#soft domestic wangji is my favourite wangji

[l1ve-l4ugh-lov3craft]

okay now you are obligated to share

to share your favourite fics aever bevauee youhvae awesome taste ☝🏼

oh my gosh im honoured thank you XD

i don't actually read a WHOLE lot of fanfiction?? but i'll dig in my bookmarks >:D

I'd have to say Crimson Rivers and Only the Brave are probably my favourite jegulus fics of all time i could read those all the time and not get tired

Intermission is a bizaarstars rosekiller fic that i ADORE

For the Sunshine Within is a soft, domestic andrew x neil fic i love this one sm <33

Conservational Efforts is another boreo oneshot that has my whole heart

and then ANOTHER that's a ship i didn't mention before but that i love SO SO SOOO much is Wei Ying x Lan Wangji from this chinese novel called Mo Dao Zu Shi??? and there's a summer camp au fic I love called Welcome To Gusu

That's all i got! :D

[wangxianficrecs]

💙 hear the monsters calling home by sundiscus

💙 hear the monsters calling home

by sundiscus

M, 8k, Wangxian

Summary: He breaks off, grimacing and covering his nose. “Sorry, that’s really a lot of blood.” When he drops his hand, Lan Wangji catches a flash of a sharp, white fang. In which Lan Wangji is investigating a string of strange deaths and Wei Wuxian is a vampire he can’t seem to kill. [threadfic cross-posted from twitter]

My comments: One of my favourite thread fics of all time and I just found out that it's on AO3 too! I adore this story. Modern setting with cultivation where Lan Wangji is a cultivator who encounters cultivator-turned-vampire Wei Wuxian during a night-hunt and finds himself working together with him to solve a mystery. Of course, they end up growing closer as well and slowly but surely, Wei Wuxian finds a home in the Cloud Recesses. Fer's flavour of Wei Wuxian is something I always enjoy. There's just something so sad about him, that makes me want to huddle him in a blanket, but he doesn't let it weigh him down and he always moves forward, no matter how painful it is and I really like that. Lan Wangji too is just so soft and I love how he goes from "vampires are evil creatures and cannot be trusted" to "feed directly from me, Wei Ying, there's no one I trust like you."

Excerpt: For a moment Lan Wangji thinks, wildly, that this means Wei Ying has been working with the trap-layers this whole time. That Lan Wangji was a fool to keep letting Wei Ying find him, and for letting him go each time. (He also thinks about how close they are—closer than they were that first night when Wei Ying dragged him from the array. Like this, with Wei Ying collapsed on top of him, his fangs are centimeters from Lan Wangji’s throat.) Then Lan Wangji sees the dagger sticking out of Wei Ying’s shoulder. In the few seconds it takes for Wei Ying to stir and push himself up—hissing in pain as he does—Lan Wangji understands. Wei Ying saw the dagger coming. If Wei Ying hadn’t pushed him, it would’ve landed squarely in Lan Wangji’s chest. “Ahh,” Wei Ying is saying. There’s another hiss, a slick sound, and then Wei Ying is holding the bloody dagger in his lap. “Do you want this? For research, or something? Better wrap it up if so, I think—it’s poisoned. Ow.” Lan Wangji doesn’t scramble up—scramble is not something he does—but he gets himself upright very fast. “Poisoned,” he says. “Yeah. So good thing it hit me, huh?” Wei Ying sways a bit as he speaks.

pov lan wangji, pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern with magic, vampires, vampire wei wuxian, vampire wen ning, misunderstandings, blood drinking, angst with a happy ending, implied sexual content, getting to know each other, getting together, domestic fluff

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[hils79]

Catching up on some of the things I've been tagged in. Some of these are very old. So sorry. I'm crap.

Fic author interview! I was tagged by the fantastic @lynne-monstr

No-pressure tagging: @pangzi @foxofninetales @merinnan @killerandhealerqueen @strandedchesspiece @thesilversun @silver-colour

How many works do you have on AO3?

266 as of now

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,467,370 words however some of those words are on collaborative fics. I don't know how to filter out the ones I wrote by myself but it's well over the 1,000,000 mark and that makes me happy

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Unleashed  (MCU, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers) - 801 kudos

Visible to All But Me - (DMBJ, Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling) - 666 kudos (ehehe 😈)

The Truth About Cats, Dogs and Penguins - (Men's Hockey RPF. Evgeni Malkin/Sidney Crosby) - 621 kudos

In which Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are surprisingly capable parents - (MCU, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers) - 530 kudos

Not The Russian Way- (The Man From UNCLE movie, Ilya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo/Gaby Teller) - 516 kudos

I find it fascinating that a DMBJ fic is in my top 5. The other fics are all pretty old and in large and popular fandoms. I think it was just good timing in that I posted when a lot of people who have since moved on to other fandoms were into DMBJ off the back of Ultimate Note airing.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try! I think it's just polite to at least say thank you. Occasionally I do forget of miss one though.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do sad or angsty endings

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Yeah, pretty much all of them.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Very rarely. I think all my crossovers have been co-written with other people.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate exactly, but somone once accused me of plagiarism because I posted a fic with vaguely similar themes to one of theirs. Luckily for me this was back in the LJ days where there was a comm specifically for reviewing accusations of plagiarism where independent people would review both fics. Of course they ruled in my favour but it was really fucking upsetting at the time.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have, but I prefer not to.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! Someone translated one of my MCU fics into Chinese which made me very happy.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, a bunch of times! It can be really fun if you get along well with the people you're writing with.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

That's like asking me what my favourite fandom is. My favourite ship is whatever ship I am into at the time.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

RIP my au for The Untamed where Lotus Pier was a hotel that famous musician Lan Wangji came to stay in while he was on tour.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Probably dialogue or soft domestic fluff

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Description. A beta reader recently commented that in one of my fics I hadn't actually described what anyone looks like. I just want them to talk and kiss, okay?

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Not full dialogue, no, but now that I've started writing in Chinese fandoms I think there are some words that can be used. Generally only terms of address, though. Like someone calling someone 'laoban'

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I do still kind of want to write some Mysterious Lotus Casebook fic. At least one at any rate.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written

Juxtaposition (DMBJ, Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling)

I don't generally write AUs, and I definitely have never written anything close to this long before. It took me a year to write it and I am very proud of it.

[jaimebluesq]

Excellent! Let's see if I can get you a good cross-current of fics and authors - and many of us are here on Tumblr too and all too happy to chat about our favourite boy ;) If any of the AO3 links don't work for you, it may be because some authors have locked their fics to only be read by people logged into AO3.

(And if any of my followers would like to add any I've missed, please feel free to do so!)

First, I will set modesty aside for a moment and toot my own horn - I'm @jaimebluesq here on Tumblr and JaimeBlue on AO3, and the vast majority of the fics I write have NHS as a major player. I write a handful of ships (GenFic, NHS/JC, NHS/JGY, NHS/NZH, and many others), and also love to explore NHS' relationship with his brother and his sect! Recommendations: Winning the Game (A 'missing scene' fic from CQL - what happened to NHS after he fainted at the Qishan indoctrination camp - very angsty), It Was You All Along (Post-canon SangCheng, one of my best-received fics), I'll Carry Your Load (5+1+1 format NHS/NZH - Nie Zonghui, Fatal Journey spoilers), and for some crack with SangYao on the side, The Nie Sect Murder Tortoises (A series of fics where NHS can domesticate the Tortoise of Slaughter because he has a spiritual tortoise at home that's a xuanwu, and there are babies/hatchlings, and Jin Zixun gets a garden!).

*Ahem* </horn-tooting>

So on the SangCheng side of things (Nie Huaisang paired with Jiang Cheng, a combination few of us can resist), we have: @roseclaw on Tumblr and here on AO3 - recommendations, Drowned are the Pharoahs (modern-ish day AU where NHS works in Egypt and JC is an Egyptologist come to do some excavating - they do TONS of great modern and other day AUs) and the Big Bad Wolf series (the Nie are werewolves and JC has to deal, modern day AU, hilarious!) @gekidasa on Tumblr and here on AO3 - recommendation, Heart Opening Flow (modern day AU, the boys meet in a yoga class).

