Glossolalia: These Reasonable Taboos

Connor is young, strange, and terribly fucked up. Wesley isn't
so young.

The two of them... they can't work, except in those ways that
neither of them wants. Mm.

I love this story. Pure Connor -- which isn't that easy to
accomplish.

*

Laura Shapiro: "Beatitudes" (vid)

Oh my God. I'm crying like a *baby*.

Perhaps the best of all possible post-Buffy vids, and man, my
heart's just full to bursting.

Blessed are they, indeed.

*sob*

I mean, I'm trying to find a flaw here, and I didn't like all the special
effects, and I could quibble with the lyric-to-clip things, but Jesus
Merry CHRIST.

So. Fucking. Good.

Go. Get your password. Watch.

*

Kyra Cullinan: Down Through the Morning

Tara/Oz.

Hunh, as a certain troubled young man might say. You know, I'm
never going to believe in this pairing, but Kyra's *quite* good
enough to make me *feel* it, if only for the length of the story.

Great ending, too. Not in that fish-hook in your guts kill-you-while-
you-still-have-a-stupid-look-on-your-face way, but in a uniquely
*Tara* way. And Oz way.

Mm.

*

The Spike: Step

Oh my GOD, I love the Spike. Just... with the...

Xander and Andrew and it's all so fucking *GOOD*. Gave me
chills, really.

And and it was written for MY challenge. And it made me want
to live in a road movie and I know I'm inarticulate but I'm TIRED,
man, and this ruled.
 

TBQ: It Could Happen

Really just nicely done. The Faithvoice isn't *quite* the same as
the one in my head, but it really works just the same. Just... mm.

Hot and sweet with only the barest touch of bitter. Nice.

*

nwhepcat: Wait for the Beep

A lot of people try to do the thing where Xander has serious
psychological issues, but most of them fuck up. Because all of
Xander's issues are *human*, and while they may be serious,
they're also... normal.

Really.

And this piece about grief and moving on and ritual and meaning...

Well, it's lovely. A love poem to reality.

*

Jess: Ars Poetica

So few writers get Dru POV right, no matter how hard they try. Jess?
Is one of the gifted few, and this was just... glorious.

Chicken soup for the Spike/Dru 'shipper's soul, without a touch of
denial or ill-placed sympathy.

Mm.

*

James: The Way Things Are

Yeah, it's B/A, but dammit, it really works. Buffy and Angel on the other
side of things, and trying to reach out. A bit tell-y in places, but overall
very lovely.

*

glossolalia: Simpatia e Quase Amor

Mmm, this was lovely. A rather sharper look at Riley than is
usual -- and the author seems to have been rather... taken
aback at having to write the boy, but she did really well.

Big, strong, cracking-at-the-seams!Riley. Oz wild in
Carnivale. Mm.

*

Kyra Cullinan: Komm Zu Mir

Gyah. So. Fucking. Hot.

An alternate look at what happens in OMWF, and it just
spirals on from there. Twisty and dark in style and substance,
and really just a brilliant little piece of pain.

The Faith here seems a little young to my ears, but fucking
hell, that's really minor in the grand scheme of things.

and Music from a Farther Room

Ouch, ouch, *ouch*. An interestingly, killingly *bleak* look
at Willow and relationships. The death of hope implied
in certain aspects of season seven. Really neatly done,
and with deft subtlety.

*

Anna S.: Macrame

The slashficathon has produced some stunningly good
fic, man. God, I love a good challenge.

Okay, so it's not like good fic from Anna is in any way a
*shock*, but, still. She came at her assignment from
a truly original angle. Managed completion *and* a
universe that leaves me gagging for more.

Lovely, creepy, subtle and sweet.

*

wiseacress: Lt. Uhura and the Change of Life

Oh man. This was just fabulous. The mundanities of an utterly
extraordinary relationship. Witty, in character throughout, and
just a lot of *fun*, even with all the angst.

Highly reminiscent of works by such worthies as Pares and
Helen.

*

Kita: The Fanged Four: A Trio of Fairytales

Yowsa this was hot and literate and mind-bending and gaaaah.
So many great images, great lines. You could just *feel* what
it was like to be one of them, an animal with a human face.

Rowr.

Kyra Cullinan: Five Ways of Becoming Someone Else

Oh, *man*. I'm shivering.

This was scary and sexy and sweet and beautiful and brilliant,
just like Willow herself. I find myself amazed, yet again, at
just how much we can say about canon with a few short AUs.

What we can say about the characters, and, perhaps,
ourselves.

Wonderfully done.

Minim Calibre: Coastal

Really, this was wonderful. Not too sweet, not too hard, just...
right. For the characters and the situation.

Buffy's restless, Faith isn't.

*

Elizabeth: in plain sight

Duuuude. Dude.

You know? This isn't what I see when I think of how Home ended,
but Elizabeth is, as ever, a kick-ass writer, and she made be
believe for the course of the story. Just... yeah. Wonderfully done.
Sharp and cruel and beautiful and angry.

