dreamwidth update: I feel like academic AUs could be their own post, actually
Rec-set: Extremely Specific occupation AUs.
I really enjoy stories that bring a specificity to their AUs, and one of the areas that is often done is in the choice of character profession. All of these stories use the profession of the character to explore something about the relationship with those around them and their world, and/or to drive the plot. All of these were richly textured enough to feel real to me (a person who has not… worked any of these jobs.)
These stories differ in length, tone, and rating, although they are all wwx/lwj. (Sorry, this only now occurs to me. If you can think of one w/ a different ship or none at all that fits this description, lmk!)
grave goods (28535 words) by luckymarrow
When you think “Wei Wuxian, mortician,” it just makes sense, doesn’t it? Brings WWX’s canonical relationship with death into a non-magial, modern setting.
and oh, bask in his glory (62205 words) by belle_abroad
If you, like me, feel about pro-wrestling a sort of “no, thank you,” I urge you to try this anyway. This story gets into the weeds of pro-wrestling in a way that is engaging, and full of affection for the sport(?).
Pentimento. (72966 words) by orange_crushed
A richly textured story of painting conservation, in which Wei Wuxian’s interactions with the art world mirror his canon interactions with the jianghu. A long fic that takes you on the whole journey and will give you feelings.
In The Dark Right Now (10637 words) by phnelt
This is maybe the most marginal in terms of adherence to my theme, but I love it, and it’s going in! You don’t get to see Wei Wuxian do much bat-research, but his job as a bat-researcher sets the stage and gives the story a shape and theme.
Waiting for Spring (130787 words) by thievinghippo
This is a repeat,but it belongs here. Major league baseball player is an extremely specific occupation!
if you go chasing rabbits (23569 words) by occultings
Is witch’s familiar an occupation? This fic argues that it is! There are some bits of descriptive language in this that I absolutely loved. Usually a fic leaves behind in me a vague feeling, maybe some scenes and character dynamics, but the bit “spines of books pile up in vertebral turret” has stayed with me ever since reading this.
Year Of Night Call (22006 words) by ailuridae
Usually I cut the archive description to let me talk about the fic but actually: ( archive stats and tags cut here )
Very few jobs give you the perfect storm of moral high ground, manic energy, and being a huge dick to people on the regular that Wei Wuxian finds so satisfying about trauma surgery. However, they don’t call it trauma for its psychological wellness. A year of q2 36 hour call would be unbearable if Lan Wangji weren’t the other fellow that he shares a call bed with.
A “What If All The Cultivators Were Surgeons?” AU.
This tells you what you are getting.
it is wednesday my dudes (3796 words) by ritualist
Stripper is an occupation that is presented here as very much about the workplace and the politics and logistics thereof. Also, I too have panicked and talked about squid facts.
Every book its reader (21854 words) by twigofwillow
The author is fairly open about working in the field, but even if they weren’t, it would be very obvious from the details of the story that they not only have experience working as a librarian, but also Opinions. Much like LWJ definitely would.
