lunabee34

It's becoming the trend in this journal, the extended rec of a single work, but I can't help it. I have a dissertation to avoid.

allyndra wrote Speak Comfort for me in the Xander round of maleslashminis, and I am completely taken with this fic.

Although I can get behind the AU or fics that controvert or ignore parts of canon, my absolute favorite approach as a fic reader and writer is to embrace canonicity. Almost everything I write could exist behind the scenes of canon. This story is completely canon-compliant which sweetens the deal for me as fic recipient. The dialogue was obviously snatched straight from the brain of Joss Whedon, as is the wonderful mix of subtle humor and pathos.

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN WHY I LOVE THIS STORY, Y'ALL.

Because how's this

He’d always admired Riley to an extreme degree. He couldn’t aspire to Giles’ knowledge and experience, couldn’t hope for Oz’s wit and cool. Hell, he’d never wanted Angel’s mystique, and he’d known the bitterness under Spike’s snark too well to want that. Of all of the guys (few though they were) who had really touched their little group, Riley was the only one Xander had wanted to be.

for a ship manifesto? Couple that with some really insightful commentary on Riley's relationship to the Scoobies, to Buffy, and to the Army and add in a dash of Riley and Xander both struggling to figure out their respective places in the good fight and what you end up with is some massive Lorraine!love.

Instant classic, yo.

Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property by Helenish; Harry Potter; Neville/Draco
I really like this story very much. Draco and Neville are forced to get married which seems a ridiculous premise (and perhaps still is, even though it works so wonderfully well in this fic). Draco is so diminished here--not defeated but dying by degrees, and Lucius is a very plausible villain. Not the Overlord of Rapery as he is depicted in so many fics, but evil nonetheless. I found myself fascinated at the way Draco throws himself into his new domestic role. Good read.

Roller by zimshan; SPN
This vid is fantastic. It's an amazing tribute to all those awesome chicks we love and don't get to keep. This is a (bitter)sweet piece of meta.

Greatforce's Buffy Rec List

Chrisleeoctave's Massive Rec Buffy Rec List, Fan Created

some permutation of Connor, Spike and Dawn by ladycat777
I don't know the verse Ladycat is writing in, so on some level I'm not really sure what's happening here exactly. On all the other levels, I *get* this, viscerally. The way Spike sees Dawn, her potential; the way he sees Connor; hell, the way he sees *himself* here--it's written in words that fall together like coins in the palm of the hand--the music of metal on metal, weighty, a deep cold that warms to the touch. *lovely*

Take this Waltz by _dellamore; Adult; Xander-centric
In this story, Xander is turned into a vampire, and I think it's the best, darkest, most plausible, discomfitting characterization of Vamp!Xan I've ever read. Just wow. THIS HAS SEVENTEEN COMMENTS WHICH IS A TRAVESTY, FOLKS. *boggles*

Xander Harris and the Dark Lord: An Excrutiating Correspondence by powerofthebook
Just what it says on the tin: Xander-centric gen in which he and Dracula remain pen pals. It's by turns funny and strangely heartwarming.

Easy by drsquidlove
Giles/Xander
I think that what I like most about this piece is the slow reveal, the tiny fragments of clues that let the reader in on what's happened between G/X. All aboard the angst train! Steamer's pulling out of the station.

Hands Down Part 1 and Part 2 by drsquidlove
Giles/Xander
This is really, really hot and also a plausible version of season-four Xander that is rather more mature and careful than he is usually depicted in that era. Xander always rises to the occasion (except matrimonial ones *sigh*) and it doesn't surprise me in the least that he possesses some skill as a caregiver. This is a nicely done piece of h/c.

Backseat driver in a car of love by glossing
Oz/Devon/Saul Silver
After watching Pineapple Express, I had the strong feeling that James Franco should be in everything--my movies, my TV, my fanfic, my living room. :) I love the way Gloss writes Oz and Devon, always have from pretty much day #1 of newbie fannishness, and that doesn't disappoint here.

