#ANOTHER WIN FOR AMBIGUITY *air horn sounds*

[sovonight]

If I'm reading the wiki about the Hireling in question right, 'Xan's dead son' is a reach. Yeah, you could read it that way; but you can also ignore it and any implications as coincidental. It's not outright stated, they're not 'canonising' anything, it's just some hidden, vague thing they probably just did for fun without much thought or intention for it to be taken seriously. Idk if that makes it any better for you, but it's not something they state as a Thing or anything.

thank you so much. no one correct this anon my peace of mind hinges on it

[falsegoodnight]

these are the fics I read (or reread) and loved this month!

*note: this list encompasses the fics i’ve read from the 1st to the 26th and any fics read after will be included in next month’s fic rec list because i don’t want this to be too long!

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✰ you fold into me like a beating heart by @lil0 / theweightofmywords | 2k

He’s scrolling through his phone as this nervous energy consumes him. He feels like he’s on the edge of something. If he falls, he doesn’t think he’d ever make it back. He catches himself staring at his weather app. It’s sunny where his ex is.

It’s sunny here too.

(this was so lovely and well-written! i’m honestly impressed with how much development and characterization and emotion was packed into less than 2k words! also i don’t want to spoil anything but there’s an element in this fic that finally plays out in the final sentence and i ADORED that! the last few paragraphs in general are just so perfect!)

✰ no one to blame (but the drink) by @femstyles | 3k 

Harry misses Louis. He knows Louis deserves better.

(this was so well-written and heart wrenching! i’m a sucker for fics where so much raw feeling is packed into smaller sizes and this is a perfect example! and exes to lovers, my kryptonite! it has more of an open ending but i loved it the little flicker of hope that it left the reader with!!)

✰ For You I’d Bleed Myself Dry by @allwaswell16​ | 4k

After a public and humiliating breakup, Louis Tomlinson finds himself on his would-be honeymoon with his best friend, Niall. However, this St. Lucian paradise is not all that it seems. Louis may be particularly vulnerable to an unusually handsome predator.

(one of the many vampire harry fics i read this month to get in the mood for writing my own! this one was so addicting and alluring- the air of mystery had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and the ENDING! it was vague and mysterious and PERFECT for the story!!!)

✰ Sugar Cube by @zanniscaramouche | 5k

Louis is fine. He knew this would happen. He knows. The beat up laptop stuffed under his mattress can attest to how much porn he’s watched and hell, he’s been on his knees in a piss stained alley for a few tenners. He’s not some scared blushing virgin.

Except. He kind of is.

(THIS. FIC. i was engrossed from start to finish and i genuinely cannot wait to read the full fic when the blff rolls around. the writing in this was exquisite- it evoked so much imagery and feeling in the reader and gosh, that ENDING! i can’t wait to find out what happens next!)

✰ Click by @allwaswell16 | 5k

When Louis got assigned a roommate, he wasn’t exactly thrilled, but as far as roommates go Marcel was a pretty good one. That was until Marcel started clicking a counter everywhere he went...

(i haven’t read very many marcel fics but i gave this one a shot and loved it! short and sweet and well-written! i loved the aspect of clicking too! it added an extra layer to the story! and of course, one can never go wrong with roommates to lovers!!) 

✰ take me to the stars by @lil0 / theweightofmywords | 6k 

Staring at his darling daughter, in the middle of the pasta aisle, Louis found himself on the edge of a neurotic breakdown.

"It’s your birthday tomorrow! And your papa better not do anything to muck it up! Because your dada worked very hard to organise it! And all of your aunties and grannies and granddads and friends will be there!” Louis continued in a sweet sing-song voice that seemed to get increasingly frantic as he continued. “And if your papa is in rut, then what? What’ll we do, honey girl? Your dada will be too busy! And your papa will be too horn-”

“Louis,” Harry interrupted, touching Louis’ arm. “I’ll be okay. It’s probably not even my rut. I can appreciate you… all of you… even when I’m not in rut.”

