#so thanks for that Wei Ying playlist

[sillygoofyqueer]

'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' by ABBA but it's just the MXTX love interests trying to get ready for their dates (as roommates) while simultaneously gushing about their boyfriends. Of course they have a moment where it cuts between each of them rushing around and they break into an impromptu synchronised dance session halfway through it, before acting as if nothing happened as they split away to keep getting ready.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Feb 24th

~*~

1. Eyyyy it's me boyfriend XD (eyyyyy hello again 😊 - Mod C)

I'm here for a fic (I think it's a time travel fic) that I forgot the name of. All I remember is a scene where a village in Lotus Pier was flooded and Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Ying went to aid the people. Lan Zhan and Jin Zixuan also tagged along but Lan Zhan is openly courting Wei Ying on that fic while Jin Zixuan is being himself

And that's sadly all that I remember 😔. Thank you!

FOUND? This is probably a stretch but #1 isnt And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together), is it?

~*~

2. There was this fic I read sometime ago and it was about how lan Wangji accidentally uses silencing spell on wwx too hard that wwx isn't able to open his mouth again and lan Wangji isn't able to lift the spell. It's during the cloud recesses study arc and the major issues with the permanent silencing spell is that Wei Wuxian isn't able to even eat anything and he can't practice inedia fir long. Please find this fic?

FOUND? 🧡 Couldn't Scream Couldn't Shout by mermorgie (T, 42k, WIP, WangXian, Not for jc stans, i tried to not bash jc too much but like, Muteness, Sign Language, references to selective mutism, Homophobic JC, canon jc characteristics, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Anxiety Attacks, Pining, LWJ is a Panicked Gay, Supportive Sibling LXC, JZX Tries, LQR Tries, Protective JZX, Scheming NHS, Bisexual JZX, LWJ is Bad at Communicating, WWX Has ADHD, Autistic LWJ, WWX Has a Fear of Dogs, Jiāng Family Bashing)

~*~

3. hi !! this is for ficfinder, i'm looking for this modern au with crime elements ?? i think wwx is a thief/pickpocket, and lwj and the lan clan are organised crime ish but art associated. lsz and ljy were also heavily featured as mentees of lwj, wwx makes a playlist. it was multi-chap, probs over 30k. they correspond over email quite a bit, and it's set in multiple cities, there's an entire chap where they talk to each other in logical fallacies and friere is quoted. tysm !!

FOUND! (i’ve got) trouble in mind by seularen (E, 76k, wangxian, JGY/LXC, modern w magic, heist au, thief WWX, forger LWJ, consigliere JGY, epistolary, long-distance relationship, d/d elements, Canon wangxian kinks, happy ending)

~*~

4. Brain cannot brain rn so I need you guys' help finding a fic

So like, it was a Canon divergent fic where wwx submitted himself to the clans and was ordered to be cleansed of resentful energy in order to... prove he wasn't corrupted? Something like that? For the Wens? And it was ritual dual cultivation. He was sent blindfolded to a room so he couldn't tell who it would be (it was lwj, of course.) Wwx knew it wouldn't exactly work cuz he didn't have a core, but he did it anyway.

There was a second.... part? Chapter? The was from Lwj's pov of after, where he finds out about the core, then JC? A Jiang disciple? Shows up to tell them to get their asses to the conference hall because JGS is being JGS and this whole thing was mostly just a distraction

That's all I can remember, thanks for the help!

Hi 👋 4 from the latest fic finder, a friend on discord found the fic I was looking for! It was 'the meaning of the ritual' by newamsterdam

FOUND! the meaning of the ritual by newamsterdam (E, 8k, wangxian, Explicit Sexual Content, Blindfolds, Light Bondage, Ritual Sex, Canon Divergence, Let LWJ Fuck the YLLZ 2k19, First Time Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Porn with Feelings)

~*~

5. I'm hoping you can help me find a fic.I haven't had any luck searching for it. I think it's a time travel fic. At one point it's during the Cloud Recesses classes. Jiang Fengmian is the Chief Cultivator and comes to talk to Jiang Cheng. They're talking in Nie Huaisang's room and he and Lan Xichen are standing outside it. Jin Zixuan walks by talking loudly about Jiang Yanli in a really rude way and Jiang Fengmian hears him and comes out to confront him. Any help would be appreciated!

FOUND! We'll Build A Dynasty (one the heavens can't shake) by One_eyed_God (T, 66k, wangxian, WQ & WWX, WN & WWX, JYL & WWX, canon typical Jiang family dynamics, BAMF WWX, Canon JC Characteristics, POV Outsider, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, WWX is a Wēn, Sect Leader WWX, Genius WWX, The Casual Intimacy of Hand-Holding, A Love Letter to WWX, Minor JYL/LXC, Not JC Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It) the scene described happens about a third of the way into the first chapter

~*~

6. Hello and I hope I'm doing this right. I remember this fic that's set in the modern setting and mo xuanyu is recently married (engaged?) To lan zhan but wei ying takes over the body and then just decides to follow along. Lan Zhan ends up finding out that it's a different soul and ends up falling in love with him. I don't remember the name and I hope you can find it if it's not deleted. Thank you! @nightshade2017

FOUND! Write It on My Neck by diamondbruise (E, 23k, wangxian, A/B/O, Transmigration, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Fake Marriage, Falling In Love, Jealousy, Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Spanking, usual wangxian cnc elements, Misunderstandings)

is it a transfiguration as opposed to resurrection?

~*~

7. hello! love what you’re doing with the blog! i need help finding a fic: i remember it was lqr pov and at one point lwj left the lan sect behind to go to the burial mounds and lqr and some other elders go to investigate and find o ur lwj and wwx married and adopted a gaggle of children. i remember lqr nagging on lwj for disrespecting lan rules bcs he was wearing like too many adornments and spoiling the kids. also the rabbits had their own pen in there.

FOUND? 🔒 Unpack Your Heart by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 22k, wangxian, Romance, Everybody Lives, Canon Divergence, LWJ Has Feelings, Protective LWJ, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Wangxian in Love, YLLZ WWX, Lan Clan Elders are Assholes, Minor Transgender Character, Qiongqi Path Divergence, LWJ loves his bunnies)

~*~

8. Hello! I'm looking for a fic which I cannot remember the name of. The main things I remember are that Meng Yao stays for the Cloud recesses lectures and roommates with Nie Huaisang. The only scene I can remember is Nie Huaisang ends up mudering a Jin disciple who tried to kill Meng Yao with a rope. Wei Wuxian ends up finding them afterwards and getting help right after.

FOUND? somewhere to belong by KouriArashi (T, 62k, LXC/JGY, JGY & NHS, wangxian, JGY & WWX, Canon Divergence, Friendship, Developing Relationship, Families of Choice, Class Issues, Bullying, Light Angst, Politics, Eventual Plot, Happy Ending)

~*~

9. Hello, I am looking for a fic where Wei Wuxian is not brought into the body of Mo Xuanyu. Rather a random cultivator does the ritual instead as revenge for killing his family in the nightless city. His terms are for Wei Wuxian to despair, so naturally WWX finds Lan Wangji and falls in love only for the ritual wounds to start trying to kill him for not despairing. He nearly loses his arm before they figure out how to save him. Happy ending.

There's also a few bits about WWX trying to get the sword of his body's og owner to come around and work with him. @shinyobsessed

FOUND! A Storm of Laughter in the Stillness of the Jingshi by OnlyMeAndMyBones, 2nd in series (T, 74k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LXC & WWX, angst w happy ending, hurt/comfort, injury, recovery, mental illness, depression, PTSD, rehabilitation, slow burn, empathy, guilt, forgiveness, suicidal thoughts)

~*~

10. Hi! Can someone help me find this fic, please?

Lan Wangji is a post-war-soldier and nowadays is actually helping people to adopt a therapeutic “bunnie”. A man named Wei Ying goes there trying to find a bunnie to adopt, lwj get supper mad because this “man” is loud and disastrous and ask (order) him to go out of there. Later he learns with lxc that “Wei Ying” is actually Wei Wuxian, one of the most dangerous people from the war.

Lwj gets sad about his treatment towards wwx, because both of them are very traumatized by the war. That’s the beginning for their future relationship. It’s setting in modern setting too.

Thank you! @weicongee

FOUND? Recovery by Unforth (G, 27k, WangXian, Modern AU, Rabbit Breeder LWJ, Veteran LWJ, Veteran WWX, PTSD, therapy animals, Therapy Rabbits, LWJ is an Asshole Sometimes, Doctor WQ, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Former Prisoner of War WWX, LXC is a Good Brother, Gray Asexual LWJ, Anxiety Disorder)

~*~

11. Hi hi! There's a modern au fic I'm looking for that I can't find no matter how many tag searches I do! It's a modern au where wwx gets drunk and sad bc he loves lwj and he doesn't think he cares for him back. Nhs calls lwj for a rise home for him, but wwx doesn't know its him and "services" him on the way home if you know what I mean

I think it ends with nhs texting one of them to talk to each other so they finally get together

FOUND!🔒Nie Huaisang plays cupid like a baller by KizuKatana (M, 10k, WangXian, Accidental drunken confession, Dirty Talk, sort of mistaken identity, Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism, so much pining, So many tropes)

~*~

12. hello i am looking for a fic where lan wangji is a stripper and wei wuxian is the bodyguard who is protective of him, and it was probably xianwang @ahiku-chan

~*~

13. hi! Last year I read a fic where Wei Ying is kept imprisoned or like in an unresponsive state in Jin Guangyao’s secret room behind the mirror. He’s accidentally consumes/cursed with a spell that requires him to have sex to stay alive? Jin Guangyao then calls Jiang Cheng to pick him up and they return to Lotus Pier where after a couple of days Wei Ying like I have to leave cause I don't deserve to be here. Lan Zhan then finds him in a state of delirium. That was the last update then. Thank you sm

FOUND? 🔒 The Return series by LtLJ (G, 63k, JC & WWX, wangxian, WWX & WQ, WN & WQ, Canon Divergence, Yunmeng Brothers Reconciliation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, YLLZ WWX, BAMF LWJ, five year old JL, ten year old LSZ, ten year old LJY, discussion of a canon suicide attempt, canon-typical curses, Angry sabre spirits, BAMF Everybody, Complicated Relationships, they're trying but they aren't there yet, BAMF NHS, Canon-Typical Behavior, Hurt/Comfort, WQ Lives, WWX & WQ Friendship, BFFs)

FOUND? till our ribs get tough by feelslikefire (E, 38k, JC/WWX, wangxian, WIP, Dubious Consent, Forced Feminization, magical pussy, Sex Pollen, Fuck Or Die, Possessive Behavior, Breeding Kink, Canon Divergence, Top JC, Top LWJ, Bottom WWX, Bondage, bondage via Zidian, Dubcon Somnophilia, WWX has possessive boyfriends but luckily he's into it, Intercrural Sex, Cunnilingus, Anal Sex, Spanking, Pussy Spanking, Dirty Talk, Porn With Plot, Oral Sex, Rough Sex) It has fuck or die and starts with Wei Wuxian being kept in the secret room

~*~

14. Hi! I'm looking for a fic that I clicked on in tumblr (possibly through your page, I have no clue) read about half the first chapter put my phone down and then reloaded the app it went all the way back to the top of the feed, never to see the fic again 😭

It was a Canon divergence AU, WWX thought Something Was Probably Up when he got the invite to JL's one month celebration so went in disguise as a woman, and the first line was him hitting on LWJ, who obviously twigged almost right away and took him to an inn, and that was all I got to.

