LINKDING

excerpt: Sandrine dropped into the chair beside me and stretched her back dramatically. I took the opportunity to admire the view, as I was sure she intended. “Ugh!” She wiggled her fingers high overhead. “Never be a compositor, Mylène my beauty. You’ll have to typeset a scholar’s list of sources in eight point, half of them in Greek.” “I don’t speak a word of Greek,” I pointed out, though it didn’t need saying. When would a girl from a little Normandy village have learned such a thing as Greek? Sandrine was the one who had grown up in this printshop two streets from the Quartier Latin, not me. I had the impression that she didn’t read it terribly well herself, come to that; the king’s censors had been striking out texts so eagerly recently that the shop had been taking on jobs we might ordinarily have farmed out. ➤ as one would expect from the venue, this short story is about historical lesbians! ➤ specifically, historical lesbians working in a parisian printshop in 1830 (2 years before Les Mis is set, if that's relevant for you) ➤ ahhhh I love all the different women in this story, their relationships with each other and their work and their beliefs ➤ and the main character a provincial girl who's finding a place for herself and coming to understand the world of revolutionary paris she's found herself in! ➤ I also love how real and grounded the printshop work is that they all do ➤ it was great from start to finish <3 ➤ and yes the author is a friend but I'm not biased at all!! ➤ 5k words in length ➤ available as written text and as podcast; I have been told that the podcast version is excellent too.

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

excerpt: We drove out to Joshua Tree for the star party—a gathering of amateur astronomers under a clear, dark sky. It was Holly’s idea, an impromptu adventure on a Friday after work: “Hey, Lou, do you want to go look at the moon tonight?” Holly had the best ideas and the worst ideas, and in the daylight, it was hard to tell them apart at first glance. I took a gamble. I said yes. And I meant it—I wanted nothing more than to lay down under the Milky Way with my hand in hers and gaze into forever. For a long time, our love was the biggest thing I knew how to believe in. ➤ an sff novelette about family dynamics, religion, queerness, trauma, and the beauty of the night sky ➤ it's a horrifying story even as it's also beautiful, exploring its ideas in ways that leave me not quite sure what to think about any of it, but in a way that's clearly done with purpose and care ➤ content note for explicit child murder. I am serious about the horrifying aspects of the story! but if it's something you feel able to read, it's definitely worth it imo ➤ 9k words in length

Summary: “Also,” Elizabeth says. “This place is hard on panties. You’re not supposed to laugh when I say things like that.” ➤ SGA fic featuring Elizabeth/Teyla ➤ I love how this combines soft affection, practical conversation, and comfortable sexuality all at the same time! ➤ so lovely ➤ 1k words in length

Summary: Whenever Shen Yuan thought of Luo Binghe, she got a weird feeling in her stomach, like she was hungry, like she was about to fall. So she stopped thinking long enough to lay down on the sofa. Luo Binghe wasn’t like other women. She had a perfect body: strong, but also soft. She could pick Shen Yuan up, but she also made a good pillow. She was an excellent cook, but she hated to have help in the kitchen and would only let Shen Yuan sit on the counter and watch. She was highly intelligent, with a memory like a trap and a natural aptitude for learning. But she was cute, too—she liked to hold onto Shen Yuan during scary movies, and if Shen Yuan didn’t pat her on the head and tell her ‘good job’, she pouted. ➤ a cute little modern au f/f bingqiu get-together! ➤ lbh comes over to sy's apartment to cook for her on a rainy day ➤ binghe is SO good at working around her yuan-jie's heterosexual hangups 🥰 ➤ 2.5k words in length

Summary: Shang Qinghua is dropped without warning into an archaic alternate universe, ie. the Oxford University collegiate system. And, okay, there would have been a warning if she read the college brochure properly before she applied… ➤ modern AU f/f moshang where they meet as college roommates ➤ I appreciate that it's set in a specific college and the details about it are made use of to build out the sense of setting ➤ I love sqh's narrative pov, she's so funny! ➤ I also love the glimpses we get into the cumplane friendship and into the whole....situation sqq has going on with the harem of young men who are in love with him while sqq is oblivious to how gay everything is. ➤ and the moshang is super cute. mbj and sqh are both bad at communicating, in very different ways, and mbj is doing her best! ➤ 9k words in length

