One Direction recs
More updates here and added to the masterpost. Behind the cut: 2 Harry/Nick, 2 Liam/Louis, 1 Louis/Zayn, 2 Harry/Niall, 2 Louis/Niall, 1 multiship.
Harry/Nick
A Flexible Metaphor, by pukeadcry, 22k. Vampire Nick turns Harry to save his life. In the way of a certain class of AU, this takes a dynamic that already exists between the characters--in this case, that Nick is older and more worldly than Harry, with all that implies--and heightens it via the AU conceit in order to explore it more fully. I really love that kind of AU, and this one's great, too, although I think the central secret-keeping is carried on for a bit longer than I would have preferred. Good supporting turns from Louis and Aimee as well. This carries with it some angsty implications for their lives (which are explored in the text) but the central romance is really lovely, and the rules of the AU quite interesting even apart from their metafictional uses.
untitled, by ymorton, 4k. Fingering plus sex crying. Very nice.
Liam/Louis
Skip the Charades, by Ferritin4, 7k. X-Factor era, a slightly unusual characterization where sweet, kind Liam pulls whenever he wants, both boys and girls. But not everyone is quite as chill about it as Liam is, particularly Louis. Very sweet early Liam/Louis stuff.
Practice Makes Perfect, by mistresscurvy, 26k. Following the accidental OTRA kiss, Liam asks Louis for help learning how to kiss (and more) with boys. A bit of gentle misunderstanding, some good sex, and super cute Liam/Louis stuff.
Louis/Zayn
A suitcase under each one of my eyes and Can you see the enemy just isn't me tonight? by becka, 9k and 3k. Louis breaks up with Eleanor and starts hooking up with Zayn again before he leaves the band. They've had sex before, but not this seriously. The sequel is a time they meet up after Zayn has already left. A lot of this is in Louis's head--Louis's perceptions of the events, what Zayn thinks about him--and one thing I like about the sequel in particular is that you can see things that maybe weigh against Louis's interpretation, but you can also understand why his interpretation is what it is. Also, quite hot, if you're into that kind of thing.
Harry/Niall
the one with all the football, by irishmizzy and miss_bennie, 125k. A uni AU, set in the boys' senior year at a Midwestern Big 10-type university (like the one I attended). In the midst of the upheaval of friend and romantic breakups as well as their upcoming graduation, Niall and Harry start hanging out, and then sleeping together. This felt very true to what I remember from being at a university like this--the drinking and sports culture, but also the conglomerated friend groups who do everything together, and what the final year is like, etc. It's a bit longer than it needs to be, but all of it is a good and interesting reinterpretation of OTRA as a year in college, and the Niall/Harry stuff is particularly nice.
Always Wanna Blow Your Mind, by jibrailis, 18k. Harry picks up a magic sex ring. Along with his one-night stands, he starts sleeping with Niall, and then just with Niall. More than a bit of slapstick comedy in this but some nice warm and fuzzy feelings too.
Louis/Niall
I can hear your heart, by balefully, 22k. Niall and Louis start hooking up before the hiatus, and then during, and Niall gets pregnant. I've heard this kind of thing called pining plus--that is, they're hooking up but not talking about emotions much, so it's pining while you have part of what you want. At least one laugh-out-loud funny scene, lots of pining, some hot sex, and a happy ending (though it came a bit sooner than I wanted).
draw back your bow, by gorgeousnerd, 14k. Niall is a cupid--a magical being whose job is to help people with their relationships (this can be romantic or just friendship). He gets assigned Louis, but no information on how he's supposed to help him, so he tries to set up lots of friend dates, sometimes with the help of his fellow cupids (the LIC). Some unusual background relationships and a different progression than most fic relationships--slower and less sexual, which I appreciated here (though I like the sexual ones too of course). And some pretty interesting worldbuilding too, if you like that sort of thing!