Louis looked at him skeptically, imagining the shitshow that would be Harry in rut, surrounded by family and friends, at their child’s first birthday party. “I hope you’re right, H.”

(this fic was so adorable and soft! i had a smile on my face the entire time! i don’t read a lot of fics where h&l are parents that don’t include pre-pregnancy but this sounded so cute that i couldn’t resist and i’m glad i gave it a shot! it’s well-written and lovely just like all other of this writer’s fics!!)

✰ which is sweeter love or its loss by @doncasterkitten / patdkitten | 6k

After he catches his boyfriend cheating on him, Louis runs away from London and answers an ad to housesit an estate in the Yorkshire Moors while the mysterious owner is away. It's easy enough to forget about his problems when confronted with the routine that exists in a former abbey in the moors, when the only people around are a cat and the caretaker.

And then the mysterious owner returns.

(another vampire harry fic! i loved the writing and the atmosphere in this fic which felt so real and developed despite it being a shorter fic! i loved the louis and harry here and the added aspect of louis getting over being cheated on and trying to escape. the story had a very ambiguous/open ending that worked perfectly for the story!) 

✰ shine a light upon your ground by @ashleyjohnsonfanaccount / louizsv | 9k

Louis sighs again and fiddles with the bracelet on his wrist, twisting the charms around and petting the fake diamonds.

“How much for a night?” A deep voice suddenly asks him. The man who approaches him is already pulling out his wallet and flicking through a bundle of bills. Louis, who had been sitting at the bar completely innocent and minding his own business, lets out an offended, strangled sound.

“Excuse me?” He demands, straightening up in his seat. The hem of his dress creeps further up his thigh but he pays it no mind.

(this author’s writing style is always so immersive and evocative and this fic is no exception! i’m honestly floored by how she managed to write this wonderful story in ONE DAY! the smut was hot and although i definitely pictured H as Harry the entire time, i loved the aspect of mystery in his identity and that the reader could choose to imagine him as whoever they wanted!)

✰ kiss me in your chevrolet by @lougendarey / cinnamons | 12k 

"Yes, Lou?" Harry asked, rubbing his tired eyes. A gust of wind came through the open windows, sending chills down Harry's arms as a light rain began falling outside. He closed his eyes again and let his head fall back to the couch arm rest.

"Can we go there?" Louis asked, probably pointing somewhere. Harry opened his eyes and felt his heart jump in his chest, a magazine page a couple of inches away from his face. Startled, Harry closed his eyes and breathed heavily, trying to collect himself.

Harry blinked a few times to focus his eyes on the page Louis still held in front of his nose. "You want to go to the Grand Canyon?" He furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head to the left to look at Louis' face.

(i love roadtrip aus and this one was so cute and lovely! the * troubles - don’t want to spoil - added another layer of depth to the story and i really enjoyed that too! their relationship was so cute and i loved how supportive and lovely harry was to louis in this fic when he needed it :’) also the ENDING!! i’m a sucker for endings like that - again, don’t want to spoil - and this one was so cute, i had a giant smile on my face!!! remember to read tags!)

✰ A Vivid and Wistful Memory by @lwtisloved / MyEnglishRose | 13k 

In which they are neighbours stuck at home and they happen to start talking through a wall with a piano, a violin, and a flute. They end up writing the soundtrack of their own love story.

(this was so adorable!!! i’ve been craving some more quarantine fics and this one delivered so well! i loved the aspect of violin and flute playing, writing songs together, the neighbors to friends to lovers, and of course i loved louis’ cat, Snowball <3 such a lovely story and so so heartwarming! highly recommend!)

✰ until this blood runs cold by @soldouthaz | 14k

In a town as small as Louis���, everybody knows everybody and gossip spreads faster than the wildfires that rage on just outside their backdoors in the sweltering heat of summer. When something happens here everyone knows about it within seconds. Neighbors call neighbors and notes are left on doorsteps, old telephone lines ringing until there isn’t a single person who is left in the unknown.

