schneefink | 5 origfic recs

I was woken up by a big thunderstorm shortly past 5am today, and I would have enjoyed that a lot if it had been the weekend. Fingers crossed the next one is on a Saturday or Sunday.

I finally managed to make some recs again! Five original works on AO3 that I enjoyed a lot:

Surrender Denied by

SassySnowperson
17.8k, original m/m, Winning General/Respected Opposing General Who is Their Postwar Arranged Marriage Spouse, in SPACE
Summary: When the war ended, the victorious Corbash Empire were not entirely ruthless with their demands. In the terms of surrender lay a curious clause, though:
One officer from the defeated Lissial Confederation, to be joined in marriage to the victorious General Nicul Druken.
Why I love it: I really like both characters, and their dynamic is delicious, especially for my loyalty-kink-loving heart. Also featuring heavy competence kink and interesting background politics and worldbuilding

The Fox's Grief by

nirejseki
38.6k, original pre-slash, murder mystery, Beautiful Detective With Peerless Martial Arts/Frail Secret Spymaster He's Trying To Seduce, in fake ancient China
Summary: No one in their right mind would ever seriously try to woo Lin Ronghu, the Emperor's infamously ruthless (if unofficial) spymaster.
Not that that's stopped the local legend, a (self-described) beautiful detective with peerless martial arts. His crush is a major inconvenience - at least until there's a murder that puts Lin Ronghu's most hated political nemesis straight in the frame. Since Lin Ronghu can't believe that anyone would be that stupid, he decides that maybe having a private detective around might be good for something after all...
Why I love it: More wonderful competence and loyalty kink with bonus secret (or not-so-secret) identity shenanigans and a mystery with political complications.

Mirror City by

nirejseki
70k, original m/m, murder mystery, manifestation of a city/its favorite human, kinda eastern European-ish historical fantasy setting
Summary: Murder gets treated relatively lightly in Volyne, but that's only to be expected given that it shares it's borders with Mirror City - which is just as often called Murder City, home of the country's finest assassins, where each and every mirror can be used to scry into someone's life in order to figure out how best to kill them.
But when a woman's dead body is found in just the right place to cause a riot that will draw in his friends, Jan Tarlo - who swore years ago to stop making bad decisions, or indeed any decisions whatsoever - gets drawn into a web of political intrigue that forces him further and further back into his past.
Back to Mirror City.
Why I love it: Great worldbuilding (including different cultures, automatons, and an entire society constantly moving in groups to defend themselves from scrying assassins), great pacing, a murder mystery, and a main character with the superpower to accidentally make people care about him whose relationships with basically everyone I enjoyed a lot.

Honour Under Heaven by

platinum_firebird
19.6k, gen, hero-worshipping young man & his older female mentor, in a fantasy Chinese cultivation setting
Summary: Rescued from his overbearing, abusive father after his beloved elder brother's death, Song Jing travels the land with his new mentor, famed rogue cultivator Kai-Ji. Together they face whatever comes their way, seeing the best and worst of what the world has to offer.
Kai-Ji is like a giant in Song Jing's mind, a figure who embodies everything he aspires to be; he never imagines they could grow close. Kai-Ji is so used to being by herself, a lone wanderer on a hard road; she has trouble imagining that Song Jing will stay long by her side.
As it turns out, both of them will be surprised.
Why I like it: Aww, this is so sweet. This is also tagged as family of choice, action/adventure, and emotional h/c, which all fit, and most of all I am delighted by Kai-Ji and Song Jing and them being surprised by their feelings for each other.

i have named you queen (listen) by

Damkianna
19.7k, original f/f, political marriage of convenience, in a fantasy-ish desert setting
Summary: Grandmother ruled Gir Niajra, and always had.
Jummai felt certain this was so, mostly because it was impossible to imagine otherwise: anyone, anyone at all, seated so comfortably on that great golden throne except Grandmother? Anyone who could look or speak with such authority, to whom so many great and worthy people bowed down? No—only Grandmother. It had always been Grandmother, and it always would be.
Then Grandmother died; and there was a war.
(Or: Jummai is a princess without a throne—but she has no intention of leaving to others what is rightfully hers. She needs a wife with an army, and gets one; but her wife seems impervious to her tactical charm, she keeps making mistakes, and her cousin still wants her dead.)
Why I like it: I enjoyed the atmosphere and the slow relationship development hindered by cultural differences and political pressure.

(It has been hard to motivate myself to do rec posts so I would appreciate some feedback if you find this interesting.)