#pangzi's tianzhen

[pangzi]

You could've just asked him, Wu Xie

#wang pangzi #wu xie #pangxie #dmbj #lost tomb reboot #reunion the sound of the providence #pangzi would gladly teach you a lesson tianzhen

[taomubiji]

Explaining Wu Xie's Many Names

I. Wu Xie (吴邪//Wú Xié)

Wu Xie's name is a homonym of the word innocent (无邪/Wú Xié, which can also be literally translated as "without evil"). Wu Xie's grandfather chose the name for him hoping he would be innocent and clean. He wanted Wu Xie to remain clean of the grave robbing industry. So, the name also means that the evil of the past generations will be wiped out by him.

II. Naïve (天真/Tiānzhēn)

Wu Xie's nickname "Naïve" or "Tianzhen" is used by Pangzi because he believes the other is naïve, but it is also a play on Wu Xie's name. The phrase "pure and innocent" (天真无邪/Tiānzhēn Wúxié) shares a homonym with Wu Xie's name. Pangzi initially calls him Tianzhen Wuxie but he eventually shortens it to just Tianzhen.

III. Little Master Three (小三爷/Xiǎo Sān Yé) 

Wu Xie's nickname "Young Master Three" or "Little Master Three" (小三爷/Xiǎo Sān Yé) comes from Wu Xie's third uncle Wu Sanxing who is called Master Three (三爷/Sān Yé). People in the grave-robbing industry call Wu Xie this nickname as a sign of respect and because of Wu Sanxing's reputation. Wu Xie's father is not in the industry, so he is known by others as Wu Sanxing's nephew. 

IV. Little Buddha Wu (吴小佛爷/Wú Xiǎo Fó Yé) 

Wu Xie's nickname "Little Buddha Wu" (吴小佛爷/Wú Xiǎo Fó Yé) is from the staff he worked with. It comes from this mantra Wu Xie had: “Amitabha, lay down your butcher’s knife and make money to become a Buddha”. He "liked everyone to be good, earn their own money, and live in harmony" and shied away from cruelty.

V. Guan Gen (关根/Guān Gēn)

The name Guan Gen is an alias Wu Xie used to get into some archaeological projects as a photographer. Wu Xie starts using it in Sand Sea. In Ultimate Note, the name appears when Wu Xie uses a fake name in a guest book. Ultimate Note is referencing Tomb of the Sea.

VI. Evil Emperor (邪帝/Xié Dì) and Mafia Widow

Both Evil Emperor and Mafia Widow are nicknames used by fans to describe Sand Sea era Wu Xie. Evil Emperor is the name used by c-fans to describe the extreme and ruthless measures Wu Xie took to enact his plan. The Evil (邪/Xié) in Evil Emperor is the same character used in Wu Xie's name.

The Mafia in Mafia Widow is used because Wu Xie acts like a member of a gang during Sand Sea/Tomb of the Sea. Widow comes from the fact that Zhang Qiling left to guard the bronze door and Wu Xie is left alone like a widow.

#dmbj #wu xie #happy bday wu xie #sources are on the novel wiki #now i gotta think of smth for pangzi's bday

[lungache]

thinking about how pangzi calls wu xie tianzhen and how the meaning behind it transforms. because there comes a time where wu xie is inarguably not a naive kid anymore. and how pangzi probably mourned the loss of that innocence a little bit because it came at such a cost. but also how pangzi keeps calling him that- a little as a joke, but also not. maybe he says it as a reminder of who wu xie was and is. because time stole wu xie's innocence but his curiosity and some of that wonder and hope remain, even after everything.

#wu xie #dmbj #pangzi #stolen from a message i sent on discord #because i am still thinking about it #sorry youre seeing this message twice babe #also a little bit of #pangxie

[hils79]

Hils Watches Misty Creed - Part 2

Wu Xie: Pangzi, what is this nonsense you've packed? Also Wu Xie: immediately uses it because it's actually really helpful

Let's be real. Nowhere you three go is normal.

Ooh pretty! But also in the middle of a cursed forest so probably going to try and kill them all

No one eat the cursed food!

Pangzi! No!

Okay, even though the actor is young I feel like 'let's just watch and see what happens to the dude who ate the food' is something post-Sha Hai Wu Xie would do. Tianzhen Wu Xie would definitely have tried to stop him.

Pangzi knows what franchise he's in

OH SHIT PANGZI IS EATING THE FOOD

Wait, that looks like Wu Xie. Is this a hallucination?

Ah, there we go. Well, it wouldn't be DMBJ without at least one hallucination

YES SAVE HIM

They both took a part out of the van to stop anyone being able to steal it but neither knew the other had done the same. God, they are so married I love them.

God, I love how extra Xiaoge is. Decides to drink the cursed wine so he can see the ghost that's attacking them but instead of just picking up a cup he stabbed it with his sword.

Who are you going to call? Xiao Hua and Hei Xiazi are in Russia, your two husbands are with you. That basically leaves your Ershu, Wang Meng or Kan Jian. Ooh, you should totally call Kan Jian. He must be a child at this point if Wu Xie is this young

That is delightfully creepy

If you want to live?

I love group shots of them

SNAKE! Now I know it's a DMBJ movie

NO DON'T SPLIT UP! :( On the plus side this is an improvement from the last movie where they kept leaving Xiaoge behind with barely a second thought.

I was just thinking we haven't seen any of Wu Xie's incredibly out of character flips and kicks that we saw in the last movie. I guess that's the end of that. Thankfully.

ZOMBIE! They're bringing in a lot of the classic DMBJ monsters I see

I think some weird editing happened here. I had to skip back to check and we don't actually see Xiaoge cut his hand. He just holds it up to the door and the vine things disappear. And when the old dude says 'what happened to your hand' Xiaoge has a glove on and then all of a sudden here it's gone. Presumably he used his blood to clear the door but who knows

I do enjoy it when he gets to be a smug little shit

Pangzi clearly enjoys it too

Okay, I know it makes sense to have someone watching your back but you literally just reunited and now you're splitting up again

At least Pangzi is also grumpy about being left behind

Right, I've hit the image limit again. See you in part 3!

#hils watches #hils watches misty creed #hils watches movies #misty creed #dmbj

[lotusflowerbreakingthesurface]

Wu Xie's Birthday Congratulations

On this special day, let's get to know the cutest protagonist in DMBJ, Wu Xie aka Tianzhen aka Xiao San Ye, in a deeper understanding although everyone must already know him (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

One of the best ways to understand what kind of character Wu Xie is by reading the book. I found some interesting meta/analysis about Wu Xie (and PingXie) and I want to share them here. However, everyone has a different perception and understanding of things, so just take it easy, okay? ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)

Note: I'm not good at Chinese, feel free to correct me if you find some mistakes.

