#mdzs/au: fencing

[weiying-lanzhan-fics]

riposte by Deinde

Super sweet! ❤️ Enjoyed this adorable story.

Quotes:

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying exclaims, sagging. “Don’t be stubborn, hm?”

“How do you know my name?”

He has a really nice voice, Wei Ying thinks, even as that voice is dripping with disdain. It’s deep and smooth, with a note of indignation that’s just enough to add texture. Is he still making sense? Probably not, it’s late.

“Everyone knows you,” Wei Ying tells him, even though he certainly hadn’t known Lan Zhan until today. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. “One of the best epeeists of our age group? You’re famous.”

“Hm,” Lan Zhan says, disapproving. Then, he pauses, and a strange expression crosses his face.

————

“He’s copying Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying realizes, delighted and disgusted at the same time. Delighted because as much as Su She tries, he has nowhere near the same level of precision and elegance as Lan Zhan, so his attempts to goad Lan Zhan into an early strike only make him look stupid and slow in comparison. Disgusted because how could anyone think they could match Lan Zhan? Other than himself, of course. “Oh, man, he’s going to get beat to the ground.”

“Trying to copy someone’s style is stupid,” Jiang Cheng agrees. He’s craning his neck to get a better look, and when Wei Ying tugs him closer to the strip, he doesn’t resist.

They join a small crowd that’s amassed, all crowded around and watching Lan Zhan absolutely demolish this Su She guy. It’s a masterclass in strategy, and every time Lan Zhan’s blade whips out to score a point, the crowd lets out a gasp. Wei Ying can’t blame them. He’s spellbound by the way Lan Zhan feints, lowering the tip of his blade ever so slightly before lunging forwards and scoring another point.

It’s almost too easy.

G, 15k

Summary:

The first time Wei Ying sees Lan Zhan, they’re at one of the national youth Olympic centers, and Lan Zhan is absolutely pummeling some poor sod into the ground.

or: the one where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are Olympic hopefuls, training to be on the Chinese National Fencing Team.

[scribbled-anecdotes]

Kill the Mood - MDZS Slasher AU

Did anyone else read MDZS and think woah you know what this campy, murder-filled series needs: an AU set in a '80s campy teen Slasher? Because I did!

Synopsis:

Meng Yao is in the final year of high school. Between his shitty parents, his shitty after-school job, and his shitty social life, graduation cannot come quick enough. With stressful university admissions and a long-held crush on one of the most popular guys in school, Meng Yao couldn't imagine things could get any more chaotic. That is until he comes home to find he has another half-brother, Xue Yang, who seems a bit ... off. Things quickly spiral when Meng Yao realizes that he might have more in common with this new-found half-brother, who might just be a teen serial killer.

Relationships: XiYao; established Xuanli and in future chapters: SongXiao, Wangxian (background), and XiaoXue (if you see things from Xue Yang's point of view, that is)

CW: canon-typical abuse, suicide mention, mild gore and child death.

Also shoutout to the darling @prinzsorgenfrei for not only aiding and abetting this by beta reading it and drawing very pretty character designs, but for also workshopping scenes with me and for co-writing some XiYao.

This is my first MDZS fic, so please do let me know y'all's thoughts.

New York, 1986

“Jesus Christ.”

A pair of firefighters scanned flashlights over the charred remains of what had once been a nursery: rows of cribs and toddler cots reduced to pyres. Little bodies, burned beyond recognition, curled up.

At least they had been asleep.

There was always something particularly horrid when such innocent lives were caught up in accidents like these. Faulty wiring in the old boys’ group home was the immediate suspect. The fire had started in the basement, where wires that hadn’t been updated since before the war knotted and choked each other out. They had found the Headmaster’s body—well his presumed body; it was too big to be that of a child—curled outside his rooms. Smoke inhalation was the immediate suspect, there. What a pitiful and painful way to go.

But the thing about burnt bodies, the particular thing about burnt bodies unassumingly crisped in an old house that was practically begging to go up in flames, was that no one would think to look for further injuries. Feet fall off when temperatures get too hot, after the body curls up as the muscles contract and bulge in the inferno. What does it matter when the Achilles Tendon snaps? Or is snapped, rather. What would it matter how bruised and cut up the now charred flesh is? And of course, the uniform scorch marks took care of any pesky, incriminating blood stains.

When the fire department finally made it on the scene, all they saw was a tragedy, with one small miracle in the form of a delinquent with a record and a habit of sneaking away at night, including this one. One who had smelt smoke while hopping the fence back onto the grounds and had bravely run for help, but the fire had burned too long. Thus he became the lone survivor of a tragic house fire.

…

“13 people, most of them minors, are reported to be dead after a house fire broke out in a Queens boys’ home. Authorities arrived on scene at the Chang Group Home for Boys at around 1:47 this morning.”

Meng Yao heard the news report from his basement bedroom and bit his cheek knowing that Mrs. Jin had yet to leave for her hair appointment. It was barely the third day of school and she would already have ample opportunity to chastise him for being late. It didn’t matter that it was barely the third day of school and he was still working what was meant to be a summer job at the local video store. He’d been up until 2 am and his alarm had gone off no later than 6:30. Who could blame him for hitting snooze and begging his younger brother, Xuanyu, to wake him at 7:00 am? Regardless, he hadn’t, and now Meng Yao was perched at the base of the stairwell waiting for Mrs. Jin to finish her coffee and leave for her appointment or at least get up for long enough to let Meng Yao sneak into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was stuck listening to the news and Mrs. Jin’s snide commentary for another 3 minutes.

“After their preliminary investigation, the Fire Department of New York has declared the fire accidental, citing out-of-date electrical wiring and a faulty air conditioning system.” They played a brief clip of the Fire Chief expressing his condolences for the tremendous loss of life and explaining what the news anchor had already confirmed. “Our hearts here at the NYFD are with the surviving child,” he added bittersweetly before the broadcast presumably cut back to the station. “This youth is reported to be in state care until other arrangements can be made.” Meng Yao heard Mrs. Jin huff. “In other news—.”

“City’s gone to shit,” Mrs. Jin said, before flicking the channel to one of those morning talk shows stay-at-home wives liked. Stuff about new recipes and the best back-to-school buys. Mrs. Jin was the type of woman who would make others wait. It was her appointment after all, shouldn’t it be about her? If Meng Yao kept it up he’d be late anyway without the guarantee that he’d go unnoticed.

He trotted up the stairs, darting around the corner into the bathroom to no avail. “You’re still here? You’re already going to be late on the first week?” While Mrs. Jin certainly would not hold back with her words most days, today it was all in her tone. You’re still here was loaded with years of resentment and anticipation for the moment she would not have to see the reminder of her husband’s infidelity.

There was really no use explaining himself and even though an apology wouldn’t get him very far either, Meng Yao said sorry as he rushed into the kitchen to find an apple. That could be both breakfast and lunch, right?

“Morning,” he said routinely when Zixuan walked into the kitchen. It would be hard to tell that they spent their mornings rushing around the same kitchen. Where Zixuan was well-dressed, Meng Yao swum in awkwardly-fitting hand-me-downs Zixuan hadn’t touched since the 9th Grade. Where Meng Yao would try in vain to style the remnants of a bad bowl cut for three seconds in the mirror before giving up, Zixuan had the privilege of spending the morning in the shower to achieve his seemingly effortlessly coiffed hair. Zixuan flashed him a smile, more focused on packing his bag. The smile, momentarily lighting up his eyes, made Meng Yao conscious of his own bleary ones, a trait his step-mother was convinced he inherited from his mother. “Zixuan doesn’t look so lifeless” and whatnot when posing for photos. Maybe he had gotten that from his mother; a little way to assure everyone that perfect Zixuan and the inconvenient Meng Yao were only half-brothers.

“Hey,” he hesitated, noticing Zixuan was halfway out the kitchen. “Would you mind giving me a ride to school? I just, um, woke up late.” Zixuan’s brows furrowed and those bright eyes softened. “I won’t ask again,” he tried to assure with an awkward half-smile.

“I’m picking up Yanli,” Zixuan responded matter-of-factly.

Of course. Though he hadn’t said no, he was picking up his girlfriend. It was stupid to ask, Meng Yao realized. Who would want to pick up their girlfriend with their brother in the car? So sexy, right? “You know what, never mind. I can figure it out.”

Zixuan’s brows remained furrowed, “Yeah, whatever you want.” He walked out the door.

It wasn’t the worst situation Meng Yao had been in, not by a long shot. He remembered the three weeks in foster care between his mother’s death and being dropped at his estranged father’s doorstep: his things in a trashbag, loud dormitories where it was impossible to sleep, being nearly a month behind in school work even though the year had just started, nearly choking to death trying not to cry himself to sleep. Not that any of this went away when he arrived in the quiet new-build suburb in upstate New York with a fading tan from the Nevada sun, like he’d been on vacation, and his mom’s ashes precariously in his 13 year old arms. Who would blame Madam Jin for turning up her nose?

Xuanyu, who was just 8 when Meng Yao had arrived, was the only one who seemed excited to have him, and that was mostly because he would not have to sleep alone in the basement anymore. Meng Yao remembered the pit in his stomach, seeing that scrawny little boy eager to show him around and explaining that he didn’t need to be afraid anymore since his older half-brother was here now and could protect him from the monsters that undoubtedly hid in the shadows of the dimly lit storage-room-turned-bedroom. In hindsight, it should have been a warning sign when Xuanyu innocently, almost pathologically naively, explained that the Jin couple kept ‘forgetting’ to buy him a nightlight. But at the time, it didn’t matter to Meng Yao. He was a few months shy of his 14th birthday and didn’t plan on staying long, especially once he got his first New York job at the local thrift store. About three weeks into that, the best he’d gotten to show for his hard work was a much-appreciated nightlight for his new little brother and an empty shoebox which he labelled “College Fund.” His mother would want him to go to college, rather than become a 14-year-old high school dropout working some shitty job for the rest of his life.

Three years later, and he was walking to his last year of high school, dreaming of college admissions. Years of working and stashing away half of every paycheque had brought him close to his goal and, according to the guidance counselor, he had the grades to get a decent scholarship, so long as he kept up the hard work and the extra curriculars. And oh did he: a full time table, staying later after school for the last 3 years; Mondays and Wednesdays for Student Council and Fridays for Model UN, Thursday mornings for Debate club. “No sports though,” the guidance counselor had told him last year, face screwed like it was a crime to have asthma. “Lots of scholarships in sports, you know.” Meng Yao had just rolled his eyes. Regardless, when would he have the time for a sport? Meng Yao wondered if he could squeeze something else in as he walked to school. This was his last year after all. Maybe Drama club, or... His thoughts trailed of, exhausted. Who was he kidding, how on Earth would he keep going like this? Working nights and weekends, falling onto his bed after a long day of classes and extra curriculars and mind numbingly boring shifts at Video World, just to get up a few hours later to do it all again.

But there were things about his life that he had actually come to enjoy.

“Morning,” Meng Yao whispered as he plopped down beside Lan Xichen.

