LINKDING

summary: Sokka’s ready for everything. He’s got his gear. He’s got his tickets. Nothing can shake him, the best-prepared spectator at the 2020 Olympic Games... Until he meets Lee, a young dancer with a strange knack for broadswords, and they fall into a game all their own. ➜ atla modern au about the olympics ➜ ft sokka, enthusiastic fan of all sports, making the most of going to the olympics ➜ and making friends with a dude called Lee who he has fun sparring with in the evenings ➜ and, totally separately, getting extremely worked up in support of an athlete named Zuko in the bronze match for men's epee ➜ I LOVE sokka's pov here, he's such a delight, and you can really tell why Zuko likes him so much! ➜ just a very charming story ➜ 21k words long

Shang Qinghua’s ears were buzzing. He was at a complete loss for words. A new, horrifying realization was washing over him. It was so dreadful, he didn’t even want to think it, but really, what other explanation was there? Had Mobei-Jun, perhaps, locked him in here based on a mistaken understanding of how the lock worked?! / Twenty years after he ran away from his pre-ordained fate as Mobei-Jun’s servant, Shang Qinghua gets kidnapped in a forest. ➜ svsss moshang canon divergence au ➜ in which Shang Qinghua didn't become Mobei-Jun's follower when they met...and 20 years later, sqh is captured by mbj ➜ this fic is SO much fun omg!!! the dynamics between this version of mbj and sqh...chef's kiss ➜ delicious enemies-to-lovers with begrudging teamwork and uncomfortable vulnerability! ➜ and soooo many wonderful details ➜ there was much grinning and kicking my feet with glee as I read! ➜ this fic was written as a remix of a fic of mine and I was so impressed with the ways the author transformed and built on themes from my original fic to say interesting and insightful things in this new context! ➜ I LOVED IT ➜ 26k words long

Summary: After the Immortal Alliance Conference, Shen Qingqiu eventually recovered from his grief. A reasonable man, he accepted his limitations. Of course, there were—other options. ➜ a genius svsss bingqiu canon divergence au fic ➜ sqq decides to take care of the unavoidable abyss plot-arc by body-swapping with lbh to do the abyss arc for him ➜ meanwhile the bodyswapping didn't work QUITE as intended so although sqq is indeed in lbh's body running the abyss, lbh is in lqg's body and lqg is in sqq's body ➜ cue: time for lbh and lqg to learn how to appreciate each other! ➜ anyway I loved EVERYTHING about this fic. sooooo many good things it's doing ➜ the way sqq has such a great time testing out his abyss speedrun ideas! lbh and lqg's gym bro friendship style! meng mo providing internal colour commentary the whole way through! ➜ and like holy shit, sqq’s weird as fuck identity issues wrt bodies and self and sexuality and stuff! EXQUISITE. ➜ a totally delightful fic, highly recommend ➜ 36k 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: <blockquote>Despite, well, all the bad parts, Mo Ran's new apartment's got some perks: the size of it—enough to fit a whole family; the proximity to his job—no more getting home from work way past 1 AM; and his neighbor—65, bitchy, surprisingly kind, slim waist hidden under all those hideous clothes, insanely flexible-- Yeah, Mo Ran likes his new place just fine.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>“Wow,” he says. “Well, in that case.” He leans against the counter and looks at his quiet apartment. The thing is: he was always going to say yes. He has no impulse control and he’s always good for a laugh and he’s kind of lonely. And since he knows Lan Zhan would never want to actually date him, he might as well take what he can get. “In that case,” he says a little more firmly, “I’m in.” So that’s how it starts. The worst, best thing to ever happen to Wei Ying.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Things go wrong at Maigu Ridge. Shen Qingqiu wakes up back at the beginning, in a body that is still shaking off Shen Jiu's fatal qi deviation. Luo Binghe wakes up in the woodshed with a disembodied voice chiming in his ear. It calls itself the System.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>When Lan Zhan indicates a willingness to be Wei Ying's (platonic) dom, Wei Ying jumps at the chance. But then Wei Ying catches feelings. Really inappropriate feelings for someone who's supposed to be his esteemed platonic colleague. Surely the detestably respectful thing to do is to break it off rather than violate this clear boundary, right? But before Wei Ying can work up the fortitude to take that final, terrible step, he and Lan Zhan get caught up in a surprise case. One where talking to each other becomes significantly harder.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"You've never had an orgasm?!" Both Wen Qing and Mianmian are watching Wei Ying with huge eyes, straws slipping out of their mouths. Wei Ying squirms in place, biting on her own straw. "It's not that big a deal, is it?"</blockquote>