⚠️ Very long post ⚠️

Uh, I feel bad that this post turned out to be so long, while Xiaoge's birthday is so short, sorry Xiaoge! >.<

First of all, let's refresh our memory about Wu Xie that was going around on Chinese sites and other sites as well.

Wu Xie's Apperance

Source: Baidu

Handsome, with a face like a crown jade, fair skin, gentle and restrained, bookish, and as gentle as jade.

Slender hands: "Unfortunately, although my hands are slender, I have no strength at all." (Daomu Biji: Angry Sea, Hidden Sands Ch. 42 [MereBear's Translation] | Chinese version Ch. 13)

Pretty face: "Tianzhen, your original face is pretty. Why do you need to be the same as your Uncle Three?" (by Pangzi, Daomu Biji Vol. 8 Ch. 25 [MereBear's Translation])

Occasionally wear glasses (NPSS's interview)

As a lotus flower breaking the surface (idiom): "Indeed, our family’s Tianzhen is a fresh and clean refined little master, a surpassingly beautiful young public figure ..." (by Pangzi, Tibetan Sea Flower Ch. 22 [MereBear's Translation] | Chinese version Ch. 22 | The meaning of the idiom is here)

"When I was in college, a girl who seemed to like me once said that my face was very calm and other people wouldn’t feel annoyed looking at it." (Tibetan Sea Flower Ch. 27 [MereBear's Translation])

"He was young with a slender figure, wearing a brown jacket and gloves, and looking very casual." (Sand Sea Ch. 6 [MereBear's Translation])

"From Liang Wan’s point of view, although Wang Meng’s boss was young, there was a weathered and worn look about his brows that were beyond the reach of ordinary people." (Sand Sea Ch. 6 [MereBear's Translation])

The eyelashes are long, and the curve of the neck is more feminine than that of a woman: "Black Glasses said that the curve of my neck was more feminine than that of a woman." (Sand Sea Ch. 180 [MereBear's Translation])

"The only part of your body suitable for fighting is your long eyelashes."(Sand Sea Ch. 178 [MereBear's Translation])

Wu Xie is the ultimate beauty in the world (NPSS's interview)

Chronology of Wu Xie’s Major Events (Weibo)

Wu Xie's Personality (According to NPSS)

Source: MereBear's Translation

In the postscript of Daomu Biji Vol. 8:

Wu Xie is a difficult person to describe. If I have to say it, I want to say: he is actually an ordinary person.

But this doesn’t mean that he isn’t great. It’s because he’s an ordinary person that people admire him so much for all he has experienced.

I think many friends will hate his weakness and hesitation when they first see him, but as the story progresses step by step, more and more people like him. He is a boy as weak as water, but please don’t forget that in harsh winter, the most formless water will become solid ice.

Wu Xie is a person like that. He is simple, a little clever, cowardly, and someone who cherishes his life. He’s sensitive and afraid of hurting people around him and is the least suitable person to experience danger among all those on the team.

But I let him become the protagonist of the story and let him experience the most terrifying journey, which is probably the most special part of the story. When everyone can back down, he just can’t; when everyone can escape, he can’t.

I really want to say sorry to him for pushing this ordinary person into such a complicated puzzle. When I look at his entanglements and troubles, it’s like I see my own entanglements and troubles. For a period of time, I could even deeply feel the despair in his heart for everything he had gone through. At that time, I wanted to know what he would do when faced with such complicated despair.

I didn’t expect him to survive. In the development of the story, everyone could see how an ordinary person struggled to become a person he didn’t want to be. But the thing that made everyone like him was that he maintained his conscience in all the places that could be turning points in his life. Even though he eventually wore a sinister mask, he was still Wu Xie at heart. He could have a lot of petty crimes and petty vices under his belt, as well as a lot of minor moral problems, but when it came to making the biggest choice, he would always be the Wu Xie who wished everyone well.

“I hope all of us can live well along the way, and all of us can see our own ending. We may not live long, please let us live the life we deserve.”

Wu Xie prayed to the sky when Pan Zi was dying, even though he was in a dark cave. He took all the responsibility and blame upon himself, unable to face the meaning of his journey.

This is Wu Xie, the “useless” one in the team and the most useless leader in the Iron Triangle. He needs other people’s protection and help. He has boundless curiosity and desire, but as long as a person is hurt, his own things aren’t important. He’s an ordinary person who wishes you to live no matter how much he hates you. This is because he doesn’t understand killing or the wealth that transcends life, he only understands the value of the word “alive”.

[2023.03.11] Taobao Live

Source: 瓶邪bot (mtl)

Q: We all know that Zhang Qiling has a gift from heaven. Why hasn’t he forgotten his companions ten years later?

A: I think this is a kind of bond. It really is a bond. Of course I can write a tragedy. (Host: Don’t write it then), it is all logical, but when such a strong bond exists, especially Wu Xie must not be an ordinary person, even though he appears as an ordinary person, he made full use of his ordinary qualities and became an ordinary person who was not an ordinary person (laughs). That Zhang Qiling must have gone through a very painful struggle and intense confrontation. He finally did it. In the end, he may have forgotten a lot, leaving only that glimmer of light, and then he remembered it again bit by bit from that glimmer of light. I think this must be Zhang Qiling’s efforts. (Host: So this is actually because he worked hard not to forget them. This is not a lucky or small-probability thing, but a result of his own efforts) Yes, because heaven is ruthless, and humans are sentient.

[2023.03.24] Douyin Live Broadcast

Source: 瓶邪bot (mtl)

Q: "Restart", this book has its entire story line structure of separation, reunion, and restarting. Do you think Wu Xie’s personal mentality has changed between the original novel and "Restart"?

A: In the main story, he is really a bit naive. He may be a little clever and a little bit of a cunning, but his understanding of the world is essentially relatively simple. When it comes to "Reboot/Restart", Wu Xie is actually still innocent. You can see that he is slowly returning to his previous innocent state. One is that Zhang Qiling has returned, and he no longer needs to show his fangs. But behind his innocence is an innocence that is not easy to mess with. He has sealed up his huge energy, but he can take it out again at any time, and some very interesting things will happen, because many people think that he is a very naive and easy-to-deceive person when he is in a very gentle state, when he is really bullied, he will return to the state of Sand Sea.

