#this is my first time writing pre-canon li xiangyi

[omgpurplefattie]

For the writing prompt,

Feihua with 20!

Before the Donghai battle during their secret 'peace negotiations', Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng talk between bouts of love-making. Li Xiangyi knows about the mind control bug; Di Feisheng doesn't want him to meddle.

CW: blatant disregard for a character's stated boundaries; Li Xiangyi being a young arrogant dick.

[yletylyf]

Mysterious Lotus Casebook timeline

I put this together for my own use while writing my fic, but haven't seen anyone else share one, so here goes!

This is live-drama canon, not novel canon. I don't speak much Chinese; I followed iqiyi's subtitles which are rather awful. Additions/suggestions/comments/corrections more than welcome!

As should be expected for a comprehensive timeline of all pre-canon events, this is not spoiler free. Below the cut, as it's long:

Timeline

130 years ago:

Princess Longxuan is born, in the year of Ren Yin, Wu Shen month, Geng Jia day, at the hour of Geng Chen. [It could be any year of Ren Yin, but since it has to be more than a hundred years ago, this one is the only one that makes sense.]

100 years ago:

The night before Nanyin was overturned, Princess Longxuan marries Crown Prince Fangji, the eldest son of Emperor Xicheng, granduncle of the current emperor. Princess Longxuan becomes Consort Xuan. Consort Xuan secretly initiates the revival of Nanyin and plots to use the Rama Vessel.

Prince Fangji conspires against Emperor Xicheng and fails. He is ordered to commit suicide. Consort Xuan is sentenced to be buried with Prince Fangji.

Princess Longxuan writes a letter to magician Feng A-Lu asking him to save her son at the bamboo forest. She tells him to contact Jin Yu Huang Quan and revive Nanyin.

Nanyin craftsmen build their tomb and Nanyin sorcery hides it for 100 years.

The throne passes to Emperor Guanqing.

Feng A-Lu does not meet Princess Longxuan's son. He goes to kill the imperial family and falls in love with Consort Ying instead. They have a son who Consort Ying passes off as the emperor's son. Feng A-Lu is buried in the collapse of the Pagoda of Bliss.

Jin Yu Huang Quan did not revive Nanyin. They used the amassed wealth for themselves and passed the Rama ices onto the next generations.

Unknown time:

Li Xiangyi's parents save Qi Mushan.

Bandits attack the Li family; Li Xiangyi and his older brother are the only survivors.

25 years ago:

Teenage Shan Gudao finds four-year old Li Xiangyi and his older brother on the streets. Older brother dies.

Qi Mushan rescues Shan Gudao and Li Xiangyi and brings them to Yunyin mountain.

20 years ago:

The Feng clan, having searched for Princess Longxuan's descendant for over a hundred years, learns that her grandson had a ten-year-old son who is presently studying under Qi Mushan.

[Note Shan Gudao is over twenty and Li Xiangyi is nine or ten at this time, but anyway:]

The Feng clan takes Shan Gudao as the long-lost descendant of Princess Longxuan.

Ostensibly 18 years ago, but probably more like 21 or 20:

[Note there is some debate about how old Fang Duobing is supposed to be. Di Feisheng claims he has a letter showing that Fang Duobing's parents broke up 18 years ago while He Xialan was pregnant, but other sources state he is 20 at the time of the show]

He Xialan was in a relationship with Shan Gudao. They break up while she is pregnant. Fang Duobing is born a few months later, and Tianji Hall announces Xialan has died of illness. Fang Duobing is raised by Xialan's older sister and her husband as their own.

15 years ago:

The Demon of the Blood Realm challenges Li Xiangyi and Qiao Wanmian begs him to give Li Xiangyi one more year.

14 years ago:

Li Xiangyi passes Qi Mushan's test. He receives the Shaoshi sword. He departs the mountain for the first time.

Shan Gudao and Li Xiangyi go to rescue the He family of the Changma Blade sect, who was massacred by Dongling Three Gang for the cloud iron. They find one survivor, a child, and take him to Louyang. Shan Gudao ditches Li Xiangyi and kills the kid.

