buffyversetop5 | Entries tagged with char: xander

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

So, sparrow2000, now you know why I've been reading - and commenting - on your stories lately! For the rest of you, some of the stories are dark - I'm looking at you Memento Mori - but I believe they're all worksafe.

We could have quite a lively debate about which of sparrow2000’s stories are the best, but I believe any such list would have to include Magpie. The incredible writing, the detailed descriptions … I don’t know if I can describe what makes sparow2000’s stories so great, but this one has it all.

( the rest of the recs will give you chocolate if you click them )

petzipellepingo.livejournal.com

In no particular order :
( Read more... )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

Some favorite gen stories of the past year, arranged from shortest to longest.

Distractions by

il_mio_capitano (Giles, Xander, PG). A library horror drabble that could really give you chills.

Parent Traps by

aliceinkinkland (Willow, Anya, Xander, Tara, G). After "The Gift," Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya discuss how they’re going to raise Dawn without turning into their own not-so-perfect parents.

( Read more... )

baudown.livejournal.com

Yes, I know that everything

sparrow2000 writes is excellent, but here are my top five picks from the past year:

1. No Lodging is probably me favorite fic of the year. It's tragic and haunting, and the language and imagery just stayed with me.

2. Words to Live By is a fascinating and original look at Xander in one of his darker moments.

3. One of These Days is a little slice of Giles' and Ethan's history. It's now head canon for me.

4. Pushing Limits is Xander/Lindsey pre-slash. Xander's living for the moment. At least, for the moment.

5. Distraction is Spike/Xander. A slice of their life together, and the voices are absolutely perfect.

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

I tried to pick fics that

sparrow2000 didn't rec already but I had to mention

aadler's awesome remix.

All the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile by cori_the_bloody: Post-Chosen. Xander’s been reeling from all the change in his life. New city, new job…it’s all a bit overwhelming. He’s still got a lot to be thankful for, though, and his friends are determined to remind him of that fact. One-shot written for a Christmas fic exchange.
( More Xander goodness )

velvetwhip.livejournal.com

You didn't think I could stop at 5, did you?

Here are 5 more amazingly fab stories starring Willow.

1) Home is Where Your Heart Is (Willow, Xander, Sheila, Ira) by

sandy_s: Another Spuffy legend tries her hand at Willow and once again does it exceedingly well.

sandy_s gives us Willow's last visit with her parents but she also gives us a lovely evocation of the enduring friendship of Willow and Xander. A twofer that's twice as nice for that. This one has a core of sadness and resignation that really resonates. Oh, this one was written for

whichwillow, as are the next two (and The Killer in Me, from my earlier list). That fest really inspires wonderful stories.

( More Magic if You Click the Cut )

velvetwhip.livejournal.com

I do this every year, so why break with tradition? Here are five amazing stories that feature Willow as a central figure.

1) Sewing the Seeds (missing scene from The Beating of the Bounds) (Willow, The Tailor) by

sparrow2000: If all this does is get you to read the incredible The Beating of the Bounds, a Xander-centric AU of superlative depth and artistry, then my work is done. But this tale - featuring Willow - has its own brilliance and needs to be appreciated on its own terms. It's subtle and deceptively prosaic but look beneath its smooth surface and the depths are churning. Join me in ordering Sparrow to write more Willow. She has a knack for it.

( Click me for magic )

baphrosia.livejournal.com

Also known as the only five entries (so far!) in the Narwhal!verse...

What's this, you say? You've heard of the Penguin!verse, but not the Narwhal!verse? It all started from THIS prompt.

( Read more... )

baphrosia.livejournal.com

foxstarreh is one of my favorite all-around authors. In no particular order:

HUNGER (Buffy & Spike, PG) A short, dark, creepy AU set in early S6.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Well, I said that I would probably have to do a second set of Gen recs, because there had been so much good stuff last year, so here it is.

Letters Never Sent (the Crumpled Sheets Remix) by

nothorse just killed me. Xander tries to write to Jesse’s parents. I defy you not to at least sniffle a bit with this one. This is a remix of

texanfan’s equally great Lonely Burden.

( And the rest of the goodies... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Peers over the parapet and waves at everone. Wow, where did 2015 go!

I admit to shameless pillaging from my end of year review, but then why reinvent the wheel. There were a lot more than five gen fics that I loved this year, so this is just a cross-section of them.

Last Man Standing by

thea_bromine finds a potential trainee watcher having a chat with the head of the Council. This is lovely, vivid storytelling and well worth a read.

( And there's more... )

draconin.livejournal.com

Since people seemed quite taken with the first set here are five more, probably better known than the first set.

