#mdzsfic

[zombubble]

In celebration

of me hitting 200k in the rough draft of my new longfic, and of my having been working on it for over an ENTIRE YEAR, NOW, and also of my desire to start with stuff like WIP Wednesday etc, I PRESENT to All Of You the summary for my Wangxian-centric MDZS ascension au:

In Memory; In Truth:

Some people say that to ascend to godhood is to never die, regardless of circumstance. That ascension at the moment of death negates the death itself, because the person in question was never actually a corpse. Wei Wuxian disagrees. He felt his death, and he knows it happened, and if people want to get picky about phrasing he's more than ready to get into it with them because he died. He absolutely died, then ascended, then left the mortal plane behind with the intent of not seeing much of it at all for the next hundred years or so because fuck that, fuck them, and fuck their politics. If only. Thirteen years after his death-slash-ascension, he's been sent down on behalf of the Celestial Court to find out who's kidnapping their junior officials and why, and he starts by appearing to someone he hears speaking very fervently to a memorial tablet. For some reason, Nie Huaisang is asking for his help and, well… as a god, as this is technically a prayer, he's at least obliged to listen.

I'm so excited!!! But I have to write the rest of the fic and edit before I can actually start publishing. However, I have enough of it done now that I feel confident talking about it with all of you.

You'll find updates about this fic tagged #fic: imit and #ascension au

Feel free to poke me with questions, though I may not give you a direct answer uwu.

Would also like to give a special shout-out and massive thank-you at this point to @thewalrus-said for their absolutely flabbergasting amount of support and encouragement so far, and for helping me keep my motivation going. You're a gem.

#c'est ma vie #fic: imit #ascension au #mdzsfic #mdzs #wangxian #fic announcement #mo dao zu shi fic #zombubble writes

[qinghe-s]

happy birthday da-ge, and happy new year everyone 💚 i’m celebrating with another chapter of the nielan fake dating fic!

in this one: ✨ a suggestion ✨ a dinner ✨ a kiss! (actually two but that ruins the format so shhh)

read on ao3!

#nielan #nie mingjue #lan xichen #mdzsfic #mdzs #my writing #mdzs: all

[watch-grok-brainrot]

For the prompts: WangXian B, G, or L.

Oh Where, Oh Where is My Good Lan Zhan?

Word count: 2052

Rated: G

Ship: WangXian

CW: alcohol, drunkenness, discussion of mo xuanyu's body, falling into water

Beta-read and fully inspired by: @phoenixrisesoncemore

Summary: Wei Wuxian gets tipsy waiting for Lan Wangji at Caiyi. Lan Wangji is later than expected. Wei Wuxian goes to look for him.

Wei Wuxian got to Caiyi well before he expected Lan Zhan to pass through. He ordered a bottle of Emperor’s Smile and sat at a table by the window, watching the town bustle below him and keeping an eye out for his impeccable Hanguang-jun. 

Lan Wangji had left for the first cultivation conference of the year when the snows of winter had started melting into spring. Normally Wei Wuxian would have accompanied him, but Wei Wuxian had scheduled a night hunt with the Lan Juniors and did not want to disappoint the eager ducklings. 

As soon as Wei Wuxian returned to Cloud Recesses after the night hunt, a letter had arrived from his beloved, informing him Lan Wangji would head home the next day. That’s how Wei Wuxian ended up in Caiyi, ready to intercept Lan Zhan on his way home. An afternoon in the town and a dinner away from Cloud Recesses seemed like a nice way to be reunited after ten days apart. 

A couple shichen flew by as Wei Wuxian stared out a window and idly sipped on bottles of Emperor’s Smile. The warm reds and oranges of sunset scattered first over Caiyi Town; then dusk and the chill of night started settling in. Wei Wuxian found he had idly consumed three bottles of Emperor's Smile, alone. And on an empty stomach. 

But where was Lan Zhan? 

Wei Wuxian reached into his coin purse and pulled out a small lump of silver. He pressed it onto the table and stood up. 

The world swam. Oh. He was much more drunk than he thought.

Wei Wuxian frowned. His golden core had formed recently, but it was still fairly weak. The direct correlation between alcohol tolerance and core strength meant this body was still more susceptible to drunkeness than the body he had when he was sneaking Emperor’s Smile as a teenager and being intercepted by Lan Wangji.

And Lan Zhan was more than a shichen later than expected. Troubled, Wei Wuxian decided to go investigate. 

Wei Wuxian shook his head, blinked his eyes, and forced his vision to focus. He threw the window open, stepped onto the window frame, and flipped himself onto the roof of the building. Height would allow him to see further and find Lan Zhan quickly. 

A chilly breeze blew through Wei Wuxian’s hair. The world seemed to spin a little slower.  He pulled out his jade pass to Cloud Recesses and pushed some qi into the pendant. 

“Lan Zhan, ah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian muttered, shaking his head. “Where are you, my good Lan Zhan? Did you find someone in need of help? Is that why you’re late?”

Not long after Lan Wangji had given him the pendant, Wei Wuxian found a way to sync its resonance with that of Lan Wangji’s pendant. Now, if only his damn pendant would show him where Lan Zhan was. He pushed a little more qi into the thing and it started spinning slowly, like a compass. Wei Wuxian grinned and let go. The pendant oscillated a few more times and finally pointed northwest, towards the Jin sect. 

“So you did get sidetracked on your way home,” Wei Wuxian muttered. He hopped on Suibian and flew northwest, looking for his wayward husband. 

Unfortunately, the flying was not as smooth as he had hoped. While he could still climb onto rooftops and stand upright fairly well, flying on a sword took more coordination than his inebriated state could manage. The sword yielded readily to its owner’s slight shifts of weight. Wei Wuxian wobbled in every direction, arms out and trying desperately to stay balanced as Suibian cut swiftly through the night air. Soon Wei Wuxian gave up. He clung onto the sword’s hilt, robes flapping in the wind and ponytail fluttering behind him, as Suibian carried him towards his husband. 

Did Suibian seem peeved and also a bit smug? Why couldn’t he have a less opinionated sword? It was just three bottles of Emperor’s Smile! There was no reason for the sword to get its wood all in a knot! Wei Wuxian pointedly ignored the fact that the end of Suibian’s hilt was, in fact, more or less a knot of wood. 

By the time Suibian carried its master to a pond about ten li outside of Caiyi, no trace of sunlight remained. A thin sheet of clouds drifted in front of the waxing crescent moon, bathing the land with a dim, diffuse light. Well above the water, Wei Wuxian could see flashes of Bichen’s blue light and familiar arcs of red talisman glows. A sense of chill rose from where Bichen’s blue light could be seen. Wei Wuxian shuddered, the chill dispelling most of his residual inebriation. He stepped back onto Suibian, and dropped the sword closer to the surface of the pond. If Lan Zhan needed help, he wanted to be close.

As Suibian descended through the clouds, Wei Wuxian noticed lily pads scattered over the pond’s surface, the large flat leaves rippling slowly in the night breeze. Memories of Yunmeng in the spring, sitting on the dock with Shijie and Jiang Cheng, watching the lily pads emerge from the murky depths filled Wei Wuxian’s mind. Why did Lan Zhan never tell him there was a pond full of lotuses so close to Caiyi?

A blood curdling wail brought Wei Wuxian back to the present. Lan Wangji and a spirit were exchanging blows. The spirit looked mostly human with long stringy wet hair matted across its face. The strange forked tongue sticking out of its mouth resembled the end of Zhang Fei’s Zhang-Ba Snake Spear. As its arms clawed at Lan Wangji, its head rotated and rocked with inhuman flexibility, trying to tear or bite into Lan Wangji’s flesh.

