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8 Founders-era Naruto fic recs
Feb. 22nd, 2022 09:37 pmWhat is this, me saying I should make a specific rec list and then immediately doing it? Weird. Under the cut: 8 more Founders-era Naruto fic recs.
( recs )
( recs )
3 longfic recs (One Piece, Naruto, BnHA)
Feb. 21st, 2022 09:27 pmThree recs for longfic I read and enjoyed recently, with some more ramblings attached than usual:
the thing that remains by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
tciddaemina, One Piece
224k, Law/Luffy
Summary: He'd had a plan. Destroy the SAD manufacture plant, destroy the SMILE factory... A kidnapping here, a bit of extortion there. Simple, at least by Law's standards. The Straw Hats had been a surprise, but a manageable one. Doflamingo would submit to their demands, sealing his own fate, or they'd destroy the factory and Kaidou would finish the job for them. He'd had a plan.
Now Law doesn't know what's going on, but its definitely not the plan.
Why I love it: I stopped reading One Piece at some point on Cake Island, and I stopped regularly following it during Dressrosa. Originally I meant to catch up one day, but it's probably not going to happen. But I still semi-regularly read summaries of what's going on in the story, and I still have a massive soft spot for it. (…maybe I could just start reading it again without catching up on everything in between. Recent chapters did sound exciting, even though I don't know half the characters. Hmm.) And Law was one of my favorite characters.
I don't even remember how I found this fic: maybe through someone else's bookmarks, idk. It's a fantastic look at Law during canon events, up until Wano (with a now-AU ending.) I love his relationship with his crew and with Luffy (and I'm speaking as someone who until then was extremely skeptical about reading fic with Luffy in a romantic relationship with anyone.) There's excellent h/c and loyalty and battle scenes and, of course, post-battle parties, and the weirdest and yet perfectly fitting romantic gesture I've read maybe ever. (Have I mentioned how cool Law's abilities are? It's related. Guess.)
Silk and Steel byTavina, Naruto
219k, merchant!OFC/Uchiha Izuna, ongoing series (two completed main stories + extras)
Series summary: Basically my entirely self indulgent Cdrama Fusion with Warring Clans Era Naruto from the POV of a civilian woman protagonist fic series.
This was inspired by: too many cups of tea, more than one food dream, Li Ziqi videos, the Story of Minglan, too many music artists to list here, and my long history of watching cdrama.
Summary of "A Bolt of Silk": “I’m a shinobi,” he tells her, matter of fact in all ways. “Bleeding is what we do.”
In which, Kawaguchi Hisa hires a shinobi, and nothing goes to plan.
Why I love it: Even though I've watched very little of canon, I've read a lot of Naruto fic. It's a very prolific fandom with many fix-it AUs, which I enjoy. Naruto, like Harry Potter, is one of those fictional worlds that you can't critically think about in too much detail because if you do too much makes no sense. Most fics ignore that, and some attempt to fix or at least examine one specific aspect of it, which can go wrong when it reveals too many glaring issues but sometimes works very well.
This fic is an example of the latter. Like all Founders-era Naruto fic (of which I've read a bunch, I should probably do a separate rec post for those) it has many OCs pretty much by necessity, but unlike most others this one focuses on its original characters and their problems and only later even starts to involve shinobi.
Kawaguchi Hisa is the daughter and heir to a family of silk merchants and I love her. She's reserved, pragmatic, extremely loyal to her family and friends, and she has very good social awareness. Through Hisa this fic explores not only the role of women in this society and the relationship between civilians and shinobi, but most importantly class issues. Hisa is from a rich merchant family, but they're not nobles, they're not a clan, and that matters a lot. It means many doors are closed to them – but it doesn't mean they're powerless, either. I absolutely love the way she approaches the problem of the Senju specifically. Her romance with Izuna is very slow-burn, especially since it's complicated by the fact that Hisa feels like she can't marry out of her family.
The current stories work very well on their own, but the author is planning another main installment of this series.
