#difang

[joyouslee]

This is how I imagine Fang Xiaobao a few years after canon.

Pictures are of Zhi Liuhui from Legend of Rosy Clouds* but this is my visual for an older Fang Duobing, who wears his hair the way Li Lianhua does (did).

*who is bisexual in the Japanese canon, which I know will be censored in the cdrama, but I have faith in ZSX that he will be able to make him very bi regardless.

[bbcphile]

Is anyone else sad because Fang Duobing has a "Waiting For Li Lianhua On the Beach" outfit?

(On the left is the outfit in episode 40 after reading Li Lianhua's letter. On the right is the outfit in the special episode when he and Di Feisheng show up on the donghai beach to look for him 3 months later.)

While we're on the subject of costumes, @the-surreptitious-albatross and I just realized how different this outfit of Fang Duobing's is from his earlier outfits.

Here are some examples of a normal FDB outfit:

He prefers pastels, and his belts and wrist guards are often the same color as the pastel or a slightly darker version (and here, they have gold decorations).

Zooming in shows that he prefers his embroidery designs to be swirly and his hair accessories to be braided and color-matched or elaborate and silver (but still on the delicate side).

But check out this outfit: the embroidery is more angular and less swirly, as is the hair piece, and it and the belt and wrist guards are black with silver instead of matching the pastel of his outfit or being a slightly darker shade of it.

You know whose style he's echoing with all these changes? Who else tends to favor black wrist guards and belts with more angular designs?

Di Feisheng.

The images below make it a bit clearer: DFS's belt has gold decorations compared FDB's silver, and the shape is different, but you can see the similarities in the wrist guard design in particular.

It's not obvious how much their costumes are tying them together in this scene because we don't ever see them in the same frame; the camera constantly keeps them apart, as does the blocking of the scene, since DFS is on the rocks and FDB is on the beach.

That changes in the special episode when they both arrive on the beach at the same time, and DFS is wear his sect leader robes.

Here they are, in the same frame at last, and side by side, and you can see even more clearly with this DFS outfit how much the style of FDB's belt, wrist guards, and hair accessory is echoing his. The wrist guard pattern looks almost the same in these pictures! And the cut of the outer sleeveless robe is also very similar, which visually pairs them even more.

All this to say, FDB's clothing style shifts, the gentle swirls sharpened into points by his worry and grief for Li Lianhua, and it breaks my heart.

But the fact that he's visually echoing Di Feisheng now, that they're slowly becoming a matched set, is starting to put the pieces back together again.

[failonade]

Cursed MLC thought that I need to inflict on the world: aspec Di Feisheng experiencing the urge to kiss someone for the first time at age 30 and then suffering, in rapid succession, the indignities of: a. wanting to kiss Fang Duobing, b. Fang Duobing being his first kiss, and c. Fang Duobing promptly critiquing his kissing skills and giving him pointers in his usual condescending fashion.

[nutcasewithaknife]

Fang Duobing didn't let himself think too hard as he turned to face Di Feisheng better. He let himself look at the bare, scar-littered skin, at the metal hooked into each nipple. The very thought of it made Fang Duobing’s own chest ache with both pain and pleasure. “How does it feel?” he wondered out loud. “Do you want to see?” Feeling a little like he was jumping off a cliff, Fang Duobing reached for the piercings in answer. OR: Turns out Di Feisheng has nipple piercings, and Fang Duobing is being extremely normal about them, nothing to see here! (They fuck about it)

I did it!!! It finally wrote difang smut!!!!!!!!

