#that he could be enough for xiazi

[lungache]

Emotional about heihua and how xiao hua's heartbreak boils down to "i will never forgive you if you die" he would forgive xiazi anything, but not that. never that. and he is so deeply frustrated that threatening that isn't enough to keep xiazi here because it's all he has.

[qilingxiong]

alright, ji chen as hei xiazi lives in my head now and he's here to stay

[traineecryptid]

NPSS Weibo Q&A (20240831) Part 8

This is a Q&A session held on Weibo. People will tag their questions with the hashtag #南派三叔藏海花���线答疑# (#NPSS Zang Hai Hua Online Q&A#) and NPSS will look through the tag to pick some to answer. The event started at 1500 hours on 2024 August 31st.

Folder with screenshots and big compilation google doc is here. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here.

20240902

1233

Why do people say that Tianshou is angsty? #Web Drama Zang Hai Hua# #NPSS explains Tianshou# [Video] 

1508

Q: I want to know if there are two forces of Tianshou, both good and bad sides respectively: Gate guarding Tianshou (good) and Lu God's Tianshou (bad). 

A: You're a little smart.

1509

Q: Shu, if little Zhang Qiling was in a tomb one second and transmigrated into his Yucun self the next second with his feet in the same foot bath as Wu Xie’s, what would his first sentence be?

A: A demon!

1510

Q: I will watch Zang Hai Hua for you… Don’t stop answering, okay…

A: I’m still persevering.

1511

Q: A-Bing, did you know that Zang Hai Hua will stop updating for 3 days? Do you still want your Heat Index or not! (T/N: Heat Index is the ranking/ trending-ness of a drama.)

A: I’m not the boss. It’s not my decision to make!

1537

Q: Hello, Xu-laoshi. Since you said that you won’t be writing “Yucun Biji” anymore (If there’s going to be 9 more Yucun Biji published, then you don’t have to read this post because Yucun Biji is my favorite out of the entire series), can I beg you for an Altay Biji? I wish to see the Iron Triangle’s nomadic life: Menyouping riding a motorcycle to Ürümqi to buy stuff (could also go from a summer ranch to some village). Wu Xie would be in charge of raising cats and dogs and chickens and goats and cows. Pangzi would be in charge of steaming lamb and barbecuing lamb chop. When they don’t want to herd the animals anymore, they can plant sunflowers. Wu Xie can use his architectural talents and build underground houses and learn a few Kazakh words…  

A: I’ve been to Altay. The life there is like the original series and not Yucun.

1540

Q: Laoshi, Sir, Genius Writer, do you know how amazing the Flowery Night you wrote is? How did you do it? Are you Team Experience or Team Imagination? Has a beautiful god descended in the middle of the night and kissed the keyboard you wrote Flowery Night on?

A: Those who understand Flowery Night are experts.

1553 Q: I just took a nap and Shu got online. With the drama updates on hold for three days, will you chat with us for three days?

A: On and off, I guess. I’m deathly busy. I want to cry.

1554

Q: Sanshu, Sanshu, what is the one thing that Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi did that angered the other the most? Please tell me.

A: That would be enough for ten books.

1858

Q: Would there be one day where the Iron Triangle gets poisoned after eating some unknown mushrooms?

A: It would if Xiaoge isn’t around.

1858

Q: Shu, would there be updates for Queen’s Banquet? Approximately when would the updates start? Wu Xie is about to go moldy being stuck in that hole.

A: Soon. I need to pick a good desk.

1900

Q: Sanshu, Sanshu, does Wu Xie have any children appropriate de-stressing methods? The kind that can be broadcasted.

A: Standing in the rain?

20240903

0509

Q: The cat didn’t survive but if the cat did survive, would Xiaohua keep it? Or would he give it to Xiazi to raise?

A: Xiaohua wouldn’t interfere with the cat’s karma.

0510

Q: Shu, I really went to Louwailou to eat their West Lake Vinegar Fish during 817. The taste was unforgettable… The restaurant was full of Daomis. Do you have anything you would like to say to the Daomis who have been violently beaten up by the Vinegar Fish?

A: I’ve heard that every fish that was made into a Vinegar Fish has died in vain?

1259

Q: No updates for three days, you could say that this is a version of Three Days in Silence.