Math class wasn’t all that bad. For one, Meng Yao was quite good at it. Maybe Mathletes would round out his college application. The senior math teacher had been overjoyed when he heard that Meng Yao planned on majoring in Finance and becoming an accountant, so he probably would be overjoyed to have Meng Yao on the team this year. Or anyone on the team for that matter.

“Did you sleep in?” Xichen whispered under the lesson on Functions, even though he had a near-pathological fear of being rude.

“Yeah.”

Xichen held out a granola bar. “You didn’t eat, did you?”

Meng Yao took the bar in response. No. He gave Xichen a familiar half-smile in thanks and got one in return.

Eating in class was technically frowned upon, but fainting in class would mean certain social death, so Meng Yao decided to nibble on small pieces of granola whenever the teacher was turning towards the board. When he had finally finished the granola and rubbed his fingers against each other to get rid of the sticky film of leftover honey, Xichen handed him a perfectly clean cloth handkerchief. Sometimes it was hard to forget that the uncle Xichen was living with was old, rich, and as traditionalist as it got.

“Thanks again,” whispered Meng Yao, and, with a bat of his eyelashes, added: “How lucky I am to have befriended such a perfect gentleman. Should I iron it before I give it back?”

“That would be much appreciated,” answered Xichen with an expression so serious it could only be mocking, “For if my uncle were to find out I bequeathed this to anyone but a fiancée or a wife he would surely lock me in the attic for the rest of the semester.”

Meng Yao hid his laugh with a cough and their teacher turned around.

“Anything to share with the class, Mr. Meng? Mr. Lan?”

“Nothing of note, I apologize,” said Meng Yao before Xichen could feel guilty, “I’m having some issues with my contacts and asked Xichen to help me read the last equation. I did not mean to disturb the lesson.”

The teacher gave his favourite student a reproachful look but continued his lesson without another hitch. Xichen looked at Meng Yao with an amused twitch to his lips.

“I did not know your perfect vision had worsened.”

“Do keep my secret.”

They turned their focus back to the lesson and before long the bell ended the most pleasant ninety minutes of Meng Yao’s day.

“Will I see you at lunch?”

If he imagined a hopeful undertone in Xichen’s voice that was nobody’s business.

“I’ll be present.”

He would decidedly not sit with Xichen and Nie Mingjue, but he would be present. It had its perks. He was less easily distracted from his actual food intake.

“Could I talk to you about homecoming then? There are some things we need to figure out and I would really like your opinion on them. We’ll decorate later this week, but I know you’re busy, so I’d like to run it by you during school hours.”

“Um, yeah, of course.” Meng Yao tried not to sound overexcited, it was just homecoming after all. But it was a welcomed distraction. He fondly remembered when they were on prom committee last year, even though they didn’t attend. Tossing streamers into the bag and then at each other while they swept up the gymnasium. There was something so liberating about being alone with Xichen, their laughter echoing off the walls as they ate leftover finger foods and talked about their summer plans. “I can meet you in the library after class on Friday, if that works?”

“That would be lovely.” Xichen smiled and headed down the hall toward English class.

—

Model UN was fine. They spent most of the hour preparing for the next conference, pouring over books about Nuclear Warfare and Treaty Rights. Truth be told, Meng Yao was only half listening while he took notes on the school typewriter. He was about halfway through mindlessly typing “excellent work, gang. Have a nice weekend” before he realized they were breaking.

Xichen was in the library as promised, happily getting ahead on his Physics homework. “Sorry,” Meng Yao apologized.

“What for?”

“I’m late.”

“Hardly.” Xichen produced an apple from his bag. “It’s really fine, I know that you have Model UN and all.”

“Thanks,” Meng Yao accepted the apple.

“Plus, Wangji has volleyball practice tonight anyway and he needs a ride home.” Xichen produced a binder of details and Meng Yao practically swooned when he saw the colour-coding. It was a system they had devised together: Green for finances, blue for food and drink, red for legal things—forms and whatnot—and so forth. “So, decorations. I revised the budget and we can free up some extra money. We need a theme, no? For the dance portion.”

“Yes. And if we’re doing spirit week—do we have spirit days picked out?”

Xichen flipped a few pages ahead, mumbling to himself, “School colours, Flashback Day, PJ Day, Beach Day, Jersey Day.”

Meng Yao screwed up his face at the disjointed roster. God, didn’t their co-council members have any idea about cohesion? “Well, we have to keep Jersey Day for Game Night, but we can build up to the home-coming dance theme with each spirit day, no?”

Xichen gleefully crossed out PJ Day and Beach Day and Meng Yao swore he looked relieved. “What about doing Americana? Its the school’s 75th anniversary this year, we can keep the School Colours, the jersey and the flashback and substitute Beach Day and PJ Day for something a little more New York or at least closer to New Hoenderloo High history.”

“Gangster Day?” Meng Yao suggested.

Xichen scoffed. “What does New Hoenderloo have to do with the mob?”

“I don’t know, our prime export is corn and varsity jocks. But we’re so close to New York that I’m sure people won’t bat an eye.”

Xichen nodded and added Gangster Day to the agenda. He supposed it was better than Farm Day or something.

“And, um, we can do a classic American Day? Red, White, and Blue and that junk. Founding fathers.”

“Would work.”

“And we can decorate the homecoming dance with American Classics, a jukebox instead of a DJ, we can serve milkshakes, and do ‘50s Diner lighting?”

Xichen laughed. He loved Meng Yao’s big ambitions. “Remember, I said, some money was freed up. We’re hardly Studio 54.”

“Let me see that budget.” Meng Yao poured over the numbers, looking for missed unnecessary spending. “A jukebox is way cheaper than a DJ, you know. That saves us a couple hundred bucks easy. Plus, if we raise the ticket prices by a few dollars, we can make up the difference. That’s not even including fundraisers like the Football Team Charity Car Wash or the Meat Raffle.” Meng Yao wrote out all the numbers neatly so that Xichen would have something to show the rest of the committee on how to really throw a great home-coming.

“See, this is why we need you to be vice-president!”

Meng Yao blushed. “Really? Little ol’ me?”

He suddenly became less playful when he saw Lan Wangji appear in the library. Wangji was, of course, polite, like his older brother, and, of course, also socially awkward, drastically unlike his older brother. So, he would wait stoically in the library entry until his brother would notice him, rather than interrupting them and risking making small talk with Meng Yao. “Your brother is done with practice, I think.”

Xichen waved and asked Wangji a bunch of questions: How was practice? When is the next game? Would he need something to eat? And Wangji replied simply: “Good. Tuesday. No. Can’t spoil dinner.”

“Ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

Meng Yao packed his things up alongside Xichen, happily chattering about how much progress they made in just a half hour. “It’s really coming together,” he added as he went to turn left to catch the bus.

“Would you like a ride home?” Xichen offered.

“It wouldn’t be too much trouble, would it?”

“You live a couple blocks away from us. It would be far more convenient.”

Meng Yao’s lips curled softly, gratefully. “Then, I would love a ride. Thank you.”

—

“Looks like you have guests,” Xichen observed, trying to make pleasant conversation as always. Meng Yao recognized that car. God, he wondered if that social worker worked on commission, a little extra for every traumatized child she dragged to Jin Guanshan. God knows there were probably enough bastards to make up an entire career. Meng Yao’s tired sigh turned into an airy half-laugh, mostly at his own joke. But Xichen smiled. “Have a lovely visit,” he added when he pulled into the driveway and let Meng Yao out of the car.

“Thanks. And thanks again for the ride home, I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, A-Yao.”

Mrs. Jin had put out tea and coffee, even a tray of baked goods. Her gentle sips and small, delicate bites quickly hardened into a tight frown. Meng Yao felt like he did three years ago. Mrs. Jin was consistent; she wore the same tired, expectant face and flashed her cold, irritated gaze at Meng Yao when he froze in the living room. “A-Yao, our other son.” Meng Yao almost rolled his eyes at how much Mrs. Jin visibly struggled to call him ‘our son.’ “You must remember him?” Her voice was pleasant enough when talking to the social worker.

“I do. How are you? How is school? Still playing soccer?”

“Good. And good.” Meng Yao had never played soccer in his life, but he played along and told her that he might even be getting a scholarship for it. No one knew enough to correct him, anyway.

She gave him a well-rehearsed polite smile, before turning her attention back toward Mrs. Jin. “I trust you know the drill. If there are any problems, please do not hesitate to call. Though you should know.” She trailed off and Meng Yao could see her thinking through what to say next. “You know, he has had some problems in his group homes, but those situations are volatile for any child. A stable, loving home like this one will probably do him good.”

            Meng Yao’s attention turned to the muffled conversation Xuanyu was having with someone in the basement.

So he had a new brother now, he supposed. And a new roommate.

            “And this is Meng Yao!” He heard Xuanyu say before he was even halfway down the stairs. Really, who else could it have been? Who else would want to go down into their creepy, damp basement bedroom? Meng Yao forced his most welcoming smile. He remembered how shy he felt when he first came to New York. Shy and lonely and so, so angry at the world. A smile and a polite, calm introduction was the least he could do.

            The boy, who couldn’t have been much younger than he was, gave him a full smile. “Hi.” There was something so juvenile about that smile that it unnerved Meng Yao. It wasn’t innocent like Xuanyu’s, happy regardless of his circumstances. No, this was boyish in a hedonistic way, sharp and carefree; all pointed canines and no baby teeth.

            “Xue Yang.” He said, bobbing his chin and widening his smile to an almost wolfish state.

            “Nice to meet you, Xue Yang.” Meng Yao could thankfully recover the conversation quite quickly. He welcomed first years all the time, and even though Xue Yang was going into Junior year and would hardly be as intimated of him as a 13-year-old, he was sure the faltering of his welcoming tone would go unthought of. “I can’t imagine your coming here was brought on by good circumstances, so—”

            “Oh no, asshole cardboard suburbanites were my childhood dream.” Meng Yao quickly learned that Xue Yang liked to laugh at his own obnoxious sarcasm. A lot. And Xuanyu, ecstatic at yet another older brother, also liked to laugh.

            “So, if you want to talk about it,” he continued, trying to move on from Xue Yang’s instant dislike of the situation, “I would be more than happy to.” It really was not Meng Yao’s place to judge him for it. If his childhood was anything like his own, filled with promises of a dad who was just coming back, always just coming back someday, then Xue Yang was likely utterly disappointed by the dad who had just relegated him to the basement and was headed back to work after making his wife do all the talking. No fancy house and fully-stock fridge could make up for that.

            “Meng Yao is really good at talking,” Xuanyu assured. “My mom slit her wrists when I was five.”

            Xue Yang scoffed at his candour, a cheeky grin spreading. “You really just say whatever the hell you want, eh?” Xuanyu nodded, just happy to get someone’s attention. Xue Yang loved it when kids were stupid.

            “And my aunt always told me it was my fault. But Yao-gege said its not and he always tells me that when I have nightmares. So, he can make you feel better.”

            “Xuanyu.” Meng Yao gave him a gentle pat on the back of his head, dropping his voice to a whisper. “remember, we don’t have to tell everyone everything, okay?”

            “Why not? We’re brothers!”