Living History by LizMarcs
Rating: PG, Worksafe
Some people have come from a place far, far away and a time far, far ahead to ask for help on an urgent matter. The time they were aiming for? February 2008. The place? Moscow. The problem? Somehow they've ended up in Cleveland, September 2003. And that’s just the beginning of the trouble; they seem to be descendants of the Scoobies and are determined not to change the past... but they haven't reckoned with Xander. Superbly written with a fascinating plot, some of the most beautifully crafted OCs I've ever seen and a wonderful portrayal of Xander and Faith. Very highly recommended!

( Read more... )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

As I was waiting for Buffyverse Top 5 to begin this month, these came to mind as in I didn't go looking at my bookmarks.

1. Indri's In the Morning of the Magicians. This is totally my head-canon for how Ripper and Ethan met. It has so many things going for it. Bourgeois Ripper who is put off by his friends' lifestyle. The story Ripper is telling himself keeps changing as he realizes he's not going to make it big as a musician. How Eyghon would not have been invoked without both Ripper and Ethan in the mix, but Ripper denies all blame, putting it all on Ethan. This is what breaks Ethan, taking the blame onto himself and thinking that he doesn't know how to have friends and that's what turns him into the Ethan from BtVS. It's a marvelous tale.

( the rest of the recs are at the halloween party / samhain ritual that I'm late for )

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

The Learning Curve by

il_mio_capitano: Immediately after Becoming Part 2. How Giles came to learn about Buffy's note and Joyce's first encounter with Buffy's "watcher."
( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

I’m a sucker for stories that say ‘what happens next’ post series, because there are so many possibilities. Here are five ‘what ifs..
.
Half a Sky of Stars by

curiouswombat has my all time bullet proof kink – strong, confident Xander who has found his place in the world. Just gorgeous. Oh and this is het.

( Drops a trail of breadcrumbs... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

I know Gabrielle has already posted a dark fic list, but since it is almost Halloween, I thought we could stand to have another one. Here are five Xander fics that play in the shadows of the Buffy ‘verse. These are all dark and delicious and make me go ‘eeeeeek....’

Red Apple Falls by

_dellamore makes me want to go hide under the bed. Bodies are stacking up all over Sunnydale. The Scoobies think they know who’s responsible, but only Xander knows why. It’s amazing what can happen when love becomes obsession. Make sure you read this with the light on.

( Hello darkness, my old friend.... )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

Five of my favorite parody fics, arranged from shortest to longest.

Spike's Fury by

coalitiongirl. Buffy, Angel, Spike, PG-13. The alternate ending of season 8 comics. Much better than canon one.

( There are more! )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

Favorite lighthearted fic from past year, in order from shortest to longest.

Just Plain Evil by

hello_spikey (Spike, Miss Kitty Fantastico, PG-13). Where everybody, including Tara, are doing very very very evil things.

( Read more... )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

And more of my favorite meta from the past year.

The trouble with insiders series by

kwritten. Deep multi-chaptered analysis of several Buffy characters through "Insiders vs. Outsiders" scope. Consists of: 1: The heroic outsider, 2: Dawn and outsider knowledge and
3: Xander and the gap of lack.

( Read more... )

shapinglight

Five more memorable ficlets from the

sb_fag_ends Edgar Allen Poe titles Halloween challenge, this time all written by

spuffy_luvr, each one of them, like in my previous post, beautifully, imaginatively written.

Don't you love it when fic writers make you see familiar things in a new light?

Enjoy.

The Soul of the Plot. Spike's POV in Beneath You. PG. 400 words. For the prompt: Ligeia (by way of The Conqueror Worm).

( Read more... )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

Some favorite complete longfics from the past years.
Any bad English in summaries is mine and shouldn't be blamed on fic authors.

Gently Down the Stream by

shadowscast (Ensemble, with some Buffy/Spike, PG-13). Here's Buffy's life in a nutshell: dead mom, dead-beat dad, dead end job, dependent sister. She's pulling double shifts at the Double Meat Palace to make ends meet.
And yet, she's actually pretty happy! She's got supportive friends and a sexy English boyfriend. Her life is full of love, and frankly after that accident last year and the coma, she's grateful just to be alive.
Oh, and the main point - it's NOT all-human AU.

( Read more... )

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

These are some thought-provoking Xander meta that I have enjoyed from 2014.

( 2014 Xander Meta )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Five random fics from 2014 that have no real connection other than that they stayed in my head after I'd read them...

baudown has been a very welcome addition to our fandom over the last few years. She has a wonderful command of character and language and a new story from her always makes my day. Basement, 1999 is a lovely slice of Spike, Xander pre-slash in which Spike realises that just because he has a chip doesn’t mean he can’t torture Xander just a little. I really wish she’d write more in this ‘verse.

