fanfic recs!
here's a collection of all the fic i love, or at least what im comfortable sharing (in order of release). have fun spotting trends in the fic i read!
{Homestuck} {Terezi
Vriska, Vriska
Kanaya, RoseKanaya} {63k} i haven't finished homestuck yet, or even gotten a quarter through, so descriptions might be iffy, but this fic features Vriska and Terezi, and eventually Kanaya and Rose, who have ended up back on Earth, where no one has any memories of the events of the comic. a chance meeting between Vriska and Terezi begins a messy little relationship which has the side effect of causing Vriska to start regaining memories, which isn't traumatic at all nope. eventually they end up meeting up with Kanaya, now a fashion designer in Paris, and Rose, a reclusive author who delights in remaining an utter mystery to her fans. it's a relatively short series of fics with a pretty open ending, and i really enjoyed how everyone was written, particularly Vriska and Rose. Vriska in particular does an admirable job denying that anything is wrong as it becomes increasingly obvious that her memories and her life are not what they seem, even when Terezi is doing her very best to poke holes in that denial.
Mafia Blake AU - CourierNinetyTwo
{RWBY} {Blake/Weiss} {108k} Like it says on the tin, this one involves Blake as part of the White Fang organized crime group and Weiss as heir to the Schnee Dust Company which deals with them to maintain it's monopoly on dust. Spanning 7 different works, each one is a snapshot of Blake and Weiss's growing relationship, eventually culminating in a very stressful wedding ceremony. i love reading them slowly grow to trust and depend on each other throughout, and nonbinary Blake is something that has stuck with me ever since, cuz really, why would Faunus concepts of gender map to human genders 1:1.
You're A Loaded Gun (But You Love Me Better Than Anyone) - insatiablycurious
{Carmilla (2014} {Danny/Carmilla} {69k} HS AU featuring Danny the star hockey player and Carmilla the yearbook nerd with a horrible mother, this was one of the first Carmilla fics i remember reading, and still one of my favorites. i rarely see this ship but i tend to enjoy it more than the usual Laura/Carm honestly? anyway i really enjoy how the central relationship progresses in this one, and both Carmilla and Danny are really well written.
{Star Wars: The Old Republic} {Shae Viszla/OC} {37k} A young trans woman named Ysaine runs away from home after killing her abusive father and runs smack into Shae in a bar, and the two begin an on and off relationship. The story follows Ysaine over the next 15 years as she finds her way in the galaxy, working at a small med clinic, hauling cargo in space, and attempting to reconnect with her brother, but somehow always crossing paths with Shae, though neither of them seem to be able to open up about their feelings for each other until it's almost too late. i read this one years ago, not too long after i started transitioning, and it's been a favorite ever since.
Truth in Your Fangs - yashkonu
{RWBY} {Weiss/Emerald} {512} A short but sweet one, two girls sitting on the roof, talking about their shitty lives and attempting to find some comfort in each other, or at least realize that they're allowed to find comfort. a couple bits in particular have stuck with me for years since i first read it, and i end up re-reading it at least once a year.
so i'm the dragon (big deal) - SummerFrost
{The Witcher} {Renfri/Yennefer, Geralt/Jaskier} {27k} This is technically the second fic in the series, but while they're all great, this one is by far my favorite. Renfri so rarely shows up in fic and i do love reading about her, and in general i have a soft spot for characters with a history of trauma and depression and self harm (not examining that just yet nope), and this fic is in general very fun. Features Renfri and Geralt as two bartenders at a bar in a college town, which is frequented by Yennefer, who teaches at the college, and Jaskier, a student with a very genuine ID he swears. it's got a bit of relationship jenga going on for a while, but the characters discuss it pretty openly, and the drama instead comes from how everyone involved is a traumatized mess, so i wasn't bothered by it. the third fic introduces Ciri as Geralt's goddaughter who he barely knows, and who everyone gets to know eventually. overall a fantastic read, one that i read twice within a few months and still think about pretty regularly. also features one of my favorite fic summaries i've read so far, so bonus points there i suppose.
