Last Point of Entry by Aukestrel
Man, have you ever tried to figure out a way to try and describe a HCL story. Try it sometimes. You'll get a headache trying to capture the feel of it I guarantee. It's like trying to describe what the movie is like. (I finally got to see it. Fucking cool!) You could put it simply, it's about a fake rock band. That is just way too simple though. The movie has an intensity that you wouldn't believe. It's like watching a whole film full of hyperactive people, well ok John's just plain nuts (not his fault though). Luckily, I am hyperactive so that helped me keep up at least. It's rough too, lots of hard edges and sharp angles to the thing. It's one of those movies where no one is perfect, everyone has their faults. Joe is a dick so the name fits aptly. You end up liking the bastard though and have no idea why. Maybe it's that he really loves what he does and never sells out. Maybe it's that he loves Billy so damn much you can see it and has no way to really express it. Can't. It's not in his vocabulary, or experience to know how to tell someone what they mean to him. He just has to hope that they just fucking know. Aukestrel said that she figured if she wrote an HCL story it would be from Billy's POV, then one day she woke up with Joe talking to her in her head. Shit, that is a scary thought. I've seen the movie, the one thing I don't want is Joe fucking Dick talking to me in my head. She really captured Joe though. She just got his voice down pat, you see Joe Dick in his story. He's just so there it's like he's in the room. Which is scary enough in itself. It's like she was channeling the fucker. Yeah, I realize I'm saying fuck alot. Anyone who's seen the movie knows I'm doing a little channeling of my own to really get the feel of it. Aukestrel is braver than me though, she withstood Joe in her head while she wrote that story. She did it well to, captured the heat and the power of the man totally. I guess if having Joe in your head talking to you gets these results, you can't argue with the outcome.
 
 

Memory bites by Fanny Adams
Warning: Rape. Which is sort of a spoiler for the movie, but I thought I'd warn you anyway. Also, some mentions of the boys having sex together when they are 16, so if you get squicked by that there you go.

Ah, memories again. I have never heard all of that fucking song "Memories", thank god. That way it would be stuck in my head on continuous loop until I find something else to replace it. This time it's Joe doing the reminiscing, sometime during the reunion tour. I think I'm starting to pick up on a theme here in this fandom. Well, if you've seen the movie you'll probably understand why this is sort of necessary. This one is set during the reunion tour, Joe thinking back on the past. Tracing his relationship with Billy through their meeting and some interludes during their teen years. Fast forwarding up to the instant that caused the band to break up several years before. Sort of a track record. A reason why things went down the way they did. What caused certain events. Moments from the past that he can now see were connected. Remembrances that make you smile and are gutt-wrenching at the same time. Your own failures brought to light and the realization of why you did them. In this story she brought up and aspect of their relationship here. It does put a spin on things and makes sense in a way. An idea that Billy is really in charge of their relationship here. That when it comes to the band Joe may be in charge, but when it comes to the two of them, one on one, Billy calls the shots. That he has from the beginning and that drives Joe nuts, about as nuts as his insistence of running the band pushes Billy to the edge. So in a way they are evenly matched locked in a game of frustration, each pushing the limits and both getting hurt. I liked that aspect to it. Made some sense to me, Joe always seemed to just be begging Billy with every gesture to stay with him, in whatever capacity. The whole reunion tour was about bringing Billy back, getting him to come back to him.
 
