infinitystormgard | Recent Entries

Alright! Everything seems to be here. Again, not that there ever was all that much. It seems most of my old entries were from my early attempts to have a fanfic recommendation site... a project that I've tried many times in many places over the years but always loose track of when I forget to update. Hmm, what do you know, most of the links even still work: except for pre-2004 fanfiction.net links and a few sites that either moved or disappeared over the last decade. I can't be bothered to track down the right FF.net links if the stories even still exist, but the missing sites can probably be found through the Wayback Machine if anyone is interested.

Current Mood: lazy

Okay, so I'm in the queue to import my LJ stuff here... not that there's a lot or anything all that recent. Still, it'll be one more step towards only ever having to go back there for the things that didn't move to DW. It's a shame I couldn't do the same for my old blogspot OID... but that stopped working when it was taken over by Google.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: none

Been writing a lot of meta lately. On actual paper even. Sometimes cut and pastes into a random word processor from all the times I got side tracked commenting on a reblog on my tumblr. Maybe one of these days I'll actually piece it all together and post it somewhere for others to play with.

Current Mood: bored

Okay so admittedly I created this account mostly to keep track of the various dreamwidth sites I've been following already for years through my old LJ account. I'm terrible at actually bothering to post things in any of my blogs even though I keep promising to do better. Still, here I am.

Current Mood: blah
Current Location: secret underground lair
Current Music: none

I was feeling nostalgic so I thought I'd update this place a bit. Probably most of the links to my old fanfic reccs don't even work anymore, every time I think to fix them I always decide not to bother. It would be nice to make a fic recc place again, one I might even keep up with, but it'd probably be on tumblr if I did. Anyway, I still mostly keep this journal to keep track of various members-only groups and fandoms...

Current Mood: nostalgic

I haven't posted here in almost a decade, but I still use this account to keep track of other things on LJ so I thought I'd make a random post for the sake of posterity. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever used this blog much to begin with- I think it was supposed to be a fanfic recommendation page but I couldn't be bothered keeping up with it. I have some vague recollection of being pissed off about a change someone made that made most of my links useless, but eh, who can say why I stopped posting for sure. I do have another blog elsewher that I do update, so maybe I just decided I like it better. Come to think of it, I don't even remember half of the random things I was following on this site either back then, and probably half the communities I joined, if they even still exist, were joined just to see what was inside. Heh. Anyway. Whatever.

Yay! I fixed it. I'd forgotten to put a few quotation marks in. Grr. Carelessness brings nothing but trouble.

For some reason my LJ isn't acknowleging the existance of my HTML tags. I'm very annoyed. I'll try and fix it soon.

I have quite a few stories to rec today. Some I've found through other people's rec sites, others I found on my own while trawling through FF.net and the like. The recs are mostly crossovers, but there are a few Harry Potter recs too. Oh, and almost everything being rec'd is gen, with a few het pairings in the background. No warnings are neccessary.

Crossovers

Happenstance by Layton Colt is a crossover between Star Trek Voyager and Star Gate: SG1 that amazingly works quite nicely. Everyone is in character, there are no huge gaping plotholes, and the plot is interesting and well writen. It's also *finished*, which is always a plus. Here's the author's summary:
On an away mission --gone wrong as usual-- Torres is kidnapped and taken through a ‘strange ring.’ Janeway and Paris follow through to attempt a rescue. (This is a crossover with Stargate: SG-1) *COMPLETED*

The Other Side of Halloween by Jihan Al-Kwasarmi is one of those Buffy fics wherein most of the main characters dress up as tv, movie, and video-game characters during the infamous Halloween episode and end up getting their costumes' powers and knowledge for keeps. Most of those fics are incredibly bad, but there are a few out there that are actually quite good- and original too. This is one of the good ones- rather fun too. Here's the author's summary:
Xander dresses up as something different on Halloween, but so does everyone else...with rather interesting consequences. Multiple crossovers. My first submitted fanfic.

