#when he stops looking at lxc

[dailyayao]

[guqin-and-flute]

I can't get over how much Xichen loves Wangji I just

[leatherbookmark]

squints, is kk losing followers on weibo? lol when i refreshed his page on my phone he had 643.1万 followers, and before that, it was 643.2万. now it’s just 643万. what’s goin on. what did you do king

[anbessette]

You've heard of There Was Only One Bed, now get ready for: There Were Only Two Beds!

3zun stop at an inn for the night after a night hunt. There's one room available, but it only has two beds. (And, to avoid the easy solution, the room is too small and cramped for anyone to sleep on the floor. Jin Guangyao could maybe fit in the gap between the beds but it would be hell on his old injuries and the other two know it.) Who shares with whom? Who sleeps alone? How do they decide?

Some possibilities I considered while trying to fall asleep:

NMJ and LXC share, JGY sleeps alone

——NMJ suggested it because he doesn’t trust JGY. He doesn’t say it in so many words, but JGY knows 😢

——LXC suggested it because he’s worried about JGY’s reputation. No-one would dare make an issue of Zewu-jun and Chifeng-zun sharing a bed, but being caught in bed with either of his sworn brothers could ruin JGY.

——JGY suggested it because his sworn brothers are pure and righteous and he is the son of a prostitute. Obviously they wouldn’t want to dirty themselves being so close to him if there's another option. He'll be the one to make the suggestion so he doesn’t have to hear either of them say it out loud.

NMJ and JGY share, LXC sleeps alone

——NMJ suggested it because he saw the look on JGY’s face and had to make sure JGY knows that NMJ doesn’t think he’s dirty.

——LXC suggested it because of his ongoing quest to matchmake Nieyao into reconciling. He's sure that a little forced intimacy can only improve their relationship!

——JGY suggested it because he wants to show er-ge that he is trying to fix things and it’s da-ge who’s being unreasonable. He assumed NMJ would refuse and earn himself a disapproving look from LXC. He has no idea what to do with himself when NMJ just goes “Yeah, OK” and gets into bed with him.

LXC and JGY share, NMJ sleeps alone

——NMJ suggested it because LXC and JGY are both smaller than he is and will fit more comfortably in one of these cramped little beds. He has no feelings whatsoever about the prospect of sharing a bed with either of them, it's just practical.

——LXC suggested it because he assumes NMJ would refuse to consider sharing with JGY and he doesn’t want a fight.

——JGY suggested it because he’s scared of NMJ. He doesn’t say it in so many words, but NMJ knows 😢

Someone figures that opportunities like this don’t come along every day and volunteers to share with whoever he thinks he has the most sexual/romantic tension with. It might be his only chance to share his beloved’s bed! Unfortunately, it’s not as romantic or as sexy as he hoped, not least because he can’t stop thinking about the other guy just a couple of feet away...

Someone doesn’t want this to be weird and volunteers to share with whoever he thinks he has the least sexual/romantic tension with. Turns out he’s mistaken about that. By the end of the night he has to confront the realisation that he’s in love with both of his sworn brothers.

Someone wants to share because he’s noticed there’s a ton of sexual/romantic tension between the other two. They’re not gonna be consummating that shit tonight if he has anything to say about it! He’s so busy worrying about his sworn brothers getting together and leaving him behind that he doesn’t notice the “😍Of course I’ll sleep with you!” and “😏You two have fun” reactions.

Someone volunteers to sleep alone because he’s noticed there’s a ton of sexual/romantic tension between the other two and he is nobly stepping aside. He won’t stand in the way of true love. The other two are like “Why’s he so eager to sleep alone? Doesn’t he love us?🥺”

Two people offer to share because they’ve done it before and it wasn’t a big deal (Nielan when they were kids, Xiyao when they were on the run, or Nieyao when they were in the army). The other person spends the whole night tormented by sexy, sexy visions of what might have happened between his sworn brothers on the multiple(!) nights they’ve spent in bed together.

The person who’s sleeping alone is jealous and horny and agonising over all the sex he might be missing out on right now.

The person who’s sleeping alone can hear the other two breathing, and he knows they’re fast asleep. He’s cold and lonely and tormented by soft, cosy visions of all the cuddles he’s definitely missing out on right now.

Somehow, they make it through the night.

The next time they have to spend the night at an inn together, the proprietor says “We have two rooms available. One has two beds, and the other has one bed.” 3zun, remembering this night, say “We’ll take the room with one bed.” “No, that’s not … You don’t have to choose between them. You can take both rooms.” “WE. WILL. TAKE. THE ROOM. WITH ONE BED.”

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

July 26th

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1. hi! pease help me find this fic because i really want to re read this.

junior quartet got sent back around sunshot campaign (i think?) because in the future, the four were there in the guanyin temple face off with jgy, together with lxc, lwj, wwx, and jwy. they were really losing and the seniors told the juniors that they're going to find a way to get out of there. turns out, the seniors sacrificed their life to send the juniors to the past through an array but the juniors didn't know about this. jin guangyao also went back in time because he got into the array in time.

here are some details that im not sure if they're are a part of the fic or it's from others (my mind sometimes mix things up). i hope these help:

- jingyi found young jingyi when they were sent back.

- the juniors went to burial mounds and the people there wer skeptical about them

- later part of the fic, zizhen was not accepted in his family (i forgot why) @moonyramie

FOUND? ❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

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2. Hello there again! Im looking for this one sci-fi fic where wei wuxian was a scientist and lan wangji was a military soldier. They met during an Alien invation. In the fic they try to figure out how to kill the aliens or how they even got in earth. Thankyou!

FOUND? Number 2 sounds like Son of a SoliderMan, by FireAwayy, who deleted it and quite a few other Untamed fics because of harassment. // Also had Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning as ambulance drivers, Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue and Song Lan as solders who were sent into the area.

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3. Hi! This is for ficfinder. I read this fic a few years ago. Its MDZSXTGCF crossover. Im not familiar with TGCF so maybe there will be some incorrect use of some term and relationship. WWX dies after he jump from a clif and then he become ghost in the ghost city. He work/become a friend with hua cheng. WWX wore a weimao (its either weimao or a red umbrella). HC and XL then feel some disturbance and with WWX they visit a place where they jail jun wu (?) In some mountain. But when they arrive, the jailer tells them its not jun wu. HC, XL, and WWX then continue their investigation and they meet with LXC and NMJ. I think there WWX identity is revealed to LXC and NMJ. They found out that the disturbance is because of yin iron that are thrown to the magma in nighless city acting up. To stop that WWX sacrifice himself and he died again. When i read that fic its still ongoing but i dont know what this fic status right know. Thats all i can remember. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

FOUND! Hi! Im #3 i just found the fic. Its 🔒Can we skip to the Good Part? by pink-lotus-pods (kkomaism) (T, 107k, HuaLian, WangXian, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, YLLZ WWX, HuaLian are in Love , Married HuaLian, Slow Build, Canon Temporary Character Death, Ghost WWX, Fix-It of Sorts, Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Character Study, Panic Attacks, WWX Has a Mental Breakdown, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, unbearable amounts of sexual tension, Suicidal Thoughts, mild but it’s still there!, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note, Genius WWX)

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4. For fic finder, please! I am looking for a modern fic where Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are raising Jin Ling together and they had a happy little family life, but struggled financially. The two were strippers who eventually catch the eye of Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji who begin to tip them ludicrous amounts of money. I remember the fic laid out their salaries and tips and they were making hundreds of thousands of dollars but they still bemoaned that they were broke and struggling. My confusion over their finances is what I remember most about this fic, lol. Would love to read again, if this rings a bell for anyone! Thank you!

FOUND! Silk & Satin by Brieeze01 (E, 171k, WangXian, LXC/JC, Modern, Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Pole Dancing, Falling In Love, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, Child LSZ, Child JL, supportive brothers, hardworking brothers, Uncles and nephews, Love Story, Emotions, brokeass pole dancers meet billionaire bachelor brothers, Kinks, Lipstick, High Heels, Blindfolds, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Gentle Sex, Lube, Strip Tease, Dancing, Dirty Dancing, First Kiss, First Time, Love Bites, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Romance, Silk, satin, Slow Burn, Happy Ending, Wholesome, Pining, kink appreciation, healthy family relationship, Healthy Relationships, Everybody uses lube, Lapdance)

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5. Hi I was wondering if you know about a certain fic that takes place during the cloud releases study arc. Where Wei Wuxian wakes up one day suddenly and inexplicably pregnant with an egg. I'm pretty sure its incomplete but I read it a while ago and it was interesting. One of the main parts I remember is Jiang Cheng asking/trying to convince Wei Wuxian that he's not pregnant and it's just a "food baby". @wolfcubx2

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6. Hi! First of all thank you for the existence of this blog, I'm pretty sure it's saved my sanity more than once at this point! I'm looking for a post-canon fic where wwx is telling lwj something like "of course I died screaming, I was being torn apart, but I died calling your name bc you were the only good thing I had in my life"

Unfortunately I can't remember whether it was a long fic or a short fic, or even the rest of the plot, I read too many to keep track lololol so I don't have anything else to go on, but that part really stuck out to me and I wondered if it might ring any bells for anyone else! (And if nothing else I might get a different fantastic recommendation out of the deal!!)

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7. looking for this fic, I don’t remember much but it was abo, modern au with wei ying as an omega and lz as an alpha. there was a part in it where wei ying was presenting to lan zhan and lan zhan was thinking something along the lines of omegas don’t actually do that anymore, or something like that.

FOUND? Tastes Like You by airinshaw (E, 30k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Modern AU, Alpha LWJ, Scenting, Claiming Bites, Getting Together, Light Dom/sub)

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8. Hello Hello!!!! So I've scrolled through 20+ pages of my Ao3 history for a fic but can't find it. So I'm hoping yall can help!! Lan Wanji was a vampire who lives alone in the woods away from humans and his family. Wei Wuxian was a traveling merchant who ends up crashing Lan Wanji's place. He breaks the man's privacy by entering a room containing a portrait of Lan Wanji's mom, this inturn leads to Wei Wuxian being kicked out. Lan Wanji feels guilty after a bit and goes out to find him. Wei Wuxian ends up in a bad situation and Lan Wanji attempts to save him. They both end up in like a ravine and Wei Wuxian is near death. The two kiss and Wei Wuxian purposefully cuts his tongue on Lan Wanji's fang. At the taste of Wei Wuxian's blood Lan Wanji goes feral and bites his neck. Wei Wuxian dies right then and there, Lan Wanji is convinced he killed him despite desperately trying to turn him into a vampire. Lan Wanji was successful after a few minutes of mouring and hating himself Wei Wuxian comes to. It ends with a time skip to vampire Wei Wuxian buying something in a market dressed in a sun hat and long sleeves buying something for Lan Wanji @crimson-gay-sought-flower

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9. Hi! Do you know the fic where there's a scene with WWX taking the Wen Remnants away and LWJ is his husband and they kiss goodbye but then WWX tells them no one saw that? I think it might have been a arranged marriage au .. @abijo2024-blog

FOUND? seldom all they seem by Fahye (E, 25k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, or rather Arranged Betrothal, followed by Weapons-Grade Thirst) They're engaged rather than married during the rain scene, but I'd say everything else fits. Hope that helps!

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10. Hi!! I'm looking for a fic where wei ying gets his original body back and absolutely no one recognises him. Wei ying doesn't realise this though and walks around gusu in lan clothing. However people start to think lan wangi's gotten a new consort and get mad at him for doing that to wei ying. @louvoilite

FOUND? Is Your Old Body Considered a Halloween Costume? by The_peregrine_falcon (G, 3k, WangXian, WWX's original body, Junior quartet makes an appearance, LWJ is chief cultivator, Fluff,Canon Compliant, Post-Canon) but I don't recall the villagers thinking he was a new consort

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11. Hello I'm DESPERATELY looking for a Tumblr fic, it's relatively short, in which a demonic cultivation is brought forth to the sects in a conference, and he asks for incense and prays to WWX who, lo and behold, is a sleeping god. Please help??

