Haven Reviews: Search results
28 fanfic reviews found matching your criteria
Adrienne (Sci-Fi Acid)
Girls Movie Night
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Humor
Reviewed by: Yummy
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 2+ chapters, most parts 25KB or under
Plot: Buffy, Anya Willow and Tara rented some movies and plan on having a fun girls night at Buffy's. But Willow and Tara get 'busy' in the kitchen while taking care of the popcorn, and Buffy and Anya can't help but watch. Ensues a very interesting game of truth or dare.
Review: I think it's nicely written, and smutty without being plotless. It's also pretty funny, and pretty long for that kinc of fic, but never boring.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Extra Flamey
Anna S
Your Horoscope for Today
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Xander/Spike
Themes: Angst, AU, drama, H/C, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 15-11-2004
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: Sometimes actions can have unexpected consequences. If Spike, for example, lost his memory and needed help, who would be there?
Review: This fic picks up midway through season five, after the episode Triangle. It's definitely an AU, but not an extreme AU and that's part of the attraction for me. It picks up on a couple of themes from season five (kittens as gambling debts?) and runs with them.
The part that got me to rec this, though, is the final couple of scenes. The fic is fun, slightly angsty and sometimes silly, but it's the final couple of scenes that are the real treat.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Anna S. Fanfiction
AntigoneUnbound
On Second Thought
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 16-08-2003
Length: 2-10 chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Way the heck back in S4, Willow makes a difficult choice
Review: Willow chooses Oz in New Moon Rising because he needs her more, but she's still attracted to Tara. What should she do? Heartwrenching, terrifying, romantic, angsty, and sexy by turns, this story takes you through the full spectrum of emotion. This is a wonderful story of the relationships between the three characters and the unexpected darkness within one of them.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Kitten, The Witches and the Bad Wardrobe: On Second Thought
Byrne
Truth or Dare
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Xander/Spike
Themes: Angst, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 07-05-2003
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: Xander plays Truth or Dare with the Scooby gang and gets closer to Spike.
Review: I think what I liked most about this was that it was sweet and gentle, and Xander's realisations were so natural. There is good characterisation here and the author manages to convey what is happening vividly. It's not laugh out loud funny but it is definitely a chuckler, particularly some of the dares. The humour is very much in the style of the writing as well as the actions and that is the same for the characterisation. A very satisfying read.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Crypt
Calle Dybedahl
.com
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Anya
Themes: Humor, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 18-04-2004
Length: 40-100KB
Plot: With the Magic Box destroyed, Anya needs a way to make money. How about a webcam? And what if Willow stumbled across the webcam?
Review: This is fairly high on the list of improbable plots, but that's part of what makes this story works. Calle takes the idea, runs with it and manages to produce a great fic that is surprisingly in character. It is set post-season six, so expect spoilers up to there, and her grasp of both Willow and Anya is great. She has their voices and the story moves along in an oddly believable way. I say 'oddly' because logic seems to dictate that this won't work and yet it does. Willow/Anya isn't a pairing that I thought would work, the plot isn't an idea that I thought could be done and then I read it and changed my mind. I'm even being converted into seeing the Willow/Anya.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: CyberPoMo
chelle
What Anya Knows
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Anya
Themes: H/C, vignette
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 18-04-2004
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: Willow finds understanding in a place where she least expected it.
Review: This is a little sad, a little bittersweet and quite moving. It's short so on one level there isn't a huge amount to say without explaining the entire plot.
In some ways it's a mood piece rather than a dramatic piece. It's about connection and need. It's also slightly sweet and shows a remarkable understanding of Anya's character as well as Willow. The setting is sometime in season-seven, pre-Kennedy, with all the baggage that brings, and the writer does a great job of conveying the emotions that both characters are going through.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: chelle's nighstand
CN Winters
Making Sense
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Willow
Themes: Angst, drama, first time, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 17-02-2004
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: Set 10 years after Willow outted herself to the gang, a brief encounter forces Willow and Buffy to look deeper into their relationship.
