LINKDING

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>“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>Meng Yao rescues the first Jade of Lan and takes him into his home, becoming far more involved than ever anticipated. / The guards are getting closer; the man, likely Lan Xichen, tries not to curl in on himself. Meng Yao gives himself five seconds to consider the implications of getting involved before he swings his work bag off his shoulder and drops it rudely in the First Jade of Lan's lap. "I told you not to slouch," he says, a firm note of displeasure in his voice. / Stands alone from the prequel fic.</blockquote>

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>

<blockquote>“Do you know people die of tooth infections?” “Stupid way to die,” Wei Wuxian mumbles. “I agree,” Wen Qing says. “So: you’re going to the dentist.” / While on the run, Wen Qing drags Wei Wuxian to a free clinic where they are confronted with someone from their past lives, a root canal, and the devastating suggestion of how things could be different.</blockquote>

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

<blockquote>Wei Ying is running so late to his meeting with fellow grad student-slash-friend Lan Zhan. But in Wei Ying's defense, he has just learned that his grandmother is the Baoshan Sanren, zongshi of the extremely mysterious and highly scrutinized Celestial Mountain sect. Also, she wants to name him her heir?!</blockquote>

<blockquote>Lan Huan is ready to take his relationship with Jiang Cheng to the next level. Spending the weekend at Jiang Cheng's place is definitely going to achieve that, but not at all in the ways he expected. Lan Huan didn't know his brother was seeing someone. Wei Ying didn't know about Lan Huan's shitty ex. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan just want their boyfriends to get through this weekend intact.</blockquote> ➤ I was sad to not see on-page the work towards repairing the relationship between lwj&lxc, but it's very good as what it is nonetheless

<blockquote>When the Jiang family falls on hard times, they are faced with two choices - have Jiang Yanli marry wealthy asshole Jin Zixun to clear the family's debts, or have Wei Ying marry the youngest son of the equally wealthy Lan family. To save his elder sister from a miserable loveless marriage, Wei Ying agrees to the match. There's just one catch - his prospective husband is already dead.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Ying hires Lan Zhan to landscape her third wedding. </blockquote>

<blockquote>Wei Ying was pretty sure his next door neighbor Lan Qiren hated him until he adopted A-Yuan. Now he’s bringing by disgustingly healthy food, taking Wei Ying and A-Yuan to family dinners, and let’s not even mention the nephews he keeps hinting Wei Ying should meet. Is it possible Wei Ying, consummate orphan, has found a family in his grumpy old neighbor?</blockquote> ➤ series consists of: The stuffed bunny, the beautiful nephew, and other gifts from Lan Qiren The extravagant wedding, the gorgeous brother, and other reasons you should listen to your uncle

<blockquote>Lan Qiren finds a boy on the streets of Yiling and the world changes. A story in three parts</blockquote>

<blockquote>Lan Zhan looks so sad. He holds out his hand and says "Help." "Aish, this man," Wei Wuxian sighs. "What's wrong?" Lan Zhan holds out his hand a little further, insistent, and Wei Wuxian sighs again and takes it. A costly mistake that results in getting pulled deeper into Lan Zhan's apartment, squawking protests about how he's still wearing his shoes that Lan Zhan ignores. He leads Wei Wuxian down the hallway to the bedroom at the end. Then he shoves at Wei Wuxian's shoulder until he loses his balance and sits on the edge of the bed. Then he climbs on after him. / Thirteen years after he dies on New Year's Eve, Wei Wuxian is reunited with Lan Wangji.</blockquote> ➤ an amazingly good sense of place as well as development of the mood created by the narrative in the reader

<blockquote>Of all the things Lan Zhan expected, hoped, wished he would wake up to on his birthday, a surprise husband wasn’t one of them. char- For his birthday, Lan Zhan is given the gift of a future.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Set in modern day London. As a member of the Gusu Institute, Lan Zhan plays his part on keeping the spiritual peace in the metropolis. Wei Ying left the Institute a long time ago, but from time to time they still work together and Lan Zhan mourns the closeness they once had. Lan Zhan calls Wei Ying in on a strange case at the British Museum. Events conspire to shatter the careful barriers they have erected. So much pining. Some case fic. Emotional rollercoaster with a happy ending. Some critique of the museum as an imperialist institution.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“Zhan-jie,” Wei Ying whines, and Lan Zhan is appalled to realize that the sound sends a shiver down her spine. She wants to shut Wei Ying’s stupid mouth. She wants to tie Wei Ying’s hands behind her back and tell her exactly what she is and is not allowed to do. She. Hm. “Explain,” Lan Zhan commands her, voice going dark and heavy, and the startled look that Wei Ying gives her sends another zip through each and every one of Lan Zhan’s nerve endings. Hm, Lan Zhan thinks, again. “Well,” Wei Ying mumbles, darting glances at Lan Zhan, “well, the thing is, Baby sort of — it’s not her fault, but she, when she ran away, she sort of. She, uh. Well, she had a passenger.” “A passenger.” “The dinosaur took my nephew,” Wei Ying says, and Lan Zhan lays her forehead against the wheel and ignores the horn as it sounds. - OR: Lan Zhan, sensible museum curator and paleontologist, gets robbed, gets arrested, gets a headache, gets a wife.</blockquote>

<blockquote>When meddling friends trick Wei Wuxian into having a date with his best friend Lan Wangji, parts of their relationship he hadn't questioned in years suddenly tumble into the spotlight.</blockquote> ➤ so I know I've said in the past that I'm not into issuefic that's About an identity, but it turns out that when it's about an identity I share that basically never gets any rep in fic then I am HERE for it? anyway aro wwx in a queerplatonic relationship with lwj!!

