It’s time for the Daomu Biji Rarepair Exchange, a fic, art and vid exchange for DMBJ ships where less than 3% of English-language authors have posted fics on AO3.
In this exchange, participants will be anonymously matched to create gifts for one another during an eight week creating period.
This exchange is open to all the DMBJ canons - if it’s DMBJ, then it’s eligible! It will take place on AO3, so you need an AO3 account to participate – if you don’t have one, you can request an invitation code here. If there isn’t enough time, no worries - contact the mods at here on Tumblr or on Discord and we can send you an invitation!
Please read this post carefully before signing up.
Schedule
September 9: Signups open
September 15: Signups close
September 23: Assignments out
November 17: Assignments due
November 18 - 24: Pinch-hit period
November 25: Fic reveals
December 2: Creator reveals & treats deadline
Allowed Ships
Any DMBJ ship which has had less than 3% of English-language authors post fics for it on AO3.
For this year's exchange, this means the following ships are NOT allowed:
Wu Xie/Zhang QIling
Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen
Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang QIling
Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie
Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling
Qi Tiezui/Zhang Rishan
Wang Pangzi/Zhang QIling
Kan Jian/Liu Sang
Qi Tiezui/Zhang Qishan
Liang Wan/Zhang Rishan
Liu Sang/Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang QIling
Er Yuehong/Zhang Qishan
Wu XIe/Xie Yuchen
Hei Xiazi/Liu Sang/Xie Yuchen
Hei Xiazi/Zhang Qiling
Hei Xiazi/Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen
Huo Daofu/Wu Xie
Rules
1. Your creation must focus on your recipient’s requested ship (or one of their requested ships, if they have nominated multiple ones). While unrequested background ships are fine (unless listed as a Do Not Want), the focused ship must only be one of the requested ones.
2. You will be expected to create a gift matching your recipient’s request. Filling any specifying prompts is not obligatory, but try to create something you honestly think your recipient will enjoy!
3. You must not include anything that your recipient has listed as a DNW (Do Not Want). This goes for treats as well.
4. The minimum requirements for the gifts are 300 words for fic, one sketch on unlined paper for art (traditional or digital; no manips), or 30 seconds for a vid.
5. All the requests will be made visible to everyone to allow for treating! There are no minimum requirements for treats (but remember to mind your recipient’s do not wants!). You can also create manips for treats.
6. This is an anonymous exchange: refrain from discussing your assignment in public. After the works are revealed, there’ll be one week anon period when the creators remain anonymous before the creator reveals.
7. If at any point you need to drop out, just click on the “default” button on your AO3 assignment page; we’ll find a pinch hitter to create a gift for your recipient instead. If you need an extension to finish your gift, contact the mods before the deadline.
8. After the reveals, comment on your gift in a timely manner.
9. Most importantly: be excellent to each other!
Sign-Up Information
Sign-ups will take place here on AO3, ending on September 15th. There, you can fill out details about your request and offer. You can edit your sign-up at any time until the sign-ups close on September 15th.
When signing up, you will be able to choose fandom and genre tags, as well as specify any additional details.
You will have to select the DMBJ canon you’re interested in creating and receiving a gift in:
Novels: Daomu Biji / The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (including spinoffs, side stories, and extras)
TV: The Lost Tomb 1
TV: The Lost Tomb 2 Explore with the Note
TV: The Lost Tomb 2.5 Heavenly Palace on the Clouds
TV: Ultimate Note
TV: Sha Hai (and spin off movies)
TV: The Lost Tomb Reboot/The Sound of Providence (and spin offs)
TV: The Mystic Nine (and spin off movies)
TV: Zang Hai Hua/Tibetan Sea Flower/Adventures Behind the Bronze Door
Movie: Time Raiders
Movie: Reboot movies
Game: Time Raiders
This does not mean that you’re limited to requesting or creating a work during the canon timelines for those series/books/games. It’s just to mark which canons you’re familiar with to allow for easier matching: some participants might have a preference for a particular canon era, some might not be familiar with all the versions. You still have to choose your preferred canon eras even if you want to create or receive an AU.