Review: I should really say that I'm also reccing the (NC-17) sequel to this - 'Making Plans'. It really works best if you read both of them.
CN Winters is a talented Xena writer, so I was pretty excited when I saw that she had some Buffy fic and even happier when I saw that it was my favourite pairing - Buffy/Willow. This fic is set in future and has a more mature feeling than many Buffy fics. Making Sense is written from Willow's POV and Making Plans from Buffy's. CN has managed to get into both their heads very well - the tone and phrasing fits the characters perfectly and you really can feel that you've changed POV from the first sentence. I could hear both characters as I read. The fics also dealt well with both characters' insecurities and problems, which is why they work best as a pair. I could hear, see and feel everything as I read and my first thought at the end was 'I must rec this and tell everyone about it'. My second was 'I must re-read this fic'. And then I decided to check out some of CN's recommendations :-)
Warning: No warnings
Archive: CN's Caldron of Fan Fiction
Dreiser
It Starts With Faith (series)
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Cordelia/Faith
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, drama, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 08-04-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: An alternative universe in which Faith is the first Slayer who is taken under the wing of a certain librarian at Sunnydale High.
Review: The first thing I have to admit is that I've always been curious about what Faith might have been like if she'd had a better life (what can I say? I love that girl). I also never thought that Cordelia/Faith could work...until I read this. Dreiser states that she's written better but I still love this. The characerisation is great and she creates some fun original characters as well. But the driving force is Faith and Cordelia's relationship and that is just plain beautiful.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: dreiser.net
Janine
And It All Became So Clear
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Willow
Themes: Angst, AU, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: When Faith is kidnapped Buffy and Willow are forced to confront some issues that they have both been trying to avoid.
Review: This was the first B/W piece I read and I still love to re-read it. There are two follow-ups, Luck of the Draw and Walking After Midnight which are, if possible, even better than this piece. Clear... and Luck... are written from Willow's point of view and you can almost hear her saying the thoughts, particularly her famous rambles. The final story in the series is written from Buffy's point of view, for reasons that become clear part way through, but although the tone is different the sweet innocence of the tales is not lost. What makes this story stand out is the quiet depth of the writing and way the author has managed to capture the characters of Buffy and Willow so perfectly. Even if Buffy/Willow is not usually to your taste, this story is not graphic and the affection between the two characters is uplifting. And so clear...
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
joan the english chick
Always Towards Wholeness
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Faith
Themes: Angst
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: Under 10 KB
Plot: This is a reflection piece. Basically, it's Faith thinking about Buffy in her cell, and doing some angst-ing.
Review: This is an internal dialogue piece, which is not an easy thing to do and keep interest. The author caught Faith's voice well and gave some interesting insights into the character.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: joan the english chick
Kate Bolin
Curriculum
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Jenny/female
Themes: Angst, vignette
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 18-04-2004
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: Like Willow and Tara were the first girls to experiment in college?
Review: If I actually put the pairing into the info here, it will totally ruin part of the point of this story. So I haven't. But it's femslash (like you can't tell from the plot summary) and very good.
This is a short piece, fascinating for the insights into Jenny and the other character, and one of those fics where I just knew that I had to rec it the moment I finished. Kate Bolin is an talented BtVS writer and this is just a sample of how good she is. It has an interesting format (pay attention to the course names) and an unexpected ending - it's always good to see some originality in BtVS fic.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pearl
Katharyn
Sidestep Chronicle
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, dark fic, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: The ultimate vampire Willow story.
It starts with Willow becoming a vampire, follows with her canonical staking, then continues with her subsequent resurrection at the hands of Wolfram and Hart in the place of Darla's resurrection of the Angel season 1 finale. This story shows all of your favorite characters from a different point of view: Faith who becomes Giles's surrogate daughter as Buffy did elsewhere though without losing her edge; a harder Giles who's had to see Sunnydale fall to the vamps, though he has Jenny Calendar to balance him; and Lilah who represents Wolfram and Hart's to the Mayor (what other law firm would represent the Mayor?)
