#epic mdzs stories

[wangxianficfinder]

"Beautiful Writing and Good Plot" Compilation Part 1

"Beautiful Writing and Good Plot" Compilation Part 1 

We got a request at some point for stories with "beautiful writing and good plot" and I missed it back then, but here's my compilation, just from going through my bookmarks and looking for key words like *beautifully written, *lyrical, *epic, etc. So, in absolutely no particular order, please enjoy! [And feel free to list your own, and we'll do a Part 2 Compilation for all of yours as well!] ~ mojo

~*~

take me back to a time by DizziDreams (T, 144k, wangxian, my bookmark, PODFIC) - lwj time travels to modern wwx

❤️Dignity and Animality by Anielka (G, 37k, wangxian, my post) - wwx is reincarnated as a rabbit for the 13-year interval: watership down fusion... not necessary to be familiar with watership down

hills and rivers by LtLJ (T, 70k, wangxian, 4 works, my post) - post canon wwx settling into his new life with appropriate drama and angst

help is on the way by Vamillepudding (M, 15k, wangxian, my post) - dreamy, shadowy fairy tale feel about lwj crumbling/recovery in wake of yiling patriarch's dramatic demise... happy ending!

wide enough and wild by impossibletruths (E, 64k, wangxian, my post) - Noping Out Of Society With Your Boyfriend And Your 50 Wen Refugees: The Novel

❤️We'd roll and fall in green by x_los (E, 27k, wangxian, WIP, my post, 2 works, series in progress) - in which canon wwx was always a girl

Vagabond by xantissa (E, 65k, wangxian, my post) - post canon case fic

❤️The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, wangxian, my post) - seriously injured wwx after Qiongqi Path canon divergence: lwj caretakes

❤️A Burning Cold by MountainRose (G, 29k, child wei wuxian, my bookmark) - child wwx barely survives homelessness, is chronically ill, and all of canon is slightly different

❤️Dream a little dream of me by Moominmammashandbag (M, 60k, wangxian, my bookmark) - fix it where wwx never dies, he was imprisoned by the Jin and now is rescued

other earths and skies by binghecarer (T, 54k, wangxian, my bookmark) - East of the Sun, West of the Moon fairy tale au

mercy, tear it down. by orange_crushed (E, 33k, wangxian, my post) - wangxian find peace during Sunshot with dom/sub

and his wanting grows teeth by yukla (T, 25k, wangxian, my post) - au where wwx grows up outside the cultivation world but lwj finds him anyway, casefic

the red dark shifting by typefortydeductions (E, 16k, wangxian, my post) - Star Trek, Tarsus IV au

Imperfect Memory by xantissa (E, 62k, wangxian, my post)​ - war prize lwj au

❤️爱不释手; never let me go by yiqie (E, 69k, wangxian, my post) - post canon case fic

two guys r in love thats literally it by victortor (M, 11k, wangxian, my post) - time travel fix it

seldom all they seem by Fahye (E, 25k, wangxian, my post) - in which wangxian have been betrothed since childhood

come morning light by wolframvonbielefeld (maknaeline) (E, 17k, wangxian, my post) - canon and post-canon, grief, character studies and healing

bring you home by Alasse_Irena (T, 28k, wangxian, my post) - modern au with grief and ptsd and healing

in your skin by darkredloveknot (enheduane) E, 10k, wangxian, my post) - post canon case fic with a little body horror

Grave of a Living God by Gotcocomilk (T, 35k, wangxian, my post) - wwx time travels... but ends up in wen ruohan's clutches

From my heart's ground. by orange_crushed (E, 38k, wangxian, my bookmark) - lwj learns a new cultivation in the 13 years interval

set your old heart free by words-writ-in-starlight (Gunmetal_Crown) (E, 42k, wangxian, my post, 6 works) - canon and post-canon feels and catharsis

❤️As It Should Be by kuro (M, 37k, wangxian, my post) - arranged marriage angst

❤️Ribbons and Heartsongs by jeyhawk (E, 37k, wangxian, my post) - kind of a mesh between space/fantasy/urban fantasy AU

Concerning Rabbits by manta (G, 28k, wangxian, my post) - grief and healing, bunnies and friendships

between the shadow and the soul by cl410 (M, 22k, wangxian, jiang siblings, my post) - post burial mounds wwx is feral and needs help, dreamy fairy tale feel

A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps by hansbekhart (E, 22k, wangxian, my post) post canon getting together

Lost and Found by dea_liberty (M, 36k, wangxian, my post) - post canon healing, but maybe not *plotty*

Yúyīn 餘音 by riotintheheartt (E, 18k, wangxian, my post) - au with god lan wangji and amputee wwx hiding/living in his temple

~*~

Under 10k (so maybe slightly less plotty)

~*~

After by tellthemstories (G, 5k, lan sizhui & lan wangji, my post) - parent-child relationship, grief and healing, 13 years

tonight i can write the saddest lines by sarahyyy (G, 4k, wangxian, my post) - amnesiac lwj learns to love wwx all over again, post canon

the field meets the wood by astronicht (T, 8k, wangxian, my bookmark) - horror with serving of yiling patriarch retribution

you, whose heart would sing of anarchy by doodlebutt (T, 9k, zhuiyi, my bookmark) - #sizhui has full custody of the brain cell; and #rule breaking as a love language

how to tame a dragon by lanwineji  (E, 6k, chengyi, my post) - Spirited Away au where lan jingyi trips into another world and discovers jiang cheng

The Feathers in the Thread by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 4k, wangxian, my bookmark) - The Crane Wife fairy tale au

Buried in the Sky, Hallowed by thy Depths by themunchking (T, 9k, wangxian, my post) - in which the Twin Jades are sirens

the sleeper's gift by iliacquer (T, 6k, wangxian, my post) - fairy tale au inspired by Maleficent

the shadow of a name in skin by iliacquer (E, 9k, wangxian, my post) - amnesiac yiling patriarch, fairy tale feel

❤️tie a knife with a ribbon by iliacquer (E, 5k, wangxian, my post) - war prize lwj au, there is some plot with the pwp

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Beefleaf isn't canon. Mxtx has said she doesn't like to write another gay ship different from the main (she struggled with svsss)

I have heard about this! The content I saw was just so insistent about Beefleaf that I wondered if maybe I was misremembering and the "no same-gender side couples" thing applied to MDZS only. (I have gotten similar vibes from Moshang and from whatever Yue QIngyuan and Shen Jiu's ship name is, but I've now obtained Vol. 1 of SVSSS and plan to read it, so if those two aren't actually canon, don't tell me! It can be a surprise!)

