Unfit for Society Recs

As a general rule, I hate linking to people's LJs for fic, so could all y'all get archived somewhere? Hmm?

And why is there no contrelamontre archive? [/bofq]

On to the recs!

Spring is in the air and so is lots of good fic.

Harry Potter

Alive by Sam Vimes
Part 1 and Part 2
Post-OotP, Remus thinks he's going mad. Amazing look at Remus as he grieves and tries to put his life back together again, just an utterly brilliant story about which I can say nothing more because it would spoil it. Ingenious, really, and utterly spellbinding. Go read it now.

Breathe Out Anger by penknife
Remus in the early eighties. Painful, sad, harsh, and true. While this may not be *exactly* my Remus, he’s pretty damn close, and I believe his plunge into despair and his long, slow struggle to climb out of it. A beautiful story, detailed, evocative, painful and hopeful all at once.

Broomflight by Mad Martha
Part 1 and Part 2
How James convinced Lily to go out with him. Sweet and convincingly teenager-ish, with a James you can't help but like, as Lily learns. I also really like both the Evanses and the Potters here. Plus, some Sirius/Remus shippiness in the background. An adorable story.

Civilised by Sam Vimes
Remus Lupin is always civilized. Here we see how he quietly offers aid and comfort to everyone who needs him, the solid rock on which the Order is built. Quietly beautiful, much like Remus himself.

Close Enough by helenish
Yeah, you've seen this on every recs list, but that's because it's just. that. good. While I am not, in the main, a big believer in Harry/Ron without the creamy Hermione center, it works in this story, because this story is what Harry and Ron may become as young men who've fought a war and survived, and are just that emotionally stunted by it - especially Harry, who's not exactly the poster boy for mental or emotional health in canon.

It's a hard story to read, and it hurts, but it's *true*. And I love the little details of the war and its aftermath. I even like the fanon-esque Draco, because he's not front and center, just another grace note in what is essentially Ron's story, and god, do we need more Ron like this - angry and stubborn and confused, and so fucking loyal it hurts - in the fic world.

Beautiful story, highly recommended.

Deus Ex Machina by Dark Kitten
Remus finds Hermione’s time turner. I held my breath through this entire story, afraid that at any moment, something would go terribly, horribly wrong, even more wrong than the fight at the Department of Mysteries. This has a fabulous breathless desperation to it that suits the story exactly.

Ghost, Descending by wrack
*sniffle*
Exquisitely heartbreaking and beautiful post-OotP Remus grieving fic. I can't even find words to explain how beautiful this story is. The language and the feelings it evokes have stayed with me long after reading it. And it has the Best Description Ever of Sirius's life.

No Big Deal by Pirate Perian
Sirius wakes up to find Remus attempting a potion he never thought Remus would need. Gen with hints of het, neatly skewers the assumptions of every SBRL shipper out there while also being poignant and a lovely evocation of a longtime friendship.

But just so you know, I still think they’re doing it. *g*

Of Monsters by Nitro
Snape and Lupin the morning after the Shack incident. Harsh and sad. I feel terrible for both boys -- Snape, so afraid and wanting not to be, and Remus, reaching out and being rebuffed because of what he is.

Parting or My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close by bow
Remus stays at 12 Grimmauld Place and Harry visits. Grief - Remus’s grief - distilled. Grief and anger and whoever said misery loved company was obviously never grieving a lost lover or mentor. Jagged and painful, words sharp as razors that cut clean and to the quick. It’s the phrasing that gets me here: The trouble was the house itself and Even Remus himself felt nearly absent. And, about Sirius and Remus together, Their sufferings had stripped them-wracked them until one was grey and worn, the other bone-thin and wild. But if the years had twisted them, it had been in such a way that they had only grown into each other. *sniffle* Just gorgeous.

Seven Things That Never Happened At Hogwarts On Valentine's Day (Or Maybe They Did) by Pru
Valentine’s Day in each of MWPP's seven years at school. By turns hilarious, touching, sweet, hot, and heartbreaking, this story is all that and more. Don't believe me? Read it yourself. It's worth it. You'll be rereading and snickering to yourself just like the rest of us, and just when you think it's nothing but deft comedy, Pru brings the sweet and the pain.

