2023 Fic Rec List

[swankitty]

A belated post since I was traveling during the turn of the year!

once again:
- fics i've bookmarked in 2023. roughly ordered by earliest bookmarked -> latest bookmarked, but since this year i separated them by fandom it's a lot more mixed up.
- these are MY personal faves. not necessarily something i would rec to someone else. let me be cringe in peace
- as always read the tags etc etc etc i dont always remember to warn for nsfw or other things
- this year i had a whooping SIX pages of bookmarks. what did i even do this year?!

NARUTO

MadaTobi

• It's Indescribable, Nanimok // naruto, madatobi // alright i definitely read this one wayyyy before 2023, but just got around to bookmarking it. its a lil self indulgent but the best mdtbs often are!!! hashi&mada friendship makes tbrm a little insecure ("Tobirama, an off-day, and younger sibling feels.")
• A Little Closer by fencesit // naruto, madatobi // hurt/comfort, madara eye theft whump but tobirama rescue/healing comfort 😌 very cute, very gentle, very calming and soft!! love the intimacy and the strange balance of trust.
• in your nature by fencesit // naruto, madatobi // everything mdtb fencesit writes is everything to meeee. soulbounds au with some slow build mdtbs and a taste of arranged marriage :)
• Married by Kami by WildSkyRider // naruto, mada/f!tobi // hello my self-indulgent iddy fave.....i do love fuck-or-die tropes and i do love a tasty genderbend and some dead dove for flavor!!!!
• other people have done worse by whopaintsthelion (Cerberussyndrome) // naruto, madatobi // this is just delicious mdtb pwp. it's light d/s but actually very sweet.
• fight to the (little) death by bansenshukai // naruto, madatobi // more pwp but a/b/o flavor!!! alpha tbrm shamelessly pursuing alpha madara, who is very adamant that he does not like alphas tyvm
• kiss the curse away by honks // naruto, madatobi // more fun a/b/o madatobis!!!!! this time it's beta!tbrm assisting alpha!madara through a rut, except tbrm is trying to be very methodical and unaffected about it all...;)
• no place like peace by ilija // naruto, madatobi // shameless pwp again <3 i have nothing to say about this except it's quite silly and lighthearted.
• I hang my heart (I hang it over your heart) by FoxCollector // naruto, madatobi // errr (adds another one to the nsfw list) so i read this a while ago but only bookmarked it this year. it's quite sweet with a bit of possessive!mdr !!!
• All about the Game by thegrislybear // naruto, madatobi // nsfw again haha this one is a modern au!! honestly i love a good modern au, it's funny and silly. there was a chapter 2 with more pwp but it's been taken down :(

Other Founders

• 1111 | tobiizu by Anonymous // naruto, tobiizu // a collection of tobiizu related one-shots. the smut ones are nice and i was very amused by the undercover agent x mafia boss's little brother one.
• Unthreading the Needle by hydraling110 // naruto, tobiizu // f!tobirama/izuna arranged marriage!!!!!! i like this fic so much, i kept up with the first couple of updates pretty closely but then i fell off...i really do want to get back into this fic just haven't had the right mood. i really like this arranged marriage au because firstly f!tobi my most beloved and secondly this izuna is just sooo fun. and the enemies to haters to begrudging companions to lovers slowburn is so delicious. AND i really love the attention put into the mundane daily life and politics of it all.
• stars everywhere by reversefish // naruto, senju bros // ahhh i'm so behind on this fic!! it's a senju bros character/relationship/history study and i just remember it being so tender and so tasty in regards to writing bby!senjus. really lovely fic!
• Early Summer Rain by secondmeteor // naruto, hashimada // historical au! this fic goes crazyyyy it's like izuna gets kidnapped and the senju and uchiha work together to resuce him and forge alliances in the meanwhile. lots of pining! and historical stuff! and siege warfare!
• I lie next to you by Anonymous // naruto, tobikaga // oneshot compilation! lots of rlly nice stuff in here :>
• small hands by one_step_closer_to_death // naruto, senju bros // flashback to bby hashi and bby tobi at the moment mdr asks hashirama to choose between him and tobirama. short and emotional!!!! i love senju bros :''))))
• To you I may be very small by eringeosphere // naruto, tobirama // accidental deaging trope my beloved!!! this is another one i read years ago - tobirama accidentally deages himself with a seal, memories included, and tries to escape his students who think it's a teaching lesson. and theres a little touch of angst!!! alas i think this fic has been abandoned, but i like it so much

