Smallville + Muppets!

Smallville
Five Lies Your Mother Never Told You by Caro
Five things that never happened in Smallville, and Caro just hits on all cylinders, bringing "What If" to new, hurtful, incisive levels for the women of Smallville.

Smallville/The Muppet Show
Lovers and Dreamers by Amy
Smallville meets the Muppet Show. No, really. It works brilliantly. Sexy bald billionaire Lex Luthor has just purchased the ever-foundering Muppet Theatre, thus sending Kermit, Miss Piggy, head writer Chloe Sullivan, and stagehand Clark Kent into a tizzy. Piggy comes up with a Sekrit Plan that, of course, backfires, Lionel hangs out with Waldorf and Statler, and the jokes fly fast and furious.

"Where's Gonzo?" he asked them.

"I think he's talking to the celery again," Rizzo said.

Camilla squawked.

"I'm sure he likes you more than the vegetables," Kermit promised the distraught chicken. "Celery doesn't have feathers."

Why are you still reading the rec? Go read the story!

Buffy + Sandman + Good Omens

Buffy
32 Short Fics About Xander Harris by nwhepcat
32 drabbles, each a snapshot of Xandery goodness, from Welcome to the Hellmouth to Cleveland.

BtVS/Good Omens
California Dreaming by daegaer
Crowley is called to account by Hell’s accounting department. The Hellmouth in Sunnydale is his road home. Yes, Good Omens meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Better on the GO than on the BtVS, but still, a damn funny story.

BtVS/Sandman
The Waiting Room by Nestra
Death's not what Buffy expected. Excellent BtVS/Sandman crossover, that nails both first season Buffy and Death. It made me a little sniffly and still put a smile on my face, which is the essence of both BtVS and Sandman, don't you think?

***

Good Omens

Good Omens
Going Home by daegaer
Aziraphale is called home. How will Crowley deal? Well, by trying to break his friend out of Heaven, of course. Just wonderful.

Growing Season by Kathleen Anne
Aziraphale takes charge of Crowley’s plants, with unexpected results. I enjoyed this a lot – the banter is witty and in character. A great slice-of-life story.

Twofish by a demon of my word
Crowley and Aziraphale get drunk and stuff happens. I’m less fond of the second chapter than I am of the first, which seems to nail the characters perfectly, but overall, a really good fic.

Good Omens/BtVS
California Dreaming by daegaer
Crowley is called to account by Hell’s accounting department. The Hellmouth in Sunnydale is his road home. Yes, Good Omens meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Better on the GO than on the BtVS, but still, a damn funny story.

XMM

XMM
After the Fact by darkstar
Logan, Rogue, secrets and sanity, post-X2.

"No one hurts you."

"No one but you, right?"

::shivers::

Like everything by darkstar, the words linger in your mind, the images cut to the quick, and you feel the characters’ pain as if it were your own, and you believe it will never be any other way than this. Gorgeous.

The Opposite of Sibling Rivalry and The Nightmare Fighter by Troll Princess
Bobby isn’t the only mutant in his family. Two lovely stories from Ronny’s POV, exploring this otherwise plot-device-ish character and making him human.

Untitled post-X2 ficlet by Laura JV
Scott and Logan have a conversation about Rogue. Elliptical, but packs a wallop (especially if you’re a Logan/Rogue shipper like me).

***

Gilmore Girls & Sports Night

Gilmore Girls
Like a Second Chance by Nestra
Oh, I love this. Luke is there for Lorelai, and he's not sleeping, and after all this time, something's got to give. And it does. He finally takes the chance, and it's not pity and it's everything he imagined, and more. Beautiful, romantic and moving. This fic gives me a big happy.

Reality Check by Nestra
One day, Luke will kiss Lorelai. Oh, god, I hope so. I love Nestra's Luke; she gets right inside his head. I think we need to tie Nestra down and force her to write more Luke/Lorelai.

***

Sports Night
Five Things That Never Happened (to Dan Rydell) by Shrift
Exactly what the title says - five things that never happened to Dan Rydell, but could have. Heartbreaking, wonderful, pitch-perfect.

***

have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?

I'm still lost in the haze of post-OotP love and anger, and so are quite a lot of you, I know, but still, fic goes on, and here's some I liked, and think you might like too.

Harry Potter (all pre-OotP, so no spoilers)
After the End by Arabella and Zsenya
Long, *complete* (finally) post-war novel that tackles Harry’s PTSD, Ginny’s last year of school, Mr. Weasley as Minister of Magic and all the clean-up and rebuilding that go into life after wartime. The writing is good – I didn’t mind the big focus on Ginny, because each of the huge ensemble gets a moment to shine.

My one complaint? Sirius and Remus are coded as lovers in this story -- they live together, they go to bed at the same time, they fight like an old married couple, where one appears, the other is never far behind, etc. -- and yet they, out of every couple (and I do mean *every* couple) are never given *one* romantic moment. I could rant, but I won’t (I've already mentioned it in my review on SQ, so eventually the authors will be aware that I think this *g*).

Other than that, get ready to curl up with a good, long read. If you are not in love with Arthur Weasley by the time it’s all over, you have no heart.

Breaking Tradition by Mortalus
Bwah! Harry dies of natural causes at a ripe old age, and an unexpected mourner pays a visit to the funeral. Too funny.

Disparity by Maki
Fred contemplates the differences between him and George. Short, sweet and a nice exploration of the twins from the inside.

Forever Means Not Alone by Tali
This has some writing issues, but oh, it makes me achy in the chestal area. Sirius is feeling alone, and Remus decides he doesn't have to. Quietly poignant, this story rings true, even with the misused apostrophes and other ... errors.

Ghosts by Minx
Three snapshots involving drinking - the first is freaking hilarious, as MWPP discover a secret passageway into the basement of the Hog's Head, where all the liquor is stored. The second is a bitter "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" affair, with Sirius and Remus sniping at each other in October 1981. The third is a bitterwsweet reunion.

( quotage )

Hair of the Dog by torch
*snicker* Dumbledore forces Snape and Sirius to reconcile.

The History of the World by Shaye
Incisive Lily fic, with sharp, clean prose that cuts to the heart of reality, fiction, magic and life in less than a thousand words.

Home by samvimes
Okay, I’ve mentioned I dislike Snape/Lupin on various grounds. Except for this story. I don’t know that Snape is in character, and Lupin is definitely a lot cockier here than most people write him, but it works, somehow. Lupin is running from something, and he ends up running into Snape. Who has to decide what to do. Mmm... cocky!Lupin...

House by Kest
Sirius is pardoned. He goes to visit Remus. Elegant, quiet, evocative story about Sirius relearning the feel of his skin, his life, and Remus quietly being there when Sirius needs him.

Midnight in the Silence by Mary G
Ron and Harry in the aftermath of the Third Task. Sometimes, you just need to be quiet, and you need a friend who’ll let you. Short, sharp, *true* - beautiful snapshot of the strong friendship between Ron and Harry.

Older and Between by Twinkledru J.
Raw, honest, hot and sexy Sirius/Remus reunion fic. Beg her to write more like this.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This by McKay
Ginny lives inside her head, and the results are freaking hilarious. Watch as she mixes and matches the men of Hogwarts.

Visit by Minx
Harry visits Sirius and Remus. He learns about their relationship, which is handled deftly, in a nice, low-key way. I can't really say why I like this one as much as I do. The characterization is on, and I love that Harry and Remus discuss "A Wizard of Earthsea."

***

Go. Read. Be generous with your feedback and excellent to each other.

I'm going back to wallow in my morbid and depressing post-OotP fic.

~victoria