This is a deeply idiosyncratic list of things I happen to enjoy. And what, you ask, do I enjoy? Deep characterization, powerful prose, unexpected insights, and occasionally just plain naughtiness. I haven't given ratings here, but these are mostly slash stories and you can safely assume that none of them are for children. Also, please note that some stories are listed more than once, if they happen to fit into several categories.
Note (November 27, 2005): This page is no longer being updated. For newer, if less detailed, recs, please see my del.icio.us page.
BUFFY AND ANGEL FANFICTION
Giles/Oz
Book of Daniel by Glossolalia (Giles/Oz)
Giles/Oz was not a pairing that I would ever have imagined until I read this astonishing novel-length fic. It may well be the best-written slash I've ever read. The characterization is wonderfully deep and the story is so real it hurts. Not cheerful, by any means, but it leaves you meditative and awestruck at the complexity of love and the depth of human folly. I know I'm indulging in superlatives here, but trust me.
Boys of Summer (In Their Ruin) by Branwyn (Giles/Oz)
A Wishverse story, heart-wrenching and lovely and hopeful.
Compassing Wonders by Glossolalia (Oz/Giles)
What can I say? A gorgeous AU set in Verona Beach (the setting for the Baz Luhrmann film William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet). Daniel is a former Buddhist monk. Gilles (no, that's not a typo) is a defrocked Jesuit with a very bad reputation. Colorful and brilliant as the Verona Beach sunshine. Note that this is a WIP, but it's updated regularly.
Everybody's Got a Secret, Sonny by Priya (Giles/Oz)
Post-Chosen, Giles is in Maine looking for a Slayer. Oz isn't looking for much of anything anymore. Grim and hopeful all at once.
Page 47, Third Row, Second In by Dolores Labouchere (Giles/Oz)
This one will break your heart. An entirely too plausible look at what might have happened to Oz after he left Sunnydale.
Scenes from the Floating World by Glossolalia (Giles/Oz)
A lovely, delicate, decorous story about courtship and the pleasures of taking things slowly. Warning: you might feel compelled to go out for sushi after reading this.
Signs and Tokens by Glossolalia (Giles/Ethan, Giles/Remus Lupin, Giles/Oz)
This is a remarkable story that takes Giles through three very different periods of his life, and shows how they connect. It makes brilliant use of a single guiding metaphor (cross-referencing), which becomes richer and more complex as the story goes on. The crossover is handled with enormous skill, and the whole story is just beautiful. A must-read.
'Til It Bleeds Daylight by Sarah T. (Oz/Giles)
Perhaps the definitive Giles/Oz Wishverse story. Everybody's bleeding in this one.
Up to Zero by Mer (Giles/Oz)
What might have happened in the summer after BtVS season two, as Giles tries to recover from being tortured. Hurt/comfort as it should be: deep and powerful and true.
Giles/Ethan
All Work and No Play by Sarah T. (Giles/Ethan)
Humorous Giles/Ethan. Yes, really. This features the strangest and funniest Scrabble game imaginable.
Brass by Te (Giles/Ethan, Giles/Spike, Ethan/Spike)
Ripper and Ethan. And Spike. And a very naughty little encounter in the 1970s. Dark and sexy and delicious.
Cell Block Tango by Jane St. Clair (Ethan, het, slash and gen)
A wild, wild ride through five things that never happened to Ethan. Full of desire and magic and strange, unnerving beauty.
Divine Possession by The Spike (Ethan/Xander, Ethan/Giles)
Ethan's a very devoted lover. He wants to prove it. This is Ethan in all his ambiguous glory, predator and seducer and victim.
Folie a Deux by Sarah T. (Giles/Ethan)
This one breaks my heart, with its brief, fragile idyll in the midst of painful history and even more painful necessity. It's hard to portray Giles and Ethan happy together, but this story does it beautifully and convincingly.
One Thing or the Other by Jessica Harris (Giles/Ethan)
Remember that silver-and-black shirt of Ethan's that Giles wears in "A New Man"? Giles isn't quite certain what to do with it, afterwards. A wonderfully compact exploration of Giles' history with Ethan.
Road by Te (Giles/Ethan)
A gorgeous look at all that complicated history. I adored mixed emotions in stories, and these emotions are about as mixed as it gets—love and regret and pain and wariness and need.
Signs and Tokens by Glossolalia (Giles/Ethan, Giles/Remus Lupin, Giles/Oz)
This is a remarkable story that takes Giles through three very different periods of his life, and shows how they connect. It makes brilliant use of a single guiding metaphor (cross-referencing), which becomes richer and more complex as the story goes on. The crossover is handled with enormous skill, and the whole story is just beautiful. A must-read.
Wesley/Gunn
Amends the Next Time by Sheila Perez and Te (Wesley/Gunn)
Fire's raining from the sky, and Wes and Gunn talk about the past. A beautiful reconciliation story, all the more powerful for not offering any easy solutions. This is what should have happened on AtS.
anyway the main thing is by Hth (Gunn/Wesley)
Gunn thinks about what love is. Gorgeous.
Consider by Sheila Perez (Wesley/Gunn)
A fable, of sorts. A bit confusing at first, but wonderful.
Restaurant Dogs (series) by Jane St. Clair (Gunn/Wesley)
A stunning series, with great Gunn-voice, some unforgettable magic, and cameos by Giles and Ethan.
A Question of Style by Te and Jane St. Clair (Wesley/Gunn)
Okay, this is pure porn. But it's great porn, full of inventiveness, joy, and real human feeling. One of my favorite smutty stories ever.
Other Pairing/No Pairing
Anywhere But Here by Sarah T. (Ethan, Dawn, Giles)
Dawn makes a new friend and goes on a road trip. Dawn's p.o.v. is marvellously done, and Ethan here is both sympathetic and dangerous. A wonderful story.
