The Other Sandy

Title: Fated Series
Author: LtLJ
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Note: You must be a logged in to your AO3 account to read this fic. 😢


The final rec! I can't believe I did this for a whole year!


REC

This is a canon era AU involving an arranged marriage between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian's background is very different from canon in this story and I was absolutely riveted by the bits and pieces hinting at what happened to him until the full story was revealed.

I also very much enjoy stories with the Yiling Patriarch running a successful community of Wens in the Burial Mounds.

And this is my last chance to remind you that LtLJ is an award-winning, professionally published author and I can guarantee you've read at least one of her books.


TEASER

Wen Ning advanced, eyeing Lan Wangji with sharp caution. "You're really all right, Xian-ge?"

"Sure, it's fine." He took the folded black robe from Wen Ning. "We need to go to the Burial Mounds. There's something there... The Jin want it. I didn't bring it, that's why I was..."

"Why you were unwell," Lan Wangji guessed. He added, "Has it to do with the fact you have been...previously dead?"

"Sort of." The Patriarch scratched his head. "The first time the Xue drowned me in the Blood Pool--"

Wen Ning cleared his throat anxiously. "Xian-ge."

The Patriarch made a placating gesture. "Right, right, it's a long story."

Title: Leave All Your Love and Your Longing Behind
Author: ScarlettStorm
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian


REC

I can never remember the actual name of this fic because in my head it's called The Asshole Dog and the Most Beautiful Man in the World. I love everything about it so much. I love the writing. I love the humor. I love Wei Ying's relationship with his siblings and Yanli's family, and his found family relationship with the Wens. I love how Lan Zhan--despite his social anxiety--ends up forming bonds with his neighbors and is part of a real neighborhood community where people know and help each other. And I love how Wei Ying and Lan Zhan each have their challenges (PTSD and ADHD for Wei Ying, and Autism Spectrum for Lan Zhan) but they make an effort to accommodate each other with no judgment.

I also love how the author's portrayal of Lan Zhan's ASD doesn't stop at him being awkward with people, but also includes sensory issues, discomfort with spontaneity (as opposed to planned outings), overwhelm, and emotional dysregulation. Wei Ying just rolls with it all.

And of course I love Lan Zhan's cat, Bunny.


TEASER

All of Lan Zhan's previous interactions with The Most Beautiful Man in the World have been at a distance, with Lan Zhan on his front porch or weeding the front garden while The Most Beautiful Man in the World walks past on the sidewalk, gait a little bouncy as though he's too excited to rein himself in. Lan Zhan thinks he must have family in the neighborhood, because the visits aren't regular enough for The Most Beautiful Man in the World to live nearby--not that Lan Zhan thinks about The Most Beautiful Man in the World an inappropriate amount. He just tries to make sure he's outside in the afternoons on Fridays, for his own health, and if a few times a month he gets a cheerful wave accompanied by a smile that feels like a warm slap to the face, that's his business.

Title: Ridiculous Future Bullshit Series
Author: sami
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian


REC

Do you have a long holiday weekend this weekend? Looking for something to read? Do I have a series for you.

The Ridiculous Future Bullshit Series is a sequel to a more serious series (which you don't have to read to follow this one) in which Wei Wuxian travels back in time to try to fix canon. He's not wholly successful, but he makes enough positive changes to result in this much crackier series wherein he, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui, Lan Xichen, and Wen Qing are living in modern times because they cultivated to immortality.

The country we know as China doesn't exist because the lands never unified. It consists of a group of countries collectively known as the Five Nations: Yungmeng, Gusu, Lanling, Qishan, and Qinghe. Five Nations people know that cultivation is real (was real?--it doesn't seem to be practiced anymore) and that seven immortals exist among them. People in Western countries may or may not believe that cultivation is real, but they think the Seven Immortals are the Five Nations pantheon of gods (Wei Wuxian takes enormous delight in his status as the pantheon's trickster god).

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have been married for a thousand years and have seen their story become a fable and part of pop culture, although in their day-to-day lives, no one knows they're Hanguang Jun and the Yiling Patriarch (despite Wei Wuxian also taking enormous delight in regularly wearing Yiling Patriarch T-shirts) because they move around a lot and use aliases.

My favorite stories are the ones where Lan Wangji expresses his epic displeasure to the producer of a movie in which Hanguang Jun marries Princess Lotus Blossom, Wei Wuxian helps build the Yiling Patriarch float at Pride, and one of the longer fics in the series where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stop traveling and settle in one place for six years so that Lan Wangji can get his DVM to cope with the heartbreak of losing one of his foster bunnies. This leaves Wei Wuxian with some time on his hands, which he uses to live his best chaos gremlin life (I would love to watch his YouTube channel).


