RaviG

Apex and Bisect are both solid choices for modded servers. The one-click modpack install is a big help when you just want to play with friends without spending ages setting things up.

Try disabling a few more mods to narrow down what's causing the crash. If removing that one didn't help, another mod could be conflicting with it. You could also test with half your mods disabled at a time to find the culprit faster. Make sure to share the new crash log here so others can check it. That should help narrow things down without removing everything at once.

I’m curious to see how the final version turns out, especially with the more accurate shot behavior.

I'd try removing sodiumdynamiclights first and see if the world loads, since that was the main mod pointed out in the reply

A mod may be the only way to change the blindness fog color since texture packs usually can’t control that effect.

I’d try a pack that keeps the textures fairly clean and doesn’t add too much detail. Something like Stay True or Faithful could pair nicely with Complementary Unbound. If you want a more realistic style, Patrix is another one worth checking out.

Any update on when the Fabric 1.21.5 version might be ready?