The Muggle Way by imjustaguy is a BtVS/HP crossover fic that actually makes *sense*. It isn't one of those pointless and plotless pairing fics that seem to be so popular, there are *no* long lost relatives whatsoever, and there is an actual *reason* why the Buffy cast doesn't know about the wizarding world. If not for the occassional grammer (or fomating) mistakes this fic would be perfect. Also, please don't be alarmed by the original characters- they're there for a reason and important to the plot. Here's the author's summary:
What if the Muggle World was not ignorant of what happens in the Wizarding World? MI5 and the Slayers have their own plans for dealing with Tom Riddle.
Also, if you like this story you should go on to read the author's BtVS/Law &Order: SVU fics that take place in the same universe.

Bubblegum L33T by Shaun Garin is just a cute mini-crossover one-shot that I found quite amusing. Here's the author's summary:
[One-Shot] [Crossover - Unconventional] Priss faces off against the boomer that has eluded her and defeated the rest of the Knight Sabers.

Inversed Qualities by the same author is another cute and amusing little crossover. Here's the summary:
[Crossover - Harry Potter][HPAUverse] Given a glimpse into another Alternate Universe, we see a Hermione who has had a unique upbringing in lifestyle.
If you liked those, check out the author's other fics too.

Malcolm Of The Rings by HiBob is quite possibly the very last crossover I expected to find *ever*, especially as well-writen and *funny* as this. As you may have guessed it's a crossover between Lord of the Rings and... Malcolm in the Middle. Yeah. Here's a quote:

"“I must risk this, Legolas,” Aragorn told his comrade. “I must use the seeing stone. For good or ill, I will confront the Dark Lord.”

“Then wear your armor fast and let him know you by the sword you bear. He will recognize the reforged blade. I will hide from sight but I will be near if you need my aid.”

Aragorn cast his gaze upon the stone willing it to make contact with its counterpart in the east. The blackness of the stone vanished slowly to reveal, “Malcolm?”

“Strider?” the voice came from the stone. “You sure look different. How did you know I was here? These stones are so cool.”

“I didn’t,” Strider admitted. “I was trying to contact . . . someone else. Where are you?”

“Oh, Barad Dur. I’m just below the throne room. Sauron’s having a big meeting, and they’re letting me look around for a bit.” Malcolm began walking around the stone, and noticed how the background shifted. He saw Legolas approaching in response to the unusual conversation. “Hey, Legolas.”

“Well met, Malcolm. You look well. I must admit that black becomes you. I must also beg the question. Why are you in Mordor?”

“These guys, the Nazgul, grabbed us after we got kicked out of Isengard. We’re guests for now.”

“Kicked out?” Legolas whispered.

“The youngling has a natural talent for such things,” Aragorn whispered back. He looked back into the stone and asked, “Malcolm, do they trust you?”

“Yeah. Go figure. One guy even said that Reese had a positive attitude.”

“That’s nice,” Aragorn said uncertainly. “Could you leave if you wanted to?”

“I guess, but . . . there’s no place to go. It all a wasteland out there and most of the people we’d meet would consider us as their next meal. It’s cool though. We have a balcony overlooking the volcano.”

Aragorn looked at Malcolm in surprise. “Did you reveal any secrets to the enemy? Anything that might do us harm.”

“I told them about television. That might hurt you in the long run, but I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Uhm, yes, well,” Aragorn stammered. “Good luck to you and your brothers.”

“Wait, do you happen to know where my phone is?”

“Yes, I borrowed it from Merry. Do you want me to call someone?”

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted to do this. These guys say that they’ll deliver anywhere, if you’re willing to pay for it. Call 1- 801-555-1212.”

“Paradise Pizza,” the voice on the phone said, “We deliver anywhere, if you pay the fare.”

“Ask for two large Pepperoni,” Malcolm explained.

“They want a . . . credit card?”

“Give them my Mom’s Visa,” Malcolm told him, and rattled off the numbers. “It expires in June.”

“It is done, Malcolm. And I gave them our current location. What happens now?”

“If they show up, let me know. And tell Sam that Dewey says Hi.”

As the stone went dark, Aragorn looked at his elvin friend, who was shaking uncontrollably. “Legolas, You are laughing.”

“I apologize, My Lord Aragorn. I could not help but note that you sought to contact the greatest evil that existed in this world, and you confronted Malcolm.” "

Harry Potter

The Power The Dark Lord Knows Of by Finbar is an amusing short HP fic wherein... well here's the author's summary:
A very silly little one shot where Harry lets Voldemort know about the Power he isnt supposed to know about...

