LINKDING

Summary: <blockquote>When Mu Qing glanced over at Xie Lian beside him, he was startled to find him already watching him. A small smile played on his lips. “You know, Mu Qing,” he started—and if Mu Qing didn’t know any better he would say he sounded almost shy— “no one else that I fight with feels like a challenge. You’re the best of them all.” Mu Qing’s throat was tight and his face was hot, like he was going to cry. His eyes were quite dry, though. “You’re the best. You always will be.” / Mu Qing can't seem to reconcile the simple facts of his relationship to the crown prince with his more complicated feelings for Xie Lian.</blockquote> ➤ mu qing pov from the xianle trio era ➤ ft. class issues and teen relationship drama ➤ xie lian is an enormous martial arts nerd and a naive but shining prince; mu qing is pining but hyper-aware of class boundaries and how everyone sees him; feng xin is ready to judge ➤ it's so great and succeeds so well at what it's doing, I love it ➤ I love the last scene, which it ends on, about xie lian's appearance after he ascends. perfect ending to the fic ➤ 7k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Shi Qingxuan rarely felt tempted to drink much when she was hanging out with Ming Yi. It was easy enough in her presence, even while sober, for Shi Qingxuan to reassure herself, Everyone loves you and you're the most beautiful person around and Ge is proud of you and you are wished well in every room you leave.</blockquote> ➤ also on dw at https://appendix.dreamwidth.org/9769.html ➤ and dvd commentary at https://headstone.dreamwidth.org/12520.html ➤ the destabilizing sense of uncertainty sqx has despite at the same time having a deep well of trust for and delight in Ming Yi's place in sqx's life! and that same sense of uncertainty/certainty in her own self too, and the ways in which the backstory segments intertwine with the now

Summary: <blockquote>Hua Cheng huffs out a laugh. “You do have terrible luck,” he agrees. “And mine is quite good. But you don’t know that you wouldn’t win it back. Play with me?” “San Lang,” chides Xie Lian, voice crinkling gently as it’s swept along to the midpoint between amusement and fondness. “Are you going to let me win again?” “Depends,” says Hua Cheng, “on what you’re betting, Gege.” / A search, a gambling table, and the events thereof.</blockquote> ➤ a great look at the two of them in a mid-canon stage in their relationship, and the careful dance the two of them are engaged in, getting closer and closer to each other, has a delicious frisson here

<blockquote>In his dreams, Xiao Jiu is dead. Post-canon, Yue Qingyuan receives a series of unsettling visitations. It's probably nothing to worry about. "Tell me, Sect Leader: in your vast and storied experience, what do the dead usually want with the living?"</blockquote> ➤ tags: <blockquote>#sometimes a ship is just two codependent assholes who deserve to haunt each other for all eternity #and that's okay #look I think this is a fix-it but ymmv </blockquote>

<blockquote> Shang Qinghua sighed. “Well, I suppose men will always be led by their bedpartners.” [...] As Liu Qingge left the other peak lords behind, he considered this latest weapon in his arsenal. Could he use it to defeat Shen Qingqiu, and finally become Yue Qingyuan’s favorite? And, more importantly, would it be dishonorable? No, he decided. It would be the bond of warriors. Liu Qingge wants to be Yue Qingyuan's favorite shidi. Shen Qingqiu doesn't want to let him. Yue Qingyuan just wants his martial brothers to get along. And nobody gets what they want. </blockquote> ➤ delicious complicated relationships that never get resolved! sort of gen, sort of poly?