the fandom librarian

More accurately my beloved aramley sat me down when I visited over Thanksgiving and showed me a series of youtube videos with the stated intention of tripping me so I'd fall down the kpop hole, but it's all good, we're having a great time down here! I'm contemplating the ideal sequence of videos with which to spread the kpop brain infection to others, but in the meantime, I really need to compile a list of fics that I want to be able to find again, so here we are. Maybe these will tempt you to also get incredibly invested in the singing and dancing career of a bunch of infants? We'll see!

( list of dramatis personae, if you want one!  )

Not K-Pop Idols

can you kiss me more? by werelino (Seungmin/Minho): I don't even like university AUs but the relationship conflict in this one is just DEVASTATING and legitimately made me cry, two thumbs up.

Amongst the Flock by Mntsnflrs (Minho/Jisung): for that special moment when you're in the mood for some bananapants whump in which boys cry and their boyfriends go feral, please enjoy this completely over-the-top AU in which depressed shut-in rich boy Jisung falls in love with the bodyguard his abusive mother has hired to watch him. this is technically the second story in the series but I highly recommend starting here, then doubling back to read the Chan/Felix story that precedes it and continuing on to the Changbin/Hyunjin story afterward.

heaven calling in the distance by chajatta (Chan/Felix): really fun urban fantasy AU in which Felix (a sun elf) gets set up with Chan (a werewolf). definitely definitely read the second fic in the series as well!

oh, you kissed me just to kiss me by natigail (Minho/Jisung): REALLY fascinating sex work AU; Jisung, an anxious touch-starved asexual, hires Minho to cuddle him.

marginal, hereditary by harrowsong (Changbin/Hyunjin): space AU! also omegaverse! one of the most creative concepts I've ever read, and also REALLY adorable.

cross my mind by noonwitching (Chan/Felix): alternate universe where Chan washed out of idol training and doesn't quite realize how much the psychological scarring is still affecting him until he's trying to define his relationship with Felix, even to himself.

on the road to divorce by meloncafe (Seungmin/Minho): Minho sends Seungmin divorce papers, so he shows up at Minho's door to try to win him back.

now I got you in my space by LetMeDown (Chan/Felix): this is genuinely just 45k of a/b/o universe mutual pining while fucking through Felix's heat so like. please know going in that there is zero trope subversion, it's exactly what it says on the tin, but frankly it's a pretty good translation of the extremely vanilla normcore "picket fence and a dog" vibes that Chan and Felix give off in real life and it's very sweet!

the book of us: electricity by orphan_account (Seungmin/Hyunjin): look I don't really read many high school AUs so when I say that this one transformed my brain chemistry, trust me, I mean it.

hand over hand by afterthedisco (Seungmin/Minho): Seungmin has a lot of issues, and Minho falls in love with him anyway. (warning for disordered eating and what I would consider to be self-harm through excessive exercise)

LMCat_98 has joined the chat by foxiyeny (Minho/Jisung): minsung sex work AU 2: electric boogaloo! Minho is a camboy and Jisung wins a giveaway for a private stream

puppy love by hyunnies (Seungmin/Hyunjin, eventual Seungmin/Jeongin/Hyunjin): puppy play: the fic. that's it! Hyunjin is mean in an extremely loving way and it's overall just super soft. (you may need the context that the Stray Kids all have officially designated animalsonas and Seungmin's is a puppy.)

back to my heart by gorgonforhire (Minho/Jisung): exes Minho and Jisung run into each other at a party and immediately pick up where they left off. extremely soft bondage, yay!

ksm, virgo disaster by werelino (Seungmin/Minho): short and truly adorable college AU in which Seungmin is determined not to date Minho until he's closer to his best self (and Minho, obviously, thinks his current self is more than good enough)

we're so lucky by anoymous (Changbin/Hyunjin): omegaverse where Hyunjin is pregnant with Changbin's baby, played completely straight: NONE of this is anything I'm especially into, but this fic is so good and so funny and Changbin is absolutely pitch-perfect as the adoring dad-to-be going along with Hyunjin's every whim

here by me by skzinger (Minho/Jisung): Minho, Jisung's emergency contact, gets a terrifying phone call summoning him to the hospital after a bad accident. this is LONG and satisfyingly soapy, and the slow reveal of what happened to cause the catastrophic break-up before the beginning of the story is really well done.

the blood on your lies by inkin_brushes (Chan/Felix, Minho/Jeongin, Changbin/Seungmin, Hyunjin/Jisung): incredibly long and incredibly dramatic gang AU that perfectly scratches the itch for a soapy good time; the platonic devotion between Felix and Hyunjin is worth the price of admission completely on its own

we have to keep trying by ockleibi (Changbin/Hyunjin): screamingly funny and very sweet story set in the regular non-mpreg world where Hyunjin abruptly and inexplicably gets obsessed with trying to get Changbin pregnant

Take It Easy by theproblematique (Chan/Felix): cockwarming: the fic

guard my heart by LetMeDown (Chan/Felix): bodyguard AU! Felix is still Felix and Chan is is his bodyguard in France

Yes K-Pop Idols

Multistable Perception by scheherazaade (Seungmin/Minho): this story makes me want to SCREAM, I read it four times in a single day. a masterwork in limited perspective! (you may require the context that Minho and Seungmin's on-camera relationship concept is "divorced".)

break in case of emergency by martyrsdaughter (Minho/Jisung): slight scifi AU where Minho is a bodyguard instead of being in Stray Kids and he's telepathically bonded to Jisung to help him manage his anxiety.

i'll wait for you, my sweet by chajatta (Changbin/Hyunjin): Changbin takes Hyunjin to get his fortune told. this read on the conflict between Hyunjin wanting to be open to love and being scared of getting hurt again by being vulnerable absolutely opened my third eye!

Just look at me, baby by AlphabetMinusQ (Minho/Jisung): a really interesting take on being idols in an a/b/o universe and not matching gender stereotypes, maybe a bit less polished but I enjoyed it!

merry christmas, 자기야 by bulletbulletbullet (Chan/Young K): Chan is now the super-responsible leader of Stray Kids but once upon a time he was the cute beloved baby of a bunch of older idols-in-training at his company including Brian Kang aka Young K and sometimes! it's just nice! to think about him getting spoiled by someone who loves him and wants him to have nice things!

at the end of the maze (find me) by firemblem (Changbin/Hyunjin): I will admit to being biased but the contrast between Changbin's constant flirting with Hyunjin on-camera and Hyunjin's frankly irrational insecurity makes me insane, and I feel like this fic gets that better than most! watch the clips in the author's note for fun additional context.

cracks by Anonymous (Chan/Felix): Felix develops an eating disorder and none of the other kids really knows what to do or how to help; very heavy but also cathartic.

push through, break through by sunnyskies (cassiopeihwa) (Seungmin/Minho): Minho discovers that Seungmin doesn't know how to finger himself and decides to remedy the situation.

strike gently by cryptonomica (Hyunjin/Jeongin): Jeongin feels awkward about not having had his first kiss yet, and Hyunjin offers to help him out.

split seam by tandembike (Seungmin/Minho): Seungmin and Minho are dating, but they seem to have radically different ideas about how committed Minho is to the whole thing. SUCH good pangs!

He Loves Me Not by nuttinonice (Chan/Felix): Chan forgets an important date and makes Felix cry :( which then makes Chan cry! this fandom is so good if you enjoy crying!

Whatever Else by Mntsnflrs (Minho/Jisung): the first time Jisung has sex goes badly. Minho tries to give him a better experience. the confession scene is incredible and makes me want to howl at the moon!

rare devotion by gorgonforhire, thereisnoreality (Changbin/Hyunjin): the eternal stalemate of Hyunjin going out of his mind because he wants to be loved versus Changbin trying and failing to make him believe that he does love him already. this is technically the sequel to a story about Hyunjin hooking up with Minho and Felix but I think you could get everything you need from context clues if that doesn't sound appealing.

waiting for us by dandyboy (smartlove) (Seungmin/Jeongin): Seungmin keeps writing songs about Jeongin, and Jeongin has no idea.

