Fandom joys and remix recs
Heeee, I am having a good day :D parenthetical and I have been steaming ahead with our Big Bang fic, which is joy. Collaborative writing for the win, oh yes. And oxoniensis is luring me into Gilmore Girls, because she is a wicked fandom enabler of love :D Also, I watched the new SPN ep. Blue Steel, ahahahahhahahaha. Life is very sweet :D
I have had a mass commenting and tagging session of fic over the past few days, and have actually managed to close the zillions of tabs I had open, waiting for me to deal with them. I know that I will have amassed another host in a day or so, but in the meantime I feel a sense of achievement.
So, the author reveal for remix_redux is tomorrow, which makes me both excited and nervous. My remix fic seems to have gone down well, which makes me glee muchly, but having been anonymous somehow makes the public posting seem a bigger deal.
Before the reveal, I thought it would be nice to do a few recs. I normally get quite devoted to reading particular authors, so I really liked reading the anonymous fics - it meant I skipped around a lot more. The standard of fics for this challenge was incredibly high, too - I don't think there was anything I read that I didn't enjoy. As I cunningly tagged everything in delicious with a remix tag, it was not too hard to amass a list of fics I enjoyed, so for once I'm making a point of sharing that. Totally subjective recs, these, incidentally. Also, although I haven't listed them, I strongly recommend checking out the original fics too (linked in the header of each remix). I have been reading those as I went along, rediscovering some I'd read before and loved, and finding new gems as well, and have altogether had a lovely time.
NB All the Buffy and Angel recs have spoilage potential. The SPN ones should be fine, providing you've seen the pilot (and if you haven't presumably you won't care!)
Supernatural
The Chemicals Between Us (Oxygen Remix); Supernatural, Sam/Dean, PG-13
If this is wrong and dangerous and stupid, Sam won't care.
A beautiful look at Sam and Dean, with all the angst and rawness of their relationship to the fore. This is a very vivid and lovely fic, and the ending is just schmoopy and sweet enough to leave you with a smile.
In the Sound a Thought (Where the Sea Meets the Land) [Supernatural, Sam/Dean]
The world is simpler by the ocean.
The original fic, by poisontaster, is so lovely that I would have panicked if I'd had to remix it. But this remix is perfect - it amplifies the original fic and gives a lovely view of Dean's feelings. And there is smut at the end, which is joy.
All the Roads That Lead You There (Mile by Mile Extended Dance Mix) [Supernatural; Sam, Dean, Jess]
"You forgot this," Dean says, walking towards him, barefoot and in his pajamas, holding out the atlas.
This fic criss-crosses between Sam's early life and his time at Stanford, and explores both very movingly. There's a real feel of conflicting emotions, with his love and care for his family, his desire for a normal life, his love for Jess and his fear of telling her the truth. Vivid and lovely.
Alone I Fear the Tide (Wash These Dreams Away) (Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, PG)
When Sam left (even before Sam left, when Dean knew it was coming, a point on the horizon he could never pick up enough speed to escape), Dean tasted ashes on his tongue.
I strongly recommend reading the original fic for this one first, if you haven't seen it already, as one of the things I loved about this is the way that it used things so closely from the orginal and put a different spin on them. Dean's POV here is so lovely and painful.
Buffy & Angel
I came to Buffy fandom late, despite having been a fan fairly soon after its UK showing, because I left the country at a crucial moment and took several years to catch up. As a result, I haven't really read as much Buffy fic as I might have done, so it was an absolute joy to range the Buffy stuff here.
A Soft Place to Land (Free Fallin' Mix) [Buffy; Xander/Willow]
Giles wonders if he's achieved escape velocity. Probably not.
This is another case of a remix author taking an AMAZING story which I would tremble at having to remix and producing GENIUS. You don't need to read the original to enjoy this, although I highly recommend it. This fic picks up immediately post-Chosen and explores Giles' emotions. It's a brilliant view of him and the whole group, and the emotions here are completely real and convincing.
The Time Around Scars (The Sisters Under the Skin Remix) [BtVS; Dawn Summers, Buffy Summers]
Dawn thinks if she can see where she's been, maybe she can figure out where she's going, and scars are the map that will lead her there.
I love fics that explore the relationship between Buffy and Dawn, and this does that brilliantly. The characterisation is spot-on, and I love the concept the author has of Dawn as the Key.
Fic: Feathers, Lightsabers, and Lead (Rendezvous, Hyperspace Remix) [Angel; Wesley/Fred; PG-13]
Time is a jittery thing sometimes, and reality's funny. Cows can be princesses in outer space; foils and plastic can turn into sabers. It hurts to find someone you fear to lose. Wesley wonders if Fred ever would have told him.
This deals with the aftermath of Illyria, and is heartbreaking and compelling. The opening section in particular has a vivid, detailed level of description which really conjured up the scene in my head - this is saying a lot, because visual imagery is not normally my strong point. The author also interweaves the whole story with Star Wars references, in a way that gives it even more depth.
Whew! That was exhausting. Recs posts are rare from me, but I thought it would be nice to take advantage of the fact that these fics have received relatively little attention so far. I'm fairly sure that a lot of these authors probably get zillions of comments when they're posting under their own names (judging by the standard of writing, they totally should), but people seem to shy away from remix a bit. I will be interested to see whether any of the authors turn out to be people I already read a lot - I'm fairly sure at least one of them is, but we shall see. This is only a tiny selection of remix fics, and almost all of them seem to be good, so I highly recommend exploring further.
