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#if you're like me and check the jily fic tag nearly every morning you've probably read most of these already
florenceafternoon · 25 days
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━。゜✿ jily fic recommendations ✿ ゜。━
Some more AUs I've been loving. I'm trying to alternate between AU and canon verse rec lists so bear with me. Remember that if you like a fic you should definitely let the author know as such.
For reference, anything in italics is taken from the summaries on ao3.
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theogony by @clare-with-no-i
The trip that Lily Evans expects to go on is the annual pre-dissertation jaunt to Athens with the rest of her Classical Civilizations PhD program. The trip she does not expect to go on is to 479 BCE, right on the cusp of one of the most important battles in the Greco-Persian war. Now, she has to navigate antiquity as she tries to find her way back to the 21st Century, God—or gods—help her.
James wants to win this war. No, James needs to win this war. He is a man of honor and duty, and even if it means dying a gruesome, bloody death, he will go down in history as one of Athens's great warriors. He will suffer no distractions; not even beautiful ones who speak strangely and refuse to listen to his orders.
 -- OR: The Outlander-Meets-Ancient-Greece Jily AU that no one asked for Maya dreams of.
I can't believe it took me this long to read this fic but OH MY GOD!! Clare's writing is phenomenal, I've known this for a while now, but THE DEDICATION TO HISTORICAL ACCURACY, I'm so impressed. If only I could put even half that amount of effort into my major essays for school. EVERYONE GO READ THIS NOW
Sweathearts' Special by @tinyluminaryzombie
What happens when your coffee shop nemesis, asks you to pretend to be a couple?
Or "I’ve been staring at the stupid cupcakes for the past hour, and they look way too good. Anyways, would you be willing to join forces and pretend to be together for the free cupcake and coffee?”
Welcome to Pettyville by @women-inthe-sequel
When Lily Evans accidentally sends a text to the wrong number, she isn’t expecting to find the right person behind it. She can’t stop talking to Prongs. The only thing is, Prongs can’t stop talking about the girl in his class. What could go wrong, other than the number?
A love square but it's just the same two idiots
Tall Dark and Glasses by @jamesunderwater
Tall Dark and Glasses (or TDG as he is more affectionately known) is the mysterious, painfully good-looking stranger who has been frequenting Lily's favourite coffee shop for months now. But despite having an embarrassing acronym for him, Lily, a burned-out STEM major, is too comfortable being a wallflower to go up to him herself. Thank god for playing cards, I guess.
coffee shops and copious amounts of sugar by @mystinkysocks
James decides to finally start revising, the coffee shop he attends introduces him to someone new!
As someone who spends an ungodly amount of time studying in public (at cafés and libraries), all I dream of is to one day live out my very own coffee shop AU
Unlicenced by @ohmygodshesinsane
Lily Evans begrudgingly agrees to get in the car with classmate and sometime-foe James Potter and his not-quite-earned P-plates after a particularly rubbish day.
Drop-Off also by @/ ohmygodshesinsane
James Potter takes Lily Evans home, and wants to make something clear.
Disclaimer that they’re Australian in this AU. You guys don't understand how much Lily Evans means to me. I want to give her a hug.
pretty, pretty boy by rosiemary0 (on ao3)
Pretty face, with golden brown eyes and strong cheekbones (one of which is adorned with a smudge of charcoal). Pretty hands—very, very pretty hands, Lily’s thoughts interject—which hold a jar each, one with water and the other paintbrushes.
Or the one where James is an artist and Lily hates socialising.
I'll Manage by @kaymardsa
James and Lily fall in love during the war.
In which Lily runs a refugee camp and James is an ex-sniper
I can't remember if I've recommended this fic already but again I recently re-read it and wanted to share
'Tis the Fucking Season by @thequibblah
Six-year absences. Yearly photograph burnings (figuratively). Low-cut tops. Two nosebleeds. Little red notebooks. The Past, with a capital P. The desire to pour your heart out to strangers (maybe pathologically). The desire to do unspeakably bad things to one James Potter. These are the ingredients that make up Lily Evans's holiday season.
Shelby the cabbie is in for a fucking ride.
I have been searching for this fic for two months and nearly gave up. An absolute classic that everyone should read!!
Two's a Crowd also by @/ thequibblah
Regency AU in which "the only thing Lily Evans can share with the Earl of Devon is a healthy dose of mutual dislike."
In Search of Something More by @kay-elle-cee
In the sunlit garden of her sister’s home, Lord Potter had promised Lily a life of her own design, with minimal expectations—her presence at community events, companionship, and an heir. As the two stumble into the routine of marriage and work to make a life together at Stinchcombe Hall, unsolicited feelings provoke each to start wondering if this is merely a marriage…or if it could be something more.
No, I will not shut up about this fic. Anything that Kelsey writes is bound to be amazing but this one holds a special place in my heart. Note that this is an ongoing fic though. I tend to recommend completed works but this one is too good not to include.
