i really want to write a horny ass arcana fanfic where the apprentice/reader and Asra are dating and they both fuck and fall in love with Julian separately for months but Julian doesn’t know they’re dating and when he finds out he thinks they’re cheating on each other with him when in reality the two of them like to discuss his kinks over tea.
The only problem is i’ve never written even the tiniest lick of smut before.
As someone who has vision problems that make me usually only see out of one eye I actually am not offended and wish people made more content clowning on hua cheng for only having 1 eye. So I propose modern au hc hasn't told xl that he's half blind yet and wears glass eyes around him and so when xl takes him to a 3d movie he just has to sit in silence thinking gege I do not think this is intended for me
Airport meetcute moshang where CEO!MBJ is trying to woo single dad!SQH, which I assume includes spoiling him w duty free shopping and buying them expensive airport food (Liddo LBH definitely takes advantage of this while SQH does what he does and doesn’t understand MBJ’s intentions at all lmao)
The truth comes out! SQH likes MBJ?!
(and is god, but that's not as important)
Hello! With Netflix adding Tcgf I anticipate some new people to the fandom. I am pretty new my self (Just since the first season finished airing), but I’ve been DEVOURING fanfics like there’s no tomorrow. I thought it might be nice to share a recommendation list for you all to get started! This is by no means complete and I’ll do my best to mark which ones have spoilers. Also these are just my options PLEASE go through the tag on AO3 as there are some amazing stories I just haven’t gotten to yet!
Explicit, No Archive Warnings apply
Spoilers- Non unless you don't know the basic plot of TCGF
This one. If you take no other recommendations from me, PLEASE read this one. It is a modern actor AU where XL has moved to LA after an accident on set and subsequent scandal. SQX then sets him up with a very hot, very shirtless art student to be his roommate while he's out of town. I cannot express how much I love this fic. I’ve re-read it more times than I can count and it just holds a special place in my heart. Needless to say I HIGHLY recommend it!
General, No Archive Warnings Apply
SPOILERS- Chapter 2 references the worst thing that has happened to Xie Lian. If you're not sure what that is, then you don't know.
One of the first things you’ll learn about Hualian, is that we have some great hurt and comfort content. This is a sick fic where XL seems to really come down with something bad and HC struggles to figure out how to help his god. An enthralling read and again one I’ve gone back to a couple of times. And bonus: the author put in their art throughout the first few chapters!
Explicit, No Archive Warnings Apply
Spoilers- Again, basic plot points of TCGF
This one is self-indulgent, and a personal favorite. Do you like Recency Era high society content? Do you like swooning over hand-holding? Do you like questioning if it’s proper for HC to take XL home in his carriage without a chaperone?? Maybe even some indecent cuddle for warmth??? Then oh boy do is this the fic for you!
Explicit, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death
Spoilers- None beyond basic
An AU where XL is a prince who seeks out help from the gods when his people are burning. Little did he know he'd be making a deal with a very sexy HC. Mind the tags, but highly recommend!
Edit: Fic updated 12/28 with an epilogue. HIGHLY recommend
Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply
I actually recommend everything @naamah-beherit has written for TCGF! I especially love their cannon rewrite series Crimson and Clover, but that is basically all spoilers.
Instead, I'll recommend their Modern accidental marriage AU. Well, it's not exactly an accident. XL's dad arranges a marriage for him without his permission, and HC's like "hell no, we're getting married instead". It also deals a lot with XL's mental health, and we even get to see him go to therapy! This is an incomplete fic, but each chapter is like its own little episode so you're never left frustrated that the chapters over (at least as of chapter 7). Great story so far and you should definitely subscribe for updates once you get caught up!
Explicit, No Archive Warnings Apply
Spoilers- None unless you don't know why XL gets so nervous when they talk about the White Calamity (briefly mentioned in Chapter 5)
Do you like seeing two people in a relationship talk about what they are comfortable with and communicate as they figure out intimacy together? If so, this is the fic. I'm an acespec person, so I personally really appreciated this story for really going slow and even exploring what happens if mistakes are made. Considering how many Kudos and Hits this thing has, I'm pretty sure it's required reading at this point, but I recommend non-the-less!
