselves good and to not be killed.

Evil to Good

The Atoner

Love Redeems

Conspiracy Redemption

Evil Redeemed in a Can

Face Realization

Befriending the Enemy

Break the Haughty

Create Your Own Hero

Copied the Morals, Too

Heel–Face Return

Heel–Face Town

Mook–Face Turn

Heel–Face Reincarnation

Heel–Race Turn

Power of Trust

Redemption Equals Affliction

Redemption Equals Death/Death Equals Redemption/Redemption Earns Life

Redemption Quest

Siding with the Suffering

Deliver Us from Evil

Heritage Face Turn

"They Still Belong to Us" Lecture

Trauma Conga Line

Defeat Means Respect

Your Tradition Is Not Mine

Sudden Principled Stand

Reformed Criminal/Former Villain

Reformed, but Not Tamed