LINKDING

Summary: "After all, this gracious daozhang has been spoiling me so much lately, and it’s high time I returned the favor.” Xie Lian trailed to a stop behind Hua Cheng, looking a little lost as Hua Cheng leaped briskly up the steps. Once there, he stopped to flash an impish grin in Xie Lian’s direction. “If dianxia has no objections– allow /me/ to make dinner tonight.” 🍲 In which 'home' isn't a place, but the people in it. (Or, "Good Soup: the fic") ➤ a sweet hualian fic from before they get together ➤ about hua cheng and xie lian cooking together at puqi shrine, and about what makes the feeling of home ➤ lots of great food details! ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: Ling Wen wakes up in Hua Cheng's bed. ➤ omg I am LIVING, someone wrote me so many words of ling wen fic wherein post-canon ling wen bodyswaps with xie lian ➤ the ling wen pov in this fic is sooooo good, her pragmatic approach to dealing with whatever happens in her life, her disinterest in attending to her emotions, her independence and unwillingness to rely on anyone who isn't her ➤ and seeing xie lian and hua cheng through ling wen's eyes is so good too!! ➤ there are so many fun character relationship dynamics, connected with a really fun premise, and I loved it all ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: Feng Xin caught a whiff of soap from the bedsheets, just barely there beneath the aroma of the candle glowing on the bedside table. The fine fabric was fresh and soft against his skin as he joined Xie Lian under the blankets. For some reason, that set him on edge. ➤ yessss ➤ omggg this is exactly the kind of dynamics I love to see between Feng Xin and Mu Qing during the Xianle era ➤ fx and xl are so SWEET together and fx and mq are so....united in their mutual disdain for each other and how they're connected with each other ➤ and how sex with each other doesn't actually change any part of that for fengqing; they have a good time having hatesex, they still hate each other, they're connected forever via their hatred for each other and their mutual love of xl, and their mutual inability to understand /how/ the other approaches their love for xl ➤ it's just so good!!!! ➤ 3k words in length

summary: <blockquote>It was a gusty night in the hills as young lady Shi approached the scholar Ming’s estate. </blockquote> ➤ hello impeccable gothic vibes beefleaf ➤ also, doing great things with gender. also, contains MUFFING. (thank u Fucking Trans Women for teaching me about muffing) ➤ this is so beefleaf. I love them both so much <3 ➤ 2k words in length ➤ blood-drinking but not vampires

summary: <blockquote>“Tell you what,” said Yushi Huang. “I’ll make you a deal, Ling Wen Zhen Jun.” Almost no one used her title at all, even fewer with respect. She couldn’t quite read Yushi Huang’s tone. “If you can tell me exactly what this is,” she nodded to the creature curled in the corner, "and what it does, I will turn it in the moment we get back for tagging and proper categorization." Ling Wen raised an eyebrow. So the enigmatic Rain Master already knew the creature's properties. "And if I don't?" Yushi Huang smiled, infuriatingly gentle. "Admitting defeat so soon? How unlike you." Ling Wen drew herself up and inclined her head, knowing herself to be rising to bait but seeing no real reason to resist. "I accept your terms."</blockquote> ➤ tgcf space au featuring ling wen/yushi huang, HELLO ➤ yushi huang's deliberate mysteriousness, and the way she uses it to flirt and get the upper hand with ling wen! ➤ ling wen enjoying having something to research that's for FUN instead of for work! ➤ the interesting development of the setting, and ways the characters and backstories have been tweaked to fit! ➤ LOVED IT. ➤ 4k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>A facet of reality where Quan Yizhen has something Hua Cheng wants, for a change.</blockquote> ➤ tgcf canon divergence au where quan yizhen finds the coffin containing the guoshi fangxin ➤ a fun look at a different way for xie lian and hua cheng to meet again, and for quan yizhen and yin yu to meet again! ➤ 9k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>He watches her that night, like he hasn’t done in months, a specter outside her bedroom window, a breeze in the dark night. Her things are, as always, scattered around her bed where she dropped them upon falling asleep. He can’t help but take notice that the fan is in a place of pride, tacked up on the wall next to polaroid pictures of — he realizes with a start — the two of them. He remembers her taking the pictures, shoving that too-big retro camera in his face and squishing the two of them together tight enough that He Xuan’s cheek brushed against hers. He shakes the memory off and watches her sleep, her chest slowly rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.</blockquote> ➤ beefleaf modern reincarnation! reincarnation isn't usually my thing but I liked how it was handled here ➤ he xuan has not developed any more chill over the years between when sqx dies and when sqx is finally reincarnated ➤ he xuan's pov is very fun. the drama! the pathos! meanwhile sqx is clearly just having a nice time bonding with he-jie. beefleaf always about contrasts :) ➤ I believe in u, he xuan! you can do it! have an actual relationship with sqx!! ➤ also the gender stuff is great. ➤ 6k words in length ➤ thanks to roland for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>“This is…” Mei Nianqing’s gaze flickers between Jun Wu—tired, shackled, familiar—and the recently unmasked figure beside him. Two pairs of deep black eyes regard him from nearly identical faces. “...unexpected.” / Jun Wu experiences qi deviation and has to deal with the consequences.</blockquote> ➤ wow?!?! jun wu is such a disaster and this is amazing ➤ post-canon, jun wu has a qi deviation that splits off a younger version of himself as bai wuxiang ➤ mei nianqing suggests that jun wu can fix it by dual cultivating with himself. jun wu is NOT into it but makes it work with mei nianqing's help. ➤ 3k words in length ➤ thanks to @xieliansbignaturals@blorbo.social for the rec!!!