FOUND?🔒Calling Heaven by mondengel (Not Rated, 2k, WangXian, God au)

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12. Fic finder please! I am looking for a fic that I can’t remember if it was time travel (like WWX went back in time) or if it just was au starting with him as a child. Child/teen WWX joins a theatre troupe and he performs a veiled dance at a Nie gathering and teen Huaisang tries to propose to him thinking that WWX was a beautiful female dancer. It is only several years later that they meet again and realize they had that shared moment. It is a WangXian fic, but this is the scene I remember!

FOUND! The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, WangXian, WIP, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Attempt at Humor, PTSD, Oblivious WWX, WWX-centric, Blind WWX, Sentient Burial Mounds, Everyone Lives AU, Except Those Who Deserves to Die, Oblivious Pining, Not Canon Compliant)

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13. Soo ik it's a discontinued fanfic of wanxian , and I'm not sure if it's been deleted or the name is changed but, it was on Wattpad i think, and was called 'i will fix everything ' it starts with Wei yung returning in time to when he was at gusu lan for learning, he is sitting in class when he opens his eyes and is shocked by this fact , but then he sees suibian near him and he unsheathed the sword and slit his throat. later it goes as he shows his memories to everyone and they find a way to save

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14. Hello,

I'm looking for a fic, set Modern day, no magic, where Wei Ying runs away/is kicked out? during high-school and years later Lan Zhan finds him at a framers market/ crowded street? .. the scene I remembered specifically that led me to trying to find it is Lan Zhan calling Jiang Yanli and saying "I found him" after seeing him in the streets, and her thinking he means like at a morgue so she starts crying and so he continues with "I found him alive" ...I think Wei Ying also lives with the wens on their farm ...  I realize that that is not alot of information to go on but I read it so long ago, its all i remember, I can't even remember if it is worth searching for to reread but that didn't stop me from spending 3 hours looking before giving up and finding this page to ask

Thank you for taking your free time to to help random people find lost fics! @cassie-joy567

FOUND? clean from the war (your heart fits like a key) by sysrae (E, 28k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reunions, past xy/wwx, xy is fucked up but not evil because it's a modern AU and I said so, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, past wwx/jfm, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Abuse, Rape Recovery, transphobic violence, Victim Blaming, Past wwx/others, allusions to past self-harm)

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15. Here I am again, begging on my knees: can you help me find a fic where wwx finds a book describing a shrine to a good he's never heard about, and goes out to find it. He ends up discovering lwj ascended a long time ago, but he is bound and his temples were burned and devotees killed by the sects, lead by the Lan. Turns out they bound and imprisoned his body and he can only manifest in his temples, and WWX helps him escape the confinement. It is (was?) a WIP, featuring Wangji and Bichen having human forms, lwj is the one who helps wwx master demonic cultivation, creepy rituals that transfer the conscience of a past sect leader into Xichen, and the one who received wwx's golden core is jyl. Please?

FOUND!🔒 We'll Build This House on Stone (Altars) by FluffyHippogriff (E, 270k, WangXian, WIP, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Old God LWJ, Dumb Baby WWX, Friendship, WWX Finds an Ancient Altar, what happens next will shock you, Hijinks & Shenanigans, YLLZ WWX, There's Always a Price, But For Once It's Not WWX's Sweet Bod, Angst with a Happy Ending, Explicit Chapters Will Be Individually Tagged, Bichen Sword, Wàngjī Guqin, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Bichen)

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16. Hi I have been looking for a fic I read and cannot find where Wei Wuxian doesn't realise he and Lan Zhan are dating. I believe it had a scene where the two of them go grocery shopping and run into Lan Zhan's ex, Mo Xuanyu, who tries to persuade Lan Zhan that they should get back together. Obviously, since he believes he has now started seeing Wei Ying he says no. There was something about Wei Ying secretly picking up ice cream for Lan Zhan. If anyone can remember it that would be fabulous, thanks! @funny-it-worked-last-time

FOUND! without your new eyes by anaphoricae (E, 66k, WangXian, Modern, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Sexuality Discovery, Self-Discovery, Literal Sleeping Together, mentions of WWX/others and LWJ/others, Drunk LWJ, Teacher LWJ, WWX is a… throws dart… computer scientist, No Angst, Jealous WWX, Flirty WWX, Eventual Smut, Bottom LWJ, Fluff, Non-Sexual Intimacy, WWX's Love Language is Physical Touch, Guess what: even more non-sexual sleeping together, the plot of the fic is just… co-sleeping, call it the Nap Fic ™, Podfic Available, WWX isn't so much 'oblivious' as he is wilfully blocking some feelings subconsciously, WWX 'idk how I feel' to 'I'm gonna marry him' pipeline)

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17. Hello, I’m looking for a short M or E rated fic, modern au, where wwx talks on social media, likely TikTok, about the benefits of having an older partner who knows exactly what he wants and communicates that clearly. Lwj is older than wwx and has some sort of corporate/business job. There is a chance this was a single chapter in larger work that is a collection of short fics.

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18. Hi! I'm trying to find a Lán Qǐrén/Wēn Ruòhán fic that was deleted on ao3. The title was "God & Monsters." I don't know the author's exact name but I know it had "jupiter" in the username. It's an time travel fic where LQR goes back in time when he was younger during his studies at cloud recesses with WRH, JFM, YZY, etc. I just know it's not "Cursed couple." @cherry1928rev

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19. Argh! For FF, I'm looking for a time travel fixit where Su Minshan time travels and nopes out of CR study arc. It's written in his pov, and he's kind of Indiana Jonesing it, studying the burial mounds for forgotten magics. ANYWAY hope think it would be easy to find Su Minshan redemption/time travel as being reasonably unique, but no. I even failed to bookmark it so help!! @mreisse

FOUND? Dark Promises Amid Rising Screams by meyari (M, 88k, SheYao, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Unreliable Narrator, Major character death, Not Really Character Death, Discussion of Genocide, PTSD, Chronic anxiety, Panic Attacks, Warning: JGS, Warning: WRH, Mind Control, Canon-Typical Violence, Politics, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Sacrifice, Asexual Relationship, Aromantic Relationship, Aro/Ace SS, Aro/Ace MY)

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20. Hi! I remember having read this fic where Lan Zhan is face blind and didn't really notice Wei Wuxian came back to life in a different body, because he just recognised wwx's behavior. It was a very sweet fic and I'd love to read it again, but I totally forgot what it was called and I don't think I bookmarked it :(

I'm pretty sure I read it on ao3, but perhaps it could have just been a tumblr post.

I hope someone knows which fic I'm talking about, but I'm also open to other fics where Lan Zhan (or other characters) are face blind. @ifyourelostjustlookforme

FOUND! Faces by osiesaur (G, 1k, WangXian, lwj is faceblind, wwx and lwj are both learning to communicate better, WWX in MXY's body, they're married, LWJ POV)

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[shanastoryteller]

Happy Birthday grandma! How about BFF WWX LXC and NMJ? Or female!MXY? Your choice🌻🌻🌻🌻🎉🎉🎉🎉

Ps. Made it?!?!

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Lan Xichen arrives to his brother and Xuanyu in the middle of an argument.

They’re surrounded by corpses, Xue Yang inexplicably among them, and the missing Xiao Xingchen is standing there huddled against Song Lan’s side, looking strangely small, while a blind girl stands on his other side.

Sizhui and Jingyi are staying several steps back in an attempt not to get caught in the couple’s argument.

He almost regrets leaving A-Yao behind with the rest of the disciples. It had made sense at the time, with the low but present chance that they’d run into trouble, but now he wishes he could be the one dealing with their siblings instead of him.

“-not just going to – XICHEN-GE! GET DOWN HERE!”

The disciples, who’d demanded to come along, cringe away and even send him sympathetic looks.

She only calls him Xichen-ge when she wants something. He’s pretty sure A-Yao taught her that.

He descends, jumping off his sword, and frowning when he gets a closer look at her. She has wounds around her waist and shoulder even though they seemed to have stopped bleeding and there’s a variety of colorful bruises on the bits of skin he can see on her, which means there’s even more hiding beneath her robes. “You’re injured.”

“It’s nothing,” she says dismissively. Wangji’s eyebrow twitches. “I want Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen, and A-Qing to accompany us to Koi Tower.”

He assumes A-Qing is the blind girl. “Ah.”

“It’s not proper,” Wangji says, enough irritation bleeding though that this is clearly not the first time he’s said that.

She sends him a scathing look. “We can’t send them back to Cloud Recesses, Lan Qiren will eat them alive, and we can’t leave them alone. Look at them! Look around! They need help.”

“Ah, Madame Lan,” Song Lan says tentatively, “you’ve already done-”

“Shut up,” she says and his mouth snaps shut. Lan Xichen stares. He’s encountered Song Lan many times and has never seen him act like this. “Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? You deserve rest, all three of you, and while I would hardly call the Jin restful, it’s at least better than having to watch you back on the road.” She frowns. “Also, what’s with Madame Lan? I told you to call me Xuanyu. If you fight an army of the undead together, you don’t have to use titles. It’s a rule, or something.”

Wangji’s eyes narrow and Song Lan smiles at Xuanyu before he catches sight of Wangji’s expression and then his lips thin out into a straight line.

Lan Xichen can already feel a headache building.

She’s only been missing for a few hours. How did any of this even happen?

If he wants to find out, then he’s going to have to give in to her. She won’t tell him anything otherwise, he assumes, because A-Yao definitely wouldn’t. Besides, he has no reason to deny her. She is Madame Lan and Lady Jin and she’s more than entitled to add people to their traveling party and to invite wandering cultivators to Koi Tower.

“The rest of our party is nearby,” he says finally. “We’re happy for you to join us.”

His brother glares at him, but what does he expect him to do? She’s Wangji's wife.

[spiderbirdo]

Super random rant about Chinese nicknames but

I don't love it when LWJ is referred to as A'Zhan.

I'm not sure why it just feels so off whenever i see it used it in fic. It feels so very OOC. I mean even LWJ's family don't even call him by his birth name by the time he's grown I really doubt they'd call him (or any other lan) by a cute nickname. It's all prim and proper and distant there is no way LXC would call him A'Zhan as a kid. I could maybe see Madam Lan say it and then LXC repeating it in LQR's presence to only be told to stop.

At best I could maybe picture WWX call him Zhanzhan to tease him.

AND Speaking of WWX, I don't like it when he's referred to as A'Ying either. Never in canon is he called that, closest is A'Xian by JYL. It's all just nuance for how even tho JYL is so close to him yet she still doesn't use his birth name

Also it's always the A- nickname. Never a Xianxian or a Xian'er. Not even a super specific creative nickname either. Literally knew a girl called 没吃饭 cuz she didn't eat rice. Hell my nickname as a kid was literally 金鱼 Goldfish, and my dad's nickname with my extended family is Housefly (but in hokkein).

I could totally see someone (maybe his shidis and other sect mates?) jokingly call WWX 排骨汤 (pork rib soup) for how much he brings up the freaking lotus and pork rib soup he loves so much.

Or hell even a pun nickname for wwx, we literally call him WiFi now. Not to mention in mdzsQ WWX calls LWJ wolf looking at chicken (lang wang ji) cuz that's a homophone for LWJ. (ngl tho A'Lang is a pretty cool nickname)

Just yeah this is really random I'm just feeling a little eh about seeing A'Zhan and A'Ying being thrown about willy nilly without considering the family dynamics and relationships playing about

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

I love how so many interpersonal conflict in MDZS aren't caused by simple 'miscommunication' – they're caused by people being too quick to judge things based on rumours or one-sided information, without consideration for the actual evidence behind that.

The soup incident? JZX only believed the guest cultivator's side of things without consideration of JYL's words. 3zun's fate? LXC only considered JGY's side of the story, without considering NMJ's may have some truth to it (because in his mind, JGY had a justifiable reason for all his actions). Sunshot-era Wangxian conflict? LWJ believed the unfounded* narrative he was taught around what guidao does, contrary to what the only source of evidence was saying, and it's this that leads to WWX constructing a barrier between them. Their final confrontation at Nightless City? WWX came to the conclusion that LWJ was against him, hated him too, despite the fact that "any sane person would be able to tell that Lan WangJi’s voice was clearly shaking" (EXR, Chapter 78), due to his mental state at the time.