[a--ttano]

Difang beloved

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

ok, you know what, fuck it, fic recs post. historically i try not to rec works in progress or things i haven't commented on and i'm throwing that fully out the window for this because honestly, fucking whatever.

if you're on this list and i haven't been fully unhinged at you in the comments, please know that it's because (1) i'm the worst and (2) i'm trying desperately to calibrate so i hit 'enthusiastic' and not 'kind of frightening, actually'. i swear that i have written at least several sentences of a comment for every fic on this list, it's just that i'm genuinely impossibly slow, sometimes. it's me, not you.

my previous rec post is here, in case you missed that. as a bonus, special for this rec list and as a concession to the horrors, i am attempting to guess how much any given fic will fuck up the average person. obviously this is a ymmv kind of situation, but i'm trying, at least?

everything else under a cut because i am longwinded.

and found by @dangerouscommiesubversive, explicit, every possible combination of di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua | li xiangyi; bless, but i am not typing all that out. starting off with a wip where i haven't left a comment in like four fuckin' chapters, breaking those rules real good. this fic is a fucking ride. i will admit that i wasn't entirely convinced by the premise when i saw the blurb, but i am nothing if not willing to admit when i was wrong, and i was—once again—totally wrong. this is the fic where i was like 'ok but…is anyone really, like, desperate for gen z li xiangyi?' and then i read it and i was like 'ohhhhhh fuck yeah, ok, i get it, i was actually fully desperate for gen z li xiangyi.' he is. such a little prick. i love him. there has been something unexpected and delightful in every single chapter of this so far, plus a number of impressively memorable one-liners. this fic is fun and distracting and at least as of chapter seven, i'm gonna say it's not even gonna fuck you up. (please note that this is only through chapter seven!)

and the days are bright red by @junemermaid, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. rip to my beloved tumblr mutual @junemermaid, because they're getting called out twice in this list, but: tough. this fic is so delightful. featuring: memories of slut era li lianhua, the mortifying ordeal of being known, an entire box of historically accurate sex toys, fang duobing and di feisheng communicating (sometimes silently) in a way that unsettles li lianhua (back from his months-long sojourn), some very hot sex that is both very much about sex and also about trust and being perceived, casual intimacy, and fledgling tenderness. there are Emotions in this, and they get moderately intense, but it's a very kind and surprisingly gentle feel-good fic.

a drink under a clear window by @momosandlemonsoda, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing and fang duobing/qiao wanmian. a fic that tackles the dreaded v-shaped polycule and makes it work. it seems like perhaps it shouldn't: fang duobing as the hinge, with di feisheng and qiao wanmian on either side, but actually it works perfectly, and is a lovely little glimpse at who they could become and the relationships they could have. i love the thought of qiao wanmian having come into her own as a leader in her own right, as more than just the representative of the ghost of li xiangyi, and this does a wonderful job of letting her be her own person. also, yes, ok, passing fang duobing back and forth like a party favour. this is a post-canon fic in which li lianhua is dead, but the fic itself a straightforward delight that is not at all fucky uppy.

the floating clouds, no resting place, again by @junemermaid (not sorry), technically gen and no ship, but functionally pre-di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. the hair-washing fic. ohhhhhh. i started jotting notes for this post the day that i finished this fic, and i really thought that they were in any way comprehensive, but instead, what i typed and left as a note to myself was this:

and honestly. you're right, hypothetical reader, that doesn't totally make sense, but i stand by it regardless, because i apparently had that thought in [checks date i last saved the file] fucking august, and i'm still nodding along with myself. that is that this is like. this fic is very beautiful and will make you ache and will leave you slightly better at the end of it than you were at the beginning. it may also make you cry; this seems to me a fair enough trade.

the floating lotus by @anndramarama, not rated, di feisheng/li xiangyi. pre-canon stuff doesn't always work super well for me, but i really enjoyed this one, featuring di feisheng and li xiangyi when they're both so young and arrogant and full of themselves—and stupid and naïve and young and almost hopeful in a way that they're often not, in fic, for all that they were barely but children at the point of the donghai fight. they just seem…vulnerable, i guess, in this, in a way that i find touching. seasonal bonus: a ghost story, of a sort. given that this is set pre-canon, i think it's hard to come in any softer than bittersweet, which this very much is.

from here one's hand could pluck the stars by @howlingmoonrise, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing. sex pollen fic! also featuring, a little surprisingly, given the premise, incredibly explicit and enthusiastic consent. look, this does what it says on the tin. di feisheng gets sex pollened. fang duobing is left to stay with him. the obvious ensues. unfortunately, it is also devastatingly charming? fang duobing is earnest and sweet; di feisheng is suffering beautifully terribly and trying so hard not to impose on fang duobing. they're both trying so hard to be respectful of what the other person needs, but they're also still bratty and argumentative and exasperated/exasperating, and it's very entertaining. this will fuck you up none percent, and may even make you laugh.

