Buffyverse recs
First, to all of you German football fans on my f-list: GOOD LUCK!!! Not that I think you'll need much of it in this match. :)
Some BtVS/AtS recs:
Graven Image by tabaqui
Angel/Gunn, NC-17, 1900 words, some angst.
The sun was a cage. Insubstantial prison, and Angel paced just beyond its intangible, ravenous bars. Avoiding, as far as he could, the assessing stares of the others. Cordelia, who looked as if she wanted to slap him and Wesley, who looked as if he'd already been slapped. And Gunn, who just watched with that limpid predator's stare, his dark eyes half-lidded, his arms crossed.
The air still smelled of her. Of Darla. Her scents of violet and cedar, overlaid with a new scent, a scent unfamiliar and unknown. Human scent, of sweat and fear and hate. Of sickness, hidden rot and damp.
"Act of Nature" Series by wesleysgirl and janedavitt
Giles/Xander, NC-17, 78600 words, first time/established relationship, angst. Summary: Set post 'Chosen'. Giles and Xander deal with the aftermath of a tragedy and their feelings for each other.
Giles waited for the Iona ferry to dock with a passivity that might have passed for patience to the casual observer. He had left London early that morning, each leg of his journey becoming shorter and slower as he swapped plane for car and car for boat. The driving urgency to reach his destination had left him with his first glimpse of the island, and now feet that had paced an airport lounge and pressed hard against the accelerator pedal in his hired car felt rooted to the rough concrete.
He looked beyond the looming, sturdy lines of the ferry to the small island. Iona's white sand beaches lay wind-smoothed and soft and the rocks and thin, short grass were a blur of grey and green to his tired eyes.
The Full Xander Harris Experience and sequel Holidays on the Hellmouth by mireille719
Xander/Larry, PG-13, 16400+20700 words, first time/established relationship, humour. Summary: "We hang out," Xander said. "And then you'll understand that I'm completely serious when I tell you that I am one hundred percent, completely and totally, straight." / "You're one hundred percent, completely and totally, insane." Sequel: When your boyfriend goes away to college, the passage of time gets measured in holidays.
"You've been walking around for the past year thinking I came out to you, and all it takes is me saying 'I like girls' for you to change your mind?" Why hadn't he thought of that before? he wondered. Oh, yeah, because it was stupid, that was why. If "I'm not gay," hadn't worked, why would "I like girls" make a difference?
Football players, he thought, trying not to roll his eyes.
"Seriously, I get it now," Larry said. "I just hadn't realized you were bi."
Beholder by kimberly_a
Spike/Xander, PG-13, 5400 words, first time. Summary: Xander deals with the loss of his eye.
Andrew picked up where Xander left off in Africa, so when Dawn headed out for a summer studying Greek in Athens -- and, less officially, studying some obscure demon dialects with a woman "friend" of Giles's who lived there -- and Buffy was itching to leave Rome for a vacation with her latest non-human boyfriend, it only made sense for Xander to housesit.
So he found himself in Rome. Alone again. But at least this time there was tv and beer and porn and a comfy bed to sleep in.
It was like paradise.
With his "retirement pension" supplied by the Watchers Council -- "The Council can afford it, Xander, and you have most definitely earned it" -- he could live relatively comfortably, though not lavishly. It helped that he wasn't paying rent.
Rome was a larger, more urban, more crowded city than he'd lived in before, and the difference was a bit overwhelming, especially after nearly a year wandering the villages and empty spaces of Africa. The insano-traffic was like nothing he'd ever seen. But he loved the cafes, the open-air movies
Some BtVS/AtS recs:
Graven Image by tabaqui
Angel/Gunn, NC-17, 1900 words, some angst.
The sun was a cage. Insubstantial prison, and Angel paced just beyond its intangible, ravenous bars. Avoiding, as far as he could, the assessing stares of the others. Cordelia, who looked as if she wanted to slap him and Wesley, who looked as if he'd already been slapped. And Gunn, who just watched with that limpid predator's stare, his dark eyes half-lidded, his arms crossed.
The air still smelled of her. Of Darla. Her scents of violet and cedar, overlaid with a new scent, a scent unfamiliar and unknown. Human scent, of sweat and fear and hate. Of sickness, hidden rot and damp.
"Act of Nature" Series by wesleysgirl and janedavitt
Giles/Xander, NC-17, 78600 words, first time/established relationship, angst. Summary: Set post 'Chosen'. Giles and Xander deal with the aftermath of a tragedy and their feelings for each other.
Giles waited for the Iona ferry to dock with a passivity that might have passed for patience to the casual observer. He had left London early that morning, each leg of his journey becoming shorter and slower as he swapped plane for car and car for boat. The driving urgency to reach his destination had left him with his first glimpse of the island, and now feet that had paced an airport lounge and pressed hard against the accelerator pedal in his hired car felt rooted to the rough concrete.
He looked beyond the looming, sturdy lines of the ferry to the small island. Iona's white sand beaches lay wind-smoothed and soft and the rocks and thin, short grass were a blur of grey and green to his tired eyes.
The Full Xander Harris Experience and sequel Holidays on the Hellmouth by mireille719
Xander/Larry, PG-13, 16400+20700 words, first time/established relationship, humour. Summary: "We hang out," Xander said. "And then you'll understand that I'm completely serious when I tell you that I am one hundred percent, completely and totally, straight." / "You're one hundred percent, completely and totally, insane." Sequel: When your boyfriend goes away to college, the passage of time gets measured in holidays.
"You've been walking around for the past year thinking I came out to you, and all it takes is me saying 'I like girls' for you to change your mind?" Why hadn't he thought of that before? he wondered. Oh, yeah, because it was stupid, that was why. If "I'm not gay," hadn't worked, why would "I like girls" make a difference?
Football players, he thought, trying not to roll his eyes.
"Seriously, I get it now," Larry said. "I just hadn't realized you were bi."
Beholder by kimberly_a
Spike/Xander, PG-13, 5400 words, first time. Summary: Xander deals with the loss of his eye.
Andrew picked up where Xander left off in Africa, so when Dawn headed out for a summer studying Greek in Athens -- and, less officially, studying some obscure demon dialects with a woman "friend" of Giles's who lived there -- and Buffy was itching to leave Rome for a vacation with her latest non-human boyfriend, it only made sense for Xander to housesit.
So he found himself in Rome. Alone again. But at least this time there was tv and beer and porn and a comfy bed to sleep in.
It was like paradise.
With his "retirement pension" supplied by the Watchers Council -- "The Council can afford it, Xander, and you have most definitely earned it" -- he could live relatively comfortably, though not lavishly. It helped that he wasn't paying rent.
Rome was a larger, more urban, more crowded city than he'd lived in before, and the difference was a bit overwhelming, especially after nearly a year wandering the villages and empty spaces of Africa. The insano-traffic was like nothing he'd ever seen. But he loved the cafes, the open-air movies