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buffyversetop5From the department of hyperspecific Top 5 categories: my beta does some damn fine work, and their most ingenious stories tend to fly under the radar.
In this post: Olivia/Jhiera, Anya/Kennedy, Nikki Wood/Xin Rong, Darla/Willow (but neither of them soulless), and Riley/Buffy (but Riley meant it when she said she's a lesbian).
Life Takes You Strange Places Sometimes (Olivia/Jhiera, T, 3450w)
If you don't know/remember who Jhiera is, don't worry! Neither did I, but she is introduced from Olivia's POV, and there's also a helpful recap in the author's notes.
I think it would be fair to describe this as a story about seeing and understanding, and what art can do for us. Obviously, I'm into it.
I love the fascinating and rich setting and the original demon characters. Wiggins has done an impressive job fleshing out Olivia and stepping into her perspective (and, I have to assume because I don't know canon, fleshing out Jhiera too). The connections the story draws between Olivia's experiences and the experiences of the demons she meets, allowing them to find common ground, hit me like a subway train, twice; it was great.
This gets better with every time I reread it, not only because we gave it a bit of a polish this week and it's shinier than ever, but also because it is that layered - there's a lot of stuff to notice and enjoy.
No Better Way to Spend an Evening (Anya/Kennedy, T, 1953w)
Anya's perspective is always a delight, and this story dives pretty deep into character study. It's funny AND insightful, and then it attacks me with Anya feels. Plus, there's another fun demon, the ship is intriguing, and "Bluntness" is a tag.
Two Slayers, No Waiting (Nikki Wood/Xin Rong, T, mind the warnings, 250w)
Well, I'd say this is a genuinely heartwarming, hopeful little vignette with major character death! (No time-traveling lesbians were hurt in the making!) I have nothing but respect for the bold plot twist, and the ways the characters describe one another in their heads are super entertaining.
Better Shared (Darla/Willow, G, 250w)
Darla/Willow is a ship one does see around occasionally, but never like this. I get the impression that most Darla/Willow stories have a vampire Willow. That's not what's going on here. It's a 250-word sketch of a character dynamic, which means the brilliance is concentrated. Look at how Wiggins took a throwaway line from "Angel" the episode, among other things ("What's with the Catholic schoolgirl look? Last time I saw you it was kimonos."), and used it to build something new and vivid and surprisingly persuasive. Not only can I see this variation of the ship working, I cannot unsee it, in the best way.
Yes. I am a Lesbian. (Fem!Riley/Buffy, G, 1745w)
Iconic. My original AO3 comment is a real-time record of falling in love with this new and improved Riley approximately 100 words into the story and then just happy noises all the rest of the way down as Wiggins treats us to an extended character study and some light, adorable shippiness.
In this post: Olivia/Jhiera, Anya/Kennedy, Nikki Wood/Xin Rong, Darla/Willow (but neither of them soulless), and Riley/Buffy (but Riley meant it when she said she's a lesbian).
Life Takes You Strange Places Sometimes (Olivia/Jhiera, T, 3450w)
If you don't know/remember who Jhiera is, don't worry! Neither did I, but she is introduced from Olivia's POV, and there's also a helpful recap in the author's notes.
I think it would be fair to describe this as a story about seeing and understanding, and what art can do for us. Obviously, I'm into it.
I love the fascinating and rich setting and the original demon characters. Wiggins has done an impressive job fleshing out Olivia and stepping into her perspective (and, I have to assume because I don't know canon, fleshing out Jhiera too). The connections the story draws between Olivia's experiences and the experiences of the demons she meets, allowing them to find common ground, hit me like a subway train, twice; it was great.
This gets better with every time I reread it, not only because we gave it a bit of a polish this week and it's shinier than ever, but also because it is that layered - there's a lot of stuff to notice and enjoy.
No Better Way to Spend an Evening (Anya/Kennedy, T, 1953w)
Anya's perspective is always a delight, and this story dives pretty deep into character study. It's funny AND insightful, and then it attacks me with Anya feels. Plus, there's another fun demon, the ship is intriguing, and "Bluntness" is a tag.
Two Slayers, No Waiting (Nikki Wood/Xin Rong, T, mind the warnings, 250w)
Well, I'd say this is a genuinely heartwarming, hopeful little vignette with major character death! (No time-traveling lesbians were hurt in the making!) I have nothing but respect for the bold plot twist, and the ways the characters describe one another in their heads are super entertaining.
Better Shared (Darla/Willow, G, 250w)
Darla/Willow is a ship one does see around occasionally, but never like this. I get the impression that most Darla/Willow stories have a vampire Willow. That's not what's going on here. It's a 250-word sketch of a character dynamic, which means the brilliance is concentrated. Look at how Wiggins took a throwaway line from "Angel" the episode, among other things ("What's with the Catholic schoolgirl look? Last time I saw you it was kimonos."), and used it to build something new and vivid and surprisingly persuasive. Not only can I see this variation of the ship working, I cannot unsee it, in the best way.
Yes. I am a Lesbian. (Fem!Riley/Buffy, G, 1745w)
Iconic. My original AO3 comment is a real-time record of falling in love with this new and improved Riley approximately 100 words into the story and then just happy noises all the rest of the way down as Wiggins treats us to an extended character study and some light, adorable shippiness.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-30 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 07:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-30 11:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 01:21 am (UTC)And thanks for the insightful comments on each story!
I love how you picked up on exactly what I was doing in Better Shared. Honestly, the going through outfit phases part had always been my headcanon for Darla and I was a bit bummed that it never came into play in her AtS characterization.
And I now have to add "no time-traveling lesbians were hurt in the making" to Two Slayers. :D
no subject
Date: 2020-10-31 07:40 am (UTC)"And I now have to add "no time-traveling lesbians were hurt in the making" to Two Slayers."
Heeee, you did the thing! :))) Good. I think that tag might genuinely be somewhat useful, to reassure people a little about the Major Character Death.