Summary: <blockquote>He almost feels like he should write a book; “How to Break into Heaven, a Guide for Ghosts”. Step one: Ask your fellow ghost king for undercover advice, seeing as he did it for decades. Step one-point-five: Ghosts aren’t supposed to be in the Heavenly Court, so no one thinks to look for them anyway. Step two: Ironically, pray. End of book. / Xie Lian tests a theory, Hua Cheng goes on a date, and Heaven suffers.</blockquote> ➤ xie lian gets an idea for a fun adventure and hua cheng loves to indulge his husband's mischievous side (I LOVE THIS) ➤ the idea: if hua cheng went to heaven wearing clothes that aren't red, would anyone recognize him? ➤ a charming and cute fic! ➤ 3k words in length ➤ thanks to by-xieliansbignaturalsby-blorbo.social for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>The most shocking thing about Ghost City was how modern it was. Billboards! Traffic lights! KFC! Xie Lian could never get over the demons taking pictures of street food. The first time she saw it happen, she pulled on Hua Cheng’s sleeve and whispered, “San Lang… why is that man photographing his dumplings?” Hua Cheng glanced at Xie Lian. “People post photos online. On Weibo, usually.” Xie Lian had the vague sense that Weibo was sort of like a public communication array. She wasn’t sure why anyone would share photos of their food there, but she didn’t know anyone who would be interested besides Hua Cheng. “Ah, I see.” “I’ll show you, jiejie.” Hua Cheng fished her phone out of her pocket. Her suit was so low-cut that Xie Lian could barely look at her; the fake fur trim ran down to the navel, exposing the soft curves of Hua Cheng’s breasts and the garish necklace suspended between them. “Here, look through this.”</blockquote> ➤ rule 63 modern au hualian ➤ it is so SOFT and suffused with care that I am all emotions!!!! ➤ also. the outfits. I die. ➤ 3k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>When Mu Qing glanced over at Xie Lian beside him, he was startled to find him already watching him. A small smile played on his lips. “You know, Mu Qing,” he started—and if Mu Qing didn’t know any better he would say he sounded almost shy— “no one else that I fight with feels like a challenge. You’re the best of them all.” Mu Qing’s throat was tight and his face was hot, like he was going to cry. His eyes were quite dry, though. “You’re the best. You always will be.” / Mu Qing can't seem to reconcile the simple facts of his relationship to the crown prince with his more complicated feelings for Xie Lian.</blockquote> ➤ mu qing pov from the xianle trio era ➤ ft. class issues and teen relationship drama ➤ xie lian is an enormous martial arts nerd and a naive but shining prince; mu qing is pining but hyper-aware of class boundaries and how everyone sees him; feng xin is ready to judge ➤ it's so great and succeeds so well at what it's doing, I love it ➤ I love the last scene, which it ends on, about xie lian's appearance after he ascends. perfect ending to the fic ➤ 7k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Qi Rong learns that Xuan Ji has set up a forest of upside down corpses for him. He goes to pay her a visit. (This ended up diving way more into Qi Rong's head than I expected)</blockquote> ➤ qi rong/xuan ji fic, 4k words in length ➤ there are some details that irritate me about the fic, but overall it's an intriguing piece and I enjoyed some of what it was doing with qi rong's voice! and it's a very galaxy brain ship too tbh

Summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng wakes up in a long-robbed tomb older than Xianle, cursed shackles on his neck and ankle and hope hammering in his stolen heart. Xie Lian awakens in a bed. This is somehow more disconcerting. / In which a body-swapping curse brings two people together.</blockquote> ➤ canon divergence story where ghost king hua cheng manages to catch up with his god in a different way ➤ that way: xie lian accidentally triggered a curse and now he's swapped bodies with a mysterious ghost....? ➤ (INCREDIBLE premise) ➤ I love xl and hc's very different reactions to finding themselves in each other's bodies ➤ I think my favourite part though might be poor yin yu doing his best to handle the situation, between hc's firm instructions on how to treat xl, and xl's equally firm opinions on what to do ➤ a very fun read overall! ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Shi Qingxuan is about to point out that, as Ming Yi said, the jade pillar has no sensation and there's not really any point to sucking her off like that. But then Ming Yi slinks onto the bed and pushes their way into her lap and licks a smooth stripe up the jade pillar, and, okay, Shi Qingxuan can see the appeal here. / shi qingxuan... with a strap</blockquote> ➤ beefleaf before the beefleaf arc goes down ➤ having sex with a strap-on and definitely not having any undercurrents of emotions about anything, what are you talking about, beefleaf would never ➤ god, the note it ends on!! ➤ 4k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>All of Heaven has been brought to its knees by the hot new gatcha game, Celestial Confluence/Cultivation Cross. The gods are at each other's throats, and are at the brink of civil war, in pursuit of the rarest of .pngs. Chaos reigns. And it is most emphatically Hua Cheng's fault.</blockquote> ➤ a silly funny fic about hua cheng causing chaos in heaven by creating a trendy new gacha game ➤ xie lian, bewildered, ends up on shi qingxuan and ming yi's livestream about the game ➤ hua cheng is absolutely willing to get distracted from the game by gege ➤ there's some excellent comic timing in here! ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>As he rounds the corner to the front of Puji Shrine, he's taken aback to see Nan Feng standing outside the shrine's open door with his sword drawn. "Nan Feng?" he calls, and Nan Feng jumps. "Oh!" he says, recognizing Xie Lian. "There you are! Your highness, you shouldn't enter — there's a demon inside!" Xie Lian frowns at him. "I'm aware," he says. "He stayed the night." / Xie Lian and Hua Cheng talk things out a little.</blockquote> ➤ a cute quiet small domestic scene in puqi shrine in the middle parts of book canon ➤ see hua cheng as a cat! hear hua cheng's theory about breathing being sexy! enjoy hua cheng and xie lian being completely smitten with each other! also lady windmaster is a real pal as always ➤ it's super adorable ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>This is a timeline of present-day TGCF, i.e. books 1, 3, and 5, born from the burning question: how long does it take Xie Lian to admit he's down bad for Hua Cheng? If you want to understand how much time passes between, say, Xie Lian's ascension and the end of his first mission, or how long the Black Water arc takes, or just how long Feng Xin and Mu Qing wore their clown disguises for, this may be the timeline for you. :) Disclaimer: do NOT take this as an authority my god. we are here to HAVE FUN not gatekeep</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>He saluted her in that way he sometimes mockingly did, as a loyal general ought to greet the sagest of chief ministers. “Come on, now,” she said. “You can do better than that.”</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>He Xuan cannot contend with what he holds. How it can be possible that Shi Qingxuan has everything and is so unconscious of it as to hand himself thoughtlessly over to his own predator. / He Xuan is managing the trajectory of his revenge just fine.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Midday, on a beach that’s… somewhere, though he can’t exactly say where. The shapes of mountains loom inland, peering behind dreary clouds. This must not be the far south, which has white sand and shady palms under which to drink wine, and Shi Qingxuan really, really could use some wine right now given the dryness in his mouth. / Post-Blackwater Arc, Shi Qingxuan adjusts to a mortal life, which means adjusting to hunger pains. Someone is taking care of him. Written for Heaven Official's Kitchen - TGCF Cookbook Zine (by-tgcfcookbook)</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>He was close enough now to reach out and touch. So he did. Ignoring Qi Rong’s shrieks of fury, he caught him by the throat and bent him back over the altar. Jun Wu studied his features, comparing them to Xie Lian’s. “Your eyes are all wrong, of course,” Jun Wu said. Even at his lowest, Xie Lian’s were never so deranged. “But around the mouth, yes… and if you were better dressed…” / Unable to get his hands on Xie Lian, Jun Wu makes do.</blockquote> ➤ oof ➤ the jun wu/xie lian is by proxy

