2021 fave fic list!

[swankitty]

thx halcy for the inspo!!

- hm. this is longer than i thought it'd be
- ordered roughly by earliest bookmarked -> latest bookmarked
- these are MY personal faves. not necessarily something i would rec to someone else. let me be cringe in peace
- in a desperate bid to be somewhat succinct not everything i've loved is on here. i've had to go thru like 30 pages of bookmarks. have mercy.

• moving mountains, syncogon: qzgs | qiu fei atla au!!! much fun
• the lodestar of your own intuition, halcyonine: qzgs | yuhuang green knight au. impeccable atmosphere. very whimsical. love the prose
• one kind of longing, two places of sorrow, lady_peony: genshin impact | melly's chilis are always impeccable. much longing & pining. love thru food.

just reached my first tzitzimeme fic so shoutout to their now deleted fic meng po which featured reincarnation au (but really complicated) xiaoven. i really adored it! 

this is about the time where i bookmarked a bunch of xiaoven/genshin fic in a daze but i can't actually remember much of what's in each one....

UGH this was in 2020 but i also have to shout out xi wangmu, the fic that contributed to my xiao love and my xiao & xiangling buddies agenda

• Hymns to the Young Phoenix, madmaenad: qzgs | qiu fei manifesto. this fic literally is so good. bible-status worthy. 
  

  
  

• imposter syndrome, oronine: genshin impact | SEXY rex lapis & zhongli are two different people identity shenanigans, with chili angst.
• The Greatest Honor, kummibear: genshin impact | chongyun/xingqiu, i like this one b/c i've never seen a concept quite like it in gi fandom, esp not with these two characters. xq gets possessed by a demon, cy is the exorcist slated to execute him. really cool
  
• mosaic. , bellclips: genshin impact | mona & childe. again, never seen anything like this concept, plus people generally don't put these two characters together. i thought the author does a really good job making their interactions and growth interesting. mona & childe have to travel together to fix their visions after they've broken them from a fight. 
  
• and dream of mountains (series), danya324: genshin impact | xiao/xiangling. adore these fics, this author has converted me to this ship (their brand of it specifically) and boy do the fics themselves take you on an Adventure
  
• the death of a sweet dream, morphasia: genshin impact | keqing/xiao. rarepair rights!!! thought this was an interesting and plausible take on a developing relationship btwn them
  
• adventitious: genshin impact | kaeya & dainsleif. really cool khaenriah worldbuilding
• Ad Infinitum, hal_berd: genshin impact | kaeluc, diluc time loop on his 18th birthday. i love cool timeloop fic! 

• lies forgotten, ofredandgold: naruto | short, tobirama pov, introspection -- "The tales of battle do not tell of this. 
  

aaannnd here we enter the word of honor phase!! ngl some of the fic i've bookmarked for shl also have all started blurring together....assume wenzhou for ship unless otherwise stated

• you're the trouble that i always find, sundiscus: shl | there's also an INCREDIBLE podfic of this fic. canon divergence where jin wang drugs zzs into amnesia/time loop/hallucinations, and wkx has to rescue hi  m :> prob one of my favorite shl fics
• your flower rain at the end of the road // 长路终点满天花雨 and this harbored deluge for you and i // 像我和你需要下一场雨, gardencitymovements: shl | two different "wkx's love language is cooking" fic, one set in canon-verse, one set in a modern au. both are gorgeous.
• spare me, staringatstars: shl | wkx time travels, fix-it
• Siji Mountain Rest Stop for the Weary Traveller, sundermount: sh; | delightful modern au of the immortals wenzhou variety
• Where the Downed Immortals Go, Zelos: shl | post-canon, wenzhou & yby, ruminating on immortality and goodbyes. really lovely
• in shattering water, yukla: shl | canon-compliant character/relationship study on wkx & gu xiang. heartbreakingly beautiful
• Consummate Loyalty, shadaras: shl | au, xie'er/wkx arranged marriage smut. really tasty!! power play!! 
  
• if we are fated, danveresque: shl | THE HAUNTING OF ZHOU ZISHU!!! *****one of my fave shl fics**** wherein zzs lives, wkx dies, and zzs lives as an immortal with only fellow immortal yby and his personal hallucination of wkx for company....until he meets the modern reincarnation of wkx
• This Traveller, bluemorningsoup: tyk | "...If he departs from this world, I’ll bring grass and oil to cremate myself along with his body, so that even as we turn to ashes, we will still be together."

• this is unlike the story it was written to be, lastwingedthing: nif | nihuang/jingyan post-meiling arranged marriage au. hits so many good arranged marriage/we-were-friends/ lin shu/nihuang/jingyan spots

now!!!!!! we hit!!!!!!!!!! the mxtx phase!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm going to try very hard to be very selective with the svsss and mdzs fic i choose because this list is already getting way too long

 

• voluntary victim (tie the noose), technorat: svsss | how do i even describe this fic.....shen qingqiu identity crisis/universe merging/fuckery with the system and og!lbh. it's a wild ride!!!! endgame bingliushen. i really love it. 
• Into This Wild Abyss, lbhs_left_tiddie: svsss | in which shen qingqiu is the protagonist of PIDW, and shen yuan transmigrates into him. another wild ride
• Shadows can bleed, SenZen_Travers: svsss | bingjiu. THE post-canon bingjiu fic of my DREAMS. possibly my b9 bible. wherein after og!lbh visits shen yuan's timeline, he brings back his sqq. i really really love it. 
• deluxe system 2.0: co-op mode, kitsunealyc: svsss | sqq and sy body sharing!!! system shenanigans!!! fix-it!!! this fic rlly made me love the sqq body sharing trope
• Maybe Not, jeejaschocolate: svsss | bingjiu modern au. never quite seen anything like this modern au! wherein sj and lbh meet at an addiction recovery program and become mentor and mentee. 
• the sword of damocles, peerless_scum: svsss | qijiu canon-divergence fixit. sj becomes a disciple of the sword smithing peak. 
• Family Circle, mafuyu: svsss | self indulgent fave! sy transmigrates into a child victim of demonic cultivation, sqq adopts him. really sweet with some surprises

