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Summary: A series of stories about modern exorcists, the ghosts to whom they become tied, and the various vengeances that they may or may not take. (A modern-with-cultivation AU for MDZS, originally inspired by Beetlejuice and now gone entirely off the rails.)

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Summary: There was a room in the Cloud Recesses. They called it the quiet room. They said it was meant for healing, a safe space where you could be untroubled by the world, but Nie Mingjue suspected it had actually been designed as a torture chamber and that the Lan sect, having exposed their children to it from an early age, had simply become inured to its evils. Kay's comments: I don't even go here, but this 3Zun story is just amazing. Had me hooked from the beginning to the end. The relationship between Nie Mingjue & Lan Xichen & Jin Guangyao in this story is so messed up and to see Lan Wangji unravel is slowly after he saved Nie Mingjue from the so-called Quiet Room, where he nearly qi-deviated to death after being left there by Lan Xichen for healing - Just wow. I loved the relationship between Nie Mingjue and Lan Wangji as well and of course, theres background Wangxian and Lan Wangji taking care not only of Lan Sizhui, but of Lan Jingyi as well. I tagged this as 3Zun, but the romantic relationships are Nielan and Xiyao and if you're a big fan of Lan Xichen having done no wrong, this story is not for you. Excerpt: He could hear Wen Ruohan laughing at him (Jin Guangyao mocking him); he could hear the screams of the battlefield, the roar of the dead; he could even hear his father’s voice, which he hadn’t heard in so long – He could hear Baxia, stronger than he’d ever heard her before, and she was frantic, too. They are trying to break you, she screamed in his mind, don’t let them break you! and he remembered that she’d also been there when his father’s saber had snapped into a thousand pieces. He didn’t understand why his lover would do this to him. (Jin Guangyao had suggested it, he thought, and there was some hint of an answer just outside his grasp, just eluding him, and maybe if he could get out of the fucking quiet so that he could think he might be able to seize onto the answer, but he wasn’t, he was trapped, he was breaking -) The door opened. “Xichen,” Nie Mingjue mouthed from where he was kneeling on the floor, no longer able to move, praying that his lover had seen sense, had decided for the first time in years to trust him instead of Jin Guangyao – Lan Wangji, still covered in bandages, stared at him in horror.

Summary: Body that wants to heave, and Lan Xichen who won't let it. Jin Guangyao rips chunks of flesh from the arm, and presses them to his mouth, and Lan Xichen takes them in each time. Hunched foward, just slightly, if he tricks himself, maybe he could believe that it's the salt of Jin Guangyao's or Nie Mingjue's skin, and not bloody flesh.

Summary:Yu Ziyuan cuts off Wei Wuxian's hand. The cultivation world changes. Kay's comments: Another story where Wei Wuxian loses his hand, because I'm very weak for this specific canon-divergence scenario. It all works out in the end too, even though the Yunmeng Siblings are going through it in this story, but they have each other's back. This series also features Wangxian getting together, Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing getting together and also falling in a dom/sub relationship with delicious femdom Wen Qing, Sect Leader Jiang Yanli who falls into a partnership with Nie Huaisang and Xiyao working their things out as well. All in all just a super creative scenario, with lots of interesting ideas. Excerpt: A hand jerks him off what’s left of her, and he whirls. It’s his mother, dragging Wei Wuixan by his whole arm. “A-Cheng!” “Look what you’ve done!” he screams right back, gesturing at Wei Wuxian, at the answering signal flares of the Wen high overhead. “Was it worth it, a-Niang? Let go of him!” She staggers back a half-step, before her face goes hard. “You dare!” she snaps, and grabs him by the front of his robes, and drags both of them to the roof in one long bound. Drags them towards the pier. “Listen to me,” she says, as she pushes them onto the barge. “You must remember what’s important. You are the master of Lotus Pier, the leader of the Jiang Sect! That is what matters!”

Summary Part One: “You’re freaking out,” Mianmian says as she pokes his forehead. “You think so loudly. It must be a nightmare in your head.” “I haven’t even met him. I signed that fucking contract and pledged myself to a guy I’ve never even seen!” “Yeah, to the most handsome man in the country. Literally. There was a vote.” Or: The worst omega is hired to be the best alpha's concubine. Awkward hair-combing ensues.