Teens and Up, No Archive Warnings Apply
Spoilers- None
This one is so funny. The gay panic alone had my crying with laughter, but then you have Shi Qingxuan dragging Feng Xin and Mu Quing down to ghost city to work her Matchmaking god magic. I'm laughing now just thinking about some of the things that go down in this fic. It is a great one if you want to smile, and there's some great fan art that Checa drew for it!
Teens and Up, No Archive Warnings Apply
Spoilers- If you don't know about the ring then don't read this. Midway through Chapter 3, you get into more spoilers through references. I'd say this is a very spoilery fic.
This one saw XL's tendency for disaster and recognized the comedic GOLD that could be mined. SO SO funny. lots of spoilers though so if you're dongua only and avoiding spoilers, save this one for later! It’s definitely worth it.
Explicit, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death
Spoilers- Do you know who Wu Ming is? If not, move along (also if you don't know anything about what happened in Xian Le)
This is technically a sequel to To Love a God, but that one is all pain train (in the best ways so still recommend), and this one is just *chef kisses*. Again VERY spoilers, but so worth it. It starts very plot and heavy, but then it shifts to domestic fluff, bed-sharing and so much pinning. It's honestly everything I want in a fic, so definitely check it out!
Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence
Spoilers- General plot points (maybe, kind of blanking on this one)
This is where I mention that our art god STARember has blessed us with so many masterpieces and that almost all of them have great fics inspired by them. This one is a Mermaid AU, which I recommend for its uniquely moody atmosphere. I love the mermaid lore and the plot gets genuinely harrowing at one point (mind the tags). If you like that kind of drama and angst, this is a great place to get your fix.
And there you have it! 10 (plus some) fics I recommend you check out! I've been keeping a much longer list for my roommate, so let me know if you're interested in more. I'm also interested in the fics you're reading and would love your recommendations as well!
Also just want to give a general THANK YOU to all these authors. You've given me such joy over these past few months, and I cant wait to see what you all write next. (Also, I’m a big fan of all of you and think you’re really cool)
Thanks everyone! -May
i was up late last night crying about tgcf (what’s new) and for some reason i decided to type up a notes app page about how much xie lian would love pokémon go. enjoy. (light spoilers ig?)
- aims to collect every single pokémon (and he’s frighteningly close to this goal. good god does he ever put the game down?)
- the “do not enter dangerous areas while playing” warning was created for him (does nothing)
- his bad luck causes him to fall in ditches and walk into Dangerous Territory 24/7, hua cheng has to accompany him on these trips every time just to make sure he doesn’t get himself detained by government forces somehow
- before the warning was created he would genuinely consider hopping fences into other peoples yards/private territory bc “there’s a gengar in here i know it.”
- cue xl standing in the loading dock of a local target store trying desperately to catch a bulbasaur. the workers ask him what the hell he’s doing there and how he got in in the first place but he’s too engrossed, he doesn’t even hear them
- he names his favorite pokémon after people he knows (bonus if he deliberates on which pokémon each person looks like - “as a supreme, he xuan could be gyrados, but he physically resembles vaporeon more. or… maybe he’d be a ditto?”)
- he uses the AR function constantly. san lang laughs himself silly watching xl spinning in circles, looking up and down to find the pokémon
- actual gym god, he always controls every gym within 100 miles of him and people *have* complained to the devs about him/reported him for cheating (but he genuinely got such strong pokémon through valid and wholesome means)
- loves gym raids. adores them. tries to get his friends to join him in raids but nobody ever does— he honestly doesn’t need any of them anyway, and quite enjoys the struggle of a tough battle fought on his own
- none of the children nearby refer to him as a daoist priest or as a scrap-collector anymore. instead he’s the pokémon master. he sends them gifts and eggs in-game every day without fail
- puqi shrine is a pokéstop. i said it. fuck that it’s a gym and it always has incense/lure modules on it
- his bad luck makes it so that even a cp14 wurmple is suddenly the most agile, finicky, stubborn bitch imaginable. this has, however, caused xl to adapt and he is now horrifyingly accurate with his tosses when catching pokémon
- they still break free once or twice before he can actually *catch* them though.