<blockquote>Loosely based off of 'I Became the Wife of the Male Lead'. The main ship is Bingqiu!</blockquote> ➤ the one where sqq transmigrates into the nephew of qiu jianluo (son of qiu haitang and og!sqq)

<blockquote>“Do you—” Quan Yizhen started, and then on the other side of the room Pei Ming started up his jackhammer, so he waited, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and then said all in a rush, “doyouknowHuaCheng?” Xie Lian blinked. “You know—him?” she asked, in case 'San Lang' was some kind of private name, a secret code just for her. She liked the thought of that. Quan Yizhen shook his head vigorously, his curls bouncing. “No!” he said. “But Yin-ge said you were with him at Home Depot and you left together!” Xie Lian stared at him. One of the employees that had helped her a few weeks ago had been called Yin something, she was pretty sure, but that’s about as far as she could follow what was happening here. “Yizhen, if you don’t know Hua Cheng, why is this… notable?” “He’s famous. Or like. The bad one. Infamous. I thought—” His eyes gleamed. “I thought maybe you fought him.” / Retired (read: disgraced) famous boxer Xie Lian meets a helpful stranger while at Home Depot attempting to fix her collapsing roof.</blockquote> ➤ the mafia element is very minor

<blockquote>Three months ago, Lan Xichen introduced Wei Wuxian by bringing him to Lan Wangji’s office and saying, “Wangji, this is our new teen librarian. I’m sure you’ll be happy to show him around since you’ll be working closely together.” Lan Wangji did not and does not feel that this was in any way an adequate introduction to Wei Wuxian. / Featuring: critical librarianship, rabbit-themed office supplies, and an elderly cat named Bunny.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“She gave you weed?” She asks, and then, scowling, “you’re not suggesting we—” Feng Xin makes a face at her. “No, are you kidding? With my baby in the room? You really think a lot of my parenting skills, huh.” “Sorry,” Mu Qing mutters, because Feng Xin is a good dad, for the most part, once she stopped being stupid about leaving dangerous shit around her apartment. “I thought,” says Feng Xin slowly. “I thought you might want it?” “I don’t even drink,” Mu Qing says incredulously, “and you think I might want the shitty weed you got from the potential cannibal you went on a bad date with?” “Weed is different from booze,” Feng Xin argues. “Maybe it’ll help you, like. Relax, a little.” “Who the fuck says I need to relax,” Mu Qing snaps. “Fuck,” says Cuocuo, gummily but unmistakably. Mu Qing stares at Feng Xin, who stares right back. “Please tell me that wasn’t his first word.” </blockquote>

<blockquote>Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua fit together like a 3D puzzle: with a lot of missteps, rearranging, and precision. Too bad their friends are, like, really bad at spatial reasoning. OR: 5 times no one realized moshang were together, and one time it was too obvious to miss</blockquote>

<blockquote>Luo Binghe has it all: the respect of the cultivation world, the home he always wanted, and Shizun's love. There's just one problem: if Shizun ever finds out he's a demon, it's going to ruin everything.</blockquote> ➤ I feel like the ending needed a little more emotional settling time after how very long lbh had been angsting about this stuff; it felt a little too abrupt for him to be making jokes about sqq liking him being a monster, for example. but overall a really delightful fic

<blockquote>“He smiles too much,” Lan Wangji says, frowning at the pixelated headshot of the instructor. Flippancy is not necessarily forbidden, but it is strongly discouraged, especially when one is a thousand feet above ground instructing the light of someone else’s life. Lan Sizhui is going for his Sword Flight Licence. Lan Wangji is panicked.</blockquote>

