Here's some of the fics I've enjoyed this year. I've probably missed some but I'm going by bookmarks and memory. Most of them involves figaro. I've included some of my own fics in here cause I also enjoy reading them.
I've divided them by categories that makes sense to me. When I list a ship they're not divided by topping order.
I've highlighted the mood of each fic with colors. Mind, it's pretty subjective so I don't promise my mood is gonna be your mood or the writer's intended mood.
Kitashitei
scorched earth by erzi
Relationship study on the kitashitei family dynamics. Made me feel unwell. I don't wanna reread it again cause I felt sick the first time. You should read it anyway.
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Figaro/Oz
a chance meeting of strangers, and the end of the world unfolds by erzi
For when you finished reading scorched earth and need some healing, read this one. It's a epistolary of correspondences between Figaro and Oz. The character voice is really great here and the limited pov is so charming. There's a lot of levity and a lot of heart.
Truly an example of how what you don't see directly can complete the picture better. It ends on a very bittersweet note, so it's healing to me.
as confident as memory by acosmic
there is a line by benothinged
A Silent Landscape by Sacrifice
I'm gonna put these three together, They're all childhood stories of figaoz and they all really have the je ne sais quoi... Childhood FigaOz has a lot of je ne sais quoi. A Silent Landscape in particular has a very haunting quality, while there is a line is quite bittersweet.
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Faust/Figaro
from an ephemeral place by phuio
Figafau roleswap... Faust being the teacher of Figaro. This work really explored their parallels as failed gods in a way that's far more transparent to the characters themselves than it is in canon. Also, little Figaro raised by Faust is an absolute delight and a menace. I would kill for him but I also wanna put him in my pocket. I'd say this is an exhilarating read but in the way of finishing the last puzzle piece and finally seeing the whole picture.
ripen, rot by phuio
Figafau post MS2 relationship studies. Figaro visit the east and Faust visit the south. If I were to close my eyes and imagine the platonic archetype of a figafau fic this one would be it. It's just really fundamental to their character dynamic, which is like... Very soft and tender yet fraught with hopes and expectations and grief.
The writing for this one is more slow simmering, good for people who likes atmospheric prose to chew on.
Sex Therapy by clockwork_spider
Following Shylock's questionable advice, Faust ties Figaro to a bed and then left the room only to freak out at Shylock about it. Something that's both humorous and tugs at the heartstrings.
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Faust/Figaro/Lennox
perpetual motion by strobelast (sacae)
How the three of them becomes a throuple. This is a really good example of a character study that has a fairly low stake premise but also really digs into the core of the characters. Strobelast is good at that. Both humorous and pulls on the heartstring. Tender but fraught.
To me, each pair within these three has their own dynamic, so it's very impressive to have them all on the same ground and give equal shine to each character and still have each dynamic within feel distinct. Honestly this fic has so much to chew on but it's also so light hearted. I can read it multiple times and not get tired.
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Figaro & Mitile
Dead babies do not fuss by sonzorya
I have read this fic so many times. The image of Figaro rocking extra fussy baby Mitile neurotically while having a mental breakdown from normal parenthood has permanently changed my brain chemistry. The characterization of this Figaro is very Northern! Which juxtapose with the domestic subject very well. Intense, concise, yet very down to earth.
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Revgumi
A Firm Hand by clockwork_spider
Figaro alters Alec's mind so he'd never doubt the wizards and stay friends with Faust forever. The mood I was going for for this one was devastation. But I've also been told it's quite cathartic to read.
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Snow & White
snowhi divorce AU by clockwork_spider
This is a two-parter where Snow was stopped from killing White. Instead they parted and Snow became a Western wizard. I'd say it's intense, full of love, and very cathartic to read.
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Riquet Focus
eschaton by erzi
A very satisfying Riquet focused case fic exploring his . There's a lot of where his arc is leading up to which canon will one day explore after his scene with Mitile in anni2.
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Whumpy Guilty Pleasure
I thank these writers for my life, actually. I don't have a review for all these cause a lot of it is what it says on the tin. I like gratuitous torture porn and appreciate anyone who's willing to feed me. Occasionally i'm able to return the favor. There's some explicit descriptions in my review so just consider yourself warned.
The lower this list goes the more explicit it gets.
Buried in the Snow by UnparalleledFocus
Figaro gets trapped in snow and has flashbacks to his home town. Really quite soft!
Give and Take by Enkido
White invites Snow for tea and feeds him rat poison. This was written specifically for me, I feel. Very sweet and tender and sad.
Maybe we'll be okay by Enkido
100 years later, Northern wizard Mitile fights against Figaro and rips into Figaro's memories. Very satisfying. Mitile rips out Figaro's vocal cord with his teeth at some point. Actually very sweet and tender.
To drown by clockwork_spider
Figaro gets waterboarded by the twins. This one actually have more aftermath/comfort than torture. Comfort that's the opposite of comforting really does it for me.
A Feast by clockwork_spider
Isaac/Figaro cannibalism. Very horny but in a sad way.
Drag it Out of Him by Zerotaste
Figaro and the twins torture Bradley. There's this one part where Figaro dislocates Bradley's shoulders and then slash his leg tendons so he could neither hang from his arms or try to stand... Really that's such a masterful bit I think about it in trying times. Overall this fic's a bit more on the descriptive/physical side, which I'm not actually super into. But if you're someone who wanna read all the details in a torture scene this is really good.
Dazed and confused by tamaorin_shadow
Noncon Mob/Bradley
So this one's in CN and I don't have the fortitude to translate it fully, but I do reread it sometimes. The premise is that the twins seals Bradley's magic and hands him to human authorities, who assaults him. It's very violent. Includes genital mutilation. Great shock value. I'm a bit obsessed.
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Annnd I'll leave it at that for now. A lot of these writers have a pretty good repertoire and if you liked any fics here I really recommend just browsing through their stuff and filtering by your fav. (*cough* I wrote like 30 fics last year. *cough*)
If you'd like to add to this list, feel free to just add in the reblog. Or better yet, make your own!
If you see your fic in here and would like me to take it out for any reason just reach out to me and I'll do it. Thanks!
