#no one ever worries about xiaoge! so he will! he has to! even if he doesnt have the power to help enouh!

[sunriseverse]

For the drabbles!!

5. “I heard a noise.” Iron triangle

HI RAY thank you for the prompt!!! this is about 10x as long as an actual drabble BUT have some iron triangle fluff :)

-

Pangzi and Wu Xie are very sly—or, at least, Xiaoge thinks, bemused, they are attempting to be sly. For anyone else, anyone who doesn’t know them as well as he does, it would, perhaps, even work, but Xiaoge has been through almost every imaginable situation with them, and so, his ability to discern what they are attempting to do is probably significantly higher than the average person’s.

Take, for example, right now: Wu Xie, blinking sleepily up at him over a bowl of xifan, a hint of focus in his gaze as he asks, in what must be an attempt for a casual tone, “So, Xiaoge, what are you up to the next few days?”

From anyone else, this might be a normal question; after all, it’s hardly unnatural to wonder what someone you live with it planning on doing. What makes it suspicious, though, is that Wu Xie has always been content to leave him to his own devices, and the fact that Pangzi is clearly hanging onto every word, significantly more awake than Wu Xie is. Xiaoge takes a moment to think, both because he would like to eat a little bit more in case Wu Xie starts bombarding him with further questions, and because he doesn’t want Pangzi to be alerted of the fact that he knows they’re up to something. In the end he shrugs and says, “Nothing.”

“You should get out into the woods!” Pangzi says. “The weather’s so nice, I bet it’s nice and cool in the mornings. You haven’t gone out much recently, have you?”

Xiaoge glances at him, glad he doesn’t have the urge to stare at people (usually), because if he were anyone else, he’d stare at Pangzi for how suspicious that string of sentences was. As it is, he just noncommittally eats another spoonful of breakfast—or lunch, really, but Wu Xie never gets up until after ten, so breakfast with him is lunch for the rest of them—and wonders what, exactly, the two of them are up to.

“You could take photos,” Wu Xie suggests around a yawn. “I always hear birds, and there’s probably more in the woods. Not to mention the sunrise—those are beautiful. Hey, you could put that camera Hei Yanjing sent us to good use! It’s not doing anything but collecting dust on the shelf, anyway.”

This time, Xiaoge does allow himself to stare for a moment, fond amusement rising in his chest. They’re definitely up to something, but it’s not anything harmful, or he would have realised it by now, and so, he feels fairly content to just let it play out however it will, so he says, “Alright,” and pretends not to notice the elation that spreads across Wu Xie’s face, quickly hidden, or the crafty gleam in Pangzi’s eye.

They clearly want him out of the house for some reason, so Xiaoge takes his sword and heads into the forest after they finish eating. It’s hardly a hardship—the solitude of the woods is welcomed; as much as he loves Wu Xie and Pangzi, they tend to be loud men, taking up entire rooms with their presence. Some days, it’s hard to be around that sort of brilliance for long, even if today that isn’t the case. He takes the camera Hei Xiazi had sent as a gag gift, and hangs the strap around his neck, not particularly worried about how it might weigh him down—after all, the most dangerous things around here are the goats, and they don’t usually attack, nor can they climb trees, so he has an escape route if he ever needs one.

He goes into the woods the next day, as well as the one after that. The others think they’re being sneaky, but the back of Wu Xie’s had has a smear of frosting on it when he gets back one day, and the next, Pangzi comes back from a trip into the city with a packet of birthday candles hidden at the bottom of the bag of necessities they can’t get from the village market. Pangzi hurries him out of the kitchen (“I heard a noise, go check that that old crow isn’t back.”) in an attempt to make sure he doesn’t see them, but Xiaoge’s gaze is sharper than he gives him credit for. They are trying so hard to hide whatever it is from him, and while it isn’t working, Xiaoge can’t help but feel a warm, sunglow affection curling beneath his ribs at their attempts.

It all comes to head about four days after the initial morning where he had noticed it. He comes back from the woods with a half dozen photos of wildlife, and only has a moment to step over the threshold before Wu Xie is rushing up to him and exclaiming, “Xiaoge! Close your eyes!”, which is all the warning he gets before Wu Xie is raising his hands to block his view. Amused, Xiaoge allows him to do so, closing his own eyes as he slips the camera strap off. Wu Xie, realising that he’s not looking, takes the camera from him, with the order to stay where he is. Xiaoge does as told, breathing evenly as he waits—an action which draws in the scent of burning wax. So that’s where the candles went, he muses.

A few moments later, Wu Xie bustles back, and takes him by the hand to lead him down the hall and towards the kitchen. It’s sweet, that Wu Xie bothers—Xiaoge could probably navigate their home deaf and blind, just from muscle memory, but the fact that Wu Xie takes the time to carefully lead him along, warning him to avoid various obstacles, is sweet. When they reach the kitchen, Wu Xie makes him sit down in the large chair in front of the window, and Pangzi says, “Okay, you can open your eyes,” and when Xiaoge does, he’s met with the sight of a slightly-lopsided black-frosted cake with gold accents that may have once been attempts at flowers, but which resemble more piles of stones.

“Happy homecoming!” Wu Xie exclaims, grinning, and takes a seat next to Pangzi on the other chair.

“Go on, blow the candles out!” Pangzi encourages, smiling as well. There’s fifteen candles—one, Xiaoge realises, for each year since he’s returned from beyond the Bronze Gate. The flames flicker cheerily, wax running slowly down the sides.

It’s moments like these—Wu Xie’s leg pressing against his own, Pangzi’s hand finding his under the table, the affection clear in their expressions—that remind him of the enormous love that lays between them, sometimes barely noticeable from how accustomed he is to it, but awe-inspiring as soon as it catches his attention again. He can’t help but smile as he leans forward to blow out the candles, and Wu Xie and Pangzi cheer, before Pangzi gets up to bustle around for a knife to cut the cake, and the sunlight is spilling in through the window and illuminating everything in a soft glow, and—nothing in life is perfect, not really, but this comes close.

[hils79]

Title: Alone in the Dark

Fandoms:  盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV), 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei

 Relationships: Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie

Summary: Just thinking about Wu Xie makes him happier than he ever imagined he could be, and since he’s going to die here, why shouldn’t he be nauseatingly corny about the man he loves?

Deep down Pangzi has always known that one day a tomb he ventured into would end up becoming his own. It’s not that he has a death wish or anything like that. It’s a simple case of statistical probability. Wu Xie would be proud of him for using those words. It’s just a shame he’s not here for Pangzi to speak them aloud and impress him.

It’s true, though. The odds have always been stacked against him and you can only venture into so many trap-filled tombs and face down creatures that should only be myth before fate decides you’ve gone against her one too many times.

Pangzi has no regrets, though. He knew this line of work was dangerous. High risk, high reward as they say. And the reward has been far higher than Pangzi could ever have imagined.

He’d taken up this line of work to earn his fortune. So that he’d never again have to worry about where his next meal was coming from, or if he’d have a roof over his head that night. And, yes, he’s earned enough money to save the business his parents started before they died and purchase not just a house but multiple properties. He has everything he ever wanted, but he’d trade it all in an instant for Wu Xie. Meeting Wu Xie is the most precious treasure he’s ever found in a tomb, and he doesn’t care how cheesy that sounds.

Just thinking about Wu Xie makes him happier than he ever imagined he could be, and since he’s going to die here, why shouldn’t he be nauseatingly corny about the man he loves?

It’s not like he wants to die, but he has to be realistic about his circumstances. He’s fallen several levels down from where Wu Xie and Xiaoge are. The rocks and debris from the floor that collapsed beneath him have blocked his way out, and his left ankle is at best sprained and at worst broken. Even if there was a way out he can’t walk.

Still, as situations go, it could be a lot worse. He’s alone, which means he doesn’t have to die with anyone else’s deaths on his conscience. Wu Xie is safe, and Pangzi is sure Xiaoge will ensure that he stays that way. Really, that’s all Pangzi can ask for.

He has no regrets about pushing Wu Xie out of the way when the floor started to collapse. He’d do it again in a heartbeat. He’d do anything, give any part of himself, if it meant keeping Wu Xie safe.

“I’ll watch over you from Heaven,” Pangzi murmurs to the darkness that will become his final resting place. The air is getting thinner now, and the ankle that had been throbbing with pain earlier now barely hurts at all. It’s probably not a good sign, but at least he’s not going to die in pain. Eventually the air will get so thin that he’ll pass out and then he just won’t wake up again.

There are worse ways to go.

Read the rest on AO3

[sleepyowlwrites]

Triceratops - share a scene where one character is protecting or caring for another ☕️

you're asking for this because you know I have a large supply. I'll go fanfiction for this since you're a fanfic friend.

this is the last scene from Beating Hearts:

It’s almost strange being somewhere so quiet, where the dark doesn’t feel suffocating and Liu Sang can’t feel sand rubbing at his skin. This is twice that the attempts to explore a new tomb, the same tomb, have gone awry, and yet there’s no frantic atmosphere, no rabid disappointment. It just feels like a day, another day, some kind of day and there’s always another one to try again on. Liu Sang doesn’t really want to, but he also doesn’t want to be defeated. Wu Xie will end up coming back eventually. He hates leaving something unexplored.

Liu Sang is not like that. His curiosity is much more satiable.

“You’re coming home with us,” Pangzi says after a period of silence. He looks much more comfortable now that he has a hideous sweatshirt on.

“I figured as much,” Liu Sang mumbles from where he’s trying to become a rock. “But I’ll go back to my apartment tomorrow.”

“Mm. But I was thinking you should just stay with us, like, full-time.”

“No.”

The word comes out significantly less horrified than Liu Sang means it to and instead it just sounds like he’s only putting up a resistance for the show of things. Which, if he thinks about it, is exactly what he’s doing.

“Come on, Jinx. Don’t fight it. We’ve even got your room all set up.” Pangzi stirs the pot over the campfire vigorously. “If you keep objecting, Xiaoge will just keep watch outside your apartment anyway.”

Liu Sang pulls his head out of the blankets wrapped around him. The night air is not very cold, but he still feels the chill of the river throughout his whole being. Dry clothes have made a world of difference, but plenty of painkillers and hot tea can’t instantly fix his fever or his aches. He glances over to where his ouxiang is watching Wu Xie study some old journal while polishing his sword. Their shoulders are relaxed, every minute or so Wu Xie mentions something and his ouxiang quietly responds. The adventures of earlier have faded into the background, and the focus is now Pangzi, who is giving him a funny look while he muses.

“Why would ouxiang watch my apartment?” Liu Sang grouses.

Pangzi sucks his teeth. “To make sure you were getting on alright, obviously. He worries about you the most.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course he doesn’t worry about me.” Liu Sang glances at the other again when he hears movement. His ouxiang rises from his seat like a dancer, walking over to sit close by Liu Sang.

Pangzi shakes his spoon at him. “Xiaoge, tell Jinx that he needs to move in with us.”

His ouxiang meets Pangzi’s gaze evenly, then turns to look at Liu Sang. Those eyes are as deep and as immovable as ever, but the longer he looks, the longer he feels like he’s soaking in something soft and encompassing. Liu Sang breaks eye contact first, his blanket falling off his shoulders a little. He pulls it back up distractedly, coughing into his elbow as he does so.

“Make him drink his tea,” Liu Sang hears Pangzi say. His ears are buzzing again, but it’s normal after a day when they’ve been put through a lot.