You will also have to specify genres you’re interested in
Action/Adventure
Alternate Universe
Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Angst
Canon Compliant
Crack
Dark
Domesticity
Fluff
Humor
Hurt/Comfort
Porn With Plot
PWP
Requests
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you’re willing to receive a gift in any canon era, you can just click “Any”!
Genre - you have to choose at least three tags.
Ratings - you have to choose at least one. This will help your gifter know what you like and are comfortable with when they're coming up with ideas to fill your prompts.
Warnings - you have to choose at least one. This does not mean that you WILL receive a gift with warnings, it just lets your gifter know if you are comfortable receiving a gift with warnings or not.
Optional Details - here’s where you can go into more detail about your perfect exchange gift!
If you run out of slots in the Relationships section (there is a limit of 20), you can list additional potential rarepairs here. Also, if you don’t have a specific ship in mind, but would like any ship involving a particular character, you can say that instead (e.g. ‘Liu Sang / any’, ‘Pangzi / any’, etc.)
You can also include:
General Likes: your creator may, but doesn’t have to, include them. This doesn't have to be detailed prompts, just general themes you enjoy, like getting together or established relationship.
Please note that works featuring QPRs, ace, and/or aro characters are absolutely valid things to request in a ship exchange. You may also request a fully platonic relationship if you wish.
DNW (Do Not Wants): things that your creator must not include - squicks, triggers, characters or things that you simply don’t like. Remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation about why something is a DNW, and that DNW are not meant to be taken personally. Just list the things you don’t like, “DNW: X, Y.”
Please list if you have any audio or visual triggers (such as flashing lights). This could be in your DNW or could be separate. Please also list song/music DNWs (e.g. "please no lyrics that use the n-word" or "please no lyrics in [specific language]" or “please no [specific genre/s of music”).
Prompts/specific ideas: if you have any prompts, you can also put them here! You can be as general or as detailed as you’d like, but remember that while your creator will try to make the best gift for you, filling a specific prompt is not obligatory. You can include a crossover prompt (with other DMBJ verse or other canons), but make sure it’s not the only prompt you have.
For vid prompts, please list things like genres/styles of music you like (or like in vids), vibes/tone/theme you’d like to see (e.g. “angsty amnesiac Xioage”, “Heisang crack”, etc.), and things like that. Please try to avoid giving one or two specific songs for a specific character/ship.
If you run out of space for your prompts, you can write a prompt post on another platform like Dreamwidth, Tumblr, GoogleDocs, etc. and put the link in your sign up.
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with, such as ‘Books 1-4′ , ‘main series only′, ‘main series + specific extras’, etc.
The requests will be made publicly visible after matching is done, so that others will be able to create treats (additional gifts) based on them!
Offers
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you can create works for any canon era, you can choose “Any”!
Genre - you have to choose at least three.
Ratings - you have to choose at least one. This will help matching what people are comfortable creating with what people are comfortable receiving.
Warnings - you have to choose at least one. This does not mean that you have to create a gift with warnings, it's just for helping to match what people are comfortable writing with what people are comfortable receiving.
Optional Details - in this field, you can tell us more about the kind of works you like to create, for example if you really prefer established relationship, feel best with certain kinds of AUs, or like writing darkfic. We’ll take it into account when matching! By the same token, if there’s something you really don’t want to write, let us know here as well.
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with, such as ‘Books 1-4′ , ‘main series only′, ‘main series + specific extras’, etc.
In the optional details of your offer, you can also name people you don’t want to be matched to, for example your regular beta, and we will do our best to avoid matching you!
The offers will only ever be visible to the mods; never to anyone else.
Your Assignment
You will be matched to create a gift for someone who requested at least one of the fandoms that you offer, with as many similar genres/likes as possible. This exchange will be hand-matched, after using AO3’s matching algorithm to first generate the potential matches.
If you have any issues when you receive your assignment (you have a question about it or think there’s an issue with it), contact the mods as soon as possible. Do not contact your recipient on your own.