my war is done by @orchisailsa, explicit, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. another wip, with the first of three chapters posted, but please understand that this chapter is nearly 15k and so fucking good and compelling. li lianhua lives! and returns to find that things have changed in his absence, and perhaps that he has also changed in his absence, and now wants things that he had told himself he didn't mind not even having to lose. bonus: road trip and—delight!—only one room at the inn. also some other stuff that i'm not spoiling, but that made me absolutely gleeful. this is definitely a work in progress, and while i don't think there's anything particularly upsetting in the chapter, it does end on something of a cliffhanger. i personally do not feel that this is an upsetting cliffhanger, given the information about the fic that's presented in the tags, but it is technically a cliffhanger.

awkward paragraph break, but it's also important, i think, to mention the absolutely stunning (and not at all safe for work) companion piece to my war is done, you'd be there calling my name, by saki the cup bearer, who i don't think is on tumblr. it's fucking incredible; i am very decidedly not an artist but i cannot begin to imagine how much effort went into this. just. holy shit.

not unlike him in shape and form by @philologicalbat, explicit, fang duobing/li lianhua. ok look. i fucking love when things are deeply emotionally messy, and this is so emotionally messy. li lianhua who's been attracted to fang duobing and not doing anything about it, then discovering that fang duobing is shan gudao's son and is very much going to do something about it. he wants in this, and he's cunty and manipulative and mean about it, and sometimes also almost sweet, almost tender, and i love that, because i feel like li lianhua is very often an object of desire and very rarely gets to desire. i love how human he gets to be in this fic. this is not a sweet or gentle fic, but it does end in a moderately tender place that is tentatively hopeful, i think.

unbecoming heir by @bettercostume, explicit, di feisheng/princess zhaoling. i am taking your hand in mine and begging you to trust me. i know what this fic looks like. it's noncon and a weird pairing and you might look at it and expect it to go in the obvious direction and: it does not. this fic is so good that it makes me angry. it makes me miserable and everyone in this fic is trying so miserably, miserably hard, and it's fucking devastating. i spent literally thirty minutes earlier today yelling at my wife about it. i cannot rec this fic strongly enough. this is not a happy fic, but it is a good fic. it will absolutely fuck you up. this is very complimentary but also you will be fucked up.

until you are its primary evidence by @ilgaksu, mature, di feisheng/fang duobing/li lianhua. the single most effective use of what is effectively a prologue that i've ever seen in fic, are you kidding me. this fic is nothing at all like what i expected it to be, and is something far better than what i could have imagined. it's fang duobing's point of view, which is a rarity already, and it's so well done, and it allows him so much humanity and so much anger and grace alike. there are so many tricky things about this fic—the prologue, the fact that it's set in the amnesia arc, fang duobing's pov, the fact that it actually addresses canonical disabilities and illnesses without being fucking weird about it, the tension between the three of them—and it's all balanced so well. this has some emotionally heavier moments but ends tentatively happily; tentative only because it's set during the amnesia arc, and, well. we know what comes next.

as a final note: if you wrote one of these fics and feel that i've wildly misinterpreted the emotional tenor of the ending, please message me in whatever way you prefer and i will correct it. i would not normally presume to guess how things are likely hit people, as i am in many ways not anyone's ideal reader, but today it seemed like it was kinder to at least try.

[orchisailsa]

Di Feisheng has never has a pet name for Fang Duobing because pet names are stupid. He calls his blade "blade," because that's what it is. And he calls Fang Duobing "Duobing" because that's what he is: a pain. All the pains. (in DFS's Ass) (Affectionate)

[acequinz]

You know what I think I really really love about difanghua with a focus on Fang Doubing is that while DiHua clearly see each other it's Fang Duobing who tries to understands them.

