Two Buffy Recs
I had a lovely week last week with ownsariver, relaxing, sunbathing and buying her kids cheap american clothes :) After she left I meant to Get On With Stuff, but the one bit of work I had was cancelled and such went my week. So what did I do instead? I read fanfic of course!
A little while back rebcake rec'd Sigyn and Solstice as new(ish) authors worth checking out, so check out I did, and here are the fruits of my endeavours.
A Home At the End of the World by Solstice | R | ~57k to date (WIP)
The zombie apocalypse has come to Sunnydale, thanks to the Initiative, and Buffy and Spike now have to work together to get her family to safety. First of all, let me just state for the record that I hate zombie AUs. I hate zombie stories in general. I got about 1.5 seasons in TWD before giving up and even that was a serious slog. Post-apocolypses are not my happy place, so it takes some pretty spectacular writing to keep me reading. Folks, this is not only spectacular writing but spectacular characterisation to boot. Unf. It's set in early S4, going AU during Harsh Light of Day, and make no mistake Spike and Buffy hate each other. Thing is, they hate zombies more (the only correct opinion ofc), and so begins a fascinating, beautiful and intimate story that takes the drive for survival and turns into not only trust, but friendship and understanding. What's so bad about a slightly crotchety vampire when the world is ending, after all? It's a slow burn, with a nice amount of attention given to Spike's relationships with both Dawn and Joyce as well, with some great character insights that were certainly new to me. Excerpt:
Spike was examining his bitten wrist, turning it over. The wound was beginning to heal, but not half as quickly as Buffy's stake to chest had done. "This thing's different," he said, wrinkling his brows. Then he shrugged, dropping his coat sleeve back over it. "Well," he said. "I'll live. Where were we?"
Buffy turned on Spike then, looking oddly surprised. "I... Umm, I don't have time now," she said, causing Spike to grunt with outrage at the implication that he was little more than an inconvenience to her.
"Don't have time," he repeated, "You think I'm a pup you can toss aside? We were in a fight to the death, in case you've forgotten!"
Buffy looked frustrated, "I understand that, Spike. But-"
"No," he said, "Understand this."
He swung a fist at her jaw and it connected, catching her by surprise. Buffy staggered backwards, but managed to successfully block his second hit. "Spike," she protested, throwing her hands up to protect her face. "I'm serious! I'm sorry if it hurts your demony pride but those... biters have given me the wiggins. I've gotta check in with Giles."
Spike swung for her again, meeting another hard block. "I don't give a damn about those things!" He snapped, shoving her back. "I've been digging for the gem for weeks, Slayer! Give me my sodding... Moment!"
This Thing We Have by Sigyn | Hard R | ~29k (now complete)
The Post-NFA story I never knew I wanted. Kind of hard to summarise other than that. Sigyn has a beautiful style and an insightful mind, doing things in this story that have undoubtedly been done before, but somehow being convincing in a way that feels, to me, like more than just wishful thinking. It's structured non-linearly, with flashbacks to S7, and the whole thing is raw and earthy and gorgeous, and really gets to the heart of both Buffy's and Spike's psychologies. And if you're the type to only read completed fic, you'll be happy to know that the final chapter will be posted within the next couple of days :) Excerpt:
“All right,” Buffy said. They were sitting in Spike’s hospital room, Angel on the guest couch, Buffy perched tensely on a folding chair. “So that’s that part. And the reason you didn’t tell me?”
Buffy was sure Angel was playing coy. “Tell you what?”
If it had been Spike she’d been talking to, she’d have hit him for that. But she and Angel had never been so easy together.
A little while back rebcake rec'd Sigyn and Solstice as new(ish) authors worth checking out, so check out I did, and here are the fruits of my endeavours.
A Home At the End of the World by Solstice | R | ~57k to date (WIP)
The zombie apocalypse has come to Sunnydale, thanks to the Initiative, and Buffy and Spike now have to work together to get her family to safety. First of all, let me just state for the record that I hate zombie AUs. I hate zombie stories in general. I got about 1.5 seasons in TWD before giving up and even that was a serious slog. Post-apocolypses are not my happy place, so it takes some pretty spectacular writing to keep me reading. Folks, this is not only spectacular writing but spectacular characterisation to boot. Unf. It's set in early S4, going AU during Harsh Light of Day, and make no mistake Spike and Buffy hate each other. Thing is, they hate zombies more (the only correct opinion ofc), and so begins a fascinating, beautiful and intimate story that takes the drive for survival and turns into not only trust, but friendship and understanding. What's so bad about a slightly crotchety vampire when the world is ending, after all? It's a slow burn, with a nice amount of attention given to Spike's relationships with both Dawn and Joyce as well, with some great character insights that were certainly new to me. Excerpt:
Spike was examining his bitten wrist, turning it over. The wound was beginning to heal, but not half as quickly as Buffy's stake to chest had done. "This thing's different," he said, wrinkling his brows. Then he shrugged, dropping his coat sleeve back over it. "Well," he said. "I'll live. Where were we?"
Buffy turned on Spike then, looking oddly surprised. "I... Umm, I don't have time now," she said, causing Spike to grunt with outrage at the implication that he was little more than an inconvenience to her.
"Don't have time," he repeated, "You think I'm a pup you can toss aside? We were in a fight to the death, in case you've forgotten!"
Buffy looked frustrated, "I understand that, Spike. But-"
"No," he said, "Understand this."
He swung a fist at her jaw and it connected, catching her by surprise. Buffy staggered backwards, but managed to successfully block his second hit. "Spike," she protested, throwing her hands up to protect her face. "I'm serious! I'm sorry if it hurts your demony pride but those... biters have given me the wiggins. I've gotta check in with Giles."
Spike swung for her again, meeting another hard block. "I don't give a damn about those things!" He snapped, shoving her back. "I've been digging for the gem for weeks, Slayer! Give me my sodding... Moment!"
This Thing We Have by Sigyn | Hard R | ~29k (now complete)
The Post-NFA story I never knew I wanted. Kind of hard to summarise other than that. Sigyn has a beautiful style and an insightful mind, doing things in this story that have undoubtedly been done before, but somehow being convincing in a way that feels, to me, like more than just wishful thinking. It's structured non-linearly, with flashbacks to S7, and the whole thing is raw and earthy and gorgeous, and really gets to the heart of both Buffy's and Spike's psychologies. And if you're the type to only read completed fic, you'll be happy to know that the final chapter will be posted within the next couple of days :) Excerpt:
“All right,” Buffy said. They were sitting in Spike’s hospital room, Angel on the guest couch, Buffy perched tensely on a folding chair. “So that’s that part. And the reason you didn’t tell me?”
Buffy was sure Angel was playing coy. “Tell you what?”
If it had been Spike she’d been talking to, she’d have hit him for that. But she and Angel had never been so easy together.