straightforwardly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
straightforwardly) wrote2021-03-29 10:06 am
straightforwardly) wrote2021-03-29 10:06 am
Entry tags:
237 | a handful of Spike/Buffy fic recs
I’ve been on a bit of a Buffy kick this past week or so, mostly because I rewatched “Once More With Feeling” on a whim the Sunday before last and then had an irresistible urge to dive into reading fic. Specifically, Spike/Buffy fic.
(...Which then led to a lot of (internal) screaming, because although I really like Spike/Buffy, I’m apparently also picky with how they’re portrayed. Part of it comes from digging through a fandom that’s as old as Buffy is, with all the associated fic trends—so much pointless character bashing, whhyyyyy, and please, if I never have to read about “claiming bites” again, it’d be too soon—and part of it is just me going BUFFY WOULD NEVER or “please please stop minimizing Spike/Drusilla’s previous relationship” or other things that basically boil down to “more nuance please ;_;”, and did I mention my going BUFFY WOULD NEVER??)
(Look, I love Spike, but I love Buffy even more, and there are so many fics where you can blatantly tell that the author is… not of the same mindset.)
Anyways, I decided to pull together a short rec list of the fics I read recently that actually worked for me. Four are rereads, two are brand new to me.
The rereads:
(Also, in the author’s “how it would have ended” wrap-up post, there’s a snippet of a scene that absolutely haunts me and gives me all the Giles & Buffy feelings ;_;)
And the new-to-me fic:
Things I especially liked about this: the way it plays with and examines the soulmate trope, the shifts this causes in the relationship between Spike and Buffy, the changes in the Faith plotline and how it’s being handled… There is a development in the most recent chapters that could ruin my enjoyment of the fic depending on how it’s resolved, which made me a little hesitant to include this on my list, but I decided that I’ll put my faith in the author for now.
(...Which then led to a lot of (internal) screaming, because although I really like Spike/Buffy, I’m apparently also picky with how they’re portrayed. Part of it comes from digging through a fandom that’s as old as Buffy is, with all the associated fic trends—so much pointless character bashing, whhyyyyy, and please, if I never have to read about “claiming bites” again, it’d be too soon—and part of it is just me going BUFFY WOULD NEVER or “please please stop minimizing Spike/Drusilla’s previous relationship” or other things that basically boil down to “more nuance please ;_;”, and did I mention my going BUFFY WOULD NEVER??)
(Look, I love Spike, but I love Buffy even more, and there are so many fics where you can blatantly tell that the author is… not of the same mindset.)
Anyways, I decided to pull together a short rec list of the fics I read recently that actually worked for me. Four are rereads, two are brand new to me.
The rereads:
DUST by KnifeEdge — 156K, WIP last updated 2016My absolute favorite Buffy fic! Featuring all that delicious nuance I’ve been craving. The set-up is so good, the plot promising, the reasons for their team-up very believable, and the slow-burn progression of their relationship from “enemies reluctantly teaming up” to more is just really delicious and satisfying.
She'd kicked his butt, taken the Gem and sent it off to Angel. Buffy thought she'd seen the last of Spike. Clearly, she’d been too optimistic. That he was in her house, in her room, waking her out of a sound sleep and asking for (okay, demanding) her help meant that something had to be majorly wrong. They weren't due for another apocalypse, but...why else would a vampire make a truce with the Slayer?
Persephone by botias — 32K, abandoned LJ WIP (with a final “chapter” that explains how things would’ve gone down)I approached this reread with trepidation, because I remembered loving this fic, but also feared that it wouldn’t live up to my memories. After all, it’s a season 2 canon divergence that starts off with Spike and Buffy needing to have ritual sex to save the world, and one of my biggest complaints about early season canon divergences are the “they kissed/fucked because Reasons, so obviously they’re now In Love” with no other real character/relationship development. But this isn’t that! I love how this fic uses the lingering aftereffects of the ritual to propel the later interactions between the two, and although it’s a permanently abandoned WIP, I still find what does exist to make for a satisfying read.
This is a crack!fic whence the whole point is for virginal season 2 Buffy to get it on with ebol, unchipped season 2 Spike.
(Also, in the author’s “how it would have ended” wrap-up post, there’s a snippet of a scene that absolutely haunts me and gives me all the Giles & Buffy feelings ;_;)
The Last Thing (Through His Mind Remix) by brutti_ma_buoni — 1.3K, archive-lockedThe only fic on this list that doesn’t break 10K, but I really do love it. It’s such a fascinating concept, and one that I’m genuinely here for.
Spike's love for Buffy is a curse. Or at least a monkish spell. But what is love other than a mess in your brain. So maybe you just have to live with it.
Turn and Face the Strain (fic series) by Quinara — 139K across three fics, completeThis fic is part of the reason why I made this list—it’s not one I remember when I’m thinking about old favorites from this fandom, but I stumbled upon it again while looking for recs, and it’s definitely still a satisfying, solid read.
Sunnydale and LA are brought together in late S6; Buffy's life seems to be taking a better turn because of it.
And the new-to-me fic:
Enemies with Benefits (fic series) by HollyDB — currently 81K across five fics; individual fics are complete, but the series is not.The set-up for this is a bit… porn logic-y? But if you can manage to accept that, the emotional developments that follow from there did work for me. “Switch” is my favorite of the currently posted fics so far and the one that drives me to rec this.
Buffy has a certain set of skills: staking vampires, slaying demons, preventing the apocalypse, and chasing off men after a single night. That last thing could stand being crossed off her list. Fortunately, she knows just the man—err, vamp—to help.
Every Letter That You Write Me by othellia — currently 166K, regularly updating WIP
In a world where soulmates have the ability to write on each other's skin, Spike finds himself shackled to a five-year-old Buffy who—for once—listens to her mother's advice about not handing out personal information. With no way of tracking the annoyance down, Spike is forced to endure a decade of unavoidable communication.
When Spike finally arrives in Sunnydale and discovers his soulmate is none other than the slayer, he revels in the notion of a destined death match, but the Powers That Be have other plans...
Things I especially liked about this: the way it plays with and examines the soulmate trope, the shifts this causes in the relationship between Spike and Buffy, the changes in the Faith plotline and how it’s being handled… There is a development in the most recent chapters that could ruin my enjoyment of the fic depending on how it’s resolved, which made me a little hesitant to include this on my list, but I decided that I’ll put my faith in the author for now.