You will have to create a gift for your recipient, fulfilling the minimum requirements of fandom, genre, and ship, and avoiding any stated “do not wants”. Filling exact prompts is optional, but try to create something matching your recipient’s likes that they will enjoy!
You will have to post your gift to the exchange AO3 collection before the due date (November 17th), using the “gift this work to” option to give it to your recipient. Your work will remain in the collection only visible to you and the mods until the reveals happen. Remember to tag your work appropriately or use the “chose not to warn” warning.
Treating
Treats are additional gifts for the participants! To allow for treating, the requests will be made visible when matching is done. You can create treats at any time until the creator reveals! There are no minimum requirements for treats, and manips/moodboards/etc. are also allowed in addition to fic, art, and vids. As with assignments, you have to respect the recipient’s Do Not Wants, and while the optional details are optional, try to create something fitting the listed likes. One treat can only be gifted to one person.
Pinch Hits
In case someone needs to drop out, we will look for a pinch hitter to complete their assignment. Pinch hits will be posted to this tumblr and the DMBJ Yu Cun Discord.
Extensions
If you think you can finish your assignment, but you need a few days more, you can always ask for an extension!
Multi-Chapter Fics
If you are writing a multi-chapter fic for the exchange and don’t want to drop the entire fic at once, these are the posting guidelines for it:
Multi-chapter fics that are assignment fills must be fully written and at least the first chapter posted by the assignment deadline, ready for the fic reveals on November 25th.
From November 25th, at least one chapter is to be posted daily.
All chapters of the fic must be posted by the time of author reveals and end of treating on December 2nd (If the fic is more than 7 chapters long, then this will mean that multiple chapters will need to be posted on some days).
Multi-chapter fics that are treats can begin to be posted at any time, but must also be fully posted by December 2nd.
Other Important Information
Make sure to check the email you use on AO3 frequently during the exchange, as it will be the primary means of communication. We might contact you if there is an issue with your sign-up or if your gift creator has a question for you.
If you’d rather we contact you on DIscord or Tumblr, please leave your handle in the offer section of your sign-up.
Follow us here to avoid missing an announcement or a deadline!
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact us here on Tumblr or on Discord.
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Liu sang and jiale tried to see if they could go back to that time period so they held the rock then it cuts to a wedding scene??? What are they tryna say 👁️👁️
I’m so sorry, I meant to have this up way before now, but I got eaten by work. Next year, I will have this up properly in advance so that it can run for the full two weeks instead of 10 days!
LIU CHANG CHARACTERS DAYS: April 7th - 18th 2022
Fan days for all of Liu Chang’s DMBJ characters!
7th - 10th: General Prompts
7th. Admiration, disorientation
8th. Alcohol, surprise
9th. Held at gunpoint, caretaking
10th. Accepting help, surprise
11th - 17th: Mixed Prompts
11th. General: Water, Liu Sang: “From now on, he calls the shots”, Wang Can: Defiance, Yan Sanxing: Like a ninja
12th. General: Death, Liu Sang: Family, Wang Can: “I want you guys to go to hell with me”, Yan Sanxing: Blood
13th. General: Tattoo, Liu Sang: Trust, Wang Can: Show off, Yan Sanxing: “I’m still not the fastest in Changsha.”
14th. General: Abduction, Liu Sang: “I tell you, he’s not famous for his hearing. He’s famous for his bad luck”, Wang Can: Feral, Yan Sanxing: Cats
15th. General: Birthday, Liu Sang: Party, Wang Can: “Beat me and I’ll tell you”, Yan Sanxing: Petting
16th. General: Fire, Liu Sang: Senses, Wang Can: Trigger finger, Yan Sanxing: “It’s worth it to die in your hands”
17th. Free Day
(thank you to Snowy for the image of the five Liu Chang characters in the heart)
"This guy called Jiang Wu, I dunno who, or what to do...."
Qi Xia tried not to lose her temper. After all, it'd been her idea to prank their son into visiting, making him think he'd been pulled back into their past and pretending to think he was his father. She'd expected him to argue. To try to prove he wasn't Jiang Wu, but Liu Sang.