Sorry it's not much to go on but hopefully someone recognises it! Thank yooou 💕 @scenicpixie

FOUND! My Leaves Reach Ever for the Sun by nonplussed (T, 26k, WangXian, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fix-It, Crossdressing, Idiots in Love, Sharing a Bed, Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies)

~*~

15. hi can u plshelp me find this fic it's driving me crazy as i don't remember the name

Basically wwx and lwj are already married but wwx wears a mask all the time and tbh they barely get to see each other like during the cave scene here lwj kept on deliriously calling his name they then kissed for the first time (they were already married during this)and then lwj pushed him away like literally ...

also they like had sex for the first time at where wwx was sitting w his ghost girls(they were already married during this too)...the ghost girls were still there this time lwj jus appeared wwx waxed poetry abt him jus standing there(who woudnt)he indirectly told wwx to not commit infidelity wwx seductively walked to him seduced him they fucked then wwx pushed him away literally and yea lwj went away

also wwx had adopted some babies too at the end i rmb

and yea during all this wwx wore tht fucking mask

FOUND? sounds like A Price to Pay by wangxianist which unfortunately has been deleted. 😭

~*~

16. hellooo, i'm looking for a fic where wei ying came from new york (i think) it was somewhere in america to china. wei ying lives with lan zhan along with his uncle and brother. i still remember a scene where lan zhan asked wei ying to take off his shoes but he misunderstood and took off his pants instead lol. thanks!!!

FOUND? The Fifth Type of Non-Contact Force by Caixx (Not Rated, 83k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Fluff and Humor, Actually Somewhat Canon, Mutual Pining, Horny Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Graphic Smut)

~*~

17. Hi, I'm not sure if this is how this works. If I'm doing it wrong please let me know.

I've been looking everywhere for a story where Wei Ying is a reincarnated phoenix and doesn't know it. He eventually finds out and because of everything he goes through, he's taken over by the pheonix, and the firebird part of him wants to destroy the world.

I remember the sects locked him in the Gusu caves while they tried to find out how to control him.

Eventually Lan Zhan figures out a loophole where the Phoenix/firebird agrees to hold off until Lan Zhan dies...and then Lan Zhan cultivates immortality as a loophole. I remember it was on AO3 and was complete.

I'd be grateful for any help you guys could give me. @vitolieltrue

FOUND? Breathing Firestorm by ladyshadowdrake (M, 110k, wangxian, angst, fluff, captivity, creepy WRH, no non-con, dreamsharing, politics, people making the best decisions they can, epic length, mythical creature WWX, canon-typical violence, dark, happy ending)

~*~

18. Hii i have a fic i cant seem to find anymore T_T. It was modern, explicit, with genderbent wangxian and pretty much just smut. I have this vivid recollection of butch lan wangji with short hair sitting in a bar (?). Then (but this might be me confusing two fics together tbh) they agreed to a deal where lwj showed wwx how to kiss, how to be intimate etc, and theyd have lessons at lwj's house every few days or such.

FOUND! throw the keys back by dustyloves (E, 31k, wangxian, F/F, Gender Changes, Cisswap, Modern, College/University, The Porn Is the Plot, Virginity Kink, Dom/sub, Teacher/Student Roleplay, Sexting, Dirty Talk, Non-Consensual Spanking, Mild Painplay, Mutual Pining, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Under-negotiated Kink, despite the tags it's actually quite soft)

NOT FOUND! sideways by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 20k, wangxian, F/F, Modern, Cisswap, butch dyke LWJ, Casual Sex, not so casual sex, many many orgasms, Fingerfucking, Cunnilingus, strap-on sex, So much kissing, WWX gets rekt, straight girl WWX, except for how she isn't)

~*~

19. For the fic finder, I saw someone mention a fic in which after LWJ and WWX wander off with their donkey in the novel epilogue, they come back and find that LWJ's been voted Chief Cultivator behind his back. He does not take this well. Does anyone know of it? @kedaliya

~*~

20. Hey I'm looking for this fic where either WY or LZ is a camboy and the other accidentally finds the account. They subscribe and continues to watch their channel behind their back.

But the camboy eventually finds out and they have a fight regarding respect and boundaries. All is well in the end but the camboy is extremely disappointed the other went behind his back to watch his channel and pretended like he didn't know anything. The other party apologises.

Does it ring any bell? @imstillthinkingaboutithmm

FOUND? For a Good Time, Call by ScarlettStorm (E, 170k, WangXian, Modern AU, Getting Together, Pining, Porn, like in the writing and also as a plot point, onlyfans au, repressed LWJ, sex worker WWX, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Background ChengQing, background NieLan, background XuanLi, Nonbinary NHS)

FOUND? ❤️ All Old Things are New Again by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (M, 52k, wangxian, modern, reincarnation, sugar daddy, kink negotiation, gentle dom LWJ) HGBun has reached immortality and finally finds WWX reincarnated

~*~

[wisedawn13]

#lanuary2024 Day 23: Lan Wangji's Birthday

Lan Zhan feels raw.

Usually, he has his weekends to decompress to avoid spiralling into either a meltdown or, worse, burnout. Unfortunately, this past weekend was filled with unmissable family events. Having Wei Ying with him helped.

But it wasn't enough; it merely delayed the inevitable.

He was doing okay getting by until work today. It's his birthday so the office decided to throw him a little party and so many people kept talking to him.

All he wanted was to come home and curl up in his husband's arms.

As Lan Zhan turns the key to their apartment he can feel the onset of a meltdown coming. He's standing on the edge and it won't take much to push him over.

He takes a slow, grounding breath, opens the door, and freezes.

The main lights are off and the apartment is instead lit by soft lamps. It's not too dark that he can't see but it's not harsh. He wants to cry.

He doesn't know how long he stands in the doorway but at some point, Wei Ying comes up and gently guides him in.

Wei Ying wordlessly takes his bag and sets it aside before he works on removing Lan Zhan's outer layers and shoes. Once those are put away, Wei Ying begins to slowly remove Lan Zhan's clothes before silently helping him into his softest loungewear.

It becomes easier to breathe.

Wei Ying meets his gaze with a soft smile. "Do you want a hug?"

Unable to reply, he nods.

Wei Ying wraps his arms around him and squeezes tight. Lan Zhan melts into him. He loves his husband so very much.

Some time later, Wei Ying pulls back to press a kiss to his lips.

"Happy birthday, my love," he whispers, letting his hands run up into Lan Zhan's hair to give his head a massage. Lan Zhan closes his eyes and leans into his touch, tension gradually leaving him with every press and tug of Wei Ying's hands.

By the time Wei Ying pulls his hands back Lan Zhan feels a hundred times better than he did when he entered their home. He lets out a sigh and opens his eyes to see Wei Ying staring at him with so much adoration it takes his breath away.

Unable to form the words, Lan Zhan kisses him and means 'I love you' and 'I adore you' and 'I don't deserve you but I'm so thankful to have you in my life.' He knows Wei Ying understands.

"Here," Wei Ying murmurs. Gently, he places Lan Zhan's noise-cancelling headphones on him.

Wei Ying turns them on and starts playing Lan Zhan's favourite Classical Chinese playlist on low. Lan Zhan hums in pleasure and follows Wei Ying as he gently tugs him over to the dining table. Lan Zhan sits as instructed and watches as Wei Ying serves him his favourite meals.

Lan Zhan is so overwhelmed with love for Wei Ying. He feels his eyes starting to water as Wei Ying puts Lan Zhan's plate down in front of him while pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head.

Wei Ying sits down and they eat in silence.

Lan Zhan is so thankful for Wei Ying thinking to put his headphones on him. As much as he adores Wei Ying talking over a meal, he knows he wouldn't have been able to handle all the sounds that come from eating. His husband knows him so well, sometimes better than even himself.

And, of course, he knows Wei Ying just as well. It's just wild to think about someone knowing him so deeply and truly as Wei Ying does. If someone told Lan Zhan when he was a teen that he'd be this close to someone (in every sense of the term) he wouldn't have believed them.

He was always so solitary and never certain on how to even attempt to get closer to someone. It was too daunting and confusing.

And then he met Wei Ying.

Wei Ying came crashing into his life in a swirl of light and laughter and joy and Lan Zhan cracked open.

Wei Ying always made an effort to reach out to Lan Zhan (even in the early days when Lan Zhan was too scared and overwhelmed by the enigma that is Wei Ying) and slowly, Lan Zhan began to understand what it meant to be wanted and treasured. Wei Ying enjoyed his company.

Over time, Lan Zhan grew more comfortable around Wei Ying. He began to feel settled when he was with him. Wei Ying became his safe space. Lan Zhan grew comfortable with all kinds of physical touch and making eye contact with him and Wei Ying always respected his boundaries.

It was inevitable that they would fall into each other, really. Neither of them knew it at the start, but others saw it (they heard the speeches at their wedding). Their love was something so real and natural that it only made sense. He can't imagine his life without Wei Ying.

After they finish eating, Wei Ying takes Lan Zhan's plate away before he has the chance to try to clean it himself and then he leads him into the livingroom where his yoga mat is set up with a pillow. Wei Ying gestures to it with a raised eyebrow in question.

Lan Zhan feels like his heart is too big for his chest. He nods and Wei Ying smiles softly. Lan Zhan watches Wei Ying wander off to grab the weighted blanket and then he lays down on his stomach on the mat. Wei Ying places the weighted blanket folded on his upper back.

He feels himself finally relax, the weight condensed enough to quite literally squeeze the tension out of him. There are so few ways that Lan Zhan can ever truly relax (especially his back) and this is one of them. The only other option is to have his back against Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh.

He drifts.

An indeterminate amount of time later, he finally feels human again. He sucks in a deep breath, feeling the way his ribs expand and contract, and then pushes up, letting the blanket fall to the side.

He sits back on his heels and removes the headphones.

"Feeling better?" Wei Ying asks.

Lan Zhan turns to find him curled up on the couch, book in hand, a soft expression on his face.

"Mn. Much better," Lan Zhan replies.

"I'm glad." Wei Ying pats the couch beside him.

With a smile, Lan Zhan makes his way over and sits beside Wei Ying. They fold into each other, cuddling up close. "Thank you, my love."

Wei Ying sighs happily. "Anything for you, Lan Zhan. It's the least I could do, especially on your birthday!"

Lan Zhan hums and kisses him.

"So, Birthday Boy, shall we watch a few more episodes of your comfort show while we eat cake and cuddle?"

Lan Zhan hugs Wei Ying a little tighter. "That sounds perfect."

And so they do just that. Wei Ying ends up feeding them both while they watch the show.

It's truly the best, most perfect birthday he could have ever asked for.

----------

Link to thread

[gravitywonagain]

“Nobody asked about my writing” meme

thank you for tagging me @amethyst-noir <3 you're wonderful

i'm not sure i did this right; i'm working on too many things at once...... so i picked a few :D

 1: what are you currently working on? 

umm... several things. if we're going to stick to the immediate and not look at my entire wip folder, currently i'm working on finishing wagbfm, an external porny wagbfm oneshot ch, and a fic with the working title "under streetlights" as my main fan projects.

but then also, because i hate myself or something, i have (oh god) two (2) original projects that i'm building. the first shares a universe (or at least a magic system) with a fanfic that i'm not allowed to touch until i finish wagbfm because it will be a similar undertaking in length and world building, and it has the working title "desert mirage". the second doesn't quite have a plot yet, but i've been spending a not insignificant amount of effort developing the magic system for it from scratch (must be masochism), and its working title is "rebel yell".

2: summarize your current project 

which one? okay, i'll do the fics here and the original ones next.

wagbfm (taken directly from ao3): Wei Wuxian died and Yiling Laozu rose in his place. He has avoided the Triad societies he grew up around, maintaining his anonymity and forging a new cultivation path. Now, thirteen years later, Hanguang-jun walks into Demon-Subdue Hall and requests Yiling Laozu's services for GusuLan Triad. Something is stirring in the world. Something that necessitates his return to a life and to people he’s long since mourned as lost to him.

"under streetlights" (significantly less polished): 13 years after the car accident that took Wei Ying's life, Lan Zhan has fled the memories and grief that haunt him in San Francisco, only to find himself making a strangely compelling connection on Grindr in Florida.

3: summarize your current project poorly 

"desert mirage": Girl magically decapitates herself only to find out that it's not even her own head.