This same mindset is also leveraged by other people, for varying purposes – whether it be JGS blatantly lying about WWX's words in the hopes people would believe him, or NHS spreading false rumours about the man-eating castles at Xinglu Ridge in order to stop people disturbing the sabre spirits (of course he uses this mindset in his plan to utterly destroy JGY as well, both directly and to contribute to the view NHS is useless). And that mindset also creates the main driving antagonistic force – the rumour-driven mob mentality so present in the world.

I just love how present this theme (the harm of coming to conclusions based on incomplete evidence) is in the novel, even when it's not drawn attention to**!

(more discussion under the cut)

Now, there are obviously other factors to the conflicts above – and in most cases, these reactions are understandable (WWX's misreadings due to his mental state at Nightless City, for one thing, but others, too). For example there was evidence that appeared to be there supporting LWJ's views on guidao: WWX did appear paler, there would definitely have been differences in his health vs the health of those with a working Golden Core, and he was quick to anger and did seem more arrogant than before, even though that was moreso a combination of trauma and constructing an image that meant nobody would look into the matter of his Golden Core too closely. So argubaly, he did weigh the evidence he had, and it just led him to the wrong conclusion! But none of that means this aspect wasn't a major factor in those conflicts – just as it doesn't mean that LWJ didn't instantly disregard the other side of the story (WWX's words), and came to the wrong conclusion partially because of it.

That also doesn't mean the characters can't learn from this or change their conclusion – LWJ comes to accept WWX's words towards the end of WWX's first life, LXC does open up to the potential flaws within JGY when Wangxian raise it, and after he's seen NMJ's corpse, due to receiving strong evidence (the wrong melody and cleanly missing pages in the Collection of Turmoil, for instance). If he only started suspecting JGY after he shows his cards at the Guanyin Temple, he wouldn't have done things like block JGY from the Cloud Recesses, for instance.

(And, a final note: the problem isn't that these characters chose the 'wrong side' of the issue to see it from – their process would still have been flawed even if they came to the right conclusion from its other side. The problem here is that none of them consider both and weigh them up to judge.)

––

*Regardless of whether you believe guidao has an adverse effect on mental state, and it isn't just trauma – WWX is the inventor of guidao! So any pre-invention speculation about the effects of guidao was, by the word's definition, unfounded... and these teachings were certainly pre-invention! So though I do have an opinion regarding this, it doesn't affect the point.

**Chapter 30 is a good example of when it is: '[LWJ:] “One should not comment without understanding the whole picture.”' (EXR) – but it appears in many of Wangxian's actions throughout the present day section of the novel (especially in regard to teaching the Juniors).

[larothoughts]

fem!jiggy thoughts (part 2: the war)

part 1: qinghe nie

hmmm so this part of the au I've been thinking of is a lot less coherent. some of these are just events i imagine happen with lots of holes in-between. i'll have to think of the logic between them all later when i'm smarter lol.

lan xichen arrives

meng yao, after being publicly accepted as a daughter to save face with the nie sect, is shuffled away to the edge of the jin estate and 'forgotten.' no maids, servants, etc. she has to do everything herself. no one is willing to acknowledge her and incite the wrath of madam jin. she isn't allowed to train with the jin disciples. she isn't even allowed in koi tower. she had to give jin guangshan a thinly-veiled threat that her starving to death would likely give nmj incentive to kick down the jin's door just to receive a stipend that allowed her to eat.

it's soul-crushing, but meng yao has already built herself up from nothing once. rather than despair at everything she's lost, meng yao takes this transitional time to analyze the lanling situation.

it's a mess.

madam jin is a tyrant whose hold over the servants is near-absolute. her ignoring meng yao is actually the best case scenario, since madam jin definitely has the power to making meng yao's life a living hell if she wants. jin zixuan is... spoiled and naive in a bad way, the kind of way that infuriates meng yao because he is allowed to be naive. he doesn't care that he's excluded from most sect matters other than in swords/bow training and night hunts. as lanling jin's power is almost entirely political/monetary, this means he has no real power at all.

jin guangshan is more of a mixed bag. on one hand, meng yao is an illegitimate child guaranteed to piss off madam jin. on the other hand, at least she's a girl illegitimate child, perfect for use as a political pawn and no real threat to jin zixuan's claim to sect leadership. on a third hand, the fact that nmj essentially forced jgs to acknowledge her hurts his pride, because who does this upstart brat think he is? thinking he could get one over on him???

on the final hand, meng yao is a pretty girl just like her mother, and jgs always loves being surrounded... by pretty girls.

(meng yao is so so grateful sisi convinced her to eschew going to the jin sect after her mother's death. the way jgs looks at her makes her skin crawl, even if she sometimes uses his disgusting interest to her advantage when trying to keep madam jin from arranging an 'accident'.)

a few possible subplots during this arc: interacting with mianmian (she pities meng yao and understands her struggles as a woman in lanling jin, but she isn't in a good position to help even herself, much less meng yao;) sending letters to nie huaisang (who is VERY upset at nmj's actions but is powerless to change his mind;) and maybe even sending letters to lan xichen who one day stops replying.

so when meng yao, still living on the outskirts and having to venture out into lanling herself to run errands, finds an injured lxc in town-- she immediately sneaks him into her living quarters.

three-zun

now meng yao is familiar with lan xichen, and their relationship is complicated by their relationship(s) with nmj. the first layer is nmj and lxc's relationship, being close friends from childhood whose status as clan heirs/sect leaders prevented things from developing into anything more. even when meng yao was nmj's lover, she knew a part of his heart would always belong with xichen; hell, after getting to know him, part of her heart may belong to him too.

because the second layer is lxc and meng yao's relationship. during the cloud recesses lectures, lxc treated her as a fellow cultivator and not as someone barely above a servant. he knew how much nmj cherished her and so he showed her care because she meant so much to nmj. how could meng yao not love his earnest affection for the man she also loved?

it's different than her feelings for nmj, because nmj and lxc are incredibly different men.

nmj is a pragmatic man who loves honesty and honestly. while his love his unconditional, his acceptance relies on what he considers right and wrong. lxc's acceptance relies on whom he loves, whom he also loves unconditionally. this often results in a situation where nmj is viewed as judgmental/callous by refusing to fully accept the ones he loves (see nie huaisang as a good example of this); and lxc is viewed as passive and an enabler by refusing to condemn the actions of those he loves (see him not interfering with lan qiren unreasonably punishing lwj for him loving wwx)

all of this to say: in this awful situation where meng yao's actions resulted in her expulsion from the nie sect (despite knowing nmj still loves her, the fact that he rejected her stings like her parents abandoning her all over again,) lxc's appearance in lanling is like a beacon of hope.

a cynical reading would say meng yao cozies up to lxc just to secure her position in the gentry now that she's lost nmj. a kinder reading would say meng yao, appreciating lxc's unconditional love in the wake of her expulsion, finds herself incredibly motivated to live up to xichen's expectations of being a good person. knowing he forgives her transgressions makes her ironically more honest than she was with nmj, whom she actively hid things from because she knew he wouldn't approve.

so meng yao takes lxc in and nurses him back to health. her quarters are perfect because the servants won't ever stop by (scared of madam jin,) the jin cultivators won't care (mixture of being scared of madam jin, scared of 'ruining' jgs's political pawn, and looking down on her for being a woman,) and the townspeople won't tattle. the one group meng yao has managed to endear herself to are the lanling townsfolk. they've been suffering under pompous lanling jin cultivators who only help the wealthy for decades, this nice young lady who goes out of her way to help them is baby and they won't turn her in no matter what.

(i imagine at this point meng yao, being ignored, acts the way she did in qinghe aka like a young man, not caring a bit that she's alone with a man in her personal quarters. this part needs more fleshing out, tbd later when my brain comes back online.)

the wens

eventually, the wens give up scouring the town and storm koi tower. they demand lanling jin reveal any intel on lxc's location, knowing from reports he likely passed by. madam jin, knowing meng yao and lxc were familiar, can't resist the chance to get rid of her husband's embarrassing mistake by dragging her before them.

but of course meng yao has already smuggled lxc back into town at that point, and the wens find nothing in her chambers.

even more embarrassing, the wen see the poor conditions jgs's 'beloved daughter' is living in. little comments about how lanling jin couldn't even afford to provide for their family, how quaint, loses so much face for jgs he finally intervenes and moves meng yao into living quarters closer to the main family. while this definitely raises meng yao's position within lanling jin, it also means she can no longer hide lxc (she can't rely on the townsfolk's good will to keep him hidden forever.)

so she uses her move from one courtyard to another to slip lxc away, taking advantage of the hustle and bustle to disguise any carriages being rented out and horses used. she keys him into the butterfly talisman she managed to reverse engineer from watching jin disciples send each other messages across the estate-- so she can send him messages no matter where he is.

(now the exact state of xiyao at this point is something a smarter me needs to work on... mostly lxc's point of view.

when meng yao was a disciple of qinghe nie, lxc found himself charmed by her intelligence and sharp wit. if he had to give nmj to anyone, a-yao would certainly be his pick. in their male-dominated society where men can have multiple wives but women can't have multiple husbands, it was always going to end in only one of them marrying a-yao.

being a nie disciple, it made sense for that to be nmj. but what nmj cannot forgive, lxc can; and if nmj will not find a wife in a-yao... then perhaps lxc can do so instead.)

the indoctrination camp happens. jin zixuan and the other clan heirs are sent away, lxc is hopefully able to use the busy roads to hide his path back to the cloud recesses, and meng yao becomes very aware of how much jgs wants to suck up to wen ruohan. even before they find out wen chao had left jin zixuan for dead, meng yao could already see jin guanshan planning ahead.

(that's what she would do. the most disconcerting thing about spending time with her father in such close quarters is realizing how many traits she had in common with him.)

when jin zixuan returns, jgs makes a big show of welcoming him home. he 'shudders to think' how the future of lanling jin would be like if they had to rely on meng yao to continue their lineage. the implication infuriates madam jin (did he really suggest his illegitimate daughter may inherit the sect if jzx dies?) but raises alarm bells for meng yao. there is no way jgs would ever allow her to inherit, so making a bit show of it here can only mean one thing: he's talking her up like a product he's going to sell.

so meng yao isn't surprised at all when he announces that he is negotiating a marriage between his illegitimate but still blood-related "only" daughter to wen rouhan's heir, wen xu.

off to nightless city

madam jin is quickly on board. no one else in the sect protests or even cares. she's being thrown into the lion's den like a sacrificial lamb and meng yao refuses to let the wen take her life.

war is coming. everyone knows it, including jgs. marrying her to the wens is genius: if the wens win, then lanling jin has a connection to the wens' inner circle. if they lose, jgs can denounce meng yao is illegitimate (he was forced to accept her because of those darn nies) and let her be executed for 'being a wen.'

it's lose-lose for her the moment they take their bows, and so the path forward is simple: until the war is over, meng yao must not marry wen xu. she can't stop jgs from betrothing her to him, so what meng yao needs to do is keep them in the betrothal period for as long as humanly possible.

eventually everyone agrees to meng yao moving to the wen sect and living there for a trial period, because despite being jgs' daughter, she was only recently recognized. this is to make sure meng yao is an 'appropriate' bride for wen xu, at least according to wrh and jgs.

while jgs probably doesn't care at all if she's taken to nightless city and assaulted/killed etc. right away, meng yao obviously does not want that to happen. using xue yang's words after his escape, she rightfully deduces that wrh accepted the betrothal not because she is a jin, but because she was nmj's former right-hand woman. she has intel he wants, and all she has to do is convince him she's amenable to betraying the nies of her own volition. let him think he can convince her to switch sides with sugar instead of the stick, because getting her on his side would help him destroy the biggest threat to the wens in this upcoming war.