Despite the spirit’s vicious attacks, Lan Wangj remained poised. He moved as if he were dancing leisurely around the spirit, stepping perfectly in accordance to bagua patterns. Bichen swiped a few more times and the spirit became immobilized in a spirit net traced by Lan Wangji’s movements. 

Wei Wuxian tucked Suibian into his qiankun pouch and ducked behind a tree. He watched with amusement. The precision of Lan Zhan’s movements could truly be described as “textbook perfect”. Even decades later, Lan Zhan did not fail his reputation as Lan Qiren’s prized disciple. 

Lan Wangji spoke softly to the spirit, imbuing the net with his qi. The net glowed blue with Bichen’s energy and the spirit quieted. A few incantations later, the spirit’s unkempt form faded into that of a middle-aged woman. She bowed at the illustrious Hanguang-Jun and dematerialized into the night. 

Lan Wangji waited until traces of the woman’s spirit became imperceptible. He then turned around to walk towards the lotus pond. 

Wei Wuxian watched his husband’s white silhouette, mischief rising in his chest. He untied his hair, shook out his ponytail, and pulled his wind-tangled hair forward to conceal his face. A single talisman changed the appearance of his robes from pristine black and red to ragged and faded green. Suppressing a giggle, Wei Wuxian emerged from behind the tree and stumbled towards Lan Wangji. 

“Han… guaaaaaaang…. Juuuuuuuun,” Wei Wuxian croaked. He pushed qi into his step and propelled himself towards his husband. 

Lan Wangji turned in time to see a blur rush towards him. Before he could identify who or what was charging him, a thick cloud passed before the crescent moon. Lan Wangji sidestepped the figure. The figure quickly touched its foot to the ground, pivoted, and swung a fist at Lan Wangji. 

Lan Wangji parried the blow and reached for Bichen. The figure immediately tried to grab his wrist. The wind from their exchanged blows brought the scent of a familiar liquor to Lan Wangji’s nose. Lan Wangji’s brows furrowed. Emperor’s Smile? 

He pulled his hand down in an arc and redirected his attack towards the figure’s chest. The figure seemed familiar with his fighting style – easily evading the new attack, ducking around Lan Wangji – and again reached for Bichen. 

Why was the figure so keen on Bichen? Lan Wangji wondered. In frustration, he dismissed his sword into his qiankun sleeve and took two steps back towards the pond.

“Fight me,” Lan Wangji commanded, looking the figure up and down. It appeared male with mussed hair and dark robes. The overcast sky made additional details difficult to discern. The figure’s head tilted slightly. It raised its arms, placed its hands briefly into a salute with a fist pressed against an open palm and then rushed again at Lan Wangji. 

As Wei Wuxian flew towards Lan Wangji, he wondered what his husband was planning. Would the man block or evade? Did Lan Zhan see past his disguise? 

Lan Wangji stood still and allowed the figure to get close to himself. Before the figure could attack, he grabbed it by the arm, and tried to throw it into the pond. The figure, to its credit, used Lan Wangji to change its trajectory. Its legs and torso flew towards the pond and then swung around, hooking Lan Wangji’s waist, pushing both of them towards the pond. Lan Wangji moved with the figure’s force and jumped over the water. He grabbed the figure in midair, and rotated them so he was on top as they crashed through the lily pads.

Wei Wuxian’s black and red robes returned to their normal color as they hit the water. He tried to swim up but was dragged back down. He could feel one of Lan Zhan’s hands around his waist and the other move up along his back. Before he could panic, Lan Wangji bushed Wei Wuxian’s hair from his face and kissed him underwater. Realizing Lan Wangji was not fooled by his silly trick, Wei Wuxian kissed back enthusiastically. 

Once again, Wei Wuxian lamented the loss of his original body. Mo Xuanyu’s lungs were not well trained for underwater antics. The two of them ran out of air too quickly and kicked towards the surface together. 

“Lan Zhan! How did you know it was me?” Wei Wuxian asked as he sucked in air.

“You did not attack to injure or kill, knew my fighting style thoroughly, and smelled like Emperor’s Smile. Wei Ying usually plans tricks better. How much did Wei Ying drink tonight?”

“I was planning on drinking only a bottle but you were late and by the time I realized the sun had set, I had already had three bottles. That’s why I came looking for you.”

“Was Wei Ying worried?” Lan Wangji asked as they stepped out of the pond together.

“Of course I was! What if there were some terrible spirit that intercepted you? I know you’re strong but I don’t want to see you harmed.”

Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian close and kissed the shorter man’s forehead. “Forgive me for worrying you.”

“What were you doing here anyway? It’s not on the way. Why have you never told me about this lotus pond? How long have you known this was here?” Wei Wuxian looked across the pond. The lily pads felt achingly familiar, reminding him of a home he would never have again.

“Since the summer after we met,” Lan Wangji answered. He paused, examining Wei Wuxian’s face. “I overlooked your not knowing. When I saw Jin Ling’s lotuses at Lanling, I was reminded of this place and decided to arrange deliveries of lotus pods with stems for later in the summer.”

“With stems? Why?” Wei Wuxian gave Lan Wangji a curious look as he used a talisman to dry off both their clothing.

Lan Wangji’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Someone once told me lotus pods with stems taste better than lotus pods without stems. I found this place when I went investigating.”

Wei Wuxian paused. A bit of sheepishness flashed on his face. He bit back a grin, and asked, “Who could that have been? They were lying. You shouldn’t be so gullible, Lan Zhan.”

“I will remember not to believe Wei Ying’s lies in the future,” Lan Wangji said, nodding solemnly. He summoned Bichen, stepped onto the sword, and headed towards Cloud Recesses. 

Wei Wuxian gaped at his husband for a few moments. As Lan Wangji’s figure grew smaller, Wei Wuxian shook himself out of his stupor, mounted Suibian, and followed his husband home. 

Notes:

The prompts were:

B. Under cover of darkness.

G. A fistfight.

L. A stolen kiss.

OMG. 20 months, I have finally written this for you. Thank you for betaing the story i wrote for you, friend.

#mdzsnet #mxtxnet #fytheuntamed #fymdz #wangxian #mdzsfic #wei wuxian #lan wangji #fluff #cql #mdzs #frankencanon #suibian #lotus pods #cw alcohol

[batsyheere]

I just want an arranged marriage au with a tired wwx who does this for his sect, has been worn down by Madam Yu and acts more serious, tired, almost mourning- it doesn't help that when he gets there Lan Qiren is set against him from the start. WWX is resigned to the rest of his life.

But LWJ? He is smitten with the Jiang cultivator he finds himself tied to. The one who is mischievous even if only in small ways that peak through his quiet, through his genius and talents, in his soft smiles when he aids a child.

Meanwhile those around them are trying to figure out how to fix this situation because the two actually like each other but the current dynamic is:

WWX: Lan-er-gongzi is of course nice. Now I have some more responsibilities to attend since I have to work hard for the two sects I owe a debt to!

LWJ: too gay to function well and a meltdown every ten minutes. Sort of melting when all his well-intended gestures of his affection are misinterpreted as either being loyal for duty or as signs of WWX needing to do more.

#mdzsfic idea #mdzs

[wangxianfics]

FIC SERCH HELP....

Dear Followers, we need help with a few fic hunting asks submitted. Any help would be appreciated.

