Recs Post #12

[snick_backup]

Brand-new Spuffy! Old Anya/Xander! Somewhat recent Faith/Giles! And more.

First, the fic that I just discovered and which you must all read immediately:
mercy me (the night is long), by websofseaweed
post-NFA
Angelus is loose again, so Buffy goes looking to LA looking for him and finds Spike. This is not primarily a Spuffy reunion fic, but that's definitely a major element of it. First and foremost, though, this is Buffy grieving both the many people she's lost and all her past relationships. The characters - Buffy, Willow, Angelus, Spike - are all exactly themselves, and every word rings painfully, beautifully true.

A Few Things Anya Knows, by nwhepcat
AU post-"The Gift"
I will never run out of Hep fics to rec, it seems, because she's written such a wide variety of things. Here, in drabbles, is another way the end of S5 might have gone, details left to the reader. The emphasis on a broken Xander, a pregnant Anya (her voice pitch-perfect), and how they get each other through.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers, by mediumrawr
post-Chosen
Giles calls Faith and asks her to come to England. She does. Lovely bit of pre-shippiness (or so I choose to read it) about two lonely people being less lonely together.

They Also Serve, by rahirah
Barbverse
Of all Barb's brief schmoop_bingo responses, this is perhaps my favorite: Sunnydale and Spike/Buffy from the perspective of a waitress at the local diner. These sorts of outsider views are always fun, and this ranks with the best of them.

Blood Runs Thin, by kcarolj65
post-Grave
Rather than returning to Sunnydale, newly souled Spike gets sent by newly ascended Cordelia to LA to help get Angel out of that coffin. This is technically a WIP, but the first sixteen chapters do a decent job of reaching some emotional closure, if not plot closure. And it is gorgeous! Beautifully written, beautifully characterized, and exquisite soul-angst for those of us who like that sort of thing.

Impossible, by Bitterness
post-Grave
This is the plotty, ensemble-cast souled-Spuffy prophecy-baby longfic that I've always wanted. The gang's all here, everyone you could want (except maybe Cordelia), all as big as life. The Spuffy reunion and rebuilding is slow and cautious and occasionally fraught, but beautiful. The Buffy|Dawn relationship is wonderful, too. There's fun plot stuff and serious plot stuff. Even the actual pregnancy developments are handled gracefully and with aplomb.

Comments

[dragonpaws.livejournal.com]

Bwah! You are an evil woman. My adoration of outsider perspective Buffy fic has made me read Spuffy.

I swear, if you keep reccing good stuff like this, I might even stop minding. :P

[snickfic]

*preens*

I'll have you know, everything I rec is good. But if you like outsider POV, then you might also like On Duty, about a couple of Sunnydale cops. (And no Spuffy!)

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, such lovely recs! Thank you!

[snickfic]

You are most welcome! Glad to return the favor. :)

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Just so you know... I have fics I HAVE to read (or should be reading) and thanks to you... *g* Fortunately, I've already seen quite a few of these, so could skip right to the ones I haven't read yet. But still... Yeah, if I don't meet my deadlines, I'm blaming you. :)

[snickfic]

Hah! Purveyor of linkage, that's me. Glad to be, um, of service. *g*

[shapinglight]

Thanks for the recs. I may actually have some time to read fanfic soon, so they're very welcome.

[snickfic]

You're most welcome! I really enjoy making these posts, and it's nice to know they're worthwhile for other people, too.