Zhang Qiling holds out the tin cup toward him. “You don’t have to do what you don’t want to do.”

Liu Sang takes the cup and blinks at him. “What?”

“Stay with us if you want to, only.”

Liu Sang sips at the tea, chokes and spits it back out onto the ground. For five whole seconds he feels like he’s surrounded by cold, dark, rushing water that’s trying to invade his lungs and keep him trapped. Then, his ouxiang’s hand is grasping his wrist. Two long fingers press very lightly at the pulse point on his neck. Liu Sang coughs once more, deep and painful, then shutters his eyes closed. The hands are warm. The heartbeats adjacent to him are steady, familiar.

“Do you want to stay with us?”

The question makes Liu Sang open his eyes again. Wu Xie has joined them. He’s crouched beside Zhang Qiling, his elbow propped against his ouxiang’s knee. The expression on his face is genuine, it matches with the beats in his chest. Liu Sang is lost in the rhythm, in question that really only has one answer.

He looks at Wu Xie, sees the sincerity in his eyes. He looks at Pangzi, sees the openness of his face. He looks at Zhang Qiling, sees the softness of his smile.

There is so much to figure out and many feelings to process, so much that remains unexplored, but Liu Sang knows this much, at least.

“Yes.”

He wants to stay.

[mejomonster]

im never gonna be over that old man saying if wu xie and xiaoge stay together they’ll get each other killed like??

wow way to confirm how xiaoge views their relationship and what he fears most??? how dare you

way to confirm xiaoge and others at the core of it see him as a demon, not a superhero, not a person

way to remind wu xie he’s constantly desperately afraid his inexperience and failings will put xiaoge in danger and get him killed (wu xie is so desperate to get skilled like his peers, to make it so this is less of a concern, always)

way to remind them both that they’ll pick each other hell or high water, and whatever wu xie fears he fears leaving xiaoge more. fears letting something hurt xiaoge without him there. because wu xie would happily die before letting something hurt xiaoge. would rather that happened. 

and xiaoge would rather make sure it never did. that nothing ever touches wu xie.

and that’s their dilemma really 

[t-eyla]

Thoughts on Wu Xie (LTR)

Whenever I write about Wu Xie Going Through It (and I tend to do that not too rarely), he does this thing where he assures the people close to him that he’s either fine, or will be fine soon, and they shouldn’t trouble themselves with his problems. Kind of like “yeah I spilled the sugar all over the kitchen floor but don’t worry about it, I’ve got it under control, don’t let this interrupt your nice Sunday afternoon” except it’s not spilled sugar, it’s a serious injury or a massive mental health crisis or [insert whatever else I throw at Wu Xie at any given time].

And it’s, like, really ingrained? He doesn’t even panic about it or get sad, he just very methodically plans for how to make sure that people around him won’t have to waste their time on helping him. It’s evident in the show in him not telling Pangzi that he’s sick, and also in him trying to get Pangzi to pursue Piaopiao. It’s evident in him walking away from people in the poison gas valley, and maybe it’s evident in him leaving Xiaoge behind in the mute village without arguing with Ershu about it.

At the same time, it’s not really that he hides himself being a mess. He doesn’t go out of his way to keep himself safe and his life sorted out. I think he feels a need to be interesting to keep people close, and if interesting means going on dangerous tomb raiding excursions, then that’s (part of) why he’s going. Whenever he’s in a tomb and getting himself into danger, at least he can be fairly certain that Xiaoge will show up eventually.

I don’t think he really has a concept of what a committed, supportive relationship feels like. I think he recognizes love, and friendship, and he can accept help from people he trusts, but I don’t think he quite grasps commitment. Even in LTR, at a point in his life where he’s figured out more about himself and his close relationships, I think he still struggles with the idea of relying on support, and with the idea of being deserving of it without accruing a debt he’ll be expected to pay off before long.

It’s interesting that his partners--Pangzi and Xiaoge--hook into those issues in different ways. Pangzi is always there, he’s reliably present and supportive, but Pangzi is someone with big emotions and big expressions of those emotions. I think lavishly expressed emotions, especially negative ones, are difficult for Wu Xie not to make into a problem he has to solve: if he tells Pangzi that he’s sick, Pangzi might have a big negative emotion about it, and it’ll be up to Wu Xie to make sure Pangzi gets happy again so Pangzi won’t eventually decide that being around Wu Xie is too sad to endure and leaves.

Xiaoge is not one for big emotional expressions, so I think he’s safer for Wu Xie to share more difficult things with, but Xiaoge is someone who’s not reliably around all the time. He’s not someone who’s ever going to grow old and want to settle (or so Wu Xie thinks) so Wu Xie needs to keep up with him and stay interesting. If he doesn’t, Xiaoge one day might just not bother to come back.

All of this is, of course, subconscious stuff that Wu Xie is probably even partially aware of and tries to counteract, but it’s interesting how reliably it comes out every time I write fic about him. Wu Xie’s core issue seems to be fear of abandonment--which I guess is not that surprising, considering the canon.

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb, part 4

Wu Family Chat

Wu Erbai: Good evening, everyone. I have a time-sensitive issue to discuss, I will need your attention for a moment.

Wu Xie: uncle, whatever you heard, I can explain.

Wu San Xing: brother, whatever you heard, I won’t explain.

Panzi: pls hush you two:/ this sounds important

Wu Erbai: Yes, thank you Panzi. Wait. What are you doing on this chat?

Panzi: I apologize, sir, I—

Wu San Xing: fuck off posh spice if panzi leaves I leave

Wu Erbai: Yes. You are quite well-practiced at doing that.

Wang Pangzi: LMAO GET REKT

Wu Erbai: Why on earth are—you know what, it doesn’t matter. Of course you’re here. I assume Zhang Qiling is also here?

Zhang Qiling: Incorrect. I am on the roof.

Wu Erbai: …

Wu Erbai: Anyway. I would like to let you all know that there has been an incident at the warehouse. Please do not spread this around, it sounds like the issue can be contained. I am on the way there now. All is technically well, but it would be appreciated if anyone who is free to help right now could come to the warehouse. Immediately. Armed.

Wu Xie: !!! armed you say?? What kind of incident??

Zhang Qiling: Wu Xie, NO.

Wu San Xing: I can’t come I’m busy practicing leaving

Panzi: We will be there right away, sir. What is the situation?

Wu San Xing: love to see you taking charge;)

Wu Erbai: I am choosing to ignore that in favor of dealing with this lesser problem in my life. A certain box has exploded in a certain room at the warehouse, Panzi. Certain things have…emerged.

Panzi: We will be prepared, sir. ETA 20 minutes.

Wu San Xing: what would help us prepare is if you could be a little more vague pls

Wu Xie: Emerged?? So these are sentient things?? :D

Wang Pangzi: UGGHH DAMN IT I LITERALLY JUST GOT DINNER OUT OF THE OVEN FML…WELP XIAO GE COME ON DOWN WE GOTTA GO DO A THING, SOUNDS LIKE OUR IDIOT IS GONNA GET INVOLVED REGARDLESS OF OUR WISHES, BIG FUCKING SURPRISE THERE

Wu Erbai: Your eager assistance is so appreciated. Pangzi and Zhang Qiling—I’m sending you the basic access codes, Panzi already has them. Wu Xie, I would prefer for you to stay in the car and maintain a command center.

Wu Xie: uh sure I will:) of course:)

Wu Erbai: That’s two smiley faces too many for me to trust that you will listen.

Wu Xie: :(

Zhang Qiling: Wu Xie, may I speak to you privately. In the kitchen. Now.

Wang Pangzi: OH SHIT LOL WHATS THE VERSION OF BEING EXILED TO THE COUCH WHEN ONE OF YOU ALREADY SLEEPS ON THE ROOF HALF THE TIME

Wu Erbai: Not that this isn’t fascinating insight into what I’m sure is a very pleasant bosom friendship between our families, but time is of the essence here, gentlemen. I’m five minutes out from the warehouse and I’ve just been informed that the things have…spread out.

Wu San Xing: Ah thanks for clearing that up so well good thing we are going in well informed and all

Zhang Qiling: I’m not sure that you have the high ground on keeping people informed about important things.

Wu Erbai: Wonderful riposte, Zhang Qiling, or should I call you Xiao Ge?

Zhang Qiling: No.

Wang Pangzi: THE TEA IS EXCEPTIONALLY HOT THIS FINE EVENING

GOTTA GO NOW, ME AND THOSE BOSOM FRIENDS HAVE TO GET OUR GEAR.

Three hours later….

unnamed chat:

Zhang Qiling: Don’t ever do that again.

Wu San Xing: ?

Zhang Qiling: You were aware of what you were doing. Whether or not you calculated the potential danger to the rest of us, I don’t know. But don’t ever do that again.

Wu San Xing: or what tho

Zhang Qiling: I’m fond of Panzi and I don’t want to have to kill him to get to you. It would be a waste of a good man.

Wu San Xing: shit dude alright

Wu Family Chat:

Wu Erbai: Good work tonight, everyone. With the exception of a surely accidental misstep where my brother *seemed* to be bargaining for something with a tomb ghost and *accidentally* endangered all our lives, it was well-handled. You will see the funds in your accounts tomorrow.

Wu San Xing: ugh when are ppl gonna get over this already

Panzi: Thank you, sir. We will be going straight home.

Wang Pangzi: IF I SEE YOU AGAIN YOU FUCKING FUCKER

Wu Xie: calm down Pangzi we don’t even know what that tablet said

Wang Pangzi: PEOPLE WHO HAPPILY SKIP INTO COMBAT SITUATIONS WITHOUT BACKUP DONT GET A VOTE ON THIS

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TRUST XIAOGE’S ANGRY CAT FACE

Panzi: Wu Erbai, Wu Xie, Pangzi, Xiao Ge—lovely to see all of you, even under circumstances such as tonight’s warehouse fight.

Wu Xie: *hugs* <3

Wu Erbai: Panzi, San Xing—it was indeed an experience, having the two of you here. Panzi is welcome back anytime.

Two hours later…

Zhang and Wu Chat

Wu Xie: hey, you didn’t say anything to my uncle right? He’s being all weird and apologetic over text.

Zhang Qiling: You were there, you could see I did not speak to him at all during the evening.

Wu Xie: good point sorry. anyway how much trouble am I in? Bc like I know, I know, I touched the box right after you said “Wu Xie, don’t touch that box,” but in my defense it looked so interesting and it had the Zhang crest on it, I really wanted to explore it further and I didn’t realize it had a tripwire, I actually think it dates back to—

Zhang Qiling: Sometimes I worry that the Zhang family is destined to only ever bring you harm.

Wu Xie: ??????ZHANG QILING>:(

Zhang Qiling: Apologies, I’m feeling introspective this evening. It may be Pangzi’s cocktail.

Wu Xie: uh-huh. get off the goddamn roof and come hang out on the couch. No more vodka for you. I have your favorite fuzzy blanket and a book I’m reading. I know you like cuddling when I read aloud.

“Bring me harm” psshh wait til Pangzi hears about this. get down here.

Zhang Qiling: I will always come for you.

Wu Xie: see you say stuff like that and then you expect me to *not* pounce on you???

[laireshi]

Xiaoge and (not) speaking

I once again meta’ed about Xiaoge all over my twitter so here’s a better version of it.

I was thinking about Xiaoge and how he doesn’t speak.

So ZHH canonically links it to his childhood and lack of any sort of care or attention from other people (adults who took him from his mother and couldn't care less for him; kids who must've sensed as much because they avoided him too—no one played with Xiaoge, no one showed him affection).