1. So I'm really hoping you know where to find this fic: it's a one shot set just after the first siege at the Burial Mounds and somehow WWX is able to immediately resurrect, he goes straight to Cloud Recesses, is there with LWJ as he recovers from the whipping, and from there there's some lovely hurt/comfort and a get-together scene. Thank you!

2. Hi! i lost the title of a particular fanfic on ao3, and i was wondering if any of u had heard of it. in the fic, lan wangji sacrifices himself for wei wuxian and loses his golden core in the process. ty for ur help!

3. Basically it's a time travel fic. All I remember is WWX was really advanced in training and eventually he started training in womanly arts (painting, sewing, etc.) with JYL under Yu Furen.

4. Hey! I’ve been looking for a fic for a few days now. I can’t really remember the plot I think it was a modern au. The only thing I recall is that lwj has a sword in his room and he knows how to use it 😅 and once when a robber broke into cloud recesses lwj fought with him and broke a tree in cloud recesses with his bare hands and scared away the robber away. When wwx and friends see it when they visit they get horrified. Can you recall some fic like that? Thank u in advance.

5. Can you help me find a lost fic, a modern au where WWX's lost of golden core depicted as an illness by the author. I remember WWX having a seizure when he woke up in the morning after drinking and the symptoms of it as drunk related the night before? (i think?) JYL called in time and he was hospitalized?

#Fichunt #ask #ficsearch #theuntamed #wangxianfics #mdzs #mdzsfic

[difeisheng]

all of this mess (is just my attempt)

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín

Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Wen Ning | Wen Qionglin, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian

Additional Tags: Asexual Character, Asexual Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Asexual Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Sexuality Crisis, Coming Out, Sort Of, Making Out, Cloud Recesses Study Arc (Módào Zǔshī), wen ning is the unofficial cutsleeve counselor of cloud recesses, ok wen ning is technically graysexual not fully ace but i was so very excited that tag existed, mention of wen ning’s essentially canon crush on wei wuxian, minor allusion to sangxian (that’s for you finn)

Summary:

“Everyone around me apparently has urges, that they enjoy. They talk about what they want to do when they have a partner one day, and use those books like Huaisang’s to theorize about what they’d like, and I just don’t have those thoughts.” The words tumble out of Jiang Wanyin all at once. “If that’s what makes them happy then I don’t really care. But I don’t feel the same ways they do.”

Wen Ning has become known among the guest disciples for helping them talk through sexuality crises. Jiang Wanyin is the latest person to go to him.

This time goes differently.

#mdzsnet #finally i have something new to contribute! #mdzs #cql #chengning #ningcheng #jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #asexual jiang cheng #asexual wen ning #Ashton's writing #ashton writes fic #fic #mdzsfic #cqlfic

[noenvyy]

“Bring Me Tomorrow/Stay With Me,” Chapter Two: Reunion

"It hadn’t taken long for the word to make its way around the cultivation world. Wei Wuxian, the Yiling patriarch, the dark individual who had cast a shadow over the collective peace of mind of all the clans had been defeated.

It was true.

Captured, beaten, stripped of his legendary weapon, Chenqing, and currently held in the dungeons of Lotus pier, the very place that he used to call his home, it seemed his reign of terror was finally coming to a close."

An AU where Wei Wuxian is captured shortly after Jin Zixuan's death. Hearing his beloved sentenced to death Lan Wangji finally has the impetus to bear his heart and confess his true feelings to Wei Ying. But what happens when new love has no time? When everything you've held precious is shattered and scattered to the winds, how do you find the will to keep going? How do you even begin to conceive of tomorrow?

**TRIGGER WARNING- FOR THIS CHAPTER---Before reading please know that this chapter contains an explicit sex scene with some non-con elements.

This text, and author in no way commend lack of consent in any way and remind the reader that any sort of physical intimacy without both partys' explicit consent is sexual assault plain and simple.

This chapter is not meant to be didactic but rather an exploration of these two characters' canonical kinks **wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more** which if any reader decides to explore in real life, should be done with clear consent and the proper safety measures.**

Reunion

“You have exactly one hour with him.” Jiang Cheng instructed as he and a group of Jiang guards walked Lan Wangji down a hallway leading to the Lotus Pier dungeons. 

It was difficult imagining a place as idyllic as Lotus Pier even having the need for dungeons.

 But the war had changed a lot of things.

 Since the burning of his original home at the age of sixteen, at the hands of the Wen clan, Jiang Cheng had worked tirelessly to rebuild the grounds and surrounding buildings that had been destroyed. It was not surprising that he had added extra buildings and security measures in the process. 

After a few more twists and turns in the hallway, Jiang Cheng finally brought them to a stop in front of a set of heavy-looking wooden doors, guarded on each side by a pair of Jiang cultivators.

 The two stepped aside at Jiang Cheng’s approach. Jiang Cheng turned once more towards Lan Wangji before opening the doors.

“Do what you will to make him talk, but know this, I am at my wit’s end.” Jian Cheng’s expression was grim yet resolved. 

“Before you came today I had just about reached my decision and contained the Jin clan. If you can’t get him to give up any information then I wash my hands of him. He’ll be delivered to the Jin clan today and they can do what they want with him.” 

The slight crease between Lan Wangji’s brow deepened at these words. He knew that Jiang Cheng was serious. He also knew that nothing the Jin clan would do to Wei Ying would be anything short of torturous execution. He nodded at Jiang Cheng.

“I will do my best.” 

Seeming decided yet unsatisfied, Jiang Cheng finally opened the doors. Lan Wangji stepped inside and heard them close behind him. 

The cell was stuffy and humid, with the hot Yunmeng climate. It contained no windows. Lan Wangji had to wait for his eyes to fully adjust to the darkness of the space. For a moment he only stood by the door, gaze scanning the dim quarters before finally falling upon a grey, curled shadow in the corner of the room.

Wei Ying sat upon the floor, slumped half-consciously against one wall. He was bound brutally, his wrists twisted upwards and lashed behind his back, ropes crisscrossing over his bare chest. 

No, not ropes. 

The restraints encircling him let out a dull violet glow, the same color as a length of Jiang Cheng’s Zidian. Lan Wangji knew he wouldn’t be able to remove them even if he tried. 

Wei Ying’s dark hair was loose, and hung in a curtain about his face, nearly obscuring it from view. Even from this distance, in the dimness, Lan Zhan could see the patterns of cuts and bruises adorning the whole of Wei Ying’s upper torso along with whip burns from where Jiang Cheng’s Zidian had wrapped itself along the edges of Wei Ying’s back. Lan Wangji felt himself sway. 

He had known of Jiang Cheng’s resentment. 

He could even force himself to understand some of Jiang Cheng’s blame.

 But never, in a million centuries could he have imagined this havoc Jiang Cheng would allow himself to lay upon his brother. If he had bothered to take breakfast, Lan Wangji was sure he would be in the middle of spilling its contents upon the floor.

Quickly he crossed the room and kneeled in front of Wei Ying. Gingerly, he maneuvered Wei Ying away from the wall, turning him slightly so that he lay cradled with his head upon Lan Wangji’s chest. With one fair, slender hand, he smoothed the hair away from Wei Ying’s face, revealing a fading black eye and split lip. 

“Wei Ying.” He whispered softly, giving him a small shake, “Wei Ying?” 

             For a moment Wei Ying’s head only lolled against his chest, breath worryingly shallow. Lan Wangji could feel his heart thud with dim panic. Surely they had injured him far too much. They had pushed him past what was reasonable and now could he even wake up? 