"rebel yell": In the world of genetic magic users, the one-armed whistler with perfect pitch is king.

4: describe your favorite character or characters

i think almost every character from mdzs could fill this list. plus several from my many other fandoms (looking at you, asami sato). but this seems aimed at ocs or other characters i haven't already spent time dissecting on this blog so...

meet calliope burns: she has two love interests, one arm, and zero fucks left. her default mode is research spiral. her glasses are always dirty. and she once threw her cheap-as-they-come prosthetic arm across a room because her roommate would not stop punning at her.

(also, worry not, i don't do love triangles unless the triangle gets closed... with polyamory, in case that wasn't clear.)

5: post a line from your current project without any context 

“You’re dead,” says Lan Zhan, and Wei Ying feels glass splintering around his temple.

6: how do you get through writers block?

patience? or, more accurately, distraction. i have no cure for it. i mostly just wait it out by doing other things. sometimes that becomes very difficult and aggravating, but i have not yet found another solution. sometimes making playlists helps?

7: would you want to live in the world of your current work? 

hell no. i do not write fun places to live; i write interesting places to live. and as we have all discovered by now, interesting is exhausting.

8: briefly discuss your outlining process, if you outline 

um... sporadic? it tends to start as a vague idea in a note on my phone. then when i've added enough to that note, it gets a onenote. on the onenote i collect a lot of larger character and world building things, in addition to figuring out the plot. the plot gets a bullet list with an associated timeline. then when the prose starts, it gets a google doc. from there the prose and the bullet list inform each other back and forth until i get something coherent out of them both. which is to say, mostly it's pretty freeform.

9: what is the aesthetic of your current project?

wagbfm: a darker chinese version of Romeo + Juliet (1996, dir. Baz Luhrmann)

"under streetlights": cigarette smoke and that fever dream feeling that accompanies yellowed, peeling motel wallpaper, but in, like, pretty sunset colors

"desert mirage": american southwest cow skull art

"rebel yell": 1980's punk scene meets 1950's technology meets 1910’s human rights violations and eugenics… plus magic!

10: what song sums up your current work the best?

wagbfm: the title is based on a lyric from "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, but i think the song that gets at the heart of it might actually be "Freak" by Sub Urban

"under streetlights": the fic is inspired by "3 Nights" by Dominic Fike, but the song that it most resembles is actually "Hurting on Purpose" by Whethan

"desert mirage": "Black Magic" by Magic Wands but also "Corazón Espinado (feat. Maná)" by Santana... it's complicated

"rebel yell": "It's a good day (to fight the system)" by Shungudzo though the working title is obviously taken from "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol

Tagging: @dovebeast, @epistemologys, @jasontoddiefor, @eldritchjackalope, @iamwestiec if you feel like it, and really anyone who wants to play!

[allsassnoclass]

cactus and papyrus xoxo

hello hello @clumsyclifford thanks for stopping by!

cactus ⇢ something you’re currently learning (about)? I am currently learning about how money and banking works! because it is my job. i work at a credit union and i need to know stuff in order to answer questions but i also don't know much so i am constantly learning. i will be honest it is difficult.

but also! i am currently watching the untamed so i'm learning a lot about how different names work there? like. there's this character named wei wuxian. and sometimes people call him wei wuxian but some people call him wei ying and family members might go for a-xian or a-ying and it's all very confusing because everyone in this show has multiple names depending on who is talking to/about them, so i'm learning a bit about those classical name conventions because which names are used always reveal a bit about the relationship between the two people

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with? ah it gave me Doom Days by Bastille! which i associate with my fic but also with megs because i think she's the one who suggested that song for the fest, and even if she wasn't she's associated now there's no going back! i like the vibe of the song a lot. i'm not sure how to articulate what makes the vibe likable to me but i do really like it, even though i feel like it isn't my usual musical vibe exactly.

random get-to-know-me ask game

[puddingcatbeans]

13.

[ return key; wangxian college au ]

Lan Zhan is already there waiting when Wei Ying crosses the bus loop. He cuts an impressive figure, with his height and long tailored coat that his brother gave him for his birthday last year. He spots Wei Ying coming and offers a wave as he puts his phone away.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says. “Sorry I’m late. Also Wen Ning cancelled, so it’s just going to be us. Is that okay?”

“You’re not late. That is fine.”

Wei Ying beams. “Okay. Our reservation’s in an hour, so if we take the 99, we should be able to make it.”

They shuffle into the hazardous line, standing close enough their elbows brush. It’s a sunny afternoon, clouds rolling lazily across the sky. People are hurrying on their way home or into the city for dinner. There’s a new cat cafe that just opened up. Wei Ying had made reservations immediately and whined at his friends to come along. Wen Ning is studying to be a vet, so of course he agreed quickly, but something came up. Lan Zhan, Wei Ying was pleasantly surprised to learn, has a soft spot for small animals. He agreed without fuss when Wei Ying asked.

On the crowded bus, Wei Ying digs out his earphones from his jacket pocket. He catches Lan Zhan’s look of disapproval at the tangled mess. Wei Ying smiles sheepishly. He offers one of the earbuds to Lan Zhan. His friends takes it with only the slightest hesitation.

“Huaisang has been introducing me to some more mandopop,” Wei Ying says. “We’re doing this thing where I send them a kpop song a week and they sends back a chinese song. Cultural exchange, you know.”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan shuffles closer as someone who refuses to take off their backpack squeezes further towards the back. He looks at Wei Ying, expectant and interested.

Wei Ying shakes himself. “Anyway,” he continues, “they sent me this one a few days ago. I really like it, even though it’s kind of cheating because half the song is in English. It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“The singer has a nice voice.”

“That’s what I thought, too! I looked him up, he’s from Taiwan, studied abroad in America, here, let me find some of his other songs---”

The bus lurches suddenly. If it weren’t for Lan Zhan being smart and tall and able to reach the top railing and actually holding onto it, Wei Ying would have gone flying down the length of the bus like a bowling ball. As it is, Lan Zhan manages to grab him around the waist and stop his momentum. The girl next to them isn’t so lucky, crashing into the people sitting down before someone manages to right her again. Wei Ying stays pressed up against Lan Zhan for a moment longer than necessary.

“Thanks, Lan Zhan. You saved me, ahaha.”

“Hold onto the pole, Wei Ying.”

“Why, though, when I can just hold onto you?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t roll his eyes, but Wei Ying can read the look in his eyes that says he wants to. His ears are pink. “You were showing me the songs.”

“Right! Here we go... Do you listen to this kind of music? I bet you like classical stuff, instrumentals and stuff.”

“I do like instrumentals. I like learning about new music, though.”

“How come you aren’t studying music? I’ve seen the stack of music sheets by the piano in your apartment.”

“I considered it.” Lan Zhan steps closer to Wei Ying again to allow someone to exit the bus. His hand is warm on Wei Ying’s back, even through the jacket. “I think I prefer keeping music as my hobby.”

“That’s valid.”

“Mn.”

The song ends, and the next one fades in. Wei Ying stays close to Lan Zhan, even when a seat opens up. He pretends it’s just the sway of the bus and the rush hour crowd that keeps him bumping into his friend. After all, his wired earphones can only stretch so far, right? Wei Ying peeks up at Lan Zhan, only to find the other boy looking right back. They both glance away quickly. Wei Ying scrolls through his playlists. If Lan Zhan doesn’t remove his hand from his back, neither of them mention a thing.

[littlemdzsdump]

by the bleachers

mdzs high school au~! Sector High Series

It’s a little cold amidst the change of the weather.

Sat atop the middle seats of the bleachers, Jiang Cheng looks out to the open football field of his school. The afternoon sun that is high in the sky, shines a bit too brightly. But the air is still cold when a particular strong breeze rustles pass the fresh cut grass of the field before him. 

Jiang Cheng will take the cool breath of upcoming autumn over the smoggy, loud and rowdy, too crowded cafeteria any day. Sector High may be the biggest and most prestigious high school in the county, but it was still much too overcrowded.

Going into the cafeteria oddly reminded him of being part of cattle. 

So Jiang Cheng bears the slight cold of his weather, careful of the thermos in his arm. His brother had always been better at thriving in the hustle and bustle of high school than he had, especially since he has so many friends. So Jiang Cheng is his own company for today. 

A quick glance at his shows that he has a little more than 40 minutes until his next class, more than enough time to finish up on some work. Jiang Cheng connects his headphones to his phone and slips the earbuds into his ear. When the soft rock fills up the quiet air around him, Jiang Cheng feels a bit more at ease. Looking at the empty football field with the additional background music feels less lonely than it would have felt without it. Jiang Cheng huffs out a half smile before putting his thermos aside and pulling out some work from his backpack. 

The solutions of the equations come easy to him as the drum beat sounds against his ear. Technically, it would be fine if he didn’t finish the work before him. It wasn’t his assignment anyways. But...he had already been paid for finishing it. So Jiang Cheng disregards his own distractions and focuses on just getting it over with. 

He’s too busy doing his work, and the music is quite a loud volume in his ear. But Jiang Cheng isn’t too oblivious. He feels more than he hears the tell-tale sign of steps upon the bleachers. They’ve always been easy to feel, especially when there weren’t many other people beside him. But Jiang Cheng doesn’t really register that someone had come up to his row until he feels his left earbud being rudely pulled out.

Jiang Cheng turns, a hearty curse already forming on his lips to look up with an ethereal beauty.

The words die on his tongue immediately at the sight of Lan Xichen’s standing form, looking down at him. He’s in a large hoodie with a jean jacket pulled over. The weather isn’t cold enough yet for his cheeks to be red from the cold, so Jiang Cheng guesses he had just come running to practice. 

A quick glance at the field proves his assumptions true, when he sees a few other students walking around, cleated shoes shining in the sunlight. 

“Stopped by to watch me practice?” Lan Xichen asks coyly, staring at Jiang Cheng. 

The audacity of this man, Jiang Cheng, hopes that his stare says. The younger student simply huffs, turning back to the work in his lap. His hand is putting his earbud back into his ear when it is stopped midway. Jiang Cheng turns to his right, eyebrows furrowing in confusion when he sees his wrist caught in the older man’s hand.

Jiang Cheng watches quietly as Lan Xichen extracts the earbud from his fingers and puts it into his own ear, leaning back onto the bleachers more comfortably. Jiang Cheng must stare at him for longer than he expects because Lan Xichen turns to look at him, a teasing glint in his eyes.

Jiang Cheng makes a face, but lets the senior do as he pleases. Jiang Cheng won’t admit that the music is more companionable with someone to share it with. 

His pencil scratches against the paper, the equation sometimes stuttering out of his focus at the notion that Lan Xichen is so close. Though they’re not pressed side by side, his headphone wire acts almost like a tether between them. It’s not a hindrance as much as it is a plain distraction to Jiang Cheng’s constantly wavering focus. He’s stuck on his second problem in the last minute when he feels a breath hovering close to his shoulder. 

“I think you need to carry that over,” Jiang Cheng hears above the deep bass line in his ear. Jiang Cheng looks down at his paper, following Lan Xichen’s pointed finger at a variable that he’s missed between the two equations. Jiang Cheng’s eyes roam over the problem for another quick second, before realizing that Lan Xichen was right. He hasn’t made such an elementary mistake since well...elementary.

Jiang Cheng can tell that Lan Xichen tilts his head slightly to watch him correct his work, if the slight tug on the wire is anything to go by. 

“Thanks,” Jiang Cheng spares the older man, quietly going back to the page. He only has a few more problems to take care of and he wants to finish it with some time to spare. With his goal set, Jiang Cheng focuses harder, just to ignore the older man beside him with all his might. He’s making good time with the remaining part of the work, on his second to last question when a loud shrill of a whistle jolts him out of his concentration. 

Jiang Cheng catches a soft “ouch” to his side and turns to see Lan Xichen rubbing his ear gently. Jiang Cheng must have ripped the headphone out when he jumped in surprise. Quickly, Jiang Cheng stops the music.