<blockquote>“Oh, hey,” Wei Ying says as the audiobook starts up. “Snacks?" Lan Zhan spares a glance from the road as Wei Ying hoists his tote bag of goodies and opens up some Takis. “The driver should not eat,” he says. Wei Ying stuffs three Takis into his mouth at once and mulls aloud, “You totally wouldn’t let me eat in your car if I wasn’t getting an abortion.” “Mn,” Lan Zhan agrees. Wei Ying crunches happily. “I should probably insist on being treated normally,” he says, mouth half-full, “but fuck it. Normally you’re mean to me.”</blockquote> ➤ wwx gets accidentally knocked up, and needs his work nemesis to drive him to his abortion

<blockquote>“Nice,” Drunk Man says, into the crook of his neck, and does nothing else. Wei Ying slowly relaxes, allows himself to pat Drunk Man between the shoulder blades, and sighs. “Okay,” he says. “Glad you think so.” Drunk Man does not respond. Wei Ying wonders if he went back to sleep, and then takes a further moment to wonder why this always happens to him, why he’s always the one helping a heartbroken twink sober up after a terrible night out or sitting on the curb with a sobbing teenager with a fake ID while they wait for her parents to come pick her up. If only he was as shitty a person as White Mike, he could be home asleep right now and this beautiful man would be passed out in a gutter and probably mugged. Wei Ying looks down at the drunk man on his shoulder, thinks about leaving him to fend for himself, and sighs. Nope. Not on his watch. Or: A meet-cute at two in the morning.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The thing with musical prodigies is that they're soloists, and soloists play alone. He doesn't want to play alone anymore. - "A summer guest lecture series? Oh, very nice. I wish I could sit in on that." "Do you also play the piano?" "Not even a little bit," says Wei Ying cheerfully. "But I'm sure you'd have a lot of thoughts on musicality that would be relevant regardless." "Oh," says Lan Zhan. He seems to be searching for something else to say. "I believe it is oversubscribed," he says finally. "As it should be," says Wei Ying, and does not tell him that he has all of Lan Zhan's albums downloaded onto his phone, listened to over and over when he's on a train, a plane, waiting for a taxi, has followed his career since he overheard half a Mendelssohn when they were fifteen.<blockquote>

<blockquote>Five times Nie Huaisang was emotionally, circumstantially, or blackmail-ly forced to acquire a Wen, and one time he declared "fuck it" and stole (rescued) them all.</blockquote> Author notes: <blockquote>This fic is dedicated to my mild annoyance at fic in which Sunshot Era or earlier!Nie Huaisang is portrayed as a competent sneaky manipulator. Nie Huaisang will realize his own potential when he is forced to and not ONE moment sooner!</blockquote>

<blockquote>Lan Xichen pauses before he speaks. He often does. “A-Yao, will you…?” There are any number of things that Lan Xichen might be about to say. He might be about to say, “A-Yao, will you cook breakfast while I bathe in the river?” But then, there is a gravity to his tone, and a flush on his cheeks. So perhaps it will be, “A-Yao, will you do that thing with your tongue?” Or even more thrillingly, “A-Yao, will you teach me how to do that thing with your tongue?” Lan Xichen does not say any of these things. He says, “A-Yao, will you marry me? If we both survive the war, will you marry me?” / Lan Xichen proposes before the war. Somehow, through the property of transitivity, Wei Wuxian becomes Meng Yao’s problem to solve.</blockquote> ➤ jgy is still evil, he just....chooses to direct his energies differently, because he has different priorities now!!

<blockquote>“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, and when Wei Ying turns around, Lan Zhan has followed him into the kitchen and is doing something with the empty wine glass that could almost be termed fidgeting. His fingertips tense and relax, and Lan Zhan takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders almost imperceptibly. “Would you like me to cut your hair for you?” Wei Ying’s brain skids to a halt. Oh. Huh. That would. That would be a hell of a lot easier, wouldn’t it? Lan Zhan would at least be able to see and touch the back of his head at the same time, and that’s half the battle. Even if it’s not a good haircut, it would be something, and it probably wouldn’t end with Wei Ying in tears, and it would end with Wei Ying having shorter hair, which is the only thing he really wants right now. “Yeah,” he says, a little awed. “If you don’t mind then that would be great, Lan Zhan.” He can almost feel the breeze on his undercut again, spine tingling in anticipation. Or: Lan Zhan offers to help out with Wei Ying's quarantine growout... with sexy results!</blockquote>

<blockquote>When Wangxian decide they can't even wait a day to get married Jiang Cheng is faced with attempting the impossible: planning a wedding in a matter of hours.</blockquote> ➤ Love that fandom has apparently decided Jiang Cheng's purpose in life is to angrily but competently plan other people's weddings, I am here for it

<blockquote>Wei Wuxian plays the flute. Someone in Wei Wuxian's apartment complex plays violin. Sometimes, they play the flute and the violin together, and it's... nice. It's really nice. It's sort of the nicest thing going on in his life right now, honestly. It's like the poets say: Music is love in search of a word.</blockquote>