A Single Change byCygnus_the_Harper, My Hero Academia
301k, gen, ongoing series (one completed main story, one main story WIP + extras)
Summary: This fic explores what might have happened if Winged Hero Hawks had flown by Izuku in the first two episodes, after All Might left him on the rooftop following the first fight with the sludge villain. Hawks spots this kid standing at the edge of the roof, swoops down to investigate, and finds potential in Izuku's ramblings about his observations of the hero industry. Preferring to keep those analytical skills on his side, Hawks decides to offer Izuku his help in gaining a spot in the UA Support Course. (Which at the same time would give Hawks a friend inside UA, hopefully willing to chat about all the doings he sees within.)
However, All Might watches Izuku rush in to try to save Bakugou from the sludge villain and has his own change of heart. Izuku finds himself with not one but two heroes offering him their support, but only one can offer him a quirk of his own. His mother meanwhile can't figure out why this is happening, and half expects Endeavor to also come crashing into her kitchen at any moment.
All Might needs an heir, and he would rather the commission not know about this. Izuku wants a chance. And Hawks would like to be taken seriously as an adult pro hero.
Why I love it: I think I started reading BnHA fic because ofPitViperOfDoom? I heard enough about it and then watched one episode of the anime which confirmed that canon is not for me, but I do enjoy the fic. It's another fandom with a thin canon world that likes its fix-it AUs, although in general more plot-&character- than worldbuilding-focused.
This series does a little of both – at least I suspect that's where it'll continue to go. It's canon-divergent in a way that's probably best appreciated if you know canon, but I've read so many fics by now that I can keep up (I think.) I love the slow development of the relationships between Izuku and All Might and Hawks, and later also Izuku's classmates and various other pro heroes. It also looks in more details at All Might as a teacher (…) and Hawks as a commission-backed hero (who is young and stressed and out of his depth but trying very hard.)
One main story is finished, the second one is currently in progress and updated recently.
the thing that remains by
224k, Law/Luffy
Summary: He'd had a plan. Destroy the SAD manufacture plant, destroy the SMILE factory... A kidnapping here, a bit of extortion there. Simple, at least by Law's standards. The Straw Hats had been a surprise, but a manageable one. Doflamingo would submit to their demands, sealing his own fate, or they'd destroy the factory and Kaidou would finish the job for them. He'd had a plan.
Now Law doesn't know what's going on, but its definitely not the plan.
Why I love it: I stopped reading One Piece at some point on Cake Island, and I stopped regularly following it during Dressrosa. Originally I meant to catch up one day, but it's probably not going to happen. But I still semi-regularly read summaries of what's going on in the story, and I still have a massive soft spot for it. (…maybe I could just start reading it again without catching up on everything in between. Recent chapters did sound exciting, even though I don't know half the characters. Hmm.) And Law was one of my favorite characters.
I don't even remember how I found this fic: maybe through someone else's bookmarks, idk. It's a fantastic look at Law during canon events, up until Wano (with a now-AU ending.) I love his relationship with his crew and with Luffy (and I'm speaking as someone who until then was extremely skeptical about reading fic with Luffy in a romantic relationship with anyone.) There's excellent h/c and loyalty and battle scenes and, of course, post-battle parties, and the weirdest and yet perfectly fitting romantic gesture I've read maybe ever. (Have I mentioned how cool Law's abilities are? It's related. Guess.)
Silk and Steel by
219k, merchant!OFC/Uchiha Izuna, ongoing series (two completed main stories + extras)
Series summary: Basically my entirely self indulgent Cdrama Fusion with Warring Clans Era Naruto from the POV of a civilian woman protagonist fic series.
This was inspired by: too many cups of tea, more than one food dream, Li Ziqi videos, the Story of Minglan, too many music artists to list here, and my long history of watching cdrama.
Summary of "A Bolt of Silk": “I’m a shinobi,” he tells her, matter of fact in all ways. “Bleeding is what we do.”
In which, Kawaguchi Hisa hires a shinobi, and nothing goes to plan.
