I've received so many wonderful gifts this year, too, which I highly recommend if you like darker themes (grief, death, noncon, trauma, etc.) and C-drama. You can find and read all the gifts I've received this year here. Fandoms include The Untamed, Word of Honor, Scum Villain, 2ha, Sophocles' Oedipus Cycle, Beyond Evil, and Good Omens (TV).

I also wanted to make a rec list of some of my favourite works I've found in the wild this year. Not all of the works I'm going to recommend were written this year, but they were all read by me during 2023. I'm very much drawn to rare-pairs and side characters, to unusual and under-explored relationship dynamics, and often to dark themes and heavier topics (although I also read my fair share of lighter stuff, and some of those fics will also find their way in)! 

 

I recently watched BBC Ghosts, which is hilarious and heart-warming, and occasionally heart-breaking. I instantly started looking for fic after finishing all five series, and I've found so much brilliant stuff! Here are a few of my absolute favourites:


A Kiss, Then - SunriseBirds (The Captain/Thomas Thorne, Explicit, 19,793 words)

This is a beautifully written fic exploring the slow evolution of a relationship between Thomas and the Captain. It features a lot of really fierce  sexual tension, including a scorching scene where the Captain demonstrates to Thomas how he used to seduce men - carefully, with the constant, looming fear of being caught out, but also the thrill of that moment of connection and shared understanding. It also weaves in some fascinating and deeply convincing backstories for Thomas and the Captain, studying their respective histories with love and sex.

drug club - Aziz (The Captain/Thomas Thorne, Mature, 6,530 words)

I love the concept and execution of this fic - several of the ghosts, including the Captain and Thomas, die with various illicit substances on their person, and when the Captain and Thomas bump into one another on the roof of Button House, they end up sharing these and beginning what Pat, many years later, turns into Drug Club. Along the way, of course, feelings develop between the Captain and Thomas as they grow more intimate while sharing drugs and memories with one another. What's hard to do and say for them both in broad daylight becomes easier during the dark nights spent on the roof together.

two's company - masterofgallifrey (The Captain & Mike Cooper, General Audiences, 11,230 words)

This fic features the Captain accidentally possessing Mike, and the chaos that ensues. I loved the friendship that emerges between Mike and the Captain while they spend enforced time in Mike's head together. There's also comedy (and some more heart-wrenching moments) to be found in the misunderstandings between the two, due to their extremely different personalities and the Captain's need for control clashing with Mike's ownership of his own body.

Secret Club - TaraTheMeerkat (Humphrey Bone & Alison Cooper & Julian Fawcett, General Audiences, 2,166 words)

This is a really lovely story which features Alison coming up with a solution for Humphrey's head/body separation issue, and the inaugural meeting of a "secret club". As Julian puts it: "How you can have a so-called ‘secret club’ with two people, eh? That’s not a club. That’s a- a- ...A generic meeting of two friends. That’s all that is."

hidden treasures - natequarter (Humphrey Bone & Alison Cooper & Robin, Teen, 2,575 words)

In which Alison finds some nude portraits during a clear-out, and Humphrey reminisces. This fic is a lot of fun, with plenty of hilarious chaos from the ghosts as they all try to figure out who the mysterious naked portraits represent.

 

Now, onto my recs for The Untamed. I feel like my tastes have changed quite significantly over the two or three years I've spent in the fandom. I used to read a lot of Wangxian, then moved on to Songxue and Yi City fic, and now I'm mainly here for the Chengxian and anything that features Jiaojiao as a main character.

Some Nights I Drown In The Wade - geckoholic (Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian, Not Rated, 1,433 words)

I love the portrayal of grief in this fic, and the way Wei Wuxian refuses to leave Jiang Cheng alone in Lotus Pier, even as a ghost. The huge, overwhelming messiness of their feelings for one another are on full display here.

due time (the plausible deniability remix) - runespoor (Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian, Mature, 1,702 words)

This fic is absolutely fantastic; it's set during the Cloud Recesses lectures and full of the burgeoning desires and uncertainties of adolescence. Wei Wuxian's POV sparkles and shimmers, as do the visions of summer conjured up as he waits for Jiang Cheng to return to him.

The Beauty of the Moon - tuesnight (Wang Lingjiao/Wen Qing, Explicit, 5,140 words)

This was a gift to me (Femslash Kink Exchange), and absolutely wonderful. Jiaojiao, overhearing a rumour, decides to seduce Wen Qing, and gets more than she bargained for. Jiaojiao's perspective is sharp and naive all at once, and where she is jaded in some ways, she is startlingly untested in others. I love this portrayal of Wen Qing as well: unknowable, aloof, with a streak of cruelty running beneath her cool surface.

Savor the Combination - Zeebie (Wang Lingjiao/Wen Zhuliu, Explicit, 2,759 words)

Another gift to me (Nonconathon), which I am absolutely over the moon to have received - it features an AU in which the Jiangs beat the Wens at Lotus Pier, and Yu Ziyuan comes up with a public punishment to shame Jiaojiao and Wen Zhuliu. The grim satisfaction she takes in the cruelty of their punishment, and the camaraderie in sadism she finds with Wei Wuxian in particular, is absolutely fascinating to read. I also love the way Jiaojiao and Wen Zhuliu are written in defeat.

I couldn't have a rec list without Word of Honor - I recently watched this for the third time, introducing it to my best friend who had never seen it (or any other C-drama) before. It was really exciting to re-watch the show with someone experiencing it for the first time, and it rekindled all the love and joy I always feel when I watch this show. It's so beautifully made, with such love poured into it from the actors, the directors, the writers, and the whole crew. I'm so eternally grateful for the miracle that is this show and its fandom, which has persisted despite it all. The show stands as a testament to the labour of love and the risks that were taken to bring it to life, and it will always have the hugest space in my heart. Please let's never stop writing and drawing and making fan creations of all kinds for it!

red and white and black and gone - schnaf (Du Pusa/Liu Qianqiao, General Audiences, 1,295 words)

This is a compelling short piece focusing on Du Pusa's state of mind following Qianqiao's death. I love the way she tries and fails to cope with her loss, and Qianqiao's ambiguous cameo is really well done.

Bound to You - Afinasca (Du Pusa/Gao Xiaolian, Du Pusa/Gao Xiaolian/Qiao Luohan, Explicit, 2,835 words)

This was a gift to me (Smut4Smut), and it is just perfect. The pragmatism of Du Pusa's decision to keep Gao Xiaolian as a maid wars with her growing fondness for Xiaolian. The sharp tension and air of competition between Du Pusa and Qiao Luohan is perfectly written, as is Xiaolian's desperation to be loved and not left alone. And the threesome i incredibly hot, too!

beauty in the eyes - Katharija (Liu Qianqiao/Yu Qiufeng, Explicit, 1,979 words)

This is a really interesting character study featuring Qianqiao and focusing on her relationship to beauty, desire, and men. I love the way this fic delves into the societal and interpersonal forces that shape Qianqiao and lead to her role as Yan Gui in Ghost Valley.

An Act of Volatile Submission - shatteredcrystalwings (Wuchang Gui, Old Ghost Valley Master/Wen Kexing, Mature, 2,010 words)

A dark story from Wuchang Gui's perspective as he watches Wen Kexing's abuse at the hands of the Old Ghost Valley Master. His outsider POV on what Wen Kexing does to survive is so well-written and rings with jealousy, blame, misunderstanding, and fear.

 

Happy New Year!