Barbverse FAQ
The other day someone mentioned that they had no idea what the Barbverse was, and rather than explain it every time someone asks, I thought I would make up a FAQ.
1. So what is the Barbverse?
It's a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction serial. I started writing it in 2001. It's an alternate universe which splits off from the series canon after Season 5. It's made up of two and a half novels (the third is still in progress), several novellas, and a bunch of short stories, ficlets, and drabbles. There are well over a hundred stories in it as I write this, and it's almost a million words long. It covers about fifty years of the characters' lives. There are also a few meta articles explaining some background stuff. It's not necessary to read those to read the series, though. While it probably works best to read the series in chronological order, you don't have to. I don't write it in chronological order.
2. Why is it called the Barbverse?
Because my name is Barb, and it's my fic universe. Also because I suck at coming up with titles.
3. Is it all Spuffy, all the time?
Spuffy is the main pairing. But a lot of the stories contain or focus on other characters, and a lot of them border on gen. I've written pretty much all the BtVS characters and most of the AtS characters at some point. I like all the characters, and I love fleshing out obscure pieces of canon.
4. Is it show canon or comics canon?
Mainly show canon. But when the comics come up with some background worldbuilding that I find interesting, I incorporate it. Like, the Seed of Wonder exists in the Barbverse, but what happens with it is completely different than what happens in the comics.
5. Is it finished?
That depends. 99% of the individual stories are finished, and I've written the end of the series. However, three of the longer component stories are not finished yet (Auld Lang Syne, A Parliament Of Monsters, and Little Sister) and I will probably keep writing shorter stories to fill in the cracks.
6. Are you going to finish POM?
Yes.
7. How do you keep track of it all? Is there a synopsis?
Sort of. For long stories, I outline the hell out of them. For the series, I have a timeline here which is fairly up to date as of this writing.
If you just want to follow the major character arcs I'd say the main stories are:
A Raising In The Sun
Necessary Evils
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Something Like the Sun
A Parliament of Monsters (WIP)
The Devil and William Pratt
What Happens in Vegas
The Lesser of Two Evils
In A Yellow Wood
Mightier Than The Sword
And If The Grave Be Now Thy Bed
To Grandmother's House
The Happiest Place On Earth
The Hero of The Piece
To Lie Down With Wolves
Every Silver Lining's Got A Touch of Gray
The Indefinite Article
A Real Boy
Little Sister (WIP)
Twilight of the Gods
He Sees You When You're Sleeping
Salisbury Down/Where the Heart Is/Monument
You'd be missing a lot 1f you skipped the rest, though. Just saying.
8. Are there any warnings?
I use AO3's major warnings. Other than that, it's read at your own risk. You should expect a level of sex, violence, and bad language commensurate with the series.
9. Is your Spike ever going to get a soul?
Permanently? No.
10. Why?
Giving Spike a soul is without doubt the easiest way to get him and Buffy together. I didn't want to do it the easy way. Back in Season 5, I thought to myself, "OK, if Buffy and Spike did get together, how would that work? How could a vampire without a soul and a Slayer build a relationship that worked for both of them, while keeping both of them in character, and not cheating on the difficulty level of doing this?" That's the story I wanted to tell. I felt that the story of what happens when a vampire gets a soul was pretty thoroughly explored with Angel, and I still feel that way. I wanted to do something different.
11. I have concrit!
I'd love to hear it. OK, I probably won't love it, but I need to hear it. It's not terribly likely that I'd rewrite an existing story at this point, but I like to know what people think so I can keep it in mind for future stories.
12. You are wrong on the internet about [fill in Thing here] and I wish to tell you so in great detail!
Ok. You're welcome to do so. I probably won't change my mind, though.
Rants Talk to me
1. So what is the Barbverse?
It's a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction serial. I started writing it in 2001. It's an alternate universe which splits off from the series canon after Season 5. It's made up of two and a half novels (the third is still in progress), several novellas, and a bunch of short stories, ficlets, and drabbles. There are well over a hundred stories in it as I write this, and it's almost a million words long. It covers about fifty years of the characters' lives. There are also a few meta articles explaining some background stuff. It's not necessary to read those to read the series, though. While it probably works best to read the series in chronological order, you don't have to. I don't write it in chronological order.
2. Why is it called the Barbverse?
Because my name is Barb, and it's my fic universe. Also because I suck at coming up with titles.
3. Is it all Spuffy, all the time?
Spuffy is the main pairing. But a lot of the stories contain or focus on other characters, and a lot of them border on gen. I've written pretty much all the BtVS characters and most of the AtS characters at some point. I like all the characters, and I love fleshing out obscure pieces of canon.
4. Is it show canon or comics canon?
Mainly show canon. But when the comics come up with some background worldbuilding that I find interesting, I incorporate it. Like, the Seed of Wonder exists in the Barbverse, but what happens with it is completely different than what happens in the comics.
5. Is it finished?
That depends. 99% of the individual stories are finished, and I've written the end of the series. However, three of the longer component stories are not finished yet (Auld Lang Syne, A Parliament Of Monsters, and Little Sister) and I will probably keep writing shorter stories to fill in the cracks.
6. Are you going to finish POM?
Yes.
7. How do you keep track of it all? Is there a synopsis?
Sort of. For long stories, I outline the hell out of them. For the series, I have a timeline here which is fairly up to date as of this writing.
If you just want to follow the major character arcs I'd say the main stories are:
A Raising In The Sun
Necessary Evils
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Something Like the Sun
A Parliament of Monsters (WIP)
The Devil and William Pratt
What Happens in Vegas
The Lesser of Two Evils
In A Yellow Wood
Mightier Than The Sword
And If The Grave Be Now Thy Bed
To Grandmother's House
The Happiest Place On Earth
The Hero of The Piece
To Lie Down With Wolves
Every Silver Lining's Got A Touch of Gray
The Indefinite Article
A Real Boy
Little Sister (WIP)
Twilight of the Gods
He Sees You When You're Sleeping
Salisbury Down/Where the Heart Is/Monument
You'd be missing a lot 1f you skipped the rest, though. Just saying.
8. Are there any warnings?
I use AO3's major warnings. Other than that, it's read at your own risk. You should expect a level of sex, violence, and bad language commensurate with the series.
9. Is your Spike ever going to get a soul?
Permanently? No.
10. Why?
Giving Spike a soul is without doubt the easiest way to get him and Buffy together. I didn't want to do it the easy way. Back in Season 5, I thought to myself, "OK, if Buffy and Spike did get together, how would that work? How could a vampire without a soul and a Slayer build a relationship that worked for both of them, while keeping both of them in character, and not cheating on the difficulty level of doing this?" That's the story I wanted to tell. I felt that the story of what happens when a vampire gets a soul was pretty thoroughly explored with Angel, and I still feel that way. I wanted to do something different.
11. I have concrit!
I'd love to hear it. OK, I probably won't love it, but I need to hear it. It's not terribly likely that I'd rewrite an existing story at this point, but I like to know what people think so I can keep it in mind for future stories.
12. You are wrong on the internet about [fill in Thing here] and I wish to tell you so in great detail!
Ok. You're welcome to do so. I probably won't change my mind, though.
Rants Talk to me