Remix Recs - HP!

Here's my first attempt at reccing remixes from this year's challenge.

If you've been following my recs or LJ at all, you know there are certain pairings I have no truck with, and yet... two of those pairings make an appearance in the HP recs. Never let it be said I don't occasionally stray beyond my comfort zone. *snerk*

Anyhow.

Recs.

Harry Potter

Alone (Echoes Linger Remix) by Penknife
Ouch. Just. Ouch. This is from Remus’s POV, and you can feel how much the changes in Sirius hurt him, how shocked he is by those changes, and how powerless he is to do anything to make them better. The flashbacks illumine Sirius-as-he-was, which just makes this post-Azkaban version, even more visibly broken than in canon, all the more heartbreaking. (original was previously recommended)

Briefly, But Exceedingly Drunk (The Any Port in a Storm Remix) by Beth H.
Okay, here’s a fic with a pairing I never in a million years would have expected to enjoy, but this works for me for a few reasons, mainly the ending. So Snape is stuck in Grimmauld Place and he’s getting drunk, and of *course* Sirius is stuck in Grimmauld Place and he does nothing *but* get drunk, and one night, Sirius starts spinning a story about what it would take for him and Snape to have sex and it’s absolutely hilarious and yet true to both characters, and beneath the bluster and anger there’s a desperation and loneliness so palpable in both men that I was okay with the idea of them going upstairs and having it off together, though under normal circumstances I, much like Snape at the beginning, would normally be like, no fucking way in hell. And, of course, as Sirius assures him, they’ll still hate each other in the morning, probably more than before.

Deja Vie by Nope
A great remix of a great story (Lightning Has Just Struck My Brain by Mousapelli, previously recced), this story totally *gets* the stuttering, sickening feeling of knowing you know something really important but not being able to quite get your brain around it. Plus adorable Neville/Harry interaction.

Each One Marked (The Titanium Butterfly Remix) by Marks
This is very cool. Normally, I avoid first-person fic, and first-person OFC fic is like the kiss of death for me, but this was fascinating. Marks takes the original (The Mark of the Beast by AJ Hall, also recommended, but more on that in a sec) and gives “Isobel’s” POV on events. Isobel, it could be said, has the moral compass of Manson Family member, which is, of course, what makes her so fascinating. Had I not read the remix first, I’d have avoided the original because you know me, “Remus” and “straight” just does not compute. *g* But here we get Isobel’s story right from the er, horse’s mouth, which made me want to read the original and see where she came from. And the original is a lot of fun, Remus’s alleged straightness notwithstanding. It’s very much a noir story, and Remus is caught by a beautiful woman who ends up trapped by her own cleverness. Plus, Dumbledore quotes Chandler at the end, and how can you not love that?

Holes (The Vacillation Remix) by MartianHouseCat
Harry and Draco are being held prisoner. Harry’s got a wand. Draco wants to know *why* they’re not out yet. Chilling, sad, in character.

Mapmakers (The Suicide Is Painless Remix) by Casira
This is my favorite of all the Remixes. It’s a remix of Making Moony Laugh by Raven (a story I love to begin with, and have recced previously), and it had me crying - not just sniffling, but suppressing *sobs* at my desk as I was prepping it for uploading. This is the story of MWPP and how Fred Weasley discovers who made the Marauder's Map, and the story of Remus and Sirius, and Remus after the Veil and how he’s dealing (or not dealing) with Sirius’s death, and oh god, it *kills* me. Be prepared to have something light and happy on hand to read afterward. You’ll need it.

Of Padraic and the Serpents (the Keeping the Faith Remix) by Olukemi
I really like what Olukemi did with the original (Of Padraic and the Serpents by vivien, which is an interesting read in its own right) - filling in the story of how one H. Granger translated an important Latin text and what it meant for the wizarding world. And it’s so very, very Hermione.

Or I Could Burn with the Splendor of the Brightest Fire (Black as the Night Remix) by Ekaterinn Duval
This is so perfectly delicate and poignant, and a wonderful remix of the original ( Lux Aeterna by narie), taking the two characters who seem to have the least in common - Molly and Sirius - and showing how alike they really are, and how, sadly, they’ll probably never see it. Wonderful. Read both to get the full experience.

Perhaps Still Untitled (Only Happy When It Rains Remix) by narie
Future tense done well, so so very rare. This story captures Sirius’s joy at being free, his sadness and desperation at being locked up again, how well and how little he and Remus know each other. It’s lovely and delicate and spare.