the night before she leaves for qishan, meng yao sends a messenger butterfly to lxc. she will use the opportunity within nightless city to give him information to help the war effort. it is the most a political pawn like her can do. she does not send a butterfly to nmj, who she was also able to key in out of sheer familiarity with his spiritual signature. because nmj is so honest, he needs to think she betrayed him. if he even catches a whiff of her possible double-agenting, he won't react properly, and wrh is a terrifying ruler for a reason.

lxc, on the other hand, is very unlikely to come face-to-face with wrh. he is also more passive and harder to read. more importantly, lxc still has a good opinion of meng yao for saving him. he'll believe her without question, and in a tumultuous time when even meng yao isn't sure where her loyalties lie other than towards "i have to survive," she finds his faith in her addicting. he is a steady rock in a sea of uncertainty, and she knows she won't ever have to worry about him doubting her if she sends him reports instead of to nmj.

the sunshot campaign

this portion roughly follows canon, with meng yao endearing herself to wrh once the war begins as the perfect, ruthless daughter-in-law. there's probably some subplot with wen qing as well: both women are considered important to wrh's cause, both are at his side for dubious reasons and with questionable survival odds. ultimately, they loathe each other; they both get in each other's way in their game to withstand wrh's moods.

canon progresses. when wen ruohan loses patience with the long betrothal (it's war time, marriages have been conducted in even shorter time,) meng yao arranges for wen xu's death at nmj's hand.

she would have preferred lxc to do the honors as revenge for the cloud recesses' burning, but for the sake of her plan it has to be nmj. it gives wrh incentive to capture nmj, to set up the scene meng yao's been waiting for. because betraying nmj is the final act that will solidify wrh's trust in her. meng yao is a great actor, but wrh is far too shrewd. the only way to make her lashing out believable... is to lash out for real.

losing her standing with the nies had hurt meng yao to the core; it was the first time she was cast aside after she'd gotten used to being accepted (which hurts worse than being cast out by a stranger.) while she puts on a brave face in lanling and knows intellectually that nmj set her up for success by limiting the rumors and forcing jgs to acknowledge her as a daughter... that doesn't change the fact that he cast her away. the same way her father did by not once coming back for her.

nmj thought handing her over to lanling was righteous, that jgs would take good care of his daughter. he probably even thought meng yao would be grateful, being able to take up the role she'd wanted as a child. he couldn't fathom a world where lanling was a cesspit more dangerous to her than even the worst misogynistic pigs of qinghe nie. he couldn't fathom a world where meng yao no longer yearned for her father's acknowledgement, not as long as she had nmj's.

now she doesn't even have that. so yes, she killed her former sect members without a shred of guilt. she beat nmj with all the viciousness she'd kept bottled up. she enjoyed it,

that's what made the act real enough to trick wrh, because it was real. loving and hating nmj are not exclusive. in fact, she's certain he feels the same way about her. if any other nie cultivator had been caught murdering their brethren, nmj may have very well demanded their execution. but he sent meng yao off to lanling with honors. he still loved her even as he condemned her, and that makes the bitter part of herself hate him even more.

especially when she finally kills wrh and reveals herself to be working alongside lxc the entire time. lxc is ecstatic and so, so relieved meng yao managed to make it out the other side of the war alive. nmj instead sees the dead nie cultivators on the floor and condemns her further. that he doesn't seem to realize the true danger she'd put herself in to get to this point, because naivety is the privilege of the powerful.

regardless of his feelings, it doesn't change the fact that the war is over-- and meng yao was the one to deal the killing blow.

after the war

the landscape after the war is a mess. wwx used demonic cultivation to turn the tide in their favor. meng yao slaughtered her old sect mates in a cold bid to get wrh to lower his guard. jgs barely contributed to the war effort and used the after-party as the opportunity to seize political power, and actually succeeded.

with wen xu dead, meng yao's betrothal is obviously annulled. her return to lanling jin is unbearably awkward; no one had expected her to live after being shipped off to nightless city, much less come back as a war hero.

meng yao doesn't care. the only reason she came back to lanling jin was to receive actual, legitimate recognition of her place in the jin sect: legitimacy worthy of a sect leader's future wife.

when jin guangshan attempts to rename her jin guangyao, lan xichen innocently asks why his future wife, the great lianfang-zun, would be denied her generational character. one would think the jin were insulting the lans instead of forming an alliance with them, if he so clearly viewed meng yao as lesser even than her twit of a cousin jin zixun. so begrudgingly, meng yao becomes jin ziyao, shortly to become the future lan furen.

it's a fairy tale ending, one that meng yao has literally sacrificed blood, sweat and tears for. except it's not. and it's all wei wuxian's fault.

[tmariea]

You Cut Through All the Noise

Fandom: MDZS/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed

Pairing: Xiyao

Characters: Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao

Rating: G

Summary:

There are many things one cannot say to A-Yao. Xichen had tried once, saying, ‘The night is beautiful and I am here with you. That is all I need to celebrate.’ A-Yao had replied with precise and perfect courtesy, exactly as expected from one sect leader to another in response to a compliment. Scripted. Exactly what Xichen did not want him to be. So he said different words now - a holiday, or a successful night hunt, or the completion of a project - and tried to let his face and his actions say all the rest. --- A look into Zewu-jun's and Lianfang-zun's late night talks, featuring gifts, gossip, and quite a lot of yearning.

Read on AO3

This was written as part of the @xiyaogotcha4gaza for @eternal-brainrot's prompt: xiyao spending an evening together at jinlintai or cloud recesses drinking tea, gossiping, etc. just them being able to put down their burdens and perfectly crafted appearances for the evening in a way that they cannot with anyone else and having a silly side of themselves that they arent able to show to anyone else. laughing together!! lxc giggling!!! maybe lxc staying up past lan curfew despite getting sleepy because he wants to make his time with jgy last as long as possible. sleepy lxc being a bit sappy maybe? maybe the other ends up falling asleep in whoever's room they’re in and ending up staying the night there?

Well, tooth-rotting fluff with a side of serious yearning is my bread and butter, so it was a match made in heaven for me! I hope you enjoy!

Title from Bastille's 'The Anchor'

The door to Jin Guangyao’s rooms was unlocked, but his sworn brother was not in sight when Xichen pushed it open one-handed, keeping careful balance on the tray of tea, wine and cups in his other.  The sliding doors to the private garden beyond were open just a crack though, enough to give him hint of where A-Yao could be found, without letting in too much of the cooling night air.

A-Yao was indeed in the garden, settled at a small table beneath the pavilion with his back to Xichen.  He was wrapped in a thick, fur-lined cloak against the late-fall chill— much less severe than in Cloud Recesses, but always still enough to bother A-Yao.  Xichen took a private moment to feel the disappointment at a lost opportunity to ask A-Yao if he was cold and drape his own outer robe around his shoulders.  Then he stepped out of the door, and closed it audibly behind him.  A-Yao turned at the noise, a smile on his face which softened into a much more genuine one as he caught sight of who was at his door.

“Er-ge, good evening,” he said, and beckoned him over.  And then when he noticed the tray, “Oh, you are a guest, you should have allowed me to call for refreshments!”

Xichen stepped down from the porch and walked between the neatly groomed beds of peonies to join A-Yao at the pavilion.  “Gifts from Gusu,” he explained without remorse for his tray, setting it down on the table, and taking a seat at the side adjacent to A-Yao.  He turned the bottle of wine to display the label proclaiming it Emperor’s Smile.  The tea, too, was a blend native to the region.

A-Yao gave him a look which conveyed ‘that was not necessary,’ over the top of a current of genuine pleasure.  They’d had conversations to that end many times, until Xichen had finally offered to stop if it made him uncomfortable, and A-Yao had remained suspiciously silent.  Xichen had just smiled wide and accepted his win.  Even still, A-Yao gave him a demure look of thanks, perhaps for his own peace of mind.

Now, instead of more protests he asked, “What is the occasion?” and reached for the pot and cake of tea to begin brewing.

There are many things one cannot say to A-Yao.  Xichen had tried once, saying, ‘The night is beautiful and I am here with you.  That is all I need to celebrate.’  A-Yao had replied with precise and perfect courtesy, exactly as expected from one sect leader to another in response to a compliment.  Scripted.  Exactly what Xichen did not want him to be.  So he said different words now - a holiday, or a successful night hunt, or the completion of a project - and tried to let his face and actions say all the rest.  He thought he’d gotten better at that with practice.

Today he said, “The success of Jin Ling’s party,” as he peeled back the lid of the wine jar to pour A-Yao a cup.  It wasn’t even breaking a rule to say so - that was the reason he had come to Lanling today after all, and the party a testament to A-Yao’s organizational skills, as every event held here was these days.

“And why would er-ge find Jin Ling’s fourth birthday to be worthy of such celebration?” A-Yao asked with a look that Xichen chose to interpret as ‘I appreciate the sentiment but we both know you are making excuses.’

“It seems the other sect leaders are determined to fawn, why should I not do the same?”

“I find er-ge to be far less likely to travel with a herd, or turn a white fluffy tail and run at the slightest provocation.”

The thought of the other sect leaders bolting from the hall this afternoon as soon as Jin Ling had begun to wind himself up to a tantrum, contrasted with A-Yao’s perfectly serene face as he said it, startled Xichen into a burst of laughter.  

A-Yao’s smile grew until his dimples were showing, and as always, Xichen was consumed with a gripping temptation reach out and trace them with reverent fingertips.  Instead, he contented himself with taking the cup of tea held out to him, letting his fingers linger far longer than necessary against A-Yao’s before bringing the cup to his mouth to drink.

They spent the time while drinking their respective tea and wine talking about the party anyway.  A-Yao had witty things to say about every present Jin Ling had been given, never outright disrespectful, but only because his turns of phrase were so very clever that Xichen doubted the guests would have realized even if A-Yao had said it to their faces.  Oh, how he wished he could watch him say it to their faces.

When the teapot was nearly empty, Xichen set down his cup and said, “I hope A-Yao will forgive the presumption of one more gift.”

“Er-ge is far too generous!” A-Yao said, his voice admonishing but his dimples gave him away.  He shook his head and added, “You should be careful, lest someone take advantage of that nature of yours.  I should say no, if only to keep you on your toes.  What would you do then?”

Xichen hummed, pretending to think on it for a moment.  “I would be disappointed to not get to dote on A-Yao the way he deserves.”  And then, feeling bold in the way he rarely did outside of these nights where it seemed the world shrunk down to only the two of them, added with a confiding smile, “And then I would keep the gift for a different day.  But, I don’t think my A-Yao will refuse, will he?”

A-Yao opened his mouth and then closed it then, in an uncharacteristic lapse of control.  It was hard to tell in the golden lamplight, but Xichen could swear his cheeks colored as his eyes tracked to the side.  “No,” he said, and then cleared his throat.  “Your A-Yao will not.��

This time, it was Xichen’s turn to feel his ears heat as he realized what he had said.  To hopefully distract from that line of conversation - and the fact that he was loathe to take it back, and may even want to say it again immediately, my A-Yao - he reached into his qiankun sleeve and drew out a roll of silk mounted with a wooden frame at top and bottom.  He rolled it out in A-Yao’s direction, for his inspection.

Perhaps this boldness had been simmering in his blood for a while now.  He had painted Cloud Recesses for A-Yao many times before, as expected when it was his most common reference material.  This painting, though, depicted the small garden and stand of pines visible from the back porch of the Hanshi, with the lazy stream trickling between them.  It was not a sight that many people got to see, something only those in Xichen’s greatest confidences would recognize.  

A-Yao knew it immediately.  His eyes softened as they scanned the ink strokes on silk canvas, and then his lips parted just slightly again in surprise for the second time.  Xichen wanted to kiss them with a desire swirling deep in his belly.  Instead he contented himself with watching A-Yao raise a hand and use one elegant finger to trace in the air, never quite touching, the small black shape beneath the trees.  Just a silhouette, barely a curl of ink.

