#tianchuang

henlo!! (bops you on the nose) thank you for these great questions! im overflowing with fics i nEED to rec!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i realized all of these fics are longfics and that u may not necessarily enjoy reading those; feel welcome to drop me the same bugs in my inbox and ill do a short version for you <3)

🐝 recommend a fic with great symbolism, or themes, something really clever, or, like. just something you could write a whole literary essay about!!!

there are honestly so many fics i could write a literary essay about so im restraining myself to the first option

within us an orchard by mintyfish (guckindieluft). QY, WOH, pre-canon/canon divergence, wenzhou, tian chuang era, secret garden-esque, grief/mourning, identity shenanigans, injury tending, murder husbands, M. zhou zishu, leader of tianchuang, enlists the mysterious intruder he caught in the middle of stealing into his manor to garden work. while they heal his miserable excuse of an inner courtyard garden, zhou zishu also finds his will to live.

something something nature, grief, intersections:

By month's end, the north-facing branches of the plum tree were as black and twisted as the half-consumed wreckage of a house fire. If he stood on his roof, Zhou Zishu could see the flecks of budding plum trees painted across the city. His might just be slower—but a hard dark certainty had taken up residence in his gut. It wasn't going to bloom. In a week, Zhou Zishu would drive the second nail into his meridians.

Wen Kexing's approving little nods couldn't mask what was surely now obvious to both of them: Zhou Zishu had created a killing jar. Was it really so surprising that everything in it was dying?

But then, the book said—fire. Really, of all the things Zhou Zishu had done in the garden these weeks, treating the plum tree should have been the most familiar: cut down what must be cut down, cauterise what might be saved, and burn out the rot before it could spread. Court factions, families, trees—contain them or kill them, the tools were the same. Whether the tree would survive, the book could not tell him.

🪰 recommend a fic that makes you sad (in the best way!!)! Some great angst and/or hurt/comfort!

ripple by notoneoftheheroes. QY, WOH, pre-canon/canon divergence, wenzhou, alternative version of events, identity shenanigans, happy end, whump, angst, siji manour, M. a trick allows zhou zishu to move his sect back to the jianghu, (almost!) out from under the thump of the crown prince. but his sect, the family of his choosing, gets more and more dissatisfied with the choices zhou zishu makes to maintain that delicate balance and ensure their survival, and things start to tighten around zhou zishu‘s throat. will he lose everyone he loves? zhou zishu is an unreliable narrator in this one, and as things get worse and worse with the sect members he views as his family here, you can watch as each side makes terrible choices that lead them almost to a terrible end.

the two headed dragon by lisbeth_laufeyson. WOH alternative canon universe, childhood friends to lovers, angst, grief/mourning, manipulation, optimistic but open end*, E. out of the shadow, someone wants siji manour ill. things take a turn for the worse when wen kexing himself, one of the two leaders of tianchuang, gets fatally wounded and almost dies. over the course of his long coma, zhou zishu is vulnerable and falls into dark waters while trying to save his sect. this fic really examines zhou zishu‘s potential for committing atrocities, caused by his desire to do good and stoked by someone he trusts but shouldnt. you know who is behind it, thats not a spoiler, but they dont, and it hangs over the story like a dark cloud. this fic comes with a major character death tag! as with the last chapter that is not up to date anymore! there is a sequel! *important edit for clarification: its a bad ending! the only thing that could inspire u to be optimistic about it is that the person u think is dead turns out to not be dead!

🪳 recommend a great AU!

in a city sorrow built by wearealltalesintheend. WOH pre/canon divergence/alternative universe, family of choice, grief/mourning, fluff, T. the ghost valley is no place for a child, and thus wen kexing grows up on top of a mountain with an old monster, a goofy swordsmith, and a grieving old lady. yet, he clutches that glooming coal of rage and sorrow close to his chest, and decades later his revenge unfolds. i loved this so much for how it changes basically everything about wen kexing‘s backstory, and thus creates this alternative universe in which wen kexing Has It Better, but manages to examine how in the end it only marginally makes an impact on his desire for revenge and chaos. i loved the different faces of mourning and grief and how here, even more people join the collection of loved ones wen kexing loses. only now he truly isnt alone in his grief and he‘s arguably better emotionally prepared for it. this is a wip!

You wouldn't think I ran Window of Heaven with my integrity, would you?