And of course, a darker Tara who's become a vampire hunter after the loss of her parents. Tara comes to Sunnydale to work for the Mayor in order to destroy the Master, whom she blames for her loss. She knows it's a diabolical bargain, in much the same way that her use of the magicks is, but she can't help liking the man who acts more like a father to her than her own father ever did. She also finds a friend and perhaps more in Lilah, who comes to check on her for a mysterious prophecy held by Wolfram and Hart. Who and what the prophecy actually talks about is a wonderful twist, subverting all the expectations developed upon first reading about it.
Meanwhile, she meets a beautiful red-haired vampire, the parody of the girl of her dreams. Tara can't resist her and what they have is more than sex, but it's a lot less than love; their relationship's sure to get someone killed, perhaps including both of them, as Tara and Vampire Willow play an uneasy game of alliances with the Mayor, the Master (who is the scary villain he could've developed into if he'd survived Prophecy Girl), Wolfram & Hart, and the Council of Watchers.
Review: Vampire Willow retains her predatory vampiric edge to a greater degree than canonical Spike does. Her revenge on Oz for staking her is scary; however, my favorite images are of her reaction to Tara being sick and how she ends up giving Tara a kitten as a 'gift.' Both are priceless. Despite their differences, neither Tara nor Vampire Willow can pull away from each other, though both know that it can't end well. I would've loved to have seen Buffy/Spike written more like this.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Kitten, The Witches and The Bad Wardrobe: Sidestep Chronicles
Kiara Rogue
Manly Girly Giggles
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Xander/Spike
Themes: Action/adventure, first time, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Spurglie
Reviewer's home URL: Spurglie's fanfiction
Dated added: 15-11-2004
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Without giving too much away...? Umm, something very strange happens to Xander and Spike, of all people, is there to help him through. Oh... and aliens attack the earth.
Review: The first thing I asked Kiara when I sent her some drooling feedback was if she could tell me exactly what medication she was on so I could rush out and get myself some. She writes stuff you won't even believe. Slasherific, world destroying, canon smashing, genderbending fiction that manages to remain hilarious, silly yet sensible, and very, very hot throughout. A few issues with punctuation, but nothing that's going to make you tear your hair out.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Manly Girly Giggles
Kirayoshi
Beside Myself
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Willow
Themes: Drama, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: What if the Toth demon in 'The Replacement' had hit Buffy instead of Xander?
Review: I haven't seen 'The Replacement' (I've only read the transcripts and have to wait until the TV stations in England show it) but this is a great take on a great episode. The two halves of Buffy, Slayer and Buffy, are used well here and it's a shame the show has never investigated this side of her. So it's not surprising that re-writing the episode has worked so well, and the Buffy/Willow overtones that were worked in don't jar at all. Kirayoshi kept in many of the funniest lines (a wise choice) and I barely even noticed the changes. If only all episode re-writes were this well-executed...
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Kirayoshi
Life Version 2.0
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara (implied)
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, drama
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 26-11-2003
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: An older, wiser and sadder Willow makes a wish.
Review: Have you ever wished you could go back and change things? This is essentially what powers this fic and it's very well done. The Willow from the end of S6 is given a chance to 'do over' the past few years with all the knowledge from living through them. Kirayoshi manages to capture Willow's sadness and guilt perfectly, as well as the confusion of her friends who can see 'their' Willow, yet she has changed. Willow's relationship with Tara is mentioned in retrospect and the lessons she's learnt about herself are kept. This is a powerful, moving fic that interweaves Kirayoshi's story with well-known events. I loved it.
There's even a hint that there may be more chapters, something that I'm desperately hoping will come to pass because there is so much potential in the universe that's been created.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Lipkandy
Tempus Fugit
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, AU, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: In the Fall after season 6, the Scoobies are still trying to find a way to talk with each other and to rebuild their relationships. Willow's having a particularly difficult time after her return to England, as she lives in a house with Buffy and Dawn but finds that interacting with them is like walking through a minefield of old hurts and fears. Just as you think they can't have a more difficult time getting back together, the mixture of personalities grows in volatility as Faith returns to Sunnydale with a story about Cordelia having a vision about a world-destroying artifact which Buffy has just discovered. She wants to take it back to LA with her.