            “Yeah,” Xue Yang turned back to his trashbag-suitcases and began to take over the bottom bunk. “We’re brothers, aren’t we, Yaoyao?”

            My bed…, Meng Yao thought about explaining Xue Yang could have the clearly unused top bunk but thought against it. What was the difference anyway?

[thebansacredbanned]

Tagged by @wishthefish!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

123... somehow... oh wait i know how its bc i did whumptober

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

392,687

3) What fandoms do you write for?

Currently: The Untamed/MDZS, Nirvana in Fire, A League of Nobleman, The Blood of Youth [screaming, crying, trying please i need more people to write tBoY fic my crops are dying], The Disguiser [sometimes]. I'm also working on a few ideas for Mysterious Lotus Casebook which I finished last week

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

So these are all from back when I was actually writing the most popular pairing for a popular fandom, as opposed to now where I'm either writing the Rarest of rare-pairs or for fandoms that have <100 english fics so:

Yellow Petals - The Witcher, Geraskier, hanahaki

I Would Know Him In Death (At The End of the World) - Les Mis, E/R, les amis are reincarnated greek heroes

Butter-cup of Tea - The Witcher, Geraskier, round robin me and @nemainofthewater wrote together that I'm sure had a plot

as I reckon with the effects of your life on mine - The Witcher, Jaskier & Valdo Marx, another one by me and Nemain where I wrote Jaskier's letters and Nemain wrote Valdo Marx's

Know the Water's Sweet but Blood is Thicker - The Witcher, Jaskier is Calanthe's brother, yikes I never finished that one oops

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to (sometimes I forget though lol)! It feels nice to have some kind of interactions with other fans, plus that's how I made friends with @wishthefish so there's always a risk chance of getting to know people ;P

6) What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hahhaahahahahahahaahahahhah

ummmm all of them?

it's probably 'You left me here behind, do you not care?' which has very little room for any hope at all come the end

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

this is actually harder than the angst one, somehow. like happy? are any of truly happy??

I'm restricting it to things I wrote this year and I'm going to say As we walk with the sun hand in hand from the wreck, which is the 'happy ending' stem of the Xuyao choose your own adventure thing I was working on this year

8) Do you get hate on fics?

I did once, but it was for a fandom I was already over in a work I wasn't like 100% sold on anyway and I found it kind of funny

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

No but as I put in a group chat the other day "every day i inch closer to writing porn and i am not happy about it".

To be fair I don't think I'll ever write full-blown smut, and generally I find that, for what I'm writing at least, having things left implied is better bc then people can imagine whatever they want (and I don't have to write it)

10) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do in fact have a NiF/Untamed bodyswap crossover in my docs which I either need to write more of or decide that I'm not going to write any more of and just post as is

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! There's a French translation of I Would Know Him in Death (At the End of the World)!

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have several co-written fic with @nemainofthewater - we share a braincell so it's always a lot of fun

14) What's your all-time favorite ship?

See that's a. that's a question that I'm finding WAY harder to answer than it should be.

Probably E/R (Enjolras/Grantaire) from Les Miserables. Like R is still my tumblr/ao3 picture (and my phone home screen), I might now actually be in the fandom so much any more but forever in my heart etc

15) What's a wip that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh man I just went on my posted works on ao3 and I have a les mis fencing au that I last updated in 2020. That's never going to to happen

16) What are your writing strenghts?

Lets see how much angst I can fit in a very small amount of words 😈

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle finishing anything longer than about 2k which is a pain bc I have lots of ideas that deserve a lot more words than I can focus on writing for them

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's cool when people do it (especially if they have hover-ovre translations)! I haven't ever tried and am unlikely to any time soon

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Turn! (actually the first fandom I wrote for was Hamilton but that never saw the light of day and NEVER WILL)

I'm going to tag @nemainofthewater @luzzeagain @woobifiedvillain and anyone else who feels like it!

[kiriel123]

Fic recs MDZS/The Untamed

protocol & etiquette for modern cultivators: an unofficial field guide by SugarMilkTea

Modern Cultivation AU lwj gets sex pollen-ed and to protect his reputation wwx claims they’re a couple. Lwj is more than happy to go along and make this fake relationship into a real one, PDA included. Very sexy and hilarious

【已經打動我的心】So Sing To Me All Night by aroceu

Modern AU wwx listens to college radio dj lwj when he can't sleep and becomes his number one song requestor. The music choices are perfect, the facebook page chat is hilarious, and the emotions are overwhelming

riposte by Deinde

Modern Fencing AU lwj is one of the best epeeists of his age group matched only by wwx. Their chemistry is electric and their fencing is on point! Also loved all the little fencing trivia

Oh, to be lovers in Paris by ilip13

Modern AU wwx may have told his coworkers that his BFF lwj is the love of his life, which wasn’t a problem until his BFF came on a company trip with him which necessitated talking to his coworkers. Super adorable

i'm the one for your fire by occultings (microcomets)

Cherry Magic AU wwx turns thirty as a virgin, gains telepathy, and is shocked when he discovers lwj, his coworker who hates him, actually likes him. Wants to take care of him. Loves him maybe. Gave me all the feels

Themes and Variations in F# Major by defractum (nyargles)

Modern Musician AU lwj and wwx are both solo musical prodigies traveling the world. They’re ships passing in the night until suddenly they’re not. Creating music with someone who is in tune with you is a beautiful thing

Boy Trouble, We've Got Double by saltyfeathers

Post canon wwx and lwj are traveling together and everything is wonderful until the day lwj wakes up convinced he has a fiancé he’s very much in love with (not wwx) and has to find. Wwx goes along with him of course because he would never let lwj go. Part casefic, part love story, all wonderful

the rivers start to sing by fruitys

Alternate canon/Tangled fusion wwx has been trapped in a tower by the Jins. Lwj, fleeing with the Stygian Tiger Seal ends up in the Tower. They make a pact – wwx will back the Seal if lwj takes him to the Lantern Festival. They travel together! They fall in love! It’s so beautiful!!

tell me true by twigofwillow

Modern AU with fake dating. lwj’s family has a musical weekend event every year. They are expecting to see lwj’s boyfriend who does not exist at this weekend. Wwx, like a good colleague, agrees to help out. Funny how every description of lwj’s imaginary boyfriend perfectly matches wwx. So sweet.

mine to hold by alcego

Modern AU friends/coworkers with benefits, no one survives company outings unscathed with these two. During an illicit blowjob wwx starts vomiting feelings and they go from friends to boyfriends :DDD

[a-very-fond-farewell]

The forbidden crack! Untamed prompts: 14/?

MeetCute modern!AU [mianqing edition]: “Don’t Bother Looking Down”

[title is from the song “We Fell in Love in October” by Girl in Red]

[let me live vicariously through my baby girls ok?? let me have this]

*

Qingyang wishes she never moved in this damned country in the first place. Coach Nie followed her alright, so she should be fine and, really, she is thankful for this amazing opportunity. But now she kind of regrets giving up her Lanling citizenships in order to move back to her mother’s home country and fence for the Qishan national team. She understands the language to some extent, but the people there immediately notice her accent and they glare at her whenever she speaks.

Coach Nie moved country as well just to make a champion out of her and, although he respects her for the choice she made, Qingyang knows he misses Qinghe and the people he left behind.

Getting into the national team was nothing compared to the impossible task to fit in and live a normal life. Even her new teammates don’t talk to her unless it’s strictly necessary and they always speak in that quick dialect of theirs just to gossip behind her back. Some of the guys in the male team are actually friendly and manager Xiao Xingchen is always offering to help her with this or that. Meng Yao had to leave Lanling to make the team and even his mother is, coincidentally, from Nightless City just like hers. She doesn’t like Xue Yang: barely seventeen, never heard of manners in his life, but he’s a genius in his own way and Qingyang has a lot to learn from his swordsmanship. However, his younger step sister A-Qing is the loveliest girl and the foulest mouth on the planet whenever she begrudgingly cheers for him, so maybe Qingyang could, potentially, relax a bit and have some fun while training.

But no. Their respective teams captains are actually evil and want them to suffer through impossible training sessions just to let them bask in glory without doing much themselves. Wang Lingjiao especially hates Qingyang’s guts and does everything in her power to make her leave.

It’s not Qingyang’s fault if her disgusting boyfriend had tried to give her a lift home too many times already. She wouldn’t even accept a drink from Wen Chao, let alone a lift. But one day Qingyang has enough, honest to the gods she has.

So it’s with a hollow heart that she stumbles into a random library to check if they have something to consult for her anxiety... when she sees her.

The girl that lives above her in her new apartment complex with her Grandma and younger brother. The one who always scowls at her because she never gets the trash out in time. The one who their landlady refers to with the ever lovely title of “our little overachiever” and “med-school dropout” any chance she gets. The one who apparently went to Lanling University along with Qingyang’s cousin ZiXuan and was the top of their class. The one who always runs around with the child she babysits for the rich couple at the end of the street.

And fuck no, Luo Qingyang’s not gonna mess with that.

So when she readies herself for yet another awkward encounter with the angry looking woman, the last thing she expects is to be welcomed with a blinding smile.

“Welcome, how can I help you today?”

And if Qingyang has to rely on some forced pleasantries between retail worker and client just to experience some human connection... so be it. It may be sick to ask for kindness this way, but she’ll make do.

She has to.

[details underneath]

Wen Qing hates her job. Not because she hates books, although she’s not a great reader herself (save from poetry, but nobody needs to know that), but because her boss is the epitome of “welcoming host” and she’s suffering from a chronic case of resting bitch face and forcing smiles is the last thing she wants out of life.

She came back to Qishan to look after her grandma after she broke her femur and her brother Wen Ning is studying to become a teacher and the final exam is nearing. Wen Qing didn’t want him to drop out to look after their grandma, so she left her fancy scholarship behind and came back.

XiChen is her boss at the library and took her in after his brother WangJi asked him to: Wen Qing and A-Yuan are distant cousins, but she and her brother didn’t have a job by the time the child became an orphan and their grandma was too old to look after him; hence, WangJi and his husband Wei Ying adopted A-Yuan and didn’t want him to live separated from his original family, so they moved in Qishan and frequently meet with the Wen’s.

Wen Qing feels bad about dropping out of university, but she refuses to regret it since she’s more than happy to look after her grandma. ZiXuan is a pediatrician now and several years have passed since they were classmates and competing for grades, but he checks on her through video chats every once in a while.

(ZiXuan is -coincidentally- Qingyang’s cousin and they talk a lot more than what they used to do now that he’s married and his wife is waiting for their first child. Turns out, ZiXuan is a secret matchmaking mastermind now that he is happily married and has matured enough to want his dear ones to be happy as well. So he plants the seed of curiosity in Wen Qing’s head by talking about his “hot and exceptionally talented fencer cousin who could possibly bench press a grown man. have I mentioned she’s hot?”)

...

(“Ew, do you think your cousin is hot?” / “Hot as in... lesbian terms, you get me” / “No. I really don’t. I’m straight.” / “Sure Wen Qing. Sure.”)

...

