August 2021 Fanfic Recs

[forestsofpine]

I had a busy month and wasn't able to read as much as the previous few months, but still found some good stuff. Here are some of the fics I enjoyed in August:



MDZS/Untamed Fic Recs

The Birds and The Bees (and The Bunnies), gen, 6k, teen

Jiang Cheng set his glass down with a thump that shook the table, making the other glasses tinkle musically. He was getting that horrible, pinched look around his eyes that was usually only caused by day long meetings with Sect Leader Yao. "Look, A-Ling. The thing with sex is..."

Jin Ling leaned forward just a little, not wanting to miss a word.

He watched his fearless uncle who loved him square his shoulders and face the demon of Jin Ling's curiosity.

"The thing is..."

And completely lose his nerve. Jiang Cheng's shoulders slumped minutely and his scowl was back in full force as he turned to Jin Ling. "If you have sex, you will get pregnant and die."

Three times someone tried to give Jin Ling The Talk and one time they succeeded.

combat baby, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 33k, explicit

Everyone at the Academy knows how Wei Ying died: fumbling a routine raid on a vampire lair. Killed saving his brother, his body ripped to shreds. The vampires threw a bacchanal, feasted on slayer blood all night.

No-one knows how Wei Ying came back to life.

A Buffy-inspired AU.

i see the wasp on the length of my arm, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 12k, explicit

Lan Wangji meets Wei Wuxian at college orientation. After that, it feels inevitable.
+
Serial monogamist straight boy Wei Ying meets anti-romantic Lan Zhan. They figure it out. Eventually.

Lan Wangji's Big Dick Agenda, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 11k, explicit

This fic came out of a conversation with wwxsays_er around the idea that Lan Wangji is terribly conventional and rule-bound, right up until the moment any of those rules and conventions get in the way of him getting to fuck Wei Ying. Then there is only one thing on his agenda.

Lan Zhan does not like Wei Ying (Wei Ying thinks), but they are study partners. Lan Zhan is way hornier than anyone would suspect. In the quiet of the library things get a little frisky.

These next two fics are both fun examples of an author with very specific knowledge using it to bring their fanfics to life with interesting and immersive details, similar to the Take Your Fandom To Work Day challenge a few years back (AO3 tag). The first fic is a love letter to the British LARPing scene (mud and all); the second, a modern with magic AU set in a living history "edutainment" museum about cultivation. The Old Guard fic I recced last month, Full Fathoms Deep (gen, 9k, teen), is another example of this genre.

Mud and Canvas, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 109k, mature

Yiling Laozu was one of the biggest characters on the Sunshot LARP field. He made his own faction, raised an army of the dead, and was single-handedly responsible for destroying the yin iron economy. Unfortunately his actions caused no end of problems for the game runners - so after Yiling Laozu’s death, his player Wei Ying was very firmly asked to leave the game. Four years and a change of management later, and Wei Ying is back! Only difference - rather than being let loose on the field again, he’s crewing now and playing a stream of NPC zombies, merchants and diplomats.

While he's barred from raising the dead, he still has plenty of time for important out of character shenanigans, including but not limited to avoiding his family, poking electrical wires, corrupting the youth, and bothering Lan Zhan.

One year, four events, and a tale of campfires, love and live action roleplaying.

Night of the Living History (an edutainment special!), Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 51k, teen
Thanks to donutsweeper for this rec!

It doesn’t mean much coming from Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying thinks. He’s pretty sure Jiang Cheng has to be coaxed out of his hanfu by the laundry wranglers. He doesn’t even think he’s seen Jiang Cheng suffer a pair of jeans in three weeks. He thinks Jiang Cheng takes home the underclothes and sleeps in them, cuddling the knockoff Zidian like a teddy bear.

Wei Ying lands a job as the Yiling Patriarch at the Lanling Cultivation Museum. Lan Zhan (Hanguang-Jun 4x per week, Sect Leader Lan 2x per week) suffers accordingly.

Another pair of fics I read this month involved fanfic of a fanfic. 74243's female!Lan Zhan/female!Wei Ying fics featuring "alpha dyke Lan Zhan" (adlz) are very, very hot if that's your thing (I previously recced Are you gonna be my girl back in May), and an anonymous author was inspired to write an AU of 74243's popular mistaken identity fic Pull out game weak, in which things play out a little differently than the original fic. Both fics are scorching, and reading them back-to-back was a lot of fun.

Pull out game weak, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 22k, explicit

Wei Ying swipes right.

Extra Time, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 28k, explicit

How Wei Ying learned to stop worrying and love the strap (an AU of 74243's Pull out game weak)

Word of Honor Fanfic Recs

PSA: Due to the awful situation that unfolded in the Word of Honor fandom this month, a group of fans have compiled as much video content as they could to preserve now that it is being removed from some official sources. You can find their archive at SHL Archive.


Rowhome, Ye Baiyi/Xie Wang, 47k, explicit

It's incredible that he doesn't cry. He must just be too tired, too wired, to let it out. Maybe his body is saving the liquid for something.

a dream of sunlight lining your shadow // 衬着你身影的幻光, Zhou Zishu/Wen Kexing, 28k, explicit

This fic is sequel to this harbored deluge for you and i // 像我和你需要下一场雨 (30k, mature), which I recced in June. I recommend reading that fic first.

The limping suitcase almost slipped from Zhou Zishu’s hand when he saw him, clutching a spare jacket and a bag of Skittles to the chest of his pajama shirt, under an orange scrolling LED panel that’s paging the most recently landed flight. Qantas Airways, hailing from Canberra. Everything else—the sticky carpet, the merry-go-rounds of luggage, the custodian snuffing out a cigarette in the water fountain—vaporized from Zhou Zishu’s vision. Everything else desaturated.

Wen Kexing opened his soft, pink mouth. “Say you’ve missed me.”
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farm-to-table shenanigans, and the transnational fine print that ensues after one gets hitched on a whim.

[B-side to this harbored deluge for you and i]

Happy reading!

Comments

[out_there]

Thank ypu for the recs.