A: You sure know how to meme…

and here's part two if today's double update! we've caught up to 3rd September now! hooray! and this is 120 posts (less than 120 questions)... theres... an amount to go... but! whittling! making progress! yay!

[foxofninetales]

Unlearn the Way of Being Strangers by afrikate, cryptive, fox_of_nine_tales, frith_in_thorns, Hils, Merinnan, mimosaeyes, MountainRose, Onmyo-Jin (silvercolour), rainisfallingdown, WindStainedDreams

Fandom: DMBJ | The Grave Robber’s Chronicles and related fandoms

Relationship: Hei Xiazi/Liu Sang/Xie Yuchen

Rating: Teen

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Post-Canon, canon-typical tomb creatures, Injury, Caretaking, Mind Control, Tentacles but not like that

Summary:

Having finally regained his hearing and his health after his Thunder City adventures with the Iron Triangle, Liu Sang is looking forward to a new contract with a new employer. With Xie Yuchen's reputation for competence and the resources he has to draw on, this should be a smooth, professional tomb raid that gives Liu Sang a chance to showcase his skills. What could go wrong? Well, for starters, Hei Xiazi is there.

Excerpt:

Liu Sang wiped his nose irritably; if there was some sort of hyper-allergenic mold down here he was going to be livid–

Oh. His fingers and the back of his knuckles were smeared with something dark, and a flash from his flashlight lit it up bright, virulent red.

"Oh fuck, uhh–" he had tissues somewhere, right? Shit, he’d emptied his pockets when he got doused…

"Use this," Xie-ye said, handing him... was that silk? Definitely too nice a handkerchief to bring into a tomb – unless, apparently, your name was Xie Yuchen. "What happened?

"Nothing," Liu Sang said, reluctantly taking the handkerchief. It really was far too nice to get bloodstains all over it, but it seemed it was that or nothing. "No, really," he added as he held the handkerchief to his nose, catching Xie Yuchen's sceptical look. "I didn't hit it, or smell anything, or get anything in my face, or anything like that. It just started bleeding." He shrugged. "It's just a nosebleed. They happen."

“Did you hear anything before it started bleeding?” Hei Xiazi had materialised next to him, holding up some more standard paper tissues.

That triggered a niggling in Liu Sang's mind. There was something he was supposed to do. He shook his head to try to clear it. The door was open. Right. He needed to map the mechanism he could hear.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Hei Xiazi asked, putting something in his hand. What had he said before? Something about listening?

"I'm listening, the floor's hollow–"

"I'm asking you about the bells, Sangsang," he repeated. "Stop listening, put your white noise in."

There were people on all sides now, the medic, and Mop, and Xie Yuchen was touching his shoulder, and they all had nice, solid heartbeats that he didn't want to stop hearing, actually. "No, no, I'm listening–"

There were suddenly too many hands on him. He felt claustrophobic. He tried to bat them away but they kept coming back. Someone forced his earphones in his ears and turned up the white noise, and suddenly the world felt bleak, like he had lost something precious. He needed to listen. Why didn't they understand?

He tasted some warm and salty on his tongue and his knees hurt – had he fallen? Where was the music?

He tried to get up again, but someone had a hand on his shoulder and he just couldn't get the leverage. Warm, sticky, salty, unswallowable something filled the back of his throat and he was going to choke, off, off, get off–

He heaved over onto his side and coughed, violently enough that his ribs ached. In the harsh light-and-shadow, the ground misted red in front of him.

Commentary:  

This fic came about over on the Yucun Discord when Jin suggested cooperatively group-writing a fic just for the fun of it. Well, you can't go wrong with that DMBJ standard, the tomb crawl, and all of us are whump enthusiasts (in fact , I think most of the authors still lovingly refer to this by its working title, Tomb of Whump) so we set out to make our boys suffer and see where the plot took us. Nine months, 176k words, and a whole lot of hurt and comfort later, the entire fic is available to read on AO3!

Image credits 1 2 3 4

[olderthannetfic]

Yuletide Wrap Up

Another Yuletide has come and gone. I received an amazing HeiHua fic this year:

Tell Me That You Like It by Tenillypo – Hei Xia Zi/Xie Yuchen, 13k

It’s hilariously exactly what my letter suggested: plot, porn, the exact dubcon dynamic I described. I was snickering most at:

Hei Xiazi hummed thoughtfully. "Jiangshi don't drink blood. They absorb qi." "Lucky us, it turns out these ones do both."

