I am in need of (BtVS) fic-recs!

[elisi]

Not for me, you understand, but for someone who has only had unfortunate experiences with fanfic and thinks the quality is below that of the tie-in novels. [*mind boggles*]

I have already rec'd 'Three Deep', but since (s)he isn't a Spuffy shipper I am in need of some help. Basically I'm looking for either Willow-centric or ensemble fics. Excellent writing and well-drawn characters a must, obviously. Also only canon-pairings, please, so no Spike/Willow f.ex.

Any ideas?

Comments

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

"Necessary Evils" by Barb C (rahirah) Possibly one of the finest ensemble fics ever.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

That's what I was going to recommend as well (or even "A Raising in the Sun" which comes before it), because although it's definitely Spuffy, there's some fantastic Willow stuff in there. She does a great job with characterization, and Willow is fairly front and center throughout.

[elisi]

Will definitely put it on the list! :)

[elisi]

I was wondering if maybe it was too Spuffy, but I don't think (s)he is anti-Spuffy as such... will definitely mention it!

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

Difficult question since I read mostly Spike-centric fic. I was going to rec Rachel Anton's "Geek the Girl" but that's Willow/Spike.

I would suggest going to the BBF archive. They're very discerning about what they include there. You can do a search by many different parameters, including character (ensemble as well).

Here's a link: http://s8219.net/bbfarchive/cgi-bin/search.cgi

[elisi]

My reading is also very Spike-centric! Thank you for the link, will pass it on!

[rahirah]

You could point her at Yahtzee; you can't get much better than that for gen.

[elisi]

Oh I've never heard of her - do you have a link? Pretty please?

[rahirah]

http://www.thechicagoloop.net/yahtzee/insect/

She doesn't write BtVS fic any longer, but back in the day she was the biggest BNF ever. From what I can gather, she couldn't stand Spike's storyline in S5 and after, and so found herself pretty much unable to continue as a gen writer seeing as his relationship with Buffy was so important to later seasons. I think she wrote some very well-received Angel/Cordy under another pen name for awhile, but then moved on to other fandoms.

[elisi]

Oh thank you! And it's always fun to find out about fandom history - I didn't discover it until post-S7 (due partly to the fact that until then our internet connection had been at the stoneage stage).

[yourlibrarian]

Are there any spoiler concerns? I don't really know of any non-ship Willow-centric fic, although maybe Without Ceremony might qualify.

Eliade's Season Noir is unfinished and somewhat Spuffy but mostly gen and a great read.

[elisi]

No spoiler concerns, thankfully. Will pass on your recs - can't believe I completely forgot about 'Season Noir' (only read a few chapters, but I remember being incredibly impressed!).

[desoto-hia873.livejournal.com]

All of rahirah's fics - start her with "A Raising In The Sun" and let her go from there. They've got a Spuffy base, but there's a whole lotta Willow in there. And the writing is superlative.

[elisi]

Heh. You're the third person to mention her, and she was also pretty much the first writer I thought of!

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

They might be able to find something here

[elisi]

Thank you! :)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I take it s/he is a Willow fan? I loved three lions, by Lesley http://www.myarseisnotpansy.co.uk/lesley/lions/lions1.html It was one of the first fics that made me say "wow, fan fic can be really good!" Granted she kills off Willow, it's still a really interesting fic.

[elisi]

Oh I've read that! Definitely interesting, but she's so anti-Buffy (and Xander) that I found it hard to enjoy. But it's certainly well written!

[lillianmorgan.livejournal.com]

My two favourite ensemble fics are Kalima's Time Travel for Pedestrians and Lori's The Giles & Spike Collection. For Willow-centric and/or gen I would highly recommend semby's work, particularly "The Case of the Missing Ancient Statuette" and "The One With the Blue Vervain". "Beautiful New World" is set in the Wishverse for Vamp!Willow.
Also for more gen ensemble fic hesadevil's Family Blood Calls to Blood and the sequel Soul Searching are both wonderful.
Come to think of it the 12daysspillyria might also be worth looking into? Also I did a rec of ensemble fic which you can find amongst the other recs here.

[elisi]

Yay! You're like a one-person archive! :) Thank you *so* much! (I don't suppose you've had any mail from me yet?)

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a fan of Willow-centric fics but the few I've liked are at
http://www.redssoulmates.com/. Maybe your friend can browse around there.

Shakatany

[elisi]

Oh thank you - I like Willow well enough, but I've never really looked for Willow centric stuff before.

[fotada.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed elenorlaura's Beggar's Banquet, which is complete:
http://elenorlaura.fengurl-dreams.com/beggars.htm

And her story Odalisque, which sadly is not complete, but worth reading regardless:
http://elenorlaura.fengurl-dreams.com/odalisque.htm

[elisi]

*Thank you!* I've got quite a selection now. :)