2020 Fic Recs
2020 was a weird year. But it was also the year I found my way to fandom! I read a lot of great fics in 2020, many of which I don’t remember and many of which were not actually written in 2020, so here is my small list of recs. I am inevitably forgetting some really wonderful things, so forgive me.
Disclaimer: Except on very rare occasion, I don’t read fics rated below M because I am a massive slut and I need my smutsmuts.
Without further ado (and in no particular order), my 2020 recs!!
Black Forest by @ruinsplume and @bigblackdogfic (rated E): This Harry/Sirius/Remus fic reads so fucking seamlessly it’s like music. It’s so well written that every single description and piece of dialogue fits perfectly into place. You’ll be done reading all 12,000 words before you even know it. I recommended this fic to so many people on so many platforms this year that you'd think I was its damn publicist. It’s just wonderful.
The Waiting Room by @wanderingbandurria (rated M): This wolfstar AU follows our boys as they meet - where else? - in the waiting room of their therapist’s office. This fic examines grief, trauma, lemon cake, and love, and tells a really lovely little story that can be easily devoured in a single sitting. Sirius is healthy and unproblematic and WE STAN, and Remus deals with the grief of losing his mother. It’s also the fic that introduced me to the wonderful V, who is a fucking gem. Check it out.
Crooked Neighbors by @ebp-brain (rated E): This rare!pare fic (Remus Lupin/Albus Dumbledore, with some added wolfstar and Elphias Doge) made me FEEL SOME THINGS for our beloved queer elders. Exploring queer history and queer love and queer sex and everything in between, this fic was something I didn’t realize I needed to read as much as I did. Bypass your initial feelings about the pairing, and give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed.
Among The Gumtrees by WolfstarGarden (rated E): Set in Australia, this fic did require me to keep a tab open at all times to google such things as, “what is Maccas?” But it was so worth it. All I wanted by the end of 2020 were POC characters with complex storylines, and this story delivered, examining the complexities of colonialism and racism and hegemonic homophobia through the lens of Aboriginal!Remus. It was also my first introduction to Jegulus, and now I’m hooked.
Their Daddy by @ami-talks (rated E): The lovely Llaeyro plays with gender and kink in this Tonkus* one-shot wherein Remus and Trans!Tonks explore daddy kinks and gendered language. It feels like a lovely tribute to both characters, and to the multitude of trans HP fans who were treated to horrifically by a certain canon author this year.
Be With Me Always by @thehufflebean (rated E): My first ever introduction to Fireside Tales, this multi-chapter by a very talented author is one part horror thriller, one part emotional drama, one part romance, one part smut (all the things I love). Such a talented exploration of the choices we make when we are grieving and traumatized is wrapped in a lovely package of character development and romance, and I devoured it all in a single day.
Last but most certainly not least, Life During Wartime by @ruinsplume (rated E): It should come as no surprise that this author appears twice on my recs list, because they write with the talent and love and grit and subversion I’ve come to love most about this fandom. This particular fic - part two of the truly incomperable A Taste of Ginger series - explores disability and familial struggles and queerness and wartime and kink and sex with so much care and love it’s almost startling. Do yourself a favor and check out this entire series (and perhaps help me encourage the lovely RuinsPlume to write a part 3).
So that’s it! Those are my biggest suggestions from 2020. I most definitely left off some very important fics, I just can’t remember what they are right now. If you have anything you’d like to add, leave it in the comments!
* @ruinsplume recently pointed out to me that the ship name “Remadora” blatantly ignores what our dear Tonks prefers to be called, and got me hooked on the more affirming and infinitely more hilarious “Tonkus”. I would highly encourage you to join me.