And no this isn't a- Fang Duobing knows them better than they know each other or know themselves. It's that he sees them do something and he thinks about it and understands their feelings.

Cause there's a knowledge that both Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua have of each other that lets them know how the other thinks and what they will do next but it doesn't always mean there's an understanding there.

Di Feisheng knows that Li Lianhua is running but he doesn't understand why he's running, this isn't to say he's not sympathetic or doesn't care but he doesn't always understand the motivation for his actions. He knows them.

Similarly Li Lianhua knows Di Feisheng well enough to know his drive, to know his habits and knows his nature to recognise him even in disguise. But even he doesn't understand the motivation of Di Feisheng he knows it's there and so we see him stumble a few times when Di Feisheng switches gears.

Fang Duobing doesn't know everything, he is missing big chunks of story almost all the time, he missed a few many cues as well but he understands.

He understands Li Xiangyi and his burdens, he understands the pain Li Lianhua feels, he understands that Di Feisheng isn't just what he portrays himself to be, he understands his drive and motivation comes from a place of care and when he doesn't understand, he sure as fuck tries to. He doesn't just ask for explicit details to solve the mystery, he is just trying to understand them.

He needs to know the people under his protection!

So he understands them.

To conclude:- Fang Duobing is an Empath.

[peridot-tears]

Ficlet:

Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing outlive Li Lianhua by decades. On the twentieth anniversary of the day he finally succumbed to the bicha poison, Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing park the Lianhua Lou by the East Sea to visit his grave.

They are about to leave when the ocean mist clears, and they see smoke in the distance. Perhaps a raided village? Judging by how thin it is, it has been burning for some time. Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing are not as spry as they used to be -- gray streaks in their hair -- but they are prepared to investigate when they hear a cry.

The current washes up a baby in a basket, like an offering to them both. Fang Duobing rushes to pick it up, and when they finally make it to the village, they find that a local family has been massacred, their manor burned to ashes.

They raise the child as Li Anle, but call him Xiaohua or Huahua as a nickname. For the child is precocious as he grows, taking to martial arts as if he was born to carry a sword. When Di Feisheng first teaches him to spar, he rams the wooden sword into his chest as if he could see the spot where his scar is. When Fang Duobing brings home a dog, Huahua insists on a list of increasingly outrageous names, beginning with Qilin and ending on Hulijing.

The first time Xiaohua hears Di Feisheng call Fang Duobing by his milk name, he giggles and sings out "Fang Xiaobao!" the rest of the day, careless and unfilial. Fang Duobing does not have the heart to chastise him. And when Xiaohua begins dueling with the neighbors, he always uses his winnings to make Di Feisheng chicken legs for dinner. They try to convince themselves that it's because they miss their friend, that they're old and sentimental, but they're terrible liars, even to themselves. So they watch the child skip rocks along the East Sea, and when he turns around, they catch the sharp and clever glance of someone who did not merely wither into the earth, but like a lotus, transformed.

[rose-tinted-vision]

The Head bane arc gave us so many good DiFang scenes ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

calling for A-Fei

And A-Fei shared his water with Fang Duobing in the next scene ✧⁠\⁠(⁠>⁠o⁠<⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠✧ (alas, im too broke to afford sharing more than 10 pictures)

[mx-myth]

Liansanjiao is so wild. One of them is a dom and also a pillow princess. Another one is a brat tamer and a submissive. The other one is a service top and a brat. They're all asexual. They're all horny all the time. They're all aromantic. They're all battle-sexual. They're all dating. They're all fighting. They're all in a qpr. They're all friends. They're all oh whoops you looked away for one moment now they're taking down the jianghu and they're going to remake it. Oh nevermind they're leaving.