But just as he began to contemplate rising and pounding on the door, Wei Ying’s eyelids fluttered. With a soft moan, Wei Ying blinked them open before gazing unsteadily up at him. Eyes clouded with delirium and pain. “Lan Zhan?….”

“Yes.”

“Lan Zhan….is that really you…?”

“I am here, Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying’s voice could barely be registered above a dry rasp. Lan Zhan had to cradle him closer to be able to hear him.

“What are you doing here?”

Lan Wangji had thought long about how to respond to this question. There was so much that had gone unsaid between the pair of them. You could fill valleys with the years of withheld statements, form mountains with the silences of sentiments left unspoken. 

But words had never come as easily to Lan Wangji as they had to Wei Ying. 

In the end, he’d always end up relying on simplicity. Simplicity and the hope that his true feelings would be glimpsed in the delivery of the message; in the look he held in his eyes. 

“I came here for you.”

To his despair, Wei Ying only issued a bitter scoff in response. “So they finally picked one of you to come end me. I’m surprised Jiang Cheng’s allowing you the privilege. What did you all do, draw lots out of a hat or something?”

“N-no.” Lan Wangji stammered, but Wei Ying continued. Gaze turned firmly away as he rambled hoarsely.

“You need me to get to my feet? Are we going outside? I imagine most people probably wanted this public. I’m not so sure I can stand but I’ll try or you could just have the guards drag me out. There’s no need to pretend to give me any last dignity.” 

“Wei Ying, I did not come here to kill you.”

Wei Ying paused in his speech before finally turning back to Lan Wangji’s face, his eyes searching.

“Then why?”

Lan Zhan held his gaze determinedly. He repeated the phrase once more, enunciating, one word at a time.

“I came here for you.”

For a moment Wei Ying’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. His throat fluttered as he swallowed hard, shadows crossing over his face. In the dim light, Lan Zhan watched in concern as his eyes dampened then threatened to spill over. Yet when he spoke, the bitter edge from earlier still coated his voice.

“For me? Huh. Why even bother?”

And with that admission, one by one the tears finally did begin to slide down his face.

 In the darkness, in Lan Wangji’s arms, Wei Ying wept quietly. 

Growing up, he had taught himself to always weep quietly. 

Years of mistreatment at the hands of Madame Yu, had made him stubborn, unwilling to let her hear his cries although she may have gone easier on him if she had. Furthermore, he’d always witnessed Jiang Cheng’s inability to cry, in spite of the pained expression he often got at his father’s lack of warmth and their parents' constant fights. 

Somehow, allowing himself the release of weeping openly when Jiang Cheng couldn’t had always stuck Wei Ying as selfish. 

Especially when he knew, he was not entirely blameless in the causes of his brother’s pain growing up.

Lan Wangji let him weep, slowly wiping away each tear with the back of a knuckle or the pad of his thumb as they trickled steadily over the contours of Wei Ying’s face, leaving clear streaks in the blood and grime. At one point Lan Wangji looked around them and spotted an earthen jar and  bowl near their sitting space. The jar was full of water, but with Wei Ying’s bound hands it equated to more of a cruel taunt than a kindness. Getting to the contents would have required knocking the entire thing over and lapping it from the floor like a dog. 

With his free hand, Lan Wangji poured a measure of the water into the bowl beside it. Digging around in his robe, he pulled forth a folded white handkerchief which he proceeded to dip in the bowl. With firm but tender strokes, Lan Wangji ran the kerchief over Wei Ying’s battered face, wiping gently at the dried blood near his lip, the sweat dotting his brow, and the coating of dirt covering his face.  

Wei Ying closed his eyes and submitted to the treatment, the tears flowing more intensely for a moment as Lan Wangji began. After a while, though, their trickle finally ceased. Wei Ying shifted briefly in Lan Wangji’s arms, a momentary grimace twisting his face as something pained him with the movement.

Lan Wangji eyed the Zidian binds with deep reproach. 

“Do they hurt?”

“Not more than anything else. Lan Zhan, please, could I have some water?”

Lan Wangji set the kerchief down and reached for the earthen jar, holding it up to Wei Ying’s lips. 

“Go slow,” he instructed, propping up Wei Ying’s head and tilting the jar so the water could reach his mouth. Wei Ying drank slowly but deeply, a look of overwhelming relief crossing his face as the cool water ran down his parched throat. After a minute Lan Zhan had to pull the jar away.

“ Enough for now. More in a few moments.”

             Wei Ying signed resignedly and Lan Zhan wiped droplets from his chin and the corners of his mouth. For a few brief instances, neither of them said anything. Finally, Lan Zhan spoke. 

“Wei Ying. What happened at Qiongqi pass?” 

His words held no accusation. No judgment. Just an honest and open inquiry. 

For his part, Wei Ying did not avert his gaze when responding. “You were right all along, Lan Zhan. I messed up. I was arrogant. I lost control.” 

Lan Zhan gave him space to process the memory. Waiting patiently as Wei Ying’s eyes took on a distant look. “I had Chenqing with me but...I suppose at some point I lost track of the melody. The melody was strange, it was almost like I heard…almost as if I wasn’t the only...” but he stopped himself and shook his head. “Wen Ning was fighting with the other cultivators while I argued with Jin Zixuan. He was only trying to calm me down but at that point I was too far gone. I didn’t care about him, it was his cousin that set the ambush but he was in the way. I think I may have wished him gone and what else could Wen Ning do but obey me? You know he died trying to tell me about how Yan Li was waiting at home. He was trying to remind me not to mess things up for her sake. Then that night….”

A squeeze of Wei Ying’s eyes sends a few more tears out of their corners, his voice dull. 

“Why did she have to step in front of that sword? Oh, Lan Zhan... how could I have ruined everything so completely? What am I supposed to do about the things that I’ve done?”

Wei Ying lapsed into fraught silence. Eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling of the enclosed space. 

“I should have died that first time in the Burial Mounds. I should have just let Wen Chao kill me,” he whispered.

Lan Zhan gazed into the face of his beloved. The quiet anguish, the burning grief carved upon those features, once so full of light, reflected itself on his heart. 

There is a special type of agony reserved for these moments when we find the ones we love in the blackened pit. Our words do not reach them, our offered comforts impotent. 

We call and call and receive only echoes. 

We rail at the gods to allow us to take their pain as our own, to give us the words to heal them but only succeed in providing the heavens with mild amusement; children in the midst of a tantrum---and besides why would any gods ease the suffering of one when allowing it would gain them double the amount? 

Screams of despair make for such dainty offerings after all.  

But as mentioned earlier, Lan Wangji rarely ever bothered with words. 

Reaching out his hand, he ran his fingers over the side of Wei Ying’s face, careful when brushing past his black eye. Wei Ying turned away from him, feeling undeserving and as such unwilling to accept such a painfully gentle touch. Lan Zhan gripped his chin, tilting his face back in his direction. 

 For once, Lan Zhan felt no hesitation. Pausing briefly, he allowed himself to take in Wei Ying completely before tipping his chin upwards and leaning in. 

At the brush of Lan Zhan’s lips over his own, Wei Ying’s eyes shot open. 

The kiss was light, barely more than a finger’s caress and yet the feel of it stirred something in Wei Ying. A memory, hazy with the fog of time and recent pain pulled at the edges of his mind; the distant call of a sun-warmed day, and the rasp of bark underneath his back. Even the feeling of being restrained felt familiar as he recalled that intoxicating sensation of helplessness; a firm body pressing against his own, pinning him down, hands locked like manacles around his wrists, eyes blinded by the cloth he had wrapped around them to show off.