Summary Part Two: Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan enter the main tent. The chatter fades away, and dozens of shocked faces turn to them. Wei Wuxian clutches his sword and lifts his chin. "Fuck 'em." "Mn." Or the worst omega and the best alpha got married, and they're making it everyone's problem. Also, omegas are restless, Wen Ruohan and his sons are gross, and a baby is dramatic.

Mojo's comments: What a delightful series. And for some reason, it was never quite what I was expecting, which was simply lovely. The world building in this one is subtle: it's never fed to you as exposition, but rather shown through various experiences. Omegas here are kept and trained in temples until they're contracted to an alpha as a concubine (to make more alphas). If you're like me and feel a little upset at approaching involuntary sex work and dub-con situations, rest assured that there are none here. Much to WWX's frustration. WWX and LWJ fall in love, as is inevitable, against a backdrop of recognizing that tradition is harmful and sweeping cultural change. And also an oncoming war with the Wens. This was such a fun ride, and I read it in two days. Go nuts with it, y'all. You'll love it.

Summary: Lan Wangji runs a sanctuary for rescued bunnies. His life is quiet and routine. Until Mo Xuanyu needs a place to stay out of trouble. He doesn’t expect to end up rescuing him, too.

Kay's comments: The focus of this story lies in the relationship between Mo Xuanyu and Lan Wangji and it's really beautiful to read about, to see grouchy teen Mo Xuanyu slowly coming out of his shell and coming to trust Lan Wangji. Wangxian and single father Wei Wuxian is a sweet bonus though and I loved to see how it all came together, how they all found each other! So sweet!

Excerpt: On a Sunday morning, while Lan Wangji is doing medication rounds and Mo Xuanyu is, ostensibly, putting fresh bedding in the enclosures, Lan Wangji overhears him talking to one of the rabbits from the other room. He shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he can’t help hearing. “You’re a nasty little fucker, aren’t you? Is that why no one wants you except crazy Mr. Lan? Because you bite. I’ll bet you bit somebody’s kid and they sent you away. You’d bite me, if you could. I don’t blame you. Nobody likes me, either.” Lan Wangji can guess which rabbit he’s talking to. Peony does, in fact, bite, and he has the scar on his finger to prove it. He isn't sure if he should be glad Mo Xuanyu is interacting with the rabbits, or sad about what he’s saying to them, and he leaves hurriedly, before he can hear anything else more private. But later, casually, he asks, “Would you like me to show you how to hold the rabbits?”

Summary part one: The thing is, well, it's just that – It's just that actually, Wei Ying might be a little bit in love. He's known it for a while. Since – well, if he really stops to think about it, if he's honest with himself in the way his teenage self had no idea how to be, since approximately two minutes and forty seconds into their first competition together on the junior circuit at fourteen years old. It took him a while to figure it out. And by then, well – by then he knew Lan Zhan wasn't interested. Lan Zhan isn't interested in that with anyone, and least of all Wei Ying. Wei Ying is a competitive figure skater at the peak of his career. So is Lan Zhan. This is the season where everything changes.

Summary: A series of scenes in which Lan Wangji raises Wen Yuan / Lan Yuan in the 16-year absence of Wei Ying. Along the way, he ends up raising Lan Jingyi as well. Lan Xichen faces his own challenges, keeping his younger brother safe (sometimes from his own grief and impetuousness) and navigating the eventual loss of his own loves.

Summary: Lan Zhan dies two years before canon and promptly wakes up in the library at Cloud Recesses right across from Wei Wuxian, napping facedown in a pile of copywork. He has a lot of questions. Is this the afterlife? If it's not, then is he alone with his memories? And most importantly, what does he need to do to keep his soulmate alive this time? Wei Ying did not stir as he knelt down by the desk. It had been so long since Lan Zhan had seen those beloved features and even longer since he’d been allowed to either get or stay this close to Wei Ying. He looked so different from Lan Zhan’s memories; apple cheeked, clean, and relaxed. Lan Zhan clamped both hands over his own mouth to stop the pained noise that threatened to escape him. Hot tears spilled down his face as he watched the young, safe, and whole boy sleep. His stomach cramped with the effort of holding the sound in, but he’d sooner die than wake Wei Ying up.

