happy new year! 🎆🎉🎇
now, i don’t normally do posts like this, but some of my resolutions are to 1. learn how to actually navigate photoshop beyond the basics (and this was made in 5 minutes on preview so i’m already failing but pls give me credit anyway) and 2. catalog the fics i read into monthly recs. so i figured i’d start early, and compile my favorite larry fics that i read this year!
i will admit, there’s less than there has been in previous years, because this is the year i fell headfirst into drarry, and also i got really invested in shameless for like a month in october and read a bunch of ian/mickey fic. but there were also some absolute gems 💎✨ this year and in the last month or two ive really fallen in love with larry fic again. so without any further ado:
devil town by @kingsoftheimpossible
a southern us au
“Mmm,” Louis hums, tipping his head slightly in acknowledgement. “You know what I reckon all the baseball games you’ve seen have in common?”
Harry rocks on his heels, uncertain, drifting. If it were daylight, if he could see Louis’ face, maybe he’d see where this was going. As it is, he hazards a guess, smiling beseechingly even though Louis probably can’t see him very well. “That I didn’t know what was going on?”
“I reckon,” Louis says, taking the cigarette from his mouth and flicking the ashes to the ground, “you only ever paid attention to baseball when it involved paying attention to me.”
spice up your life by @bottomlinsons
After a conversation with his Uni friends, Harry worries that his relationship with Louis has lost it’s spark.
(aka: an incredibly silly modern day love story ft. awkward boners, grumpy neighbours and Cosmopolitan sex tips.)
everything suspended by @louisandthealien
It’s 8:50 when Zayn pops his head around the corner of Harry’s cubicle.
“Dude, I really can’t talk right now. If I don’t finish this report—“
“You hear about that plane crash?”
Harry stops short. “— what?”
“Louis works in that area doesn’t he?”
“What?” Harry’s hand is frozen in midair, halfway towards scratching his neck.
“Yeah, some plane just rammed into one of the Twin Towers, I guess. Ben is—“
Harry’s blood doesn’t run cold and his heart doesn’t skip a beat. The wind isn’t knocked out of him and his stomach doesn’t drop.
He’s mostly just confused.
maybe if i got my timing right by @missandrogyny
Louis is aware, of course, that this all makes him sound like the heroine from Twilight, but it’s just. It’s been three years, that’s all. Three years and not once does Louis think that he’s moved on, not once has he met someone who made him feel how Zayn did. Who made his heart race with excitement, with euphoria. Who made him feel high without drugs, like he was walking around on a cloud. Who made Louis feel everything—all the highs and the lows—with startling, vivid clarity.
Which means that there must be some merit to his feelings, considering that it’s been three years and they’ve just consistently been…there. Unchanging. Unwavering.
And whereas before he could ignore them, pretend they weren’t there, he can’t now because Zayn’s getting fucking married. He’s getting hitched. He’s entering into a lifelong commitment with another person, one that’s going to kill all of Louis’ hopes with Zayn and probably his last, only shot at love.
So there really is no choice. Louis has to stop the wedding, confess to Zayn, and ultimately win Zayn back.
(Or: AU where Zayn is getting married to someone that isn’t Louis, and Louis enlists Harry’s help to stop the wedding.)
The Second Hand Unwinds by @fullonlarrie
Louis Tomlinson is one of the first members of NASA’s top secret Chrono Exploration Program. When things go wrong and he’s sent further back in time than planned, he has no other option than to show up on his ex-boyfriend’s doorstep.
deleted your number (so i can’t call you) by @tofiveohfive
Harry wakes up to a voicemail.
It’s Saturday morning and it’s raining, a barely there drizzle. He sees the notification as soon as he picks up his phone from the bedside table, bleary eyes making it hard to distinguish the words. He’s got a few instagram mentions, a couple unread texts, but what really stands out is the “Missed Call and Voicemail”.
From Louis.
Or the ten hours before Harry comes home to Louis, and the five hours after he does.