Other Naruto

• double vision by crimson_adder // naruto, sasuke & uchiha // how do i explain this. sasuke gets some magical timeline hopping vision powers and sees the "canon" timeline where everyone dies and everything is awful! cue canon-divergence au where it's kind of like a time-travel fix-it but not really? but everyone is living! so far!

• Nobody Expects The Shinobi Inquisition by Azremodehar // naruto & dragon age inquisition crossover, shisui // very cool crossover! after shisui dies he lands in the DA:I world and adventures ensue. honestly i know absolutely nothing about DA:I so reading this was like reading a strange OC AU, but i had a great time and the writing is good about not being super reliant on the reader knowing DA:I. I like this fic a lot, it's got some great action.

• Akatsuki Babysitter's Club by beetlebee // naruto, kakashi & akatsuki & baby naruto // read this one wayyy before 2023, but this one is too iconic to not have in my bookmarks. it's classic crackfic and still holds up

• Until Dawn Breaks by Authorship // naruto, shisui // shisui time travel!!! the sequel to "no tomorrow", where shisui gets time traveled back when he dies and dives into a fix-it. lots of great found family. this sequel gets wayyy more action-adventure. there's therapy, found family, hunting down orochimaru, shisui & kisame friendship, and akatsuki shenanigans. really great - i love this author's writing.
• Hindsight by fencesit // naruto, itachi // shortfic, itachi goes a little insane and sees visions/hallucinations that make him realize that something is going on w/danzo. he then kills danzo :] really lovely!

MDZS

•  我拿青春赌明天 / I’ll wager my youth against tomorrow by tombenough_and_continent // wangxian // THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR AU!!!! this fic does REALLY well at mimicking the prose style of the book, i was really blown away at how much it felt like i was reading time war while keeping the author's own style AND giving it a very distinct wangxian flair & character inclusion. a really really great read!
• Thin As Breath by sugar_shoal // zhanchengxian // past!(messy)zhancheng, present wangxian, jiang cheng and lwj get trapped and need to escape but jiang cheng is slowly dying. lots of fun character dynamics!
• Wonder of all Walkers by CoolTapes // zhancheng(xian) // wei wuxian gets turned into a dog and gets adopted by zhancheng who get together out of grief after wwx's death. i remember there being some really good character study moments, and also i just loved this concept.

Other

•  A Cornstalk Fiddle by notbecauseofvictories // The Devil/Johnny (Devil Went Down to Georgia) // fic about a song that goes craaazy. i loved the prose style, i loved the feeling of strangeness and the seamless weaving of religious themes, and i liked the full backstory/setting the author created for this fic, and of course the homoeroticism of johnny and the devil. honestly a very cool read.

Persona 5

•  as you like it by unsungillumination // akeshu // AKECHI PALACE AU!!!! i love the phantom thieves dynamic here, i love the way the author characterizes akechi and the akeshu relationship, and i love love love the palace the author has created for akechi.

QZGS

• Blade and Bough by madmaenad // qzgs, ghostybois (wu yuce & li xuan // mae never misses!!!!!!! lovely lovely character study on wyc mostly, but also him & lx!!!!
• Light by rsky // chu yunxiu // character study! and some really fun wordplay with light/heavy. lovely and introspective.
• on what shenanigans the players get up to when bored by Syncogon // ensemble chatfic // mostly just fun silliness! zjl and hst pretend to switch bodies and stir up the groupchat,
• mattress madness by Dayadhvam // linfang // linfang go mattress shopping! fun and short.
• the fortunes of unreality by Dayadhvam // zjl centric // a 4+1 for zjl aus :'D short, but each section packs so much implication and potential! really lovely.
• the struggle of cornered beasts by Dayadhvam // yele // [translation] yele in season 7 - character/relationship study mostly! full of really great character moments and really explores the similarites in yele's situations.