- he has asked hua cheng to lend him some luck when catching certain pokémon he really wants tho and ofc hc can never deny his dianxia of what he wants, especially if it’s a sHINY PICHU YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SAN LANG ITS SO RARE IVE NEVER SEEN ONE BEFORE
pls add more i love this concept
Imagine Xie Lian as a modern day recipe blogger. He'd have paragraphs of over sharing before even getting to the mechanics or ingredients of the recipe, but somehow you'd never learn a thing about him with 100% certainty. Besides maybe how much he loves his husband.
Be like, "there is a deep loneliness in dark chocolate. Bitter, yet sweet, like it doesn't know what it wants to be. I struggled with identity as well, in my 20s. A dark time in my life just like the color of the chocolate."
"Make sure not to over mix the cake batter! The eggshells create a perfect crunchy texture that my husband loves!"
the comedic value of xie lian and hua cheng travelling together in the mortal world gets much higher when you remember that xie lian ascended at 17 and looks the exact same at 800+ yrs old, while hua cheng in his san lang form looks like he’s in his late teens. people call them daozhang because they fix their problems but really it has to be somewhat strange watching these kids fight resentful spirits.. imagine you are living your normal life but you’re starting to see violent apparatuses in your house so you call the local ghost hunter. but the ghost hunters are two teenage boys who are acting like that one really annoying pda heavy couple in your old high school. then in your backyard you watch them fight god or smth
There’s a funny thing about fate.
He Xuan,
This is a graceless beginning to a graceless letter, isn’t it? Of course, it hardly matters. I wish for you to never read this at all, so you can remain as happy as you can be.
or, shi qingxuan tries to make things right.
There is a new Ghost King in town, and he’s all about murder and revenge against Heaven. He has big, big plans to tear down the system from the inside, steal back the fate that the beloved Flower Crowned God allegedly took from him and utterly destroy the martial god in the process.
Meanwhile, He Xuan just wants to be left alone in his hut, unbothered by politics and civil wars. That’s not what happens.
Or: hualian/shuangxuan role reversal AU.
He Xuan kills his biggest enemy, has a terrible time, and then (eventually) learns how to acknowledge feelings besides hatred.
Or: post-canon beefleaf attempting to mend a bond that was broken.
Ascension is not what He Xuan expected
Death is not what Shi Qingxuan thought it would be
When fate is immutable, how does one begin to move on?
He Xuan finds that he’s more comfortable with a mask than without.
How to take care of your newly acquired literature god, a three step guide by Shi Qingxuan. Step 1, make sure said literature god is eating properly. Step 2, make sure said literature god doesn’t get eaten by ghosts. Step 3, marry said literature god.
They were always close like this, and Shi Qingxuan thought—oh, someday. Someday one of us will reach out and hold on. Someday I’ll kiss him for real. It was a nice idea to turn over in spare moments, glowing and pretty and fun. Easy and simple and free, just like everything else in their life.
-
Five times Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi almost start something, and one time they—
He Xuan accompanies Shi Qingxuan on a mission, one last time.
Because he is terrified, he reaches up and touches the golden longevity locket around his neck for comfort. It is solid and dense; this, you know because he once dropped it in your palm where you felt the crushing weight of family. It is their sibling bond forged in gold. It is just another reminder that he will always be his brother’s before he is yours.
You should not blame him for it. You of all people know that blood is thicker than water, that blood leaves a stain.
He Xuan, heart in the abyss.
one shots and ficlets from Twitter
But… Is it so bad, to want to believe things could be better? Is it stupid to look at Black Water Demon Xuan and see their He Xuan before any ghost? Because they do. Despite it all, despite the long silence and long indifference, regardless of the knowledge that they’re only allowed to come back because he doesn’t care enough to make them leave, they have never stopped being able to see him. And behind the cold silence, the pieces of an earnest young scholar haven’t disappeared.
Before death and ascension, He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan were married. The unexpected arrival of shipwrecked cultivator Xie Lian might be the first step in putting the pieces of their relationship back together.
“Ming-xiong, how come you always want me to do stuff on my own until I actually want to?”
“That’s — ” Ming Yi stumbled in her words, which she rarely did. It filled Shi Qingxuan’s stomach with bubbles of laughter she was forced to suppress. “That’s not what I meant.”
Civil Official He Xuan is assigned the unenviable task of archiving everything worth knowing about the calamity known as Storm Dancing Over Water.
They’ve been together since birth, and maybe He Xuan is a young man with a crush, but Shi Qingxuan is busy daydreaming.