[howlingmoonrise]

my last work for battleship is done, and it's time to say goodbye to team mermaid!

for @acernor, who i thought was super cool when we last spoke: i was over the moon to see you'd submitted a prompt to the collection and really wanted to write this for you! if there is one thing i can say about this fic is that it very much kept to your prompt of dfs bottoming, even if i wasn't too sure in which direction you'd like to see this ship in particular go. i hope you enjoy it 💖💖💖

many many thanks also to @a-memory-a-distant-echo for the very wrinkly-brained dfs takes, incredible brainstorming, major cheerleading, and for putting up with a truly ungodly amount of whining! i owe you like a thousand and shall continue to bother you ceaselessly 💖

--

Pairing: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing

“You’re so cold,” Fang Duobing says as he pours him a fresh cup of tea, the brush of his hands warming him in ways the blankets will not. “I wish Li Lianhua had left more instructions.” He looks so distressed, Di Feisheng thinks hazily. It’s ridiculous - he’s hardly Li Lianhua, withering away like a plucked flower, and he’s suffered through so much worse besides - and yet the pup is acting like he’s dying on his watch.  This is nothing. He’s just-- cold. Very cold. Colder than he was as an orphan on the streets, shivering in threadbare robes and not yet knowing how to start a fire. Colder than when the sea had claimed him ten years ago, icy and biting down to his bones. Di Feisheng curls further into himself - the dampness of his hair is not helping, soaking into the fabric wrapping his back, and neither is the stray breeze he can feel make its way through Lotus Tower. Every shiver feels like it’ll shatter him into pieces, like ice on the ground. It’s nothing. He just has to wait it out.

Read on AO3

[joyouslee]

Variations on a Theme:  There Was Only One Bed

For @thawrecka

From this post. 

(I couldn’t help myself.)

The three of them stood looking down at The Bed.  An awkward silence descended.  The night was quiet, just the rustle of the cool night wind blowing through dry autumn leaves.  Su Xiaoyong was presumably all tucked in and sleeping soundly in the bed downstairs.  

Two pillows and a neatly folded blanket were stacked on the bed.  Li Lianhua had built his guest room with the idea of renting it out for extra money, so the bed was large enough for two, but – he glanced at Fang Duobing’s shoulders and Di Feisheng’s, well, everything – it’d be a squeeze for three.

Li Lianhua only owned two blankets: the one he was holding and the one Su Xiaoyong was using.  The tastefully luxurious one on the bed was one Fang Duobing brought from home.  (Other things Li Lianhua had found tucked in previously empty drawers: silver, lots of it; random gadgets and tiny tools; medicines and spices; old (expensive) ginseng; clothes and jewelry.)

After that very first night when Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing nearly tore the tower down around them, Li Lianhua had drawn a firm line and forced the two of them to get along and share or sleep in the woods.  They ended up sharing the bed, though not without muttered complaints from Fang Duobing about giants with ridiculous arms and legs taking up too much room.  A-Fei was easier-going than Di Feisheng and hadn’t objected to continuing the sleeping arrangements.  

A-Fei kicked off his boots, shrugged out of his outer robe, and was laying down on his usual pillow before either of them could say anything.  Clearly the awkward silence was only on Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing’s part.  A-Fei did not believe in awkwardness.

Variation 1 - a bossy shepherd herds an indulgent wolf and bewildered fox into bed

Li Lianhua looked around the room and started moving towards the bench against the far railing.  “You two take the bed, I’ll sleep over here.”  

Fang Duobing tsked audibly and said, “Li Lianhua you can’t sleep over there.  It’s too cold, there’s nothing to block the wind and it’ll go right to your bones.  You’re so skinny - you’re going to freeze to death.”  

Taking the blanket and pillow from Li Lianhua, he continued, “A-Fei, turn over, you’re taking up too much room, and take out your guan you’re going to stab Li Lianhua in the eye.”  

A-Fei huffed but did as he was told, to Li Lianhua’s astonishment.

“Take off your robe and hairpin, Li Lianhua,” Fang Duobing urged as he put Li Lianhua’s pillow down on the bed.  He then shook out the large blanket over A-Fei, laying it across the bed. “Quickly, it’s cold.  You should know better - the cold isn’t good for your heart.”  He then put Li Lianhua’s blanket around his shoulders, nudging him to sit on the bed.  

“Shoes off,” he tutted, before reaching over as though he were going to help Li Lianhua take them off.  Li Lianhua held him off with a quickly raised hand as he toed off his boots.  