The "no side couples"--or, in MDZS's case, "no queer characters AT ALL besides the protag, his love interest, and the disgraced goth weirdo who annihilates himself to resurrect the protag"--thing confuses me, because... I guess I don't get the point of it? I totally understand not having the bandwidth to develop more than one couple. The challenge of adequately building up other relationships fully independent of your main couple without detracting from the exploits of your protagonist and his love interest could be daunting, as would expanding the story's focus and juggling multiple equally-prominent lead characters for an effective ensemble piece. But here it seems like people picked up a vibe between the characters from what was already there in the text and then MXTX was like, "oh, no, they're not a couple! there's just the one couple!" and THAT I don't get. If she's disinterested in writing women, but has a cast of attractive men who are all obsessed with each other, why not toss a romance in there between some of the guys? Again, you can keep it entirely as-is and just toss a kiss in there or confirm in interviews that yes, they were in love, and you're so happy readers picked up on that even though you didn't get to tell their full story on the page.

I am extrapolating based on the Xiyao situation specifically, so maybe this doesn't apply to her other works! But it is a choice that confuses me. A couple doesn't have to be that developed; Xuanli certainly aren't, but their existence is a major plot point. I should think that the presence of other m/m couples would bolster the main couple, if anything, because it sets a precedent for them existing in their world. There are situations where adding an expressly romantic element would change something fundamental about the relationship, but there are just as many where the addition of a romantic element changes nothing or makes it make more sense (case in point: Xue Yang's freakout after killing Xiao Xingchen).

Like I said, I get not wanting to devote energy to it, and I also get that sometimes a work or performance is received by the audience in ways the artist didn't intend (this is the Destiel website, after all), but to make it a conscious choice to have One M/M Couple Only? Based on what I currently know, this perplexes me.

[onnahu]

So, my favourite mdzs/cql fic? Thanks for asking!

It's a time travel au where Lan Qiren ends up in his early adulthood and tries to fix everything by seducing Wen Ruohan. Also, it may or may not serve a greater good - WangXian shutting the fuck up, because LQR can't sleep at night bc of them!

It's excellent. The humor is peak, the plot is great, even a little bit of smut as a treat, tho it's not problem at all to skip it if that's what you like. 121,456 words long, the whole parents generation get an appearance.

Mostly cql setting, but even I - the novel and donghua is my thing, drama not really - was enjoying it.

It's also an epic journey of Lan Qiren's goatee.

The fic is 'Cursed Couple' by shorimochi on ao3. Check it out.

[niobefurens]

I had to update this...

[esoteric-oracle]

//long rambles ahead!

I think what really lingers with me about MDZS is that it's not a novel with a cathartic ending at all. It's a bittersweet story that leaves you slightly hollow. Yes, it's a beautiful and epic romance. It's a piece of social commentary interwoven with a love story and murder mystery. It's a cautionary tale. But it is also very much a tragedy. It's a story about being too late, second chances, and moving on.

By the time the truth of everything JGY and JGS did comes to light, it's 13 years too late. Everything that mattered has already happened. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan are long dead. Jin Ling is still an orphan. Wen Ning is dead, and sometime in the future, his death will be permanent. Wen Qing was burned to death at the stake for no fault of her own. Nie Mingjue has already spent ten years in a no-doubt agonizing state of un-death, and Lan Xichen will have to bear the guilt of loving both Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, and by doing so, forsaking them both. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's once-close bond is irrevocably broken, and the woman who sowed the seeds of resentment when they were still children will never face the consequences of her vitriol.

People sometimes say MXTX was too hard on the side characters, and only gave the Wangxian a happy ending, but what stuck with me after finishing the story is how… sad things are. Yes, Wangxian finally get the happy ending they've deserved for nearly 20 years - but at the same time, it's not a happy ending where the people who've wronged them get the consequences they deserve.

Wei Wuxian will spend the rest of his life haunted by guilt and loss, over what happened to Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan, over the loss of the Wen remnants. The rest of his years won't even be lived in the body his parents gave him.

Lan Wangji will spend the rest of his years wondering if he'd chosen to stand with Wei Wuxian when it mattered - would his son have had to grow up without his birth family?

Nie Huaisang is left wondering if his brother had been a little less trusting and had never taken Meng Yao in as a Nie deputy, would his brother have died a less wretched death? Would he have been forced to stoop to ruthless machinations and manipulations to seek some semblance of justice?

Wen Ning will have to live with the knowledge that if he'd been a little less kind, if he'd let Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng die that fateful day - his family would still be alive. The Wens would've won the war; Wen Qing might've even succeeded Wen Ruohan.

No one really gets the ending they deserve. MDZS isn't a story where good people get happy endings, and bad people get their dues. Sure, Jin Guangyao's crimes are revealed and he faces the consequences of his actions. But what about the people who stood by and made him into a monster? If anything, the side characters and antagonists who survive get better than they deserve. The real villain of MDZS - society - will never face retribution. Those cultivators who always believed in their own bigotry and righteousness over and over again, will never face justice.

Do you think those cultivators and the public will ever feel any regret for the innocent people they condemned to death in their own prejudice and blind self-righteousness? Do you think the people who gathered at Nightless City to call for Wei Wuxian's death considered for one second that he was the biggest reason they won the war? When the cultivators who sacked the Wen settlement at the Burial Mounds threw the bodies of the Wens into the blood pool, do you think that was a sign of shame?