[2023.03.24] Douyin Live Broadcast

Source: 瓶邪bot (mtl)

Q: I would like to ask, what do you think Wu Xie’s mental state was when he was about to take Zhang Qiling home.

A: I think Wu Xie was not ready when he hit the road. He was ready only after he hit the road. He was slowly, slowly... he was already ready when he arrived at the Bronze Gate. Maybe Zhang Qiling was not ready. Come out, or Zhang Qiling has left. I think it is such a process. When he accepted the worst possibility, he might have calmly enjoyed the moment when Zhang Qiling came out of the bronze door if he had not left. I think he had a lot of distracting thoughts at the beginning.

Q: Actually, he has a certain amount of timidity and nervousness.

A: I think I will have random thoughts, because just in case, after living in this world for a long time, I always feel that there are chances in this world. No matter how small the probability of an event is, if you encounter it once, you will feel that it is very likely to encounter it again.

Wu Xie's Mental Journey (Meta)

Source: MuzzledIdealist

This one is a meta/analysis from Chinese fandom and it's written by MuzzledIdealist on Weibo. They already give consent to repost it as long as the source is indicated. If you are interested, you can see other analysis on their homepage.

Please note that this is an edited MTL, if anyone wants to translate it, you're very welcome to do it :)

⚠️ This meta or analysis is cp-oriented ⚠️

⚠️ This is a repost, not my meta ⚠️

【PingXie】 “When I Know That I Will Never See Him Again”

Written by MuzzledIdealist

"The things he saw were things that he hadn’t been able to come to terms with. But I saw Men You Ping, so did that mean that I wasn’t over everything that had happened during those ten years?" — [Note: Ten Thousand Mountains in the Extreme Night Ch. 63 (MereBear Translation) | Chinese version Ch. 62]

Why he wasn’t over the past?

Let’s analyze Wu Xie’s mental journey over the years:

A major premise is that Men You Ping has always been Wu Xie's greatest source of security.

Wu Xie is too curious, but as a fledgling young man, he lacks experience and force value. If his curiosity is not satisfied and the problem cannot be solved, he will easily fall into anxiety (the book mentions many times that he was anxious when encountering difficulties, so I won’t take screenshots.), and Men You Ping has been providing guidance and protection to Wu Xie, which can be said to have given him a great sense of security in both physical and mental aspects (here I summarized it before. If you are interested, you can take a look at "Sharing Some Cute Details of Men You Ping’s “Double Standard”").

Xu Lei (NPSS) also said in the interview that Zhang Qiling had been protecting Wu Xie and helping him deal with many problems, so when he left, Wu Xie was forced to become like him.

(The screenshot is added in the original post)

Therefore, when Men You Ping was no longer with Wu Xie, his source of security was suddenly taken away.

During the ten years when Xiaoge was away, Wu Xie must have dreamed of Men You Ping countless times during the long agony of waiting and dealing with the enemy. Especially when he encountered difficulties, He prayed, hoped, and imagined that Men You Ping would fall from the sky and appear next to him like it did in the past, because this is a habit he has developed due to Xiaoge's protection.

He has grown up during the period of Tibetan Sea Flower, but he will still frankly tell Pangzi, "I always feel that a place with a Xiaoge will be safer. If he is not here, at least having a statue of him is better than nothing". The fat man said he was superstitious, but that was not the case, because as a top student, Wu Xie had always been accustomed to using scientific knowledge to explain all the strange things he experienced (there are many examples in the book), but for his subconscious dependence on Men You Ping, he had no way to explain it scientifically and rationally.

(The screenshot is added in the original post or take a look on MereBear's translation: Tibetan Sea Flower Ch. 39)

During Sand Sea period, Wu Xie grew up a lot, but when faced with a desperate situation, he still longed for the appearance of the person he wanted to see most for a long time. Even though he was about to cough up pneumoconiosis, even though he knew that the stuffy oil bottle in front of him was just his hallucination. The pain of those ten years also made Wu Xie addicted to smoking because he needed to use cigarettes to relieve his anxiety.

(The screenshot is added in the original post or take a look on MereBear's Translation: Sand Sea 4 Ch. 187)

The title of the chapter in Sand Sea where Wu Xie's throat was cut and he fell off the cliff is the poem "Like red beans inlaid in the ivory dice, my yearning for you is deep in my bones" (the translation comes from here). Why was this poem chosen as the title of this chapter?

Xu Lei once answered this question in a vx (Weixin/WeChat) interview. He said that this was his emotion at the time. Writing in the first person, the author's mood at that time represents the mood of the protagonist at that time, so the meaning of this poem is Wu Xie's mood at that time.

(The screenshot is added in the original post)

The meaning of this poem is: to express the woman's deep yearning for her husband, her longing for her husband and her inseparable love, and she looks forward to her husband's early return. (From Baidu Poetry Analysis)

(The screenshot is added in the original post)

Xu Lei said in a lecture at Fudan University in 2013: "Wu Xie was doing a lot of things with a sense of resentment in Sand Sea, because everyone abandoned him and left him alone there as a widow. The only person he can settle accounts with is Men You Ping, because he is a person who will appear at a fixed place at a fixed time, so Wu Xie must be holding his breath and preparing to ask that person for something back." (This paragraph is dictation + general summary, the original video is more than an hour long. You can search and watch it by yourself.)

(Regarding the widowhood, Xu Lei once explained that Wu Xie changed his name to "Guan Gen 《关根》" in order to maintain his chastity.)

(The screenshot is added in the original post)

Therefore, during the Tibetan Sea Flower period, Wu Xie had just left the sense of security provided by Men You Ping, and would still subconsciously seek his protection when encountering difficulties, even if it was just his statue. During Sand Sea period, he had clearly understood that Men You Ping was no longer by his side, so he had to force himself to become stronger and become like him. But even so, when he was extremely anxious, he still couldn't help but miss Men You Ping, which put him in a state of both longing and resentment.

This is also reflected in the "Ten Years" chapter. In "Ten Years" Wu Xie said, "After so many years, I no longer expected anything from anyone, because these people will eventually leave for various reasons." This is his complaint. He added, “There are some people you just can’t stand up. There is a chance that Men You Ping will appear, and I may die on the road, but after going through so much, I need a relief and an end." This was his thought.