 

Beside you by Zen & Nancy
Your know I was almost nervous reading an HCL fic by Zen and Nancy, I've read some of their other stuff and it can be a little on the darker side. Dealing with drugs and violence a lot. I was surprised to find that their HCL stuff seemed lighter by comparison. Maybe because there were already drugs and some violence in that universe so they didn't have to add them. Came naturally in this fandom. Seemed perfect for them in a way, that is not a slam by the way. I love their HCL stories. They seem almost romantic in a way. Well, as romantic as these two guys could ever get. This one takes place years before everything started to go wrong, the guys are about 20 years old in this I think. In this one Joe is fucked up on some drugs and can't sleep, afraid of the nightmares that might come if he does. So he wakes up Billy and makes him talk to him so he isn't just lying there in the dark staring at nothing. Going slowly nuts in side his own head, thoughts battering around driving him to the edge. Billy obliges, of course, after some minor protestations that are really pretty weak. You just know he's going to give in eventually. The situation turns into a first time story (I always love those) that is sweet in that you just know the boys are so going to be in denial about it later. That it won't be the first and last time you also figure is a pretty good bet. This one is a look at Joe and Billy when they were young, still best friends, and egos hadn't started getting in the way. Nice to see that. I've seen plenty of stories about remembering those times, but Zen and Nancy are really the only ones I know of that take you back to that time, their past, and let you relive some of it with them.
 
 

Straight by Methosgrrl
Warning: M/f/M in case you don't like that sort of thing.

Note: Ten Buck Fucks closed down and I haven't been able to find an alternate link for this. I'm going to look a little while longer. Maybe I can find it posted elsewhere. I'll give it a shot, before I take the link down.

This one is just a PWP really, just Joe and Billy with a groupie. They are taking turns with her and each trying to make sure they do her better than the other. Joe kind of turns the tables when he plays a little dirty though, just a little but enough. Nothing Billy doesn't admit to liking, in his own head of course. Never out loud around Joe, that would be one big fucking mistake there. Now wouldn't it. One thing about HCL that I sort of knew from the start, just sensed it about the movie. You have to see the movie to understand the true intensity of the characters. Only if you've seen it can you know if the writer really got them, really channeled the guys. There isn't any sweet fluffy romance in the movie and you won't find any in HCL stories. No room for that there. The guys are just so totally guys. They are rude, blunt, and combative around each other. They all know one another to well, know all the right buttons to push and when to push them to achieve maximum effect. That is what this story is about really Joe trying to push Billy's buttons. Hell, that seemed what the whole movies was about. Joe and Billy were definitely under each other's skin. Both trying to out alpha the other. Billy was a little nicer though, maybe wished things didn't have to be so difficult between them. What you wish for and what you get aren't always the same things, though. No real wishing like that in this one. Just Billy wishing Joe would leave him be and just let him get off fucking this girl. That Joe didn't have to interfere, if he didn't though he just wouldn't be Joe. Want to guess where all of Joe's attention was placed? Not a hard one, where it always seemed to be in the movie. I've never seen two guys more bound together and at the same time trying to escape each other so desperately. Pushing and pulling always. I think she captured that well in this story. Once you read it you'll get that subtle double entendre in there.<g>
 
 

First Come, First Served by Mairead Triste and Amy B
Oh, this one is about a bet. A test of wills to see who can with stand the longest in a competition of exploring solitary pleasures. Gee, didn't I find a nice way to say a jack off contest, and then completely spoil it by reverting to more crude terminology. <bg> I'm quite proud of myself. <snicker> I have tried to get into HCL slash over the years, but like I said in another rec it just seemed to me like a fandom that you would have to see the movie to truly get it's essence, to truly know if the author captured it properly. This story was probably one of the first that I stumbled across and so I knew when I was pouring through HCL fics searching for ones I wanted to rec that I had to find this one. Now if you haven't guessed it most HCL fics take place before the movie occurs, back in the good old days before the band broke up. There's a reason for that, but if I tell you it will totally spoil the end of the movie for you. Moving back to the rec before I totally get lost in talking about the movie itself. This one isn't much more than a PWP. Joe and Billy drunk and making a bet that is stated right off they have gambled on before. This time around, however, Joe decides to up the stakes. He wants to see if just how far he can push Billy and just how far Billy is willing to let things go. I think to really understand the guys you have to realize that a big part of their relationship was Joe pushing Billy, testing his limits. Joe pushes everyone really, most people just fold a lot more quickly. Billy is one of those rare people that it took a whole lot before he finally reached his limit and couldn't take the shit Joe dished out anymore. He was stronger than you can imagine just for being able to put up with Joe. They were like these two weird ass pieces of a whole. Both pieces were pretty fucked up and together the puzzle probably looked like something painted by Picasso when it was done. Still they fit somehow. Even if they couldn't stand how much it hurt to try to be together after a while. They kept being drawn back together, even when Billy knew better. Back he came when Joe called. Fucked up relationships, sometimes love and life aren't perfect, but it's all you've got. A sad revelation about life. 'That's just fucked,' Joe would probably say. How right he is. I'm gonna have to tell Joe to shut the fuck up before I'm forced to kill. Maybe I'll relive the end of the movie in my head as a warning that should shut him up. I so don't want Joe talking to me. Please!
 
