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October recs
Bit late this month - I got a TAD distracted by the election - but here we go! I finished watching Guardian, so it's about half-and-half recs for The Untamed and Guardian. This month’s favorites first!
(Untamed) I feel like I win when I lose by so_shhy
Wei Ying is at his first Grand Final, rated fifth in the solo cultivator rankings, with the Qishan and Lanling silver medals tucked away in his sock drawer, and he’s about to walk into the arena for a match that everyone knows he’s going to lose.
A modern competitive cultivation AU.
I had so much fucking fun reading this story! Wangxian’s rivalry transitioning to friendship and romance is pitch-perfect, the fights are immensely creative (and occasionally hilarious), I loved the plot with the Wens and Wei Ying’s backstory, and the worldbuilding, and the Jiang siblings kicking ass, and and and... Far and away my favorite fic in this batch - I’m resisting the urge to read it again right now.
(Untamed) say it's here where our pieces fall in place by Lirelyn / @ginnymoonbeam
“It’s okay that you miss him,” said Lan Wangji, a familiar litany to them both by now. “Do you feel sad?”
“I feel sad,” A-Yuan repeated, shoulders hitching with tiny hiccuping sniffs. “When is he coming back?”
“I don’t know. I am not sure where he is.”
But this seemed to frustrate A-Yuan. “Xian-gege! I miss him! Please, baba?” He looked up at him with wet cheeks and a wide, quivering frown. “Please baba can you ask him? I really miss him!” He sobbed again, heartbreakingly.
It stabbed straight through him, cracking open the reservoir of loss and helplessness that was all his own. His child’s grief did that, sometimes. It always took him by surprise. He caught his breath sharply and gathered A-Yuan into his arms, holding him tight until the pain ebbed.
“I will try,” he said softly into A-Yuan’s hair, when he could speak again. He never made uncertain promises and tried not even to raise uncertain hopes, but his son was hurting. His son believed he could make it better. He couldn’t not try.
Wen Qing might at least know who this “Xian-gege” was. He would text her in the morning. It would be a start.
Modern AU where Lan Wangji has adopted A-Yuan, and also has a crush on the waiter at his regular diner, and doesn’t realize those people are linked. Oof, beautifully direct hit to the feels, with a great handle on Wei Wuxian’s issues and their effects on the people close to him.
(Untamed) out to get you (to get you) by iliacquer
In order to kill the Demon of Yiling, assassin Lan Wangji pretends to be courtesan. Falling in love with Wei Wuxian is an unfortunate complication.
(Or: the courtesan-but-actually-assassin!LWJ fic)
Fantastic dark AU where the Wens started the war earlier, and they’ve been defeated but the war is dragging on due to Lanling Jin’s ambitions. Iliacquer always writes stuff that emotionally hooks into my gut, but doesn’t always stick the landing plotwise - but this one definitely nailed it, twisty and aching and smart.
(Guardian) Now Lie in It by @xparrot
Ten thousand years before he's even born, Zhao Yunlan falls in love, all over again for the first time.
My absolute favorite ‘ZYL spent a while in the past’ fic, with ZYL falling ever more in love with older Shen Wei at the same time he's loving younger Shen Wei, because he finally understands. Plus, great worldbuilding and h/c around the war.
More recs under the cut: 12 for The Untamed, 9 for Guardian!
THE UNTAMED-CANON
The Missing Ingredient For Good Health by @crowry - for all your Jiang/Jin family 'crying over soup' needs, a really lovely piece of gen fic.
can people untie themselves, uncurling like flowers by annemari - in which WWX gets hurt on a night hunt near Lotus Pier. Excellent Lotus Siblings reconciliation.
stuck under the moon by perilously - in which WWX returns to Cloud Recesses and LWJ isn't in love with him anymore. Love the feels, and WWX's self-worth issues clashing up against his investigative instincts.
To be of use by Erisette - lovely, long gen story about Lan Wangji becoming a father and teacher, covering the years that WWX is dead. Heavy on the kids and light on the grief, but I loved the worldbuilding and character work.
Can't Stop Thinking of That Far Road by Forestofglory - charming post-canon juniors epistolary fic, with great narrative voices for the boys.
-AUS
forget the shade from this other tree by VagabondDawn - Qiongqi Path fix-it AU, in which Wei Wuxian goes to Cloud Recesses first so that he can travel to Jinlintai with Lan Wangji. A very simple point-change followed through creatively and well.
Tempo Rubato by Spodumene - modern Persuasion AU! Absolutely nails the yearning ache that any good Persuasion AU must have, and I liked the portrayal of LWJ's depression.
I am lonely for you by protos_metazu_ison - in which the people that Lans fall in love with are cursed with devastating bad luck, Lan Wangji can't help loving Wei Wuxian anyway, and then canon happens. A little loose in the details, but achingly romantic.
Three Gates by nirejseki / @robininthelabyrinth - interesting AU where Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao meet as children, and Meng Yao grows up in Qinghe with his mother. Meng Yao using his sneaky powers for love instead of ambition, great character work on Meng Shi, and good Nie brothers action.
Lynchpin by @shanastoryteller - fantastic, sprawling AU where Jiang Cheng can't stop thinking about JGY's claim that he could have saved WWX by standing by him, time travels back, and fixes things. There's a few plot points that don't work for me, but in an AU this complex that's pardonable, especially for a JC POV this good.
Like a House on Fire by KouriArashi / @gingersnapwolves - 911/emergency responders AU! Charming episodic competence porn with some light backstory/family/work-related angst, some romance, and a great natural disaster subplot.
Covered in Bees by ScarlettStorm - silly but delightful modern meet-cute where WWX comes home to a swarm of bees in his yard, and calls a local beekeeper for help - who turns out to be the insanely hot Lan Wangji, of course. Flirting! Puns! Bees!
GUARDIAN
Etched Into Bone, Into Heart by Trobadora - in which Zhao Yunlan gets amnesia instead of going blind, and forgets Shen Wei. MY HEART.
use your words (not your fists) by shadowlancer_95 / @shadowsofmoonracer - in which Shen Wei and Ye Zun reconcile after their long sleep, instead of failing to communicate. I really liked the way this fic tied things back into canon, because I want my twins reconciliation AND my time loop romance, thx ever so.
10/10 WOULD MARRY by aubreyli - in which Shen Wei's students review his (ahem) assets as a teacher online. Gossipy and fun outsider POV work, but the crowning piece is when Zhao Yunlan finds the site and posts one himself, the shameless bastard.
In Vino Veritas by galaxysoup / @galaxystew - really lovely gen piece where Zhu Hong and Shen Wei talk about loving Zhao Yunlan.
Flowers & Grass by Xparrot - in an attempt to kill a Dixing murder flower in the sewers, Shen Wei is exposed. Starts out with adorably high Shen Wei, and then gets increasingly terrifying.
Goblin Fruit by frith_in_thorns - tense and original post-canon casefile featuring a dangerously addictive Dixing drug and the boys being equally dangerously inclined to risk their lives for each other.
Spark by xparrot - in which Shen Wei catches a Dixing cold. Domesticity, caretaking, and the boys' insecurities about the same.
All-Consuming by ratbones - zombie apocalypse AU! I feel a little bad for this author that a real life pandemic happened in the middle of her WIP (now completed), but if you're up for reading that, it's a great mix of zombie tropes, a twisty plot, and our beloved Weilan time loop romance needs.
What He's Got by neery / @this-is-neery - whoof, a interesting AU and compelling look at Ye Zun's mindset, where hurting Shen Wei is all that matters, but little flashes of emotion filter through despite himself. Dark but hopeful. TW for sexual assault.
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