Qingyang keeps going to the library after her practice, in full gear and with her hair messy and red cheeks just to see Wen Qing smile at her and being forced to be nice to her. She absolutely knows the other woman is forced to do so and so she annoys her with pleasantries and silly things, but she never outright flirts with her [the lesbian courtship prevents the subjects from using such direct and straight(pfffffft)forward ways of approach, obviously].

...

(“I’m so sorry for forgetting about the trash the other day” / “That’s [*clenches fists*] fine. Don’t worry about it” / “Will you forgive me, Miss Wen? Really? [*Qingyang used ‘Bambi eyes’. It’s very effective!*] / “Don’t worry, that’s fine [*Wen Qing wishes the ground could swallow her whole. The nerve!*])

...

Wei Ying obviously befriends Luo Qingyang: he has to. He’s never seen Wen Qing this flustered in his life and he needs something to entertain him while Lan Zhan is at work. So he meddles bc he’s a little shit, but we all love him for it anyway.

...

(“Did you make a library card yet or...?” / “I don’t want to give that woman my ID, she might call the police on me once she gets a hold on my name” / “You literally live in the same building” / “It’s a big building. And I always misplace the trash, I’m afraid she’ll call the police on me saying I’m actually hiding a corpse in my apartment. No thank you” / “It’s a library subscription, not a birth certificate for gods’ sake” / “I’m not risking it, Wei Ying” / “Then I’ll tell you what to do.......”)

The next day at the library...

(“I want to get a card” / [*internally screeching* “took you long enough, wasting my time”] “Name?” / “MianMian”)

...

Which is apparently the wrong thing to say, because Wen Qing loves poetry and goes ballistic for any reference she can pick in normal conversations. So when she hears ‘MianMian’ she immediately goes “Then my name is YuanDao” and it’s like a fucking switch has been pressed and now WEN QING IS THE ONE PURSUING but Qingyang doesn’t know anything about poetry and doesn’t know what to do. She’s created a butch monster who actually genuinely smiles at her now and that’s too powerful for a small femme like her holy fuck.

O_o

Additional content: Jiang Cheng goes to a million blind dates until he meets XiChen out of fucking nowhere and they move in together two days later + Meng Yao seduces Nie MingJue with hot fencing routines without even sparing a glance at the older man (his drive is focused only on the medal and... for NMJ that’s kind of hot) + Wen Ning is actually a heartthrob but he’s not interested and runs away from people actually swooning at his feet left and right + Xue Yang is not a criminal and only wants his sister to finally get the service dog of her dreams + Song Lan is a referee but he gets distracted by the Qishan team manager bc... boy is he fine

o_O

[I’m suffering. Can someone write this I do not have time to commit to my own writing and I don’t trust myself with the delivery.

I’m but a tiny prompt-machine help me D:]

*

[amokslime]

MDZS fencing AU! They're on different teams, they fence Epee, and they're utterly insufferable because they only care about outdoing each other.

I'm physically restraining myself from writing a big info dump about fencing. Here's some AU info instead:

I'm basing everything off of the fencing environment in my country/region, just because that's what I know best. I don't have a good grasp on international fencing because I never did it. But if you do, I'd really love to hear your thoughts!

Ok, here's some general background info: Each of the sects is a different local fencing team, either at private schools (Gusu Lan, Lanling Jin, Qishan Wen) or at independent fencing clubs. (Yunmeng Jiang, Qinghe Nie) Everybody sees everybody else repeatedly at tournaments and they all live in the same city, so there's team or personal rivalries that range from friendly to vicious. Many of the characters including Wangxian are aiming for college scholarships, the national team, or even the Olympics so things can get rather fraught and intense. Of course, you've got characters like JYL who are fencing just for funsies, characters who got gatekept out of the sport by their horrible dads (JGY) as well as former champions turned refs and coaches. (LQR, YZY, NMJ)

Wei Wuxian

Affiliation: Yunmeng Sword Club

Main Weapon: Epee

Wei Wuxian started fencing in middle school, shortly after being adopted by Jiang Fengmian. JFM and YZY are both former olympic fencers who started their own fencing club. They do not get along but both refuse to yield the club to the other. This creates a chill and healthy environment for everybody involved! They also compete by proxy through WWX and JC, so that's fun.

Despite this, WWX truly loves fencing with all his heart. He's a natural talent with an intuitive grasp on fencing strategy. He tends to goof off at tournaments unless he's actively in a fencing match. This earns him a reputation as a slacker that he doesn't truly deserve. One time he spilled a bag of skittles on the floor while watching a match and they rolled all over the strip. So now LQR, who was reffing that match, permanently hates him.

He's aiming for the national team! He loves winning and wants to see how far he can go. Attempt the impossible and all that.

Lan Wangji

Affiliation: Gusu Lan Private Academy

Main weapon: Epee

LWJ has been fencing since early childhood. He's good at all three weapon types. He's one of those people you kinda despair to face off against because he's strong AND fast AND his guard is good AND his attack is good AND he parries really hard AND when you shake his hand after the match it's not even sweaty. He's aiming for the national team because it's expected of him. Being from a fencing family, it never really occurred to him to do anything else. But fencing against WWX ignites his passion for the sport (for the SPORT) and he finds himself really, really wanting the victories he used to take for granted so he can fence (with WWX) as long as possible.

Gusu Lan is a famous private school with an excellent reputation & tons of resources. So Lan Wangji is an immovable object born out of the combination of privilege, hard work, and talent.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

1) Your post recommending that people watch the untamed actually convinced a friend of mine to watch it, so thanks! I need more people to scream with about this show with. 2) About song lan/xiao xingchen, I thought it's cool that song lan left with xxc's sword (purpose & focus of energy), spiritual power (literal soul), and eyes (literal body). What if someone could use that to resurrect him? Mostly bc i love the idea of them mirroring lwj/wwx's reunion somehow. So many possible parallels.

First of all, VICTORY, everyone should watch the Untamed and scream to me about it.  If anyone wants a rec post, here it is.

Second of all, G O D, I’m so???  I’m so proud of you for being the very first person to send me an ask about Xiao Xingchen/Song Lan, I love them so goddamn much, what a fucking tragedy.  The potential.  The girlfriend got very frustrated with my determination to wallow in the Anguish(TM) and dared me to write a coffee shop AU, so I am doing that.

Sort of.

There is a coffee shop extant in the AU, it exists, the fact that it is also a “Song Lan has wandered the earth for a thousand years waiting for Xiao Xingchen to reincarnate and now he has and he doesn’t know Song Lan” AU is secondary to the fact that THERE IS A COFFEE SHOP IN THIS FIC.

Anyway.  I’m kind of thinking about like...a Galatea kind of situation here?  As long as we’re on the subject of reincarnation AUs and happy endings.  Like, Song Lan sees to it that a memorial is built for Xiao Xingchen, and that’s one thing, but he also creates a statue, and that’s quite another.  It takes him a long time to think of it, and he does it because he wants to be sure that he can remember the shape of his jaw, the bend of his wrist.  Song Lan is the only fierce corpse in the world who’s spent untold decades refining the brute strength of the dead into something that resembles a skilled touch, so that he can use Shuanghua (and Fuxue, but...mostly for Shuanghua) as it deserves, and he puts it to work on clay and then on stone.

It takes him a long time.  That’s okay.  Song Lan has nothing but time.  A-Qing is gone, her spirit healed and free, and he encouraged her to move on, because it would hurt Xiao Xingchen, when he came back, to know that A-Qing lingered as a ghost for his sake.  All Song Lan has left to him is time and Xiao Xingchen’s sight and sword and soul, so he looks on the world and makes sure to find it beautiful, and goes night hunting for anyone who will take a strange mute cultivator’s help, and creates a statue so that the world will remember him.

He’s sorry, when the statue is finally finished.  It’s nowhere in particular.  It’s somewhere important.  Song Lan doesn’t know where the celestial mountain is, relative to anything in particular, but he has a--painfully clear memory, of opening his new eyes for the first time, and knows the Nowhere In Particular crossroad in question down to the blades of grass.  The statue raises its blindfolded face toward the sunrise, with a small smile on its lips and a hand held out as if in benediction or aid.  It’s tall and handsome, delicate-boned and long-haired, dressed in flowing robes and bearing a whisk in the crook of its folded arm.  It holds no sword--of course.  Song Lan couldn’t bring himself to give it a facsimile of Shuanghua, not while he holds out hope that the real thing might someday see its owner again.

Song Lan lets his fingers linger on the palm of the uplifted hand before he steels himself to step away.

The statue stirs, and reaches after him.

[modaozushitposting]

After answering his message, A Qing tossed a cushion at where Xue Yang was sitting. The boy laughed at how dramatic the reaction was, teasing her was one of the things he enjoyed the most.

"Give me a break, I already have enough to deal with Song Lan and my brother " she exhaled frustrated.

"I was kidding, but it's not my fault those two are so dense," he shrugged as he turned his attention back to his college notes. "Specially your brother", he added softly.

"I know, and I hate not seeing any progress in years" A Qing said as she leaned back on the couch snorting "all I want is to see him happy, and it exasperates me to know that he could be if he weren't so blind and noticed what was happening around him ”

"Mmm" was the only answer she received from Xue Yang.

They were silent for a few minutes until A Qing said loudly and firmly, "It's decided."

"Enlighten me, because I don't know how to read minds yet", the boy answered, raising an eyebrow.

"We are going to do something about it. And you, sir, are going to help me” she replied, smiling broadly.

Xue Yang rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He knew it was useless to refuse, and maybe, who knows, this could be fun.

Side notes: In this AU A Qing and Xiao Xingchen are siblings.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / ?

[tangledinmdzs]

fated - mdzs character hcs

the red string of fate brings you here or,

a modern soulmate au with xue yang

Xue Yang

Xue Yang had never actually believed that he had a soulmate, 

being a convict and all

love was not something that he was especially worrying about

since it would only hinder him,

hold him back

so Xue Yang had ignored the red string of fate when it first appeared on his finger 

and continues to do everything that he can do go in the opposite direction of its pull

but there’s a reason that the strings are fated

because one does not get out of it once it’s made

since Xue Yang had spent so many year running around and around the string that had tied him so closely to his soulmate,

he’s unintentionally made a knot

one that he’s never going to be able to unravel

and once he meets you, 

the detective assigned to his case, 

your strings are intertwined forever

you don’t figure out that Xue Yang is your soulmate at first, 

you’re too busy trying to figure out the next crime spree that he’s planning 

but Xue Yang does, he figures it out pretty fast 

he confirms it when he’s narrowly escaping the crime scene 

with you and your team hot on his tail, 

and he runs down an alley way, unknowingly leading to a dead end 

when he gets to the fenced in place, he breathes hard, looking around and about to find an exit

and as he’s desperately trying to find something, some way to leave,

he feels a hard tug on his string

he looks up, surprised, concerned that his soulmate was so close

what were they doing here? 

were they wrapped up in crime too?

but then a shadow turns down the open alleyway that he’s standing in

he locks eyes with your hand first, the end connecting to his, 

and the knot tangled in between your strings 

[theladyofravenclaw]

Hello, theladyofravenclaw! I am rereading "Magical Mishaps" and have a few questions about the first chapter. First, how did you come up with the idea for a Harry Potter/MDZS crossover? Especially one specifically set after the Battle of Hogwarts but before the Epilogue? Why did you set it up the way you did? How did you figure out which Hogwarts house each character was sorted into? Why did you start with something that was in the middle and then go back to the beginning? What were your thoughts on that?