Do you think Jiang Cheng will ever regret leading a siege on a small settlement of innocent farmers? Do you think he's haunted by condemning to death the same people whom he owes his life to?

Do you think those people like Yao-zongzhu will ever feel an ounce of remorse for so easily believing rumours and hearsay, and spreading speculation and vitriol about innocent people?

Do you think that unnamed cultivator out there will ever lose a single minute of sleep over smashing in Wen Popo's head?

In the years that follow, Wen Ning will have apologized a hundred times for lives he did not take, crimes he did not commit, because of the name he bears. People, both in-universe, and even readers, will condemn him for actions he could not help, for doing the right thing. But did Jiang Cheng ever apologize for killing his family? Did the Jins ever apologize for their horrific treatment of people in the labour camps?

People will continue to demand that Wei Wuxian apologize for causing the deaths of their friends and family. But how is Wei Wuxian meant to do that? No one ever apologized to him for taking his family away. No one ever apologized for condemning the Wen Remnants to death for crimes they took no part in. The Wens were his family too.

There's so much potential for bitterness and corruption in MDZS. Instead of saving everyone, Wei Wuxian could've stood aside and let the people who tried to kill him die. MDZS could've been a story of succumbing to hatred and grief, but it wasn't. MXTX could've gone on and on about how society wronged the protagonist, but she didn't. The narrative is one of forgiveness and moving beyond past grievances. The story chose to close the story on a positive note. I truly love that aspect of MDZS, where MXTX leaves just enough room for hope and love at the end.

A-Yuan will finally get his closure about the family he lost as a toddler. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian get their happy ending together after being separated by nearly two decades by war, miscommunication, cruelty, and death.

Wei Wuxian will never regret protecting survivors of an attempted genocide, because it was the right thing to do.

And Wen Ning will still stand in the way and take a fatal blow meant for Jin Ling, despite everything the Jins and Jiang Cheng did to the people he loved.

Because they chose love. Characters like Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning and Lan Wangji have the chance to move on and live a happier life because when they could've succumbed to hurt and fury and resentment, they chose to be kind and do the right thing. Wangxian get their happy ending because they learn to recognize the toxicity of the cultivation society's self-cannibalizing prejudice, and chose to pursue righteousness above personal benefit.

MDZS isn't a story about good people getting good things. Just look at what happened to Xiao Xingchen. There's really nothing satisfying or cathartic about everyone's fates at all. There's no promise about society facing the consequences of their mob mentality or Wangxian actually changing the world together. Even in TGCF, for all its makings of a love story, we get the promise of societal change once Jun Wu is deposed.

It has all the makings to be a tragedy or tale of vengeance of epic proportions - but instead, it's a love story. It's a story about making the best of what you've got, and staying true to yourself and your morals, even if that's sometimes a bitter pill to swallow. It's a story where everything that could go wrong went wrong, but the characters still managed to fight their way to a better ending by choosing kindness. At its core, MDZS is a testament to choosing compassion over cruelty no matter how tragic and hopeless life gets, no matter how long the journey gets. Even though the happy ending is more personal and only applies to the specific characters, even though we don't actually get the promise of their society becoming a better place - we still have the hope that Wei Wuxian's second chance brings. The hope that sometimes, no matter how cruel the world is, some people who deserve it still get their happy endings. That's what makes MDZS such a memorable work of art. That's why it stays with you.

[stoopid-turtle]

My Turtle Origin Story

Hi. I'm a rando on the internet. I make stuff up for fun and giggles. Nothing I say is real. Everything is fake. I'm fake. I bet you're fake. Fakity fake-fake.

Here's the intro post for this whole thing.

That being said, I got into The Untamed after reading MDZS last year. I'd never watched a c-drama before, though my wife and I have watched some k-dramas and j-dramas before. I was fascinated by a BL adaption in a country where gay relationships are censored.

I'm a nerd at heart, so I wanted to learn more about just...what this was about. How did this get made? Was it just for $$$? Did the people behind it take it seriously or was it a big joke? A cash-grab on a wildly popular web-novel? How was it received? How on earth was it discussed when the main relationship is a gay romance?

So I started watching the behind the scenes footage (bts) and interviews. And reading a bunch. And watching more. And reading more. Basically, I immersed myself into the swamp trying to figure this whole thing out.

My big fear going in was that there'd be a bunch of no-homo stuff in the bts. That nobody took it seriously. That the male actors were icked out by the minimal amount of subtext they did.

So I found it refreshing from the start to see that wasn't the vibe behind the scenes. Honestly, it reminded me a lot like the vibe with Xena. Back in the 1990s, an explicit lesbian couple just wasn't a thing on TV. The network wouldn't allow it.

So the show got as close as they possibly could with what ended up being referred to as "subtext". Xena went way further than The Untamed (Xena and Gabrielle are canon soulmates who have multiple kisses and swear a life commitment to each other). But behind the scenes was a cast and crew who genuinely wanted to show as much of the romance as possible. Who wanted to push the envelope as far as they could go. After a couple seasons, with the actresses' chemistry, they knew it was an epic love story, and they treated it as such.

Were there jokes? Yeah. The actresses had a running joke of flubbing a scene by saying "Now come here for a cuddle". There's a fantastic outtake of Lucy Lawless jokingly going in for a kiss at the end of a scene. But it wasn't a mocking atmosphere. It was sincerely felt and experienced, and it meant a lot to little gay me to see that in Xena. It felt similar to see the same spirit in the Untamed background. Much like Xena (the show) included an episode where she commissions Sappho to write a love poem for Gabrielle, The Untamed snuck in little hints with chickens and historical gay erotica. They took it as far as they feasibly could without the two male leads actually physically interacting much. (I'm putting aside the whole mess where they tried to make WQ a love interest)

There was an immediate difference between Xena and the Untamed behind the scenes, though. The actresses in Xena were close friends. They attended each other's wedding. Had great chemistry. But nobody ever thought they were a real couple, for various reasons. There is 0 chance they are or were ever a couple. Even with all the gay jokes behind the scenes, it's obvious.

