Sliding in not-quite-late with these! The Untamed recs are first since I think that’s what most of ya’ll are around for, then Yuletide & related small fandoms and some random anime fandoms under the cut.
THE UNTAMED
With Absolute Splendor by Lise / @veliseraptor - I’ve seen this recced all over the place, and for good reason! Absolutely my favorite Jiang Cheng POV, as he insists that Wangxian get married at Lotus Pier then repeatedly fails to get out of his own way as he rebuilds a relationship with Wei Wuxian. His complicated layers of trauma and grief and anger are so well-written, and he’s trying so hard <3
make this chaos count by devotedbones - Wei Wuxian returns to Cloud Recesses after his travels and immediately gets in a fight with some assholes talking shit about Lan Zhan. Sounds a bit cracky, but it’s not, and Wei Wuxian’s voice is so compelling - mischievous and longing and righteous, with his belief in LWJ just enough to counterbalance his belief that he’s unwanted.
Keep the Customer Satisfiedby@whenas-in-silks/WhenasInSilks - modern AU where Meng Yao deploys his Customer Service Smile and sneakiness in an actual customer service job, and Lan Xichen just keeps breaking his computer for somereason. (+ excellent comic relief from frenemy/coworker Xue Yang, and The Hat)
combat baby by dustyloves/@theo-decker - Buffy fusion, in which Lan Zhan is called as Slayer after Wei Ying’s death - but Wei Ying comes back. I was surprised by how much I liked this, since normally I am reflexively cranky when the Slayer gets AU’d to being male, but something about Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan’s trauma and anger and the weight of expectations really worked for me. And also the kinky sex. :D
The One-Body Problem by metiskit - in which Jingyi accidentally gets possessed by the Yiling Patriarch - who turns out to be a really nice guy? Hilarious, but with Wei Wuxian’s deep well of Issues as a compassionate counterpoint. Starts stronger than it finishes, imo, but absolutely worth reading.
YULETIDE & ADJACENT
I had a very quiet Yuletide this year, because I did my semi-annual fandom thing where I read all the YT fic for a fandom and then went and caught up on the last six months of fic that I’d missed. So I basically just binge-read Queen’s Thief, The Goblin Emperor, and Nirvana in Fire, with side trips in anime fandoms that I’ve never even seen the canon for, because why not end 2020 on the appropriate ‘fuck it’ note.