(The screenshot is added in the original post or take a look on MereBear's Translation: Ten Years Later Ch. 20 and Ch. 21)

However, in addition to this feeling of longing and resentment, Wu Xie also has worries, deep worries about whether Men You Ping will live or die in the door, so he wrote in "Ten Years": "In the past ten years, I have had many dreams. I dreamed of him meeting me when I was young. I dreamed about the white bones in front of the bronze door, and dreamed that he had turned into something like Chen Pi Ah Si when we met again. There were many possibilities in ten years, which were enough for me to imagine and accept them one by one."

He has had this kind of nightmare many times in the past ten years, and it has become a knot in his heart that is difficult to untie, so even if Men You Ping is back now, he still feels that he has not completely passed those ten years.

(The screenshot is added in the original post or take a look on MereBear's Translation: Ten Years Later Ch. 36 and Ten Thousand Mountains in the Extreme Night Ch. 63)

But even so, even in those ten years, Wu Xie had thoughts, resentments and worries about Men You Ping, and thought about asking for something from Men You Ping, but he still couldn't bear it. The moment he saw Men You Ping again, he still chose to cover up all these emotions, so he subconsciously pulled down his sleeves to cover the scars on his hands, just as he said during Sand Sea period. When he sees Men You Ping again, he will not tell him all this, he will only tell him that you are just a patient, and you can rest now. So he took Men You Ling and lived in Yucun, the place where there is legendary ginseng that can make people remember for a long time.

(The screenshot is added in the original post or take a look on MereBear's Translation: Ten Years Later Ch. 41 and Sand Sea Ch. 92 | Chinese Version Sand Sea 2 Ch. 53)

It has been analyzed before that the reason why Xiaoge went to Hangzhou to say goodbye to Wu Xie before entering the bronze door and said to him "You are my only connection with this world" is because for the first time he had his own "desire". (This is a long story, see "Psychological Activities of Xiaoge" for details)

If Men You Ping had realized that he had fallen in love with Wu Xie at this time, then when did Wu Xie realize that he had fallen in love with Men You Ping? Probably when he realized that he couldn't lose him, as the saying goes, "How do we measure love, the pain after separation."

(The screenshot is added in the original post)

---

This one is a more in-depth analysis about Wu Xie in Sand Sea by the same writer.

Source: MuzzledIdealist

The sunrise in the desert was also beautiful back then, but Wu Xie had no memory of it. But now that he and his brother are in the world’s second most valuable tomb, he can truly feel the beauty of the sunrise. Because the experience of Sand Sea was not a good memory for Wu Xie. Xu Lei once explained why Wu Xie had seventeen scars on his arms during Sand Sea period. It was because as an originally kind-hearted person, he was forced to do many things that went against his conscience in order to defeat the Wang family, including using others. Therefore, he hurt himself by scratching his arms to relax himself. Xu Lei said that Wu Xie during Sand Sea period had a kind of hatred for him.

Wu Xie has indeed grown up in the past ten years, but this growth comes at a price. Wu Xie gave himself the pen name Guan Gen (Xu Lei explained that it means "keeping his chastity"), and made seventeen cuts on his arm with hatred for himself. When he fell off the cliff, his mood was "Like red beans inlaid in the ivory dice, my yearning for you is deep in my bones" and various injuries that have caused permanent damage to his nose and lungs. From all of this, it can be seen that Xiao Wu suffered from both physical and mental pain during the Sand Sea period, and all of this cannot be summed up by the simple word "Evil Emperor". This seemingly cool title seemed to lightly cover up all the suffering he experienced during that period.

He was repeatedly entangled and pulled between his persistence towards his goal, his hatred for himself, and his extreme longing for Men You Ping. For him, the experience during Sand Sea period was once a painful memory, that's why he subconsciously pulled down his sleeves to cover the scars on his arms when he saw his brother on the day of their ten-year appointment. Maybe he didn't want Men You Ping to know who he was before. But with their tacit understanding, it is impossible for him not to see it, that’s why there was a follow-up story about Xiaoge in "Fishing King Extra" who took Xiao Wu to the Stagnant Water Dragon King Palace to make Xiao Wu suddenly enlightened in order to untie the knot buried in Xiao Wu's heart for the past ten years. Now, the same is true in Yucun Notes when Xiaoge accompanies Xiao Wu to revisit Medog (Motuo). When his lover returns to his side, the greatest source of security returns, and Xiao Wu becomes the "rough jade" again.

"I will exchange my life for ten years of your innocence." Zhang Qiling used his infinite sacrifice to Wu Xie in exchange for a limited benefit (Xu Lei's original words), "Like red beans inlaid in the ivory dice, my yearning for you is deep in my bones" Wu Xie use his ten years to buy Zhang Qiling's freedom for the rest of his life. Some people say that the relationship hurt/comfort is old-fashioned, but I don't think so. The two-way redemption between PingXie and the uniqueness between them is always moving.

---

My thought:

Maybe the word "fall in love" or "lover" the writer uses here is too strong for some people lol, but they did care for each other, no matter what the relationship is, it can't be denied, right? There were some questions that appeared in my head when I read the book, why did Wu Xie do that? Why did he do this? Why did he do all of these things to this extent? Then I understood. Actually, Wu Xie, especially in his early stage, reminds me of my old-self, so I feel like I can sympathize with him somehow. His "innocence" is different from the innocence that most people think, Wu Xie's innocence is the kind of innocence who wished everyone well.

And then, happy birthday, Wu Xie! May you be safe and live a happy life with Xiaoge, Pangzi, and all of your good friends! 🎉🎉🎂(⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+ *⁠.⁠✧

#wu xie birthday #daomu biji #dmbj #pingxie #dmbj meta #dmbj analysis #wu xie #meta recs #pingxie only #special recs #盗墓笔记 #吴邪 #瓶邪 #瓶邪only

[lunarriviera]

Pingxie... cinderella au xD

"He can't be gone, he can't, he can't," says Wu Xie, breathlessly, struggling with yards of slippery silk and a hundred tiny buttons. "I'm going after him, just help me get out of this fucking dress—"

"Okay, Tianzhen, but calm down first! Whoever this supposed prince is, he can't be that amazing. You're just a cheap date. Hold still—"

"You weren't there, Pangzi," says Wu Xie, starry-eyed. "He fought them off like it was nothing. Like some kind of goth vampire ninja wuxia assassin, I've never seen anything like it, he—"

They both freeze. A slender man in a black suit and black necktie has just let himself in at the open window, its curtains blowing with his movement. They all stand there staring at each other for an endless moment. "Wu Xie," says the man in black, and Wu Xie's answering grin could light up an entire ballroom.

