Guys I have so much useless fanfic knowledge -- one of my friends asked me for a list of Buffy fics and this happened.
Non-Buffy Centric, One-Shot Fics
Potential Friend by srmcd1 - a cute little ficlet that looks at what might have happened if Jesse lived.
Age Difference by Amina - for all the Oz fans out there! A time-travelling Oz gives Buffy a new perspective on life and relationships. Slightly Angel-bashing.
All that I wanted was just to be haunted by you by chasingfictions - After the events of "The Body," Jenny's ghost bullies Giles into moving in with the Summers girls. This one made me BAWL.
Appropriate conduct by The_Eclectic_Bookworm - an increasingly angry series of memos between Principal Synder & Jenny, Giles, and the other teachers of Sunnydale High. Absolutely hilarious.
i belong to time, you belong to me by chasingfictions - Dru knows when she meets Spike, that he will fall in love with a slayer. She forgets, until she doesn't. Beautiful, poetic, and very Dru.
One Girl in All the World by zedpm - a trans!Buffy AU, where she was born in a boy's body and is still the slayer. A beautifully done AU, with Oz and (surprisingly! Riley) as particular standouts. Minor Spike/Buffy.
The Holy Grail of Buffy Fics: Long, With a Focus on an Ensemble Cast. Absolute Masterpieces.
hit rewind by untiljanuary - Hands down, the best Buffy fic I've ever read. Buffy (from some time in season 6, but unclear when), is sent back in time to season 3. What makes it so interesting is that it's from everyone else's perspective! The author writes Cordelia, Willow, Faith, Angel and Spike in particular so well. Lots of interesting character work, though the plot hasn't deviated too much from canon so far.
Ships: Buffy/Spike, Angel/Cordelia, Willow/Tara, Anya/Xander. The Buffy/Angel ends on mutual terms.
two roads diverged (and that has made all the difference) by RoseyPoseyPie - a Buffy season 5/Angel season 2 crossover. Hoping to escape Glory, the Scoobies end up in Pylea with the Fang Gang. This fic is absolutely hilarious (the scene where everyone gets high and drunk together is a notable standout). The author writes Anya, Lorne and Cordelia in particular super well. Dawn and Angel's dynamic is also amazing.
don't know how to stick around, but I wanna by chasingfictions - a series in an alternate universe where Faith, instead of going to prison, joins Angel Investigations. Very Fang Gang centric, but really builds up their family bond. Darla, Faith, and Wesley were stand outs to me in this.
Ships: eventual Faith/Buffy, and minor canon pairings. Faith briefly pursues other girls, including Darla.
Best Spuffy Centric Fic
wouldn't it be nice? by SummerFrost - an alternative universe, where the will-be-done spell in season 4 goes a little differently, and Spike and Buffy start a slow crawl towards friendship that becomes... something. So soft and sweet. Has two sequels, and the season 6 one in particular is WONDERFUL.
Every Letter That You Write Me by othellia - the obligatory fandom soulmate AU. Young Buffy is absolutely adorable in this one, and Spike and Buffy's relationship is bittersweet, raw, and believable.
Choices by lafillesauvage - An AU. After Season 5 of Angel, Spike becomes human. Angel does not. Buffy still chooses Angel, and these are the consequences. Slightly excessive Angel bashing, but the characterization of Buffy and Spike, and little notes like Buffy's relationship with Giles being slowly fixed and Willow getting a non-Kennedy girlfriend are great! Buffy/Angel with a happy Spike/Buffy ending.
The Darkling by OffYourBird - the iconic time travel Spuffy fic. Buffy goes back in time and meets Spike... in the 1970s. His slow path to redemption starts differently, with tons of interesting changes in the timeline. Be warned, this one is LONG and smutty. Shout out for making me believe Giles/Anya could work as a couple!
Inside Man by HollyDB - An Angel season 5 fic. Spike calls Buffy. This shows all the things that change when Buffy has a spy on the inside of the Fang Gang. Follows canon up until the last episode, but provides fun context.
