I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but saying that real life is a bit hectic lately would be a huge understatement. This year has been a challenge and a struggle, and I can honestly say one of the bright constants through the whole time were both fics and fanfic writers.
Also, I want to say I have read a lot of fics this year. And I mean A LOT, and there were so many amazing ones, which is why I usually shy away from these kind of recs in fear I’ll write a list that’s going to turn out way too long, or that I’ll accidentally forget someone.
However, there are a few stories I feel the need to mention, because as the title suggests, these fics seem to own my ass. Big time.
Every single one of these hit me like all the best books always do, right in the gut. They tell you you’re not alone, or show you the mistake you unknowingly keep repeating, or describe a feeling you yourself cannot find words for, or just run you over with the sheer amount of feelings that overwhelm you. And I needed all of that, this year maybe more than ever.
(Also, a huge part of this post was obviously written before 2017 started. It was supposed to be posted before too, but my chaotic schedule and a bad cold delayed my perfect plan a bit.)
(This turned out to be a long post, so I’m putting the rest after the cut)
The Predator by @supersillyanddorky06 (WIP)
Now, Matty knows (in great detail) exactly how obsessed I am about this story. She and her stories were the reason I stepped out of my closet lurkdom and onto this wild ride called tumblr.
There are many people who share my love for The Predator. I mean, there’s hate, there’s heat, intrigue, mystery, danger, sex.. Every chapter raises intensity to the next level.
But there is so much more than that, so many layers of both story and characters that Matty keeps feeding us drop by drop, making us thirsty for more.
All Worthy Places by @yellowflicker09011996 (finished)
This one has a special place in my heart for so many reasons.
What Anita has done with the season 5 and how she painted Felicity’s healing journey broke me again and again.
This story is painful to read at times (to put it mildly), it hurts your soul as it goes, takes you places where you feel helpless and desperate, takes you to a place so dark you are not sure you’ll be able to find your way out. (spoiler alert: you do. Felicity does. Because this kind of healing takes time, and the show will never even come close to it as detailed and nuanced as Anita did. I’d recommend this to anyone struggling with (parts of) current season. It’s cathartic, it’ll make you cry, it’ll break your heart. But it will heal it in the end and it will be so worth it.
Incedent Proposal by @ruwithmeguys (WIP)
This one is.. unlike any Olicity fic I have ever read. It is brutal. And I mean brutal. The whole premise of the story is unimaginable, but yet.. once you start reading it, it sucks you in and there’s no coming back.
It is dark and vicious and cruel and violent; definitely not for the faint of heart. Chapters are long (such a delicious treat for a fic lover!) and I’m very glad this one’s not finished yet, because I’d be tempted to binge read it, but believe me when I say, binge reading this one would definitely be unhealthy. Some recovery time between chapters is very much needed.
What Wouldn’t I Do by @ruwithmeguys (WIP)
Now, this one wasn’t even supposed to be here. Because I haven’t even started reading it until three days ago, plus I told myself I’d only put one story per author.
But I devoured it in the last three days and my dear god. It is so very emotional, so crazy and intense and soft; the fighting scenes will make you want to bite your fingernails and some other scenes will melt your heart, some will make you raging mad, some will make you giggle.
It’s only missing the last chapter and Jessica cannot write it soon enough.
(additional note: I know there are people who would not appreciate the portrayal of both Lance sisters in this story because they are not painted in the best light, so if that might be an issue for you, just skip this one)
Blood Hands by @dust2dust34 (WIP)
This may not be a new story, but judging from Bre’s scarce appearance on twitter, and her occasional mentions od NaNoWriMo and Blood Hands (not to mention that whole refurbishment thing from a few weeks ago) I’m absolutely sure that she’s cooking up something amazing and I cannot wait to start reading it.
(I may or may not have re-read Blood Hands a few times by now)
I’m still putting it on my 2016 list because it does own my ass, and I will wait for updates as long as it takes. (Bre, I found more than one white hair in the past year. Please, don’t make me go all grey before you finish Blood Hands)
Forever Is Composed of Nows (finished) and Pieces of Always (WIP) by @so-caffeinated and @dust2dust34
I never thought (and never wanted) to be sucked into the whole kids/next generations kind of fic. Ever. But this was written by Janis and Bre, and at the beginning there was that delicious season 2 UST, so there was no choice to make; of course I started reading it when the first chapter was posted. I haven’t stopped ever since. Every new chapter made my Monday feel less like a Monday, and for a grumpy such as me that says a lot.
Now their split timeline has become my second canon (if we take the show canon as the first one). Somewhere, sometime, in one of these realities, things happened just like these two described in their story.
(I have no idea how I’d react if Oliver and Felicity ever got a kid (or kids) on the show and call them anything but Jules, or Ellie or Nate. I love those kids as if they are my own. And William, a adore that boy too!)
After more than 50 chapters under my belt, after all the plot twists, all the tension, angst, tears (god, the tears), it’s fascinating what has become the distinctive feeling I associate with this fic - the feeling of sheer warmth and love. Reading each new chapter fills me time and again with the same fuzzy happiness around my heart that makes me want to hug all the people just because.
Do not misinterpret that this means this is a fluffy fic. It is not (even if there are some fluffy parts). At least not if fluff is what you’re after. After so long, I am smarter than to read any of the chapters in public or without a box of tissues nearby, so consider yourself warned.
I am forever subscribed to this verse, and looking forward to all those multichapter sequels Janis and Bre promised.
I just want to send a huge panda hug and an even bigger THANK YOU to all of you amazing people/writers. You’ve made my year special with your astonishing stories and’ll be forever grateful for that!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 42/42
Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Sara Lance, Slade Wilson, Original Character, Original Child Character(s), Thea Queen, Zoom, Isabel Rochev, Lyla Michaels, Quentin Lance, Donna Smoak, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood
Additional Tags: Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Canon, Kid Fic, Fluff, like marshmallow amounts of fluff, so many feels, Angst, Smut, i mean it’s so-caffeinated and bre so there’s gonna be smut, Tropes, late season 2 canon divergent, Co-Written, Olicity Fic Big Bang 2015, Olicity Fic Big Bang, mortal peril, Plot, Canon-Typical Violence, Gore, Character Death, not Oliver Felicity or Ellie though, very violent violence, Grief/Mourning, Hope
Series: Part 1 of Forever Is Composed of Nows
Summary:
Sometime in the not-so-distant future, things aren’t going all that well. At least that’s the story Oliver and Felicity are told when a supposed time-traveler (and their supposed friend who is a supposed superhero supposedly named The Flash) pops up in the lair with a toddler in tow… who calls them momma and daddy. The Flash can’t quite control when he’s going at this point and there’s a big bad chasing him through the years. The future isn’t safe for little Elizabeth Queen at the moment (even if The Flash could get her there), but her once and future parents haven’t got a clue what to do with her. Slade Wilson, however… he might have his own agenda when he finds out his nemesis is apparently a father.
