baek-z

[baek-z]

XuanLi / WangXian parallels

Also titled: How to Use Your Secondary Hetero-romantic Pairing to Underscore That Your Main Characters Aren’t Just Bros.

Or: Zixuan and Wangji’s Idiot Guide on How to Eventually Romance a Lotus Pier Sibling. (life hack: just skip to step 5)

Awkward lengthy staring

Fun activities for all the family

Catch them when they fall

Challenge their opinion on your opinion of them

Get them lotus related merch

(at some point remember to take time to deeply misunderstand one another and cause unnecessary drama and pining otherwise… where’s the fun?)

#wangxian #xuanli #the untamed

[baek-z]

for the @mxtxnet gift exchange, a gift for @sun-dari. happy holidays! <3

[baek-z]

for the @mxtxnet gift exchange, a gift for @sun-dari. happy holidays! <3

#cql #wen qing #wen ning #the best people #cql still hurts

[baek-z]

wangxian en route to interrogate/ threaten some punks

[ep 19 / ep 26]

[baek-z]

Happy holiday exchange to @rymyanna! I really wish I finished this earlier, and I am very sorry for that… Maybe this little piece will bring you some happiness as we start New Year! I had a great time writing, even if I have never written a whole fic in English before so thank you for giving me that opportunity. All in all, a little bit late but I hope that every single one of your wishes comes true in the future!

The first idea was explaining to Mobei-jun what Christmas was but it sort of took a different turn.

❅❅❅

An abundance of snow was nothing unusual in the Northern Desert, and it was not the first time it snowed in the human realm nor on An Ding Peak. Mobei-jun was sure of that, as he himself witnessed such weather more than once since he’d made Shang Qinghua’s acquaintance… Therefore, it made little sense for said peak lord to be as excited about previous night’s snowfall as he was. What was even more unusual, were quiet words about regretting for the first time in his life that he couldn’t take part in something that he referred to as “Christmas”. That quiet wish was murmured in the early hours of the morning with a serene expression filled and gaze filled with unusual longing as Shang Qinghua gazed towards the white-covered ground outside… Before Mobei-jun could ask him about that, the man startled, realising the demon also awoke. The human pointedly acted as if he never opened his mouth in the first place, so his husband was unable to learn more.

At times it was frustrating, that the man still acted as if he couldn’t ask Mobei-jun for things, as if they weren’t together, as if it wasn’t given that the demon would at least try to make his wishes come true — whatever they were. Had he not shown Shang Qinghua with an endless supply of pulled noodles and indulgence in place of old-forgotten violence?

Mobei-jun knew that, if Shang Qinghua decided something, he wouldn’t change his mind easily. That, however, didn’t mean all his options were lost… asking seemed to be way below his status but so had been many things he’d done for his husband. That only left a question of whose help he ought to seek.

While humans and demons were surprisingly alike, their customs couldn’t be more different so asking anyone of his or Luo Binghe’s subjects seemed pointless. That left cultivators from Cang Qiong Mountain but amongst them, Shang Qinghua was easily the most eccentric one so, in the end, only one option remained — Shen Qingqiu was the only human who could truly be considered close to Shang Qinghua. They were even able to communicate in some weird language that sounded different to everything Mobei-jun’d ever heard…

Qing Jin Peak lord was well-versed when it came to understanding Shang Qinghua. It wouldn’t be the first (nor probably the last) time that Mobei-jun had to pay him a visit, but it didn’t stop him from feeling awkward. Still, if he wanted to get to the source of his husband's weird behaviour, the demon had no choice but to hurt his pride a little in the process.

❅

“He said ‘Christmas’?” Shen Qingqiu quickly schooled his expression into something impassive, but Mobei-jun knew him for long enough to recognise surprise and a little bit of embarrassment. Well, awkwardness aside, at least he seemed familiar with the name, so the journey wasn’t for nothing.

“Only that he wished to spend Christmas together,” Mobei-jun answered, cold and indifferent as always. A deep sigh coming from the peak lord was an answer on its own.

