my top 10 fics meme
I tried to balance between personal favourites and what I think are really solid-writing all around. *dundun* In no particular order.
1. Faded Epitaphs (Marching Onwards) by patria_mori
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Immortality was never something Arthur Pendragon had wanted. Merlin didn't give him that choice. As the rest of the world reincarnates, blissfully oblivious, Arthur continues, waiting for the one man who never came back.
Completely underrated. This follows Arthur, as he waits for Merlin, an interesting take on the immortality trope. It draws from traditional Arthurian lore, and Arthur's friendships with several OCs show the depth of his character.
2. Coronation by rageprufrock
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur may one day marry, and he would like to love his queen, but he will never love another the way he does these vast expanses of forest and rivers, the way he loves the villages and farms. Arthur remembers being six and a boy and twelve and still a child, but now he is twenty-one and a man, and Camelot is his land; no man shall mar her.
When BBC Merlin was still a baby fandom, it inspired many fics like this. I love this for its epic, encompassing feel.
3. rise intact by cordialcount
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Sara/Mila
Summary: Mila jumps into victory, miscalculates, lands in an unfortunate place, and reconsiders who's left in the wake. All in a season's work.
I adore this fic. It has a wonderfully realistic take on the nature of competitive sports. It's rare to see such complex characterization of women, and to see it in an F/F fic is mindblowing.
4. You never have to wonder; you never have to ask. by gamesformay
Fandom: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Pairing: Enjolras/Grantaire
Summary: It's been eighteen months since the protest that nearly killed them all, and eighteen months since Grantaire swore off Paris forever. Coming back to town for some friends' wedding was never part of the plan, and Paris is either a dream or an oven, he can't tell which.
To see an author take Hugo's characters and move them so seamlessly into a modern setting is a treat. The characters retain their canon characterizations, and it feels like they've been given a second chance here. Enjolras's mellowing down and growing as a person is so good. *wrings hands*
5. Blackbird by sixpences
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Viktor/Yuuri
Summary: The year is 1942, and Europe is at war. Captain Victor Nikiforov, an intelligence operative for the NKVD, has been trapped in Berlin by the German invasion of the USSR. Posing as a Nazi industrialist, his days are spent charming information out of Axis diplomats to try and keep the Red Army fighting another day.
Yuuri Katsuki, a foreign-educated bureaucrat in the Japanese Embassy, has secrets of his own concealed beneath his unremarkable demeanour. When he uncovers Victor’s real identity, it will alter the course of both of their lives forever.
This is a gripping war drama. The historical details are so vivid, you can tell the author's put a lot of work into this. Their emotions come across as very genuine, so much that it's breathtaking.
6. cosmo issue #666 PEDICURES for YOUR MAN SPECIAL ISSUE see WHAT THESE CELEBRITIES HAVE TO SAY by CollyWobbleKiwi, dearly_anonymous
Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Pairing: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Summary: "Binghe," he couldn't help it if his voice was a bit breathless, okay, it was suddenly really hard to breathe; especially when Binghe wriggled forward, grinding his cloth covered erection into the arch of Shen Qingqiu's foot. "Binghe, do you like this?"
This fic wrecked me in the best of ways. The emotions here are so raw, the love so deep and all-consuming. It's about giving up your entire self, about being vulnerable to the one you love. I love it to pieces.
7. Coming of Age by sebastiansais
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur decides he wants to be better. Modern AU.
This was one of the first fics I read in Merlin fandom which made me really think about who I was as a person. It's not easy to admit that you're a work in progress and that you have to rip apart old habits in order to become a better, newer version of yourself. My love for it is deeply personal. Arthur's growth as a person is so relatable.
8. Hold On To What We Are by giselleslash
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: The world as they know it is gone, but Merlin and Arthur have each other and maybe that’s all they need. (Basically The Walking Dead Celebrates Christmas :))
I wrote an extensive rec on my Merlin fic blog here so I won't repeat myself. I just love setting as a device to show emotions and vulnerability.
9. Crossguard by cordialcount
Fandom: Bi no Isu
Pairing: Kabu Nariaki/Nirasawa Shuu
Summary: Murder: both cockblock and aphrodisiac.
The smallest of fandoms, based on a BL manga oneshot from 2008. I gushed about this fic in my comment, so I'll just copy-paste it here: The POV is so tight, the writing style and tone perfectly aligned to the original. Most times, I feel a disconnect between canon in such a different medium and a textual fanwork. But the author has transformed the original manga into something new while retaining the gritty, raw, fucked up tone of the original. And I don't think it's an easy feat, considering the setting, but they've got all these little details about the yakuza world that immerse the reader to give a sense of immediacy, like they're right there.
10. Grinkov by waldorph
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Viktor/Yuuri, Otabek/Yuri Plisetsky
Summary: The 2022 Olympics were Yurio's to lose.
I will warn straight up that this is Major Character Death. Its non-linear structure feels like snapshots of memory, and it's really effective and fucking painful. The sadness comes not from death, but from the ones that are left behind.
