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buffyversetop5Five fannish "love letters" to my favorite underappreciated and overlooked friendship in the Buffyverse. Only two of these stories include Dawn "onscreen" but all of them mention her in some way, echoing S5's "Family". In a world defined by violence and certain death, Love is the most courageous possible choice, their gift to one another. Alphabetical by authors' pennames.
"Talk to Me (That's What Friends Are For)" by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
clockwork_hart1 - (Gen; Buffy, Tara, implied B/S & W/T; S6 episodic of "As You Were") Lucy's responded to my prompt for a Buffy and Tara friendship fic in which Tara "is a complex human being, NOT a perfect angel or saint". This lovely deleted scene that was everything I wanted and more. Buffy and Tara offer each other comfort, solace and support after Buffy breaks up with Spike and Tara reluctantly confesses her own anger towards Willow. Bonus: (comlodge's gorgeous banner for the story.)
"Re-Make, Re-Model" byelviswhataguy - (Buffy, Tara; implied B/T, early S6) Somewhat darker and more explictly "shippy" than "Warmth" (below); Buffy struggles with feelings of depression, anger, attraction to Tara as they try to bond with Tara via mundane things: schoolwork and soup. Deftly explores multiple similarities and parallels between the two characters that run deep beneath the apparent differences; an accurate portrayal of what depression actually feels like. (Credit, gratitude and a plate of warm home-made brownies to punch_kicker15 for introducing me to this author in their rec list.)
"Blurring the Lines" bykwritten - (Buffy/Tara; AU) The author's summary reads: AU- Tara doesn't die in "Seeing Red"; use of Key-canon. This is the one I'm having the hardest time describing (my brain is coming up with "Virginia Woolf?") Full disclosure: the first time I read this delicate, almost abstract open-ended prose-poem I didn't "get" it. It's not plotty in any traditional sense, it could be set almost anytime between the moment Buffy knows Dawn is the Key; it's probably S6 but could be the summer before S7. It feels like the seed of or a snippet from a true 'verse of it's own. MORE, PRETTY PLEASE? ETA: Kwritten just made my wish come true and added chapter two. *SQUEES*
"Take a Moment" bylanoyee - (Gen; Buffy, Dawn and ensemble, S6 post-Grave) Buffy, Dawn, Giles and the Scoobies grieve for Tara at her funeral in this "deleted scene" fic that's part narrative, part prose-poem that satisfies what I want and need: proper tribute paid to Tara after her death and acknowledgement of her importance to beyond "Willow's partner". Spare and melancholy with a surprising warmth beneath the sadness, it gave me what I wanted AND needed. (Inspired this meta post that is one of my favorite things I have ever written.)
"Warmth" by thedissociation - (Buffy, Tara, Dawn, implied B/T; S6 episodic of Dead Things.) - Buffy's confession and breakdown to Tara in DT has been one of the most frequent and convenient starting points for Buffy & Tara fics; this is one of my favorite versions. Can be read as friendship or 'shippy' depending on which way you squint. The label or catagory isn't what matters here; the most important thing is the sense of "family"; the interweaving of sadness, love, confusion and hope; of emotional comfort freely given and reluctantly received.