Hei Xiazi calls him “mute”, but he can speak, we know he can, but... He also can’t? I wouldn't say he can speak when he wants to, not exactly. He doesn't seem to have any issues with shouting out a warning when it's needed or explaining tomb traps, for example, but two things come to mind that happened in UN. The first is at the very beginning, when he's worried sick about Wu Xie, and then Wu Xie contacts him on the radio and Xiaoge stares at it in relief and cannot say a word. You can't tell me he doesn't want to speak to Wu Xie—but he can't, not even as Wu Xie calls for him again. Hei Xiazi has to answer for him. 'you know he doesn't speak,' but it's not a choice, is it?

The second scene (scenes, really) is at the very end, when he's at the Zhang Family Mansion, and he doesn't participate in counting of the team members (not even the first time, when it was somehow important). And when they plan to trap the Miluotuo, a plan relying on Xiaoge defeating it, and he doesn't answer the simple question of are you ready. Again, important to confirm that! But he doesn't. So it's not just that he doesn't like speaking. He's a trained, experienced tomb raider; safety is more important than any preferences to remain silent, but he...just can't communicate in words sometimes (often. usually. mostly.).

It's also not that he's not good at speaking as such? He absolutely knows how to express himself with words and do it well, insofar as ... composing the words goes, I guess. Saying them aloud is another thing, though (and I don't think it's just talking, as in, I don't think he'd feel better texting than making phone calls, if anything maybe even worse). But that's what makes the occasions he does speak all the more interesting and important.

So there are the already mentioned dangerous situations, but then there are situations with Wu Xie and with Pangzi. Not exactly when he feels comfortable (I doubt he felt comfortable at all during the 'I am a man with no past and no future' conversation, but he managed to express his feelings perfectly well in that moment all the same. Though while he wasn’t comfortable, he was still talking to someone he trusted. He opened himself to Wu Xie. He was vulnerable with Wu Xie—but it’s Wu Xie, so Xiaoge knew he was safe—same for their other charged conversation and “I thought about my connection to the world and realised, it’s only you”; though he must’ve planned that one for a while). And with Pangzi, he actually teases him verbally. Like if those things are not a sign of love then I don't know what is.

But again, I don't think it's a matter of a simple conscious choice? We know there are times when he wants to say something and doesn't know how to do so at all, when Wu Xie is lost and then when he's hurt (UN example again, but UN was so good about his characterisation—after he cut those mushrooms off Wu Xie, he turned his back to him, didn’t look straight at him once after Wu Xie woke up, didn’t say anything; hid even his small relieved smile. It’s not just words that Xiaoge doesn’t know how to deal with).

But sometimes, with the people he loves, he can speak to them out loud. And I think that means as much to him as it does to them (though, obviously, neither Wu Xie nor Pangzi would ever force him to speak or demand he does so; they understand it's not something that comes to him naturally. That it's not just that he's quiet, or shy—and he’s not shy. It’s something else, and deeper than that. But they accept and love him the way he is. And they learn to understand him even without words, which is a cliche, but means so much more for a character like Xiaoge.)

Some ending notes: all of this is why I don't think it's anything as simple as 'he only chooses to talk to Wu Xie and Pangzi’, and definitely not ‘he decides to keep quiet and only speaks very rarely for maximum effect and shock'; that’s very much not Xiaoge. And really, it'd be easier for him if he could speak like others. But he can't.

(My final tweet was about whether this changes after he returns from the Bronze Gate and ten years of absolute solitude, but that’s another conversation entirely.)

[thosch3i]

The finale of Ultimate Note airs 12/9 (tonight in China) for VIP. Thank you to this drama for bringing me my favorite Iron Triangle ❤ Longer discussion of why I love it so much, and why I strongly recommend it to book fans (especially those upset with certain previous adaptations) below the cut, apologies if it’s not fully coherent at times because I haven’t slept enough and also it’s almost 1am. But your TLDR is basically: characterization, plot, pacing, relationships are the best of any DMBJ drama. Iron Triangle especially.

First, the pacing of this show is excellent. Pretty much all cdramas I’ve seen or heard of have been inundated with filler, and the previous DMBJ dramas fall victim to this as well. Ultimate Note took 36 episodes to cover 4 book arcs, whereas previous adaptations have taken more episodes to cover far fewer. There’s really not any content you’d be wanting to skip, as almost all of it is plot-relevant or character-relevant.

Second, the plot is the most cohesive out of any DMBJ adaptation. Frankly, this isn’t saying too much, given the novel plot can also be confusing as all hell sometimes, but Ultimate Note goes above and beyond in pulling in information from later books and, if I heard correctly, common fan theories, doing their best to fill in the plot holes left by the author to create a more complete story.

Third, the female characters are actually done well. (As well as they can be, given the source material’s unfortunate habit of fridging its women.) For example, A-Ning’s decision to go the Tamutuo wasn’t because she was ~in love~ with some man. She is a determined individual who has made her choice about her path a long time ago, and she is willing to risk death to achieve her goals. Even her death was done about as well as it could have been--it wasn’t drawn out to the point of it being sickeningly cheesy, and Wu Xie tried his best to honor her goals and bring her to the Palace of the Queen Mother of the West (even emphasizing to Pangzi, “if you died, I would carry you too”). In addition, Chen Wenjin wasn’t stuck in some ridiculous love triangle. She loved Wu Sanxing, of course, but her loving a man isn’t made out to be her entire personality. Her goodbye to Xie Lianhuan is poignant but not mushy. She’s steady and sure in her goals, and she knows what she has to do in order to save herself. Yuncai’s character, as well, I think was handled about as well as it could’ve been given the source material. Her relationship with Pangzi wasn’t overexaggerated and nauseating, and I think their relationship was more tolerable in the drama than it was in the novel overall. (In addition, I prefer how they handled her death in the drama versus the novel--instead of just killing her offscreen, they give her a redemption, and show how she’d grown attached to her new friends, Pangzi especially, resulting in her hesitation to deal the final blow.)

Related to the above point: no added forced romances that destroyed the female characters’ personalities and reduced them to just love interests for men, thank god. Pangzi and Yuncai’s relationship was already there in the novel, but nothing about their relationship was distorted in the drama to the point of being annoying, and Yuncai is shown to have her own goals for cozying up to Pangzi (at first, at least). If you want to get technical about “added romances”, you could honestly argue that it’s Pingxie. (And Hei///hua, but I’ll be honest and say they’re not my cup of tea, so I won’t really be discussing them. However, I do think their characters, while also exaggerated for humor at points, were also done well, and their relationship--while AFAIK was not a really a thing in the books at all?--was written in a way that the development made sense, and their personalities compatible.)

But anyway, while Ultimate Note does make Pingxie seem closer to each other than they were in the novel, we do have to remember that the novel is from Wu Xie’s point of view, and he’s a little bit of a blockhead when it comes to noticing how much Xiaoge cares about him. (IIRC, he wonders if Xiaoge even considers him a friend in Zang Hai Hua...after Xiaoge’s literally called him his “only connection” to this world in book 8.) However, from an outsider POV, it’d be natural for us to see Xiaoge worrying more over Wu Xie. Because from Wu Xie’s perspective, what did he actually see? Xiaoge dropping in to save him a few times and often vanishing or turning away right after, leaving Wu Xie with mixed feelings and confusion about his value to Xiaoge. Xiaoge being aloof before they set off to Tamutuo, claiming that he is a person with no past and future, and that no one would remember him if he disappeared. (Xiaoge smiles before telling Wu Xie that he’s on Wu Xie’s side--that’s a smile that the viewers see, but that Wu Xie doesn’t.) Most of Xiaoge’s visible worry for Wu Xie in the desert was also when Wu Xie himself was not there to see it. During the scene where the fungus was growing in Wu Xie’s stomach, he was entirely out of it while Xiaoge visibly panicked about hurting him, and after the fungus was dealt with, Xiaoge only stood off to the side--only to smile faintly to himself, relieved, after Wu Xie wakes up. (Again a smile that the viewers see, but that Wu Xie doesn’t.) But because from an outsider POV we can see all this, while Wu Xie remains partly ignorant, lines like “thankfully, I didn’t bring death upon you” and Xiaoge calling Wu Xie is only connection to the world seem that much more logical, now that we can see some of the depth and development of how much Xiaoge does care about Wu Xie.

That brings me to the primary reason why I love Ultimate Note, because the main selling point for me on any franchise is not actually world-building or plot, but rather the characters and the relationships between those characters. And for DMBJ, the relationship I’m always looking for--and the relationship that the entire franchise ultimately centers around--is the Iron Triangle. And the mutual trust and the strength of the bond between this Iron Triangle is unmistakable; no one is treated as expendable.

As much as we have joked about Xiaoge's double standards with Wu Xie versus Pangzi, the end of the Banai arc especially and the last five episodes have cemented the importance of Xiaoge and Pangzi's friendship. Their relationship is often the weakest leg of the Iron Triangle in DMBJ adaptations, but Ultimate Note has nailed it. Pangzi helps carry Xiaoge out of Tamutuo, and Pangzi's the one who primarily takes care of Xiaoge after he loses his memories. There's also Xiaoge's clear worry over Pangzi after Yuncai's death, and his assurance that Pangzi won't die as long as he is here in the later episodes when the two of them are separated from Wu Xie--showing that the Iron Triangle is a triangle; Wu Xie isn't the single connection that Xiaoge and Pangzi's relationship hinges upon.

Pangzi and Wu Xie's friendship doesn't need much explaining: the two of them bicker like they're brothers, and they could probably star in their own buddy-cop comedy together. Both Pangzi and Xiaoge are shown to be clearly worried for Wu Xie after the Xie Lianhuan reveal, and even though neither of them quite know how to handle it, they are there for Wu Xie. And of course, there's the scene where Pangzi pours out the water while they're waiting for Xiaoge to leave the meteorite. Wu Xie cries for Pangzi when they're in the Miluotuo cave and he chooses to carry out Xiaoge first, and once again, his worry for Pangzi after Yuncai's death is palpable. Even when Wu Xie has to leave Pangzi in Banai, he instructs Xiaoge to look after him (not that Xiaoge really needed the instruction, anyway--that’s his best friend, too).

Wu Xie and Xiaoge's relationship needs even less explaining: anyone who's watched the show can attest to how much they care about each other. From Wu Xie's frantic scrambling to grab the tapes upon hearing they were from "Zhang Qiling" and Xiaoge's introduction in the show being him stopping outside Wushanju to stare up (longingly?) at the sign, we see their relationship unfold in all of its quiet pining and lingering looks. When Xiaoge claims no one would know if he disappeared from this world, Wu Xie doesn't hesitate in promising that he, at least, will. Xiaoge smiles before telling Wu Xie that he's on his side, and Wu Xie vows to walk with Xiaoge until the very end. During the entire Tamutuo trip, Xiaoge is visibly worried for Wu Xie--when the parasitic fungus grew in his stomach, that worry was the most clear. But Wu Xie worries for Xiaoge too: insisting on going to save Xiaoge from the snakes that night when they all went blind; swearing that even if he faces death, he would wait for Xiaoge to leave the meteorite; telling Xiaoge that he will take him home. (Related: the soft, almost vulnerable way Xiaoge tells Wu Xie “take me home” in episode 31.) Not to mention--even when Xiaoge loses his memories, he still remembers Wu Xie. (And Pangzi smiles knowingly right after that scene.)