Basement, Displacement by Glossolalia (Xander/Spike)
Daddy-play. Need I say more? This is daddy-play done right, hot and dirty and meaningful.
Bath and a Story by Glossolalia (Angel/Connor)
This is not even remotely a happy story. It will leave you gutted, aching for both Angel and Connor and all the ways things have gone wrong for them both. First-rate writing, and proof (if proof was needed) that slash is about more than The Pretty. Please note that there are graphic depictions of (consensual, adult) incestuous sex here, as well as references to rape; it's not for the faint of heart.
Border Men by Jane St. Clair and Te (Ethan/John Constantine)
Two dangerous men meet during a prison break. And then things get really weird. Sexy and brutal, and you'll love it even if you have no idea who John Constantine is (as I didn't when I first read it). Crossover with Hellblazer comics.
Brass by Te
Ripper and Ethan. And Spike. And a very naughty little encounter in the 1970s. Dark and sexy and delicious.
Cell Block Tango by Jane St. Clair (Ethan, het, slash and gen)
A wild, wild ride through five things that never happened to Ethan. Full of desire and magic and strange, unnerving beauty.
Company in Hell by Mad Poetess and Wolfling (Giles/Spike)
This is part one of the lovely Paving Stones series. It's beautifully written, the characterizations are spot-on, and the emotions are just heartwrenching. It's not dark, exactly, but there's a lot of angst and uncertainty. This series is one of my favorites. I re-read it frequently, and every time I like it more. I wish they'd add to it. The link will take you to the series index.
A Cup of Tea by ThaWrecka (Giles/Spike)
A very moving story set in the summer after "The Gift." Giles and Spike are broken and grieving, and they try to find comfort in each other. But finding comfort isn't so easy. The language is spare and compelling, with wonderful details and character notes.
Divine Possession by The Spike (Ethan/Xander, Ethan/Giles)
Ethan's a very devoted lover. He wants to prove it. This is Ethan in all his ambiguous glory, predator and seducer and victim.
Inheritances by Kita (Giles, Angelus, Spike)
This is the best story I've ever read about Giles' torture by Angelus and its aftermath. The writing is harrowing and beautiful, the characterizations are brilliant, and the whole thing just rips your heart out.
Morituri te Salutamus by Annakovsky (Nancy, Wishverse gen)
A wonderful and harrowing glimpse at what it might be like to live in the Wishverse. This story takes a minor character and gives her a full, compelling consciousness.
Night Watch by the Webrain, a.k.a. Debchan, The Spike, and Te (Xander/Spike)
It's hot, and Xander can't sleep. Spike has some suggestions. Sexy, smutty, and wonderfully written.
Sacrament: Initiation Rites by Debchan (Ethan/Xander)
Sequel to The Spike's "Divine Possession." The narration here is practically miraculous—it captures Xander's voice and thoughts beautifully, but also lets us see the undertones he misses. Plus, there's some exceedingly twisted, exceedingly sexy smut.
Seeing Africa by Huzzlewhat (Xander, gen)
Xander's got choices to make. A lovely post-Chosen story with tons of great detail.
Sidelines by Anna S. (Xander/Spike)
This delightful story basically rewrites Season 4 of BtVS from the premise that Xander, not Willow, discovers his gayness. Xander/Spike is a pairing that's often written badly, but not here. The characterization is strong throughout and there's real, non-schmoopy emotion, wonderful humor, and smut of serious hotness.
Silent Upon a Peak in Darien by Doyle (Ethan, gen)
I love stories that get Ethan out of the evil clutches of the Initiative, and this is a good one. Wonderful characterization, with an Ethan who's just as selfish and amoral as we know him to be, and yet deeply sympathetic as well.
Umad Learns Sumerian by Annakovsky (Dawn, gen)
Read this even if you hate Dawn. It's a lovely story, true to a character who was really shortchanged by the BtVS writers, with lots of geeky linguistic detail for extra fun. Plus, there are some nice Giles moments.
The Weary World Rejoicing by Annakovsky (Xander/Anya, but mostly gen)
A moving, powerful post-Apocalypse Christmas story. Yes, really. You'll cry, but in a good, hopeful way.
HARRY POTTER FANFICTION
Under the Influence by FabulaRasa (Snape/Black, Snape/Lupin, Black/Lupin)
Drugs. Inappropriate touching. Threesomes. Need I say more? The link will take you to the main page for the Snape Slash Fleet; from there, click on the "Thin Line" archive and then find the story on the list. There's no way to link directly to the story, I'm afraid.
Stone Cold Sober by FabulaRasa (Snape/Black)
The long, intense, and much darker sequel to "Under the Influence." FabulaRasa writes this pairing brilliantly: her Snape and Black are snarky, quarrelsome, edgy, and passionate. The writing is lyrical and literary, and the smutty bits are breathtaking. The link will take you to the Snape Slash Fleet.
Repechage by FabulaRasa (Snape/Black)
This story offers a very unexpected take on the pairing, with Sirius offering healing to a very damaged Snape (which is not nearly as schmoopy as it sounds). Lovely, incredibly moving, and unbelievably sexy, with the smut integral to the story. The link will take you to the Snape Slash Fleet.
No Happy Memories by Amanuensis (Harry/Sirius)
Normally I like my Harry Potter slash without Harry Potter actually in it, but this is an exception. Sirius has been condemned to the Dementor's Kiss; this is how he spends his last twenty-four hours. This will break your heart, but with style, grace, elegance, and true power. The link will take you to the Restricted Section website; from there you have to get a password and log on. This story is worth the effort.
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