As soon as I started looking up TU bts, Youtube started recommending this mysterious bjyx stuff to me.

"Aha!" I thought. "Is this what they call 'fanservice'?"

(I'm sorry. I know I'm not funny)

Okay, so I've been in fandom before with fictional characters. I've always been aware of real-person fiction and had mixed feelings about it. I've also known that some bands do gay fanservice and that BL live-action stuff often comes with fanservice. I'd never really seen it, though.

Still, what I could see in the videos wasn't THAT fanservice-y. A lot of bickering. Singing. Fighting. Lewd jokes. Making faces at each other. Completely nonsensical conversations. Not a lot of, like, handholding or kissing stuff like I'd expect from fanservice.

At the same time, the videos seemed to make wild leaps sometimes in showing that these two - GG and DD - were a thing. Much like the Xena actresses joked with each other about their characters being a couple, GG and DD and others joked about WWX and LWJ being a couple. Sometimes the videos seemed to conflate moments like that--clear jokes--with actual coupleness.

So I kinda dismissed them at first. I mean, it's part of fandom. Some people get into it. Not for me.

But I was still interested in the actors. I wondered how they got the roles. What they thought of them. What they thought about the gay elements.

So, again, reading and whatnot.

It's impossible to read about this stuff without coming across bjyx and turtles. That's where most of the background is discussed in English, honestly. So I read that. Usually kinda putting aside whatever they were trying to imply. Just trying to figure out more about the political situation. The vibe of the actors.

But as I watched and read, these bjyx candies

just

kept

coming.

Some easily dismissed. Some kinda compelling if you squint. Some that required some thought.

I watched a bunch of DD's other stuff (I guess my bias is for him? I adored DD from the start). Took note of his, um, clear lack of interest in women. I mean, yeah, as an idol, I'm sure he didn't want to cause a scandal by acting too familiar. But he seemed even more standoffish than that warranted. It was often commented on by...well, everybody around him.

And then I hit a bts scene that left me gawking. I said I wouldn't link the bts, so I'll just describe this scene. I've only come across it twice in two different bts compilations with slightly different translations, but the gist is the same.

GG and DD are in Cloud Recesses clothes. They're on a brightly lit green screen stage. The camera is shaky and the sound isn't super-great. (I've watched this so many times, I don't even need to look at the video to write down the interaction. I have it memorized)

DD: So flirty. (The translator notes that he's using northern slang here and I think that it came across differently to GG than he intended)

GG: *sarcastic thumbs up as if to say, "Um, rude, but ok"*

DD: You don't like it? *a moment* So beautiful. (the translator notes that this literally means "fairy-like")

GG: *a little swoon. then he stops* No, this word doesn't fit.

DD: Why doesn't it fit?

GG: It just doesn't fit WWX.

DD: I'm not talking about WWX. I'm talking about XZ.

GG: *shy smile with adorable nose crinkle*

DD: So beautiful.

Okay, I was floored. There went my whole, "joking about the role" ambiguity. DD was just straight-up flirting and GG was just straight-up accepting and enjoying it.

That kinda rearranged my brain.

Okay, so they were flirting with each other. But fanservice, right? Maybe the bts were staged?

So I read some more about the context of the releases and the boys' reactions to some of those releases. And I read more about what CP fanservice typically entails (shared endorsements, overt physical interaction, an abrupt ending when promo was done).

None of these matched up with what I was watching.

But still.

Like, seriously?

A huge TV hit based on a BL series, and the main leads are actually dating? That's...that's a story. That's the plot for a book. It's not something that really happens. Come on, now.

Then I came across the other candy that left me gawking. Old cow eats young grass.

I'm not gonna link. If you know, you know.

That's not even fanservice. That's just a couple bickering with each other.

Once I turned that corner, looking at the array of candies...even with the ones I don't take seriously, it just became...well, there's this thing about preponderance of evidence at a certain point. It doesn't mean any one candy is absolutely true. But it definitely indicates a more general truth. BJYXSZD

This is all fiction, though, and I'm a stoopid turtle.

Onward to the next post: Consuming Candies Pt 1: DD and GG are le Gay

[three--rings]

Hi! I come from the danmei fandom and wanted to ask you if you pls have some good novels from the west to rec? What I'm looking for is: BL, fantasy & good plot. I'm not looking for political agenda just for a good read where the focus is on the plot and romance. I seriously don't know where to start looking. I tried checking out recs on google but honestly after the danmei books mostly everything looks unappealing to me. I was hoping you could help me out. Thank you in advance!

Ooo, yeah I can come up with a few things.

(All links are Amazon, but of course if you can buy elsewhere it's recommended, especially author sites. But if you buy from these links I get like a few pennies.)

The Magpie Lord (and rest of the series) by K.J. Charles - This is honestly the book that got me into reading modern m/m historical romance before I ever discovered danmei. 19th century England, magic, romance.

The Whyborne and Griffin series by Jordan L. Hawk - An incredibly long series of adventure novels set in a Lovecraftian 19th century America, starring a shy scholar and brash detective who get pulled into supernatural highjinks and romance together. The author's other series might also appeal. I'm a big fan of their Hexworld series which is recommended if you like the ideal of shapeshifters and their destined soulmate partners.

Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale - Fantasy European setting in a boys boarding school. Kiram is the first from his religion/ethnicity to attend this prestigious school and has to room with a boy who is supposed to be cursed by hell. Magic, religion, culture clash coming of age, and a fantastic romance. I love this whole world and series so much.

The Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara - Fantasy India setting with a rigid caste system where homosexuality is punished with death. So the romance between a prince and a warrior has very real stakes. Lots of politics and suffering for the characters. Sorta epic political fantasy but with queer romance. Definitely danmei esque.

The Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling - An older series in which a young man is taken as an apprentice to a thief/spy/rogue in a typical European fantasy world. Very interesting political and magical intrigue. The romance between the two main characters doesn't become textual until the second book and definitely is not a main focus or very in your face, most likely because of the age of the books. BUT I love everyone in this bar so so much. And they are explicitly the fantasy equivalent of married in later books, so it's not NOT a thing.

The High King's Golden Tongue by Megan Derr - A young man is trained to be consort to a king his whole life, but the king in question isn't interested in him because he's still mourning his late husband. Fantasy world with normalized queer relationships, slow burn romance development, a very gentle book without a lot of drama. (I haven't read the rest of the series but I think each book is a different couple.)

Okay and then a couple additional recs with special circumstances.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland - I haven't read this one yet because I just haven't had time, but I've read some of their other works and trust that it's good. The author is @ariaste whose MDZS fic you may have read.

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - The reason I haven't read the above yet is because I've been deep in reading this and all the related books/stories in this world. Absolutely I think danmei fans need to read this book. The worldbuilding is fantastic and immense. The political intrigue is more West Wing than Game of Thrones. It's a book about making incremental change from inside a flawed system. And it's a book about two men opening their hearts to one another glacially slowly, with so many barriers in the way, but so much love.

The caveat is that it's not precisely a romance or primarily a romance so it doesn't meet your criteria. It's super long (again for danmei fans) but while these two (an emperor and his secretary) love each other so much, it's not explicitly romantic or sexual? At least not yet. (Next week, sequel next week aaaaaahhhh.) So...it's a weird one to rec. Which is why I've been waiting and putting off writing it's own rec post. But it's a magnificent novel I can't say enough good things about.

So yeah, that's what I've got for now. Thanks for asking, clearly I'm always just waiting for someone to ask me to rec things.

Other folks feel free to add your own recs in reblogs if there's stuff I've missed.

[trenchcoat-full-of-recs]

Favourite fics of 2023

Now that the year is over, I figured I'd cast my eye back over the previous year to see what were my favourite fics I discovered that year. Notably, they may not have been published last year--just the ones that I read during that time period.

I have absolutely no idea what they will be, so I'm curious to dive into my bookmarks...

MDZS/CQL

Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark -- oooh, apparently it was last year that I consumed this. It's a behemoth of a story at over 700k words; it's a slowly sprawling tale, and I read and reread it during the same year. And it's been one of the rare WIPs that I have been following faithfully. It's an AU in which WWX and LWJ, early on during the Gusu lectures, have the extra-canonical chapters' dreams about each other (that's to say, the ravishing in the library and the peaceful domesticity) and this triggers them realizing their feelings, which in turn changes rather a lot of things. This sounds underwhelming, but the fic really is very good and rather epic in scope! I have appreciated how it depicts WWX--intensely intelligent, precocious, but in need of guidance; and he and LWJ are darling together. I only hope it keeps being this good for the next 700k words or however much it takes!

You'll See Me Again by anon -- oh man, I loved this one. It's sadly a short-ish WIP (12k> words), but the concept is brilliant: it's NHS, who's time-travelled back and is determined to fix everything by getting WWX as his younger brother, and it's told from NMJ's baffled point of view. It's very good! I just wish it were longer.

Mourning Dove by jaemyun - a WIP featuring a dark LWJ who's very fed up with the hypocrisy of the cultivation world. Hasn't updated in a while, though...

SVSSS

This was the year I read SVSSS! Boy, did I ever love it. This naturally unlocked a new fandom for me, so here are some of my favourite fics:

A Transmigrator and a Time Traveler Walk Into the Bamboo House by VeryCharismaticDragon - this is super lovely! This is Binghe who time-travels from after SQQ's self-destruction to the start of the story. And he's determined to change things, even as he's trying to understand them. The whole thing is great.

The More You Don't Know by Neery - this is sweet and angsty in just the right way. Binghe is convinced SQQ only loves him because he doesn't realize he's a demon, and does his best to hide. (There's also a canon divergence in there.)

The Peace Between Divine Pec- ah-hm sorry - uh…Peaks by AceOfDivineChlorophyll - I need to catch up with the latest chapters of this, but I have it bookmarked as "absolutely love it, mega oblivious SQQ thinks he's LBH's advisor and not realizing that he's effectively the empress (something everyone around him sees) and of course not realizing also that he's super in love with LBH."

Particular by thehoyden - a very sweet SQQ/LBH a/b/o!

The King's Avatar

This is also the year when I consumed this canon!

Born of Fire (We Shall Not Fall) by TheDefenestrator - I loved this fic so much. So much. It's my favourite take on omegaverse I've ever seen in any fic, ever. It's got a super lovely Ye Xiu/Han Wenqing slowburn and Ye Xiu joining Tyranny, but it's also set in this universe which brings this omegaverse context into everything and makes it extra delicious. It's so well done. I just hope it updates one day.

here in search of your glory by Synoshian - I also adored this long slowburn long slowburn Ye Xiu/Han Wenqing WIP where Ye Xiu joins Tyranny.

Bond/Q

a bloodless coup by Ark - scorchingly hot, great characterisations, very well done.

There's a lot more fics that I read and enjoyed last year, but these were in my bookmarks as absolute faves, so I figure it's fair enough to end it here!

[wangxianficfinder]

"Beautiful Writing and Good Plot" Compilation Part 2

"Beautiful Writing and Good Plot" Compilation Part 2 (Pt.1 here)

~*~

symmetry by bleuett (M, 45k, wangxian, scifi au, cultivation in space, happy ending, yearning, reunions, non-sexual intimacy, grief/mourning, unconventional time travel)

break me like a promise, keep you like an oath by Eevee (ChaosBitch) & gayjeris (M, 19k, wangxian, major character death, angst w/ happy ending, trauma, mental instability, demonic cultivator LWJ)

Under every sky, in every way by naqaashi (M, 13k, wangxian, curses, curse breaking, mermaids, fix-it of sorts, angst w/ happy ending, fluff, secrets, confessions, hurt/comfort, golden core transfer fix-it, genius WWX)

The envy of the world by vulnerable_bead (E, 48k, wangxian, post-canon, night-hunt; Mojo’s post) WWX and LWJ as teachers to LSZ, LJY, and Lan junior OCs; poetic fairytale prose; a casefic of unfurling complexity with an intelligent, subtle, and tragic antagonist; mysterious uncharted musical magic; a climactic confrontation that deserves to be animated. And then there’s the famous Windowsill Papapa Scene.