Everyone Should Have a Harry Potter by impression is another amusing short HP fic. Let's just say it involves magical cloning... here's the author's summary:
Harry Potter dies before attending Hogwarts in a car accident - Mad-Eye Moody decides to bring him back to fight off Voldemort. Time passes, and Moody's plan gets a bit out of hand.

Now for something a bit longer. For those of you who like epics, with multiple *long* fics in a series, Luna the Moon Monster's Harry Potter and the Amulet of Time may be just what you're looking for. Admittedly, time-travel fics are more than a little common in the HP fandom- and so are quite a few of the other plot elements used in this series- but this one is actually one of the better ones I've found. Remarkably enough, the characters are actually *in* character, and all the original characters are actually interesting and not annoying in the slightest. Even the girl Harry has a brief relationship with isn't Mary-Suish. I was quite impressed. Here's the author's summary:
When Harry receives a magical amulet for his fifteenth birthday, he wasn't to know that it would lead him and his friends on a four year rollercoaster ride through time to the age of the founders, the second world war, the era of the Marauders, and finally back home where he is older, wiser, and ready to face his arch enemy. Will be ten fics in total.
(btw, the first four books are complete, and the second arc is in progress)

... And that's it for today. I thought I had a few more fics to rec, but I can't seem to find them at the moment.

Current Mood: amused

This is a bit random, and hardly what I usually would put here, but I just had a sudden urge to share one of my favorite web-comics with the world.

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Mac Hall by Ian McConville and Matt Boyd is essentially the story of a bunch of slacker university students who play a lot of online games. The art is very nice, it's full color- unlike a lot of other web-comics I've seen- and it's funny- but usually not in a stupid way.
I'm not terribly good at saying why I like things, so go read it and find out for yourselves.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: David Arkenstone - Desert Crossing.

I just have one rec for today. I'm on allergy medication though, so forgive me if this is a bit incoherent or rambling (or mis-spelled).

Naruto

Foxhound by Kraken's Ghost. (in progress) (beware of spoilers up to current manga chapters)
When I first saw this fic I was immedietely hooked- so much so that, even though signs pointed towards it becoming any of a great number of cliches that plague this fandom, I read on. Somehow, I had a feeling that this author was not going to disapoint me by mindlessly copying what everyone else seems to be writing. I was right. The author has managed to take a variety of plot-concepts that, written by anyone else, would have been cliches and turned them around with an ease and brilliance that was breath-taking.
The characterizations are realistic and plausible; they take into account the characters' back-stories, how they *really* act in the anime/manga (as opposed to how they act in fannon), and allow for character growth that is actually *growth* and not fannon-based OOCness. The explanations for jutsus, bloodlines, and character motivations are clear and non-intrusive, and even though there is not a whole lot of action yet, the story makes up for it in actual *story*.

So: briefly summarized: This fic is amazing so far. It's well written, unique, and brilliantly plotted. As of today only fivechapters are posted, but the author updates reliably and I can hardly wait for the next one. Read it, you won't regret it.

Current Mood: drowsy

It's been a *long* time since my last rec update. Since then I've started college, gained new obsessions, and generally been too busy to compile much of anything- much less fanfic recs. Today however, I feel like I ought to share some of my current favorites with the masses. Most of the following will be of the anime/manga genre.

Crossovers

Gundam Wing (AU) and Stargate: SG1
Upon a Firey Steed by Vathara. (Complete)
I was more than a little surprised to find how good this fic was. It's AU on the GW side, but not so in characterization- rather it changes the general backstory and setting to fit into the Stargate universe, and quite nicely too. Vathara doesn't change anything that doesn't need to be changed, nor does she make the mistake of using too many fannon ideals on the GW side. All in all it's an intriging, plot *and* character driven crossover that deserves at least a look. And hey, it stars Duo and Daniel- what's not to like?

After you read that fic, try out some of Vathra's other fics as well. I especially like her YuGiOh fics- though before I read those I hadn't cared for that particular series at all.