Maybe New York by eternal_octopus (Jisung/Hyunjin): Hyunjin and Jisung start hooking up on tour, and Jisung isn't sure what it will mean for their relationship when they go home.

count on me by kamsangi (Chan/Young K): accidental sugar baby Chan is such a good concept, two enthusiastic thumbs up.

can't read your mind (can read your playlists) by MindelanWolf (Changbin/Chan): EXTREMELY cute story about Changbin monitoring Chan's emotional state via the medium of Chan's Spotify activity

April 10th by MindelanWolf (Seungmin/Minho): possibly the only "Minho fell first" story I've ever read, but while I was reading, I was convinced! also, this fic is correct and grocery shopping together is the absolute pinnacle of romance. (the previous story in the series is Chan/Felix and also very cute!)

you should be (loving someone) by sharpa (Chan/Felix): really lovely and somewhat melancholy story about Chan and Felix deciding not to be together in the present day, but still trying to reassure each other that they're committed to an indefinite future where they can be.

all the ways you say my name by hyvnin (Minho/Hyunjin): the most delightful pangs always come from two people trying to express their love in a form the other one doesn't understand! the confession scene is perfect.

maximum accident by martyrsdaughter (Chan/Felix): FAKE DATING FAKE DATING FAKE DATING

i love you, i love you, i love you by ockleibi (Changbin/Hyunjin): ockleibi just GETS this ship, the perfect push-pull between Hyunjin's ever-changing needs and Changbin's steady willingness to meet him wherever he is, without making it heavy at all

Little Beast by realfriends (Chan/Felix): Felix starts wearing skirts occasionally and Chan's guilt complex about being attracted to him goes into overdrive

roses by gorgonforhire (Changbin/Hyunjin): set in a nebulous post-Stray Kids future where they've mostly finished their military service, Changbin hooks up with Hyunjin and then Hyunjin stops talking to him. So much of the dynamic for this ship is based on the game they're always playing in public where Changbin chases and Hyunjin runs away, and I really appreciate this story for asking what would happen if Hyunjin ever hurt Changbin for real.

feel the light by thereisnoreality (Chan/Seungmin): AU where Chan is older and became a producer instead of an idol, and the rest of the group wasn't as successful without him; Seungmin is recording a solo album, Chan is working with him on it, and the lure of a sexy older man is just so irresistible

make this house a home by thereisnoreality (Changbin/Hyunjin): ok so for context in 2024 Hyunjin and Changbin moved into an apartment together and promptly started publicly referring to each other as "wife" and I'm a little obsessed with it, and this series is a delightful exploration of all that domestic wife-ness

little world fallin’ apart by sinkingmyships (Chan/Felix): Chan's lack of self-worth and compulsive desire to protect the rest of the kids (especially Felix) starts manifesting as lycanthropy

Bug Like an Angel by realfriends (Minho/Jisung): Minho (atheist) falls in love with Jisung (Catholic) and has a religious crisis about it

Pro Re Nata by theproblematique (OT8): DO NOT click on this unless you're down with some pretty nasty omegaverse shenanigans, but tragically I am into the nasty omegaverse shenanigans and Chan as the lone omega in an otherwise all-alpha pack who DESPERATELY wants to be passed around like a party favor yet is cockblocking himself because he can't bring himself to express any personal desires is so tasty to me

to be just friends, you're too beautiful by babbyleeknow (Hyunjin/Changbin): I would read about Hyunjin and Changbin finally consummating seven years of sexual tension in their new marital dorm infinite times, and Changbin's POV is so delightfully oblivious

anyone can be anything (you can be everything) by babbyleeknow (Minho/Jisung): a really good exploration of acespec Jisung! After he and Minho confess their feelings for each other, Jisung experiences sexual attraction for the first time and proceeds to lose his mind (in a good way and then, unfortunately, in a less-good way)

bone marrow by LetMeDown (OT8): ...ok so just remember what I said about nasty omegaverse shenanigans. But the pack dynamics are so good! 

inside the bright fields by torigates (Chan/Felix): Felix finally calls Chan out for isolating himself rather than asking for help

cover you by skzinger (Minho/Jisung/Chan): Minho and Jisung team up to fuck the brainworms out of Chan

unravel by halloflino (Chan/Felix): Chan and Felix semi-independently invent a D/s dynamic, which given Chan's raging lack of self-worth does not go well

no more than usual by torigates (Chan/Felix): someone hits Felix with a spell that makes everyone fall in love with him! ...everyone except Chan.

Hi friends! It has been... a while. (Significantly longer if you don't count "Dear Yulegoat" letters.) I'm doing okay; I've been working from home for the past seven weeks and nobody in my family is sick. It's lonely, I want to hang out with my friends, I hate conference calls, I don't like being cooped up with my younger brother nonstop and I miss hugs. I'm grateful that that's as much as I can complain about.

My attention span has been absolutely shot (not that it was much to write home about before) and I've been having some trouble sticking with books -- unfortunately, since this is my big chance to read through my absolutely massive TBR pile! I did get my paws on advance copies of the upcoming Cat Sebastian, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Naomi Novik books, all of which I managed to get into and thoroughly enjoyed. But mostly I just keep taking books off the shelf, reading the first page, and putting them back down again. It feels like my best coping mechanism has been taken away from me.

At this psychologically delicate moment, as you can probably tell, I decided that it was time to try reading some fanfic for this Chinese costume drama all my friends were yelling about. In the spirit of experimentation, I went through the entirety of the Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian pairing tag (Complete, English, Words > 10000) without having seen the show and documented my "safe to enjoy without any canon knowledge" recs. Incredibly (at least to me, since I don't think I've managed to watch 50 episodes of anything since college) I did eventually watch The Untamed and I kept adding things to the post here, so the Dreamwidth version got some significant structural changes but the original "no canon, no problem" version is still up on tumblr if you want it!

Anyway, without further ado, have a bunch of fic recs for The Untamed! I also have a vid rec post, and I'll do a rarepair post as soon as I have time.