Why I love it: Even though I've watched very little of canon, I've read a lot of Naruto fic. It's a very prolific fandom with many fix-it AUs, which I enjoy. Naruto, like Harry Potter, is one of those fictional worlds that you can't critically think about in too much detail because if you do too much makes no sense. Most fics ignore that, and some attempt to fix or at least examine one specific aspect of it, which can go wrong when it reveals too many glaring issues but sometimes works very well.
This fic is an example of the latter. Like all Founders-era Naruto fic (of which I've read a bunch, I should probably do a separate rec post for those) it has many OCs pretty much by necessity, but unlike most others this one focuses on its original characters and their problems and only later even starts to involve shinobi.
Kawaguchi Hisa is the daughter and heir to a family of silk merchants and I love her. She's reserved, pragmatic, extremely loyal to her family and friends, and she has very good social awareness. Through Hisa this fic explores not only the role of women in this society and the relationship between civilians and shinobi, but most importantly class issues. Hisa is from a rich merchant family, but they're not nobles, they're not a clan, and that matters a lot. It means many doors are closed to them – but it doesn't mean they're powerless, either. I absolutely love the way she approaches the problem of the Senju specifically. Her romance with Izuna is very slow-burn, especially since it's complicated by the fact that Hisa feels like she can't marry out of her family.
The current stories work very well on their own, but the author is planning another main installment of this series.
A Single Change by
301k, gen, ongoing series (one completed main story, one main story WIP + extras)
Summary: This fic explores what might have happened if Winged Hero Hawks had flown by Izuku in the first two episodes, after All Might left him on the rooftop following the first fight with the sludge villain. Hawks spots this kid standing at the edge of the roof, swoops down to investigate, and finds potential in Izuku's ramblings about his observations of the hero industry. Preferring to keep those analytical skills on his side, Hawks decides to offer Izuku his help in gaining a spot in the UA Support Course. (Which at the same time would give Hawks a friend inside UA, hopefully willing to chat about all the doings he sees within.)
However, All Might watches Izuku rush in to try to save Bakugou from the sludge villain and has his own change of heart. Izuku finds himself with not one but two heroes offering him their support, but only one can offer him a quirk of his own. His mother meanwhile can't figure out why this is happening, and half expects Endeavor to also come crashing into her kitchen at any moment.
All Might needs an heir, and he would rather the commission not know about this. Izuku wants a chance. And Hawks would like to be taken seriously as an adult pro hero.
Why I love it: I think I started reading BnHA fic because of
This series does a little of both – at least I suspect that's where it'll continue to go. It's canon-divergent in a way that's probably best appreciated if you know canon, but I've read so many fics by now that I can keep up (I think.) I love the slow development of the relationships between Izuku and All Might and Hawks, and later also Izuku's classmates and various other pro heroes. It also looks in more details at All Might as a teacher (…) and Hawks as a commission-backed hero (who is young and stressed and out of his depth but trying very hard.)
One main story is finished, the second one is currently in progress and updated recently.
Naruto recs
May. 24th, 2015 02:57 pmSooo… I'm suddenly reading Naruto fic. (Because I'm a terrible procrastinator.) I watched a little bit of Naruto many years ago and since then occasionally asked LB what's happening/kept up via fannish osmosis, but it's never been a big fandom for me and I don't think I'll ever finish reading/watching canon. But recently I got one rec and then sort of… followed breadcrumbs.
Remember to check the archive warnings and ratings for each fic.
Break to Breathe by Okami Rayne
The series link on AO3 has the first three stories, and the fourth one is on ff.net: Under These Scars
Nara Shikamaru/Hyuuga Neji +other pairings, 1,240k (!) – I read it in five days because I couldn't put it down.
Summary by me: Neji and Shikamaru stumble into a strange something between them that might make them lose everything in fights for freedom and against the ghosts from the past – or it might save them.
Why I love it: One of those cases where I simultaneously simply want to say "everything", with hand gestures and excited noises, and talk about it for hours if only I knew where to begin. (Not literally talk, I still have a sore throat.) And when I look back I wonder if it was really as good as I remember it or if it just grabbed me and didn't let me go, but it's too long to reread and check, and anyway that's almost the same.