Li Xiangyi defeats the Demon of the Blood Realm.

At an unknown time between 15 and 10 years ago:

Di Feisheng, Wuyan, King Bai of Fire, Four-faced Qingzun, and King Zunming of Yama found the Jinyuan alliance. Di Feisheng makes his first famous kill: the Monk of the Blood Realm, Kuang Jiezi. He removes the Golden Jade hoops from his staff and hangs them on his dao as a trophy.

Li Xiangyi fights with Wuyou and nicks the Shaoshi sword to avoid killing him.

The 12 Guardians join the Jinyuan alliance just before Jiao Liqiao does.

Jiao Liqiao was following Li Xiangyi around. A girl from Fengling Sword Sect provoked Jiao Liqiao and she massacres the Fengling Sword sect. Li Xiangyi stops her and attempts to kill her, but Di Feisheng saves Jiao Liqiao.

13 years ago:

Li Xiangyi establishes the Sigu Sect. Sigu sect makes an agreement with the court dividing the affairs of the people and the affairs of the jianghu. Everyone agrees to follow the legal code of Da Xi.

Scholar Sushou robs the imperial mausoleum in the south of the capital.

Di Feisheng rescues Jiao Liqiao from a gang led by Guishou Fenglie, whose martial arts techniques she tried to steal. Di Feisheng was just there to challenge the gang leader for his spot on the martial arts rankings.

12 or 11 years ago:

Just before Li Xiangyi turns 18, Shan Gudao gives him the Wenjing sword as a birthday present.

At the age of 18, Li Xiangyi acquires Yangzhouman.

11 years ago:

Sigu sect destroys the cult in Mobei and the sect's vitality is damaged. The Jinyuan alliance becomes more powerful. Di Feisheng and Li Xiangyi make a peace treaty: they won't interfere with each other or draw a war in five years.

The royal court agrees to ally with Shan Gudao.

Ten years ago:

[Depending on how old you think Fang Duobing is; he says this happened when he was ten] Madam He introduces Shan Gudao to Fang Duobing as her long-lost brother. Shan Gudao teaches Fang Duobing martial arts in secret before he can walk. Fang Duobing briefly meets Li Xiangyi, who gives him a wooden sword.

Li Xiangyi trespasses into the Royal Palace grounds on Mid-Autumn night to watch the Epiphyllum festival.

Lian Quan, Lord Of The Netherworld, is last seen in Shishou Village.

Shan Gudao tries to break into the Yipin tomb but cannot get past the Bagua (eight trigrams) Formation. The 14 Thieves of the Netherworld break into the tomb and die inside.

Li Xiangyi receives a message that the three kings of the Jinyuan alliance have besieged Shan Gudao in the Yangsha valley, the Jinyuan alliance's secret hideout. Meanwhile, the three kings receive a challenge from Shan Gudao but the letter was not his handwriting. The three kings arrive at the valley to find Shan Gudao already dead. Other members of the Sigu sect claim: they followed Shan Gudao to run some errands but were suddenly attacked by the three kings; Shan Gudao sent someone to go for help; Shan Gudao lured the three kings away to protect his subordinates.

Li Xiangyi cradles his shixiong's body and vows revenge. Shan Gudao's body is stolen in an ambush by the Jinyuan alliance. Li Xiangyi declares war on the Jinyuan alliance.

Li Xiangyi gathers Shan Gudao's belongings into a box in his room at the Sigu sect headquarters.

Yun Biqiu, at Jiao Liqiao's direction, administers Bicha poison to Li Xiangyi.

Jiao Liqiao and Fang Qing are working together. Someone from Nanyin purchases gunpowder from Thunder Hall in Jiangnan with funds from the Wansheng clan.  Ding Yun, Wind and Thunder Emissary and Wan Renshan, Star and Moon Emissary used thundering fire bombs to trap the Sigu Sect and blow up the Jinyuan alliance headquarters. The 12 guardians of the Jinyuan alliance die. 58 heroes of the Sigu sect die.