“Sorry!” Jiang Cheng apologizes, because he knows how much of a pain it is when that happens. He’s had more of his fair share of headphone assault mostly due to Wei Ying. Lan Xichen just shakes his head softly, a laugh on his lips as he brings his hand down.

“It’s okay. It’s my cue to leave anyways.” Lan Xichen replies. Jiang Cheng watches him quietly as he gathers his duffle bag and hitches his backpack over his shoulder. When Lan Xichen turns back to him, Jiang Cheng expects a simple goodbye. But the senior leans into his space, picking up the dangling earbud and placing it into Jiang Cheng’s ear. Jiang Cheng holds back from jolting in surprise again.

“You have great music,” Lan Xichen compliments, before standing up and leaving with a small wave. 

Jiang Cheng blinks rapidly at the compliment, holding his phone close to him in his lap. 

When Lan Xichen finally leaves the bleachers, Jiang Cheng looks down at the playlist that he had been playing for the last hour:

songs for when you’re about to fall in love!

[immacaria]

Family

  Hello there! So this for Sangchengber Day 5: Family and it brings as a jealous Nie Huaisang, a amused and overprotective Nie Mingjue and a tired Nie Zonghui. There are some OCs of mine in there and I ask for forgiveness right now if their names are horrible or shitty. I hope you enjoy this and have a nice day!

  For almost two years, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng were living together now. Almost two years that Huaisang had to deal with his roommate’s beauty and stupid. Really, how come that he didn’t notice Huaisang’s pining over him? More than two years and Jiang Cheng didn’t ask or did a thing to acknowledge him for goodness’ sake! Not a thing at all! Now, he was here, attending to a fucking wedding party while his crush was back at their house doing God knows what!

  “A-Sang!” An aunt of his father’s side sang on his ear, throwing an arm over his neck. “My little A-Sang! How big you are!” She laughed, taking a full gulp of her drink. “Another wife, do you believe it? Your uncle has no shame!”

  “Auntie, I think you have drunk enough.” Huaisang said, getting the glass from her. Just because he didn’t remember that one, didn’t mean he wasn’t going to look after her. ‘Well, until she passes out or go pester someone else. Whatever comes first.’, Huaisang thought as she nodded in agreement.

  “But it’s true, you know?” She said, leaning into him, looking at the recently married couple bitterly. 

  “What’s true, Auntie?” He sighed, looking around for a savior. Anyone would do, truly.  

  “The rumors. That your uncle is marrying again because the first one couldn’t have children.” She explained, looking at the groom strangely. “Poor Mei, that’s what I think.” She breathed deep. “Poor Mei didn’t deserve this. She loved this asshole too much.” 

 “What do you mean, Auntie?” Alright, even if Huaisang didn’t like being there, the last family gossip always lifted him up. Even if it was just a little. “Do tell more.”

  “Please, sweetie.” The woman said, looking directly at him, strange and suddenly sober. “Everybody knows that your brother and the oldest of the twins Jades of Gusu are nothing but boyfriends. One’s already out for love.” She chuckled, looking around for Mingjue. “And you, everyone knows that you are way over hills for the youngest of the Jiangs.”

  “What do you mean, Auntie?” Nie Huaisang turned fully to her, curious and intrigued. 

  “Oh, sweet and innocent A-Sang. Once your father is dead, Mingjue is going to take over the business. But after his death, what happens?” 

  “I will still be here?” Huaisang said quietly, not liking what was going to happen next already. 

  “Oh, dear…” She said, touching his cheeks, eyes filled with pain and pity. “Everybody knows that you know nothing about your family’s business.” She whispered, stroking his eyebrows sadly. “Nobody expects you to, A-Sang. That’s why your uncle is marrying that whore. Anyway, enjoy the party, A-Sang. While it lasts.” She disappeared in the crowd, leaving Huaisang alone with his thoughts. ‘Why? Why would that woman do that to me?’ He groaned, turning to the waiter passing by. 

  “Do you guys still have whiskey?” He asked.

  “Plenty of it, young master.” The waiter smiled at him, before vanishing in the kitchen, chuckling with the gentle ‘thanks’ of Huaisang. “Here it is, younger master Nie.”

  “Thank you, Wu.” Huaisang smiled at him. “Bring me the whole bottle, would you?”

  “Of course, young master.” He smiled, simpatectelly. After he brought the bottle, Huaisang decided that nobody would ruin his already horrible night even more, not even his own family. Maybe that was the real reason why he went to the dance floor, maybe it was the alcohol, but the fact was that he went to the dance floor, fearing nothing. 

  As his favourite music blasted through the speakers, he let his body move on his own, not caring for what the others were saying, doing or thinking. His heart was already broken, his head still full of thoughts, horrible thoughts. ‘No!’, he thought. ‘Tonight nobody can hurt me!’ he smiled as Blackpink started to play. ‘Not anymore.’

  “A-Sang!” A cousin of his called, waving at him. “Do you know the choreography?” She yelled, throwing her stilettos away, almost hitting a cousin of theirs.

  “Of course!” Huaisang answered smiling widely as Kill This Love blew through the amplifiers. “Uhuu!” He laughed, dancing and singing along with the other girls at the wedding. He kept dancing and singing as all the playlist played out, drinking and joking around with everyone, caring even less if Jiang Cheng liked him or that girl in his class with every passing second. “Let’s kill this love!” He chanted, dropping a little of the whiskey on the floor. 

  “Huaisang!” Mingjue screamed over the noise. “What are you doing?”

  “Dancing!” Huaisang laughed, drinking a little more. He didn’t care if he passed out, he was having the time of his life. And nobody would stop him. 

  “And drinking!” His cousin, TongTong, said beside him. “Do you know I love you?”

  “Yes. And I love you too!” He yelled back as Mingjue threw him over a shoulder. “Da-Ge!” He turned to him, completely ultraged. “What are you doing?” 

  “Getting you home.” Mingjue retorted, putting the nearly empty bottle on a table nearby. “You are too drunk, Huaisang.”

  “No! I was having fun!” He reached for the bottle. “Funkiller!” He screamed at the top of his lungs before dissolving in a mess of giggles. 

  “You’re absolutely wasted.” He sighed, dumping his little brother in the backseat of the car. 

  “No, I’m Huaisang.” Giggled as Mingjue started to leave the parking lot. “Da-ge…” He called, lifting a hand to him. “Auntie said that Uncle is marrying that whore so he could take over father’s business.” 

  “I’m still here.” Mingjue patted his head. “As long as I’m here, you will be fine. And father’s business too.”

  “But, Da-Ge…” Huaisang groaned, turning to him. 

  “Go to sleep, A-Sang. No uncle of ours will take over father’s business.” The older one threw his own jacket over the other’s shoulders. “Da-Ge will resolve everything.” He stroked Huaisang’s hair, smiling sadly at his sleepy brother. “No need to worry.” Was the last thing that Nie Huaisang heard before dozing off to a dreamless sleep, the first of many nights since he moved on with Jiang Cheng. 

  Sincerely, he didn’t know the exact reason him and Cheng had moved in. At first thought, Jiang Cheng’s brother, Wei Ying, was moving in with his boyfriend, Lan Zhan, and Nie Huaisang needed a place near the Art Institute after he got accepted. At second thought, Da-Ge could always buy him an apartment, but he prefered to go living with his long-life crush and best friend.

  Now, here he was, sleeping on his older brother’s backseat while he drove around the city, giving him time to think, sleep or do anything Huaisang wanted to. But, what Huaisang wanted to do right now was go home and hide from all the world for the rest of the weekend, just eating and watching Netflix with Jiang Cheng. And, yet, he really didn't want to deal with Jiang Cheng saying that he was irresponsible, that all he and Wei Wuxian knew was to party and just get themselves fucking wasted and a lot of other things. So, nah, not coming home tonight. 

  Because of that, when he woke up, Huaisang looked through the window in front of him, trying to calculate if they had already arrived at his apartment or not. He really didn’t want to deal with Jiang Cheng’s grumpiness and all of the Jiangs brothers’ dramas tonight (nor the rest of the weekend, to be true).

  "Da-Ge…" He whispered, getting up slowly. "Where are we?" Huaisang asked, putting Mingjue’s jacket on.

  "Almost at your home." Mingjue answered, making a soft turn. "Your husband called four times already." He smirked as his little brother came to sit on the seat next to him. “Apparently, you are two hours past your bedtime.”

  "Who?" Huaisang asked, putting the seat belt on. “I don’t have a husband. Nor bedtime. I’m not living with you anymore.”

  “If you say so…” The older smiled fully, stopping in front of a small building. “Here we are.” 

  “I don’t want to go in, Da-Ge.” He whined, turning to him slowly, after some time. 

  “Why not?” Mingjue asked, entering in the overprotective mood instinctively. “What did that Jiang do to you? And don’t you dare lie to me, Huaisang, because I know he did something to you. You never drank how you drank today, Huaisang! Actually you never drank anything stronger than… Than… I never saw you drinking before, Huaisang!” He waved around, looking terrified. “So, please, please, what happened? You can tell Da-Ge. Da-Ge will protect you from that monster!’ He held Huaisang’s hands, searching for the younger’s eyes. 

  “Da-Ge!” Huaisang looked up to him, exasperated. “Jiang Cheng did nothing wrong!” He huffed, feelling the little squish Minigjue gave to his hands. “It’s not Jiang Cheng’s fault I still have a crush on him, beside I got worried about you and dad…” But Mingjue wasn’t hearing anymore, too shocked to process anything else. “And you aren’t even listening.” He sighed, rolling his eyes, before yelling. “Da-Ge!” 

  “What do you mean ‘still have a crush’? When did you get a crush on that kid?!” Mingjue grabbed him, pulling him closer. “And he doesn’t love you back? Fuck business’ friendship, I’m going to commit a murder.” He whispered in Huaisang’s hair. “Don’t worry, A-Sang, Da-Ge is here.” He patted his back.

 “Da-Ge!” Huaisang pushed him away. “He doesn’t know and neither do I want him to.” Huaisang murmured, leaning back into his seat. “Just… Just take me to another place, please.” He closed his eyes, not working the energy to talk with Mingjue or anyone else and, yet, expecting him to argue. But the older one just hummed in agreement and drove away (still shooting a murderous look at the small and beige building). 

  After that, the Nie brothers went to an old apartment of theirs. Even if Mingjue wanted to stay and take care of his younger brother, he had responsibilities with their dad’s enterprises, trips to do and new deals to make. Nie Huaisang didn’t blame him, he did all of it so he didn’t have to, that’s all. His Da-Ge only wanted him to be happy, doing what pleased him. 

  At first, he planned to pass only a day there, but then a day became two and, suddenly, it was Wednesday and Huaisang had even put a foot out of the loft since the party. Nie Mingjue came to visit him everyday, not commenting on what he was doing, nor saying what was happening in the world around them. 

  "You really didn't check on your phone since we got here?" Mingjue sighed after Huaisang asked how TongTong was doing along with Zonghui. 

  "No, it died three days ago. The only charge here is from my old one.” He shrugged, making coffee for them. "And I couldn't find my old one."

  "I see." He took the mug from Huaisang's hand. "Have you explained why you didn't go to college this week?" 

  "Nope." He chuckled, popping the "p". "I didn't even manage to work up the courage to get out of here, Da-Ge, let alone actually talk to someone.”

  "And what the hell were you doing here all this time?" Mingjue sighed, putting the mug down.

  "I'm painting again. And drawing. I forgot how cool and relaxing it was, to just paint and don't worry about anything else." Huaisang smiled, playing with his cup. "Do you want to see them?" 

  "Yeah. I do, A-Sang." 

  “C’mon, they are in my room.” He led the way to his bedroom, even though it was usually the other one who used it in his freetime. Seriously, since he had moved in with Jiang Cheng the only places he went to was the college, Mingjue and Xichen’s house, Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan’s apartment and his own apartment, beside the shopping nearby. ‘When did I get so old?’, he thought as he showed some drawings he had made that week. ‘When did I get so domesticated? And A-Cheng still says that the only thing I do is partying.’ 