She had not expected him to try to - what was he called it? - rap his way out of it.
---
From my Qingyan Huli universe, when Liu Sang gets dragged into Moonfall Echo (again) thanks to a coffin full of meteorites. He totally knows mom and dad are pranking him and is going along with it because, well, fox.
(Not attempting to make the original rap a rap. I don't have the chops for that.)
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I heard the sweet, dulcet tones of acting meta on this post and could not resist her call, so @xcziel, @foxofninetales, this one is for you.
THE LIU CHANG DMBJ CHARACTER META: WANG CAN vs LIU SANG
So first of all lemme just say I love these bitches, and what’s interesting about Liu Chang is that he plays them on opposite ends. There’s not much he can do about the fact that, y’know, he’s the same-ass person, but there are some very distinct differences between Liu Sang and Wang Can, which we will be talking about now.
I’ve talked about body lines before! But now we get to look at it from the same actor in two different characters! As a recap, straight lines are strong, sturdy, confident, and straightforward; curved lines are weaker, but more interesting and more dynamic.
For example!!
We got our bitch Wang Can here!! This is our first look at this slimy man, and look! He’s like a square!!! All straight lines, all ups and downs. Him body a square!! The costume people also do a great job of boxing him up bc of the tailoring of his jacket, and the two neutral color palette. There’s no embellishments, no decor. This is a straightforward man!! He’s not hiding anything except exactly how much of a bitch he is
(Also notice that his hands are showing and in fists. This will be important in a minute.)
Next, we have our favorite boy Liu Sang, showing up for the first time (ignore the differences in angles):
Oho! He’s a curvy motherfucker!! Aside from the fact that his clothes are now tailored correctly to demonstrate his natural curves, this mans is also curving himself! His arms! Are loose! And bent!! His head and neck aren’t nearly as emphasized! And! AND!!!! His hands are in his fucjing POCKEEETTTSSS. That indicates FURTIVENESS! That indicates MYSTERY! We’re going to find some things OUT about this boy and we’re gonna like it!!!
In comparison, look at Jiang Wu:
LIU CHANG U BEAUTIFUL BITCH. He fucking BENT HIS ARM. He kept one straight and BENT THE OTHER!!! Oh joyous occasion!! We have a DYNAMIC BOY!! but not too dynamic—peep that hidden hand! Also I love this bc it was TWO DIFFERENT LIU CHANG CHARACTERS IN THE SAME SHOW!!! :D see!! Here’s Liu Sang again!
THIS IS A CONFIDENT LIU SANG!!!! He is CHANGED! He is capable of expressing emotions now! Look at just how much body language he has going on, while in comparison, Jiang Wu and Wang Can are like creepy Wood Baby Puppets. His body shape is boxy again, but that’s bc he’s the protagonist of this one. The plot hinges on him, he’s gotta be sturdy.
WHAT WE HAVE DETERMINED SO FAR:
Wang Can is straight lines, no hidden agenda (which is funny cause he’s a Bad Guy)
Liu Sang is dynamic lines and movement, and alludes to mysterious ✨secrets✨
Jiang Wu is a mix of the two and also a dumb dork (that’s not from the body language, I just think he’s funny)
PART TWO: HAIR, BABY!
Once again I owe my life to costuming people. Someday I’ll write that Mystic Nine costuming meta but today we’re focusing on Liu Chang and, specifically, his HAIR PEOPLE!!! I love them and would die for them literally
Once again, ladies and gentlemen and all my glorious they/thems, Wang Can:
OOOOOH I hate his slimy RAT FACE lemme AT EM. Ahem. Regardless, let’s take a look at this BITCH, shall we? We have: straight line face angles!! Very standard shape, BUT this is all accented by the fact that his hair is S C R A P E D back to within an inch of its life, like. Ahem. Sir. Please. Also this man’s got CONTOUR on. If u look at literally any pics/videos of Liu Chang out of character he is NOT this angular. His head is just as rectangular as his body, and the pulled back hair emphasizes his face, which is interesting as he doesn’t do a whole lot with it.