Modern AUs

• The Simplest Way Forward - they're student musicians in the same orchestra who get green card married so that they can adopt the kid who gets ditched at Wei Wuxian's door; I know everyone has recced this fic already but on the off chance that you haven't read it already, YES, it's that good
• Window Shopping - they're quarantined in apartments opposite each other and A-Yuan wants to see Lan Wangji's pet rabbits. Comes with a sequel about the shenanigans in Lan Xichen's apartment that you can read or skip depending on your opinions about 3zun and then a very cathartic conclusion about what happens when quarantine is lifted and they can finally meet in person (includes a fairly detailed description of a panic attack, FYI)
• Unstrictly Ballroom - they're competitive ballroom dancers but Wei Wuxian was unjustly banned from competition years ago and Lan Wangji has finally found him working in a strip club; I know it sounds cheesy but it is AGONIZING
• A Keen Rabbit Lover - they are both women and grad school students and pining disgustingly for each other when everything gets disrupted by Wei Wuxian VERY BADLY misinterpreting Lan Wangji's drunken confession that she "likes rabbits"
• your heartbeat, across the grass - Lan Wangji is a soccer superstar and A-Yuan wants to go to a game! I rec this with the caveat that if you know anything about professional soccer the bits about professional soccer are massively unrealistic
• Year Of Night Call - they're extremely codependent trauma surgeons who share an on-call bed
• And they were roommates... - they're both women and grad students and wind up living together after the Jiangs throw Wei Wuxian out
• Out of the Bin and Into Your Heart - Wei Wuxian comes up with a ridiculous fake-dating scheme to throw off their admirers at the Chinese cultural center. Lan Wangji plays along for reasons that are blatantly obvious to everyone except Wei Wuxian
• "Congratulations, Get Rich" - Wei Wuxian tries to start a tradition of kissing at midnight on Chinese New Year so he'll have an excuse to kiss Lan Wangji
• one good thing - Wei Wuxian is a ghost haunting Lan Wangji's house and Lan Wangji just happens to come from a long family line of exorcists
• Lifelong Confidant - Wei Wuxian has a happy, normal life as a barista-slash-music-teacher and two roommates he loves, except for the tragic past he never talks about -- which is obviously about to make a dramatic reappearance in the person of Lan Wangji, one of the judges of a celebrity baking show his roommates watch
• how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) - college RA and all-around human disaster Wei Wuxian develops an improbable chat relationship with Lan Wangji, who he assumes is catfishing him by using a moderately famous actor's photos on Tinder but -- obviously -- actually is a moderately famous actor. I don't normally like college AUs but this one is solid and VERY funny
• you've ruined my life (by not being mine) - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji met during a study abroad program in China and start texting when they're back in the States but on opposite sides of the country. I also don't normally like high school AUs but this is ADORABLE, if you can stand an excruciatingly slow burn
• the best of you - I am honestly on the fence about whether this fic can be considered "good" but if you're ever in the mood for some truly god-tier whump about Wei Wuxian getting physically and emotionally abused at every turn while Lan Wangji absolutely loses his mind over not being able to protect him, I guarantee this will hit the spot
• walk my days on a wire - they're rival software developers who have a long history of kinky anonymous hotel-room hookups; they have both caught feels and this is uncovered in the course of some very intense pregnancy role-play so if that's too much don't click but if you're down to go where it's leading it is truly delicious! Now comes with a tooth-rottingly sweet and still very kinky sequel about them getting married and making a baby for real
• i’ll be your girl - a deeply hilarious tale of queer board game nights and gender confusion in which Wei Wuxian thinks that Lan Wangji is straight and only hooked up with him because he was dressed as Britney Spears for a costume party, while Lan Wangji thinks that Wei Wuxian's insistence on dressing up in drag every time they have sex is maybe Wei Wuxian trying to tell him something
• Give me your wild - fem!Lan Wangji tops the shit out of Wei Wuxian and then tells him that he's a good boy, that's it, that's the story, it's extremely hot
• only missed midnight - short and surprisingly cathartic: Wei Wuxian has a minor meltdown over missing the ball drop on NYE but really over a lot of other things, Lan Wangji uses his words and also cuddles to make it better (the author has taken this fic down but hopefully it'll return later!)
• underweight - Lan Wangji, dismayed by Wei Wuxian's poor eating and sleeping habits, somewhat accidentally -- but consensually! -- winds up taking control both in bed and out of it
• Ticket to Ride - Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are stuck at the airport and Wei Wuxian catches Lan Wangji perusing his Grindr profile, from which romantic beginning springs a madcap and surprisingly sweet rescue mission to get Wei Wuxian home in time for his sister's wedding
• puzzle pieces - oh my god, they were roommates! A cute little piece of tropey fluff that lives up to its premise
• Two Unlucky Guys - Wei Wuxian, in possession of exactly one braincell, proposes that he and Lan Wangji have sex so that they can get losing their virginity out of the way before college. Lan Wangji, desperately in love with him and in possession of ZERO braincells, goes along with this stellar plan
• your love is thick and it swallowed me whole - Wei Wuxian goes to a sex party for the first time and is shocked to encounter Lan Wangji, more shocked that Lan Wangji is a regular, and kind of overwhelmed when Lan Wangji offers to let him suck him off on the sofa. Sex tears and a very soft happy ending await!
• After the Final Rose - Lan Wangji, much against his better judgment, helps out his brother's boyfriend by going on The Bachelor and falls for his cameraman instead of any of the actual suitors; the obligatory misunderstanding is AGONIZING but the catharsis is so heartwarming and I love all the side characters
• oh, these are real things - a very soft and loving story about kink exploration, talking through your weird feelings about sex and your body, and Lan Wangji trying his very best to make Wei Wuxian cry in bed
• baby let's take the long way home - Wei Wuxian needs an abortion, the nearest clinic that will take his insurance is an 8 hour drive away, and Lan Wangji (his work nemesis) has a car. There is so much going on in the background of this story -- magical academia! birth control in a world where (some) men can get pregnant! the subtle cultural distinctions between being Chinese in America and being Chinese American! -- but at its heart it's such a tender story about, like, being kind and decent to each other
• speeding up my heartbeat - Lan Wangji does yoga at the same gym where Wei Wuxian plays basketball. Normally I prefer my fics to have a certain minimum of agonized pining and tragic misunderstanding but this one is just an immense amount of dressing increasingly sluttily for workouts and thirsting over each other in the gym locker room, followed by a lot of hot sex. And that's okay!
• some impulse of delight - kissing lessons kissing lessons kissing lessons also there's an illegal bunny rabbit
• say it's here where our pieces fall in place - do you want a simultaneously Soft and Incredibly Painful reading experience about Wei Wuxian falling in love with the man who adopted the foster child Wei Wuxian was absolutely devastated not to be able to adopt himself? Would you perhaps enjoy wallowing in how much Wei Wuxian is loved by the people around him, but unable to accept that love because he is 20 pounds of low self-esteem and abandonment issues stuffed into a 10-pound sack? Do you love domesticity and kidfic and perhaps a bit of background 3zun being adorable committed partners, as a treat? HAVE FUN
• My Zhiji's On Broadway - Lan Wangji accidentally gets drunk at a conference in Seattle and Wei Wuxian spends the evening babysitting him through a series of impulsive adventures while pining his little heart out (yes, Lan Wangji is obviously pining too; yes, they're going to figure it out eventually)