The series was recced to me as a great example for canon-compliant worldbuilding, but I can't say much about that because I don't know canon enough. I do know that the series builds an incredible background of characters and histories and relationships and events, and even as someone less familiar with canon I could keep up with everything.
The combination of adventure + plot + reveals + relationships is great and works very well. The first fic and the last one especially have excellent adventure plots (2 and 3 mostly set the stage for 4 in that regard.) And there's a lot of character + relationship development that I loved, I can't even pick favorites. (Maybe Neji and Ino if I absolutely had to.)
Two big themes in the series are betrayal and sacrifice, which pushed so many of my buttons, it was fantastic. There are several scenes I'll definitely reread often (the whole thing is too long for that.) Other themes are freedom&choices and dealing with the past. The series takes time to follow several storylines, expanding outwards from the first story, and handles all of them well and with care. Despite the length the series never felt long or drawn-out (with the exception of some of the sex scenes, especially early, but that's probably a ymmv kind of thing.) There's a bit of purple prose at times, especially in the beginning, but nothing over the top.
( Spoilers )
Diplomatic Relations and the sequel Kindred by Maldoror
Gaara/Rock Lee, length unknown because it's all on LJ but I estimate maybe 80k all in all? Could be wildly off.
Summary by me: Lee becomes Konoha's diplomatic envoy in Sunagakure and falls in love with Gaara. In the sequel there are kids.
Why I love it: I read the stories for the first time a while ago (after reading Maldoror's also excellent Gundam Wing fic) and they are just as great as I remember. It's a lovely story of two very different (and both in some ways not exactly "normal") individuals building a relationship together, and she does a great job of selling the ship. A great look at both characters, and very sweet :-) I would happily read a dozen more sidestories. (My favorite of the existing ones is probably "The Question", it always makes me flail and squee even more than the other chapters, and at one point fistbump because fuck yeah that will shut them up.)
In Good Company by weialala
Sasuke/Naruto, 133k, WIP
Summary: This will sound a little ridiculous, no matter how Sasuke phrases it. I see dead people is embarrassingly tacky, and I'm half-spirit seems like something Sakura might say when she's stoned sky high. So he settles for a shrug.
Why I love it: This is an ongoing WIP with irregular updates, 11 of a planned 25 chapters, and the last update was in January. I don't usually like to rec WIPs, but this one I already reread at least two times and would also rec if it was unfinished.
It's an AU where Sasuke left Orochimaru and came back to Konoha. The story begins when he starts seeing the ghosts of the former Hokages. He still plans to kill Itachi (survival is not really part of his plans), the village still sees him as a traitor, and he's also pining after Naruto.
This fic is fantastic. Sasuke can't believe in his own redemption, but he slowly starts forming bonds again, even if some of them are with ghosts and snakes. His relationship with Kakashi here is written so well and hurts a lot. The whole fic does a very specific kind of angst very well, where you really really want Sasuke to get a happy ending and finally understand because he's suffering a lot, but are also happy when someone punches him because seriously?, have you looked at what you do to your friends?, yes you have friends you moron, and somehow the balance is just right. Is there such a thing as emo whump? That's what this is, and it's delicious.
survival of the fittest by cywscross
Gen, 25k
Summary:Sakura is thirteen, still a Genin, lost in the middle of Earth Country, lugging an unconscious Chuunin around, and so far beyond scared that she's moved right on to pissed off.
Why I love it: This is just good old-fashioned adventure action whump, the sort of story I miss from my SGA fandom days. Sakura and Shikamaru are lost in enemy territory and trying to get home, which isn't easy. It stays gen, which I liked, but they gain a lot of mutual respect and appreciation. Also a very good Sakura story.
Remember to check the archive warnings and ratings for each fic.
Break to Breathe by Okami Rayne
The series link on AO3 has the first three stories, and the fourth one is on ff.net: Under These Scars
Nara Shikamaru/Hyuuga Neji +other pairings, 1,240k (!) – I read it in five days because I couldn't put it down.
Summary by me: Neji and Shikamaru stumble into a strange something between them that might make them lose everything in fights for freedom and against the ghosts from the past – or it might save them.
