💙 Talisman by Witch_Nova221
Summary: Lan Wangji runs Cloud Recesses, a classical theatre that was once his mother's pride and joy but is slowly falling into disrepair with dwindling audiences and profits. With Jinlintai Entertainments holding the majority shares, they force him to host Stygian Tiger, a rock band with a reputation for rowdy behaviour and a lead singer with a past.
Little does he know that the band he is so reluctant to host will bring him into contact with the best friend he lost touch with sixteen years before and together they begin the fight to save Cloud Recesses from the developers who want to bulldoze it and build houses on the only home Lan Wangji has ever loved.
Kay's comments: Talisman is one of those stories I re-read again and again, it's got a special place in my heart. Nova's love for theater really shines through in this story and the Cloud Recesses theater became alive in this story.
It's a modern setting where Lan Wangji lives with his mother, the theater manager, for a while, until she dies. Then, he's sent to live with his uncle and brother and things are fraught. Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, spends most of his childhood in a children's home and Lan Wangji becomes his dearest friend. They get torn apart when Wei Wuxian gets adopted by the Jiangs and years later, they meet again. Now, Wei Wuxian is a famous rockstar and Lan Wangji has taken over as the theater manager, though the Cloud Recesses are struggling.
There's lots of heartbreak and angst in this story, but in the end, everything gets resolved beautifully, no matter how dire it seems from time-to-time. Many cast members work in the Cloud Recesses as well and I grew very fond of them in this world and despite the angst, this is a comfort story for me, maybe because of the happy ending that felt so well-earned.
Excerpt: 'I'll be with you in a minute,' he called up, 'Technically the bar is closed but I can always put it on the rider.'
'Not the rider as I really should be buying you a drink at the very least as it appears I owe you an apology,' said a soft voice above him, 'You see, I found out today that my best friend has been looking for me for years and hasn't had a response. So could you please reopen the bar so I can buy you a drink, Lan Zhan.'
Lan Wangji froze at the sound of the name spoken. The name no one had called him for sixteen long years. He got to his feet, meeting the familiar haunting eyes that had stared at him from the Yiling Laozu's image for weeks. Eyes that had made something inside him twist and now, alive and bright with unshed tears before him, he knew why.
His friend had left him a boy but he could still see him in the man standing before him.
'Wei Ying?'
pov lan wangji, modern setting, modern no powers, past wei wuxian/xue yang, past lan xichen/jin guangyao, past lan wangji/others, lan xichen/nie mingjue, nielan, theatre, rock band, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, childhood friends, friends to lovers, implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced drug abuse, implied/referenced rape/non-con, fluff and angst, stalking, minor character death, orphans, reunions, found family, lan family feels, jiang family dynamics, good brother jiang cheng, chronic illness, chronic pain, mutual pining, @witchnova221
(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)
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