lunabee34

I decided to restructure my memories so that instead of having actual fics saved there, I will have saved to my memories recs posts with links to fics. Hence this post. Most of these are fics that I read in the first days of my newbie fannishness, and as such, (here lies my great fandom shame) many of them I did not feedback. I think it's not initially apparent that feedback is a part of fandom culture, especially if you stumble upon fandom through an archive or websites (as I did) where you're not interacting with people like you do on lj. Once I'd been on lj for awhile (and became a writer myself!), I realized that feedback is an integral part of the fannish experience. It's an important part of building community. I now leave feedback for everything I read in its entireity on lj but must admit to not leaving feedback for much fic I read on sites or in archives, or for fic in a fandom I don't "belong" to, whatever that means. Like, I've feedbacked almost none of those Trek fics I've been reccing. I know that's very horrible and bad. Does anybody else do this? Feedback primarily to fics presented in a certain forum? Rec things without having feedbacked them? I am rambling!! Sorry.

Big Damn List of Buffyverse Recs

Angel

Dead Sea by

kita0610 Connor/Angel I have to admit I have a hard-core, down to my toes, Connor/Angel incest kink thing going on. And boy does this push all my buttons. Connor falls to his knees in front of Angel like bells breaking, like cathedrals crumbling. He reaches a hand out, squeezes hard, and the needs of Angel’s dick have always outweighed those of his soul.

One Perfect Moment by

tabaqui This Buffy/Angel ficlet is gorgeous, so beautiful you ache to read it (Her mouth has no fear - her mouth finds his, and his jaw, and his throat. Hesitates for a moment when no pulse beats against her questing tongue but then he's tasting the sweetness of her collar-bone, soap and her skin under his own tongue and her hesitation is gone.), and the conclusion. Oh, the conclusion. Damn.

Buffy

Restricted Supplement to the Watcher's Guide, Concerning Amatory Matters by

glossing B/O/G I put Oz in the middle of the pairing because he serves as the conduit between Buffy and Giles for me in this fic. Giles frowns slightly but when she elbows him again, his face lightens up. "There have been many occasions when Watchers married their Slayers, yes." There's that word again. "Their", like "mine" and "his", it's possession again, only, Buffy thinks, it's not really *possession*. More complicated than that. "No way," she says. She should be more grossed out than she actually is -- it's the idea of wearing a big white dress in a church with *Giles* next to her that's making her crack up. "Really?"

Connor

Imitation of Life by

nihilistbear Connor/Spike I love the way this fic is structured, with Connor's dual set of memories competing for his attention and validation. See, he hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected the memories to fight for dominance, hadn’t expected it to be so goddamn hard. He turns restlessly in his bed, and tries to sleep.

Sins of the Father by

nothingbutfic Connor/Angel, Connor/Holtz, Connor/Jasmine This is very clever, I think. I don't want to quote from it because it's very short and that would give much away. But a definite must read.

In Our Dreams, Snow by

violetsmiles This shows us Connor's first experience with snow, and shows us glimpses of his life in Quortoth as well as with the AI team. Like most Connor!fic, deliciously angsty and heart-rippy-outy.

Cordelia

A Better Where to Find by

doyle_sb4 This Cordelia-centric fic imagines that Cordy has ten more minutes that we don't see onscreen in which to say goodbye to the gang. She uses them to say goodbye to Connor. He looked different. He was still too skinny, and not very tall, and his brand new life clearly didn’t include a butch-er haircut. His eyes were different, though, when she got close enough to see them. He looked up and gave her a polite, shy smile, and his eyes weren’t haunted any more. The ending is particularly poignant and amazingly beautiful. Can't be praised highly enough, this fic.

Ethan

Five Decisions Ethan Rayne Never Made by

mireille719 I absolutely love the five things meme; I think it's such a wonderful format that creates a lot of possibility for a writer, and

mireille719 makes such excellent use of it. I really like her slashy take on Giles and Ethan's interactions when they were younger.

To Tell the Truth by

rayne_y_daze A gorgeous fic written just for moi!! This gen piece imagines that Ethan must truthfully answer questions put forth by the Scoobs in order to gain admittance into heaven. We also discussed it in

club_joss.

Fred

Loons Like Us by

glossing Fred and Spike, gen. Spike finds Fred reliving some of her memories of Pylea. "Spent some time in the dark and the damp myself," Spike says after a bit. This closet is sharp with chemical smells, nothing like the dust and moldering wet of various basements, but he's remembering those basements all the same. "Me, too," she says and laughs effortfully again. Her voice is thick and she smiles when he hands her a tissue without saying anything. She blows her nose, a great honking rattle, and balls up the tissue. "Sometimes, I - I miss it. Sometimes. That's stupid, isn't it?" Then they steal Angel's car. *hearts*

Tassels by

glossing Fred/Tara This fic supposes that Tara and Fred met once and relives the experience through Illyria's eyes. Very masterful use of POV and the shifts thereof. And lines like this: Fred is stronger than she ever thought, like a column of light and heat, twisting around Tara, ivy shooting around, tying them together, and she's never kissed a girl but holy sweet baby Jesus, she's *wanted* to, and Tara is soft and firm and tastes good and her hair gets in their mouths and they are laughing now as the storm lifts. are so. damn. good.

Giles

Once, as he Remembered, All Was Singing by

doyle_sb4 Buffy/Giles Another Five Things piece, this fic is almost too beautiful for words. She leaves him a gift that he puts under the tree, and when he walks her to the door she suddenly turns, stands on her toes to press an awkward kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” he says, for lack of anything else. “Merry Christmas.” At five in the morning he’s given up on sleep and moved to the sofa, turning her wrapped present over in his hands. It doesn’t require great analysis to reveal why he keeps dreaming of Buffy with a scar on her face, Buffy dying at the Master’s hands; in three weeks she turns eighteen.

What We Do And Say (A Guide to Saving the World, by Rupert Giles and Xander Harris) by

stoptocheer Giles and Xander gen This switches POV, but startes with Giles's, so I'll put it here. All the times I thought I was going to save the world, it was usually wearing a tuxedo and sweeping in on my private jet. Not almost dying and telling my best friend how much I love her. The voices here are beyond reproach and a delight to read.

Gunn

Sandcastles and Rainstorms by

missambs Gunn and Wes This fic is about the restoration of their relationship in early season five. There's magic and the beach and impeccable Gunn!voice, and it's so poignant.

Oz

All Along the Watchtower by

tesla321 This is about music and Oz and which albums remind him of which people. Water seem to run out of all the cracks in Oz's heart, which is why he was wandering down the sidewalks in his padded coat, staring in the windows of the record store. Elton John and the "Two Virgins" albums, "Eat a Peach" and Patsy Cline. It was kind of a surprise to see himself reflected on the albums, see his spikes of red-gold streaks palely alternating with Carole King's "Tapestry" and "Sweet Baby James" as he shifted his visual perception. Very melancholy and very lovely, one of my favorite combos.

The Twilight of Reality by

auditrix Oz/Connor This fic contains drug use and shifting realities and violence. Reading it is like watching reality disintegrate around you. Very well done. If you're confused about what's going on, there's an AN at the end that explains everything.

Riley

Reprise by

eliade Spike/Riley This is the first fic I read where Riley wasn't an evil murderer rapist who throws rocks at church windows, and it really opened my mind to the possiblities of Riley's character. It was a watershed moment for me in terms of my development as a slash reader. I very much love this fic.

Spander

Tallywhackers by

amejisuto and

suki_blue Let's just say anthropormorphized wee-wees and buttholes. It'll make ya split your sides.

Freaking by

entrenous88 This Spander piece focuses on decidedly less than angsty responses to Xander coming out of the closet with Spike firmly attached. Very fun and so nice to read something where all the Scoobies are friends and friendly with each other.

A Night of Naughty by

nasty_shrew This Spander fic was written especially for me (*hearts*) and features two of my very favorite things: drugs and boys in eyeliner. Fun, fun read.

Is it Real or Non-Believe? or Hitchhike to Hickelbob by

nasty_shrew Shrew took the title of this Spander piece from one of my student quotes posts (which are, sadly and for obvious reasons, flocked). This is one of my favorite fics, pretty much ever. Funny, sexy, and just, well, Shrew.

Engineer by

rayne_y_daze This Spander fic is written in memorium of Jimmy Doohan, and is a lovely tribute. RIP, Scotty.

Fifty Bucks Spander, of course. (Gosh it's hard to imagine

bloodclaim as a newbie comm as it's definitely the go-to for Spander now) This is, like all of

tabaqui's work, very well written and sensuous, but I bookmarked this one because it's just durn hot! :)

The Golden Wren by

tabaqui This Spander piece is glorious. Quoting my feedback to this fic, I still haven't read a thing Tabi's written that I haven't liked.

Without Price by

winterlive This two-part Spander piece is heavy on the angst, just the way I likes it. "You aren't a real Scooby and I don't love you. You aren't like my brother or my son. I could live anywhere I wanted, got lots of money. Don't need you to take care of me. If I yell at you, you can tell me to go fuck myself and I'll still talk to you. I'm here, I'm still here... oh, fuck, Xander..." The writer is very attentive to detail, and the fic is very much grounded in sense experience.

Spike

The Sound of Silence by

felisblanco Spike/Angel Spike is having a difficult time dealing with the acquisition of his soul and his resurrection. Spike has an accident that renders him coma-like, and then the POV shifts to Angel. This is heartbreaking, heartwrenching, and very much a fic of discovery for both characters involved.

Xander

The Beginning, Another Beginning, and Some Stuff That Happened In-Between by

stoptocheer Xander/Giles Set in season 4, this catalogues the slow evolution of a relationship. This writer has a true gift for dialogue. The spoken passages just zing off the page. Great read.

Tales of the Watchers by

stoptocheer Xander and Giles gen. This piece is set after "Becoming Parts 1 and 2" and "The Gift." Giles and Xander find some synchronicity in their responses to danger and trauma. This is sad, but gorgeous. And to me, in that last line, hopeful.