27th day of the 12th lunar month, year of Xin Chou: Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng battle at the East Sea.

Someone alters a corpse to look like Shan Gudao. He survives, under the influence of wuxin huai. Shan Gudao kills Qi Mushan and takes his inner power.

Li Xiangyi fakes his death and disappears. The Sigu sect disbands. Its surviving arm, Baichuan Court, rounds up the remnants of the Jinyuan alliance. Di Feisheng goes into seclusion for ten years.

Ten or nine years ago:

Xin Lie, Thunder Chaser of Jinyuan alliance, Five Poison Palm, escapes from prison.

28th day of the 5th month, year of Ren Yin: Shi Hun writes a letter to the Sigu sect to thank them for releasing him.

Unknown, between ten years ago and present day:

The Jinyuan Alliance surrounds Lian Quan's mansion for the Rama Heavenly Ice, he escapes with Li Xiao and Li Xiong to Xiaoyuan City to live in hiding.

Li Lianhua finds Scholar Sushou, helps him and lets him stay with him. Scholar Sushou passes away.

Li Lianhua saves Tiexiao, who jumped off a cliff and was buried; Li Lianhua heard him shouting.

Four-faced Qingzun dies in prison and gives the Rama ice shard to his wife, Liangyi Xianzi.

Fang Duobing takes bitter medicine; bathes in cold springs; pierces his 12 major acupoints every day and faints many times but refuses to cry. He can stand up, walk, and learn martial arts.

Five years ago:

The Hall of Wind and Flame took the Shi family's secret book as their own. This includes Qi Mushan's recipes.

Three years ago:

Fang Duobing takes the Baichuan Court entrance examination, but they refuse to accept him.

One year ago:

"Last March": Li Lianhua saved Shi Wenjue, third son of the Shi family (he faked his suicide because he wanted a career in public service and his family didn't approve, Li Lianhua saw it). The Shi family in Weapons Valley were the ones who forged Cloud Iron armor and the wind sword.

Present day:

The show begins sometime after the sixth day of the fourth month of Ren Zi year. [We know this because in episode 2, Wangfu is sixteen and we are given his birthday as April 6th of Bing Shen Year]

Red Mountains (Girls' Mansion episode arc) takes place on month 9 day 9 of Ren Zi Year.

Episode 37/38 is the ten-year anniversary of the dong hai duel, so it takes place on the 27th day of 12th month of Ren Zi Year.

[anndramarama]

dihua exchange fic: The Floating Lotus

I am very happy to be participating in the dihua exhange this month, and was so exited to write this fic for @lasenbyphoenix who asked for a pre-canon story from when LXY and DFS were young and arrogant. @lasenbyphoenix I hope you like it, and thank you for the inspiration!

The first section of the story is under the cut, and the rest is available to read on AO3.

Summary: After the announcement of his engagement to Qiao Wanmian, Li Xiangyi takes off on his own and ends up at an inn by the East Sea.

Content warnings: There is a decent amount of smut in the full story, but consent is sexy and so is Di Feisheng.

There is some mention of self-harm but only the aftermath is described, and not in great detail. Possible trauma in LXY's relationship with SGD is touched on but not described.

Thanks to: the exchange moderators for setting this up, to @lasenbyphoenix for the amazing prompt, I never would have tried to write a prequel story without you, and a special thank you to @kingsandbastardz for inspiring my version of LXY to pay careful attention to DFS's scars, and to one scar in particular. :D

I'm also genuinely grateful that I had this to work on. I took an internet hiatus to focus on family stuff that was not easy and writing dihua was very good for my mental health.

The Floating Lotus

At some point in the future, Li Xiangyi will tell a nervous disciple that he spent a great deal of time during his decade as Li Lianhua thinking about how one couldn't live in opposition to fate, but the truth is that he spent an equal or greater amount of time thinking about one view of a broad back and shoulders, and how to keep that view in sight despite the challenges fate put in his way.

He can't say why that view haunts him asleep and awake, or what it is about that particular person that moves him to do foolish things or take seemingly contradictory actions, but fate is funny and human hearts are even more difficult to understand.

