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gentil-minou · 5 months

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Lanuary 2024 Day 2 - Yiling Wei Sect Head Disciple

"Did you know? The Yiling Laozu hadonly one disciple in his lifetime. A boy only four years of age!"

Lan Sizhui's ears perked up despite the rules against eavesdropping. There wasn't much he could do about it while sitting in a crowded tavern. Gossip traveled on whispers like dust in the howling wind.

Surely it wasn't his fault these patrons' voices were so loud? The rules were never clear about this, but better to be safe than sorry. Sizhui turned his attention towards meditative recitation, the way Ba— Hanguang-jun had taught him. When Hanguang-jun returned from the room he'd entered to confer with the inn's proprietress, he would see Sizhui sitting pin-straight and proper, not a hair out of place.

But try as he might, the ruckus from that table was impossible to ignore.

"You're kidding!" one the sectless cultivators said as they slammed their drink down, amber liquid spilling onto the table. "The fearsome Yiling Laozu tried to teach demonic cultivation to a kid???"

His friend's lips curled in disgust. "Yes, it's true. People in this very town mention it all the time. That he dragged this poor kid everywhere with him! Why else if not to teach him how to terrorize everyone."

The third cultivator leaned in to whisper, "You don't suppose he…abducted the child do you?"

Sizhui's heart started racing. He'd heard many stories about the Yiling Laozu, everyone had, of course. Especially since Jingyi had just finished this last phase where he spoke nothing, reading nothing, saw nothing if it wasn't about the Yiling Laozu.

According to Jingyi's rants, though the Yiling Laozu was indeed fearsome and utilized forbidden techniques, they were never for nefarious gains. Jingyi's theories point to him being a recluse more than anything else, a drunkard alone on the hill.

That never sat well with Sizhui. He couldnt explain why, but the thought of a lonely man dwelling on a mountain of graves with nary a living soul nearby, made something like a pit open up in his stomach.

It was sad, he thought. It was sad.

The door to a room meant for staff opened and a man dressed in pristine white robes with an embroidered forehead ribbon stepped back into the room.

Sizhui instantly stood, bowing perfectly the way he'd been taught. "Hanguang-jun," he greeted, keeping his tone level and biting back the urge to smile like a fool at his caretaker's return.

The table of cultivators' silence rang loud as a hush fell over the room. Hanguang-jun nodded his reply to Sizhui and seemed to glide across the room, while they stared after him like gaping fish.

This time their whispers were an actual attempt at discretion. "He'd know right. He'd know if—if you know who really, you know, stole a child?"

"Shh!!! Don't you know? Next to Sandu Sengshu, the one who hates the Yiling Laozu most is…"

Their words trailed off as Hanguang-jun stopped in his path, though his solemn gaze remained rooted on the empty space in front of him.

Sizhui tried valiantly to keep the shock from his face. Hanguang-jun had long ago mastered the ability to ignore gossiping, letting it slide off his person as easily as dew dripped down from a bamboo leaf. Sizhui had never seen him so affected by words. Did Hanguang-jun really hate the Yiling Laozu that much?

But only a moment later, he stepped away and reached Sizhui's side as if nothing had happened at all.

Hanguang-jun gracefully folded his legs and took his seat across the table. Sizhui hurried to pour tea into a cup, taking care to hold back his sleeve the way he'd been taught.

Choosing to ignore what had just happened, he asked, "How was your meeting, Hanguang-jun?"

He waited patiently as Hanguang-jun blew steam away from his cup, cooling his tea before taking a measured sip. Falling back into old habits, Sizhui couldn't help but admire and take note of his demeanor. If he were really shameless, stars would bleed from his eyes.

Hanguang-jun nodded, pleased with his drink. "Productive. You have poured this tea well, Sizhui."

Sizhui beamed, heat rising to his cheeks at the praise.

"And the curse? Has it been resolved?" he asked instead of squealing like Jingyi when Hanguang-jun told him his writing was legible. But only just.

Hanguang-jun hummed. "Mn. The matter has been resolved. We will head back to the Cloud Recesses tomorrow once we've rested."

Sizhui relaxed back in his seat, allowing a moment of discomposure that hopefully Hanguang-jun would ignore.

Not bad for Sizhui's first proper outing as a junior Lan disciple. He was surprised when Hanguang-jun singled him out for a nighthunt, one on one. Jingyi hadn't stopped whining about it for days.

Sometimes Sizhui thought Hanguang-jun showed him too much special favor. But he smiled into his cup all the same.

The elderly innkeeper steps out of the kitchen carrying a tray laden with food. Silver strands of hair slip from her ponytail, shining in the candlelight.

"There! I remembered all your favorites from last time you visited," she winked.

But each of the dishes she placed on the table were redder than the last. Red peppers and red chili oil, even the soup had a shiny spicy sheen on the top.

The innkeeper placed her hands on her hips as she stood up, proud.

Sizhui gaped at Hanguang-jun.

Hanguang-jun's ears flamed red as the dishes he stared down at. A shifty glance—shifty! A shifty Hanguang-jun! Jingyi would never believe this—at the proprietress waiting eagerly for him to try it. When it became clear she wouldn't leave until he took a bite, Hanguang-jun spooned a mouthful of the spicy soup.

Sizhui's jaw dropped to the floor.

In all his years living in Cloud Recesses, he'd never, ever seen Hanguang-jun eat something like this.

Pulling a small cloth from his sleeve, Hanguang-jun coughed daintily into it as he told the proprietress, "Thank you. It is delicious."