TEASER

He comes to lunch that day, and drops down to sit next to Jordan.

"I looked up all your class's grades," he says, which is a thing he absolutely should not have been able to do. "This course is kicking your butts and it shouldn't be. I have to ask. Is it Lan Zhan?"

"It. Uh. I," Jordan says, because she definitely has not managed to overcome her life-ruining crush on his husband. Apparently that's enough.

"Thought so," Jiang Ying says. "Let me guess, he's sitting at the front and being all... him, right? He's just the worst that way."

Title: Minding Series
Author: WithBroomBefore
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian


REC

This is another of WithBroomBefore's warm hugs in fic form. It starts when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji accidentally discover they can keep each other's nightmares at bay if they sleep in the same bed. Over the course of the series, they deal with their respective traumas while softly falling in love. There is just a whole bunch of hurt/comfort, angst, and Wangxian being ridiculously soft for each other.

I love the whole series, but the story I re-read most is Swordless. I love Lan Qiren here with his philosophy discussions (boy, I wish we'd had classes like this in school) and being all gruffly supportive.


TEASER

He does not move, though, and Wei Wuxian stops after a step and turns in question. Lan Wangji is looking at the ground, jaw set. "Wei Ying," he says. "I will stop anyone who tries to hurt you." His grip on Bichen makes stop sound like a different word.

Title: Love Cats Series
Author: so_shhy
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian


REC

This is a modern AU where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have a meet cute rescuing a cat from a tree. They are adorable together. I also like Lan Xichen's reaction to their relationship. My favorite story in the series is the one with the Lan company Christmas party.


TEASER

"Can you reach the cat?"

Wei Ying grabbed onto a higher branch and gingerly pulled himself into a crouch, balancing as best he could. His arms were firmly wrapped around the branch but his feet were less secure, what with the poor grip of his Converses on tree bark that was not just wet but also somehow slimy. He gave a nervous laugh. "You'll catch me if I slip, right?"

"Yes," said Lan Zhan.

"Huh?" said Wei Ying. He looked down at Lan Zhan's tranquilly pretty face and saw no hint of a joke there. "No, come on, I'm kidding. If you see me slipping, get out of the way so I don't squash you on my way down. This was my idea. If I fall out of a tree, it's my own problem."

"I will catch you," said Lan Zhan, with absolute certainty.

Title: Hills and Rivers Series
Author: LtLJ
Fandom: The Untamed
Category: M/M
Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Note: You must be a logged in to your AO3 account to read this fic. 😢


REC

These stories take place post-series and start with Jin Ling trying to get to know his uncle, the Yiling Patriarch, better by gifting him an abandoned property in Tingshan as a base for night hunting and teaching night hunting to juniors. Other stories include Wei Wuxian's fraught relationship with the Lan elders (and the Cultivation world in general), and a mystery fic where Wei Wuxian is abducted.

One of the things I love most about this series is the chance to see Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning fight as a team. There's not enough BAMF!Wen Ning fic out there. There's also some lovely banter and plenty of BAMF!Wei Wuxian.

And just in case you're not tired of me reminding you, LtLJ is a popular, award-winning author that I guarantee you have read.


TEASER

Jin Ling was so stupidly nervous at this point that he was grateful when Wen Ning whispered, "Oh, this is nice."

With the ice broken, Jin Ling cleared his throat. "Right, so, we should go inside--"

Wei Wuxian said, "It's violently haunted."

"Mm," Hanguang-jun agreed.

"Is it?" Jin Ling turned to them, aghast. "You're kidding, right? It's supposed to be warded!"

Wei Wuxian pointed with Chenqing. "Look along the roofline above the hall, see the movement? The distortion in the air."

All the Lan disciples nodded. Jin Ling didn't see anything.

Lan Sizhui said, "Senior Wei, do you think the He sect tried to take refuge here? Or was it something else?"

"Hard to tell." Wei Wuxian paced forward with a sudden predatory swing to his walk that made Jin Chan drop back behind Jin Lihua. He paused at the gate, lifting a hand but not quite touching the wood. "The wards were ripped away at some point. There was definitely a battle here."

He stepped through into the court. This time Jin Ling felt it, a weird shift in energy coming from the interior of the outpost. An old wagon wheel propped against a porch railing fell over, the sound way too loud for wood on stone. In the dead air, a woven mat fluttered in one of the windows, as though something had hastily climbed out of the room. A gate to the inner court banged. Wei Wuxian said aloud, "Yes, you'd better run."