For the XiSang shippers (NHS & Lan Xichen), I'm not a huge reader so I can't make many recommendations, but I know @ibijau is quite prolific and enthusiastic about the ship and they're here on AO3.

Someone else I adore is @fortune-maiden - here on AO3 - who writes some amazing fic featuring the Nie Bros, and like me has a soft spot for Jin Zixuan. Recommendation: The Mustache (NHS grows a moustache to unsettle JGY in the years after NMJ died).

For SangYao (NHS/Meng Yao or JGY depending upon canon, time period, and what NHS thinks of him in a given situation lol), we have @thebiscuiteternal - here on AO3 - recommendation: It Feels a Lot Like Fear (NHS held by Qishan while Meng Yao works for WRH, lots of feels)

And last but not least, the lovely person who has worked overtime to help make WangSang a thing (NHS/Lan Wangji - rarepairs are so hard to keep going sometimes, especially when one of them is part of the fandom's primary ship), @daily-wangsang which last I knew was run by the wonderful MarsDiogenes here on AO3 - recommendations: (not quite) Old Enough (canon-era, baby WangSang friendship!!!) and Paperbark (modern day AU with horticulturalist NHS, I loved this so much!).

This is just a tip of the iceberg - it would be impossible to recommend everyone I love and have enjoyed, but I think it's a great starting point. I hope this helps!

Happy reading :D

Hiiii any chance someone can recommend a good nie huaisang centered fic to me?! Or one he plays a pretty large role in? Any rating!

[pocketfulofrecs]

This week’s Author Spotlight is here! And our author in the spotlight is glitteringmoonlight! We really love this author and it seems like many of our friends do as well. We’ve both been recommended "on restitution" so many times! A testament of how good glitteringmoonlight is. If there was a list of authors to read as a newcomer, we think she would be on it for sure.

She has published 222k+ words on MDZS on ao3 in 12 works. You can find her @glitteringmoonlight on Tumblr.

Her fics:

Dreams of You (Are All I Have Left) - [teen | 2.7k | the 13 years]

love at every s(word f)ight - [teen | 3.2k | established relationship fluff]

one of our own - [general | 7.7k | 5 times the Lans defended WWX]

pay no attention to what’s behind the curtain - [teen | 7.4k | emperor!LWJ and concubine!WWX]

this version of our story - [general | 3.4k | Lan Sizhui learns about the Wens]

no smoke without fire - [teen | 12k | outsider pov about the Yiling Patriarch]

watch what we’ll become - [teen | 59k | arranged marriage between WWX and JZX - but still wangxian]

looking through a window - [teen | 5.4k | modern au online learning outsider pov]

pitfalls of greed (our post) - [teen | 3.3k | Yiling Laozu WWX]

our lives, never ours - [teen | 7.9k | hunger games au]

on restitution - [mature | 98k | WWX doesn’t die at the siege and is kept prisoner by JC - the rest of canon still happens]

this world (what I make of it) - [teen | 17k | wip | avatar au]

Dee’s favourite: I’m honestly torn? I love pitfalls of greed. It is one of the first fics I read. BAMF WWX is my jam. Looking through a window is a great fic too! There’s something so charming about outsider POV getting a glimpse of lovely Wangxian domesticity. The descriptions of LWJ and WWX are so enchanting here. I would highly recommend them.

Ju’s favourite: This was hard to choose, but “on restitution” has a big place in my heart. I was so afraid of reading it while the author was Anonymous, because the synopsis is so sad/angsty. The moment I saw who the writer was I started reading and just couldn’t put it down. And it is just so good!!! The first chapter is really angsty and it hurts a lot, but then the rest of the fic comes and it’s way less angsty than I expected. WWX is full of life, wangxian is absolutely glorious, and soft, and romantic, and sexy, and they tease and trust each other. The juniors are also there, and we get Wei Yuan for once! They are all so in character and it makes me so happy. Mostly WWX pov, but I cannot forget to mention Jingyi’s pov. I just couldn’t stop laughing at his chapter. Cannot rec this one enough.

The Interview:

Q. When did you start writing fics? Did you have fandoms before this one?

A. I used to write for Percy Jackson and Harry Potter in the early 2010s (under a different name), though not very prolifically, but that tapered off fairly quickly. Apart from a few unpublished fic drafts for Lord of the Rings and Leverage, I only really got back into fic writing after I rewatched Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2020.

Q. What made you start writing for MDZS?

A. Wangxian! What drew me to the source material was the fact that I found Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji utterly fascinating as individual characters, but it was how much I loved their relationship dynamic that got me thinking about writing fic. There was also something about the plot and themes of MDZS itself that I found very compelling, and that made me even more interested in exploring it in fic. I didn’t realize it would lead to me writing so many fics in this fandom, but I’m certainly not complaining!

Q. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

A. That’s a really hard question to answer because I love different fics for different reasons, and at any given time, the fic I’m working on at the moment is usually my favourite. Among my finished fics, I particularly love on restitution, because of the way I got to portray Wangxian (and how many sweet, fluffy interactions I managed to fit into it, which… might seem like an odd reason given the premise, summary, and tags) and no smoke without fire, because it contains so many tropes I love— Wei Wuxian being a genius inventor, Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants as found family, kids loving Wei Wuxian… the list goes on.

Q. What’s your favourite type of fics to read?

A. It depends on the day, really. Sometimes I love a good plot-heavy fic and other times I just want tender domestic fluff. But when it comes to MDZS, I do have a soft spot for fics of the ‘Wei Wuxian protection squad’ variety and fics that heavily feature the Wen siblings and Wei Wuxian’s relationship.

Q. What’s your favourite comment? Or type of comment?

A. Any comment at all! It’s always amazing to know that someone liked my fic(s) enough to let me know! (Though it’s a special kind of thrill to see the same person comment on multiple of my fics, because it tells me that they liked my writing enough to check out what else I’ve written)

Q. What is your favorite trope to read and/or write?

A. Established relationship and all the subtropes that encompasses! I love the familiarity, the casual intimacy, the comfort in each other’s presence… I could go on and on. I also love a good outsider POV (as evidenced by how many of them I’ve written), and as a natural consequence, established relationship from outsider POV.

Q. Do you have any advice for new authors?

A. Write what you want to read. I’ve found that it’s a lot more enjoyable to write something that you personally like, and editing feels a lot less tedious when you enjoy what you’re proofreading. Also, there’s a good chance you’ll connect with other people who enjoy the same things you do!

Q. What do you think is the most important element in writing? Plot, characterization, relationship?

A. They’re all important, but characterization drives everything else, I feel. The characters— and the way they react to situations and to each other— influence how the plot progresses and the relationships develop, so characterization is an essential part of writing.

~

Check out their stories on ao3 and remember…

Comments and kudos feed the author’s soul.

[tracer85s]

MDZS fics i treasure (2)

parts 1, 2, 3

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 71k, complete]

one of the classics. this is also the fic that got me into the whole mdzs fandom. i literally just searched up kid fic on ao3 and this one seemed promising... so i read it without knowing who tf lan wangji or wei wuxian are... fast forward a few months later and all i can think about is “wangxian are married and have a son.” THEY’RE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. now take that knowledge and add in modern wangxian as university music students who get married to take care of a-yuan and you’ve got yourselves this brilliant fic. also, i did not know you can endlessly pine for your own husband but with wangxian, anything’s possible

Neatly Arranged by thunderwear

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, jiang yanli/jin zixuan, 45k, complete]

yes. i love arranged marriage wangxian fics okay ! they’re my guilty pleasure. this one’s unique because lwj’s actually bethrothed to jiang yanli and jin zixuan’s bethrothed to wwx which is actually kind of funny especially when jzx asks lwj if he wants to switch. it does get angsty but there’s a happy ending !