Summary: <blockquote>Over the course of his life, Xie Lian learned that there were some fates worse than death, that death could be a mercy—far too benevolent for those of Yong'an. They stripped him of his entire life: his friends, his family, his crown, his kingdom, his godhood. Xie Lian lost everything and he was being forced to live with it, so no, he would not be so kind as to gift his enemies with that which he craved most. They deserved one of those fates far worse than death, and he knew exactly how to give it to them. / Or: Darkness hangs heavy over Xie Lian. Wu Ming looks after him.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Wearing a face that is not his own, dressed in a red tunic and simple boots, Hua Cheng comes face to face with the love of his life - and forever after - for the first time in two hundred years. Or, the one where Xie Lian is also a ghost.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Shi Qingxuan rarely felt tempted to drink much when she was hanging out with Ming Yi. It was easy enough in her presence, even while sober, for Shi Qingxuan to reassure herself, Everyone loves you and you're the most beautiful person around and Ge is proud of you and you are wished well in every room you leave.</blockquote> ➤ also on dw at https://appendix.dreamwidth.org/9769.html ➤ and dvd commentary at https://headstone.dreamwidth.org/12520.html ➤ the destabilizing sense of uncertainty sqx has despite at the same time having a deep well of trust for and delight in Ming Yi's place in sqx's life! and that same sense of uncertainty/certainty in her own self too, and the ways in which the backstory segments intertwine with the now

Summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng huffs out a laugh. “You do have terrible luck,” he agrees. “And mine is quite good. But you don’t know that you wouldn’t win it back. Play with me?” “San Lang,” chides Xie Lian, voice crinkling gently as it’s swept along to the midpoint between amusement and fondness. “Are you going to let me win again?” “Depends,” says Hua Cheng, “on what you’re betting, Gege.” / A search, a gambling table, and the events thereof.</blockquote> ➤ a great look at the two of them in a mid-canon stage in their relationship, and the careful dance the two of them are engaged in, getting closer and closer to each other, has a delicious frisson here

<blockquote>Sometimes, Xie Lian wishes Hua Cheng would call him by his name, would shorten the distance between them. Sometimes, he wishes not to be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xian Le nor the Flower Crown Martial God, but Hua Cheng will never let them stand on equal footing. Hua Cheng believes Xie Lian to be his god, so far above him he’s nigh untouchable, but Xie Lian knows the truth. Hua Cheng is the one whose power and strength shines through in each calculated movement, who has conquered every obstacle in his path, who is feared and revered across all three realms for his tenacity. Hua Cheng was born of blood and pain and sorrow, yet there is childish glee in the grins he shoots Xie Lian, and the way he takes Xie Lian’s hands contains genuine excitement at the prospect of existence. Xie Lian is tired, and he is old, and he is weak. Every evening Hua Cheng is away, he digs a hole, and he keeps it a secret, because he knows Hua Cheng would recognise it for what it is. </blockquote>

<blockquote>“Do you want me?” Hua Cheng asked, one shoulder bare. Eyes wide, Xie Lian nodded. Hua Cheng let his spiritual power swell behind the words. “I promise you. You can have every part.” / Hua Cheng returns to Taicang Peak.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The Wind Master has always been hard to form a full impression of, a force of nature who leaves fleeting impressions of crystalline moments and powerful emotion on others. It’s no different for He Xuan, in the end.</blockquote> ➤ canon to post-canon beefleaf from he xuan's pov

<blockquote>Almost 3k words of Hua Cheng being a disaster in love. :D / Around the campfire, Xie Lian tells stories that are meant to be scary, but Hua Cheng just stares at his face, lovestruck. His heart is pounding, but not from fear. He can’t believe Xie Lian is here. Warm, and safe, and holding him. "Oh, San Lang, was that one too much?" Xie Lian whispers to him, sounding concerned. He presses a hand to Hua Cheng’s chest, and Hua Cheng leans into it, delirious from how much he’s being allowed. "Your heartbeat’s like a little rabbit." "M-hm, I’m so scared," Hua Cheng agrees, not bothering to try to be convincing. "Won’t gege protect me?" Xie Lian smiles at him fondly. "Of course," he whispers back. He hugs Hua Cheng a little tighter. "I won’t let anything get you."</blockquote>

<blockquote>Xie Lian’s second banishment comes to an abrupt end when Jun Wu summons him for an important mission. The goal: To kill the Ghost King, Crimson Rain Sought Flower. How fortunate it is that Xie Lian finds a young man willing to show him the way to Ghost City.</blockquote> ➤ alternate first (ish) meeting, "crack treated seriously"