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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Aug 23, 2005 13:08:56 GMT -5
OK, it's been a very long time since I've recommended a PWP and I thought it was because I'd grown beyond that phase of my fic addiction, but this morning Ladycat and Othercat have written a gemlike little bit of pure porn which is, at once, funny, moving, and hot without being antic, manipulative, or exploitative. Which is a fine thing indeed. "Slippery", S/X, unsurprisingly NC-17: www.livejournal.com/users/ladycat777/643763.htmlJulia, and really very sweet, to boot
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Aug 30, 2005 22:48:17 GMT -5
“I find,” Wesley says, still staring at Angel, “that I hate the Council of Watchers more than I ever hated any of the demons they fight against.” By the time Wesley can bring himself to say that sentence, early in the fifteenth and last chapter of Witling's wryly tragic "The Assistant", the reader is not likely to quibble (and if you're one of those rare people who feel that the Council of Watchers is unjustly maligned during the run of BtVS, you may not like this fic as much as I do). Neither is Xander, who comes to W&H at the behest of the Council, his employer. Spike and Angel just have their basic assumptions about the Council reinforced. This is technically a Spander fic, but since it is told exclusively from Wesley's point of view, their relationship is seen through the eyes of a polite and diffident witness (not to mention embarrassed in exact proportion to what he witnesses). The Council screws up, with consequences in LA, and nobody comes away unscarred. PG-13, very much not about who does what to whom in bed. "The Assistant", by Witling (else wiseacres) Julia, not a happy fun time but one of the best stories I've read lately
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Post by Nan-S'cubie Mascot on Sept 1, 2005 0:38:14 GMT -5
I hadn't realized/noticed until now that Lazuli.kat had a Christmas coda to her huge Spike/Xander epic, Repossession. Titled Yule 2012, it brings all the relationships up to date. It's here.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 10, 2005 19:55:16 GMT -5
I do not seek out what's called "Darkfic" nor do I particularly crave the subgroup of that category called "Apocafic", but in the past few weeks the best fics I've seen have been in that mode. The darkest of them all has been Wesleysgirl's "Headful of Ghosts" which I've been mis-naming in the WIP thread. It starts with Xander walking out of an apocalyptic post NFA landscape, into the Hyperion, with a dead Willow in his arms, and goes downhill rapidly and precipitiously from there, with just sufficient black humor and moments of comfort to keep the dramatic tension going. And it does keep going, so that the 28 parts, posted over fewer than two weeks, seemed to come too seldom. The fic is currently unbetaed and in tags rather than memories in Wesleysgirl's LJ, which means it's in reverse chronological order; I will add links to her website when she updates it (as she does regularly and promptly). Headful of GhostsIt is not a fun time but is is compelling and convincing. Julia, was going to wish for fluff and then realized I had some to recommend.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 10, 2005 20:00:44 GMT -5
So, another thing I don't seek out is femslash, which embarasses me to read. However, yesterday Mireille719 posted a daffy little gem, Harmony POV, called "The Role of Fred Burkle Will be Played by Charlize Theron" and the Harmony voice and the humor of the piece makes up for the f/f NC-17, and when paired with the dark and anomic "Headful of Ghosts" well, it could be considered an anodyne to pain: www.livejournal.com/users/mireille719/999711.htmlJulia, it's a good thing Harmony didn't get drunk #blush#
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 15, 2005 18:09:19 GMT -5
So, back on April 27, there was the Yinathon, and it was a good thing, with many good fics. One of the stories started then was "Wilderness" A post NFA, post Africa S/X where Spike and Xander are not glossy romantic heroes, to put it mildly. It's NC-17 is but it's plotty, parodic or possibly satiric, in a formalistic sense, as it takes on Xander as the altruistic hero, Spike as the hopeless romantic, the bonds of friendship between the scoobies, and the entire untidy matter of two men sharing an apartment, including the unchangable nature of cable TV and the inevitablility of food delivery. And it manages to be all those things while telling a story which constantly hovers on the edge of tragedy. It is currently all available on her memories. As of this date, her website has been updated to chapter 8. I read fast, and it took me about three hours to read all ten chapters and the prologue, "Biscuit" Julia, always refreshing to read a fic where people are not preternaturally wise and good...
