2024 fic rec list

[swankitty]

my fandom list is going to be so strange this year.....i feel like i read a LOT of fic. it did end up to be about 8 pages of bookmarks

once again:
- fics i've bookmarked in 2024. roughly ordered by earliest bookmarked -> latest bookmarked, then sorted by fandom. I read a lot of fic in fandom batches this year (as usual), and hopped back and forth between some fandoms (less usual, usually it's one fandom sweep & done)
- 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

Ninefox Gambit

My first major fandom this year was Ninefox Gambit/the Machineries of Empire series. I read through pretty much the entire tag over the course of the year! This has unfortunately resulted in all the fic except for a few blurring together...hmm...

• The Heresy of One Age by Gileonnen // Roleswap AU // I do love Jedao & Cheris roleswap AUs!! The dynamic is very fun when the characters are flipped.

• Meditative Aids by karanguni // Mikodez Backstory Fic // Mikodez!! I feel like Mikodez is a character I struggle to really get a grasp on, so I love fic that really dig into him. This is a fun backstory/case fic with him in his Academy days. Great character writing.

• From Here to Eternity by theoutletstore // fucked up kujen &/ jedao black cradle fic!!!!!! there's a couple of this genre and they're all extremely tasty. this one is short and packs a great punch.

• The fatigue properties of stranded wire by UrsulaKohl // Zehun/General Worldbuilding Case Fic // This one is more subdued but I LOVEEE how it pulls in extrapolated worldbuilding to neatly execute a case fic. Delightful.

• Guard by venndaai // Post Glass Canon AU // Ghostie!Jedao becomes anchored to Moth!Jedao. Honestly, I would prefer this sort of ended vs the Glass Canon mindmelding we got. Nice little exploration of this what-if.

• absent friends by venndaai // Mikodez // This one's got some really tasty Mikodez & Kujen interactions! And Mothdao! Introspective. Really like the Mikodez here.

• Herding Cats by vass // Zehun // Zehun giving Mikodez ugly nicknames to keep from being too "attached" to him makes me giggle. Short and fun!

• the way we fall apart by Tedronai  // Modern AU Jedao & Cheris + Kujen being a bastard as always // I like this one, I love a modern AU and I love the platonic intimacy Jedao & Cheris have here! Also loveee the explosiveness between Jedao and Kujen. Fun character writing!

• Variations by aboxthecolourofheartache // NIF NFG AU // NIF Characters in a NFG AU! Beautiful and incredible riff on what NIF might look like in the NFG universe. So so so fun.

• not entirely a lie by venndaai // jedao & cheris mindmeld exploration // i like this mindmeld interpretation! and love the way it was portrayed. here is an example where first person POV really works! because the character is not really cheris and not really jedo but both and neither at the same time.

• make this anything you like (good things don’t come easy) by taywen // jedao/yeren/ruo // ruo lives au!!!! there are very little fix-its for this fandom so this was nice to read.

Apothecary Diaries

The way I almost forgot I had an apothecary diaries phase despite having shotgunned all 11 volumes that were out at the time...I don't think I read that much fic I liked though :(

• The Cave by auditoryeden // jinshi/maomo // Frog Scene but the Reveal Happens. This one is fun and I liked the characterization! Jinshi and Maomao have so many neuroses and having the reveal happen this early in their relationship is a tough line to balance character wise. I think this fic did it pretty well.

Vanitas No Carte

I ALSO forgot that I had a VNC phase, thanks to reading a couple volumes during a con and getting hooked. I read a good bit of fic for VNC and bookmarked 2 but...while compiling this list I ended up deleting them. Where is the VNC fic that tickles my fancy :(


HSR

OKAY!! Here is my main fandom of the year. Congratulations to Aventurine and Dr. Ratio for taking up 99% of my brainspace throughout 2024 and into 2025. Some of the earlier fic here are before 2.1 (Aventurine Chapter) was released but yknow what even then people were writing the most delicious aventurines.

