lines in the sand, and other trivialities: a tale of perspective and sanity

I went rock-picking with my sister the other day. We hiked down to this little pebble beach and filled up some backpacks with rocks for various parts of their garden they’re in the process of decorating, and it’s the kind of activity that lends itself to introspective discussion. For us, anyway. We’re introspective people, and very much in tune with one another’s thinking.

And the conversation came back to the nature of friendships and the things we expect from our friends, now that we are, by all accounts, Grown-Ups. And two of the things that we cherish most in friends are 1) a level of candidness that disposes of all polite and decorous bullshit, and 2) a desire to handle your own affairs and not drag third parties into your arguments. Those are pretty rare things to come by, especially in combination, but we’ve been lucky enough to find fucking cool people, over the years, that also stand up to these tests. And *those* are the folks that make it in the long run with us.

It all just circles around to things about fandom that have been on my mind lately.

This is what I expect from my friends (RL or OL) in the event that someone injures my feelings…which isn’t all that easy to do in the first place: I expect them to be willing to listen while I sort through my emotions …I expect them, I suppose, to make sympathetic noises at me…I expect them to feel free, if they’re so inclined, to point out how I’m making my life difficult by viewing things in a slanted or otherwise stupid way…and pretty much, the buck stops there. I actually prefer that people *not* be publicly supportive of my “side” of a problem, because I’m a grown-up, and I prefer to deal with the person that has hurt me one-on-one, and privately. The more people you get involved in a conflict, the more complicated the resolution of the conflict becomes.

( snippety-snip )

Made, part 3 (Angel/Spike/Darla human AU, warning for no warnings)

Sunday is an oddly normal day. Spike is sort of expecting…well, *something* to happen, given the staring and groping and noisy sex that have thus far welcomed him into the Aurelius household.

So it’s sort of balance-throwing when Sunday passes with a boring and novel degree of normality. watching the telly and eating three squares and all that crap, and it’s almost enough to convince Spike that he was imagining all the dirty little bits of strangeness…but of course we know better, don’t we?

Told you he still has a bit of William in him. *pets*
( more under here )

in the interest of making fandom about creativity....

some random-ass recs before I get on with my day...because the coffee hasn't done its thing yet. random because some are old and some are new, and really they have nothing in common except goodness. all on the angsty side, such has been my mood for reading. mostly old, now that I think about it. I've been rereading a lot of old fic over the last few months.

Lucky by Estepheia. I remember reading this a long time ago, but somehow it's better than I remember it being...which is always a pleasant surprise, since my standards are considerably higher now and I'm usually disappointed with stuff I loved once upon a time. not for the faint of heart. spangel. human AU. very dark and twisted.

It Never Happened by shadowcast. I don't do Spike/Giles. I really really don't. generally, I don't do Giles ships, but this fic is the bees knees. if anyone has more spike/giles recs along these lines...no kink, just miles of sad, angsty sadness, throw them at me.

Brief Encounter by shapinglight. this is the fic that made me like Darla. I don't know if I've ever told her that, because I read it as a lurker. I think of this as quintessential spike/darla, and the way the pairing should be.

Just Watching by felisblanco. spangel, human AU, stepcest. please heed that this fic is very disturbing, and is intended to be. god, this fic *hurts*. I was rereading it recently, and it fascinated me just as much as it did the first time. though it didn't give me nightmares this time, which I suppose means that fandom has jaded me :) felis gives good angst. unfinished wip, as yet.

Shashu Blue by germaine_pet. a character study of Angel, and all his boys. this fic gives me chills every time I read it. without exception.

Metrocurious by evilmaniclaugh. Marsters/Barrowman rps. (the guy from Torchwood). *drowns in the angst...rolls in it...mmmmm, yeah* most people lose me on second person, but this is just right.

Super Food World by Valerie X. one of my favorite spuffies ever, and I'm damn picky. great banter, and I could see this happening. easily.

When Spike Got Home by stakebait. exactly how I like my spangel. exactly. when spike got home, angel was fucking somebody else. post-nfa.

Boomerang by faith_delivers. Angel/Buffy/Faith, post-nfa. not a pairing I'd ever thought about seriously, but this author really makes it work, and capitalizes on all their history. I could see this happening as well.

Summer Lovin by DeepaD. the best Angel/Connor ever written, by my reckoning, and I actually like Connor fic a lot. but this was the first that made sense to me. set in the summer between s4 and 5, where Connor doesn't know who Angel is. and again, it *hurts*. so good.

A Two-Part Harmony by Miss Murchison. I have a secret kink for Spike/Harmony. no one should particularly be surprised by this, since I love Spike as a bastard, but you know...no one really writes that pairing. which is a shame, because it has potential for interestingness. I think this showcases that. Harmony is so endearing, in her special Harmony way. poor thing.

Backfire by daedream_fanbot. sorta Spander, sorta S/X/A. the fact that this is her first fic astounds me. twisty turny dark, and she kept up the awesome intensity right to the end.

Your Skin is My Canvas by chrisleeoctaves. angel/ofc. so fucking twisted. *licks dark Angel*

Dawn of the Dead by beer_good_foamy. and to cap us off, a funny one. emsemble set of drabbles in which Dawn gets turned and runs amuck. I injured my funny bone when I read this. seriously.

tried to pick some stuff off the beaten path. enjoy!