5 (more or less) fics I'm glad I stumbled across this year

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Here's 5 (more or less) fics I found outstanding this year, some because I stumbled across them as a fanfic judge. See? No Good deed ever goes unpunished. Or something like that.

Blood Oranges, by theblackmare - Rated FRT

This got nominated for a couple of awards this year, and won, if memory serves, for best new author at Bodice Ripper. Regardless, it's well worth the read. theblackmare's use of language is really beautiful-- economical, poetic, evocative. I can't come up with enough good to say about it. There's a 2 part sequel of sorts written for "Summer of Giles"-- click on her "fics" tag and you should get those links. An excellent and thoughtful AU of how Season 4 Should have gone.

For the rest of these, I can lift from my judges comments. (There was concrit, too. If I judged you for SOTHA or Lie to Me Round 7 last year, and you never got my comments, ask and ye shall receive. Even if I was mean, concrit is concrit. Just don't hurl rocks through my window or anything. Drop by my journal later and I'll post the categories I judged on those. I won't share scores, just the comments I wished I could leave at the time.)

Talking Heads, by washaway Rated FRT
This has got to be the funniest thing I have ever read. The situation is beyond ridiculous, and the voices are fantastic. I also like the rhythm of the story, with the short pauses between each short scene, and the way we slowly build up a picture of how they got into this situation, and how we get most of our information through the dialogue. And then-- Harmony shows up-- brilliant!

Favorite lines:
“You really don’t know anything about Man’s Red Flower, do you, Man-Cub?”
“Axes don’t kill people, Bambi. Big vegetarian demons with axes kill people.”
“Oh, believe me, if I did, you’d know already. And so would about six million very happy fire ants.”

The best part? It's a First Fic. By the husband of the journal owner spuffyduds.


Undercover, by lorelei_frolick Rated FRT

Beautifully written, with wonderful insights into both Faith and Giles. I love how you explore the roles, the “act” both have hidden behind and what really lies beneath the surface for each. I also like the parallel between the two, of feeling responsible, and guilty when they try to walk away from things they know are important. I, too, hope the comic takes these two in this direction. Thanks for sharing something so very much worth saying. I can’t think of a negative thing to say here, even as concrit. Truly well done.


Old Bronze, by D M Evans Rated FRT

Beautifully written, very ambitious in scope, and all the characterizations and voices, not just Jenny’s, are spot on. I can so much see this having happened in canon. This is a fantastic piece of writing, on so many levels. And it’s also a much-needed addition to the body of fics featuring Jenny, something sadly lacking in the fandom due to her untimely demise so early in the series’ run. Well done indeed.



And last but not least, something I didn't judge or get around to nominating, but which I recc'ed earlier in the year on my journal:

There Should Have Been Trumpets, by rahirah Rated FRT

This is what I said at the time:

I'd be interested to hear the reactions to it. She worried that it wasn't really a "Story" per say, and yeah, there's no conflict/ rising action, climax, etc. What would this be classified as? I dunno. It just works for me, and the structure is part of what makes it work.

That, and, the characterization is so skillfully done in this little space, I feel like I know this OC, and I have read None of the other works in this series, or if I have, I don't remember this guy at all. There's something distilled about it-- like poetry without the additional verse structure.



And I'll slip in a bonus 6th rec: a Harry Potter cross-over WIP I hope gets updated again soon: Moon Magic, by lit_gal. She says Teen, but I'd rate it FRM, I think, to be safe. It's headed that direction. Snape/Faith. Need I say more?.

I took time out of my Nano wittering to say this:

Snape and Faith (and Riley and Willow, and hey, a spell gone wrong, which explains why Willow's there). lit_gal is absolutely Nailing both Snape and Faith's voices here. I haven't seen that many crossovers that navigate both worlds well-- I told lit_gal I thought it was because combining the two worlds made the ridiculous aspects of both reach a kind of critical mass. But this is really off to a promising start. I highly recommend it.

Comments

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Interesting list, it's nice to see diverse collections. Could you please rate these.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Oh sorry. I don't generally read much that requires warnings, and certainly don't rec them. I'll get back in there and do it. Now that I've got the cuts and formatting working correctly.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Better? Thanks again.

[shapinglight]

Great list. Am looking forward to reading these.

[arclevel.livejournal.com]

What does FRT mean? Clearly a 'general audience' sort of thing, but I can't figure out what it stands for.

Thanks for the recs -- I'd actually just read Blood Oranges, but hadn't realized there was a sequel, so now I've read that, too. :-)

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time there was some talk on certain fan sites that the Motion Picture Association of America was not amused that fan sites were employing their rating system. So an alternate was developed:

FRC - (G)
FRT - (PG/ PG-13)
FRM - (R)
FRAO - (sexually explicit/ excessively violent content. Rated X/NR)

FR for Fan Rated, C for Children, T for teens, M for Mature and AO for Adults Only.

Glad to be of service on the recs. Hope you enjoy and leave some feedback love for the author. Lady blackmare is one of my favorite people.

[yourlibrarian]

Nice mix of some less seen fics!