5 Stories of Non-Canon Ships That Have Blown Me Away

[rebcake]

Ships, I've had a few, but then again, too few to.... that's a lie. I can ship practically anybody, if the author can show me how it works. In these meaty, angsty, and plot-driven stories, the writers made me believe in an unconventional, non-canon pairing. (And one thruple.) There may not always be a ton of romance, but there are always a ton of feelings. All links to AO3.

Into the Dark Age by Sadhyl (NC17, Buffy/Ethan/Ripper)
Buffy ends up in Black Magic 1970s London, in the company of some familiar — if much younger than she's used to — faces. She hopes to stop them from making a terrible mistake. They hope for something a lot more basic.

Family Reunion by Glassdarkly / shapinglight  (NC17, Darla/Spike) Read the warnings on this fic!
A very dark tale of what might have happened if Darla had survived Connor's birth and decided to raise her very special (i.e. creepy) child to fulfill his destiny without Angel's filthy soul getting in the way. A lot of this story is told from the viewpoint of Connor's nanny, who is terrified, but not terrified enough.

Now for a couple of post-NFA hurt/comfort Spander fics, one with a very messed up Spike, and the other with a very messed up Xander. 

Sock Puppet by shadowscast  (R, Spike/Xander)
A couple of years post-NFA, Xander is living a very ordinary life in L.A. The arrival of a very damaged Spike throws everything into question.

The Approved Mode of Payback and its sequel Blue-Eyed Boy by herself_nyc  (NC17, Spike/Xander)
Spike and Illyria are the sole survivors of the battle against The Circle of The Black Thorn, and Spike isn't ready for the appearance of a drastically altered Xander in Los Angeles. But ready or not, he's lonely enough to try to reach out.

Colors by Anaross (R, Spike/Zoë Washburn) A BtVS/AtS/Firefly crossover.
The surviving crew of the Serenity picks up a new passenger who turns out to be one of those supposedly extinct vampire fellas. Zoë is still mourning her husband, and the vampire has some grief of his own, but they find they work well together. (This is a serious story, although there's a cracky alternate ending, if you're into that kind of thing.)

Comments

[petzipellepingo]

Ah yes, I remember Glass Darkly .

Thanks for posting.

[rebcake]

Glassdarkly is the author name on AO3. She goes by many names...

[yourlibrarian]

I don't think I've read that first one -- but a good set all around!

[rebcake]

I am sort of squicked by the idea of Buffy/Giles, for many reasons, but the author feels the same way. Buffy/Ripper on the other hand.... soooooo interesting.

[yourlibrarian]

It's one of the ones I've downloaded -- definitely an intriguing premise.

[shapinglight]

Thank you so much for reccing my fic. I've contrived to miss the entirety of Top 5 this Halloween, sadly.

[rebcake]

It was over very fast! But then, it always is!

[double_dutchess]

Thanks for these! The ones I've read are all wonderful, so I expect the rest are too.

[rebcake]

I like 'em, obviously, so I hope you do, too. They are all very serious business, though, which I think people don't expect from me. So: fair warning!