Mojo's comments: I was interrupted so many times while reading this that it took 3 days and I cannot do it justice. I did tags, though! Anyway, it's a delightful time travel fix it, wherein lwj dies and opens his eyes to his student days. Slowly, he determines that a handful of other people came back, too, all of whom died before him. He and wwx team up, try to tweak events, get together (lwj died during the 13 years, so there was no established relationship). Meanwhile, there's a mastermind somewhere, pulling strings, putting everyone in their places (meng yao shows up as a student and gets a new arc, focused on lxc of course). Great thoughts on musical cultivation, yin iron and resentful energy. (Also, Madam Yu and Meng Yao get to do a bitch-off, which is very satisfying.)

Summary:  "I would like to formally court you," Lan Xichen begins, "preferably for the space of several months, until such time as I am no longer inundated with offers of marriage."

Meng Yao looks at him thoughtfully for a long moment before smiling again, calculating expression gone and dimples flashing once more. "I have a few stipulations," he says, "but I believe we can come to acceptable terms."

a modern xiyao fake dating AU

Summary:  Wei Wuxian thought that Lan Xichen wasn’t himself at the Gusu Lan Sect’s family banquet, but he didn’t realize just how correct he was.

Jin Guangyao, meanwhile, would have gladly accepted another chance at life, especially one with everything he's wanted: a sect to lead, a high cultivation, everyone’s esteem.

But Lan Xichen’s soul is a price not even he is willing to pay. Written for Xiyao Month 2020.

My comments:  Oh, this was a fun ride. The first third of the story is about Jin Guangyao waking up in Lan Xichen's body, utterly heartbroken that the man he'd loved had killed himself for him. He can't keep up the act for long (emotionally) and has to confess to Lan WAngji and Wei Wuxian, which is as heart rending an occasion as it sounds like.

After this, the three determine to see what they can do about restoring Lan Xichen's soul, which means learning about restoring shattered and destroyed souls, which involves Qin Su (trapped in the soul-stealing knife she'd used to commit suicide), Song Lan and his precious cargo, and Mo Xuanyu (who'd pulled the same maneuver as lxc). On the way they pick up all the juniors (who are suspicious and begin to put the pieces together on their own), an angry grape, a few female characters (both canon and OC) who really seem much smarter than the men they're surrounded by, bless 'em, and one renowned headshaker. And a girl who is accidentally half a goddess. And our fierce corpse buddy Wen Ning.

POV is primarily jgy, but everyone gets a turn (especially when they're all doing things in different locations).

Author handles a lot of difficult issues about guilt and forgiveness, too. Because damn, have all these folks done some Really Terrible things. But as Nie Mingjue muses, near the end, "[he] doesn’t know what to say. His heart is broken, but he doesn’t know how to judge anyone. It feels like everyone betrayed and killed for reasons he almost understands, and it confuses him, because it’s wrong." BUT....

Anyhoo, a good story, and I'm happy that everyone got a chance for redemption (including lots of mothers who were very badly treated in canon).

Summary:  When Jin Guangyao finds himself resurrected through another body-sacrificing ritual, he plans to fulfill the caster’s wish and flee as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it seems the previous owner of his body had business with Lan Sect. Post-canon. Written for XiYao Week 2019, with each chapter loosely corresponding to the day's prompts.

My comments:  Interesting premise, wherein Jin Guangyao is resurrected into a woman’s body. Not a pairing I've sought out, but I'm glad I stumbled across this. Arc is about reverting to bad behaviors out of fear, and being loved, and being found out, and redemption while learning to accept help. Learning to live with guilt and move beyond self-loathing. Lots of angst. (Lots of fluff in the last 3 chapters.)

I'm not sure why it isn't rated. I'd rate it a soft M for sex and descriptions of childbirth.