LINKDING

summary: “Please, oh wise master,” Shang Qinghua says, clapping his hands together and bowing his head deferentially, “how does this lowly one build up the courage to stick his dick into the bear trap after it has already snapped shut on him once before?” “He bit it?” Shen Qingqiu asks in fascinated horror, eyes immediately sinking down to Shang Qinghua’s crotch. “Metaphorically!” Shang Qinghua corrects. “Figuratively! It went wrong in a different way, we didn’t do oral!” // Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun have sex. It takes a couple of tries. ➜ svsss post-canon moshang fic ➜ sqh and mbj want to fuck but they have some. uh. issues. ➜ but they find a solution! which it turns out both of them are extremely into :) ➜ lots of fun and very them. moshang are great 💖 ➜ 12k words

Summary: Martin Pale learns from Catherine of Winchester, several centuries too late. ➜ a yuletide fic, for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ➜ About the tudor-era magician Martin Pale and his relationship with his tutor, Catherine of Winchester, from the golden age of magic ➜ gosh wow I am just -- so blown away by this?! it feels like it fits so perfectly into the interstices of canon. The undeniable weight of reality that the whole piece has, even as it is shot through with shards of the numinous....the characters all being people who are difficult, and real, and not altogether pleasant, but you love them for how real they are. ➜ Pale and Catherine are so different from each other, yet so connected, and though we get to hear much of Pale's life, Catherine remains as mysterious to us as she is to Pale. And yet we know her from who she is. ➜ idk, idk, I'm not sure how to explain this better! I just....really recommend reading this fic. it is so satisfying. ➜ 16k words

Summary: But here, now, was my chance. I was not the young master to Jeeves now - in fact, Jeeves, in his current role, had no y. m. at all. He was a gentleman of means and breeding, and I a rather fantastically attired birdcatcher of presumably Viennese extraction; and two such fellows could hold a conversation without any wayward “sirs” inserting themselves where they were not wanted. // Or: In which a gentleman and his valet both attend a masquerade under false pretences. ➜ yuletide fic, for Jeeves & Wooster ➜ in which Jeeves and Wooster separately attend a masquerade ball, each in costume ➜ hidden identity shenanigans are such fun and this one is great! ➜ I love how much Wooster loves getting to interact with Jeeves without Jeeves's feudal spirit getting in the way ➜ and the vision of Jeeves at a party flirting with a flighty young master of unknown identity.....so good ➜ 11k words in length

Summary: Harriet explores the unexpected landscape of marriage. ➜ yuletide fic - for the Lord Peter Wimsey books ➜ Harriet's POV on v-shaped polyamory negotiations, Harriet/Peter and Peter/Bunter ➜ the voice is so well done, of Harriet's whole pov but also every line of Peter's dialogue is dripping with the exact right kind of piffle he likes to talk, with all the casual references and so forth ➜ and the way they work out the relationship dynamics between the three of them, what is and isn't said, and what each of them is looking for, feels so right too! ➜ 10k words in length

Summary: Falcon yao Liu Qingge, injured and trapped in a gulley, is taunted by his nemesis Shen Qingqiu (definitely not transmigrated monster enthusiast SY!SQQ). ➤ an svsss liushen au where lqg is an injured gyrfalcon yao who sqq wants to help ➤ it's both so sweet and so fun! lqg's pov with his total mistrust of the human cultivator, slowly evolving over time to becoming willing to let sqq help, is great ➤ and how clear it is that sqq finds lqg both fascinating as a creature of the world of pidw, and very handsome as a man ➤ the parts with the wing repair were soooo good to me, I love how seriously this fic takes the bird and feather details! ➤ a delightful fic from start to finish ➤ 12k words in length

summary: It was one thing to know what his qi felt like in his meridians–although he didn’t know what his neili was called, only that it had a name–and to know that, if he started running his sword forms, his arms and legs would guide him where his mind couldn’t. Muscle memory felt familiar. Reliable. But this? This free-floating knowledge, not connected with any event, any memory, any movement or motion? Just facts appearing in his mind? Assertions he was supposed to accept unquestioningly as truth? With no memory of how he learned them? Nothing to prove their validity? He clenched his hand around his dao’s scabbard. There had to be a better way than this. ➤ I didn't notice the "missing scene" tag on this fic, it ends without the pov character having learned much of anything about himself or his history and relationships, because canon covers it! I'm left as in the dark as I began! ➤ if you're familiar with mysterious lotus casebook you may enjoy this fic, and if like me you're not familiar with the canon but you have fun being confused, you also may enjoy this fic! ➤ ft. two men with an ambiguous fraught-yet-intimate history between them, connecting as best they can while one of them doesn't know what's going on because of amnesia. Includes wound tending and bed sharing, and sexual interest that isn't acted upon!