"I hope so! Soon as I saw you I knew what I had to serve you," the innkeeper babbled as the two Lans stared mournfully at food too painful to eat. Sizhui took a tentative morsel of a vegetable dish, wiping off as much of the red sauce as he could on the plate.

The innkeeper continued speaking like she hadnt noticed. "If only our Laozu was still with us, he'd have eaten it all! And the little boy that was with you! He ate so well! It's horrible what happened to them, such a terrible shame" She rested a hand against her cheek as she sighed.

For the second time that day, Hanguang-jun stiffened, his spoon held aloft.

'Laozu?' What Laozu?

They were in Yiling so it could only be one…

Sizhui stared wide-eyed at his senior, who at some point in his lifetime sat in this very tavern having a spicy meal with the fiendish Yiling Laozu.

The vegetable fell from his chopstick onto his lap.

A stream of whispers that made no attempt at being discrete erupted from the other table, these cultivators having no care for the Lan tenets.

"See! I told you! The Yiling Laozu stole a young boy to be his disciple!"

"You also said Hanguang-jun hated him! Why would they

have a meal if he hated him!"

"Maybe the Yiling Laozu brainwashed him too. Maybe he helped him kidnap the child? Maybe they're both in on it!"

"Then did Hanguang-jun betray him? He was the one who led the sects to Yiling Laozu's cave."

"He must have killed the boy too then. There's no way someone as righteous as Hanguang-jun would let a demonic child like that live—"

Chopsticks slammed onto the table, rattling the dishes as Hanguang-jun stood from his seat in a single, brusque movement.

His expression was the usual smooth, unreadable jade, so Sizhui almost assumed Hanguang-jun had stood so suddenly for some other reason, until he bowed to the proprietress and said, "My apologies for living so soon. We must return to the Cloud Recesses immediately. Thank you."

Apparently it was possible for Sizhui's jaw to circumnavigate the floor entirely, falling into the earth itself.

Lying. Hanguang-jun was lying!!!

"Come, Sizhui," he said, and without a backwards glance towards the gaping cultivators and with an exaggerated flourish of his sleeves, Hanguang-jun marched out of the tavern.

Sizhui hurriedly reached into his money pouch and placed in ingot on the table, bowing in farewell.

Forgetting to pay as well? If Sizhui didn't know any better, he'd think Hanguang-jun was possessed. Next he'd take his forehead ribbon off and strut around the inn without a care.

Sizhui hastened his steps to follow Hanguang-jun, head turning this way and that for a trace of his senior.

Finally, he spotted him standing before a market stall selling, of all things, children's toys. Wooden swords and hand-stitched dolls wearing colorful fabrics. Hanguang-jun was stroking a finger across a pair of artfully crafted grass butterflies.

Maybe he was possessed by a child after all?

"Would Gongzi like to purchase one? I weaved these two just this morning," the stallowner politely enquired.

Hanguang-jun shook his head in reply and, folding the hand that had touched the butterflies into a fist behind his back, walked off down the street.

Though Sizhui should be in a hurry to catch up to him, his feet stopped at the stall. Looking down at the pair of butterflies entwined in their stand, something in his heart ached.

"I'd like to buy these, please."

He found Hanguang-jun in a side street off the market, standing tall and proud and still as a statue. Unsure of what to say or even if he should, Sizhui took his by Hanguang-jun's side, content to simply be near as the sounds of the market faded into the background.

The grass butterflies were expertly crafted and Sizhui became mesmerized by the way the twined together as he twirled them again and again. He didn't notice Hanguang-jun was watching as well until he spoke.

"Yiling has grown since the last time I was here."

Hanguang-jun's voice held a softness that reminded Sizhui of the first time he took him to see the rabbits, all those years ago. He looked up, still twirling his butterflies, as Hanguang-jun watched with golden eyes a million miles away.

Sizhui bit his lips, wondering if he should say something. but before he can his senior plucked one of the butterflies from his hand. Fingers lined with guqin ridges spun the butterfly again and again.

"There was a similar stall back then that sold butterflies as well."

He pressed the grass butterfly against the one held in Sizhui's hands, almost like a kiss.

Sizhui's heart raced, suddenly desperate for an answer, "Did you really meet the Yiling Laozu back then? At that inn?"

A moment passed, and Sizhui thought Hanguang-jun wouldn't say anything.

Then, of all the things, Hanguang-jun smiled.

Faint, only the smallest lift at the corners, but a smile nonetheless.

He was smiling, so why did it look like he was about to cry?

"We did, yes," he replied.

"We?"

Hanguang-jun set him a mournful look.

Oh, right. The boy.

Before he could think better, Sizhui blurted, "So it's true then? The Yiling Laozu had a disciple? A little boy?"

Hanguang-jun gaze drifts off to the side. "Not quite. He was Wei Ying's, but not a disciple."

The Yiling Laozu's real name was Wei Wuxian, but he'd never heard anyone call him that. Not even Jingyi ever mentioned it.

Curiosity lit a spark in Sizhui's belly. Just what sort of relationship did Hanguang-jun have with the Yiling Laozu for him to call him so casually? For him to smile when he talked about him? For him to seem so sad?

But bravery is fickle, and Sizhui was abruptly afraid of the answer. In fact, a part of him almost wished he never asked anything.

The other part of him yearned to learn more about his most respected senior and the dead man he clung to.

How many times did Sizhui wake to the sound of guqin strings playing Inquiry? How many times did he hear the loud silence of their answer?

"The—the Yiling Laozu had a son?"

Hanguang-jun's gaze held a teasing sparkle when it settled on Sizhui. "He birthed him from his own body."

Sizhui pursed his lips with confusion. That did not make any sense, but Hanguang-jun began weaving a tale before he had a chance to think more of it.