This is both good world building for the fic and amusingly familiar as an author. This folkloric monster doesn’t quite work for my plotbunny… ah, fuck it, lampshade time!

My own writing process was… awkward this year. 2023 was a stressful slog for me in a lot of ways, and I just couldn’t take time away from professional writing for a lot of the Yuletide period. I had this great plotbunny that I could see so clearly and a bunch of preliminary research, but I just couldn’t sit down and write. And then, by the time I could, I was ill and unmotivated. I did finally pull it together to write a version of my assignment I had time for before the deadline. I thought I’d have time in the week before golive to write, but my brain was mush. And then, the day before golive, I finally got my brain back. I wrote like 12k in a day. And it still wasn’t enough. I thought I only had a few thousand left to write, but it just wasn’t happening by 1am… And I’m glad I waited to put it in Madness because I wrote all day on Christmas too. I didn’t even feel burnt out after. I haven’t been that in the zone all year. My only regret is only having time to do a little bit of food research.

To no one’s surprise, I offered Mysterious Lotus Casebook and wrote a fic to fix, or at least expand on, the ending. Much as I love Li Lianhua, he’s a bit of a dick for that ending. It made me wonder: what would it take to make him show himself again? Combine that with me reading a few too many journal articles on Taoist sex magic a while back trying to figure out how real life ideas about dual cultivation relate to fictional ones, and, well…

Constancy – Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua, 21k

[fixaidea]

Hei Xiazi is on a mission. It’s a Totally Serious mission of intel gathering and detective work, and he’s been at it for ages. See, he has decided to finally, definitively uncover what the ever loving hell is going on between Yaba Zhang and Wu Xie.

Well sure, they are completely unwell about each other, but just how much? The evidence is contradictory.

On one hand, spending more than five minutes around the two will expose you to near-terminal levels of long, soulful gazing, to the point where you’re tempted to cuff them, fling them into an empty room, lock the door and tell them to just get on with it already.

On the other hand he’d never really caught them at any form of physical affection that could not defensibly be read as platonic, especially knowing how either of them acted around Pangzi. And sure, Glasses did factor a possible Iron Triangle poly pile into his calculations, but with how much Pangzi liked women, this seemed rather unlikely?

Well, okay, this one time he spotted Yaba and Wu Xie pressing their foreheads together for a beat too long, and nuzzling their noses a bit when they parted. That looked pretty damn romantic.

He was almost ready to draw a conclusion then, but just to double check, the day before next Qixi he asked Wu Xie what his plans were for the next day - making sure not to bring up the festival itself. Interestingly enough, Wu Xie did not seem to know or care what day it was and just said he was planning to sleep in and maybe experiment a bit in the kitchen.

…The actual truth is that yes, Wu Xie and Xiaoge ARE very much together and have been almost since they settled down in Yucun, it’s just that they live in their own little world and are doing the romantic and sexual equivalent of shrimp colours. Neither of them has ever been in a relationship or had (consensual) sex (that they can remember) with anyone before each other and at this point they are both too old, traumatized and eccentric to give a flying fuck about how a Normal Courtship is supposed to go.

The Qixi program was actually quite romantic - sleeping in also meant Xiaoge not springing out of bed at ass o’ clock in the morning, and while Pangzi is usually happy to cook for the whole Triangle, that day Wu Xie wanted to personally spoil his partner (and show off a bit of course).

It’s not even a secret. Sure, neither are shouting it from the rooftops, but they aren’t going out of their way to hide it either.

Hell, the Zhang have been treating Wu Xie as their Patriarch’s other half for a long while now.

Somewhat surprisingly, even Wu Xie’s parents know. They were so damn happy to be finally TOLD something about their son’s life they barely even kicked up a fuss over it. (…Here both parties assumed the other was gonna tell Wu Erbai, so in an unusual turn of events it’s Ershu who’s out of the loop.)

In the end Glasses gets spoiled when he casually brings up the matter to Xie Yuchen, who just. Up and tells him the answer. Just like that. Because he also wondered and then just. Asked.

[onmyo-jin]

For the prompts: HeiHua HeiHua HeiHua! A few possibilities:

That tumblr post about the two professors who had a legendary rivalry and only the TA knew they were married.