Summary: Luo Binghe is afflicted by a very specific curse with an even more specific cure. (It's a no-nut curse that can only be cured by nutting.) ➤ post-canon svsss bingqiu fic ➤ in which luo binghe gets a curse on his dick so it can't be touched ➤ oh no however will bingqiu have sex now!!! ➤ luo binghe definitely hasn't been eager for a chance to turn their usual sexual dynamics on their head what are you talking about ➤ anyway very fun and charming and with a great sqq pov voice ➤ 10k words in length

Summary: In 1580s London, apprentice grocer John Heminges decides to revive an ancient guild mystery play and ends up getting married, finding a new career, and meeting a friend who will change his life. ➤ a prequel to Nameless, which I just recced, about 17th century theatre actors associated with Shakespeare (and Shakespeare himself) ➤ the viewpoint character begins as an an apprentice grocer in the grocer's guild, and his first taste of acting is in reviving the guild play ➤ like Nameless, a really thoughtful and interesting look at this period of history, with many excellent historical details ➤ the development of John's understanding of what it is to act, and what it is to be part of the world of actors (different things!) is so well done ➤ and I love the quiet, solid romance of trust between John and Rebecca ➤ 10k words in length

Summary: Lin Chen did not look up from his book. “What on earth,” he said, clipped and precise, “makes you think that I would want to meet the man you're busy dying for?” / In which Lin Chen joins the Consort Jing fanclub, Mei Changsu re-evaluates several tenets of his existence, and Xiao Jingyan decides that if everyone else is having an emotional crisis, he might as well join them. ➤ HELLO it's a 12k Lin Chen/Mei Changsu/Xiao Jingyan ship fic I am there with bells on!!! ➤ mcs has a thing with jingyan and separately a thing with lin chen. he wants to make them be in the same room with each other. ➤ mcs gets what he wants and immediately gets to regret it in like five different ways, which is exactly what I love to see ➤ it's got so many delightfully fraught conversations between various iterations of the characters! ➤ it involves lin chen and jingyan talking about mcs behind his back! ➤ it involves lin chen and consort jing teaming up! ➤ LOVED IT.

Summary: Yin Yu never expected to wake up again. When he does so as a small ghost fire, he finds himself stuck with Quan Yizhen (who has been nurturing his soul) until he can take on a more stable form and begin his afterlife anew. Or: Yin Yu's mortifying ordeal of being held gently in the hands of someone he convinces himself he hates, but definitely doesn't. If no paths are bound, there might even be healthy communication! ➤ post-canon tgcf fic ➤ yin yu as a ghost fire being protected and cared for by quan yizhen ➤ quanyin learning to see and understand each other a little better ➤ really enjoyed seeing them work towards being able to actually have something good between them again! ➤ 15k words in length ➤ (I do feel that the very ending scene is a bit too facile, but I enjoyed everything up to that point!)

Summary: The Institute of Religious Studies was housed in one of the oldest structures at the university, an ornate hipped-roof building that overlooked the campus from the foot of the northern peaks. Aside from the narrow drive that wound up the rise from the other side of campus, the only access was via a steep staircase or a switchbacked path that took twenty minutes to ascend. Most people on campus called it the Mountain. ➤ songxuexiao t4t4t modern au where they're grad students in china ➤ I had the pleasure of getting to see this fic as it came together, and the thought and care verity puts into their writing is always so evident in their beautifully written and beautifully constructed stories! ➤ from song lan's pov as he watches creepy stalker xue yang entwine herself into his bff (and object of pining) xiao xingchen's life ➤ sl DOESN'T trust xy, he DOES find it super hot to put her in her place and have sex with her, he DOES struggle to be fully vulnerable with xxc despite everything she is to him ➤ the vibes are so good, I love how real and present each character and their complex emotions about each other are, and I love the way the theme of the weather runs through the whole fic holding things together ➤ highly recommend! ➤ 12k words in length

Summary: Luo Binghe smiled and made his way out of the crowd, kneeling in front of Shizun and bowing his head respectfully. "Shizun, this disciple has returned.” “... So you have,” Shizun replied, and Luo Binghe felt a surge of triumph. He hadn't immediately decried Luo Binghe! He hadn't revealed the truth! Luo Binghe raised his head to examine the parts of Shizun's expression that weren't covered by his fan, and noticed the way that Shizun's eyes flicked over to the disciples watching their exchange. / Instead of going to the Huan Hua Palace, Luo Binghe decides to return to Qing Jing Peak immediately after his escape from the Endless Abyss. A retelling of Recompense, from Luo Binghe's POV. ➤ svsss canon divergence au where after the abyss, lbh makes his way back to qing jing peak ➤ lbh is determined to prove to sqq that despite his demonic nature he can be a good disciple who is worth keeping ➤ sqq of course takes lbh's actions very differently ➤ really enjoyed lbh's pov here, and the things lbh does in service of his plan! ➤ 15k words in length