  “These are pretty cool. Thinking about putting it in your portfolio?” Mingjue asked, smiling to the scenes of birds and bees, to the neighbour’s drooling dog smiling back at him and to the… “Wait, what’s this?” He squinted his eyes, not quite believing in himself. “Is it Jiang Cheng--”

  “Nope, this is personal, Da-Ge!” Huaisang pulled the paper from his hands, hiding it beneath his pillow, breathing deeply. “What about the other ones? Did you like it?”

  “Yes, but I’m more interested in the one beneath your pillow.” He crossed his arms, smirking at him. “Was the young Jiang here these days?”

  “No, Da-Ge, A-Cheng is at home, studying and, probably, hitting on a girl in his class.” 

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he only talks about her! He’s always like Hua Mei this, Hua Mei that. She is gentle as a morning breeze and smooth as a petal.” He murmured, pouting. “That little shit didn’t even notice that it was always me, me, who was there for him. Not Hua Mei.” 

  “A-Sang, don’t take it wrong, but you should get back because your man asks me about you every single day!” Mingjue said, sitting on the bed. “Every single day, the Jiang boy asks where are you? Why aren’t you going to class?”

  “He does?” Huaisang turned to him, momentarily forgetting his paintings.

  “Of course, he does.” Mingjue huffed, rolling his eyes. “It’s getting annoying.” 

“Oh!” He said, fidgeting his nails, stopping for a while. If it was true what Mingjue was saying, maybe, just maybe, Nie Huaisang had been a little bit too blind too, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He just had to muster up the courage to get out of the loft and actually talk to his crush. “Do you know if he is in class now? Or something like that?”

  “For what I know, he is currently in class, sending you messages a mile per hour.” Mingjue fished the phone from his back pocket, looking at its screen for a second. “A cousin of us does the same classes as Jiang Cheng and said she would keep an eye on him for you.”

  “Which cousin? A-Hua? I remember she wanted to be a veterinarian.” He said, laying behind him. “Or it was A-Liang?”

  “A-Hua. Wang Hua Mei.” He smirked as realization came to his didi, his eyes widening with every minute. “Yes, our little cousin Wang Hua Mei who is a lesbian and a veterinary student.” 

  “I was jealous of A-Hua? The little A-Hua?! No!” He hid his face with his hands, howling dramatically. “I can’t believe this! Please, tell me TongTong don’t know this.”

  “Of course I know this, sweet cousin. I know everything that happens in this crazy family, including the affairs and jealousy.” TongTong laughed, smiling. “Aaand you should thank me too. I made damage control on that video of us dancing. In the wedding.” 

  “What video?” Huaisang looked between his fingers, fear cradling at his insides. 

  “The one where you scream Fuck Jiang Wanyin so many times it became the name of the video.” Nie Mingjue said, smiling too. 

  “And to best everything, Let’s Kill This Love is blasting in full volume.” TongTong sat by his head, caressing his hair. “You really know the choreography, uhm?”

  “Of course I do.” He mumbled, trying to hold the tears back. Now Jiang Cheng wouldn’t look at his face ever again. “I really screamed Fuck Jiang Wanyin?”

  “It’s the name of the video, A-Sang, dear. What do you think?” She sighed, eyes looking fondly at him. 

  “Oh, gods! A-Cheng isn’t going to look at me ever again, Da-Ge!” Nie Huaisang groaned, trying to not scream too loudly. “What am I going to do?” 

 “I don’t know, fight back, try to talk with him, change your name and move to the USA.” Nie Mingjue shrugged, getting up. “Either way you choose, you will have to get out of this loft, get your things in your apartment and know that your family is by your side. Now, get up, hand me that painting of the Jiang kid and let me be the judge if it will go to your portfolio or not.”

  “What painting?” TongTong said, perking up. 

  “Da-Ge!” Nie Huaisang screamed, but pulled the painting from beneath the pillow nevertheless. He may not know what he was going to do right now, but he knew that his family was going to be by his side at any circumstance. Because that’s what you do when you are part of the Nie family, you take care of each other and let yourself be taken care of. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  Okay, maybe the idea of bringing Nie Mingjue, TongTong, Nie Zonghui and A-Hua wasn’t the greatest idea Nie Huaisang ever had in his life, but they were family and certainly would intervene in the talk he was about to have with Jiang Cheng. If they did, then he would accept Nie Mingjue’s advice and move to the USA as quickly as he could because they were going to start screaming with Jiang Cheng and one another and Nie Huaisang would be kicked out of his home. And if there were a few things that he couldn’t stand, being humiliated was on top of them all. 

  “Okay, listen. I’m going to talk to him, okay? No need to shout or intervene or pull any weapon I didn’t manage to find before we came here, alright?” He turned to them, trying to look like the personification of calm and collected. “It’s just a talk, nothing that I can’t handle. There’s nothing to panic over. Everything is fine.”

  “A-Sang, dear, you look like you want to be everywhere minus here.” TongTong said, passing him a fan. “Here, you forgot this at the party.”

  “Thank you.” He said, breathing deep as he looked for the spare key they usually let hidden on his plants. “Ah, here.” He pulled it out, shaking it a little. “Breathe, Huaisang, it’s very unlike that he is going to be home now.” He whispered, behind his fan, looking to the sides. “Everyth--”

  “Nie Huaisang.” Jiang Cheng growled, coming out of the kitchen, hearing an apron and yielding a knife. 

  “Da-Ge!” He yelped, running to hide behind Nie Mingjue. “Help”

  “Haven’t you said that you didn’t need our help?” Nie Mingjue snickered, looking at him over his shoulder. “It’s just a talk, nothing I can’t handle. It was something like that, right?”

  “Shut up.” He murmured, making himself look smaller.  

  “Hold yourself, kiddo.” Nie Zonghui rolled his eyes, a hand inside his jacket. “Put the knife down, Young Master Jiang.” 

  “Why the hell didn’t you answer my calls?! Or my messages?!” He said, walking to him. “Excuse us. Can you leave?” 

  “Ooh, I like him. He has no brain cells, just pure and beautiful anger.” TongTong whispered to A-Hua, smiling like crazy.

  “Jiang-xiong has brain cells, he is just too worried with Huaisang-gege and kind of angry too.” She whispered back, laughing behind her hands. “They are kind of cute together, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. Good propaganda too.” 

  “TongTong!” She slapped her arm as the other just shrugged. 

  “Let go of the knife and I will step back.” Nie Mingjue said, looking amused at him. “Now, Wanyin.”

  “Fine.” Jiang Cheng turned around, scowling as he put the knife on the small cafe table Jiang Yanli gave them. “Happy now?”

  “Yeah…” The oldest Nie of the room stepped aside, smirking at him. "For now." 

  "Why didn't you respond to my messages, Huaisang? Just because of that video?" He said, furrowing his eyebrows. 

  "Yes?" Nie Huaisang said, hiding behind his fan. 

  "That's it? Yes?" He crossed his arms. "No more explanation?" 

  "I panicked, okay? I thought you weren’t going to look at my face ever again and hide.” Nie Huaisang started, knowing fully well that he would start rambling. “I was angry at you, okay? Every single time you opened your mouth, you would talk about Hua-Mei this, Hei-Mua that and I was getting jealous, alright? To worsen everything, when I arrived at the party, my fucking aunt simply glued on me and would let go, insisting that my uncle was marrying another woman so he could get children and usurp Dad’s company because Da-Ge insists that he is not dating Lan Xichen. But everybody knows that they are dating. And nobody believes that I could command it because I’m just the ‘poor and innocent A-Sang’!” 

  “Huaisang. Huaisang. NIE HUAISANG!” Jiang Cheng screamed, clapping his hands together. “Breathe!” He instructed when Nie Huaisang looked at him. 

  “No! Now that I started, I will finish. I was angry at you, I was angry at my poor Aunt who did nothing more than tell me gossip and I was angry at Hua-Mei without reason.” He pointed at her, fan furiously coming back and forth in front of him. “So, I started drinking and Wu brought me a bottle and I got another from who knows who and then TongTong asked if I knew how to dance Let’s Kill This Love. Of course I know how to dance it. I remember dancing, drinking and not caring even when Da-Ge put me on his shoulder and carried me out of there.” 

  “Why didn’t you come home?” Jiang Cheng crossed his arms again. 

  “Because I couldn’t look at your face, see you praising someone else and deal with the Jiang brother’s drama while drunk and dealing with my own drama and drinking. I was fucking wasted, A-Cheng, my hangover was horrible and I didn’t left the loft for nothing but do go get some groceries.” He answered, rubbing his face. "That 's it! Happy now?”

  “So you're telling me that you got jealous over me and Hua-Mei, who is a lesbian and have a girlfriend…”

  “And cousin.” The girl added, smiling. 

  “I didn’t know that at the time.” Nie Huaisang grumbled. 

  “And cousin, angered yourself in the wedding, got yourself drunk, started dancing with your another cousin and screamed Fuck Jiang Wanyin seventeen times in a row while singing Let’s Kill This Love?” Jiang Cheng carried on, lifting one finger to each action he quoted. “That’s why you didn’t answer my messages?”

  “My phone died and I didn’t have a charger nearby.” He shrugged, still slowly fanning himself. “Sorry.” Jiang Cheng stayed silent, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Some moments passed and nobody said a thing, just looking at each other as if trying to determine what was going to help next. 

  “A-Cheng, say something, please.” Nie Huaisang begged, when it all got too much for him. 

  “So, you like me?” Jiang Cheng said, looking uncertain of himself. 

  “Yes, A-Cheng, I like you.” He smiled as TongTong groaned behind him and A-Hua chuckled. 

  “Good, don’t this again or last time I will break your legs.” He took the knife back, walking to the kitchen. “I’m making dinner, put the table.” 

  “Okay, okay.” Nie Huaisang smiled, following him, chuckling when he heard Nie Mingjue said begrudgingly. 

  “Did he just use my threat?” 

  “Yeah, he did.” Nie Zonghui said, chuckling too.

  "I'm liking him even more." TongTong said as A-Hua agreed with her. "We are staying for dinner, aren't we?"

  "Yeah. I'm fucking hungry." Nie Mingjue said and Nie Huaisangī wouldn’t be happier than he already was. 

  “Just so you know, I like you back. Since we were in school.” Jiang Cheng whispered to him, nudging his arm with his elbow. 

  “Does this mean we are dating?” He whispered back, a smile forming on his lips. 

  “I think so. What you think?” He smiled back, returning to where he was cutting the vegetables before. 

  “Yes! I love you!” Nie Huaisang jumped at him, kissing his face. 

  “Careful, you idiot, I’m holding a knife!” He screamed, but soon he was laughing too. And if Nie Mingjue and the others looked inside the kitchen and screamed at them for delaying dinner with their smooches, Nie Huaisang didn’t care because now he was truly happy! He was dating his childhood crush, his family were by his side and happy for him and even if there were things that were kind of bad in his life, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Alone or not. 

[natcat5]

Lethe (wangxian madoka magica au) chapter 1 notes

Read it on AO3

didn’t want to end a 30k chapter with a disgustingly long author’s note, so I’ve stuck my author’s note here instead. for the world to see. I’m mortified but there was no way i could in good conscience stick all my ramblings in the author’s note box on AO3. morally it would have been unforgivable.

spoilers for the first chapter of Lethe below, and for the section of madoka magica it covers (roughly, episodes 1-10) 

image references for the cultivator outfits that have been revealed so far (Lan Wangji, Wen Ning, Nie Huaisang) are at the bottom of this post.

I still love madoka magica, unironically. The original series is fantastic, and if you’re reading Lethe without having watched it, thanks! But also, when you finish Lethe, you should definitely watch madoka magica. It’s on Netflix, and animefreak.tv, seriously give it a go!

General notes 

-The title Lethe comes from the name of the river in Greek mythology, drinking the water would cause you to forget your past. The word lethe in classical Greek means oblivion or forgetfulness.