Buffy doesn't believe Faith and accidentally triggers the artifact, sending her and Willow back in time to season 4 where they exist in their bodies of that time, leaving Dawn in the present with the almost impossible task of getting Faith, Spike, Anya, and Xander, all of whom have substantial reasons not to trust or like each other, to work together long enough to figure out what's happened to Buffy and Willow and how to fix it.
Back in season 4, Willow warns Buffy that they have to do everything just the same as they did when they first lived through these events, for the smallest change could completely alter their present through the butterfly effect. That's easier said than done, not only for a Slayer whose diary only says 'lunch' and 'patrol' for every day, but also for a witch who has what might be a second chance at life and love. Buffy is also faced with the temptation of having a second chance with those she loves most. The scenes with Joyce are wonderful and deeply revealing about her character, allowing us to better understand how she felt about Dawn in season 5.
Of course, how they got to the past might kill them and their friends in the present, who need their help to face the demonic owner of the artifact who has come to reclaim his possession. For some, that might be a sacrifice w
Review: The author has a deep grasp of all the Buffy characters; her Dawn, unsure and hurt but determined to do what's right to save her sister and Willow, and Faith, who's striving to do what's right but whose feet occasionally slip off the road to redemption, are especially well portrayed, as are Buffy and Willow and their uneasy relationship with each other. While the events of the present feel like an episode of Buffy, the events of the past are a beautiful look at what could have been with the poignant knowledge that Buffy and Willow have to return to the present, one way or the other.
The ending is wonderfully complex and unexpected.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Mystic Muse
Lisa Countryman
Unexpected Consequences
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 16-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: No summary supplied.
Review: Another interesting take on Willow's magic addiction arc; I guarantee that you will not be expecting the consequences in this story. Lisa has a breezy, light style that's easy to read, yet emotionally powerful. The first few chapters are an emotional rollercoaster as Willow and Tara discover those consequences and what they might mean for not only their relationship but the world. The consequences are far more surprising yet sensible than magic crack. The middle isn't as compelling as the beginning or ending; in particular, Amy's arc with the Witches Council is an unwelcome distraction from the main story. However, the ending with Tara's three trials is incredible and it would be worth reading the whole story for those scenes alone.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Unimatrix Seven
Mad Poetess
Chocolatey Goodness
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Xander/Spike
Themes: Angst, first time, humor, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 02-07-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Love, lust, witty banter, and NC-17 rated et cetera between (Holding your breath, are you?) Xander and Spike. Chocolate, and cohabitation, and the extended Scooby Gang. Currently on hiatus, but the first, oh, 400 pages might keep you busy for a while.
Review: I honestly can't remember how I stumbled across this but I've always been glad that I did. It's got humour and angst in equal portions and I absolutely love the dialogue and characterisation (Spike and Xander's internal dialogue is particularly good). I usually have a rule about not reccing works in progress, but there's lots of parts already up and I just couldn't resist any more.
Mad Poetess has put this fic on official hiatus (meaning that she isn't adding to it at the moment but will go back to it) but go and read it anyway - you won't be disappointed.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Pointy Stakes: Chocolatey Goodness
Michele
Complement
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Faith
Themes: Angst, AU, dark fic, drama, humor, romance
Reviewed by: kookylorri
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 26-11-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: About Faith's life, her and Buffy. Has details on greek mythology etc. Don't want to ruin it for those that haven't read.
Review: This fic is amazingly written, without a doubt the best thing EVER written in this fandom. The charaterisation is 'just so' all the way through, and the narrative flow is engulfing. It has every thing; it makes you laugh, cry giggle, and maybe even a little horny. The area written about are thought provoking without being glorifying and provide imagery that you can envision the story as if you were watching it. Not review could do this fic justice, it's the must read of fanfic readers.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: -:wicked &divine:-
Pat Kelly
Summer Friendship series
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Faith
Themes: Action/adventure, AU, drama, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: What would have happened in season three if Buffy and Faith had met each other before 'Faith, Hope and Trick'?