Summary: Good stories end. In fact, good stories quickly become bad stories when they don’t know when to quit; it’s half the reason why Proud Immortal Demon Way had become so insufferable by the end. Well, Shen Qingqiu knows when his story is over. Mai Gu Ridge is a distant memory and he and Luo Binghe are married. There’s nothing more to say. In fact, he wouldn’t dare having character development this late in the story—if Proud Immortal Demon Way had had an epilogue, then Shen Qingqiu is firmly in the epilogue now. Everything’s been resolved. And since all the related plot threads were resolved in the main storyline, any good epilogue is a story about nothing in particular, and therefore not worth reading at all. ➤ post-canon bingqiu ➤ sqq is in the sort of epilogue where absolutely nothing happens, no matter what some people might say. there's no storyline and he's definitely not experiencing character development! ➤ this was SUCH a delightful read omg. extremely bingqiu of them! ➤ I've been thinking a lot about bingqiu's sexual dynamics of late due to my current wip, and I can say authoritatively that this fic Understands them ➤ 18k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>When Shen Yuan dies and transmigrates into Yue Qingyuan, he's happy to improve his favorite story without the axe of human stick-hood hanging over him. It’s kind of a surprise that he can rescue the protagonist so quickly, but he isn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. And Liu Qingge’s presence, however sticky, means that he can spar in this strong body any time he wants – life at Cang Qiong really is good! Meanwhile, if Shen Qingqiu had been more willing to discuss his past with the only person who was part of it, then perhaps it would not have taken him three full years to realize that his childhood friend is gone. When the only other option is living without Qi-ge, he devotes himself to hunting down his soul. Unfortunately, this is pretty difficult when the man wearing Yue Qingyuan’s face has ordered that he not leave the mountain. (It’s not really a surprise when he begins hallucinating Qi-ge.)</blockquote> ➤ svsss au where sy transmigrates into yqy instead of sqq ➤ the fic is in two parts: first, from sy!yqy's pov as he tries to change events within the parameters the system allows him, and then the second from og!sqq's pov follows where the first part left off, with sqq trying to deal with the fact that yqy is so different now from the one he remembers. ➤ the two parts are different in tone and both excellent, both really fitting the kind of character and person the pov character is, and what it is they want the most. I loved it! ➤ 11k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Bro, you know how many words I wrote per day, and how many plants I created!” Shang Qinghua whines. "I can't remember them all, it's impossible." Shen Qingqiu narrows his eyes. "It was used with Wife #418.” "That doesn't narrow it down any further. I'm not going to be able to guess it, so stop punishing me and just tell me how the flower nerfed you." Shen Qingqiu grits his teeth. Obviously he wants to draw this out to punish Shang Qinghua, but it kinda looks more like he's punishing himself. There's a muscle flexing in his jaw, and if he puts any more pressure on his fan's guard, it's going to snap. Uh, actually, Shen Qingqiu kind of looks like he's in pain— “A false dragonhead is also called an obedient plant. It’s in the name—the flower forces you to do whatever you're told," Shen Qingqiu spits out. or: Shen Qingqiu runs afoul of one of Airplane's stupid wife-plot devices...just before a mission to Jinlan City.</blockquote> ➤ sqq is hit by an obedience curse! uh oh, it's time for the mission to jinlan city! ➤ fun sqq & sqh interaction, and sqq's first meeting with lbh post-abyss going very differently than in svsss ➤ sqq absolutely out here making his own life harder on a regular basis ➤ lots of fun with this trope! ➤ 11k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>The Yiling Patriarch is a living legend—a terrifying, ancient force of nature, dispensing punishment or reward with implacable, indifferent fairness. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, is a weird but oddly charming guy who wanders around the cultivation world making fun of people's art and mooching food from sect leaders. It really upsets people to find out that they're the same person.</blockquote> ➤ a fun cute look at a time travel fixit au where wwx is the alarming immortal who fixed the burial mounds and will grant wishes to deserving people, and lwj meets him for the first time at 8 years old and decides he'll marry him ➤ I enjoyed the look at how this au has changed things for all sorts of different people across the cultivation world, and the ways in which wwx both is indeed extremely powerful and also is someone who still has his blind spots and emotional vulnerabilities ➤ lots of different povs throughout the fic which is fun too! ➤ 17k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>The System offers Shen Qingqiu the ability to transport his consciousness back in time to fix past mistakes.</blockquote> ➤ due to System shenanigans sqq travels back in time to when he first encountered lbh in jinlan city post-abyss ➤ sqq does his best to make things go differently this time, within the parameters of the genre "h/c fic" which the system tells him he is now in ➤ I'm just! so delighted by so much about this fic! ➤ and I love how the fic plays metatextually with its own fourth wall in ways I haven't really seen much in svsss fic before! ➤ fic is a WIP; currently there are 14k words; satisfying to read as is at the moment

