Top 5 2005 Fave Het Fics (as read by a slash writer)

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

I feel very well-rounded today. Could be the cheesecake, but I'm gonna say it's the fic choices...


January 7, 2005
And Other Strangers by karabair
Pairing: Cordelia/Wesley
Rating: NC-17
WHY: This spins off from the AtS episode "Birthday" with Cordelia deciding to remain in the alternative universe Skip offers to her. The Cordelia voice is stunning and the interaction between Cordelia and Wesley is some of the best I've read.

January 10, 2005 - February 13, 2005
Indelible by nwhepcat
Pairing: Xander/Dawn
Rating: R
WHY: Sequel to nwhepcat's story The American Stranger, but stands on its own. Xander returns from Africa and discovers that some things have changed and others, which should have, haven't. Oz has a nice turn in the story as well; and a very grown-up, yet characteristically true, relationship begins between Xander and Dawn.

August 4, 2005
California Dreaming by zandra_x
Pairing: Cordelia/Doyle
Rating: G
WHY: This is a "missing day" fic which offers a possible example of how Cordelia and Doyle spent the events of the AtS episode "I Will Remember You." The characterization is incredible - simple moments and reactions that are perfectly canon Cordy and Doyle, yet it feels almost as if the entire 'ship, sadly cut short by canon, is encapsulated in this fic. It caused me to take a deeper look at both characters.

November 5, 2005
Washer at the Ford by lostakasha
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia
Rating: R
WHY: "Angel...there are no people like us," Cordelia - You're Welcome. The playfulness between Angel and Cordy is in full swing here, tinged by the sadness we - and they - suspect is to come. I was never much of a canon Angel/Cordy 'shipper (I preferred the friendship) mainly because I didn't want two incredible characters to lose themselves in the baggage of a 'SHIP. lostakasha works their humor wonderfully here, though, and the mythic imagery she weaves into the background of the story is lovely.

November 30, 2005
Bodiless Within the Bodies by tkp
Pairing: Buffy/Angel
Rating: PG-13
WHY: tkp writes prose that has a rhythm that almost jangles - hell, it almost jars because the words slam into you. It makes me catch my breath because I can't believe I'm reading words that flow in a new way, in a fresh and sprawling pattern that fanfic has almost caused me to unlearn with its typical seamless sameness. What am I talking about? Well...this isn't your 15 year-old cousin's Bangel fic. It reads like epic poetry and the meta sneaks up and digs in deep: She’s been to Heaven and he’s been to Hell, and now all that’s left is in between, the never perfect and no longer innocent.

Comments

[lillianmorgan.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for these! I don't see much Doyle fic so I'm jumping on that one, and I *should* have read most of these but haven't so thanks for pointing the way to them.

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

Thanks and you're welcome! That Cordy/Angel fic actually gave me pause the first time I read it (it was early in my days as an su_herald editor) because I realized that I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't been searching fandom for Herald listing. I'd always considered myself "well-rounded" because I read the occasional Buffy/Spike or Wesley/Fred fics my RL best friends posted to LJ and because I gave equal opportunity to Spike/Xander, Spike/Angel and Xander/Angel fic. It really made me stop and think about how much well-written fic I was missing out on, just because it wasn't in my "OTP" and it opened me up to searching out new writers, pairings and genres.

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

Ooops, and I meant Cordy/Doyle. :)

[lillianmorgan.livejournal.com]

Heh. That icon :)
Yes, I very much agree. Branching out has opened my eyes to so many well-written fics. There's hardly a pairing or type of fic I won't read now.

[lostakasha.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much for the lovely rec, Sue! Here's hoping that you and Caza have a lovely New Year!

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

You are more than welcome! I re-read this as I linked it and got something new from it again. And I love that Angel mumbles around his food. *g* Lovely New Year to you, too!!!

[slackerace.livejournal.com]

I haven't read any of these, so I began with Indelible by nwhepcat (or actually the prequel). Wow. I mean, I know her writing and have read several of her stories, but this blew me away. Someone attempting a D/X pairing has to pass my extreme skepticism, but she does this in spades. Thanks for reccing an enjoyable story I would otherwise probably not have read.

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to say that, as a Xander-centric reader/writer, I had read very little nwhepcat before I stumbled across "Indelible." I had never read Xander/Dawn before, and even Xander would be the one person I could see Dawn paired with in the Buffyverse, I wasn't sure it was a relationship that would move me. nwhepcat proved me wrong. Glad you found something to enjoy! Hope you make it to the others, too, and thanks for commenting. :)

[zandra-x.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the mention. And it's really cool that something I wrote made you think of looking for whole new types of things to read. That makes me feel great.

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome - I loved that story. Hee - yes, I had a total moment with your story. Epiphany, some might say. It really opened my eyes to everything I didn't know about fandom. Humbling and wonderful at once. Thank you!

[lettered.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec. And I'm looking forward to reading these other fics--especially lostakasha's--I was never much for A/C in canon, either, but she writes it the way it SHOULD be.

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize how deep my Cordy love ran until I looked over these recs and went...whoa. Well, at least Buffy got a mention! Of course, it could be a bit of my Xander or Angel with anyone fix...or that not-so-secret Bangel girl in Spander clothing...but yeah, yours definitely tops my list of year's best. And lostakasha is my canon C/A. Oh, yeah.

[yourlibrarian]

Wow, can't wait for some time to dig into these. You've definitely sold me.

And hee to the icon!

[crazydiamondsue.livejournal.com]

Heee! It's truly way hard. Hope you find some to enjoy!