Rewatch Post Delayed + Call for Fanwork Recs

[shadaras]

Last week I said I'd probably post ep29's rewatch post on new year's eve/today, absolutely forgetting that I was getting the covid booster on Tuesday and therefore really should've expected to not have the brain for tasks that take, like, executive functioning. xD I'm fine, I didn't have any particularly bad effects beyond brainfog, but didn't get that done.

So, look forward to the next rewatch post and crying about Han Ying next week. :)

As the calendar turns, though, I'm curious about what some of your favorite SHL/TYK (and related fandoms!) fanworks are! Link them in comments here, or make posts on the comm itself, and let's enjoy the turn of the calendar with some excellent fanworks! :D

Comments

[shadaras]

Here are two fics from Yuletide that I really loved! Both are Tian Ya Ke.

am I biased because I answered the hippo's call to help beta-read them? yes but that's irrelevant I loved them from the first read even before I gave any feedback to the author

All Mountains in a Single Glance (T, 1.9k, Tian Ya Ke, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu)
Summary: "There were still the three famous and five sacred mountains to see; stopping here would be a great pity."
After his long recovery from the Nails, Zhou Zishu finally gets to see Mount Tai. Wen Kexing, of course, has a poem for the occasion.
Rec: Post-canon, gorgeous, absolutely fantastic fic about Zhou Zishu deciding that he really does care about living after all. Poetry! Flirting! Beautiful prose!

Written in the Red and Green (E, CNTW, 1.2k, Tian Ya Ke, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu)
Tags: Canon-Typical Fighting for the Right to Top, Biting, Kissing, Mild Comeplay, mild bloodplay, Pillow Princess Zhou Zishu, Erotic Citation of Poetry, Scars as Romantic Tokens, Brief Oblique Mention of Wen Kexing's Childhood Trauma
Summary: Wen Kexing wins a duel and claims the right to top. Zhou Zishu is more than happy to let him.
Rec: ...I mean, the tags. xD Look at them! How are those not a rec on their own! I love canon-typical TYK-wenzhou so much, and here they are beautiful, bloody, sharp, and so very pleased with themselves and each other. <3

[trobadora]

I love the second one as well, it's brilliant!

[dreamy_dragon73]

I love these as well.

[trobadora]

Two long AUs I enjoyed a lot:

The Parasol Tree (118767 words) by chiiyo86
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu, Gu Xiang & Wen Kexing, Wen Kexing & Zhang Chengling & Zhou Zishu
Characters: Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing, Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang (Faraway Wanderers), Zhao Jing (Faraway Wanderers), Helian Yi, Shen Shen (Faraway Wanderers), Han Ying (Word of Honor), Duan Pengju, Gao Chong (Faraway Wanderers), Cao Weining, Gao Xiaolian, Liu Qianqiao
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassin Zhou Zishu, Window of Heaven/Tian Chuang, no nails, Action/Adventure, Uneasy Allies, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Summary: When Prince Jin sends Zhou Zishu to look for the Glazed Armor, Zhou Zishu's heart isn't in it but he is duty-bound to see this mission through to the end. But then his path crosses the one of Wen Kexing, a mercurial scholar with many secrets of his own, and things only get more complicated from there.

Sanguine (122171 words) by jaemyun
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu, Shen Shen (Faraway Wanderers), Zhao Jing (Faraway Wanderers), Gao Chong (Faraway Wanderers), Gu Xiang (Faraway Wanderers), Helian Yi, Zhang Chengling, Zhang Chengluan, Zhang Chengfeng, Zhang Yusen, Ye Baiyi, Jing Beiyuan, Wu Xi (Qi Ye)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Set During Zhou Zishu's Leadership of Tian Chuang, Master of Ghost Valley Wen Kexing, Wen Kexing uses his good looks for evil, don't be wary of me i'm so sexy haha, Now with oral sex, Because if anyone was going to make me write porn scenes it was fucking wenzhou
Summary: Zhou Zishu is ready to be done with Tian Chuang. He's ready for his seventh nail, and ready to wander before facing his eighty one brothers with a bowed head in the afterlife. He will do this after, apparently, one last mission that's simply too intriguing to pass up.
The Ghost Valley has sent a letter past its borders, asking to attend the Heroes Conference of the Five Lakes Alliance. The Five Lakes Alliance, unbelievably, has accepted. Both no doubt have hidden intentions, and Prince Jin wants eyes and ears on the scene. Zhou Zishu can't quite bring himself to deny his own ravenous curiosity enough not to accept.
The stunning beauty that shows up with the girls of the Department of the Unfaithful, the one who introduces himself as Wen Kexing, is universally assumed to be a favorite plaything of the yet unseen Ghost Valley Master. His beauty and charm may be enough to captivate all the others into underestimating him, but Zhou Zishu knows a killer's eyes when he sees one. Wen Kexing is a puzzle he'd like to figure out, and Zishu himself can't say he isn't also captivated by dark eyes and a smile that wouldn't be out of place with blood in its teeth.

[mekare]

I enjoyed both of these a lot!

[trobadora]

Yay, so glad to hear it! :D

[trobadora]

Two middle-length fics I enjoyed a lot:

it's not the breaking (7327 words) by Shadaras
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing
Additional Tags: Siji Manor Arc, Sub Zhou Zishu, Dom Wen Kexing, Dom/sub, Non-Sexual Kink, Unnegotiated Kink, Makeshift Gag, Light Bondage, Impact Play, A bit of bloodplay, Praise Kink, Crying, Childhood Memories, whatever the opposite of shixiongdi kink is
Summary: Absently, mind on the work he’s doing, Zhou Zishu says, “Shidi, can you—”
His mouth snaps shut on the request, but it’s already too late.
Wen Kexing turns to him and says, “I’m sick of this.” His tone is almost cheerful. There’s still more malice laced through Wen Kexing’s mouth than Zhou Zishu can remember hearing directed towards him before.
It shivers across his body, and Zhou Zishu closes his eyes briefly before carefully setting down the wall-hanging he’d wanted help replacing. “What do you want to do about it?” Zhou Zishu asks, shifting his weight to prepare for the attack he suspects is coming.
Wen Kexing plays with his fan, silently considering him, and then a smile spreads across his face. “I’m going to make you forget that word.”