Build me no shrines by occultings (M, 54k, wangxian, post-canon, case fic, slow burn, pining, confessions, getting together, hurt/comfort, whump, angst w/ happy ending)

some good mistakes by Lise (T, 18k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JC & LWJ, post-canon, roadtrips, JC pov, rescue missions, hurt/comfort, JC & WWX reconciliation)

The most dangerous thing is to love by KatAnni (E, 112k, Wangxian, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, Angst with a happy ending, Everyone lives, Hurt/Comfort) - Early Golden Core Reveal, heartwarming scenes of reconciliation and sibling bonding mixed with heart-wrenching scenes of wwx dealing with the trauma of the burial mounds and having to talk about feelings

A Secret Never Shared by Vrishchika (T, 28k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, frankencanon, Pining, Soft LWJ, Deity WWX, BAMF WWX)

green sleeves growing cold by mistergoblin (G, 16k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, CQL Verse, Fairy Tale Elements, Mild Angst, Fluff, jealousy & misunderstandings, curses as an excuse for more Yearning, LWJ POV, lwj centric, Repression, No War AU, Touch-Starved, Everyone lives, Happy Ending)

看客散去唯你我不忘 | the world forgets but i still remember you by prettyxianxian (T, 11k, WangXian, Modern AU, Flashbacks, POV Multiple, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Insecurities à la Wei Ying, manifest au, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Good Parent YZY, Good Parent JFM)

paired wings soaring by typefortydeductions (E, 33k, WangXian, Modern AU, Domestic Bliss, Slice of Life, Angst, Fluff, Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, BDSM, one instance of car sex, wwx is an artist and lwj translates poetry, Light Somnophilia, Suspension, subspace AND domspace, Comeplay, very loving and consensual degradation)

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

🧡 Yiling Salon: Hair, Nails and Piercing by TriviasFolly (T, 22k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hairstylist AU, Hairstylist WWX, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Experimental style)

🧡 Night of the Living History (an edutainment special!) by Aerlalaith (T, 51k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Workplace Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Museums, living history, Some Plot, Slice of Life, Injury, a minor haunting)

sweet chaos by eachandeverydimension (G, 86k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Arranged marriage, Fluff, Romance, Light Angst, Falling In Love, Different First Meeting, Qīnghéng-jūn's A+ Parenting, Night Hunts, Chinese Language, Good Sibling LXC, Good Sibling JYL, POV LWJ, Getting Together, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Chinese Culture, Slow Burn, No Homophobia AU)

fish & wild geese by impossibletruths (T, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, Farm/Ranch, Poetry, Grief/Mourning, Cooking, Catharsis, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Hunger as a Metaphor for Grief, Farming as a Metaphor for Healing, There Are Lots Of Metaphors In Here, Overzealous Use Of Imagery, Podfic: fish & wild geese by raitala)

Pentimento. by orange_crushed (E, 72k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Art Conservation, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Angst with a Happy Ending, Misunderstandings, Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Past Sexual Harassment, Masturbation, Sexting, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Workplace Accident, Hurt/Comfort, Past Incarceration, Adoption)

Counterpoint by Magnolias-by-the-Window (JustAnotherAbby), maichan, Tsuminoaru (T, 33k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Classical Music, POV Alternating, Orchestra, Getting Together, Mutual Pining)

And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 138k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together)

medium blues by darkterrible (E, 193k, WangXian, Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy)

Flowers Blooming in the Dark by TheLegendOfChel (T, 64k, WangXian, Gods & Goddesses, Inspired by Hades and Persephone, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, Mutual Pining, Forbidden Love, Hades and Persephone AU, Kidnapping, kind of, Courting Rituals, Secret Relationship, Child LSZ, Tooth-Rotting Fluff)

the soft animal of your body by sysrae (T, 15k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, golden core reveal, hurt/comfort, whump, animal transformation, shapeshifting, getting together, confessions)

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 598k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

Restoration by ritualist (M, 85k, wangxian, yiling wei sect au, fairy tale elements, non-linear narrative, time skips, YLLZ WWX, sentient Burial Mounds, sunshot campaign, canon-typical violence, war, politics, implied/referenced rape/non-con, necromancy, surgery, identity issues, pining, angst w/ happy ending)

NOSTOS by animediac (M, 45k, wangxian, pacific rim fusion, non-linear narrative, grief/mourning, angst w/ happy ending, the drift, hurt/comfort, sparring)

Wei Wuxian Makes a Wish series by natcat5 (M, 119k, wangxian, major character death, underage, madoka magica au, modern w/ magic, time travel, high school au, body horror, self-harm, angst w/ bittersweet ending, time loop, mental instability, suicidal thoughts)

💖 Silver & Gold by beeswaxing  (E, 162k, wangxian, post-canon, fix-it, fluff & angst, hurt/comfort, de-aging, established relationship, non-sexual intimacy, cuddling & snuggling, BAMF WWX, horny teenagers, underage kissing, Mojo’s post)

burning camellias by AvoOwO (M, 284k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Sunshot Campaign, Prisoner of War, WWX is a Mess, Genius WWX, Torture, Aftermath of Torture, Blood and Violence, Blood and Injury, BAMF WQ, BAMF WWX, BAMF WN, POV WWX, Hurt WWX, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Sentient Burial Mounds, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, No Golden Core Transfer, WWX Has No Golden Core, Poisoning, Smart WWX, Protective WQ, WWX & WQ Friendship, Medical Torture, Cannibalism, WWX & WN Friendship, PTSD, Dubious Consent, Consent Issues, Heavy Angst)

~*~

Under 10k (so maybe slightly less plotty)

~*~

well-met by warlight by wukuiyuxin (Not rated, 2k, wangxian, WIP, Old English Style Poetry, Epic Poetry, [Podfic] well-met by warlight by Cathalinareads (Cathalinaheart) ) an account from LWJ’s POV of meeting, loving, losing, and mourning Wei Ying and raising A-Yuan—in Norse-style alliterative epic verse: a narrative device enabling LWJ to be at once spare, stately, grammatically faultless, and poetically eloquent the way he’s supposed to be in the original Chinese.