“If you want any sleep tonight, just let him,” A-Fei said. “Otherwise he will go on forever.”  Li Lianhua was surprised to detect the slightest hint of indulgent amusement in his tone.  

“What are you talking about, A-Fei?  I’m just making sure Li Lianhua sleeps well and doesn’t catch a cold.  You know his health is poor.”  Fang Duobing said distractedly as he pushed Li Lianhua into bed against A-Fei’s back, straightening both blankets over him.

“You need us to block the wind for you,” he continued as he blew out the lamps and readied himself for sleep.  He carefully lifted only the top blanket and slid in gently, keeping the night air from touching Li Lianhua, and tucked in with his back to Li Lianhua.  

“Goodnight,” Fang Duobing said with a cheerful wiggle, getting comfortable, then within a few breaths he was asleep.

With both of them laying on their sides, Li Lianhua didn’t feel crowded in the middle, just … protected.

Li Lianhua blinked in bewilderment at how easily he – and Di Fucking Fei Sheng! – had been herded into bed together.�� But as he lay there, fond amusement settled in.  He hadn’t a clue where the precious only son of Minister Fang and Sect Leader He of the famed Tianji Manor would have had the opportunity to learn how to take care of someone.  But his concern warmed Li Lianhua’s heart as much as the two furnaces he lay between warmed his old bones.  He closed his eyes and let himself rest.

Variation 2 - shutting up a yappy pup

Fang Duobing’s mouth dropped open in outrage.  

Li Lianhua braced for noise.

“A-Fei how can you take the bed like that?  You know Li Lianhua’s sick.  He can’t sleep on the floor.”  He stomped over and started pushing at A-Fei’s shoulder, presumably to get him to move onto the floor.  A-Fei tolerated three pushes before grabbing his arm and uncurling in a flash.  With a startled squeak Fang Duobing rolled over him and landed on the other side of the bed.  A-Fei rolled on top of him smoothly and covered his mouth with one hand.  

“Sleep,” he said firmly.  

Fang Duobing flailed at him with his free hand but A-Fei had him fully controlled.  Fang Duobing’s protests were muffled but it was clear what he was yelling about with the way he kept looking over at Li Lianhua emphatically.

A-Fei looked at Li Lianhua and jerked his chin at the open space.

Li Lianhua rolled his eyes and put his pillow on the bed.  

Alt chord progression 1: A-Fei puts his other hand over Fang Duobing’s eyes and he falls asleep - I’ve seen that trick work on puppies before and expect it would work just as well here.

Alt chord progression 2: A-Fei and Li Lianhua find other ways of keeping Fang Duobing quiet and sharing the bed.  i.e., lots of sex.  

When Li Lianhua wakes up, Di Feisheng is curled around him, and Fang Duobing is tucked up against his back, a little spoon trying to be a big spoon even though his forehead only hits A-Fei’s nape.  Fang Duobing’s arm is around Di Feisheng with his fingers curled into Li Lianhua’s robe, leg thrown over both of them.  Untangling is going to be a process but - Li Lianhua cups his hand around Fang Duobing’s, tilting his cheek against Di Feisheng’s nose- something to deal with later.  He closes his eyes and falls asleep again.  

Variation 3 (minor chord progression to theme in G major) - puppy pile 

“No.   My house, my rules.  No dogs in my bed.”  He swept the thick blanket into Fang Duobing’s arms and pushed him towards the clear space on the other end of the room, ignoring his indignant “Who are you calling a dog?!”.  

He pointed at Di Feisheng.  “Off,” he said imperiously.  “You two can keep each other warm over there.  Don’t think I don’t know what you two have done up here.”  

Fang Duobing choked and turned red.

“But you better keep in mind I’m right here, and downstairs is the granddaughter of the biggest gossip in the jianghu.  If you don’t want your liaison published in the next bulletin, keep your paws off each other.”

A-Fei shrugged and grabbed a sputtering Fang Duobing by the arm, pulling him down and rolling them in the large blanket like a spring roll.  “Go to sleep,” he said calmly.  

Fang Duobing managed to choke out a muffled “Goodnight.”

