LINKDING

summary: He recalls in one awful moment his young Huan-zhizi’s face then, contorted with pain as he fought through the night, slowly expelling the dread shadow whose claws had sunk deep and, even now, snagged in the great net of his fears. It occurs to him that a-Huan’s healing has never truly ended, that what he had learnt from the multiple mortal dangers of his youth had been caution, and a deep fear of sudden and terrible loss. No wonder the blows of his adult years had brought him so low. / A little after their return from Yunping’s Guanyin Temple, it is Lan Qiren who now needs to heal, and his nephew who must help him. ➜ post-canon mdzs fic about Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren ➜ on their relationship with each other, the ways they've tried to support each other and the ways they feel like they've failed or are failing ➜ ahhhh the vibes are so lovely, a tender fragile hope and care with a well of complexity beneath it! ➜ 2k words long

If Jiang Yanli had ever met Xuanyu, he would have been healed by the touch of her eyes only. She had that way about her. Nie Huaisang did his best work under her, caring for the wounded for that washed up ashore at the fortress that was his home. ➜ Nie Huaisang pov mdzs fic ➜about nhs's interactions with Jiang Yanli during the war, and with Mo Xuanyu leading up to his sacrificial ritual ➜ gorgeous, spare little glimpse into the ways jyl has been an influence on nhs, and the purposes to which he directs the things he learned from her ➜ so good!! ➜ 1k words long

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: “How could you let him?” she asked abruptly. It came out—menacing. Her own voice hadn’t been capable of conveying anger like that. If she’d tried very hard to rage, it would have been shrill and unimpressive, and if she’d spoken the way she’d tried to just now, it might have chilled the right room but it would still have sounded gentle. A-Cheng’s voice had no softness in it, and both boys went very still. ➤ mdzs/cql canon divergence au, where instead of mxy sacrificing himself to resurrect wwx, jc sacrifices himself to resurrect jyl ➤ jyl and wn and mxy eat soup together about it ➤ and jyl grapples with how she feels about everything that happened. and what she's going to do next ➤ and like. DANG I love it!!! ➤ 5k words in length

summary: <blockquote>“If you died,” Huaisang started, not knowing quite where he was going with this. “I mean, you did die, da-ge, but if someone had killed you… what would you want to happen next?” / In the wake of Nie Mingjue’s death, Nie Huaisang realises how much he’s been left in ignorance. How could the artsy little brother be left to run their ancestral asteroid-mining clan? What other secrets are hidden in his san-ge’s past? And how should he get revenge? Maybe having da-ge’s personality backed up on a server was supposed to help with all this. Maybe.</blockquote> ➤ mdzs space au about nie huaisang and his years-long project in avenging his da-ge ➤ a repeated theme throughout the fic is nhs visiting and talking to back-ups that had been taken of nmj's personality before death, and the way that this makes literal how HAUNTED nhs is by his brother's absence is just sooooooo good ➤ the worldbuilding is great, the things that are changed from canon due to this different context are great, the anguish and monofocus of nhs are great ➤ I AM ALL EMOTIONS ;_; ➤ 8k words in length

