Big Bangs!! \o/

[piecesof_reeses]

So, I've pretty much been spending my summer holed up in my room, reading all the big bangs that catch my eye. Most of them were really amazingly good (I say this as a former member of the hp fandom). But under the cut is only a list of my very favorites, since I only have so much energy and patience. :)  

I Have Been All Things Unholy, by bexless 
This story completely blew me away. Quite a departure from her usual stuff (as she mentions in the AN) but still definitely up to her sky-high standards. The story was wonderfully compelling, with just the right amount of disturbing balanced with the humor she does so well. It's a movie au, Stigmata specifically, but you definitely don't need to have seen it to enjoy the story (I didn't!). Snippet:
Frank rubbed at the mark one last time. "Yeah, some might even say it's a little presumptuous for a-" he looked up and completely forgot what he was going to say. "Priest."

Gerard said, "What?" and then touched the collar around his neck. "Oh! Yeah. Mikey didn't tell you?"

"He did not," Frank said, staring at Gerard's throat. A priest. A priest. And here Frank thought the worst that could happen was that he might be straight.

The Art of Underwater Breathing, by zarah5 
Such a fun piece! I really like the characterization in this au. It just all fit together perfectly. Nothing seemed too far-fetched, which is definitely an accomplishment when this story is set at a diving center in France. Basically, Spence and Ryan go off to said diving center, where they meet -gasp- diving instructors Jon and Brendon. A great read, with gorgeous imagery. Snippet:
The light trickling into the cave is breathtaking, varying shades of blue that fade to black where sand meets rock, and the sun slants through the opening, bright beams made visible by crystal-clear water. Ryan hardly dares closing his eyes long enough to blink, and he’s maybe breathing a bit too fast, the sound of the scuba unfamiliar and disconcertingly loud in this otherwise silent world, but Jon’s arm is steady and sure around him.

Ryan never wants this to end.

As Far as the Sky, by tam_cranver
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It all feels like a rather crazy dream, but in a pleasant way. I especially enjoyed the Bob/Ray interaction. And who could say no to kid!orphan!superhero!Gerard/Mikey? \o/ Summary:
Based on the 1975 movie Escape to Witch Mountain,. Gerard and Mikey are orphans with super powers and a mysterious past, Spencer Smith runs an orphanage, Pete Wentz is an unscrupulous businessman, and Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione are alien-hunting FBI agents. Bob Bryar was supposed to be on vacation. 

A Little More Kill Bill, by darksylviaAnother one of those 16 candles aus! But a more thoroughly enjoyable one than many of the others. It hit a ton of my buttons, and had a twist to the ending that I wasn't really expecting. Some issues with the story that I had, however, were SPOILER: that the twist in the ending morphed into kind of a cliche, and while Pete's narrative is interesting throughout the whole story, it's a bit disjointed in some places.  Despite that, I really did like this fic. I'm reccing it because I think it's the 16 candles au I've like best so far. The author took us for one hell of a ride, and in such an action based universe, that's really the most important thing of all. Snippet:
The suburbs were quiet. Creepily quiet. As they passed on the freeway, Pete could hear people, sometimes whole families inside of houses, apartments, but many of them were devoid of their owners, locked up tight and cold. Obviously, those who could afford to retreat had. Chicago was falling to the vampires. For all Pete knew the whole world was falling to the vampires. He couldn’t allow himself to think about it or he’d go insane.