The last time that the two of them had met, they A-Yao had mentioned that he was considering getting a spiritual dog for Jin Ling.  ‘Terribly useful creatures, spiritual dogs,’ he had said, and then added, ‘shame though, I really do prefer cats.’  And so when A-Yao left, Xichen had painted, in almost a haze, his garden and into it placed a black cat.

This was another of the things that one could not say to A-Yao, that he knew the most intimate corners of Xichen’s life, that he belonged there, that his presence left ripples even when he was far away and gone.  So Xichen brought gifts, and painted, and treasured the moments they had together.  

And he thought that he could read some of it back in A-Yao’s clear gaze as he met his eyes unwaveringly and said, “It’s a beautiful work er-ge.  I will hang it in my study.”

“Thank you, A-Yao’s praise means much.”

Xichen felt a little thrill too, to read between the words and see that A-Yao intended to display openly all of the unsaid meanings between them.  And that the world would look, but never see.

If he let himself, he could fall into that gaze, into all of the unsaid words.  He could let it carry him forward, around the scant barrier of the corner of the table between them, until he could taste the unsaid words from A-Yao’s tongue.  He wondered if they would taste like wine.

To keep himself from doing that, he asked instead, “Has A-Yao made a decision on the spiritual dog for your venerable nephew?”

Xichen could feel the moment the tension between them broke, like a summer storm over the mountains, with A-Yao’s bright, surprised laugh at the thought of a venerable four year old.  Xichen tucked that laugh away into a corner of his heart, and let himself breathe out a long, steadying breath.  It wouldn’t do to dwell on the things he might wish from A-Yao, and forget the time they were granted.

“Ah, yes, I do think I will give one to him.  It will be a good exercise in responsibility, and a companion.”

Xichen knew that A-Yao worried about the way the other children in Jinlintai reacted to Jin Ling, influenced by the way their elders would tell them to keep a respectful distance in one breath and then turn around and gossip with the next.  It was a mixture liable to curdle with time.  He didn’t know if it was better in Lotus Pier, but he hoped so.  

“What are Jiang-zongzhu’s thoughts?” he asked, hoping to let A-Yao give voice to his delightfully sharp opinions on Jiang Wanyin’s parenting style, and varied emotional outbursts.

Instead, A-Yao raised his cup to take another sip of his wine, and from behind his sleeve told him coyly, “I haven’t said.”

“A-Yao, you wouldn’t!” Xichen knew he sounded delightfully scandalized.

“Er-ge, I don’t know what you could possibly mean!” A-Yao intoned in his best impression of Nie Huaisang.  “Jiang-zongzhu loves dogs, doesn’t he?  It should be a nice surprise.”

“A-Yao!” Xichen said again, losing the battle against his own laughter and unable to force anything else out.

“Such a nice surprise, in fact,” he continued, the dimples in his face deepening as he obviously fought to keep his voice steady, “that it might even lift his spirits in a trying time.  Perhaps if he were first to learn when we all must attend Yao-zongzhu’s daughter’s wedding next spring.”

“Oh no,” Xichen said faintly.

“It will only just serve as repayment for all the swear words Jiang-zongzhu was so kind as to teach our darling nephew the last time he was in Lotus Pier,” A-Yao said, holding onto his highest dignity, before he dissolved into giggles too.

The giggles were not dignified.  They rose and fell in pitch, interspersed with lower chuckles and higher peals.  Lan Xichen was not sure if another person alive beside himself had ever heard A-Yao laugh like this before, and he was so in love with him that sometimes it felt like his golden core was trying to claw its way out through his heart.  

Or maybe it was just that he couldn’t quite catch his breath without starting to laugh again.

It took a little while for the both of them to calm down well enough to speak normally, but when they did, A-Yao said, “Come, we still have a little time yet.”  He poured himself a final glass of wine, and stood to lead them to another set of cushions laid at the edge of the pavilion’s floor.  He set down his cup and picked up a small book which had been strategically placed next to his cushion, that Xichen hadn’t noticed until now.  “This one had discovered a new book of poetry, if er-ge might be interested in finishing the night with a recitation?” he said, turning the cover so Xichen could see the title.

Xichen looked up at the stars and the moon overhead, framed by the dark silhouettes of trees along the garden wall.  It was getting on towards hai time, but he said anyway, “Please, go ahead.  I do not mind staying awake a while longer.”  He kept behind his teeth the words, ‘I would listen to you read beautiful words every day if I could.  And then I would want it to be your voice that lulls me to sleep each night.’

A-Yao gave him a skeptical look from the corner of his eye, but he opened the book and began to read.  He got through several poems, lovely and indicative of A-Yao’s well-read taste, before Xichen let his eyes drift closed.  Only to concentrate better on A-Yao’s voice against the background of the late night sounds of the garden.

“Tsk, er-ge you are so bad at this!” A-Yao scolded. 

Xichen blinked his eyes open again, and made the argument, “Every sect leader must be acquainted with spending more time on work than his sleeping hours would allow.  It is no hardship to spend the same on pleasure.”

“Oh yes, I am sure.  And how many of those hours has Lan-zongzhu spent by waking early instead?”

The rules said not to lie.  In absence of the waking brain power to come up with anything better, he remained silent.  A-Yao laughed at him, so fondly that Xichen had no choice but to return a rueful smile.

“Here, I’m not about to have you falling off the porch and hitting your head.  Lie down.”  He pulled off his plush, fur-lined robe and folded it into a pillow.  Instead of setting it on the porch beside them, he placed it in his own lap in invitation.

Any pleasantly polite response Xichen could make to that deserted him, and he felt suddenly more alert.  Ears blazing and with the sense that his words were distinctly clumsy on his tongue, he asked, “Will A-Yao not be cold?” in an exact mirror of his earlier desires that was not lost on him. “Here you should take my outer robe.”

A-Yao scowled up in his direction, but Xichen could tell that he wasn’t putting any real heat in it.  “I’m not so fragile as you think.”

No, A-Yao really wasn’t.  He had experienced things that many of the Jianghu, even after being through a war, could only imagine and come through it still steadfast.  Xichen also knew that he frequently worked through pain even now, for all that he so infrequently caught a glimpse of it beyond A-Yao’s perfectly crafted face.  The cold made it worse.  “Won’t you allow your er-ge to make sure you are comfortable, though?  It’s a lovely night out to me, much warmer than Gusu is at this time of year.”

A-Yao didn’t say anything in reply, but the edges of his lips did tilt just the tiniest measure further into a smile.  Xichen took it as permission to pull his arms from his loose outer robe and drape it over A-Yao’s shoulders instead.  It made him look just that much smaller, with his own gold colors still just peeking through but almost subsumed by swirling white and blue.  Xichen was absolutely going to do something embarrassing if he kept looking at the sight, like lick his lips.  Instead, he turned away and stretched himself out on his back at the edge of the platform, so he could lay his head in A-Yao’s lap.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw A-Yao hug the robe to himself after pulling his arms through the too-long sleeves, but he could not be sure.  As a concession to all of the other things he wished to do or say, Xichen reached out to hold A-Yao’s forearm, the easiest part of him in reach, and give it a light squeeze before letting his eyes fall closed.

Xichen dozed for a while after that, with the feeling of the fall breeze cool on his face, but A-Yao warm beneath and beside him.  It was too late in the season for most insects, but the trees rustled in the distance, a calming, lulling sound.  Given half a chance, he would fall asleep here.

He had not quite done so when careful fingers brushed across his face in the ghost of a touch.  When he did not startle or pull away, it seemed A-Yao became bolder; the fingers began to massage at his temples, his forehead, at the tension at the tops of his cheekbones and around his eyes.  They worked around his ribbon, always careful not to touch.  Xichen gave a sigh of pleasure, and received a faint laugh from above him in reply.

Eventually, A-Yao must have been satisfied with his work, because he stopped massaging.  Instead, he just ran his fingers across Xichen’s brow in a rhythmic pattern.  He was so relaxed and content that it took him a moment to realized that A-Yao was tracing skin just beneath his ribbon, in constant parallel.  He would not touch without permission, Xichen knew, but he could, he could; it had always been A-Yao’s to touch, from the moment they met.  The sudden rush of wanting this inspired was so heady that Xichen stiffened just slightly.

Naturally, A-Yao noticed.  “There, you are er-ge, back with me?”

The game up, he didn’t have much choice but to open his eyes to the sight of A-Yao leaning over him slightly, silhouetted against the night sky.  One strand of hair hung over his shoulder, dark against blue over goldenrod robes, and his smile was far too soft and serene for his dimples.  He was the most beautiful thing Xichen had ever seen.  Instead of any of that, he said, “good evening,” in the warmest voice he could possibly muster, and was content to catch what might just be a tinge of pink in A-Yao’s cheeks.

“Alright, I think it might be time for Lan-zongzhu to retire for the night.”

Xichen did not miss the use of his title, the chance he had been given to ask, ‘but what of er-ge?’  He would play this game, but not with such obvious bait.  Instead, he tilted his head to look past the edge of the pavilion and judge the position of the moon in the sky.  “Yes, it is perhaps later than is proper for a Lan to still be awake, and seen wandering the halls or gardens of Jinlintai.”

A-Yao gave him such a withering look that Xichen nearly started giggling again.  He held it back with the help of years of practice keeping his face serene and neutral.  “Yes, quite.”  A-Yao’s voice was dry enough to cure a fish, and so obviously affected.

“Then, will this noble and filial san-di help his er-ge save some face, and let him spend the night here?”

A-Yao’s nose wrinkled up and his mouth tilted into a smile again.  “I think your face is plenty thick, er-ge!”

“Mn, one must not tell lies.”

A-Yao made a noise of disbelief, but his face softened even further as he reached out one finger to run it below Xichen’s ribbon again.  “Alright, you can stay.”

[symphonyofsilence]

I love Wangxian as much as the next guy, but my unpopular MDZS opinion is that both LWJ & WWX after the resurrection were really shitty brothers. Both to their own brothers and to each other's.

Like...JC just threw himself in front of WWX & his boyfriend & Jiggy's sword & took a stab to the chest just narrowly missing his heart, & Wei Wuxian DIDN'T EVEN ASK HIM HOW HE IS! I'm sure JC didn't want him to thank him, but totally ignoring that & forgetting about it is... you know, not fine. even LXC was more worried about his wound. After the temple, when everyone was talking to everyone else, & WWX thanked JC for giving Chenqing back to him, he doesn't even wait until JC's answer is fully out before he immediately turns back to look at LWJ!

Even JL who wasn't talking to JC at that moment saw that JC had something to say! But WWX not only didn't give him a chance to talk, but didn't even have any interest in what he had to say, and wouldn't listen to him just like all the other times when JC tried to talk to him (Repeatedly reminding WWX of his promise & even asking why didn't you go back to Lotus Pier). As you try to do, after you brother has returned from the dead, after causing his own death, your sister's and your brother-in-law's. WWX doesn't think that that's an issue that they need to talk about. Because it's unpleasant for him. While he is not the one who's owed an explanation or an apology. He's not the one who gets to decide if they're having this conversation or not. Let alone asking about JC's wound! WWX! just! Left! With! His boyfriend! & didn't look back! Not even after JC's public meltdown!

And and, what's worse, for both LWJ & WWX is this! Here is what happens when JC is trying to have a conversion with WWX about the non-consensual surgery WWX performed on him by mutilating himself on JC's behalf:

Why yes, he is injured, Hanguang-Jun! He's injured because he threw himself in front of WWX & you little fuck!

He does this once, and it causes JC's wound to open and start bleeding again, and then he goes to do it again!

It's a matter that seriously needs discussion, Hanguang-Jun. JC's world has turned upside down without him having a say in it or even being told about it for years, Hanguang-Jun. JC has every right to talk about it to the person responsible, Hanguang-Jun. It's a family matter, Hanguang-Jun.

And ffs What do you think WWX's brother wants to do to him?! After he took a stab to the chest for him?! He is wounded and his spiritual energy is sealed, what can he do? He's going through it right now in front of everyone. why would you humiliate him even more?! They're brothers! It's none of your business!