That freaking raccoon keeps stealing the birdseed from every new "raccoon proof" bird feeder Xiao Hua puts out. THIS IS WAR.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Something based on a piece of fanart!

[so many options! I might come back for some of the others but this one is based on this beautiful drawing by @ohyka because I am weak for hand kisses]

It was, subjectively, intellectually, even objectively, gross.

They'd been climbing up the rocky mountain for ages, they were bothy grimy and sweaty, and who knows what those hands had touched even before they came into contact with mother Nature's honest dirt.

Still, when Xiazi caught him when the brittle stone gave way under his foot, Xiao Hua was... touched. Yes, that had to be the word for it. Moved seemed too strong a description, appreciative was too cold-- yes, Xiao Hua was touched. That had to be the thing that was fluttering in his stomach, that and gravity's sudden pull. The ropes would have held him of course, he was no novice climber. Still, Hei Xiazi was no novice either. He must have known the ropes would hold, surely? He'd lept to Xiao Hua's rescue without a second thought regardless.

Perhaps moved might be accurate enough...

"Hua'er-ye, aren't you gonna let go of my hand now?" A stupid question from a foolish man. The grin was not remotely tempered by his eternal sunglasses. Of course Xiao Hua was going to let go. They were halfway up a mountain, dangling from ropes (secure ropes! strong ropes! but still, they were dangling terribly inelegantly). It would be ill-advised indeed to hold on, a waste of energy at the very least. His mouth had already betrayed him as those thoughts circled his mind: "No. That's my hand now."

"Hua'er?" Tch, so informal. Where did the man get the guts to call Xiao Hua that?

Using his free hand and the now more solid footing, he boosted himself up on a tiny ledge, dragging Xiazi along. Having no choice but to follow, Hei Xiazi jumped after him-- not even thinking about it! Was the man trying to fall off of the mountain or what?

Slightly breathless, they sat side to side for a moment.

"Hua'er-ye, what do you need another hand for, huh?"

"Whatever I want," arrogance was easy, always easy. Sometimes he regretted learning that particular smokescreen, but he refused to take back his words. Perhaps there was something else he could do-- which was gross, and unthinkable, so it was best just not to think about it at all.

He didn't need to see Hei Xiazi's eyes to tell they were wide as saucers when Xiao Hua lifted his hand to his lips, and pressed a kiss to that warm skin. He wasn't going to react to the way he could feel Xiazi freeze up under his hand, to the breath he heard halt on its way in to Xiazi's lungs. The red on his cheeks must be from the exertion of the climb, as well.

When Xiao Hua finally released his hand and sat back, Xiazi's hand remained flaoting between them for a too-long moment. Xiao Hua had enough time to wonder if he'd broken the man's remaining braincells, until--

"Hua'er-ye, do you need a hand with any other things?" He didn't need to look to see the grin-- he looked anyway and even caught that damned eyebrow wiggle.

Was it too late to jump off the mountain anyway?

[hils79]

Hils Watches Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Ep 37

Amazing camouflage, Fang Duobing. No one will ever spot you.

I've got used to Cheng Yi's real voice now and I love the way he says Fang Xiaobao. He practically purrs it with his low voice.

I may not have a degree in architecture but Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing are standing next to what looks to me like the base of a pagoda wondering where the mysterious pagoda could be

Well who would have guessed

Feeling normal about them holding onto each other as they jumped into the hole

No, don't!

Is this another one of Li Lianhua's ex boyfriends?

Oh, it's him. What do you mean you haven't seen him for years? You've seen him multiple times since this drama started.

OH SHIT! Dude, what the fuck? Was poisoning him all those years ago not enough now you have to stab him too.

Fuck him, honestly. I knew I should have listened to my gut when he was being all patronising to Qiao Wanmian right at the start

Nobody speak to me I'm still mourning his hair

Your sect already is a laughing stock, my dude, and it's mostly because of your 'leadership'. Not the dude in the screenshot. It's Xiao Zijin who is talking.

Yes! You tell him! I'm sorry I got mad at you for telling him he's not suitable to be sect leader. He clearly is not and you were right.

Holy shit did she just take charge?

SHE JUST TOOK OVER THE SECT! I love her and I am sorry I ever called her useless

Wait, is Li Lianhua in the same prison as Di Feisheng??

Oh he's been chained up again. Happy birthday to me!