<blockquote>It takes about five minutes after they first meet for Shen Yuan to start flirting with Luo Binghe. Aggressively, too, in a way that even some of Luo Binghe’s most frequent bed partners wouldn’t dare to. It’s shocking and infuriating and, unfortunately, Luo Binghe finds himself charmed. Too bad Shen Yuan doesn’t actually know that his actions come off as demon-flirting in the first place.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Liu Qingge had thought that he'd made his peace with the arranged marriage, but escaping the planning to train in the woods brings him face to face with an unexpected problem. An unexpectedly handsome- and flirtatious- problem, that appears to be part of the demonic embassy's contingent.</blockquote> ➤ the one where lqg thinks lbh is just a horse master rather than the demon lord he's being betrothed to. And oh my godddd I love this vision of them. ➤ It's an au of pidw, with no transmigrators involved. I'm glad I read the end-notes first, to provide the context for this au before reading the story, and I really rather love this au!

<blockquote>Wei Ying thinks he’s going to meet a younger version of Professor Lan, since they’re brothers- gently smiling, a little sad way back somewhere, smart as a whip and just a touch gullible, but instead he meets a drop dead gorgeous sonovabitch who refuses to make more than cursory eye contact and has about as much empathy in him as a brick fucking wall. In which Wei Ying is forced to take AAS100: Intro to Asian American Studies to graduate. He has a cruelly strict grader, and his only hope of passing the class is attending extra credit movie nights in a ridiculous dorm with 3,000 rules. Or: I watched a Chinese piece of media, promptly had a whole pile of feelings about being Chinese-American, and dumped them into a fanfiction.</blockquote> ➤ Chinese American identity is important theme

<blockquote>Lan Zhan knows that face. It's Wei Ying. His head is thrown back, eyes closed, baring a long line of throat interrupted only by his adam's apple. He's pulling the mic stand towards him as he belts out a high note, long and piercing, the crowd screaming along with him. He cuts it off and snaps his eyes open – the camera catches it head on and for a single breath, it's almost as if he's looking straight at Lan Zhan. - The ballet dancer!LWJ and rockstar!WWX AU</blockquote>

<blockquote>Ah. The Asshole Dog is loose again. Lan Zhan knows that it is not the dog’s fault for being an asshole, but The Asshole Dog is the reason Lan Zhan had a fence put in at a significant personal expense, because the alternative was allowing his garden to be destroyed and for Bunny to be menaced on her leashed outdoor adventures. Unacceptable. The Most Beautiful Man in the World cringes at the barking, scooting further away from the door through a sea of a dozen broken eggs and leaving a yolky trail in his wake. “Fuck,” he whimpers, curling into a ball, both hands wrapped around the back of his neck as if to—as if to protect himself, Lan Zhan realizes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, please—” The Most Beautiful Man in the World begs, voice ragged. He’s definitely hyperventilating now, from what Lan Zhan can tell between the audible sobs. There’s another bark from outside, and The Most Beautiful Man in the World flinches bodily, making a terrified sound that Lan Zhan feels behind his ribs. Or: A meet ugly, a dog, and the beginning of something wonderful.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Wuxian has been left largely to his own devices on his planet's lighthouse, with only his trusty android friend W3N Qing for help. But a "surprise" site inspector is coming, probably to check if he's been breaking any intergalactic statutes in his work. And so he's preparing for the inspector's arrival. What he's not prepared for is Lan Wangji.</blockquote> ➤ space au with cultivation

<blockquote>"Have you heard of Wei Wuxian?" someone bellows. It's a teenager with a microphone, the speakers loud and obnoxious above his head. "Come join the Yiling Wei sect and earn the opportunity for her to teach you personally!" He has a stall and everything. There's another teenage boy with him, handing out leaflets. Wei Ying pulls her hair down to cover the sides of her face and walks up. "Hey! Are you interested in demonic cultivation?" asks the kid brightly. He grabs a leaflet off the stall and thrusts it at her. "Uh, I don't really know a lot about it," Wei Ying says, "but you said Wei Wuxian could personally teach me?" / Aka the casefic where someone is impersonating Wei Wuxian and has founded a sect, or possibly a cult, or possibly a multi-level marketing scheme, in her name. Aka the wlw mlm fic.</blockquote> ➤ the one where xy founds the yiling Wei sect pretending to be wwx

