leavethesky

I have had this fic in my enormous 'toread' pile for a while now, but then thelastgoodname put it at the top of her monster rec (3 posts worth of recs!) and I decided to break down and give up some hours to fic. And holy fucking WOW!

The Devil's Gate by hesychasm is a BTVS/SPN crossover and it's Faith/Jo, NC-17. This is a SPECTACULAR fic that reads more like a novella of a Faith the Vampire Slayer episode. I have to confess that I've never watched Supernatural (sorry, two guys saving the supernatural day is so not my kink) so I can't weigh in on Jo's characterization at all, but she read absolutely true throughout the fic. It's told from Jo's point of view and has everything from an absolutely stunning story involving her dead father and her quest to redeem him to the ultimate/inevitable meetup with Faith and a host of baby slayers to incredible and evocative writing. This is intricately plotted and incorporates all of your favs from the Jossverse -- Angel, Buffy, Andrew and Willow -- and hesychasm's descriptions of the spells involved is, well, freakin' magic. Also, hot sex. And did I mention Faith? hesychasm's Faith is the dark, complex Faith from Angel and earlier seasons of BTVS, not the whitewashed Faith from S7. The Faith I love and hesychasm's use of such a limited POV lets Faith keep her secrets. Go. Read. Leave the love.

And while we're on the subject of re-recs and liz_estrada I thought I'd bring back one of my favorite fics. Because it was buried under a ton of other recs.

The Way, Way Back by liz_estrada, Faith/Kate, R is one of my favorite characterizations of Faith. Ever. Dark, fucked-up beauty full of hurt and hope as she tries like hell (and usually fails) to redeem herself. This is also a flat-out fantastic story with plot and villains to rival anything Mutant Enemy ever dreamed up. Seriously, this story is so tightly plotted, you can't see daylight behind it if you hold it up to the light. And the romance sneaks up on you (and Faith) as Faith works with the detective to make things right. There's no storybook happy ending here, but it's the absolutely right ending. For Faith.

because I just can't help myself...
these fics are Jennifer Oksana (aka jennyo)'s work, so you know they're going to be good...for completely different reasons.

I've been told that I need to be more, um, critical. I disagree for the most part (this is my fun, people!), but I'll try to not be so fangirlish in my summaries. These are recs though, so if they're here, you know I think they're good enough to recommend. Or, at the very least, hot enough.

Reluctant the Vampire Slayer, PG-13 isn't exactly femslashy although there's some Fred/OtherF (no smut) and suggested Lilah/Faith. No, this is a rare treat: a Jennyo piece that's long and has *gasp* lots of plot. And Lilah! and no Buffy! Post S7 BTVS, all the slayers have been called including a surprise guest, but someone's collecting a few of them for themselves. Whatever will our heroes (and antiheroes) do?

Jennyo can fucking write, people. Her characterization and dialogue is so incredibly right it makes me remember why I loved these shows. Like the best of your favorite BTVS episodes without those pesky network censors. And a great original character/love interest for Fred. Jennyo's prose is spare, her style is exactly the way I like it: clean, incredibly efficient, with all of the wordlove necessary to satisfy a litgeek like myself. She's one of those writers who take fic to an entirely different level. Her fic has it all, impeccable characterization, hotness, style and with a flair for original popculture turns of phrase that will make you laugh your ass off or at least grind your teeth in a jealous rage.

And to make up for the lack of smut, another jennyo fic, pure Dawn/Faith PWP and completely NC-17 with a vengeance. Since U Been Gone GAH! what is it about this pairing that makes for some of the hottest fic?! It's wonderful cracktastic wrongness perhaps?

thelastgoodname got me started reading Queen Zulu's fic and I'm completely floored by her writing, especially Less Than Real (BTVS, Dawn/Faith). It's just brilliant. Brilliant!

"When Dawn was real, she invited Faith into her life the very first time they met." and that's just the first sentence, people! Go! Read!

hopefully, I'm back on schedule with daily rec's.

Today it's an oddball that I <3 to pieces. It's dish/spoon by keladryb on the anthropomor_fic community. It's short and as hot as a drabble about a dish and spoon lusting after each other can be. *facepalm*

For something more substantial check out Liz Estrada's Keepsake It's an X-Files crossover with Cornwell's novels - Scully/Lucy Farinelli. Because two supersexy genius crimefighters should meet and share snark and other hothotthings. Liz Estrada also wrote one of my fav Faith fics (thelastgoodname rec's this too so you know it's good), The Way, Way Back - (BTVS, Faith/Kate). It has even inspired its own fanficsequel and made me daydream about possible spinoffs although mine tend to involve crossover with L&O/Serena Southerlyn. Faith is one of those incredibly complex characters so difficult to get just right and Liz Estrada is just masterful with the dark slayer.