Night of Sixth Magnitude Stars by Leffy

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 22k, complete]

modern au with student lwj and teacher wwx although it’s only for the first chapter. THIS FIC. OH MY GOD. i literally got tricked, i thought it would be lighthearted and fluffy but the angst (specifically for wwx’s character) broke my heart. THE PLOT IS AMAZING, PLEASE READ IT

one good thing by Yuu_chi

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 26k, complete]

this one’s a classic, one of the first few mdzs fics i read and i absolutely love it. modern au with ghost wwx and house owner lwj *squeals* IT’S SO FLUFFY... and then gets quite a bit angsty at the end, i swear your heart stops at that scene. anyway it’s such a good read sigh,,, might re-read

Pigtail Pulling by protos_metazu_ison

[general, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 3k, complete]

whenever i’m feeling down, this fic always manages to cheer me up. it’s very lighthearted, just fluffy wangxian in cloud recesses: wwx teasing lwj and lwj teases back and absolutely flusters wwx. it’s just SO CUTE

Rush Hour by Ulan

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 3k, completed]

basically modern wangxian in public transport, pressed up against each other, with a dash of protective lwj and damsel in distress wwx. warning, there is minor sexual assault but the rest is just fluffy wangxian <3

seldom all they seem by Fahye

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 24k, complete]

yes... another arranged marriage fic... i have nothing to say for myself. but this one’s just the usual fic with lwj finding wwx annoying at first and then pining so hard afterwards once he realizes wwx is his entire world. the author also changed the wwx escaping with the wens scene and OH MY GOD THEIR VERSION *chef’s kiss*. READ IT !

silhouettes to steal this night by moonsteps

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 51k, complete]

MODERN WANGXIAN AS ASSASSINS/HITMEN AND ROOMMATES. WHAT MORE DO I NEED TO SAY. guys, they just flirt every time they’re assigned to the same hit i am literally crying. top tier fic as expected from moonsteps (read the rest of their works you won’t regret it at all).

so you’ve been robbed by a museum by yukla

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 5k, complete]

immortal cultivators wangxian in the modern world !! to summarize, wangxian somehow does *not* get their shit together in the ancient times and pine all the way into the 21st century until lwj sees an entire section of paintings of himself hanging in the museum... you can guess whose yearning-induced artistic creations those are ;)

soft-hearted by @sarah-yyy

[general, lan wanji/wei wuxian, 6k, complete]

are you wondering what happens if child lwj found child wwx in the streets and brought him back to gusu with him? this. this is what happens: SOFTNESS, FLUFF, AND WWX CALLING GEGE. i literally didn’t know how much i need childhood friends to lovers wangxian until i read this and every time wwx called lwj gege? hello? i was pretty sure i was going to burst into flames if i kept screaming. also, read the author’s wangxian rebuttable presumption verse on their page bc it’s absolutely genius oh my god i’m never going to shut up about the rp verse

take yourself home by ribena

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 26k, complete]

okay, this one is HEAVY. like you would seriously just want to wrap wwx in a blanket and feed him soup kind of heavy. to summarize, radio host lwj keeping plant dad wwx company with his voice and then himself once he moves into the same apartment as wwx. honestly, this one hits home for me, it will definitely make you sob but the ending is so hopeful and i need a sequel of just plant dads wangxian being domestic 

tame by rikke

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 11k, complete]

IMAGINE IF LWJ DID NOT LEAVE WWX AFTER THE XUANWU CAVE. just imagine oh my god, maybe they would’ve gotten their feelings resolved faster... or hatched a baby xuanwu, and wait what? yes, you read right. this fic is about xuanwu dads wangxian in yunmeng, it’s fluffy and funny and just a perfect lighthearted read if you’re having a bad day

The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 66k, complete]

in which wwx travels to lanling alone for jin ling’s one month celebration and gets heavily injured, cue in very heavy hurt/comfort. warning, there’s major illness and surgery in this fic. so basically, lwj stays in the burial mounds to guard wwx and the wens while wwx recovers from his injury. LISTEN, burial mounds husbands wangxian and heavy hurt/comfort, what more do you need. go read it

The Lotus Defense Society by mondengel

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, jiang yanli/jin zixuan, 3k, complete, only available for registered users of ao3]

i have lost count of how many times i’ve read this one, i love it so much. lwj and jzx bond over their mutual pining for wwx and jyl and accidentally starts a cult with nhs to prevent unsuitable people from courting them. where do i even begin with this fic, it’s literally so amazing !! very crack-y, my favourite line is “Young Master Jin!  It’s Lan Wangji! He’s enacting Phoenix Mountain Part 2!” and then what happens after is my favourite scene

the secret ingredient by queen_gee

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 8k, complete]

WWX BAKING FOR LWJ WHO HAS A SWEET TOOTH OH MY GOD I AM SOBBING. modern college/university wangxian with lots of pining and baking, i am literally banging my head against a table this is the sweetest fic, but they’re also idiots in love so there’s some light angst but you’ll literally melt at the ending !!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Modern Father by Bgtea

[teen and up, lan xichen/jiang wanyin, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 24k, complete]

written in jiang fengmian’s pov where jfm realizes jiang cheng attracts a lot of attention from... old men. cue in lan xichen and his charming smile and this spells trouble to jfm so he enlists wwx’s help in operation protect jiang cheng. endgame xicheng with side pairing wangxian, this is absolutely cute and very humorous

with you, I am home by tellthemstories

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 47k, complete]

MODERN CULTIVATORS WANGXIAN DECIDE TO FAKE DATE *SCREAMS*. slow burn (but not if you read it fast enough), the way they are so domestic in this one oh my god, a LOT of oblivious wwx, and lwj meeting the family. i’m a sucker for fake dating fics and this one is just SO right. i’m urging everyone to read it for self-care

[ilthit]

So, @slow-burn-sally tagged me to list my top five canon ships and top five non-canon ships. Ah, the usual caveat: I may make a completely different list on another day, I can’t actually rank favourites, so just listing ones I like.

Canon: 

Sam Gamgee/Rosie Cotton from Lord of the Rings - domestic! happy ending! bliss! seventeen hundred children! - a long life together, the kind they always wanted and deserved ;_; - does loving hobbits and Hobbiton mean I am a slut for cottagecore idk something something gardening - I am weak for hobbits though, no kidding

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji from Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed - new fandom so I hesitate to include but hey you gotta be true to who you are at this present moment

Moist von Lipwig/Adora Belle Dearheart from the Discworld series - gotta love that killer and killer’s simp dynamic

Lady Sybil Ramkin/Sam Vimes from the Discworld series - where do I even BEGIN - she’s the size of a house and a traditionalist seeped in aristocratic power - he’s a worldweary antiauthoritarian copper with enough anger to fuel a small nation - they’re in love

Shen Qingqiu/Luo Binghe from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System - okay YES I know they’re problematic and open to various negative interpretations - but I’ve been devouring soft post-canon Bingqiu fic ever since I finished so how can I not mention it

Non-Canon:

Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir from Community - best friends to best friends in love - maybe you don’t HAVE to “grow up” and “be a man”, maybe you can just be happy, how about that

Annie Edison/Britta Perry from Community - judging by how many ficlets I’ve written about them, yeah

Reynir Arnason/Onni Hotakainen from Stand Still Stay Silent - no longer in this fandom because of racism kerfuffle and the author’s Christian propaganda bunny comic but I did ship it like burning - the sunshine one is head-over-heels for the grumpy one

Erin Gilbert/Abby Yates from Ghostbusters (2016) - best friends in love to enemies to best friends in love all over again

Ranma Saotome/Ryoga Hibiki from Ranma 1/2 - shoutout to one of my very first m/m ships - ah, halcyon days of youth

-

Bonus: I honestly don’t know if this is canon but probably?