<blockquote>Lan Zhan is a man. Like, a red-blooded, Michelangelo-sculpted man. One time, maybe a couple weeks into their newly instated regular workout sessions, Wei Ying had been struggling to do an overheard press, and Lan Zhan had come right up behind him, chest to back, and steadied Wei Ying’s hips with his enormous hands. Wei Ying had looked down to see the fucking size of Lan Zhan’s thighs next to his, rippling and boy oh boy, how do thighs have veins? That are visible? And talk about a solid pelvis. Wei Ying’s never felt a more solid pelvis pressed against his ass, like, ever. Wei Ying meets his new best bro, Lan Zhan, at the gym. Wei Ying is also under the impression that he and his new best bro are very straight.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The one where Wei Ying (straight) and Lan Zhan (gay) make a shared tinder account to save money, because Wei Ying has brilliant ideas. (Wei Ying has terrible ideas.)</blockquote> ➤ endgame lwj/wwx

<blockquote>That night he lies in bed alone until the moon is high. When the rest of the house is deathly silent, except for the light snores coming from behind every door, he sneaks in slippered feet through the halls and over to the covered kitchens. There’s faint light coming from the smoldering hearth, where the coals are piled to keep them warm for tomorrow’s early start. Someone has curled up by it on a mat, like a scullery maid. But it’s not a maid, it’s a man. A tall long-legged man. His husband. The dubiously immortal master of Changming manor. What the fuck, Xie thinks.</blockquote> ➤ I know nothing about these characters but sure! this was a great read!

<blockquote>Airplane Bro transmigrates into his own web-novel only to find out that the System messed up his world! Shang Qinghua is a demon in this world! All the characters supposed to be humans are demons in this world! And all the characters supposed to be demons are...? Moshang's first meeting in a Role Reversal AU.</blockquote> ➤ the one where sqh is a demon and mbj is a human cultivator

<blockquote>Wei Ying grabs a pen from Lan Zhan’s desk, curling his legs into a lotus pose under the arms of the chair so he can easily spread the journal out across his lap. Even upside down, Lan Zhan can read his large, messy characters scrawled across the top: Lan Zhan and Wei Ying’s Rules for Dating. Perhaps this was a bad idea.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Did you break the ward to come in?” Lan Wangji asks, point-blank. He has his sword out and pointed at Wei Wuxian, no bothering with niceties like hello I’m Lan Wangji, and you are? Wei Wuxian eyes the sword, but doesn’t react. He keeps lazing back on the roof, casually drinking his wine, as if this is the usual way he meets new people. (And maybe it is! I don’t know your life, Wei Wuxian!) Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian meet on Season 8 of The Cultivation World. Ouyang Zizhen writes the recaps.</blockquote> ➤ the cultivation world is like a reality tv show where a bunch of cultivators have to live as though it's historical times

<blockquote>Jingyi makes a sympathetic sound. “I’ve got a buddy in one of the Hefei labs, and he says there’s some evidence to suggest that people stuck in limbo develop, like, whole new neural pathways. And you go in and out of it all the time, right, so who knows what your brain is up to.” His eyes light up. “Oh man, would you let me — ” “Obviously no,” Wei Ying says, voice flat. “But you’re close enough to right. I can keep you all safely in the level, but it’s tiring. I can’t be both dreamer and extractor.” “I’ll do it,” Lan Zhan cuts in, before Jingyi can protest or Wen Yuan can ask any further questions. “It’s not a problem.” “Are you sure?” Wen Yuan asks, brow furrowing. “If your sub-security picks up that Xian-gege doesn’t belong — ” “They won’t.” Wei Ying frowns. “Not for nothing, ge,” he says slowly, “but the last time we were in your dream together, I fell off a cliff.” Lan Zhan looks up and over at him. There is something in his eyes that Wei Ying can’t quite read: something fierce, and faraway. “I remember,” he says, voice quiet. “Do you?” / Wei Ying takes a dream heist job with an old friend.</blockquote> ➤ Love the feeling of the depth of complicated history between the characters underlying everything