“Christmas is not…,” Shen Qingqiu stated after a moment of stunned silence. Even in his own home, he appeared to be out of his element, trying but clearly failing to find his way about Shang Qinghua’s wish. “Let’s just say… it’s almost like a festival for couples.”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t seem too interested or excited but Mobei-jun could never understand him all that well so this time he also didn’t know whether that reaction was a good or a bad one… One thing for sure — that festival had to happen, with how nostalgic Shang Qinghua sounded in the morning.

“Given everything, it’s probably best to spend it indoors, but you can still make the atmosphere fitting. You’ll also need something to gift him…”

And thus, over a pot of fragrant tea, a plan has been made and while human courting rituals were still confusing and preposterous, Mobei-jun was one step closer to making that small wish come true.

❅

Big festival was out of the question, both, because it would be too preposterous to explain Christmas to everyone and because it would take longer. On top of that, the less people knew, the less it was possible that they spoil the surprise for Shang Qinghua. Small celebration, however, did not mean that Mobei-jun hadn’t had a lot of things to prepare. The plan Shen Qingqiu helped him put together had three main steps that he had to follow before Shang Qinghua finished his duties for the day. Fortunately, Shen Qingqiu’d promised to keep him busy for as long as he could earlier, so the demon would have just enough to finish all the steps before his husband came home.

❅

Following a plan was always easier than acting without one. Especially, when it came to unknown customs and even more when you had to decorate a place with only a quickly drawn painting as your guide. Mobei-jun had not expected this Christmas thing to be easy to organise but even finding a proper pine tree had taken way more time than he would have liked. It had to be small enough so it could fit inside a house, yet big enough to be able to make an impact.

There had been countless trees covering the slopes of Tian Gong mountains, and yet, the task of finding one that fit all the requirements ended up spending almost all Mobei-jun’s patience. How much easier it was when he only knew how to communicate with Shang Qinghua with his fists! Beating up was natural… carrying a tree into his sitting room was not.

And that had only been the first step! Setting it up was not even the hardest part!

As much as it’d hurt his pride to ask Shen Qingqiu for help, he was glad to find a whole box of night pearls on a low table. Mobei-jun couldn’t help but grimance as he took one pearl out, only to put it back inside. Why on all realms did he have to decorate that ostentatious greenery that has overtaken half of the sitting room?!

He had never heard of a cut pine tree having any significance! Why couldn’t they just enjoy the scenery as everywhere around them were trees covered in a soft layer of white snow?

Shen Qingqiu had been quite adamant that they needed to have one inside and, as he was the one with knowledge about Christmas festival, Mobei-jun didn’t really have a choice other than to heed his words. The decorating part, however…

Squashing down frustration, Mobei-jun decided to leave the pearls as they were and only relied on his powers to frost the endings of evergreen foliage. If Shang Qinghua wanted that tree decorated, he would have to do so himself. The demon would not waste any more time!

Tapping into his powers easily allowed him to transform the interior into something more resembling of his palace in the north where walls were built out of solid ice. This house would only need a little layer of frost here and there, and maybe a few icicles glittering with sunrays or candleflames. It took mere seconds for ice to take over the sitting room. The temperature dropped drastically, but Shang Qinghua was an immortal cultivator… he should survive anyways!

❅

Fortunately, third item on Mobei-jun’s list was way more reasonable compared to the tree and decorations. Food was, after all, a big part of daily life and special celebrations as well. The only stressful moment was when Sheng Qingqiu started muttering something weird. Mobei-jun seriously worried he would be done with humans and their antics for at least a century. In the end, the human settled on way more acceptable dinner choice: pulled noodles. They were Shang Qinghua’s favourite since forever. Mobei-jun knew because his husband rarely asked for things and that one, timid request for food marked the beginning of their lives together, so he had made them many more times after.

Soon enough, the whole house filled with rich aroma. Two filled to the brim bowls were laid on the table, waiting for the moment Shang Qinghua came back home.  

❅

It didn’t take a long time for the An Ding’s peak lord to arrive. As he slid the door to his quarters open, he shouted out, a harshly sounding word in that weird language of his. His widened eyes and open mouth were not a very elegant expression, but Mobei-jun wouldn’t berate him for that. After all, that clear surprise soon turned into delighted squeak, as Shang Qinghua came inside, and it was a reward on its own.

