LINKDING

Summary: Xie Lian lounged across from him, the dice cup on the tea table askew to reveal two sixes beneath. His Highness had - helped along with subtle doses of luck as the dice were passed to him - won decisively. Still, though he had drunk much less, the effect on him was more pronounced. // Xie Lian can have a little to drink and do a bit of gambling, as long as he maintains a tranquil heart. That should be very easy. ➤ tgcf hualian post-canon fic ➤ god this is cute, they're so CUTE!!! ➤ hua cheng and xie lian happy and comfortable together, having fun teasing and playing a drinking game ➤ the vibes are sooooo good I'm so charmed! ➤ 2k words in length

Summary: It was easy to want what you couldn't have. Ever since her father had told her that she was destined for the royal harem, Jian Lan had been confident she'd make it to the rank of consort. But she'd also known that, in the meantime, she'd be having a passionate love affair with some unsuitable man around the palace. ➤ TGCF fic about the era after xianle falls to yong'an, when Jian Lan finds work in a brothel ➤ Jian Lan's perspective on her developing relationship with Feng Xin ➤ I love the sharpness, the awkwardness, the quiet ground-down miseries - and yet the grasping onto what hope and beauty and love that can be found in the midst of it all ➤ Jian Lan and Feng Xin are doing their best! I'm emotions ➤ and I love the gentle femdom that Jian Lan leans into when Feng Xin's women issues make it challenging for them to have sex <3 ➤ 5k words in length

Summary: "After all, this gracious daozhang has been spoiling me so much lately, and it’s high time I returned the favor.” Xie Lian trailed to a stop behind Hua Cheng, looking a little lost as Hua Cheng leaped briskly up the steps. Once there, he stopped to flash an impish grin in Xie Lian’s direction. “If dianxia has no objections– allow /me/ to make dinner tonight.” 🍲 In which 'home' isn't a place, but the people in it. (Or, "Good Soup: the fic") ➤ a sweet hualian fic from before they get together ➤ about hua cheng and xie lian cooking together at puqi shrine, and about what makes the feeling of home ➤ lots of great food details! ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: Xie Lian had humoured Mu Qing's desperate resistance for only a few blows before putting a stop to it with a flourish. Now the worn broom Mu Qing had improvised as a weapon lay in pieces on the grass, the royal boot was on his chest, and the royal sword was at his throat. ➤ xianle era, mu qing has presented as an alpha, and xie lian wants to protect him ➤ mu qing desperately horny and mad about it, xie lian obliviously sublimating all of his feelings into Isn't Swordfighting Great :D ➤ I love mu qing's suspicious and pessimistic pov, it's so perfect and so him! ➤ a delightful little glimpse into this world! ➤ 1k words in length

➤ the He Xuan abortion drabble. and omgggg bloodletter nails it.

Summary: It holds its own hand in front of its face. Rotates it around. Examines through the darkness the sharp knuckles, the bony wrist, the unnatural pallor of its skin. This must be his body, it realizes. His body as it was before it was burned: starved, mad, and dead, but not rotten yet. / He Xuan is sent to prison. Later, he dies. He persists nonetheless. Over the centuries, two people are constants: one who knows nearly everything there is to know about him, and one who hardly knows him at all. ➤ the He Xuan magnum opus we don't deserve but are fortunate enough to get to read anyway ➤ following hx from the beginning until after the end, with theeeee most perfect narrative voice possible for hx ➤ I spent the entire fic internally shrieking with delight bc everything about it is so good!!! ➤ the hx characterisation, the beefleaf relationship complexities, the whatever it is they have of hx and hc....the tiny perfect xie lian cameos, even! it's all! so good!!!! ➤ READ IT READ IT READ IT ➤ 64k words in length

Summary: Ling Wen wakes up in Hua Cheng's bed. ➤ omg I am LIVING, someone wrote me so many words of ling wen fic wherein post-canon ling wen bodyswaps with xie lian ➤ the ling wen pov in this fic is sooooo good, her pragmatic approach to dealing with whatever happens in her life, her disinterest in attending to her emotions, her independence and unwillingness to rely on anyone who isn't her ➤ and seeing xie lian and hua cheng through ling wen's eyes is so good too!! ➤ there are so many fun character relationship dynamics, connected with a really fun premise, and I loved it all ➤ 8k words in length

Summary: She was going to blame the wine in the morning. ➤ beefleaf prior to the black water arc ➤ sqx and her bff ming-xiong go to a party together! sqx explains to the hostess why ming-xiong is such a good friend, and it's definitely not about sex! ➤ they absolutely do have really good sex sometimes though. including at this party. ➤ the dynamics between sqx and hx are soooo good ➤ and ditto sqx having a great time being a beautiful woman at multiple after-parties, after the mid-autumn banquet ➤ what a delightful little gem of a fic ➤ 2k words in length

Summary: Pleasuring Wu Ming won’t break Xie Lian’s cultivation. But it will go against what has always been expected of him, and he feels a perverse sort of glee at the thought of doing something so uncharacteristic of his old self. A boot on that flower, grinding it further into the mud. He tilts his head at Wu Ming. “So?” he asks. “Did you lie? Will you run, now that you know what I want from you?” / Xie Lian pressures Wu Ming into giving him spiritual energy via a blowjob, with the goal of pushing him away before he leaves on his own. Wu Ming doesn’t want Xie Lian like this. ➤ ooh a compellingly painful fic about xie lian testing the limits of wu ming's devotion, leading to a sexual encounter that neither of them feel great about ➤ it's so very them for that period in their history: xie lian trying to push wu ming away because he thinks wu ming is better off elsewhere but doing it by being horrible to him, and wu ming feeling an awful mix of self-loathing and heady excitement for getting to be touched this way by dianxia ➤ 1k words in length