Summary: <blockquote>Lan Wangji comes over and they kiss. Lan Wangji comes over and they have tea. Lan Wangji comes over and they talk. It turns out that the available study materials are contradictory and unenlightening.</blockquote> ➤ Because Of Reasons, wwx and jc are both married off to lwj after the destruction of lotus pier. wwx is blissfully happy about it; jc struggles with it on a NUMBER of fronts ➤ from jc's pov, about him figuring out how to have a successful relationship with his husband, with his place in his new sect, with his brother and co-spouse, with himself and his struggles in cultivation these days ⮞ jc's pov obviously doesn't like to think about any of these things straightforwardly, he's too busy being tsundere about everything lol ➤ I love seeing him finding his own way, figuring out how to have a life that works for him even if it isn't what he would have chosen! ➤ 17k words in length ➤ (also: fuck jkr and all, but if you also fondly remember helenish's hp fic "theft of assets, destruction of property" then this is the mdzs fic for you!)

Summary: <blockquote>Ever since he was pushed into the Abyss, Luo Binghe has been dreaming of a strange world. In it, Luo Binghe's own face is everywhere, and his story is written out in humiliating detail for some stupid twink to read about. Luo Binghe hates the story, and he hates the dream realm, and he hates the godling within it - Shen Yuan - most of all. Unfortunately, Luo Binghe can't do anything about it - within these dreams, Luo Binghe is stuck within the body of a doll.</blockquote> ➤ it's always a good day when nyoomerr posts a new svsss fic! ➤ this one is about original lbh, beginning in his abyss years, visiting shen yuan in his dreams ➤ lbh can't move or act or speak in these dreams but he gets to hear/read about everything sy says about lbh ➤ over years lbh gets more and more obsessed with sy (obvs) ➤ I love watching lbh's growing realizations of the nature of his frustrations, mediated through getting to hear sy express things that are so different from what anyone in his waking life ever says ➤ I love how much he craves someone who SEES him like sy does, and yet sy can't see all of lbh because the parts of lbh's life he gets to see are all mediated through the nature of what a stallion novel will focus on! ➤ and the ENDING. it is perfect! I'm feral at the thought of what will happen next ➤ 17k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>It’s a little ridiculous, really, the things that make Ming Fan happy. They’re so small. A single word of praise from a teacher; being picked first to shoulder a responsibility; a smile and a touch from Zhao De. It’s painfully obvious how Ming Fan feels about Zhao De, and it always has been. Ming Fan has a paper face, and can’t hide what he feels to save his life. Zhao De has always known. And honestly? He doesn’t particularly care. Or, no; it’s a little funny, actually. To be able to make him flush with happiness or wilt with disappointment with such very little effort, to always have him eating out of his hand and so eager to please. It’s too easy, really, but easy is fun sometimes. Useful, too, when he’s the Head Disciple of Qing Jing now. For as long as that might last. Maybe Zhao De should reward him for making himself so useful? / Zhao De shows Ming Fan a bad good time.</blockquote> ➤ yikes (complimentary) ➤ Ming Fan/OMC, where the OC is another disciple on Qing Jing Peak ➤ it's truly impressively horrible, the pov of this awful bully who manipulates Ming Fan into misery and encourages Ming Fan in all of his own worst bullying tendencies ➤ it's so well and believably done, and so compelling! ➤ mind the author's tags on this one, it means what it says. I enjoyed the fic a lot but it's not a pleasant fic! ➤ 13k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Yue Qingyuan struggles to know right from wrong, desire from guilt, and impulsiveness from intent. But one night he lets his impulsiveness lead him to the bamboo house and into Shen Qingqiu’s arms, unintentionally changing destiny along the way.</blockquote> ➤ An svsss qijiu canon divergence fic, about things that might have happened while lbh was still a very young disciple to change the course of events ➤ I love how small the things are that cause these changes, and that it's a small unthinking kindness from yqy to his own disciples that in a winding way leads to his own happiness ➤ as the author says, these two are freak4freak and I love it ➤ the desperation both of them feel about each other while being unable to talk about any of it! ➤ 11k words in length ➤ the dialogue is all punctuated wrong, unfortunately, but the writing is good enough to overlook this