Walk That Mile by @purpledaisy
Harry stares at him, the line of his jaw standing out scarily. “I wanted to get the most out of this trip so I planned it carefully.” His voice is low and steady and somehow that’s worse than when he was yelling. “So far, you’ve put your sticky fingers on everything I’ve tried to do.”
“Sticky fingers?” Louis repeats, offended. “Are you saying it’s my fault you got stung by a bee? Had you been alone you would have gotten halfway to the Dotty Diner and ran the car off the road because of an allergic reaction, so don’t go blaming me.”
“Polk-A-Dot Drive In,” Harry spits before getting out of the car. He slams the door shut with a deafening reverb and Louis rolls his eyes.
-
A Route 66 AU where falling in love was never part of the plan.The End Should be a Good One by @anylessreal
It doesn’t feel like falling in love, the way it had felt the first time around, easy, simple, almost like floating, wrapped up in a whirlwind of touches and kisses, late nights spent laughing breathlessly into each other’s skin. This feels broken, complicated, like every move carries the weight of their past. Like the floorboards beneath them could collapse at any moment. This doesn’t feel good.
Or, the one where Harry loses the love of his life on New Years Eve and finds him again, six months later, ready to open some poorly-stitched wounds.
Moon Wrapped in Gold Paper by @larrymylove
Louis deadass just stared, willing himself to play it cool, to play it natural, to not look too shocked. So he lifted the apple to his lips and took a huge bite.
His mouth, his entire life, his very soul instantly filled with regret.
The roommate’s eyes widened in something akin to horror as Louis continued to chew the massive bite of red onion currently in his mouth.
“Uh….”
“Louis!” Liam called, coming down from the hallway and into the kitchen.
Louis continued to chew the onion, trying to smile around his current mouthful of solid, rancid….
“Is….that….an….onion?”
The first time Louis meets Harry, several things go very wrong.
Back to You and Tennessee by @rippedgloves
Louis Tomlinson rises to rock and roll fame at age twenty three and is thrown into a life of luxury and excess, but being on stage isn’t easy for a boy who has always stuck to the side-lines, and Louis struggles to deal with his new fame as he joins the Grand Ole Opry and is sent out on tour with names like Liam Payne and Elvis Presley. His life takes a turn, however, when his childhood role model, Harry Styles, joins them on tour, and the two become closer than two men in the spotlight are allowed to be.
-
OR, the one where Louis is Johnny Cash and Harry is June Carter
For Reasons Wretched and Divine by @indiaalphawhiskey
Ten years ago, Harry Styles was just a nerdy kid with one friend and a debilitating crush on the captain of his school’s football team. He thought the stars were smiling down on him the day he and Louis Tomlinson were paired for their end-of-term Literature project. But because Harry’s life is decidedly not a fairytale, the budding friendship quickly leads to the least happy ending of all time.
Now, Harry Styles is a household name. Barely twenty-seven with two Grammy nominations to his name, the singer-songwriter is poised to take the music industry by storm with his highly anticipated third album. So, what happens when the best producer in the business is also the only person Harry’s vowed never to speak to again?
An AU in two parts. Two boys, two stories, and hopefully, two chances at love.
i’m also going to add mine, because i finally finished it this year, and that is a goddamn accomplishment and i’m copying @crinkle-eyed-boo on this one 🤣
stars are guiding me back by @coffeelouis
Directing the first ever season of The Bachelor with a bisexual star is a huge career move for Louis. After throwing himself into his career, he finally has the opportunity to prove himself as a director with a unique vision.
For Harry, being cast as the first ever Bi Bachelor means finally putting his ex-boyfriend behind him and starting anew. He’s taking a chance on finding love and determined to do it right this time.
They didn’t exactly think this through.
[or, the BACHELOR AU where Louis directs his ex-boyfriend Harry in his season as America’s first bi bachelor.]
here’s to 2019! 🥂