Five Classic Willow fics

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Willow is a fascinating and complex character to me, and I really enjoy fiction that reflects that. Here are five classic Willow fics. I'm going to be cautious and label them all not worksafe.

1) The Power and The Other Thing by mosca.Willow/Tara, Willow/Glory (not really the focus of the story) Gorgeous Wishverse story, with Nerdy Willow, Super-witch Willow, and Scary Willow all wrapped up into one. I really enjoy the way the characters from Angel were worked in. The tone is a bit chilly and remote and matches the world-building wonderfully. This is one of the most hopeful Wishverse stories I've read, but the hope seems earned. This is one of those stories that I think should get a lot more recognition than it has.

2)Family Issues by MarcusRowland. Willow/Tara Season 6 Men In Black crossover. When the Men In Black get called out to Sunnydale, it sets into motion a much funnier, happier Season 6 arc for Willow, Tara, Buffy, Spike, Dawn, Xander, and Anya, (and a much worse fate for Warren) while still acknowledging Willow’s control-freak personality and how formidable she can be even without magic.

3)Culture Vultures by Yahtzee. Sort of Willow/Oz, Post-Chosen. Willow, Oz, and Faith visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Handles Willow’s post-Grave issues (her need to fix things, the balance between Geeky Willow and Magic Willow) in one story better than all of Season 7 did. There’s also some interesting Willow and Faith interaction (an opportunity the show missed IMO) and a plot that ties all those elements together in an entertaining way.

4)Corpus et Sanguis by Trekker. Season 5 Willow/Giles. This is a beautifully written love story that presents Giles and Willow as complex, flawed people who make mistakes that end up hurting other people. Despite having some wildly AU aspects (it's an mpreg story), the Season 5 canon is subtly and effectively woven into the story. There's a genuine affection for all of the Buffyverse characters, warts and all, that's a delight to read. I never thought I'd be interested in an mpreg story before I read this story. This is also the story that made appreciate the Giles/Willow ship, which I’d never really taken seriously before.

5) Dark Zen by IridescentZen. Vamp Willow/Riley. I don’t tend to empathize much with Vamp Willow or Riley, but this short story made me ache for both of them. If you like this one, IridescentZen has more than a dozen other dark,angsty Willow fics for your perusal.

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for reccing Family Issues - it's a fairly old story now but I had a lot of fun with it.

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool. I didn't know you were on livejournal. I had a blast reading Family Issues, glad you enjoyed writing it too.

[endeni]

Oh, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to read those fics... ;)

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. :)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reccing these! I don't think I've read any of them.

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty new to the fandom and was a little worried that I'd end up recommending stuff that everyone had already read. I'm glad to hear that some of these are ones people haven't read.

[yourlibrarian]

What an interesting mix of stories. Thanks for the post!

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

One of the fun things about Willow is that she lends herself to a really wide range of fiction.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

While I could be upset that I don't recognize any of these classic fics, I am actually thrilled to have new stories to read. ;-)

I have recently read Trekker's Nothing Like a Prayer (http://www.hairy-eyeball.com/trekker/trekker_noprayer.html) because Gabrielle (http://velvetwhip.livejournal.com/) sent me to Hairy Eyeball (http://www.hairy-eyeball.com/authors.html) with the suggestion I check out the fic there.

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Glad that I seem to have dug up some fairly obscure classics.

The only complaint I have about Trekker's fiction is that there isn't more of it. She wrote a lot of Giles/Ethan, and Inversion, which is a fantastic Season 2 VampGiles fic.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I'm a huge Giles/Ethan fan. Happy, happy, happy to have new stories to read. ;-)

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Dark Zen is excellent. An old favorite of mine for sure.


Gabrielle

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

It's one of those brilliant character pairings that I never in a million years would have thought of on my own, but makes me think, "Oh, yes, of course" when I read it.

[ladycallie.livejournal.com]

She's my favorite character, and I have not read ANY of these, so thank you for reccing!

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Great, hope you enjoy them as much as I did. :)

[snogged.livejournal.com]

VampWillow and Riley?

I NEED TO READ THIS STORY!!

[punch-kicker15.livejournal.com]

Yes, you do. :)

You might also like IridescentZen's Hostile X, a dark fic with non-vamp Willow and Riley as the main characters.