buffyversetop5 | Entries tagged with form: fic

Fashion Theme Icons by debris4spike. I like how this set was a bit different from the icons I normally come across. Some great expressions for Faith and Vi, and I liked how Drusilla seems to be emerging from the dark.

standard evil by happinesssdeceit. "A collection of materials supporting Dr. Horrible’s application to the Evil League of Evil." ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Alone by garnigal. Little look at how Buffy takes stock after Sunnydale disappears.

( 550 ) faith in buffy the vampire slayer by hieroglyph. Part of a project to icon all of her appearances throughout BtVS and Angel.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000

Oh goodness, here I am again. This time, here are five great fics from yesteryear with rare or rare(ish) pairings.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door by estepheia is Spike/Andrew, not a pairing that springs readily to mind. This is a what if when Spike and Andrew are on a mission at the end of S7. There may be tequila involved and Andrew has things he wants to do before he dies.

( More goodness this way... )

sparrow2000

I always try to do a crossover list every year so carrying on with that tradition here are five more classic crossovers that I love.

Spill by Miriam Heddy is a BTVS/Dresden Files crossover. To use the author’s summary “Bob and Harry take a road trip to help Spike and Xander deal with some very unmixy things on the Cleveland Hellmouth.” Harry is grumpy and confused, Bob is insightful and just a bit wistful and Spike and Xander are snarky and hot and sometimes just as confused as Harry. The whole thing is loads of fun and I should say that there is Spander slashy goodness just in case that’s not your thing, although most of it is off screen as it were. Also, given that the author has locked the story to AO3 members only, you can also find it at the Spander Files Spill (alternative location) if needed.

( More crossovers... )

yourlibrarian

Giles Haikus by littleotter73. One for each season!

And When The Sky Was Opened by eleusis-walks. Wonderfully in-depth exploration of Cordelia and her arc.

( Read more... )

gillo

For me the year has been all about starting up our shiny new website, sunnydaleafterdark.com. Lots of work went into it from a dedicated team, and now it holds hundreds of fics, art and other cool things.

Many folks have reposted from elsewhere, but some of the material is exclusive to the site, so that's the only place you'll find it. Here are five stories worth the reading:

Not a Monster [NC-17] by Grief Counselling (formerly dampersandspoons) and Dusty - still a WIP but lots of chapters there already. Two outstanding writers at the peak of their form.

I Hear a Very Gentle Sound [R] by VioletMoon - a lovely, touching one-shot set in S6.

PS: Not A Date![R] by VeroNyxK84
S7 Spike gives Buffy care and support when she really needs it. Very sweet.

Aeternum in Anno [NC-17] by Chelle shortish but good as Buffy lives the year after Spike went up in flames.

Daisy in the Dark [PG-13] by Dusty. Spike can't stop visiting Buffy's grave. He meets someone else mourning a person they cared for.

sparrow2000

summer_of_giles is always a highlight of my fandom year, both as a writer and a consumer. Here are five fics that really jumped out at me, but with the caveat that as always there is a ton of great stuff that is worth checking out and I'm still way behind with my reading! The SoG DW account has very user friendly tags if you want to go delving back into the archive for goodies from previous years. SoG also has an AO3 account, so that’s another way to get your Giles on.

The Call by pbjellius is a lovely glimpse of pre-Sunnydale Giles who is doing mindless busywork for the Council and dreaming something bigger. And really, if you were a vampire, you don’t want to get between a having a bad day Giles and the pub - just saying!

( More Giles goodies this way... )

dragonyphoenix

These fics may or may not be new, but I've found them in the past year.

Not Another Teen Massacre! by Yellow Caballero - Buffy comes to a Sunnydale where the kids already know how to save themselves, and they just might save her too.

Sunset by The Eclectic Bookworm - "Passions" but Jenny's pregnant.

Ask the Things You Shouldn't Mis0s by Punch Kicker 15 - Willow's spell lets MIss Kitty Fantastico understand human speech. Humans are complicated.

The Girl Who Courted Death by Off Your Bird - I'm giving you the author's summary 'cause it's just that good: Due to a misfortune of genetics, Buffy is never Called as a Slayer. Instead, she grows up in L.A. with a different set of challenges and trials, unaware of the supernatural world. That is, until a chance encounter with the Slayer of Slayers changes her life—and everything afterward—forever.