All he can say for sure is that one day he was minding his own business, moving carefully down a martial path that seemed to make sense even if Xiangyi got less sleep than he wanted to and there seemed to be almost no one to talk to anymore, and then one afternoon in late autumn he saw sunlight glinting prettily off a fall of sleek hair moving through a busy market.

There was no reason for Li Xiangyi to be there, not at that time of day. The place was an accident, too: an unfamiliar market in an unfamiliar seaside town, bustling with life, quite a contrast to the quiet he was used to and thought he liked best. But the man was tall and trim, broad and lean, and his long hair swayed gently with each step, catching the mid-afternoon sun.

Without fully understanding why, Xiangyi had followed, weaving through the throng of people, and the compulsion amused him even as it led him deeper into the heart of the town.

As they rounded a corner, he was distracted by a street performer, an elderly man demonstrating qinggong by balancing on a single finger atop a narrow pole. The crowd around him gasped and applauded, creating a ripple of excitement that was hard to ignore. He watched for a moment and when he turned back, the person he was following was gone.

It was hard to describe, when he thought back on it, but he had been determined to see that person's face, or just to see the amusement through to something inevitably ordinary or dull. So he pushed forward, moving through the sea of faces and vibrant colors, hoping to catch another glimpse of that broad back and shoulders.

The smell of street food, the chatter of merchants, and the vibrant displays of fine and rare teas, trinkets, fruit and other delicacies faded into the background as he focused on his search, which led to the end of one dead end lane, and then another.

Li Xiangyi paused at the end of another empty alley, his eyes scanning the market. He was about to turn back when a woman approached him. Her face was lined and her hair was graying, and her eyes were bright with worry when she touched his sleeve.

"Gongzi," she said, her voice urgent, "you look like a man of skill and honor. Are you from a renowned sect?"

Xiangyi bowed automatically. "I am. How can I assist you?"

The woman glanced around nervously before continuing. "There's a female martial artist who appears at night, frightening everyone. She moves so strangely, and anyone with sense who sees her is scared to death. We need someone of your calibre to investigate."

Before Xiangyi could respond, someone spoke up from behind him.

"I've heard the same stories," said a man's voice. "She vanishes as quickly as she appears. Doesn't leave a trace."

Li Xiangyi turned to see the same broad shoulders he had been following earlier. The man's presence was commanding and -- Xiangyi coughed to mask his reaction -- the view from the front was good too.

Xiangyi nodded, considering the stranger's words, and turned back to the woman.

"If I may ask, how exactly is she scaring people? Has she hurt anyone?"

"Well, no," the woman stammered, "no one's been hurt, but she appears at random and only at night, and she has a weapon. Surely there's something wrong there?"

The stranger stepped forward and crossed his arms. "Oh, I heard that too. What kind of weapon?"

"It's a short sword, or maybe a dagger, but it's hard to say," she said, looking between them. "Please, will you help us?"

Xiangyi gave a reassuring nod. "I will do what I can," he said, already convinced he would do anything but. He was tired, and thirsty.

"Thank you, gongzi," the woman said, relief washing over her face. "My name is Lin Mei. If you need a place to stay, there's a reputable inn nearby called The Floating Lotus. It's comfortable and cheap."

Li Xiangyi hesitated, and did not look at the stranger.

"I appreciate the suggestion, madam," he said. "But I'll make my own arrangements."

Lin Mei nodded. "Very well. If you need anything, you can find me at the market most days. Everyone knows me."

He watched her move back behind a tea stall and sighed. The stranger was still there, looking at Xiangyi in a way that he couldn't quite parse, and even though they weren't touching he could feel the heat of the other man's body along his side.

"The old lady didn't lie. The Floating Lotus is comfortable and cheap," the stranger said, "but it's fully booked, no vacancies."

Li Xiangyi nodded. "Thank you for the information," he said, and would have turned away but a hand tapped his elbow.

"Ask me how I know," the stranger said. His fingers were still barely there on Xiangyi's arm, and that heat still sparked along his side.

