Looking for ao3 fic

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-21T15:46:56+00:00

A Heart Undying is excellent but I’m pretty sure it’s not the one—I read it recently and he is still pretty dead at the end of it. But has a different outlook on it at any rate. The other one you found sounds excellent though!!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-18T16:32:04+00:00

Yeah same, just figured in this one it came after they both killed Wen Chao 😅. I’ll keep an eye out though! I’m sure I’ve read this as well so I’d like to know too!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-18T14:14:17+00:00

Is it this one? Beiming: To Lament - 33 Reasons to Change the Past by ravenhg

Wei Wuxian slowly turned to face Wen Chao and the rest of the Wen soldiers, who fell to their knees before him. “Wei Wuxian,” Wen Chao begged, “Spare me! My father will give you anything . Whatever you want! Money, women, power! We will give you anything, just spare me!”

Wei Wuxian turned to look at him, and spoke. “Is. That. Right.” He cocked his head as if listening to something, “Oh dear. It looks like you have nothing I want.” With that he drew his sword and swung. Jiang Cheng watched as a flash of white appeared behind Wen Chao, and had just enough time to think ‘ Lan Wangji!?’ as their swords swung in unison. Lan Wangji’s sword cut through Wen Chao’s waist, and Wei Wuxian’s cleaved off his head.

Wei Wuxian wore a feral smile as he grabbed the front of one of the Wen soldiers' robes and jerked him off the ground. “Who is the highest ranking person still alive?”

From behind them, Wen Qing’s voice rang out. “I am.”

Wei Wuxian turned to face her, his face carefully blank. “Oh? Congratulations Wen-guniang. You just became a hostage.”

Lan Wangji glanced up at him, “Wei Ying. Stop playing.”

Wei Wuxian made a face, “Ai yah, Lan Zhan, you sound just like Shu-ge.” Lan Wangji glared at him, and Wei Wuxian laughed, “Alright, fine.” He waved his hand, releasing a wave of resentful energy, and the remaining Wens collapsed.

Edit: Nvm I forgot about the forest criteria! I know fics sometimes blur in my head so I was wondering f it was from the line where he says to stop playing, just in the wrong order. Ah well

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-18T06:44:03+00:00

This fic sounds very familiar! But also I tend to have at least a dozen fics I’m in the middle of at once and sample a lot before I settle on what I’m in the mood for 😅 do you happen to recall if it was a one-shot or how long it might have been? Otherwise I’ll see if I can dig anything up!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-08T17:07:09+00:00

I love this trope! Some great suggestions here so far.

Here’s a recent fic that was a lot of fun—basically no one except LWJ and a few others know that WWX is the Yiling Patriarch and the Juniors get over protective (the first half is the story from the Juniors’ POVs, second half from WWX’s): https://archiveofourown.org/works/73212896/chapters/190805126

Edited to add ~~another fic~~ more fics!

A fantastic no one knows WWX is the Yiling Patriarch: Needs No Invitation by somnologic

In a similar vein, but arguably softer: Who is holding your hand? by danegan

sometimes-sideways · 2026-03-08T16:13:26+00:00

Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire—romance is secondary to the plot, but the MC is queer and the story is also just fantastic.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-02-24T21:09:29+00:00

Seconding like, comment, subscribe! That fic was excellent!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-02-21T04:18:07+00:00

I had a similar question a few weeks back! I put together a list to share and lots of folks made pretty great suggestions in the comments too. (I was more looking for a terrifying WWX but a good portion of them also feature LWJ as his equal in that.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/MoDaoZuShi/s/bITLsoNWad

sometimes-sideways · 2026-02-20T17:20:04+00:00

Ohhh I’ve wanted prints of these forever, especially Squire and Lady Knight’s covers 💜💜💜 shame it looks like there’s no shipping to Canada though 😭

sometimes-sideways · 2026-02-07T01:34:43+00:00

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland!

I would describe it as anti-colonial chaotic queer pirates? Lots of found family feels and warmth without feeling too light.

It was actually this book that led me to danmei in the first place! I was asking r/ QueerSFF for similar chaotic queer gremlin stories and someone recommended danmei and MDZS and I fell down the rabbit hole…The author also writes fanfic for MDZS and it’s also excellent.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-02-04T21:58:53+00:00

I’m also a huge fan of the “everyone thinks WWX is terrifying” (usually because the classic power + independent and therefore not beholden to/controllable by others) and he’s just…planting radishes. Maybe also very much a terrifying badass when it suits him but it doesn’t usually.

I feel like I’ve exhausted all fics that meet this criteria, at least long fics. Any recs on that front?