*

Jane St Clair: Witchcraft When Your Eyes

*blink blink*

Didn't get a chance to read this when it first came out, then forgot
it existed. Came back to it today and... wow.

Jane brings the strange, and the lovely, and the strangely baroque
dance of cramped shadows. Which is all, of course, just perfect
for Ethan.

*

Mistiec: "Sick Cycle Carousel" (vid)

There's a kind of vid that's a lot like reading a really good piece
of fan-fiction, where you can see how the story would go, and
how despite all the audio-visual pyrotechnics, it all just feels very
*literary*.

This is one of them, and quite good despite the poor quality of
some of the source and the darkness. This is an excellent story
of Faith and Wesley, past, present, and with glimpses of the future.
Cleverly done and really just wonderful to watch.

*

[note: links changed to reflect corrected versions of both stories]

Glossolalia: Idlewild

Rrrrr. This was just hot and crazy and dark and sweetly wrong, like
a particularly expensive variety of chocolate. Glossolalia managed
to work in *all* the extra points for the Get Ethan Laid challenge, as
well as giving me some new thoughts about Ethan himself.

Mm. Lovely.

I would've maybe added a comma here or there, but really? This put
me in my happy place.

And: Beware of Owner

Oooh, Wishverse. I mean, Wishverse is a kink all on its own for
me, but this was brilliantly done on top of that. Just... atmospheric
and chilly, so powerful that I forgot for a minute that it's about to
be summer.

And, well... yeah. Just really good. A few typos, but nothing to worry
a body.

*

Mad Poetess: Parapraxis

Oh, this was *very* nice. I love it when authors *use* theme, instead
of abusing it, or, perhaps worse, forgetting it entirely. This was just
what it was, a sense of things unspoken and unremembered, more
subtle than deja vu, and more lingering.

*

Saone: Excelsior

Aww! I've been *waiting* for this story and Saone finally wrote
it. Die from the cuteness! Flail and DIE!

Xander and Andrew, geeking out most appropriately.

There were a couple of places where I might have made cuts,
but on the whole, I enjoyed thoroughly.

*

Luminosity: "Evil Angel" (vid)

Oh, man, this was just brilliant. Darla and Angel(us) through
the ages, and the music choice was inspired and the cuts were
slow and lovely building to a fabulous climax and none of that
is important, because.

DARLA.

VID.

Go watch.
 

*

Sheila: Commonplace

There's a lazy sort of poeticism to this, and a happiness that
feels purely *right*. These people will find a way back to each
other, and that closeness, and that wonderful snark.

And gotta love a cheerfully nihilistic Wes.

*

sisabet: "Without Me" (vid)

Ahahaha.

Okay, so I can argue with some of the clip choices, and I'm
not overfond of the sequence of the narration, but this vid has
*great* moments, and, well, it's LILAH.

Like I'm gonna resist that.

Branwyn: Daylight

Oh, this was just cool. Taking all the possibilities of Dawn's arc and
Connor's and making them fit together in a curious jigsaw of angst
and thwarted possibility.

Of course, I went to the twisted place for this, but *you* don't have
to.

and Fade

Which is slightly more awkward in terms of the writing style, but
still *quite* good. So many *possibilities* in a dead Buffy, and
I'm a sucker for Ethan.

Such a beautiful monster.

and: Watcher

*dribble* Connected to her story "Soldier," but can be read alone.
Really, this was fabulous. Giles and his calling, so often ignored
but never forgotten.

It's in the blood, like everything else in the ME-verse. Wonderfully
done, and full of possibilities.

*

Zara Hemla: fitter happier more productive

Duuuude. The author says she doesn't like Connor, but... damn.

This was kick ass. If I could write this good about characters I
didn't like... well, I don't know what.

Just... five things that might happen to Connor. And damn, we
*love* Bas for getting this whole trend started. Funny, heart-breaking,
hot, real.

*

Kyra Cullinan: What the Living Do

Oh man. Larry. Oz. Wishverse.

There are very few words prettier than that. I've had a special
place in my heart for Larry since Phases, and Oz... I love Oz, and
the Wishverse! A kink in and of itself.

This made nothing but sense. From Oz's lack of hope to all that
human need.

*love*

*

Halrloprillalar: Skull and Bones

Jiminy *Christmas*, this was hot. Just... yeah. With the head-
rubbing and the buzz cut and... gyah. Don't ask me to be
coherent.

*

auroramama: Aftertaste

She. With the.

Okay, I can tell right now that this is going to be my most
incoherent Buffy rec update EVER, but when people write
my kinks and write them well?

I don't think I should be expected to speak English.

Jeeeezus. The images in this, the hints and subtleties and.

Fucking *Christ*. Just read.

Benaresq: Woman of Steel (The Black and Blue Remix)

Rrr. No one does this particular kind of Xander as well as Ben
does. The open-eyed (not wide-eyed) victim, who understands
himself and the world around him and still dances around
wildly in an attempt to be blind.

Still careful enough and just smart enough to hurt no one but
himself. *Gah*.

Xander. This was... well, it was damned fucking good. I don't
think Xander/Buffy should be allowed to be good, man. That's
vaguely wrong.