Short, Cute Cangel Fics
give them all that they can drink by eagle_eyes. The one where Cordelia is ace. Amazingly written, and the Cangel relationship is so soft and believable.
Another Chance by NikitaDreams - After the events of Angel: the Series, Cordelia travels back in time. Focus on Cangel and Connor. Lots of cute family dynamics.
Halloween Happily Ever After by GeckoGirl89 - cute, mutual pining between Angel and Cordelia in season 3. Angst with a happy ending. Really highlights how oblivious Cangel were to each other's feelings.
I cannot stop thinking about what a fucking year Ilya had in 2014
Putin warns gay people not to spread propaganda during Sochi Olympics
Every Western media outlet wants a sound bite from Ilya, a Russian superstar who’s lived in the West for five years, regarding the gay propaganda laws
Ilya has to thread the needle of neither denouncing or promoting Russia’s stance
Ilya leads the National Hockey Team to a demoralising crash out
The prettiest man in the world makes the unbelievably stupid decision that now is a good time and place to talk to each other in public for the first time ever
He is upbraided by his Papa
Sveta completely misreads what he needs, and he can’t even be mad about it because at least she’s trying
The Bolotnaya Square protesters are convicted
Russia moves troops into Crimea
He keeps frantically googling pictures of Shane in the middle of the night
Russian opposition leaders are detained
G8 suspends Russian membership
Boston makes the playoffs
The Russian government enacts laws tightening control of dissemination of information, categorising bloggers alongside journalists
The Donetsk and Luhansk referenda, unrecognised by the international community
Boston wins the Stanley Cup
Has panic attack in a bathroom, is immediately accused of being an asshole for arriving on time
Successfully convinces himself he’s capable of having sex with Shane without feelings, definitely doesn’t cry once he’s alone
Super super fun happy times summer with his ailing father
MH17 shot down by Russian-made missile
Russia hits back at sanctions by banning food imports, sends food prices soaring
Oil prices crash, halving Russia’s national budget
Foreign ownership in Russia media is capped
Has Totally No Strings No Feelings secret sex with Shane, everything is Chill
Russian financial crisis hits, prices of food up 40 to 50%, some KHL teams can’t even pay their players
And all throughout this, every time he opens Facebook he’s tagged in yet another hundred fucking ALS ice bucket challenges
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 1: bro I fucking love having sex with girls
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 2: might fuck around later and marry a woman lol. yeah i have one in mind. she's really hot :) her dad was a goalie :)
ilya rozanov asks shane to be his boyfriend, attempt 3: [to shane's parents] WE! ARE! LOVERS!
your son and presumed heir what’s-his-name has been kidnapped and is still at large. last you heard he was in the vale maybe? but you haven’t checked and you’re not planning to
this is low priority because your daughter (derogatory) has launched a coup to kill her drunk husband the king and seize power. she accidentally gets a two-for-one deal when her impulsive and suspiciously blond son has the second most powerful man in the country killed for shits and giggles on the steps of the westerosi vatican. now your house is fighting a five-front war.
your favorite child—who is both the best swordsman in the realm and a national disgrace—is leading your far superior armies but he’s getting his ass kicked by a high school freshman and his pet dog, so you’ve got no choice but to head to the riverlands to clean up the mess. but zero worries because nothing EVER goes wrong in the riverlands!!!!
Once again using my useless fanfic knowledge: this might be a incredibly niche concept, but here are my all time favourite self-insert fics (also known as fics where someone from modern times wakes up in what they know is a story). Note that none of these stories are Y/N or second person, as I struggle reading those.
Harry Potter
Double Trouble by Meeceisme - a oneshot, following a self-insert into Draco Malfoy's twin sister that does a great job at looking at pureblood culture through a feminist lens.
Love on the Brahms by lulu_lisbon - a funny and romantic self-insert oneshot told not from the perspective of our insert, but by her love-interest, Cedric.