This is the idea explored in this wonderful fic. Buffy and Faith met when they were several years younger, before they became Slayers, and spent an entire summer becoming best friends. But when Buffy went home after the summer they lost contact until they meet in an alley behind the Bronze and learn that they are sisters in arms...
Review: Faith is one of my favourite characters so it's not surprising that I'm a fan of a story with her as the central character. Pat has basically re-written many of season three's episodes so, although some of the parts are eerily familiar, due to Buffy and Faith's changed relationship many of the outcomes are different. It explores a different side to Faith and asks whether she would have turned out the way she did if events have been different. The follow ups to this series should be posted to the archives soon and I cannot recommend this highly enough. Wicked cool!
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Pat Kelly
Two of a Kind Love
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Willow
Themes: Romance
Reviewed by: Kirayoshi
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: A reworking of the series third season, picking up from the second season cliffhanger 'Becoming'. The main difference is that Buffy comes to realize that she's in love with Willow while Willow recovers from Angelus' attack. The story redefines key scenes from the third season with that new relationship in mind.
Review: With this story, Pat Kelly pretty much invented the Buffy/Willow shipper fic. His marvelous reworking of Season Two was incredibly well thought out, and not once did his characterization falter. He starts with incredible angst(Willow comatose after nearly being killed by Angelus, Buffy grieving as she comes to realization of her feelings for Willow), and continues to run a well-paced emotional gamut, from heartache to joy, from sorrow to comedy. Favorite elements; Willow taking Buffy bowling, Buffy meeting with Willow's disapproving parents, the B/W slant on 'Lover's Walk' with Faith as the spoiler, and the treatment of Faith throughout. Pat took some calculated risks, and pulled them off famously. His story works on every level. Bravo, my friend, bravo.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Pat Kelly
Human Layers
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Buffy/Cordelia
Themes: Angst, drama, romance
Reviewed by: Selenay
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 30-03-2003
Length: 2-10 chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Follows the second season, but a few events take a different path.
Review: Pat Kelly writes beautiful relationships and this is no exception. It's sweet and funny, angsty in places, and the chemistry between the girls is unmistakable. I hadn't believed that B/C was feasable until I read this and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Your reward for reading it is the picture at the end of the final part :)
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Pink Rabbit Consortium
Sassette
Answering Darkness
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, dark fic, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: AU story about the source of Willow's black magick powers and how she, Tara, and the rest of the gang help save the world from the Trickster.
Review: The best attempt at redeeming Willow's magic addiction arc of season 6 by adding a layer of story and mythology to underly and explain such a deviation from the canon of magic in BtVS. This is also the story that got me to like Anya with the chapters about Anya and Tara's road trip, as Tara leaves Sunnydale to get some perspective by being away from Willow while going to find her mother's books which she thinks might hold the secret to what's happening to Willow. This story also reveals the secret of why Glory was so easy to defeat in The Gift.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Crypt of Fic
tommo
Touchstone
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Angst, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: It starts after season 6 with Giles in Wales, where he's been exiled to a particularly unimportant and somewhat uncomfortable post as Watcher. He welcomes Tara and Willow (this story was started before the end of season 6), who have come to visit to deal with Willow's issues with magic as well as their issues with each other (despite Tara's statement in Entropy, they can't 'just skip it' forever) in a place that's supposedly safer than the Hellmouth.
But which may not be ... there's something mysterious in the woods and Cerys, a new Watcher with a secret agenda, arrives soon after Giles welcomes Tara and Willow into his cottage. Cerys is one of the best drawn original characters I've seen in fan fiction, being both well described and well balanced as to avoid taking the focus from the characters we already know. Tommo has a deep command of the Buffy characters as well, and her Giles is a delight to read and reflect upon.
