Guest Post: Untamed Fic Starter Pack

[helloladies]

So renay started watching The Untamed, the extremely swooshy extremely gay Chinese drama that is taking my corner of the internet by a storm. (If you’d like to know more about it friend of the blog Jenny wrote an excellent primer) Renay informed me that when she’s done she’d like some fic recs. I’m very happy to help, since this isn’t the first time a friend has asked me for recs for this fandom I thought I’d write up a post.

Here’s my sample platter of Untamed fic. I’ve included two or three fics in a variety of categories to give you a broad sampling of what's out there. A few of these fics are actually novel fics, but I think that they will make sense if you’ve only seen the show.


*Here Be Spoilers*

Post canon get togethers

Many writers have envisioned how Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji might finally get together after everything. Here are a couple of my favorite takes:

Fire in the Blood by Jo Lasalle (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Mature; 20,716 words)
Rec: The summary says “Wei Ying is traveling, and he gets busy. Lan Wangji knows that sometimes, Wei Ying forgets things,” which was the perfect amount of information to have going into this fic. This was very sweet and hot! (Content note: alcohol and drunkenness)

It's Only Time etymologyplayground (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Teen; 8,089 words)
Rec: An epistolary fic, featuring the letters Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan send each other while the former is traveling. There is a magical pigeon and so much pining!

Rumor Has It by Ulan (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Teen; 4,193 words)
Rec: Wei Wuxian hears a rumor that he and Lan Wangji are cultivation partners and proceeds to question Lan Zhan about it, while being his usual oblivious self.

For Want of a Nail

There’s so many places in canon where things could have gone better! These fics explore some of them.

seldom all they seem by Fahye (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Explicit; 24,930 words)
Rec: What if Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had a political betrothal? This is a lovely exploration of Lan Wangji falling in love and also of the place that the Lan rules have in his life.

Ring the Bells (That Still Can Ring) by shadaras (Wen Qing & Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli & Wei Wuxian, Wen Qing & Jiang Yanli; Teen; 7,577 words)
Rec: A Wen Qing-centric fic, featuring Jiang Cheng being his best self and Jiang Yanli reminding everyone whose daughter she is.

Autumn Reveries by qikiqtarjuaq (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Mature; 15,155 words)
Rec: An arranged marriage AU where Lan Wangji offers to marry Wei Wuxian while he’s living at the Burial Mounds to get him out of trouble. Wei Wuxian continues to be his normal oblivious self while Lan Zhan stoically pines. Meanwhile they have to solve a mystery, so we get to see them working together which I always enjoy. (This is a fic based on the novel, so there are more zombies than you might expect but it makes sense without having to read the novel).

Whole New Worlds

AUs featuring our familiar characters in a different time and place!

and so my heart beats wildly by lily_winterwood (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Explicit; 106,435 words)
Rec: This is one of my favorite AU genres for this fandom, a modern setting that still features cultivation. Here, cultivation is a sport a little like figure skating in our world. Yes, it’s clearly inspired by Yuri on Ice! fic, and that’s part of what makes it great. The worldbuilding in this one is really fun, as are the action scenes!

plant a little happiness (let the roots run deep) fleurdeliser (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Explicit; 47,638 words)
Rec:Modern doctors AU,. This is so soft and low angst, it's very soothing.

All the Ladies

I love the female characters in this show and want better for them! Here are a few fics that give them the lives they deserve.

The Past Didn't Go Anywhere by FairestCat (Jiang Cheng & Wen Qing, Lan Sizhui & Wen Qing; Teen; 2,352 words)
Rec: A truly wonderful Wen Qing Lives fic! It packs so many feels into a fairly short fic.

Arpeggio by Shadaras (Baoshan Sanren/Lan Yi; Teen; 1,548)
Rec: Baoshan Sanren and Lan Yi are the queer aunties of my heart. This fic does a really good job of showing them working together, and I love all the craft details here.

Bloom in Darkness by EHyde (Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli & Wei Wuxian; Gen; 1801 words)
Rec: Fierce corpse Jiang Yanli! This story got me with the line, “You know that soup cannot mend a family, not one as broken as this, but even so, you’re going to try.”

If you need more fic featuring female characters I made a twitter rec thread. Also available in post format here.

Mad about a Genocide

So there’s a lot of genocide in this show, and some of the characters are complicit in it. These are some fics that dig into what happened, and how people might make amends.