summary: <blockquote>“Tell you what,” said Yushi Huang. “I’ll make you a deal, Ling Wen Zhen Jun.” Almost no one used her title at all, even fewer with respect. She couldn’t quite read Yushi Huang’s tone. “If you can tell me exactly what this is,” she nodded to the creature curled in the corner, "and what it does, I will turn it in the moment we get back for tagging and proper categorization." Ling Wen raised an eyebrow. So the enigmatic Rain Master already knew the creature's properties. "And if I don't?" Yushi Huang smiled, infuriatingly gentle. "Admitting defeat so soon? How unlike you." Ling Wen drew herself up and inclined her head, knowing herself to be rising to bait but seeing no real reason to resist. "I accept your terms."</blockquote> ➤ tgcf space au featuring ling wen/yushi huang, HELLO ➤ yushi huang's deliberate mysteriousness, and the way she uses it to flirt and get the upper hand with ling wen! ➤ ling wen enjoying having something to research that's for FUN instead of for work! ➤ the interesting development of the setting, and ways the characters and backstories have been tweaked to fit! ➤ LOVED IT. ➤ 4k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Qin Su is a surprise when Meng Yao brings her to Wen Qing, mid-war. Even more so when she stays.</blockquote> ➤ Wen Qing/Qin Su canon divergence fic! joining forces along with Meng Yao to spy on the Wens :))) ➤ Qin Su is a character who I always love to see being given more scope for complexities and personhood and decisions than we get to see in canon and this fic delivers ➤ also it really lets itself inhabit that period where Wen Qing is working for Wen Ruohan and everything that means ➤ the subtleties of how the relationships between Qin Su and Wen Qing and Meng Yao are portrayed in this fic are soooo good ➤ 2k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>All Lady Pole and Arabella Strange want to do is forget their time in Faerie, but a message comes from a certain king... and he has gifts to offer.</blockquote> ➤ post-canon Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell fic, about Arabella and Emma and a trip to Faerie ➤ much of it told through letters and journal entries ➤ I love the developing relationship between the two women, how important they are to each other, and how Arabella's relationship with the missing Jonathan is treated at the same time ➤ and the sense of the numinous (and of the things that cannot be known) fits just right into the way it's handled in canon! ➤ what a good fic. one I will definitely want to return to to reread. ➤ 9k 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>Never let it be said that Bertie Wooster will abandon a pal in need, even if that pal is a woman who is temporarily in possession of his body and he doesn’t fully understand what’s going on.</blockquote> ➤ a delightfully charming Jeeves/Wooster story wherein Wooster is bodyswapped with Honoria Glossop ➤ I loved the original character Tilly and I was SO cheering on the Tilly/Honoria ship! ➤ and of course Wooster and Jeeves are beautifully themselves as always ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>It's been more than a week since Artemisia last got a letter from Marguerite.</blockquote> ➤ Artemisia/Marguerite fic for the book Vespertine, a post-canon adventure ➤ look I have a terrible memory and don't remember most of what happened in Vespertine but I DO remember I loved the book, and this felt like a great addition to it ➤ Artemisia stops getting letters from Marguerite and immediately knows it means something is wrong and goes after her ➤ investigating a creepy group of people with the help of her revenant! ➤ Marguerite isn't just a damsel waiting for rescue! ➤ I really enjoyed it ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>More than a decade before the Met Gala job, Lou Miller finds an interesting business opportunity and meets an even more interesting business partner.</blockquote> ➤ pre-canon story for Ocean's 8, telling the story of how Lou and Debbie met each other and the first con they worked together! ➤ a fun story with a con that does a good job of fulfilling the story's needs ➤ I really enjoyed the Debbie/Lou dynamics! ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>i don’t know, writing a paper with her could be… fun? i mean, what’s the worst that can happen? / From: leldiwanyby-uea.edu To: mwright21by-kcl.edu Subject: Re: Re: Re: Fuck you M– If you think we’re citing fucking Samuel Kline[...] [three paragraphs snipped – click to expand]</blockquote> ➤ fic about the made-up film Goncharov, by which I mean, fic about the made-up academics who study the real-in-their-world film Goncharov and have fights about it in academic journals, and also write fic about it ➤ told entirely via text messages, ao3 comments, academic paper abstracts, and emails ➤ yes obviously it's enemies-to-lovers ➤ it's completely delightful, I love everything about it ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Ask me something only I would know." You say this to your wife because you know you’re human. You can feel it in the familiar ache in your back, and the fear writhing in your guts. You feel it in the cold seeping into your bare feet from the kitchen floor. You know you’re real because you remember. You know I’m the duplicate. The imposter. The monster.</blockquote> ➤ a woman with a gun is faced with two identical people who both claim to be her wife ➤ it's a fascinating short horror story about shape-shifting monsters who can duplicate human forms ➤ told through the pov of a shape-shifter! ➤ 2k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Chu Wanning went up the stairs with the same hesitation with which she'd descended. Each moment was an opportunity to turn back. To be good. She unfastened the latch instead.</blockquote> ➤ rule 63 modern au f/f ranwan ➤ chu wanning has atticwifed taxian-jun ➤ cwn is SO horny for her wife (wives) but can't let herself just enjoy that ➤ CHU WANNING. ➤ 1k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Ning Yingying likes Luo Binghe. Then a bunch of stuff with demons and the fate of the world happens. Then she likes Liu Mingyan. Or: Yingying’s guide to fantasies, real life, what we want and what we get.</blockquote> ➤ liu mingyan and ning yingying's developing relationship as they find ways to open up and be real with each other ➤ it's so cute!! ➤ I love how it talks about the experience of gender, how nyy likes that with lmy she isn't expected to be a demure flower, and lmy likes that she doesn't have to be perfect, and none of that excludes them from belonging as a woman who loves women ➤ and also they bond over writing RPS, obvs ➤ 3k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Shen Qingqiu hates Proud Immortal Demon Way's sex scenes. Shang Qinghua tries to change her mind. With a hands-on demo.</blockquote> ➤ yes more tshirt fic, can't stop won't stop ➤ this one's about shang qinghua and shen qingqiu arguing about whether sqh's sex scenes are at all believable ➤ which of course leads to a hands-on demonstration ➤ during which OBVIOUSLY they don't stop arguing ➤ it's so funny and so in character and it's amazing ➤ the excerpts from pidw that are read aloud as evidence are also peak comedy ➤ also it's rule 63 ➤ 3k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Anne had thought herself quite finished with wanting, but this want, once stumbled upon, would not quietly lay itself down in the grave with the others." Eight years changes a person, but not beyond all recognition. Fred Wentworth and Anne Elliot, years after a final break, find that they are more alike, in some respects, than they thought before.</blockquote> ➤ a rewrite of Persuasion featuring butch 4 butch Anne/Frederick ➤ god it's so GOOD and I am so EMOTIONAL about it ➤ I love all the ways in which it is both the same and different, the ways their identities affect the things they do and the choices they make ➤ and I mentioned in an earlier post how meaningful it is to be able to see gender non-conforming people like me in historical fiction, living their lives, finding ways to be happy, finding their community. shaking hands with them across time. I see you and you see me. ➤ making Persuasion specifically be the story told is so perfect too because of how it's about getting to know yourself better when you've had time to grow up more ➤ also there's lots of excellently-researched historical content ➤ and lots of feels ➤ READ IT READ IT READ IT ➤ it's such a lovely ending and I nearly cried about it ➤ 47k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>"Really, Xie Lian, you don't even jerk it??" Shi Qingxuan insists. "I mean it's none of my business and you can tell me to fuck off, but holy shit, lady." Xie Lian laughs, feeling her cheeks color, and shrugs again. "I don't know, something about the mechanics of it just never made sense to me," she admits. "And anyway that's time I should be spending studying." / It comes out that Xie Lian's never had an orgasm. She goes to Hua Cheng for help. • theyre lesbians</blockquote> ➤ modern au where hualian are lesbians ➤ xie lian has never had an orgasm, and hua cheng offers to help by loaning her a toy ➤ obviously the help ends up going further than that ➤ it's just so cute and sweet how much xl and hc love each other and take care of each other and are clearly SUPER into each other! ➤ and how good they are about each other's weird hangups about sex! ➤ 19k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>“Ah,” Shang Qinghua expels with a heavy breath, “this bed of yours, it really is too comfortable. I could stay in it forever.” Then do, Mobei Jun fiercely thinks and doesn’t say.</blockquote> ➤ rule 63 post-canon moshang from mbj's pov, featuring a pining mbj who can't understand why sqh doesn't seem to be interested in being her queen even though sqh is happy enough to have sex with her ➤ gorgeously desperate and despairing, lyrical and in love and hopeless about it ➤ mbj's pov is amazing, and so is seeing sqh through mbj's eyes ➤ note that the fic ends with the pining situation unresolved, but the author is planning a sequel, and the fic is satisfying as it is as well! ➤ 17k 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>Thinking about wlw Wei Ying wearing skimpier and skimpier outfits to do her early morning workouts in the living room of the apartment she shares with Lan Zhan. She’s never worked out so much before, but Lan Zhan looks so good with delicately flushed ears and a flat startled look.</blockquote>