Right, that was really one of the most productive days I've had in a long while, so time for me to go and collapse into bed, I think. Tomorrow we shall be rounding off the Big Bang fic, so sleep is probably a good idea!
ETA Sorry if you had to endure my messed up coding! It is late! Fixed now, I hope!
I have had a mass commenting and tagging session of fic over the past few days, and have actually managed to close the zillions of tabs I had open, waiting for me to deal with them. I know that I will have amassed another host in a day or so, but in the meantime I feel a sense of achievement.
So, the author reveal for remix_redux is tomorrow, which makes me both excited and nervous. My remix fic seems to have gone down well, which makes me glee muchly, but having been anonymous somehow makes the public posting seem a bigger deal.
Before the reveal, I thought it would be nice to do a few recs. I normally get quite devoted to reading particular authors, so I really liked reading the anonymous fics - it meant I skipped around a lot more. The standard of fics for this challenge was incredibly high, too - I don't think there was anything I read that I didn't enjoy. As I cunningly tagged everything in delicious with a remix tag, it was not too hard to amass a list of fics I enjoyed, so for once I'm making a point of sharing that. Totally subjective recs, these, incidentally. Also, although I haven't listed them, I strongly recommend checking out the original fics too (linked in the header of each remix). I have been reading those as I went along, rediscovering some I'd read before and loved, and finding new gems as well, and have altogether had a lovely time.
NB All the Buffy and Angel recs have spoilage potential. The SPN ones should be fine, providing you've seen the pilot (and if you haven't presumably you won't care!)
Supernatural
The Chemicals Between Us (Oxygen Remix); Supernatural, Sam/Dean, PG-13
If this is wrong and dangerous and stupid, Sam won't care.
A beautiful look at Sam and Dean, with all the angst and rawness of their relationship to the fore. This is a very vivid and lovely fic, and the ending is just schmoopy and sweet enough to leave you with a smile.
In the Sound a Thought (Where the Sea Meets the Land) [Supernatural, Sam/Dean]
The world is simpler by the ocean.
The original fic, by poisontaster, is so lovely that I would have panicked if I'd had to remix it. But this remix is perfect - it amplifies the original fic and gives a lovely view of Dean's feelings. And there is smut at the end, which is joy.
All the Roads That Lead You There (Mile by Mile Extended Dance Mix) [Supernatural; Sam, Dean, Jess]
"You forgot this," Dean says, walking towards him, barefoot and in his pajamas, holding out the atlas.
This fic criss-crosses between Sam's early life and his time at Stanford, and explores both very movingly. There's a real feel of conflicting emotions, with his love and care for his family, his desire for a normal life, his love for Jess and his fear of telling her the truth. Vivid and lovely.
Alone I Fear the Tide (Wash These Dreams Away) (Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, PG)
When Sam left (even before Sam left, when Dean knew it was coming, a point on the horizon he could never pick up enough speed to escape), Dean tasted ashes on his tongue.
I strongly recommend reading the original fic for this one first, if you haven't seen it already, as one of the things I loved about this is the way that it used things so closely from the orginal and put a different spin on them. Dean's POV here is so lovely and painful.
Buffy & Angel
I came to Buffy fandom late, despite having been a fan fairly soon after its UK showing, because I left the country at a crucial moment and took several years to catch up. As a result, I haven't really read as much Buffy fic as I might have done, so it was an absolute joy to range the Buffy stuff here.
A Soft Place to Land (Free Fallin' Mix) [Buffy; Xander/Willow]
Giles wonders if he's achieved escape velocity. Probably not.
This is another case of a remix author taking an AMAZING story which I would tremble at having to remix and producing GENIUS. You don't need to read the original to enjoy this, although I highly recommend it. This fic picks up immediately post-Chosen and explores Giles' emotions. It's a brilliant view of him and the whole group, and the emotions here are completely real and convincing.
The Time Around Scars (The Sisters Under the Skin Remix) [BtVS; Dawn Summers, Buffy Summers]
Dawn thinks if she can see where she's been, maybe she can figure out where she's going, and scars are the map that will lead her there.
I love fics that explore the relationship between Buffy and Dawn, and this does that brilliantly. The characterisation is spot-on, and I love the concept the author has of Dawn as the Key.
Fic: Feathers, Lightsabers, and Lead (Rendezvous, Hyperspace Remix) [Angel; Wesley/Fred; PG-13]
Time is a jittery thing sometimes, and reality's funny. Cows can be princesses in outer space; foils and plastic can turn into sabers. It hurts to find someone you fear to lose. Wesley wonders if Fred ever would have told him.
This deals with the aftermath of Illyria, and is heartbreaking and compelling. The opening section in particular has a vivid, detailed level of description which really conjured up the scene in my head - this is saying a lot, because visual imagery is not normally my strong point. The author also interweaves the whole story with Star Wars references, in a way that gives it even more depth.
Whew! That was exhausting. Recs posts are rare from me, but I thought it would be nice to take advantage of the fact that these fics have received relatively little attention so far. I'm fairly sure that a lot of these authors probably get zillions of comments when they're posting under their own names (judging by the standard of writing, they totally should), but people seem to shy away from remix a bit. I will be interested to see whether any of the authors turn out to be people I already read a lot - I'm fairly sure at least one of them is, but we shall see. This is only a tiny selection of remix fics, and almost all of them seem to be good, so I highly recommend exploring further.
Right, that was really one of the most productive days I've had in a long while, so time for me to go and collapse into bed, I think. Tomorrow we shall be rounding off the Big Bang fic, so sleep is probably a good idea!
ETA Sorry if you had to endure my messed up coding! It is late! Fixed now, I hope!