• Gravitational Pull by Legendaerie // ratiorine, A/B/O, NSFW // the first fic in this series ESPECIALLY gets me, i love the mix of Great Sex but also Aventurine using his body as a means to an end for the IPC. Really really fun to see this develop over the series too.

• x. wheel of fortune by catboykitchen // ratiorine, hurt/comfort // soft hurt/comfort :'') ratio taking care of aventurine at his lows...aughh

• tres faciunt collegium / three makes a company by lannies // aventurine & ratio & topaz // what the penacony dream team negotiations may have looked like. i remember liking this topaz and also there's criminally little of ratio & topaz interacting!

• Try Hard by m1ckstart // ratiorine, Canon Universe, NSFW // i think there isn't a singl m1ckstart rtrn fic i haven't liked...!!! this is really one of the first fic i remember to explore Aventurine's (Possible) Weird Thing About Sex aaaand it's so good...love love love ratio breaking down aventurine's masks to draw out the "real" him in all iterations...this is so yummy

• once falling die by Anonymous // acheron & aventurine, aventurine & astral express crew // deaged au!! aventurine is deaged into bby kakavasha in the nihility and found by acheron who drops him off at the astral express. only one chapter out for now but i loveeee a good deaging trope and i do just want a lot of slice of life of astral express babying kakavasha :'') a very cute first chapter with some fun aventurine & acheron interactions!

• Parlay by decay // ratiorine // final victor lightcone inspired!!! there are so man FV fic but this one really hits the spot. i think i like nearly everything decay writes. i remember the character writing in this one being SOOOO delicious.

• stray ferry by explorerseel8  // ratiorine, canon divergence // before 2.1, aventurine being sentenced "to death" was a REAL FEAR. this is a fic about him running away from the ipc with ratio's help <33 angst but also hopeful ending. yummy yummy.

• Our Body by neptunary // f!aventurine & jade // i....really dislike jade, but i can't deny that her character & her relationship with aventurine (and, unrelated, topaz) is incredibly awful but also quite interesting. this fic is a precanon look into kakavasha being molded into an IPC employee by jade... somewhat unsettling but i really liked the writing in this fic!

• goodnight, good luck by LorenIndra // ratiorine, canon divergence, post-nihility consequences // a pre 2.2 fic about aventurine returning from the nihility. possibly one of my FAVORITE HSR FIC OF ALL TIME!!!!!! i do not BELIEVEEEE aventurine came out of the nihility without any lasting trauma, and i think this fic does an absolutely incredible job of exploring what that trauma might look like. delicious delicious angst and character introspection.

• while you smile like a friend by LorenIndra // aventurine/sampo, NSFW // genuinely a little obsessed with this. this fic convinced me that this ship could work.

• Veritas Ratio V.S. The Universe by cakecats // ratiorine, SVSSS AU // ANOTHER FAVORITE HSR FIC OF ALL TIME!!! svsss au framework wherein ratio is transmigrated into honkai star rail, and aventurine is his luo binghe. so incredibly delicious and yummy and funny and introspective. this fic really nails the SVSSS vibes but also with a distinct rtrn flair. love it so much

• Carpe Omnia by Lee_Outis // ratiorine, haunted hotel au // this is great creepy horror!!! they get stuck in a haunted hotel that forces them to confront ~trauma~.

• janus by euphemea // ratiorine, retelling of 2.1 from ratio's perspective // what it says on the tin... the ratio voice in here is sooo delicious.

• Catharsis by chashmish // ratiorine, post coital sappiness // this fic is really sweet. sometimes you want to indulge in established relationship domesticity and communication...it's cute!!!

• life is for the living by futuresoon // ratiorine, post-nihility consequences // i think one of the reasons i am really drawn to aventurine is how he is a character always walking the edge of suicidal ideation and wanting so very badly to live. i like seeing him struggle through the nihility, and struggle to live, and how the people around him want him to live too. ahhhhhh!!!! another post nihility fic. love this genre so much.