This entry was originally posted at clawdine with
comments.
1. Faded Epitaphs (Marching Onwards) by patria_mori
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Immortality was never something Arthur Pendragon had wanted. Merlin didn't give him that choice. As the rest of the world reincarnates, blissfully oblivious, Arthur continues, waiting for the one man who never came back.
Completely underrated. This follows Arthur, as he waits for Merlin, an interesting take on the immortality trope. It draws from traditional Arthurian lore, and Arthur's friendships with several OCs show the depth of his character.
2. Coronation by rageprufrock
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur may one day marry, and he would like to love his queen, but he will never love another the way he does these vast expanses of forest and rivers, the way he loves the villages and farms. Arthur remembers being six and a boy and twelve and still a child, but now he is twenty-one and a man, and Camelot is his land; no man shall mar her.
When BBC Merlin was still a baby fandom, it inspired many fics like this. I love this for its epic, encompassing feel.
3. rise intact by cordialcount
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Sara/Mila
Summary: Mila jumps into victory, miscalculates, lands in an unfortunate place, and reconsiders who's left in the wake. All in a season's work.
I adore this fic. It has a wonderfully realistic take on the nature of competitive sports. It's rare to see such complex characterization of women, and to see it in an F/F fic is mindblowing.
4. You never have to wonder; you never have to ask. by gamesformay
Fandom: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Pairing: Enjolras/Grantaire
Summary: It's been eighteen months since the protest that nearly killed them all, and eighteen months since Grantaire swore off Paris forever. Coming back to town for some friends' wedding was never part of the plan, and Paris is either a dream or an oven, he can't tell which.
To see an author take Hugo's characters and move them so seamlessly into a modern setting is a treat. The characters retain their canon characterizations, and it feels like they've been given a second chance here. Enjolras's mellowing down and growing as a person is so good. *wrings hands*
5. Blackbird by sixpences
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Viktor/Yuuri
Summary: The year is 1942, and Europe is at war. Captain Victor Nikiforov, an intelligence operative for the NKVD, has been trapped in Berlin by the German invasion of the USSR. Posing as a Nazi industrialist, his days are spent charming information out of Axis diplomats to try and keep the Red Army fighting another day.
Yuuri Katsuki, a foreign-educated bureaucrat in the Japanese Embassy, has secrets of his own concealed beneath his unremarkable demeanour. When he uncovers Victor’s real identity, it will alter the course of both of their lives forever.
This is a gripping war drama. The historical details are so vivid, you can tell the author's put a lot of work into this. Their emotions come across as very genuine, so much that it's breathtaking.
6. cosmo issue #666 PEDICURES for YOUR MAN SPECIAL ISSUE see WHAT THESE CELEBRITIES HAVE TO SAY by CollyWobbleKiwi, dearly_anonymous
Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
Pairing: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Summary: "Binghe," he couldn't help it if his voice was a bit breathless, okay, it was suddenly really hard to breathe; especially when Binghe wriggled forward, grinding his cloth covered erection into the arch of Shen Qingqiu's foot. "Binghe, do you like this?"
This fic wrecked me in the best of ways. The emotions here are so raw, the love so deep and all-consuming. It's about giving up your entire self, about being vulnerable to the one you love. I love it to pieces.
7. Coming of Age by sebastiansais
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur decides he wants to be better. Modern AU.
This was one of the first fics I read in Merlin fandom which made me really think about who I was as a person. It's not easy to admit that you're a work in progress and that you have to rip apart old habits in order to become a better, newer version of yourself. My love for it is deeply personal. Arthur's growth as a person is so relatable.
8. Hold On To What We Are by giselleslash
Fandom: BBC Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Summary: The world as they know it is gone, but Merlin and Arthur have each other and maybe that’s all they need. (Basically The Walking Dead Celebrates Christmas :))
I wrote an extensive rec on my Merlin fic blog here so I won't repeat myself. I just love setting as a device to show emotions and vulnerability.
9. Crossguard by cordialcount
Fandom: Bi no Isu
Pairing: Kabu Nariaki/Nirasawa Shuu
Summary: Murder: both cockblock and aphrodisiac.
The smallest of fandoms, based on a BL manga oneshot from 2008. I gushed about this fic in my comment, so I'll just copy-paste it here: The POV is so tight, the writing style and tone perfectly aligned to the original. Most times, I feel a disconnect between canon in such a different medium and a textual fanwork. But the author has transformed the original manga into something new while retaining the gritty, raw, fucked up tone of the original. And I don't think it's an easy feat, considering the setting, but they've got all these little details about the yakuza world that immerse the reader to give a sense of immediacy, like they're right there.
10. Grinkov by waldorph
Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice
Pairing: Viktor/Yuuri, Otabek/Yuri Plisetsky
Summary: The 2022 Olympics were Yurio's to lose.
I will warn straight up that this is Major Character Death. Its non-linear structure feels like snapshots of memory, and it's really effective and fucking painful. The sadness comes not from death, but from the ones that are left behind.
This entry was originally posted at clawdine with
comments.