Naruto and Full Metal Alchemist
Where is Home by Nicholas Perle. (In Progress)
I was shocked and overjoyed to find this crossover of two of my favorite anime series *ever*. It contains spoilers and post FMA speculualtions, so be carefull if you haven't watched up to episode 51 of that series. Spoilers for Naruto up to current also, though not quite so bad as it doesn't really focus *on* Naruto or team 7.
One of the things that makes this particular series so interesting is that it *doesn't* really focus much on the 'main' characters of either series. Instead it mostly stars Maes Hughes and Roy Mustang, with some focus on various other characters in both worlds. Even though it isn't quite finished yet, this is well worth the read and an exellent contribution to the fanfic for both series. Here's the author's summary at FF.net:
Hughes and Roy find themselves stranded in Konoha and must learn to live as shinobi. Meanwhile, the Elrics try to understand the mysteries of the Gate. (Written for NaNoWriMo, FMANaruto crossover. Spoilers for FMA51 and recent Naruto manga).

Naruto Fics

Switched by Minnionette. (In progress.
This fic takes an frequently misused concept- the two characters switch bodies by accident cliche- and actually manages to *work* properly and interestingly. This takes place sometime between Tsunade's inaugeration as Hokage and the next big plot-arc and therefore contains spoilers for a bit of both. The basic premis is that Naruto and Sakura accidently switch bodies via a cursed statue and have to prevent anyone from finding out until Kakashi-sensei returns from a mission. Considering the fact that everyone is actually *in character* this is easier said than done. This fic is *hilarious* but it's also *good*- well writen and plausible considering the circumstances. There are no pairings (yay) unless you count a few incidents caused by a misplaced love potion- and even that is just in good fun. Also, there is interaction between Kyubi and Inner Sakura! Anyway, here's the author's summary at FF.net:
It all began with an evil statue that switched their bodies. Now, physically weaker, Naruto has to cope with girl-bonding and PMSing. That’s not nearly as bad as Inner Sakura and the nine-tailed fox refusing to get along semi-peacefully.

---
Since I don't really have the rest of my favorites organized at the moment I'll probably update again in a few weeks.

Current Mood: calm

Not everyone's cup of tea, today's recommendation is one of the very few self-insertation stories out there that I've actually liked. Might be because the SI characters aren't always the main characters, maybe because even though they're SI characters they still act like *people* (and likable ones at that), but probably because it's a damn good story regardless of whether it contains a few SI characters or not.

Actually 'story' is a bit misleading. Even the term 'series' doesn't quite fit. More like 'universe' wherein all sorts of interesting people live and we're lucky enough to get to read about them.

(Please note that I wrote this after I wrote the actual rec, and forgive any repetition due to enthusiasm.)

Massive Crossover Goodness

I'm officially delighted. A massive crossover/self-insertion epic series I've been following near-religiously for years just crossed into my most favorite series ever: CSI.

Indeed, I'm talking about Undocumented Features at Eyrie Productions, Unlimited.

Around for... about thirteen years now, Undocumented Features has evolved from a somewhat typical (though it *wasn't* typical back then, I'm betting) S-I fic to an incredibly detailed, well and *believably* written, (and damn fun to read) epic crossover universe like nothing else out there. What makes it special is that the authors have the rare ability to adapt practically *anything* into the series and make it *work* and work well. And by anything, I do mean *anything*: all sorts of anime, computer and role-playing games, comic books, TV shows and movies of all genres and styles, novels, even cartoons that you would never expect to see with any of the rest. *Everything.* ... and it *works*. Only people who possess pure *genius* can cross such a vast assortment of everything ... and make it work. Indeed, there are *so* many different things crossed in it would be impossible for anyone to list thtem all and not miss a bunch; sometimes the crosses are so obscure that I've had to Google character or planet names to find out what they are. Makes life interesting.
If you read it though, and I suggest you do, please do *not* judge it by the first few stories written- being as they *were* written a long time ago, before the authors even knew it would expand past the first four 'Core' stories. It gets better and better and better (a lot of new-comers start reading in the most recent arcs and then go back and read the earlier ones after they've become hooked) and is incredibly addicting. Oh, and I should also mention that I was very serious when I used the terms 'massive' and 'epic' in describing UF; there's more stuff written in this series than some novelists put out in their entire *life-times*. I suppose it also helps that the entire thing (so far) takes place from (earliest date on the chronological listing) October 1991 to (latest) August 2413, and over the span of an entire galaxy plus some alternate universes and some time travel. Like I said: massive and good.

