Stuff I Read - "Here Comes The Romance."

[seriousfic]

Solid Time - Batman, Booster Gold and Barbara Gordon. After TKJ's long-standing controversy, it's no wonder that Geoff Jones revisiting the crippling of Barbara Gordon in Booster Gold #5 would get the same reaction. Basically, since issues have been raised about it (even by the writer himself), shouldn't a recap of TKJ be the place to address those concerns? Geoff Johns instead satisfied for his own timey-wimey ball handwave technobabble, so bluefall wrote this to let Batgirl go out as a hero. In skeleton, it's cliche, but it's in the flesh of the story that it really works. Barbara Gordon, who she is and who she becomes, and with Booster Gold as a surprisingly effective audience identification figure.

After Hours - Harry Potter, Bellatrix/Andromeda. Don't ask me why (as the warning header puts it) Blackcest, magic cocks, and breath-play manage to be hot. Part of it is that fembuck is a good writer, with a good feel for the all-important split between characterization and drrrrrty smex. So while still maintaining the hotness, it owns the "these are messed-up people doing messed-up things", which I like a lot more than pretending everything is lovey-dovey in a hotly unhealthy relationship.