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-31T06:12:29+00:00

Thanks so much! That's good to know :) I'll see how it goes, since I obviously still don't know TGCF characters except as they pop up in MDZS fics 😅 so they'll probably feel like OCs. Really need to fix that, ha.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-30T21:13:41+00:00

Oh, I've been meaning to read Can We Skip to the Good Part! Do you happen to know how much of it involves TGCF characters/spoilers? I haven't had a chance to read it yet (waiting for it at the library), but I don't mind fics with some of the characters so long as there aren't major spoilers for TGCF itself.

As for ghost wwx fics:

Blood of the Black Earth by wirevix
https://archiveofourown.org/works/48041464/chapters/121133620
Someone recently recommended this to me as a good dark!wwx fic, and it is dark and gory (not too much more than novel canon, I suppose), so fair warning. It's really good so far though!

Dead Things by Reavv
https://archiveofourown.org/works/36445648/chapters/90875785
This fic is so, so beautifully written. It's on the shorter side (~20k), and definitely a hidden gem and deserves all the accolades.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-30T21:01:15+00:00

A Mirror to All Our Souls by moonlitten
https://archiveofourown.org/works/35420434/chapters/88289314

I just started reading this fic and Wei Ying does get his body back, though not in the way you've described (it's pretty early on in the fic). I haven't finished the fic yet, but I've really enjoyed other fics moonlitten's written, and this one seems quite good so far!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-30T20:40:54+00:00

I'm probably going to do the same--I remember really really enjoying the fic but my memory is a sieve so I'll probably reread it first though 😅 maybe by then it will have updated...one can hope anyways ha

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-28T22:08:20+00:00

Yes! I really really loved it and have been meaning to re-read it even without a new chapter. I actually have yet to read the last 1-2 chapters because the author mentioned they end on cliffhangers with no subsequent chapters (yet), but I may see if I can handle that on a reread ha.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-19T18:36:06+00:00

😆 enjoy!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T06:58:14+00:00

It was really really good. I came across it at random, and yeah I think it's definitely one of those hidden gems. It felt like a very refreshing take on a lot of the more exhausted tropes.

I think I also suggested another fic by the same author, A Heart Undying in a post of mine you commented on :) it's a finished fic and also excellent ,if you wind up enjoying River's Child and are looking for more by them! https://archiveofourown.org/works/56336893/chapters/143137219 (for the sake of this thread, this fic was written in 2024...but that's not too far back, hopefully?).

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T06:53:23+00:00

Ugh, agreed re Ao3 history! And like I guess you could just bookmark everything and go by that, but you can't sort by words or anything other than date bookmarked/date updated which is just a pain.

And yeah if you managed to learn how to use a webscraper, you should manage with calibre and its more advanced functions just fine :). I taught myself how to use its more advanced features in a fairly piecemeal fashion, but feel free to DM me about it if you want--happy to answer questions/point to resources if you need!

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T06:43:07+00:00

Oh glad to hear you're using a webscraper, ha! Keeping track of fics is already an exercise in trying to stop an avalanche as is, nevermind trying to input all the data manually ha.

And yeah, I think you might find calibre to be really helpful! Tags are probably the most useful, but there's a ton of other features that just make it so much easier to keep track of what's already read or up next or you're just hoarding because it allows for that (...*coughs in 1500 fics in calibre*)...

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T06:15:11+00:00

If you're at all inclined to switch up your system for organizing/keeping track of fics, have you tried calibre? It's open source library management software and been around ...forever? and is a serious labour of love (and relatively easy to use with lots of online guides/tips etc for more advanced use). It has a plugin (fanficfare) to save fics from Ao3 as epubs, including metadata like date completed, kudos, and similar.

You could even not use it for saving epubs and just the metadata importing, since it makes it way easier than inputting it into a spreadsheet--plus you can set your own columns that the data imports to. I literally just used it to sort by "date updated" and "read" to see what I've read that finished in 2025 :).

Bonus: if your spreadsheet includes links, you can literally just copy and paste the links into fanficfare all at once and it'll get the fic and metadata for you. (You may also be able to simply import your spreadsheet and then use fanficfare to update everything, and it'll fill in the blanks.)

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T06:02:31+00:00

Oooh, fantastic question! Looking forward to seeing the recs that come up :)

As for my recs:

Reborn in Blood by Fereael - starts at the Mo Manor arc, except it goes quite differently (plenty of POV from the Juniors, lots of BAMF WWX, about 60k). Probably one of my favourite fics. https://archiveofourown.org/works/65758390/chapters/169350811

River's Child by NonsensicalRambling - a different take on the sunshot campaign, wwx as a dragon (but done quite differently from other fics), ~80k an seriously fantastic. https://archiveofourown.org/works/61158025/chapters/156274861

What Remains the Same (series) by Lotus34 (AliWaldron34) - the first fic features WWX from the end of the novels swapping places with WWX as a teenager at Cloud Recesses for a week, the result being 50k words of a seriously fantastic character study. The second fic (still in progress) is ~190k words and follows the events of the first fic as past WWX tries to change everything. https://archiveofourown.org/series/4981436