@kaitou-cure-prism12

I think what ended up happening was me and my sister in law were talking about how impressed we were with the range of fanfiction in the mdzs fandom which then led to the thought "well every fandom has a harry potter au". Then we started joking about how a harry potter au would work and I mentioned that I would still want the characters to have that cultivator clan identity while also acclimating to their school environment. Thats when the idea of an exchange program came into my mind and I suddenly really wanted to write it.

I set it specifically after The Battle of Hogwarts because I wanted to focus on the mdzs characters and I also didn't want to write anything too heavy. Harry and his friends being present would've overshadowed the characters a bit and I didn't want to do that with this story.

When I was figuring out their Hogwarts houses I kid you not I made a whole seperate google doc where I wrote down each character and analyzed them before picking a house. (I still have that google doc btw its got other weird notes in it.) For some characters it was easy. I knew going into the story I was gonna make Wei Wuxian a Ravenclaw, Jiang Yanli a Hufflepuff, and Nie Huaisang a Slytherin. But when it came to the Gryffindor trio I really did debate about where to put Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, and Lan Wangji. I think at one point I was considering Slytherin Lan Wangji (which would've been interesting) but then I thought back to the staircase scene at Koi Tower where he refused to pretend like Wei Wuxian tricked him and honestly thats some Gryffindor energy right there. Not to mention he got his name "Hanguang-Jun" because he goes wherever the chaos is and canonically helps every person who asks. Thats a Gryffindor.

Jiang Cheng I ended up going with Gryffindor because while he frustrates me in the show sometimes, distracting the Wen guards to protect his brother and bursting into the Guanyin Temple for Jin Ling with no backup is Gryffindor energy. Jin Zixuan became obvious when I remembered that while his dad was on the fence about he fighting in the Sunshot Campaign he was out there with his sword ready to go. Thats a Gryffindor.

As for why I decided to start the story in media res there were two reasons. One I thought it could mirror the chaos of the way CQL starts with everyone fighting with a much lighter tone and two I personally liked the idea of Wei Wuxian basically looking into the camera and saying "Yup, that's me. I bet you're wondering how I got into this situation."

[touchmycoat]

I LOVE YOUR PORN AU!!!!! LIKE SO MUCH - and i'm just. if you don't mind me asking, how - the way you flesh out the characters, their motivations, and feelings in every scene in such an eloquent way, and just little things here and there, a habit or an activity that adds dimension to who they are, and - your prose is wonderful. you achieve this addictive, engrossing narrative space that readers just absolutely melt into, and i have to ask - how did you develop your writing style? 1/2

what books did you read that formatively shaped the way you write? or you know, what did you do to improve your writing? i'm so in awe of how you world-built and established the porn au - like lqg & hc being national taolu champions?? how do you come up with that stuff? i cannot comprehend the amount of research and effort that must've gone into porn au, and i'm just so deeply thankful that you decided to share that with us. i apologize if i'm coming on too strong, but wow. thank you 2/2

--

oh my god please don't apologize, when i saw your ask i rolled on the floor giggling hysterically for a solid 15 min, bless your heart

part of the answer to your question—i've taken like, 8 years' worth of creative writing classes/workshops! there was also a transnational literary component to my degree so whenever possible, i took literature classes fksjdfksd so whatever you see and like is definitely the result of a lot of work. My writing from not even 10 years ago but like, 5? horrid, ridiculous, wild, cringe. The Porn AU itself is the second draft of a MUCH more lackluster piece.

about my writing style. gosh, you really know how to make a writer blush. "I like your writing style" is literally an instant kill LMFAO okay okay, the useful answer: my primary criteria for choosing what to write is, don't be obvious, be interesting. Fiction tells us to show, not tell, right? Poetry is about concretizing the abstract. Screenwriting says cut all useless lines. A lot of writing rules and advice—never start with the weather, avoid detailed descriptions of the characters, don't use adverbs, etc.—are all really about this exact sentiment.

I once took a seminar on writing for horror movies. The golden rule of the horror genre is Never Show the Monster, because whatever the audience is imagining is always going to be scarier than what you actually show them. There are obviously exceptions to this (to all writing rules), but in my mind, it's all the same principle.

LONG answer under the cut

So you start with building a scene. I approach it like essay-writing—I state my thesis for the motivations/main propulsion of the plot. "In this scene, LQG and SY are motivated to save Cang Qiong's porn production, so they have sex on camera." Then you build the sub-motivations: "LQG is also doing this because he's pining after SY."

I learned this "thesis-writing" from theater, specifically from writing 10-min plays. Theater is all about characters being driven by their wants and needs, and the reason I say 10-min plays in particular is because longer forms of writing will give you more leeway, but in 10-min, you pretty much need your character motivations established from their very first line. That's why you need that very clear thesis for yourself—if you don't even know what the character wants from the get-go, then you can't establish who they are, what they want, and where they're going to go in a dynamic and interesting way.

So this thesis drives EVERYTHING that happens in your scene, just like an actual thesis for an essay, just like topic sentences for your paragraphs. Once I do this, I have the emotional direction & narrative scope of how much this scene will cover, I have a sense of where it begins and ends. "Begin with the dynamics of their sex. LQG starts showing signs of his feelings. Reveal LQG backstory for exactly what those feelings are and why he isn't telling SY. The rest of the scene implies that LQG's feelings may not be so unrequited, but also sets up the fundamental problem at the heart of the whole fic—SY's inability to comprehend his own feelings." This is kind of my new thesis now. They're having sex; LQG pines; SY doesn't know he himself is pining.

Now it's time to manifest. This is the "storytelling" part, and the hardest lmfao.

Personally, my approach is largely shaped by my very cool screenwriting teacher, who hammered into us: don't fucking waste lines. The Golden Rule of screenwriting is that every line should reveal something new. I found my old writing kind of repetitive, especially on the emotional front, so this is kind of my editing mantra now—is this line either propelling the story or revealing character? If it's revealing character, is it a revelation that has to happen right now, or is it slowing the momentum of the scene?

But these aren't rhetorical questions! "Momentum" doesn't just mean tumble forward as fast as you can, it also means taking the time to draw the bowstring back further, so your next move has even more propulsion. That's why you get the little "LQG has been in love with SY..." cut scene in the middle of the fucking (at least, that's my reasoning for putting it there). Every line has to bring a fresh revelation that "proves" your thesis further.

That brings me to the details. You said you like the details I inject into the world-building, and honestly that's so gratifying to hear, because that means I'm successfully manifesting my intentions, y'know? "Every line has to bring new info" kind of sounds like a tall order, but the most effective way I've seen it done in books and onstage/onscreen is with these hyper-specific details. If you're writing a scene in which someone feels dirty, never have them just say that—have them say they want to take a shower. Show them running out of bleach again as they scrub down the stall after they wash. Begin the scene like "Steve always washes his throat first now." Then pack the scene with even more revelatory details: "Soap in hand, he heard the pipes above his head groan for a half note on adagio, and readied himself for the blast of icy water that always followed." Shitty shower, probably not rich, is likely a classical musician.

By the same token, I want to build LQG's character. The "Liu Qingge has been in love with Shen Yuan" section is the first insight we get into his background and perspective, right, so: I need to establish LQG's emotional context for filming this scene -> I can characterize him as a nut for martial arts in the same stroke -> so this takes place at a gym, beating up sandbags is a classic way of showing manly emotional distress -> so give me more details on this gym -> Puqi Gym, XL the martial god is obviously the owner -> how do I have XL & LQG a relationship beyond gym owner & client? They spar together -> I want XL & HC's position in this AU to mirror their god/ghost king statuses in TGCF canon -> how can I concretize their fighting prowesses in real-world details? -> they're martial arts champions -> what's an actual competitive martial art form that involves weaponry? -> wushu -> wikipedia Wushu, find taolu weapons sparring

(I just realized that in my songxiao daycare AU, Hualian are Olympic gold medalists by the same narrative logic laksjdnflaksjdnflsd)

So, that's the flow of logic behind my world-building lmao. It's all in the details. Leverage is one of my all-time favorite TV shows and the way they build their stories is super inspiring. If their thesis is "the rich and powerful take what they want, we steal it back for you," they manifest it in the most specific and concrete narratives: mine workers who like the work but are fighting for workplace safety vs. the money-grubbing mine owner who will blow up their livelihoods if it means a bigger payday; the little girl from Iraq with refugee status forced to be an accomplice to antique smuggling vs. international smuggler with a fetish for British royalty.

Last pieces of writing advice I've gotten: pay attention to the real world. A writing exercise we did was just sit in a public spot and make concrete observations on our surroundings. There are stories in everything!!! I learned to observe things like weird holes in the concrete (earthquake? drilling accident? bullet mark?), odd patches of moss or bird shit (look overheard: it's an AC unit dripping water for the former and nesting swallows for the latter), ladies in flipflops walking alongside ladies in high heels (excited mother walking her antsy daughter to the bus for the daughter's first job interview—the daughter's shirt collar is unfashionable and she's taking the bus, so there's a good chance the shoes were passed down, maybe from an office lady aunt. Maybe she's even overdressed for the interview, so will her outfit be an unintended source of tension once she gets to the interview? Is it a group interview, to make the comparison more stark?).

Also, write what you know. You know why SY is a video editor in porn AU? Because I'm a video editor. One of my more popular MDZS fics is set in a plant shop 'cause I worked in a plant shop. SL was First AD in Bachelor!AU 'cause I was First AD on a set once. Concrete details like the editing software having a split-screen, always answering questions about how often to water plants, and being up until 3AM editing call-sheets are the ones that will fully immerse your readers.

And if you can't do the actual things, just watch someone who is, listen to them talk, pick up lingo, and fake it. I watched like a 15-min vox video on fencing for the fencing!AU and a 45-min music theory video on the hospital pianist!AU (also I started learning piano sklfjnlsdjlfkjsd). Of course, I just finished reading a wangxian fic that had me going, "holy fucking shit, the author is literally getting their masters in a music program" so my 45-min youtube video ain't shit, but if you just need a little bit of character establishment, then it's enough to do the trick.

Anyways, tl;dr. Find the details, find the tension. Never tell outright what the tension is supposed to be, manifest it instead. Make the manifestation as interesting as possible, and if it's meant to be funny, make it funnier.

Sorry this turned into a fucking lecture lskjnflskdjnflskd but last thing, someone asked me before if I had formative authors, and this was the list I wrote at the time:

Angels in America (play) by Tony Kushner

The God of Small Things (novel) by Arundhati Roy

The Penelopiad (novel) by Margaret Atwood

“Litany in Which Certain Things are Crossed Out” (poem) by Richard Siken

Night Sky with Exit Wounds (poetry) by Ocean Vuong

Giovanni’s Room (novel) by James Baldwin (and then Go Tell it on the Mountain and then his essays)

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

And, ooh, now that I have this list I think I can even roughly sort it as such: Kushner, Atwood, Siken, and Salinger I really latched onto for their dialogue and very present narrator voice—same is true for Go Tell it on the Mountain. Roy, Vuong, and Giovanni’s Room, I think, are texts more representative of the kind of saturated figurative language I like, and emulate. Of course they all do imagery and voice and overall structure amazingly, but that’s the rough dividing line I’d draw.

