Five Short Fics I Really Enjoyed

[shapinglight]

Here are five short fics I really enjoyed in 2011. It's by no means an exhaustive list - for a start, I could say go and read everything by bruttimabuoni and readerjane on sb_fag_ends - but I've tried to make it as diverse as possible.

A First Time For Everything, by hello_spikey, Spike/Riley, NC17. This is a follow up to a Spike/Riley fic hello_spikey wrote a while back, called Riley Large and In Charge, which I loved. Lucky me, I got to challenge her to write a sequel.



Adult Content by beer_good_foamy, Buffy-postChosen, PG. Something she never expected to happen, Buffy turns 30, and just for once, her birthday is uninterrupted by monsters (well, almost).

All Quiet on the Northern Front, by bruttimabuoni, Spike/Buffy, PG. This was written for a prompt on sb_fag_ends, and honestly? I could have chosen anything by this author and recommended it, but I decided to go with this one, because cross-cultural shenanigans are one of my favourite Spuffy tropes.

Battle's End, by rebcake, Spike and Nikki Wood, PG. A very different (and amusing) end to that battle in the subway train.

Integrity by readerjane, PG, Buffy and Giles, with warnings for major character death. Somehow or other, this author managed to turn a daft prompt about cross dressing for the December pantomime theme on sb_fag_ends into this amazing piece of angst.

Bonus fic: Life Stage, by readerjane, PG, a sequel to Integrity, with more Spuffy content, and, inspired by quinara's Spikeid, written as an epic poem in iambic pentameters. Beautifully done.

Comments

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is often very hard to narrow it down to just five. Thanks for posting.

[shapinglight]

They're all good ones. I hope people enjoy them.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Another excellent list of recs. Thanks for posting. :D

[shapinglight]

Hope you enjoy them, Sue.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Awww. Thanks, sweetie! Such lovely company to put my crack in! (That didn't come out quite right...)

You might be interested to know that I've now got a whole AU in my head in which Spike acts as Nikki's Sassy Gay Friend (not precisely gay, 'cos: Drusilla) giving her relationship advice and exchanging fashion tips whilst sniping at and teasing each other. I just can't decide if it all ends in betrayal most foul or not. ;-)

[shapinglight]

I like your AU. :)

[yourlibrarian]

I just read Integrity, that was a wonderful ficlet.

[shapinglight]

It is, isn't it?

[readerjane]

OMgoodness, ShapingLight, thank you so much!

[shapinglight]

My pleasure. Very well deserved.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I could say go and read everything by [info]brutti_ma_buoni and [info]readerjane on [info]sb_fag_ends I second that. How does one pick????

[shapinglight]

It's very hard. In the end, I almost had to shut my eyes and stick a pin in the comm.