Madoka Magica specific notes (feel free to ignore if you haven’t watched)

-in terms of plot structure, madoka is an ensemble cast story, and there isn’t actually a focus on madoka’s relationship with homura until the last episodes. additionally, a big plot mystery is the motivation behind homura’s actions. in making it a wangxian story, i didn’t see the point in making wangji’s motives a mystery, bc everyone reading would assume he was working in the best interest of wei ying. additionally, revealing the time travel immediately allowed me to pull the wangxian relationship to the forefront of the plot, even when wwx and lwj aren’t on the best of terms in the present timeline

-I find the energy between Mami and Homura in the first three episodes of madoka magica to be fantastic. before anything truly dark happens, just the hair-raising tension every time Mami is like ‘if you persist, this will end in a fight’. even before you get to the twists, those scenes alone are enough to indicate that there is something beneath being a magical girl, more than friendship and magic and saving people. i tried to capture that tension between Wen Ning and Lan Wangji as best I could. apex predators, circling.

-balancing wwx’s wwx-ness against madoka’s character arc is tricky, which is why so much of this chapter ended up being introspection and pseudo-character study. madoka’s whole thing is being denied agency in her own narrative, and that’s something wwx would fight tooth and claw against. which is very ironic, considering how many times wwx denies other people agency in canon.

-my general madoka lore is based off of the original series/three movies. while I have rudimentary knowledge of the manga and watched the first few episodes of magia record, I didn’t take anything from those series into account. i definitely took some liberties with aspects of the magical girl existence, but that’s because I wanted to ensure my fic had consistent internal logic. THAT SAID.

the events of madoka magica definitely feel like they happen in a bubble, but I genuinely think the way they represent magical girl life makes sense. all of the spin-offs attempts to like...have magical girls work together just doesnt really, in my opinion, work with the whole premise around the creation of witches. i sincerely think the impression we get from original madoka magica, that magical girls are by and large territorial, confrontational creatures that work alone or in pairs, makes the most sense if the truth about witches is meant to remain unknown. this is why i really doubled down on this in my story, and made it an active goal of Kyubey’s. it just makes the most sense.

Playlist Notes

This is the second wangxian playlist ive made with Another Lifetime by Nao, and I know it won’t be the last.

Chapter 1 songs: 

Another Lifetime by Nao. -let’s call this the title song, the story theme song, if you will.

Coming Down by Halsey -a song for LWJ, and his timelines

Hearts like Ours by the Naked and Famous -WWX, hesitating 

Youth by Daughter

Pale White Horse by theohhellos  -Wen Ning and Wen Qing

Mars by Sleeping at Last

Eyes Wide Open by Gotye

Astronomical by SVRCINA -WWX, hesitating (reprise)

The Kids Aren’t Alright by Fall Out Boy

We Have it All by Pim Stones -kind of a chapter theme song. like, credits rolling at end of episode

How it Ends by DeVotchKa -LWJ’s NHS-related end of chapter cliffhanger

Magical GirlCultivator Outfits

Lan Zhan:

His sunshot campaign outfit from the untamed

but ending just below the knees, with this kind of skirt style, though uh, less see-through:

And, as stated in text, some tall white lace-upboots. Like these, minus the heel. 

Wen Ning

His standard Wen garb from the untamed

but the black belt is replaced by black chains, and he’s wearing white socks with black adidas sandals, because of course he is. 

Nie Huaisang

Oh god, oh man, this one came straight from my brain so I really had to look for like. images that matched what I had in mind.

Closed-collar olive green hanfu, similar to this (but a little less loose)

but the sleeves end in ruffles in this style

with a sleeveless leather jacket over top

and a pleated skirt, where the outside of the pleats are leather and the inside of the pleats are fabric the same colour as the hanfu

And I think imagination can suffice for the stockings and the hair ornament, right?????

[callunavulgari]

Rules: Tag 9 people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions.

Thanks for the tag @wellhalesbells!!

3 SHIPS

lan wangji and wei ying from the untamed.   i know, i know. this surprises absolutely none of you who have been drowning in my posts about them. it just literally hits on every single thing i love. it’s got a little friends to lovers while ALSO keeping the spice of rivals/enemies to lovers. it’s got SIXTEEN YEARS of yearning. it has the tragedy that is lan wangji head over heels for this dumb mess of a boy and not saying the right things and watching him tumble further and further down the rabbit hole that is revenge and then losing him forever. it has lan wangji in the present day steadfast and refusing to back down from wei ying’s side because he got him back. who gets that kind of chance? of course he’s not going to make the same mistakes he did the first time around. it has every single look shared between these two and wei ying’s sunshine smiles and fuck if i’m not a sucker for a good villain story. but like - this is even better than the usual villain origin story? because you get to watch every moment of wei ying’s stumble. you get him as a devoted brother and friend. you get him as the flirt - the boy who is trying so desperately to pull on lan wangji’s pigtails to get him to notice him. you get the wen chao fucking shit up and those first initial missteps as tragedy starts to seep into the story. you get lotus pier. you get jiang cheng and the golden core. you get the burial mounds. and then you get wei ying, harder and a little broken and impossibly powerful and let’s all be honest, really sexy because who’d have thought that all powerful necromancers bent on revenge are really something else? and you get to watch lan wangji realize the path his soulmate is on and desperate to stop it but so unsure how. and then it’s too late! except it’s not! and turns out it goes so far beyond that and then they’re basically married and have a kid together and wei ying, while yes being a powerful necromancer bent raised from the dead, is not actually the vilain in this fairytale? and just UGH. literally. i am so boned over this show. it is beautiful. and those characters might not have ever kissed but goddamn that was a better love story than any i’ve seen before.

ryan and shane from buzzfeed unsolved/watcher entertainment. this also probably doesn’t surprise many people. i’m usually fairly allergic to rpf, but this ship here was definitely the exception. there is SO MUCH chemistry between them and they’re just generally great to watch. i marathoned unsolved after reading a vampire!shane fic sometime last year (this one, for those curious) and was just goners. done-zo. dunzo? whatever, i was gone for them. and the fic was great too! there’s a lot of genre variation and AUs and spooky stuff and DEMON shane and i recently read one where ryan was one of the fae? and another one where shane was a kelpie? and i am HERE for creature feature aus. and then there’s the poly fics with ryan/shane/sara which also scratch a very particular itch and are hot and sweet and domestic and i just. i really like them. i love the dynamic. i love the fic. i love the art. i LOVE watcher entertainment and i hate that they’ve been screwed over by this pandemic and really hope they’re able to get over this hurdle because it is GOOD content. 

xue yang and xiao xingchen and song lan from the untamed. this is at least partially cheating in my eyes because it’s from the same fandom but look at all the fucks i give. i give zero fucks. this ship. is. so. fucking. PROBLEMATIC. and i’m sorry, but i unrepentantly love it. xue yang is a complete monster child. he is the garbage gremlin that wei ying only wishes he was. he was a little tiny monster and gets every bit that is coming to him but the yi city arc FUCKED me up. and this is coming from the person who accidentally slept through xiao xingchen and song lan’s initial introduction. their story is just so perfectly tragic and on the off chance someone is reading this and thinking about watching, i won’t go into the details, but TRAGEDY. it is tragic. and i LIVE for modern AUs where they are living their slutty horrible lives to the best of their abilities. it is catnip to me. you know what else is catnip? modern AUs where they are living their slutty horrible lives with a super special side of reincarnation. 

Not listed, but also important... every other ship in The Untamed. Also Wen Qing deserved better.

oh. and uh, i guess dean and castiel should at least be somewhere on this post because they’ve been on my mind so damn much.

LAST SONG I LISTENED TO

currently listening to beach life-in-death by car seat headrest because i read a fic at 4am and it made me listen to the entire album. no regrets except it is shockingly to my exes taste so she keeps popping into my head. last track i listened to was winter wheat by john samson. this one is on my playlist because it was in the comments of a tumblr post about soundtracks to bleed out into a field to.

CURRENTLY WATCHING

so. the thing about covid is that it really fucks with your attention span. like, it physically hurts me to look at a screen for long periods of time now, so i haven’t been watching a whole lot in general. also, we’re moving on friday so if i’m not napping or laying in bed thinking about napping i am dragging my sorry, tired body around the apartment stuffing things in boxes. it’s been a rough few months, guys. 

i am really trying to think of the last thing i watched. i watched the eurovision song contest and over the moon around the same time right before my covid symptoms started forcing me to do nothing but sleep. and i think i watched over the garden wall sometime near the end of october?

oh, oh! i rewatched v for vendetta on november 5th. does that count?

tagging the usual suspects, but only if they want to do it. you know who you are. ;)

[creepweirdo]

It does feel like a good match! I can’t give away my exact kpop obsession because I’ve been posting about them on my previously no kpop blog so it might give away some of the ~mystery~ of who I am (probably not because fandom is big but just in case). My favourite boys have done some blackpink covers so I started listening to more of them too! I didn’t know about the Netflix doc, I’ll watch it. 1/2

My mutual showed me an nct graph/chart thing? With all the members and I cried in fear at the amount of names and how complex it was haha I’ll try again Ahh classic. It was tumblr gifs got me too. I have one mutual (the same one who got me into kpop and they’re smug af about both) spammed my dash with these gorgeous looking people and like the weak bi I am, I had to find out more. I went right to Netflix and watched cql then the special edition on youtube. 2/3 lol

I love that you dove into fic first that’s probably smart because there are so many characters and names to learn. I haven’t watched the donghua, only read the book and some mdzs q. I’ve read some of those fics, but not all of them – so thanks for the recs. Okay two questions today – one mdzs and one not. Who are your top three characters and why? And for non-mdzs hmm what do you like to do in your spare time if you have any?? (I talk too much whoops) 3/3

hi classified cultivator!!

(i’m going to answer under the thing bc i too talk to much 😔💔 lol)

LMAOOO literally! omg i need to find that chat! or watch the nct guide thats in my youtube watch later hahah - it’s an hour and 20 minutes long though,,,, i’m crying in fear as well 💀😭 i watched their new mv that came out today?? (its saying that it came out 17 hours ago - that still counts as ‘today’) and they all appeared at the same time 😳😭i needed a trigger warning tbh.

omg i need to watch the special edition! i have it as a saved playlist on youtube hahaha i’m just not ready to be emotionally destroyed again yet 💔

omg top three characters!!! HAHAHA i’ve been thinking about this. so of course i love wei ying HOWEVER i feel like i relate to lan zhan so much more so he’s my absolute favourite. he was just such an awkward gay disaster as a teen and i FEEL that. and ahhhh (its probably more fanfic meta bc i still haven’t read more of the novel) but the way he’s just physically unable to talk about his feelings 💀 i feel that.

my second fave would have to be nie huaisang ❤️ once i finished cql and watched fatal journey i was just blown away bout how much of a mastermind he is! (and again after watching them they provided so much more context for his characterisation in fanfics LMAO) i also recently read this post on here talking about the foreshadowing at the start of the series - nie huaisang stalking and catching that bird for three days vs him planning the demise of jgy LMAOO. he’s such a king love him.

and my third favourite 🤔 idk it’s probably a tie between jiang cheng and nie mingjue 💀 jiang cheng more seriously bc his life is so tragic and painful but he’s so emotionally constipated and such a baby that i’m like LMAOOO 🥺❤️ i’ve read a few post-canon fics where jiang cheng and wei wuxian fix things between them and they’re always really nice. AHAHA another reason why i like him is because of that scene at the beginning of the show where jiang cheng and lan zhan are sitting at opposite ends of a table waiting for their juniors finish their hunt and they’re just looking at each other in silence with such hatred 💀 it makes me laugh to hard lmaooo.