But yeah James Baldwin is my fucking hero.

[vyther16]

wip wednesday

okay this is long enough to qualify as a one-shot, but it’s not complete? so yeah, anyway, this is my take on a roleswap for the Wen sibs where Wen Qing is the fierce corpse and Wen Ning is the one who finds Wei Wuxian. I don’t see myself ever coming back to finish this. It’s a mishmash of cql & the novel, so enjoy!

(cw for the slave camps, dehumanization, vaguely described corpse of a child (and adult), and character death)

technically not a one-shot under the cut :)

“Jiejie!” Wen Ning is screaming, slogging through the piles of bodies. Wei Wuxian’s stomach rolls at the sight of a boy no older than twelve, the blood on his face evident even in the darkness of the stormy night. He’s seen worse, he knows, but the sight of dead children is never easy.

He searches, too, for the woman who saved his brother. For the woman who damned him.

When Wen Ning finds her face down in the water, robes torn and her own sword stabbed through her chest, he screams, and Wei Wuxian turns away to give him privacy in his grief.

He hears the distant clash of swords, and then realizes that Wen Ning is not the only one who has lost someone, and the Jin sect cultivators will likely be unappreciative of someone seeing their cruelty. Wei Wuxian sends one last glance at Wen Ning, sobbing over the body of his sister, and runs back up the hill.

He arrives at a slaughter.

Wei Wuxian barely thinks before he’s pulling out Chenqing, beckoning the corpses at the bottom of the hill and the new ones at the top to destroy the Jin cultivators. The Wens destroyed Lotus Pier, destroyed his family and his home, but these Wens did nothing to deserve what is being done to them.

He saw a child. A little boy no older than three and his grandmother, no younger than sixty, forced to march in the pouring rain for the crime of their name.

The corpses leave the Wens alone, listening to Chenqing. The Jins scream. The Wens run, hiding in the sheds that are masquerading as huts. When there are no more screams, Wei Wuxian lowers Chenqing, letting the resentful energy seep out of him.

“Wei-gongzi,” Wen Ning implores, and Wei Wuxian realizes that he’s been speaking for longer than Wuxian has heard him.

He shakes his head, once, twice, to clear away the last of the shadows, and turns to Wen Ning. “Sorry, Wen Ning,” he says, making no attempt to bring false cheer into his voice. 

“We can’t stay here, Wei-gongzi,” he says, like he’s repeated it multiple times, and Wei Wuxian nods, slowly. The gears in his head always slow down after he uses Chenqing, and he has to force them to work faster.

He can’t take the Wens to Lotus Pier; Jiang Cheng would rather lose his core again than shelter the Wens. They can’t go to Cloud Recesses; the Lans abhor his cultivation. Koi Tower is out of the question, and Nie Mingjue would rather all the Wens be killed. “I know where I can take you,” he says, wishing there were a better option, but knowing there isn’t one.

“Bring jiejie,” Wen Ning says, and Wei Wuxian realizes that Wen Ning is holding Wen Qing’s body up. Her sword is stuck through Wen Ning’s belt. 

“We won’t leave her,” he says, surveying the wrecked work camp. “Your family went into the buildings when I started playing Chenqing.”

“Keep jiejie with you,” Wen Ning says. Wei Wuxian takes her body as Wen Ning goes into the first building.  

Wei Wuxian heaves Wen Qing into a bridal carry. She’s so much thinner than the last time he saw her, and her once-fine robes haven’t been altered to reflect that. 

He has seen things much worse than the dead body of a woman he was close to, in a way. He feels sick anyway, seeing proud Wen Qing turned into nothing more than a starving slave. Turned into a too-thin corpse.

Wen Ning leaves the first building with several elders following him. “This is Wei-gongzi. He won’t hurt you.”

Then he goes into the next building. Wei Wuxian shifts his weight. “Do any of you know where the guards’ horses are kept?” he asks. 

A man around fifty steps forward. “I do, young Wei-gongzi,” he says. 

“We’ll need enough for everyone able to ride. We aren’t staying here.”

The man bows, and Wei Wuxian returns his gaze to Wen Ning, coming out of the next building. He’s holding the boy from earlier tightly, the grandmother clinging to his arm. The trio is followed by a collection of Wens that are slightly younger than the first group. The youngest among them looks around nineteen, but the rest are all forty or older. 

“Wei-gonzi, this is everyone,” Wen Ning says. The elder has come back leading some horses. 

“If you know how to ride, get a horse. Those with injuries go with those who are able to ride. I know a place where you will be safe,” Wei Wuxian says. His hair is heavy with water, and he does not look forward to riding in the rain.

He finds his own horse, and the teenager from the second group comes up to him. He vaguely recognizes her as one of the Wen disciples who had followed Wen Chao around at Cloud Recesses. He remembered thinking she was far too young for all the rules of the Gusu Lan sect.

“Thank you, Wei-gongzi,” she says, and bows. 

Wei Wuxian catches her bow best he’s able, holding Wen Qing as he is. “Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t got you all to safety yet.”

She frowns. “You have still saved us some,” she refutes, but there’s a shout from the elders near the gate before Wei Wuxian can respond.

“Someone is coming!” he shouts, scrambling back from the wooden fence.

Wei Wuxian sucks in a sharp breath and then whirls to face his horse. He heaves Wen Qing up onto it, then turns to the girl. “Can you still cultivate?” he asks her.

She nods, eyes wide. “But not very well. I don’t have much energy for it. And I haven’t been allowed to cultivate at all since Qishan fell.”

“That’s good enough. Stay with Wen Ning and protect everyone here. Get everyone to Yiling however you can, understand? I’ll distract the cultivators here and meet you all there. Take Wen Qing,” he orders, and he knows that the elders nearby have also heard, because they all go to the back part of the compound. 

Wei Wuxian pulls out Chenqing and plays a quick song that sends the fence on that end of the compound crumbling at the hands of a few corpses. There’s a shout from one of the Wens, and then the horses are galloping away.

Wei Wuxian keeps playing, and more corpses rise to flank him as he steps out of the gate.

“Wei Ying.”

He drops his flute down to his side, staring at Lan Zhan.

so yeah. 

Anyway, free fic idea looking for good home! I don’t see myself getting into this one, bc if I ever get around to writing cql/mdzs stuff again, I’ll be going for my Wen!wwx au

[ssuibian]

ssuibian’s mdzs fic rec

It looked like there was a few interested in some mdzs fic recs so here I am. I’ll divide this into mdzs verse and modern au so scroll to what you like. Some of these will be the infamous ones, but they’re known for a reason so on the list they go. 

Before we begin some info about my preference’s: I read a little bit of  everything, almost exclusively completed works and mostly wangxian-centric.

Code: personal fave - ♛ / explicit, contains smut - ♞ / fluff - ✿

All of these are on ao3, so check them out on there for more info.

Mdzs verse (set in the same era as the novel/cql)

Tame by rikke ♛✿

Tags: teenage wangxian, canon divergence, humor

Length: 11.7k words, oneshot 

Summary: When Wei Wuxian wakes up in Lotus Pier after the Xuanwu Cave it’s with a souvenir in the form of a Xuanwu egg. Wangxian end up as young parents.

A civil combpaign by ariaste ✿

Ariaste has a lot of good fics and is a wonderful writer so check out their other works too!

Tags: Jin Ling x Lan Sizhui, background wangxian, humor, teenage drama 

Length: 19.6k words, oneshot + a sidefic from wwx’s pov

Summary: Jin Ling tries to arrange his own marriage and thinks Lan Sizhui could be a suitable match. One problem: he’s a teenager, the matter is handled accordingly.

The lotus defense society by mondengel ✿ 

Another good writer with a lot of content!

Tags: humor, background wangxian, background yanxuan 

Length: 3.4k words, oneshot

Summary: Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji start a club to help them ensure the Jiang siblings stay single until they can confess. 

Phantom leashes by mondengel ♛

Tags: vampire au, horror elements, set in canon

Length: 3.1k words, 2/2 chapters 

Summary: Lan Qiren can’t help but be cautious of his youngest nephew who inherited his mothers bloodthirstiness. 

An effect (without a cause) by astrobandit

Tags: post-canon, amnesia 

Length: 15.4k words, 10/10 chapters 

Summary: Lan Wangji knows that something is wrong. Maybe the black and red clad man saying his husband is missing has something to do with it.

Unexpected by nanodayolo ✿

Tags: princess and the pauper au, wangxian, mo xuanyu x xue yang, humor

Length: 68.2k words, 22/22 chapters

Summary: The Jin clan is on the borderline of bankruptcy and arranges a marriage between their third son Mo Xuanyu and the second master of Lan, Lan Wangji. Sabotage is in the works and Mo Xuanyu is kidnapped, luckily they have look-alike Wei Wuxian to step in as a stand in. No one will notice, right?

Baby of mine by pupeez4eva ♛✿

Tags: time travel, humor, a-yuan

Length: 3.3k words, oneshot

Summary: A-yuan has time traveled to his parents teenage days in Gusu. Cloud Recesses is in chaos by what their visitor from the future implies. 

Another writer with many good works. My personal faves also include The haunting of Wei Wuxian (ghost’s follow wwx around post resurrection and are witnesses to wangxian) 

and the Wangxian’s time-travelling shenanigans series (they time travel to Gusu school days in the middle of the Guanyin confession. doesn’t stop wwx)

Where the winds of change blow by merakily

Tags: post-canon, humor and a dash of angst, hurt/comfort, juniors, family 

Length: 17.4k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng is always a second away from stabbing the other. Who would’ve know a discussion conference and sect leader Yao’s loud mouth was what it took to make them get along.

The twin jades’ mother by drjlecter

Tags: post-canon, mild angst, twin jades, canon compliant, TW! mentions of suicide

Length: 11.8k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian does some experimenting and somehow manages to use inquiry to call upon a very dear spirit.

The father trap by jinko ✿

Tags: post-canon, juniors plotting, humor

Length: 3.6k words, oneshot

Summary: The juniors are frustrated that wangxian isn’t together. They start plotting to make it happen, overlooking the fact that they might be engaged.

Asympotic by chinxe

Tags: canon divergence, pining, angst w/ happy ending

Length: 26.6k words, 3/3 chapters

Summary: Lan’s have a history of having tragic love stories. Lan Wangji follows tradition by falling in love with a ghost.

Some days. by jollytortoise ✿

Tags: emotional hurt/comfort, post-canon

Length: 8.3k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian is sick, and the entire Cloud Recesses is thrown into disarray. It’s a bad day and all he wants is his husband.

Conversations: this mending fences thing by alcove_words ✿

Tags: post-canon, moving on, family 

Length: 4k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian and Lan Sizhui have to stop at Lotus Pier when wwx is injured on a night hunt. Jiang Cheng tries to pick up the pieces of the relationship he once had with his brother.