Skins (The Bodies Under Siege Remix) by Mousapelli
I believe I’ve already recced the original (Skins by Casira), and this takes the story - a Sirius/Remus post-Trick, morning-after-the-moon revelation, and spins it out from Sirius’s POV. Sirius is, as always pushing too hard, too far, too fast, and Remus just needs to be in control, and of course it explodes into hot hot hot boylove in the Shack. I have minor quibbles with the idea of Remus as a self-injurer (aside from what he does in wolf form), but for a short period of time, in the circumstances in the fic, it works.

Survivors (Living Dead Remix) by Azurine
This is a remix of my favorite of Penknife’s HP drabbles (Survivors), in which Hermione looks at Remus and hopes she’s not seeing herself in ten years. Azurine takes it from the other direction, and shows us how Remus sees himself in Hermione and Sirius in Harry, and how it’s all going to go to hell all over again, and there’s nothing he can do about it, but sit in the kitchen with her every night and drink tea. Sad and inevitable and true.

The Thaw (Melt With You Remix) by Louise Lux
Okay, hold onto your hats. I’m reccing not one, but *two* Harry/Snape stories - this remix, and the original (The Thaw by Marks). I *know*. I can’t believe it either. But these are both short, poignant, and in character, and the idea of Snape as someone who had his own dreams and aspirations, which were cut off by his own stupidity - that appeals to me. He made his own bed, you know? And now he’s got to lie in it, and even he wouldn’t have chosen the dungeons at Hogwarts. And while I still am in no way sold on Harry ever having feelings for him, or he for Harry, if it were ever to actually happen, it’d probably happen like this.

The Wizard from Outer Space (Meta Remix) by AJ Hall
AJ Hall takes a quick drabble about Arthur Weasley falling in with some fannish types and makes it into a brief but piercing story about fitting in, about being a fan, about loving something so much you give it up to save it.

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My darling buds (see, May! I got it right this time *g*), go, read, send love to the authors.

smoochies,

~victoria

Remix! Buffy + Smallville

Buffy

Not Fade Away (Key of Life Remix) by Lar
Harsh, bittersweet Dawn/Faith with a really good Dawn voice. I liked it a lot.

A Few Things Anya Knows (The Billy Pilgrim Remix) by Hepcat
First off, I’m so jealous of the clever Remix title. I wish I’d come up with it. *g* Secondly, what a gorgeous story of how Anya deals with change, with life, with love and with death. A celebration of life in the face of death, and yes, sometimes beautiful does mean red, wrinkled and squalling. I like the structure, the way the story, like Billy Pilgrim, is unstuck in time, moving back and forth between now, then, and later. Jossed by Chosen, of course, but still, a beautiful story of love and hope.

Keeping in Touch (the Two Times Two Remix) by Sängerin
Another post-series AU, this one positing Giles and Xander as the only survivors, it tracks Giles’ path through the new Watchers’ Council hierarchy and through him we follow Xander’s progress around the world, until they meet again. Understated, poignant and nicely in character.

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Buffy/Smallville

An Englishman In Smallville (The Legal Alien Extended Remix) by RivkaT
I almost didn’t rec this because of the dismissive and denigrating attitude toward Xander (sub-par? sub-normal? WTF? Even if the author thinks that, there’s no way Giles does), but it is a fun romp through two worlds that really don’t go together, except they sort of do, if pseudo-small-town weirdness is a measure. The Lex-Willow and Buffy-Clark interactions are priceless and I just love Lex taking it all in, accepting demons and witches with his usual curiosity and aplomb.

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Smallville Remixes

Smallville

Cooking Considered As One of the Fine Arts by Caro and
Cooking Considered As One of the Fine Arts (Mother Knows Best Remix) by Beth S.
Martha’s POV and Lex’s on how Lex and Clark love each other and what a mother sees and knows about her son, and wants what’s best for him, even if it turns out to be the slightly freaky bald millionaire next door. Plus, cookies!

Lemonade (The Cool Refreshing Drink Remix) by Corinna
Lovely Martha-Lex interlude. I especially like the way Corinna contrasts Martha’s wealthy Metropolis upbringing with her life as Mrs. Kent, farmer’s wife, and then again parallels it to Lex’s life. I also just really enjoy Martha-Lex interaction.

No Pace Perceiv’d (the shook up Shakespeare version) by HYPERfocused
I really like the rat-a-tat-tat nature of Lois’s thoughts in this; the way she loves Clark is clear as glass. And Clark mourns his past love with delicacy and restraint.