Summary: <blockquote>Eyes first. If I can get the eyes open, I’m good. If not, the meat’s too far gone, which means I have to try again, and I hate fucking trying again. This time’s okay, though. Eyelids roll up surprisingly easy, even if it takes the eyes themselves a minute. That’s fine, though; everybody’s eyes are different, even if nobody but me knows it, because how many eyes do you get to see through in your life? Me, I’ve lost count. The soft jelly settles, the focal centers slowly pull themselves into place. I can hear the pupils contract against the light. Eyes blink once, twice. We’re in business.</blockquote> ➤ content notes for ummmmmmm body horror? body grossness definitely. also, murder, plus sex with weird consent stuff going on. drug use. probably other stuff too. ➤ but it's not, like, horrifying and depressing about any of that! it's remarkably sweet! ➤ an absolutely incredible piece of original fiction about bodyswap/bodysharing that really makes its home in exploring the weirdness of the situation from the inside. What Is Embodiment. How to have a relationship with the body you're in. Bodies have a lot going on! The brain is part of the body. ➤ probably this story isn't for everyone, but if it is for you then you are in for a TREAT. I adored it. ➤ 14k words

Summary: <blockquote>“What do you think about,” Wei Ying said aloud, before she could stop herself, before she could even think twice about the repercussions. “When you.” She finally found Lan Zhan’s eyes, molten in the low light, and swallowed in a tiny, audible gulp. “You know.” On Wei Ying, Lan Zhan’s gaze didn’t waver even a fraction. “Giving head,” she said. Wei Ying was certain she’d misheard. “Getting head?” “No,” said Lan Zhan. / After a surprise party gone awry, Wei Ying surprises herself.</blockquote> ➤ i loved the unusual detail of them being swimmers/divers, and all the water stuff worked into the prose

Summary: <blockquote>Lan Zhan, an up-and-coming sport climber, has always kept to himself. A traditional climber, he hates Wei Ying's flashy, dynamic style on sight when they meet on the youth international competition circuit. But all that changes when a new competition format is announced, and training for it makes Lan Zhan realise that though climbing is a solo sport, it doesn't have to be a solitary one. Two years. Four cities. A Wangxian climbing AU.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>The slow purpling of the evening sky makes their robes blend into their shadows, their shadows blend into the still water stretched out before them. Home, Jiang Cheng thinks, satisfied, and A-Ling exhales softly against him, and everything is good, and none of them move to leave.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The first indication there was something peculiar happening in the Inner Palace came heralded by the news that Prince Jing had returned injured from exile in the northernmost battlefields of Da Liang and it was revealed that the Emperor had not only granted an audience with Concubine Jing, but consented to allowing her to tend to Prince Jing herself, heretofore unprecedented liberty.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Qin Su is sick and tired of this wedding. And her marriage. Nie Huaisang is conveniently present.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Generations after the events of the novel, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao come out of retirement to investigate a series of mysterious fires targeting the watchtowers.</blockquote> ➤ the fic works well as is but I am still desperate to know what the solution might be that will honor yao-guniang's ambitions and keep her safe from yao-zongzhu at the same time!

<blockquote>It isn't that Xie Lian isn't afraid of his body, of whether it will do what he wants it to do, feel what he wants it to feel. But he's much more afraid of taking slow careful steps into the unknown than he is of leaping. Or: Xie Lian can, in fact, get it up, often and enthusiastically. Getting off is a little trickier.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“The last thing I remember, I was at Meiling. I don’t remember this ambush you’re talking about. We were fighting Da Yu. Winning.” Lin Shu scrubbed a hand across his face. “Now they told me everyone thinks I’m a traitor and if anyone sees me, I’ll be arrested and killed… it’s ridiculous. That can’t really have happened. Even if someone framed us, the Emperor would figure out we were innocent in the end.” “I’m sorry,” Jingyan said. “It’s true. The Emperor believed everything.” Lin Shu was quiet, considering. “Wait,” Jingyan said. “Who’s ‘they’?” Or, the one where a young Lin Shu shows up out of nowhere and leaves Jingyan doubting the truth of what's happened in the past twelve years--and especially doubting his closest advisor.</blockquote> ➤ ahhhhh this is mostly AMAZING. the ending feels like it's lacking something to feel like it's a proper resolution and ending point for the story, but everything up to that point is perfect. And a good ending is hard to write!