• (our friendship) up against the ropes - Wei Wuxian finds out that Lan Wangji, his best friend since high school, is not only sexually active but a legend on the NYC gay hookup app scene, and proceeds to lose his tiny little mind. The recurring motif of the feature film version of Pride & Prejudice (Wei Wuxian's favorite movie, with which Lan Wangji has comforted him through various breakups) was unexpected, but cute!
• with your arms outstretched to me - Lan Wangji takes Wei Wuxian hiking on their first date, and Wei Wuxian sprains an ankle. Luckily, Lan Wangji has not skipped Arm Day once in his life, so he's able to carry Wei Wuxian back down. This is just soft soft SOFT and extremely cute!
• For A Good Time, Call - Lan Wangji, who has been faithfully pining over Wei Wuxian for ten years, accidentally finds out that his best friend/secret crush makes (solo) porn, and makes a number of decisions that seem logical at the time. This is a very long and extremely self-indulgent story -- Lan Wangji getting together with the love of his life after ludicrous amounts of angst and mutual pining is obviously part of it, but there's also a big focus on exploring his gender, coming to terms with his sexuality, and getting a lot of therapy -- which I enjoyed a lot but have to be in the right mood for. Your mileage may vary!
• Worship you till morning comes - a short and sweet meet-cute, followed by a truly adorable love-at-first-sight first date
• live from new york - it's an AU where they all work for Saturday Night Live, yes, even Lan Wangji, yes, it works, yes, it made me cry (definitely also read the sequel where they decide to get married: swiss cheese theory) (DEFINITELY also read the AU where they're both women: wake up all in tangles)
• a life in your shape - Lan Wangji overhears something he isn't supposed to and interprets it in exactly the wrong way. If you enjoy agonizing over painful misunderstandings but only for about 5k words instead of 50k, this is the fic for you!
• Grace and a tender hand - Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian go on a disastrous first date (but don't worry, it's all going to turn out okay)
• Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful - winter sports AU in which Lan Wangji is an Olympic medalist in skiing and Wei Wuxian is a professional snowboarder and they are jointly coaching the ducklings! There is huddling for warmth.
• a baby rabbit is called a kitten and other fun facts - fluff fluff fluffy fluff in which Wei Wuxian is a single dad whose son is obsessed with Lan Wangji's YouTube channel about bunny care
• Almost Lover - Lan Wangji, tragically pining for his best friend with benefits with zero plans to actually say anything about it, gets the wakeup call of a lifetime when Wei Wuxian is nearly killed in a car accident. Click for that sweet sweet caretaking and hurt/comfort content!
• Love Cats - the cutest of all possible meet-cutes: Lan Wangji helps Wei Wuxian rescue a cat that's stuck in a tree
• Our Eyes on the Road - ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP and the consummation of god only knows how many years of sexual tension
• 请兔子吃晚饭; treating a bunny to dinner - Wei Wuxian takes Lan Wangji out for Korean barbecue on their first date! They have a great time! One small problem: Lan Wangji is a vegetarian.
• Chef's kiss - Lan Wangji is a chef, Wei Wuxian is a law student, they have a lot of scorching hot lesbian sex
• can you feel it - this is a shockingly sweet story considering that the premise is "here's why you should never use a toy without a flared base for anal insertion"
• my dreams are playing softer now - Lan Wangji gets drunk at a conference and Lan Xichen dumps him on Wei Wuxian for babysitting duties
• new york, i love you - Gossip Girl AU :D :D :D
• 总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near) - Wei Wuxian tries to kill himself. He doesn't succeed, but the fic is obviously pretty heavy and the suicide attempt is pretty graphic, so take care of yourself and don't click if that's not something you feel okay to read! It's also VERY long and slow-paced, and the writing is a bit flowery for me in places, but when I'm in the right mood for slow burn hurt/comfort it hits the spot.
• i didn't choose the van life (the van life chose me) - Wei Wuxian has a near brush with homelessness and an ongoing struggle with the soullessness of late capitalism, and consequently gets really into the idea of tiny houses and modding his van so he can live in it. That sounds kind of heavy but no bad things actually happen in this fic! He's going to be okay and so is Lan Wangji and they're going to live happily ever after in a tiny house by the sea!
• i could bite my tongue - the first time lesbians Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian try to have sex goes badly, and they cuddle about it (follow-up in which the second time they try to have sex goes slightly better: wrap your arms around me)
• on your marks, get set, bake! - Wei Wuxian is a contestant on GBBO and the college students he RAs for are absolutely losing their little minds watching the competition
• Come Out and Level Up - Lan Wangji comes out to Wei Wuxian, who subsequently figures out that his own history of attraction is maybe not typical for straight people. If you don't like ace headcanons for these characters, don't click, but I found it adorable and very relatable!
• dreaming and getting a glimmer - Wei Wuxian has a sexuality crisis in college over 1) an amateur porn site streamer, username wangji2397, whose face he has never seen 2) the guy he repeatedly sucked off through a glory hole in a bar bathroom, ditto, and 3) the very beautiful classmate who is helping him outline his paper on gender roles in the Song dynasty. There is a LOT of dirty talk in this one, including some pretty heavy humiliation, but it never feels mean -- only that Lan Wangji is maybe a little ahead of Wei Wuxian on the learning curve of "what gets Wei Wuxian off".
• rainfall - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji decide to try out 24/7 D/s
• say all that you're feeling - slow burn rule 63 in which Lan Wangji (butch and very comfortable with it) is waiting for Wei Wuxian (baby butch and new on the scene) to sort herself out
• Let's take a ride round the curves of desire - no plot only first time sex in a heat wave featuring extensive cunnilingus
• Many happy returns. - they meet cute and fall in love and they're gonna spend their lives together, that's it, that's the fic, there's not really a whole lot of "plot" going on here.
• Pull out game weak - rule 63 in which they start messaging on a hookup app. Lan Wangji is very toppy and mean both over text and during sex, which Wei Wuxian is definitely into but isn't explicitly negotiated, just FYI. I really enjoyed the twist halfway through the fic! (spin-off that goes AU from the twist and is definitely also worth reading: Extra Time)
• hey girl (you are what i've been looking for) - SHENANIGANS at Mo Xuanyu's houseparty that Wei Wuxian didn't even want to go to but on the bright side she is maybe making progress on getting the very hot girl she just met to like her (make sure to read the sequel too!)
• because you’re mine (i walk the line) - Lan Wangji tells Wei Wuxian he's not allowed to touch himself and Wei Wuxian proceeds to lose his mind thinking about what will happen if he disobeys. (warning for canon-typical consensual nonconsent)
• today was a smoking sky - this is, I am not joking, a Princess Diaries 2 AU, but it works! significantly kinkier than the original plot source, just FYI.
• Scenery Is Changing (The Jigglypuff Remix) - pining idiot best friends are brought together at last by the joys of Pokemon Go
• fuck around and find out - extremely spicy lesbian PWP (painplay, sex tears, Wei Wuxian says no when she means yes)
• petal-soft - very very very soft painkink & orgasm denial where Wei Wuxian plays with Lan Wangji’s nipple piercings to make her cry and tells her she’s a good girl throughout
• Step right up! - they are dumbass teenagers and Wei Wuxian persuades Lan Wangji to go down to the boardwalk instead of practicing for their science class presentation and it's just. so cute.
• like the paradise found - does “Lan Wangji finds her long-lost love working as a (very athletic and artistic) stripper” really need further context? I think not! We are not here to have deep thoughts, only to enjoy delicious tropey fluff.
• ready to run - Wei Wuxian runs for president of the students' union at a university with a suspicious resemblance to Oxford. I am very very very picky about Oxford AUs but this one is great, and also features a lovely "Wei Wuxian unlearns compulsive heterosexuality" plotline.
• all that and more - Wei Wuxian texts Lan Wangji to send nudes on a dare and unleashes the sexuality crisis of a lifetime