At least they've subbed Xiazi as 'blind man' which is better than Blindie which is what they used in the recent DMBJ movie

[ilgaksu]

If you’re still doing prompts heihua… trapped in an elevator? (Alone or with someone else?)

(i screeched because one of my real fears is being trapped in an elevator which is exactly why i am thrilled to write this. The first person to guess the film franchise they're referring to gets to request something else or something ig)

"Well," Hei Xiazi announces, ten minutes in and contemplating the latest metal box he's found himself shut in. "This fucking sucks."

"As always, Xiazi, I wish I could say thank you for your contribution." Xie Yuchen sighs and crosses his arms. Hei Xiazi wishes he would undo at least one button on the shirt. In these circumstances, he deserves a show as his last meal, surely. But no, Xie Yuchen merely rolls his eyes. "And yet."

"And yet, It's hard to find the words. I understand. The rich never learn grace, am I right?"

Geya mutters something incomprehensible and yet immediately emotionally translatable from where he's slouched in the corner -using Hei Xiazi's backpack as a seat cushion and repeatedly tapping at his phone in the hope signal will magically reinstate itself.

"Hey," Hei Xiazi says, and throws a snack bar scrounged from a jacket pocket at him. "If you're going to be insulting, have the courage of your convictions, my little scammer. Fucking enunciate."

"I didn't ask to be third-wheeling on an date with two old people," Geya replies loudly, without looking up.

It's worth the insult as byproduct to Hei Xiazi, and all because of the look Xie Yuchen sends Geya, ego not so much pricked as outright stabbed all the way through.

You die a twink or live long enough to start worrying about your sexual capital in a warehouse elevator. Isn't that how it goes? Hei Xiazi had spent most of that movie pointing out how the ballistics sounds didn't match up with the bullet capacity of the weapons. Xie Yuchen had started a heated debate about the exact angle vs. force it would require to kill someone with a pencil as opposed to a hairpin, something the two of them have had experience with. Then, they'd fucked on the couch about it, and so Hei Xiazi still has mildly fond memories of that particular cinematic franchise.

"If nobody is replying to the emergency alarm," Xie Yuchen muses, "It's either broken, which -" He taps two fingertips against the flashing light in the panel. "Feels possible, but unlikely. Or it isn't, and so they know we're in here. Which then means -" He frowns. "This is a trap."

"When isn't it a trap, Hua'er-ye? I thought we were supposed to be making useful contributions. Geya. Got anything?"

"Nothing," Geya says, "I guess we're all going to die here. For real this time," and slides further down, settling against the backpack. "I'd have preferred it to be the abyss monster."

"No," Xie Yuchen says with feeling.

"It would've been cooler."

Xie Yuchen looks over at Hei Xiazi. Hei Xiazi shrugs, helplessly.

Kids these days, he mouths, and Xie Yuchen looks ready to bang his head against the wall. Hei Xiazi has to admit the idea has rapid appeal, but someone has to prevent the group morale declining. That way lies even more infighting, lack of social cohesion, and - unlikely but not improbable - cannibalism.

"Well, I guess if it would've been cooler," Hei Xiazi drawls, "I won't bother even getting out the explosives this time," and in that split second before Geya's head snaps up, he knows it: he has him in the palm of his hand.

God bless the youthful compulsion to blow shit up and watch it burn.

[lunanoc]

You know what, gimme the heihua one as well, why not, les go

fine you get a long snippet then

He’d been all of ten years old, eleven at most, when he first met Hei Xiazi—though perhaps ‘met’ is too definitive a word for however much the encounter left on Xie Yuchen a profound impression that would only confirm itself in the years to come, like an indent pressed upon his person deep enough that the mark could never fully fade. By then, his uncle, then his father and mother, had been dead for long enough that the mantle of responsibility had only just begun to settle on his shoulders, ill-fitting as it had been on a child who’d had so much yet to learn. He’d known enough by then about the dealings of the Nine families, of the ill-kept secret of the legacy their foundations stood upon, and that Erye made no effort to shield him from. Erye, thus, had had no qualms about conducting his business in Xie Yuchen’s presence, happy to let his student observe the proceedings, and therefore had also had no qualms about receiving his latest contractor when he’d shown up to Erye’s estate in the middle of Xie Yuchen’s daily opera lessons. From the moment Hei Xiazi had stepped out from the shadows into the sunlit courtyard, Xie Yuchen, young and impressionable as he’d still been to some degree, had known he was different. He’d learned, in the scant two or three years such things had become necessary knowledge, to observe and gauge the people he had even the most minor of dealings with. What he’d perceived of Hei Xiazi, even through the veil of inexperience he’d had yet to shed, had been enough to straighten his spine, pinning him in place, caught somewhere between a strange sense of awe and some primordial disquiet, the origin of which he hadn’t yet been able to identify. The ease with which the man moved, the wry grin that curled his lips, the conspicuous tinted sunglasses that concealed his eyes, the free, brazen air of confidence that in that moment the child that still lingered at the corners of Xie Yuchen’s mind like a ghost could not help but envy—all these things belied the distinct otherness that exuded from him however much it became increasingly evident he deliberately withheld it. It was the same sort of otherness, though honed to a far greater degree, that Xie Yuchen already perceived in himself, and on seeing it mirrored, could finally name.