An Orphan Generation Of Elephants - hyperfixity
{The Locked Tomb} {Griddlehark} {64k} Gideon and Harrow terrorized each other throughout middle school, before disappearing from each others lives for the next 5 years. Now in college, they have a surprise reunion, where they discover that not only are they both girls, they're both still still utterly infuriating to the other! Or at least, that's what they loudly declare. Yes, this is another one centering on trans characters, what do you want from me. Even disregarding my weakness for trans characters anywhere, both Gideon and Harrow are really well written here, particularly Harrow and her open disdain for most things in the world. features include Gideon and Harrow having a shouting heart to heart in a graveyard next to a church at 4am because vibes, Harrow having the most Harrow coming out, background Cam/Pal/Dulcie being an amazing power trio, and generally amazing dialogue, particularly Harrow who sounds like she's eaten a library's worth of gothic novels.
{Homestuck} {KarkatDave, DaveSollux, Karkat
Sollux RoseKanaya, KarkatRose, etc.} {735k} so i still haven't finished Homestuck (I'm getting there!), but Homestuck fic continues to be some of my favorite regardless of ship, and this one is no exception. this fic has a crazy word count, and it spends a lot of that building a really interesting world to explore. it's a version of our world featuring widespread magic use and a massive variety of magical beings, basically any mythological critter you've heard of probably exists here. sometime shortly before the story starts, there was an Event which broke a ton of magic across the world, wiped some or all of the memories of a majority of people, and ever since then all of the many gods have been silent. but that's not important, Karkat is going to magic university, and theres no way weird things happening in the rest of the world will affect him here, especially not when a couple of his new uni friends seem to recognize him from before the Event. this fic has been consuming a significant portion of my brain for a few months now honestly. the main plot is incredibly well done in my opinion, and ive barely finished it and i already wanna read it again to see what things i missed that ended up being significant. there end up being a bunch of different relationships of varying quadrants, as a lot of canon troll culture got mapped 1:1 onto demons in this fic, and there are a few demon main characters. of them all though, the one that made me want to bite things was the pale!RoseKat, which was really well written as well as being a fantastic example of a relationship that's not romantic but still incredibly close and intimate. is that the right word? not sure, but that sort of relationship is so rare and this one is so well done. the rest of the relationships are well done too, particularly the main dave/karkat/sollux ship, which i'd not really thought about much before but i enjoy it here. anyway this fic is amazing and i love it. the magic system is a giant if/then statement written in various types of computer code, with the if usually being tied to a god of some kind! terezi is a dragon and a menace! sollux is a demon and sleeps in a ceiling hammock! the climax of the entire thing is a courtroom drama! and much much more!
we'll burn that bridge when we get to it - chaoticsandstorm
{Avatar: The Last Airbender} {Gen, bg Mai/Ty Lee} {108k} it's probably not a massive surprise to say that Azula was one of my faves from the first time i watched Avatar, so it's a bit surprising to me that it took me this long to dig up some Azula-centric fic to be mildly unhinged about. this fic starts with Azula, having returned to the palace after S2, being attacked by soldiers sent to arrest her, Ozai having just discovered that she'd been lying about Aang being dead. so she bales on the whole palace thing, and Zuko follows cuz being back at the palace has not helped him, and thus begins a sibling road trip full of distrust and, eventually, some healing. Mai and Ty Lee get sent to track them down, and end up going on their own healing journey that maybe winds up in a relationship of their own. it's honestly such a good fic, Azula is written so well, and watching her slowly come to terms with herself and her family and her life so far is both fascinating and a little heartbreaking. definitely give this one a read.
Office Hookups (Rashomon Style) - bresby
{The Magnus Protocol} {Alice/Gwen} {3k} currently Magnus Protocol is on hiatus for a month, so i've been trying to fill the podcast-shaped hole with fanfic, and this one is one of my favorites i've read so far. this one opens with Sam coming back from a break and hearing loud noises from the office, and assuming some unspeakable horror is attacking, bursts in, only to find Alice and Gwen engaged in some very angry sex. the rest of the fic involves Sam getting Alice and Gwen's (conflicting) accounts of what happened, followed by attempting to fix FR3-d1, who coincidentally shut off as soon as Alice and Gwen started going at it. i really liked this one, it does a great job of capturing both Alice and Gwen as characters, and a good hateship is always a good time. bonus points for Alice losing a boob and just sorta stuffing it back in place while talking to Sam, feels very accurate.