A Good Bargain (11412 words) by Neery
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Identity Reveal, Fix-It of Sorts, Marriage of Convenience, First Time, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Torture, Consent Issues, Suicidal Thoughts
Summary: The Window of Heaven captures the Ghost Valley's master. Zhou Zishu is put in charge of interrogating him.
But Wen Kexing has a plan of his own…

[aurumcalendula]

I adore 'A Good Bargain'!

[trobadora]

It's fantastic, isn't it? :D

[mekare]

'These sound great, can't wait to finish the show to be able to read the fics!

[trobadora]

I hope you'll enjoy them when you get there!

[mekare]

I did! A Good Bargain was especially to my tastes.

[trobadora]

Two short fics I enjoyed a lot:

Transmutation (300 words) by DachOsmin
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu
Additional Tags: Character Study, Drabble Sequence, Aftercare, Bondage
Summary: Wen Kexing is an artist, and Zhou Zishu a canvas beneath him.

and you were harmed by unsaintly arms (875 words) by WhenasInSilks
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
Characters: Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu
Additional Tags: Character Study, Past Rape/Non-con, Touch-Starved, Trauma, spoilers up to episode 21ish, no beta we die like the 82 disciples of Siji Manor
Summary: This is what Wen Kexing knows of hands.
(aka, "Lao Wen's Weird Touch Thing: a fic")

[mekare]

Oh the second one sounds INTRIGUING.

[trobadora]

It's great! You have a lot of great stuff ahead of you. :D

[aurumcalendula]

I really enjoyed this modern AU in which Wen Kexing is a banquet cook in San Francisco and Zhou Zishu, at loose ends after leaving his cousin's company, is chaperoning Chengling to the US as a favor for Gao Chong:

this harbored deluge for you and i // 像我和你需要下一场雨 by gardencitymovements (M, 30k, SHL, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu)

Three months. He’ll stay three months. Just long enough for that shrimpy Zhang Chengling to wean into this new world, and then he’ll leave. Just three months he’ll allow himself that brassy, beautiful line cook, who barked the most flirtatious insult at Zhou Zishu as he charged down the cracked asphalt with a towering pallet jack of wholesale soy sauce boxes; his voice magnetic like an army general’s, clear above the rumbling gallop of his condiment fleet.

-

chaperoning a new orphan across the Pacific runs into complications.

(I also really liked its sequel a dream of sunlight lining your shadow // 衬着你身影的幻光 (E, 28k, SHL, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu))

[trobadora]

Oh yes! I don't often read modern AUs, but this one really worked for me.

[aurumcalendula]

Some vid recs:

chasing light by bonibaru

Follow by lolachrome

Levitating by sisabet

[trobadora]

Excellent choice! I also love Love Like Mine by lolachrome.

[dreamy_dragon73]

Here are 3 vids I love, all by Crying Raven.

Natural - Zhou Zishu In which Zhou Zishu gets to show off his martial art skills.

Vendetta - Wen Kexing This one is all about Wen Kexing.

And now for something a little softer: I Will Follow You into the Dark

[trobadora]

Thank you for the links; I hadn't seen these before!

[dreamy_dragon73]

You're welcome. Enjoy :)

[dreamy_dragon73]

I'm currently reading my way through rec lists and other people's bookmarks to find things I like, so this post is perfect :)

Anyway, here are 3 fics I love.

We Would Choose this Tenderness by Zelos (T, no warnings) - missing scene from ep. 27

In Vino Veritas by OrchisAilsa (M, no warnings) – Following the events of Word of Honor, Zhou Zishu and Jing Beiyuan finally sit down for that drink together

and the sequel Carpe Diem (E, no warnings, but please heed the tags) - Jing Beiyuan thinks Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are beautiful. Just.... really, truly beautiful, especially now that they're safe and happy together on their mountain. In fact, he's having a hard time thinking of anything else...

[peachpai]

Happy New Year, folks! ♥ This is a great idea! Here's a handful of short pieces I've enjoyed recently that could use more love:

In Every Form, a Friend (Qi Ye, Jing Beiyuan & cat!Zhou Zishu, T, 1100)
Summary: Zishu heard him pouring tea and twitched, amber eyes opening to look up at Jing Beiyuan. Not really asleep, of course. (Ah, well, Jing Beiyuan understood that. He would wager that he was at least as good at sleeping as the cat. Not in terms of actual hours slept during the day perhaps, but to be fair, Jing Beiyuan did not spend most nights terrorizing the neighborhood's small mammal population, either.)
Note: An AU in which ZZS gets reincarnated in JBY's second life as a cat instead of a human. This was a surprise gift for me and I have A Lot of feelings about cat!Zishu (and so does JBY, actually).

Letters From the Armory (SHL, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu, T, 500)
Summary: Wen Kexing is in a coma. So Zhou Zishu writes to him.
Notes: Very sweet epistolary ficlet featuring Zhou Zishu trying to put his feelings into words. He never meant for Wen Kexing to see them.

One Breath, One Ink Stroke (TYK, Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu, E, 1000)
Summary: If they can't be together, then at least they can be as one. | What happened to Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu in Jing Beiyuan's first life.
Notes: Heed the tags on this one, it gets pretty graphic. Really delightful bit of romantic horror, if you're into that sort of thing.