Stardust and Secrets by francisthefairyqueen - one of the greatest fanfics I've ever read, focusing on the much younger sister of Sirius and Regulus, Cassiopeia. What I love about this fic is that it starts mid-Goblet of Fire, when the OC is already in her twenties, and tells most of her backstory through letters. She feels so realistic in the tiny changes she makes to the wold and the ripples they have, and I love her nerdy romance with Bill, and deeply complicated relationships with her family, especially Sirius.
Fractured Fairytale by Tsume_Yuki - a self-insert Lovegood witch in the 1920s attempts to save the wizarding world by adopting the young Tom Riddle, and falls in love with his very traumatized father in the process. The world building and historically accuracy in this fic is insane, and baby Voldemort is very cute.
The Company of Another by sleipnirismybaby - a self insert into Petunia Evans, a few weeks after baby Harry is dropped on her doorstep! A great kid-fic that gives Harry and Dudley much better childhoods, with feminist themes and a much needed divorce.
Game of Thrones
Down a Rabbit Hole to Westeros by Laima_Kuei - a self-insert into Selyse Baratheon, the wife of the dreadfully awkward Stannis. The general hilarity of Selyse's extended family (and our insert herself) is amazing! Light, soft, and hilarious.
Dragonfly by sifshadowheart - another one one of my favorite fanfics of ALL TIME! Seriously, I can't talk up this one enough. A self-insert into the daughter of Prince Duncan Targaryen and Jenny of Oldstones, and an amazing look at the politics and gender dynamics of the era. Also love the relationship between young Tywin Lannister and our insert, and her slow rise to power.
Coin and Conformity by Wyrdsmithe - a male self-insert wakes up in Catelyn Stark's body. An absolutely fascinating take on gender dynamics and gender dysphoria in Westeros.
A King in Westeros by LazyProcrasinatorr - a self-insert into Viserys I Targaryen. A super fun, fluffy family fic that includes a much better Viserys/Aemma relationship, future Queen Rhaenyra, world's most annoying brother Daemon, and scary uncle Vaegon.
The Warg King by nickahontas - Robb Stark/female Blackwood self insert fanfiction entirely from his perspective. Our girl Lucienne is creepy, and I adore her.
Justice Is A Difficult Road by Anonymous - a self-insert into Rhea Royce, Daemon Targaryen's murdered wife. Particularly interesting in seeing how Rhea's presence (and comparatively decent relationship with Daemon) takes the house of the dragon on a new path.
All Mimsy Were the Borogroves by MoonWitch96 - a self-insert into Melara Hetherspoon, the poor girl Cersei Lannister murdered, with the added complication of a time loop each time poor Melara dies. My girl cannot catch a break, but the character dynamics in this fic are amazing (especially between Melara, Joanna Lannister, and sweet little baby Jaime Lannister).
Pride and Prejudice
Her Virtue is Worth More Than Rubies by PleaseLetMeReadInPeace - a self-insert into Mrs. Bennett, starting with her courtship with Mr. Bennett and expanding into the cannon era. Hilarious, with a sweet relationship between the Bennett parents and exciting relationships for all the Bennett children. The family dynamics are on point.
The Hunger Games
(One Two Three) Eyes on Me by blonde_salute - Oneshot. When Katniss is reaped at 12 a mysterious girl volunteers for her. Not going to lie, this one emotionally destroyed me. Told from Katniss's perspective.
The Vampire Diaries
She Knew by WhiteHairedD - a self-insert into Elena Gilbert's twin sister, which a great look into the platonic and family bonds between the cast, and a very cute StefanSalvatore/OC relationship (though, based on the tags, likely to be polyamorous between them and Rebekah).
DC Universe
Starman Waiting in the Sky by RvShaynah - a vaguely comics-canon lawyer self-insert/Clark Kent fic, that manages to be wholesome (Clark is so cute!), while also exploring the more horrifying aspects of being human in an inhuman world.
The Second Life of Alicia Baker by M_A_C - another self-insert/Clark Kent fic, though this time our OC is in the body of Alicia Baker, Clark Kent's ill-fated girlfriend in Smallville.