"There was a little radish that followed him everywhere," he said, quiet and fond. "He spoke very fondly of the boy, but he would never allow any harm to him. Wei Ying cared for him."

"So that stuff about him making this kid his disciple…"

"Mn. Utterly false." A noise like a scoff escapes through Hanguang-jun nose, like even the very idea is ludicrous.

"Oh." For whatever reason, Sizhui's shoulders slumped in dejection. He supposed it would have been interesting, to meet someone trained and cared for by the Yiling Laozu himself. He wondered what kind of person they grew up to be.

He swallowed and glanced at Hanguang-jun through the corner of his eye. "Do you think he's still alive...that boy? That he's okay?"

Hanguang-jun shifted to face Sizhui head on. "Yes," he said, with a surety and conviction that dazzled. "I believe he is. He is doing well and thriving."

He took the butterflies back in hand. This time when he smiled down at them, it touched his eyes.

"Wei Ying would be proud," he told the butterflies. He turned that smile towards Sizhui and it was almost like looking at the sun.

He didn't quite understand why it felt like that warmth filled his insides too, why he felt it flowing through his veins. Why Hanguang-jun's words made him so happy.

He beamed back all the same.

As they mounted their swords to return home, Sizhui turned back for one final look at Yiling and the Burial Mounds behind it.

The sun was setting over the mountain, blues and pinks and purples splashed against a midnight sky, casting long shadows like it was waving back.

(twitter) (bluesky)

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #wangxian #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #a-yuan #lan sizhui #lanuary #lanuary 2024 #mdzs musings #mdzs fanfiction #bushy writing

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twistedappletree · 7 months

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Actually obsessed with the idea of Jin Ling trying to teach Lan Sizhui archery and getting smug as hell because he finally found something Lan Sizhui isn’t an instant prodigy at but at the same time, he sees how determined Lan Sizhui is to learn it and can’t help but love teaching him and wanting to see him succeed so they can hunt together

#also how cool it would be because LSZ is a wen #and would’ve probably learned archery from wen ning if things were different #and i guess he technically still could but #i just think it would be so cute to let jin Ling have his ‘teacher’ moment ahahaha #B A B I E S #apple babble 🍎#jin ling #lan sizhui #mdzs #not gonna overtag bc these are just rambles #and also probably fic musings because????#this would actually make such a cute fic oop ✨🏹💛#fic ideas #you just know JL being better than LSZ at something is gonna fuel his ego in the funniest way LOL #competitive baby but also cares about his friends #and would finally have someone to practice and hunt with who wouldn’t pick on him 🥺#and yes i’m aware the Lans probably learn archery to an extent #but it’s obviously JL’s forté

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marshmallowwitharubberband · 7 months

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Wait, but why are scallion pancakes so ubiquitous to the MDZS fandom? Like, every third fanfic they appear in some form or another, whether it's modern AU or not. I'm not Chinese so I don't know if it's because they're *that* popular. I didn't know they existed until the fanfics.

But anyway, reading about them so often made me start craving them so here is my poor attempt. They were delicious.

#but still why are they so often mentioned?#what secrets do they hold?#but I get it now #I wolfed down five in one sitting #send help #mo dao su zhi #mo dao zu shitposting #mdzs musings #mdzs #mdzs fanfiction #wei wuixan #lan zhan #lan sizhui

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thisisallthehattersfault · 1 year

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I’m still fixated on Zhuiyi with Sect Leader Wen Sizhui and Jingyi as his concubine.

I’ve always loved the headcanon that Sizhui is the son of Wen Xu. AU where the Sunshot Campaign failed and Sizhui was raised among the Wen gentry, as Wen Ruohan’s only grandson. (Wen Xu isn’t in love with Sizhui’s mother or anything he just has low sperm count and tends to sire girls, so Sizhui has like four-six sisters but he’s the only boy.)

Somehow or another bby a-Yuan ends up meeting WWX. Maybe Wen Qing convinces Wen Ruohan to let him teach a-Yuan the art of talismanry and spellcrafting? And WWX isn’t thrilled about being imprisoned by the Wens but he doesn’t blame the baby for the crimes of his clan and a-Yuan comes to see his teacher as more of a father figure than impossible-to-please, hardly-around, emotionally-unavailable Wen Xu.

I dunno how the actual build up would go but when he’s like twelve Sizhui demands Lan Jingyi become one of his personal retainers and Wen Ruohan permits it. In public Sizhui is the quintessential Wen, domineering and arrogant and cruel, while Jingyi plays the part of his doting not-concubine (because of course Sizhui isn’t properly married yet and it would be unseemly for him to start building a harem)

In private Jingyi and Sizhui take down the Wen from the inside with the help of WWX, WN, and WQ, as well as outside help from the other surviving sect cultivators. I’m not gonna brainstorm how everybody lives it’s two AM.

Anyway Sizhui ends up as Sect Leader Wen and then of course he and Jingyi get married.

#mdzs #the untamed #lan sizhui #lan jingyi #zhuiyi #musings and ideas #not a fic #fic prompt

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bringxthexfirexmultimusesx · 2 years

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❝ but then she fell prey to a demon of greed, who slowly consumed her body and soul.❞ ( for Jingyi ? )

﹙⥈﹚"That's so sad! why!? she must have been going thought bad times...read it again. "He was interested in the story there wasn't much about her in the book was she in trouble why she fell? "We might find out why she done it she was strong and smart." He flips to the last page trying to understand. "I wonder how she looks like." He frowns trying to investigate one more book of her, but it was less information inside of it. “You think she was from our clan? And why would we have books of her.” It was bothering him know he was already 20 years old, and he can snoop in the library freely for studies plus minerals to teach disciples.