The Power of Voodoo by Lucid Screamer - Xander, who dressed as the Goblin King for Halloween, is creating a labyrinth in Sunnydale. WiP that's going in a very interesting direction.

yourlibrarian

As It Crumbles And Breaks by nitpickyabouttrains. "The Ritual doesn’t always go smoothly. And in 1998 it’s down to just one country." Cabin in the Woods fic.

( Read more... )

dragonyphoenix

Forging Bonds: What can I say? I'm a sucker for a story that will make me believe an unusual pairing. This is Tara/Faith and it set in a universe where everyone's either a dom, sub, or switch. Tara's the dom.
Bread: uses bread as a metaphor for Willow and Tara's relationship. It's just so heartwarming and beautiful.
The Lamb: Tara works in a hospice helping people cross over when it's their time. Willow, last of the Scoobies, is brought in as a coma patient.
Sapling: Willow, Faith, and three Jewish holidays.
From Beneath You It Devours: Eee, a crossover with the Carmilla web series!

roselynnthornwood

“Duty” by BeccaVexing

Buffy falls ill with Slayer Sickness, and she and Giles have to perform an intimate ritual to prevent its effects from taking her life.

“Ama Unum Maxime” by mswhich

A demon hits Giles with a curse, and Willow helps him with the effects.

“The Apocalypse Stone” by antennapedia

Buffy has to make a sacrifice to save the world, and Giles is the only Scooby with the necessary skill set to execute it.

“Of Magic and Old Books” by justhuman

Willow and Giles perform a spell to learn the secrets of the Scythe.

“Just Kidding…But Not Really” by AlbionMcMillan

Buffy discovers some duties Watchers once performed for their Slayers and asks Giles to indulge her.

yourlibrarian

A bit of art, meta, fic, and icons :)

1) to be fair, I wasn't listening by double_dutchess. Fun set of Giles icons with quotes.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

summer_of_giles is a lovely sandbox to play in every year and to enjoy some wonderful creativity. Here are five fics from SoG I enjoyed this year. (There's a lot more there than just these five, so go over to the comm and have an amble through all the great work.)

The Mirror Broke (But All My Friends Were Laughing) by 23Murasaki. I’m a sucker for a well written AU and this one is lovely. Randall lives post Eyghon and Giles’ life takes a different turn. This is excellently done.

( More Gilsean goodness this way... )

double_dutchess

I don't usually read WIPs, but I am making an exception for these ones, because they're just so good or because I know they're going to be good. I may be cheating a bit here, as several of the WIPs in this list were not started in 2020, but since they all got updated this year I think it still counts. To compensate, two of them are REALLY recent.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Copper and Moonlight (the Mimi & Rodolfo Remix). This is another one from

nwhepcat because why would you ration yourself when there is quality fic to be had? Willow and Xander tend to Giles after his ordeal with Angelus. (This is a remix of Substitute by

antennapedia which is also worth your time)

( More random lovelies this way... )

thenewbuzwuzz

Two well-researched products of international collaboration, two stories by people tapping into their own local lore, and a delightful joke oneshot.

(1) A taniwha from New Zealand, in Seek a Desolate Shade by wolf_shadoe a.k.a. Twinkles (Spuffy, NC-17, 23,737 words, complete)
The reason this list exists and the BEST THING EVER, because Twinkles is familiar not only with the folklore but also with its symbolic meanings in existing art and its presence in contemporary everyday life. And there's artwork. And this is thoughtful and magical and epic and fun. [ETA: I did want to mention that Angel is pretty evil in this story. Also, maybe there should be a sadness warning for parts of it... but still very worth reading, I thought.]

( Read more... )

petzipellepingo.livejournal.com

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

thenewbuzwuzz

The best stories from the Bangel ficathon as selected by a Spuffy shipper, let's go!

Unrequited by aboutafox (2097w, T)
Setting: pre-series (Buffy is not present)
What I liked: in this character study, we get to see Angel from his own POV and from Whistler's, not from Buffy's, and I thought that gave him some lovely depth and maybe made him more consistent with AtS!Angel - the interesting, vulnerable kind of Angel. Also, there was at least one joke that I really loved, and a neat OC.

( Read more... )

deird1

Reaping the Whirlwind (Boom Boom Ba Remix), by Liz_Marcs

Dead Like Me crossover. Dawn Summers dies, and becomes a reaper.

Miss Summers Goes To Washington, by Beer_Good_Foamy

West Wing crossover. The Scoobies turn up for Big Block of Cheese Day.