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In other news, I've got a bunch more recs I'll try and post sometime over the next few days.

Current Mood: pleased

Y'know, the other day whilst wandering the internet I found an archive that, to my surprise, held what I'm reasonably sure is the very first fanfic I ever read. I'm not going to rec it here just yet since I can't for the life of me remember if it was all that good, but it made me kind of nostalgic. So here are some old favorites and a few new ones (in a better format too). Oh, and all today's recs are anime based.

Anime
Back when I started reading fanfic the two easiest anime series to find that *had* fan fiction written about them were Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon. I left those fandoms a *long* time ago, but there are still a few stories that were good enough that I'll occasionally track them down and reread them.

Series: Ranma 1/2
Fanfic: Girl Days
Status: Unfinished
Author: Robert Haynie (aka Kenko)
Genre: Comedy/Continuation
Summary: If you've ever persued the Ranma 1/2 fandom then you are probably already aware of the mass of angsty, overly serious 'Ranma becomes a girl for real' fanfics. This is not one of them.
Personal opinion: This is quite possibly the most hilarious Ranma fanfic I have ever encountered. It's especially remarkable in that it takes certain elements common in Ranma fanfiction and ductapes them all into a plot and isn't just fuuny, but good. I rather doubt it will ever be finished, but it's worth reading regardless.

Series: Bubblegun Crisis, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo, Kimagure Orange Road, Patlabor... ect.
Fanfic: Dance of Shiva
Status: Complete, with at least one sequel.
Author: John Biles
Genre: Mega-crossover, continuation
Summary: (from author's website)This story is a mega-crossover of BGC/TM/SM/AMG and many other series. The year is 2034. Life seems much the same as normal for our heroines, the Sabers. Get up in the morning, blow up a few boomers, pretend to have a normal life, eat, go to bed. But behind the veneer of normality, trouble is brewing, for the city has been targeted for destruction. The Dance of Shiva is about to begin.
Personal opinion: I read this a long time ago, before I'd even seen half the anime crossed into this, but even now this is one of the better mega-crossovers I've read that actually *works*. A lot of crossovers written these days are by relatively new fans with little talent who, more often than not, haven't even seen the entirity of the series they're writing about. *This* author knew his stuff, and it shows. Be warned though, that this fic is *very* long; I have it saved as a single text file somewhere and it's at least one meg.

Series: Ranma 1/2, others
Fanfic: Quantum Destinies
Status: In progress
Author: Steven Thesken
Genre: Alternate universe, Drama
Summary: A true and real alternate universe fanfic, in the 'what if -this- happened instead of -this- ' vein. It's complete with sort-of dimensional travel and all sorts of familar characters who aren't quite the people they are in cannon... and yet *are* who they are in cannon.
Personal Opinion: From what I can recall (I haven't read this in forever, and until today I hadn't realized that it was still being written) this story is *incredibly* well written. I remember the that the first time I read Michael Critchen's Timeline I was reminded of this particular fanfic.

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Okay. That's it for the 'good ol' days' fanfic. I have a bit more from my early days of fanfic reading, but I haven't got any of the bookmarks readily at hand right now- if the pages and archives are even still around- so I'll have to do those later. Now for some more recent- as in read in the past three to four years- fanfic I like. Much of which will be of the yaoi/slash variety with a bit of gen and no het that I can think of right now.

Series: Tokyo Babylon/X
Fanfic: Angelic Intervention
Status: Finished
Author: Leareth
Genre: Drama/Humor
Summary: Angel!Hokuto kidnaps Subaru and Seishirou and locks them in a room together to work out their differences once and for all.
Personal Opinion: At the point in time that I read this I was utterly *obsessed* with X/1999 and Tokyo Babylon- so much that a year or so ago I even actually spent all my savings on TB/X artbooks and graphic novels. In fact I was *so* obsessed I began several fanfic in the purpose of reducing the angst a bit (none of which I'll likely finish since it was about that time I realized that with my tendancy for adding in OCs I'd be better off writing original fic). Anyway it ended happily ever after, and that's all I really wanted at the time.