@battleguqin

#ƬӇЄ MƠƧƬ ƲƝ-ԼƛƝ ƳƠƲ ƜƖԼԼ ЄƔЄƦ MЄƬ⥈ ԼƛƝ ʆƖƝƓƳƖ #battleguqin [Muse: Lan Sizhui ]

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legendwrote · 11 months

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( @sizhuibattleguqin continued from x )

⚍☯⚎ They sat by the fireside as they spoke in hushed voices so they wouldn’t wake the toddler that they’d just managed to lull back to sleep in their bed, curled up with his stuffed rabbit among the sky blue embroidered blankets.

He poured his husband some tea he’d steeped seeing as they both seemed to be up, an occurrence that had grown more frequent with their worries regarding Liwu’s nightmares. Any good parent would worry over the safety of their child, he reminded himself, but not many had cause to fret over a few night terrors. The need for fretting, however, could be a legitimate one where they were concerned. It troubled him to think that their manner of cultivating the child into existence might be the cause of his suffering, knowing at the onset that there had been risks to the process but hoping that the sheer amount of meticulous care they’d taken would prevent such tragedies. Then again, there was always the possibility that the matter at hand was not at all connected. They would not know until they investigated further.

He sat down at the hearth across from him, close enough that knees brushed, casting a breath over his own cup of tea. “We’ll leave in the morning, after breakfast then. He’s happiest with a full belly,” just like me, he thought. With any luck a little breakfast would ward off his own woes, but it seemed like wishful thinking.

He looked back over his shoulder to their bed and their son within it, watching him sleep, vigilant for any signs of unease on that little face, but it remained peaceful for now.

“You don’t think we were hasty, do you?” He let the worry slip his lips for the first time, always having been careful to keep his misgivings to himself if there were any, not wishing his partner nor his son to worry as well, but now he could not help it. “Bringing him into this world. It’s still such a turbulent place, and this life of ours will be hard on him…” he frowned a little. ⚍☯⚎

#battleguqin #⚍Muse⚎ Lan Jingyi #⚍Character⚎ Lan Sizhui #⚍Verse⚎ The New Generation #//sorry for linking to your response #//I'm still very confused with all the new post editor stuff and how to navigate around it #//hope this works okay!#//love you!

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thebroccolination · 23 days

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks to @itsmylifekay and @dimplesandfierceeyes for the tags!

How many works do you have on AO3?

204 👀

Aaand Until We Meet Again is the fandom I've written for most with almost half of those.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,036,647 words. \:D/ Which is wild because I write so many short things that I never think of myself as having written that much, but t'would seem writing little amounts in consistent bursts builds up to a lot over time.

What fandom(s) do you write for?

Mainly Thai BL right now, and pretty much the same three pairings in circulation. Sometimes I'll write for a shiny new series, but I consistently come back to WinTeam (Until We Meet Again/Between Us), KongArt (SOTUS), and KawiPi (Be My Favorite).

I've also written for some anime series (Boku no Hero Academia, Yuri on Ice, etc.), Chinese danmei (Guardian, MDZS, etc.), Jpop RPF, and a ton of other fandoms that preceded my Kiranokira account on AO3 (est. 2017).

What are your top five fics by kudos?

These aren't necessarily my best, I just posted them at a good time for a lot of eyes to fall on them.

If It's You | Yuri!!! on Ice | Yuuri/Viktor | Explicit | 16k words — Viktor and Yuuri pose for a sexy magazine.

An Event of Somewhat Clandestine Chaos | Módào Zǔshī | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui | Teen | 3.6k words — Jiang Yanli's son elopes with another boy.

Who Am I to You? | Until We Meet Again | Win/Team | Teen | 2k words — Team wakes up from minor surgery with a foggy memory and can't believe his luck when he finds out who he's dating.

Win the Friendly, Win the Deadly | Until We Meet Again | Win/Team | Teen | 2.3k words — Win's reputation of cool composure ends when someone messes with Team at a swim meet.

Home Again | Not Me | Sean/White, Black/Gram, Dan/Yok | Teen | 2k words — Another way Black's return could have happened.

More below (including gorgeous WinTeam fanart I commissioned and a YouTube podcast I guested on recently)!

Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I try to do it as often as I can, but sometimes I get distracted, and then I feel terrible about responding late. Believe me, though, I read every one about four seconds after you send it and then spend between five minutes to five years in absolute bliss. I've actually started making a scrapbook of the comments that made me happy for emotionally rainy days.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Sooo, this isn't something on my AO3 account, but I once wrote a fic about a guy who died and he was making his rounds to visit all his friends (who couldn't see him). I couldn't end it completely miserably though, so I killed his boyfriend to reunite them! \o/

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I genuinely have no idea. Despite the horror show I just mentioned, the overwhelming majority of my fics have very happy endings. <3 I'M NICE TO MY CHARACTERS (eventually), DON'T BELIEVE THE RUMORS.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I can remember!

Do you write smut?

I sure do! In fact—

What’s your craziest crossover?

What excellent timing for this question. :D

MUSE | Until We Meet Again, SOTUS, Kiss the Series, My Engineer, Theory of Love, Ingredients, etc. | Win/Team, Kongphob/Arthit, Pete/Kao, Sun/Mork, Ram/King, etc. | Explicit | 143k words — Sex worker AU in a parallel futuristic universe where sex work is a decriminalized thing.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I sure have. More than once. Reposted to Wattpad. Was not jazzed.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! Every time it happens I'm so excited to hear about the process. Most recently, @linlinlong translated MUSE into Russian and was lovely enough to explain multiple points where the languages clashed and where Russian actually benefited a moment better than English!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! @itsmylifekay has become my multifandom co-writer, as we've co-written WinTeam (1) (2), KongArt, and are soon to start writing a sequel to her incredible Witcher AU KawiPi fic together. :D Our writing styles mesh really well, and we keep each other going off enthusiasm and a similar love for tormenting characters who don't deserve it. <3

All time favorite ship?

