A Strange Attraction by Saone (NC-17)

[ci5rod.livejournal.com]

Title: A Strange Attraction
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Graham/Xander
Categories: slash, romantic comedy, mild kink
Length: Long (15,900 words)
Warnings: light bondage, sex (in the last chapter)

Author Website: Saone's page on the Unconventional Relationshippers archive.

Summary:
When Graham gets hurt, the Scoobies subject him to their brand of helping.

Review:
I first came across this immensely silly story many years ago, and recommended it to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. Then Saone's original website disappeared, as such things do, and there was much mourning (and possibly a little gloating that I had saved a copy to read offline). Fortunately it still exists on a number of archive sites, as I discovered when I went looking for Rom-Com week offerings, so I can push it to a new generation of fandom. Lucky you.

The story takes place at some point in an alternate season five. Riley is still Buffy's boyfriend, Graham is around as a permanant liaison, and Xander and Anya aren't together for unspecified reasons. Olaf the troll has turned up and been sent off without his hammer, and some time later Buffy is a tad careless while swinging it around, putting Graham in hospital with a broken leg. More than that you'll pick up as you go along, and in any case it's just window-dressing to the bumbling misunderstandings Graham and Xander manage to foster between themselves. To add to the confusion, Buffy, Riley and Willow figure out that something is up between Xander and Graham, and promptly start grasping the wrong end of various different sticks. It's all very nicely blended together, and a perfect recipe for a rom-com plot.

Saone has a deft touch with the characters, and puts together some wonderful conversational exchanges. The ways the various Scoobies try to cheer Graham up during visiting hours are particularly nicely done, and you can see after only a few paragraphs why Graham would regard Xander as the only sane company he's going to get. It's a testament to the writing quality that I can see the action happening in my mind's eye as if I was watching as an episode.

On the downside, the POV does slip around rather a lot. I have no problem with authors swapping viewpoint characters between sections, but when the viewpoint swaps (often several times) in the middle of a section it gets downright confusing. There is a particular point in chapter 2 when the viewpoint slides from Graham to Xander to Graham's daydream quite rapidly, and something that should have been funny instead throws me out of the story.

It's still a very amusing take on the classic romantic misunderstanding. Go on, treat yourself to a laugh.

A Strange Attraction was originally published in separate chapters that are irritatingly not linked together. Here's a table of chapter links to the story as archived at UCSL (the UnConventional RelationShippers List archive) and Big Guns (the Graham slash archive):

Chapter 1: Death To Teddy Bears	on UCSL	on Big Guns
Chapter 2: Bad Thoughts	on UCSL	on Big Guns
Chapter 3: Desperate Times	on UCSL	on Big Guns
Chapter 4: Assumptions	on UCSL	on Big Guns
Chapter 5: Playing It Straight	on UCSL	Part 1, part 2 on Big Guns
Chapter 6: Finally	on UCSL	on Big Guns

I found a single-page version, but it looks like an unprettified website archive and may not hang around. Here's the link:

A Strange Attraction

"Will to Follow Through" by owlpostagain

[piscaria.livejournal.com]

Title: Will to Follow Through
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Categories: First time, friendship
Length: Epic (42,411)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ:  N/A
Author Website:  AO3

Podficcer on LJ: N/A
Podficcer Website: AO3

Review: This story lingers lovingly over a stage that a lot of Derek/Stiles fics skip right over -- Stiles's transition from being in love with/ignored by Lydia and barely tolerating Derek, to being friends with Lydia and having feelings for Derek. Right after the end of season two, Stiles (still physically and emotionally bruised from his encounter with Gerard) realizes two important things. First, that since Jackson and Allison have both left town, Lydia could use a good friend . . . or more. And second, that maybe things would run more smoothly if Scott and Derek actually communicated with each other. Naturally, he sees himself as the solution to both of these problems. But as Scott increasingly begins to ignore him in favor of hanging out with Isaac, Stiles realizes that he is not so much stepping into the empty space left in Lydia's life, as she and Danny are filling the void in his.

Although I love the developing romance between Derek and Stiles (I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort and trust issues with these characters, and owlpostagain delivers those things in spades), it's actually the friendships that really draw me into this story. Stiles feels authentically 16 to me in this story, in a way that he rarely does in fanfiction. And the author captured how quickly friendships can change, especially in the teenage years. The developing friendship between Stiles, Lydia, and Danny is a refreshing counterpoint to the supernatural drama going on in the rest of the story, and it works well to highlight Stiles's developing attraction to Derek.

Make sure to also check out the podfic! I listened to it today while packing, and absolutely loved it. Beryllinthranox has crisp pronunciation and brings just the right amount of emotion to the performance.


Will to Follow Through
[podfic] Will to Follow Through

Blue Would Still Be Blue by winterstorrm (NC-17)

[ekishou.livejournal.com]

Title: Blue Would Still Be Blue
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Categories: Age difference, angst, romance, drama, harlequin, modern AU
Length: Long (32,376 words)
Warnings: Unsafe sex

Author on LJ: winterstorrm
Author Website: Winterstorrm

Author's Summary:
When widower Arthur Pendragon finds out that his three children have conspired to help him find 'someone to kiss' by placing an ad on an internet dating site, he allows his guilt to push him into agreeing to go on a succession of dates even though he's determined that he's not lonely and doesn't believe in 'love'. However, someone does set his heart racing, but it's not one of the endless parade of beautiful women he has to choose from, it's the children's new babysitter, Merlin.

Review:
I have a deep, abiding love for romance novels, and Harlequin-themed fanfiction is like the perfect intersection between my favorite book genre and the fandom(s) I love. There is no better example of this than Blue Would Still Be Blue.

This is a story about second chances. Arthur has never felt that spark, that feeling of being deeply in love. He loved the mother of his children, but not in that passionate, all-consuming way. "Love is just nature's illusion," Arthur says. He doesn't believe in romantic love because he's never experienced it.

While the attraction between Arthur and Merlin is immediate, the obstacles to their future happiness (which are mostly Arthur’s doing) result in a slow build with longing looks and lovely pining and UST. The feelings between them are so intense, and so beautifully drawn. I was really moved by how desperately they wanted each other, how they ached for one another and how miserable they were not to have the kind of relationship they both so obviously wanted.

While Arthur, Merlin and their Happily Ever After (the required ending to any Harlequin style story, of course) is the main focus here, the supporting characters were charming and funny. From the parade of women to Arthur's children to Morgana, there were lighthearted moments aplenty to serve as the perfect foil to the slow burn between Arthur and Merlin.

Blue Would Still Be Blue