There are too many character/relationship moments I could write about, but one that stuck out in particular was when they were facing the spiders, and Wu Xie stopped Xiaoge from cutting his hand and using his blood to make the spiders retreat. At this point, Wu Xie and Pangzi don't know the extent of how Xiaoge was (mis)treated as a child (and used as a blood bag, apparently), but they know about how "A-Kun" was captured used as bait. Wu Xie and Pangzi would never ask Xiaoge to bleed for them, no matter what. Not now, let alone 10+ years later. (I won't name names, but if you know what I'm talking about, then you know.)

Which brings me to my main point: the characters in Ultimate Note are the closest to their novel selves I have ever seen in a DMBJ adaptation, and this is objectively the best adaptation of the DMBJ novel. (Whether you prefer another adaption or not is your opinion--I absolutely love the Time Raiders movie, even though that plot is literally all over the place, and Xiaoge is decently OOC--but Ultimate Note is the best adaptation of the novel, and the characters are the most true to what they actually should be.)

You can see the innocent and naïve Wu Xie, but you can also see the developing confusion, frustration, and anger he feels because he's been lead around by his nose his entire life. And he is angry in the novel; he is a bit of a hot-headed bastard; he's not just a naïve child. I remember seeing some complaints that Wu Xie felt "OOC" in the first episode for being so furious with his San-shu, but I think his reactions were spot-on with how he felt, and how he wanted to react. A similar point is the scene where Wu Xie slammed Xiaoge against the car--aside from just being some fun fanservice, in the novel Wu Xie really was furious at Xiaoge for vanishing on him and never contacting him after leaving the Heavenly Palace in the Clouds. A lot of the novel is Wu Xie's inner thoughts, which are difficult to portray in a live action adaptation, but he really did pretty much want to pick a fight with Xiaoge about disappearing, and  Ultimate Note decided on how to express this frustration in a way that suits a drama adaptation. In addition, you can see how Wu Xie’s past experiences like the trip to Tamutuo has changed him in how he manipulates Panma into bringing him to the lake; and you can see how almost losing Xiaoge and Pangzi to the Miluotuo changed him as well, when he thinks he’s lost them for real in episode 36 (leading up to his decision to put on his San-shu’s mask by the end, despite the fact that “some masks, when worn too long, can no longer be taken off”).

As for Pangzi: even though he has scenes that were clearly exaggerated for comic relief, he has plenty of moments that build his character and the Iron Triangle’s bond. These include him pouring out the water while he and Wu Xie are waiting for Xiaoge, his grief over Yuncai’s death, his standing by Wu Xie during the hotel auction scene, and his almost mother-hen-like worry about Xiaoge while they’re entering the Zhang Family Mansion in the last five episodes. Not to mention, he’s really quite a smart and perceptive character, despite his goofiness: he sees through Xiaoge’s worry about Wu Xie, and he knows when to step in and liven the atmosphere (see: Wu Xie being all awkward about his gift to Xiaoge in episode 31, and Pangzi being there practically just for emotional support). Also in episode 31: Pangzi telling Xiaoge that he’s getting more and more humane (the implications about Wu Xie here are pretty obvious). All in all, Pangzi is a funny person; he is often comic relief, but he’s also a steadfastly loyal friend and someone who loves deeply and without regret. Initially we saw more of his humor, but we definitely got the depths to his character by the end of Ultimate Note.

Finally Xiaoge, who I’m discussing last because he’s my favorite character: for once, I can see the humanity behind the title “Zhang Qiling”, and in a way that isn’t OOC. Xiaoge isn’t treated as a free source of bug-repelling blood; he isn’t treated as some overpowered, untouchable idol; he isn’t treated as a rescue machine for whenever another character needs it. He is a human, not a god. For the rest, I think his actor’s words speak for themselves. (And now I really don’t trust anyone else except him with Xiaoge's character.)

Ultimate Note succeeded in capturing the nuances of its main characters: Wu Xie’s loss of his “tianzhen” and slow maturation to the man he will eventually become by Sha Hai; Pangzi’s outwardly humorous pseudo-caricature but inwardly deeply loyal and loving spirit; Xiaoge’s vulnerabilities, painful humanity, and the “heart” given to him by his mother, hidden beneath a seemingly impenetrable armor. This is an Iron Triangle that feels like the Iron Triangle, without needing say so much in words. This is an Iron Triangle with mutual respect and a friendship I can see and believe in.

In conclusion: Ultimate Note does the story justice; it does the characters justice; it does the relationships justice; and it did all this with a low budget and almost no promotion. You can tell the crew definitely cares about the source material.

My only complaint is that they couldn’t film the finale.

Rambling over! All my love to the Ultimate Note cast and crew <3

[yue-muffin]

Ultimate Note (2020)

Episode 11

XIAOGE HAHA. He has become a mud monster too. Love Wu Xie’s “ARGH WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN” energy. Though he’s accepted that the disappearing act is part of Xiaoge’s nature, it doesn’t make him any less stressed out every time he derps off. Sometimes you gotta let some of that anxious energy out.

@jaecomments waait this xiaoge really does have such big cat energy!! He disappears despite everyone wanting him to stick around, then when he does show up, he’s like “feed me please” hahaha. classic cat.

Xiaoge really has come a long way. It’s an interesting little thing with him and food - he doesn’t eat much, doesn’t seek food out much, and doesn’t ask for it either. But Wu Xie didn’t forget to leave him some food in his pack! But also, see how this man really is not as stoic as he lets on haha. He dares just lift his hand and ask for food after Wu Xie flipped out haha. I loved Wu Xie’s hands grasping air, like “I wanna wring your neck but not really you know how much I worry about you!! D:<”.

Anyways, back to Pangzi and Panzi’s conversation in the medical tent. Nooo, Panzi, stop raising death flags for yourself omg. Now you know something bad is going to happen to him after that speech (…and I’m still not over Ah Ning). But also interesting point about his character - he throws himself in dangerous situations and is too willing to throw his life away indeed. There’s a lot to unpack there.

This Xiaoge has very nice fingers (and i’m not talking about the weird fake fingers they use for his pointer and middle fingers). Well, that’s like one of the criteria to play Xiaoge aside from the pretty face and ability to do all the stunts isn’t it lol.

Ah, yes, Xiaoge’s tendency to not tell his companions what he’s planning and just throw them off cliffs or into mud in this case. Remember that time he pushed Pangzi off the cliff in TLT2 without saying a word (in the Qinling Sacred Tree arc)? He’s always act first, explain later (...or never). That very gentle face slap though xD.

Now Wu Xie’s like a kid playing in the mud haha.

WU XIE. You complain about Xiaoge not telling you before throwing you in the mud, then proceed to do the same to Pangzi. They are all such CHILDREN lol.

“Xiaoge, why didn’t you tell me earlier” is just their whole life at this point.

XIAOGE SMILED. Still won’t high five, but Wu Xie is happy enough with that in the end haha.

The blind man and the pretty boy lol.

Does this mud really work. Of course, because Xiaoge said it does.

Wu Xie will listen to anything Xiaoge says haha. He trusts him implicitly and always has after all.

Who is Wu Sanxing? Indeed, this man is like the series’ biggest mystery lol.

Wait, Ba Ye was still around back when Wu Xie was little? I don’t think it’s ever revealed what happened to him, or what became of him.

Yeah, Xiao Hua definitely keeps out of trouble and doesn’t need to be rescued as much as Wu Xie haha. You can see why everyone wants to protect Wu Xie, it’s just that he’s as stubborn as his uncle and won’t stop as long as there’s a mystery in front of him to chase.

Look at these two, chilling in the dark with sunglasses on haha.

Hei Yan Jing is great as always lol. Also, Liu Yuning is doing a great job as him. I totally did not expect to see him here, and had no clue what he would be like acting but he’s great.

Uh-oh, Wu Xie lost his vision? Why does this stuff always happen to him lol??

What is going on lol. Why can’t anyone see? Oh, poisonous gas! Of course!

Xiaoge actually got bitten by a snake? Wow. Ha, love Wu Xie’s “wait, Xiaoge’s hurt??” He’ll always latch onto that even if he’s half out of his mind and panic-stricken.

Ah, that’s what the sunglasses were for. Playing dead I see.

I’M ALWAYS LUCKY?? How about the exact opposite?? But it’s ok, we know you’re concerned about Xiaoge. Also, I guess Xiaoge’s magic blood doesn’t work against this venom?

HEY. It’s the first shirtless Xiaoge scene of the drama! It happens every time, except in TLT2 which was a SHAME. Cheng Yi even mentioned it in an interview lol.

Xiaoge, stop staring so intently at Wu Xie lol. He’s so obvious about it.

Oh! Pangzi guessed right with the imposter thing in all his rambling. Xiaoge obviously knows but hasn’t told anyone…

HAHA they’re just using this as an excuse to tease Xiaoge and pinch his cheeks. The fact he’s fine with that (and showering with them) shows you just how far they’ve all come as friends.

[bowsie22]

Pingxie Week 2021 Day 4

Summary: Lu Ci never understood the box in the otherwise empty room. Until he did.

Written for day 4 of Pingxie week – Prompt: We now have a teenage son AU

Wushanju was crowded. Lu Ci was certain that Wu Xie could sell half the stuff in it and still barely have room to move. But there was one room that made no sense to the young boy at all. It was an empty room, except for one item.

A box.

Not fancy, tricky, or ornate. Just a plain cardboard box. That seemingly deserved a while room to itself. Li Cu never understood and whenever he asked Wu Xie, the older man would just mile sadly and say that he’d understand one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time it happened, Li Cu was twelve. Sure, he’d been warned. But it was one thing to hear about it. It was another to live through one of your fathers forgetting everything and everyone he ever knew. He could still remember it perfectly.

“Good morn-“

Li Cu froze at the door. Normally at this time Xiaoge would be cooking breakfast while Wu Xie made the tea and set the table. But this morning, Xiaoge sat at the kitchen table, staring at his tea like it held the answers to all world mysteries. Wu Xie stood at the sink, glaring at the floor. He had clearly been crying, if the red eyes were any indication.

“What, what’s going on? Is everything ok?”

“This is him?”

“Yes, this is our son.”

Oh. Even knowing that this would happen one day, it still hurt.

“A-Cu, wait here for a minute. I need to show your father something. Have some tea while you wait.”

Numbly Li Cu moved to the table, pouring himself a small cup of tea. It was odd to see his parents with that much distance between them. Normally, Xiaoge would have an arm around Wu Xie’s waist or vice versa. They were kind of disgusting.

Wu Xie walked back into the kitchen, taking the seat beside his son. He wrapped his arm around Li Cu’s shoulders, pulling the young boy into a half hug, trying to offer what little comfort he could.

“Where did you take him?”

“To the room with the box. It has journals. I’ve written some, Xiaoge has written some, Pangzi wrote a few, even Heiye had some transcribed. They’re about our lives together, the tombs, our relationships, adopting you. When you get a bit older, we’ll ask you to write some if you want.”

Li Cu wiped away his tears, turning into his father’s hug, wrapping his own arms around the older man.

“He will remember, won’t he?”

Wu Xie sighed, hugging his son tight.

“Of course he will sweetheart.”