• a study on innovative approaches to mitigation and elimination of some hanahaki bullshit by Dr. Veritas Ratio, Ph.D. by profligate // ratiorine, in-universe hanahaki case fic, post-nihility (ish) // this is a super cool spin on hanahaki!! hsr's universe makes it super convenient to contrive different planets that let you write fun tropes. i think this take on hanahaki (and it has a proper in-universe explanation) is super cool, and the fic itself is a great casefic/mystery fic/post-nihility/character/relationship study.

• Il dolce far niente by lirulamirabilis // ratiorine, post-nihility ish // after penacony, ratio takes aventurine to his home planet for Healing. reminds me a lot of little forest (movie). it's really soft and gentle and indulgent. i like this one because aventurine deserves a vacation :'')

• intelligentsia guilt by LorenIndra // ratiorine, NSFW // Aventurine Is Weird About Sex And Ratio Is Weird About Aventurine (electric boogalo). i really like this one because Ratio doesn't magic cock therapy his way into """fixing""" Aventurine. They are so fucked up <3

• the garden of earthly delights by LorenIndra // ratiorine, NSFW // another rendition of ratiorine go on vacation after penacony. i really like the vibes of this one!! there's some more of Aventurine Being Weird About Sex but also it's sweet and sappy and a little melancholic all in one.

• tonight, of all nights by gravebirds // avenday // this is possibly the one (1) fic that has really made me consider avenday/sunturine/whatever. aventurine sees a dying sunday in the nihility and is a little haunted by it. he, and others, try to find out where sunday is and what happened. i really like the sunday & aventurine writing in this one!!!

• pearls for swine by  AvoOwO // ratiorine // this fic goes CRAZY!!!!!!!! omg this is the long casefic of MY DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!! aventurine and ratio go undercover to investigate a fucked up black market...one where Aventurine's (eyes) are on the bounty list. ugh, this fic is so insanely good. dark but not gratuitous, incredible OCs, incredible character writing and plotting. love love love this gave me brainworms.

• kiss red hands by profligate // ratiorine // more casefic!!!! i have been hungering for good casefic. aventurine and ratio go investigate/do IPC things on a borision ship. politicking ensues. really like this one so far, hope it updates soon.really cool borisin worldbuilding too.

Genshin Impact
aka heartslogos destroys my soul again!!!!!!!!!!

• AITA for allowing my broke friend to live in my house for discounted rent? by relationshipcrimes // haikaveh // not much to say about this, it's what it says on the tin. i giggled.

• and their sons by heartslogos // kaveh, haikaveh // ruminations on kaveh and his relationships to his parents. lots of really, really nice introspection, and explorations of kaveh's parents relationships with the older gen too. kaveh, oh kaveh ;-;

• the natural progression of bad to worse to Al-Haitham by heartslogos // haikaveh // mehrak gets Modified into forcing Kaveh to be HEALTHY and HAPPY!!! to hilarious consequences. really funny and a delight <333

• Hidden States of Matter by heartslogos // haikaveh // this fucked me up SOOOOO bad. leyline disorder where haikaveh become invisible to each other and slowly forget each other, even while living in the same house. it hurts soo good heartslogos is so good at showing how important they are to each other. wahhhhh

• Ours by heartslogos // haikaveh // so cute!!!! wedding day shenanigans where kaveh has to complete the challenges his friends + alhaitham set :'') they are SO IN LOVE!!!

• Nostos by heartslogos  // haikaveh, ensemble // this fic goes CRAZY!!!! sumeru AQ AU where kaveh is there!!!!! he gets sent off to the desert to help in the desert side of the investigation while alhaitham has to hold down the fort in the city. this fic is on a level that is so insane. i love the deep web of OCs, i love the way the akasha system works is expanded up and imagined up, there's so many good politicky and espionage and conspiracy. lovely lovely lovely all around this fic made me crazy