WinTeam. It's not even a contest. WinTeam WinTeam WinTeam. <3

[gorgeous commissioned art by @questionartbox for my WinTeam fic "i see your face every time" where Team flies to London in secret to bring Win home. <3]

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I truly don't want to answer this because I think I could genuinely finish any of them in the right circumstances. I recently started working again on a fic in my drafts that I started back in 2021 and hadn't touched for three years, so y'know. All of them have potential to be finished!

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, humor, coming up with inventive metaphors/imagery. The third thing was a conscious thing I started doing at some point to keep myself interested in what I was writing. Every time I used a common metaphor/simile/comparison, I felt myself getting bored, so I tried to make things up that were just offbeat enough that they still made sense, and then I realized some of them were working better with the character's voice and the story and situation, etc.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Describing settings. I have that aphantasia thing where I can't really envision things. It takes a real effort to see things in my head, and even then, it's not a clear picture. Like if you take the classic "what do you see when you imagine an apple" question, some people see a tree filled with apples in an orchard. I see a red, vague shape of an apple on a black background. So any time I write, my default is emotion and the abstract. It takes a lot of effort to also build a set in the writing.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

It can be used effectively, and I use it myself when there's no proper English equivalent and it adds to the story. Like, in my first two or three Thai BL fics, I didn't use any foreign language words, but the more I understood the social hierarchy in Thailand and how much of an influence suffixes have in WinTeam's relationship, I started using them.

Which fandom was the first you wrote in?

Animorphs. \:D/ (Followed by CATS the Musical.)

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Right now, I think it might be my KongArt fic "Life in Abundance",

Summary: Kongphob's mother has an agenda, and Kongphob can't dissuade her from it. Enter Kongphob's husband.

“She wants a grandchild,” Kongphob says gently. “She has four,” Arthit says. It’s a struggle to sound stern when Kongphob knows the pressure he likes and where he holds the most stress. “She wants a grandchild from me,” Kongphob clarifies. “Right, of course. You’re her favorite.”

With Gatekeeping Kawi as a very close second.

Both fics are about couples navigating their relationships with their parents. The KongArt one is about them trying to gently break it to Kongphob's mother that they don't want children, and the KawiPi one is Pisaeng literally gatekeeping Kawi from his estranged mother to protect him.

One of my favorite things about writing established relationships are all the issues you can explore that have nothing to do with infidelity or jealousy, and parents are a biiig part of that. The other thing is that I have a good relationship with my mother, and a very, very bad relationship with my father, so I have an extra interest in exploring various healthy and unhealthy parental relationships.

Aaaand that's it! This was fun! \:D/

Oh! And I was also a guest on Lovecast's podcast about fanfiction's role in fandom recently, if you'd like to hear me talk very fast and loud about why I love this stuff as much as I do. :')

youtube

#kiranokira fic #fandom talk #fic talk #Youtube

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battleguqin · 12 days

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i don't even really know how it happened . (Lan Jingyi ) @javaspirits

He was looking at the hole that was in the side of the wall of their sleeping chambers and than back to Lan Jingyi with a stunned silence. Sizhui truly had nothing. What had happened more so he wanted to ask how a Jingyi sized hole was now in their wall. When he finally found his voice his did manage to comment.

"I--have so many questions---" he stated "Yet--this is almost normal." he mused softly as he shook his head with a tiny smile. "Don't worry Jingyi we will get patched up, and fixed. It will take a little bit, but if we can make it uniform again, I don't see why we would need to bother Grand Uncle or Baba with it." he said as he brought a hand up and patted the other on the shoulder.

"I am curious how come you were flailing though." he indicated the impressive break. "Or are you going to leave me forever in suspense ?" he inquired.

@javaspirits

#Verse: Promise of a New Day #Javaspirits #Lan Jingyi #(Hello)

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javaspirits · 10 days

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adversitybloomed asked:

“Some of these costumes are so extravagant. They must have cost a fortune.” ( for Jingyi )

When you got invited to the local lords fancy ball because you promised to check out his local graveyard to make sure the things happening was not tied to it, it could be a bother. He had never been to a fancy ball before, let along instructed on what to wear. He would not relinquish his sacred ribbon and had promised pain to anyone who dared to attempt to touch it. They had learned the Lan boy was absolutely capable of being a nightmare.

So they dressed him around it.

"Sizhui should be here." he offered in a soft whisper to the woman at his side. "I can not deal with this much stupid in one room, to many simpering ladies and I use this term loosely, trying to get into this lord or that lords graces and by graces Mulan, I mean beds." he was sneering beneath the menacing mask so at least that part was appropriate. "To many young lords looking for hook ups and it goes against every single thing I was brought up believing." he said He thrust an arm out in her direction, partly to cause some one heading their way to detour and partly to whine. "I think all this is giving me a rash."

Though she was right the costumes in this place were beyond beautiful and had the hefty tag to prove it. "I feel like if they donated what it cost to make just one of these than a small village could be fed for over a month." came his answer. "The clouds on this sleeve I believe is actually embroidered with silver." he huffed as he folded his arms across his chest, and looked every bit intimidating.