He rolled his eyes and took a pointed step away.

"Let me guess, is it because you booked the last room?"

The stranger smirked. "You have no intention of helping that woman, do you?"

"She doesn't need my help," Li Xiangyi said, "she needs a magistrate. That so-called martial artist is probably a thief and the weapon she noticed is stolen goods."

The other man pretended to consider this. "But isn't it your duty as a young master from a righteous sect to help those in need?"

Xiangyi looked the stranger up and down, raising an eyebrow at clothes that were fine but not ostentatious, at a hairpiece that was utilitarian but obviously of high quality, and let his eyes linger at the covered sword on his back.

"If you think so, have at it. I'm tired and I need a drink, and the next town might have an inn with a room ready," he said, and started to turn away, ponytail swinging in a way that was not, absolutely not, deliberate.

"Suit yourself," said the stranger. "But even if you don't care about the old lady, think about the reputation of your Sigu Sect. Li Xiangyi."

Xiangyi's hand tightened on his sword. He turned around, ready to fight, but the stranger hadn't touched the weapon on his back. "I saw your sword dance the other day," he said, and looked Li Xiangyi up and down.

Xiangyi relaxed his shoulders and tried not to frown, but he could feel his face burning. The sword dance had been an impulsive act and the next morning, when Xiangyi was almost sober, he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"You have the advantage of me," he said, and bowed the slightest bow he could manage. "May I have the honor of knowing your name, gongzi, and the name of your sect?"

The stranger nodded. "This one is called Fei. I don't belong to any righteous sect."

"Well then, Fei youxia, I'm not in the mood to accept any challenges today so let's part nicely, alright?"

The man called Fei moved a step closer until they were almost toe-to-toe. He had a full mouth and remarkable phoenix eyes with long lashes. They stared at each other and Li Xiangyi was caught between wanting to count breaths or heartbeats, both sounded so loud in his ears. It went on too long, and Xiangyi broke first. He stepped back and opened his mouth to say something snappish about personal space, but Fei cut him off.

"I won't fight you today, Li zongzhu," he said, as if it was his decision alone. "And I won't ask why you were following me if it wasn't to fight."

Xiangyi snorted. "How generous of you --"

Fei closed the distance between them again and then nodded over his shoulder. "But I do have a room, as you guessed, and would be happy to let Li gongzhu use it if he is willing to put up with my company."

Xiangyi hesitated, then smiled. Because of course. This absolute bastard.

But Xiangyi was tired. He was thirsty. The odds of him being able to take this man in a fight were good. And if they didn't fight -- well, if Xiangyi didn't fight this man that would be a good thing, wouldn't it? There was more to life than fighting, and there was only one way to find out.

"As long as Fei youxia doesn't get any funny ideas," he said, trying not to look too long at the other man's smirking mouth, "please lead the way."

Honestly, Xiangyi thought as he found himself following behind that familiar back and shoulders, watching Fei's ridiculous hair move like a curtain between his shoulder blades, this might be just what I need.

Because something was missing; something was not right.

If the trouble was in his head, heart, or body was difficult to tell. Days ago now, perhaps a week -- the same day the announcement of his engagement to A'Mian was made -- he had drunk too much, much too much, and then danced on the rooftops for fun. Xiangyi truly loved sword forms, and flying with his sword, so in the moment when the dance was done he leaned back for another drink, heart glad and body still tingling. But not quite settled. Not quite sated.

He had dozed on that roof, body held up by his sword, despite some of his juniors urging him to come down to continue to drink with them, and later urging him to come down and sleep. Xiangyi hadn't wanted more wine or a bed. He didn't want to sit with his juniors or talk with any xiongdi at all, or eat, or rest.

A few hazy hours later, a half-sober Li Xiangyi decided that if what he wanted wasn't there, in front of his face, it must be elsewhere. So he picked up his sword, skirted the attention of anyone in his Sigu Sect, and walked to the edge of town, then out of town altogether, and then vaguely in the direction of the sea. Maybe he had some idea that the sea would be soothing. He would find a place to meditate and return in a few days, and all would be well then.

