Five time-travel fics
I Thrice Presented Him a Kingly Crown by Quinara
Part 1, part 2
Finished, post-series, PG-13/R, Buffy/Spike. A spell sends Spike and Buffy back in time to the ancient Rome. Can Buffy's Slayer instinct and Spike's rusty Latin help them to survive and figure out who uses them and why? Writer undertakes a very interesting experiment - her citizens of ancient Rome speak Latin. This technique eerily reminds Joss Whedon's experiments on Firefly and Serenity when his characters suddenly start speaking Chinese. Whedon invites the audience to participate actively in interpretation of these scenes; Quinara follows in his footsteps but goes further and finds ways to make conversations in Latin more or less comprehensible - partly by making Spike explain them to Buffy, partly by using Latin words similar to English ones.
Past Imperfect, Future Conditional, Present Tense by stormwreath
Finished, PG, general, comics-compliant. Buffy from season 8 is sent back to 1997. Her younger self finds out a lot of interesting things about her future. Stormwreath is one of the most interesting and clever reviewers of season 8 comics and he brings a lot of insight into a funny premise.
We Will Remember Them by Lilachigh
WIP, 10 chapters so far, NC-17, Buffy/Spike. Timeline: 1943 and 2001 (post-Smashed) In 1943 Spike has been captured by the British army and forced, with Dru's life forfeit, to fly to France to rescue a Slayer. In 2001, Quentin Travers persuades Buffy to go back through time to 1943 to do the same thing, because the future of humanity is at stake. But can Travers be trusted? Inventive premise and an interesting exploration of moral choices Buffy faces - especially in one of the most poignant moments when she can't bring herself to kill a German soldier because he is human.
Better Late Than Never by cindergal
WIP, 3 chapters so far, PG-13, post-Intervention, Buffy/Spike. Willow prepares a spell to send Buffy and Spike back in time. They have to travel to 70-s to retrieve an artifact that can help them in their fight against Glory. As Buffy and Spike groom themselves for the time period Scoobies give them punk fashion tips. Hilarious, with great character voices.
As I'm Leaving by spinning_yarn
Finished, post-Gift, R, Buffy/Spike. After Buffy's death a magical artifact sends Spike back in time (seemingly occasionally). He spends several hours in post- School Hard and in post-Innocence timelime, lands in the middle of Becoming 2 events, visits Buffy in pre-Anne timeline. As he jumps from one crucial moments of Buffy's journey to another, he realises that there should be a reason in his journey. Story is told from Spike's POV. Interesting premise, assured execution, good character voices. This the first time I discover a plot-centric story that doesn't "fix" the situation. Time-travel fics have always been used for making things right. Writer shows another way and makes it look convincing.
Part 1, part 2
Finished, post-series, PG-13/R, Buffy/Spike. A spell sends Spike and Buffy back in time to the ancient Rome. Can Buffy's Slayer instinct and Spike's rusty Latin help them to survive and figure out who uses them and why? Writer undertakes a very interesting experiment - her citizens of ancient Rome speak Latin. This technique eerily reminds Joss Whedon's experiments on Firefly and Serenity when his characters suddenly start speaking Chinese. Whedon invites the audience to participate actively in interpretation of these scenes; Quinara follows in his footsteps but goes further and finds ways to make conversations in Latin more or less comprehensible - partly by making Spike explain them to Buffy, partly by using Latin words similar to English ones.
Past Imperfect, Future Conditional, Present Tense by stormwreath
Finished, PG, general, comics-compliant. Buffy from season 8 is sent back to 1997. Her younger self finds out a lot of interesting things about her future. Stormwreath is one of the most interesting and clever reviewers of season 8 comics and he brings a lot of insight into a funny premise.
We Will Remember Them by Lilachigh
WIP, 10 chapters so far, NC-17, Buffy/Spike. Timeline: 1943 and 2001 (post-Smashed) In 1943 Spike has been captured by the British army and forced, with Dru's life forfeit, to fly to France to rescue a Slayer. In 2001, Quentin Travers persuades Buffy to go back through time to 1943 to do the same thing, because the future of humanity is at stake. But can Travers be trusted? Inventive premise and an interesting exploration of moral choices Buffy faces - especially in one of the most poignant moments when she can't bring herself to kill a German soldier because he is human.
Better Late Than Never by cindergal
WIP, 3 chapters so far, PG-13, post-Intervention, Buffy/Spike. Willow prepares a spell to send Buffy and Spike back in time. They have to travel to 70-s to retrieve an artifact that can help them in their fight against Glory. As Buffy and Spike groom themselves for the time period Scoobies give them punk fashion tips. Hilarious, with great character voices.
As I'm Leaving by spinning_yarn
Finished, post-Gift, R, Buffy/Spike. After Buffy's death a magical artifact sends Spike back in time (seemingly occasionally). He spends several hours in post- School Hard and in post-Innocence timelime, lands in the middle of Becoming 2 events, visits Buffy in pre-Anne timeline. As he jumps from one crucial moments of Buffy's journey to another, he realises that there should be a reason in his journey. Story is told from Spike's POV. Interesting premise, assured execution, good character voices. This the first time I discover a plot-centric story that doesn't "fix" the situation. Time-travel fics have always been used for making things right. Writer shows another way and makes it look convincing.