Upon reflecting this past year, Iām reminded of one area as a fandom citizen that i am lacking - reading fic. And so was born an idea to canvas my fandom family and friends to share with me a fic they've written, art they've created, a podfic they've recorded in 2023 of which they are most proud.
This two part 'rec yourself' list is the result.
Part One (here) features Drarry creations (heavily featured since that's my OTP). Part Two includes a kick-ass mix of various HP ships and ships from other fandoms, including Carry On, Check Please!, Good Omens, Teen Wolf, and Stranger Things. Also, and most importantly, each entry presents a smol blurb from the creator about why they chose their particular piece as their 2023 favorite.
For ease in reading, I've also placed all submitted works posted to AO3 into a filterable bookmark collection, Rec Yourself 2023. Be aware that there's a range of ratings and archive/creator tags, so please, take appropriate responsibility for your personal consumption. And please also be sure to shower the creators with kudos and lovely comments.
Y'all. This endeavor has been a fucking blast. One thing's for sure, I am blessed, humbled and honored to know a whole bunch of fantastic, brilliant, fun folks. Big love to you all, and thank you for participating.
So go forth. Indulge and enjoy! xo peach
* * *
ā© @itsphantasmagoria ā©
Dating Draco ā A Visual Novel Game
VISUAL NOVEL GAME | M rating | Drarry Letās Play Fest 2023
This monster of a project took me 2.5 months of writing, coding, drawing, and panicking. It positively killed me to not talk about it except to a very small handful of people until it released for DLP fest, and the response I got when it did made a really hard time in my life a whole lot brighter. I hope to add more to it next year, and maybe release another one not fandom-related eventually too!
ā© @cailynwrites ā©
Licking a Path to You by @drarryruinedme7
PODFIC | E rating | Draco Tops Harry Fest 2023
I've been having a really hard time choosing, but I think it might be this [one]. It's just fun, no angst, hot sex and sexy food talk. I did a lot of dark stuff this year: kill your darlings fest and parts of manacled in particular, and this was such a lovely palate cleanser. Not to say that it's bland, but rather a perfect antidote for whatever ails you.
ā© @getawayfox ā©
when we're lovers
ART | M rating | HD Sudsfest Lite 2023
Iām pretty fond of my Suds submission because I wanted to create something hot and intimate without actually being explicit about it and I think I succeeded.
ā© @littlewinnow ā©
Scorp takes naps very seriously
ART COMIC | G rating
This is one of my favorites! I've never drawn comics that much before so I was really proud of how this turned out compared to my first attempts. The expressions, the colors, the simple background! It came out nice!
ā© @porcelainheart3 ā©
One Foot In The Grave
ART COMIC | T rating | Harry/Draco Career Fair 2023
It's been close to 20 years since I drew for fun. One of those "childhood hobbies" that I dropped during the constant skin-shedding and reinvention of my teenage years. I loved Phantasmagoria's prompt and kept trying to write it, but the words didn't seem to capture what was in my imagination. So for the first time in decades, I drew a comic! And I am really pleased with the result.
ā© @dewitty1 ā©
November 2023
REC LIST
When I first started reccing HP fic 5 years ago, I put out weekly rec lists. I had to scale back to monthly lists, and I think they've been going really well. I appreciate all the new followers and friends I've gained through my recs, and I hope to see you all spread more fic joy in the future with me. This list, all Drarry recs, is just one of the many examples of my "work" which sometimes includes other HP pairings. Enjoy, and Happy Reading! Xo, Carey
ā© @bubble-gumhead ā©
That Deep Magic
244 FIC | T rating
This is a small story that I wrote rather quickly, but now has decided to grow. I've always loved the idea of magical cores and theories. What would happen if one's magical core started to fail unexpectedly? It's still one of my own little favorites.
ā© @mxmaneater ā©
Once Upon a Midnight Drarry
1.1k FIC | T rating
This was one of the most batshit ideas I've come up as a fic idea, and I'm so happy I took this gag and ran with it (for a solid 6-8 hours) until I had recreated the exact meter of The Raven, only Drarry-fied.Ā This was a passion project that was both challenging (much like a puzzle) and so, so fun to write.
ā© @kittycargo ā©
Charlie
1.7k FIC | T rating | Unleashed! Fest 2023
I think this is my best written fic this year. Itās short and snappy but also builds how happy Draco makes Harry (while showing the inverse of how sad Harry is without him).
ā© @phoebe-delia ā©
Stars By the Pocketful
2.1k FIC | T rating | HD Wireless 2023
This is not technically my best work, both this year and in general, but I'm proud that I finished it. I went through a lot of different ideas before I settled on this one and I'm glad I was able to see it through. It's very soft and fluffy, and I love reading and writing those kinds of fics.
ā© @sleepstxtic ā©
All The Ways
3.1k FIC | T rating
I wrote this when I was in the middle of a writing slump and wanted to write something but didnāt have the energy for a full fic. Itās a collection of drarry āWhat ifā scenarios that Iād had stuck in my mind for a while and finally wrote down, and Iām quite fond of the way it turned out.
ā© @sweatersinthesummer ā©
Welcome to Schittsmeade
3.4k FIC + PODFIC | T rating | Voiceteam 2023
I only wrote a couple of fics this year, but I recorded a lot of podfics, but I think I'll go with something I wrote and recorded!Ā I just like it because it combines two of my favorite fandoms - HP and Schitt's Creek, and it just amuses me. Plus, I wrote and recorded it in 24 hours for a challenge, so I'm kind of proud of that part too.
ā© @xanthippe74 ā©
Under the Table
4.3k FIC | T rating
It's my fave because I managed to finish it after abandoning it in 2021 (it was supposed to be for Wireless that year). I didn't think it was working at the time, but I finally figured out how to write Draco being the bitchy and somewhat unreliable narrator that I envisioned.
ā© @moonmanatee ā©
Sun Shower
5.9k FIC | T rating | Unleashed! Fest 2023
i posted my first fic this year, so iām proud of being brave enough to share something, and of creating a world and characters that exist beyond what made it onto the page (which to me is how i know what did end up in the story is full-bodied and meaningful!).
ā© @thehoneybeet ā©
Desiderium
6.1k FIC | E rating | HP Poetry Fest 2023
I'm proud of everything I wrote this year, but this is my favorite because I was very self-indulgent when writing this piece. I wrote Desiderium for @/hp-poetry-fest inspired by Kubla Khan, and I really enjoyed the exploration of the liminal space between life and death, and the constant striving for a feeling or a state of being you may never experience again. This was also my first fic solely from Draco's point of view, after which I fell in love and wrote three more Draco POVs this year. If you enjoy yearning, legilimency sex, edging, thunderstorms, poetry, etc., you'll probably like this one.Ā
ā© @nv-md ā©
will you stay right here (shake this frost off my bones)
10.1k FIC | E rating | HP Law of Attraction Fest
This is my fave for a few reasons. Creatures! I love a good creature fic and while I usually write vampires, this one features Veela Draco and Werewolf Harry. There was a single scene in my mind when I started this fic, it's towards the end, and I won't spoil it, but it features Draco's wings and it has been living in my mind rent free all year. Though it is but 10k, finishing this fec felt like finishing a marathon. Writing was so hard for me this year and I was so proud when I was done.
ā© @peachpety ā©
Birds Behaving Badly
10.5k FIC | E rating | Unleashed! Fest 2023
as i hemmed and hawed about whether to include a self-rec on this list, i finally said, yeah, imma toot my own horn bc thatās the fucking point, peach. y'all i had so much fun researching for this fic. pages ā like 12! ā of notes and photographs and seagulls, seagulls, seagulls!! And then this draco, gah, he just sprang up, exactly how i like him. And once i wrote the opening section (which imo is one of the best iāve written) it was smooth sailing from there. the words, they flowed until i surprised myself with my longest drarry fic yet. So, yes, iām super proud of this one. it reminded me how much i love writing, and writing these two idiot boys in particular.
ā© @peachydreamxx ā©
Take My Pure (Wash It All Away)
16.8k FIC | E rating | HD Sudsfest Lite 2023
Iām a sucker for vulnerable, fragile Draco, and this journey through his eyes felt incredibly intimate. Particularly writing about his sub drops.Ā I had the challenge of writing moments of communication between them when Draco was too vacant to speak. This fic weaves together Dracoās darkest desires with Harryās possessive need to both control Draco and give him everything he needs while contrasting Draco's degradation and shame with the pure trust and longing they shared. Also describing the pretty soap shop and all the small things that Draco felt he didnāt deserve.
ā© @beyondtheclose ā©
a foundation on which to build
19.6k FIC | T rating | HP Trans Fest 2023
When peach asked me to give a self rec, I wasnāt sure which fic Iād pickāI couldnāt even remember what I had written this year. But then I remembered this one and I instantly knew my choice, and not even because it was the longest or most involved one I wrote this year. Foundation was written for the transfest and is about Harry discovering one of his parents were trans, something that had become a secret after theyād died. It also features Harry and Draco reconnecting after breaking up a few years prior. I had a good time writing this fic and exploring this universe and Harry and Dracoās reactions to everything and it is probably one of the fics Iām most proud of writing.
ā© @goblinmatriarch ā©
Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage
21k FIC | E rating | HP Bodice Ripper Fest 2023
I'd say my [favorite is my] bodice ripper one! Because it was a bit out of my comfort zone and required a ton of research, which was fun and led me to 12th century poetic debates about rimming!
ā© @nelweensfic ā©
Welcome to Kreb
24.1k FIC | M Rating | Lights Camera Drarry 2023
I think this is my fav fic of this year that I want to share. Because it has dragons, because it's my longest drarry fic ever, because I explored a lot of differents emotions and also a new side ship.
ā© @rockingrobin69 ā©
Of Magical Beings Being - Magic
30k FIC | E rating | Unleashed! Fest 2023
i suppose [my favorite self-rec] would have to be of magical beings being magic, which is half of my heart at the very least.
ā© @somethingveryodd ā©
Hole to Feed
34.4k FIC | E rating | Lights Camera Drarry 2023
It was the first fic I ever wrote for a fic fest and I got to writing it kinda late, because I didn't know the fest was even on until the last week of grabbing prompts. And it was like something took over my brain and my body and I've never wrote anything that quick with such consistency! It was my first time writing a dual timeline, which I fell in love with completely.
ā© @dodgerkedavra ā©
Lover, Where Do You Live?
38.2k FIC | E rating | HD Wireless 2023
It was really hard to pick one that was my favorite-favorite but this one for Wireless has a special place in my heart because I get to think of it every time I think of the song, and because I felt like I got the pining exactly right!!
ā© @oknowkiss & @babooshkart ā©
The Waiting
43.5k FIC + ART | E rating | HD Wireless 2023
okay first of all we need to commend boo for her INCREDIBLE art. please zoom in on the bulletin board. that genius is all her. we're not worthy, tbh.Ā re: the fic... this story was difficult to write. both in the sense that i was struggling to literally open my laptop and move my fingers over the keys, and also that i did not particularly want to engage with the content (of my own story, i know). i didn't mean to write a short novel about grief, or more accurately about running away from grief, but once i started i couldn't stop. writing this harry was therapeutic, even though it often felt like pulling teeth, which naturally means it's now my favorite thing i've written this year/possibly ever. this fic helped in expunging the grief, yes, but also in reminding me (and hopefully my readers) that through sadness there is joy, and love, and humor, and people who want to help. there is a great deal of pain in life, but there are also oranges and friends. that's worth holding onto.
ā© @slyth-princess ā©
Youāve Got Owl Post
50.4k FIC | M rating | Lights Camera Drarry 2023
For one, I actually had an entirely different fic planned and plotted. But it wasnāt working. So I scrapped it and started from scratch and Iām so glad I did. I got to include so many fun details from the movie but made the story its own. In the end, the story ended up a lot stronger and itās probably one of my favorite things Iāve written. It also was a huge point of pride when the woman who has been editing me for years said itās the best thing Iāve ever written. And, mind you, I moved, got Covid, and started a whole new job while writing this. Even though I scrambled at the end, writing about 40k in like a week, I didnāt cut corners. I think this fest has brought out the best in my writing ability and this is so far one of the pinnacles of my fandom writing history.
ā© @the-sinking-ship ā©
Nights With You
58.2k FIC | E rating
2023 was a year for writing, not for finishing. The only thing I published was this lighthearted rom-com, but writing it made me so happy and it was never once a chore. And Iām glad that if I finished anything, it was this gift given to and inspired by one of my favorite people, @fictional.
ā© @gnarf ā©
At the end of our world
61.2k FICĀ | E rating | PART 1 of a 5 PART COMPLETED 126k SERIES
I'd like to rec the first part of the now finished series because that's where it all started. I want to rec this work because this is my favourite, my baby, I love it. I wrote it because I wanted to read it, and I wanted to see how a zombie apocalypse would play out if you had magic as I've always been very obsessed with movies and series and games that featured the end of the world and/or zombies. And for the off chance that other people might enjoy it I claimed the prompt for career fair 2021 that gave me the perfect excuse to finally write it and pull through. This series has been in the making for a long time and is now finally finished, and even though the end may not be as dramatic as it is in movies I truly love it. I don't think I'll ever write anything that I'll enjoy more than this. So if anyone wants to read a drarry zombie apocalypse, here you go!
ā© @mintawasalreadytaken ā©
Yellow Is The Colour (Of My True Loveās Hair)
64.2k FIC | E rating
i'm proud of myself for writing an irredeemably unhappy ending with this one. it was hard not to have them ride off into sunset. the ending came to me first, and i wrote the rest around it, which ended up becoming an overly ambitious attempt at a Deathly Hallows re-write. luckily it hit home: i've never had so many commenters scream at me that i owe them $ for their therapy bills, or that they're actively sobbing. so it achieved its purpose, in the end, hahaha!
ā© @mystickitten42 ā©
A Thousand Shades of Green
97.4k FIC | E rating | PART 3 of 'OLD MAGIC' SERIES (ONGOING)
While Iāve loved writing each part of the Old Magic series, A Thousand Shades of Green was the one I most wanted to write. HBP is my favourite book of the HP series and I love having Harry and Draco all alone (well, not entirely alone) in Grimmauld Place where they can focus on each other as well as their endeavours. Adding Ron and Hermione into the mix was so much funāI live for angsty Romione. I loved the potential for Hermione to give in to rule-breaking without Harry being the instigator, and her magnetic pull to Pansy is irresistible, as is Narcissaās entire predicament. This one was a beast to wrangle and Iām so proud of it. But I also view it as the calm before the storm. There are two more parts to come, and not everyone gets out alive.
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