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!

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