*

send me a pairing and an AU and i’ll write you a ficlet!

#op i'm sorry skdjhksjdhf #this was the best i could do #and somehow cinderella got reversed #i think because xiaoge is always the one randomly leaving and coming back #and because wu xie is the prettiest princess #fic meme #writing meme

[sunriseverse]

what do you think would be li cu's reaction to seeing the iron triangle all together for the first time?

me? writing something under 1k for the first time in months? apparently! not sure if this fulfils what you were looking for, but i hope you like it! (also thank you for letting me indulge in my emotions about these horrid little fictional characters.)

-

He wakes with a sputtering gasp, lungs burning and eyesight swimming, hard rock at his back and the memory of darkness pressing against him. It’s still dark, but no longer that all-encompassing blackness of the caves, no longer starless and starlost, no longer stagnant air that hadn’t been touched by human breath in its entire existence, the thrill of terror keeping him going deeper, deeper, deeper into its depths. Instead, now, before he even stops wheezing, there are hands on him, steady and sure, and a voice murmuring something he’s too out of it to hear, but just conscious enough to recognise, with a stroke of startlement that cleaves him in two, of anger. Without thinking about it, he’s struggling out of the grasp, shrugging off those hands even before he can draw a full breath into his lungs, before he has any sense of direction.

“—hey! Easy, easy,” Wu Xie is saying, sitting back on his haunches, his hands up in what must be an attempt to show he’s no threat, even though both of them know that’s patently untrue, has been untrue, will be untrue forever, because Li Cu knows him, knows this man, the width and breadth of what he will do with a smile on his face. “You scared us pretty bad.”

Feeling more than a little vindictive, Li Cu spits the last of the water from his lungs in Wu Xie’s direction. It doesn’t hit, because right now he feels colt-weak and unsteady, and his vision is only just now starting to merge from the doubling that has been plaguing him. It’s enough that he notices the other figures hovering around him—Yang Hao unhappily fiddling with the oxygen tank, which has a noticeable dent in it, though it hadn’t ruptured, and Su Wan chewing on his nails and looking anxious. There’s also two other men, one of them whom Li Cu vaguely recognises as Wang Pangzi, and the other one, who hangs back at a distance, clad in dark clothes and looking like he could disappear into a crowd even with his striking features, who must, by sense, be that third member of the Iron Triangle—Zhang Qiling. He drags his hand across his mouth and attempts to regroup. “What’s he doing here,” he demands.

Su Wan starts guiltily; shoves his hands into his pockets. “When we lost contact with you, I called for help.”

“Fucking Wu Xie?”

“No, Hei-ye,” Yang Hao says, and at least he has the decency to look irritated about it. “Fucked off to Russia or something, I don’t know. Said he’d send someone, since the biometrics we had on you hadn’t gone red yet.”

“And a good thing, too,” Pangzi says, ambling closer, and crouches down next to Wu Xie; slings an arm over his shoulder. Wu Xie relaxes into the touch, a half-smile flitting across his face, seemingly on instinct. “Our Tianzhen would have been devastated if you died. And not even in a tomb!”

“Pangzi,” Wu Xie says, and he sounds slightly pained. He hasn’t tried to reach out to Li Cu again—good. Li Cu struggles to his feet, makes it about one step and then has to stop, breathing far too heavily to be comfortable. Twin sets of hands find him, but this time, they’re a welcome touch. Their hands are warm through the fabric of his diving gear. “You’re lucky you didn’t get far into the caves,” Wu Xie says, and there’s something like worry in his gaze, and Li Cu hates it, vicious and sudden. “You could have died.”

“Then you should have let me,” Li Cu shoots back, too tired to care to censor himself. This one thing, this one thing, is where he was never supposed to have to be reminded of Wu Xie again, and now he’s gone and put himself in it again.

Wu Xie rears back as if struck. “You don’t mean that.”

“You should have just ignored the call,” Li Cu continues, ignoring Su Wan’s quiet, pained, Ya Li!. “Let nature run its course.” It’s unfair, maybe, but at the moment, Li Cu doesn’t really care all that much. Normally, he’d at least try and skirt civility, but at the moment, the thought is unappetising. He’s tired, and his head hurts, and he should have died there, in the dark, and been at peace with it. Instead, here he is, still alive, because of Wu Xie, who’s never been able to let him die, even if it would have been kinder.

“I don’t want you dead,” Wu Xie says, lips pursed into a thin line, looking almost pained.

I wish you did, Li Cu thinks, bitterly. “It would have saved us both a lot of trouble,” he says, instead. His breathing is better, now, and he can no longer taste that bitterness at the back of his throat.

Wu Xie looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t. It’s strange, how much more expressive Wu Xie is, now. In the desert, he’d always kept his emotions carefully hidden behind the gently-smiling persona he’d constructed for himself. Now he doesn’t need it anymore, he’s shed it like a snakeskin, and Li Cu doesn’t recognise the man underneath. He lets himself lean into Su Wan and Yang Hao’s touch, and says, “You can go now. I’m fine.”

Wu Xie hesitates for a moment; turns to glance behind him. The other man, Zhang Qiling, has drawn closer, and he tilts his head at Wu Xie, a silent question, though for what, Li Cu doesn’t know. Pangzi’s lips twitch, and he bumps Wu Xie’s shoulder with his own. “Hot pot for dinner?” he offers.

Wu Xie glances at Li Cu, again, and for a moment, Li Cu has the horrible sense that he’s going to be asked to join. Thankfully, Wu Xie seems to think better of it, which is good, considering that Li Cu doesn’t know what he might have done, had Wu Xie offered it. He still doesn’t have a good, cohesive set of emotions towards Wu Xie—it’s all muddied waters, foggy jade. Instead, he shrugs. “Only if you don’t steal half of my mushrooms,” he says, and then to Li Cu, “maybe stay away from caves for a bit. Xiao Hua keeps complimenting me about my new hobbies.”

“Then you shouldn’t have given me that credit card,” Li Cu shoots back. It had been less given and more shown up in the mail with no return address. Still, it has its uses. He might have a complicated tangle of feelings about Wu Xie, but he won’t say no to money, which is the least of what he deserves. 