Too Long a Sacrifice by Abaddon
Remus and number twelve Grimmauld Place grieve for Sirius together. *whimper* Exquisitely painful.

Triumph of the Last Marauder by Dazzler
Harry spends the summer after Order of the Phoenix building his own motorbike. Lovely and sad. I know this Harry, I believe him. And oh, I hope he gets to do something like this in book 6.

Unbroken by StellaMaru
Draco asks Luna out on a bet, and learns some things that make him a little uncomfortable. Lovely, in character, and tinged with bittersweet, aching sadness.

Vanishing Point by StellaMaru
One sex scene, four points of view - Remus, Sirius, Hermione and Kreacher. Hot, sad, in character; the last section is hella creepy.

What You Need by Laura Smith
This story hits several of my hot buttons dead center -- Remus has a new boyfriend, and Sirius is so very jealous because he discovers he wants that role for himself. Hot and angry with unexpected sweetness, and did I mention hot?

A quote:

"What question, Sirius? What don't you understand? Why am I dating someone? Because I'm lonely. Because I'm horny. Because I want someone who cares about me because they think I'm sexy or funny or intelligent. Because I want someone to want to take me to bed. I want someone underneath me at night." He moved closer to Sirius. "Haven't you ever just wanted to be inside someone, Sirius? Someone that cares about you? Haven't you wanted them to mean the words they whisper in the heat of passion? Haven't you ever just wanted someone you could escape into?"

"No, Moony." Sirius shook his head, bewildered. "I have you."

*meep*

~*~

Go. Read. Send love. Support your local fic writers.

~victoria

Sports Night/Smallville
Networking by shrift
Danny! Danny and Lex! Utter snark and hotness all in one story, and it doesn’t ignore Clark or Casey or the difficulties of having a one night stand for men as in the public eye as Lex and Danny. And did I mention the hot? *is shallow*

A quote:
Lex's fingers closed around his wrist, hands warm and dry, and the tips of his fingers a little harder than Dan would have expected. He tugged Dan closer, and Dan had a moment to realize that Lex was left-handed before he began to write. The pen Lex used was an old-fashioned kind, dark ink spilling out of the sharp tip as it caught and scratched over his skin, staining it in bold loops. It was a weird thing to be turned-on by, the feel of being written on, someone's warm fingers snug around the bones of his wrist. The ink glistened on his skin. Lex bent over his forearm, pursed his lips, and blew a warm puff of air over the words until they dried.

*swoon*

***

Sports Night
Somebody Who Outdrew You by circusgirl
So I asked why there wasn’t much good Dana/Casey out there, and callmesandy recced this gem to me, and oh my god. So good. So painful. So... in character. It should work, Dana thinks, but somehow, there’s always something not quite right, and but it’s really hard to let it go. Beautiful and real.

( and a quote )

~*~

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Seeing Africa by huzzlewhat
Beautiful story about Xander's time in Africa, searching for Slayers. Subtle, quiet, nails Xander's voice. The prose is lovely - clear and sharp and evocative. I can see the people, the bright sunlight, Xander with his tan and his jeep, driving dusty roads, telling stories and trying to find slayers, ostensibly, but his feet and his place in the world, really.

A quote:

He thought about the adults he had known, tried to imagine them here, their reaction to what was now his world. He’d always thought of rooms when he thought of Giles, usually in half-light, the glow of a desk lamp, none of those harsh ultraviolet overheads. Bookshelves, coffee tables, teacups. But he could see Giles here, carving out an oasis of comforts. He’d have a precious few books, only the most important, and despite the roughness of things he’d always manage, as the British aid workers and ex-pats did, to produce a cup of tea on demand, even on the hottest days. Xander could see him, one hand raised to shield against the glare, the creases around his eyes catching and holding the sun, making those fan-shaped tan lines that all the white people here had.

I love that it's as much about how Xander creates the narrative of his life (how we all do) as much as it is about his search for newly called Slayers.

Eclipsed by Kyra Cullinan
Set in season 2 of the Wishverse, Willow decides to take what she wants, and even as a vampire, what Willow wants is Xander. The language is sensuous, hot and believable, and so is the Willow characterization. I'm so sad; I even like Xander/Willow when one of them is killing and vamping the other.

~*~