This was not what he had signed up for. "Just being here feels like I am breaking rules" he mused "The Lan Qiren who is always in my head is rattling off all the rules I am breaking, just being extravagantly dressed and what ever it was that lady handed me with real gold flakes on it."

@adversitybloomed

#Verse: to be decided #[m] Lan Jingyi #adversitybloomed #Hua Mulan-tag pending

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coreofgold · 2 years

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@skyfcll for Lan Sizhui

“How d-do they do that ?” Wen Ning asked, sitting with his nephew as they watched the jousting. “Being a-able to balance the stick a-and riding the horse is amazing”

#Turnips ! We’re selling turnips (Wen Ning interacts)#skyfcll #Call me brother. . .Wei-gongzi says uncle sounds like your greeting an old man (Lan Sizhui)#muse: lan sizhui #hw ren faire #hwminievent2

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adversitybloomed · 7 months

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A VERY DESCRIPTIVE PROFILE OF YOUR MUSE. Repost with the information of your muse, including headcanons, etc. if you fail to achieve some of the facts, add some other of your own!

NAME: Hua Mulan | 花木蘭

NICKNAME: hua jun ( male disguise ) | Feng Lian( feng means ‘maple, phoenix’ & Lian means, lotus, female disguise ). La-Chan (@ka-go-me ), Mumu ( @heartsacrosstime ), Little Lotus ( @battleguqin )

TITLE(S): General Hua | Heroine Hua | Heroine Hua Mulan

AGE: 18+

SPECIES: Human | Phoenix

SEX: cis female

NATIONALITY: Chinese

INTERESTS: Horseback riding, drawing, practicing various styles & techniques of martial arts, playing video games, baking, being out in nature, singing, dancing, playing the flute & guzheng. Trying different foods, spending time with her friends.

PROFESSION: former farm girl, solider of the imperial army. Now she is a cultivator who services as a General & agent to the Emperor to better protect her people. in more modern times, she is a student studying computer science.

BODY TYPE: she is petite and while she is slim in nature, she has muscles due to her countless hours of martial training.

EYES: Dark Brown

HAIR: she has long black hair that goes past her butt. she often keeps it down, though has part of it up using head jewelry or ribbons. in modern verse, she keeps her hair long but mostly down unless she is eating.

SKIN: fair and smooth as she spends time taking care of it with lotus or yinghua lotions.

FACE: Zhao Lusi

POSTURE: she only slouches when she is sitting in a none serious and almost playful manner. otherwise, she keeps herself as poised as possible for she knows she has eyes constantly on her.

HEIGHT: 5'1" ( 154.94cm ).

VOICE: speaking: x + x + x | singing: x + x + x

SIGNATURE OUTFIT: Mulan wears a lot of hanfu's. she prefers to have softer pastel colorings, though she does go for the occasional pop of red. most of the time though, it is a pastel blue or pink hanfu.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: @battleguqin's Lan Sizhui & @caracarnn's Rand al'Thor are the two main / default ships for my mulan & this blog.

COMPANIONS: This is the only time i really lean into anything disney related, as I adore Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. These three I keep with me in my threads as companions. but mostly her friends which can be fond on my bonds page. however its important to note I refrence @sparesovereign's Anna, @lcvelj's Lara Jean & @ka-go-me' Higurashi Kagome a huge chunk of the time.

ANTAGONISTS: I write her on my other blog, but Hua Daiyu is a huge one she is my OC and Mulan's elder sister. but also I keep with her main villians from the disney movies so Shan Yu, Xianniang ( though shes torn on this one ) & Bori Khan.

STRENGTHS: Kind Hearted, loyal, brave, willing to help others. Trusting. Ability to fight for what she believes in. Willing to do what is right.

WEAKNESSES: Loyal. Naïve. Trusting. Unwillingness to lose someone she loves. Takes too much of the burdens on herself. Is willing to put herself into harms way for others.

FRUITS: Strawberries, Dragonfruit, Bayberry, Rambutans.

DRINKS: Jasmine tea, Strawberry or Milk boba tea

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: she doesnt drink and if she does, she has no idea what she would like.

SMOKES: she doesnt smoke.

DRUGS: she doesn't take drugs.

DRIVER'S LICENSE: verse dependent, she prefers to be driven or public transportation.

tagged by: @caracarnn ( TY ! ) tagging: @battleguqin + @ka-go-me + @sparesovereign + @lcvelj + @penddraig + @peculiarbeauty + @lianhuaes ( your choice ) + @luckhissoul + @swordswept + @heartsacrosstime

#🌸 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 ✧ headcanon #🌸 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐀 ✧ dash game

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gentil-minou · 5 months

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Lanuary 2024 - Day 12, Sizhui's Birthday

The gentians in his mother's garden grow late into the season, as if her spirit still tends to them. A-Yuan's laughter flutters on wings toward where Lan Wangji sits on the wooden deck and watches.

"He's doing well, Wangji," Xichen says.

Lan Wangji nods, the corners of his eyes softening despite himself.

He is. A-Yuan has come a long way in the long months that have passed since…since…

His fingers clench tight and he hides them in his sleeves.

"Soon he'll be of age to join the little ones' class. He'll be a bit behind in core formation, but with diligent study and practice I am certain he will catch up in no time."

Xichen smiles, as if he has no memory of why A-Yuan is so behind his peers. Why he will be starting late.

Lan Wangji's back itches. The bandages stick uncomfortably to his skin. He'd split the stitches open again the other night. He hadn't even done anything this time. His scars just tear open and blood spills from them afresh, uninterested in healing and moving on.

Lan Wangji cannot blame them.