So it’s definitely hot gossip when a vampire moves in across the street from him, the very same one who’s just become Louis’ boss.

(amazing, perfect, wonderful as always! sarah’s writing is like a breath of fresh air and this story was truly incredible! i loved the atmosphere and the uniqueness of louis and harry’s jobs - never read anything like it, that’s for sure - and i’m just a sucker for vampire harry in general but sarah’s is perfect <333)

note: this fic is part of a series of vampire fics/drabbles (all of which are completely separate!) titled love bites which sarah and i are doing together so check it out!!!)

✰ UN(RE)SOLVED by @daddyharrie | 21k 

The ghoul boys are back, but this time around there are some unresolved feelings involved. Harry is a skeptic, Louis is not. Watch them go on their ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?

Or, BuzzFeed Unsolved AU.

(i actually re-read this last month and forgot to talk about it - a TRAGEDY, I’M SORRY - but this is pretty much one of my favorite fics of this year and of all time, hands down. it’s not even that i’m a buzzfeed unsolved fan- this fic is just so??? good??? i’ve read it over five times and i never get tired of this version of harry and louis or the story or the humor. also jealous harry >>>) 

✰ your eyes of blue, your kisses too by @loubellies | 22k

When they get out onto the streets away from the crowds Niall turns to walk backwards, “So did you get any leads?”

“Well- uh.”

Niall shakes his head, “Too busy kissing that pretty boy onstage, I see. Gonna blow the whole case for a piece of ass?”

or the murder in the alleyway.

(so good!!! mar has really outdone herself with this one! historical au + mystery + detective harry is pretty much a recipe to win me over and this took all of those things and combined them perfectly! it’s fast paced and atmospheric - love the 1920s setting for this fic - and engrossing! and the smut was hot hot HOT!)

✰ Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds by @2tiedships2 | 38k 

Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry.

(this was so amazing and so heartwarming! i loved the relationship between louis and harry here and especially how supportive and wonderful harry was with louis and trying to learn how to communicate with him :’) reading this fic was so comforting, i can’t explain it. i just read it in one sitting while laying in bed and i had the dopiest smile on my face at some parts. i don’t normally read fics with no smut but this one was so worth it)

✰ Lidocaine and Palm Trees. by @daddyharrie​ | 45k

Heat, fake tans and lots of traffic.

Harry never expected to earn his living this way when he moved to LA.

Louis didn't think he could ever be the same after his divorce.

A lighthearted story about two guys trying to find themselves in the vibrant, sprawling city of Los Angeles, with a side of technical porn industry stuff.

(i’ve already recced this fic on here a few months back but it’s recently been finished so i will be screaming about it again. another favorite of this year and favorite of all time. i’ve reread this fic over and over since it’s finished and i never get tired of it. i love these characters and this storyline (which is so unique and refreshing, honestly) so much. the setting also makes me feel nostalgic in the best way)

✰ Since I’ve Found You by @all-these-larrythings / Rearviewdreamer | 74k

Louis woke up on the morning he was meant to volunteer at the Feed the Homeless program at St. Mary's church hoping for an opportunity to give back a little to a city that has given him everything he could ever want. Little did he know, there was one more great thing waiting there for him; a boy with radiant green eyes in a weathered jacket and a beat-up backpack slung over his shoulders.

(THIS. FIC. it was so cute and amazing! i don’t get the chance to read a lot of longer fics as much as i want to but i somehow read this in one afternoon because i couldn’t put it down. it was so heartwarming and i loved the progression of their relationship and louis was so lovely and so was harry and ugh, it was so good! the ending made me emotional too <3)

If you read any of these beautiful works of art, remember to leave kudos and comment to show your appreciation!

*if i made any errors, please let me know :)

enjoy!