We're kicking off the fic recs with my favourite genre; Angst. Beware the tags on all of these cause I like them soul crushing. These are my favourites, and I want to share them all with you because they all deserve so much love.
Authors are tagged if they have their tumblrs in their ao3 profiles, but if you have been tagged and would rather not be, please let me know and I'll remove the tag.
You Were Spring by @tumbleweedtech - 8k, Iorveth/Letho, major character death
Roche was getting old. They both knew he’d age faster than Iorveth, but they didn’t expect how quickly his health would turn for the worst. Always a strategist, Roche made plans that ensured Iorveth would not be left alone. While Roche and Letho certainly didn’t get along at first, it’s been years since the Battle at Kaer Morhen. But this isn’t about him- it’s about Iorveth having someone who understands.
The whole series is fantastic and angsty and I love it, but this one really comes for your heart. Grief is difficult, and this fic is cathartic in the best way.
A Killing Frost by @brighteyedjill - 1k, gen, creator chose not to use archive warnings
Barmin drew the key from his belt, unlocked the greenhouse door, and closed it behind him. The door did nothing to drown out either the smell of smoke or the shouting and screaming. He ignored it.
I'm a sucker for fics about the attack on Kaer Morhen. Just the absolute fear and devastation, and the futility of it all. I fucking love it.
Under and Through by @losersimonriley - 10k, Ghost/Soap, creator chose not to use archive warnings
Stuck under a collapse, Ghost only has Soap to keep him tethered to this reality.
It's about the desperation. I love love love a good "stuck in a collapsed building" fic, and this one really hits all the right spots for me.
First Light by @losersimonriley - 6k, Ghost/Soap, creator chose not to use archive warnings
Their entire dynamic is about to change. Johnny will either be internally disgusted and won’t show it, but will still fuck him because he said he would and that’s just the kind of honourable man he is…or he will become such a raging feral dog upon learning what was done to Ghost, that all thoughts of sex will vanish and be replaced with murder. He isn’t sure which is worse.
or
Soap takes it upon himself to be Simon Riley's real first time.
Ghost's trauma making him the less experienced one? I eat that shit up. Definitely mind the tags on this one, but the pining is just so good. losersimonriley is so good at angst y'all.
all that's said in the low light by headlocket - 167k, Ghost/Soap, graphic depictions of violence
He wades in it now, eyes still open, fixed on the speckled ceiling, begging himself not to crave bomb blasts and artillery fire in his childhood bedroom. Although…there might be something beautiful about it all, Johnny supposes, those noises in the thick. The gasps in between discharge that say: I’m here, I’m a part of this song too.
After a near-fatal injury, John MacTavish finds himself back in his hometown in Scotland. Fresh off an untimely discharge, he's forced to cope with disability, his dysfunctional family, and the lingering knowledge that there are some things he's just not ready to leave behind...
Hoo boy this one's got a lotta angst for your buck. This was one of the fics that was recommended to me to try to suck me into the fandom and by god did it work. Soap's struggle scratched an itch in my brain and I latched onto these characters so fast.
From Grit to Pearl by @bluesimplicity73 - 160k, Stucky, graphic depictions of violence, major character death
He does not have a name.
He has been called many things over the years; a weapon, a ghost, HYDRA’s Fist, the Soldier, and from what they have told him his work has shaped the century.
But he does not have a name. His name, like so many other things, has been taken from him, stolen.
Forgotten.
Until the day it is not, and remembering, he breaks free, killing his handler and making his escape in a desperate bid for freedom.
Frightened, lost and hurt, he seeks out the last person in the world he can trust, his baby sister, now an almost eighty-year-old widow, somehow knowing she is the only one who can help him.
It is a difficult journey, one filled with pain, tears, and things that should not be possible. But also with recovery and redemption, rebirth and miracles, family and hope.
This story is a love letter between Bucky and his sister Rebecca, the world, and eventually his childhood best friend, Steve Rogers, the boy he once loved. But ultimately, it is the love letter Bucky writes to himself, as he reclaims who he once was, discovers who he is now, builds a new life for himself and realizes he might, just might, be as strong, as beautiful, as precious as a pearl.
This fic has all the good Bucky angst, and it has Becca Barnes being a certified badass! The woman drags her big brother back to humanity, and she does it with a smile. I genuinely cried at this one in a couple places.
The Ferry from Crete by vityamins - 1k, gen, major character death
Charon takes the Minotaur down to Erebus.
