Round 1 Winners Pt 3
Judges Choice for the Spike/Male categories and Best Author & Best Graphics in this post.
Caught me Proper Award - Best Author
denied_heaven
Judges Comments: denied_heaven is an amazing writer. She knows how to write emotions; she'll make you laugh and cry with the characters, sometimes at the same time. Her dialogue is witty but she can turn that wittyness into seriousness or hotness in an eyeblink. Her plotlines can have you hanging at the edge of your seat, cursing if you're left with a cliffhanger and squeeing when you see that your favorite fic by her is finally updated.
_beetle_
Judges Comments: _beetle_ is one of those authors who seem to be born with the words. Her stories are beautiful, heart-wrenching and real. She paints moods and scenes which leave you speechless time after time and make you crave for more.
Looking Fine - Best Graphics
"Spunn Manip" by girlpire
Judges Comments: The manipulation is smooth and flawless - even the colours perfectly mirror the original picture. An artistic nude full of passion ready to explode - and a wonderful tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe
"Spillow Manip" by kid-viciously
Judges Comments: A very good piece of graphic - not only for kid-viciously's skilled use of the manipulation, but also for the right choice of the picture, which would definitely suit Willow and Spike's relationship.
Judges Choices
While the Children Are Away by Elisabeth (DragonyDreams)
Judges Comments: Great work at Spike getting Giles out of his self-pitying. Excellent Spike!Snark. The voices were right on, as well! Great work, all around!
Rapprochement by shapinglight
Judges Comments: This was great how you started with Wes wanting Spike to just go away, and then Spike shocking Wes to his very core with unexpected eympathy, and ending up with naughties between the two and a sweet kiss. This was just an all around excellent fic, and I truly loved it!
Somebody by denied_heaven
Judges Comments: In Somebody Spike finds out Doyle's real identity and confronts him about it. It is an intense story, full of emotions, heart-wrenching, vivid and real. They grip your heart and glue your eyes to the screen. Spike's pov works beautifully and the characters are so spot on. Absolutely fabulous.
Show Me Tania aka itsabigrock
Judges Comments: This beautifully written story takes place after Spike takes Buffy to see Riley in the vamp house. Riley and Spike’s face-off changes tone as Riley asks Spike what Angel had that Riley hasn’t, and Spike knows he’s not talking about the vampire thrall thing. Spike takes Riley to bed, not treating him like the gentle flower he and Buffy are not. The author, via Spike, explains this better than I do: “He [Angel] took pleasure in her pain because he's a demon, and so did she, because she knew it couldn't kill her. Every woman from Eve to Ava has loved the man who split her open, because he was the only one who dared make her cry and still had the balls to ask if she'd love him in the morning." I love that line. It’s also really refreshing to see a Spike/Riley fic that isn’t in an Initiative-run world and/or slave!fic.
Scent by Tabaqui
Judges Comments: I really loved the way this story was introduced, with a description of how, exactly, the wolf has changed Oz’s perception of the world and examples of the things he smells and hears. There is some wonderful prose as the piece unfolds and Oz’s discovery that he can smell Spike’s demon leads to an obsession with Spike’s scent, culminating in a sensual experience for both Oz and reader with Spike in the back of Oz’s van.
Ectoplasm? What Ectoplasm? by spankspike
Judges Comments: Cleverly thought out, hot, perfect characterization. When you can hear the characters in your head, you know the author’s got the verse down pat. In this situation, Spike lives vicariously through Gunn, and while they are total opposites, they understand one fundamental principle: pleasure. Humans are sexual creatures by nature, and since vampires are extended, exaggerated versions of our deepest, innermost desires, they crave pleasure. Spike is deprived of everything, a voyeur of life. The fact that a sexual act makes him feel again makes full sense. He cannot touch or feel anything, but since sexuality is gigantic part of his nature, the idea that Spike would feel an orgasm while watching another masturbate is completely understandable as part of the verse. spankspike has a talent for writing PWP’s that actually have a deeper meaning to them, even if she doesn’t intend it.
sexymermaid
Sexymermaid is made of awesomeness. She's the queen of hot smut and thrilling plots. The stories are often in a very AU-setting and I can't help admiring the risks she has taken with some of her stories and the research she must've put behind them. Besides, who else could write a fairy!Spike and make the story believable?
“You've Been A Naughty Boy, Spike” by kargrif
Judges Comments: The use of reds, oranges and browns is the perfect choice to accentuate Tara's honey-coloured skin, while Spike's manipulation is smooth and unnoticeable. The idea of a dominant Tara definitely works and adds to the banner's beauty.