Canon Universe

• my age has never made me wise - Wei Wuxian wanders off without either of them declaring their feelings and proceeds to pine GROSSLY when he hears gossip that Lan Wangji is planning a wedding
• A Civil Combpaign - Jin Ling decides he wants to marry Lan Sizhui for "diplomatic reasons"; hilarity ensues
• Content Warning: Romance - Wei Wuxian is easily embarrassed by praise, so Lan Wangji ties him up and tells him how wonderful he is. You will never look at praise kink the same again
• the hidden source is the watchful heart - after a year of wandering on his own after the end of the show, Wei Wuxian finally comes home, and Lan Wangji has to wrestle with whether he can stand to let him go again
• seldom all they seem - mild canon divergence in which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are betrothed as children; definitely also read the sequel about Lan Wangji's beautiful kind-hearted fairy tale prince of a brother and the amoral scheming political mastermind who unfortunately adores him
• The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts - Jingyi and the rest of the juniors publish a very popular romance about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in an attempt to rehabilitate Wei Wuxian's reputation, which is not unwelcome but is somewhat puzzling to Wei Wuxian since he is not actually in a relationship with Lan Wangji
• Linger in the Sun - Wei Wuxian joins Lan Wangji on an educational school field trip investigating a series of hilarious curses, which becomes only slightly less hilarious when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are the latest victims
• come home to my heart - it can have a little bodyswap. as a treat.
• anyway, here's wuji - a delightfully over-the-top and melodramatic story about Lan Jingyi watching Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian eventually get their HEA, and falling in love along the way
• hunters seeking solid ground - Wei Wuxian, suffering from years of PTSD nightmares so bad that he may actually be dying of sleep deprivation, finally lets Lan Wangji give him what he needs and deserves. If you just want to read about someone Suffering, A Lot, so that someone who loves him can make it better, this is the fic and the catharsis is WORTH IT
• Grand Pianos Crash Together - uncomplicated post-series get-together fic that's very charming and well done and features an unexpectedly hot first time
• My Leaves Reach Ever for the Sun - canon divergence in which Wei Wuxian comes up with a madcap crossdressing scheme in order to attend Jin Ling's christening and inevitably ropes Lan Wangji in. This story really needs a beta but there are such sweet and lovely moments in it that I keep coming back to reread it anyway
• A Crying Shame - canon divergence in which A-Yuan cries so much at Lan Wangji leaving them in the Burial Mounds that he just gives up and stays
• grow - adorable genfic about Wei Wuxian getting de-aged and Sizhui and the juniors taking care of him
• A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps - another sweet "Wei Wuxian finally comes home to Lan Wangji" story, only in this one Lan Wangji has managed to get himself badly injured and Wei Wuxian has to nurse him back to health while they both marinate in their unresolved sexual tension
• Senseless - a variation on the "Wei Wuxian goes wandering" theme: Wei Wuxian realizes he's being a moron and comes right back
• your horizon to chase - another variation: Wei Wuxian runs into Lan Wangji while he's on his walkabout and is finally persuaded to come home for good
• no kiss, no gentle word - Wei Wuxian's new methods of using magic have extremely dire side-effects; Lan Wangji refuses to let them drive him away
• With Absolute Splendor - several years after the dust settles, Jiang Cheng insists on planning Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's wedding, which is complicated since he and Lan Wangji absolutely can't stand each other
• Attempting the Impossible - Jiang Cheng pays Wei Wuxian a visit in an attempt to reconcile with him, only to discover that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have been very busy expanding their family
• Red Flower With One Hundred Petals; Smoke Carried on the Blue Dusk Air - canon divergence in which Lan Xichen successfully persuades an extremely traumatized Wei Wuxian to come back to Lan Wangji after the war. I think the latter half of this fic is a little weak compared to the opening but if you're in it for the hurt/comfort, the first half is a dream come true!
• I hope that you will come and meet me - an extremely soft and gentle story about Wei Wuxian coming home to Lan Wangji and realizing Lan Wangji wants him to stay
• It's Only Time - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji write each other letters while they're apart; it's very sweet and VERY cute
• build me no shrines - sometimes a girl just wants to read long plotty post-canon casefic in which Wei Wuxian gets badly whumped and Lan Wangji goes absolutely feral, and that's valid
• Pigtail Pulling - short and adorable: Lan Xichen explains that Wei Wuxian is constantly pestering him because he wants Lan Wangji's attention, so Lan Wangji tries to get him to stop by... paying attention to him
• you are my delightful intruder - post-canon, Lan Wangji has a PTSD-induced meltdown after waking up to find Wei Wuxian gone. Wei Wuxian comforts him and then comforts him if you know what I mean
• Then There's No One There - mostly canon-compliant Lan Wangji POV of the three days Wei Wuxian was unconscious after the end of the Sunshot Campaign that packs a bittersweet wallop. Honestly most of the devastation is the author's note at the end telling you that the tiny bit of canon divergence is not going to be enough to change anything.
• You, Asleep and Dreaming - post-canon, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian cuddle their way into a relationship. It's hard to describe this fic because the central structure isn't super visible -- it took me so long to clock that it was a "five things" fic -- but it's really darling and the alternation between understated humor and gut-punching anguish just gets me!
• Yeah I Know How You Like It - Wei Wuxian accidentally acquires the ability to read Lan Wangji's thoughts, and is surprisingly (even to himself!) unsettled to learn that his husband thinks about fucking him constantly
• Coming Back to Yourself - Lan Wangji gets cursed with a different genital configuration than he's used to. All he needs to do to get back to normal is achieve orgasm... except he doesn't know how. (Wei Wuxian also does not know how but he at least has some educated guesses.) Also comes with a lovely expanded/slightly alternate scene that you should make sure not to miss: Save a Sword
• rather cruelly used and rather reserved - missing scene/very slight canon divergence set in the Cloud Recesses right after the Yi City arc, in which Wei Wuxian takes advantage of his down time to explore Lan Wangji's home and inadvertently learns more about what Lan Wangji got up to while he was dead
• little days - Lan Wangji periodically regresses (mentally, not physically) to childhood when stressed; Lan Xichen and eventually Wei Wuxian take care of him. This is completely nonsexual and extremely soft
• Give You What You Like - canon divergence in which Wen Chao figures out a great way to kill two birds with one stone during the dungeon scene at the Wen indoctrination camp, and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have go forward with the rest of the plot while trying to deal with the trauma of what they were forced to do to each other. This is heavy even for "something made them do it" so please be aware of that going in
• Teach Me The Ways - canon divergence in which Wei Wuxian ran away from Lotus Pier at age 13 to become a rogue cultivator and Lan Wangji is in the middle of preparing for an arranged marriage: Lan Wangji is worried he won't know how to satisfy his future spouse in bed and goes to Sexy Rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian for lessons. Wei Wuxian's reputation is VASTLY exaggerated but luckily for both of them he's good at making things up as he goes along!
• so full of love i could barely eat - a/b/o universe, Lan Wangji runs into Wei Wuxian and a clearly underfed A-Yuan in Yiling and (to his own mortification) starts spontaneously lactating. Obviously if you're not down with a lot of explicit descriptions of breastfeeding and/or the concept of a/b/o, with the implied fixation on pregnancy/fertility and gender essentialism, don't click, but I really loved this story! It's also the only one I've encountered so far that uses Chinese terminology rather than alpha/beta/omega, if you're curious
• out to get you (to get you) - fairly major canon divergence in which the Wen attack about a decade earlier, completely changing the political landscape and destroying several clans, including the Lan and Jiang. Lan Wangji, an assassin posing as a courtesan, has been sent to eliminate the Yiling Patriarch. I loved the slow unfolding of what happened to Lan Wangji to put him on his current path, and the inevitable catching of feels for his target is exactly the right level of dramatic
• can i look the other way - a sweet little post-canon story in which Wei Wuxian gets it into his head that he's taking up too much space in Lan Wangji's house, and decides to do the polite thing and move out
• Strange Darling - after parting with Song Lan in Yi City, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji finally have a conversation about what Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen represented to them
• Something Good - due to various forks in the road, Wei Wuxian has wound up as a servant in Cloud Recesses in punishment for turning to demonic cultivation, and is assigned the job of caring for eleven rambunctious orphans. That's right, folks, it's a Sound of Music AU!
• the river and the sea - Lan Wangji meets his soulmate when he's six years old, and promptly loses him. I don't normally like soulmate AUs but this one is very sweet
• watch the slow door - Lan Wangji arrives at Dafan Mountain just a little bit later, and doesn't hear Wei Wuxian play the flute, and thus spends the next several days losing his mind as he tries to figure out who Mo Xuanyu is. Brief but packed full of delicious (ultimately resolved) angst!
• And I Will Call You Home - plotty casefic where Lan Wangji gets whumped and Wei Wuxian goes feral, for a nice change! The pining is extremely *chef's kiss*
• Standing Engagement - canon divergence in which Lan Wangji assumes that there's an unspoken betrothal agreement when he and Wei Wuxian get out of the turtle's cave -- and then he accidentally spills the news to Jiang Cheng while Wei Wuxian is missing
• every road leads back to you - just barely over 2k words of Wei Wuxian coming home to Lan Wangji and there's SO MANY FEELINGS packed in there
• your problem as a mountain. - canon divergence in which the war never happens, Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian strike up a lively long-distance book club to discuss porn, and eventually start writing their own. Wei Wuxian's fantasies are super vanilla but they always seem to star a beautiful fellow cultivator with golden eyes and a ribbon, weird! Not that he puts any thought into this... until a mix-up with the mail means that all of his smutty letters get delivered to Lan Wangji instead.
• Crack me open, pour you out - Lan Wangji gets cursed to say everything that goes through his head out loud, which is a problem when there's things that he's trying not to say to Wei Wuxian
• the benefits of patience - post-canon rule 63 Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian engage in some mutually enjoyable orgasm delay/denial. Hot but also sweet!
• The dreamers. - the telepathic bond in the turtle cave doesn't wear off as planned. This certainly isn't the only take on that concept but it's my favorite so far! Be warned that the fic takes a VERY sharp left turn in the third act, but if you like psychic bonds and dreamsharing the first two thirds are definitely worth it regardless of what you think of the twist.
• The Rain in Gusu - sometimes I just want to hurt my own feelings and then wallow in them thinking about how Wei Wuxian doesn't know that Lan Wangji loves him and wants him to stay!!!
• with intent - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji get stuck in Cold Pond Cave and there is huddling for warmth
• An Elegant Solution - extremely convoluted but very fun canon divergence in which Jiang Cheng arranges for Wei Wuxian to marry Nie Mingjue in order to rehabilitate his reputation and Lan Wangji gets stuck "chaperoning" his One True Love as he gets to know his future husband (eventual OT3 with Nie Mingjue, everyone is going to be happy about who they married!)