Waltz for the Moon by LilyMaxwell (T, 3k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, scifi au, mermaids, hurt/comfort, healing, sad w/ happy ending, brotherly love, suicidal references, romance, ocean imagery)

🧡 i will find you again by Pip (Moirail) (T, 9k, WangXian, Modern AU, Haunting, Horror, Reincarnation, Fate & Destiny, author lwj, Haunted Houses, Happy Ending)

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Trying to close pages that I’ve had open on my phone forever, and I quite liked this article about MDZS and its approach to storytelling!

This is big, dark, layered epic fantasy, adapted in slightly different ways for different media. Is it perfect? Not even close. Is it problematic? Certainly. Is it full of troubled people doing terrible things? Full to the brim. Are all of the characters and their relationships wildly dysfunctional? Damn right. Does it feel like parts of its 1500 or so pages were written in a giddy fever dream? Sure does. Does the censorship of queer, supernatural, and so-called “immoral” content in Chinese media force the adaptations into some head-scratchingly bizarre choices? Absolutely. Do fans have raging internet battles over those changes and various degrees of character villainy and the proper translations of sex scenes? All the time, my friends. All the time.

Does any of that matter? Not in the slightest.

If we want to learn how to create stories that punch people in the feelings, stories that make people care, the best place to learn is from a story that does exactly that, repeatedly, in a gleefully abundant manner, without the least hint of restraint or embarrassment.

[mejomonster]

On the one hand yes I do NEED to read mdzs and tgcf to form opinions on them, and I did like The Untamed

On the other hand svsss is my favorite mxtx novel by far currently, and while that may change once I read the others, I do Really Appreciate that svsss is satire and commentary on novels themselves and harem novels and bl novels and transmigration and black lotus type stories and the fact it Is a novel exploring concepts of novels? I just love that so much. I love it so much I'm not sure I could love the other mxtx stuff on that level? It's like yes I love 2ha, and 2ha is incredible and long and beautifully written and made. Svsss is NOT that kind of story, it's NOT a beautiful serious epic (though mdzs and tgcf are). It IS a satire, and while at its heart svsss is in some ways Actually Also one or those epic sincere stories... it's also aware of it. The narrator is aware, and because he's aware he doesn't tell the story that way, he tells it like it's a trashy lazy written novel he's writing hate comments on. And he himself by being involved in the plot makes it into a Better story that would in execution be one of the nicer quality mdzs type ones instead of the badly written ones. But the narrator isn't telling it like it's mdzs quality, he's telling it like the entire thing is cheap and shallow and absurd. He doesn't notice the story deepening in quality because of his actions, and because simply by existing IN its novel world he is realizing these shallow story bits had depth that the writer never was able to bring to the page. The depth unseen from the reader pov, that shen qingqiu could only understand by being a part of it and a part of it in a way beyond the shallow plot he could observe. He had to see this and be IN IT to realize it's real people with deep lives and experiences who are going through really meaningful stuff To Them.

[jezebelgoldstone]

So since you have such acute good book refs, you know of any gothic horror with focus on gay men romance (trans or not) that feature adult themes, violence (possibly gore), and sexual themes (including dark/ taboo)? I find these hard to find out of original online fiction/videogames, or find it but it's not quite what I was looking for (or badly written) and it's a shame because it's my favourite kinds of stories.

:DDDD

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles.

First in a series of several short books and short stories. Set in Victorian England, first book features a violent curse and a huge scary old Gothic manor. Main character is a very rich handsome classically demanding romance hero type, who is a gay guy who has been living in queer-friendly China for the last couple of decades and has to come back to homophobic England when his father and older brother die. It is violent, there is some gore, there is some creepy stuff, there is a murder mystery, there is magic, there is some light BDSM and some pretty explicit gay sex. The whole series is great fun.

I haven't yet read anything else by this author, but @lilyhargrave says that their other stuff is good too, and I certainly trust her word.

Honorable Mentions:

Not quite as perfect a match is Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves.

It's gothic, it's gay, but I wouldn't call it horror. There is some relatively explicit gay sex in this and the next book, but though it is a Forbidden Love Story nothing about the sex is particularly taboo. I will also admit that though the first book is a murder mystery, the mystery itself is pretty obvious. That said, there is some violence, some pretty gross murders, some torture, some mental agonizing Etc, and I think the romance is really really great.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Moxiang Tongxiu more widely known on tumblr as MDZS by MXTX

Okay so this one is a Chinese story in a Chinese setting by a Chinese author written for a Chinese audience. It is not Gothic in the Anne Radcliffe sort of way. Further, the writing is very very different from what most native English speakers are used to. All that said, it is a very very very good horror story, it is gross, it is gory, there is so much torture and murder, it is one of the most breathtaking tragedies ever written, it is ridiculous, it is funny, it is a war story, it is a ghost story... it's basically everything. The gay romance is epic and beyond my skill to describe. It is also an extremely LONG story (the official English translation runs at I believe eight volumes?) and I will warn you that the on-page gay sex is confined to the end; HOWEVER, that gay sex is nice and explicit, and features BDSM and CNC and all kinds of nice stuff. Also if you're into fanfic there are like 40k-ish English-language stories on AO3 alone, and quite a few of them are, ahem, veeeeeery nice. There is a fan translation online for free, and the official English language translation is available via Seven Seas publishing.