Alternatively, Liu Sang:
This is a nice boy!!! This is a nice soft boy!!! Look his face has CURVES that are emphasized by the glasses (which also draw attention to his eyes, which is good bc that’s where he does the most work, which we’ll get to later) and the HAIR!!! His hair is soft!! It’s flowy! It’s curvy! He conditions!!! This boy is approachable and will Not shoot you One Million Times with a Machine Gun. This also works with the Liu Sang Signature Ponytail, as he leaves thick-enough bang pieces out to also give the illusion of curves around his face. Also his nose and cheekbones are NOT as strongly contoured, so the angularity of his face is softened as well
WHAT WE HAVE DETERMINED SO FAR
dmbj hair and makeup people were doing the absolute most
Wang Can’s hair gives us the most access to The Face, giving him a slick, straight look, and also something else which we will discuss next
Liu Sang is Soft and Curved bc of the hair and glasses, primarily
Oh speaking of fucking which you know who else is soft??? Huang Junjie. That’s the softest man I have ever seen. His xiaoge is my favorite bc it’s perfectly believable that he’s Butter Inside based solely on his Cheeks (again, it’s the hair people doing the Lord’s work)
PART THREE: IT’S ALL IN THE FACE
The face is the actor’s best friend, and Liu Chang definitely uses his well. We know him as being sort of stoic, more on the Xiao-Ge end of things than the Wu Xie side, but if u compare Liu Sang to Wang Can, LS is going HAM with the facials.
Let’s take a look!
Fuck me UP!!!!!! Look at him!! This is one of the earlier episodes too so we haven’t even gotten to the real good stuff but!!!! Look at his eyebrows!!! Look at how wide his eyes get (once again, the glasses are jumbotroning the peepers)! Look at his unhappy lil mouth!! That’s a whole REALM of facial expression, and so early on in our journey!
Meanwhile, Fuckboy Prime:
(Pardon the garbage screencap, my laptop broke on me this week and I am Suffering)
This is at the very end of Wang Can’s time with us; he’s fighting and he’s going to die and he KNOWS it, but this bitch doesn’t even draw his eyebrows together. Mcwhomst???? Bitch u GOTTA give us more than that I’m BEGGING u
The other interesting thing about their differing facial expressions is that Liu Sang emotes mostly with his eyes, and Wang Can emotes mostly with his mouth. This is very obvious in the clip @xcziel posted, esp when he starts doing the whole gesturing-with-his-chin thing, but it’s prominent throughout.
These two screenshots were taken like fifteen seconds apart. He does a whole face journey, but only with his mouth. His eyes stay fixed; they move, sure, but they don’t get any wider or anything like that.
Liu Sang, however is always doing stuff with his eyes. For example (I couldn’t find an image of it quick enough but I know that @kholran has this gifset), the sacrifice scene where he looks up at Wu Xie with the biggest, most pleading and questioning eyes imaginable?? Kills me. The DEPTH in those bad boys. Fuck me UP.
This also checks out when we remember the glasses. Since they emphasize the eyes, we’re drawn to that part of Liu Sang’s face, so it makes sense that the majority of his expression would happen there. This is also prominent with his hearing abilities; whenever he’s trying to focus them (or get us to focus on him), he not only turns his eyes away, he SHUTS THEM, which means we as the audience know that there’s something going on underneath the surface, and really highlights the fact that this is an unusual and cool power!
With Wang Can, however, the structure of his face and absence of Hair Curves directs the eye to his mouth, so we watch that to tell what’s going on in his head. It’s all about directing the eye, and Liu Chang is very good at knowing where people are going to be looking!
SO: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
Liu Sang, Wang Can, and Jiang Wu are all very distinctly characterized through their body language
The same actor becomes different characters by using their toolkit (the body) to its full potential
Hair and makeup people are Wizards
Wang Can is a Whole-Ass Ho and I do not miss him even a little bit
Liu Sang’s body dynamics change over time and I love that for him!!