Longest. Day. Ever. by shadowscast
Spike/Xander
I am a sucker for Ground Hog day ripoffs. I cannot tell you the joy they bring to me. This is a fun one.

The Watcher's Diary of Lydia Chalmers by alixtii
I love that Lydia becomes a real and complex person here, not a joke or a sham, but a real person on a real quest for truths. Good read.

By Any Other Name and Louder than Words by lyrstzha
Spike/Lindsey
Remember how Lindsey pretends to be Doyle? Here, he's not so much pretending. I love Lyr's Lindsey, and I love her Spike, and I love the way she puts the perfect words in her characters' mouths.

Gateverse

In the flesh and in the clod by troyswann; Sam-centric team gen
Those of you who read Gateverse fic know that Salieri is an amazing writer, but I would recommend that even those of you who aren't into SG-1 read this story. This is what it means to be Team, what it means to be Scoobies, what it means to be fugitives on Moya. This is what happens when your family is of your own choosing.

The Lost Expedition by Chaletian; SGA future fic; gen
This is freaking brilliant is what this is. Wow. *boggles* I am ever so reminded of A.S. Byatt's The Biographer's Tale which is so deliciously frustrating for all it's wonderful ambiguity. You wanna know how to craft a story? How to write a mystery? How to create suspense? How to make heart ache with hope and regret simultaneously? Hie thee hither, folks.

Solitary by esteefee; McShep
So, who wants to read a primer on how to write John Sheppard? This is one of those stories that's all about the little things, the tiny tiny character grace notes, the smallest observation.

SPN

Untitled We Saved the Fucking World OMG and Ellen and Jo are awesome snippet by rogue_clasique
“You drink better than anyone,” Sam says fiercely. “Better than anyone I ever met in the whole goddamn world, Dean.” *heart in throat*

Exiles by nwhepcat; XOVER with Buffyverse; Oz/OFC
This is set during "Mystery Spot," and while it's a story about Sam, it's really more a story about Oz and a woman named Alice who is transgendered. It's about love and sacrifice and HOW FREAKING COOL OZ IS ALWAYS AND FOREVER AMEN. It's also an exemplar of a what a successful OC reads like.

Leave My Heart Out of This by elles18; J2 AU
JARED AND JENSEN ARE FAKE BOYFRIENDS OMG! BEST FAKE LOVER STORY I HAVE EVER READ EVER EVER EVER! Dude, when I click on the tag to link y'all, THERE ARE TIMESTAMPS! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO LORRAINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sam's Best Friends He Doesn't Know About by clex_monkie89; Stanford gen
This is a five things piece and what a doozy. It's been five seasons and we all know that Winchesters can be clueless when it comes to things that really matter. *passes out tissues*

Trek 09

The Story of Creation by tinocka; Kirk/Spock, Spock!Prime/OMC, other tangential pairings both het and slash
I think that what I love most about this fic is that while this is a story about the Kirk and Spock of the reboot universe, it is mostly a story about Spock!Prime and Kirk!Prime and the courage, the determination, the tenacity of a SP who will wring out of this life he has now all the joy he can muster when he knows so well what he has left behind. This is a tearjerker, but always with joy threaded through the tears.

lie back and think of Starfleet by curiouslyfic; Kirk/Sulu
So this is where the hoshit comes from. LOL I find this a rollicking good tale of hilarity, misunderstanding, and epiphany. I wish I could take my laptop in the bathtub for yea verily this is the sort of tale I would read therein if I were able.

We Have Loved the Stars Too Brightly to be Fearful of the Night by brighteyed_jill; Chekov/McCoy
Okay. This is not a pairing that in thirty years of watching Star Trek I'd ever considered, but *man* does it work here. This is ye old slave fic in all it's glory, and I can't say I've ever turned down that particular brand of h/c.

The Most Precious Thing by soloproject; Chekov/Sulu
This is such an exquisite character study, such a lovely lovely bit of worldbuilding for StarFleet. There is such a sweetness that runs so deep through this work. *loves*

For Brethren to Dwell Together by jessofthebugs; Gen
Turns out that Chanukah, Solstice, Ramadan, and Christmas coincide in 2258. It would be really nice if we didn't have to wait that long for this kind of ecumenical solidarity.

The Price He Pays (The Luxor Casino Inevitability Remix) by bruttimabuoni; [BtVS/AtS; Wesley, the last Guardian]

Fever Dreams (The Five Times Remix) by irisbleufic; [Good Omens, Aziraphale/Crowley, R]

Missing Hawk (The Anger Turned Sideways Remix) by eponymous_rose; (M*A*S*H; Hawkeye; PG-13)

Not Proper (Chinese Boxes remix) by penknife; [Peter Pan, George Darling/Captain Hook]

Congrats, You've Met Your Match (The Space Captain Remix) by roga; [Star Trek XI/Stargate Atlantis; Sheppard/Kirk; Adult]

Prism (Falling Feather Extended Jam) by nwhepcat; [Castiel-centric gen; Firely Xover]

No one Said it Would Be This Hard (the find you in the dark remix) by musesfool; [SPN; Smith and Wesson]

Jo (Brewed Under a Bad Sign Remix) by dark_roast; [SPN]

Grace (Let Down Your Hair Remix) by extraonions; [SPN; Anna/Dean; Adult]

The Gospel of Robert Singer (the Heavenly Choir Remix) by vylit; [SPN]

Grounded (This is Not my Beautiful Life Mix) by kyuuketsukirui; [HP; Ginny/Luna; Ginny/Harry; Adult]

OMG, y'all. (I was almost gonna ask penknife what part of GA s/he's from, but then I chickened out) How did I get so many bookmarks? *cries* Short and blurby. Gotta save my wrists for other things.

You're Still Here by Loki; SPN; Sam/Dean
I love vids that tell a clear narrative the most and this is a fine example. While I could do without the manips (it's weird; as much as I love Wincest, I am not a huge fan of the manips because I think that canon does a good enough job of convincing me they're sleeping together without manipulating the footage in a way that always looks false to me no matter how well it's done), I think this is a very touching vid about how Dean knows exactly how dark Sam is and how he will never forsake his little brother no matter what.

Run for Our Lives by NYCalls 0909; SPN; Sam and Dean
I love the grainy, smudgy filter over all the footage. It makes me feel like even more of a voyeur.

Dean Winchester, God's Gonna Cut You Down by saintmaverick; SPN; Dean
Gotta love the Cash. Such exquisite black and white.

Bohemian Like You by astolat; SGA; McShep with a side of Ronon
I LOVE THIS VID!!!!!! I first saw it when cathexys burned me seasons two and three of SGA and she generously included a DVD of fanvids. I defy you not to love this vid. It's just so cheekily edited.

I Am/Lamb by *flails* It is lim? SGA; John
It's the Cash again (I kinda think that cover album was the best thing he ever did. *ducks the lightning like a proper blasphemer*) This is the kind of thing I have no words for. What's going on visually in this vid is technically beyond my capacity to describe, so um...fire bad, vid pretty? This looks like some bizarre surveillence video that the Ancients took from another plane.

Whatever by Luminosity and Sisabet; Ats
Angel sure does get around doesn't he? *guffaws*

Ing by laurashapiro; BtVS; Anya
I think that Anya just might be my very favorite female Jossverse character and this vid is such a wonderful character study of her.

James Marsters covering The Cars: You know, I dig it and then it makes me giggle madly. You'll know when. Josh is going to divorce me over this song. It was a dealbreaker. *g*

I'm going through all my rec posts, retagging, for I am lame and originally did such in the most asinine way, and I'm rediscovering all these awesome fics that I want to share again with you guys.

So, let's make a meme. You have to distill your fandom(s) into three fics, the three fics that best represent what this fandom means to you--its potential, its power, the reason you keep coming back again and again to these characters--the three fics that define what this fandom means to you. And, for good measure, throw in a fic of your own. Which of your own fics do you think best captures what it is you love about the particular fandom?

As for me:

BUFFYVERSE

Nice Shirt by glossing; Xander/Oz; Adult
I have probably re-read this story more than any other in any fandom since I got on this train. I keep coming back to it for its quiet, for the way it feels absolutely true and right without being showy or gimmicky. I love this fic for its nods to canonicity; there is nothing here that could not have happened during commercial breaks. This is not an AU, or a fic in which the reader must suspend her disbelief. The sex here is powerful--transformative--while at the same time making both Xander and Oz more themselves. This is the glorious mix of the hopeful and the hurty we all strive for when we write; this is the piece that makes me wish most of all that I'd been in on the ground floor of the Buffyverse fandom. That I'd been there from the beginning with all the rest of you, making these characters over into something new and yet achingly familiar.

Sweet, Sour, and Sweet Again (the Monster at the End of this Book Remix) by wisdomeagle; Fred and Cordy gen; PG
This piece is brilliantly constructed. I'm mad for clever narratives and this is certainly a fic that plays with narrative and highlights our complicity as readers in the narrative arc. This is the fic that reminds me that the characters we write love and die and are born and are hurt and feel joy because WE MAKE THEM DO SO. This is meta fic at its absolute finest. This is the fic that defines for me who we are and what we do when we say, "What if . . . ."

In the Bleak Midwinter by annakovsky; Xander/Dawn; PG-13
This is the fic I come back to, again and again, when I want to remember that after the screen fades to black in "Chosen," these characters keep living. They still have so much life left; they're just children; that end is a beginning more than anything else. This is a holiday fic, which y'all should know by now Lorraine is a sucker for any day, and it's such a wonderful renegotiation of the roles we saw play out canonically. This is beautiful and *real* and it hurts like a deep breath on a very cold day.

Something Elemental by lunabee34; Faith/Buffy; Adult
This is the first fic I wrote in which I really understood what I wanted my fic *to do.* This is when I first realized that canonicity would always interest me in a way that the AU never could, when I first realized that what happens that we aren't privy to is often much more interesting than what we do see. This is also the most Jossian thing I think I've written; it's pretty much a bitchslap and poignant as hell.

FIREFLY

Decor by executrix; Simon/Inara; Adult
This is the finest example of using a sexual encounter as a truncated character study that I can recall. This is deliciously hot, yes, but it is also a very finely wrought examination of both Simon and Inara, who they are, what makes them tick. This is the fic that reminds me that sex is always a vehicle for characterization, that it is another window through which we discover who we, and who *they*, are.

Camp as a Row of Little Pink Tents by mosca; Jayne/Mal; Adult
Oh, man. This fic is the first cross-dressing fic I ever read and I started off right because this is a primer for how to write drag. It's so bizarre to me, even now, the way that men in drag should be feminized, should somehow read as less-than-men, and somehow end up hyper masculinized. I love the way that drag serves to emphasize and exaggerate exactly what it seems to erase and this is a wonderful example. I think that mosca has a gift for both the voices of this verse and subtle characterization. This is not to be missed.

Righteousness by lyrstzha; Early/Operative; Adult
This is the fic that made me truly realize what fic was capable of. That we could take these bare bones of canon and make them over with wholly new flesh. This felt dangerous and subversive and strangely *right* on the first read, and it still does so now, years later. This is the fic that hit home to me that nothing is off-limits, that we are barred only by the boundaries of our imaginations, and that often what seems most implausible on the surface contains a wealth of insight beneath.

Rumpelstiltskin by lunabee34 Regan Tam gen; PG-13
This begins my fascination with mothers in fic and also taking a terribly unlikeable character and making her sympathetic. I am drawn to characters on the fringe--those who are so essential in the way they form and inform the main characters we dote on so much but who dwell in the shadows themselves. Those who we see largely through the comments others make about them. I find writing Firefly difficult; this is why I only wrote three proper fics in the fandom, but this is the one of which I am most proud.

STARGATE ATLANTIS

Old Soldiers Die Hard by friendshipper; Gen; PG
I come to fanfic for a lot of things--to be turned on, to cry (oh gods yes to cry), to be surprised, to laugh, to experience again the friendship I see these characters sharing onscreen. This fic fits into the final category. I love John and Rodney smut, don't get me wrong, but there's something incredibly satisfying about exploring their relationship in a strictly platonic sense. I love the deep and immutable bond between them here. I love that John never ever for a goddamn second gives up on Rodney. This is the fic that I come back to when I need to be reminded that above and beyond and before anything else, John and Rodney are friends.

Pegasus Literature 101 (the Pass/Fail Remix) by busaikko; John/Rodney; PG
I'm gonna use thelastgoodname's words here, because yea verily she said it best: Yeah, that's pretty much it -- The John Sheppard Book Club [the orginal fic] is a light, fluffy romantic comedy/character study that plays with flirting and romance and life through literature (just like The Jane Austen Book Club). Pegasus Literature 101, as I read it, is about the value of literature as a tool to understand cultures, both your own and other people's, and about translation and fully understanding other people's lives and values and points of view (or not being able to -- as when Miko's has to get rid of the better translation setting). It's also about politics, and making choices (The Betrayal of Ptar sounds like a fabulous way to imagine and understand what life is like under the Wraith -- because life under the Wraith is not actually All About the Wraith), and dealing with those choices for decades and centuries afterwards. And I love the note about why the Athosians don't have much literature -- because they couldn't bring it with them. Yep. So, moving outside the world of the story to an analytic frame of the fandom and the show: Book Club is the prototypical slash romance story -- excellent, and sweet, and light and fluffy and the entire story is in service of the sex. (I don't think this is a bad thing; I feel odd having to make that disclaimer, because I shouldn't have to.) Literature 101 is essentially a critique of SGA, and fandom's appreciation for the light and fluffy at the expense of the dark and difficult (I mean critique in the analytic sense, not in the critical sense). Where Book Club accepts at face value the isolated and protected world of Earthers on Atlatis (not only are they importing their food across two galaxies, but they're importing their entertainment, too), Literature 101 probes that aspect of canon, and pushes it to a very uncomfortable place: John doesn't actually understand Pegasus very well (he didn't even realize what the betrayal of Ptar was), because none of the Earthers understand Pegasus very well. But he's trying. And more than that, Teyla and Ronon, despite having some things in common, aren't from the same world, either, so everyone is coming together without any common ground except that they want to learn, they want to understand.

Fell in Love With a Girl by 01100100; Teyla/Kate; Adult
This is exquisite. This is femslash at its finest. This is the kind of exploration of Teyla's character and culture that I wish the show had the balls to make. I come away from this piece with my heart full; I am smiling and I am happy because I feel how much Teyla cares for Kate and for her team. This is the best love letter to Atlantis, to these characters who we spend so much time inhabitating, that I've read in quite some time.

Incomplete Data Set by lunabee34; Bates/Kavanagh; Adult
Again with the unlikeable characters and the canonicity and the characters on the fringe. This was one of the first pieces I wrote in this fandom, and I keep coming back to it again and again; there's a sequel now and two more parts in the planning and I find it very satisfying to flesh out these characters that we see so very little of on screen.

SUPERNATURAL

What Cannot Be Unlearned by causeways; Sam/Dean; PG-13
This is like Sam’s love poem to Dean, the love poem he can never say aloud but has instead written in the smile on his face, the sweat on the curve of his spine, the heat rising in waves off an endless empty highway. I don’t think I can say enough good things about the way this fic makes me feel, which is the point, right? That’s why we all write, isn’t it? Because we want someone else to feel, deep down in her gut, this thing we also feel. I come away from this piece feeling like I’ve been made privy to something sacred. This is the ultimate Sam fic for me--one that doesn't deny his relationship with Jess or all the reasons he left Dean behind, but one that also revels in all the reasons he came back, in all the ways that Dean is everything he's ever needed. For some unfathomable reason, this fic is still on a single page of comments when it should be a fandom classic. Go. Comment. Make that better.

Firecrotch (or that time when the Winchester Boys Banged Lindsay Lohan) by dramaphile; Sam/Lindsay/Dean; Adult
This is the threesome gold standard with a dash of RPF thrown in for good measure. Lindsay's voice is superb here--just as I imagine her in all her vapid glory--and the Wincesty longings wash over the het sex like watercolor. I love reading the boys use Lindsay as the vehicle through which they express their desire for each other. This is my favorite example of a fic where Sam and Dean want each other and use someone else as a conduit because they aren't ready to open up to each other in that way just yet.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death (he kindly stopped for me) by kroki_refur; Gen; Adult
One of the things I love tremendously about the SPN fandom is its ability to make with the funny while still saying something vital and interesting and important about these characters and the ways they interact with each other. This is ostensibly crack; Sam and Dean cannot die. Over and over again, the piano falls, and over and over again they survive. The ways in which they die and their responses to their deaths are hilarious. Until they're not. There's so much here in the interstices between the jokes that I defy you to read this and not come away with your heart in your throat.

Thanatopsis by lunabee34; Sam/Dean; Adult
This hurt me to write. Really hurt me in a way that no piece had before or has since. I am not an emotional writer; it's almost a mechanical process for me. I want it to be *right,* to sound *right.* My own writing almost never turns me on or makes me sad or deeply amuses me, even if it strikes other that way. This? This broke me. This hurt me. Writing this piece was an enormously cathartic exercise. It's difficult to describe. It's not really an episode tag, but it was heavily inspired by "Roadkill," a sort of reworking of that concept in terms of Sam and Dean.

Sometimes We're Laconic by entwashian; BtVS/SGA Crossover; G
This is incredibly short and incredibly spare, but very rich despite its brevity. Oz is driving cross country and picks up Ronon on the side of the road. We don't know how Ronon got there, but the fic hints at this amazing backstory and there's a suprising amount of emotion engendered in so few words. I think this is an amazing piece and definitely worth a read. (This fic has three comments, including mine, which I find horribly remiss. So, you know, go feedback)

Two Sides of the Coin by dith; Jack/Daniel; Adult
I almost never like first person fic, and this one switches back and forth from first person Daniel to first person Jack, but somehow it works. I've had a hard time finding fics that feature Jack to my satisfaction, and this one isn't perfect, but it's very much enjoyable. I think Daniel's characterization in this fic is really intriguing. If you like long, plotty "they're stuck on an alien world with only each other" fics, this is one for you.

Five Times Cameron Regretted Being On SG-1" by lyrstzha; R
Another shortie, but a goodie. Lyr is one of the best writers I've encountered anywhere. She has such a gift for getting inside characters' heads in new and surprising ways. Reading her is like opening a gift, peeling back all the layers of tissue paper and finding something wonderfully shocking inside. I love this look at what makes Cameron tick.

I'm restructuring my memories and so I'm making a rec post of Buffy fic that I had saved there. Sorry for the spammage.

In From the Cold by savoytruffle and reremouse Spike/Xander/William AU This is one of those wonderful AUs where all the characters voices are impeccable and the characters are *themselves* at the core, just not the Slayer or a vampire. There are many reasons to read this fic, but my primary reason remains the last chapter sex scene which was the first time I read anything even vaguely incesty and thought, DAMN. HOT. And, hot it is.