Anne Shirley/Diana Barry from Anne of Green Gables AJ Raffles/Bunny Manders from the Raffles stories Sam Gamgee/Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings Miguel/Tulio/Chel from The Road to El Dorado Polly Perks/Maladict from the Discworld series

[inessencedevided]

Ah, but what scenes in particular did you enjoy? The wangxian ones in general? Or were there any particular ones that stuck with you?

-the axe cultivator

Oh, ac, I missed some of your question last time didn't I? So sorry. My head is kinda in the clouds these days

There are so many scenes that stuck with me, so I'll make a bullet list and probably still miss some ^^

It's such a small thing but in ep 1 the transition from the tale of how wei wuxian was killed transitions to the tea house via a shit from within sizhui's trea cup as he's pouring tea "onto the camera". It's nothing special but remember loving that shot so much the first time I watched that it was one of the things that kept me watching

Wangxian-wise in the first two episodes, I'd be remiss not to mention that handgrip when wei wuxian plays wangxian to calm wen ning down. Because it goes on ... and on ... and on. When I watched it for the first time I was like "ooohhhh so it's gonna be this kind of gay". You know the endless-longing-stares kind. And now when I rewatch it's just devastating. The last time they saw each other before this scene, they also held onto each others wrists but wei wuxian let go and fell to his death. And here lan zhan is, holding on for minutes and only let's go once jiang cheng threatens wei wuxian. Just ... 💔

i started shipping xiyao from their very furst sxebe together. Those two actors (i try to remeber their names but i always forget them again. My memory is shit when it comes to names :/) really just did want some of that sweet sweet homoerotic tension. Also, their first interaction stand out to me as the moment i really started to like lan xichen. In a setting that was shown early on to be highly hierarchical, he exhibited in the very forst scenes that he is willing to disregard someone's standing and look at their character and abilities instead. I just really love xichen ❤

Okay, i can't name one scene per episode, so let’s sum them up a little

I adore this progression during the cloud recesses and the yin iron arc from a flirtratious rivalry to genuine deep freindship and love. There are so many little moments that stand out because of the subtle acting joices made my wang yibo and xiao zhan, as well as the script, The lantern scene, when Wei Wuxian doesn’t betray the yin iron secret to huaisang and lan wangji goes “hu, so your bullshitting has reasons”, when they are in the market and lan zhan actually communicates that he doesn’t like crowds and wei wuxian pulls him closer but not into the crowd and so many others. When you watch closely, you see them realising little details about each other and I’m honestly so impressed with how amazingly the process of their falling in love was portrayed

fast forward a bit: obviously, the freaking montage quasi-fan vid in the middle of the cave scene set to their freaking love song. I remeber when I first watched this scene I actually, literally screamed. I could not believe it because their was no fucking way that this could be read as anything but romantic and I was not used to that much blatant queer romance!

A little less happy (okay a lot). The entire destruction of the jiang clan with a special mention to the scene when Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian just saw the bodies and run into fields where they fight and Jiang Cheng chokes Wei Wuxian and then they just fall back in exhaustion and sleep right there under the open sky. Everything about that scene was brilliantly done and also soul-crushing. The loss of innosence in that moment devastated me. It was so obvious that in the moment of deepest despair, all of these children’s traumas and deep-seated fears reared their ugly heads. So Jiang Cheng directs all his grief at the easiest target for his anger and Wei Wuxian just takes it because that is what he thinks is his job. And the real tragedy? This dynamic will not be broken until Wei Wuxian’s literal death. These children need therapy so goddamn badly and all they get is more trauma on top of their excisting trauma.

“The single log bridge” scene. I. Am. A. Sucker for the found family trope, especially for characters who cronically think they have to do everything on their own. So there Wei Wuxian is saying he will walk his dark path alone, but instead he finds lit lanterns and a humble feast prepared for him by people who love him. That juxtaposition kils. me. every. time. YOU ARE LOVED WEI WUXIAN! FOR YOURSELF!

(Shout out to the second time his word are refuted, this time by lan wangji and *gasp* verbally. Because there is NO better love declaration than that scene in front of basically every leader of cultivation world who politely wait for their turn to attack them)

Luo Qingyang removing herself from the narrative. I literally cry every time.

Talking about women: jiang yanli defending wei wuxian and calling him her brother. That moment is the "three things all wise men fear" quite incarnat, only it's the anger of a gentle woman

“Let me go” So ... I have SUCH a thing for couple who grapple with questions of when it is time to let go and when it is time to hold on. So Wangxian hits all my buttons. I will go further into this in my last bullet point (about the very last scene)

Oh god, this list is gonna get so long and i’m still going to forget things

In the present timeline:

Again, to sum it up, all the gentle wangxian moment where they look at each other and their entire face grows soft. Every almost-smile lan wangji sends wei wuxian, every "oh. He really loves me huh?"-look from wei wuxian. Especially in the Jingshi just after lan Xichen's loredrop. These two intensly guarded people (yes, wei wuxian is guarded,he just hides behind smiles) are so open with each other. I only have to see a guf of lan wangji with his heir down and I go feral!

Talking about that episode, the lan family backstory as a scene does things to me. And I remember watching that the first time and so much of lan wangji's behaviour suddenly making sense. Especially little lan zhan kneeling in front of his mother’s house and that being how he showed his grief really drove home just how this man exhibits emotion. I'm pretty sure that that was the moment he really became my favourite character.

Same episode and a start juxtaposition to the domestic scene between wangxian before: the talk between lan xichen and Jin Guangyao just afterwards. You could probably write an essay of meta about the parallels and differences between those two scenes and I think that's deliberate because they're back to back. The lan brother's share tea with the person closest to their hearts. One is finally able to open himself fully, the other closes up more than he ever has before with this person. The framing in that scene alone drives that message home, never mind its content. It's heart-wrenching and so well done!

Talking about xiyao: jin guangyao's death for similar reasons. Just ... arrrgh

I'm sure I've missed a ton but thus is already so long so I'll close with my favourite overall: the last scene. The parting and subsequent reunion on the mountaintop. I've stated before why this means so much to me. It is such a reassuring message to me: to have two intensely different people learn to understand and love each other exactly as they are. Being who they are, the occasionally walk different paths. But they don't limit each other. They learn to improve each other by just being there when they are and therefore know and trust that their love will return.

This was mostly cql because you asked for "scenes", but have some honorary novel mentions:

Lan Wangji: "The face says nothing. Listen to the heart-beat." 😭😭😭

The moment when wei wuxian collapses after the second siege and lan sizhui expresses surprise over this, lan wangji says something like "We are all human." I love that moment for many reasons. 1) it's one of the rare direct insights into lan wangji's thoughts. No matter how brief he is here, you don't say something like that just because. 2) and it's significant that he is the one saying it because he, too, is placed on a pedestal. In fact, I think a lot about mdzs boils down to the conflict between the inner self and outer perception and how that dichotomy can be both a deliberate shield (lan zhan being the perfect example) and a curse

I hope you and your axe are having a wonderful day 🥰

[isinuyasha]

Get to know me: MDZS Edition

Get the template by @zhuilingyizhen  here

// General //

If you had to join a sect, which would you join? GusuLan Sect. I know, there’s so many rules, but I can’t deal with lively, loud or hot places, so Lan it is.

Your three favorite characters? Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Lan Shizui

Manhua, donghua, novel, live-action, or audio drama? Probably live action. I absolutely love and adore the novel because it gave us married and domestic WangXian (and of course ALL the delicious dirty SMUT), but there’s just something about the live action that captured my heart. Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan just breathed so much life into the characters. The donghua is cute, the manhua is even cuter and the audio drama is absolutely lovely, but they’re mostly an added bonus.

List your favorite sects, in order. Dang, that’s hard. Depends on what characteristics I’m going by. Going just by aesthetics it would probably be YunmengJiang, GusuLan, LanlingJin, QingheNie, QishanWen.

How long have you been in the fandom? Not long, February probably, but my obsession hit really hard. It’s the first time I’ve been active in a different fandom than HP since 2005 (can you imagine?). 