It happened like clockwork. Every ten or fifteen years, his father would completely forget his family and friends. Li Cu started adding to the journals in the box, adding photos, stories about holidays and trips, family time they spent together. Eventually, the room started filling up, more boxes taking up the empty space. It had been difficult to explain it to his wife, that the young man next to him was adoptive father. When they started having children, she added the ultrasounds and pictures to Li Cu’s journals. Their children added their school reports and drawings. Li Cu hadn’t expected it to become a family tradition, adding anything important that happened to them to journals that would ne day ring back his amnesia father’s memories, yet here they were.

The hardest entry to write had been after Wu Xie died. Wu Xie had written a final message to his husband that no one else was allowed to read. Li Cu decided not to write about his father’s final days spent in a hospital bed, but instead he wrote about the stories his parents shared with him, the times they spent as a family in those last days.

Over time, his parent’s generation all passed. Pangzi quickly followed Wu Xie, then Xie Yuchen, then the others until finally only Xiaoge and Heiye were left. The two became closer, travelling the world Li cu saw his father two or three times and that was it. At one stage, his oldest son brought up the idea of the two men being in a relationship but Li Cu knew better. Xiaoge and Heiye were hopelessly in love with their husbands, dead or alive. It was too hard for them to be surrounded by memories of their husbands.

As the years passed, Li Cu began introducing his father as his nephew, a family friend, his grandson. It was odd, being in his seventies and calling a man who looked in his twenties his father. But that’s what he was. Xiaoge was who he went to when he was struggling, when he needed support. And Xiaoge was always there for him, travelling across the world to be at son’s side at a moment’s notice.

Li Cu would admit to being worried about his father. What would happen to Xiaoge when Li Cu passed on? Would he still be drawn to Wushanju when he lost his memories? Would he still trust his family? Li Cu knew there was nothing else he could do. He kept up to date with the journals, made sure to add information about weddings and births. Everyone who married into and was born into the family were told about the journals and introduced to Xiaoge. Sixty years after Li Cu was first told about the journals, they now took up multiple rooms in Wushanju and took Xiaoge months to get through.

Li Cu had done what he could for his father. He had followed in Wu Xie’s footsteps in making sure that Xiaoge would always have a home, a safe place to return to. He made sure that the journals were kept up to date ad passed that duty onto his eldest son as he grew too old. He had loved his father, supported him in everything he had done. Li Cu had tried to be a good son.

“You are a wonderful son. Wu Xie would be so proud of you. I’m proud of you,”

Li Cu never expected to be lying on his death bed with his father holding his hand, definitely not with has father looking the same age as Li Cu’s great grandchildren, yet here he was.

“Li Cu, you’ve done so much for me. You’ve worked so hard. It’s time for you to rest.”

“I’ll tell them you said hello.”

“Do that. I love you son.”

“I love you too dad.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wushanju was one of, if not the oldest shops on the street. Multiple people have tried to buy it, but were always politely tuned down. According to local legend, there was a curse on Wushanju and only the Wu family and its descendants could contain it. That’s who the odd young man was. He showed up every year or so. Sometimes he stayed for a week or two, other times he stayed for almost the whole year. No one knew who he was. Over the years he became known as the Hooded Man to them. He was a mystery that people were desperate to solve.

Inside the Wushanju, the Hooded Man was another story. Here, he was family. Pictures of him lined the walls, he joined in on family celebrations, he even had a bedroom. One that remained unchanged over the years, still the same as when he and Wu Xie shared it. He didn’t speak much, spending his time watching the family interact, looking at photos of his husband and son. Sometimes, he’d share stories of his time with Wu Xie and Pangzi, sometimes his times with Wu Xie and Li Cu.

He was the reason that Wushanju was never sold. It was home for Xiaoge. More importantly, it held his memories. All children born into the family were shown the Rooms. Here, boxes of journals were kept, detailing the immortal’s life. Each member of the family added their own pages, photos, memories. As the years went on, more and more journals were added. Xiaoge tended to skim through most of them, putting faces to names. Everyone knew that the most important boxes were the original ones. The ones written by Wu Xie, Pangzi, Heiye and Li Cu. It was considered a great honour in the family to be chosen to transcribe the writings into new journals. Every generation knew that these journals were the most important artefact in Wushanju and must never be lost or damaged.

When Xiaoge first met Wu Xie, he had no way knowing how important the other man would become to him. Wu Xie gave him a home, a family, he gave Xiaoge’s life meaning. And sitting in Wushanju, surrounded by their family and memories of Wu Xie, knowing that when he lost his memories, something would lead him back here, to family and safety and the journals that Wu Xie kept for him, Xiaoge was happy. Xiaoge was home.

[hils79]

WIP tag game

I was tagged by @dual-domination to post a snippet of a current WIP <3

I have three WIPs on the go at the moment. One of them is for an ongoing exchange so I can't share that one so have a snippet from my Pangxie Week fic wherein I made myself sad writing it

Deep down Pangzi has always known that one day a tomb he ventured into would end up becoming his own. It’s not that he has a death wish or anything like that. It’s a simple case of statistical probability. Wu Xie would be proud of him for using those words. It’s just a shame he’s not here for Pangzi to speak them aloud and impress him.  It’s true, though. The odds have always been stacked against him and you can only venture into so many trap-filled tombs and face down creatures that should only be myth before fate decides you’ve gone against her one too many times.  Pangzi has no regrets, though. He knew this line of work was dangerous. High risk, high reward as they say. And the reward has been far higher than Pangzi could ever have imagined.  He’d taken up this line of work to earn his fortune. So that he’d never again have to worry about where his next meal was coming from, or if he’d have a roof over his head that night. And, yes, he’s earned enough money to save the business his parents started before they died and purchase not just a house but multiple properties. He has everything he ever wanted, but he’d trade it all in an instant for Wu Xie. Meeting Wu Xie is the most precious treasure he’s ever found in a tomb, and he doesn’t care how cheesy that sounds.  Just thinking about Wu Xie makes him happier than he ever imagined he could be, and since he’s going to die here, why shouldn’t he be nauseatingly corny about the man he loves? It’s not like he wants to die, but he has to be realistic about his circumstances. He’s fallen several levels down from where Wu Xie and Xiaoge are. The rocks and debris from the floor that collapsed beneath him have blocked his way out, and his left ankle is at best sprained and at worst broken. Even if there was a way out he can’t walk. Still, as situations go, it could be a lot worse. He’s alone, which means he doesn’t have to die with anyone else’s deaths on his conscience. Wu Xie is safe, and Pangzi is sure Xiaoge will ensure that he stays that way. Really, that’s all Pangzi can ask for.  He has no regrets about pushing Wu Xie out of the way when the floor started to collapse. He’d do it again in a heartbeat. He’d do anything, give any part of himself, if it meant keeping Wu Xie safe.  “I’ll watch over you from Heaven,” Pangzi murmurs to the darkness that will become his final resting place. The air is getting thinner now, and the ankle that had been throbbing with pain earlier now barely hurts at all. It’s probably not a good sign, but at least he’s not going to die in pain. Eventually the air will get so thin that he’ll pass out and then he just won’t wake up again. There are worse ways to go.

Tagging anyone who wants to play along

[hils79]

Title: My Boyfriend's Boyfriends

Fandoms:  盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles - Xu Lei, 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)

Relationships: Wang Pangzi/Ye Piaopiao, Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling, Ye Piaopiao/Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Summary:  

“I think it might be easier for him, and for all of us really, if we tried to spend more time together. If we show him that we can get along and be friends then maybe he won’t worry so much.”

If he’s surprised by her suggestion or her boldness in speaking so openly about their relationship then he doesn’t show it. Instead he smiles.

~

All Piaopiao wants is to make Pangzi happy, and if that means getting to know his two other boyfriends then that's what she'll do.

She’s used to the antiques world of course, after being taught repair and restoration as a teen and then more recently with the work she did for Xue Wu and Pang-ge. She tries not to think about her time working for Xue Wu too much. That had been a low point in her life, fuelled by desperation to get the money she needed to pay for Xiao Mei’s treatment.

In the end, though, Pang-ge had been the one to come through for her as he always does and she’d quickly left that part of her life behind her. Xiao Mei is better now and, for the first time in a long while, they can start to think about the future again.

She likes the smell of the shop as they pass through it to get to the main part of the house. It smells dusty and old but there’s something comforting and familiar about it.

“Tianzhen!” Pang-ge calls as they head through the door to the house. “Stop trying to be the cool uncle and come and greet your other guest.”

She hears loud whispers, and the unmistakable sound of Xiao Mei laughing. It’s a sound she wasn’t sure she was ever going to hear again and she has to blink away her tears at the sound of it.

Wu Xie emerges from a back room a moment later, looking much the same as he did the last time they met.

Well, not exactly the same. He looks healthier now. His face is fuller and less gaunt, there’s colour to his cheeks that hadn’t been there before and there are no shadows under his eyes.

“Sister in law,” he greets with a bright smile which causes Pang-ge to make a choking sound behind her. “Welcome.”

“Tianzhen,” Pang-ge hisses. “I told you not to call her that.”

She can’t help but smile. The name isn’t exactly inaccurate even if Pang-ge is still in denial about the fact.

“Xiaoge is around here somewhere,” Wu Xie explains, ignoring Pang-ge and keeping his attention focused on her. “I’m sure he’ll show up when dinner is ready.”

“I should check the food,” Pang-ge says and he sounds anxious. “I’ve only been gone for thirty minutes but if you’re here and Xiaoge is somewhere that means neither of you has been keeping an eye on it.”

He dashes off in the direction of what is presumably the kitchen, leaving her alone with Wu Xie. If he feels awkward about being alone with her he doesn’t show it. There’s curiosity in his eyes and maybe he’s as invested in this meeting as she is.

Read it on AO3

[hils79]

Title: Juxtaposition - Chapter 10

Fandoms:  盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles - Xu Lei, 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)

Relationships: Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling (yes, we are finally there!)

Summary:  Wu Xie doesn’t think life can get much better than this. He gets to use his architecture degree to design buildings for a living and he gets to work with the love of his life who helps make his designs a reality. He’s certainly not going to let something small like an attempted mugging disrupt his world. The mysterious man who saved him, on the other hand…

“Tianzhen?” Pangzi asks with a questioning frown. “You okay?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Wu Xie replies. “If you’re having second thoughts then—”

“No! Nothing like that.” There’s no denying the sadness in his eyes though. Something is wrong, and Wu Xie won’t rest until he gets to the bottom of what it is.

He steps closer to Pangzi, and rubs a hand up his arm. “Talk to me.”

Pangzi sighs. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

It clearly isn’t nothing. “If it’s stupid then there’s no harm in telling me. Come on.”

“I don’t know,” Pangzi sighs again. “I just don’t understand why Xiaoge would want to be with someone like me. You, I can understand. You’re handsome and charming and clever. What the hell have I got to offer? I look old enough to be his father. Hell, when you’re having a good day I look old enough to be your father.”

Wu Xie has never heard Pangzi say anything like this before. Not in the whole twenty years they’ve been together. Has he been worrying about this the whole time? Or just now because of the way Xiaoge looks?

Pangzi has always exuded confidence. Even back when they first got together, after the initial shock of Wu Xie kissing him out of the blue, he’d seemed completely happy with their relationship.

And when Xiaoge came into their lives, Pangzi was the one to bring up the possibility of him joining them, he was the one to assure Liu Sang that he’s entirely secure in his relationship with Wu Xie. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?

He steps closer and cups Pangzi’s cheek with his hand. “Pangzi, you’re the most important person in my life and if being with Xiaoge is upsetting you then—”

Pangzi shakes his head and places his hand over the top of Wu Xie’s. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I care about Xiaoge as much as you do.”