 

Bucksnort by Nicole S.
Spoiler Warning: Hmmm, what could there be spoilers for in this? Oh, yeah The Movie.

This one is about memories and how the past can assail you when you least expect it. Your past can catch up with you at the least anticipated moment. One minute your going along fine, SSDD (Same Shit Different Day), nothing new. Then boom something comes along and jogs your memory, Hard. Then next thing you know your just swimming in the past, drowning in it. Lost in a moment that occurred long ago. Drifting along on your memories. Hurting so bad you don't know how your breathing right. Everything just hits you full on in the face and you just end up wallowing in the pain. Memories can be bitter sweet long after something has ended. They can simultaneously bring a smile to your face and an ache to your heart. That's basically what this piece is about. Getting lost in memories that you might wish you could relive, but know that you can never recapture. You don't even have a second chance at going after them again. Things are lost and you have nothing to hang onto, but those lonely memories. I'd better stop before I get waay to maudlin and start depressing myself and you along with me. It is so not easy to rec HCL stories. I get way lost in the intensity of the movie that I'm trying to recall here. If you haven't seen HCL you've got to. It's been re-released on video again. You might try to find it at some of your local video stores.
 
 

Sometimes I do by Zen & Nancy
Another story by Zen and Nancy set back in the good old days. I like these little glimpses they give us of the boys in the past. Little h/c (hurt/comfort) in this one. Joe busted up some after a fight and Billy patching him up afterwards. There's a sweetness to this story that you really don't expect from these two, but it's like a moment, a snapshot in time where the were having a relatively easy moment together. When they might not have had a great day, but they find a little solace together. Now don't start thinking this one is going into total sapville. I don't think that's even possible in this fandom. The guys are still snarking off at each other. Billy still lecturing, Joe not listening one damn bit. There's heat here though. Fucked up on drugs and booze, hurt in the fight we some of Joe's vulnerability. Most might not spot it, but through Billy we're able to see it. See just how much Joe needs him right then, know that right at that moment Joe and Billy belong to each other. However things might turn out later at that moment they are about as close to happy as they get. It's all seen through Billy's POV. Getting a glimpse of he and Joe alone together just having one of those rare moments when things just flow. When being with someone just seems right, no matter how fucked up the relationship normally is. You know right then that you are where you should be at that moment in your life. Might not be true years down the road, but for then your where your supposed to be. Weird how Zen and Nancy get about as close to warm and fluffy as you can get in this fandom. Knowing that their stuff can stray into a little bit of darkness involving drugs and violence I was nervous at reading their HCL fics. I guess when they roam in a fandom where that is canon it doesn't seem so harsh. Adding it to one where it is can be hard for me to read. Their works in other fandoms that I've read are good, just not an easy read emotionally. Hard treks into the pain of drugs and violence that can often stem from that. Realistic in that sense. Which I appreciate, even if I do find it hard to get through. It's supposed to be that way. I do love their HCL fics. They have a pretty great grasp of Joe and Billy. Their works are a definite must read in this fandom.
 
 

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