(nie mingjue is a fave mostly for the meme. idk ever since i saw him in cql i was like 👁👁 i just think he’s neat. we bonded over our hate for jgy ❤️)

i saw this tiktok the other day which was like how hard it is to answer “when people ask me what i do in my free time bc i literally don’t do anything”. which is so me 😭😭 when i’m not at work i’m literally either sleeping in, or on my phone/watching youtube on the tv HAHAH. i did play a lot of animal crossing until like two months ago because i got bored of it 😔 and now i’m waiting for christmas for a new switch game (the legend of zelda age of calamity). my parents said that they would get it for me as a gift but ahhhh i want to play it now hahah i should have bought it for myself. another hobby that i haven’t done in a while is embroidery! but i accidentally got bored of it while in a middle of a piece at the start of the year lol 😳 i should get back into it lmao 

but yeah mostly i’m on my phone... looking at posts about mdzs or reading mdzs fanfiction... i am waiting for the next semester of university to start back and then i feel like i’m actually being productive hahahah.

thank you for the questions! i hope you have a good weekend ❤️

[leahlisabeth]

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it? 20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?) and 23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest? — Have a lovely weekend. : )

1. I have a couple of projects I’m currently working on.  I have two projects coming for the @aftgbigbang.  First of all, I’m doing some fiber art for @autumnalpalmetto.  Not going to say too much about that except it’s very cute and I’m having a lot of fun with it.  I’ve made most of the pieces now and I just need to photograph it. For my written big bang, I’m working on the larger worldbuilding for the scent of embers in the air. It’s got dragons and arranged marriage and magic.  I’m at about 22k words but I’m not sure how much longer it is going to be.  I’ve also branched out a bit into the Untamed and I’ve started my installment for the big bang.  I’m only just over a thousand words in so I’ve got a long way to go.  It’s going to be a canon divergent fic loosely based on Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  I’m also in the middle of a new series for The Untamed called Bound by Ribbon and Fate. It started out as a gift for @edgarallanrose and it just snowballed from there.  I’ve written about 6k and posted two parts.  I have at least another two parts planned and here is a song on my playlist for the next part.

20. Okay, while I know you follow me for my aftg stuff, I am just so proud of my latest Untamed fic, A Path to Revenge. I don’t think anyone has noticed this, or at least they haven’t mentioned it in their comments, but I don’t refer to Wei Wuxian by name in the narration until after he leaves the Burial Mounds.  The voices speaking to him use his name.  He hears Lan Wangji saying Wei Ying whenever he is holding or looking at the forehead ribbon, and he hears the voices of the dead calling him Wei Wuxian when the ribbon is covered or hidden.  And I did this to show that in the Burial Mounds, he is in a liminal space where he has two paths he can choose to follow.  He can be Wei Wuxian and choose the path to revenge that the voices of the dead have promised him or he can be Wei Ying and allow Lan Wangji to help him stay on the path of righteousness.  Then he leaves and chooses the path to revenge and the narration refers to him as Wei Wuxian.  You have no idea, I was practically chortling as I came up with this and thought myself very clever but I have no idea if it came through at all.

I will also give you a little bit for aftg.  I think the most surprising thing for me about researching for this fandom is how much time I’ve spent looking up hiking trails.  Two Bros Five Feet Apart, Chocolate Kisses and Always, and Be My Family all involved a significant amount of time looking up the trails and times and looking for photos of each section so I could decide how best to make it authentic.  And like, it’s not like anyone is going to know if I make it up, but I didn’t want to.

23. The idea I’ve had in my head for the longest is actually a fic for BBC Merlin.  It would take place after season 5 and it would be a little more compliant with actual Arthurian lore. The premise would be that Arthur survived his wound because of Merlin’s magic but the wound would never completely heal.  So the fic would go through all the different ways Merlin tries to heal this wound.  Some of it would be very funny and sweet.  Some of Merlin’s attempts would have strange side effects, such as accidentally dying Arthur purple.  There would also be a strong undercurrent of angst between Arthur’s frustration at no longer being able to do everything he had done before and Merlin’s sorrow and worry for his best friend as he watches him deal with weakness.  I also planned to have lots of friendship scenes with Gwen where they bond over taking care of Arthur.  Plus, Gwen was definitely going to have a baby who would toddle around after Merlin the moment they learned to walk and get into mischief.  I may yet write it but I usually have so many more urgent WIPs that this one takes a backburner.

Thank you so much for asking! I hope you also have a lovely weekend!

More fun meta asks for writers!

[antiquecompass]

Untamed Winter Fest Day Four: Decorating

Wherein there are some lights, some trees, some Lans, and a Wei.

(also on Ao3.)

“My darling husband, I love you, with all that is in me, for all the lives we may live together, but if you don’t top staring at my ass and hand me those lights, my arms are going to get sore and then I’ll be sad because I won’t be able to lift them to hug you.”

Wei Wuxian glanced down at his husband who had that sort of contemplative look on his face that meant Wei Wuxian was about to be picked up and removed from the ladder on which he stood.

Decorating their house back in Boston had taken him two days, tops. Decorating their house here? He’d finally admitted defeat and hired a company to handle the outside. They made it look like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but at least the Historical Society wasn’t breathing down their necks. They’d offered to decorate the inside as well, but he was determined to do it himself..

Maybe just the first floor.

The living room, at the very least, was going to be his and his alone.

“Wei Ying should take a break,” his husband said.

“Wei Ying just came back from a break,” he said.

“Then another.”

Ah, his Lan Zhan. Always such a stickler for deadlines and schedules until it came to him. It almost made Wei Wuxian proud.

“I want the living room done before the boys get back,” he said. “And all we have left are the lights.”

The tree would remain bare of any ornaments until their boys returned from their shopping trip with Molly. Decorating the tree required their little family, including Jingyi, all be present. Wei Wuxian had only put the lights on it and the tree skirt under it, but boxes of ornaments were waiting to go up. 

“I’ll hang the lights, you stand down here,” his husband said. 

Wei Wuxian was almost positive that was a slight about his height (he wasn’t that much shorter than his Lan Zhan) or his arm strength (he would admit defeat there), but he was willing to let it slide in the spirit of the season. And because he would enjoy the view of watching those shoulders and arms at work.

“Now who’s distracted?” Lan Zhan asked.

“No one would blame me,” Wei Wuxian teased.

They flirted back and forth, but still got the room done in plenty of time. He put away the ladder while his Lan Zhan made some peppermint hot chocolate. Their own little tradition for a decorating job well done.

And to think, it all started in that apartment in Cambridge with CVS bought decorations on a whim and Jiang Cheng threatening to toss it all out the window if he didn’t turn down the christmas music. (In apologies to Jiang Chengs of Christmas Pasts, present Wei Wuxian could admit no one needed to be blaring *N SYNC’s holiday album that loudly on repeat for days on end, but it was the only one Wei Wuxian could find in his boxes from the Jiang’s house and while he could have just picked a playlist---holiday CDs were their own tradition.) (He maintained that ‘Kiss Me At Midnight’ remained a damn catchy song, and far easier for him to sing than ‘Auld Lang Syne.’)

He smiled when his husband returned, warm mugs of sugary goodness in his hands, and a kiss placed on the top of Wei Wuxian’s head.

“Drink before your candy cane melts,” Lan Zhan said.

“But that’s the best part,” he said. 

With the fire roaring and the main lights shut off, it really did look amazing in here. He curled up next to his Lan Zhan and felt so happy and content in the indoor winter wonderland they’d created. 

“Remember that first year?” he asked.

“You tied yourself up in red ribbon, how could I forget?” Lan Zhan said as he ran his fingers through Wei Wuxian’s loose hair. “And then started a drunken off-key rendition of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’ How could I resist?”

“I got what I wanted in the end,” Wei Wuxian said. 

“All you’ve ever had to do was ask,” Lan Zhan said. “I can deny you nothing.”

A heady power all of its own. Wei Wuxian tried not to take advantage of it, except for when his Lan Zhan wanted him to. 

“I worried that first year, with all of us in that apartment,” Lan Zhan admitted. “I’d never experienced anything like that, not in my personal home. And it was only years later I realized how kind it was of you and Jiang Cheng to ease me into your family traditions. It certainly prepared me for Madame Yu’s more eccentric tastes in holiday decor.”

“Tacky,” Wei Wuxian said. “Stop being polite and call a spade a spade. It’s tacky fabulous, but tacky.”

 He leaned up for a kiss, immediately bestowed. 

The sound of the front door opening and feet stomping on the mat ended their little moment of solitude, but there was more decorating to be done tonight after all.

“Did you boys thank your Aunt Molly?” Wei Wuxian yelled.

“We’re not vultures!” Jingyi yelled back.

“Yes, we did,” Sizhui called back, in a more indoor-friendly voice.

Both boys appeared with still snow-wet hair and rosy cheeks. Adorable enough to make Wei Wuxian smile.

“Come in and pop a squat. We got a tree to decorate.”

Jingyi hesisted at the threshold. Lan Zhan nudged him and Wei Wuxian sighed. Every year they went through the same thing.

“Lan Jingyi, how long have you been celebrating a Lan-Wei-Jiang Christmas?” Wei Wuxian asked as Lan Zhan slipped away to get more hot chocolate.

“Seven years,” Jingyi said.

“Seven before. Eight now. And you just turned twelve. So how many Lan Jingyi ornaments are in that box, marked, clearly, Lan Jingyi?”

“Fourteen, two for each year,” he said.

“Sixteen now,” Wei Wuxian corrected. “And who is supposed to put those Lan Jingyi ornaments on the tree? Not me. Not Lan Zhan. Not my little bun.”

“Dad!” Sizhui yelled.

“Then who?” he asked. “Whom?” He shook his head. “Forget the grammar and answer the question.”

“Me,” Jingyi said.

“Right, so why are you hesitating on that threshold. Get in here and get started. I’m not getting any younger.”

“We can see that,” one fo those two vipers he thought of as his sons muttered.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Haven’t aged a day,” Jingyi said with a too-wide smile.

“Practically perfect in every way,” Sizhui said as he tugged Jingyi over to the ornaments.

“I work all day to give you this lovingly decorated room, and this is the thanks I get?” He huffed. “Such disrespectful boys. I can’t imagine who raised you.”

“Like father, like son,” Sizhui teased. He tossed the bag of fabric and yarn ornaments at him. “We agreed, no glass this year.”

“I only broke five last year,” he said as he joined his boys.

“No juggling,” Lan Zhan said as he entered with a fresh tray of drinks. “There are still shards in the carpet back in Boston.”

Wei Wuxian sighed, his mood not at all ruined, delighted as always when his family ganged up on him. 

“Even my husband disrespects me,” he said, lounging on the couch as if he couldn’t go on.  “And this, after I let him grab my--”

“Wei Ying!”