So Li Xiangyi had been missing for close to a week, he reckoned, and his heart hadn't settled, but then he had only just reached the sea. By the sea, in sight of that vast and moving body of endless ocean, maybe everything would be alright.

Read the rest of this story on AO3.

[rose-tinted-vision]

1, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19 for the behind the scenes of fic asks! ((this is hualianisms, i can't send asks from my sideblog🥲))

Hello @hualianisms!! Thank you for the asks (๑>◡<๑)

What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

(／。＼)...am I going to embarrass myself on main today because the first fic that I published on ao3 was for the ReoNagi pairing from Blue Lock, but I technically wrote fic for Inazuma Eleven when I was a wee little child. What was yours?

If you could only write angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Definitely angst, it comes easier to me than fluff or smut 〜(＞＜)〜

If you were stuck on an island with only two characters, who would you pick?

Only two? That's a hard choice >_< Shi Qingxuan (TGCF) and Yu Shisan (A Journey to Love), probably. SQX can just whisk us away~

What is your most underrated fic?

I'll take underrated to mean not doing as well as I thought it would since I really liked this? It's a toss up between one of my Link Click fics (Qiao Ling centric, S2 canon compliant) and one of my earlier Mysterious Lotus Casebook fics (Gen, LXY/LLH centric). I really enjoyed the process of exploring what went on in Season 2 of Link Click through Qiao Ling's eyes, and thought that there weren't enough fics featuring her, which is why it's a fic that's really dear to me. As for the Li Xiangyi centric fic (i must admit that imagining pre-canon stuff is a favourite of mine), I wanted to explore the process of Li Xiangyi becoming Li Lianhua, and how he had changed so much over ten years. It was fun to imagine him traversing the jianghu and picking up various skills along the way! But I do understand that Genfics aren't for everyone, so it's okay. I do have more recent ones that aren't doing that well but I have...complicated feelings regarding those

What fic are you most proud of?

(I also cannot simply choose one, my bad).

I have this ShiGuang fic that was loosely inspired by a manhwa called "The tale of the Yellow dragon", that was nearly complete by the time the S2 finale came out and I figured, why not throw Lu Guang's lines in there? and it fit, so I was really happy with how it turned out :D Another fic that I'm proud of is Tales of Tianji Manor, mainly because I wasn't sure that people would enjoy a fic told from Madam He's pov, but the fandom was so nice about it ^^ and it was fun to explore the OT3 dynamics from her pov!! and (last one, I promise!!) I was really happy with how the ZhanHua fic turned out :D Zhan Yunfei was one of my favourite side characters, and explore his ten years of yearning and devotion was interesting.

Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

I'd say the hardest is Di Feisheng's (MLC) pov for me, I'm not sure if it's writers block or burnout, but trying to wrangle his character has been a challenge lately. Another would be Ning Yuanzhou (A Journey to Love), because the man thinks so damn much, and he has to be a leader, a lover, a father and a brother all at the same time. Oh and Yi Zhi Hua's (White Cat Legend) tone is quite tricky for me to grasp...

easiest would probably be what I call the "simp characters" (not that I'm calling them one-dimensional, it's just that they have Prioritised that One Special Person): Fang Duobing for one, he has a rather straightforward personality, he places his family and Li Lianhua first, and he's honest about his feelings. Qiu Qingzhi is another. (it's harder to see beneath his layers but) imo his motivations were mainly to protect Li Bing. and I just really like to write Yu Shisan, the man loves so deeply and freely.

[nutcasewithaknife]

Writing Patterns

Thank you for the tag @mx-myth and @bbcphile!! <3 (sorry for the dealy!! This got buried in my drafts a long while ago, and when I dug it up I realised I had a whole new fic up on ao3 since i first drafted this ;-;)

The task is to list out the opening sentence of the last 10 fics I've posted on ao3 and look for patterns! I'll do the same for the closing sentence of these fics too :)

2. Pieces (Mysterious Lotus Casebook; post-canon fic where Li Lianhua is found but cannot be saved, and difang grieve.)

Opening: 'That night, Fang Duobing fell asleep.'