Rather than answer, Wu Xie laughs, eyes crescents and crows-footed at the edges. The familiar spark of anger in Li Cu’s gut flares, and he considers saying something, before he realises that, at this point, it’ll probably just make Wu Xie laugh more. He doesn’t know how to interact with this man who Wu Xie has become, nor is he particularly happy about it—it’s harder to be angry at a man who barely resembles the one who’d rubbed ashes into his open wounds, who glows like the moon in the presence of the other two thirds of the Iron Triangle. Instead, he watches him turn and amble towards Zhang Qiling, Pangzi at his side. His lungs shouldn’t burn anymore, the liquid all expelled, but they still do, as if set aflame. He coughs a couple of times to try and dislodge the sensation to no avail. “Did you cancel our hotel booking?”

“No, just extended it,” Su Wan says. “Hao-ge didn’t want to pay the cancellation fee.”

“Only because your pockets aren’t bottomless,” Yang Hao says. “If I wasn’t looking out for you, you’d run yourself into bankruptcy.” His tosses his arm over Li Cu’s shoulders, hand extending to tug at Su Wan’s ear, who gives a quiet yelp of surprise. “Plus, they have an all-day buffet. It would be a waste of money.”

“Ya Li,” Su Wan whines, and—it’s not perfect, the simmering anger and helplessness is still there, beneath his skin, raw from seeing Wu Xie again, but this helps. Li Cu laughs at him, and lets himself settle, slowly, back into familiarity.

#dmbj #li cu #wu xie #little treat for YOU! #spinecorset writes #c.txt

[scaredysap]

"Oh my god, is this really a situation worthy of the moping-hoodie?"

"Yes! Yes, it is," Wu Xie plopped down at the kitchen table and dramatically crossed his arms. "I'm tired of people telling me I should date Xiaoge, it gets awkward every time!"

"I don't know, Tianzhen, I think they might have a point." Wu Xie glared at Pangzi's back but the man kept on peacefully chopping vegetables. "You've got that whole bond thing going on, and you spend a lot of time staring at his abs whenever his shirt is off."

"Everyone stares at his abs, they're objectively perfect."

"Fair enough," Pangzi conceded with a shrug. "What about your important bond though? That sounds pretty intense every time you bring it up."

Wu Xie sank into his chair and pulled up his hood. Then he lowered it again, realizing that the instinctual gesture was very much like the one Xiaoge did when he was uncomfortable. Pangzi hadn't seen it but he sure would have commented on it if he had, Wu Xie was sure about that.

"It is intense. But it's not dating, it's just… different," he said, twirling one of the strings of his hoodie around a finger. "I don't really want to dress fancy and go to dinner with him, I don't want to send him a good morning text every day, I don't want to kiss him. Sure, getting him to hug more would be nice but-"

"But that's why you've got me! I’m always ready to hug my poor, misunderstood Tianzhen," Pangzi intervened. He left his spot at the counter for a moment to give Wu Xie a one-armed hug, putting a brief smile back on his face.

"Yeah, exactly. The thing is… we're fine as we are. We’re there for each other when it counts. Nothing else is needed, we've figured out where we stand."

"Alright then, that's good," Pangzi said, picking the next vegetable from the basket he'd brought from the market. "I was just making sure."

It was quiet for a few moments, the rhythmic tac tac tac of the knife against the cutting board a soothing sound that filled the evening.

"But seriously, you don't wanna kiss him even a little bit?"

"PANGZI!"

"I'm just saying-!"

Wu Xie huffed, throwing his hands up in the air and almost sliding off the chair in disappointment.

"You're unbelievable. If you keep bringing this up, I’m going to start believing you're the one who wants to kiss Xiaoge!"

The chopping stopped. The kitchen became dead quiet. Wu Xie rewinded his words in his mind and then slowly but surely turned to stare at Pangzi's back.

"Pangzi," he said quietly, watching the big man's shoulders go tense. "Do you want to kiss Xiaoge?"

The silence was damning.

"HAH!" Wu Xie's chortling filled the kitchen as Pangzi turned towards him, his face as red as the chili peppers that were going into their food.

"Shut up, Tianzhen! What do you even know about these things?"

"Not a lot, but you sure aren’t an expert either! Thinking that I wanted to date Xiaoge when all this time you…!"

Wu Xie started laughing again, clutching his belly as it ached with cramps.

"Tianzhen!" Pangzi hissed, half crawling all over Wu Xie to try and put a hand over his mouth. "You quit yapping right now, Xiaoge could hear you!"

"You wanna kiss him soooo bad! Ow!" Wu Xie yelped, clutching his shoulder. "You idiot, you poked me with the knife!"

"Serves you ri- OUCH! Tianzhen, did you just bite me?"

"So what if I did, huh?"

"You rabid beast, I'll show you!"

As bickering and sounds of a brawl filled the kitchen, quiet footsteps went unheard in the hallway just outside. Xiaoge put his boots back on with expert ease and soon he was out into the night, headed towards the trio's favourite take-away restaurant. From the sounds of it, dinner wouldn't be ready any time soon.

He walked with a single objective in mind but still, he couldn't help but raise a hand to his own lips and wonder what it would feel like to be kissed.

#wu xie #wang pangzi #zhang qiling #dmbj #the lost tomb #fic #my fic #aromantic wu xie

[fixaidea]

So at this point I think I'm deep enough into DMBJ to allow myself to have some Opinions, so here they are:

Books:

I'm only in the early chapters of Vol. 4 (basically the beginning of Ultimate Note) so a lot may change, but so far it's an enjoyable adventure series. It's refreshing that they're allowed to say 'zombie' and 'grave robber'. Also it makes much more internal sense than most of the dramas, not to mention the individual arcs get their proper mini-climaxes instead of leaving you with never ending narrative blueballs.

The consolidation of the Iron Triangle is a lot slower than in the dramas, but I know they'll get there, I've seen all the cute excerpts from the later books!

Also, I'm usually very wary of First Person narration, because the entire enjoyability of the book hinges on how entertaining the Main Character is, there's no escaping their head. Luckily Wu Xie is an interesting and fun head to be in. I cannot logically explain why he's giving me Rincewind vibes, but he kinda does. It's probably the constant internal screaming - though for him, when the 'flight or fight' instinct kicks in, he starts to bite.

Dramas:

The Lost Tomb:

The good: Say what you will, but I like the visuals. Also they were still allowed to say 'zombie' here.

The bad: I have nothing against Yang Yang, but the hair stylist obviously did.

The Lost Tomb 2:

The good: Cheng Yi and his ears.

The bad: ...So did we ever find out wtf was all that about Zhang Buxun? 'Cause if anything even remotely similar happens in the books, it comes up way further back, if at all. (If this thread DOES get resolved in 2,5 then I apologise, but pretty much everyone who mentions that drama warns against bothering with it, so I never did.)

