LINKDING

summary: The air conditioned chill of Wei Ying's office gave way to a wall of humid heat as soon as they left the building. The walk to the station was only a few blocks, but the back of Lan Zhan's shirt was damp with sweat by the time she went underground. "So what's the curse, exactly," Wei Ying said as they jammed themselves into a packed subway car. At lunchtime on a weekday during summer break. Lan Zhan steadied herself against the car door. "I believe it's bad luck." "Holy shit," Wei Ying said. "Did she curse you to step on a Lego?" ➤ modern au f/f mdzs wangxian fic ➤ lwj and wwx are academic colleagues; lwj comes to wwx for help dealing with a minor curse ➤ I love the glimpses into their broader world, the way cultivation is a part of modern life, the dynamics lwj has with her family, etc ➤ the way lwj being a poet affects the prose of the piece, and her point of view! ➤ and the dynamics between lwj and wwx are soooo good <3 ➤ 1.7k words in length

summary: In the present, Wei Ying finds himself separated from his family and friends when he travels to help Lan Zhan move into a new home. In the past, Nie Huaisang brings a new friend back from summer orchestra camp. ➤ an #mdzs #wangxian modern au set during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, with flashbacks to 2003 ➤ this fic is everything to me. it's just. so beautiful & good? grounded and present to its settings, seeing its characters with open-eyed affection, funny and heartbreakingly painful-hopeful and so, so gentle ➤ I love how the fic is about many relationships at once - wwx & the wens, wwx & jiang cheng, wwx & whatever he had going on with nhs back in the day, and of course, of course, wangxian. and all of these are vital relationships in wwx's life; all of them make him who he is ➤ a "straight boy wei ying" type fic; I love how compassionately wwx is viewed as he goes through his years-long process of realisation. the fic is never mean-spirited about wwx's lack of self-knowledge. he had a lot going on & was doing his best! ➤ I've read this fic at least 3 times and it hits just right every time ➤ 25k words

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: <blockquote>Even from the bar's parking lot, Lan Wangji could feel the presence of the spirits inside. This place was haunted. There was evidence of demonic cultivation everywhere from the wards to Wei Wuxian's bed. Lest he crawl back into it, Lan Wangji unsheathed Bichen and climbed on.</blockquote> ➤ mdzs wangxian modern-with-cultivation au where lwj is a trans man and wwx is a trans woman ➤ and ahhhh it just makes me so emotional about how GREAT wangxian are!!! ➤ wonderfully integrated characters/plot into a world they inhabit where friends and work and weird tastes in books are part of their lives, and also, lwj and wwx find each other and are immediately obsessed with each other, finding something in each other that allow them to best be themselves ➤ so many very funny details also, at the same time that it's many feelings ➤ 10k words in length

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>"Don't fuck your ex," Pei Ming said when Shi Qingxuan told him that she'd been cast in the Broadway debut of Heaven Official's Blessing.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Outside, San Niang has long finished the quota of charity Xie Lian allotted her. She's drinking something from the bakery on the corner—probably one of their dreadful, bitter coffees. The wind is making a mess of her hair. Yearning plants a seed in Xie Lian's heart.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"I've read about this somewhere," Shang Qinghua said, tapping her chin. "You wrote it," Peerless Cucumber snapped. "Chapter 258, remember?" "Haha," Shang Qinghua said. "No." She thought for a moment. "This isn't one of the curses we'd have to get married to break, right?"</blockquote>

<blockquote>"That was an exhibit," Lan Zhan said after a moment. Tarbosaurus bataar, the gem of the Museum of Natural History's collection. "It was," Wei Ying said smugly. "And now it has feathers!"</blockquote>

<blockquote>Sha Hualing has always wanted to have a rival.</blockquote>

<blockquote>When Keith was younger, he used to wish that his soul would lead him to Shiro, that wherever Shiro went, Keith could follow him forever—that he’d be hearthbound to Shiro instead of a place, or none. They were both orphans without a home. Maybe theirs could be each other.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The Young Avengers' band is also called The Young Avengers, because they're very subtle. They've written three songs together: "Destroy You," "Superpowered," and "Unnatural Love," which, given the percentage of people in the band with the same equipment fucking each other, you might think was about gay liberation, but actually chronicles the time Loki read them the juicy parts of Flowers in the Attic on a trip up the coast.</blockquote>

<blockquote>A few hours before, Steve was Captain America, flying a plane into the ice to save his country, save everyone. There's no United States of America on Earth anymore, but there's one on Mars.</blockquote> ➤ I am so into this

<blockquote>Anne rolls her eyes. "Is your aunt really going to know if you cheat on your nonfiction with some hot prose on the side?" "It's the principle of the thing. I've got my pride," Emily says. "Ah, yes, Murray pride," Anne says, warming to the topic. "Also known as, your family is so ridiculously stubborn that whenever I think about them I thank God I'm an orphan." "I'm an orphan, too," Emily points out. "I thank God I'm adopted," Anne says.</blockquote>

<blockquote>From her mother, Teyla inherited a bright smile, toffee-colored skin, and very good manners. (set in the universe of "the fixation of belief")</blockquote>

<blockquote>rilla1986: there's always eharmony if I get really desperate rilla1986: faith and jem are just, you know, sickening rilla1986: like I'm happy for them but I get that feeling rilla1986: like when you open a west elm catalogue and know you're going to be stuck with shitty coffee tables from ikea forever unadostres: You are so not over Ken Ford.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"John," Rodney's mind-voice trembled, "Would you ever... want to pair with me?" "There's nothing more that I've ever wanted than to cradle our egg with my feet," John told him. "Aside from flying." "Well, yeah," Rodney said, "I'm working on that."</blockquote>