what are your favorite fanfics you've ever read? (any fandom)
hello anon thank you for this very sweet question <3
it's a long ride (tell me you're ready) [series as a whole!] by @explosionshark
the first chapter of this fic is the first fic i read where i was fully convinced ok i WILL participate in this fandom, this fandom has really dope writers here. it just is such an interesting little canon diversion, such a small moment to twist a little this way to produce such an impactful and sexy story. love fics like this that laser in on character interiority while also being really really hot.
where you're going i'm going by @camwolfe
how do i even start with this oh my god. i don't know how many times i've reread this fic, and i feel i'm due a reread tbh because it's been a couple months. despite its length, this fic i find to be really intimate--it's not a sprawling epic with dozens of POVs and plot twists, it's just a very patiently explored kind of character study of addiction and recovery. and despite that it's really very funny? idk how the fuck cam did it.
still water by @antomander
an absolutely incredible gothic horror/romance. first of all, i do generally prefer canon-based aus or aus that take place in the canon world of arcane/lol, and this one is just so creative in concept, and very beautiful in execution. i was so thrilled to discover that this fic truly does have horror elements to it. i recommend this one to everybody pretty much.
come over and love me by @esotericarms
another absolute banger. thank you esotericarms for inventing band aus, i can't believe no one has ever written one before. the way music is described in this fic is so gorgeous and the music selections are sooooo cool, please if you read, you have to listen to the songs as they come up in the fic. also, this is another important work in the canon of caitlyn as a top+domme.
rain in the shape of everything by @blueings
this is another fic that i read relatively early on in my time in this fandom where i was like ohhhh ok this fandom has GOOD fics. she's just such an incredibly writer, you can absolutely feel the work she's put in to hone her craft beyond fanfic, it feels like getting a fic from annie proulx or something idk but very grateful blueings has decided to share her work with us. so sweet and tender u will leave this fic emotionally tenderized. like with a meat mallet.
the smell of blood on concrete by @perpetuallyfive
i'm still working my way through this one tbh HOWEVER. this list would be completely remiss without a mention. genuinely so so good, this absolutely stands up as one of the best urban fantasy/horror stories i've read. so much sensual detail and such a rich, complex world, and such a fascinating take on the werewolf/vampire mythos. i have learned so much about boston and cherish every description of vi being a dickhead behind the wheel.
deep space pillow talk by kabretoss
this is i think my favorite tlt fic out there that has absolutely stayed with me since i read it a couple years ago. griddlehark sequestered in space while reckoning with the series aftermath and fucking crazy style. harrow researching in painstaking detail how to utilize necromancy to fuck gideon. traumatic flashbacks. what's not to love.
beat your swords into ploughshares by notaficwriter
another really incredible, and very beautifully written fic that takes place in somewhat of the aftermath of the series. harrow fucks off on her own on a distant, but temperate planet, where she meditates on her role in her own misfortune as well as gideon's. gideon showing up was such a gratifying and deeply romantic turn to the story.
between the devil and the deep blue sea by pipistrelle
this is maybe one of the most insane fics i have ever read, and it is so well written, and fully, completely realized. this is a moby dick au, but if it took place in a bubble in the River, and the whale is a resurrection beast. definitely not particularly romantic, but the tension between gideon and harrow is crazy, and the visuals are absolutely mind boggling.
this all being said!!! i have a huge backlog of fics i'm catching up on so this is by no means definitive, just a few of the fics i've read that have really affirmed why i keep coming back to fandom in general, and will probably always strive to produce my own fics for my chosen fandoms :)
romaincrisis
germansingergirl
kianamaiart
dededos
areudirty
annaxmalina
ellievsbear
