“ take my hands off your eyes too soon .. 🎸👣🦷 “

Wangxian/The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi

Length: 42,000

Rating: E 

Situation: Shortly after Wei Wuxian’s return and reintegration to Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji, the juniors, and he go to investigate a series of suicides and uncover a ghastly tragedy that occurred years ago.

Review: This is a CASE FIC if I’ve ever seen one. Deeply horrifying, nice and long, and so fucking beautiful. Read this on a stormy night with a nice hot drink and a bunch of blankets.

[SPOILERS]

Writing: This writing is what I would call “tight” writing, meaning that it is straight and to the point, with very little fluff or dilly dallying around. This is a 42k word fic, but absolutely none of that is cuttable in my opinion. This author has a clean voice, and a clear and concise plot, but they still find a way to make this an extremely vivid and rich story. Another really well done and interesting part of this story is the fact that it is very sharp and raw, meaning that this is not an idealistic story or a particularly soft one like some of the other stuff I like to read. There are a lot of really dark parts of this story, not only in the actual case but also in the way the characters act, how everything shakes down, and also just the general tone. Even with this, they still find a way to give soft moments and some seriously heart wrenching plot along the way.

Plot: The Team goes to investigate a watchtower off of which the guards have been flinging themselves to their deaths in the sea, and come to find out that it is being haunted by a resentful spirit whose husband was conscripted for construction and then killed along with the other workers and hidden in the walls. The woman goes to find her husband only to be caught by his murderer and instead of being killed by him herself, she jumps to her death off the side of the watchtower, promising to haunt it until it falls down. Anyway, so they go to look into this, Lan Wangji is almost killed, pining ensues and eventually Wangxian get together. This plot is very very sad and very very dark, and also very very beautiful. I think this is exactly what a case fic should look like. There is not a lot of dead time at all, but also it isn’t JUST the case, running around from place to place doing case things. This is the perfect balance between case and interpersonal plot and I literally am obsessed with how upsetting it is.

Characterization: I loved this characterization specifically for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, although the other characters were great too. I really thought the author absolutely nailed their dynamic in terms of that awkward we-both-are-in-love-with-the-other-but-don’t-think-it’s-mutual stage. Lan Wangji is the ever patient, ever open and honest, ever affectionate person he always is, as if just having the love and Wei Wuxian in his proximity is always enough for him without it being returned. An interesting thing for him was that there are a few moments where he kind of flies off the handle and loses his cool, which at first glance could be considered OOC, but I actually consider them to be SO FUCKING IN CHARACTER. For instance when Wei Wuxian almost falls and he catches him and forgets to finish playing his qin, and then the climax for them where he absolutely fucking snaps after Wei Wuxian risks his life unnecessarily and like comes into his room and Yells at him. This isn’t typical stoic Lan Wangji, but ISN’T it though??? If you just got the love of your life back after sixteen years of them being dead and then AN ADDITIONAL YEAR OF THEM FUCKING OFF TO GOD KNOWS WHERE FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, wouldn’t you kind of lose it if they kept almost accidentally dying in entirely preventable ways??? God Damn. Anyway, that brings us to Wei Wuxian, human disaster, who is so entirely convinced this whole time that he is so unworthy of Lan Wangji’s love that he ignores his ~literal~ confession and he has to hear Lan Wangji, a man who didn’t even yell when Jin Guangyao was talking all that shit keeping them captive, scream it at him in the middle of the fucking night in front of god and everyone in the while chewing him out. I mean if that’s not him, idk what the fuck is. Also the fact that he’s smart as a whip and very self sufficient, but MOSTLY IT'S THAT HE’S THE DUMBEST MAN I'VE EVER SEEN.

Cons: This is absolutely a personal preference thing, but there is a sex scene in this one and the ~vibe~ is closer to Wangxian’s vibe from the novel than from The Untamed. By this I just mean that it’s a little lower on the communication and checking to make sure everyone is cool with what’s happening than I typically prefer. And weirdly enough that’s even brought up after they’re done when Lan Wangji asks Wei Wuxian if he’s okay and Wei Wuxian is like I’m not sure that was a lot. Again, it’s still very well written and seriously it’s really blink-and-you-miss-it, it’s really just a preference thing.

Despite having raised his daughter by himself for four years, Yoongi is still so paranoid by fatherhood that everything seems like a threat. That is, until he meets his daughter’s friend then her father, Jung Hoseok.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, past Rodney McKay/Jennifer Keller, past John Sheppard/OMC, Teyla Emmagan/Kanaan Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Jennifer Keller, Richard Woolsey, OFC, OMC Additional Tags: Alternate Universe Summary: