Proof that the remaining 10% is worth going through Yoko Taro's wild ride for.
These are recommendations made by Tropers for NieR: Automata fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.
You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.
Authors and Websites
General Fics
Play Dead
by letterfromsilentheaven
- Recommended by: zanyotaku
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: After learning the truth, 9S survives an attempt on his life that is nearly successful. As he recovers, he is forced to decide what's more important to him: His revenge, or his mind. [Endgame spoilers]
- Comments: The fic explores some interesting ideas about the world of NieR: Automata, and keeps readers on their toes with plenty of action and suspense throughout.
NieR to Death
- Recommended by: AyaSai
- Status: Ongoing
- Synopsis: You've awoken in a world you've never seen before, which follows some rules you've never known. Welcome, reader, to the world of NieR: Automata.
- Comments: An interesting story in first-person perspective as the reader named Theodore, a human from 2018, that somehow got transported to the year 11945 (without knowledge of the game's existence), and his encounter with YoRHa and other androids, while trying to figure out what happen to the rest of mankind and why he's here.
Fractured
by Mrfipp- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Status: One-Shot
- Synopsis: On a mission to discover the cause of several recent disappearances, 2B and 9S come across a dying machine, and a dark stain from the past comes back. [Post-Endgame]
Beach Day, but in the Desert
by Mrfipp- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Status: One-Shot
- Synopsis: 2B takes a simple day off, as well as reflects a bit. [Post-Endgame]
In Remembrance
by Mrfipp- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Status: One-Shot
- Synopsis: 2B knows what it is like to mourn, and YoRHa is remembered. [Post-Endgame]
Shipping Fics
revolving lantern by aetherae
- Recommended by: zanyotaku, thisistroublesome
- Status: Ongoing
- Pairing: 2B/9S
- Synopsis: They love each other with all the words there ever were.
- A series of short drabbles focused on the relationship between 2B and 9S. Can be very cute and fluffy or more tragic and angsty depending on the chapter, but it's definitely worth a read for fans of 9S/2B.
[G]ravesite
by thefishingline- Recommended by Skylight
- Status: Complete
- Pairing: 2B/9S
- Synopsis: 2B discovers her grave. 9S is 9Sheepish about it. [Route C/D & Endgame Spoilers]
- Comments: The fic explores the emotional aftermath after Route E as 2B stumbles upon 9S' gesture of grief and tribute, with 9S being greatly uncomfortable about it. It touches on their individual guilt and how they are both unused to openly talking about the way they feel. Somewhat of a fix-it fic for fans who would like a happier, more conclusive end (though it does have its brief moments of angst). Overall a fateful and wholesome fic that hints at a hopeful future for the pair.
Purpose on the Oil Field
by Mrfipp- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Status: One-Shot
- Synopsis: There were other survivors from the fall of YoRHa, and two of them contemplate what they will do with there lives now.
- Comments: A cute comedy drabble with the two doped-up androids from the oil deposit in the Sand Zone. [Post-Endgame]
Crossovers
To Inherit the Future by Kronecker Delta.
- Recommended by: Download, Kanopy, Bearpaw
- Status: Ongoing (last updated on 27th Jan 2020)
- Synopsis: Nothing good had ever fallen from the sky.
The first such incident brought the apocalypse. The sky cracking open and an abomination that should never have been finding its resting place in a city once called Tokyo. Even dead its decaying flesh carried a profane curse, and the trackless particles of the grotesque creature damned all who inhaled it to death.
...
And their unsaid prayers were answered by the second invasion. - Comments: A seamless universe fusion that avoids nearly all of the standard Mass Effect clichés.
Ghost in the Machine
by AMX004_Qubeley.- Recommended by: OneArmedDragon
- Crossover with: Undertale
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: It is the 112th Century Anno Domini. For centuries upon centuries android soldiers have fought against mechanical lifeforms of alien origin to retake the surface of the Earth. But to a forgotten kingdom of creatures deep beneath an unexplored mountain somewhere on the desolate Earth, the space-borne entities strewn across the planet fighting for dominance may as well not exist at all.
For 2B and 9S, this kingdom and its strange inhabitants may prove to be a sanctuary... if they can stop their past from catching up to them. - Pairing(s): Alphys/Undyne, familial 2B & 9S
- Comments: An unusual yet well-written crossover that explores what would happen if 2B and 9S fell into the Underground instead of the Human Child. It goes as well as you'd expect an encounter between monsterkind and two military robots built to fight to go... at first. Much like Nier: Automata, this story has multiple routes, and it remixes the canon plot and lore of Undertale to create a fresh story that keeps readers guessing, even those familiar with both series. Highly recommended if you're a fan of both.
