Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Nellie Darlin

Summary: The real reason Lily Evans keeps turning James Potter down?  She’s already sleeping with his best friend…. Romance/Drama, 18,890. (NC17)

Guest Rec’d By: Kira

Why You Should Care: A canon-compliant Lily/Sirius fic that manages to (fantastically!) document how Lily migrates from one Marauder to another without being dreadfully angsty or making her seem like a fickle shrew.  Nellie writes with an entrancing voice that creates perfect imagery and captivating characters.  What really wins me over is the excellent dynamics that she writes between the characters – Lily and her conundrum between James and Sirius – and how, despite it being a Lily/Sirius fic, she manages to fill in the transformational gaps for James from “arrogant, bullying toe-rag” to love of Lily’s life and the Lily/James moments are precious.  The final scene is possibly one of the best fanfiction end-offs I’ve ever read; it takes my breath away every time.

Why You Might Not Care: There’s not much here for people who can’t stand Lily/Sirius, but if you’re even mildly neutral towards the pairing, you’ll find this fic endearing.  There’s an OFC best friend for Lily, which is common enough in Marauder-era fics, and while this one’s a little bubbly, she doesn’t annoy and serves as an important plot device as opposed to others who are window-dressing Mary Sues.  Personally, I was initially a bit off-put by under-aged sex (16 y.o’s – but I frankly prefer to think that no one at Hogwarts is tapping any ass until they permanently leave the gates), but apparently that’s all the rage these days with young whippersnappers.

Five Reasons Why Lily Evans Does Not Like Sirius Black (And Five Reasons Why She Does)

Five Reasons Why Lily Evans Does Not Like Sirius Black (And Five Reasons Why She Does) by Papered

Summary: Sirius Black is infuriating in a way only he can be. And maybe that’s why Lily Evans comes to like him. Romance, 3,374 Words.

Why You Should Care: Hey there, your resident Lily/Sirius shipper checks in with a rec. This fic tells the Lily/Sirius story in a original, almost funny, sweet and fitting way. You can see it happen: Papered is expert at giving just enough detail for us to envisage the scene. Denial!Lily is the best thing ever.

Why You Might Not Care: List fics should die. Even ones where the form is actually used pretty well, like this one. But read on.

Apology: This is late from yesterday. Laptop issues. Sorry for inconvenience!

California

California by Q

Summary: She likes to smoke while she watches the sunset from the hill overlooking the Forbidden Forest. Oneshot, 717 words.

Why You Should Care: I have something of a bias here, because Lily/Sirius is my OTP, but truly, you don’t even need to ship it to love the delicacies of this fic. It’s all about the dialogue, all about what isn’t said. What I find truly interesting is, what they are saying appears to be pretty open: a lot of fics have them saying very bland things that mean a great deal, while here they open up, but their true meanings are still hidden. It’s so clever, I call it a real find.

Why You Might Not Care: Most people aren’t into Lily/Sirius, but unless you’re a virulent hater, this shouldn’t put you off. Although it’s a oneshot, I still reckon this fic could do with a little padding out; some of the beauty is lost merely by constrains of length. It’s not perfect, but it’s a diamond in the rough.