And WWX doesn't say anything! It's Jin Ling who must beg Hanguang-Jun to spare his uncle!

(I think they understood what a shitty move it was in the CQL, cause WWX at least lifts a hand to stop LWJ there. And LWJ doesn't actually push JC, opening his wound again, And then try to do it A SECOND TIME AFTER THAT!)

Like...Beating someone's family member in front of them is a very, very rude thing in general when they're themselves handling the situation very well. They were just having a family argument, and LWJ felt the need to beat JC. If you want to de-escalate a family argument, you do it the way JGY does. Or LSZ, A CHILD, de-escalates situations. While respecting both parties. Or else it just escalates even worse.

And this happened at the Jiang ancestral halls, too. WWX was the first to attack JC (which was totally within his brotherly rights when JC was being a little shit) and JC counter-attacked. JC's spiritual powers, unlike WWX's and LWJ's, hadn't returned yet. WWX totally got this. It wasn't their first time fighting. OK, LWJ deflected the first blow of Zidian. He didn't need to intervene further when WWX was beating JC in JC'S ancestral hall. WWX himself passed out when he realized wtf he was doing. (& bear in mind that hours ago, JC with his spiritual powers sealed, barely able to walk, picked his sword and was going to go back for WWX in the burial mounds, before he knew about the golden core thing)

Imagine your friend invites you to their home which they've ran away from when they were very young, their sibling that now owns the house lets you in even though you don't even say hi to them or acknowledge their existence there in anyway, & your friend invites you to somewhere you really have no business being in. IDK. Say, the master bedroom that's been locked ever since their parents' death. Your friend's sibling arrives there and they have an argument. You get offended in the crossfire but your friend leaps in to protect your honor, by beating the said sibling. The said sibling beats back. Can you imagine actually beating the sibling?! Trying to separate them, sure. But beating them?!

& others have talked in depth & better than I about how LXC just murdered the love of his life after some very shocking revelations & was 100% ready to die with him & was clearly going through it & LWJ just left with his boyfriend to fuck when LXC was the one who was there for him when HIS boyfriend died. Like..no LWJ didn't leave his brother after a few days. HE LEFT HIM THAT VERY MOMENT! DIDN'T EVEN GIVE HIM A HANDKERCHIEF OR A PAT ON THE SHOULDER!

And people have also talked better than I about how WWX didn't tell LXC about Sisi bc...he might have shown JGY mercy?

[drama--universe]

People pleaser

Requested by anonymous: if you would like to, then i'd like to request lan xichen, lan jingyi, lan sizhui and lan wangji with a soulmate who is huge giver. (if the characters are too much ofc you can chose the one's you'd want but if possible please do include lxc) they are the ones who are very protective, caring, worried and mindful of the characters. the reader goes out of their way to make the characters' days convenient and help them with stuff without even asking. they worry about them a lot and would fight God to make sure their partner is safe and sound. they are usually very stoic and aloof but with the characters they are very soft and caring. thank you!!!

Pairing: Lan boys x reader

Lan Wangji:

you are very friendly and always try to help others

sometimes at your own expenses

Lan Wangji first notices when you start helping him with stuff

it started with fetching books for him that he needed to write some stuff

when he hadn't even asked

then he noticed that you did the same for others

helping them with anything they asked without any questions

which also led to you being swamped with work, most of which wasn't your own

now, Lan Wangji isn't easily angered

until he spots you laying in between sheets of papers

and you look absolutely exhausted

but he doesn't get angry at you and instead he just tries to talk to you about it

he tells you his thoughts and you listen to him carefully

although you don't like saying no to others, you do when you know you already have enough on your hands

and if you don't say no, Lan Wangji will

he doesn't care for being kind to others, he only cares for you

Lan Xichen:

he started dating you partially because of your kindness

now, he never minded you helping others

after all, he usually did the same

but he does start noticing the toll it takes on you

you often went to bed late and you looked more exhausted by the day

but even then, you still made sure that he was fine

helping him with his work, even when he doesn't ask, and you were always there to listen to his rants

and it hurts him to realize that he was somewhat part of the reason for your declining health

he, like his brother, will try to talk to you first

although he has a softer approach

he gently tells you, all while staring at you with the gentle eyes that you had grown to love

and right then and there, you collapse under the weight you had been holding on your shoulders

from then on, he basically forbids you to help him

and he denies your help to others

often with a small smile on his face

not that it is genuine

only you can see his real smile

Lan Jingyi:

Lan Jingyi is not know for helping others purely from good will

usually it has to have a good prize for him

and you are the opposite of that

helping people is basically what you're know for

and people tend to take advantage of such a person

and it annoys Jingyi to no end, because you often don't see it

but he doesn't want to straight up tell you

he's a bit afraid that he'll hurt your feelings

until the final straw

he was on a mission and even though it was only for him and the other juniors in his group

you were there as well

it didn't seem like a big deal to others, but to him it was

because he knew that you weren't that good with a sword

nor in missions

and he knows that you're solely their to help him

next thing he knows, he's yelling at you

and unintentionally hurting you

however, he's quick to stop himself and just as quick to start apologizing

the two of you have a heartfelt conversation

after that, your behavior around helping others takes a small turn

only helping out, but still letting the others do it themselves

and Jingyi can only smile at it

Lan Sizhui:

(another person that's too kind)

both of you are people pleasers

but different kinds of people pleasers

he helped others, but only if he could

you were just unable to say no

which Lan Sizhui knows well enough

usually he steers you away from people that try to get you to help them

he's too kind to call them out for it, but he still makes sure that you don't have to say yes to them

but of course, he isn't always there

he left for one week on a mission

and when he came back, you were utterly exhausted by all the favors you had been doing

you were on the verge of collapsing when you saw him again

which is the first time he also puts his foot down

in a matter of speaking, anyway

he tells you, gentle but firm at the same time

and he makes sure that you understand

and from then on, he is definitely quicker to shut someone down

because he doesn't like seeing you hurt

[tavina-writes]

LXC would've gotten disbarred

After I kind of drifted away from the cnovel translation forum I used to be a part of, like, a decade ago, I thought to myself: my translator days are over! I will not translate stuff again! The post about if NMJ has hobbies (found here if you want to see it) was merely a blip on the radar of “not translating anything.” 

Alas, I appear to have descended into a new pit, and that is seeing things in the other translations of mdzs and going back to the Chinese to look at things, discussing with @autumnslantern and just, translating snippets of this book and then deciding to share the results. 

In this case, it’s a passage from Chapter 73, which is doing the rounds again, but I’ve most commonly seen as evidence for “LXC really wanted to say something about the treatment of the Wens but got steamrolled by NMJ’s objections” and I kind of just want to wave at the title of this post because if Chinese Novel!Xichen had been my defense lawyer, I would fire him. I would want him disbarred lol. I love him but this was not a shiny moment of Xichen getting steamrolled. 

Again, this appears like it will get long, so meta under the cut: 

The passage in question in this one, which is early on in Chapter 73: 

The fantranslation I have access to says this: 

Lan XiChen responded a moment later, “I have heard of Wen Qing’s name a few times. I do not remember her having participated in any of the Sunshot Campaign’s crimes.”

Nie MingJue, “But she’s never stopped them either.”

Lan XiChen, “Wen Qing was one of Wen RuoHan’s most trusted people. How could she have stopped them?”

Nie MingJue spoke coldly, “If she responded with only silence and not opposition when the Wen Sect was causing mayhem, it’s the same as indifference. She shouldn’t have been so disillusioned as to hope that she could be treated with respect when the Wen Sect was doing evil and be unwilling to suffer the consequences and pay the price when the Wen Sect was wiped out.”

Lan XiChen knew that because of what happened to his father, Nie MingJue abhorred Wen-dogs more than anything, especially with how intolerable he was toward evil. Lan XiChen didn’t say anything else.

One of the sect leaders spoke up, “What Sect Leader Nie said is quite right. Besides, Wen Qing is one of Wen RuoHan’s most trusted people. You’re telling me she never participated? Well I don’t buy it. Is there any Wen-dog without a single drop of blood on their hands? Maybe it’s just that we haven’t found out about it yet!”

The Chinese text that these passages correspond to is this: 

蓝曦臣沉吟道：“这位温情的大名我知晓几分，似乎没听说她参与过射日之征中任何一场凶案的。”

聂明玦道：“可她也没有阻拦过。”

蓝曦臣道：“温情是温若寒的亲信之一，如何能阻拦？”

聂明玦冷冷地道：“既然在温氏作恶时只是沉默而不反对，那就等同于袖手旁观。总不能妄想只在温氏兴风作浪时享受优待，温氏覆灭了就不肯承担苦果付出代价。”

蓝曦臣知道，因家仇之故，对温狗聂明玦是最为痛恨，他又是完全容不得沙子的性情，便不再言语。一名家主道：“聂宗主此言正是。况且温情既然是温若寒的亲信，说她没参与过？我是不信的。温狗哪个手上不沾几条人命？也许只是没被我们发现而已！”

Which I got from this source on the internet. At some point I should invest in buying an actual physical copy of this text, but I spent my discretionary Chinese book money on a great copy of Yanxi Palace so I’ll have to wait on my physical MDZS copy. 

Anyway, what follows are a bunch of screenshots of the translation process of this section and then some cleanup and a basic summary. 

Idk about you all, but I do not call someone a pejorative equivalent of WRH’s toady/crony/trusted ally, while saying “why would she stop his horrible crimes!” and then think that my good friend would have to “turn a blind eye” if we were to let her off when I’m trying very hard to defend her against the masses but am getting steamrolled into agreeing that she probably deserved it. 

Indeed, the two things that LXC says in this scene are: “I have heard briefly of Wen Qing’s reputation, it does not appear that she personally murdered anyone…” and “she’s a crony of WRH, how would she have stopped his atrocities?” 

Now, I actually like him more after realizing this fact, because he was being mildly bitchy about this! And honestly, given that the Wen burned down his house and killed his dad and killed a bunch of Lan cultivators and broke Wangji’s leg and kidnapped Wangji and nearly killed Xichen himself and he had to flee with a bunch of their sacred texts…I’d say he’s earned the right to be bitchy about them. 

But also if I were Wen Qing depending on Zewu-jun for his excellent defense lawyering skills at my criminal trial I would want him disbarred. And also fired. 

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Top 4 Jiang Yanli Survival Scenarios That Still Allow the Plot to Happen

HOT TAKE: JYL didn't actually need to die and the story would still be plenty crunchy if she hadn't. (Also, it is geographically implausible for her to somehow get all the way from Koi Tower to Nightless City unless she was faking her low cultivation this whole time and secretly mastered teleportation talismans, but that's not what this is about.) Below are 4 ways JYL could live that would still allow the major post-timeskip plot beats to unfold.

SCENARIO 1: JYL remains a widow and stays in Lanling as a member of the Jin household.

SCENARIO 2: JYL is married off to JGY after JZX's death (+ a spicier, alternate version of this)

SCENARIO 3: JYL ends up married off to NMJ after JZX's death.

SCENARIO 4: JYL remains a widow and returns to Lotus Pier.

With descriptions under the cut!

SCENARIO 1: JYL remains a widow and stays in Lanling as a member of the Jin household.

THE POTENTIAL: JYL in this scenario occupies a fraught position at Koi Tower; she has some sway as Jin Ling's mother, but it's unclear where Jin Ling stands in the line of succession. (She's also now trapped in JGS's household without a male guardian so. You know. That's great. 😬) JGY would strive to foster a positive relationship with her, I think; she doesn't pose a threat to him, and even if he has no personal affection for her, showing kindness to his sister-in-law is good optics and maintains the alliance with Lotus Pier. What are the ramifications of that? Maybe she becomes close with QS and help advocate for her marriage? (Maybe she then becomes close-close with QS later on, given that they'd both be terribly starved for physical intimacy.) Maybe she stumbles upon some of the secrets of the Jinlintai Murder Basement and becomes one of NHS's informants. Maybe she has no idea about the Murder Basement and is as shocked and appalled as everyone else when she learns about JGY's crimes and wonders how the hell she didn't realize any of this was happening. Good stuff!