Closing: 'Then they wiped off their tears and picked up the pieces together.'

2. Next Time We'll Meet Beyond The Stars Above (Mysterious Lotus Casebook; pre-canon fic following Di Feisheng and Li Xiangyi's relationship from their first meeting to the donghai battle.)

Opening: 'The first time Di Feisheng hears the name is in a shabby tea house, far from any town of notable significance.'

Closing: 'I win.'

3. Sleepless (Mysterious Lotus Casebook; gratuitous and lazy post canon feihua where they both can't sleep and decide to get horny about it)

Opening: 'Di Feisheng paused in the doorway at the sight of the empty bed.'

Closing: 'Satisfied, Di Feisheng let himself drift away too.'

4. Found (The Untamed; set during the 16 years between Wei Wuxian's death and resurrection. Lan Wangji wanders away and falls in love again, with another boy and another place, before coming back home.)

Opening: 'Lan Wangji had followed the beast’s trail to the farthest border of Qinghe.'

Closing: 'He didn’t look back.'

5. Fang Duobing and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week (Mysterious Lotus Casebook; cracky fluffy post-canon about Fang Xiaobao having an extended crisis about Di Feisheng sleeping with Li Lianhua instead of sharing the upstairs bed with him).

Opening: 'Fang Duobing returned to Lotus tower after about a week, with a spring in his step and a song in his heart.'

Closing: 'They were going to be fine, after all.'

6. A Perfect Night (Mysterious Lotus Casebook; gratuitous and lazy post canon feihua smut again! the previous fic is a sequel to this one).

Opening: 'Li Lianhua took a long drink from his gourd of wine and looked at the moon.'

Closing: 'He went to sleep.'

7. Foolish (The Untamed; sangcheng Modern AU where they're childhood friends who run into each other years later at a gay bar, and Jiang Cheng is having so many crises about his sexuality but being so brave about it.)

Opening: 'The whole liquid courage thing was a scam.'

Closing: 'They scuffled over it the rest of the way back.'

8. Save It For A Rainy Day (The Untamed; classic yunmeng bros reconciliation full of angst and screaming and, eventually, hugs)

Opening: 'Jiang Cheng was confused.'

Closing: 'If these were the troubles he had to bear… he could live with that happily enough.'

9. A Trial By Cold (The Untamed; wangxian modern AU crack where they're both in bed recovering from a cold, and as sleepy as they are horny.)

Opening: '“Lan Zhan.”'

Closing: 'His husband’s shoulder was the best pillow in the world (....except maybe his ass.)'

10. An Earthly Desire (Love Between Fairy and Devil; Lady Chidi's POV on her first time meeting and saving Rong Hao in the mortal realm.)

Opening: 'Death should’ve become easier by now.'

Closing: 'Facing death got no easier, but the reminder of life she returned to let her hope.'

Patterns:

In the older fics, there is a tendency to open with dialogue or (most frequently) a thought from the POV character. However, the more recent ones tend to begin with an action, often the POV character arriving at location that most/all of the fic is going to be set it.

The first lines usually get right into the head of the POV character. The tone of each depends heavily on this character and the tone of the fic itself.

The closing lines usually capture the crux of the story and call back to important themes in the more poignant fics. Given that most of my writing is strongly rooted in some kind of arc for the POV character, it often reflects their final state of mind. Depending on the kind of fic, it's bittersweet, hopeful, sad, or just plain ridiculous.

Just realising that all my lighter, fluffy Mysterious Lotus Casebook fics end with liansanjiao falling asleep peacefully and that's very very telling. They deserve to nap on each other and be lazy. as a treat.

Huh. I wonder if realising all this will change these patterns henceforth. It was very fun to distance myself from each fic and look at them all together. Anyways, that's pretty much all I noticed. If anyone spots something else I'd love to hear :3

Tagging every single fic-poster who sees this on their dash, please go wild, I look forward to it!! :D