Manus and Manus Extended by kita0610 In the first of these, Angel is still experiencing after effects from the parasite that gave him hallucinations in “Soul Purpose.” His dreams are so heartbreakingly sad here; he dreams of Buffy and Spike and Darla, and most of all Connor (some incestual overtones to at least one of these dreams). The language in these pieces is so beautiful and I really believe this is what the inside of Angel’s head might look like. The second fic begins with Spike in the alleyway of NFA and goes back and forth between that moment and the moment that Buffy dies in “The Gift.” Again, this author has a real gift for character insight, and when Spike meets up with Connor, that perception is especially sharp. Right, there it is; Spike's fucking mission, his sole purpose as sole survivor. Spike the vampire bard, keeper of handed down tales no one else wants. He's damn sure no one spoke sonnets over his non-existent grave when he saved the world last summer. But here's this kid with Darla's eyes and Angel's hands, only he smells human. Like pizza, and new soap. Like the beginnings of grief. Because they're dead, but Connor is alive. I’d be very hard pressed to point to another fic that’s as well-written as these are.

Nice Shirt by glossing Oz/Xander Adult I have read this fic many times, but the last time I read it was ages ago and on this reread, I realized I had forgotten some of the things about it I love most. I remembered the way it slides into canon like the thin blade of a knife; I remembered the way the sex is *real* and powerful—skin and sweat and want that changes each of them while also making them more themselves. I remembered the dialogue and the way I wish Oz and Xander had gotten to say most of it on screen. What I did not remember is exactly how beautiful the words are—the turns of phrase, the metaphors, the perceptive character insights. I did not remember how atmospheric, how moody this is to read; not dreamy. No. Not dreamy. But evocative and sensual. I also did not remember how simultaneously hopeful and hurty this manages to be. Everyone should read this fic.

Saturation by wesleysgirl and janedavitt (sequel: Pervasion Spike/Xander/Giles Adult Before I read these pieces, I’d read threesome fic before and enjoyed it in a “that’s so hot but ultimately fairly implausible” kinda way. Saturation was the first threesome fic I read that made me believe in the relationship depicted beyond the pretty-pretty of interlocking parts. The relationship in this fic is hard to maintain; there’s jealousy and difficulty understanding the rules and parameters (much the way I imagine a threesome might function in real life). Now, don’t get me wrong. The uber-hot is there as well! So, run along! Read.

I need HP icons. Rec me your favorites that are shareable, pretty please. *bats eyelashes*


Harry Potter

Night-Blooming Heartsease by Julad. Snape/Neville This fic begins just after PoA and imagines a war-torn Potterverse. Although the version of Snape in this story is not my own personal version of the character, I think that the Snape here is very plausible and convincing. The dialogue sparkles and Neville is just glorious. The fic is very touching (there was crying) but never maudlin. This is not very explicitly sexual. In fact, it's not really about the sex at all. It's much more about characterization and motivation, which is why I think it's such a success.

Lustre by Julad and Calico. Harry/Draco I have to admit that I don't get this pairing yet, so my enjoyment of this fic doesn't stem from the ship. What is really nice about this piece is the insight into Draco's character and the way his family operates. The sort of Old World arrangement of marriages and gifting, etc, is really fascinating. The house dynamics of Slytherin are really great here too--dark, seductive, sinister, everyone using sex as a tool. Finally, the descriptions of the snake in this fic are so beautiful, so exquisitely wrought that I wish I could see the snake in real life.

The Night Watchers by teaspoon14 Harry/Ron/Hermione Harry's still having terrible dreams and Ron and Hermione comfort him. This short piece is a very, very tender first time piece that gives each layer of the sandwich equal time (which is important to me because I don't like reading threesomes where one member seems utterly extraneous). The best word for this is sweet.

BtVS

Diamond by Polly Burns. While in jail, Andrew explains his relationship with Warren to Jonathon.

Meta

Watson Was a Woman? by Rex Stout. This essay explores the gender of Sherlock Holmes's sidekick.

Firefly: Dr. Simon Tam This essay is executrix's meditation on the character of Simon Tam.

Other

Rough Diamond by lyrstzha This is a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast that is such a joy to read. It is slightly dark and has all those wonderful turns of phrases and images that I've come to expect from Lyr as a matter of course. It's also told with the wink-wink-at-the-audience narrator that I so enjoy.