(no subject)

[rusty_halo]

I don't usually post fic recs here, since my website is like one big collection of stories I recommend. But it's also sort of fun to post longer recs, so here are a couple of stories that stood out to me recently.

I really loved Miss Murchison's Present Tense. I'd never really imagined myself being able to love a Spike/Joyce fic, because, well, one: Joyce reminds me eerily of my mom, and two: why in the world would those two hook up? But Miss Murchison pulls this one off exceptionally well. It's fun, and charming, and funny, but it's also in character, which is (IMO) really impressive. There are quite a few humorous fics out there that work well as humor, but pretty clearly aren't accurately characterized. In this story, even though it's light-hearted and funny, Miss Murchison really made me love Joyce as a character, and made me buy that she would choose to be with Spike, and that Spike would choose to be with her. There are some wonderful little touches in this story that give it more depth and more poignance than I expected. After finishing it I found myself wanting more of these characters and more of this universe, which is really very cool considering my original attitude toward the pairing.

I also loved dutchbuffy2305's He's the Light in Her Fridge, set in a universe in which Buffy dies during Chosen and Spike and Faith hook up. Just as Miss Murchison creates a Joyce that I believe and like, dutchbuffy2305 creates an exceptional Faith. (And I really have minimal interest in these characters canonically, so it's neat that these authors are able to draw me in.) She also builds a very complete world and supporting cast, and a relationship between Spike and Faith that's touching and heartbreaking and really fun to read. This one is a bit more angsty than Present Tense, but they're both fun, plotty stories with lots of action and romance. Both about 30,000 words, also, and both focus on the female character so well, and sort of explore Spike through her POV.

And a couple of LJ recs, if you've missed them: wesleysgirl is posting Let the World Spin, a Spike/Dawn post-apocalypse fic, in her LJ. Go there to read it--it's absolutely wonderful, with really insightful characterizations and such a nice angsty plot.

And I probably don't even have to mention this, but wiseacress has another Spike/Xander WIP in her journal. Really, everyone should already be reading wiseacress's journal, as she is brilliant, but if you've somehow missed it, go check out her latest WIP. And all of her stuff, actually.

And um, also, sorry (in general) for the completely pathetic feedback that I leave most of the time. I feel obligated to comment whenever I read something that I enjoy, but I'm also too lazy to think up something interesting to say, so my feedback usually consists of something like "This was neat" or "Awesome!" I feel like that's better than nothing at all. But if my inane feedback annoys you, just say so and I'll stop.

Comments

[mommanerd.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the fic recs. Much appreciated!

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the dutchbuffy rec. Amazingly well done story!