Not Modern, Not Canon

• all your life you'll dream of this - vaguely canon universe but with some fairy tale elements, specifically Cinderella -- no, really! I swear it's good! Lan Wangji is Cinderella!
• debt of a knife - Lan Wangji is a warlord who has just claimed Wei Wuxian as his captive bride; the premise sounds kind of dubcon-y but all the sex is consensual
• turn towards the sun - Kushiel's Chosen AU in which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are BDSM study buddies
• let me hold it lightly - is it magical realism if the canon has magic already? Anyway, Wei Wuxian cuts out his own heart and gives it to Lan Wangji for safekeeping
• the stars in the hazy heaven tremble above you - did we get blessed with a second glorious Cinderella AU? We sure did! This time Wei Wuxian is Cinderella!
• this river runs to you - a delicious urban fantasy story in which Wei Wuxian is an underpaid curse worker with a canon-typical tragic backstory and Lan Wangji is his mysterious new assistant
• hold me fast, fear me not - for variety's sake, a fairy tale AU that isn't Cinderella: Tam Lin AU in which Wei Wuxian (as the Yiling Laozu, with the Burial Mounds standing in for the Fairy Queen) is Tam Lin and Lan Wangji is Janet
• If You Love Someone - Princess Bride AU heck yeah! Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are both women and Lan Wangji thinks the Yiling Patriarch killed Wei Wuxian. Needs a quick beta scrub but come on, lesbian Princess Bride
• The Terminus of Gravity - space opera! Wei Wuxian is on the run, and Lan Wangji is hopelessly pining over his audio transmissions
• The Lives of Lan Wangji - Chronicles of Chrestomanci fusion in which Lan Wangji travels between the worlds in search of a cat and ends up finding Wei Wuxian
• the best good thing - time to have some feelings about Lan Wangji stranded all by himself in a broken spaceship at the end of the world getting rescued by human sunshine aka Wei Wuxian
• a ghost is just a memory you haven't met yet - Wei Wuxian is a ghost haunting the library where Lan Wangji is doing research. Creepy but cute!
• you're a bird in the water / i'm a fish on the ground - Wei Wuxian is a mermaid and after six whole months of marriage to Lan Wangji, he figures out they might be sexually compatible after all. Even if you don't normally read xeno, the "alien" perspective of mermaid!Wei Wuxian trying to figure out human genitalia is screamingly funny, and surprisingly sweet!
• if you go chasing rabbits - adorable urban fantasy in which Wei Wuxian is a disgraced witch and Lan Wangji shows up on his doorstep one day asking to become his familiar
• I feel like I win when I lose - cultivation is a competitive sport (kind of like magical dueling?) and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are archrivals, also someone is trying to sabotage Wei Wuxian
• tearing into me without teeth - a Queen's Thief fusion, which, if you've ever read Queen of Attolia, you'll expect to be just as agonizing as it is
• Restraint and Revelation: or, The Necromancer of Yiling - I must confess I had never considered the gothic romance novel as a possible plot device to get Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji together, but you know what? Bring it on, Northanger Abbey AUs for everyone! Lan Wangji squirming as everyone tells him he should read the novel he wrote anonymously in order to cope with his feelings for Wei Wuxian is amazing and I commend the author for getting the register of the language just right.
• spawn - monsterfucking in space! Lan Wangji is one of the last survivors of an alien species and Wei Wuxian is a volunteer member of the repopulation effort.
• 1931 - very interesting AU set in 1930s Shanghai. The timeline skips around, so it requires a little more brain power than usual to understand what's happening, at least for me!
• bloody mary - uhhhhhhh Lan Wangji is a vampire and Wei Wuxian is on her period and it goes exactly where you think it will

Threadfics

• the one with the accidental thirst traps
• the one with the star lantern
• the urban fantasy one where Wei Wuxian is a vampire
• the one with baby dragonji and foxxian (visual aid)
• the a/b/o one where Lan Wangji manipulates Wei Wuxian into presenting as an omega so they can get married (dubcon, but also kind of fluffy?)
• the one where teenage WWX and LWJ have a grave misunderstanding concerning the phrase "virgins who can't drive"
• the one where WWX falls and LWJ isn't there to catch him :( 
• the one where LWJ teaches WWX about aftercare
• the one where JC has to pretend LWJ is his roommate while his parents are visiting (JC/WWX/LWJ OT3)
• the one where they're roommates and Wei Ying gets sick
• the one where single dad Wei Ying breaks up with Lan Zhan because A-Yuan doesn't like him

I hope you will enjoy these as much as I did! My methodical progression through the tag on AO3 is keeping me sane these days. I've also been trying to back up my vid collection as AO3 bookmarks, but I've gotten too far back in time and now it's very hard to find the vids online anywhere. Fics full of agonizing mutual pining are much more relaxing!

highlights of the Hockey RPF Holiday Exchange for khoshgeleh_16 -- I hope they prove useful! *hugs*

Game Plan (10281 words) by thehoyden
Summary: Unlike Nealsy, Evgeni can cook his own food when he has it. He’s perfectly capable of making breakfast. His kitchen is well-equipped, and he’s got some good basic cooking skills down. In short, he is not going to starve to death if left to his own devices.

None of this seems to matter to Sid.
Notes: I am a total sucker for a story with food in it. This is a typical fluffy thehoyden get-together fic, and it's delightful.


let your heart be light (3231 words) by ohtempora
Summary: They're still doing better than the Sabres. The Sabres have two games in hand.
Notes: Dumb Oilers babies being dumb should not still be entertaining at this point, but ah well. It kind of is.


the courtship of patrick kane (9673 words) by hazel
Summary: “Well,” Kaner says finally. “If you want to keep cockblocking me with the ladies, you’re gonna have to make it worth my while.” He’s smirking like it’s a challenge, like he knows Jon can’t ever let a challenge drop, and that’s it. That’s how Jon realises that he’s totally, completely, embarrassingly head-over-heels in love with Patrick fucking Kane.


Take a(n Espresso) Shot and (French) Press Yourself Against Me (12742 words) by knew_her_when
Summary: James is a terrible barista, Paul is a grad student who snarks about his coffee but keeps coming back
(That's word-for-word the request I chose and the best summary one could write.)


Bending with the Road (11746 words) by VampireSpider
Summary: “Booked a hotel in Charlotte,” James says as they’re getting into the car. “Should take us about seven hours to get there if the traffic’s not too bad.” He glances up to meet Paul’s eyes and grins a little. “Unless we get distracted along the way.”
Paul rolls his eyes. “Or you get us lost,” he says.
*
James has a schedule. Paul has places to be.
Notes: I AM STILL SO UPSET ABOUT THIS FIC GIVING ME ALL THESE FEELINGS. But in a good way, I think? I just get so mad at the thought of things not working out perfectly for these two morons. They'll probably be all right anyway.

Stars Apart (13331 words) by Java_Genie
Summary: It’s easy for Geno to imagine how things could better, out in the black. He’s read all the comic books and seen all the movies about the people who leave the core behind and find a second life, a better life, as pioneers and outlaws on the frontier of space. It means opportunity—the chance to scrub yourself clean of all the bad names and mean labels the core gives people born to parents not rich enough, smart enough or brave enough.
But Sid, he was born with all the right labels—and Geno can’t think of a single thing Sid could find out among the stars that he couldn’t have here at home.
Notes: FIREFLY AU AW YEAH.


Close to Water (2122 words) by derryderrydown
Summary: "I was wondering." Sid cleared his throat and looked awkward, and Geno had a moment of dread over what horror Sid was going to ask of him, before Sid said, in a rush, "Do you want to go canoeing?"
Notes: "Canoeing" ahahahahaha oh god.


semantic shift (10852 words) by neros_violin
Summary: “He asked what some of the words meant, on the signs, what they yell. I told him. He’s a fan of Princess Sidney, especially.”


Bluehawk (16860 words) by aohatsu
Summary: Jo sleeps with Kaner for the second time when she’s twenty-one and gets drunk off her ass in a bar in Vancouver.
Notes: I don't see a lot of girl!Tazer fic, and I quite liked this one!


make you a believer (7924 words) by Katarin
Summary: PK pretends he and Carey are dating, without telling Carey. It's Christmas with the Subbans!
Notes: I already yelled at everyone to read this on Twitter, but just in case somebody missed that, EVERYONE GO READ THIS FIC IMMEDIATELY. Everything about it is perfect. PK's cheerful attitude towards casual sex. His relationship with everyone in his family, especially his mom. Carey's relationship with everyone in PK's family, especially Malcolm. PK's inevitable oblivious tromping over Carey's heart. Yes. Glorious.


we're so close to something better left unknown (10431 words) by sesame_seed
Summary: Prompt 1: Blackhawks, Toews/Kane, power imbalance - it could be teacher/student, bodyguard/witness, even assassin/target - I'd just really like a fic where Toews absolutely should not give in to his feelings for Kane, but he does anyway.
Notes: The summary sucks, the fic is great, please do not be put off. It's about fixing a power imbalance, not taking advantage of it.


