[id: four gifs from episode two of ‘heaven official’s blessing’. the scene is a flashback to the fall of xianle. in the first gif xie lian walks through a destroyed land, in the second the shot pans to see there is someone behind him. the third is of that person — he has bandages around his head and neck and blood on his face, and moves forward as if calling out to xie lian and is cut off by a fire. the fourth shows xie lian — he is seen from behind through the fire and as it zooms in he turns.

the caption reads:

yet, not long after that, calamity hit the kingdom of xianle. the crown prince went to the mortal realm to save his kingdom, but to no avail. heaven official’s blessing 天官赐福 (2020—)

/end id]

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

Merfolk are known to be quite the hoarders. They often steal, keep and search for precious little trinkets they find interesting and beautiful.

Most of the time, these treasures are used eventually as courting gifts. They’re little tokens of admiration, a representation of the mer’s fondness for the other.

However. There’s one gift they’re not too easy on giving out.

When a merperson is deeply taken by their partner, and wishes to cherish them for as long as life allows them, they pluck a scale off their tail; the biggest, glossiest of them, and offers it to their partner as a sign of loyalty, and love.

The process is incredibly painful, but to them, if accepted, the reward is worth the grief.