// Ships //

What’s your OTP? WangXian, no question about it.

What’s your NOTP? Or any other ship you hate? Any with Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji not with each other, I’m possessive.

Other ships you like? I’m not particular about other ships, there are a lot of cute ones.

Thoughts on Wangxian? 🤔 The best thing to happen since... anything basically. I wish novel!WangXian would use lube though, please. Do it for Bichen.

Platonic OTPs/BROTPs? Rarepairs? OT3+s? No particular preference.

Describe a ship in five words. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

// Characters //

If you could date any character from MDZS, who would you pick? Wow, that’s difficult to answer. Definitely neither WWX or LWJ because they belong with each other. In a perfect world, it’d be someone who’d treat me right, like Lan Xichen (I’m too old for Lan Shizui, so he’s out)... but realistically it’d probably be someone like Jiang Cheng or Nie Mingjue because I’m weak for dominant, moody, grumpy men with soft cores. Also, apart from fanficition I don’t enjoy romantic/couply things in RL, so it’d fit I guess. 

If you had to kill a character, who would you kill? Xue Yang, Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao or Su She probably. I’m on the fence with Meng Yao because without him WWX probably wouldn’t have been resurrected, so I don’t know.

Favorite character & why? Lan Wangji. I just find him really interesting and unusual. 

Least favorite character & why? Probably Meng Yao. The other “evil” characters didn’t try to hide they’re evil whereas Meng Yao pretended to be innocent right until the end and betrayed those that loved him just to reach some idiotic goal. I hate snakes like him.

Favorite character of the juniors? [don’t forget OYZZ] Lan Jingyi probably, because he’s pure comic relief.

Favorite character from each main sect (secondary is optional)? I’m excluding WWX and LWJ here, just because) Jiang Yanli, Lan Xichen, Jin Ling, Nie Huaisang, Wen Yuan (Wen Ning following closely behind, literally).

// Story //

If you could make one major story change, what change would you make? Why? This is too hard to answer. I’ve read so many fix-it-fics and no matter what is changed, there’s always something I miss from the original work. If I’d kill Wen Ruohan beforehand, I’ll miss WWX’s interaction with the Wen survivors etc. I think it would bring less pain all around if neither WWX nor JC ever lost their cores but who knows how that would’ve changed things. Maybe it also would’ve helped if WWX realized LWJ’s feelings earlier, but we’ll never know.

Which character would you bring back to life? Jiang Yanli, definitely. There’d be a lot less hurt between JC and WWX and the siblings would be reunited again.

You can bring one character back to life, but you must pick someone else to die in their place. Would you do it? How would this affect the story? If I brought back Jiang Yanli in exchange for one of my hated characters (i.e. Xue Yang, Meng Yao or Su She), that’d work out for everyone probably?

// Fic //

Do you write fic for MDZS? If so, what’s your ao3/wattpad/ff.net? Nope, I’ve only drawn so far, if you wanna see, check out my art tumblr.

What characters/ships do you mostly write/draw for? Only WangXian!

Favorite tropes & which characters? Lovely dovey & domestic fluff. Scenes from the book as well.

AUs or canon-verse? Argh, again with the difficult questions. I love modern!WangXian but I also love post-canon!WangXian a lot.

Recommend a fanfic!! Can be yours or someone else’s. I have too many favourite fics! Here, have some I’ve read recently and absolutey adored:  “the kite string and the anchor rope” by fleurdeliser (features WWX and LWJ raising LSZ together in Cloud Recesses, 39k)  “like wildflowers (we grow)” by moonsteps (features Wei Ying as Lan Zhan's son's teacher, Lan Zhan is also a teacher at the same school, 80k) “A Little Happiness” by Suspicious_Popsicle (features de-aged Lan Wangji, 20k) “Night of Sixth Magnitude Stars” by Leffy (features LWJ as WWX’s teaching assistant, saying more would be spoilery, 22k)

@ a friend, answer them yourself, or send an ask w/ category & number!!

[artswaps]

💕✨ the Untamed!

From this ask game, send me questions abt my media hyperfixations <3

I went on a massive spiel and probably got off-topic here but that’s pretty appropriate for a hyperfixation meme huh?? lol

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them! 

Honestly Wei Wuxian is my Big Fav but I’m gonna talk about Wen Qing instead bcos I’m SAD and I LOVE her. Huge spoilers of course for anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet.

The running theme of WWX and the Wen siblings constantly sacrificing everything for each other really gets to me! They have no real obligation to one another aside from a perceived debt that keeps shifting back and forth, and even then both parties keep risking retaliation from their own clans in protecting each other. That obviously extended into a sense of loyalty towards WWX that Wen Qing can’t walk away from.

She tries so hard to stay clinical and prioritise her brother’s safety, and her debt is arguably repaid after she stopped the wolf from killing WWX when he was locked in that dungeon- but then the Yunmeng siblings show up at her doorstep bedraggled and grieving, and as a doctor she just can’t turn them away.

Fine, so she’ll wait until Jiang Cheng is healed and then send them off again before Wen Chao thinks to look for them there and finds them harboring fugitives.

But then she watches WWX pushing himself past his limits trying to find a way to restore his brother’s core and she watches as he and his sister break down from all their loss while Jiang Cheng is practically comatose, and she tries to tell herself that she can’t keep helping them, it’s putting Wen Ning in danger. But she’s a doctor, and she’s meant to help people, screw the world and its politics, even if the answer doesn’t lie in medicine she still cares too much to keep watching this tragedy.

And they keep helping each other. They turn their backs on the world because it wants them dead and they just want to be safe but the other clans won’t let them. She helps WWX create life in the Burial Mounds and whenever he falls into a slump she bullies him out of it, and tells him there’s no way he can make lotus flowers grow here because she knows he’ll prove her wrong, and she argues with him about turnips vs potatoes and other stupid domestic things, and Wei Wuxian promises to bring her brother back and he does it, and this tiny shitty village in the mountains is all they're allowed but it’s a place where Wen Qing and her brother can exist.

WWX gave them that, so when things go bad and the world decided it was going to come and take that from them too, she knew there was one more debt she had to repay. She was a doctor, taught to preserve lives. And damn it, she cared.

Wen Qing died thinking she was keeping Wei Wuxian safe, and that fucks me up!! I love her for her loyalty, her capability, and her careful way of loving. She knew exactly who her loyalty belonged to and never faltered in her dedication to protecting the people she cared about. I’m Big Sad about her always <3

✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it? 

I adore the characters. I have to admit a lot of the lore and mechanics of this series goes over my head, and a fair amount of the time I have no idea what's actually going on w the plot lmao. But the characters’ emotional arcs have always been clear and strongly presented and they really carry the series. I feel so much for all of them.

Like, there’s this ever-present tone of melancholy through the entire series. You go into it from the start knowing that all of this is going to end in tragedy and we’re about to watch some of these characters go to to their deaths or destroy their relationships with each other, and then once you hit ep33 and we reach the other side there’s just this regret hanging over it all. No one can go back. Some damage is permanent. And despite all that it’s probably the softest the story gets since its very beginning back in Gusu Lan because all these people are trying so hard to reconnect with what is still important to them. Lan WangJi is suddenly very sure about the path he wants to walk, and he’s not about to lose WWX and his protectiveness and support is so soft and determined and aaah. Probably one of my favourite scenes is when they’re fleeing the Jin sect after the treasure room and Wei Wuxian tries to tell the mob that yes, he’s definitely tricked Lan Wangji, he didn’t know it was the Yiling Patriarch; and Lan Wangji steps forward and says “hey no fuck that, I’ve known it was Wei Wuxian the entire time,” like it’s such a deliberate and public declaration that he’s at WWX’s side and isn’t leaving and I adore it. You just kinda go “finally!” because this person is unfaltering in his love and loyalty and you’ve waited so long for someone who will not just concede to WWX’s choices but also trust them and back him up. Plus there was so much tenderness and familiarity between them in the post-resurrection arc I spent half the time just grinning like an idiot. They’re so sweet.