Review: This story features the best descriptive writing of any fan fiction. The images of both Wales, where the story is set, and of the characters and their interactions are deftly drawn and simply beautiful. If you want to learn how to make descriptive writing come alive, this is the story for you.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Lesbo Street Cred
Tulipp
Bread
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Drama, ER, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: Over 100KB
Plot: This jewel of a short story is the perfect farewell to Buffy. Focusing on Willow, Tara, and Dawn, it tells the story of the summer after The Gift in a handful of moments where small changes made all the difference: A June night. A July morning. An August afternoon. It begins and ends with one of my favorite quotes from Ursula K LeGuin: 'Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.'
Review: Tulipp has a superlative ability to deeply and compassionately understand the characters of Buffy, both their flaws and their strengths. While I'd read her work for her elegant style and beautiful descriptive writing alone, it's her command of character that allows her to write those small, often wordless, moments that touch me the most and that inspires me to reread her works. This story does not lead to any of the events of season 6.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Mystic Muse
Tulipp
Terra Firma
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: R
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Action/adventure, angst, drama, romance
Reviewed by: DarkMagickWillow
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 13-08-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Willow returns with Dawn from their summer with the Coven in England after the events of season 6 (this story was written before season 7). Once again, Tulipp gathers up the discarded or underused threads of the past season's story and weaves them together in a new tapestry of surpassing beauty. We slowly learn to compassionately understand how each of the characters ended up where they were at the end of that season and how they can grow from there.
As with Bread, the major characters are Willow, Dawn, and yes, Tara; her return is a mystery whose depths we gradually explore throughout the course of the story. It also brings back my favorite villain of season 5: the wonderfully creepy Doc, who has his own past with a deeper connection to the Scoobies than you might expect. However, this longer story takes the time to deal with the changes in all the Scoobies; I especially like what we learn about Giles's history and how he both fails and succeeds in dealing with Willow's changes over the course of this story.
Review: Chapter 6, 'Breathe,' is a wonderful and powerful story in itself, whose ability to deal with complex issues without dialog reminds me a bit of the episode Hush. However, my favorite chapter is the final one. The elemental imagery of the ending is beautiful, with each pair of element and person matching perfectly with the character's story and personality. The ending is more powerful emotionally than that of Grave, not only for Buffy and Dawn but also for Willow. As the title promises, it brings us, the readers, out of the storm that was season 6 to once again stand on firm ground, terra firma.
Warning: No warnings
Archive: The Mystic Muse
Wiccie
Better than Mochas (part of the 'Fun with Friction' series)
Fandom: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Themes: Humor, romance
Reviewed by: Yummy
Reviewer's home URL:
Dated added: 01-08-2002
Length: 10-40KB
Plot: Willow and Tara go see a lesbian movie and have lots of coffee. Horniness gets the best of them *g*
Review: The whole 'Fun with Friction' series by Wiccie is great fun to read! I recommend that one, but also the previous story ('Pants Day') and the following one ('The Package'). It's definatly smutt, but with a funny twist, which makes it much more enjoyable than regular smutt, which gets repetitive after a while. Still waiting for the fourth installment of the series!
Warning: No warnings
Archive: Dana's Fiction Alcove
Adsum
Number One Lowest Common Denominator
Fandom: Buffy, Angel (cross-over)
Rating: NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Angel/Spike
Themes: Angst, dark fic, romance
Reviewed by: jenny
Reviewer's home URL: Love That Dares
Dated added: 12-03-2003
Length: 10+ chapters, most parts over 25KB
Plot: Spike comes to Angel in LA seeking something that he does not yet understand. Estranged from his Childe and suspicious, Angel finds it hard to let his defenses down long enough to discover what Spike needs.
Review: This is superbly written story that has emotional depth, a great plot and excellent slash sex as well. Many Spike/Angel stories tread a fine line between the vampire natures of the characters and the romance or love in the story. This one does it wonderfully with enough angst to make you stake yourself (or them), but with an ultimately satisfying, feel-good depth to the writing. If you like Spike and Angel together, you will love this story.
Warning: Click here to view warnings in a pop-up window
Archive: Glass Asylum