Summary: Feng Xin caught a whiff of soap from the bedsheets, just barely there beneath the aroma of the candle glowing on the bedside table. The fine fabric was fresh and soft against his skin as he joined Xie Lian under the blankets. For some reason, that set him on edge. ➤ yessss ➤ omggg this is exactly the kind of dynamics I love to see between Feng Xin and Mu Qing during the Xianle era ➤ fx and xl are so SWEET together and fx and mq are so....united in their mutual disdain for each other and how they're connected with each other ➤ and how sex with each other doesn't actually change any part of that for fengqing; they have a good time having hatesex, they still hate each other, they're connected forever via their hatred for each other and their mutual love of xl, and their mutual inability to understand /how/ the other approaches their love for xl ➤ it's just so good!!!! ➤ 3k words in length

summary: <blockquote>It was a gusty night in the hills as young lady Shi approached the scholar Ming’s estate. </blockquote> ➤ hello impeccable gothic vibes beefleaf ➤ also, doing great things with gender. also, contains MUFFING. (thank u Fucking Trans Women for teaching me about muffing) ➤ this is so beefleaf. I love them both so much <3 ➤ 2k words in length ➤ blood-drinking but not vampires

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>Hua Cheng only wants to have Xie Lian's full and complete attention.</blockquote> ➤ hualian fanvid of the TGCF donghua set to Vienna Teng's "Never Look Away" ➤ ahhhhh it's just very feelings!!!! ➤ audio is song-only ➤ youtube video includes lyric captions ➤ 3:16 in length

Summary: <blockquote>A facet of reality where Quan Yizhen has something Hua Cheng wants, for a change.</blockquote> ➤ tgcf canon divergence au where quan yizhen finds the coffin containing the guoshi fangxin ➤ a fun look at a different way for xie lian and hua cheng to meet again, and for quan yizhen and yin yu to meet again! ➤ 9k words in length

Summary: <blockquote>He watches her that night, like he hasn’t done in months, a specter outside her bedroom window, a breeze in the dark night. Her things are, as always, scattered around her bed where she dropped them upon falling asleep. He can’t help but take notice that the fan is in a place of pride, tacked up on the wall next to polaroid pictures of — he realizes with a start — the two of them. He remembers her taking the pictures, shoving that too-big retro camera in his face and squishing the two of them together tight enough that He Xuan’s cheek brushed against hers. He shakes the memory off and watches her sleep, her chest slowly rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.</blockquote> ➤ beefleaf modern reincarnation! reincarnation isn't usually my thing but I liked how it was handled here ➤ he xuan has not developed any more chill over the years between when sqx dies and when sqx is finally reincarnated ➤ he xuan's pov is very fun. the drama! the pathos! meanwhile sqx is clearly just having a nice time bonding with he-jie. beefleaf always about contrasts :) ➤ I believe in u, he xuan! you can do it! have an actual relationship with sqx!! ➤ also the gender stuff is great. ➤ 6k words in length ➤ thanks to roland for the rec!

Summary: <blockquote>“This is…” Mei Nianqing’s gaze flickers between Jun Wu—tired, shackled, familiar—and the recently unmasked figure beside him. Two pairs of deep black eyes regard him from nearly identical faces. “...unexpected.” / Jun Wu experiences qi deviation and has to deal with the consequences.</blockquote> ➤ wow?!?! jun wu is such a disaster and this is amazing ➤ post-canon, jun wu has a qi deviation that splits off a younger version of himself as bai wuxiang ➤ mei nianqing suggests that jun wu can fix it by dual cultivating with himself. jun wu is NOT into it but makes it work with mei nianqing's help. ➤ 3k words in length ➤ thanks to @xieliansbignaturals@blorbo.social for the rec!!!

Summary: <blockquote>He almost feels like he should write a book; “How to Break into Heaven, a Guide for Ghosts”. Step one: Ask your fellow ghost king for undercover advice, seeing as he did it for decades. Step one-point-five: Ghosts aren’t supposed to be in the Heavenly Court, so no one thinks to look for them anyway. Step two: Ironically, pray. End of book. / Xie Lian tests a theory, Hua Cheng goes on a date, and Heaven suffers.</blockquote> ➤ xie lian gets an idea for a fun adventure and hua cheng loves to indulge his husband's mischievous side (I LOVE THIS) ➤ the idea: if hua cheng went to heaven wearing clothes that aren't red, would anyone recognize him? ➤ a charming and cute fic! ➤ 3k words in length ➤ thanks to by-xieliansbignaturalsby-blorbo.social for the rec!

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>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>Hua Cheng wakes up in a long-robbed tomb older than Xianle, cursed shackles on his neck and ankle and hope hammering in his stolen heart. Xie Lian awakens in a bed. This is somehow more disconcerting. / In which a body-swapping curse brings two people together.</blockquote> ➤ canon divergence story where ghost king hua cheng manages to catch up with his god in a different way ➤ that way: xie lian accidentally triggered a curse and now he's swapped bodies with a mysterious ghost....? ➤ (INCREDIBLE premise) ➤ I love xl and hc's very different reactions to finding themselves in each other's bodies ➤ I think my favourite part though might be poor yin yu doing his best to handle the situation, between hc's firm instructions on how to treat xl, and xl's equally firm opinions on what to do ➤ a very fun read overall! ➤ 6k words in length