Any lingering doubt he may have felt was whisked away with the next kiss. 

Lan Zhan’s lips brushed over his again, this time lingering a little longer. They rubbed delicately over his own in soft small circles, soothing, coaxing Wei Wuxian’s lips to part. When they did, Lan Zhan’s teeth grazed lightly over his bottom lip, sucking slightly. 

Wei Ying released a small breath. “Was it really you all this time?”

           Lan Zhan’s gaze was soft as he looked at Wei Ying. 

“It has been me all along.”

Wei Ying felt the distinct click of something falling into place; a puzzle, years in the making, finally together and whole. He raked his eyes over Lan Wangji’s face, searching for some surety, desperate for confirmation. As if guessing what he was searching for Lan Zhan responded by leaning in yet again. This time Wei Ying parted his lips, fully allowing Lan Zhan to deepen the kiss. 

The sensation was like that of the rest of the world falling away. 

For a few heartbeats there was only stillness; no cell, no bruised and broken body, no memories of mistakes unable to be taken back. Wei Ying felt himself awash in a deep and healing peace. He felt the way he had when he was young on mornings, slept in, the day’s silken light filtering grayly through his windows and shut eyelids, the warmth of his covers shielding him against the still chill air. 

Separating briefly from Lan Zhan’s lips, his nostrils caught a whiff of a cold, alluring aroma and he was reminded of springtime in Gusu and afternoons spent playing among the sandalwood trees surrounding Cloud Recesses.  

Leaning forward as best he could in his restraints, he nuzzled his face along Lan Zhan’s, grazing his teeth over his lower jaw and burrowing his nose into the hollow behind his ear. The sandalwood scent here was strong, and he breathed it in, letting it fill his lungs as he inhaled deeply, feeling drunk off of the fragrance. Parting his lips he nibbled along the shell of Lan Zhan’s ear, sucking lightly on the earlobe. He felt Lan Zhan shudder underneath him as the bites sent tiny electric pulses running up and down the length of his spine. 

Lan Zhan submitted to the bites, holding himself back from further action, through the tightening of his fingers around Wei Ying’s shoulders told him he yearned to do much more. 

Finally, when he could stand it no longer he pulled Wei Ying away from him; His fingers digging underneath his hair and then tightening in a firm grip. Wei Ying felt his head pulled down and back, his neck arched and exposed. The slight pain he felt at the tightening of his hair around his scalp made him gasp. Looking up at Lan Zhan he was suddenly, acutely aware of his vulnerability; hands still wrenched up and tied behind his back, body locked away in a cell, head immovable from the fist of hair in Lan Zhan’s grasp. 

“Lan Zhan,” he breathed, “Please…” and as he spoke the words, he was not entirely sure what sort of mercy he begged for. 

With the ease of someone carrying a much lighter load, Lan Zhan suddenly swung him around so that he was lying upon the floor, the Lan disciple looming forebodingly above him. Suddenly frightened, Wei Wuxian tried to scramble away, his legs struggling to find footholds to push himself back. Lan Zhan merely took hold of the binds looping across his chest, holding him steadily in place. With his other hand, he slid out of his upper robes then began to undo Wei Ying’s trousers. 

Involuntarily, Wei Ying began to struggle, legs failing desperately given his inability to defend himself with his hands. Lan Wangji paid his movements no mind, fingers deftly sliding the roughspun cloth down and over Wei Ying’s hips until he was completely naked and exposed. Looking down, Wei Ying found his member standing hard and erect despite the terror slowly coursing through his veins. 

He had never done this before. 

Oh, he had played the part of the braggart well, but contrary to the rumors of the multitude of virgins he had kidnapped and defiled, very few people knew that the Yiling Patriarch was as green at the age of twenty as he had been at fifteen back in Cloud Recesses. 

Lan Zhan, on the other hand, seemed to hold no hesitation. Each movement was sure and practiced as if he had performed the act countless times. Even in his terror, Wei Ying had the presence of mind to be a little impressed. 

“Lan Zhan,” he rasped, as the latter caressed one hip and then slid his hand down into the space right between his legs, “You’ve done this before?”

He swore he saw the Lan disciple quirk a brow, as he looked at him. 

“No,” he replied before wetting a finger with his lips and then sliding the digit into the spot right between Wei Wuxian’s cheeks. 

The moan Wei Ying let out was deep and throaty. He had never felt such a sensation before. The discomfort it brought, offset by the intoxicating feeling of being wanted, of being taken. 

“Lan Zhan…” Wei Wuxian groaned, “No….please...not like this…”

Lan Zhan’s finger was in, several knuckles deep, but beyond it, Wei Ying could also feel the slight pressure of something larger, something warm and hard beginning to slip in after it. Suddenly the object was completely inside of him. Wei Wuxin felt his back arch, head tilting towards the opposite wall as the thick, stiff blade began to rhythmically thrust itself in and out of him with eager, thirsty pulses. 

Wei Ying had endured pain over the course of the past few days. 

He had been beaten, cut, whipped, starved, and berated. 

He had been pushed to the brink, enduring moments where he’d hardly even remembered his own name for the cloud of suffering that enveloped him. 

None of that even came close to the excruciation he felt as Lan Zhan’s member drove through him. 

Yet pain was hardly the only word to describe the overwhelming feeling. 

With every thrust, Wei Ying’s nerve endings seemed to ignite. At the same time, he was aware of a dull heat blossoming somewhere below his midsection, the warmth building in a slow and tantalizing pressure, the feeling of a cloth twisted and creaking from the strain of being tightened by a pair of firm hands. 

“Laaaaan Zhaaannn…..” Wei Ying moaned pitifully, his voice low, resounding deep in the back of his throat, the vowels of his lover’s name stretched long. “Pleeease….don’t…”

The Lan clan disciple did not reply, but kept up his movements; eyes closed, lips parted a small furrow between his brows. 

“Go slow at least.” Wei Ying rasped, “Go slow. Lan Zhan please, please, please, Lan Zhan, please, I’ve never done this, please, Gege…”

For a moment Lan Zhan did slow and Wei Ying could feel a slight bit of the pressure ease. Opening his eyes, he could see Lan Zhan staring down at him, expression indecipherable. 

Reaching out a hand he ran his fingers through Wei Wuxian’s hair, causing his scalp to prickle. The hand trailed down the back of Wei Ying’s head, briefly cupping the curve of his neck. With a thumb, Lan Zhan, traced the lines of Wei Ying’s collarbone, gently allowing his nails to rake little lines along Wei Ying’s chest until they came to a tender, triangular spot right along the swell of his left pectoral muscle. A brand mark with the garish design of the Wen clan’s sun emblem stood in stark relief against Wei Ying’s skin. An old wound, but one that still tingled to the touch despite the years of healing. 

A reminder of an earlier time Wei Ying had intercepted someone else’s pain. 

The sight of it sent a ripple of darkness through Lan Zhan’s expression and for an instant his movements ceased completely. 

Something about the look on his face made the hairs on the back of Wei Wuxian’s neck stand on end. He felt the trickle of something cold drip down his spine. 

“What is it?” he gasped, “Why are you--urck!”

Wei Ying’s breath was cut off as Lan Wangji’s slender, strong hand closed around his throat.  He tried once more to struggle but found the attempt even more futile than before as Lan Zhan leaned his weight forward onto him, completely pinning him in place. 