Star Wars
Rewrite the Stars by StarbeltConstellation - a self-insert into the Clone Wars, which has an absolutely fascinating its look into Anakin Skywalker's deeply messed up psyche, particularly since our OC Jedi-advisor with an uncanny knowledge of the future is terrified of him for no discernible reason. The friendships in this fic are great, and so is Anakin's slow redemption.
PR Guide for Dummies by Anonbb - A self-insert Jedi youngling semi-accidentally becomes the Jedi's new PR person. Hilarity ensues. This story made me giggle uncontrollably.
Lord of the Rings
Orc Blood and Whiskey Soup by corrlielikesstory - a nurse from Texas ends up in the plot of Lord of the Rings, as part of Saruman's attempts to gather information from our reality. The romance in this fic (Aragorn/insert) was amazing, and the development of friendships between the fellowship felt very geniune.
The Rávamë's Bane Trilogy by RealityWarp - quite possibly the best lore building I've ever seen in a LoTR fanfiction, featuring a British Uni student who ends up in Middle Earth, mysteriously an elf, and with a strange, powerful character in her head. A Legolas/insert, with a central mystery surrounding the main character, her origins, and if she's been a canon character this whole time.
Stranger Things
Tammy Thompson Takes on the Upside Down by Ridea - a 21st century Canadian woman wakes up in the body of 1980s Hawkin's worst singer, Tammy Thompson. Despite knowing extremely little about Stranger Things, she changes the plot for the better through female friendships, karate skills, lying, and copious amounts of coffee. Absolutely hilarious, and love her relationship with Steve.
Mr. Bennet: Sure, I haven't taken care of my daughters' financial security, but have I at least taken care of their education? No. But have I taken care of their emotional needs? Also no. But have I been a good protector and supervisor? I'm afraid not. However, have I been a good example for my children of being a kind and respectful spouse, parent, and all around human being? No again. But through it all, have I nailed being funny? Yes. And isn't that the most important role of a father after all?
I love buffy summers so so much. She’s so perfect and so incredibly complex and flawed.
She loves her sister more than anything in the world. She makes terrible puns. She wasn’t able to kill her soulless ex-boyfriend when she first had the chance. She blames herself for his murder of her father figure’s girlfriend. She wears bedazzled beanies while hunting demons. She always believes children when they tell her about the monsters under their beds.
She’s patrolled in a halterneck many times. She has a multitude of cross necklaces which she switches out depending on her outfit. Sometimes she fears she’s just a glorified killer. She was murdered when she was sixteen and died to save the world when she was twenty. When her mother died she waited until she was alone to do the dishes and let the running water cover the sound of her cries. She’s terrible at undercover.
She wears hoop earrings while fighting for her life. She was reduced to a catatonic state when she believed that she had failed to protect her sister. She’s isolated herself from anyone she believed cared about her more than once. She’s suffered from severe ptsd and depression. She critiques old kung fu movies from a fight choreography standpoint.
She is an expert in denial and suppression. She came back wrong - or at least she thought she did. She desperately tries to keep to a code of honour even when everything she believes about right and wrong is constantly shifting around her. She bears the weight of the world on her shoulders. She sleeps with a stuffed pig named Mr Gordo. She’s feared that her duty as the slayer would turn her to stone, that above all else she would lose her ability to love.
Guess the Harry Potter character I'm talking about:
Halfblood, Orphan, speaks parseltongue, has a phoenix feather core, sees Hogwarts as their home, hates summer holidays, did some messed up shit in the girls' bathroom, hated a teacher who went on to be headmaster once the left Hogwarts, became leader of a teenage organisation, born on the 31st, common muggle first name, six-letter last name with double-letters in the middle, has black hair, looks just like their father and has a mother who died to give them life.
dawn summers is also a contender for character of all time. she's an eldritch horror stuffed into the body of a teenage girl. she's six months old. she's older than time. she's fourteen. she talks shit to the faces of the forces of darkness. she speaks sumerian. she killed her first kiss with a pencil. her best friend is a punk vampire that simps over her big sister. she writes about the horrors in her diary. she has done necromancy. she's a kleptomaniac. her favorite sandwich is salami with peanut butter. she was willing to sacrifice her life to save the world at fourteen years old. she became her sister's watcher when the original watcher abandoned them. she's extraordinary.