Pinkest Bluestocking of the Ton by @wearingaberetinparis 
Dearest Reader, the ton are abuzz with the latest gossip, and so it is my honour to impart to you the news that the Duke of Peverell has returned to London at last! A year after setting off on his tour of Europe, Lady Peverell's son has returned and rumour has it that his mother is preparing for the most joyous of occasions: a late summer wedding that sees her son wed the next Duchess of Peverell. It is my sincere hope that you have stored a bottle of wine for this most delightful of upcoming events for if ever there were a more determined mama, this writer is Icarus and this society paper has been scorched for flying too close to the sun.
A Jily Regency Romance inspired by Shondaland's "Bridgerton".
Again this is an ongoing fic, but it's too good not to include in this rec list! I haven’t caught up with all the chapters yet but I love the story so far!
A Heart of Coal also by @/ wearingaberetinparis
They say fortune favours the bold, yet Lily Evans was given her death sentence at seventeen. As soon as midnight strikes on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, her heart will turn to coal. Gryffindor knight James Potter, however, is the last to accept such a fate. For while Lily Evans’ curse foretells her death, his foreshadows a life without his unrequited true love at his side.
Fairytale AU in which the love is requited they're just idiots
Three Lemons and a Dragon by @thelighthousestale
Once upon a time, there lived a Prince named James who had to save his father's Kingdom by getting married. One day an older woman gifts him three lemons that will lead him to his true love.
Dillweed in a Fancy Metal Can by @eastwindmlk
When Lily gets dragged to a Renaissance Faire, she reluctantly agreed to go to the jousting event where she is pulled into the show against her will, or is it?
Lily represents me
Queen Foxtail also by @/ eastwindmlk
Once Upon A Time...
There was an arrogant prince who turned down every suitable match and drove his parents to do something drastic. Marry him off to the next merchant that steps through their gates.
across the universe by rcdwings (on ao3)
“So, you’re saying that in these other worlds, James Potter and Lily Evans exist, too?”
She hadn’t expected to hear that, hadn’t even thought about it that way. She was too busy thinking about if in those other worlds, she and her friends could be seventeen and free instead of the war torn teenagers they were. Now that he’d put it that way, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander.
“I would assume so,” she swallowed. “Not sure what we would be like, though.”
A beat, then a soft hum. “Anything,” he smiled at her, “There are countless worlds, right? We could be anything.”
only love can hurt like this by @fireblts 
Lily doesn’t quite know everything, but it feels pretty close.
The main thing she still doesn’t get is soulmates. Love doesn’t seem like something that should be painful. Or rather, love seems like it’s painful enough on its own without any help.
Soulmate AU - whenever your soulmate is hurt or in pain, you can feel it too.
Soulmate AUs are my comfort genre of fics. I haven't been feeling to well lately and rediscovering this fic was a delight
The Librarian of Hogsmeade Village by @ohmygodshesinsane
Lily's work as a librarian in the small village of Hogsmeade has kept her occupied for the past six years, forever keeping the wheels of the town on the track. As the holidays approach, she prepares to settle in with a nice mug of tea and a well-thumbed old book. When a new resident and his son arrive at her weekly story-reading, with cheeky smiles and big hearts, those plans are tossed out the window in favour of chasing love, for once - not escaping it.
Lily living the cozy life of my dreams. I think it's well known by now that I love reading about single parents and well James with his baby boy always puts a smile on my face.
Spitting Image by @charmsandtealeaves
James Potter always knew he wanted to build a family, he just hadn’t found the right person to build it with - yet. Freezing his sperm at Gringotts Sperm Bank was a no-brainer really. He’d have children when he found the right person, and now he had an insurance policy. Then Lily Evans walked into his place of work with her son - the spitting image of him.
linking this art that the talented @constancezin drew inspired by this fic
Every time I see that Ray has updated, reading the new chapter becomes the highlight of my day
The Stag Prince Across The Sea also by @/ charmsandtealeaves
The realm of Hogwarts had lived for decades in a carefully negotiated harmony between the leaders of the four clans. However, when the time came for son to marry daughter, the Slytherin King refused to offer his daughter's hand to any of the other grand houses’ suitors. As the Slytherin King departed the shore, bound for the ship that would allow him to escape across the Green Sea, he cast a curse on the great families.
“Let ye be marked. Marred by tooth, hoof, and claw. May your sons never be fit for any bride!”
Slytherin invoked an ancient magic, which transformed each family's eldest son into creatures under the light of the full moon. The Kings searched far and wide for a cure to no avail while trying to keep secret the wrong that had been done to them. Years passed and with them grew a sense of unrest, a kingdom on the precipice of collapse...
what love is, I think by @potterandevans-blog-blog
It's James Potter's birthday, his nineteenth to be exact. Some people, if they're lucky, find a tattoo on their back on their nineteenth birthday, a tattoo that can help them discover their soulmate. And if the antlers on his back are anything to go by, James might just have a soulmate of his own out there, somewhere.
oil be there for you by @abby10fanfic
Texting/Social Media AU: Lily and James haven't spoken for 2 years. But that's all about to change thanks to Peter and his involvement in an essential oil pyramid scheme. Featuring boss babes, toxin-free lifestyles, binding contracts, and a very oily journey.
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