(no subject)

[allyndra]

I've been thinking about how many hours of reading pleasure I owe to other people's rec lists, and I decided I should make one myself. I'm separating them out by fandom, and I'll include a description for each. Be warned that I tend to have one character I love and/or an OTP in each fandom, and my recs will reflect that. Today's recs are from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My BtVS character of choice is Xander, and my favorite pairing is Spike/Xander.

If You're looking for a great Gender Bender Fic: Manly Girly Giggles by Kiara Rogue.
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Description: This story manages to combine hilarious with touching, and it is one of the *very* few gender bending fics I've read where I feel that the reactions (both by the character who gets changed and by those dealing with him/her) are realistic. The one sentence summary is: When Anya changes Xander into a woman, Spike helps him learn to accept the change. But trust me, this takes that fairly tired and ridiculous plotline and makes it shine.

If you're looking for a great Post-Chosen Fic: Scoffs at Gravity by reremouse .
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Description: This is one of those stories where it hurts and feels real and makes you hope for a happy ending but not necessarily expect one. The boys are beautiful in their dysfunctionality. The one sentence summary is: Instead of going to Africa, Xander winds up an alcoholic in LA dealing with Wolfram & Hart and an incorporeal Spike.

If you're looking for a great Total Crack!fic: Domestic Piranhas by James Walkswithwind and The Mad Poetess.
Pairing: Spike/Xander, Angel/Wesley/Gunn
Description: It's kind of silly of me to even rec this, as everyone in the entire universe has already read it, but I love it so. No other fic has *ever* made me laugh as hard as this one. I'm talking annoy-the-neighbors-because-I'm-being-so-loud, tears-rolling-down-my-face laughing. Plus, tons and tons of hotness. The one sentence summary is: Spike and Xander are shacked up in the Hyperion with the rest of their family - piranhas who like to eat the bubbly diver in their fish tank. Several parts of the series focus on the Angel/Wesley/Gunn threesome.

If you're looking for a great Post-The Gift Fic: Grief Counseling by amejisuto and suki_blue .
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Description: This story is now completed! The evolving relationships (romantic and otherwise) are very well drawn and the emotional consequences are extremely plausible. The one sentence summary is: Anya dies in The Gift along with Buffy, and Xander and Spike begin to rely on each other to cope.

If you're looking for a great Hot Fic to Feel Guilty About: Love of Learning by entrenous88 .
Pairing: Spike/Xander (well, William/Xander actually)
Description: A WIP. This story makes me uncomfortable. I keep waiting for the horrible fallout from this relationship, but it doesn't stop me from going OH MY GOD, THAT'S HOT! The one sentence summary is: William knows better than to get involved with one of his students, but he can't seem to help it. This has a completely different power dynamic than I often see in fics where one half of the pairing is a student and the other a teacher; Xander is clearly the one manipulating this relationship into existence. I feel awful for William, but I want more!

If you're looking for a Great Crossover Fic: Father Goose Tales by litmouse.
Pairing: Xander/Faith
Description: This is the most amazing crossover series. It's so good, I'm reccing *het*, which should tell you something. Litmouse manages to write tightly plotted, fascinating crossovers that get you to care about the character from all the fandoms involved and about the OCs that pop up. Crosses with Law & Order:SVU, Alias, Stargate: SG1, and Gilmore Girls - and manages to make all of those fit with the Buffy-verse. The one sentence summary is: When he's training young Slayers and saving the world, Xander meets really interesting people ... and if he's lucky, he manages not to get too many of them killed.

If you're looking for a great Xander/Riley Fic: The Song of Iowa by entrenous88 .
Pairing: Xander/Riley
Description: This is hands down, no contest the best Xander/Riley fic out there. It works perfectly with canon (unless you're counting the new comic book series, which I'm not) so you can easily pretend this is what happened after the cameras stopped rolling. The one sentence summary is: Xander was only looking for a souvenir, but he didn't mind finding Riley instead. Scroll down and read the fic, then read the snippets and ficlets written in this 'verse.

If you're looking for a great Xander/Oz Fic: Something With a "D" by sinandcinnamon.
Pairing: Xander/Oz
Description: It's possible I'm biased toward this story because it was written for me, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it rocks on its own merits. Sweet and young and full of possibilities. The one sentence summary is: Xander just wants advice on not getting beat up in high school, but he winds up doing Oz a favor instead.

 

Comments

[sublimatedangel]

Oh my gosh! I'm happily reading your rec list, most of which I've unfortunately already enjoyed, but it's still nice to go "Oh, yeah, that was good," and then got to the end and now I'm blushing and smiling like crazy. I can't tell you how incredibly flattered I am to be on a list with those authors!

Also, Sukiblue's name has a line through it... I'm *really* hoping it's temporary! I can't imagine that she would really delete her journal. ::worries::

[allyndra.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm only reccing stories I really, really love, so it makes perfect sense yours would be up there. :o)

I figured people would have read most of them, but I thought, 'What the heck? It can't hurt to put up my favorites, even if they're well known.'

Don't worry, Suki Blue is fine. I accidentally left the underscore out of her lj username. It should be fixed. Thanks for catching that!

[sublimatedangel]

(Oh, and just delete my comments if you'd prefer them to not be cluttering up your rec entry)

More Oz/Xander that you might like:
Lessons in Cool: That Music Thing by dessert_first and the ever-awesome tesla321. I really really like the dynamics of this, the way they see each other, and themselves in relation to each other (because often we are slightly different people ourselves around different people). It also gets inside Oz's zen and gives him a fuller character with insecurities and everything, well-rounded and real in a way that often Oz isn't in fics (too busy being inscrutable and quiet instead). And it actually has a Koolaid dye reference that I hadn't remembered until I was rereading it, so, bonus!

Pretty Rad by Glossolalia (who is just generally amazing). This one I almost hesitate to recommend. It's not genderswapped, but it's kind of... muddled. Like, there's crossdressing, but it's not about that really, so much as about coming to terms with the whole Xander/Willow fluke thing. It might not be to your taste, but I hope you like it anyhow.

And Transfer by Janette, which I'm really not sure whether to rec or not. This is not a feel-good fic. It's messed up, in more ways than I can count. Every time I re-read it, I'm not sure if I actually like it or not for a good deal of the fic. Little moments keep appearing that touch me, that I identify with or that make me think, and by the end, I'm always left feeling like I've gotten something from it, even if I'm not sure exactly what that something is.

[ansku]

Thanks for the brilliant recs :) I stumbled upon this purely on accident and somehow I ended up reading all but one of them :) And that's only because it's still a WIP...

[allyndra.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked them! I try not to rec anything I don't love, so it makes me happy to hear that you enjoyed the stories as well. :o)