Series: Gundam Wing
Fanfic: It's the Pilot
Status: Finished, with an incomplete sequel.
Author: Truth (who's never written anything I *haven't* adored, but who also seems to be a fairly slow writer and doesn't have a web-page with all her 'fic on it, tragically.)
Genre: Alternate Universe
Summary: (from fic) Wherein the Gundam pilots have known each other for a little while, but the war is still stalled back before the pilots return to space. Meanwhile, someone seems to have it in for the pilots.
Personal Opinion: In a fandom bogged down with more fannon than you can shake a stick at, a fanbase comprised of *far* too many newbies to anime in general, and the fact that the majority of the fans started writing their fanfic whilst in their early to mid-teens... it's *very* difficult to find any decent fanfiction for Gundam Wing. This particular fanfic and it's sequel are one of the gems out there- evidenced mainly by the fact that it *isn't* all about the character's sex lives. There are shounen ai *hints* scattered throughout the story, but that's all there is. The focus is primarily on the characters themselves and their reactions, thoughts, and feelings to the events happening around them. Yeah.

Series: Weiss Kreuz
Fanfic: Something Missing
Status: In Progress/Unfinished
Author: Truth
Genre: Continuation, drama.
Summary: What if Aya-chan had been *aware* during her two years in a coma? And what if two years after she woke up she ran into Schwartz? And what if she had something in common with them... something missing?
Personal Opinion: By the same author as the previous recc'ed story, this is the very best Weiss Kreuz fanfic that I've *ever* read- hell, I think it might be one of the best *fanfic* I've ever read for any series. It's gen for the most part, though there is some yaoi in a few of it's many side-stories, and very plot orriented- unlike most WK fic out there. Actually I think that part of the reason this fic *is* so good is because it's gen; it seems like in many yaoi and het stories the romance/sex-life of the characters *is* the plot, and the bit that's *supposed* to be the plot is completely overshadowed. Anyway this fic is *absolutely* worth reading.

... and that's all for today. New time I've got some BtVS recs, a few Smallvile ones, and maybe one or two X-Men fanfic.

Current Mood: tired

I was, once again, going through some of my old favorites when I found this:

Ranma 1/2 - Rurouni Kenshin

The Hazards of Reincarnation by mrthou.
It's basically a reincarnation fic, or rather a reincarnation gone horribly wrong fic, and it's verily funny. Here's a quote:

The sisters glared at each other for a moment. Then a delusional Kendoist crashed through the roof.

"Oh, there's the brat," Nabiki commented idly.

"Who are you to call the Great Blue Thunder a brat, wench?" Kuno sat up, and then stared blankly forward in apparent shock. "Oh my God! I've been reincarnated as an imbecile!"

*
Well I'm at it I've got another fic rec, this time written more recently.

FFVII

Drunken Missions by Ealinesse.

I think the author's summary says it best: You ever wondered why the Turks couldn't defeat Avalanche? They can't even infiltrate their own headquarters for one lousy video tape without the world crumbling down around them. Literally.

I only can hope that there might some day be a sequel.

*
I think that's it for today, being as I have nothing else immedietely at hand. Maybe one of these day's I'll sit down and figure out how to do this thing properly...

I've read a lot of fanfiction in my day, and a good portion of it hasn't been all that good. That's normal, considering the fact that the people who write fanfiction are usually just ordinary fans with varying amounts of actual talent. Sadly, these days it seems that a lot of the people who are writing have very little actual writing talent; but that's also normal considering the fact that fanfiction.net and other such places have made it simple enough that even a complete idiot can publish their works online. It's not that there isn't anything being written by people with actual writing talent, just that it's a hell of a lot more difficult to actually find any of it.
Now back in the days before fanfiction.net it was both easier and harder to find good fanfiction. There were archives and personal websites and mailing lists and all that sort of stuff, but they were generally scattered across the internet and were probably just as time consuming to find as wading through ff.net. I can't really remember. At any rate, I have quite a few favorite fanfics that quite simply are not to be found on fanfiction.net and I'd like to share one of them with you.

(Please forgive me if the above rant makes little or no sense; I've only had one cup of coffee today.) Now for the rec.