( And the rest... )

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

I haven't really read a lot of BtVS fics this year, but these five stood out for me. :)

( 2014 Fics )

velvetwhip.livejournal.com

I think we all know I have a taste for angst and these are 5 fics which really whet my appetite last year:

1) Red Frame, White Light (Spike, Xander) by

sparrow2000 - If you're looking for something subtle and insidious that will leave you shuddering long after the last word is read, then there's nothing better than this little encounter between Spike and Xander in Season 7. This is a stunner, an absolute stunner, filled with the kind of imagery that takes hold and doesn't let go. Sparrow's use of language, as always, elevates fanfiction to art.

( The Next 4 Stories )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

Top 5 stories for this year that I put together when I was organizing stories for the previous years:

Aftershock by kwritten. Helpless AU with Dawn. Yes! It's the we are all powerful together story.

( the rest of the stories are patiently waiting for the New Year's party to start )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

1. In James' and Wolfling's Sands of Time series, Xander avoids a beating at home by showing up on Giles' doorstep. His life diverges from there.

( the other entries are at a concert holding up their lighters like torches )

baudown.livejournal.com

Five fics that will get under your skin:

1. The Loving Dead, by witling -- Xander is being haunted. Is it ghosts, or ghosts of the past? Eerie, atmospheric, and a little bit heartbreaking. A beautifully rendered Xander.

2. Macrame, by Anna S -- Willow overuses magic. Magic has consequences. As always, the writing is extraordinary. Spander.

3. Skin Deep, by Doyle -- A short and very scary season 7 AU. Yikes.

4. Cuckoo in the Nest, by liz marks -- A character study of Tony Harris, an all-too human monster. This will hit you like a punch to the gut. This one stuck with me for a long, long time.

5. Red Frame, White Light, by sparrow2000 -- Post-soul Spike's craziness takes a slightly different form. His encounter with Xander is shivery perfection.

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

1. Speaker 2 Customers' Mine Own Executioner creeps me out. It's short and doesn't seem as if it should be disturbing, but it really is.

( the rest of the recs are getting trashed at a neighbor's party. Oh, wait. No. That was me. )

velvetwhip.livejournal.com

I think these five stories featuring Willow Rosenberg are all pretty darn awesome and I hope you agree:

1) Otherwise a Perfect Sky (Xander, Tara, Willow) by

aadler - What can I say about this? It's brutal and yet somehow delicate, poetic yet gritty, and absolutely heartbreakingly perfect. This post-apocalyptic take on The Gift (a remix of

deird1's also very terrific Come Crashing Down) stands with the best of them.

( Four More Terrific Tales )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

Another day, technically, another Top 5 posting.

1. I can't imagine ever excluding Beer Good Foamy's The True Spirit of Christmas from this list. I adore how this story plays off of the Bing Crosby / David Bowie holiday vid.

( the other stories say their out trick or treating but I know they're TPing the neighbor's tree )

rbfvid.livejournal.com

Some of my favorite horror fics.
Any bad English and awkward phrasing in summaries is mine and shouldn't be blamed on fic authors.

Cicatrix by Teland &

debchan (Ensemble, NC-17) Buffy dies during "Prophecy Girl". Permanently. And though Willow still manages to close the Hellmouth, it's not such a good news...
Thing that I love the most about this extremely dark story is that it doesn't use the obvious way to bring hell to Sunnydale (that would be Master rising). It choses more subtle path, based on character's natural urges, flaws and insecurities - and that's much more scary.
( Read more... )

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

1) Cousins to the War by

jo_anne_storm: Okay, I've never watched Teen Wolf but I heard a lot about the similarities between Xander and Stiles and got curious. I don't regret a second of it. I'm glad that it's Stiles visiting Xander instead of the other way around. I'm also glad that Stiles is Xander's cousin and not his lover.
( Check out the rest! )

yourlibrarian

1) Bring Home the Dawn by argentumlupine. Podfic performance of the fic by Mercurie. "Robin watches his mother go out on patrol every night."

( Read more... )

lusciousxander.livejournal.com

1) Forget-me-not by

mierke: Ten years have passed since Chosen. Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles meet by the crater where Sunnydale used to be every year to catch up on what's happening in their lives. Bittersweet and sad, shows you how the Scoobies have drifted apart yet still make time to see each other and catch up. Just like blood-related families on Christmas and Thanksgiving.
( Check out the rest! )

endeni

Vengeance is Mine by hufflepuffsneak (PG, gen, crossover with Marvel's Avengers, mentions of child abuse) - “Hey, I’m Natalie.” Natasha gave a name close to the truth, the child deserved that, but she hadn’t been a successful vengeance demon for the past six decades by handing out her true name to just anyone. (EDIT: Yay, the link is now working properly!)
-
Natasha as a vengeance demon! *_* Full disclosure: this ficlet was written for me as an Halloween treat (and at such it hits all my weak points... :D)

( and the rest )

yourlibrarian

The Girl Who Falls Down Stairs by kaydeefalls – Work caution advised – A study of women in the Whedonverse and how they come into their various powers. An interesting take that shows a consistent storyline across the different properties of fear and reluctance, followed by a maturity and confidence after the transition.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

I’m a sucker for a good BTVS crossover, so here are five that I come back to again and again.