Lan Sizhui sees dead people by darkbrokenreaper ✿

Tags: background wangxian, canon divergence, humor

Length: series, 7 stand alone works, ongoing

Summary: The time a-yuan spent in the burial mounds has left its mark by giving him the ability to see ghosts. As a result he shocks the people around him when he talks about things he shouldn’t know.

Recompense for the martyr (wicked nights howl) by anemonii ♛

Tags: post-canon, family, emotional hurt/comfort, memories, brotherhood, forgiveness, canon typical violence

Length: series, 3/3 parts

Summary: 

Part 1: Jin Ling is cursed by a sword and witnesses the owner’s memories. As a result he’s taken back to the Lotus Pier of his uncles’ childhood, their teenage days in Gusu and their fallout when the Yiling Patriarch appeared.

Part 2: Wei Wuxian decides it’s time he and Jiang Cheng talked. 

Part 3: It’s time to lay Mo Xuanyu’s body to rest.

The Yiling Wei clan by scifigeek14 ♛✿

Tags: canon divergence, family of choice, fluff, everyone lives/nobody dies, getting together

Length: series, 6/6 works

Summary: Lan Wangji decided to stay at the end of the visit to Yiling. It changes everything, for the better.

Modern au 

Unstrictly ballroom by ariaste ♛♞ 

Tags: competitive ballroom dancing au, background songxiao 

Length: 47.5k words, 4/4 chapters 

Summary: 13 years ago Wei Wuxian was involved in a scandal and thrown out of the competitive ballroom dancing scene, and Lan Wangji never stopped looking. Faced with the heteronormativity within the field, Lan Wangji and his dance partner decide to make a change. It’s something so fitting Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji really wishes he was there now.

Lightning in a bottle by bigbabyjeno ♞

Tags: photographer lwj, wedding crasher wwx

Length: 10k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is the photographer for a wedding and catches Wei Wuxian sneaking in, claiming to be the bride’s brother. They disguise him in as Lan Wangji’s assistant so he can see his sister get married. The night ends with some smutty times.

By mistake or design by allurie ♛♞

Tags: fashion designers au, slow-burn, sexual tension

Length: 51.7k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is the head designer of the haute couture division of the fashion house Nuage, while Wei Wuxian is the head designer for ready-to-wear. Circumstances have them end up working together, and the result is an explosive collaboration.  

The best of you by sysrae ♞

Tags: university au, mutual pining, emotional hurt/comfort, mental health

Length: 41.9k words, 17/17 chapters 

Summary: Wei Wuxian rents Lan Wangji’s spare room after being thrown out by the Jiang household. Living together makes Lan Wangji learn to know Wei Wuxian on a much deeper level. 

So take my hand (take my whole life too) by cicer ♛✿♞

Tags: university, kid-fic, accidental baby acquisition, mutual pining, humor 

Length: 92.3k words, 13/13 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian was waiting for his package. What he finds on the doorstep instead is a baby in a car-seat with no one else in sight. Wei Wuxian juggles taking care of a baby and being in love with his co-parent/ roommate/ best friend Lan Wangji at the same time. 

Let’s you and me go for a ride by rinsled05 ♛✿

Tags: racing au, a-yuan, brotherly love, fluff, hurt/comfort

Length: 21.4k words, 5/5 chapters

Summary: Competitive motorcyclist Wei Wuxian meets his very handsome sponsor Lan Wangji, who despite not liking racing still comes back to watch. He wonders why. 

Love wakes me by dea_liberty ♛✿♞

Tags: childhood sweethearts, famous lwj, coffee shop owner wwx 

Length: 42.8k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: A teenage bet was all it took for Wei Wuxian’s life to fall apart. As an adult he’s working in Yiling cafe, and he’s doing fine in his new life. That’s until Lan Wangji walk in the doors and make his heart ache again for everything in the past.

B-side by suspicious_popsicle ✿♞

Tags: band au, metalhead wwx, music teacher lwj, juniors

Length: 47.3k words, 15/15 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian disappeared right after graduation and Lan Wangji never saw him again. That’s until Lan Jingyi’s favorite band is performing nearby and Lan Wangji sees his first love again.   

My dreams are playing softer now by fleurdeliser ♛✿♞

Tags: modern w/ cultivation, drunk lwj, humor, fluff

Length: 8.2k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji is drunk and his older brother decides he doesn’t want to deal with that and makes Wei Wuxian take responsibility. What follows is a cupcake date. 

Congratulations, get rich by attila ♛✿♞

Tags: party, sibling shenanigans, big dumbass energy, humor

Length: 9,2k words, oneshot

Summary: Wei Wuxian really wants to kiss Lan Wangji at the chinese new years party. If mixing traditions and making his siblings go along with his scheme for it to happen, so be it.

The simplest way forward by harriet_vane ♛✿♞

Tags: kid-fic, accidental baby acquisition, green card marriage (except not), pining

Length: 71k words, 8/8 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian wakes up with an a-yuan in his care and he has no idea how. Lan Wangji helps out and Wei Wuxian tries not to fall in love with his husband.

Operation old men by chiharu ♛✿

Tags: juniors, matchmaking, family, doctor wwx, scheming

Length: 37.6k words, 6/6 chapters

Summary: It turns out Lan Sizhui’s father Lan Wangji and Jin Ling’s uncle Wei Wuxian know each other after a chaotic parent/teacher conference. The juniors decide to do some investigating that soon turns to matchmaking.

Your heartbeat, across the grass by fakeplasticlily ♛♞

Tags: football player lwj, photographer wwx, a-yuan, mutual pining, sexual tension 

Length: 44k words, oneshot

Summary: After graduation Wei Wuxian has done his best to avoid everything to do with Lan Wangji. Not easy when Lan Wangji has become a world known fotball player and a-yuan’s favorite. 

Other faves by this writer: Love on 35mm  (lwj is a film student and anonymous famous vlogger who’s in love with his best friends younger brother) 

and When we’re full of stories to be told (wwx went undercover for an article and cut contact with everyone. years later he ends up meeting childhood best friend lwj who has become a famous author.)

Wei Wuxian is the actual bogeyman (no really) by chatonnerie ♛✿

Tags: rise of the guardians crossover, humor, juniors, mystery

Length: 57.3k words, 6/6 chapters

Summary: Literal bogeyman Wei Wuxian was exiled by the guardians 1300 years ago. A mystery à la mdzs canon welcomes him back to the world for some buddy-cop holiday fun.

Our reflections as seen (when the water stills) by chatonnerie ♛✿♞ 

Tags: tokyo ghoul crossover, university, gore, humor, mystery

Length: 121k words, 10/10 chapters

Summary: Lan Wangji attends university and works for the ccg. His new course brings the annoyance that is Wei Wuxian into his life, who eventually turns out to be his new best friend. Lan Wangji is very concerned for his friends safety when he finds out Wei Wuxian’s brother is a ghoul. But that’s just the tip of the ice berg. 

[This one is hands down one of the best fic’s i’ve read ever. Incorporates the mdzs and tokyo ghoul verse so well.]

And they were roommates... by harriet_vane ✿♞

Tags: fem wangxian, college/university, roommates

Length: 41.2k words, 4/4 chapters

Summary: Wei Wuxian is without housing for the semester and fellow student Lan Wangji has a room available. Based on infamous reddit post "I (21f) have a crush on my roommate (20f). I can't figure out if she actually likes me back or not or is just being friendly. She cooks for me and knows all my favorite foods, and brings me lunch. (...)”

Jiang Cheng’s terrible summer by hellohln ♛✿

Tags: camp rock crossover, getting together, humor 

Length: 3k words, oneshot

Summary: Jiang Cheng tells his therapist about the disaster that was summer camp. Mostly because he had to witness his brother getting together with fellow camper Lan Wangji.

Let the streetlights guide you home by tellthemstories ♛✿♞

Tags: street racing au, pining, sexual tension

Length: 22.6k words, 5/6 chapters (steady updates so far so it should be done soon)

Summary: Wei Wuxian was the best street racer of his time and he was known for danger and recklessness. A fateful night with his sister beside him turns out to be his death. 10 years later Mo Xuanyu enters the scene. 

Window shopping by thunderwear ✿♞

Tags: quarantine fic, single dad wwx, a-yuan, “long distance”, phone sex

Length: 18k words, oneshot

Summary: Lan Wangji looks out of his apartment window to see a sign from the neighbor across the street asking what his bunny’s name is. The interaction turns into more than a one time occurrence and introduces him to the attractive single dad and his adorable son.   

A perfect match by elliemoran ♛✿

Tags: juniors, college/university, humor, gossip

Length:  2k words, oneshot

Summary: Professor Wei Wuxian overhears the students discussing in the library. It’s less about academics and more about how good he looks with professor Lan. But which Lan? 

Make it count by wearing_tearing ✿♞

Tags: actor wwx, lawyer lwj, pining, fluff, light angst, background songxiao, background yanxuan, TW: attempted rape, stalking

Length: 46.9k words, 12/12 chapters

Summary: Actor Wei Wuxian makes his way back into the acting world and prepares for his new role by working at a lawyers office. It brings him back to an old acquaintance. 

Grandmaster of demonic party games by trickster_angel ♛✿

Tags: college, paranormal, occult, light horror, mutual pining, humor

Length: 50k, 27/27 chapters 

Summary: Wei Wuxian likes to try out paranormal games but is always interrupted by Lan Wangji. He keeps wondering how the other knows what he’s up to. 

Scienter by synonemous ♛♞

Tags: serial killers au, dark, explicit, smut, flirting, crime, murder husbands, murder siblings

Length: series with multiple verses within the au, most can be read as stand alone’s

Summary: Serial killer Wei Wuxian aka the yiling patriarch has been flirting over text with the infamous fellow serial killer hanguang-jun. He has no idea who he is, but that doesn’t stop him.

[alessandriana]

Got tagged in the first line meme by @tauremornalome!

The rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

I’mma use some from WIPs, just because. 

1. The rain had been falling for days, and the river was flooding. (WIP, MDZS, JC & WWX, post-canon, Lotus Pier is in trouble.)