Slayers
Slayers was the first anime series that I genuinely really liked, and it's what got me into anime as a serious fan in the first place. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Bad because Slayers (at that time) had a rather small fanbase on the internet (even the first season hadn't yet been fully translated) and practically no fanfiction whatsoever. Good because what fanfiction there was wasn't mired down with fannon and preconceptions based on reading bad fanfiction. The lack of fanfiction eventually encouraged me to seek out other anime, and with few exceptions I seldom return to the Slayers fandom these days. Not because I don't like Slayers, but because I'm incredibly picky and simply cannot stand seeing what the fans have done to it.

At any rate, the very best (and quite possibly the first) Slayers fanfiction of all time is written by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne, and can be found at this adress: The Ultimate Codex of Twoflowerian Fiction under the section 'Slayers'.

The author's summaries are better than anything I could say, but I will say that it's the truest to the series I've ever encountered. It's also one of the few fanfics that I've like enough to reread at least once every year. (Oh, and try his original fiction too, and if you like Neverwinter Nights he's got some nifty moduels for it too.)

Original Fiction

Sidara's The Sundering Saga
- I guess this could be called urban fantasy. It's an alternate Earth type setting where magic and the supernatural is a normal part of daily life, very detailed and well realized too. Reminds me a bit of the Anita Blake series, but less Mary-Suish and with a male MC. I can't write decent summaries... so just go read it!

X/1999/Tokyo Babylon
I became very obsessed with all things CLAMP about two or so years ago, with X/1999 and Tokyo Babylon being my favorites. I read fanfiction like you wouldn't believe and even *wrote* a bit of fanfiction. Finally the angst, and lack of immediete updates by my favorite authors, got to be and I pretty much left the fandom in search of something fluffier for a while. Unfortunately I chose Fruits Basket as my rebound anime- all unknowing that it wasn't as happy-go-lucky as it seemed- but that's another story. At any rate, I'm no longer obsessed with X/TB but I do occasionally dip back into the fandom in search of new stuff and old favorites.

The Sakuranikomori- by Evil Asian Genius
- What if Hokuto killed Seishirou at the end of Tokyo Babylon instead of vice-versa? Absolutely hilarious.

Kouri and Karasu's Fanfiction
- Some of the best X/TB fanfic out there, in my opinion. Actually I like all their fanfic, and their original fiction too; currently I'm reading their Weiss Kreuz fanfic 'With Friends Like These', which is also archive at the above site.

BtVS Crossovers
I'm not really the biggest Buffy fan, actually, but I *love* a good crossover. Unfortunately good crossovers are incredibly rare, and very time consuming to find. Oddly enough, if you're looking on fanfiction.net at any rate, there's a higher ratio of readable crossovers in the Buffy Crossovers section than any of the other crossover sections. Not all neccessarily *good*, but readable.

Marcus Rowland's BtVS/CSI crossover series is up there with my favorite crossovers ever. It remains true to both series' plots and premises, and best of all it's plot-driven and non-canon pairing-free. His other fics are good too, though I don't care for his BtVS/HP/HL crossover as much as the others.

Just Visiting Family by libraflyter is a BtVS/X-Men (movieverse) crossover that I particularly like for the dead-on characterization of Willow. It is *very* rare for anyone to get her 'voice' right, and when they do I'm very impressed. The story itself is pretty good too, here's the author's summary off FF.net:
-Willow visits her cousin Erik Lehensarr in prison, only to find herself involved in the mess which is mutantdom (and for Magneto to be involved in the mess of Scoobyness) Complete

X-Men
My most recent obsession. I swear, this series has some of the best fanfic I've ever read (though I might be biased as this *was* my most recent obsession). I could could rec X-Men fics from now 'til 2005- except tragically there doesn't seem to be as much X-Men fanfic online as one would think. At any rate here are my current favorites:

Everything by Alicia McKenzie is really, really good. Her plots are detailed and complex and very engrossing. I'm terrible at writing summaries. Just go read it all.
- Most of these fanfics are centered around Cable, aka Nathan Dayspring/Summers. Even if you don't like him, read these fics anyway and you probably will by the time you're through.

... that's it for now, since I have to leave.