Theirs is probably the least book-like Wu Xie.

Ultimate Note:

The good: Love this Iron Triangle, and generally I had more fun with this than the pervious two dramas.

The bad: I understand that if you don't have much of a budget quality soundtrack is probably the first to go, but I don't have to LIKE it.

Sha Hai:

The good: Man I love this one. Pretty self-contained, also one of the best production-quality-vise. Also all the thumbs-up to Qin Hao for pulling off this ruthless, bitter Wu Xie with just enough hints of the old Tianzhen that you can see this is still the same character.

The bad: Li Cu, my guy, I'm so sorry but I couldn't give a shit about awkward teenage love-stories when I was an awkward teenager and I'm not gonna start now.

Reboot (I'm only at ep. 14, so jury is still out):

The good: Definitely the best production, and I love the soundtrack.

The bad: Did the author fall out of love with Pangzi or...? In all other versions he's fun AND competent, here he's been relegated to a clown. :(

#dmbj #the lost tomb #sha hai #ultimate note #the lost tomb reboot

[onmyo-jin]

iron triangle in egyptology class

[Fun fact that I want to explain to Lyx, who has not seen any dmbj except the heihua movie: none of these guys are archaeologists or historians of any kind; the only one with a degree (as far as we know) is Wu Xie, who studied architecture. I imagine these are evening classes they're taking as a hobby, finding out more things about different tombs around the world... that's what AUs are for, aren't they?]

"-- AND they're teaching us to translate using Budge! Of all people! The man's been dead for near a century and wrong for even longer, why can't they write something more decent!!" Wu Xie exclaimed, waving an old book around in a way that couldn't possibly be good for the spine.

"Sshhh Tianzhen, they'll kick us out of the library if you keep going like that," Pangzi hissed, though a quick look around told them their section of the library was deserted. Some pulling and prodding later, and Wu Xie finally sat back down in his seat--

-- only to jump right back up and start ranting again: "That's where the adverbial sedjem-en-ef with a cleft subject should go! Aargh, can't they get anything right??"

"Tianzhen! You're the one who chose the optional language course, you did this to yourself."

"I knoww..." Wu Xie flopped down in his chair, and slumped forward face first onto his notes. "That's why its so terrible."

A sigh that seemed to come from his very toes fluttered across his notes, and Pangzi turned to his own book-- just history for him, thanks, no ridiculous language juggling for Pang-ye. History, and some shiny treasures to look at. A man should know his own strengths.

"Xiaoge~," Wu Xie seemed determined not to focus on his work. Pangzi rolled his eyes at his book. "Xiaoge, what are you reading?"

Silently Xiaoge slid his book over to Wu Xie, who looked at it, and then remained quiet for a very long time.

"I studied architecture in Germany before, but this German... I can barely read it! How old is this book?"

Xiaoge answered without looking at the publication date on the first page: "1971."

"'71?? Hasn't someone taken the time to print a new version of this??" Wu Xie exclaimed again, and was hushed again by Pangzi. At least this time he sat down without urging.

"Whose brilliant idea was this again?"

Xiaoge shook his head in response.

"But why?" Wu Xie sounded plaintive. Clearly he was starting to regret his own idea of 'fun evening classes'

"They were very thorough, so no one wants to rewrite it," Xiaoge said, and Wu Xie's head connected with the desk with a loud thud.

~

Send me an ask with a pairing and an AU and I'll write you a ficlet!

#dmbj #tlt #no egyptologists were harmed in the writing of this ficlet #if you do happen to know something about egyptology: iykyk #iron triangle #au fic meme #jin writes #real friends send you ask memes even though theyre not in the same fandom #the first person to tell me what movie I'm referencing gets to make a fic request without the AU stipulation if they want #no googling but also id be impressed if you did manage to find this via google #brought to you by my own experiences at egyptology

[momosandlemonsoda]

Writing Patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern! (Thanks for the tag, @merinnan!)

“Hey! Hey!!” - Dance the Silence Down, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua, modern AU

2. The car ride had been hell for Liu Sang. - Unlearn the Way of Being Strangers, co-written with @merinnan, cryptive, @foxofninetales, @frith-in-tombs, @hils79, mimosaeyes, MountainRose, @onmyo-jin, @rainisfalling, and @tinbramble, DMBJ, Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen/Liu Sang, whump whump whump

3. Liu Sang stood in the middle of Wushanju’s sitting room, face flushed, clothes slightly askew, hair escaping the neat tail he usually kept it in. - Out of Wilderness Wasted, Wang Pangzi/Wang Can, canon AU of the Liu Sang and Wang Can are twins variety

4. “But didi’s the one who wears panties.” - In a Pair of Lacy Pants, DMBJ, part of my series A Tiger is a Tiger not a Lamb set in the multidimensional queer nightclub, Club Moonlight. Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling/Wang Can in this iteration, pure smut.

5. Hei Xiazi kicked at the shattered remains of the light fixture then bent down to poke at it. - Ten Feet of Light, DMBJ, modern AU, Hei Xiazi/Liu Sang, mystery-ish

6. “Oh,” Huo Xiuxiu said, “he looks good like that.” - Nocturnal Carnations, DMBJ canon AU, smutty sequel to With Water and a Star, Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen/Hei Xiazi

7. Normally, Kim wouldn’t even be at this club. - No Rug to Sleep On or Fish to Eat, KinnPorsche, Kim/Chay, Kim turns into a kitten

8. The hypervigilance is a bitch. - A More Tangible Patience, DMBJ, canon AU-ish?, Liang Wan/Wang Can/Zhang Rishan, also porn

9. Huo Youxin had never been Huo Xiuxiu’s favorite cousin. With Water and a Star, DMBJ, canon AU, Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen/Hei Xiazi, fake dating

10. “Tianzhen. Tianzhen! Will you please stop drooling?” Whooping it up til I die of the shivers, DMBJ, gen adventures, the Iron Triangle ride again

Well, mostly I start off with dialogue or declarative statements, and not a lot of description. I guess I'm trying to throw the reader right into it!

Tagging @bbcphile, @tinbramble, @omgpurplefattie, @alxina, @mekare-art, and anyone else who'd like to play. No pressure as always!

#writing games #my writing #writing is a bullshit hobby #this was fun!

[pangzi]

i'm craving a fic of wu xie just completely simping over pangzi. just pangzi doing something incredibly mundane, and wu xie just is complete overwhelmed with how much he loves pangzi. he feels like he's about to burst with love. he doesn't know what to do with himself.

