FIC: Hope Has Wings (But Faith Has A Broadsword) - part 2 (end), BtVS, Faith, mostly gen

[lettered]

Author: lettered
Title: Hope Has Wings (But Faith Has A Broadsword)
Pairing(s): Gen-ish. Faith, Buffy, Xander, and Dawn, with mentions of Dana, Angel and Spike (including B/A, B/S). Hints of femmeslash without much squinting required
Summary: Wing!fic. Faith gets wings. Buffy doesn't believe in angels. Xander and Dawn make a bunch of really geeky

Comments

[faithwood]

Been trying to write a comment for two days and I'm just kind of failing. So you get an unimpressive comment, not the kind this story deserves. Because this was so very, very impressive.

I loved the dialogues, of course, as I said; it felt so authentic. Nostalgia, I feel it.

But, unf! Faith, wings and Dana? That was just so clever, the way you told the story. The way it unravelled perfectly. I couldn't guess where you were going with this. I mean, wing!fic, where does one go with a wing!fic, even? And then Dana dies, and then:

Buffy touched the place on Faith’s back where one of the wings had been. “I thought that you thought that they were . . . you know. A benediction. A reward,” Buffy said. “The wings.”

Faith hung her head. “No.”

“You thought that it was penance.”

That whole conversation explained everything in a few words and I love it love it love it. I didn't get it. I thought Faith really believed she was blessed. Even after Dana was stabbed. Buffy kept mentioning mercy and I thought Faith agreed, because before she, too, had claimed it would be merciful. But nonono, Faith thought an angel punished her and I just didn't realise it and I couldn't have because you wrote it so cleverly. I just love how you showed us Faith's (and Buffy's) character depth using wings.

This story is just painfully beautiful. ♥

[lettered]

Oh, I'm so touched you read this. Thanks so much; your comment means a lot to me :o)

I thought Faith really believed she was blessed.

This is what I was going for, because it's what Buffy kinda thought as well, and it's Buffy POV. And Buffy was kind of, I don't know, not really understanding it, because she knew Faith felt really guilty about everything, and couldn't understand how at the same time Faith was going on and on about the angel being a good thing. But what Faith really, really wanted to believe is that there is a higher power, and she will be judged, and be punished. She wants to get punished, because she thinks if she gets punished enough, she can accept it and earn her redemption. And that's really really sad to me, that she wants to believe in the angel not for a reward, but for penance.

Thanks so much for reading. I'm really rather proud of this story in a way I haven't been of something I've written in a long time, and I really miss Buffyverse, so it's nice to know what people think of it ♥