Black Magic White Lies, chapter 15

[moscow_watcher]

Title: Black Magic White Lies
Author:moscow_watcher
Chapter 15 - Light! Camera! Aaand - Action!
Timeline: BtVS, alternate season 5
Genre: drama, mystery, action
Characters, pairing: general, Xander/Faith
Rating: R (for intense situations).
Summary: Xander thinks he has a little secret. He doesn't know that his little secret is a part of a big fat conspiracy.

Comments

[mulder200]

LOL! I love the fact that in the middle of a crisis, Buffy is more freaked out about Xander knowing about her and Spike than Faith going into labor and being chased down by a crazy hell goddess.

[moscow_watcher]

I think she *would* be terrified, given that Spike tried to kill Scoobies several times. Buffy is afraid to lose friendship with Xander as much as he is afraid to lose his friendship with her. So they both keep stupid secrets from each other. And their secrets got revealed in the most inappropriate moments. :)

[missmurchison]

Agreed. She's face death a lot, but what made it bearable was knowing she had friends.

[keith5by5]

"
"Buffy, I'm stunned by your recklessness," Giles murmurs. "After everything that happened between you and Angel you should have been more prudent, learning the hard way about possible consequences...""

Tsk, Giles. Where have you been? Consequences mean nothing next to Buffy getting a happy from the nearest vampire or cool bad boy.

Great fight scene.

[moscow_watcher]

Great fight scene.

Thank you.

Consequences mean nothing next to Buffy getting a happy from the nearest vampire or cool bad boy.

Respectfully disagree. I finally realized that I can't sway your Buffy-hate *le sigh* - but, in my mind, Buffy's acceptance of Spike as a boyfriend was a hard one.

In this story I didn't delve into the details of Buffy/Spike relationship because it would have distracted readers from Xander's story. But, in my mind, monks had changed Buffy and Spike's memories to make Spike Buffy's ally, because monks knew that the Slayer would need all help she could muster in her fight against Glory. But the passage from "ally" to "lover" was quite a bumpy ride. And it became possible only because Spike was chipped and Buffy knew that he couldn't hurt humans.

That's my take.

[keith5by5]

The fact is military tech fails all the time, and yet they kept Spike around. You compound it by having Spike not even have a soul.

Just as Buffy wailed and screeched about her poor lost love while Angelus slaughtered Sunnydale.

Shrug.

And yeah, we'll disagree. Love's no excuse for turning a blind eye to people doing bad things.

Course in the case of this story my disdain for Buffy's behaviour is more based on the stupidity of the Slayer not learning from past mistakes than the choices she actually made as regards Spike in S7.

[moscow_watcher]

I tried to bit my tongue and to step on my fingers, but I can't avoid the temptation to remind you about Faith who refused to kill Angelus in Salvage and about Xander who stood by Anya in Selfless.

To me, Jossverse is particularly fascinating because the characters aren't afraid to risk and to give other characters a second chance. (Yes, it may end up badly.)

[moscow_watcher]

Their friendship had always been more interesting than Buffy/Willow and Xander/Willow.

I think the relationship between Buffy and Xander is very complex. They both put each other on a pedestal. To him, she is the ultimate hero. To her, he is the embodiment of what she fights for: a normal person who (theoretically) could have a happy life. They need these idealized images to keep going - because otherwise the reality would look too grim. Subconsciously, they feel that those perfect images are just illusions - but they cling to them and hate to see them shatter.

But when it happens and they realize their illusions, they finally become free. They see each other the way they really are and they realize that their feelings haven't changed. They can still love each other with all their faults and imperfections.

[angearia]

I loved the fight scene, though I was surprised that Faith was able to knock Glory out. Motherly motivation perhaps? It's an interesting notion that Faith's punch is more powerful than a wallop from a magical troll hammer, though. :)

The scene in the ambulance is fabulously funny.

[moscow_watcher]

Thank you, Emmie!

I have to confess that Faith knocking out Glory is a typical "suspension-of-disbelief" moment. I wanted Faith to have a closure of everything that happened between her and Buffy in season 3. And I always thought that Glory was such an effective villain because she was portrayed as Buffy in a distorted mirror - a beautiful, powerful, very strong woman, who cares a lot about her looks. So, for Faith, Glory here represents Buffy during their fight in Graduation Day. Faith's action is the ultimate sublimation of her anger towards Buffy and her self-affirmation as a person.

So, yes - I took liberties the way Joss did in Chosen, when girls were killing ubervamps by dozens, although in Showtime it took Buffy a lot of effort to kill one of them. My only excuse is that maternal instinct is probably the most primeval and ferocious.

[missmurchison]

I attributed it to Faith having the Key inside her: something even more powerful than Glory. But maternal instinct works too.

[moscow_watcher]

What a great idea! It didn't occur to me. (If it did, I'd probably have written a more twisted third act and even a different ending).

[brunettepet]

This was an action packed chapter loaded with snappy dialogue and humor. Xander packing a hand ax to the emergency room made me laugh, and then Glory's on the scene tossing everyone right and left. Faith, filled with righteous anger and a boat load of adrenaline, was a thing of beauty when she took the Shiny Special Bitch down.

In all the madcap running away, outing Spike and Buffy was a particularly stellar moment. Xander's got a lot on his plate and worrying about Buffy's love life doesn't take any precedence. He and Faith have a mystical key on the way, and now they're all under attack. What the heck will happen next? I can't wait to find out.

[moscow_watcher]

Thank you!

Xander packing a hand ax to the emergency room made me laugh

Living on the Hellmouth teaches people to be vigilant... :)

In all the madcap running away, outing Spike and Buffy was a particularly stellar moment.

*Iz flattered* The thing about Spike and Buffy is that everything happens to them in the most inappropriate moments. *hugs Buffy and Spike*