The new Superman movie is a love letter to brighter days and the foundation of Superman that has been missing for a long time in modern day adaptations.
There is a little boy who in the midst of a war, hopes for Superman to save him. He stands alone and hopes when he shouldn’t and it is his salvation amidst a sea of desolation.
And Superman will inspire others to save him when he can’t, he will come to help the little girl who prays for another day. Superman is someone who sees the injustice in the world and decides to be kind anyway.
He’s the man who cry over the body of his broken friend, because each and every person is worth remembering.
Throughout the movie when Superman is questioned over his actions in Jarhanpur and why he chose to intervene, his sole reasoning is that people were going to die.
To him, nothing else mattered. The politics, the optics of it all fell wayside. The questions about the legality of his actions in Jarhanpur did not matter because for Superman, it was about morality.
And in a world that promotes apathy, this Superman takes a stand against that. He says that the best act of heroism you can do in this world, is to be kind. To care and feel deeply because to do so otherwise is when you lose your humanity. That if you leave your compassion behind, you lose the foundational trait of being human.
In retrospect, one thing I kinda like in ATLA is how Zuko never tells the gaang how he got his scar.
It would have been cool to see their reactions to Zuko's story and see how their perspective on Zuko changed. And I have no doubt that he tells them about it at some point. But this way, it doesn't come off as emotional blackmail, with him trying to paint his actions as 'Yes, I hunted you across the world, but I actually had a really good reason."
If he did, he might have had a better chance of joining the Gaang, but he doesn't. In traditional Zuko fashion, he takes the most challenging route possible.
Zuko takes full accountability for his actions, even though they came from a place where he felt he had no choice. Because at the end of the day, he realized that even though his father put him on his avatar's path, he was the one who zealously attacked them at every opportunity. He isn't letting himself off the hook for anything.
the thing with zuko and azula that people, specifically azula stans, seem to forget is that they are intentionally and specifically characterised in opposition to each other.
i keep seeing discourse about how azula deserves a redemption arc & even leaving aside the fact that a) saying someone “deserves” a redemption defeats the purpose of what redemption is and b) there was no space in the original show for azula to redeem herself anyway, azula could not have been redeemed because part of her narrative purpose is to be a foil to zuko.
zuko and azula are each the metric against which the other’s evolution (or devolution) is measured, and it’s the striking disparity between their character arcs that makes said arcs as impactful as they are: the child who swallowed the poison vs the child who spat it out. the fire nation royal who perpetuated the cycle of violence vs the fire nation royal who broke it. the abuse victim who became an abuser vs the abuse victim who became a protector.
would zuko’s redemption have felt as satisfying and hard-won if we hadn’t seen in azula the alternate path he might have so easily gone down? would azula’s downfall have been as terrible and saddening if we hadn’t seen the possibility of a better future embodied in zuko?
thematically speaking as well, the fire nation royal family exists as a microcosm of the fire nation itself — the generational trauma and violence passed down from sozin to azulon to ozai to azula and zuko is symbolic of how the fire nation’s warmongering has turned inwards, back on itself, a self-inflicted wound that grows and festers and rots until they’ve destroyed themselves just as much as they’ve destroyed the world. but where zuko represents a way out — hope for healing, for peace, for an end to the self-destructive nature of war — azula represents the cost of that war, the damage that can never be undone, the danger of remaining mired in an ouroboros, forever the snake that bites its own tail.
a version of the show where both zuko and azula redeem themselves together would have lost the grave, sobering impact of that message: that getting out as zuko did is the exception, not the norm, because the system in which they exist is built to be a trap. and even when that system is dismantled, the destruction it’s wrought cannot be fully erased.
the point of zuko and azula’s story lies in its inherent juxtaposition: there was never going to be room for both of them to rise or even fall together, not in the world in which they were raised and the virtues it extolled. and it’s because zuko exists as who azula could have been and azula exists as who zuko might have been, that their individual arcs are so powerfully poignant, and their relationship so infinitely tragic.