Title: Performance in a Leading Role
Author: Mad_Lori
Fandom: Sherlock
Category: M/M
Pairing: Johnlock

Note: You must be logged in to your AO3 account to read this fic. 😥


REC

This a terrific AU in which Sherlock is an actor who gives critically acclaimed performances in art films that don't resonate with popular audiences, and John is an actor known for his mainstream rom-coms and whose acting skills aren't respected because his films are so commercially popular. They meet when they are cast as a gay couple in a film.

This is a great story just for the characterizations alone, but if you love movies, this is a brilliant depiction of the film industry. As a friend I recced this to once said, Mad_Lori "didn't put a foot wrong."


TEASER

"How does that work, exactly? You're pissed that I actually can act my way out of a paper sack?"

"I don't appreciate being made a fool of!"

Watson shook his head. "Oh, of course. Because me and my career are all about you."

"No, you cracking great idiot, it's not about me. It's about what we do. How could you? How could you slum in these bargain-basement movies and let your abilities atrophy, unused and unappreciated? You've denied the world the performances that you could have given, you've denied the rest of us the chance to share a screen with you, you've denied yourself the chance to stretch and explore who you are as an artist! Do you know how many actors work their whole careers to be able to do what you seem to be able to do naturally? You are spitting in the face of every single one of them, including me, when you don't do everything in your power to use your talents effectively. It's an insult. It's offensive."

Title: Darling It Is No Joke
Author: thehoyden
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV series)
Category: M/M
Pairing: Sterek


REC

This is an AU fic in which Derek is Sheriff Stilinski's newest deputy, and the Sheriff knows about the supernatural goings-on in Beacon Hills but Stiles doesn't. It should probably win some kind of prize for best first line in a fic.


TEASER

The first thing Stiles thinks when he opens the door is that it's not his birthday, but someone has sent him some kind of cop stripper.

Title: The Crooked Path
Author: facetofcathy
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Category: M/M
Pairing: McShep


REC

I enjoyed this one for the look at Dave and his family, the McShep snark, the declassification of the Stargate program, and John's family's reaction to finding out why he wasn't regularly in touch and couldn't tell them where he was stationed for years.

I also liked that it touched on what happened to people who had long-term injuries that Atlantis was ill-equipped to rehab, yet couldn't get long-term care on Earth either because none of the specialists who could help them had the security clearance to be told how they were injured.

It has a sequel (Like a Pigeon From Hell) which I enjoy for watching Rodney go off on the press for suggesting he's somehow not qualified for his job anymore because he came out as bisexual and in a relationship with John.

These fics were written long enough ago that same sex marriage was legal in Canada but not the United States at the time.


TEASER

"Right. Classified, a lot is still classified. There are things you specifically cannot even be allowed to guess because of your position." Rodney waited until Dave turned to meet his eyes. Karen came up behind him with a chair, which he slid into. She stood behind him with her hand on his shoulder. "John was—we were—on another planet for years, yes. The person who shot him was as human as any of us in this room, although neither he nor the weapon was from Earth. Details are—problematic."

Title: If Only
Author: lamardeuse
Fandom: The A-Team (TV series)
Category: M/M
Pairing: Face/Murdock


REC

I used to watch The A-Team in my teens (and in reruns in my twenties), but I never thought to go looking for fic for it. I was fine just watching the show. Then I read lamardeuse's fic for Due South and Stargate Atlantis and decided to see what else she wrote.

One of those things was an A-Team AU fic where Face went to medical school instead of joining the army when he aged out of the orphanage, so when the team goes to Central America for the events in the pilot episode, they end up bringing Dr. Peck instead of reporter Amy Allen.

The thing I love the most about this fic is that lamardeuse manages to capture the ridiculousness of the show while also treating Murdock's mental illness seriously. I loved it so much that I hit up the internet looking for more fics like it, but only ever found one other author that wrote Murdock as something other than a cartoon character, and I would also be reccing some of those fics, except they're only available in print zine form (they were so good, though).

I also never slashed anybody on this show, but lamardeuse made it work for me.


TEASER

"You always been able to do that? Have people do anything you want, tell you everything you want?"

There was a moment while Peck absorbed the change of subject. "Since I knew I could. Yeah." He paused again. "It came in handy over the years."

Murdock remembered his mention of an orphanage. "Did it get you adopted?"

"Nope," Peck answered crisply, and Murdock knew he'd hit a nerve. As for him, he was nothing but nerve endings at this moment.

"Well. Parents ain't all they're cracked up to be. I never met my daddy, either." He chuckled. "And look how good I turned out!"

"I think," Peck murmured, voice barely audible over the low roar of the truck engine, "you turned out great."