Xichen continues speaking, unaware as always. Lan Wangji knows his brother has other responsibilities and his concerns about the Nie sect leader's growing sickness have recently taken precedence. But sometimes he wonders what sort of world Brother resides in. It cannot be the same world Lan Wangji inhabits.

"He will need a courtesy name soon," he says as his gaze drifts to the ribbon A-Yuan is still getting used to.

He'd marveled over the cloud pattern when Lan Wangji first presented it to him, delighted in being able to match his gege.

Again, his thoughts stray to another caregiver with a different colored ribbon. He wonders, not for the first time, what A-Yuan would have said if Wei Ying gifted him a red ribbon.

A-Yuan has not mentioned his Xian-gege once since he'd arrived. The masters say his memory has been altered forever. How mournful a life never knowing Wei Ying would be. Or would it be a mercy? Lan Wangji still does not know.

His brother gently tugs him away from his thoughts. "Have you thought of a courtesy name yet? If he is to be your heir then—"

"He is already my heir."

Rule number 24. Do not interrupt. Let them add another scar to his back, if they so choose.

Xichen sighs. "Yes. As a Lan heir, normally his name would be chosen by the elders, but I suspect you would disagree."

"Mn." He will, when the time comes.

The boy already has a name, though Lan Wangji will not share it with Xichen or Uncle or anyone.

The only one who's heard it are ghosts lingering at night by his bedside, when Lan Wangji is weak and whispering that name alongside another.

No one else will know the name until it's time. And they will have no say in it. Bitterness swells rotten and tired on his tongue, poison in his teeth. After all, why should they?

The person who should have given A-Yuan his name is no longer here. Why would anyone else ever deserve that privilege?

Eventually, Xichen stops his patient waiting, shaking his head and pretending Lan Wangji can't see. They spend a few more moments watch A-Yuan chase after a bunny, giggling as he trips over his ribbon. The garden is awash in color as red and golden leaves fall to join their brethren in the small pond. Curious carp swim to the surface for a nibble, dashing away once satisfied.

"What about a birthday?" Xichen asks. "You have not yet given one. Will you choose the day you brought him back?"

The day Lan Wangji found A-Yuan and brought him back? The day he learned of Wei Ying's death? The day he spent hours and hours scouring a barren wasteland for a ghost, for a body? The day he found only bones and misery, and one small sickly boy breath so sallow he'd been afraid to take a step lest he hurt him?

No. Nothing on that dark, horrible day. If he could, Lan Wangji would wipe that date off the calendar forever.

But his brother is right. A-Yuan deserves a day to celebrate.

"Mn. I will think of one," he tells Xichen, then says nothing as he waits for his brother to leave. Sometimes Xichen refuses to budge. Other times, he leaves Lan Wangji in peace, and Lan Wangji can let himself feel the fury that spikes in his veins at the sight of him.

This time, Xichen leaves quickly, blessedly. But simmering fury does not flow through his veins. How can it, when A-Yuan's laughter is music that lifts his spirits and fills this quiet space with life it hasn't had in decades.

A breeze scatters leaves into a whirlwind, spinning around A-Yuan as he yelps and holds his prized ribbon to his head. A red leaf gets caught in his hair, nestling unnoticed near his small ponytail.

This time of year…soon it will be Wei Ying's birthday. It would be fitting for A-Yuan to share that date with his Xian-gege.

It could also become a curse.

Lan Wangji swallows down the rising shame at his cowardice. How can he claim that day for A-Yuan when he cannot even speak Wei Ying's name to him? How can he pretend he has any right to that day, to anything belonging to Wei Ying.

No. That day will stay Wei Ying's. It will remain as Lan Wangji's day to repent.

But then, what else? Lan Wangji had so little time with A-Yuan and the Wens, he wouldn't know where to start. Should he seek out a fortune teller for an auspicious date. Another person assigning them their fate?

The idea sours low in his stomach and he casts it away. Whatever else, he wants A-Yuan to live a life freer than his predecessors. He wants him to have more than they ever had.

But he still needs a birthday.

A memory whispers along a winter's wind, carrying a chill from long ago.

"Zhanzhan, come, come. Let's eat cake."

In his memories, his mother's voice sounds like wind chimes and glass. Beautiful, yet breakable. So fragile, and so precious, something to handle with care and polish as needed.

"Mama. We have not yet eaten dinner," he'd said, already following rules that sought to bind.

"Mhm, but that's okay, little one. We can keep it a secret. Come, come. I want to celebrate your birthday early this year."

"But why? Won't I see you next month to celebrate?"

In his memories, his mother's smile is sweet and sad, but stubbornly sticks to her face.

He cannot remember what the cake tasted like, time becoming a chasm he cannot cross. But he remembers his mother's joy as she ate, how she dabbed frosting on his nose, how she laughed at the face he made, how she kissed it off with tenderness.

He remembers how a month later, long after her body had turned to ash, he refused to eat the cake set out for his birthday for years to come.

Eventually, he grew to love the taste anew, finding his mother in every sweet. Sugary syrups and fluffy dough, the same as her laughing cheeks. Honey eyes and candied laughter. Powdery warmth that cradled his back when she'd press him to her heart.

Now, he's grateful they were able to share one last cake between them, the memory better than any treat.

"Gege, look at this pretty flower!" A-Yuan's voice wraps warm around his thoughts, a hug that gently lifts him from his memory.

Lan Wangji blinks down at the purple-blue gentian sitting in his lap as A-Yuan's strokes gentle fingers over soft petals.

"There's so many. Can we keep them? I want to put them in my bed."

Lan Wangji's hand drifts to the stem, hesitant to touch the petals lest he break them.

"No, little one. We cannot."