And then there’s Lan Sizhui reconnecting with Wen Ning (and later WWX too!) which was my other favourite scene like it’s so hilarious and a little bit sad that this terrifying black-veined “Ghost General” who is feared by many and can cut down mobs and is a literal walking corpse is the sweetest, most awkward and hesitant person ever. He’s so excited to be talking to Lan Sizhui again and finding that he’s not the last of his clan after all, even if the other doesn’t know it. “Can I call you A-Yao?” fuckin killed me. It’s so tender. Lan Sizhui being maybe a little nervous but otherwise very happy to be having such an innocent conversation with Wen Ning... keeping him company while waiting outside of Lotus Pier....... helping him with his plan to do something that commemorates his clan.... this connection is so important to me it’s so hopeful and soft and it kills me!! I love them sm.

I went on a tangent here but yeah I just really love how much the characters’ emotional arcs resonated with me, they’re all so complex and it’s a testament to how well-written they are that I could follow them clearly even when I couldn’t quite follow the external plot.

[wangxianficrecs]

❤️ Across the street to another life by danegen

❤️ Across the street to another life

by danegen

M, 99k, Wangxian

Summary: Wangji stays on the piano bench as they’re closing up. Wei Ying chews his lip, knowing what he’s going to do but horrified at himself. But what’s the alternative: kick the guy out and find him sleeping beside the dumpster in the morning? And that’s if the cops don’t take him in for vagrancy. “Wangji?” Wangji looks up. Please don’t be a serial killer. “So, we’re closing up for the night, but A-Yuan and I live upstairs. Do you want to join us for dinner?” Wangji blinks. His head bobs in what’s probably a yes. “Great!” Fuck. Or a ragged monosyllabic man wearing a collar shows up at Wei Ying's music store. Wei Ying and A-Yuan ask, is anyone going to adopt this guy? And then they don't wait for an answer.

Kay's comments: This story really had me hooked and I could hardly wait for each new chapter. It's a modern AU set in America based on the movie Unleashed. I didn't know the movie and thankfully, that didn't matter, because no knowledge is needed! Wen Ruohan is a crime boss here and Lan Wangji is his top-fighter that he keeps in a cage and collared and uses to commit violence on his enemies and to win illegal fights (he gave me Winter Soldier vibes!). One day, Lan Wangji manages to escape and he gets taken in by Wei Wuxian and his son A-Yua. Cue lots of hurt/comfort, some drama, family feels, tragic pasts, Wangxian getting together and having to deal with Wen Ruohan. Lots of angst and a well-deserved happy ending. Despite the author warning that Lan Wangji is way out of character here, it didn't really feel that way for me. Like, it totally made sense given his circumstances. I really loved the character dynamics in this story. The Jiang parents are divorced for example and now Yu Ziyuan is trying to be a less shitty parent and mostly doing it by bribing her grandchildren with gifts and one of my favourite parts, though he doesn't play that much of a role, is what the author made of Wen Zhuliu, because I'm really weak for him! I also really loved the slow thawing of Lan Wangji and him growing into his new life and finding a place for himself. Mojo's comments: Fucking spectacular, and I'm in a car and not able to make a good bookmark, but DAMN, y'all. Lwj has been kept in a cage and made to fight all his life, and finally slips his chain and sinks into domestic bliss with wwx and a-yuan: learns to read and use a fork and it's beautiful. But of course, his past doesn't want to let him go.

Excerpt: “Was that woman your mother?” Wei Ying’s smile falls. His mouth opens in a pretty O. “Oh, you mean Yu Ziyuan? The one who picked A-Yuan up?” Wangji nods. “No. Well, not really. My mother died when I was about A-Yuan’s age. My father, too. Yu Ziyuan and her husband—well, ex-husband now—raised me after that. More or less.” Wangji nods like he understands and stares down at the counter. He doesn’t know what to call a woman who is sort of a mother but not really. “Where are your parents?” Wei Ying asks. His voice is soft, like he isn’t sure he wants Wangji to hear. “Dead.” He doesn’t remember his parents, but when Wangji was younger, Wen Ruohan told him that he had taken Wangji in after they died. “Oh. I’m sorry.” Wangji doesn’t understand why Wei Ying would apologize. He’s afraid to ask why. “A-Yuan’s mother died, too,” Wei Ying says. When Wangji peeks up at him, Wei Ying has gone back to staring at the computer screen. He isn’t smiling. “She died when he was a baby.” It hadn’t occurred to Wangji that Wei Yuan must have a mother. He knows about mothers, but he’s never actually met one. He doesn’t know what to say, so he says what Wei Ying said: “I’m sorry.”

modern setting, modern no powers, pov alternating, family feels, set in america, based on unleashed (2005), past wei wuxian/others, wei wuxian is lan sizhui's parent, wei yuan, single parent wei wuxian, addition, implied/referenced drug addition, amnesia, ableist language, musicians, angst with a happy ending, found family, @danegen

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 42 - watching notes

I was up playing partygames over discord until 3 am yesterday, so I didn't get to watch another episode. I complained about it to my friends, which in turn made them complain that I sounded like I would rather watch my "gay chinese fantasy show" than spent time with them. I contemplated saying yes, but decided to keep my friend instead :D

And we were currently in the middle of a confrontation with Jiggy (as I've been informed he's called ... what? ^^) who apparently murdered his son to keep some secret, which with how this shows is going, I wouldn't be surprised is them going full game of thrones and ... you know what I'm talking about

Oh right, Su She is there

He's the Jin Zixun to my wei Wuxian. As in, I can never remember his name or why I should care 🤷‍♀️

(But thus time I DO remember who he is. That is, after lwj said his name ^^)

I'm so sure that jgy hit all evidence by now, btw

Okay, no. his wife is still there

Su She might be an asshole but his hair piece is gorgeous :D

What does it say about me that my first thought about that dagger was COOL!!! 😱😱😱

How dare you take Wen Qing's name in vain! 🤬

😱

I thought she'd stab him!!! Not herself :'(

I'm a bit surprised that with 5 cultivators in the room, no one does more to save her

Oh, JGY is a damn good actor!! I mean we knew that before, but now his apparent confusion and grieve for his wife seems even more (dare I quote lwj?) shameless

Lan Xichen, i know you love him but ...

Fun fact: In German, we call fake tears "Krokodilstränen". Literal translation: "crocodile tears"

That's what this is 😐

Especially about the nie Mingjue

Poor Nie Huaisang 💔💔💔

"Taking the head. Who in the world would have done such an insane act?" GEE, I WONDER ...

Sorry, I still find jgy fascinating, but this is so uncomfortable to watch, knowing at least part of what really happened 🙈

Lord, give me the power to murder people with one gaze like Lan Wangji 🙏

This whole conversation is so supremely uncomfortable

I'm still unsure if Jin Guangyao really doesn't suspect that "Mo Xuanyu" isn't who he says he is or if it's just a very convincing act 🤨

Favourite trope: Hanguang Jun, Yiling Laozou's knight in shining armour

First of all: Hot

Second of all: Lwj internally: DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH HIM I ONLY JUST GOT HIM BACK AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN MADE OUT YET

probably

Also, for a split second there, you saw Jiang Cheng leap forward with a real look of concern on his face, like his first instinct was to help wwx himself 🥺🥺🥺

HE'S USING SUIBIAN AGAIN!!!

This feels so huge! 😱

I'm weirdly emo about a sword rn :')

His cover is blown of course

And him and Jin ling just had a good relationship :(

NHS, JL and JGY: How could it BE that this is Yiling Laozou???

Meanwhile Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng

"With the right kind of sacrifice, it can safe one who was seriously injured." Is this another instance of "we can't say this it's necromancy because censors, but y'all damn well know this is necromancy because no one falls down a cliff and then lies there "seriously injured" for goddam 16 years"?