Li Lianhua blew out the candle and only heard a few rustles and a rather loudly whispered “A-Fei!” before all was quiet.  He curled up, rubbing his socked feet together.  He’d known about them pretty much since they started… whatever it is.  Fang Duobing wasn’t able to keep his emotions off his face; he blushed to the tips of his ears every time Di Feisheng came near him and occasionally tripped over nothing while pretending not to look at him.  He’s glad for them - the jianghu can be vicious, so taking comfort where you can is a gift.  He doesn’t want what they have, but it still feels ….  He shakes his head, no point in being maudlin about something he doesn’t even care to have.

The night wind swept through the room, and Li Lianhua shivered.  It really was a lot colder up on the second floor, and he couldn’t expend any neili to warm himself.  He was so tired.  His joints ached and he worried he might have a bicha attack that he wouldn’t be able to hide. He pulled the blanket over his head to keep the heat in and squinched his eyes shut, hoping to reach unconsciousness before his teeth started chattering. 

“Li LIanhua?  Are you okay?”

He ignored him, deciding that pretending to be dead was a viable route to sleep.  

“Li Lianhua?” 

A long pause.  He clutched the blanket closer, wondering if Fang Duobing gave up.

“Don’t be an idiot,” he heard as warmth settled over and around him, two warm bodies bracketing him, legs tangling and arms curling around him.  

“Don’t call him an idiot,” he felt more than heard Fang Duobing mutter.  The heat of them settled into his bones, and he fell asleep before he could tell them to get out of his bed.  

***

He woke up warmed through, muscles relaxed for once instead of tight from pain and cold.  He blinked his eyes open, shockingly well rested.  Fang Duobing was still asleep, clutching him like a favored toy, soft breaths hot against his neck.  He could tell by Di Feisheng’s breathing that he was already awake, but he still kept his arm over Li Lianhua’s chest, hand curled at Fang Duobing’s nape.  A warm wiggly weight settled over his feet, and he glanced down.

Hulijing had once again snuck into bed.

Li Lianhua sighed.  How did he end up with three unruly dogs in his home?

Note: ok, so like, not so much variation because I’m constitutionally unable to leave Li Lianhua sad and cold and alone in bed.  Or any of them, really.  So.  Puppy pile!

[philologicalbat]

"Tall Drink of Water"

Pairing: Di Feisheng/Fang Duobing Rated Mature Word Count: 2k Tags: Omorashi, Humiliation, There Was Only One Bed, Well there's two but Li Lianhua isn't sharing, Past Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua Summary: He has a faint sense-memory of being flung over Di Feisheng’s shoulder and carried bodily upstairs. He winces. Buries his face in Di Feisheng’s same shoulder and then, realizing what he’s done, recoils. They share a bed, yes, but they do not—well. Strictly speaking, Fang Duobing does often wake up curled up against Di Feisheng, but that’s because Fang Duobing’s sleeping body doesn’t know it’s Di Feisheng, demon lord of the jianghu. It just knows that he’s warm.

Read it on AO3.

[nutcasewithaknife]

Best postcanon difang dynamic is where they still fight like cats and dogs but also indulge and care for each other. They will break a table about who has to go get the groceries this time but Di Feisheng will almost always let Fang Duobing come and cling to him whenever he wants to. They will fight about who was supposed to give Huli Jing a bath but Fang Duobing will always share up to half of anything he eats with Di Feisheng if he thinks he'll like it. Di Feisheng always siding with Fang Duobing when he sulks or snarks at Li Lianhua about lying or leaving. Fang Duobing easily taking the occasional advice and correction from Di Feisheng while training with his sword, and being insufferable at the slightest compliment. Even more delightful is Li Lianhua who sees all of this and is first confused, then fond, and then regrets everything the moment he realises that 1)they're still breaking things by fucking as well as fighting now, and 2) they are ten times more likely to gang up on him

[a--ttano]

"I hate you, you're annoying and dangerous and I don't trust you, but I'll look out for you when you're weak and I'll catch you when you fall and I'll play with you like we're the silly children we never got to be."