Genshin Impact

• the truest forms of love by heartslogos // haikaveh // kaveh is cursed, and alhaitham has to cultivate a field of flowers without speaking or making a sound the entire time. really lovely fairy tale style writing, with heaps of devotion and alhaitham brand stubbornness.
• so sings the chimes, aleatoric by lady_peony // scaramouche (wanderer) // beautiful wanderer character study/backstory interpretation!!! love melly's characterization and prose always. such a lovely undercurrent of bittersweetness.
• the hands of god by heartslogos // nahida & alhaitham & cyno // this fic occupies at least 70% of my waking thoughts all the goddamn time. i want to reread it for the 3rd time. basically a post sumeru quest nahida story where she learns how to be an archon, and also a person. incredible character development, and as always heartslogos does interpersonal relationship SO WELL. catch me sobbing into my hands about alhaitham & cyno being the left and right hands of nahida!!!!!!!!!! i'm so so so obsessed.
• A Stellar Comedy by heartslogos // haikaveh // alhaitham the falling star, kaveh the broke star-hunter trying to cash in to pay off his debts, and misunderstandings ensue as kaveh gets to the location of the fallen star and starts off on a wild goose chase after the guy he thinks took the star first. also i think at some point kaveh and alhaitham fall into a fake-but-not-really relathionship. lots happens. another fairy tale-esque story, and this one really stood out to me because of how hard the kaveh characterization/character introspection goes.
• house of wolves by rire // wriochi // wriothelesy drop made everyone go crazy <3 shameless wriochi pwp while childe is an inmate at the fortress of meropide
• the converging path by heartslogos // haikaveh // this one is SO extremely cute and fuzzy and wholesome. kaveh pays off his debt, moves out, and courts alhaitham in earnest :'D i really love this one, it's really tender and intimate but also funny and heartwarming. and as always the sumeru gang ensemble is delightful to read!

Black Butler

• Centuries and Seconds by Piscaria // ciel & sebastian // i had a brief black butler relapse in 2023 where i reread the entire manga...i love how this fic captures the lord & retainer dynamic as well as sebastian's extremely unsettling demon side. great microcosm of what the series feels like as a whole.

Honkai Star Rail

• you love the thing that will bury you by theyellowpawn // caiyi/yukong // yukong's story quest DESTROYED ME and this fic kicked me into the coffin and dumped me into the grave. lovely, beautiful, heartwrenching, and profoundly full of love. it's a character/relationship/history study of yukong and caiyi, and how yukong's history affects her relationship with qingni. made

Gintama

• Old Gintama works by antagonists, omnikinesis // i've read most of the fic in this series, and bookmarked some of them individually! i wanted to bookmark the series too just in case since i've generally liked all of them! some faves:
  
  • tougenkyo winter //  “‘Dearest Shinsengumi, if you are going south to rip Takasugi’s balls off, the most entitled man would have to be Sakata Gintoki. I can attest to the size of his pair, and I’m sure if you ask your Vice-Commander, he would agree as well. Elizabeth is looking her absolute cutest with her pink ribbons. I bid you all a stupendous day. Elizabeth gives her blessings as well. XOXO, Katsura.’”
  • not all that glitters is gold // cyberpunk // They walk down the middle of the twisting path, black and white interposed over a gruesome scene of gold. In the white noise ruin, their unsheathed swords give way from gold to silver under the rain.
  • And the Demon? Well, // fantasy au // And what of the demon, they’ll ask. Well, you’ve taught a witch her spells, a necromancer how to count bones and create flesh. You’ve fashioned a demon in your image and you’ve created a god. Little children no more—you’ve taught them to fight. How to steal a soul, resurrect a soul, devour a soul, and how to burn (for eternity). You’re a demon, but you could topple those cruel, silent heavens.