Hiii Gina!! Could you please tell us your absolute favourite fics of all the time?? Thank you sooo much!!
Hi darling. I’m sorry this took so long, It’s not an easy question to answer. This list is made up of definite favorites of mine, but I feel the need to add that this is a list of the 24 fics I’d smuggle into prison. I’m going to try and give a list that’s different, but there will definitely be a fair bit of overlap. This is a list of my favorites of 2019, 2020 and 2021. This is a list of Beautifully Written fics and a second list of fics with Dreamy Writing. All wonderful.
my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach (E, 160K) Yes, there are quite a few time travel fics in this fandom and I really like a lot of them. But, for me, this is THE time travel fic and I adore it. It’s so well crafted and uses so many canon moments to drive the story home. You get such a lovely portrayal of both Louis and Harry and there’s a scene towards the end that makes my heart *clench*. Sigh.
You Always Make Me Smile by champagneboyband (E, 60K, WIP) Yes, I’m including a WIP on my list. This could be because the hope that someday it will be updated gives me the will to live, or just because even as a WIP this fic has everything I love. The characters are multi-faceted, the sexual chemistry is off the charts, the background story is complex enough to give the story numerous possibilities for angst and everything else. (And it’s now been deleted, so it shall forever remain a WIP. Link is to a download)
Into The Blue by zarah5 (E, 117K) honestly, I’d probably take almost all of this author’s fics, but I think this is my favorite of theirs. Louis as a flirty scuba instructor? Heartbroken Harry who just wants a fling? Boys living on other sides of the world who only have a few weeks together? Please….give me all that shit.
Pull Me Under by zarah5 (E, 140K) One of the very first fics I read when I came into this fandom…and I’ve read it multiple times since. Zarah’s fics hold up every time. This one has it all, great pacing, ot5 friendship, banter, super sexy smut, etc etc. Plus, Louis being super jealous of Harry’s best friend.
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? By LoadedGunn (E, 8K) I love a good bit of feminization and Harry in lingerie and dirty talk. This one has it all.
we can take the long way home by eleadore (E, 27K) This is just beautiful. Beautifully paced. Gentle, sexy, moving. The miscommunication works so well, as does the final confession. I love the breeding kink — it’s more of an overwhelm and realization of what Harry could have if Louis was his
Constant Debauchery by Blake (E, 19K) Edwardian setting, uni ABO (Alpha/Alpha) fic. I’ve said before that it reads like a Merchant Ivory film looks…just gorgeous. There’s a similar sense of repression and uncertainty about flouting societal expectations, and a character who appears one way on the surface, but underneath is quite different. I love this one and I’ve read it a number of times.
Our Lives, Non-Fiction by @indiaalphawhiskey (E, 114K) this is, quite literally, the best fic I’ve read in years. It’s so well written, clever, funny, emotional, and sexy. Its draw you in immediately and you’ll end up falling in love with these characters before you know it. Don’t miss this one.
I’d do Niall by alongthewatchtower (E, 8K) I know this fic isn’t for everyone and I also know it’s pure filth. But I love everything about it. Dirty talk, Harry in panties, overwhelmed Harry, Niall trying it and not knocking it, Dom Louis vibes…all the good stuff. LOL! They also have a handful of others that I am a big fan of.
Make Your Words A Weapon by @helloamhere (E, 36K) I love everything this author writes. This one just really hit me hard for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the way they explore Louis’ anxiety and coping mechanisms and pain and the way he pushes people away and protects himself, but also wants someone to push back just a bit and love him despite all of that. And the way Harry is the perfect foil for all of it, while also feeling like a fully developed character himself. Yeah, it’s probably all of that.
Where Your Heart Is by TVshows-addict / @anymerrylilthought (E, 154K) I love literally everything about this fic, from the characterizations to the growth arcs to the gorgeous symbolism to the hot af smut. It’s just a wonderful fic in every way and I’ve read it multiple times. (link is to a download)
Never Never Never Stop for Anyone (Sheylinsonverse) by aimmyarrowshigh, spibsy (lucy_and_ramona) (E, 439K 10-part series) Yes, here I am again, putting this series on a list. Probably 10 people in this fandom like it as much as I do, but I don’t care. I have read all 439K words more than once, and will likely do it a few more times. Yes, it needs editing, but even so…really well written, super sexy (if you like reading BDSM and can handle Larry + someone else), and such interesting character development.
These Roads We Stumble Down by onewasturning (E, 18K) The characters might be a bit OOC, but this author has such a beautiful way of writing that I am always pulled in and lost in the world they create. I really like this one in particular because the entire relationship basically takes place inside a car so it’s both claustrophobic and intense in the sexiest sort of way.
You’ll Breathe Me In (You Won’t Release) by LoadedGunn (E, 95K) Also known as The Driving Instructor fic. This has some of the best pacing I’ve read in a fic, some really well written BDSM smut, and characters I just really enjoy. I know it’s not for everyone. Read the tags.
Wild and Unruly by 100percentsassy, gloria_andrews / @100percentsassy, @gloriaandrews (E, 124K) This is just one of those fandom classics that you shouldn’t miss out on. The writing is great, the pining and the build up to them giving in is really well paced (and hot), The angst is painful and feels insurmountable, but the end is so good and so satisfying.
Love Is A Rebellious Bird by 100percentsassy, gloria_andrews / @100percentsassy, @gloriaandrews (E, 135K) Everything about this fic is glorious. I’m always struck by how well the characters are fleshed out, how their behavior lines up with their backstory, how ridiculously hot the chemistry is, and how agonizing the angst is. So yes, no shocker, I cried buckets. Thank god for a happy ending.
Saving Symphony Hall by @helloamhere (E, 125K) Artist Harry. I’ve recommended this one quite a bit because it’s just chock full of so much wonderful stuff – great story, great OT5 friendships, great banter, sexy smut…so much good stuff. In addition I really enjoyed how Harry as an artist was fleshed out. I also really liked the juxtaposition of Artist Harry (who’s also an Alpha) and data driven/left brain Louis (who’s also an Omega). A great read (also, there’s a terrific prequel you might want to start with if you like the concept of the fic).
Walk That Mile by purpledaisy (E, 150K) I’ve read this one multiple times and still love it. Their bickering is so realistic, their resistance to their attraction to each other is perfect, the way the author portrays all of their weird quirks and differences but still makes it believable that they’d fall fo reach other is such fun to read….I love this fic.
These Inconvenient Fireworks by mdasch & everydayslike (190K, NC17) pdf (dropbox) // ePub There’s a reason this is a fandom classic even though it was written years ago and has since been deleted. And if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and download it now. It’s so well written, it’s hilariously funny, the smut is super hot, the angst will break your heart, and the ending will make everything right in the world. Also…the car wash scene. I just…it’s so good.
Speaking of Marvels by navigator, quitter (E, 100K) This was one of the first fics I read in this fandom, but I read it again recently and had forgotten how really wonderful it is. The writing is so lovely and the characters feel so well developed. I especially loved how the authors explored how differently the two of them would respond to their relationship given the different stages of life they were in. It made the romance and the attraction and the angst feel really real.
Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow (M, 72K) This is truly one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever read and it is an absolutely travesty that it’s not being talked about every day. This fic is gorgeous and poetic and romantic and heartbreaking and an explosion of metaphoric images and everything I never knew I needed but now that I have it I want to read it over and over and over.
Good Enough to Eat by objectlesson (E, 7K) This author always does such a good job with depicting young, queer love and the way their characters experience the overwhelm of realizing they’re not straight, realizing the’ve met their Person, pining, and giving in. I love a lot of their fics, but I think this is my favorite of them. (Link is to a download)
may we all have a vision now and then by momentofclarity / @gaycousinlarry (M, 4K) This author is one of my favorite writers in this fandom and everything they do is infused with so much delicacy and tenderness. I literally cried through this fic because of how wounded Harry’s character feels. Read it and then treat yourself to their whole AO3 catalogue because I literally could have put it all on this list.
hush. by wankerville (T, 41K) This author just writes beautifully and this is one of those high school AUs that has lingered with me long after I read it. They capture the longing and want and self-hatred and confusion of being that age and being queer, so so well. BTW, there’s smut in this fic. I’m not sure why it was rated T.
And I’m adding one of my own:
Literally Making Love by Brooklyn_Babylon / @twopoppies (E, 30K) this is one of my favorites of my own writing:
Holding up one of the android's eyes to the workshop’s windows, he smiled as the light picked up the gold flecks in the pale green of his irises. Louis had always paid attention to even the tiniest details.
--
All Louis intended to do was rescue someone in need from loneliness. He had no idea it would be himself.