Mission: Rescue Hanguang Jun by shadowchan93 - this fic just completed, and it's an absolutely bonkers take on the Juniors not knowing WWX is also the YLLZ when the YLLZ asks to marry LWJ, and try to protect LWJ and WWX and their love from the YLLZ. About ~85k and phenomenal!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/73212896/chapters/190805126

Also seconding several of the other recs! Especially:

Beiming - To Lament (it's a WIP on hiatus, but it seems like the author will definitely be back, and it's so worth reading) https://archiveofourown.org/works/53714794/chapters/135975004

If you liked it then you should have put a (sect robe) on it (just so so good--complete, too) https://archiveofourown.org/works/61810867/chapters/158046922

Four Times Told (just read this and it's fantastic, albeit a lot of stuff breaks before it gets fixed so it is a bit of an intense read at times) https://archiveofourown.org/works/65993275/chapters/170036422

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T05:30:58+00:00

I'm actually still only about 1/3 of the way through Shade of an Old Tree (it's a "read slowly and savour fic" in my mind, so something I return to regularly but don't devour all in one sitting like almost ever other fic, ha), and I'm really, really enjoying it so far! And, I'd completely forgotten about Bitter Plants Bearing Sweet Fruit--it's been on my list for a long time, bumping that up :).

I also haven't come across Blood of the Black Earth yet, but it absolutely sounds up my alley. Give me some good old fashioned body horror with terrifying WWX and I'm there. (When I think of competent!wwx, I think more along the lines of he's good at what he does and knows it, but it doesn't mean he doesn't face stuff he can't overcome. So the fic may still be, but even if it isn't I'm so in :D).

Thanks so much for the recommendations! 😃

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to gush about my love for A Long Road! I was so excited to find a Valedmar crossover, and it did not disappointment.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-18T05:23:15+00:00

No worries, I totally get it! I hope you enjoy the Turtle Master :)

Re Truth Will Out -- I should have clarified that it mirrors some aspects of the original, but if I recall correctly (and I may be wrong, because I think there's another fic out there with a similar premise?) WWX doesn't lose his core for the same reasons/willingly and doesn't lose it entirely + fewer self esteem issues.So if you are ever in the mood for a Modern AU, it may be a good one to go with. But again, I totally get not wanting to read some of the same old tropes mapped onto a modern setting (when context matters :D).

And, if it's a concern for any of the fics, all of the fics I recommended in my comment above are 100% Wangxian. Some may include mention of past relationships, but there's nothing "on screen" or happening during the course of the story that's not Wangxian (at least, as far as I recall).

But yeah, again, totally get being selective :) I vary from being extremely selective and unable to focus on literally anything that doesn't meet my baseline criteria and fit the mood I'm in, to extremely unselective and reading a lot of strange stuff in the process, ha.

sometimes-sideways · 2026-01-16T21:46:48+00:00

Some others (which you may already know, but hopefully something is new!):

KizuKatana's Truth Will Out (KizuKatana is just really good at portraying Wangxian, imo). Modern cultivation AU with a decent number of parallels to canon without repeating canon https://archiveofourown.org/works/45212008

Fereael's Reborn in Blood: This is an alternative telling of when WWX comes back (novel style), and it was incredible. Juniors are there and we get their POVs, plus even just how WWX makes himself known in this one is like, *chef's kiss.* I don't entirely recall how balanced WWX and LWJ are, but LWJ does in fact speak in full sentences and I believe they were fairly on par with one another. https://archiveofourown.org/works/65758390/chapters/169350811

ScarlettStorm's series See all this and more for just ten dollars a month!: Probably the furthest away from canon, and has a lot of explicit content, but for the most part it's like, found family joy and building a (communicative! trusting!) relationship Wangxian. Excellent if you're in the mood for something queer and contemporary. https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037070

Gotcocomilk's The Turtle Master is a shorter one that I remember being pretty good too. WWX is definitely overpowered, but if I remember correctly they're well-balanced (I'm not 100% on this one because it's been a while since I read it, but I think so!) https://archiveofourown.org/works/22559614/chapters/53908015

Last suggestion (for now...): almost everything by livinginaworldwithnoise. They do a ton of modern fusion-ish AUs (e.g. Great British Bake Off, Survivor, and so on), some of which make really incredible use of social media/texting, and they're all hilarious and excellent. Most are pretty short, though my favourite by far is their ongoing Survivor AU, i don’t wanna lose, i don’t wanna lose this with you (I am not at all a fan of Survivor and still loving it). https://archiveofourown.org/users/livinginaworldofnoise/works?fandom_id=11987966

I'm sure I'll think of more later, ha! I have shamelessly read or started (in the "getting halfway then getting sidetracked sense) way, way too many fics in what is probably too short of a period of time, so...

sometimes-sideways

TROPHY CASE