Father Goose and the Black Knight, by Litmouse

Law and Order: SVU crossover. Xander and Faith are under investigation. (Very long, but definitely worth your time.)

Misunderstandings, by DonSample

Stargate: SG1 crossover. Are they battling aliens, or demons? Hard to say.

A Gift of Ordinary Magic, by Liz_Marcs

Harry Potter crossover. Magic has left the universe, and Xander is miserable.

yourlibrarian

1) Medley of Extemporanea by idyll. Angel and Lindsay meet again in Pittsburgh post-series, and neither of them is the same as they once were. An intriguing concept of how they might come to a middle ground. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Or now gone. The loss of Open On Sunday is particularly devastating because it ran for a long time and many drabbles there were recced, but few of them made their way to another space like AO3:

1) Long List of Grievances by

waddis - Heh to Andrew wearing on Spike's very short nerve. ( Read more... )

yourlibrarian

Every year I come across content I hadn't seen or read before but I usually am not able to read most of them during Top 5 session itself. But when I get a chance to later, I like to give them an extra thumbs up.

1) Hot Chicks with Superpowers by jess9191. Recced at last year's session, this does a fun job of blending together all the kick gals with kicks from the Whedonverses to Blow by Ke$ha. Entertaining enough to run on repeat. ( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

I love rare pairings fics. I’m so ingrained in the characters and the ships that I write that it’s a real joy to be challenged when I come across stories that make me take a step back and think wow, the author really makes that pairing work. (Where possible the entries are on A03, but unfortunately not all are available there.)

Slow Learners by

glossing is beautifully achy and bittersweet Devon/Xander. Oz has left and Xander is bereft. Devon provides solace even though Xander isn’t gay. This is gorgeous.

( More pretties under the cut... )

thenewbuzwuzz

Again, I'm mostly sure these people posted their first Buffyverse work this year, though it might not be the work I'm linking. This set has a lot of Willow and magic, and character studies that I thought were goshdarn excellent.

• A Conversation by hereforthegay (Willow & Andrew, G, 659 w)
Willow and Andrew have a conversation in season 7. I am, like the author, not only here for the gay, but also for the other things they have in common and Andrew's tonal range of nearly simultaneous dorkiness and angst.

( Read more... )

thenewbuzwuzz

As far as I'm aware, the authors on this list posted their first Buffyverse work this year (though I'm not necessarily linking their first work, and also it might be a one-off in between their works for other fandoms).

• Advice to the Lovelorn by rosa_himmelblau (crossover with House, M.D., Spike, Greg House, background House/Wilson)
Dr. House meets Spike, to great comedic effect.

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

This is my last set of recs for this session of

buffyversetop5. Thanks as always to the brilliant mods for hosting this every year, and thank you to everyone who has added wonderful recs, both old and new, to my ‘to read list'. Anyway, on with the motley...

Confidence by Deangerous - nice, believable moment between Cordy and Xander when he tells her about sleeping outside at Christmas.

( More randomness this way... )

yourlibrarian

If That Mockingbird Won't Sing by Doyle. Last year I was sent a pointer to this fic that I think has been recced here before, but it is a wonderfully creepy contribution to the season!

Wild and Wonderful by solstice. Recced at an earlier Top 5 session, I read this earlier this year and found it a delightful ride of Dawn and Spike on a road trip during the S2/S3 hiatus. It's always fun to see stories imagined of the Dawnverse and I thought Dawn was a convincing kid. Bonus, the maps on each chapter showing their route.

Rewritten by TheSigyn. Another story recced here, "A magic crystal is kicked aside rather than shattered, and an old world is closed behind. How do you move forward in a life without a history? And what if your history isn’t what you thought it was?" I quite liked the ending which took a different approach from many a fanfic in having it both ways, but also in hinting at the cost of happiness no matter how it's achieved. ( Read more... )

snickfic

I had trouble coming up with a theme, since this is literally "two fics I read this year and really loved" + "some other stuff I love." XD Anyway, I hope folks enjoy! I've certainly gotten a lot of enjoyment out of buffyversetop5 over the years. <3

( mix of characters and pairings behind the cut! )

thenewbuzwuzz

Two that were written earlier.
( Read more... )

And three written in 2019.
( Read more... )

flowspuffy.livejournal.com

Five BtVS crossover fics

This is my first entry for Buffyverse Top 5! These are five BtVS Crossover fics I enjoyed. Hope you will too!