Caught me Proper Award - Best Author
denied_heaven
Judges Comments: denied_heaven is an amazing writer. She knows how to write emotions; she'll make you laugh and cry with the characters, sometimes at the same time. Her dialogue is witty but she can turn that wittyness into seriousness or hotness in an eyeblink. Her plotlines can have you hanging at the edge of your seat, cursing if you're left with a cliffhanger and squeeing when you see that your favorite fic by her is finally updated.
_beetle_
Judges Comments: _beetle_ is one of those authors who seem to be born with the words. Her stories are beautiful, heart-wrenching and real. She paints moods and scenes which leave you speechless time after time and make you crave for more.
Looking Fine - Best Graphics
"Spunn Manip" by girlpire
Judges Comments: The manipulation is smooth and flawless - even the colours perfectly mirror the original picture. An artistic nude full of passion ready to explode - and a wonderful tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe
"Spillow Manip" by kid-viciously
Judges Comments: A very good piece of graphic - not only for kid-viciously's skilled use of the manipulation, but also for the right choice of the picture, which would definitely suit Willow and Spike's relationship.
Judges Choices
While the Children Are Away by Elisabeth (DragonyDreams)
Judges Comments: Great work at Spike getting Giles out of his self-pitying. Excellent Spike!Snark. The voices were right on, as well! Great work, all around!
Rapprochement by shapinglight
Judges Comments: This was great how you started with Wes wanting Spike to just go away, and then Spike shocking Wes to his very core with unexpected eympathy, and ending up with naughties between the two and a sweet kiss. This was just an all around excellent fic, and I truly loved it!
Somebody by denied_heaven
Judges Comments: In Somebody Spike finds out Doyle's real identity and confronts him about it. It is an intense story, full of emotions, heart-wrenching, vivid and real. They grip your heart and glue your eyes to the screen. Spike's pov works beautifully and the characters are so spot on. Absolutely fabulous.
Show Me Tania aka itsabigrock
Judges Comments: This beautifully written story takes place after Spike takes Buffy to see Riley in the vamp house. Riley and Spike’s face-off changes tone as Riley asks Spike what Angel had that Riley hasn’t, and Spike knows he’s not talking about the vampire thrall thing. Spike takes Riley to bed, not treating him like the gentle flower he and Buffy are not. The author, via Spike, explains this better than I do: “He [Angel] took pleasure in her pain because he's a demon, and so did she, because she knew it couldn't kill her. Every woman from Eve to Ava has loved the man who split her open, because he was the only one who dared make her cry and still had the balls to ask if she'd love him in the morning." I love that line. It’s also really refreshing to see a Spike/Riley fic that isn’t in an Initiative-run world and/or slave!fic.
Scent by Tabaqui
Judges Comments: I really loved the way this story was introduced, with a description of how, exactly, the wolf has changed Oz’s perception of the world and examples of the things he smells and hears. There is some wonderful prose as the piece unfolds and Oz’s discovery that he can smell Spike’s demon leads to an obsession with Spike’s scent, culminating in a sensual experience for both Oz and reader with Spike in the back of Oz’s van.
Ectoplasm? What Ectoplasm? by spankspike
Judges Comments: Cleverly thought out, hot, perfect characterization. When you can hear the characters in your head, you know the author’s got the verse down pat. In this situation, Spike lives vicariously through Gunn, and while they are total opposites, they understand one fundamental principle: pleasure. Humans are sexual creatures by nature, and since vampires are extended, exaggerated versions of our deepest, innermost desires, they crave pleasure. Spike is deprived of everything, a voyeur of life. The fact that a sexual act makes him feel again makes full sense. He cannot touch or feel anything, but since sexuality is gigantic part of his nature, the idea that Spike would feel an orgasm while watching another masturbate is completely understandable as part of the verse. spankspike has a talent for writing PWP’s that actually have a deeper meaning to them, even if she doesn’t intend it.
sexymermaid
Sexymermaid is made of awesomeness. She's the queen of hot smut and thrilling plots. The stories are often in a very AU-setting and I can't help admiring the risks she has taken with some of her stories and the research she must've put behind them. Besides, who else could write a fairy!Spike and make the story believable?
“You've Been A Naughty Boy, Spike” by kargrif
Judges Comments: The use of reds, oranges and browns is the perfect choice to accentuate Tara's honey-coloured skin, while Spike's manipulation is smooth and unnoticeable. The idea of a dominant Tara definitely works and adds to the banner's beauty.