I really think there should be a chef au where Xie Lian is an up and coming chef in some little restaurant he owns, and Hua Cheng is like a chef/restaurant reviewer. And like, Xie Lian’s food is garbage, it’s burned and raw at the same time and there are some spices in there that are so mangled that you can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be, and Xie Lian’s restaurant stays open for the sole reason that people like the drinks he mixes because he’s inexplicably a great bartender.
So, Hua Cheng is like an online food blogger type reviewer (go with me, it’ll be funny) and he starts getting all these people saying that he should try this restaurant with the worst food, only the drinks are good, one guy spent three days throwing up because he tried some soup, etc. Hua Cheng is like “I like being cruel, let’s go tear some poor soul apart.” and goes to check out this restaurant.
Imagine his surprise when Xie Lian greets him, being the only person who works at his small restaurant. He sits at the bar that overlooks the kitchen (added because people thought Xie Lian was cooking poorly on purpose and the window allows them to see that it’s just magically terrible, despite him doing everything visually right). Xie Lian is like “What do you do for a living?” because he likes to get to know his customers, his charm is another reason people keep paying him for bad food. Hua Cheng is like, ‘I can’t let this beautiful perfect man know I’m the infamous Crimson Rain (named because people cry tears of blood after his reviews) because how will he ever be convinced to marry me if he knows???’ So he says “I’m a chef, too.”
Xie Lian is like “Oh? You probably won’t like my cooking very much, it isn’t very good.” And Hua Cheng is like “No, no, don’t say that! I’m sure it’s delicious!” And inwardly he’s like ‘I’m very willing to be the housewife in our relationship.’
So Xie Lian makes him food and talks to him and laughs at his jokes and is generally the perfect man despite the frying pan catching on fire twice. He looks really sad as he slides a plate of burnt scrambled eggs (Hua Cheng ordered the breakfast) to his customer. Hua Cheng (utterly smitten) eats the whole plate and asks to try something else. Seeing someone not disgusted, Xie Lian makes his favourite thing to make, which is soup or something like that.
Hua Cheng tries it and immediately tears up because he suddenly remembers Xie Lian as the kind young boy who found him after his parents kicked him out one night and made him soup which had been the first thing he’d eaten in days. Hua Cheng, past version, had eaten the whole pot, telling Xie Lian it was delicious the whole time because it was to a starving eight year old. He remembers that, even back then, baby Hua Cheng had looked at the cheerful older boy and planned to marry him.
Xie Lian does not have mind reading properties, so when he sees Hua Cheng tear up he’s like “???!!! Ohno I’m so sorry I told you it was bad do you want something towash the taste away oh god-“ and Hua Cheng is like “This is the best soup I’ve ever had in my life.” and Xie Lian internally is like ‘You must not have had very many soups.’ Hua Cheng goes home and write a long review about how the food is perfect, you guys are just mean. His audience is like “??? Crimson Rain, did you go to the wrong restaurant???”
And there’s a whole plot with twists or whatever, like Jun Wu is the supplier of most of Xie Lian’s vegetables and he gives him only the worst ones which is why they taste so terrible. Yin Yu is Hua Cheng’s article editor or something similar and is very tired of Hua Cheng continuously trying to post articles that just say “Have you ever seen a man so perfect you cried?” and “!!!!!!” Shi Qingxuan is a baker or something that decides to set up shop in Xie Lian’s little restaurant, bringing his brother and his brother’s two friends with him. Ling Wen is like “You’ve been handling your money wrong, move over, I’m in charge of funds now.” Pei Mingis just there, the hot friend, and attracts a load of new clients by virtue of being hot or something.
Anyway, it all ends with Hua Cheng finally living his childhood dream of marrying Cute Soup Boy and he starts cooking in Xie Lian’s restaurant and everything is great.
I made some freebie bookmarks! You can find the link to download them in my bio ^^.
Please do not repost or sell them, thank you!
I think it’s equally funny whether feng xin and mu qing are coworkers who have hated each other for 800 years and have to kiss about it, or if they’re just coworkers who have hated each other for 800 years
[images are three greyscale drawings arranged into sequential panels depicting mu qing and feng xin arguing furiously, taking a break to passionately kiss on the mouth, then go right back to arguing.]
