#a lot of the E-rated stuff I read and therefore can't find it again when I want it

[sinni-ok-sessi]

a rec list of sorts (2023)

@inimitablereel's rec list has inspired me to make my own! an eclectic assortment mostly defined by 'did I remember to bookmark this fic?' and 'do I remember why I bookmarked this fic?' As my memory is very bad, there are no doubt some extremely good fics I read this year that are not included here, for which I can only apologise

Beyond Evil

boy, don't you know you're a hurricane? by pale_and_tragic (M, 51k, Han Joo Won/Lee Dong Sik) Somehow the only BE fic I bookmarked this year? I'm sure there were more, but I do love an almost-canon-but-not AU, and I loved how this fic handled Han Joo Won's relationships with the rest of the cast.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

like rain that you slept through by mimosaeyes (T, 4k, Lotus Tower trio in various permutations) Again, surely I read and loved more MLC fics than just this one? But I did love this one (and its sequel) very much. A post-canon slow healing.

Nirvana in Fire

darkness had a queen by Stratisphyre (T, 14k, Qin Banruo & Consort Jing) Two extremely intelligent women play 4D chess and manage to render much of the canon plot unnecessary. I have sent this one to basically everyone I know, so its inclusion here can't be much of a surprise.

Pour Herbal Oil by ShanaStoryteller (unrated, 20k, Yan Yujin &/ various) If you are a Yan Yujin Enjoyer you have almost certainly read this a thousand times, but I am as ever late to the party. Fundamentally altered how I see Yujin as a character

suffer the same condition by plalligator (T, 3k, Mei Changsu(etc)/XiaoJingyan) This is cheating of me because I definitely did not read this for the first time this year, but I did read it (and its sequels) at least twice this year so maybe it counts. Anyway. Plalligator's fics are a perfect mix of very funny and also sad if you think too long about anything, which is precisely what I want from NiF fic.

Miscellaneous

Ted Lasso/Station Eleven crossover: all the men and women merely players by laiqualaurelote (T, 51k, Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm, Roy Kent/Keeley Jones/Jamie Tartt, plus various canon relationships) Oh boy. I think I spent like half an hour after finishing this just staring blankly into space. Have you ever wanted the Richmond gang to become wandering actors in a post-apocalyptic world? I didn't know I did, until I read this. I'm not usually a fan of crossovers but this is really, really well done.

Protector of the Small (Tortall): We're Leaving Our Shadows Behind Us by lady_ragnell (T, 70k, Keladry of Mindelan/Nealan of Queenscove/Yukimi noh Daiomoru) Neal's perspective on some of the later events of canon. Feat. some interesting considerations about the Chamber of Ordeal.

Lord Peter Wimsey novels: Lord of Misrule by [anonymous] (T, 6k, Peter Wimsey/Mervyn Bunter) An extremely late entry to the list, given I read it on the train uh yesterday, but I am always fond of fics that engage with period-typical attitudes to queerness.