Summary: <blockquote>No matter how she tries to word it, the question is going to sound terribly awkward. Even if San Niang is the most trustworthy person Xie Lian knows, she might decide to simply hang up and go back to sleep. “I wondered… I mean, since then I have been wondering if maybe what Shi Qingxuan was suggesting might not be entirely out of the realm of possibility,” she rushes through this as quickly as possible, squeezing her eyes closed as she speaks. “I don’t really know how to judge what I’m, um, supposed to feel.” “About… women?” San Niang says, posing the question tentatively. “Yes,” Xie Lian says, breathing it out. “Oh,” San Niang says, just as softly. “Okay. Um.”</blockquote>

<blockquote>Patty took Abby by the arm and gently towed her into the booth, where they could pretend to have some privacy. Holtzmann was warming up her soldering iron and Erin was trying to teach Kevin how to use his iPhone contacts: the privacy was mildly less illusory than usual. "What's the deal with the three of you?" "We're scientists?" Abby said. "Unless you meant to include Kevin." "Bless that child, no." Patty gestured from Abby to Holtzmann (gleefully affixing things to other things with molten metal) and then to Erin. "I mean, this situation." "We all believe in ghosts?" Abby tried. "We all have Ph.D.s?" Patty looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Is this some kind of Sisterhood of the Traveling Lab Coat or do you have a history?" "None of us wear lab coats," Abby said.</blockquote>

<blockquote>In which a bored hacker and an AI with a terrible job strike up a conversation, and determine that they are flirting. (Algorithmically.)</blockquote>