September 2021 Fanfic Recs

[forestsofpine]

Here are some of the fics I enjoyed in September:

MDZS/CQL Fanfic Recs

cut through the clouds, break the ceiling, Ouyang Zizhen/A-Qing, 9k, general audiences

A-Qing, former teen runaway and current teen barista, cons her way into free tutoring from one of the cute prep school boys who does his homework in the cafe ever day. After all, if she passes the GED test, she might be able to escape customer service someday. Then feelings happen, and it's terrible.

让我留在你身边 // let me stay by your side, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 13k, explicit

In the aftermath of what they witnessed at Yi City, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian continue to skirt the truth of their feelings for each other.

like, comment, share & subscribe, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 22k, teen
I found this fic in a Twitter thread by lilacdraft.

“Come on, A-Cheng!” Wei Ying says. “Think of all the hapless youths who are watching hanguang_jun’s channel and being duped into thinking that’s what university is like! It’s not fair on the kids!”

Jiang Cheng appears to be entirely unmoved by this highly logical argument.
—
Lan Zhan runs a popular studytuber YouTube channel. Wei Ying decides to parody his videos. Things escalate from there.

no saving me, Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao, 1k, teen

At Guanyin Temple, Lan Xichen will say in a hollow voice, “You lied to me,” and Jin Guangyao will not know how to respond, when has given Lan Xichen so much more truth than he can afford.

Our Share of Night To Bear series

A collection of works following our favorite juniors as they move through a world defined by the previous generation's mistakes and triumphs. All can be read independently, but fit inside the same timeline!

1. His Merit All My Fear, gen with background Wangxian and pre-relationship Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, 16k, general audiences

It’s too late for any of Hanguang-Jun’s rabbits to be awake -- one of the sundown chores for young disciples is to herd them back into their hutch -- but the rabbit field is as good a spot as any for quality sulking, so Lan Jingyi makes his way there.

Someone has beat him to it.

Lan Jingyi stares at Hanguang-Jun. Hanguang-Jun stares passively back.

When Lan Sizhui is swept away with the Ghost General, off on a new adventure, Lan Jingyi is the one who returns to Cloud Recesses alone.

2. The Living Looked That Day, gen with background Wangxian, 19k, teen

“Well, when I asked Wei-gongzi what you might want for your birthday, he asked me what I could give you that no one else could.” Lan Sizhui can’t help but smile. It’s so Wei-qianbei to answer a question with a question. “A-and I thought… if you wanted, I could…” The next words are so quiet, Lan Sizhui struggles to hear them. “I thought I could show you our family.”

For Lan Sizhui's birthday, he receives a glimpse behind the curtain of all that was.

3. One Eye Upon the Heaven Renounced, gen with background Wangxian, 23k, general audiences

“I’m serious," Jin Ling presses. "You think Lanling Jin can survive another scandal? Another horrible sect leader? I have to be perfect! That’s what this entire conference is about!”

“I thought it was about fostering inter-sect harmony,” Lan Jingyi deadpans, which, damnably, is a direct line from the invitation.

A year after the fall of Jin Guangyao, Jinlintai opens its doors to prove there is nothing to hide. Jin Ling is just trying to survive the week.

4. Why Paradise Defer, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, 10k, general audiences

To someone who knows how to look, Gusu Lan is watching and waiting, one eye on the horizon.

When Wei Wuxian fails to return to Cloud Recesses on time, Lan Sizhui takes matters into his own hands.

I also poked around some of the rarepair tags I've been wanting to explore more, with some success. Here's a post-canon Lan Xichen/Song Lan fic and a canon divergence Lan Xichen/Jiang Yanli AU fic I especially enjoyed:

a gorgeous, broken gift, Lan Xichen/Song Lan, 4k, teen

Lan Xichen has known many kinds of silence.

He knows the space between sips of tea and polite nods. He knows the solemn quiet of shared loss and the breathless joy of shared secrets. He knows the stillness after a kiss, after a promise. After it’s broken. And intimately, he knows the brittle distance of a sect who will not tolerate the honest clamour of grief.

He has lived his entire life in things unsaid, but Lan Xichen has never known a silence like Song Lan. For the first time in four years, he finds himself curious.

Field Medicine, Lan Xichen/Jiang Yanli, WIP, general audiences

“I didn’t know Mistress Jiang’s expertise extended to medicine,” Lan Xichen commented, a little breathless from the pain of his injury.

Jiang Yanli smiled up at him – kind and gentle and just a little mischievous – and suddenly he was a little more breathless than before.

How had he never spent time with this remarkable woman before?

Happy reading!