July recs

Sliding in pretty late this month after the push to finish my WIP Big Bang! But once again mostly The Untamed with more than 25 recs, plus 4 stray recs for other fandoms (Leverage, HP, Hikaru no Go, and Star Wars). My top picks are above the cut, and the rest are underneath.

Give Me What I Want by Jo Lasalle

Do you want vengeance, Wei Wuxian?

The final part of a series I recced in my May set! If you held off on reading it then, go devour the whole 80K AU now and watch our boys cope with some additional physical and emotional trauma through the Indoctrination/Lotus Pier massacre/Burial Mounds/Sunshot arc, but with a solidly hopeful ending.

Where the Lonely Ones Go by CSHfic & VSfic

“When did you arrive?” Lan Zhan asks, but he’s looking at the child in Wei Wuxian's arms, and the question is clearly, who’s baby is this, and maybe, should I be concerned?

or Accidental (haunted) baby acquisition

More ‘accidental haunted toddler insta-adoption’, wherein while trying to surprise his husband by joining him for a nighthunt, Wei Wuxian meets an orphaned little girl who is living on the streets because she’s plagued by persistent, dangerous accidents. An adorable child OC (I think she’s about 4 or 5), soft married Wangxian action (nailed the whole ‘we haven’t had a conversation about this yet but we’re totally on the same page’ dynamic), and a solidly original two-pronged casefile that I’ve already read twice. I recced another story by these authors last month, and I love the way they write WWX: sharply perceptive, gregarious, and compassionate, and how all of those things shape him as an investigator.

As You Like It by cosmicmilktea

"I was just wondering what snacks or sweets Hanguang-Jun prefers with his tea."

Wei Wuxian laughs, opens his mouth, and then has the horrible realization that he really, truly, doesn't know.

It takes a moment to sink in. He's known Lan Zhan ever since he was fifteen, had saved the Cultivation world together with him twice over, is actually married to the man, and Wei Wuxian doesn't know what his favorite tea snack is.

Incredibly soft and thoughtful post-canon fic featuring family and food as a love language, where Wei Wuxian attempts to pamper Lan Wangji for once and smacks up against some of LWJ’s stealth issues. (luckily, WWX never backs down from a challenge!)

Becoming the Phoenix by Branch

Drama-based. Alternate timeline in which Meng Yao ends up staying the summer at the Cloud Recesses, and is taken into Lan instead of Jin. Lan Xichen is eminently pleased with this, though Jin Guangshan will come to regret it very much indeed. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji is dubious, Nie Huaisang enjoys having someone to tease, Jiang Yanli likes her new friend, Wei Wuxian benefits from another ally, and Wen Qing sometimes wishes she'd never met any of these idiots.

An extremely satisfying AU where Meng Yao and Lan Xichen have a whirlwind summer romance and get engaged before the war starts, and all of his competence and scheming is used in service of his ever-growing love and a network of people he cares about, instead of frustrated ambition and abusive family. Very well-written and plotty fix-it, with great use of Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli and Nie Huaisang, and a compelling Wangxian B-plot.

Start A War by @ifshehadwings: AO3 | Tumblr

War is an ugly business, even when you win. Jin Guangyao, Nie Huaisang, and all the destruction left in their wake. (Alternate summary: Nie Huaisangs don't start wars, but they can finish them.)

Yes, I know I’ve reblogged this vid before, but it’s SO GOOD. Amazing song choice, devastatingly precise editing, and stunning use of limited footage to showcase the two puppetmasters of this story.
 

( More Untamed and misc fandoms )