I'm all teary eyed at lwj not even hesitating to flee with wwx :')

Jin Ling 💔🥺

Fuck you Jin Guangyao for playing at his pain!!!

Omg they're as good as holding hands!!! 😭😭😭

Of course, wax is pushing lwj away, OF COURSE. Self-sacrificing idiot!

That mask reveal was *chef's kiss* the drama! The gasps! The ... long-suffering "here we go again look" from lan Xichen :D

I LOVE IT WHEN LWJ SPEAKS UP!!

"You're wrong."

So simple. Yet saying so much: "I kniw him. I trust him. I chose this."

And OF COURSE Wei Wuxian gives him another way out

BUT THESE TWO FINALLY GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER AND COMMUNICATE THEIR THOUGHTS! FINALLY!

"Did you believe in me back then?" YES, I WAS JUST TOO AFRAID TO SAY IT,SO MY CONCERN CAME OUT AS ANGER 😭😭😭

And the single logged bridge again 😭😭😭 I adore that metaphor! And I love that they chose to show us the flashback. Because last time, wwx and lwj parted, took different roads so to speak, one the one of defiance, the other the one of orthodoxy. Neither wanted to part ways, but neither probably thought that they had much of a choice. But they did have a choice and they made it. And lwj has already expressed his regret over that. So here he is again, using his second chance without a thought.

Because lwj believes that wwx is right, MORALLY, so he will go against his clan, reputation be damned, and stand with the man he loves ... finally. He'll choose what they both believe to be right and walk with him "until it's dark" :')

And THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS SO MUCH!! It's not just that "oh they're so cute and they compliment each other so well, they must be soulmates uwu". Most of all they share a common morality!!!

I'm so goddamn amazed at this ship! This is not I was thought I was getting when I boarded it, but goddamn it I'm loving the ride! 😭😭😭

And .. just, the look in Lan Wangji's eyes ... they have 50 swords drawn on them, but guessing from the look on his face and the softness of his gaze they might as well be at their wedding 😭😭😭

He looks like a man entirely at peace with his decision :')

Just ...

Look

At

THEM!!!

They're holding hands in that last shot!!!! 😭😭😭

I'm absolutely floored at how utterly beautiful this scene is! "Romantic" seems too insignificant to describe it. It feels more like 42 episodes worth of love and pining and misunderstandings coming to their natural conclusion

My heart is so full right now guys :')

Very nice of these 50 people to wait for their moment to pass before attacking. Very considerate 😁

"Are we going to fight or not." "Too much talking" I WANT 50 EPISODES OF THESE TWO BICKERING!!! 😭😭😭

Jin Ling :'(

Noooo

No

Noooo

I don't know who my heart is bleeding for more here

Jin ling doesn't deserve to have to shoulder his parent's and uncle's pain :'((

All this supporting each other when injured? That's the good stuff

And those flashbacks ... wwx finally FINALLY realizes that lwj never hated him for his actions, he was afraid for him :')

Tbf,the guy has a sliiiight communication issue 😐

That quote about how lwj is at his side now that everyone else despices him!! That's it THAT'S THE SHIP!!😭😭😭

Oh, lwj took him back to cloud recess

I'm surprised he was allowed to, tbh

Ooh, so Mo Xuanyu knew something!

And... someone else must now know about him?

Also, I didn't realise that wwx still had a cut from the curse

I gotta take a moment to scream about HOW UTTERLY DOMESTIC AND AT EAS THESE TWO NOW ARE WITH EACH OTHER!!! 😭

XICHEN!!!

I should have known that the OG wangxian shipper would support them

But he still trusts Jin Guangyao. Not that I'm surprised

It's so weird to see anyone on this show in trousers btw 😅

"You're more than I can handle." Lol ^^

"You trust Master Wei, while I trust Jin Guangyao." Oh boy ...

I feel like this might be more of a confrontation than these two brothers had in their entire lives

Love me some detective-wwx

Poor Xichen 😔 he doesn't want to believe it

Somehow, wwx with a white underrobe makes me think "that's what he looks like when he and lwj accidentally swab robes" :D

Uuuh! The restricted section forbidden chamber!

So ... jin Guangyao somehow got this piece of music from the lan library?

But he's good! He's really good! He consistently uses others weaknesses and prays on them so that they act in a more extreme manner, but not so much that others would suspect foulplay. Case in point: nie Mingjue's death by anger and (more recently) the way he played towards Jin ling's feelings.

Aaaand another rather abrupt end in the middle of a conversation. That's one thing this show does not do well 😅

Anyway, I'm not complaining this episode send my shipper heart (BECAUSE I'M SO DWEP DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE AT THIS POINT) fly with joy!!

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose 🖤💙🖤💙

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 43 - watching notes

The sun is setting on this show for me and I'm not ready to say goodbye yet 😔

(As if I will! Ha. Imma blog about nothing else the next ... probably years)

Last time on Sophie watches the untamed: We're still in the restricted section. The twin love-struck idiots of lan and wwx found the Collection of turmoil and suspect Jin Guangyao of intentionally bringing about Nie Mingjue's qui deviation.

As much as I love the "hihi. Wwx is wearing his boyfriend's underrobe" aspect of this, I also like the visual incorporation of lwj's colour scheme into wwx's clothes. (Not just through the undertone, his black tone also has slight grey seam.) It's as if now that they are finally fully committed to each other, wwx is displaying it for all the world to see

Jin Guangyao tore out a page to hide the evidence. That's not how to do that!!!

My heart is breaking for Lan Xichen. He looks like a man standing on a train track and watching the light speed towards him in horror while he's unable to move away

Feels like exactly no one on this show is getting their happy ending

*thinks about yi city and cries forever*😭😭😭

"Wangji, Jin Guangyao,in my eyes, is a totally different person from how you and other people see him." And we all know that lwj knows exactly what that's like

PARALLELS! 😭

(Sorry, I have a thing for those)

And lwj looks so pained

Thinking about it, it's now the man lwj loves against the man lxc loves (in whatever way. I still ship them. Not sure if its "canonically" romantic though). They can't both be right, so ... one of them is going to get their heart broken

Great, first the Yunmeng brothers, now the lan brothers are breaking my heart 🥺

Lwj says he's visiting "Grand Master", that's Lan Qiren right? What happened to him anyway? Haven't seen him in ages

I love how, even though it is wwx's word against jgy's right now, lan Xichen is still genuinely kind towards wwx

The whipping scars! I hadn't even thought about those anymore 😳

I'm probably going to get my heart ripped out soon, but before that

"You are not qualified to talk to me."

Sickest. Burn. Ever.

Also, no disrespect to the actor, but that's a backpfeifengesicht if I've ever seen one

(Backpfeifengesicht: "German compound word for a 'face that should be slapped'. Ex:. When GWB smirks on TV, my German friend Uwe tells me that he sees a 'Backpfeifengesicht'." Urban dictionary)

He went to burial mount after wwx was killed??? 🥺🥺🥺

I've noticed something with lwj. When he's distressed, he won't look people in the eye or not even at their faces, just in their very general direction. To me it seems like he almost... can't? Any thoughts on that? Cause I'm intrigued but I can't think about it too much right now cause I'm already writing half an essay in this commentary again 😅

Oh fuck YOU Jiggy!!!

Holy shit ... holy shit

Lan Wangji 🥺🥺🥺

He fought against everyone?

This is how he showed his grieve???

He went to the place wei Wuxian had called home and ... what? Protected or ot so they wouldn't desecrate it? To search for him? To ... what?

Oh god, Wangji! 😭

That image... I'm speechless. It's so powerful

He's half-mad with grieve and kneeling in the ruins of his dead loves home, having fought himself to exhaustion and I'm... not okay 😭😭😭

He had to repent for THREE YEARS??

Oh no, you don't

Holy ...

