April 10th, 2009 
04:58 am The Eternal Saudade of the Thompson Gunner by Lost Akasha (G)
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Xander-centered Gen
Length: 1432 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] lostakasha
Author Website: just her LJ
Why this must be read: This fic is a look at Xander's experiences in Africa. Now, I'm not usually a huge Xander fan, but Akasha imbues him with piquancy, interesting depth and, well, saudade. Aside from the wonderful character insights, the pure poetic beauty of this fic simply gives me chills. Akasha has a beautifully poetic way with words, and that strength shows well here. As a side bonus, the sense of setting in this story is so powerful that you will really feel like you've been to the island Akasha describes here.

The Eternal Saudade of the Thompson Gunner
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06:00 am Three Questions by Helen Adams (PG)
Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: None
Length: ~13,500 words
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Helen's Fanfic Page
Why this must be read:

Several years ago, I posted a request on the sadly-now-inactive Mag7Challenge Yahoo list for "Stories which explore events which are pivotal in establishing the standard canon/fanon relationships amongst the guys. This can be initial meetings or critical early encounters." Among the responses was this wonderful story.

You know the cardinal rule of storytelling, "Show don't tell"? Well, this story proves that rules are made to be broken. The set-up is simple: ATF!Ezra offers to answer three questions each from the other six. Who asks what; why; and how; and how Ezra answers, gives a lovely portrayal of where the men are in their lives, what's important to them, their relationships with each other, and their desire to bring Ezra more fully into the group. So I guess there's plenty of showing here after all!

A taste )

Three Questions
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12:09 pm Totally Pretend by boundbyspells (PG-13)
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Pairing: Barney/Lily
Rating: PG-13
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] boundbyspells
Author Website: Bound By Spells

Why this must be read:

While I completely believe in the one true love of Marshall/Lily, there is a part of me that is secretly drawn to the awesomeness that is Barney/Lily. Ever since the days of early S2, really. I can't help it, because they're cute and charming and Aly Hannigan has magnificent chemistry with NPH. [livejournal.com profile] boundbyspells evidently felt the same, because she wrote exactly the thing that could have happened.

Sometimes, or maybe it's most of the time now, Lily thinks about what it would be like to be married to Barney. It's hard not to: she's intermittently pretending to be married to Barney, and she's supposed to be married to Marshall right now. It’s a weird thing not to be Mrs. Someone You Expected To Be. It’s even weirder to be Mrs. Not-Stinson.

Plus, she hasn’t had sex in like five months.



Totally Pretend
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06:34 pm Tifa, by Nezumi
Fandom: FINAL FANTASY VII
Pairing: Gen (Tifa-centric)
Length: About 3600 words
Author on LJ: None.
Author Website: Nezumi Works
Why this must be read:

In the future, battles against evil are long gone and the members of the Avalanche have to deal with living normal lives. This is a wonderful, bittersweet piece about Tifa, nostalgia and the pass of time, delivering angst and hope in just the right places. Stories where the main characters are past their prime years are rare in all fandoms, and Tifa-fic without romantic focus is always a nice treat.

Excerpt )

Tifa
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11:28 pm On The Rocks by frimfram (NC-17)
Fandom: Angel
Pairing: Angel/Spike
Length: 7796 words
Author on LJ: [livejournal.com profile] frimfram
Author Website: just her LJ
Why this must be read: There's a wealth of stories that deal with what happens after "Not Fade Away", but this is one of the most striking of them. That final battle must have contained elements of both victory and loss, and this story reflects that balance perfectly and relentlessly honestly; it effortlessly combines triumph with a palpable sense of true mourning, while still retaining an underlying emotional warmth and dark humor. Frim's writing contains some breathtakingly lyrical language and concrete, vivid images, which is also a difficult and impressive combination to nail. She adds to that some very fine voices and characterizations, and dialogue which feels both real and profound.

On The Rocks

ETA: Link changed to non-flocked version. Sorry, folks; I didn't notice that she'd locked it down.
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