2. "Did you hear? Jin Ling, the young master of LanlingJin, died yesterday from the sweating sickness. Poor child, he was only four." (WIP, MDZS, JC/LWJ canon divergence AU)

3. "Well, fancy seeing you here," Wei Wuxian said with a sickly smile, perched on his makeshift throne. (WIP, MDZS, JC & WWX, demonic cultivators kidnap WWX)

4. Jiang Cheng could feel blood dripping down his arms from the ropes cutting into his wrists. (WIP, MDZS, JC & WWX, somebody gets possessed)

5. Jiang Cheng tried to break away the moment the spell released them, but Wei Wuxian lunged to grab his wrist just in time. (in the breaking light, MDZS, JC & WWX, golden core reveal)

6. "The problem is," Ivan said out of nowhere, "that you still haven't dated her." (dating, Vorkosigan Saga, Gregor & Ivan bonding pre-Imperial wedding)

7. Oreg isn't paying much attention when it happens. (forward progress, Hurog, Oreg-centric, pre-book)

8. KA-THUNK. (your own heart as signal, young avengers/pacific rim fusion, billy & tommy)

9. Peggy found Jack huddled sideways in the passenger seat of the car, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. (river rising, Agent Carter, Peggy & Jack & Daniel, post-mission h/c)

10. Jin Ling was bawling by the time Jiang Cheng crossed the border between Yunmeng and Lanling. (the sound of letting go, MDZS, JC & JL, single parent feels)

11. Jiang Cheng probably should have anticipated the assassination attempt. (the trick is to keep breathing, MDZS, JC & WWX & JL, post-canon family feels)

12. The door to the guest room was open just a tad; through the crack Peggy could see Jack slumped against the headboard of the bed, eyes closed. (haute cuisine, Agent Carter, Peggy & Jack, post-mission h/c)

13. "Get him over on the bed," Peggy ordered, and she and Daniel staggered across the room with Jack between them, heels dragging on the floor. (voltage, Agent Carter, Peggy/Jack/Daniel, post mission h/c and getting together)

14. It was about three o'clock, and the golden afternoon sunshine poured through the open windows. (good fences, Ronin Warriors, Ronins & Mia, causing trouble for the neighbors)

15. The first time, it's legit. (bridal carry, Young Avengers, Tommy/David, 5 times Tommy carried David)

16. "This was supposed to be an easy job," Irene said, in what she thought was an admirably even tone. (blue to blue, The Invisible Library, Irene & Kai & Vale, mission-fic)

17. Jack woke up. (hard knocks, Agent Carter, Peggy & Jack & Daniel, during-mission h/c)

18. "Okay, Sanji, your turn," Chopper called, voice low. (post-battle care, One Piece, Sanji & crew h/c)

19. The gun went off. (hang on to your hopes my friend, The Umbrella Academy, Klaus & siblings, canon divergence AU)

20. “I spent three years trying to get up there.” (Humans of New York Series - Spider-Man, MCU, Peter Parker & People of New York, mixed-media fic!)

Conclusions: Short sentences! Dropping you right into the middle of the scene, with hopefully enough mystery to get you to keep reading. Some dialogue, but not as much as I expected, actually. (I think that might be different if it was first paragraph rather than first line.)

Favorite: Hmm, probably a toss-up between “The rain had been falling for days, and the river was flooding.” and “Jiang Cheng probably should have anticipated the assassination attempt.” 

Tagging anyone who would like to play!

[sixstepsaway]

I posted here a little bit ago to tell you all that I started a Mo Dao Zu Shi Big Bang for 2020, but I’m back to tell you the sign-ups for authors and artists just opened!

We’ve also finalized our schedule and enlisted a few new mods for the thriving Discord community of over 100 people our Bang has created!

If you’re still on the fence about joining up as either an artist, author or beta, feel free to just hop in the Discord and hang out as a cheerleader or just someone really excited to read all the long-form fics that’ll come from this. 

If you’re ready to sign up, the details are under “sign-ups” on the Carrd! I can’t link directly because unfortunately Tumblr will then nuke me.

It’s also important to know we’re open to all MDZS ships without exception and fics, as well as any AU your heart desires!

We’re also especially looking for ARTISTS who are invaluable members of any Big Bang!

I can’t wait for the Bang to get underway and I’ll see you all there!

[enbyleighlines]

Hey dont know if you are still taking prompt suggestions but I would love to read MDZS Modern AU! Wei Wuxian & Jiang Yanli - Boyfriends. If you are done with prompts, thanks for all the wonderful fills!

Hey! I am absolutely still taking prompts, please and thank you~

This is actually the final prompt left in my ask box, so feel free to fill it up again! I’m having a wonderful time with this modern mdzs au!

—

Jin Yanli is out in the garden when Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan arrive for their playdate. Jin Zixuan greets them at the front door, and then just tells them to go around through the side gate.

It’s a bright day, with a refreshing breeze. A-Yuan rushes forward towards the backyard fence, kicking up dandelion fluff in his wake.

Wei Wuxian chuckles, and walks a little bit slower just to tease the kid. He knows that A-Yuan isn’t yet tall enough to reach the latch, so he can’t enter the backyard until Wei Wuxian opens the gate for him.

“Hurry up, Xian-gege!” A-Yuan calls over, bounding in place, reminding him of some sort of cartoon bunny.

(Ever since Wei Wuxian moved in with Lan Wangji, rabbits have never been far from his mind. Lan Wangji’s passion for the animal is rubbing off on him, apparently.)

“Okay, okay,” Wei Wuxian replies, slowing his gait even more, “Hold your horses.”

“Xian-gege!” A-Yuan pouts, enraged.

It’s impossible to take his anger seriously, though. Wei Wuxian starts laughing, watching with delight as A-Yuan’s lower lip juts out even further.

But Wei Wuxian also takes pity on the poor child. He reaches over the door to unlatch it without another word.

As soon as the door swings open, A-Yuan is bolting forward at full speed again. He runs over to where Jin Ling is pushing around a toy truck around the sandbox.

“A-Xian,” Jin Yanli says, standing up from her crouching position, “Hello!”

“Jiejie!” Wei Wuxian is suddenly twenty years younger. He leaps into her embrace, nuzzling his face into her shoulder.

She giggles at his antics. “A-Xian, how have you been?”

Wei Wuxian knows exactly what she wants to know. He heaves a loud, lovesick sigh and tells her, “I’m so happy, Jiejie! Wangji is the best boyfriend. He spoils A-Yuan and me rotten.”

A few days ago, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had kissed for the first time. Upon waking, Wei Wuxian immediately texted his Jiejie, along with everyone else he knew. His declaration had received many different responses. Jin Yanli’s reply was the most ecstatic, though. Though they indeed set up this playdate for the kids, the idea had originated from an ulterior motive. Wei Wuxian wants to gush about his new boyfriend, and Jin Yanli is all too happy to listen.

Jin Yanli pulls away to look Wei Wuxian in the face. “I’m glad you found someone you is willing to spoil you,” she says, “My A-Xian deserves nothing less.”

Wei Wuxian leans his cheek on her shoulder, which is awkward, because he’s long since grown taller than her. “He makes me so happy, Jiejie,” he whispers, wanting to make her understand just a fraction of the immense love he holds in his heart for Lan Wangji.

Jin Yanli’s smile softens. Then she pulls further away to say, “I made us some tea. Let’s sit down, and you can tell me everything.”

And so they do. Wei Wuxian barely pays his cup any mind. He is too busy blabbering— about the few dates they’ve been on, about Lan Wangji’s cutest habits, about all the thoughtful little things Lan Wangji does to show he cares.

“And what about you?” Jin Yanli asks during a pause, “Relationships are a two-way street. What have you been doing to show you care, A-Xian?”

Wei Wuxian thinks. “Well...” he begins, “I tell him how handsome he is! Every day! And I thank him for everything he does around the apartment. And... well.” Here Wei Wuxian hesitates, uncharacteristically shy. “I tried to write him a love poem, because he loves poetry, but... it turns out I’m not good at writing poems.”

Jin Yanli giggles demurely into her wrist. “Ah, A-Xian,” she teases, “You have been bitten hard by the love bug, I see.”

“Do you blame me?” Wei Wuxian flails his arms, flustered. “Wangji... he’s so good,” he murmurs, stricken with the sheer force of his affection, “He’s really... such a good man. I knew I was gone the moment he offered to foster A-Yuan, so he could have a permanent home. And— and he can be so ridiculous! He calls me ridiculous but you should hear about some of the things he says and does! He named his bunnies Cabbage and Carrot! He hasn’t even flinched at the any of the horror movies I’ve shown him, but the first time we watched a cheesy romcom, he got so flustered that he muted the kissing scene!”

Wei Wuxian grabs Jin Yanli’s hand, desperate to make her understand. “I love him so much, Jiejie,” he says, “I know it’s only been like four days, but I’m so in love with him!”

“You’ve known him for how long?” Jin Yanli shakes her head, visibly amused.

“Hmmm...” Wei Wuxian thinks back to their first encounter. “We met in high school, freshman year... when we were both fourteen. Ah! And we’re twenty-four now!” Wei Wuxian jolts back at the realization. “A decade! It took me ten whole years to kiss Lan Wangji!”

Jin Yanli laughs. “Well, better late than never,” she points out.

Wei Wuxian is not so easily soothed, though. He sticks out his bottom lip and pouts. “I can’t believe it. I could have been kissing Wangji as far back as high school! We could have gone to senior prom together! We could be married by now!”

“It’s no good to dwell on what-if’s, A-Xian,” Jin Yanli says, “Remember how long it took for Zixuan to return my feelings?”

“That’s because he is— was an idiot.”

“And now we’re married, and we have A-Ling.” She looks off towards her son, practically radiating contentment. “Focus on what you have right now, so you can savor every minute.”

Wei Wuxian follows her gaze.

The boys are building a sand castle. Or so Wei Wuxian assumes. It mostly just looks like a heap of sand with some twigs poking out of the top.

“Jiejie,” Wei Wuxian says, “I... I want to ask Wangji if we can adopt A-Yuan for real.”

If Jin Yanli is surprised, she doesn’t show it. She just gives Wei Wuxian a loving grin. “Have you talked to A-Yuan’s family about it yet?”

Wei Wuxian nods. “Granny Wen mentioned it before, actually,” he admits, “She said A-Yuan already talks about Wangji and me like we’re his fathers. Wen Qing’s Uncle also gave me his blessing.”

Jin Yanli lights up. “A-Xian, that’s wonderful!” She claps her hands together. “So when are you asking Lan Wangji?”

“I don’t know.” Wei Wuxian worries his lip. “I mean... we only just begun dating. Don’t you think it’s too soon? I don’t know if Wangji even wants children...”

“A-Xian.” Jin Yanli waits until she has Wei Wuxian’s eyes back on her. “I’ve seen Lan Wangji with A-Yuan. He clearly loves children. You don’t have to worry about that. But if you think it’s too soon, then wait. There’s no need to rush. You’re already fostering him, and A-Yuan isn’t old enough to know the difference.”

Wei Wuxian feels the oppressive weight lift right off his shoulders. “You’re right,” he realizes aloud, “There’s no need to rush.”

“Exactly,” Jin Yanli says, “Like I said, enjoy the present. Don’t spend too much time regretting the past or fretting about the future. You’ve got a doting boyfriend, and an adorable kid who loves you.”

Wei Wuxian feels like tearing up. He valiantly avoids doing so.

“Now drink your tea already,” Jin Yanli chastises playfully, “I brought this brand just for you. It’s a chai with extra spice.”

“Jiejie!” Wei Wuxian puts a hand to his heart. “Still spoiling me, after all this time.”

“I will spoil you forever,” Jin Yanli promises, “No matter whether you’re eight years old or eighty, I will always spoil my A-Xian rotten.”

Wei Wuxian laughs, delighted. He knows she means it, and that makes it all the more endearing.

The rest of the day is spent sipping tea, weeding the garden, watching the kids, and making plans for a double date. And, as Jin Yanli so wisely advised, Wei Wuxian savors every last minute of it.