If this isn’t about Pangzi’s feelings for Xiaoge, or Wu Xie’s feelings for Xiaoge then there’s only one logical conclusion left.

“You’re worried Xiaoge likes me more than you?”

“I don’t blame him,” Pangzi flashes him a wry smile. “Look at you.”

“And look at you,” Wu Xie fires back. “You’re handsome, kind, you take care of me and Xiaoge every day. How many people could set up their own business and make it the success you have? You’re the most skilled cook I have ever met, and if I don’t touch you at least several times a day I feel like I’m going to go insane. You think Xiaoge doesn’t see all of that as well? Who is it that he cuddles up with on the sofa when we’re watching movies? Who has made himself a special spot in the kitchen so he can be with you while you cook? Xiaoge clearly adores you.”

Read the rest on AO3

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb part 6.1

🎶 Back on the bullshit I never got off🎶

Is this another unnecessary story arc?? With three sections??

Yes.

Wushanju Crew Chat

Wang Meng: You know, I’m someone who appreciates consistency in my day. My life is pleasant, very few issues indeed if you ignore the big ones. And yet. Yet here we are. With unresolved messes at the end of a day.

Wang Pangzi: SOMETHIN YOU NEED TO SAY MARY POPPINS

Wang Meng: We need to talk about Huo Daofu and the glittery bead curtain.

Wang Pangzi: MY FAVE TEEN WIZARD SERIES

Wu Xie: did you turn on that suggested word thingy lol

What glittery bead curtain

Wang Meng: I closed the shop at 6:00pm this evening on the dot. I locked all of the doors in and out of the shop very carefully, especially in light of recent events. The hall leading to the back office was empty. I filed the day’s paperwork, updated and sent emails, and then spent an extra hour organizing receipts and dusting. When I came back out, there were glittery iridescent bead curtains over the front entrance to the shop.

What could this mean?

Wu Xie: uh that you need to spend less time at work?

Wang Pangzi: LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ONE FOR THE DETECTIVES. THE MYSTERY OF THE BEDAZZLED THRESHOLD COMMENCES

Wu Xie: I think we can be relatively secure in thinking a glittery bead curtain isn’t a hostile threat

Wang Pangzi: SAYS YOU

I REMEMBER YE OLDE EXPLORATION TIMES HOW FAST THINGS GOT FURIOUS

BEANBAG CHAIRS SET AFLAME AND LEFT ON DOORSTEPS AS A WARNING

GLITTERBOMBS FOR DAYS

PANIC AT THE DISCO

Wang Meng: Ugh, forget it. I should have just taken them down, regardless of who they belong to.

Zhang Qiling: They are not mine.

Wang Pangzi: A BOLD STATEMENT COMING FROM OUR PRIME SUSPECT

SOMEONE QUICK GO DRAW CHALK AROUND THE DOORWAY TO MARK THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Wang Meng: Do we know anyone who *would* sneak in and put those up? For whatever reason, legal or not? Even as a joke?

Wang Pangzi: ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING WHETHER WE KNOW ANYONE WHO IS CHAOTIC, AN OUTLAW, A PRANKSTER AND/OR SNEAKS INTO PLACES

BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN OUR SUSPECT LIST IS LITERALLY EVERYONE WE KNOW EXCEPT FOR YOU.

Wu Xie: okay let’s think about this; for starters, I didn’t break into my own shop

Wang Meng: You would be in danger of doing some work in the process, that’s true.

Wang Pangzi: LOL

Wu Xie: ANYWAY let’s keep going. For example, Xiao Ge would only break in somewhere for a good reason. Xiao Ge, did you do this?

Zhang Qiling: No.

Wu Xie: okay who’s next

Wang Pangzi: YOU REALLY MISSED YOUR CALLING IN INTERROGATION TIANZHEN

REALLY PUT THE SCREWS TO HIM

IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE;)

Zhang Qiling: How can we be certain *you* didn’t do it?

Wang Meng: Admittedly that was my guess, too.

Wang Pangzi: WOW I SEE HOW IT IS

BLAME PANGZI AS USUAL

ANYWAY HOW DOES HUO DAOFU FIT INTO THIS

Wu Xie: Oh yeah him! Oops I got distracted

Wang Pangzi: UR ENTIRE HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Wu Xie: Ugh fuck off

Wang Meng what abt Huo Daofu??

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wu Xie: oh sorry xiaoge I didn’t realize you wouldn’t have spent much time around him last year

He and I go way back

Zhang Qiling: Way back where?

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: I CANNOT BELIEVE HE IS BUYING YOUR INNOCENT ACT

IF YOU EVER TURN TO EVIL WE ARE FUCKED

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO HUO DAOFU IS

YOU WERE EXTREMELY POLITE AND BORDERLINE FRIENDLY TOWARDS HIM

Zhang Qiling: I wanted him to feel welcome. I wanted to be sure he understands he has a place here. A specific place.

Wang Pangzi: FOR A SILENT GUY YOU ARE A MASTER AT SUBTLE POWER PLAYS IM ALL TINGLY

LMAO THE IDEA OF WU XIE LEAVING YOU FOR HUO DAOFU IS HILARIOUS AND ALSO NOPE

Zhang Qiling: Rationally, I understand that.

Main Chat

Wang Meng: Huo Daofu is coming for the weekend—didn’t Wu Xie tell you? Wu Xie asked me to check in a week ahead so we could start getting ready for his arrival

Wu Xie: oh yeah I did do that

Wang Meng: Fortunately I know you and so I already went ahead and took care of everything.

Re: the trip

He made a deal with Wu Xie’s doctor that he would do periodic checkups on him here at Wushanju

Bc Wu Xie hates being in the hospital

And frankly the hospital hates him too

Wang Pangzi: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT LOL

I FORGOT HUO DAOFU WAS DOING THAT

A VERY CHIVALROUS GESTURE

WOULDNT YOU SAY

XIOAGE

Zhang Qiling: Is it safe for him to be here with a criminal loose on the premises?

Wu Xie: Right, back to the curtain! Let’s focus on the curtain, hmm?

Wang Pangzi: I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND.

ALSO WE CAN RULE OUT XIAO BAI FOR THE CURTAIN SHE JUST SENT A SELFIE FROM NORWAY COVERED IN GREEN SLIME WITH ZERO CONTEXT, UR PROTEGE INDEED

Wu Xie: okay but who else would do something so oddly charming yet illegal and—wait.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: hey, Glasses hasn’t been in touch lately right?

Li Cu: uh nope

Unless u count the outdated memes

Why, is money or Xie Yuchen missing

Or is this curtain related, I saw Wang Meng’s tweet

Wu Xie: haha no nothing to worry about really

(I mean maybe? but who knows)

Wang Meng is probably just getting a little paranoid in his old age

Li Cu: better than getting reckless and stupid as hell in ur old age

Wu Xie: …hey:(

Unknown Number: Li Cu, we discussed this.

Wu Xie: ????????

Li Cu: *sigh* fine, reckless and stupid as heck

Unknown Number: …close enough.

Wu Xie: EXCUSE who is that

Madame, Sir, Non-Binary Tree Spirit, etc—whomst the fuck

Are you

Li Cu is underage FYI

So Im staying on this chat

Li Cu: okay first of all, it’s not like that

Second of all I’m literally not underage I s2g

u threw the embarrassing surprise bday party, okay so u should remember

And C, that’s my counselor and I invited her. She wanted to meet u and I knew u wouldn’t agree to a visit so I added her to our chat

we have been discussing u

Wu Xie: Oh wow!!!!!!!

What a surprise:)

hi so nice to meet you:)

Main Chat:

Wu Xie: RED FUCKING ALERT

FUCK THE CURTAIN FUCK THE VISIT

IVE BEEN TRICKED INTO FAMILY THERAPY BY A SMUG TEENAGER WHO TEXTS UNKNOWN NUMBERS

Wang Meng: I assume that means something to someone here?

Not my problem? Good.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHA GOD I LOVE LI CU

HES LIKE ADORABLE KARMA FOR ALL THE SHIT YOUVE PUT ME THROUGH

IM RAISING HIS ALLOWANCE

Wu Xie: wait i give him an allowance

has he been collecting on two allowances??

Zhang Qiling: Three. I knew about both of yours.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: so uh may I ask your name?

Unknown Number: you can call me Ms. Lee.

Now, if you’re comfortable talking in this format, why don’t you tell me how things have been going?

Wu Xie: oh everything is normal and fine and safe as usual, why do you ask:)

Li Cu: I heard about ur necklace thing. nice of you to NOT mention it.

another dangerous adventure. again. prick.

Ur lucky your cool boyfriend cares about you so much or you’d have already died like ten years ago

Wu Xie: lol try twenty years ago

Li Cu: That isn’t funny.

Unknown Number: …What?

Wu Xie: shit ur right, okay that was a bit glib, my apologies.

…I use humor as a coping mechanism?

Unknown Number: and Li Cu, how do you feel about that?

Li Cu: he doesn’t even know what that phrase means

He doesn’t cope, like ever

In fact

It’s kind of why we met

Which is a funny story in retrospect tbh

Wu Xie: haha what are you talking about sweetie hahaha need I remind you of certain anecdotes that could idk send me to jail maybe lmao

Unknown Number: …You know, perhaps an in-person meeting might be more effective?

Wu Xie: haha such a nice idea but why

Main Chat

Wu Xie: If I go to jail, I’ll have to create alliances for protection, right, that’s how it works on tv

Who do we know who spends time in jail

Other than Hei Yangjing, he’s only ever there for like 12 hours and i suspect he just gets himself arrested bc he enjoys the breaking out process

Also how’s the curtain case coming along

Zhang Qiling: Has someone threatened you?

Wu Xie: well not yet but soon I’m sure

Wang Pangzi: WHERE WAS THIS PARANOIA WHEN WE GOT TAKEN TO THE TEA HOUSE HUH

Snake Eyes Minus Your Fucking Therapist Chat

Li Cu: okay how tf did u pull off spy and undercover shit

u are sus as hell

Wu Xie: damn son is it pick on Wu Xie night

I missed the flyers or I would’ve invited my uncles

Also re: the curtain it’s been mostly solved

Li Cu: I’m not your son, idiot.

Wu Xie: …oh. Sorry, sorry, you’re right, bad choice of words, haha

Forget i said anything

Delete this chat even

Li Cu: shit I meant

Legally, biologically, I meant—

shit

…I turn into an asshole as a coping mechanism?

Wu Xie: oh that’s all okay! I have to go do something else now let me know if you need anything okay kid thanks!

Li Cu: goddamn it calm down who’s the kid here

lemme organize my thoughts so I can articulate my emotions fuckin healthily or w/e

Ugh maybe for like one afternoon we could go to Ms. Lee together? She knows how to word stuff

Wu Xie: uh…okay.

Li Cu: Anyway you don’t need to worry abt jail

As if you would survive prison for one day you’d piss off half the place in like an hour or less

I gave Ms. Lee the heavily edited version of the desert highway to hell roadtrip and i discussed it more in terms of like “nightmarish but still wouldn’t take any of it back”

Well maybe the sand

that shit was everywhere

Wu Xie: oh kiddo. It’s fine, really…You don’t have to explain yourself to me.

Li Cu: no, no it’s just

I do technically have a dad

who is an asshole. Being a son doesn’t really mean shit to me bc it sucked.