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 15, 2005 23:51:09 GMT -5
Mireille719 is obviously a person of great energy and talent, since she's a graduate student in some branch of mathematics/cybernetics that I can't even describe properly, and writes fic in several fandoms, of which we are all lucky BtVS is one. This is a ficathon piece, and involves one of those very difficult to write scenerios: threesome, first time, and X/G/We. I say difficult to write because I think I've seen it done well once before. This is NC-17, Xander POV, and a giggle: Best. Game. Ever.Julia, PWP is worth reading so very rarely
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 19, 2005 16:43:20 GMT -5
I'm being lazy, here. This is a listing of Wesleysgirl's fics for The Fund, with links to the ones finished to date: www.livejournal.com/users/wesleysgirl/439148.html?mode=replyAll of a piece with the Wesleysgirl short fiction canon; varied, emotionally convincing, character sketches with sex, rather than PWPs. Since new fic has been sparse on the ground for the past couple of weeks, I've been going back through author archives, and it amazes me how varied and satisfying her stories are. Julia, seriously
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 20, 2005 11:09:48 GMT -5
Another Ladycat777 viginette, as far from the one that begins this page in tone and content as you could get. All plot, characterisation, and emotional force, no porn: www.livejournal.com/users/ladycat777/655878.htmlJulia, well, that was a nice little roller-coaster ride
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Post by Lola m on Sept 20, 2005 12:40:02 GMT -5
Another Ladycat777 viginette, as far from the one that begins this page in tone and content as you could get. All plot, characterisation, and emotional force, no porn: www.livejournal.com/users/ladycat777/655878.htmlJulia, well, that was a nice little roller-coaster ride Wow!!! Just . . . Wow!!
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 21, 2005 10:36:11 GMT -5
Another viginette, and, in a way, the perfect answer to the late proliferation of "Spike turns Xander" spander stories. Riani1, else Two Ladies of Quality, S/X, no time contest, PG: www.livejournal.com/community/bloodclaim/1130196.htmlJulia, some writer's are having a happy fun time writing Xander, vamped, but after a while it gets tedious
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Sept 26, 2005 9:27:06 GMT -5
This went up at the Live Journal "Fall for S/X" Community on Saturday, but it was in three bits and I've been short of time. Savoytruffle and Reremouse, writing as Trufflemouse (and with a really cute chocolatey icon),"Sense and Sensibilities (or Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear), S/X, adult, people get taken by surprise sometimes, even vampires: www.livejournal.com/community/trufflemouse/752.htmlJulia, light, sweet, and with bitterweet grated over the top
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Post by Nan-S'cubie Mascot on Sept 28, 2005 23:08:33 GMT -5
OK, hard to know how to describe this. Josey (sangpassionne) and Liz (evilmaniaclaugh) have developed between them a peerless story called "Travelling Blind." In it, the part of insecure, ex-heroin addict failed actor "Jim" is played by James Marsters; the part of "Baldy," the grim mercenary, is played by Adam Baldwin. One can visualize the two actors in the roles; this is in no way whatever about the actual actors in real life. They're just playing those parts in this particular, excellent tale. It's a spy story. It's a story of betrayal and surpassing what you thought were your limits...or holding to limits and loyalties to the bitter end. It's a love story. It's a good deal bigger than a breadbox. You don't know who's gonna come out alive from one chapter to another. It's scary and deadly and a particularly important prop is a stuffed bear. It's psychologically insightful about the two principal characters. There is also, for them what likes that sort of thing, considerable graphic sex...which, oddly enough, is not the point either of this story or of the romance. It's only one of their facets. I read it in one swoop and recommend it without reservation. It's masterfully done. It's here.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on Oct 1, 2005 14:19:25 GMT -5
"Things of the Light" By Sottovoce10, written as a donation fic for The Fund, for BethyNYC. S/X, post NFA . PG-13 at most. Xander's minding Council business on BART, and then things happen: www.livejournal.com/users/sottovoce10/54945.html#cutid1Julia, not peerless, but better than most of what I've read this week
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Post by Nan-S'cubie Mascot on Oct 2, 2005 18:49:43 GMT -5
"Things of the Light" By Sottovoce10, written as a donation fic for The Fund, for BethyNYC. S/X, post NFA . PG-13 at most. Xander's minding Council business on BART, and then things happen: www.livejournal.com/users/sottovoce10/54945.html#cutid1Julia, not peerless, but better than most of what I've read this week The conclusion, part 2 of 2, is here.
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