9 Recs: AtS, BtVS/AtS, HP, Firefly, ALIAS, Discworld, Buffy/SG-1
Hers by littlesoprano
Angel, post-NFA, Wes/Illyria. It's hard to find Wes & Illyria fic that doesn't shade over into parody, isn't complete gothic melodrama, or that doesn't cheapen the tragedies that are inherent in their relationship. This little gem manages to avoid the pitfalls, keep Illyria in character, and have Wes's slow-growing feelings for her make sense. It's also poetic in its use of words and imagery, with a completely plausible post-NFA conclusion to events. *happy sigh* Go. Read. [Reportedly, her other post-NFA story, "Sacrifice" will be done soon.]
Bristow's 11 by Yahtzee
Alias. mid-S3, gen/het. Why, oh why, did I wait so long to read this one? Probably because I hadn't seen Ocean's 11 and thus had no idea how fun a Las Vegas caper could be. Another Rambaldi MacGuffin is at stake in a Las Vegas casino, and Jack's plan calls for nearly the entire Alias cast (heroes and villains and bystanders and undecided) to take part in a heist to retrieve it. Double-crosses, diamonds, disguises, screw-ups, and smut all happen. Probably one of the most *fun* fics I've read recently.
on lj, "Irenicon" (installment 1 linked, then forward for the rest)
Alias. R-NC17.*squee* When this is finally up on her page, I'll post about it being there, too. Until then, go back in her lj to find the beginning and have fun reading it all the way through. It's what Yahtzee calls "the inconvenient epic": Sloane has managed to release a world-wide Rambaldi-designed plague thanks to Nadia's blood, the CIA can't find a cure, Vaughn's having a breakdown... and then various people go MIA and AWOL as the world falls apart. Ranges from Mexico to Antarctica to Mozambique and back to L.A. for the conclusion, and none of the characters you like are necessarily safe. Relationships twist and turn, crash and burn, and the romances are often not as important as the relationships between fathers and daughters, sisters and friends. Plus, some killingly funny lines in there, as well as great action and terrific scenery.
Reliance by Roseveare
Firefly, post OiS. Gen. Serenity crashes on an Alliance mining planet, and a whole lot of deals and compromises have to be made to save her from the scrap pile. Awesome Mal voice, painful considerations of the practicalities of staying free in their overly-regulated universe, and some River bits that just make me smile and smile.
William the Bloody Useless and the Beaker of Doom by Roseveare
AtS/BtVS, early S1/4, Gen. Oh, my, goddess. *cracks up* Spike, on a mission to get the chip out of his brain outside of Sunnydale, runs into a particularly weird group of cultists-- who aren't quite being thwarted by Wesley, Rogue Demon Hunter. Bwah! The Spike voice is dead-on, and Wesley is a fun mixture of fabulously geeky and frantically determined. Hug this one to yourself and call it George.
All the Words by Sam Vimes
Harry Potter. mid-OOTP. Percy/Fleur. Okay, look: I like Percy. At least, I want to believe he's not at much of a prat as he was portrayed in OOTP. This story is does the job, and is both sweet and funny; Fleur is likable, and it contains one or two absolutely killer lines.
Defender of the Crown by Sam Vimes
Discworld. Post-Guards!Guards!. Short'n'snarky. If you're not familiar with the Discworld books, I highly, highly recommend them. This fic has the same humor to it: Sam Vimes, Duke and Commander of the Watch, perpetual smartass and Discworld's answer to Sam Spade, receives one of those offers you can't refuse: the throne of a kingdom. Never mind that it's the kind of honor Sam has *never* aspired to. How he gets out of it but keeps the kingdom from turmoil is a gleeful joy.
Stealing Harry by Sam Vimes
Harry Potter, AU, but spoilers into GoF if you know what to look for. If I haven't recc'd this one before, I should have. It's the quintessential get-Harry-away-from-the-Dursleys fic, based on the idea that Sirius did not spend 12 years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit. So at 8 years old, Harry is "kidnapped" by Sirius and Remus-- and history starts to change. It's S/R, but there's a kid-friendly version if you want to skip the smut, and it's really a secondary plot anyway. Among other things, Harry develops a friendship with Snape long before he goes to Hogwarts, Tonks enters the story before OOTP, and Neville gets to shine moe than he does in the books.
Happily, Sam has continued this story into Tales from the River House, short stories about Harry's childhood, and the WIP Laocoon's Children, about Harry's time at Hogwarts with his friends Padma Patil, Neville Longbottom--and Hufflepuff Draco Malfoy. The first year, comparable to "Philosopher's Stone", is now complete.
Sam has another AU-WIP which hasn't been updated in a while (why? why?!) that I love: All This Time, with a very young Severus Snape making different choices and becoming friends with James, Remus, and Sirius-- thanks to the rather mysterious intervention of a man calling himself Anac. All of these are a treat; Sam has a definite flair for dialogue, action, and emotion. Have fun pillaging the archive.
Bridges by Tassos
Buffy/Stargate SG-1, gen, post-"Chosen"/S7 for SG-1. The number of bad Xander's-real-family fics out there? Legion. The number of bad SG-1 crossovers? Multitudes. The glee in finding a story that's good at both? Unbounded. Now up to 15 chapters, Tassos has created a realistic burgeoning friendship and family relationship between Jack and Xander, taking into account all their secrets, both terribly complex backstories, prior friendships, and commitment to the Good Fight, each in their own ways. The snarkiness of each helps a lot. Almost every chapter could count as a stand-alone, but the over-reaching plot of finding your way to something you never expected just makes me hum happily to myself. Technically, it's a WIP, but it's at a good stopping-point now-- if you want to read it, you won't be left hanging.