So you need to stop backing down just cuz ur guilty abt stuff. I’m really really glad ur not my dad in a good way. Do u get what I mean there

Where’s the mafia widower I followed into hell, huh

Wu Xie: Ur a good kid, despite my influence. I’m really glad you have someone to talk to after everything I…after everything. Wow this talking through feelings thing is kind of weird but nice ur right

Jfc no wonder it took me and xiaoge so long to—you know what, we won’t get into that

Li Cu: ew tmi

Also re: this week’s recent necklace fuckery

I moved my stuff here, I live here now

So you can’t die anymore

Or else…Idk I don’t have a threat planned

anyways abt the curtain

Wu Xie: oh my god, kid…kid you have no idea

I am in tears.

Li Cu: see this is why I can’t be nice to you I can sense the hallmark channel from here

Ugh don’t be sad in ur room that’s dumb

Go hug Pangzi or something

Maybe delete this chat

Or the curtain thing

Focus on the curtain thing

Just stfu and go away

Wu Xie: <3 screenshotting this <3

Li Cu: I take back everything I said. This is why Xiao Ge sleeps on the roof. I hope the ghosts of the Wangs put up that curtain to strangle you somehow. Go die in a stupid way, it’ll suit you.

Wu Xie: lol don’t worry I’m not gonna embarrass you with it or anything

Main Chat

Wu Xie: omg guys look how cute my kid is *sending screenshot*

Wang Pangzi: I MEAN

HE IS WISHING YOU DEATH

BUT SURE

CUTE I GUESS

Wu Xie: no but read the whole thing:):):)

Zhang Qiling: It is indeed very hard to remain angry with you. And you are welcome to join me on the roof.

Wang Pangzi: UH NOPE

NOT WHENI HAD TO BLEACH THE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN

DONT TRAUMATIZE THE EARLY BIRDS THEYRE ALREADY FREAKED OUT BY U YA HOODIE CRYPTID

Wu Xie: ok true but babe ur like a sexy cryptid

Wang Meng: so, are we just accepting that there is a glittery curtain of unknown origin, and Huo Daofu is going to have to see it while he’s waiting for you at Wushanju bc you’re going to family therapy?

Wu Xie: right

Wang Pangzi: SHOULDA TAKEN EARLY RETIREMENT HUH

Wang Meng: I’m going to go dust something.

Unnamed Chat:

Unknown number: so the curtain…

Unknown number 2: yep, not my best work but I kinda panicked last minute u know

Unknown number: what is in the water at Wushanju that makes everyone dumb and attractive

Unknown number 2: relax they’ll figure it out

[morkofday]

#10YearPromise - pingxie blabberings

bc i wasn’t able to answer these questions throughout the week (as i’ve been traveling around while being extremely busy), i decided to just collect all of my answers under one post! i never tire talking about pingxie so this was extremely enjoyable ♥ am also practicing some very shameless self promo in this so be prepared!

thank you for @laireshi​ for organizing this event (i take it’s you alone? am not sure, sorry for my laziness) and being amazing in general ^^ i won’t be able to join as i am still very busy and summer is always pure chaos for me, so i can only hope that other ppl have fun! if you are not aware of 10 Year Promise Pingxie Exchange, you can find the original announcement post here. join in if you have the time and inspiration ^^ 

and then to my answers which i will be placing under the cut bc i don’t want to flood anyone’s dash with me going bonkers over these two idiots. enjoy tho if you decide to read this :’D ♥

I. What made you ship pingxie?

Back when I got into Reboot bc of ZYL (as has happened to many ppl probably) and then saw stuff about pingxie once I started going through that drama’s tag on tumblr, my first thought about them was that they had to be a crack ship. The way Reboot portrays them as well as their actors and their huuuge age difference affected this a lot, and I was actually cackling at them bc all their moments in Reboot made me just go “oh, socialist brotherhood at its best” in my head. But then I finished watching Reboot’s 1st season (as the 2nd one wasn’t out yet) and started reading some fics. I learned more about them and the canon storyline. I learned how damn devoted they are to each other, and after that, many moments in Reboot gained new meaning in my eyes. So, I think what made me ship pingxie was a mix of Reboot (especially the hallucination moment where Xiaoge dies and Wu Xie loses it bc that’s my jam as I later on became to notice) and then the amazing fics I dug out during that time. After that the love grew stronger as I watched the other dramas, and these days I’m a lost cause. I feel like I spend most of my awake time thinking about these two and their love. They are amazing. I cry rivers for them.

II. Which pingxie version is your favorite?

After finding pingxie, I fell in love with them properly during TLT2. There is just something about that stage of their relationship for me, the stage where both of them are still very tentative about everything but they have deep down accepted that they’re tied now. Wu Xie is figuring out so many things, coming to terms with being betrayed by his uncle and slowly realizing that something bigger is going on behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Xiaoge is learning how to trust Wu Xie and how to accept that he cannot leave this naïve boy behind. It feels very fragile, and I have so many emotions about TLT2 bc of this. Xiaoge is so soft and feels very multilayered. Wu Xie is still his naïve self but is slowly gaining some sharper edges as he comes to face the cruel world. I like how Cheng Yi and Hou Minghao have portrayed this dynamic. Also, TLT2 is just very extra with all the pingxie scenes, who would be able to resist loving them? So, I have to admit that my favorite pingxie is these two, tho Ultimate Note comes very, very close.

III. What’s your favorite pingxie headcanon?

Headcanons are a bit hard for me as I don’t know enough of the canon. I have not read the novels so most of the story I’ve just patched together from all the bits I’ve read from somewhere (here, on twt, in fics) and through the scenes the dramas have shown me. I feel like the whole world is lowkey made of headcanons for me :’D But hmm, my favorite pingxie headcanon… I’d say there are two and then one bonus bc it’s more a Wu Xie related headcanon than just pingxie. The first one is that the pingxie confession happens after the Bronze Gate. It feels like the only moment when they’re both ready for such a thing. I’d say Xiaoge comes to realize his own feelings a lot earlier and he might tell something to unconscious Wu Xie before leaving for ten years, but he will not actually leave Wu Xie with such a burden. He doesn’t want to ask anything when it sounds like he doesn’t even believe that Wu Xie will be willing to wait for him, and I’d say that for him, his feelings are going to be fine even if Wu Xie never learns about them. He might even wish that Wu Xie never learns about them bc he’s not able to promise much as an immortal and amnesiac being (he outlives Wu Xie, most likely forgets him). For Wu Xie however, I’d say he needs time. He really is way too naïve and I’d say that he needs those ten years to realize that he’s in love with his best friend. I dunno who confesses first after Xiaoge returns but I think that only after that decade their relationship is “mature” enough to hold the weight of a confession (even if I also love to play around with the thought of them getting together during the events of Ultimate Note bc that drama offered many good chances for that). Another headcanon for me is that Xiaoge will find a way to die when Wu Xie does. After learning about them more, I feel like Reboot implies this too. Xiaoge is very accepting of Wu Xie’s death but in the last moments, when he really thinks that this is going to be it for Wu Xie, he hesitates. We see a spark of desperation there, and I’ve come to think that his initial plan, the plan he came up with once he got that call from Wu Xie and knew he would join Wu Xie on his last adventure, was to see this through for Wu Xie’s sake and then leave and die alone. I don’t know how much there would be left for Zhang Qiling after Wu Xie is gone. I feel like this is also what Wu Xie fears. But would he really resent Xiaoge for joining him in death after living such a long and hard life? I’d say no and I’d say that even Pangzi accepts this as one of the most likely outcomes. The bonus one then feels very personal to me. I don’t usually talk about this bc I feel so unsure of even mentioning this but I’ve seen others with similar thoughts so am sharing! I’ve never before gotten any vibes about a character’s sexuality in a drama I’ve watched but Reboot Wu Xie looked at me once in the eye and all I could hear was my brain yelling “asexual”. So, that is just my personal headcanon for Wu Xie. He’s ace and proud of it. He can flirt etc. but sex makes him go naah. He doesn’t need it or want it. He can appreciate beauty and hot ppl without wanting to sleep with them and I think his relationship with Xiaoge fits very well into this. I don’t have any personal experiences with being ace but I feel like Wu Xie has read the name once, shrugged and gone, “guess that’s me” and continued on with his life. He’s badass like that and I love him for it. (take a very relevant meme lol from this post)

IV. What’s the ideal pingxie date?

Ah, christ. I dunno if I’ve ever thought about them going on a date? In the middle of tomb raiding, hospital trips and fighting against powers bigger than themselves, I’ve rarely seen any time for them to do something like that lol. But after Ultimate Note, I’ve thought about star gazing a lot. Just them, the infinite night sky and some lonely hilltop. They would probably take a blanket with them, huddle together and talk about things in hushed voices. Wu Xie would go on a ramble about all the constellations and their meanings and mythology behind them and Xiaoge would just nod at him and watch Wu Xie talking. Maybe he would offer some tidbits in the middle of the rambling, making Wu Xie smile brightly. It would be relaxing and comfortable and loving. They would make out a lil bit. Would maybe lie down and play with each other’s hair. All their worries would feel insignificant. Wu Xie would fall asleep for a moment and Xiaoge would wake him up with a kiss to get him moving again so that they don’t need to sleep on the cold ground. They would return home and drink something warm and then go to sleep, cuddled together and happy. relevant edit x

V. What’s your favorite pingxie getting together scenario?

I guess I already talked about this a bit but let me elaborate then! As said, I’d see it happening after the Bronze Gate. I am not sure if it would be right away (they’re both going through so much trauma at that point) or if it would happen after Reboot (maybe we would still need Wu Xie almost dying for them to get their shit together), but I’d say it happens in a rush either way. It’s one of those “I have to tell you something before it’s too late” -type of moments. Or one of those “Bc I love you, you idiot!” -type of moments. I feel like I keep thinking that maybe Wu Xie would have to confess first bc as said, Xiaoge wouldn’t like to burden Wu Xie with his feelings when there’s so little he can give in the sense of normalcy. But then again, I have written a oneshot where Xiaoge is the first one to confess and that always feels better for me. That at some point Xiaoge feels secure enough to tell Wu Xie about his own feelings. That he feels confident and comfortable enough to say it out loud while still expecting nothing in return bc he knows that Wu Xie won’t abandon him either way. But no matter how that happens, I always see it as this dam breaking. The emotions finally become too strong. Something happens that reminds them that life is too short. Something happens that makes them finally talk it out and ah, Pangzi can finally take a break, what a joy

VI. What’s your favorite pingxie moment?

Every adaptation has its own good moments so let me make a list (like I saw someone else do too):

The Lost Tomb:

Xiaoge rescues Wu Xie from the shibie

Wu Xie worrying over unconscious Xiaoge plus taking care of him in the hotel room

The Pingxie MomentTM aka Xiaoge saving Wu Xie from falling and then cradling the boy to his chest while thumb rubbing his shoulder

The Lost Tomb 2:

Xiaoge revealed to be Baldie and Wu Xie yelling at him about it

Lowkey the whole underwater tomb arc bc holy shit that’s gay

Wu Xie losing it when Xiaoge doesn’t come up from the underwater tomb, diving after him and then almost dying himself + Pangzi getting angry at him for being stupid

pingxie ft. magical skype in the bronze tree cave (and Xiaoge being emo about the 1000yo warrior guy right before that)

Xiaoge rescuing Wu Xie from drowning (they shared air, you cannot convince me otherwise) + Wu Xie giving Xiaoge his watch in the hospital (relevant edits x x)

Wu Xie’s face when he sees Zhang Buxun in the coffin bc I love pain :)

Xiaoge not shooting Wu Xie despite not remembering him in the mountain village

Wu Xie grabbing Xiaoge’s jacket after being kidnapped and the Iron Triangle reunites in that old Chen guy’s cabin, asking, “Is that you?” from Xiaoge to make sure that he remembers again while looking like the biggest puppy (relevant edit x)

also some relevant memes x

Ultimate Note:

The hand over mouth reunion in the Golmud Sanatorium

“Xiaoge will ignore anyone else but you”

Xiaoge pretending he isn’t Losing ItTM throughout the whole time Wu Xie is in the Devil’s City with A-Ning

more hand over mouth with the gigantic snake

“The goddess has ascended”

Wu Xie protecting Xiaoge after he returns from the jade meteorite 

“Do you remember me?” “Wu Xie.”