Why I love it: One of those cases where I simultaneously simply want to say "everything", with hand gestures and excited noises, and talk about it for hours if only I knew where to begin. (Not literally talk, I still have a sore throat.) And when I look back I wonder if it was really as good as I remember it or if it just grabbed me and didn't let me go, but it's too long to reread and check, and anyway that's almost the same.
The series was recced to me as a great example for canon-compliant worldbuilding, but I can't say much about that because I don't know canon enough. I do know that the series builds an incredible background of characters and histories and relationships and events, and even as someone less familiar with canon I could keep up with everything.
The combination of adventure + plot + reveals + relationships is great and works very well. The first fic and the last one especially have excellent adventure plots (2 and 3 mostly set the stage for 4 in that regard.) And there's a lot of character + relationship development that I loved, I can't even pick favorites. (Maybe Neji and Ino if I absolutely had to.)
Two big themes in the series are betrayal and sacrifice, which pushed so many of my buttons, it was fantastic. There are several scenes I'll definitely reread often (the whole thing is too long for that.) Other themes are freedom&choices and dealing with the past. The series takes time to follow several storylines, expanding outwards from the first story, and handles all of them well and with care. Despite the length the series never felt long or drawn-out (with the exception of some of the sex scenes, especially early, but that's probably a ymmv kind of thing.) There's a bit of purple prose at times, especially in the beginning, but nothing over the top.
( Spoilers )
Diplomatic Relations and the sequel Kindred by Maldoror
Gaara/Rock Lee, length unknown because it's all on LJ but I estimate maybe 80k all in all? Could be wildly off.
Summary by me: Lee becomes Konoha's diplomatic envoy in Sunagakure and falls in love with Gaara. In the sequel there are kids.
Why I love it: I read the stories for the first time a while ago (after reading Maldoror's also excellent Gundam Wing fic) and they are just as great as I remember. It's a lovely story of two very different (and both in some ways not exactly "normal") individuals building a relationship together, and she does a great job of selling the ship. A great look at both characters, and very sweet :-) I would happily read a dozen more sidestories. (My favorite of the existing ones is probably "The Question", it always makes me flail and squee even more than the other chapters, and at one point fistbump because fuck yeah that will shut them up.)
In Good Company by weialala
Sasuke/Naruto, 133k, WIP
Summary: This will sound a little ridiculous, no matter how Sasuke phrases it. I see dead people is embarrassingly tacky, and I'm half-spirit seems like something Sakura might say when she's stoned sky high. So he settles for a shrug.
Why I love it: This is an ongoing WIP with irregular updates, 11 of a planned 25 chapters, and the last update was in January. I don't usually like to rec WIPs, but this one I already reread at least two times and would also rec if it was unfinished.
It's an AU where Sasuke left Orochimaru and came back to Konoha. The story begins when he starts seeing the ghosts of the former Hokages. He still plans to kill Itachi (survival is not really part of his plans), the village still sees him as a traitor, and he's also pining after Naruto.
This fic is fantastic. Sasuke can't believe in his own redemption, but he slowly starts forming bonds again, even if some of them are with ghosts and snakes. His relationship with Kakashi here is written so well and hurts a lot. The whole fic does a very specific kind of angst very well, where you really really want Sasuke to get a happy ending and finally understand because he's suffering a lot, but are also happy when someone punches him because seriously?, have you looked at what you do to your friends?, yes you have friends you moron, and somehow the balance is just right. Is there such a thing as emo whump? That's what this is, and it's delicious.
survival of the fittest by cywscross
Gen, 25k
Summary:Sakura is thirteen, still a Genin, lost in the middle of Earth Country, lugging an unconscious Chuunin around, and so far beyond scared that she's moved right on to pissed off.
Why I love it: This is just good old-fashioned adventure action whump, the sort of story I miss from my SGA fandom days. Sakura and Shikamaru are lost in enemy territory and trying to get home, which isn't easy. It stays gen, which I liked, but they gain a lot of mutual respect and appreciation. Also a very good Sakura story.