Pardon the Forgotten jayfeather63 (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, Lan Sizhui & Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui & Lan Jingyi; Not Rated (est Teen); 7020)
Rec: Five years after the death of the Yiling Patriarch, ghosts appear at the Burial Mounds. I really liked the way this dealt with Lan Sizhui learning about his past.

like the setting sun by silvershadow (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Teen; 21,511)
Rec: While no one could find Wei Wuxian after his death, the same is not true for the Wen Remnants in this AU, where the remnants haunt the cultivation world as gruesome ghosts. This is so creepy and good! I love how the presence of the ghosts forces people to confront their roles in the deaths of the innocent.

Shadows of the Past by Forestofglory (Jin Ling & Lan Sizhui; Teen; 1409 words)
Rec: This is a self rec so I’ll just give you the summary: Jin Ling asks Lan Sizhui to come to Qiongqi Path and play Inquiry so he can learn the truth of what happened to the Wens held prisoner there.

Ducklings!

I love the Juniors intensely. A-Yuan is the cutest turnip baby in the world. Jin Ling is such a brat but he’s also trying so hard! Lan Jingyi is adorably un-Lan! Ouyang Zizhen stands up to his dad! And they all make the sweetest ducklings following Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji around. So here is some fic that focuses on the younger generation.

A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste (Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui; Teen & Mature; 31,015 words)
Rec: I really love the characterization in this fic; everyone feels spot on. This fic is tagged “Wei Wuxian's avuncular powers,” and Wei Wuxian’s interactions with Jin Ling are perfect!

The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Teen; 19,692 words)
Rec: The juniors decide that they need to rehabilitate Wei Wuxian’s reputation so he and Lan Wangji can finally be together. They research write and publish the couple’s epic love story, which becomes a bestseller. This is charming and funny!

Always by kimboo_york (Lan Sizhui & Lan Wangji, Lan Wangji & Lan Xichen; Gen; 7,699 words)
Rec: An AU where Lan Wangji officially adopts A-Yuan. This is just so sweet but also sad, because Lan Wangji misses Wei Wuxian a lot here.

Grab Bag

Here’s a few more things that I wanted to include that didn’t fit into any of the above categories.

operational amplifier by chinxe (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Teen; 7,066 words)
Rec: Lan Wangji deals with his feelings by writing self insert stories about himself and Wei Wuxian. I know this sounds like a silly crack premise but actually this fic is full of feels.

Five Times Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng Had a Civil Conversation, and One Time They Didn't by Tabulaxrasa (Wei Wuxian & Jiang Cheng [Background Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian]; Teen; 7,371 words)
Rec: If your heart is hurting because Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng didn’t reconcile by the end of the show, this fic is here for you. Featuring just the right amount of grumpiness and wariness between the two of them as they slowly rebuild mutual trust.

I hope everyone will find something to enjoy here! What are your favorite works in these categories? What do you think is essential reading in this fandom?

---

★ forestofglory is a fan, crafter, an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy short fiction, and a mom. You can find her on Dreamwidth and on Twitter at forestofglory.

Comments

[kimboo_york]

What a fantastic list of recs! More than a few I have not read, too, which is great for me!!! *clicky clicky*

And thank you so much for your kind words for my own story, I'm still thrilled when anyone likes it! I am honored to be included on this list!

[020104isme]

Saw the rec post when surfing my network page. I am still working my way through the fic on the AO3 so thank you for highlighting some I hadn't spotted yet. 😁

[darkemeralds]

What a treasure! Thank you. Rec lists are the best.

[goss]

Thank you for putting together all these recs! Bookmarking! <3

[clevermanka]

I'd like to recommend two:

Four Days in Lanling, which hauled me onboard the Nie Huaisang/Jiang Cheng ship by the lapels and has yet to let me go. I clicked on it because I was all "huh, that's a weird ship, wonder how they did that" and by the end of the first chapter I was on board.

Small Mercy, a heart-breaker of a missing scene fic that explores what might have happened to Lan Xichen's spiritual energy in the final bit at the Guanyin temple.

[isweedan]

What a good post, what good recs! <333

[libitina]

Ooooo Some of these are new to me! Thanks! 🤩🤩

[malimutan]

absolutely excited for this!!!

[bluapapilio]

Thanks. :D

[maskitheclown]

Thank you! This is great and most helpful. As is the primer :D

[mekare]

I‘m only now starting to check out the manhua, but I like to be prepared and am glad that this post exists. :-) Thank you!

[forestofglory]

I hope you enjoy the manhua! For reference I also wrote a second rec post for this fandom.

[mekare]

Even more goodies, yay! It‘ll be some time until I‘ve finished, but I‘m looking forward to the bounty already.