halfcactus

NiF Mini Exchange 2023 just went live and here are my favorites (mostly gen):

Building Standards
Meng Zhi's adventures in house hunting.
A very fun missing episode about Meng Zhi trying to find a house for MCS. Cute, funny, slice-of-life.

Traced Everywhere in Thought
Mu Nihuang and Lin Chen have tea, discuss logistics, and determinedly do not wake Mei Changsu, who needs more sleep than he gets.
Excellent Nihuang PoV of an interesting interaction! I adore her intelligence, her passing thoughts and observations, her determination and her jiejie-ness.

Cozening
If Qin Banruo was the kind of woman given to self-deception, she would say that the affair was the best way to prevent Lanjin from interfering with her plans for Prince Yu. But Qin Banruo can be nothing but ruthless with others, so she is nothing but ruthless with herself.
Pairing: Banruo/Prince Yu's wife. A sharp reflection of Banruo through a rareship lens.


Honorable mentions: bamboos bend and break, a prequel fic about the older gen trio (Lin Xie, Yan Que, Xiao Xuan) centered around Consort Chen, and bitter sorrow shared, a space AU about Lin Chen finding and treating Lin Shu in the aftermath of the Chiyan tragedy.