A-Yuan pouts and whines, "But whyyyy? I want to make them my friends…" His bottom lip sticks out and trembles dangerously. He doesn't often throw tantrums, too well-behaved to try. But Lan Wangji has held him through silent tears after nightmares. It is not any better.

He swallows, wishing again for Wei Ying's guidance. The boy would never shed a tear if he were here. His eyes drift towards the flower bed where the buds drift in the wind.

"The flowers," he start haltingly, "need to rest in their bed. The way A-Yuan must rest in his."

A-Yuan tilts his head, "Really?"

Lan Wangji nods, anxiously on the lookout for any tears gathering in the corner's of big brown eyes.

A-Yuan's faces scrunches up as he thinks. "They have to stay in the soil… so they can grow big and strong? And make lots of friends?"

Lan Wangji nods in a hurry, not sure what else to say. Where did A-Yuan learn this?

But the rain does not pass, and churns into a storm.

"Then—then," A-Yuan quietly sniffles as he stares at the flower in his hand. "Then, then then when I— when I picked—picked the flower, did I—did I take it away from, from, from…its family?"

His tears slip like morning dew, with not a sound like there's no one there to notice. Lan Wangji helplessly cradles A-Yuan's face and tries to wipe them away before the can fall.

"I, I, I," A-Yuan whispers, "I did a bad."

"No, no little one." Lan Wangji repeats desperately. "You did not." He casts his glance around as he tries to think of something to salvage this.

There. An empty tea cup. He rises swiftly and fills with with water from the pond. Then, he holds A-Yuan's hand and guides him back to the flower bed.

He thinks of what Wei Ying would say. The story he'd tell.

"Your flower went on a little trip," he says. He digs a small hole in the ground and with gentle, slow movements shows A-Yuan how to plant the stem back in the ground.

"It went on a trip to see its friend, and now it's back home." He gestures for A-Yuan to pour water over the soil. "And now, it's been fed and it will be with its family."

A-Yuan sniffles and stares at the patch of disturbed ground. "It's having dinner with its family now?"

"Mn."

"Is it loud? Are they laughing? Are they eating soup?"

"…Mn." Water is technically soup.

"…I don't like soup…"

"…Plants enjoy soup. Water soup."

A-Yuan accepts his answer with a nod before smashing his face in Lan Wangji's robes. Lan Wangji gently brushes back his hair and straightens his ribbon, letting A-Yuan have a moment as long as he needs.

Eventually, A-Yuan lifts his head and pulls back, wearing a sheepish look. Lan Wangji crouches down to eye level and waits.

"Sorry gege, A-Yuan will get you another present…sorry…."

Lan Wangji shakes his head as he wipes away the remaining tear tracks. "No need."

"Gege doesn't like presents?"

"No, I like presents," he says, thinking of rabbits and fruit and pink flowers. "But I do not need one."

"Not right now?"

"Mn. Not right now." He tickles A-Yuan and his giggles sing across the garden.

Sugary syrup and fluffy dough cheeks, honey eyes and candied laughter. Powdery warmth that settles in his heart as he cradles the boy to his chest.

Gentians that bloom late into the season, petal soft and vibrant against red and yellow trees. Alive well after they should be, as if cared for by spirits unseen.

Gifts that have no end, that do not fade with time. That stay soft and sweet in his memories.

"A-Yuan, would you like a birthday?"

A-Yuan hiccups around a giggle. "What's a birthday?"

Lan Wangji's lips twitch, just a tiny bit.

"A day where we will celebrate A-Yuan."

"Hmm," A-Yuan ponders as he taps his nose in an achingly familiar gesture. "Does gege have a birthday?"

Lan Wangji blinks mist from his eyes and nods.

"Then A-Yuan wants a birthday too!" His cheers echo against the walls until stopping instantly. "How does A-Yuan get a birthday?"

Lan Wangji lifts A-Yuan into his arms, holding him close. He steps along the garden path winding through his mother's flowers and over the bridge that looks out into the small pond.

For a long time, after his mother's death, nothing seemed to grow in this garden. For a long time, Lan Wangji took satisfaction in it. Nothing should grow here where death festers.

But despite his past wishes, death begets life, and one year the gentians bloomed as if they had every year, and the next year again and the next year again. Year after year, stubbornly clinging to life.

His mother, he thinks, was probably the same.

The day she died, he vowed he'd never celebrate another birthday. They'd remain quiet days for reflection. After all, he never learned his mother's birthday. The elders never saw it fit and mother had never mentioned it.

But Lan Wangji has grown tired of choices being made for him. Perhaps he should make more choices of his own.

Although he won't ever learn his mother's birthday, he can celebrate her life over the memory of her death. He can give new meaning to the day, give new meaning to all the days.

"Your birthday," he tells A-Yuan, who resettles after attempted to grab the carp from so high up. " will be several days before mine, on a very important day."

"Yay!" A-Yuan cheers. "How will we celebrate? Do we celebrate together? Will we get presents?"

"Mn. A-Yuan will have many presents." He will make sure of that.

"What about gege?"

"No need."

He doesn't need them, he thinks. The gifts he'd wish for are impossible to receive.

But there are gifts he has, right in his arms. Gift that life in memories, close to his heart, polished to a shine.

(threadfic here)

(A/N My headcanon is that Sizhui's birthday is the day Mama Lan passed, but because he can't properly mourn her, this way he can celebrate her life alongside this boy who was his gift from another loved lost one.)

#i found a website that unrolls threads and it's changed everything #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #wangxian #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #a-yuan #lan sizhui #lanuary #lanuary 2024 #mdzs musings #mdzs fanfiction #bushy writing

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