Wu Xie promising to help Xiaoge find his memories no matter what bc Xiaoge’s business is Wu Xie’s business 

“Maybe you can return home with a wife today.” Wu Xie: proceeds to stare at Xiaoge, horrified

“Take me home.”

The sword gifting scene (especially Xiaoge denying the possibility of him killing Wu Xie or them harming each other, relevant edits x x)

other relevant edits for ultimate note x x

Reboot:

Wu Xie telling Xiaoge about his sickness and then Xiaoge coming back and promising to join Wu Xie on his trip (relevant edit x)

the death hallucination bc am a masochist 

Wu Xie’s death dream where Xiaoge calls to him but then accepts his choice to move forward bc am a masochist pt. 2

pingxie reunion in the Thunder City forest where Xiaoge saves Wu Xie & co. from the poisonous gas 

the moment in Thunder City where Wu Xie sits outside at night, eating the peanuts Pangzi gave him and then notices Xiaoge, offering him the peanuts and smiling 

when Xiaoge leaves for the last time and then gets reunited with healed Wu Xie against all odds

the train scene and their softest smiles to each other  

Time Raiders:

Wu Xie being the best bean and just wanting to befriend this mysterious man while seeing right under his skin and making Xiaoge baffled and fall in love in approximately 0.5 seconds

Xiaoge, catch! *proceeds to save only Wu Xie when they fall into that shibie horror chamber*  

Xiaoge’s desperation to save Wu Xie from the crumbling ground 

their death waltz at the end of the movie plus Xiaoge’s sacrifice

+ Sand Sea: 

“Don’t you dare call him Xiaoge!” 

Wu Xie offering his friends and then himself as comfort to Li Cu when he’s scared while smiling very softly at the memory of Xiaoge 

“But isn’t his surname Wu?” Hei Xiazi: You have seen nothing yet, you sweet summer child

Wu Xie talking about Xiaoge’s past in the temple (aka the Tibetan Sea Flower story bc I just adore how pretty they’ve made those scenes) 

VII. What is the best gift Wu Xie and Xiaoge could give each other?

I haven’t really thought about this type of stuff either bc we have already seen a ton of gifts being exchanged! I love the watch Wu Xie gives to Xiaoge in TLT2 as mentioned (it’s so silly but also so sweet) and I love it that Wu Xie gifts Xiaoge with a new sword in Ultimate Note. Also, I feel like I can count the food Wu Xie leaves for Xiaoge in Ultimate Note and that one moment where Xiaoge offers his knife for Wu Xie as a “pen”. They would give anything for each other as long as the other asked (which they never do) so I dunno what type of gift would matter the most. As it’s so hard to say, let me talk about one more headcanon that I’ve been thinking about ever since the infamous Bazaar photoshoot for Ultimate Note/XYL & ZSX. So, we see them having matching rings and necklaces in that photoshoot. I think jewelry would be kind of difficult for Xiaoge to wear when he needs to fight, as jewelry could be a hindrance in that type of situation But my brain won’t shut up about “pingxie married!!!” when I ask this question from it. To be honest, I do not see pingxie getting married in the traditional sense. They don’t need something like that after everything they’ve gone through. But I like to play around with the thought of promise rings. Just them exchanging rings for fun, for their own sakes, to have something concrete that reminds them of their promise to each other and of their feelings. Maybe even Xiaoge could wear that ring under his gloves idk. But am a sucker for that thought so my answer to this is then simply: a ring. relevant edits x x

if you read this far, thank you so much! I hope this gave you something and thank you once more for organizing this and allowing everyone to share their love for pingxie ^^ ♥

[morkofday]

pingxie thoughts (and prayers) pt. 1

i’m trying to make a series of my random thoughts on ultimate note pingxie (i might go to other versions too but who knows when). idk if this fandom really needs my two cents but here yall go either way. at least i get my screams out of my chest. (apologizing if my english breaks bc of my feels, this really isn’t my first language) 

The Jacket Scene 

This is about the scene where Xiaoge, Pangzi and Panzi discover Wu Laosi’s body with Wu Xie’s coat covering it and what happens before, during and after that scene. I had some thoughts on how this one moment connects the things that happened in the previous episodes, and what Pingxie seems like after this very small but significant ordeal. (placing under cut bc this is long. with some pics!)

The thing is, with this whole drama, that we’ve rarely seen the worried side of Xiaoge before this. We have seen him coming in and sweeping Wu Xie off of his feet and rescuing him from whatever situation the boy has put himself into but we rarely see his worry. And throughout Ultimate Note, we finally see a lot of that. (this post by @jockvillagersonly​ already talks about the snake egg scene and all the worry so I guess I don’t have to get into detail here.) But, ever since the beginning of this, ever since Xiaoge once again sweeps Wu Xie right off of his feet (figuratively) in Golmud Sanatorium, he shows a lot of concern towards Wu Xie. Though he gets it out in varying ways but. Let’s not blame him for that, shall we? 

First of all, he doesn’t want to rope Wu Xie into coming with them on this journey; he very blatantly wishes Wu Xie to turn back and leave. It sounds a bit rude and Wu Xie reads very wrongly into it. It’s just that Xiaoge doesn’t want Wu Xie to get hurt on yet another journey. He just wants Wu Xie to be safe and where does that lead him? Into worrying.

So, what gives us this jacket scene in the end is that even if Xiaoge holds very tightly onto his feelings and doesn’t talk about them or, god forbid, show them (especially to Wu Xie if they’re related to him), other ppl are still very much aware (e.g. Hei Xiazi, A-Ning and Pangzi). Example: When A-Ning talks with Wu Xie about him joining this expedition, she states that she doesn’t care about Wu Xie’s life but Xiaoge does (which,,, Wu Xie looks flabbergasted. Poor soul). She sees what Wu Xie, unfortunately and infuriatingly, does not. He understands Xiaoge’s silent and somehow reluctant care. 

All of this then means that when Wu Xie’s team goes missing as they explore the shipwreck (or they just can’t contact ppl with their radios anymore bc of reasons), Xiaoge is absolutely losing his shit. He is already doing this before that (cue the scene with Hei Xiazi a lot earlier, in the pic above) but this is his last straw. He flees the camp to go look for Wu Xie, all his deals be damned. He might look cool and composed while doing this but his eyes are very telling. He is losing his fucking mind and no normal guy stands in his way (Wu Laosi being the one in his way is somehow so ironic in the light of what’s about to happen).

Then Pangzi and Panzi walk in, taking Xiaoge with them. And I find it so very amazing that Pangzi is able to see right through Xiaoge. But this knowledge is comfortable, caring. Pangzi might speak about Xiaoge’s worry in a teasing way but it’s how he goes at these things. And with Pangzi, Xiaoge can show his worry (even if he’s being emo about it and sucks it in like the cool guy he is bc… idk my dudes, maybe for the same reason he doesn’t even look at Wu Xie when he gives him that compass in the desert, boy has problems ok). He’s safe with Pangzi who doesn’t force Xiaoge into admitting his feelings but shows him how ridiculous he’s being bc of course they can worry about Wu Xie. They’re all worried about Wu Xie.

Then, after all the wandering in Devil’s City, they finally get to the shipwreck and there’s a camp but! Surprise! It’s full of corpses. Killed by corpse bugs. And then we see Wu Laosi (A-Ning’s right-hand man? I think?) wearing Wu Xie’s jacket. Xiaoge spots the jacket like a blood hound, drawn to it in an instant. And we as viewers know that it’s not Wu Xie laying there, that he’s long gone and having a not-so-fun adventure through the Devil’s City with A-Ning, but our guys do not. Xiaoge does not. We can see how his face freezes as he notices the body and then goes to look at it. He doesn’t even touch it, he just stares. Pangzi has to pull the jacket off of the body bc Xiaoge is too shocked to move.

And maybe he does know that it’s not Wu Xie (like he lets Pangzi think later bc he’s Cool and Collected) bc he’s just so accustomed to that body but. For a second he really does believe. And if we think about him earlier, when he was saving Wu Xie from the desert, his first words for Wu Xie who regains his consciousness were, “Sorry, I was late.” Bc he wasn’t there early enough to prevent Wu Xie from collapsing and being in pain. He wasn’t there early enough to keep Wu Xie from harm. And at this moment here, Xiaoge comes to remember that perhaps, comes to think about how he might actually be late one day. He thinks about it so intensely and it makes him so frustrated that he just furiously slices that stray corpse bug into half with his sword (even if it has no point when Pangzi and Panzi already have their knives out and ready to go). He’s just so mad about the thought of someone or something harming Wu Xie and him not being there to prevent it that Xiaoge, our Poker Face, has a temper tantrum. What a day this has been for him. Might consider other emotions after a couple more years, it’s becoming exhausting and I feel him on that. 

But then this just leads us to the overwhelming protectiveness we see during their journey in the jungle before they get to the Heavenly Queen Mother’s Palace (and Xiaoge goes to the jade meteorite and forgets everything but let’s stay in this happy-ish place still). We see him attending to every tiny movement of Wu Xie. He’s there to steady Wu Xie when he stumbles, he’s there to keep branches off of his face, helps him to cut down damn vines. There’s that egg removal scene with overwhelming fear. There’s the snake repelling mud and them sleeping in that tent. There’s Xiaoge catching Wu Xie from mid air more than once. He just... pours over, in a sense. Suddenly, he’s come to face the mortality of this boy he travels with and he’s painfully aware that he is the reason why Wu Xie is there in the first place. Wu Xie even states it himself when he’s yelling at Pangzi about lying to him when he said he was going to Beijing. Wu Xie says he’s the only one who’s in Devil’s City and on this journey just for his own accord (and at this moment, Xiaoge knows it also means he’s the reason bc Wu Xie has promised him things). 

It’s a horrible thing to know for Xiaoge. And I think this jacket scene just brings out all of that, reminds Xiaoge of why he didn’t want Wu Xie here in the first place but had to accept his involvement still. Reminds him of what he can still try to prevent as he was given this chance. Wu Xie really becomes his first priority here, and it shows up even starker in the way he puts Wu Xie’s survival over his own mission while working with Chen Wenjin. He outright refuses to do things before Wu Xie is safe. He somehow accepts, silently determined as he is, that there’s no other option for him anymore. He’s stuck with Wu Xie as strongly as Wu Xie has stated that he’s stuck with him. And sometimes I just wonder how many times Xiaoge must’ve seen nightmares of Wu Xie dying, especially after the scare this one simple jacket gave him. How many times he blamed himself for those. How many more times he wanted to apologize for being late (bc maybe one day he would have to tell that to Wu Xie’s corpse).