Out of the blue, I found myself immersed in the world of fanfiction—stories written by fans about characters from TV shows, movies, books, video games, etc.—for the first time in years thanks to the danmei series The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (aka Mo Dao Zu Shi or MDZS).
I say “immersed in,” but I think the phrase “obsessed with” is probably more accurate. I signed up for an Archive of Our Own (AO3) account in November 2025 and seven months later, I’m kissing close to having read 100 fics, with no signs of stopping.
Yeah, it’s bad. I haven’t read a “real” book in forever.
Don’t judge me. I’m happy in my little bubble of delusion.
In this first part of a two-part series, I’ll talk about how I originally got into fanfiction and how I got back into them.
The Beginning
Fanfiction initially came into my life during high school, coinciding with the beginning of my interest in anime and manga. Gundam Wing was my favorite anime thanks to its slot in Cartoon Network’s Toonami/Adult Swim line-up. I loved everything about the show. What wasn’t there to love? Cute boys, awesome robots, cool OST, and twisty plotlines. Yep, I was locked in! And I wasn’t alone in this. Most of my friends were just as hooked on the show as I was.
But one friend was far more into it than I knew. I remember her properly introducing me to fanfiction one afternoon when I visited her house. She told me about the Gundam Wing fics she had recently enjoyed on Fanfiction.net, the premiere destination for fanfics back then. I knew what fanfiction was in the strictest sense, but I had never tried it. It didn’t seem like something I would be into. In response, she slipped me print-outs of some older fics she had collected to check out.
I was immediately pulled in. The fans had written incredibly creative fics centered on the Gundam pilots and their post-canon lives as adults settling into normal lives. Those stories gave a fun peek into what might have happened ten or twenty years down the line. Moreover, the fic authors were surprisingly professional with their works, which I hadn’t expected.
I didn’t have my own computer yet, so in addition to my friend occasionally giving me more fics, I hit up the public library to find and print out my own to read at home. Admittedly, the slice-of-life plotlines I had started with gave way to more romantic ones involving the Gundam pilots as couples, specifically Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. This pairing is known as 01×02, which is based on the two pilotsโ Gundam designations. Those 01×02 stories were insane! For example, there were numerous fics where Heero had a whole family with Relena (his real love interest in the show) while having an intense affair with Duo, who was either married to Hilde (his real love interest) or dating Wufei (another Gundam pilot). I devoured those stories with the same hunger as a soap opera fan.
By the time I got to college, my Gundam Wing fervor had largely worn off, and with it, my fanfic fever. I had explored the series as much as I possibly could. Plus, I realized that 01×02 didn’t actually make sense. Heero truly loved Relena, not Duo (as much as I had wanted it to be that way). But what can I say? I was a stupid teenager.
In hindsight, I suspect that these fics foreshadowed, or even directly lead me to, my love of romance novels, BL manga, and danmei books later in life. I think fanfiction is also partially responsible for me getting into writing, even though I was unsuccessful at writing my own fics.
The Comeback
And then a couple of decades laterโฆBAM! My fanfic hiatus effectively ended when I discovered MDZS. I had finished every adaptation of the series and I just wasn’t ready to move on. I wanted more of the characters, especially the main couple, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian (aka WangXian). Suddenly, my next steps became abundantly clear: I could jump back into the fanfiction world and see what was happening in the MDZS community.
While Fanfiction.net still exists these days, and there are several other sites that host fanfics (such as Wattpad and Tumblr), I went with Archive of Our Own because it seemed like the new go-to fanfic haven. Once again, I wasn’t alone in my enthusiasm. Tons of people around the internet (and the world) are just as crazy about MDZS as I am. These WangXian fanatics have written plenty of fanfics about those two. I’d found my home.
My very first MDZS fic was “Mo Dao Zu Shi – The Jingshi Collection” by MoonLilly, which is a bunch of hilarious and steamy one-shots about WangXian’s post-canon life. I quickly learned, however, that most of the other fics that looked interesting required an AO3 account for access. So, I applied for an invite. It took about a week to be accepted.