"Talk to Me (That's What Friends Are For)" by
clockwork_hart1 - (Gen; Buffy, Tara, implied B/S & W/T; S6 episodic of "As You Were") Lucy's responded to my prompt for a Buffy and Tara friendship fic in which Tara "is a complex human being, NOT a perfect angel or saint". This lovely deleted scene that was everything I wanted and more. Buffy and Tara offer each other comfort, solace and support after Buffy breaks up with Spike and Tara reluctantly confesses her own anger towards Willow. Bonus: (comlodge's gorgeous banner for the story.) "Re-Make, Re-Model" by
elviswhataguy - (Buffy, Tara; implied B/T, early S6) Somewhat darker and more explictly "shippy" than "Warmth" (below); Buffy struggles with feelings of depression, anger, attraction to Tara as they try to bond with Tara via mundane things: schoolwork and soup. Deftly explores multiple similarities and parallels between the two characters that run deep beneath the apparent differences; an accurate portrayal of what depression actually feels like. (Credit, gratitude and a plate of warm home-made brownies to punch_kicker15 for introducing me to this author in their rec list.)"Blurring the Lines" by
kwritten - (Buffy/Tara; AU) The author's summary reads: AU- Tara doesn't die in "Seeing Red"; use of Key-canon. This is the one I'm having the hardest time describing (my brain is coming up with "Virginia Woolf?") Full disclosure: the first time I read this delicate, almost abstract open-ended prose-poem I didn't "get" it. It's not plotty in any traditional sense, it could be set almost anytime between the moment Buffy knows Dawn is the Key; it's probably S6 but could be the summer before S7. It feels like the seed of or a snippet from a true 'verse of it's own. "Take a Moment" by
lanoyee - (Gen; Buffy, Dawn and ensemble, S6 post-Grave) Buffy, Dawn, Giles and the Scoobies grieve for Tara at her funeral in this "deleted scene" fic that's part narrative, part prose-poem that satisfies what I want and need: proper tribute paid to Tara after her death and acknowledgement of her importance to beyond "Willow's partner". Spare and melancholy with a surprising warmth beneath the sadness, it gave me what I wanted AND needed. (Inspired this meta post that is one of my favorite things I have ever written.)"Warmth" by thedissociation - (Buffy, Tara, Dawn, implied B/T; S6 episodic of Dead Things.) - Buffy's confession and breakdown to Tara in DT has been one of the most frequent and convenient starting points for Buffy & Tara fics; this is one of my favorite versions. Can be read as friendship or 'shippy' depending on which way you squint. The label or catagory isn't what matters here; the most important thing is the sense of "family"; the interweaving of sadness, love, confusion and hope; of emotional comfort freely given and reluctantly received.
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Date: 2014-01-08 10:54 pm (UTC)Psst, can you tuck this behind an lj-cut after the first story?
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Date: 2014-01-08 11:02 pm (UTC)Excellent set of tags, btw - may I suggest adding "CAT: AU" to the tags list? At least 1-3 of these are either explict or implied AU.
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Date: 2014-01-09 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-09 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 11:30 pm (UTC)Gabrielle
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Date: 2014-01-09 01:27 am (UTC)This year I struggled to find five for this list; next year I hope to have more than I can put in one post! *fingers crossed*
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Date: 2014-01-09 12:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-09 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-09 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-09 01:25 am (UTC)I think of Clockwork's story as the one that really "kicked off" a tremendous period of creativity for her, or at least the moment I noticed her as a writer, because she came out with one fantastic story after another after this.
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Date: 2014-01-09 09:40 pm (UTC)I was still finding me feet with what I wanted to write in the fandom, and whilst I do, on occasion write pure smut, this was when I really found my affinity for genfic.
And now I just want to gush about the amazingness of this list. I've just read Kwritten's story (and the new part she just wrote) and I completely love it. It's chaos and free and dizzying, but stark at the same time. Wonderful, totally wonderful.
(also, my icon is so perfect for this post)
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Date: 2014-01-10 12:39 am (UTC)Blame (Credit?) which I very freely accept - as long as I share it with velvetwhip</> and other lovely folks.
this was when I really found my affinity for genfic.
I think reading your stories really helped me out of rut as well, and are one of the things that pushed me towards getting out of the Spuffy ghetto and broadening my reading a bit? As well as confirming - again - that the women are of interest to fandom but you're right, there has to be a push. there has to be conversations, stories and posts - not just once in a while but continuously practiced.
And I keep thinking back to your rewrite of Checkpoint and it's one of the best things ever in part because I have NEVER SEEN IT done anywhere else and yours is EXACTLY how I imagined that episode should have gone. EXACTLY how we all pretty much agree it should have gone. But YOU did it, you gave us that. And more Jenny/Giles, and Tara.