Black dots formed and swam before his eyes as he fought to take in even a whisper of breath. 

“No talking now,” spoke Lan Zhan into his ear, the command staunch, unbending, heavy with the threat of retribution if broken. 

Momentarily, the crushing weight on Wei Ying lifted as Lan Zhan shifted off of him and released his throat. Wei Wuxian drew in a gulp of air then immediately began to cough. Chest heaving with relief, but his reprieve did not last. 

Grabbing hold of the ropes across his chest once more, Lan Zhan deftly flipped Wei Wuxian over onto his side. Wei Wuxian felt his body enveloped in Lan Zhan’s embrace as the Lan disciple suddenly lay on the ground next to him, embracing him from behind, one arm looping underneath and around his neck, securing him firmly against his chest. With his other hand. Lan Zhan once more began to maneuver his member between Wei Ying’s buttocks. 

“No, no, no wait!----”

Wei Ying’s pleas were cut short in a sharp cry as he felt himself run through once more. Yet again he felt himself ignite, the undulations from behind causing his body to become racked with bone-rattling shudders. He was suddenly aware of the flutter of Lan Zhan’s breath against his ear, the inhales sharp and ragged. 

“You should have listened.” he breathed hoarsely, exhales tickling the sensitive contour of Wei Ying’s ear, “You never listen.”

“Lan Zhan, I’m sorry---” he tried to say, but the sob that escaped his lips was stopped yet again as Lan Zhan’s arm moved to restrict his available airflow, nestling the curve of Wei Ying’s throat in a confining chokehold. The maneuver sent its message loud and clear; Lan Zhan wasn’t interested in pithy apologies, what he was demanding was penance. 

Wei Ying felt feverish. Even in the midst of his ravagment he could discern the threads of Lan Zhan’s meaning and felt no reproach. 

Why couldn’t he listen? 

All those arguments between the two of them during the war came flooding back in a swell of memory. The number of times Lan Zhan had condemned his use of Chenqing, his persistence that Wei Ying return with him to Gusu. How could he have been so blind? 

At the time, Wei Ying had been so consumed with his own damned arrogance and combined self-loathing that he assumed Lan Zhan’s disapproval had only come from a place of inflexible, righteousness. 

Of course, someone as skilled, as moral, as beautiful, as overwhelmingly pure as Lan Wangji would take one look at what he’d become and recoil. 

After all, weren’t there those in life who became the monsters lurking in the basements of all that was good and those who tasked themselves with cleansing the world of their scourge; between the pair of them, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, it was clear who others would label as who. 

But now, caught up in this furious, punishing embrace, Wei Ying could finally read the grey shadows overlying Lan Wangji’s past insistences. 

“Do not use Chenquin”

I am afraid of what it’ll force you to become. 

“Return to Gusu with me.”

Let me protect you. Let me be near you. 

During those years, countless others had felt frightened of him. Wei Ying now realized Lan Wangji was one of few who had felt frightened for him. While others had praised his power, Lan Wangji had seen the lost, defenseless soul underneath. 

He had never once thought of him as a monster. 

Holding this new knowledge, Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan’s punishment, feeling close to swooning as his breath caught and he was plunged through again and again. He had said it before on that night he had fled with the Wen clan refugees and the sentiment still held true.

 If he had to die by anyone’s hands he’d prefer it be Lan Wangji’s.

Just as he felt himself slipping off into the grayness, however, the arm around his throat released. Wei Wuxian lurched forward breath coming in deep, raw respires. He sobbed with relief, practically groveling on the ground when he felt himself shifted once more; flipped so he was lying completely on his stomach, face pressed into the cold, unyielding floor. He felt Lan Zhan’s hands grip his waist and tug it upwards, felt his ass stuck straight in the air, and felt the accompanying sense of panic. 

This was the way wild animals mated. 

“Please, no…”

His body reacted instinctively in defense, and he lurched forward, straining to break out of Lan Wangji’s grasp but to no avail. The Lan disciple’s strength was formidable and Wei Ying was next to helpless, bound, and already in a weakened state from the days of mistreatment. He breathed sharply, inhaling and exhaling through his nose, attempting to steal himself with a clench of his jaw. You don’t get a choice. He told himself. You deserve this. You owe him. Still, when he felt Lan Zhan position himself directly behind him, he couldn’t help but let out a pitiful whimper. 

As if sensing his fear, Lan Zhan’s handling of his body became less rough. The frustration, the anger at Wei Wuxian’s past foolishness hadn’t dissipated. He still yearned to instruct Wei Ying in the ways of obedience. To rein in that wild, untamed spirit that had so captured him back in those days in Gusu, but which ultimately only ever caused his beloved to sacrifice himself for the sake of others--- Yet he also knew that Wei Ying had already suffered more than most would ever be able to endure. 

“Shhhhh….” he soothed, as eased himself once more into Wei Ying, running his hands down the length of Wei Ying’s back. “Good boy…”

He felt the latter shiver underneath his touch and then issued a small jolt forward with his first full-hearted thrust.

“Ahah.”

Lan Wangji curled his hands over the sides of Wei Ying’s slender hips, as he pushed against him; the feeling of entering and withdrawing making his head swim. He had spent years imagining in his secret heart of hearts what this would be like; Longing for it ever since that bright day back in the quarters of the Cloud Recesses library. 

He sharply recalled the spasm of shock and the accompanying pang of deep humiliation felt upon seeing the pornography pamphlet Wei Ying had slipped into his book as a joke. He remembered being more furious than he had ever been in his fifteen years, and had finally understood what people meant by the phrase “seeing red” as he drove Wei Ying away from the library. 

The confusion had set in the moment the anger finally began to ebb. 

Try as he might, to distract himself with cultivation practice, meditation and study, he couldn’t get the images of the book out of his head;  the crude illustration of a man penetrating a woman from behind—---only every time the sight wafted up, uninvited, in his memory, he hadn’t pictured a woman. 

That was around the time Wangji also started having the dream.

He had awoken the morning after the library incident with damp sheets and a distinct stain marking the front of his trousers, lingering visions of tangled limbs on the library floor, a bare chest and wrists wrapped securely in his headband, still drifting through his mind.. 

The act of dealing with Wei Ying—--which had never been easy before, suddenly became next to insufferable. 

Every laugh, every knowing look, the way’s his eyes turned upward, setting his face aglow when he smiled, sent Lan Wangji reeling, the tips of his ears always coloring a bright crimson. 

Lan Wangji had lived in a state of constant flux, feeling himself pulled helplessly, magnetically to Wei Ying’s side while simultaneous fearing his very presence, constantly convinced that the words steadily hammering inside his heart were written clearly on his face for all to see; be mine and let me be yours.

Back then, despite his attraction, he had felt the safest recourse was simply to avoid as much contact with Wei Ying as possible. If he entered a room through the front door, Lan Wangji would escape out the back. If he waved to Lan Wangji from across the courtyard, Lan Wangji would simply pretend not to notice and walk in the opposite direction. 

It should have all been easy.

 It should have been. 

Except for the distinct fact that no matter the amount of rebukes or slights Lan Wangji gave him, Wei Ying would just not leave him the hell alone. 

And when it wasn’t Wei Ying pestering Lan Wangji on his own, it always felt like others were intent on throwing them together; Xichen inviting Wei Ying and his brother on a mission to a nearby village, his uncle yelling at him to go and discipline Wei Ying for yet another one of his pranks. 

Try as he might, Lan Wangji could not rid himself of Wei Ying. 

Not during his days and increasingly, even less in his nighttime dreams. 