Holy shit

How can my heart break and be so full at the same time 💔🥺

Lan Wangji ... my love

I'm ... so proud of him and yet so sad

Here he is at his lowest, finally standing up to the orthodoxy he knows to be wrong

This is inhumane 😳

The corporal punishment of the lan sect always was but THIS

Fuck them

Or Lan Qiren specifically

That's his nephew. How can he even look at himself?

"Eradicate evil. Establish laws. Than goodness will be everlasting."

IT'S NOT THAT FUCKING EASY!!!

WHAT EVEN IS "GOODNESS"? WHOSE VERSION OF GOODNESS? DEVINE EVIL! HOW FAR REACHING INTO THE PRIVATE SVERE SHOULD THUSE LAWS BE? DOES IT STOP AT "DON'T STEAL FROM PEOPLE OR AT "DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE AT DINNER"?

what I'm saying is: there are about 200 ethical question ls being raised by this rule alone!

And now lan Wangji had 3 tears to contemplate them

Wwx asking "why would he bother ...?" BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVED YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!!

Ohhh! We're getting their parents' story 😱

Oh this IS a Lan episode 💙

So another Lan falling quickly and never looking back?

I'm sensing a pattern here 🤨

Wait what?

Let me get this straight:

Their father loved a woman who DID NOT love him back and then killed one of his teachers

(And I hope we find out why. That sounds like there is a REALLY interesting story there)

Then he takes her to cloud recess and DESPIT HER NOT LOVING HIM, marries her, fathers two children with her (um... how voluntary was that????) locks her up (as punishment for the murder?) then locks HIMSELF up and then fucks of and leaves his children with their uncle

What kind of disaster human being was their dad????

Did he do the right thing WHEN HE MARRIED AND PROBABLY RAPED A WOMAN WHO DIDN'T LOVE HIM???

NO!!!

The fuck kinda question is that ??

If you have to marry her against her will and then lock her up, guess what? That's not love, that's wanting to possess someone

I hope that maybe the connotation is different in the og Chinese,but I'm not holding out much hope

That explains why Qiren is such a lovely character through 😒

But god, my heart breaks for lwj and lxc :'(

Little Lan Wangji!!! 🥺🥺🥺

Oh darling ...

Oh no ...

Look at him look at his crooked little headband😭😭😭

He went there every month!!!

Oh Wangji 💔💔

Stubborn, steadfast, loving Wangji!

That seals it. I KNEW why he was my favourite character

He isn't so passive all the time, because he feels too little! He feels entirely too much!!! 😭😭😭

And that explains why lwj was so worried about wwx's demonic cultivation harming him!!! 😭

Oh god, it was such an old hurt for him. I had no idea 🥺🥺🥺

All of these characters need a therapist

Lxc playing the flute to what ... deal with his emotions? Express his grieve? Remeber their mother? (And god, do I want to know more about her!!) Either way, It's making me tear up 😥

"It's so difficult to determine others personalities depending on our perspective." Welcome to the human condition, my friend 💙

And that's love

I ... wish I could show you my face right now

I'm smiling through tears right now

It's so utterly beautiful

He looks so vulnerable here! With his hair (almost) down

And given what we've just learned, that's remarkable!!!

He closed himself off became the immovable stone-faced second Jade of Lan and yet, somehow, wwx wormed his way into his heart and sure, both of them needed to overcome a lot, but here they are, vulnerable and open,not letting their parent's fate decide theirs

I'm... *sniff*

I can never get enough of lwj with his hair like this!!

It's so domestic, so soft

And look at his face! 😭

And mister "alcohol is prohibited" is now serving it 😭

Oh my god this scene is so beautiful

I'm speechless

Was the second flute Jin Guangyao as well?

At this point I'm just expecting more plot-twists

He looks so young! 🥺

Both of them are exhibiting so much growth in this episode!! Wwx realising that the fact that the cultivation world had always looked for a scapegoat and that he himself was just the most convenient target, that it's not to any personal failing of his, that's HUGE!

And I'm so proud of him :')

Lwj starting to play in the distance :')

This is so utterly peaceful

My heart is bursting 😭😭😭

The music, the scenery ...

Also, both thinking they have a clean conscious!!! 😭😭😭

Again, it's them holding the same morals that's important! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me!

(But wwx still cannot drink like a normal person :D)

The contrast to lxc sitting alone couldn't be starker 😔

Wait, why are there puppets at burial mounds again?

Are we going back to burial mounds? I'm weirdly excited 😅

Aaand Jin Guangyao just proved to them that he's lying. Poor Xichen

Yup, I'm pretty sure his heart just snapped in half

Little Apple!!! I've missed him 😁

Gosh, they're laying it on thick with the domestic husband bliss this episode and I'm here for it.

I love lwj's soft smile when he looks at bunnies so much!! 🥰

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere

It's the invasion of the bunnies

Who ever is the show runner *banging pots and pans together* IT'S GAY!! cab you all hear me? These two love each other! It's G - A - Y!!! Gay!!!

Probably

Lwj's shocked look when wwx says that he's not popular with little animals, as if to say "how dare they!" :D

Holy shit ... HOW MANY SCENES CAN THEY INCLUDE IN THIS EPISODE THAT MAKE THEM LOOK SO GODDAMN MARRIED???

Is wwx sitting side saddle?

Wwx plays wangxian :')

He finally remembers how lwj recognized him :')

Sneaky, show, very sneaky :D

Wwx about to casually steal some melons, lwj *wordlessly takes out money* ^^

MIANMIAN!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

I'd given up hope that we'd see her again!!!

I'm so happy I could burst!!!

Lwj's little exasperated head-shake before he stands up from crouching behind some hay 😂

Aww, look at her family! 😍😍😍

She build her own live :')

And look at this badass woman protecting the ones she loves!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WEI WUXIAN??? You don't remember her???

You better remember my wife!!!

Aaand another freeze frame. But I'm willing to forgive it because THIS EPISODE WAS SO GODDAMN BRILLIANT!

It made me realise why I was so drawn to lan Wangji as a character. Of course he is mu favourite character! He ticks every single box

Let me explain. My favourite characters almost always share the following characteristics: seems either cold and distant or ethereal and aloof, as if they are above such puny human things like feelings™️(bonus if they're actually not human and their argument is "I'm [insert species]. We can't feel [insert emotion they are definetly feeling very strongly]"). then, over the course of the story, we (along with they themselves because they were in denial) discover that it's not that they feel too little, they feel entirely too much. They're a sea of emotions so deep that the surface is calm, but don't you dare be near them when the storm is coming because all hell will break loose. (extra bonus point if that storm involves them rebelling against the oppressive society they were born into and adhered to until then because they realise their consciousness won't allow it any longer.) afterwards they realise that making themselves vulnerable once in a while is actually a good thing and they proceed to fuck the Rebel™️ who they've secretly been in love with the entire time, a feeling they only now allow themselves to act on

The last part sadly isn't always canon, but who has ever had time for that?

You know what this episode made me realise most of all? The Lan sect are just as human as the rest of them. In fact, they seem to be especially prone to acting rashly on strong emotions. (I don't remember the exact story, but didn't the founder of the Lan sect also have some kind of tragic love story?) It should be obvious, but the impression you get is that they are so detached from their wants, so rigorous and disciplined in their righteousness, that they are almost super-human. But no. Thise 3000 and some rules? They weren't born out of some enlightened mind that had the secret of live figures out, they're a crutch. Abiding by them without question rids one of responsibility to make even the tiniest moral choice for oneself. But that won't work because a) they're bounty to contradict each other at some point and b) that's not how human beings work. They're messy and unpredictable and beautifully complicated. The way Lan Qiren choses to apply them, he completely disregards that. At that point, the rules aren't there anymore to grant a harmonious society, but simply for their own sake. (Or maybe as a wall to hide behind)

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose

I think this liveblog has been the longest so far. I'm sorry for going on so many tangents, but lwj's backstory hit me really hard. I hope you guys weren't too bored 💚

(I also apologise for the mountains of typos that probably accumulated in this post. I'm too tired to check.)