( Read more... )

thenewbuzwuzz

Feelings felt by robots.

To start off, I thought this discussion about "nonhuman people" went to an interesting place:
Re: Do you think the Buffybot qualified as a person? by buffy-truths, wishiwasmorticia, dreamsofghostsandstars

( Read more... )

rebcake.livejournal.com

One of our Classic Fandom treasures is

hello_spikey, whose secret identity includes being an award-winning professional speculative fiction writer. Shhhh. We had her first!

While not all of her stories are on AO3 yet, many are. Versatility is her hallmark. I daresay that among her works there is a story with a pairing, a rating, a kink, or a mood to suit the tastes of any Buffyverse fic fan. Here is a brief selection of a very few of my personal favorites, in ascending order of length:

Once More, With Lorne (Teen, 1624 words)
Lorne investigates reports of an entire town bursting into song.

( More, hello_spikey, more! )

dragonyphoenix

I'm unsure of exactly when Buffyverse Top 5 ends, so I'm getting this in before work. Indri has written what may well be my favorite Buffy fanfic of all time In the Morning of the Magicians, Giles and Ethan, the electric Kool-Aid funky Satan groove year, in the early seventies. I decided to share stories from her rec list but a lot of the links were dead so I've been looking up stories; I've started posting a list of her recs here if anyone else is interested. I can't say they're the top 5 because I haven't read all the stories in her list yet.

Herself NYC captured captured Spike's darker side, the vampire's indifference for human life, but also something of the poet who cares for something higher, and I'm thinking of the poet where he tells her to run like hell if she sees him again, in Manhattan Nocturne.

( the rest of the stories are dragging me away from the computer, shouting that I'll be late for work if I don't get a move on )

petzipellepingo.livejournal.com

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

teragramm.livejournal.com

Five Spuffy Stories with human Spike. Some of these are AH and some are with Buffy as the slayer but all have a human Spike. (Some of these stories might be on sites where you have to be a member to access the story.)

1. He Came With the House by Cryptwarmer. All human.
When Buffy rents the house of her favorite celebrity to share a weekend getaway with her sister, she's surprised to find the previous tenant hasn't completely vacated it. Spike turning over a new leaf has sworn off cigarettes and young women but a chance encounter with a determined miracle seeker reminds him that happiness is about more than cutting unhealthy things out of your life; it's about having the bravery to let good things in.

( Read more )

dragonyphoenix

or something close to a white hat anyway! I'm exhausted so this list may be shortish on descriptions but anything I recommend with Ethan in it will be near and dear to my heart.

1. Absent Friends by il mio capitano. Oh, yeah, awesome. I recently asked if anyone could find this story for me. Basically all I'd recalled was the pub crawl based on The World's End and that Ethan was in it. Turns out it features Giles rather than Xander but given how fond I am of Giles and Ethan together, that was hardly a drawback. This one's more white-hatish rather than an out and out white-hat tale.

( the rest of the links are busy putting me too bed )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Since we’re coming up on Halloween, I thought I'd get in the mood with a list of fics that make me shiver. Here’s five that do the job nicely, or in some cases, not so nicely.

This is not a love story by

raynejelly is bleak in the best way - this is the Spike, Xander, Angel scene in School Hard with a twist.

( For more shivers... )

thenewbuzwuzz

There is lots of excellent new Spuffy fic all the time, too much to rec all that's good or make any objective top list. So here's a semi-random selection of only a few recent favorites, from shortest to longest.

scared of what’s behind and what’s before
by MixSaysRawr (womanaction)
Rated M
( Read more... )

thenewbuzwuzz

Or, Five of the Weirdest Stories I've Had the Pleasure of Reading This Year, and That's Saying Something, Because I Tend to Read as Many Weird Stories as I Can. Each of them has other things going for it, too -- they're not just surreal. Sorted from shortest to longest.

this can't be living now
by nowrunalong
Ship: Fuffy
Rating: M
Words: 6,276
Comment: A Fuffy story based on a dream the author had. It's a coffee-shop AU, but HOW. :)) As a side note, I appreciate how many of the original canon Slayers appear here.
( Read more... )

petzipellepingo.livejournal.com

Five favorite Buffyverse stories, in no particular order :

1. OK, technically this isn't really a story however... The Art Project by

st_salieri.

2. Flight to Egypt , Spike by

powerofthebook.

3. Disenchantment , Spike/Buffy by

herself_nyc.