Multiple ships
Doctor Styles's Home for Wayward Boys, by axira, 24k. So uh...we're gonna pretend I never recced this, right? Just, if you like Victorian medical kink that's mostly people putting things up Louis's butt, read this.
Harry/Nick
A Flexible Metaphor, by pukeadcry, 22k. Vampire Nick turns Harry to save his life. In the way of a certain class of AU, this takes a dynamic that already exists between the characters--in this case, that Nick is older and more worldly than Harry, with all that implies--and heightens it via the AU conceit in order to explore it more fully. I really love that kind of AU, and this one's great, too, although I think the central secret-keeping is carried on for a bit longer than I would have preferred. Good supporting turns from Louis and Aimee as well. This carries with it some angsty implications for their lives (which are explored in the text) but the central romance is really lovely, and the rules of the AU quite interesting even apart from their metafictional uses.
untitled, by ymorton, 4k. Fingering plus sex crying. Very nice.
Liam/Louis
Skip the Charades, by Ferritin4, 7k. X-Factor era, a slightly unusual characterization where sweet, kind Liam pulls whenever he wants, both boys and girls. But not everyone is quite as chill about it as Liam is, particularly Louis. Very sweet early Liam/Louis stuff.
Practice Makes Perfect, by mistresscurvy, 26k. Following the accidental OTRA kiss, Liam asks Louis for help learning how to kiss (and more) with boys. A bit of gentle misunderstanding, some good sex, and super cute Liam/Louis stuff.
Louis/Zayn
A suitcase under each one of my eyes and Can you see the enemy just isn't me tonight? by becka, 9k and 3k. Louis breaks up with Eleanor and starts hooking up with Zayn again before he leaves the band. They've had sex before, but not this seriously. The sequel is a time they meet up after Zayn has already left. A lot of this is in Louis's head--Louis's perceptions of the events, what Zayn thinks about him--and one thing I like about the sequel in particular is that you can see things that maybe weigh against Louis's interpretation, but you can also understand why his interpretation is what it is. Also, quite hot, if you're into that kind of thing.
Harry/Niall
the one with all the football, by irishmizzy and miss_bennie, 125k. A uni AU, set in the boys' senior year at a Midwestern Big 10-type university (like the one I attended). In the midst of the upheaval of friend and romantic breakups as well as their upcoming graduation, Niall and Harry start hanging out, and then sleeping together. This felt very true to what I remember from being at a university like this--the drinking and sports culture, but also the conglomerated friend groups who do everything together, and what the final year is like, etc. It's a bit longer than it needs to be, but all of it is a good and interesting reinterpretation of OTRA as a year in college, and the Niall/Harry stuff is particularly nice.
Always Wanna Blow Your Mind, by jibrailis, 18k. Harry picks up a magic sex ring. Along with his one-night stands, he starts sleeping with Niall, and then just with Niall. More than a bit of slapstick comedy in this but some nice warm and fuzzy feelings too.
Louis/Niall
I can hear your heart, by balefully, 22k. Niall and Louis start hooking up before the hiatus, and then during, and Niall gets pregnant. I've heard this kind of thing called pining plus--that is, they're hooking up but not talking about emotions much, so it's pining while you have part of what you want. At least one laugh-out-loud funny scene, lots of pining, some hot sex, and a happy ending (though it came a bit sooner than I wanted).
draw back your bow, by gorgeousnerd, 14k. Niall is a cupid--a magical being whose job is to help people with their relationships (this can be romantic or just friendship). He gets assigned Louis, but no information on how he's supposed to help him, so he tries to set up lots of friend dates, sometimes with the help of his fellow cupids (the LIC). Some unusual background relationships and a different progression than most fic relationships--slower and less sexual, which I appreciated here (though I like the sexual ones too of course). And some pretty interesting worldbuilding too, if you like that sort of thing!
Multiple ships
Doctor Styles's Home for Wayward Boys, by axira, 24k. So uh...we're gonna pretend I never recced this, right? Just, if you like Victorian medical kink that's mostly people putting things up Louis's butt, read this.