What does it mean to be a monster? What does it mean for a monster to be loved? I just love everything about this fic.
Just a Little Hush by Domoda - 24k, Asterius/Theseus, no archive warnings apply
When Theseus makes a deal to bring the Minotaur to Elysium in order to compete with him, he might not have thought it all the way through. For one, he didn't realize that after a life of torment, the Minotaur would need rehabilitating.
Or, an AU where, after ten years in the Labyrinth, Asterius has debilitating agoraphobia.
Look, I'm a sucker for a character being so traumatised and starved for affection that they just panic at the slightest bit of attention. Asterius being paralysed by the sight of an open sky got me right in the feels and I cannot recommend this fic enough.
how to disappear completely by @jaigeye - 11k, Jango/Mace, graphic depictions of violence, major character death
Jango rubs a hand over his throat where his head was severed from his body. Some pain lasts beyond a thousand deaths.
Jango is stuck in a loop that just won't stop.
Jango having to reckon with the decisions he's made is something I can't get enough of. Make that man suffer. Make him look at what he's done.
Last Stand in a Shade of Vermilion by emphasisonthehomo - 21k (unfinished), Obi-Wan/Maul, graphic depictions of violence, rape/non-con
Maul sees his chance to run, and takes it.
He bolts, and does not look back, save to see if anyone is following him.
-
One of Darth Sidious' punishments goes awry, and the results echo across the galaxy.
Maul angst always hits so good, and Maul and Padmé friendship is something I need more of in my life. I absolutely adore how fiercely possessive and protective Maul is of his baby. It fits so well with his character.
To The Center Of The Pain by I_Have_To_Get_Off_This_Planet - 1k, gen, no archive warnings apply
Jason wakes up in the middle of the night because of chronic pain. He's not the only one.
Chronic pain and the consquences of being a non-enhanced human fighting alongside superheroes for so long? Yes please.
Prince of Gotham by snackbaskets - 2k, gen, no archive warnings apply
Gotham wasn't kind to its girls. Jason would brutalize it until it agreed to be. He only hoped it would spare him long enough to make it so.
Trans Jason protecting Gotham's girls because it's what he needed once. I genuinely can't put into words how much I love this fic.
Jason Todd: The Not-So-Outlaw by @comebackolivia - 195k, gen, no archive warnings apply
Jason Todd isn't what Batman made him, he isn't what the Joker made him, he isn't what the League of Assassins made him, and he isn't what the Lazarus Pit made him. He's his own person and he's taking himself back, one home renovation at a time. Also he might just make friends with the people who are supposed to be his brothers while he's at it.
I have reread this fic so many times it is genuinely one of my favourite fics of all time. Jason building a life for himself and figuring out who he wants to be is just everything to me.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
pieces by agentcalliope - 3k, gen, no archive warnings apply
Like him, his children are born into war.
They are not the only ones.
I love Dadkoda, and I love fics that acknowledge the way the war has affected everyone. Hakoda watching his kids save the world and then try to fix it? Hakoda feeling useless and wishing he could take on some of the burden for them? I love this fic so much.
Come of Age (with our young nation) by @silveryinkystar - 9k, Hakoda/Bato, no archive warnings apply
The tale of a world at war, won by children trying to heal.
The summary says it all, really. The war is won by children, and those children have to try to rebuild. It's the kind of angst I live for.
In Memoriam by @runrundoyourstuff - 1k, gen, no archive warnings apply
"He wanders to a corner of the memorial, and scans through the names engraved on stone (Agni, there are so many—he’d forgotten just how many), until at last he finds the ones he is looking for: a cluster of thirty, tucked at the bottom of the list of people who had been on the flagship.
His crew.
He kneels, bows. Removes the incense from his bag, lights them with a pinch of his fingers, and props them up against the stone."
Zuko remembers.
Look, Zuko spent 3 years on that ship. You can't tell me he wouldn't miss his crew.
With Fervent Heat by @liggytheauthoress - 10k, Faraday/Vasquez, graphic depictions of violence
"He can count on one hand the number of times he’s used his bending in the twenty years it’s been since his ma died. He learned fairly quickly that it was easier just to pretend he wasn’t a bender, so he taught himself how to fight with guns and lead instead of smoke and sparks."
In which six of the seven are benders and Faraday really, really needs a hug.
I have no idea how I ended up reading this fic, but it actually got me reading other Magnificent Seven fics. Faraday hiding his bending and Vasquez's reaction to finding out are just so good.