SCENARIO 2A: JYL is married off to JGY after JZX's death.

THE POTENTIAL: Much the same as above, except now JYL has sealed her position as THEE Jin-furen once JGY ascends to Sect Leader and Chief Cultivator. She and JGY are connected with and presumably have developed some degree of fondness for each other, which makes the reveal of JGY's actions that much more dramatic! She's going to feel as betrayed and conflicted as LXC does, and is going to struggle when both her brothers end up in opposition to her husband. Does JGY persuade her to go with him to Dongying, or does he take her hostage as he does LXC? To what degree does proximity to JGY make her potential collateral damage for NHS? This is all very stressful for JYL, but it averts the terrible, horrible, no-good very bad accidental incest marriage with QS, so... winning!

SCENARIO 2B (CQL only): JYL and JGY marry after JZX's death, but had a whole affair going on prior to that.

THE POTENTIAL: There's this one chaotic group interview with a bunch of the CQL actors where they're like "HMMM IT'S PRETTY SUS THAT JIN LING LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE HIS UNCLE!! SHIJIE HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!!" and while poor Zhu Zanjin was sitting there going "nooo stop it's not like that! it's a coincidence! ☹️" it had me like 👀because I love mess. My fave interpretation of Claudius and Gertrude in Hamlet is that they were always in love with each other and Claudius killed King Hamlet 1.0 so he could be with her (obligatory plug for Haider, my fave Hamlet adaptation, which has this precise dynamic and it's *chef's kiss*), and like... what if THAT'S going on. JYL can have an extramarital affair with far-reaching consequences, as a treat. Sorry, Jin Ling, but the revelations from Guanyin Temple just got THAT much more complicated for you to process.

SCENARIO 3: JYL ends up married off to NMJ after JZX's death.

THE POTENTIAL: Ohohohoho, this one might be my favorite one. The Jin clan (possibly at JGY's suggestion) marry JYL off to NMJ in an attempt to repair Lanling's relationship with Qinghe and get NMJ to stop wilding. NMJ and JYL hit it off (shared experiences include: being parentified at a young age, violently losing a parent to the Wen clan, a strong sense of duty, and chronic illness)... but NMJ does not, in fact, stop wilding, so JGY begins playing Turmoil. NMJ's increasingly volatile behavior would be even more terrifying for JYL than it is for NHS--she's not only worried about her own safety, but if the Jin clan deem the Unclean Realm unsafe for little JL, then JYL's not going to get to see her son. Once NMJ succumbs to qi deviation, JYL is widowed once again, and she's starting to wonder if she's cursed... until her brother-in-law comes to her with his suspicions about JGY. (She might even be the one to ignite the suspicions in CQL canon, since she's present for LWJ playing Cleansing for WWX and thus knows what it's supposed to sound like.) Now JYL is pissed, and even more worried about JL's safety. She keeps Qinghe afloat while NHS goes into his scheming flop era, and perhaps even suggests to him that WWX is the person to call if he wants his brother back. As NHS's plan endangers people JYL cares about--including her son! repeatedly!--JYL starts to question his methods and regrets not confiding in JC instead, but the die is cast at this point.

SCENARIO 4: JYL remains a widow and returns to Lotus Pier.

THE POTENTIAL: This isn't bringing the spicy melodrama the way the other scenarios are, but I do like the quieter change it means for her, JC, and JL. JC doesn't have nearly as much unresolved grief to work through with his sister still alive, and would be a better-adjusted person. He might, in fact, be even better-adjusted than JYL herself, who grieves for and loves WWX but cannot forgive him for killing her husband. WWX upon his resurrection would have to face the consequences of shijie's anger, and now they're the ones having a tearful heart-to-heart in a public space while JC frets. (And then they ALL get to deal with the golden core transplant fallout! Woo!) Plus, an unattached JYL would have the freedom to accompany JL to Lanling, so she's going to be closer with JGY and QS and be present for whatever the hell happened with MXY, so she is going to have some REACTIONS to certain revelations, let me tell you!

I would love to write any one of these, but I am the world's slowest writer, so if it's up to me, they will never actually happen. So fly forth, ideas! Be free! If you write one of these, hmu, because I'd love to read it!

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Feb 6th

~*~

1. Hi!

I've been watching your content for a while and I really liked it, so I would like you to please help me find a fic.

This fic is a One shot with a/b/o theme (wwx omega LWJ alpha) where wwx lived a "house" for omegas (where he is a friend of mm) and they "borrow" it for prince Lwj, Lxc ( alpha) is the emperor and JGY (omega) is his partner.

In Gusu, omegas are not considered for cultivation, however, wwx doesn't care much about that and there is a scene where he along with LWJ fight in a cave with a monster. The final scene of the one shot occurs when WWX runs away from Gusu to the beach, LWJ follows him because they promised to visit the sea one day together.

the wangxian relationship is slow and with lwj's problems to express his feelings 😓

I would appreciate your help, if you need more information, I will gladly try to remember more things😊 and sorry for the grammar, my native language is not English (google translator)

FOUND? Rattling our cages by danegen (E, 69k, wangxian, A/B/O, but like polite, Slow Burn, Pining while fucking, so much hair combing, WWX has a vagina, POV WWX, no yin iron or wars or plot really, Canon Era, spiders--see the notes, Spanish Translation Available)

~*~

2. Heya! Can y'all help me find a fic?

The part of the plot i remember is that WWX uses an array to erase himself and the wens from the memory of the cultivation world. The array stops one day, and a bunch of people go to the burial mounds to see what's up. It was on ao3, probably.

and that's ~all i remember~

a nice fic but not the one i remember. pretty sure wwx was hiding in the burial mounds with the wens. thanks for this fic tho!

NOT FOUND! Second Summer by Anonymous (M, 152k, WangXian, canon, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mystery, Amnesia, Memory Loss, Curses, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, somebody lives/somebody else dies, Golden Core Reveal, canon-typical lack of lube, Ambiguous/Open Ending)

NOT FOUND! you've heard that melody before by Stratisphyre (M, 66k, wangxian, JL & LSZ & LJY, JC/WQ, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, POV Multiple, Multiple Canon Character Deaths, Depictions of depression, Light Dom/sub, Not Everyone Dies AU, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics)

FOUND? Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 271k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death)

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3. Hi, i was looking for a fic i think i found in your blog? It was a wip and it was something along the line of wwx as yilling patriarch and the sects sent lan wangji for tribute. But they already knew each other.

I remember this one scene where lan wangji finds bunnies inside the burial mounds but wwx captures them to eat and lwj is sad.

I don't remember the title or anything because i think i directly clicked the link and started reading but then i forgot to bookmark it and lost the link.

Please help me find it, i really wanna know what happened next.🙏😔

FOUND? The Jade Bride by lanwangjibo (Not rated, 16k, wangxian, WIP, Pining LWJ, YLLZ WWX, Misunderstandings, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Fluff and Angst, WQ Lives, Wēn Remnants Live, LSZ is a Wēn, WWX is Bad at Feelings, LWJ is Bad at Communicating, SS Being an Asshole, Pining WWX, Hurt LWJ, BAMF WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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4. fic finder request! looking for two fics that i can't seem to locate in my bookmarks - A) in the first one, sizhui (and the rest of the juniors?) somehow reach through time and rescue wwx (i think dead in present time), bringing him into their present! in the process they create a lot of trouble, due to the power expended and released, i believe they turned a mountain into a crater or something.

B) the second fic I'm looking for takes place during the sunshot campaign, when baoshan sanren decides to join the fight and intervenes. she restores both jc and wwx's cores, by reaching back into time and removing jc's core right before it's melted by wzl, she also returns wwx's core from jc's to wwx's body. she does this in her tent, which is also a dimension travel portal or something which iirc links back to her home on the mountain.

thank you very much!! @potatokunst

4A)

FOUND! Would You Come Home? by s6115 (Not rated, 46k, WangXian, Junior Quartet Centric, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

4B)

FOUND! Can't Tell Me Nothin by natacup82 (T, 35k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Family Feels, Communication, BAMF Women) Baoshan Sanren return Jiang Cheng's core from the past in chapter 4

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5. hi! gosh, i have had this fic stuck in my head for the past weeks but for the life of me, i just cannot remember the name. i really hope you can help me find it!

the fic is about how modern wei wuxian is a researcher/scientist and he got his hands on a shady book written by baoshan sanren, accidentally triggers a talisman/array and somehow being transported into the wuxia version and it involves the people who died coming back to life and they all watch/read the past and it just sort of becomes one big therapy session.

i think i remember there being a part in the fic where modern wei wuxian mentions transferring/donating his organ to modern jiang cheng in reference to how og wei wuxian transfered his gold core to og jiang cheng.

and also a part where it was mention that for modern wei wuxian, it was madam yu who found and brought him back to the jiang family to be raised and not sect leader jiang; also it was implied that the modern jiang family is actually a loving happy family in contrast to the sort of dysfunctional og one because modern wei wuxian address's madam yu and sect leader jiang as mother and father.

i wish i could remember more, i hope this would be enough to go on. please help me and thank you so much in advance! @lilith--14

I believe this fic has been deleted but please correct me if I'm wrong - Mod C

FOUND? Yes the fic was deleted. It's "Loving Future, Distant Past" by yareyarejojosan. Here is a link to a folder that contains all of the author's fics

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6. For a fic finder, there was this nsfw kinda darkji (probably pwp) fic that haunts me and might have been deleted, becaused i’ve searched in every way I know how: (post?)canon, wwx can’t get hard anymore for some reason. He is embarrassed to admit it to lwj, who then calms him and says it’s normal and that he doesn’t use it for much anyway. Turns out lwj was the one who started and keeps giving him the tea for impotence. The lan doctors are in on this(?) Thanks if anyone can identify this one!

I don’t think 6 on the last fic finder was it (still a delishiously dark-ish rec, thank you!), it was (probably) a shorter pwp and not modern

NOT FOUND You Sing of Thanatos; I Hear Only Eros by kanonkita (E, 39k, WangXian, MIND THE TAGS, Modern AU, Extremely Dubious Consent, Dark!LWJ, Mild Horror, Omorashi, Tentacles, Rope Bondage, Shibari, Praise Kink, Breeding Kink, Oviposition, Non-Consensual Body Modification, soft pillow talk, Hurt/Comfort, non-consensual emotional healing, Panic Attacks, Wetting, Body Horror, Impotence, Magic, Anal Sex, PIV Sex, Mpreg, Mild Suicidal Ideation, Voyeurism, PWP, Angst, nonconsensual medical treatment)

FOUND? Succumbing to His unconditional love? by MurderRose (E, 2k, wangxian, mildly dom/sub, WWX's floppy little cock, the trials of being utterly loved, LWJ can be a tiny bit dark as a treat, opt in or opt out at your will, its almost invisibly mild, a lil bit of humiliation)

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7. Hello (✿◠‿◠) hope you having a good day! This is for the fic finder, I've been looking for this fic where after his death wwx comes back as a rabbit, it has a glossary at the start for words/terms the rabbits use, I think? I really hope this is enough to go form!

FOUND! Dignity and Animality by quick_cat_tl (G, 31k, WangXian, Watership Down, u know the one with the political/philosophical bunnies, Reincarnation, Lapine language, Rabbit!WWX, Sunny Angst, Pining) Hi, number 7 is probably „Dignity and Animality“ by Anielka. Unfortunately, it seems to be deleted on AO3. / For #7, I remember reading "Dignity and Animality!" When I click the link for it (from the wangxianficrecs tumblr), it redirects to Dignity and Animality by quick_cat_tl - maybe the author changed their AO3 handle? / The question about #7 - I copied the link for the current posting for that story and then took it into the wayback machine where that same link does pull up the story being underneath the original name mentioned back in 2021, so it was a name change and not a repost.