*

Ellison Wonderland: Fairy Tale

I got this rec from the Mad Poetess, who in turn got it from Kita --
a fact which amuses me beyond belief.

Look! Look! Good Spike/Xander! Dark, hot, nasty, *believable*
Spike/Xander. Really, I could see this happening so easily.
Ellison gets so far into Xander's head that the story itself is
claustrophobic -- close and grasping and there's just no *air*.

Which, considering the time and place, is exactly how it should be.

*

Jenny-O: Judy Barton in Missoula (Leland Says You're Going Back)

It's stories like these that keep my love for AUs evergreen. Dude,
this was just *twisted*. Wes and Dawn. No, really. Wes and
*Dawn*, and the darkness is just... well, fucking fabulous really.

I love what this one says about vampires in general, too. Really
makes you think.

*

Benaresq: In a young man's heart

Ben blamed this one on me, and you know, I'm fine with that.
Becuase it isn't just fabulously mean-spirited, chock full of Ethany
goodness, and sexy, but it's also *brilliant*.

Concepts of chaos and magic that I haven't ever seen used before,
but that *deserve* to become fanon.

It puts "A New Man" in an entirely new context. It puts *all* of Ethan's
magic into a new context, and one that makes large amounts of
rational sense.

Anyway, yes. Love this.

*

James Walkswithwind: Sacrifice

I have two issues with this story. One, I'm cranky because James has
too many journals. What? I don't have to be reasonable.

Two, I just wonder what it is about G/X that makes people pull out the
crazy plot hijinks. I mean, if *Spike*/Xander can happen without people
turning in all their wacky plot tokens, why not Giles/Xander?

That said, I really liked this. Giles felt Giles-y -- especially when I got
to wondering about how much time he spent looking for an alternative.
Heh. -- and Xander felt Xander-y.

Baby Xander, with his higher voice and his ready-made victim face and...
yeah.

Yum.

*

Debchan: Daughter of David

Oh. My. God.

She threatened us with this one and then she *did* it. She... *EE*.

Caleb has to be the best villain Buffy has thrown at us in ages, and
Deb has written.... well, it's not so much an origin story as a snapshot
through the eyes of... well. Um. Yeah.

READ IT.

Just... yeah.

Laura Shapiro: "Transparent" (vid)

One of the best things about vids is the way they can clarify a character
and his/her arc in a way that even a really good piece of fan fiction
can't. This vid does that for Willow.

It took me a couple of viewings to really grok it, but when I did? Man,
it's just beautiful. It's not *just* a love letter to the character, it's an
honest-to-God exploration.

*And* explanation. This vid says everything about her that took me
until last season to understand. This vid *will* make you look at Willow
in a new light. I want all the haters to watch this.

*

sisabet: "Closer" (vid)

The site may be down when you go check, but dude, keep trying.

Because... damn.

I don't even *like* Spike/Angel, but this vid... yeah. It does a good
job convincing me.

All those nasty little *parallels*, and by the middle of the vid I was
getting *that* feeling. You know what I mean -- you start thinking
that at *some* point you'll get the money shot. The shot that has
to exist *somewhere* of Spike and Angel fucking like the demons
they are, or at the very least kissing each other until blood flows.

But, you know, that shot doesn't exist. It SHOULD exist. I now
*need* it to exist, solely so sisabet can set it to music.

So, you know, I liked the vid. Some of the cuts were a bit too clever,
and I would have changed the pacing in a spot or two, but fuck
it. Go watch this and get as horny as I am.

*

shalott: "Behind Blue Eyes" (vid)

You know, I was talking to Cassandra about this vid, and how
much of its fabulousness was the simple fact that it *is* a Giles/Ethan
vid, a vid out of the wasteland of schmoop and pap that gives us
'shippers what we need, at long last.

But having watched it again for the first time in several months, it
really is also quite good on its own merits.

For an example, there really *isn't* enough context-laden Ethan footage
to make the comparison/conceit shalott is using here work. However,
shalott doesn't just quit -- she *makes* the footage work. And dammit,
I appreciate that.

Perhaps less than I do in vids where the pairing isn't one I'm madly
in love with, but still.

And the Giles is absolute perfection -- from the opening of him singing
the song to the end with the card. *sigh*

The best part, however, is the kick ass (literally) bridge that brings it
all home in an audiovisual climax that will knock you off your ass.

Check it out.

*

Anna S.: Closure

Fucking *A*.

This was... just a brilliant piece of work. S7 Spike and Xander that
makes hot, dirty, harsh and painful and funny *sense*. Everything
is right on, you know?

I have no words.

*

Ins: Winners

How had I not read this? Was I high? Was I... no, I must have been
high. Really, just read. Read, read, read, because I'm not spoiling
a thing and it makes me ridiculously happy on so many levels
and gah.

Just... yeah.

A classic for a reason.

*

Branwyn: Soldier

The formatting's off on this one, but you know, you just need to
ignore that and *deal*, because this rocks. It's just... it's
Giles, and it's S5, and it's the truth, even though it isn't.

Just lovely.