what's your fave glee fanfics rn?
I needed to finish up reading some things before I could answer this, hence the wait before I answered!
In truth I don't gravitate towards serial/wip fics unless each part works as a standalone but there aren't a lot of one-shots in this fandom? Which is new for me! So a few of these are wips anyhow.
@misqueue : Given the Opportunity, klaine/sam and The Architects of Life, klaine. Misqueue writes the kind of Kurt/Blaine dynamic that really appeals to me in its emotional messiness, the genuine heft of their feelings, the work that they put into it. I like seeing all the bits and pieces even when they're jangled and don't fit together, how fallible and also how transcendent they are together and individually.
@newtkelly : The Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend), blam. It's tagged as not klaine-friendly but I don't find it to portray Kurt unkindly -- it's just an unflinching look at the dissolution of his marriage with Blaine. There's a lot going on here that's subtle but packs a gut punch, an incredibly incisive look at Blaine's turmoil and Sam wanting things but wanting to not cause harm either.
@gleekerson : The Hevans Bus, hevans (heh). An alternate reality fic where Sam gets a job driving a city bus and Kurt is a bus bay mechanic. It's a deep dive into Sam's character and he's very recognizable as *Sam* in this, which to me is the hallmark of a good grip on character -- you'll find that in any AU I rec. Kurt has a smaller part but he's so vivid in this, as is their relationship, through very restrained strokes, which I enjoy.
@sunflower-hearts : Black Water, kurtbastian. The worldbuilding in this fantasy AU goes *hard* and Lee manages to integrate even the most improbable people into it like Sue and Becky without breaking the atmosphere of it, but adding just that fillip of Glee surrealism. I'm really wanting to see where this one takes the readers.
@topsy-turvy-writer : The Choreography of Us, hummelchang. Another AR fic, where Mike and Kurt meet at arts college and get to know each other through rehearsals, setting the stage for connections of a more intimate kind. The world around them is very textured and this is another one where I'm curious to see where it goes.
@marleyssongbook: Blame it On the Alcohol, finn. I also really like what-if fics and this one is about Spin the Bottle landing on Finn rather than Rachel, and is a really excellent look into Finn's inner workings -- it's more prompted by the kiss with Blaine than a full-on pairing between them, and I really like the way Finn's articulated in this.
@wowbright : Step by Step, blaine, and The Brave Ones, sam & kurt. The first one is a devastatingly raw what-if, of Blaine dealing with being broken up with Kurt and his dysfunctional family by going to Alateen, and the second is an equally eviscerating exploration of how Sam and Kurt might have dealt with the aftermath of Kurt being bashed and their safety being violated. Whenever I read these I immediately wanna read them all over again.
@gleefulpoppet : Red Vertigo Canary, kelliot/blaine. Yoooooooo this is so hot. They're slotted into the AU so very seamlessly and I like when somebody writes a dark version of them and commits to it!! There's plot that's twisty and a lot of high tension and the sex that follows grabs hold of that and uses it to full advantage.
So that's a bit of what I've been reading, hope you'll give them a try if you haven't been reading them already 🥰