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8. I’m looking for a fic, one chapter, Lan Wangji is a teacher in Cloud Recesses. He takes Wei Wuxian to the Jingshi and it’s implied that he told Wei Wuxian he’d not tell anyone what Wei Wuxian had done so long as Wei Wuxian let him fuck him.

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9. Hi! I hope you can help me find this. All I can remember is that WWX fell asleep in the cold spring and I think Lwj or Lqr saw his body few hours later and wwx is cold as if he is already dead.

FOUND? 🔒 Warming up (to him) by barisan (T, 9k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Hypothermia, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Temporary Character Death, Medical Inaccuracies, YZY Abuses WWX, JFM Bashing, pre-wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort)

FOUND? Warmth by Quiet_crash (G, 2k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Hypothermia, Fluff, Kinda, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm)

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10. Hi! Your work on this blog is absolutely amazing! For fic finder, I've been searching for a fic I read awhile ago. It's post-canon. WWX is traveling and writing to LWJ, but letters stop coming. LWJ searches and finds that to prevent a creature from preying on a local child, WWX took it on himself but to prevent the curse from hurting anyone else, he's hiding in a cave, constantly drinking to dull the effects.

FOUND? Fire in the Blood by Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (M, 20k, wangxian, First Time, Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, hurt/comfort themes)

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11. Hey I read a book recently, in there, there was a scene where, wwx was protecting someone? Or someone was protecting wwx? By standing on one side of fire and the attackers/i think it was jins or someone on the other side of fire. The scene was fierce. They were like us against the world type of scene. Do u know this fic? @constellationdks

#11 for recent fic finder here, thnx for the rec but it's not the one. The one I'm looking for is quite long, I think it was more than 30 or 40k. Also the scene wasn't with a yuan.

I know number 11 and I'm trying to search for it. It's wwx holding a-yuan in his arms in an alleyway when they are attacked by the jin. The premise has something to do with that strength parents get when defending their children? 🤔 let me get back to you!

NOT FOUND Hysterical Strength by covalentbonds (Not Rated, 3k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Parent WWX, Fix-It of Sorts, Everybody Lives/Nobody dies) Wwx is out one evening with a-yuan when he is ambushed by the jin.

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12. Fic finder please! 🙏

This would be a hybrid/warprize LWJ where he was a bunny hybrid and WWX was a snake. WRH has LWJ shipped off to WWX, who ends up helping him and eventually gets him reunited with LXC.

I remember there was art of LWJ and rabbits bc WWX was trying to help him calm down. I’ve read this sometime last year and can’t find it anywhere! 😭😭

FOUND! 山水盆景 (Shānshuǐ Pénjǐng) by meicairoubingfan (kiradyn) (M, 64k, WangXian, warprize AU warprize lwj, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Vers WangXian, Top WWX, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Animal Traits, Non-ABO Universe, Snake Demon Lord WWX, Animal Traits, Hand Jobs, Seduction, Found Family, Wedding In The Cloud Recesses, Handfasting In The Cold Spring Cave, Alternate 3Zun, Alternative Sunshot Campaign, Hinted Future ChenLi, YZY is a better mother, JYL Is Not A Wilting Wallflower, empowerment, Side-Character Cameos, Rabbit Sanctuary In The Burial Mounds, Cutest Little Bun MXY, Accidental Child Acquisition, Child MXY)

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13. (First part added to itmf) But I’m looking for a modern au were even though jc’s family is rich they don’t give wwx and jc pocket money and they were hungry in front of a bakery? And wwx used the « orphan in the street card » and lwj bought him food

I don’t know if it’s the same one but I think at some point wwx bought lwj home while he was drunk and waited for lxc to come pick him up and jc saw them talking on the couch and he thought they were dating (they weren’t together yet)

ANYWAY thank you for everything ✨✨✨ @ihaveasoftspotfora-yuan

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14. Hi! for the fic finder please, there was a fic where lz read on a book abt the hannaki disease and he thought it beautiful so he started choking himself on gentian flowers to imitate the feeling @cocoaphil

FOUND? the sweet scent of their tragedy by HeavenlySkyfarer (E, 23k, WangXian, Angst, Cultivation Sect Politics, Depression, Hanahaki Disease, Language of Flowers, Love Confessions, Manipulation, Marriage, Mental Health Issues, Pining, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Rumors, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Whump, Self-Harm, Bittersweet, Self-Blame, Canon-Typical Violence, Blanket Permission, Morally Gray LWJ)

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15. Hello, I am looking for a fic I read some time ago (it could be a few years). I think it was post-canon, Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian were together. LWJ gets cursed and the only thing he has in mind is killing WWX (since he sees him only as the big bad Yiling Laozu). At the end, WWX pretends LWJ killed him and the curse is lifted. It was posted on ao3. Thank you for your hard work! And have a great day!

I think I remember this fic! It starts out with WWX accidentally cursing LWJ with a talisman while they were in the jingshi and ends with WWX running to the burial mounds, finding out there are people who worship him living there, and he uses the incense burner to trick LWJ into thinking he killed him to break the curse, right? I can't recall the name though - Mod C

FOUND? all the broken things that I made by ilip13 (E, 43k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Lovers To Enemies, (then back to lovers I'm not a monster), Dubcon Kissing, Dubious Consent, But mostly not in the way you might expect - see notes for details, Explicit Sexual Content, Bondage, Flirting, Competence Kink) might be this? I haven't read it yet, but the summary sounds like what they are looking for!

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16. Okay I could have easily dreamt this up but I could have sworn there was a fic where either LWJ or WWX was in a orchestra and his band mates thought he was married to wen qing because she was the one to always bring a Yuan to him after school or something only to think he was cheating when his actual husband comes by pls tell me I didn't dream this

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17. Hi! im sorry i lost a fic and i need help. It was an old wangxian fic, where LXC He's emperor (?) and LWJ is engaged to WWX, in this fic they get married and there are problems with the marriage because LWJ was a little bad during their engagement, since they were children. WWX was always trying to get his attention until one day he gave up. In the fic there is a part where Su She shoots WWX with an arrow and LWJ punishes him in some way.I remember it was also a Tumblr AU that later become a fic

NOT FOUND! rebuttable presumption by @sarah-yyy

NOT FOUND! Burning Bridges by Keysmashed (E, 12k, wangxian, arranged marriage, misunderstandings, pining, angst w/ happy ending, family drama, swordfighting, non-graphic smut, emotional rollercoaster, love confessions, everyone lives au) it’s probably not this one because su she is not in it and it’s not royalty but wx are engaged and wy does give up so even if it’s not you might like it

FOUND! permissive presumption by sarahyyy (G, 7k, WangXian, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Pining, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings) could also be permissive presumption by sarahyyy, on AO3, which is an AU of the author's fic on tumblr

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18. Hi! This is for fic finder. WWX is killed by SMS in sunshot campaign. He then resurected years later by MXY in JGS order. WWX and LWJ fight together. WWX hand is blackened i think. JGS refused to tell WWX what is MXY wish is. In last chapter, JGS is killed by JGY or Madam Jin and WWX is free from the curse. I think JGS death is because of NHS plot i think. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

Hi! I'am #18 from the latests fic finder. I want to add some details. Not much but i hope someone can recognize it. Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi was sent to Qishan either as a hostage or indocrination. In there, everytime they are punished, Wen Ning and Wen Yuan help them to make the punishment lighter. Sometimes they warned Jin Ling, Lan Jingyi, and other junior everytime other wen sect member (the one that didnt hesitate to punush them harshly) nearby. I think Wen Qing too help everytime the punishment is so harsh that caused injury, she make them stay in infirmary where they are safe

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19. Hello! I’m looking for a fic where mxy and wwx are a couple who take lwj home for a night in a modern AU. The beginning talks about how mxy and wwx looked so similar that when they first met they were worried they were related. Lwj is on the verge of being in love w/ wwx, but he’s hesitant to act on it bc of the relationship between wwx & mxy. Once he’s in bed with them there’s a line about red satin sheets for special guests. It’s such a specific premise but I couldn’t find it on ao3😭

FOUND? you and me alone by plonk (Not rated, 6k, wangxian, MXY/LJW/WWX, modern)

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20. looking for a fic from a prev ff or itmf, modern au, college/research lab? setting, abo dynamics. wwx and lwj participate in some scientific research study and get together in the process. iirc they are not in the same yr at college. i didnt manage to save it then but really want to read it, please help!!

NOT FOUND Pairfire by PaidSubscription (E, 65k, wangxian, NMJ/LXC, JC/NHS, WQ/MM, JYL/JZX, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Relationships 101, Getting Together, First Time, Explicit Consent, Bordering on Kink Levels of Communication, Elements of Assigned-ish Marriage-ish, Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics, A/B/O With a twist, Because Cultivators CHOOSE Their Gender During This Course, After Trying Out All Three, It’s a Three Course Meal and WangXian’s Gender Acceptance is the Dessert, But Horny Pining is the Main Meal and the Most of the Snacks, Bottom LWJ, Bossy Bottom/Henpecked Top Energy, Everyone is over 21, Gender Choice Raises Issues for Most But I Promise Happy Endings + Everyone Comfy in Their Own Skin, Side Couple Aro/Ace/Agender Storylines)

FOUND! 🔒 I is for Instinct by beeswaxing (E, 71k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, JYL/JZX, hualian, A/B/O, Alpha WWX, Omega LWJ, Scenting, Possessive Behavior, Getting Together, First Time, First Kiss, Public Display of Affection, Public Claiming, Good Parent LQR, Alpha YZY, Good Parent YZY, Family Feels, Fluff, Romance, Aftermath of Violence, Slice of Life, Modern, College/University, BAMF WWX, Soft Wangxian, Barebacking, Knotting, Semi-Public Sex, Shameless, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg)

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[dottie-wan-kenobi]

modern au where jin ling has a tiktok account and every video is of one of his uncle's houses and he's like "turns out the ghost hates [insert uncle name here] too" and then the rest of the video is wwx's ghost knocking over cups/banging on the wall/making water drip/writing taunts on steamed up mirrors/etc and whichever Uncle Guy it is suffering the consequences of being a Jin Ling Uncle Who Isn't WWX

jc gets the bangs/knocks RIGHT when he's abt to fall asleep. no amount of ignoring it or shouting "shut up!!!" stops it. he has to get up and pound on the wall and then wwx will think about shutting up. maybe. but probably not for another few rounds of this or until jc threatens to sleep outside or something

lxc wakes up every morning to find All of his shit is messed up, like his fancy tea cabinet is reorganized in the stupidest way possible (by color and the second letter of the brand name), his fancy coffee table magazines are open to ominous pages about hair cuts, his records are riffled thru and sometimes set in the trash if wwx really doesn't like it

jgy gets shower messages that say shit like "I Know What You Did :)" that makes him convinced someone is trying to Expose Him and so he sets up so many cameras expecting to see idk mxy or xy doing it but he never catches anything!! the cameras fuzz out and suddenly the message is there!! he's being played with!!! this can't stand!!!

nmj gets creaking hallways and sometimes he thinks he hears angry voices. at first he's like great there's my family's mentow illness kicking in early. but then lxc or someone also hears it and he's like great is there a creep hiding in my house?? but no it's just wwx's ghost who also sometimes rushes up behind him and clenches his hand on nmj's shoulder or tugs his hair and makes the angry voices go Very Loud

nhs gets really weird fucking dreams where wwx sits at the end of his bed and smiles at him a lot. if nhs looks too closely wwx starts to fade into the dark behind him, but if nhs just glances and acts like nothing weird is happening then wwx will sometimes laugh like nhs said something funny. (nhs tries to talk to him but wwx doesn't reply)

mxy will be like "if ur real help me pick which eyeshadow I should use" and then one of the options will fly off the table and he'll say "thanks weird ghost u have good taste" and wwx will send his magnifying mirror spinning bc hell yeah he does

lwj sometimes feels, very strongly, that he's being watched,, but usually he's alone or w someone who isn't looking at him nearly intense enough to explain how strong the feeling is. it doesn't feel malicious but it gets a bit unnerving; wwx can tell and starts to pet lwj like a startled bunny too to soothe him >:3