Space Kaner (2991 words) by celli
Summary: Patrick has an extra toe from an unfortunate accident as a child and an inconvenient crush on his commanding officer. It gets worse from there.
Notes: Womp womp STAR TREK AU yeah that's right.


Banned (10674 words) by Vitula
Summary: “Temporarily banned by mod taz3r: misleading use of geography,” reads his third ban of the month.
Kaner stares at his phone's screen for a long moment before angrily muttering, “but it fucking is Winterpeg.” He's not sure if this is more or less embarrassing than the time Jonny banned him from the hockey forum for unsporting conduct for insulting Canada's Olympic candidates.


Hate to see you go (4128 words) by littlemissaily
Summary: ... love to watch you leave.
Carey does not want a piece of that ass, okay? He just admires a man who looks good in a suit.

I made it! Thirty days of recs! But I couldn't fit everything I wanted to in, so here's all the sets I started and didn't manage to finish. (Forgive me for not writing notes for everything -- I'm sleepy, and there's a lot of them.) I hope you guys enjoyed September Recs! And if you ever want recs for something from me, well, it doesn't have to be September for you to ask. ;)

The Hunger Games
Embers, by dayln03 [Katniss]
To the Victor, The Spoil, by Annakovsky [Katniss/Haymitch]
Come away to the water, by LLenkaLL [Katniss]

Sentinel AUs
Back to back (they faced each other), by harrycrewe [Hawaii Five-0, Steve/Danny]
Right on the Limits, by thehoyden [Hockey RPF, Sid/Geno]
Oldest Story In The World, by elyssblair [Eureka, Jack/Nathan]

Women on Roaring Rampages of Revenge (for idhren24)
Blow, by elipie [Revenge, Emily+Nolan]
Brush Your Shoulders Off, by elipie [Matilda, Matilda+Miss Honey]

Body art (for idhren24, recced with the caveat that if you're not into this kink, I wouldn't bother with the fic)
Written in the Scars, by zanzibar [Hockey RPF, Ebs/Hallsy]
The Taste Of Sweat And Metal On His Tongue, by slythatheart [Teen Wolf, Stiles/Danny]
The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Con Men, by OnYourMark [White Collar, Peter/Neal/Elizabeth]

Time loops (for idhren24)
Time in a Bottle, by astolat [Stargate: Atlantis, John/Rodney]
Ho'oponopono, by ember_firedrake [Hawaii Five-0, Steve/Danny]
A Vision Too Removed To Mention, by pocky_slash [Torchwood, Ianto+Gwen, Ianto/Jack]
all of those shots you didn't take, by dimbleby [Hockey RPF, Sid/Geno]

women in sports, non-RPF edition (for ladytelemachus)
Whatever It Takes, by fan_eunice [Bend It Like Beckham]
Firework, by leanwellback [Whip It]
5 Games Jess Played In, by grim_lupine [Bend It Like Beckham, Jess/Jules]
New In Town, by bop_radar [Whip It, Bliss/Pash via my tinhatted slash goggles]

hockey not-quite-rarepairs
Can't Stop (If You Don't Start), by VampireSpider [James Neal/Paul Martin]
You Could Have My Heart (Or We Could Share It Like the Last Slice), by distira [Tyler Seguin/Brad Marchand]
Nothing Worth Knowing, by beatperfume & shoemaster [Andrew Ladd/Ryan Kesler]
Warm Us From Within, by katarin (Bobby Ryan/Ryan Getzlaf)

Bechdel test pass: femslash edition
Devotion, by charmax [Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena/Gabrielle]
The Book of Love, by such_heights [Merlin, Gwen/Morgana]
Non Lievi Alchun, by halcyon_shift [Merlin, Gwen/Morgana]
Come On, by halcyon_shift [Vampire Diaries, Elena/Caroline/Bonnie]
Resolution, by meltingconfetti [Glee, Quinn/Rachel]

I'm so sleepy, and yet I also really want to make chocolate cookies! But instead I am here making a post for September Recs, such is my dedication to the cause. idhren24 asked for crossovers, but I'm not super into crossover fic, so I have decided to interpret this as crossover vids! I had a time and a half getting the list of my favorite crossover vids down to just five, let me tell you. So many delightful vids out there!

The Lightning Strike, by obsessive24 [Kings, Merlin, Alexander]
An absolutely masterful job marrying together the stories of David and Jonathan, Merlin and Arthur, and Alexander and Hephaistion. I've never seen a vid that used external sources like this -- the slow pan around the Michelangelo statue of David was especially cool! And the way the cinematography is used to point out parallels is really stunning, too. Every time I watch the clip of Hephaistion's ring falling and then Arthur's torch, I get chills.

I Enjoy Being A Girl, by absolutedestiny [Alias, Buffy, Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly]
I think this is one of the more accessible vids I've ever watched; I remember trying to show my mom a few vids several years ago, and this is the only one she really "got". You don't have to be fully conversant in the idiom of vidding to appreciate girls kicking ass! I really enjoy that Veronica Mars is included, even though she doesn't kick ass in the conventional manner. Intellectual ass-kicking still counts!

Needs, by tearful_eye [Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha]
The cinematography! SO GORGEOUS.

Starships, by bironic [Scifi Films and Television]
This is possibly the best vid to work out to that I've discovered so far. So bouncy! So inspiring! So full of spaceships! The external shots of various ships are total nostalgia bait and they work, god damn it. Now I'm having feels about all the Star Trek series.

Destiny Calling, by charmax [Superhero Films]
This was made in 2006, before the explosion of Marvel comics movies, and I think it's really interesting to see all the superhero movies that show up here! And it's charmax, so the fact that the technical details and artistic vision of the vid are amazing goes without saying. Love how seamlessly animated source material is integrated into live action.

Wow, September is almost over. Noooo, September! Stay longer! I'm going to have to do something writer-ly for October to get in shape for yuletide and I'm just not ready for that yet. Anyway! dreamofthem asked for friendship fic, so here we go...

Fortunate Son, by astolat [American Idol RPF, David Cook+David Archuleta]
David Cook and David Archuleta get stranded in the wilderness together and have to rely on each other to survive. This is one of the more realistic lead-ins to the kind of codependency that shows up in platonic friendship fic -- Cook and Archie just went through an incredibly traumatic experience together, of course they don't want to be apart when they return to civilization. There's a slash sequel which I enjoy very much, but I like that this fic is pure friendship fic.

That Awkward/Awesome Moment, by wistful_fever [Community, Troy+Abed]
True bromance is visible even when you can't hear the words.

His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik [original]
Ok this is maybe cheating but if you like friendship fic you really, really, really need to read the Temeraire books, because they are basically friendship fic turned up to eleven. The entire plot revolves around how much Laurence and Temeraire love each other and cannot bear to be separated even for the good of the nation. Like, if an Austen novel were written about a man and his dragon, that would be the Temeraire series, and the scene where Laurence finally admits to himself and Temeraire that he would rather leave his entire life behind than lose Temeraire is seriously Darcy's-second-proposal level of OH GOD MY FEELS. I have a .pdf of the first book that the publisher was distributing for free as a promotional thing and I will share it with anyone who can't make it to the library to check out a physical copy. (After the first book you're on your own, though. I have paid for all eight books so far, four in hardcover, and JE NE REGRETTE RIEN. Give Naomi your money so she can write us more books!)

Rely On You, by rsadelle [Hockey RPF, Tyler Brown+Tyler Seguin]
Oh, Segs. :( As fond as I am of the Tylers as a romantic pairing, there's something that really gets me about Brownie being there for Segs throughout all his disastrous drama just because he loves him and wants him to be happy, despite having zero interest in him as a sexual being. (I already recced Love in Fast Forward for similar reasons, and if you didn't click on it the first time round you really, really should. The scene where Jeff is having a slow but inevitable meltdown because he's closeted and lonely and Mike grumpily cuddles him so he won't be touch-starved anymore kills me every time.)