summary: <blockquote>Wen Qing’s world was small these days, but she was alive.</blockquote> ➤ this is a remix but you don't need to read the original to follow this one, as it follows a character who gets less focus in the original ➤ about wen qing and her interactions over the years with jin guangyao, in an au where she's imprisoned by him and helping him, after surviving leaving the burial mounds ➤ a great look at wen qing and her choices, and what she is and isn't able to do to affect things, and what she's willing to help with ➤ 2k 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>Jiang Cheng realises that his own nephew has never tried his mother's signature dish, and takes it upon himself to rectify this. [Recipe at the end]</blockquote> ➤ post-canon, jiang cheng realises jin ling has never tasted his mother's soup ➤ cue the epic quest to learn how to recreate it, and the things he learns along the way ➤ lovely fic about family and about food ➤ 4k words in length ➤ thanks to stultiloquentia for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>all I really want is some peace, man</blockquote> ➤ author's note: "doomed best friends who understand each other so deeply" ➤ an Untamed vid about Wei Wuxian & Wen Qing ➤ ahhhhhh I have SO MANY feels about them and this vid GETS them ➤ ouchy in the best way ➤ audio is solely the music ➤ no subtitles ➤ 4:41 in length ➤ thanks to lesbianwangyibo for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>“Let the games begin.” Jin Guangyao’s glitchy final death thoughts about his boyf- sworn brothers, his daddy issues, and his manipulative schemes.</blockquote> ➤ fanvid focusing on jin guangyao, especially his relationships with lxc and nmj and qin su ➤ set to "Ready For It" by Taylor Swift ➤ this was so much FUN. the song makes it a real bop, experiencing jgy and his uhhhhhh Choices. the vid makes excellent use of his patented customer service smile also! ➤ thanks yet again to lookitmychicken for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>The truth was they had been friends. Three months is a long time to spend with someone, day after day, sharing meals and weary hours. At the time, Jiang Cheng really didn’t have anyone else and neither did Lan Wangji. It wasn’t only the search that bound them, but the desperation as well: that there might be some mercy in the world left for the two of them. That out of everyone else they’d lost, Wei Wuxian at least should live.</blockquote> ➤ exploring the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji; the three months of almost-friendship when they were searching for Wei Wuxian together, and then the many years of hatred that followed ➤ and yet lwj saves jc's life when he's injured in a night hunt. but they still hate each other. ➤ the deep well of bitterness on both sides, as both feel fully justified in their hate! god it's so good. the vibes in this fic are impeccable. ➤ 2k words in length ➤ thanks by-lookitmychicken for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>Wei Wuxian & Jin Guangyao as narrative mirrors.</blockquote> ➤ the bit it says about how people often talk about how lwj and lxc both put all their love and trust into one man, and only one of them was right to - but actually before his resurrection wwx ALSO causes a lot of death and harm to loved ones

Summary: <blockquote>In-between meeting back up at the start of ep 44 and returning to the burial mounds, the trio stops to get Wen Ning presentable for their upcoming trip through a small town.</blockquote> ➤ wen ning touch-starved and uncomfortable with the changes in his body as a fierce corpse

Summary: <blockquote>When Jiang Yanli was eight years old, she was sent on a visit to her grandmother in Meishan.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>“I think the member coordinator saw our Chinese names and was like, ‘Better send all the Chinese Jews to these guys,’” Ning said. “All the better!” Wuxian said, grinning. “Double holiday for everyone!” / The Wens host Sukkot/Mid-Autumn Festival.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Convinced Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian will never reconcile of their own accord, Jin Ling takes matters into his own hands by trapping both of his uncles alone, together, without their cultivation.</blockquote> ➤ yunmeng shuangjie - first fic is them talking post-canon and resolving nothing, but it ends with wwx knowing that there is something that potentially COULD be solved so the door is now open for more. and then in the sequel, from jc's pov, they fight a dog demon together and manage the beginnings of a reconciliation ➤ series consists of: murky waters many envies

Summary: <blockquote>“Okay,” Jingyi says, as Sizhui puzzles this out aloud. “Okay! So the demon has been turning its victims into children.” “I think so,” Sizhui says. “To make them easier prey,” Jingyi says. “Yes,” Sizhui says. “So—” Jingyi’s voice cracks here, “this kid is Senior Wei.” Wei Wuxian, still tangled in his own massive robes, blinks politely at them. (Or: Wei Wuxian is cursed on a night-hunt, and the junior quartet rapidly finds themselves in over their heads.)</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Who is to say when you first understood what really happened? At times it felt like a painting you’d looked at too closely, tracing your eyes over the delicate brushwork until you could no longer see trees and stones - so close that you could see where the ink feathered at the edge of the stroke, the way it soaked tiny claws into each individual fiber that made up the page. And then abruptly you’d blinked and there it was, as it always had been: the mountain. The waterfall. The arc of his intentions.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>Zixuan would like to be closer with his half-brother. He would like to skip all the awkward fumbly beginning bit where they don't know each other and just magically arrive at fraternal harmony, where they can joke around like the Jiangs and look out for each other like the Nies and have that spooky synchronicity like the Lans, but the truth is that he's never had a sibling, and he has no script or example for what you're meant to do when you discover one as an adult. They don't have years of in-jokes and growing pains to fall back on, they're basically just strangers who happen to share a parent. / the sickfic fixit in which JGY discovers the Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known and Zixuan discovers the Mortifying Ordeal of Getting To Know Other People</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>There's a demonic cultivator in Lu'an. Jiang Cheng goes to investigate. So does Wei Wuxian.</blockquote> ➤ yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation plus good oc's