i have nothing to say except this is now an au because i started writing it before i reached the point in canon that shits all over this idea, so au where heihua meet while xiao hua is still young and basically the evolution of their relationship over the years

[laireshi]

Prompt (if you’re still on a train): where was Xiaoge and what was he doing when he regained his (very bittersweet!!) memories of his mother?

oh god oh god this is such a great prompt and i'm not sure my bit of train writing can do it justice, but here you go!!

Zhang Qiling is with Xiazi, gathering intel about a nearby tomb, when he sees a mother soothing a fussy child: a sight he’s seen a million times before. The most natural thing in the world.

But this time, something is different. He looks at them, at the care with which the woman holds the baby, at the love obvious in her eyes even as tired as she seems, and he’s hit with a wave of longing so strong it threatens to topple him off his feet. He doesn’t remember his childhood very well, but he knows enough to know he’s never had that—

No.

There’s a woman, lying only half-conscious on a bed in a Tibetan monastery. There’s a stone in his shape, and unconditional love spanning decades, and a hand barely warmer than a corpse holding his, and something in his chest aching.

He stumbles, and Xiazi’s hand shoots out to steady him, his expression puzzled. Zhang Qiling is still gaping at the women with the child, and Xiazi must follow his eyes to her, because something about him softens.

“Remember something?” he asks. “I know your family doesn’t believe in anything as mundane as giving your kids a childhood.”

“No,” Zhang Qiling says. He’s got a duty to the Zhang family, to the world, and he’ll fulfil it to the best of his abilities. But his mother wasn’t a Zhang. He knows as much, even if he doesn’t know anything else.

But he knows where he can learn more; the Tibetan temple on the other side of China.

He could do it alone, after they finish with the tomb they’re here for. Or . . . Surprising himself, he says, “Come to Motuo with me.”

Xiazi nods, looking at Zhang Qiling with a weird sort of concern—Zhang Qiling doesn't realise why until Xiazi reaches for him, and a careful thumb wipes a tear from his cheek.

[lunarriviera]

heihua prompt: hei xiazi caring for xiao hua in between the final scene in the tomb in mystery of the abyss and the final scene of them together the film, perhaps? i am a glutton for some h/c sprinkled with angst.

OH NO, I...already wrote it? but I could write it again! with more hurt, maybe?

•

only feels this raw right now (7238 words) by lunarriviera fandom: 重启之深渊疑冢 | Reunion: Mystery of the Abyss rating: E relationships: Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen tags: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Fluff and Angst, hei xiazi is unbelievably stubborn, but so is xie yuchen, First Time, no beta we die like Nagas, they're so in love it makes them look stupid series: Part 6 of untitled heihua project summary:

Xie Yuchen is finally well enough to get out of the hospital, but not yet quite well enough to go back to Beijing and renew his search for the cure to Hei Xiazi's incipient blindness. Yes, that would be the same Hei Xiazi who, if he keeps pampering Xie Yuchen like this, is going to get punched in the mouth.