#i saw this picture of two guys naked in a meadow kissing and i'm just so!!! pangxie!!! #just them lounging in a meadow after washing themselves and their clothes in a small stream after getting out of a tomb or whatever #and they're just lounging in the sun waiting for their clothes to dry #pangzi has his head in wu xie's lap #wu xie is putting flowers in pangzi's hair tracing patterns on his skin #pangzi has his eyes closed he's just so relaxed #they're so comfortable around each other #and wu xie looks at pangzi and how the sun makes his skin look so soft and golden #and he's just so full of love #he watches pangzi for a while #there are tears brimming his eyes because he just can't contain his love #he starts kissing pangzi all over his face #whispering about how much he loves him #how thankful he is to always have him by his side #and pangzi tears up a bit too of course because god tianzhen where is this suddenly coming from am i dying or sth? #and they just kiss and hold and love and adore each other until it's time to leave

[wushanju]

Old Bastard just splashed Pangzi who is now soaked through. He’s grumbling about Tianzhen’s fish being well deserving of his name and threatening to cook the thing for being so badly behaved. He’s taken off his shirt to wring it out so he doesn’t get the floors wet. Little does he know Old Bastard is being well behaved. Wu Xie has established a barter system wherein food can be exchanged for splashes if someone is annoying (xiazi) or annoyingly good looking (pangzi and xiao ge) (also potentially xiazi)

#wushanju diary #wushanju #iron triangle #wu xie #wang pangzi #pangzi #xiao ge #zhang qiling #hei xiazi #daomu biji #dmbj #old bastard

[hils79]

Title: Man, Interrupted

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

Relationships: Wang Pangzi & Xie Yuchen, background HeiHua, background Iron Triangle OT3

Summary: 

Maybe next time they’ll be able to make it through a whole spa treatment without having to cancel.

(Five times Pangzi and Xiao Hua's spa date was interrupted, and one time it wasn't)

“I was seconds away from closing the deal when Xiazi called, telling me he’d got into a ‘situation’ and asking if I could help because he was in danger of losing one of his appendages.”

Pangzi winces. As difficult as Wu Xie and Xiaoge can be at times, he wouldn’t trade them for anyone, least of all Hei Xiazi.

Xiao Hua sighs and refills their wine glasses. Generally, Pangzi is more of a beer man, but the wine Xiao Hua has provided is, of course, the finest quality and is light and refreshing in the warm and humid air of the bathhouse.

“Unfortunately,” Xiao Hua continues as he sips his wine, “the appendage they were threatening to remove is one I’m rather fond of so I had to drop everything and help. Lost the deal, which I suppose is no great loss. Do I really want to do business with someone who doesn’t accept that helping a friend comes first?”

Pangzi can’t help but smile. Out in public Xiao Hua is every bit the ruthless businessman everyone believes him to be. But here, when it’s just the two of them with no prying ears, he shows that beneath all that there’s a softer side to him. Pangzi isn’t really sure how to define Xiao Hua and Hei Xiazi’s relationship. Xiao Hua has never given it a name, and Pangzi isn’t one to presume. Hei Xiazi is definitely more than ‘a friend’, but Pangzi doesn’t bother correcting Xiao Hua.

“We have little choice when it comes to matters of the heart,” Pangzi says as he sips his own wine. He knows for a fact that he’d give his own life and anything else he could offer if it meant saving Wu Xie and Xiaoge. It’s certainly not what he imagined all those years ago when he first met them.

Xiao Hua hums his agreement. “And how is retirement treating you? Are things easier now that you’ve finished building the house?”

“A little,” Pangzi says. “But we’ve still got the restaurant to run, and you know what Tianzhen is like. He can’t sit still for more than five seconds without—”

A door somewhere nearby slams open. Pangzi is on his feet before he’s even fully finished processing the sound, with Xiao Hua right behind him.

“Who is it? What’s happening?” Pangzi frantically starts searching for a weapon but there’s nothing to be found beyond a small pile of fresh towels. Well, if he has to fight, he still has his fists, and he knows Xiao Hua can handle himself just fine in a fight without any weapons. If anyone has made the mistake of thinking they can attack the two of them while they’re vulnerable, they’re about to learn a very sore lesson.

“Xiazi?” Xiao Hua sounds a mixture of annoyed, concerned, horrified, and several other emotions that Pangzi can’t put a name to. He can see why as Hei Xiazi staggers in. He’s limping badly, a trail of blood spotting the damp floor behind him and turning it an unpleasant shade of pink.

Read the rest on AO3

#my fic #dmbj #wang pangzi #xie yuchen

[good--merits-accumulated]

where is my pangxie au where pangzi is a low level criminal romancing archaeology postgrad wu xie and then after they get together he sits wu xie down to be like "tianzhen... i'm sorry... i do [insert minor crime]" only for wu xie to wince and go "ah. i think i forgot to tell you about how i'm sort of kind of the heir to the mob"

#this is all because of that hugh grant film i watched #you know the one where hes an auctioneer romancing a new york mafia heir #if you want to go the ot3 route on this xiaoge is wu xie's ershu-assigned bodyguard #dmbj #pangxie

[thelaithlyworm]

The Art of the Embrace

Since I'm on another LT1 rewatch...

Wang Pangzi's very first go at the necessary skill Cuddle Wu Xie Closely at All Times (Or He Will Touch Something or Maybe Just Fall Over and/or Die)

He had an excellent start, catching Tianzhen as the boy keeled over from corpse poison and offering solid, reassuring support. Has now shifted to a neat half-choke as he 'reaches for Wu Xie's radio receiver' to 'communicate with the support crew'. Note that easy encirclement, preventing Wu Xie from either falling over again or jumping off a random cliff! Also note Xiaoge in the background, covertly studying Pangzi's technique.

Excellent work: a solid 8/10. Channel your inner weighted blanket, Pangzi!

-

And here we see Xiaoge putting Pangzi's lesson to good use!

A gentle cradle - no need to lock Wu Xie down because he's too dazed to move - note that hand on the boy's shoulder. Xiaoge will manage to get in a reassuring thumb-rub several times throughout the next 'very serious' conversation.

Excellent work, especially from a Novice! 9/10

-

Context Note: I'm making a funny here (DMBJ has such fertile ground), but I will note that for all I joke that Wu Xie is a clumsy twink-lemming, he does do a solid line in rescuing other people his own self, even on this his babystep adventure. I mock with love and respect.

#dmbj #wu xie #wang pangzi #zhang qiling