Man, if I thought the Gundam Wing fics were creative, the MDZS ones have certainly kicked things up several notches! Some of the concepts I’ve seen have blown my mind. I’ve enjoyed so many types. We’re talking modern worlds, alternate universes, canon divergences, fix-its, royal arranged marriages, mafia wars, omegaverse, Dragonji x Foxxian, zombie warfare, apocalypses, law dramas, and sports. I’m particularly fond of longer fics, so I can stay in a particular world as long as possible.
Not only are they entertaining, but they’ve also offered possible answers to a lot of questions I’ve had and put forth a lot more questions that I hadn’t even thought of. They’ve often changed my entire perspective on certain events from the series. Plus, I get to spend loads more time with my favorite characters. You’d think it would be boring reading a million versions of WangXian falling in love, but nope! It never gets old.
Right now, MDZS fics are my main focus, but I’ve begun to branch out to fics about other series too. I started with fics about the two other series written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, the same author as MDZS. I wanted to see if the fans had worked their magic on them as well. And they totally did! The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving Service fics are entertaining and hilarious, while the Heaven Official’s Blessing ones are generally fluffy and lovey-dovey. I’ll definitely be digging deeper into those after I refresh my memory on the books (which I’ve been slowly buying lately).
Those aren’t the only series whose fics I’m interested in, though. I have many unresolved feelings about the anime Yuri!!! On Ice. I hope fanfics will bring me some closure there since it looks like they probably won’t be making any more of it. Then there’s the Thai BL 2gether, which I watched last year. Sarawat and Tine are an adorable couple. And of course, I’ll have to check out the Gravitation community to see what they have Yuki and Shuuichi up to.
Resources and Rankings
How did I find so many interesting MDZS fanfics, you ask? Well, I certainly didn’t do it all by myself. The internet is a wonderful place, full of people ready and willing to hook a sista up!
During the week it took to get the official howdy from AO3, I collected tons of fic recs. I created a Reddit account, my first one ever. I had already been cruising Reddit for months, browsing the site when I was trying to find answers about the series. It had been so informative that I knew it would probably be good for finding fanfics too. In addition to joining many K-Pop subreddits, I joined several MDZS ones like r/MoDaoZuShi and the more general r/MXTX. There’s even r/MDZSFanfictions, which is specifically geared towards fanfic recommendations. These communities totally deliver the links.
A few accounts from fellow MDZS fans on Twitter and Bluesky have been very informative as well. My top source is @Fereael who gives daily recs, compiles themed fic rec lists, and suggests fics based on a follower’s specific requests. They have been truly helpful in building my fanfic collection and I appreciate their hard work. There’s also @cheerywhiskey and @athena_crikey, who often share fic recommendations and fun threadfics as well. Moreover, all three are great fic authors with fantastic stories and two of them are regular authors in their own right as well. Definitely check them out!
Speaking of fantastic MDZS fics, what are my favorites? Honestly, I can’t possibly decide which ones to list. I haven’t read a bad one yet. I’m terrible at ranking things too. Instead, I’ll base this on the authors I’ve read the most.
According to Calibre (more on this software later), that award goes to KizuKatana, from whom I’ve downloaded eight fics. Looking at their titles—straight-up classics like “Rule Number One: Never get attached,” and “Truth Will Out (When Caught On Video)”—I can certainly see why! The runner-up is anaphoricae with seven fics. Just hit after hit! I especially liked “call me home and i’ll build you a throne” and “rain that you slept through.” Lastly, there’s a tie between MimiSpearmint (“Work in Tandem” and “Howling”) and varnes (“live from new york”) with four fics each. I hope to add many more to the list.
Conclusion
I have no idea how long this fanfic phase will last. It’s been seven months so far and I’m only falling deeper and deeper into things. Fanfics have opened up a whole new world.
In the next part, I will dig into my fanfic reading and organization set-up(s). The techie in me is having a field day, for sure!