Out of the Shadows by

twilightofmagic is a gem of a Torchwood crossover and I’d recommend it even if you’ve never watched Torchwood, because it really doesn’t matter. Xander takes a walk to get away from the estrogen-heavy castle in Scotland and runs into someone who looks kind of familiar... I wish all my walks were this productive!

( Lures you down the rabbit hole to the rest of the fics… )

baudown.livejournal.com

Because I love them. And they're not all Spander. But some are.

1. Babylon, by Tabaqui. Richly detailed, original world. The language and imagery are beautiful. This story always gives me a pang.

( Read more... )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

All of these are either part of a series or a rec for the series as a whole.
None of these are worksafe, but none are terribly squicky either.

1) Of Old Mystics by omphalos and Wolfling: Giles/Ethan - Giles, now head of the Council, rescues Ethan from the Initiative only to learn that they are a bonded pair, Order and Chaos, who must work together to save the world. One of my favorite go-back-to stories.

( The other five recs are eyeing each other and wondering who's going to clean up the mess from that Halloween bash ... )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

Okay, I had a bunch of stories left over and no great way to group them! They are still awesome stories.

1) Amnesia!Spike by Mahaliem
Whenever I rec it I get a bunch of people agreeing it's wonderful but I hardly ever see it recced

Spike nodded in agreement. He was just getting used to hearing his name. Whatever had happened earlier in the evening had wiped his memory clean. He didn’t know who he was, and to hear the lot of them talk, he didn’t know what he was, either. In fact, he only knew one thing about himself. Luckily it was a very important thing.

He had a really cool coat.

( the other recs are busy agreeing that Spike's coat really is cool )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

5 recs where Xander is paired with someone other than Spike.
I know, why would anyone write a non-Spander fic, but the stories are actually good, and yes, three are by the same author. I really like them!

1) The Carpenter and the Wood by justhuman
Xander/Mr. Pointy. Funny as all get out!

It wasn't a nefarious booknapping plan. It was much more like a jellybelly-napping plan. Giles kept a stash in the middle drawer of his desk.

( Read more )

dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com

5 Fics that include a non-BtVS verse
Either the story isn't BtVS at all or it's a BtVS crossover

1) Lyl Devil's In Another Life: When Willow's life is wiped clean, she makes a new one for herself in L. A. Crossover with Numb3rs; Willow/Don. Another story that was an absolute delight to reread. ;-)

( The rest of the prompts are dipping their toes into the big kid's pool and wondering if it's safe ... )

baudown.livejournal.com

For Halloween!

It was difficult to narrow it down to five. Also, it made me realize that Willow is very often the star player when it comes to scary tales. Hope there are some on this list that you haven't read.

1. Here Comes a Candle , by wiseacress. Spike asks for a favor...on Halloween. The ultimate in creepy.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

It’s no secret that I’m a Xander-centric writer and reader, so here are five Xander fics that really got under my skin in 2012.

Xander’s Kingdom by

il_mio_capitano is terrific Xander, Giles Gen. The boys have been in the desert searching for a magical dodaah for Buffy, but things haven’t gone exactly to plan. The atmosphere in this is great and there are lines of dialogue that just kill me. (Xander, Giles, PG13)

( And here are the rest... )

yourlibrarian

Dizzy by

astartexx - Worksafe – Interesting result from a remix challenge, this vid takes a look at the Willow and Spike relationship that could have been. One thing I liked about it is that it suggests a Spike whose arc took a rather different, even oppositional turn, with a Willow whose increasing dangerousness becomes even more obvious.
( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Dizzy by

moscow-watcher.livejournal.com

Connection by

lusciousxander
http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=lusciousxander&keyword=Connection%20%28Season%209%20Xander%2FSpike%20Fic%29&filter=all
PG-13. WIP. Start of season 9. Xander dreamed about normal life when he couldn't have it. Now magic is dead, vampires are showbiz darlings and slayers are considered murderers. In this new strange world Xander tries to live a life of an average Joe, but it's hard to stay away from the good fight. Xander/Dawn, Xander/Spike, ensemble. Plotty, occasionally funny, occasionally heartbreaking story of a man caught between two worlds.
( click for more )

moscow-watcher.livejournal.com

Connection by

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