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buffyversetop5When I discovered fandom and fic back in the early 2000's, there are some stories that stood out because they made me realise just how wonderfully malleable canon could be in the right hands. That realisation expanded my universe! :)
I’ve recced Te’s stories many times before, but my love for her stuff bears repeating. Post Grad series blew my tiny, sheltered mind when I read it early on in my adventures in fandom. It made me understand the power of ‘what if’. This is Spike/Xander, plot, porn and so much ‘oh my goodness’ that it makes my eyes cross just thinking about it.
Of Old Mystics by wolfling and omphalos is one of the most satisfying Giles/Ethan stories I’ve ever read.It’s an epic, it has a great plot, the characterisation of the guys is wonderful, and it has great OC’s. There are more great, quotable lines than you can shake the proverbial stick at, and the very last line makes me catch my breath every single time.
Talking of Giles, Career Change by riani1 (also known as Two Ladies of Quality) showed me how terrifying and logical Vamp! Giles could be. If I could point every new writer in our fandom to this story and say - this is how it’s done - then I would do so. It’s a textbook example of how to blend canon events with non canon events and make you wish it had happened this way. The writing, characterisation and attention to detail are all reasons I come back to this story, time and again. Be warned, there is some Giles/Spike slash, but that’s more a by product of the story, not the focus. And once you’ve finished that, you should go onto Career Advancement, which is part of the same story. Riani1 did start a new part of this story called Liquidation over at her LJ. It’s never been finished, more’s the pity, but it’s worth a look.
I’m going to stay with riani1 to rec Nessuno. I’m sure I’ve recced it before here, but again it bears repeating. I avoided this story for a long time because it sounded too wacked out even for my pretty out there tastes, but once I read it, I fell in love. It’s set in the late 15th century when all roads lead to Rome and the Borgias are in power. Alexander is an innocent novice priest studying in the Vatican who accidently runs across infamous soldier of fortune Guglielmo il Sanguinante, second in command of the mercenary company the Scourge of Europe, under the command of Angelo dell'Irlanda. Soon our young innocent is pulled into a world of political intrigue and magical power struggles and his life will never be the same. Yes, it sounds crazy, but it works, and reading it taught me that an AU can take a left hand turn somewhere around Saturn and still remain true to its canon roots.
I could have recced any one of a number of Liz Marcs stories, but one that haunts me is Cuckoo in the Nest. This is such a prime example of taking a canon character - Tony Harris - that we don’t actually see a lot of in canon, but who has an almost set in stone fanon character, and having the author rummage around in the guts and brains of him to throw everything we know about him into sharp relief. The first time I read this I sat and stared at the screen for ages afterwards, just absorbing...
I’ve recced Te’s stories many times before, but my love for her stuff bears repeating. Post Grad series blew my tiny, sheltered mind when I read it early on in my adventures in fandom. It made me understand the power of ‘what if’. This is Spike/Xander, plot, porn and so much ‘oh my goodness’ that it makes my eyes cross just thinking about it.
Of Old Mystics by wolfling and omphalos is one of the most satisfying Giles/Ethan stories I’ve ever read.It’s an epic, it has a great plot, the characterisation of the guys is wonderful, and it has great OC’s. There are more great, quotable lines than you can shake the proverbial stick at, and the very last line makes me catch my breath every single time.
Talking of Giles, Career Change by riani1 (also known as Two Ladies of Quality) showed me how terrifying and logical Vamp! Giles could be. If I could point every new writer in our fandom to this story and say - this is how it’s done - then I would do so. It’s a textbook example of how to blend canon events with non canon events and make you wish it had happened this way. The writing, characterisation and attention to detail are all reasons I come back to this story, time and again. Be warned, there is some Giles/Spike slash, but that’s more a by product of the story, not the focus. And once you’ve finished that, you should go onto Career Advancement, which is part of the same story. Riani1 did start a new part of this story called Liquidation over at her LJ. It’s never been finished, more’s the pity, but it’s worth a look.
I’m going to stay with riani1 to rec Nessuno. I’m sure I’ve recced it before here, but again it bears repeating. I avoided this story for a long time because it sounded too wacked out even for my pretty out there tastes, but once I read it, I fell in love. It’s set in the late 15th century when all roads lead to Rome and the Borgias are in power. Alexander is an innocent novice priest studying in the Vatican who accidently runs across infamous soldier of fortune Guglielmo il Sanguinante, second in command of the mercenary company the Scourge of Europe, under the command of Angelo dell'Irlanda. Soon our young innocent is pulled into a world of political intrigue and magical power struggles and his life will never be the same. Yes, it sounds crazy, but it works, and reading it taught me that an AU can take a left hand turn somewhere around Saturn and still remain true to its canon roots.
I could have recced any one of a number of Liz Marcs stories, but one that haunts me is Cuckoo in the Nest. This is such a prime example of taking a canon character - Tony Harris - that we don’t actually see a lot of in canon, but who has an almost set in stone fanon character, and having the author rummage around in the guts and brains of him to throw everything we know about him into sharp relief. The first time I read this I sat and stared at the screen for ages afterwards, just absorbing...