Flying Blind, by scintilla10 [Code Name: Verity, Julie/Maddie]
I was struggling to come up with a fifth rec for this theme and upset that it was such a sausage fest, and then I realized that I literally could not think of a single fic that presents female friendship the way the platonic friendship trope is handled in fic: as love that isn't sexual but is overwhelmingly important, more so than any other relationship is those characters' lives, to the point where actions that are usually coded as romantic are seen as normal displays of friendship. And that is bullshit, guys, because women are every bit as capable as men of sustaining deep, meaningful, nonsexual friendships with each other. And then I went poking at the Friendship tag on the AO3 and got angrier and angrier about how impossible it was to find a story like the three fics I just recced but about women. (Please rec me some. I'm like 95% sure there must be some Clint+Natasha SUPER INTENSE DRAMA FRIENDSHIP CUDDLING fic that I just couldn't find.) Long story short go read Code Name: Verity by Elizabeth Wein, because it is beautiful and Julie and Maddie's relationship is the stuff of which a thousand thousand slashfics should be born, and then come back and read this fic. (I'm cheating because this is indeed a slashfic, not friendship fic. But it's friends to lovers and they spend most of the story being friends and most of you probably need to read the book first which IS just friendship so whatever I'm calling it a night.)

Today is a day to appreciate PK Subban and Carey Price and all the joy they bring to our lives -- especially mardia's, since she was the one who told me to post this set today! Here's to you, adorable goofball and supernaturally attractive dimpled one. We love you very much.

It's Complicated, by katarin
Feelings, feelings, ALL MY FEELINGS, behold the fic that made me ship this with the fire of a thousand dying stars. Carey! And his horrible insecurities! And PK not getting it, and not getting it, and not getting it, until you want to grab him and shake him and scream YOU BOTH LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH WHY ARE YOU MAKING CAREY SAD. But uh I promise everything is fine in the end! It's great! YOU'LL LOVE IT.

All Talk, by thefourthvine
The first section is PK/Carey and the rest are other pairings (and all very hot as well!), just fyi. There should be so much more fic about Carey tying PK up. REAMS of fic. Everybody go write fic about Carey tying PK up. But this is an EXCELLENT start.

Five Days in Toronto, by cominginside
PK makes Carey come visit him during the offseason and do all kinds of touristy stuff and he takes him to the fair to look at the horses because HE TRULY LOVES CAREY'S INNER COWBOY and I just. I cannot. My heart. PK WINS CAREY A STUFFED UNICORN YOU GUYS.

Attention, by mardia
Ok so there is a little more fic about Carey tying PK up! Although it's kind of less about the actual tying up and more about, like, feelings, just, ugh, it's only a short short fic and I'm still wailing internally over how Carey doesn't even know how much PK loves him YOU DUMB INSECURE COWBOY WHO COULD FAIL TO LOVE THAT FACE.

dress up and coloring... a lot of coloring, by katarin
Carey is jealous. Of PK's devotion to a pair of little girls. I DIE INSIDE.

In conclusion Carey Price is a stupid dimpled prince of a cowboy and people should make terrible youtube slideshows about how much he loves PK Subban set to Taylor Swift and Shania Twain. GO.

Back when I did fics about food (incidentally I just found this Vikings fic and I am SO MAD that I discovered it too late to include in that post so uh yeah if you're into haute cuisine, restaurant AUs and banging threesomes I strongly advise you click that little link) I promised a post of recipes that even I, kitchen incompetent and super broke, can make and love, and lo and behold I have delivered!

crisp rosemary flatbread
So easy, so delicious, so cheap! It will make your life easier if you have baking paper and some sort of rolling pin but you can use a glass or your bare hands if you need to. I'm not a huge fan of rosemary so I usually use garlic instead, and chive works too!

baked apples
Even easier! I like to sprinkle on brown sugar and cinnamon before baking and then adding some maple syrup to the bowl when I eat it, but I've got a bigger sweet tooth than most people. This is a great way to use up apples that are a little bruised or mushy or are even starting to rot -- just cut off the gross parts when you're chopping up the apples.

millionaire's shortbread
This one can be a little bit tricky but I promise it's worth it! Once you get the hang of lining your pan with baking paper, it will save you so much energy on cleanup, you don't even know. Definitely melt the chocolate and make the caramel in the microwave, life is too short for double-boilers. If you have an electric egg beater or similar tiny self-whisking device, that will make combining the melted butter and condensed milk for the caramel much less labor-intensive. The layer of caramel takes for-e-ver to set, so plan to leave it in the freezer overnight, pour on the layer of melted chocolate in the morning, and stick it back in the freezer to get the chocolate to solidify until whatever afternoon or evening festivities you're bringing this British delight to! Share the wealth with all your friends, and DO NOT EVER tell anyone how much butter goes into the recipe.

cream scones
I'm going to make your life so much easier with this handy little trick: forget everything about rolling out, cutting, whatever. Mix up the dough and slap it into a muffin tin to bake. Your scones will come out circular and scone-like and perfectly attractive, and you don't need to tell anyone how they got that way.

avocado mac and cheese
Probably the most expensive recipe on here, because you do have to buy avocados and decent cheese (I like to use extra sharp cheddar, not Monterey Jack), but it's so worth it. If you don't eat it all immediately it'll turn brown, but any leftovers will still taste fine the next day, they'll just look pretty gross. If you care about that (I don't! Your stomach doesn't have eyes, as my grandmother says), just make sure you've got a couple friends over to help you consume the whole pot.

Still sick! Still doped up on Nyquil! Expect little coherence here, my friends.

Strength In You, by heresluck [Gilmore Girls]
I didn't agree with many of the romantic storylines on Gilmore Girls (Paris/Rory OTP and I WILL FIGHT YOU OVER IT, among other things), but the one thing the show was consistently great about was Rory's relationship with her mom. This vid is a condensed shot of mother-daughter love and just watching it makes me smile.

Permanent Parking, by marycontraire [Hockey RPF]
So canonically Claude Giroux moved in with Danny Briere and Danny Briere's three kids and two dogs for a season and there are horrifying but adorable family photos to prove it, and I greatly enjoy the fic that resulted from this glorious, glorious time period. I particularly treasure this fic for approaching the situation from the kids' perspective -- specifically, the POV of the youngest boy, Cameron -- and not glossing over their insecurity over their new semi-stepdad and his role in their life.

Omaha, by halcyon_shift [Heroes]
Remember when Heroes was good? Ahh, nostalgia. On my first time watching I think I was too wrapped up in figuring out whether the man in horn-rimmed glasses was good or evil to appreciate his relationship with Claire, but in retrospect: god, what an adorable father and daughter.

With Six You Get Eggroll, by cesperanza [Due South]
This has to be the ultimate kidfic -- RayK and Fraser adopt six children! In the Canadian wilderness! Ray Vecchio and Stella come to visit! -- but it's not at all sentimental, the kids are fully fleshed out rather than being plot moppets, and I can genuinely see RayK and Fraser ending up in exactly this sort of situation. Parenthood is tough! Adoption is really tough! Adopting SIX KIDS is insane! But the fic acknowledges all that, and doesn't make everything happy sunshine and bunnies, and it works. (Also, I may or may not have written fanfiction in my head about this universe. Shhh.)

A Beautiful Lifetime Event, by astolat [Stargate: Atlantis]
The one where John and Rodney have an accident with some Ancient technology resulting in a baby. I'm assuming everyone in fandom has read this fic at one point or another; it's probably the first example of babyfic in the Fanlore article (but I'm too lazy to check). It has everything. It's babyfic turned up to eleven. This is the überbabyfic, and it's fantastic.

It was going to be White Collar but then I started reading a genderswap One Direction fic of all things, so White Collar fic is going to have to wait till tomorrow! Also I'm sick and my Nyquil is kicking in so... no descriptions. I promise the fic is good. Enjoy!

i know the shape of your hands (i watch them when you talk), by el_em_en_oh_pee [One Direction RPF, Zayn/Louis]

Till You Make It, by lightgetsin [The Dresden Files, Harry/Marcone]

I Want Your Lips to Sing, by twentysomething [Teen Wolf, Stiles/Derek]

Ironsides, by copperbadge [Avengers, Steve/Tony]

The Least of All Possible Mistakes, by rageprufrock [Sherlock, Mycroft/Lestrade]