The Long Night at the End of the World
by AMX004_Qubeley.- Recommended by: Draconic
- Crossover with: Castlevania
- Status: Unfinished
- Synopsis: After one last battle with Dracula, Alucard awakens to find himself in a world far bleaker than he could ever imagine. On Earth, there is not a single human to be found; the crumbling ruins of civilization are ravaged by hordes of machines built by alien invaders. But machines are the least of his worries—the dark forces he is all too accustomed to are brewing once again, poised to unleash a terror the likes of which the world has never seen before as the sun sets and the long night begins. What will Alucard fight for in a world without humans to protect? Who will join him? And who will oppose him?
- Pairing(s): 2B/9S, A2/A4, Alucard/Popola
- Comments: Much like Ghost in the Machine, this is an unusual crossover, but it's exceptionally well-written, and integrates the worlds of Castlevania and NieR surprisingly well. It takes place just after the beginning of the game, but YoRHa's war on the machines is interrupted when it seems that vampires are able to infect androids and even machine lifeforms. AMX004_Qubeley excels at writing action sequences, keeping encounters interesting with creative use of environmental factors, interruptions by other characters, and nigh-perfect use of varied diction.
- This story also has some of the best portrayals of NieR: Automata's characters this troper has seen to date, with some of the highlights being how well 2B's inner turmoil is portrayed, Commander White's imposing presence any time she enters a scene (it's very satisfying to see her have her facade broken every now and then), as well as the members of Anemone's camp — with obvious emphasis on Devola, Popola and Jackass. Jackass is truly hilarious in this story, but she's not the only source of humor. In the later chapters of the story (as of this post), Trevor Belmont has a brief cameo — yes, with his foul-mouthed, drunken, and ultimately good-natured personality from the animation — and it's a screaming riot from start to finish.
- Unfortunately, AMX004_Qubeley is much more focused on a different story at the moment, but they're still updating, albeit much more slowly.
How Human Are They?
by Toskie- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: Persona 3
- Status: Ongoing
- Synopsis: It's been a year since the peace treaty between The Army of Humanity and The Machine Peace Faction was signed. Everyone is living a good life alongside each other. One day, a strange phenomenon unheard of by the Androids and Machines alike starts to appear along with a blue-haired boy who is familiar with it.
Remnants of the Moon
by Nap1400- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: Persona 3
- Status: Dormant; last updated September 2018
- Synopsis: 10,000 years ago, a monster from another dimension brought humanity to the brink of extinction. That much is common knowledge. What's less known is that there were monsters before this disaster known as Shadows that were already threatening humanity, and they remain on Earth in secret. At least until a mad scientist discovers an ancient android with the power to fight them...
Crocodile Tears
by AlcatrazisGod- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: Fire Emblem: Awakening
- Status: Dormant; last updated April 2018
- Synopsis: 2B finds herself stranded in the middle of a surreal forest crawling with twisted sadists and nightmarish monsters. When she encounters an amnesia-stricken 9S, she sets out to investigate the two strangers who have taken advantage of his confusion. With her own memories either lost or disheveled, she struggles to figure out how she came to such a place and how to escape it.
Humanity's Children
by Scarlet-MagicianX26- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: Mass Effect
- Status: Dormant (last updated July 2017)
- Synopsis: More than two hundred years after the 14th Machine War, the androids of Earth continue to follow the final orders of their creators, marching ruthlessly across the stars at breakneck speeds. However, as they meet a galactic civilization undergoing a turbulent change, they face their first test as sapient beings…
One Punch Servo
by Empty Boundaries- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: One-Punch Man
- Status: One-Shot
- Synopsis: In which the machine known as Father Servo finds a volume of One Punch Man amidst the ruins of civilisation.
- Comments: A humourous one-shot where Father Servo becomes like Saitama.
A Reason to Fight
by Acerze- Recommended by: Nightelf 37
- Crossover with: KanColle
- Status: Dormant (last updated April 2017)
- Synopsis: Three androids found out the truth. The war they'd been fighting, the reason they existed, it was all a lie. But now they have another chance: the Abyssal Fleet threatens humanity in another world. It might just be what they're looking for. It could be their reason to fight.