Rebuilding Pinocchio: A Real Boy Funky Remix by Mara Celes
It’s got action, it’s got comedy, it’s got Clex and it’s got cookies. What more do you want? I enjoyed this a lot, especially the last scene, with Jonathan and Martha’s conversation breaking in on Clark and Lex’s.

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Remix recs - Firefly!

Firefly

Casting Shadows (Ghost In You Remix) by LJC
Oh, River. I love stories where River can’t quite get a handle on her feelings for Simon, for Kaylee and, especially, for Simon/Kaylee. And this story plays that out wonderfully, with River feeling what Simon and Kaylee are feeling and *wanting* what they have, what she can’t.

The Floating World (The Murphy's Law Remix) by hossgal
hossgal takes the original story (Trust by LJC) and fills in everything we don’t know, from everyone else’s perspective. Another mission gone wrong for Serenity’s crew - the how and why are fascinating and completely grow out of the characters’ personalities and beliefs. I especially love the River section, and some of the Simon stuff is just dead-on. Taken with the original, these stories about who-all each character trusts, and it rings incredibly true.

Means of Expression (Go Thy Way Remix) by Molly
I have to admit, the original story (Milk and Ash by Pearl-o) didn’t quite sell me on its central premise, but this remix/expansion of it works wonders for making the whole thing make sense, fit together in ways I hadn’t thought were possible. Zoe has a baby, and it changes everything and changes nothing at the same time. Lovely, with Molly’s usual delicate hand on the emotions and characterizations.

Time Flies You Can’t (The Da Sou Qiang Remix) by Sabine
This story is so very, very River that it hurts. It's beautifully River and how she's dealing with the Simon/Kaylee and how she tries to help Mal and help everybody and she just tries so hard to do everything right but she's all wrong and she knows it. Man, this story had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what River was going to do next. Utterly fantastic. The original story, Waking Hours by Molly, is also worth checking out.

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XMM and crossover remix recs

West Wing/The X-Files

The Right To Silence (unnecessarily wordy remix) by Delightfully Eccentric
Oh, what a perfect crossover - the Bartlet White House is in full cover-up/this is not a cover-up mode of late season 2 and Mulder's on the trail of lies being perpetrated at the highest level. Brilliant. Plus, Donna gets to be smart, and CJ gets to have smoochies with Mulder. I enjoyed this a lot.

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XMM/Star Trek: The Next Generation

Where No Mutant Has Gone Before (The Split Infinitive Remix) by Alara Rogers
Charles Xavier wakes up on the starship Enterprise and everyone, naturally, thinks he’s Captain Picard. It’s an obvious and seemingly unworkable crossover, but it totally works. I love the Q-voice in this.

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XMM

For Now (The Fuck Waiting Remix) by Katherine
Katherine, bless her, is an ambitious soul, and she chose to remix not one story, but a series, and not just any series, but the seminal For Now series by Jenn (which I'm fairly certain I recced a long, long time ago), which tracks the evolution of Marie into Rogue. The original is strictly from Marie’s POV, and sometimes, it’s hard to see what, exactly, Logan is thinking. Well, Katie gives it to us straight up, in a pitch-perfect, dead-on Logan-voice. He can see the potential in Marie, see the woman she could become, if she’d only let herself, and so he waits and watches and teaches her until she finally, finally comes to realize that you can’t go through life scared of everything, especially not yourself. That living is being vulnerable, and not just because you have life-sucking skin. Funny, sad, uplifting, romantic, this story has everything.

****

Remix: Alias & Good Omens

Alias

Between Past and Present Tense (the Stories About Girlfriends mix) by Shaye
Oh, I love the resigned and snarky Weiss-voice in this, and how he can’t turn his brain off even when it leads him into places he’d rather not go, like his own secret attraction to Vaughn. Meanwhile, the original fic, Between Past and Present Tense by zara hemla, is much angrier (and yet still snarkily funny), from Vaughn’s POV as he tries and fails, tries and fails to find Sydney and it’s killing him. Love both of them, both for the differences and for the way they mesh so when Eric shrugs in the original, you know what he’s thinking, thanks to the remix.

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Good Omens

Ordinary People (the Anything but Ordinary Remix) by cimorene
This is a long, sweet but not cloying Good Omens fic about how Crowley comes to fall for Aziraphale. You know how some fic is like sinking into a warm bath? That's what this fic is like. A warm bath, a mug of hot cocoa, and a really great story to make any bad day better.

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