the misc fic i read in between sv and mdzs

• Coagulated Chalk, SleepDeprivedFemale: genshin impact | albedo corruption arc, with the ensemble cast trying to stop it/help him. really cool plot! 
• Taking It Lightly, Tranquil AutumnLotus: qzgs | small teams love!!! team lightly character study
• When you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb, lynndyre: shl | zzs and wkx bury yby. post-canon. lovely exploration of grief and mourning and what immortality means. 
• the damned and all their blessings (the holy and all their curses), unchartedandunknown: genshin impact | xiaoven. corrupted!venti, modern-with-magic au. love venti!corruption stories and this one put a really cool twist to it!

mdzs time!!! i have....read a lot of mdzs fic recently so i am cherry-picking to all hell. 

• rare the man who'll hold to faith, fahye: mdzs | wangxian, green knight au. can't believe there are two green knight aus on this list. 
• meng yao vs the HOA, ariaste: mdzs | xiyao, modern au, crack taken seriously. this fic series is so much fun!! modern au meng yao schemes against the evil homeowner's association. 
• Old Foreshadows, protos_metazu_ison: mdzs | wangxian, au where yllz wwx is a long-dead mystical figure, and the cultivation sects try to summon him to help in the sunshot campaign centuries after he once died. the mystique of this fic is a lot of fun!! 
  
• 在此恭迎夷陵老祖; to yiling laozu, the great and venerable, yiqie: mdzs | wangxian. i really adore this fic! epistolary, post-canon, basically yllz's advice column. it's a lot of fun and really heartfelt. 
• they're all dead hearts to you, merthurlin: mdzs | post canon nhs character study. nhs & the junior quartet! nhs & wwx!!! dealing with the emptiness in your life after you've finished a 10 yr revenge plot!!! love this fic so much its just so good
• unawakened, nirejseki: mdzs | jgy centric nieyao. wherein a cat (or is it?) follows jgy from qinghe to qishan to lanling. fix-it!
• good help, nirejseki: mdzs | nieyao, wen!meng yao au. good shit!!!! this is the good shit!!!! mostly humor and dramatic irony; wherein meng yao randomly picks an assistant named a-jue for the day, and ends up liking him a lot. 
• last of our kind, shiome: mdzs | xiyao. post-guanyin temple divergence. lxc runs away with an amnesiac jgy to dongying. xiyao!!!!!!!!!!
• obligation, ilgaksu: mdzs | xiyao. canon-compliant jgy/xiyao/3zun character study that makes me want to sink my teeth into the writing. the introspection! the meta-as-fic!!!!!!!!!!! def one of my all time mdzs faves
• mulberry, xxdz: mdzs | jc, xicheng. literally obsessed with this fic. it's the deep dive into yunmengjiang reconstruction era i crave every day. jiang cheng also learns embroidery to cope. its just. auugugguug. everything i want!!!!!!
  
• the haunting of Jiang Cheng; all of a death is going home | 赴死如归, finedae: mdzs | jc, ymsj. in which jc dies, and haunts the living until he figures out how to move on. i love stories about hauntings, and this one is wrapped up nicely as a character study and a potential ymsj reconciliation fic!!
  
• this boy, half-destroyed, queen_gee: mdzs | nhs centric character study, background sangcheng. this fic is really the epitome of "nhs contains Multitudes" and the author is so damn good at drawing out and exploring all those threads. heartbreakingly beautiful. 
• equivalence, lisse: mdzs | jc & wwx. roleswap: yllz jc, sect leader wwx. i'm obsessed with this set up. this fic sent me into a roleswap fic spiral, but i haven't found a single jc wwx roleswap fic that hits as hard as this one. i'm on my knees begging this author for more even tho this was last updated in 2019. 
  
• One Eye Upon the Heaven Renounced, violettressed: mdzs | jin ling & jin guangyao. "A year after the fall of Jin Guangyao, Jinlintai opens its doors to prove there is nothing to hide. Jin Ling is just trying to survive the week." really really really good post-canon look @ jgy's complicated legacy, a jin ling trying to contend with jgy's shadow (and nhs chasing jgy's ghosts), and just. coming of age! cries a lot over this fic. my jin ling & xiao-shushu feelings. 
• [Refrain], sugar_shoal: mdzs | chengxian. fucked up!!!!! dead dove!!!!!!!!! spirals into insanity!!!!!!!!! but it hurts so fucking good. jc dies of a qi deviation, wwx tries to figure out how to get his ghost to pass on, but he just can't figure it out. absolutely chilling, and i absolutely love it. 

and just to wrap it all up: some faves from this year's qzgs secret santa!! 

• your shadow crosses mine, madmaenad: qzgs | liangyu, pre-canon. ahh i really loved the way this fic used the movie/prequel liangyu story and spun it into something more solid. really lovely!
• snow-capped, syncogon: qzgs | wxf & yx. lovely wxf character study in a canon-divergent, wxf joins team happy au. lots of feels
• I (don't) wanna be the very best, jellysunfish: qzgs | zheng xuan & zhang jiale. how could i NOT save the best for last. the spitfires bonding crackfic of my DREAMS. 

there's a few fic that i didn't include on this list because of a split second decision, but loved to bits anyways. that's what bookmarking is for!!! 

 

here's to a happy 2022 :)