Five Times People Noticed Xander's Bruises didn't all come from Patrol (1/1)

[dipenates]

Title: Five Times People Noticed Xander's Bruises didn't all come from Patrol
Rating:  R
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Fandom: BtVS
Characters: Xander/Cordelia, Xander/Faith, Xander and Angel, Xander and Spike, Xander and Oz
Warnings: Violence, sex and very ugly language
Length: ~1500
Icon: by 

Comments

[chrisleeoctaves]

These are terrific. I'd love to archive this at Five Things.

[dipenates]

Wow, I would be supremely honoured for this to be archived at Five Things. Thanks very much!

[slaymesoftly]

Very ouchy. Good job.

[dipenates]

Thank you!

[mulder200]

Ouch! You really feel for Xander. Facing monsters both with Buffy and at home.

[dipenates]

Thanks for commenting!

[brunettepet]

I enjoyed each of these in voice pieces. Cordelia really looking at Xander and wishing she hadn't ever seen the abuse rings true to the character at this time in her life. Faith looking at him and seeing their similarities breaks my heart for her, and then you make it that much worse when she sees her sympathy as weakness and pushes him away with both hands.

Even though Angel was sympathetic, I got the feeling that on some level he was enjoying basking in Xander's fear on those walks home.
I loved this lineMaybe Xander reasoned that Angel couldn’t ever properly relate to humans again with the scent of their terror curled into his brain like cigar smoke into a club chair.Oz' backdoor way of learning about the abuse was very clever, though I'm left wondering how he could keep it from Willow. I like the way you wrapped this up with a window into Xander's life. Xander and Spike watching "Gilmore Girls" and quipping along with the brutal, vicious fight going on upstairs painted a surreal picture. I could totally see Spike

[dipenates]

Thanks so much for the kind (and lengthy!) review.

I left Angel's motivation for walking Xander home quite ambiguous. I think it could be read that he likes the reminder of his humanity (although he was a pretty lame human) or that he likes the reminder of Angelus.

Oz is a strange one. I always got the sense that he and Willow talked all the time when they weren't with the other Scoobies but I watched 'Earshot' again recently and Willow's fear that Buffy will know Oz more than she does comes across really clearly. It made me wonder whether sometimes Oz's silence is the path of least resistance and that, coupled with the guy secret honour code, made me wonder if it was feasible that Oz wouldn't tell Will about Xander's abuse.

Thanks so much for your comment!

[jasonsnene]

Wow! Those were powerfully written. Well done!

[dipenates]

Thank you very much. :-)