4. A Cricket From California , Spike/Buffy by

elsaf.

5. Nightswimming , Spike/Buffy by

calove.

gracenm.livejournal.com

There aren't a lot of people still writing and reading Buffy/Angel fic these days, but the ones still active are very dear to my heart. Here are five of my favorites from the last 12 months:

( Read more... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Since we're on our flash forward, I'll start with some recs from one of my favourite annual communities -

summer_of_giles

Giles/Cordelia is not a pairing that I automatically think about, but I’m always surprised how well it can work if done well and in

aadler’s Better Left Unspoken, it is done very, very well. These are snapshots of Giles and Cordelia through the Sunnydale High years and beyond in a way that makes me both laugh out loud, and made my heart hurt. This is good stuff.

( More lovely Giles stuff )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

It's always fun to come across a story that pushes you out your comfort zone as far as ships are concerned. Here are five rare(ish) pairings - I say 'ish' because one isn't really, but it's so awesome I had to include it! *g*

In Nairobi in the Rain by inlovewithnight, Xander meets a strangely familiar girl in a Nairobi bar and realises it is Fred, who died a few weeks before. There’s just something about the atmosphere of this fic that haunts me - it’s just lovely.

( This way to more lovely stuff... )

dragonyphoenix

So these are basically crossovers with a twist. Characters from one story appear in another. First up, Beer Good Foamy's Radio Silence. The Gentlemen come to Night Vale. Tune in to check out how Cecil keeps the broadcast going when everyone loses their voices.

( The rest of the links are busy listing reasons why sleep is better than staying up until 2 AM )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

It's

buffyversetop5 classic recs time again, and to start off my lists this year I wanted to give kudos to authors who can remix - who can take someone else’s story and put a new spin on it, or expand it in an unexpected way. Here are five Remixes that I love.

Walking Higher by Liz Marcs in which Xander visits each of his old friends. This one just kills me and I defy you not to be bawling like a baby by the end. It’s also got a really effective mix of 2nd and 3rd person voice that works beautifully for the narrative. This is a remix of Winter Garden by kirvin.

( More remixes right this way )

thenewbuzwuzz

...or at least they never contradict canon... uh, BtVS canon, at any rate. This is a list of missing scene fic, until I run out of missing scene fic -- bear with me. Almost everything is Spuffy, and all of it is complete.

1. Pre-series: met a seriously scary Hungarian countess.
House-Guests From Hell And How To Send Them Back There
by

shapinglight
(Fanged Four, T, 12,353w, complete)
I loved all the characters here, but Dru was especially fabulous. And the way that historical person fits into the story is just awe-inspiring.

( Read more... )

thenewbuzwuzz

I thought I didn't have time for this round, but couldn't stay away after all. *g*

Something Special
by sandy_s and eyesthatslay
(PG-13, 7773w, complete)
This collaborative story is visually gorgeous, heartwarming, and more thoroughly linked to canon than the summary might make it sound.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: thankful

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

Here are five longer fics from

summer_of_giles I really enjoyed.

Second Sight by

il_mio_capitano finds our intrepid Watcher thrown back to his 21 year old self, two months before Eyhgon. This isn’t about the Eyhgon incident, but it is about choices. I really liked the portrayal of Giles’ father in this fic, and his grandmother is wonderful - just remember to comb your hair and wash behind your ears before you meet her.

( More Gilesian goodness... )

sparrow2000.livejournal.com

A couple of years back I did a post of crossovers. I’m a sucker for a well done crossover, and in all these cases you don’t need to know the other fandom for the story to work just fine. Here are five that I really like - BTVS crossed with five separate fandoms.

Thrift by Te and Pares is a crossover with The Sentinel. Blair Sandburg comes to Sunnydale to meet one Rupert Giles, expert in the supernatural. But before he can meet our favourite Watcher he runs into Faith. Let’s say it’s an educational experience for both of them. Be sure to have some tissues ready to mop up the brain tissue dribbling out of your ears.

( Cross here for crossovers... )

It's Time to Share!

Buffyverse Top 5

AO3 Collection

What's the Sitch

1) Top 5 is a seasonal recs community. We're open for posting over Halloween in October.
2) Search our archives through tags, the search box above, or the Visit the Library link.
3) We also have a collection on AO3!

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

October 2023

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Buffyverse Top 5 of the Year

Entries tagged with form: fic

What's the Sitch

Links

Expand Cut Tags

Follow Us Elsewhere