Now, shoo! You have writers to discover.
Angel, post-NFA, Wes/Illyria. It's hard to find Wes & Illyria fic that doesn't shade over into parody, isn't complete gothic melodrama, or that doesn't cheapen the tragedies that are inherent in their relationship. This little gem manages to avoid the pitfalls, keep Illyria in character, and have Wes's slow-growing feelings for her make sense. It's also poetic in its use of words and imagery, with a completely plausible post-NFA conclusion to events. *happy sigh* Go. Read. [Reportedly, her other post-NFA story, "Sacrifice" will be done soon.]
Bristow's 11 by Yahtzee
Alias. mid-S3, gen/het. Why, oh why, did I wait so long to read this one? Probably because I hadn't seen Ocean's 11 and thus had no idea how fun a Las Vegas caper could be. Another Rambaldi MacGuffin is at stake in a Las Vegas casino, and Jack's plan calls for nearly the entire Alias cast (heroes and villains and bystanders and undecided) to take part in a heist to retrieve it. Double-crosses, diamonds, disguises, screw-ups, and smut all happen. Probably one of the most *fun* fics I've read recently.
on lj, "Irenicon" (installment 1 linked, then forward for the rest)
Alias. R-NC17.*squee* When this is finally up on her page, I'll post about it being there, too. Until then, go back in her lj to find the beginning and have fun reading it all the way through. It's what Yahtzee calls "the inconvenient epic": Sloane has managed to release a world-wide Rambaldi-designed plague thanks to Nadia's blood, the CIA can't find a cure, Vaughn's having a breakdown... and then various people go MIA and AWOL as the world falls apart. Ranges from Mexico to Antarctica to Mozambique and back to L.A. for the conclusion, and none of the characters you like are necessarily safe. Relationships twist and turn, crash and burn, and the romances are often not as important as the relationships between fathers and daughters, sisters and friends. Plus, some killingly funny lines in there, as well as great action and terrific scenery.
Reliance by Roseveare
Firefly, post OiS. Gen. Serenity crashes on an Alliance mining planet, and a whole lot of deals and compromises have to be made to save her from the scrap pile. Awesome Mal voice, painful considerations of the practicalities of staying free in their overly-regulated universe, and some River bits that just make me smile and smile.
William the Bloody Useless and the Beaker of Doom by Roseveare
AtS/BtVS, early S1/4, Gen. Oh, my, goddess. *cracks up* Spike, on a mission to get the chip out of his brain outside of Sunnydale, runs into a particularly weird group of cultists-- who aren't quite being thwarted by Wesley, Rogue Demon Hunter. Bwah! The Spike voice is dead-on, and Wesley is a fun mixture of fabulously geeky and frantically determined. Hug this one to yourself and call it George.
All the Words by Sam Vimes
Harry Potter. mid-OOTP. Percy/Fleur. Okay, look: I like Percy. At least, I want to believe he's not at much of a prat as he was portrayed in OOTP. This story is does the job, and is both sweet and funny; Fleur is likable, and it contains one or two absolutely killer lines.
Defender of the Crown by Sam Vimes
Discworld. Post-Guards!Guards!. Short'n'snarky. If you're not familiar with the Discworld books, I highly, highly recommend them. This fic has the same humor to it: Sam Vimes, Duke and Commander of the Watch, perpetual smartass and Discworld's answer to Sam Spade, receives one of those offers you can't refuse: the throne of a kingdom. Never mind that it's the kind of honor Sam has *never* aspired to. How he gets out of it but keeps the kingdom from turmoil is a gleeful joy.
Stealing Harry by Sam Vimes
Harry Potter, AU, but spoilers into GoF if you know what to look for. If I haven't recc'd this one before, I should have. It's the quintessential get-Harry-away-from-the-Dursleys fic, based on the idea that Sirius did not spend 12 years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit. So at 8 years old, Harry is "kidnapped" by Sirius and Remus-- and history starts to change. It's S/R, but there's a kid-friendly version if you want to skip the smut, and it's really a secondary plot anyway. Among other things, Harry develops a friendship with Snape long before he goes to Hogwarts, Tonks enters the story before OOTP, and Neville gets to shine moe than he does in the books.
Happily, Sam has continued this story into Tales from the River House, short stories about Harry's childhood, and the WIP Laocoon's Children, about Harry's time at Hogwarts with his friends Padma Patil, Neville Longbottom--and Hufflepuff Draco Malfoy. The first year, comparable to "Philosopher's Stone", is now complete.
Sam has another AU-WIP which hasn't been updated in a while (why? why?!) that I love: All This Time, with a very young Severus Snape making different choices and becoming friends with James, Remus, and Sirius-- thanks to the rather mysterious intervention of a man calling himself Anac. All of these are a treat; Sam has a definite flair for dialogue, action, and emotion. Have fun pillaging the archive.
Bridges by Tassos
Buffy/Stargate SG-1, gen, post-"Chosen"/S7 for SG-1. The number of bad Xander's-real-family fics out there? Legion. The number of bad SG-1 crossovers? Multitudes. The glee in finding a story that's good at both? Unbounded. Now up to 15 chapters, Tassos has created a realistic burgeoning friendship and family relationship between Jack and Xander, taking into account all their secrets, both terribly complex backstories, prior friendships, and commitment to the Good Fight, each in their own ways. The snarkiness of each helps a lot. Almost every chapter could count as a stand-alone, but the over-reaching plot of finding your way to something you never expected just makes me hum happily to myself. Technically, it's a WIP, but it's at a good stopping-point now-- if you want to read it, you won't be left hanging.
Now, shoo! You have writers to discover.