“Did you… how did you…”

“Shen Qingqiu helped,” Mobei-jun answered the unspoken question. His tone flat and almost disinterested. As if he wasn’t holding a thick blanket, blue and silver in colour, ready to cover Shang Qinghua’s shoulders as soon as the man stepped closer.

Mobei-jun had to drop the material to the ground, because within seconds he had his arms full of a certain, teary-eyed cultivator.

“You didn’t have to…”

“You wanted it.”

After all, making Shang Qinghua happy was not all that difficult. And Mobei-jun could maybe, just maybe, understand what humans saw in the whole Christmas ordeal, as they ended up cuddled together, talking, and gazing at the room bathed in soft glow of Night Pearls.

(And yes, in the end the great and powerful demon lord was coerced into helping his husband to decorate a christmas tree.)

❅❅❅

The first idea was explaining to Mobei-jun what Christmas was but it sort of took a different turn.

#mxtxnet #for:rymyanna #moshang #m:fic #holiday exchange

[baek-z]

wangxian modern au // love o2o crossover

in which the lives of wei ying (third-year humanities major) and lan zhan (second-year computer science major) intertwine in the virtual world — “grandmaster of demonic cultivation”. 

or alternatively, two college students who fell in love through an online game.

#the untamed #wangxian #i'd scream #need this ff #like right now

[baek-z]

As I rabidly consume The Untamed and MDZS fanfic, one thing that's become clear to me is how much it WORKS FOR ME that in the original novel they just basically cobble together a marriage ceremony and decide we're doing this, yep we're gonna be husbands now. (It's also why the fic Linger in the Sun gut punches me with feels when Wei Wuxian just catches the baton that Lan Wangji passes him and starts calling him husband.)

It may be hard to understand and hard for me to explain, if you didn't grow up a big ol dyke like me in a country & time when the idea of being legally married... just didn't seem like something that would ever be possible for you. (yes, I'm a Fandom Old™, gasp!)

I remember fantasizing with my high school girlfriend at 16, thinking (as you do) about marrying my high school sweetheart. But in the mid 90s, it wasn't the same as how straight culture fantasized. I didn't picture a big church wedding. I didn't picture a ceremony at all. Of course, I knew that some people did "commitment ceremonies", I had seen pictures from them and seen them in glbt films, and I thought, maybe I'll do one someday. Or maybe not. But that wasn't what was needed to be married. Not to me. Not, at the time, to many queer couples. You decided to devote yourself to someone & they agreed and you did it. You moved in together and built a shared life. The other people in your community respected that and acknowledged the marriage as real.

There's something about queer love and queer community that is very much.. just... Deciding who you are to someone. Where family and life partnership was something you declared & made true because it was the truth in your heart and that is all that matters. Wei Wuxian's story in MDZS is so damn old school QUEER and I love that. Before death, it's metaphorical -- He is choses the unorthodox path because it's the only road available to him. There's something physically different in him from his peers and he has to hide it. He's cast out of his sect. He builds a new family for himself, who have also been rejected by society. And then when he returns from death, it becomes literal. He grapples with internalized homophobia and is faced with it externally. He defines an image of family for himself (me & you & our child w the donkey) and finds his chosen person that brings that image to life.

In the novel JC's homophobia is explicit, and it makes it all feel more real and true. It's part of his complicated relationship with his adopted brother, who he hates and loves. Who he envies but is also disgusted by. Who he viciously blames and desperately misses. Who he has never, ever understood -- despite all the love for him.

Being queer, when you were Of A Certain Age, often meant stepping outside the bounds of your family and societal groups. That implicit, expected belonging was gone. You didn't fit into the family in the same way.  In some families, you were denounced. In others, it was a softer, quieter othering: You didn't get invited anymore to all the same get togethers, or were asked to come alone. You weren't asked to babysit the nieces and nephews. You didn't get invited to speak about the lives of you and your partner, like everyone else in the room. You made everyone uncomfortable by your presence.