[qilingxiong]

why did sha hai (2018) hint just enough at all these background character relationships to make me insane. what was all this for. huaxie childhood almost-betrotheds mentioned in passing. pangzi and xiao hua with their little spa dates that are probably a semi-frequent routine. hei xiazi carrying xiaoge's sword and talking about it like it's become a part of him. wu xie seeing hei xiazi without his sunglasses sometime during the ten years of waiting while in the books he doesn't until 2017. they gave us so many little details in these dynamics that could be expanded on into whole stories, and we will never see any of them elaborated on because sha hai is told from the perspective of an oblivious bitchy little twerp who is chronically 18 and doesn't give a shit about the emotional lives of these messy queer men. but we could've had it all

[tazzy-ace]

14, 19 and 22

For the Fic Writing questions: 😁

14) If you were stuck on a deserted island with only two characters, which would you pick?

Thinking practical for survival w/o getting outside help: Zhang Qiling (from DMBJ) and Nikolai Lanstov (from Shadow and Bones). Qiling could protect us, and Nikolai would totally somehow manage to make a ship or something for us to escape.

HOWEVER, I don't imagine they'd get along very well 😅😂 so good company picks would be: Zhao Yunlan (Guardian) and Hei Xiazi (DMBJ) because your fic Stars has shown me thr vibes are amazing between them plus good chance Xiao Hua would come find Xiazi if he's gone for too long lol

19) Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

Easiest is probably Zhao Yunlan (Guardian) and Liu Sang (DMBJ) I relate a ton to both of them on several levels. Hardest I think might be characters like Wu Sanxing or Wu Erbai (both DMBJ). I don't have many uncle figures in my life and I struggle to sometimes capture them very well I think. Sanxing probably the toughest bc he can be a very selfish character and trying to balance that with the care I know he can be capable of is a challenge

22) Have you cried while writing a fic?

Hmm I don't think so? Maybe once or twice with original works but I don't think I've written enough hurt fic to make myself cry yet

[mejomonster]

Grade these fanfiction tropes!

-Amnesia

-i forgot what it's called but the trope of accidentally ingesting or inhaling a drug that turns the character lustful

LOVE AMNESIA FICS IF EITHER A. AMNESIA MAKES SENSE FOR CHARACTER (in the end 90% of my fanfic preferences boil down to "if it's in character it's good, if it isn't something they'd likely go through boo" unless it's a quite unique idea or well written enough to tempt me). Or B. It's sort of a very temporary Tabula Rasa "short term" type amnesia because that can be very funny or interesting exploration and if it is angsty its temporary. (I say this but I've written... the long angsty kind).

I'll say A-B grade. I don't look for it unless the source characters already got amnesia like Zhang Qiling or Zhao Yunlan (of past lives), because I really like canon compliant/adjacent/divergent fic so it's playing with a character situation they already had. (I do get my heart desperately broken searching for both those characters amnesia fics ToT). But it's a B if it's for anything else - I like it and I'll read it but it's not Absolutely My Jam always.

X

Sex Pollen trope I think is what you're looking for? Grade A+++ showstopping. Amazing. Incredible. A classic from Star Trek TOS Pon Farr episode that I'd now like to see played with for fun wherever people fancy to explore (whether that's crack comedy to angst realism I'm fascinated where people go with it). Considering rhe intense amounts of tentacles grabbing Wu Xie in dmbj, a spore thing impregnating him, and every other canon batshit Wild thing that can happen in dmbj

(if you said the iron Triangle met an alien, stole it's ship, met Spock, Pangzi married T'Pring, Zhang Qiling punched Dr. MCcoy out. Then Captain Kirk dropped them home in a rush into America Washington DC and Pangzi ran into Krychek from X Files and made a hush hush shady deal for some cold sexy cash? I would believe u. I would say yep, canon compliant. Anything is probably canon compliant... except San shu being a good uncle and apologizing to wu xie for all the fucked up shit. But hey idk I haven't read Everything, maybe one day that awful uncle Does apologize and Wu Xie goes to therapy about it???... I doubt it but hey. Canon divergent if not compliant, probably, something changed so San Shu would do such a thing.) My point is sex pollen is absolutely well within the dmbj wheelhouse of batshit weird sci fi horror esque bullshit and I'm frankly a bit shocked there's not at least a heap more tentacle sex and sex pollen fics. And if there are more than I think, then I'd like links/recs ToT

