Happiness/Sadness

Happiness:
Reconnecting with fandom friends has been AMAZING. I've only been able to find and get in contact with a subset of folks, but I'm thoroughly reminded of how much I love fandom. People excitedly recommending their favorites! Throwing headcanons back and forth!! It's been everything I could have hoped for. The lack of a wider community and of long meta is a little sad, but the people are still around. 

Also, in the intervening decade, people have done some amazing things! There are so many published authors amongst the people I looked up that my list of books to read has grown substantially longer. After all, I once loved their fic, so their pro work must be even better?!

Sadness:
A decade out of touch meant that it is only now that I learned that sunhawk16 has passed away and kracken is very ill. I didn't know either well, but I remember reading their Gundam Wing fic as a teen. I cried when I saw Sunhawk's farewell twelve days of Christmas 1x2 posts. 

Of course, learning this made me only fear what could have happened to all the other folks I couldn't get in touch with, but in the absence of data I will just pretend really hard that everyone else is well!

MDZS/Untamed fic rec post

The theme is: less than 500 kudos! For the express reason that I had a couple dozen to rec, and this cutoff leads to a nice round 10 recs of presumably less widespread knowledge.

hear my voice and it’s been here by souridealist​ [56k words, E]

Jiang Yanli POV, and not an easy story. This is the fifth part of a series, and the one I loved the most; the others tell the story from other POVs. It can be read first. There had been two months between part 4 and 5, and I think not remembering the details of what happened in the previous parts immersed me in the limited view that JYL has in a more engaging way.

the final cut by wildehack [20k words, E]

This explores Nie Huaisang’s use of Mo Xuanyu, and is as dark as you’d expect from such a subject. Huaisang is complicated and so, so determined.

Call and Response by x_los [9k words, M]

The Lan brothers play Inquiry for Madam Lan, and what is revealed is, of course, tragic. There is one line, that Xichen thinks about Wangji, that punched me in the gut and made me gasp out loud. It’s not my headcanon, but it makes a seriously convincing argument on the backstory and relationship between the brothers.

The Same Cloth by x_los [8k words, T]

Lan Wangji reluctantly brings Wei Wuxian to see a merchant family. I love backstory and worldbuilding and this had both in spades. The descriptions of the textiles were amazing and so immersive. This one is much less dark than Call and Response; they are in the same series but not necessarily related.

A House on Fire by nirejseki​ [10k words, G]

Jiang Cheng and Jin Guangyao raise Jin Ling. It sometimes goes smoothly and sometimes... not so much. It’s quite episodic in the scenes described, which makes it move along very quickly. Each scene is a perfect gem of an interaction.

Warm in the Sun by 50artists [29k words, M]

Fix-it Jiang Yanli/Wen Qing. IMO this fic’s strength is the Yanli characterization: she’s strong and determined.

Rule 3001: Do Not Blink by EHyde [4k words, G]

It’s a Doctor Who fusion, which may seem absurd, but is executed so well. It’s from the Juniors’ perspective, as they investigate a mysterious statue. The perfect length to get a taste for the world in the fusion.

Sprout by EHyde [6k words, G]

Crack taken seriously is one of my absolute favorites, and this is such a fun one. Jingyi is a plant, and Jin Ling discovers this secret. Wen Ning’s final line in this fic is absolute GOLD. 

I Don’t Get Paid Enough For This (But I’d Still Do It Anyway) by Quixiote [25k words, T]

This is technically a WIP, but I loved what was there. Someone made the joke that the Untamed could be a shonen anime from Jin Ling’s perspective... but what if it was a shojo instead! It’s a Cardcaptor Sakura fusion, and it fits so well. Fairy makes for an excellent Keroberos. Sizhui and Jingyi as Shaoran and Meiling! So good. So perfect.

something wrong with this (you know it) by myliobatis

Truly the fact that only ONE woman doesn’t get fridged is absurd, and Mianmian is rightly angry about it.