WWX eloping and forming a new life for himself with Lan Wangji, with a new home base. It feels right to me. Night hunts with Wen Ning and Lan Suhuzi and Lan Jingyi... even Jin Ling. Piecing together a new found family. So even in fix-it MDZS fanfics, I've found that I really enjoy those where the reconciliations are imperfect and the grand marriage ceremonies are still for other people. (though I have a huge weakness for post canon fics where WWX makes a place for himself in Gusu)

#okay so i never really thought about MDZS from that point of view #but that's honestly great #(even though i highly doubt it was the intention) #what i love about mdzs and MXTX novels in general is that the world they are set in doesn't really define them #what i mean is: their circumstances are vastly different but many people can relate for different reasons #and i think it's beautiful #mdzs

[baek-z]

expectation: stand by my mans

reality: nah bitch, you die

#CQL #wang yibo #wyb vs lwj is such a contrast i can't #i love this dumb baby leo #xiao zhan #WangXian

[baek-z]

@thewangji the disgusted middle one

Wang Yibo  《天天向上》 2019 medley

Part 1 / 4 ~

#wang yibo #biasline #ttss #UNIQ

[baek-z]

shining xiao zhan & wang yibo | at the starlight awards 2019 |

#wang yibo #xiao zhan #biasline #i have one thing to say #and it's the fact that i absolutely adore when yibo does that one-sided smile #also cuties getting the awards they deserve <3 #i love how you paired the performances together with individual shots too #how can xiao zhan always look like a baby tho

[baek-z]

source

#wang yibo #uniq #biasline #apparently he's in biasline now #also this is the best way to get back on track you're right

[baek-z]

“You who I called brother Why must you call down another blow?…

You who I called brother How could you have come to hate me so?

Is this what you wanted?” 

↳ 3 | 4  from: “The Plagues”, Prince of Egypt; requested by @singelisilverslippers

#cql #yunmeng siblings was one of the best (and the wortst) things in that universe #it still hurts to look at it #bc if you think about how much they suffered

[baek-z]

the beautiful colours of episode 50

#cql #aesthetic

[baek-z]

a mood apparently

‘am I really about to start watching this show solely because of repeated exposure to gifs of two lovestruck assholes looking at each other’ is the core drive of my fandom experience

#also hopey let's do that #i do reblog the untamed stuff here tho

[baek-z]

@abangchan let's die together

ending fairy seonghwa

#ateez #park seonghwa

[baek-z]

@briee-elle

Untamed Memes (28/?) // Burial Mounds!WWX as Tumblr Posts edition

#bri i shal tag you here #the wizzard quest one fnbckjnlsl #i almost laughed out loud in class #that shouldn't have happened lel #the untamed

[baek-z]

One of my favorite art-direction details were the wigs for the Jin men. First of all you have Meng Yao’s insane style with all these triangular tufts going in a criss-cross pattern around the front of his head, and ending in little braids that coil around his top knot. It’s the most unique style combining elements from both the Nie and the Jin styles, and it’s very elaborate. It might be quite elegant, but it’s also very martial

This particular pattern of separating the front tufts is repeated exactly but without the braids on Jin Ling’s hair. And interestingly enough, a much softer version of this triangular separation is also to be found on Guangshan’s hairstyle. So it’s a Jin Clan Leader thing. But more importantly it kinda denotes his uncle’s influence and validates that Jin Ling was in part raised by him. Visually everything on Jin Ling screams Jin Clan, even though his character is more Jiang Cheng and I think that’s very cute, in how his ucle Guangyao is trying to tame and refine his nephew’s more renegade characteristics.

Another really interesting detail, is that both Meng Yao and Jin Zixuan have a central braid going into their top knot, which both denotes they are brothers, but also that one will replace the other very soon.

#OH MY... SERIOUSLY! #like I regret not paying more attention to that so THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAGGING ME HERE #(also reblogging it on this side bc it makes that much more sense) #i'm so in love with this drama what the hell #also i love how jin ling changes through his interactions with WWX a little #i'll be forever thankful to you for showing me this drama ❤️