And then all of a sudden Wei Ying was gone. Instructed to travel back to Lotus Pier with his father after having broken into a fight with Jin Zixuan.

Lan Wangji felt his absence should have been a relief. 

Instead, it was only what it was; an absence. 

His days, no longer entangled in that exhilarating crest and swell of desire, chagrin, and terror suddenly felt exhaustingly empty, like all the candles in an otherwise blackened room abruptly blown out.

And when he’d seen Wei Ying next, had everything gone smoothly? Had everything fallen easily and seamlessly back into place? Of course not. 

Weeks of Wen clan indoctrination, one giant tortoise fight, and several days spent trapped inside a cave had convinced Lan Wangji of two things; 

One, Wei Ying was the one thing he could count on to incessantly and consistently turn his life upside down. 

And two, he was deeply, unavoidably, punch drunk, most devastatingly in love with Wei Ying. 

Now as he kneeled behind Wei Ying, Lan Zhan could feel this knowledge ringing through his very being, reverberating from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. 

He loved him. Had always loved him.

 If others tried to rip them apart, if anyone even dared to take Wei Ying away from him, he would ensure they soon wish they had never walked the paths of earth. 

He would go to the grave for the love of him. 

With this thought he suddenly drove himself deeper, hitting, as he did so, a plushy, distinctive spot along Wei Wuxian’s inner wall. 

The low that escaped Wei Ying’s lips was dark and deep---purely animal and sensual. Lan Zhan tried to hit the spot again. 

Wei Ying felt like he was being destroyed, falling apart into a million little pieces. It was like being submerged in an almost too warm bath after suffering the cold of the day. It was like holding a hand numbingly cool drink in the heat of spring. He was crawling through the heights of heaven and soaring through the depths of hell. He felt that pressure from before begin to build once more, felt his guts rearranged and pulsed through with bright, tingling currents.

Suddenly the currents running through him seemed to intensify, building like someone had turned a dial-in his head, the notes of a symphony reaching a fevered pitch. He felt that spot inside of him hit again and again by Lan Zhan’s member, even shifting his own hips back and up to accommodate each eager thrust. The sounds of skin striking skin increased, the pounding coming faster and faster, Wei Ying trembling with the pleasure of it until he could bear it no further.

“LAN ZHAN Ah---”

For an instant, it was as if the whole world went white. 

A field of snow coated Wei Ying’s vision and for a few moments he was simply lost, pulled out to sea by the gentle tug of the tide. 

Little by little things came filtering back into his body and line of sight. The floor before his eyes, the dampness of his skin, the feeling of wetness below his midsection. Suddenly he felt himself tugged upwards as he was slowly lifted from the floor and his trousers replaced.  Lan Wangji once more nestled them against the nearby wall, Wei Ying resting on his chest. 

Wei Ying burrowed his head into the hollow of Lan Zhan’s neck and listened to the still rapid thumping of his heart, steadily beginning to slow along with his breath. He felt himself being tugged once more into grayness, slowly spirited away into the land of sleep. 

He felt as if he could sleep for centuries in Lan Zhan’s arms and never again feel fear or pain or worry. Whatever gods there might exist in the world, he felt thankful that they had allowed him such a reprieve…….. even if it could only be once.

Because, of course, was there truly anything in this world that one could say lasted forever?

As if their thoughts were almost in sync, Wei Ying felt a distinct shift in Lan Zhan’s posture underneath him as the afterglow of their lovemaking began to fade. He knew what was coming next but selfishly did not want to be the one to break this last semblance of peace. So he waited until finally, reluctantly, Lan Zhan spoke. 

“Wei Ying.”

“Mmmnn?”

“The Stygian Tiger Amulet….”

Wei Ying sighed.

“.....perhaps if you told them….”

“You know why I can’t do that.”

“................”

“I should have never made it in the first place. And besides,” He shifted to look up at Lan Zhan, whose face was bowed, obscured in shadow. “You know as well as I do that telling them wouldn’t make a single difference.”

“..................”

“If I thought there might be if I thought there was a chance…. or even if I just trusted one of them, I would tell. I swear. I would do it for us.”

Lan Wangji finally raised his head. His demeanor, stoney. 

“Then we run.”

Wei Ying let out a disheartened chuckle. 

“Then we run.”

Wei Ying looked into Lan Zhan’s eyes, took in the urgency, the determination, and underneath it all, the fear in them. He did his best to keep the sadness out of his smile as he leaned forward and took Lan Zhan’s lips into his own. The Lan disciple cupped his face in his hand and kissed him back fiercely. 

Just as it had the first time, Wei Ying felt his breath taken away with the gesture. The peculiar feeling of suddenly free falling. 

They were both breathing hard as they drew apart. Wei Ying shifted his aching wrists, resenting his restraints more than ever. 

“I wish I could have just gotten to hold you at least once.”

“Wei Ying----”

“I wish I hadn’t been such an idiot and that I had kissed you back in Gusu. If I had, maybe…”

They both froze. Echoing down the hallway outside the cell, drawing ever and ever closer was the distinct and ominous sound of several pairs of footsteps.

Wei Ying felt Lan Zhan’s grip tighten around him. Despite his expressed feelings of resignation, Wei Ying still felt his entire being ice over at the steadily approaching sounds. 

He swallowed, feeling his mouth go dry, his heart a caged bird beating itself senseless against the bars as the memories of pain from the past few days threatened to come flooding back.

 He felt his traitorous body begin to tremble. Then he turned and looked at Lan Zhan. 

The Lan Clan disciple’s eyes were wide and burrowed underneath desperate brows. Their gaze flicked back and forth as if looking for some recourse, some way to prevent the inevitable.  Wei Wuxian stilled, suddenly submerged in a wave of calm at the sight. 

He couldn’t afford to lose himself. Not now, not in front of him.

“It's okay Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan whipped his head to face him, his gaze petrified, stubborn and furious. He clenched his jaw.

“Wei Ying----”

“Lan Zhan…” he whispered, holding his gaze, ”it's okay.”

Lan Zhan stared at him.

Wei Wuxian grinned. 

The door swung open.

This story started off as basically smut and then it somehow acquired a plot. I did not mean to write more past this chapter but hey, if your smut wants to run, let it run!

Thanks as always to those of you who’re willing to read this odd little piece, part smut, part character study, part exploration on the nature of grief. Thanks for giving it and this new writer some time. All my love to you all!

If you want to read the other chapters, check out this story on AO3 at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34668886/chapters/86313907

#Bringmetomorrow/Staywithme #first fic #fanfiction #the untamed #mdzs #the untamed fanfiction #the untamed fanart #mdzsfic #mdzs fanart #lanzhan/weiwuxian #wangxian #jiang cheng #angst with a happy ending #lan wangji/wei wuxian #lanzhan/weiying

[chaerinspires]

an nhs centric character study | 4.4k | cw: mentions of depressed mood, disordered eating, slightly masochistic tendencies, nightmares/hallucinations, general canon typical violence

no archive warnings apply | rated T | nhs & nmj, nhs & lwj

“There was… much to be done. I needed time to transition, time to… to grieve.”

“And now?”

“Now?” Huaisang repeats. He wonders if his life has ever felt so trivial. “Now, I can have this wonderful tea with you,” he ends cheekily.

Or, Huaisang navigates the tides of relationships, new and old, and tries to chart a path towards the future unknown.    

