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coraniaid · 2 months

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For the AU game; Buffy S3 AU where either Faith shows up in Sunnydale earlier, Buffy stays in LA longer or both and Faith ends up taking some of Buffy's place by the time she does come back?

Trying to maximize Buffy's sense of alienation as much as I can...

In canon, we know that Giles spends the summer looking for Buffy, and traveling across the country chasing down rumours of any girl who might be the Slayer. And we also know that Faith spends some time (possibly/probably overlapping with that summer) travelling from Boston to Sunnydale, presumably slowly and mostly on foot. And even if her stories to Buffy in Faith, Hope & Trick aren't true [which they aren't], it's not impossible she'd have run into some vampires while doing this and that stories might have spread of a teenage girl fighting monsters and trying to avoid official attention or stay in one place for too long. So I think it's pretty plausible that Giles himself might have discovered Faith over the summer, while looking for somebody he hoped would be Buffy. For her part, Faith wouldn't necessarily be in a rush to trust a strange adult man, even if he did claim to be a Watcher, but I think if he managed to convince her that Buffy was missing she'd agree to come to Sunnydale to temporarily fill in for her (both because she was looking for Buffy herself to begin with and because she'd jump at the chance to prove she could be as good as any other Slayer).

Meanwhile for her part I think a pre-Dead Man's Party Joyce would not be at all content to let Giles just sign up a new Slayer, but would insist on checking that said new Slayer had a place to stay and -- when she found out that Faith didn't have any family of her own to speak of -- offering her use of the spare room at her house (not Buffy's room, of course, because Joyce would insist that Buffy was coming back any day now, but pre-Dawn they do have a spare room). [Even in canon Joyce is the only adult other than the Mayor to ever suggest Faith shouldn't be spending all her nights in a cheap motel, and canon!Joyce has her own daughter to worry about which this Joyce doesn't yet.] And yes, Joyce is basically just trying to prove to herself she'd do a better job if/when Buffy came back (though she wouldn't admit that to anyone, least of all herself), but I don't think Faith would need much persuading to move in to a real house or to try to impress yet another surrogate mother figure (and she would, I think, be even more willing to do that if she could convince herself this wasn't some act of charity or pity but just a transactional arrangement where she'd help Joyce look for Buffy). Neither of them would think of this as Joyce replacing Buffy even for a second, but Buffy herself might have quite a differen take when she did finally come back.

I don't think Faith would make much effort to impress Buffy's friends without Buffy herself around (Xander would be impressed anyway; Oz and Cordelia still wouldn't care). Faith wouldn't think much of their efforts to fight vampires on their own either, and would do her best to put a stop to that (Giles and Joyce would briefly unite to agree with her). Willow would simultaneously be furious at Faith trying to 'replace' Buffy and not doing enough to go and look for her and angry at herself for spending the summer learning magic with Amy and not being able to help Giles find Buffy (she tries to use magic to find the Slayer once and gets very upset when it can only point her towards Faith). Faith wouldn't go to school, but they'd still run into each other at the library now and then.

Buffy herself gets back from LA just a little later ... right at the same time that Kakistos shows up. Faith still plans on dealing with things by running away, but this time Trick manages to track her down to Revello Drive and Kakistos and company manage to kidnap Joyce. Buffy convinces Faith to face her fears (especially with how much Joyce being captured reminds her of what Kakistos did to Diana), they save the day (and Faith rescues Joyce) and things proceed from there much as they did in the show (except that now Faith is living in the spare room of Buffy's house rather than a motel).

All of this has less impact on canon going forward than you might think. Faith still leaves town for unnanounced 'walkabouts' at various points during the season; still gets furious at Buffy when she finds out about Angel; still accidentally kills Allan Finch and still defects to work for the Mayor. The only two lasting changes are that when Faith tries to hold Joyce hostage in This Year's Girl she is briefly distracted by the fact that Joyce didn't clear her room out (Buffy also noted this when she went home in The Freshman and wondered why her mom started use her room for storage), and in Season 5 if it ever comes up before they find out about the Key and the monks changing everyone's memories, Buffy, Joyce and Dawn get confused about where exactly Faith stayed while she was in town, since Dawn was definitely there all along and so they didn't have any sort of spare room to offer Faith.

#btvs #asks #thanks

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thatmexisaurusrex · 6 months

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For Bucky's birthday, I thought I'd post 11 fics I've written that are some of my favorites when it comes to writing Bucky. Enjoy! 🥰

A House-Trained White Wolf, Looking For a Home | Rated: M | WC: 3.9K | Touch-Starved, Family Fluff, Co-Workers to Friends to Lovers | Summary: Bucky Barnes wasn't sure what he was doing when he knocked on Sarah's front door. All he knew was that being near Sam felt right. | AO3 |

Nice | Rated: T | WC: 3.1K | Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Literally Sleeping Together, Didn't Know They Were Dating | Summary: Based on the fanart piece "nice" by @sumbacky , Bucky has a mostly uneventful night at the Wilson household as he waits for Sam to come home from a mission. | AO3 |

Kind of a Big Deal | Rated: M | WC: 8.7K | No Powers AU, Passover Romcom, Getting Together | Summary: Sam is Bucky's next door neighbor, his best friend... possibly Bucky's crush. Bucky has been good about keeping those feelings hidden. That is, until Sam kisses Bucky before Passover Seder. Now, they both must figure out what they mean to each other. | AO3 |

And I Love Him Too | Rated: E | WC: 5.8K | Secret BuckyQuest Side Story, Sugar Daddy, Two Buckys | Summary: Sam goes on dinner dates with a mysterious donor which are... just dinner dates? With a tablet. Just him in a restaurant dressed nice, eating alone as he has a conversation with someone via tablet. It makes sense, though, after he tracks down who the mysterious donor actually is. | AO3 |

Buffy Burnes Ph.D. the Scientific Illustrator Roommate | Rated: M | WC: 5.1K | Getting to Know Each Other, Crack Treated Seriously, Strangers to Friends to Lovers | