It's time for the yearly fic rec list no one asked for!
Reading in general was practically nonexistent this year (med school is time consuming guys), but I still found some fics that I loved sooo much.
As always thanks to all the writers for letting me take mind breaks into your stories, sometimes that is truly what I needed the most this year <3
More recs from previous years here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 (omg how has it been 5 years since I first did this???)
(in no particular order)
When One Door Closes by LaLainaJ / @lalainajanes
Caroline's looking forward to a little time alone to decompress after leaving the Salvatore house (post 5x11). Problem is, she has a visitor, and he's come a long way.
Time travel fics my beloved!!! This one is short but so adorable and I love that we get glimpses of what Klaroline would be like in the future but also how Caroline never changes her stubbornness or her ability to tell Klaus off. Loved this X 100000.
Dream of Bloodwine On Your Tongue by @cupcakemolotov
Caroline has some sex dreams about Klaus...and maybe he knows something about them. HOT AS FUCK. LIKE DAMN!!! highly recommend
Fallen by @cupcakemolotov
For one hundred years, Klaus hunted for the angel who tumbled into his territory. Then she found him. I adore an angel AU and was craving one when I stumbled on this one. It's short but oh so beautiful. Klaus yearns to be claimed by Caroline so bad-my heart!!!
All Broken Roads by @cupcakemolotov
Enzo showing up on her doorstep with his dying, mystery boyfriend thrown over his shoulder (Kol) was not on Caroline’s to-do list. Unfortunately, they’ve got history, and saving him means dealing with all the shit she’s spent twenty years avoiding.
The world building in this with a sentient city is SO GOOD!! Feels almost post apocalyptic in a lot of ways too. Caroline knows all too well how Mikealson's can get under your skin and heart and she takes pity on Enzo and Kol but knows she'll run back into Klaus because of it. Their reunion is everything! “I’m her heart. You're ours”. Tender, intimate, and of course some hot smut. It was a super interesting idea and it was executed perfectly.
villain by coveredinthecolors / @definedareasofuncertainty
This fic was SOOO fun. Caroline is a famous singer with a new album coming out post a break-up with famous actor Klaus (that she plans to drop on his birthday). The story is mainly told through Caroline's/Klaroline's fandom via twitter theorizing, interviews, reactions to the songs etc. Vanity fair lie detector included!! It made me feel like I too was on twitter talking about klaroline and dissecting everything and anything to make it about them (as people should). Also the lyrics Luiza comes up with are beautiful!!! If you want something really fun and relatively quick please read this one!!!
Pendulum by Yokan / @galvanizedfriend
This is what Klaus Mikaelson knows: death isn't the end for him. From the moment he is brought into the world to his final shuddering breath, Klaus' life is pretty much the same as everyone else's. The difference lies in what happens after he dies: he goes right back to the beginning, a child in London with the memory of dozens of lives lived before. Nothing ever really changes, including the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he can never save Caroline Forbes' life for too long. [AH/soulmates!AU with a slight magical twist].
If you've been avoiding this fic for years for fear of emotional damage (like I was) here is your sign to finally read this MASTERPIECE because I promise it's worth it . I can't properly express in words all that this made me feel and everything I loved in it (if you really want to know scroll down in the comments on this fic to find my novel about it). My soulmate/full circle moments and angst loving self adored this and my heart left so fulfilled. Both endings are perfect in their own ways and while I think I have a slight preference for the first one the second one is also hauntingly beautiful and perfect in its own way. Wish I read this one sooner, but glad my 2025 self finally decided it was time.
Could I Choose You? by emeraldvixen / @vix-x-x (A sequel to Worst Things Have Happened by Yokan / @galvanizedfriend)
Pressure is mounting for Prince Niklaus to choose a bride. Caroline has kept his secret hidden for three long years, but can she keep her own?
I think this whole trilogy was my most read fic of the year?? I can't remember how many times I read it but it was a lot. The chemistry is AHHH but it's also so sweet and tender and it made my heart swell up with happiness. The way she gets jealous too, my favs!!! Anyway, please read this absolute delight!!!
“i've connected the two dots." "you didn't connect shit," by theroadbetwixt / @the-road-betwixt
Elijah Mikaelson has not survived centuries without learning how to understand his brother's moods, and lately he's been acting strange.(in other words Elijah tries to figure out klaroline with zero context and comes to all the wrong conclusions).
The summary of this fic made me laugh so I automatically knew I had to read it-and my intuition was correct because this was truly delightful! You get to see Klaus just being his whipped in love with Caroline self. He's so smiley and smitten in this. Elijah's confusion (and his conclusion) is so funny, I truly had so much fun with this one!!!
The Big Bad Wolf by @morningstargirl666 (WIP)
I'm so happy the rewrite dropped this year because I've been wanting to read it for a while!!! I love a good canon divergent fic that has its own lore and own backstory (this one in particular is soooo special) and I DEVOURED. Truly I could not put it down. I made the mistake of starting it during an exam week and wanted to focus on it instead of studying lol whoops. But god this fic is amazing!! Klaus's relationship with his bio dad and Sam is so special to me!!! (and so is Caroline's relationship with Sam) The slow burn is slowly killing me but I'm having so much fun with their tension and the little moments. Klaus's wolf too ugh I can't wait for him to connect the dots. I scream every time I get an email saying a new chapter dropped. Absolutely love this one and can't wait to keep reading as it continues to update-highly recommend picking it up if you haven't already!!!
All This Time (I Thought) by klarolineagainnaturally / @notalittlebutalottie
They always say "don’t fuck your best friend’s brother" and, well, she doesn’t have to worry about that because he obviously can’t stand her.
As a self proclaimed best friend's brother trope lover I eat up every single fic where Caroline and Bekah are besties but Caroline has a helpless crush on Klaus and they decide to have some fun without her knowing. Consider it a guilty pleasure. This one did not disappoint!!! Her confusion about why he doesn't like her, him trying to keep a distance, the way he tries to talk so gently to her, and of course the tension finally breaking!!!
the birth and death of the day by sunnydaisy/ @little-miss-sunny-daisy (currently reading)
The Forbes-Winchester family takes on the Apocalypse. After seeing this fic for years/being a self proclaimed huge sunnydaisy fan (see my love for call it dreaming especially in past years recs), I finally decided to read this!!! It kept me company during my last exams of the year and WOW IT'S SO GOOD!!! I was eating it up. Caroline with siblings and protective brothers ugh my heart melted. Klaus is sooo down bad but it's just so perfect and it really keeps both of them so in character which I love. I'm almost done but I can't wait to see what all ends up going down!!!
Rereads:
Speed Dating by Yokan / @galvanizedfriend
My love for this fic is endless!!!! The last chapter to it was posted this year and it's perfection I couldn't have asked for a better way for it to finish. I think I still read it religiously like once a month. Thank you for this fluffy but extremely tension filled/mutual pining clueless idiots fic Yokan bestie.
Tangled Up in Blue by idiot-wind87 / @idiot--wind
This cult classic had an update in 2025 therefore I HAD to reread the masterpiece!!! If you haven't read this already what are you doing?? It was so nostalgic to go back to this world and all the scenes that I've had in my heart for YEARS. And of course to be back with the author's writing, they were one of the first ever klaroline writers I read form and I think I've read all their fics multiple times. Anyway, obviously read if you haven't. It's angsty, adorable, tension filled, HOT, and just perfection.
Queen of Hearts by @cupcakemolotov
One of my forever favorite mafia one shots-it's so hot and he's so possessive and protective and ugh I love it so much. Her lipstick marks on the cigarette !(!!) and "our bed" make me insane
Colored You in by LaLainaJ / @lalainajanes
This fic is so wholesome and the pining is incredible. I woke up one day NEEDING to do a reread so I did.
Purgatory by ScarletBorn
If you know me you know why this fic is on here (if you don't know me look at like all the previous fic rec lists for dissertations on my love for it). It hasn't been updated since 2023 :( but my love for it has not faded and I go back to it SO often to read my favorite scenes and theorize on what I think will happen. The angst and the tension is just INSANE and the best-bloodsharing scene still lives in my head rent free always. Scarletborn I hope you can feel my love for you and this fic through the ether <3
For a moment, the two of them lay side by side like a couple of stargazers. Slowly, Clarion splayed her fingers out across his chest and propped herself up to peer down at him. His hair pooled around him, a spill of white against the muted blue of the ice. For just a little longer, she wanted to stay here, where nothing existed but the two of them.
My name is Numa. I died on December 11, 1972. In my sleep.
["There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."]
LA SOCIEDAD DE LA NIEVE / SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (2023)
Dir. J.A. Bayona
gummygunk
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
pixelskylines
stormborns