Another near-match is Captive Prince by CS Pacat.

It is once again not horror, and it is gothic in the romance if not necessarily in the setting. Recommending this one though because there is quite a bit of sex and it is pretty taboo. Bdsm, sexual slavery, Etc is baked into the worldbuilding. The gay romance is also really really good. This one is also violent, also includes torture and a bit of gore, and features a main character who was once a prince and is trafficked as a bedslave and given as a gift to the prince of the neighboring country.

Now. Now. Now we come to what I'm tempted to call both a total miss and a dead ringer: The Last Sun by K D Edwards.

I feel like this one would technically be a horror story if the narrating character actually admitted how horrifying everything is, and wasn't so damn funny. It's got a gothic vibe in a modern-day setting. The main character is an assault survivor, a magic practitioner, and takes jobs for everything from protection details to hired muscle to private investigator. There is quite a bit of violence, some of the magic is rank, the gay romance is great, and there is a mildly spicy though extremely vanilla gay sex scene. All three books feature at least one gorgeous haunted manor. There is once again quite a bit of taboo sexual stuff baked into the worldbuilding, but in this case other than the assault (which happened 20 years ago) none of the taboo sexual stuff happens on-page or involves the main character. I feel like I'm not doing a very good job explaining this book, but this whole series genuinely is one of my absolute favorites and though it's not as good a match as The Magpie Lord, I still strongly recommend it.

Hope these are good for you, have fun and happy reading, and come talk to me if you read any of them!

[sonik-kun]

Okay. So I have a vision here. Hear me out

So Jojo Great Days opening but it's the characters from MDZS. I just think the song and animation from the opening really suits the story, idk.

With WWX in Josuke's position, LWJ in both Jotaro and Okuyasu's positions. Jiang Cheng in Rohan's. And ofc JGY in Kira's.

The Juniors can be both Koichi and Yukako's positions.

We can even have the Yi City gang in it during the Shinobu and Hayato part.. Killer Queen as Xue Yang with A-Qing as Hayato, XXC as Shinobu.. If you know the plot of JoJo part 4, you'll see why this is perfect 👀

AND Reimi's hand pointing to the sky could be NMJ's zombie hand that inevitably led WWX to finding the culprit and ultimately justice in the end. Everyone pointing at Kira (JGY) as they sus him out during the Bites the Dust sequence.

I'm explaining this poorly. But omg a MDZS Great Days version would be so epic. Even more so with the Bites the Dust version too. I can see the potential here but I don't have the art or skill to execute it 😩

[jayktoralldaylong]

TGCF SPOILERS. HEAVEN OFFICIAL'S BLESSINGS SPOILERS.

So there were a few people experiencing grief over the way the villain issue in TGCF was resolved. I understand. Honestly, I was also expecting something a bit more epic like what happened in Mo Dao Zu Shi with the carnage and the screaming. After taking time to look over the situation again, I realised that screaming and carnage is actually NOT what TGCF is about. The theme in this story is shockingly different from MDZS, you can't go into the three books and expect them to be the same. They are not going to be the same. I find that very exciting.

So Xie Lian does not kill his villain. Why? It actually makes sense. Xie Lian refused revenge over and over again against all the people who had wronged him. He wasn't going to start now. Besides, what was he going to do to Bai Wuxiang that hadn't already been done before? 💔 (Thinking of it this way is so sad. The villain so pathetic that killing him would just be bullying.) Killing him would also just be proving Bai Wuxiang right. People had been nothing but cruel to him, so he was cruel back. He had nothing left to lose.

Getting mad over Xie Lian's motivational quote was like a challenge. "You said that no matter what happens your heat can always remain in paradise. So prove it. Prove that you can also live through hell and smile at the end!" And...Xie Lian did in fact prove it. He lived through hell. He lost everything. He remained kind. He got used to the mud. He learnt to smile. He won and Bai Wuxiang knew it. That's why he kinda laughed at the end. That's why instead of doing something violent, Xie Lian instead shows kindness and gives him a gift. No good deed goes unpunished in the MXTX verse, but that's apparently no excuse to stop being good.

Xie Lian like "If I can do it. Then you can do it too. Forgive yourself. Accept yourself. Let the pain go."

The theme of TGCF is so beautiful and soft.

[three--rings]

Hi! you mentioned Kushiel's Dart. and I'm just 👀 about it. I've heard of it before and it's been on TBR list for years, but I haven't gotten around to read it yet, unfortunately. Since you say you'd like an AU based off that, I presume that it's a good story though? (Ah, I remember now that I read a very good MDZS fanfic based off that book)

100%. The whole Kushiel's Legacy series like is longer than Game of Thrones and I haven't read all of it, but the first six, which is two distinct but related trilogies are favorites of mine.

It's set in an alternative historical vaguely 17th cen France-by-another-name, with a complicated mythological/religious worldbuilding that only becomes obvious as the book/series goes on. Absolutely fascinating worldbuilding.

For the first 200 pages Kushiel's Dart is a book about a girl growing up in a formalized type of sacred prostitution. She's got a special "gift" from the goddess Kushiel that means she experiences pain as pleasure. So it's highly sexual and highly kinky.

Then after the first 200 pages the book takes a hard left into epic political fantasy. I knew so little about it when I first read it and was just astounded.

The protagonist is female, it's very queer and bisexual. Explicit sex, violence, consensual kink, and rape as well as underage sexual content.

But it's really well done and such a celebration of sexuality and kink positivity and sex work positivity and also what if Europe but Christianity didn't take over...

It's generally considered "romance" I believe but that's only because of the high sex content. Like there is a romance through the first book but mostly it's just a fantasy novel with sex in it, but written by a woman so I guess we've gotta call it a romance novel. IDK.

And ANYWAY I'd like to read a fic where Vegas is a noble son (prince?) and Pete is an anguisette (born to love pain) and maybe also a secret spy trying to get secrets from Vegas and...yeah.