[difficulttoforgive]

    Notable And Important lyrics from my wei ying playlist

     burn fetish -           “the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing me that i was him”            “where there’s a will there’s a wake/ burn me at the stake”            “empathy is the poor mans cocaine” 

     if i say -           “i came here without a choice/ i’m sorry i could never thank you”           “if you were given one more chance/ would you bring me back to life/ bring me back into the light”           “the innocence in your face bled out without a trace”           “i know i came off better than you / it doesn’t mean that i feel better”           The Entire Fucking Bridge - “show me your hands / are they cleaner than mine / show me your face / did you cross the line / show me your eyes / they any drier than mine / your soul survives / but peace you’ll never find”

     godmanchester chinese bridge, relevant to his and jiang cheng’s relationship -           “back in my head now / you’ve made yourself very hard to forget now”            “so cruel to say / but it’s such a pity / so cruel to say / but i hope that you lose your way”           “back when we were inseparable / back when you were a reckless one”           “and i’m still that lost kid wrapping his head around forever”           the repeating refrain of “and if you’re lost / i will be waiting”

     nobody’s biz -           “i’m moving forward there’s casualties / sorry / i’m sick of distortions need honesty now / but there’s nothing suggesting it’s coming”           “these cowards are capable killers”           “i am broken beyond recognition / still it’s better than any prescription they dealt”           “i am motion made into a human / i am stardust on stardust on stardust i’m gone”

     MMMMMHMMMMM -           “no calm / no hesitation / no alarms no self preservation”           “you’ll never take me alive but you can try it”           “this head seeks yours and you should not explore the depths of it” 

     to be alone. this is actually more of a lan zhan song but i digress -           “but you don’t know what hell you put me through”            “there are questions i can’t ask / now at last the worst is over”           “i know that you hate this place / not a trace of me would argue”           “honey we should run away / oh, someday”            “but i don’t know what else that i would do / than try to kiss the skin that crawls from you” 

     far from home (the raven) -           “i’m sending a message / of feather and bone / just let me know i’m not forgotten / out here alone”           “i feel like i might fade into the dawn / fade until i’m gone”           “i’m so far from home / so far from home / not where i belong / not where i belong”             “out here in the darkness / and out of the light / if you get to me too late / just know that i tried”

     we popped the moon, ie golden core + demonc cultivation -           “i relapsed / i found another way / oh i’ve cracked”           “i need you back / i found another way”           “can’t remember how / can’t remember just how you feel”

     two slow dancers -           “it’s funny how they’re all the same / it’s funny how you still remember”           “we’ve both done it all a hundred times before / it’s funny how i still forgot”           “it would be a hundred times easier / if we were young again / but as it is / and it is”           “the ground has been slowly pulling us back down / you see it on both our skin / we get a few years then it wants us back”           “to think that we could stay the same” x3

     the nothing part ii -           “choose to use your heart / if even towards the harshest fate”             “that you may ripely pine / into the mammoth nothing of the night”           “left to your own devices / and too exhausted to know what you want / i know, i know”           “such is the torment / of the giving of your organs”             “they’ve had it up to here with you and further / but when you feel it at your hip / every time how you wish that it was home”           “let me down / lay me low / let go your crown / disarm me”           “take me home / hold your own / and claim me” 

     death with dignity -           “spirit of my silence / i can hear you / but i’m afraid to be near you / and i don’t know where to begin”           “again i lost my strength completely / oh be near me tired ole mare”           “amethyst and flowers on the table / is it real of fable / well i suppose a friend is a friend”           “we all know how this will end”            “what is the song you sing for the dead”           “i see the signal searchlight strike me in the window of my room / we’ll i’ve got nothing to prove”            “i forgive you mother / i can hear you / and i long to be near you”           “every road leads to an end”

[frizzyanya]

The Untamed Episode 14, My Commentary!

Reader beware, spoilers below....

Of note, this is when my friends corrected me and said that it was supposed to be “LWJ” rather than “LZ” and I corrected it. Hopefully that explains the change.

WWX PUT LWJ’S HEADBAND BACK ON TO HELP HIM I LOVE THAT MAN

“I guess we have to stay here for a period of time.” Oh, whatever shall you do, you poor dears.

Also can I just say how impressive it was that WWX so successfully put the headband on correctly, through LWJ’S hair, which I may add is STILL PULLED BACK PERFECTLY?

WWX: “Death by a monster that is ten thousand years old will not be shameful when people find out, right?!” (paraphrased)(I paused there, I’m predicting reactions) LWJ’s eyes got wide and he’s like!?!??! Now it’s a choose your own adventure, and the options are: : 1. “WHAT THE ACTUAL F.” 2. “You dumdum!!” 3. “..........” (nothing, because that’s what he usually says) “I don’t want you to die, thanks.”

The winner was that they straight up cut away after his eyes got big, so we shall never know. I assume the “……….” one though.

THEY’RE COLLECTING WEAPONS. 

YES GOOD, THIS IS GOOD.

Oh they cut the strings from the bows, brilliant.

LWJ’s finger lit up blue like ET, I’m DYING. Their abilities change by the second.

“We’ll fight until the last breath. Let’s see who will die first.” Yeah, no, thanks very much, but don’t do that.

If there are what appear to be smelly mummified bodies, yeah, DON’T GO NEAR THEM, WWX.

FUCKIN HELL DO NOT LET THE MUMMIES’ EYES OPEN.

Wait I’m just now realizing that these aren’t his inner thoughts. 

ARE THEY CONNECTED BY TELEPATHY OR SOMETHING????

Seriously, what they are able to do is changing by the minute.

It’s so hard to watch and type correctly but I’m doing my best, y’all.

WWX...tried to pull the sword out of the ground? Okay Arthur……

Wait, I am VERY confused. He’s…...inside of the shell? And the basilisk is also inside? But the basilisk is now sized such that this shell must be the size the cave originally was?

WWX holding onto the sword that’s stuck in the bottom of the basilisk’s jaw is GREAT. Idk is this scene was fun to shoot or just made him SUPER dizzy.

THIS IS IN NO WAY HOW GRAVITY WORKS

But let’s ignore that I guess

LWJ straining to save WWX by attempting to slice its throat with the string is INTENSE

And now the sword itself is bleeding?!?!?!?! WHAT EVEN IS THIS SHOW.

Oh nevermind. LWJ and WWX both have bloody hands from their endeavors.

THE SWORDS ARE SHAKING

I’m about to LOVE this, aren’t I!??!!??!

LWJ pulling WWX out of the WATER IS??!?!?!?!??!? OMG?!?!??!??!

He’s walking, so that’s good!

Wait no he’s unconscious.

DO TELL ME, HOW DOES ONE WALK WHILE UNCONSCIOUS.

Lol

Okay, so we moved to a NON WangXian scene (is there a WWX/LWJ portmanteau? I don’t know one.) AND I DON’T LIKE IT.

Bad Guy and Other Bad Guy discussing Bad Guy Things. 

Ugh. The puppet lair scenes are so stressful. :( 

I have to pee SO BAD but I refuse to leave.

Now it’s WWX’s turn to spit up blood.

These babies try so hard.

Okay so WWX looks like he’s dying and I just keep waiting for him to say that True Love’s Kiss is all that will save him.

“Lan Zhan, I didn’t think I would survive this.” *starts to die* “Wei Ying! You have a fever.” “DO NOT FUCKING DIE ON ME. HERE LET ME SAVE YOU LIKE NBD, BECAUSE I’M A REAL LIFE ANGEL ALL IN WHITE.”

Is this using up LWJ’s strength? Because I love that trope. That would be excellent.

IF HE SINGS FOR HIM

PLEASE LWJ

I MEAN, PLEASE WRITERS, LET WANG YIBO SING.

I think I’m watching the wrong thing. 

I think the video got messed up.

I think Netflix is accidentally sending me to a youtube fanvid montage of all of their cute scenes.

This is…………………….I FUCKING CAN’T. It’s their whole story with them singing over it. THIS IS TOO FUCKING MUCH.

I ABSOLUTELY 100% CAN FUCKING NOT.

You better believe I’m replaying that entire montage right now.

This song (Wu Ji with both of them singing) is on my playlist so I’ve probably listened to it like 20 times. I’M ALREADY OBSESSED WITH IT AND YOU PUT THIS VIDEO OVER TOP. OH MY FUCKING LORD.

They’re both losing strength it seems! I’m just AHHHHHHHH

Poor WWX passed out.

THEY’RE OUTSIDE?!?! 

DID LWJ CARRY HIM OUT?!?!?!

WHAT HAPPENED??!!?!?

HOW DID HE DO THAT?!??!

…………...Wait. LWJ LEFT?!?!?!?!?!!!??!?!?!?!?!?! HE LEFT HIM!?!??!?!!?!?!?!?!??!

I’m not okay with this! My own favorite character is now on my shit list. Is that possible? Is that allowed.

So JZX and JC were their saviors. That’s good I guess. Though the pair of them surviving for 7 days with no food is……..I’m just like a’ight.

Oh, SHIT. Everything was taken over by the Wen Clan.

Damn them.

Though Bad Guy has disappeared to look for the Yin Iron, so that’s Not Great Dan.

Separately, I really, really, really, really like the arm circle thing instead of shaking hands or hugging. It’s amazing and I want to adopt it.

“WWX, this time if you’re alive, I’m not going to spare you.” JUST LIKE HE SHOULDN’T HAVE SPARED YOU, BAD GUY.

They’re back to Jiang Clan. 

JYL is soooo pretty.

WWX passed out again! I feel like that means we deserve another cute montage, right?!

Lol jk

Is WWX in JYL’s room? Is she delicately taking care of him?!? I LOVE IT.

AND JC TOO.

I’M SO HERE FOR THIS ADORABLE SCENE.

THEY’RE PRECIOUS.

Papa came too!

Mama Jiang needs to stay tf away though or I will throw hands.

Both of the boys when talking to Papa Jiang are THE BEST. Trying to talk up the other.

NO.

EVIL MAMA JIANG IS HERE.

Ugh, how did I know.

She’s SO MEAN

To both JC and WWX!

WAIT WHAT

Ohhhhh so she’s angry WWX might be a Jiang bastard?

And that Papa Jiang loves WWX’s mother? Okay so that’s no excuse to be cruel to him!!!!! Didn’t we learn ANYTHING from Harry Potter, people?!! Spoiler alert, Snape was the BAD GUY. 

Okay, Imma call her Lady Snape from now on.

“He’s not stricter towards me, he just doesn't like me or my mother.” (paraphrased) NOOOO BABYYYYY.

Poor thing. I mean, seems like he’s right, but also poor thing.

THIS BROTHERLY LOVE SCENE WITH WWX TELLING JC HE’LL BE A GOOD LEADER IS EVERYTHING, MY HEART ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT HANDLE IT.

[serinajane]

HI Serinajane. Thank you for your playlists. I haven't the chance to listen all of them but I will. For Wei YIng. what do you think about this song? It shows his love towards LAn ZHan ( and the other way around is also true):Only you from the Platters . GDC is so special, Do you have another novel you can recommend? Thank you , Manon

Hello dutrimafan, long time no see as we say, hope you have been well. Thank you for you interest in my playlists, making them and working on them is my way of digesting and processing this very special story while at the same time sharing my opinion on how I see the characters in a way that suits me best: through music.  Creating the playlists I channel their characters, think about what they felt in certain key moments of the story also what genre and style fits them best, which makes selecting songs quite the task. Your suggestion “Only you” from the Platters is a beautiful well known classic, for me personally I do not see it in Wei Wuxian’s collection as it is a timeless classic from the lyrics to the style of the song and if Wei Wuxian was anything he was ahead of his time also quite quirky and upbeat at least on the surface so the songs in his collection are all more modern & urban mostly pop music with rock and R&B / hip-hop influences. Lyrics wise I would also see it more in Lan WangJi’s collection as he is the one who “made changes” mostly to be with Wei Wuxian also Wuxian was always able to find happiness anywhere, while I feel Lan WangJi truly found his happiness when he met Wei Wuxian, before that he wasn’t quite “happy”. Despite that to me it doesn’t fit the style I see for Lan WangJi which is (orchestra) classic & (guitar) singer songwriter, since he plays a stringed instrument guqin, for the most part. Nonetheless it is a great song and for sure does resemble the sentiment of their love, my concept is just very intricate. As you already said Mo Dao Zu Shi (GDC) is very special, so I find it hard to recommend other stories based on this as it feels like comparing. Let me ask you what did you like about Mo Dao Zu Shi (which aspects), that might make it easier. I am personally still very much caught up in this story, as im working on my playlists frequently and joined MDZS reddit and discord servers. There is another story that I also have been enjoying for a while now it is called Qin’s Moon and the prequel to it Qin’s Moon: Nine songs of the moving heavens. I discovered MDZS through donghua and only later went on to read the novel. With Qin’s Moon there has been allot of donghua material to catch upon since the show is running for 10 years plus and I very much love the story, I’m not sure if there are novels for it but right now im still busy watching the donghua anyway. What it has in common with MDZS is the historical setting in china, though Qin’s Moon is much more true to actual history of china, it is a very well written drama with deeply fleshed out characters, there is also allot of scheming and fights for power, it has romance but it is woven in and not the focal point (it is not danmei).

Let me know if you have anymore questions and feel free and leave me a feedback on my playlists after you listened to them.