#mdzsnet #fytheuntamed #mdzsfic #theuntameddaily #mdzs fic #cql fic #the untamed fic #mdzs fanfiction #cql fanfiction #the untamed fanfiction #first work in this fandom #hope y'all enjoy!! #mdzs #nie huaisang #my fic

[myasphodelmeadow]

Title:  A Lonely Guqin (No More)

Author: Asphodel_Meadow

Rating: General

Tags: Character Study, Music as a metaphor

No Archive Warning Apply

Read on AO3

Summary: Wei Wuxian is the first person who makes Lan Wangji want to have a duet.

#mdzsbingo #mdzsfic #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #my writing #read on ao3

[queerebrum]

A Promise | Jiang Cheng x Lan Jingyi | 7k | Rated T | Arranged Marriage, Canon Retelling --

When he gets back to the Cloud Recesses (if, his mind unhelpfully supplies), he will kneel in the ancestral shrine for hours and apologize for all the times he’d wished his life could be more exciting.

But first there was a storm brewing thirteen years in the making. And, because this was his life, no one is more qualified to step in between Hanguang-Jun and Sect Leader Jiang than he is.

or, the one where Jingyi, the youngest Jade of Lan, has been engaged to Jiang Cheng since he was 5 years old, and he is not prepared to let his future husband and his brother kill each other, now or ever.

--

Read it on AO3

#the untamed #the untamed fic #mdzs #mdzsfic #mdzsnet #my fic #my stuff #chengyi #jiang cheng #lan jingyi #untamedbyceej

[sonjarostova]

Chapters 1-2 of my Xicheng Modern AU are out just in time for Jiang Cheng’s birthday.

In future chapters you can expect trying to out-sexy each other at karaoke, Xichen’s lamentable cooking skills, shovel talks from Nie Huaisang, and so much more.

Updates posting every Thursday, 9 chapters in total.

#xicheng #jiang cheng #lan xichen #jiang wanyin #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #mdzs fic #mdzsfic #wangxian #happy birthday jiang cheng

[corteae]

king of beasts UPDATE | ch.06 man of many swords

title: king of beasts fandom: the untamed / mo dao zu shi summary: A song is calling to him, and the voice is his mother's. Wei Wuxian ignores it at first, determined to focus on his upcoming wedding to Lan Wangji, recently named Chief Cultivator.

However, the events of Guanyin Temple and the coveted coffin inside draw the attention of some very powerful rogue cultivators. The leader of this group turns out to be an old enemy, long thought dead, with a familiar connection to Wei Wuxian.

With their world on line, Wei Wuxian must follow the song on the wind after all, and dive into his past to track down his mother's immortal master, Baoshan Sanren.

relationships: lwj/wwx, jc&wwx, jc/wq, and the juniors™

begin on ao3 | new chapter on ao3

a/n: when i finished CQL, my one disappointment was that we never actually do meet baoshan sanren, because she sounds like a badass. for our favorite husbands to have an adventure to find the real celestial mountain she hails from felt like a very natural sequel to me. so here i am, writing that.

Jiang Cheng awoke in the Lotus Pier infirmary that morning. The guards had found him in the night, knocked out on the ground. Humiliating, was one of the first things he thought.

Immediately after that, he tested his spiritual power – which had returned, flowing freely through him.

The healer assured him his golden core had not been damaged. They focused on the bruise on his head, feeding energy to his temple in attempts to alleviate his pain. All he should expect was mild headaches throughout the day.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Jiang Cheng ordered disciples out to search for the thief. He increased patrols and heightened security on the borders. The other sect leaders would be at Lotus Pier that morning, and Jiang Cheng did not want to draw attention from the coffin issue. He gave his disciples as much description of the thief as he could remember: a short, thin woman in black and grey, her hair braided down her back.

He did not, however, tell them who he believed the cloaked woman had been.

After all, he had only seen her eyes, which was hardly reason enough to suspect a supposedly dead woman had been in his home last night. People don’t just come back to life! he kept saying to himself, but – Well, he could name at least two people who had. So maybe it was possible…

No. He had been tired, and stressed, and nostalgic. His own eyes had been playing tricks on him.

Whoever this thief actually was, Jiang Cheng would find her, take back what she had stolen, and bring her to swift justice. The Zidian hissed on his wrist, lying in wait.

...continue on archive of our own

#mdzsww #wangxian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wen qing #chenqing #jc/wq #wwx #lwj #wei ying #lan zhan #cql #the untamed #mo dao su zhi #mdzs #cqlfic #mdzsfic #fic: king of beasts #jin ling #nie huaisang #lan jingyi #ouyang zizhen #baoshan sanren #nie mingjue #jin guangyao #lotus pier #cql fanfic #mdzs fanfic #mdzs juniors

[qinghe-s]

He almost says something about it when his little brother presents him with a gift of a guan for his hair and a set of new robes — frivolous, unnecessary, the embroidered pattern covering the shoulders and spilling down the sleeves like blooming wisteria superfluously decorative — but does not get further than commenting “you certainly spent a lot of effort on this party” before Lan Xichen’s gentle hand touches his sleeve. No one else would dare to touch him so casually. No one else would be allowed. “We are all glad to have the opportunity to celebrate,” Lan Xichen says and smiles at Nie Huaisang. Speaks to him only about the toll of war and so much loss and the reminder that they have family, still, to honour and care for, and all the while his touch lingers as a reminder to rein in the anger ever-churning beneath the surface.

After the war, all that death and destruction, some things are more important than ever before. Nie Mingjue might not count his own birthday among those things, but Nie Huaisang and Lan Xichen do.

written for @nielanguild‘s nmj birthday event, using the prompts celebration and feelings realisation!

read it on ao3!

#nielan #nie mingjue #lan xichen #nielanguild #mdzsfic #mdzs #my writing #'i'll try to be a little fancier with my prose again it's been a while' i said #and then i STRUGGLED #it's cute though. they're cute. i care them.

[mathiasandthefinntrolls]

Hey, want to cry and read some beautiful SongXiao?

Caved to the Careless - ilgaksu

T+

Post-canon, Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Dreamsharing

𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 - 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠

http://archiveofourown.org/works/22501282

#SongXiao #ficrecs #MDZS #CQL #The Untamed #Song Lan #xiao xingchen #song zichen #mdzsfic #its SAD but GOOD

[myahle]

Kismet (destiny; fate)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23941873

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandoms:魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Cartoon), Life Is Strange (Video Game) Relationship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán WàngjīWèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Inspired by Life Is Strange, Time Loop, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied Sexual Content, Heavy Angst, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Brief Mention of Blood, Brief Mention of Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Brief Mention of Drugs (used for kidnapping)

Time may be fickle, but destiny cannot change—if a boy is fated to die, he will die one way or another.

"I can’t make you choose,” Wei Ying said, “but I honestly can’t think of another way.”

There was no other way—time made Lan Zhan’s choices clear: it was Wei Ying’s life, or those in the town.

(or; Life Is Strange AU where Lan Zhan has the power to rewind time, but only at the cost of Wei Ying's life.)

#mdzs #mdzsfic #魔道祖师 #mo dao zu shi #忘羡 #wangxian #fanfiction #life is strange #m/m #slash fanfiction

[unrulymango]

Glittery Confessions

WYB is a great actor. XZ is a great actor. We all know this. So how could they not fall in love while filming CQL?

Just a heartwarming one-shot of fluff and confessions. Frame of reference: https://youtu.be/c2zudFJ9sCE?t=114

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24411583

#mdzsficrec #mdzsfic #yizhan #wang yibo #xiao zhan #glitter #cute #fluff and angst #more fluff than angst tbh