Basically you kept your promise: Vengenace for the scorned women - in the most wonderfully creative (not destructive) form.
It's chaos and free and dizzying, but stark at the same time. Wonderful, totally wonderful.
I love your "reviews" because they encapsulate everything I'm thinking with less words and more clearly. And yes, that story is superb...and maybe we'll get more from her? *hoping*
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Date: 2014-01-12 01:12 am (UTC)I like to 'blame' people for things, usually as a result of compliments - I'm quite self deprecating, so I don't always know how to take them. Flattery is so awkward with me. But you and Gabrielle especially deserve credit for the stellar prompts you gave me last year. Some of the fics that I'm most proud of are from your ideas.
I left the "Spuffy ghetto" a while back (that's not to say I don't dip a toe in every so often - mixed metaphor?), and I've embraced genfic. It's still a rare beast, though, and porn is the easiest way to get noticed in fandom, so I think there will always be somewhat of a divide. But the women are worth, no, deserving of having things devoted solely to them, away from shipping and if that takes off then I'm happy. Even if I have to keep exacting my "vengeance" on the fandom for another ten years (and here's hoping I do)
I love your "reviews" because they encapsulate everything I'm thinking with less words and more clearly
That is so nice of you. All I really do is describe how it makes me feel. Maybe it's just us sharing a brain again? Because often your reviews of things are what help formulate (and articulate) the things I put in my comments.
And I would ADORE more Kwritten fic. Kelsey has such a wonderful command of language, in an abstract and gorgeous way.
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Date: 2014-01-12 07:13 pm (UTC)When it comes to compliments I've always torn in two extremes at once: I LOVE getting them but at the same time not entirely believing them. Except when it comes to certain things like my cooking, because I have absolute confidence in that. I know I'm a good cook, it's not a question.
But otherwise it becomes, I accept it on one level and don't on a deeper level and am really really trying to allow myself to. Folks in this fandom have been so very kind to me this last week and I'm still thinking "Me? Huh? Really?"
And yet I'll self-pimp my own stuff shamelessly - because the internet gives me a certain safety; and also because I've been learning a lot about the need to self-promote from my friend Kackie, who is a novelist. We have to talk about ourselves to get other people doing so. I think because I know it's hard, I'm always happy to pimp other folks. It's always easier to do it for someone else.
But you and Gabrielle especially deserve credit for the stellar prompts you gave me last year. Some of the fics that I'm most proud of are from your ideas.
You deserve all the credit for taking the raw material and creating solid masterpieces! But "collaborating" in this way is one of the things that gives me a lot of pleasure. It's hard to find the people that I "gel" with in that way, and collaboration and exchanging ideas is absolutely essential to the process of creation. NO ONE creates in a vacuum. We all need feedback.
I left the "Spuffy ghetto" a while back (that's not to say I don't dip a toe in every so often - mixed metaphor?), and I've embraced genfic. It's still a rare beast, though, and porn is the easiest way to get noticed in fandom, so I think there will always be somewhat of a divide. But the women are worth, no, deserving of having things devoted solely to them, away from shipping and if that takes off then I'm happy. Even if I have to keep exacting my "vengeance" on the fandom for another ten years (and here's hoping I do)
I'm quoting that entire comment because YES YES YES to every word of that - we really do share the same brain. :D
Especially those last two sentence. I hope you do too! You inspire me to keep going.
And I also hope Kelsey keeps going with this series. It's fascinating how she has mastered two very different styles of writing, and that she can do essays(meta) and fiction (your description is nigh-on perfect) equally well. That's hard to find because the two have very different requirements.
Wednesday, January 8
Date: 2014-01-09 02:00 am (UTC)On Sisterhood and Friendship 2 (Or apparently I have more stuff to say and it's all BtVS's fault)
Date: 2014-01-09 08:59 pm (UTC)Thursday, January 9
Date: 2014-01-10 02:51 am (UTC)