LINKDING

Summary: Cang Qiong Mountain Sect AU - no Binghe and no Shen Yuan, just the original sect siblings being fundamentally dysfunctional without any outside help. “Shidi.” Yue Qingyuan breathed. He would burn cities for him. Only he never did. Yue Qingyuan makes the mistake of inviting Shen Jiu back to his house for tea. Tea and emotional torture. Nothing is said. Nothing will ever be said. ➤ hello I am murdered by how on point this fic is, it's perfect and I adore it ➤ svsss au qijiu fic from og!sqq's pov ➤ (trans sqq, for those to whom that's enticement!) ➤ no lbh or transmigration, so the complex relationships between the various peak lords keep marinating over decades ➤ I love how the vibes are so much older, more grounded and more ground down at the same time. and still sqq and yqy are full of all their Problems ➤ I loved the evolving beliefs sqq had about what must have happened to fill yqy with endless guilt towards him! ➤ and the ways sqq treats yqy, before and after the reveals...how things do & don't change ➤ and the beautiful physicality the narrative has in details like the tea, and the hair, and how both yqy & sqq use clothing to hide things about their bodies they don't want noticed ➤ and of course the sharply perceived characterisation! ➤ LOVED IT ➤ 23k words

quote: Andrew was convinced the writer had been trans. By this point his friends were tired of hearing about it, but he had no one else to tell besides the internet, and he was too smart for that. That would be asking for it. ➤ short story about a trans man who's obsessed with the m/m novels of a dead historical novelist who he's convinced was trans ➤ and about the dreams he has where he meets her and talks with her ➤ it's a story that feels unsatisfying but like, in a satisfying way? ➤ idk how to explain! it makes me want to reread it 3 more times and think about the way one's relationship with oneself is mediated through the stories one reads and loves ➤ it's really good ➤ 6k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Shen Qingqiu wakes up in his plant body after Huayue City. There is only one problem: Memory loss.</blockquote> ➤ an SVSSS bingqiu fanfic wherein sqq wakes up in his plant body with amnesia and makes a home in the small village nearby, blessing its crops ➤ lbh eventually comes through looking for his shizun, and sqq helps him ➤ trying to find the right words to describe the tone or flavour of a piece of writing can be so hard but imo that's one of the things this fic does best! it's got this like....distanced, fairy-tale, dreamy vibe that really drives home how disconnected sqq is from his life and his emotions here and it's so great ➤ (happy ending, of course!) ➤ 5k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>In the wake of Shen Qingqiu's death, the Old Palace Master decides to take what he thinks is an opportunity. Luo Binghe makes him regret it.</blockquote> ➤ lbh is having a totally chill time of it having a breakdown after his shizun dies ➤ the old palace master of huan hua is ALSO having a totally separate chill breakdown about once again having a disciple under his control (....he thinks) who looks like su xiyan ➤ when their breakdowns intersect, no prizes for guessing who wins lol ➤ It's Time For Binghe Angst ➤ such a good view into what might have happened at the very beginning of the 5 year period where sqq is dead! ➤ 5k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>Chu Wanning has a thin face, and gets embarrassed easily. They both know this. Mo Ran loves it, as he does every part of Chu Wanning, even if the man himself will shy away from any verbal professions of affection. To Mo Ran, it’s endearingly infuriating how Chu Wanning will allow Mo Ran to do all sorts of filthy things to him, but draws the line at being complimented with tender words. So. A compromise. / Chu Wanning takes a potion that puts his body to sleep, but leaves his mind awake, so Mo Ran (2.0) can be as tender as he wants without Chu Wanning getting too embarrassed and running away.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Poe guesses he’s a little fucked-up now, more than before. He certainly has a lot of nightmares. He tries to take it in stride. It doesn’t really surprise him. What had he expected? (Dead, he thinks. You expected to be dead.)</blockquote>

<blockquote>Bucky becomes Natasha. Natasha becomes the Winter Soldier.</blockquote> ➤ I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW. THIS IS SO GOOOOOOOOOD

<blockquote>The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. “The Litany of Earth” is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos.</blockquote> ➤ a subversion of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos ➤ see also Ex Urbe's excellent review of this story: http://www.exurbe.com/?p=2951

<blockquote>You're going to die in your best friend's arms. And you play along because it's funny, because it's written down, you've memorized it, it's all you know. - "Planet of Love," Richard Siken What if Mercutio sees the future? (Based on the 2013 Italian musical version, Romeo e Giulietta - Ama e Cambia il Mondo.)</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Our tsar has three sons. Handsome lads, if one appreciates such things. None are married...yet." The old woman snorts. "That's why you're here, though, isn't it?" "I'm to return the arrow to its archer. I know nothing beyond that. Other than it's," Vasilissa's mouth twists, "fate." "So you find it cruel?" The hut closes around her, the air warm and heavy. It's thick with the sent of rosemary and sage from the bundles of herbs hanging from the beams above them. The bones of previous suppers (hares and chickens and maybe even men) rattle in a hauntingly soothing melody. "I'd rather find it kind. But at the moment, I miss my shop." She shakes her head, and some of the syrupy warmth tugging at her mind fades. "It's childish of me, I know." "And you're no child."</blockquote>

<blockquote>To the city of York, in the year of our Lord 1780, there came a young man who had fallen upon hard times.</blockquote> ➤ or, how Childermass came to work for Norrell. ➤ An interesting story, and somewhat unsettling and stick-in-your-head in the way that any good fic about the magic of JS&MN ought to. ➤ It's -- oh, I'm describing it wrong. But this fic is extremely effective at feeling utterly like a part of the world of JS&MN.

<blockquote>The thing about being young is that it happens to most everyone.</blockquote>

<blockquote>We, the People: a thirty-year retrospective and an examination of the role of the Nation in world history, for Earth Atlantic, 7 December 2035, excerpt.</blockquote> ➤ this is one of those stories where I'm not quite sure I understand everything, but it's wonderful anyways