Adjacent to the something makes characters magically horny trope? I'm also quite fond of any Wild Trope used in a fic for the hell of it especially if it's a canon compliant/adjacent/divergent fic (or such a fic but comedy crack). Like dmbj and Guardian and Star Trek are Excellent fandoms to play with fun bizarre ideas since you could argue its "just another day they likely had I guess." Shen Wri turns into a kitty cat and Zhao Yunlan takes care of his boy? Some Dixingren turned him. Wu Xie has time traveled? Sure, he went the wrong direction and ended up 1000 years in the past why the fuck not. Spock is now inside someone else's body? Well he's already been in McCoys! Might as well right any body switch of your dreams!! Hei Xiazi's a vampire?! Well maybe he's always been and just didn't bring it up! ToT. Zhang Qiling jumped universes to an alternate reality where "insert your dream AU here"? Sure, he can't always remember stuff, for all we know this has happened before and Will happen again. I just love the kinds of stories where wild tropes are just very easy to insert amd play with regular canon.

[bowsie22]

Whumptober 12

Wu Xie is tired

12 – Wu Xie, ‘insomnia’, tomb curse, dangerous to life

Wu Xie liked his sleep, everyone knew that. He spent more money on his bedroom than anywhere else in Wushanju, even the shop.  It was his haven, that even Xiaoge was rarely let into. Super king mattress, goose down pillows, Egyptian cotton sheets, the softest pyjamas he could find, classical music playing softly in the background and his scented humidifier. Everyone knew better than to wake him up before his alarm or disturb him after his bedroom door closed behind him. 

Wu Xie liked his sleep.

It was meant to be an easy tomb. few rooms, traps too old to work and some good finds. Except there was one trap still working. And of course, Wu Xie set it off.

Which led to two days later, Wu Xie sitting up in his bed unable to sleep. Whatever gas had hit him made him unable to sleep. He couldn't even doze off! His eyes just refused to close. It wasn’t too bad at the moment, but he hoped Xiaoge, Xiazi and Xiao Hua found an answer soon. Pangzi was left with him, checking in every couple of minutes, offering him calming and soothing teas. Not that they did too much right now. All Wu Xie could do was wait. And hope he had enough books left to read.

Five days later and still no change in his sleeping habits. Wu Xie was feeling the effects of a week of no sleep. He was eating more, most of it junk food and energy drink, anything to get that extra energy boost he needed. After the third day he became cranky, snapping at Pangzi until the other man started avoiding him. He still delivered food and drink, leaving them at the door instead.

He knew the hallucinations were coming soon, he knew it was only going to get worse. Wu Xie couldn’t tell anyone, but he was scared. He knew he wouldn’t survive long without sleep. All he could do was trust that his friends would come through for him.

By the next day, Xiao Hua had a doctor moved into Wushanju. Wu Xie was ordered to stay in his bed, hooked to an IV for the proper nutrients, with the doctor setting up camp in the corner of his room. Pangzi wandered in and out, constantly on the phone.

Wu Xie wasn’t aware of any of this. By this stage he was too far gone. He’d started hallucinating yesterday, talking to his grandfather. Entire conversations that terrified Pangzi, knowing how close his friend was getting to death. The doctor could only do so much, considering this insomnia was unnatural.

All Pangzi could do was check up on the three searching for the cure while making sure Wu Xie was holding on. At this stage that’s all his young friend was doing. And even then, he was barely doing that.

It took eight days to find the antidote. Wu Xie glared at the doctor as he injected it into his IV, not understanding what was happening. Pangzi couldn’t help the sigh of relief as he watched his Wu Xie’s eyes flutter close, his breath evening out, deepening. Pottering around the room, he turned on the humidifier and the classical music, closing the blackout blinds. Now that Wu Xie was able to sleep again, Pangzi was determined he was going to enjoy it. The doctor packed his things, leaning into whisper to Pangzi, “He’ll probably sleep for at least a day, so I’ll keep the IV in. When he does wake up, food and drink and then a bath. He’ll be groggy for a while and will require a lot of sleep over the next week or two. Just make sure he’s eating and drinking, and he’ll be ok in no time.”

Pangzi nodded, closing the door behind the doctor, wanting another few minutes to watch over Wu Xie, make sure he was ok. Maybe they needed a break from tombs for the next few months. Pangzi really couldn’t take his friends being hurt again. He settled into the armchair Wu Xie had placed beside the bookcase in the room, just wanting to watch his friend. After a few minutes he could feel himself start to drift off, joining Wu Xie in sleep. Now that Wu Xie was finally safe and resting, it was time for Pangzi to catch up on his rest too. And where else would he do it, if not by Wu Xie’s side?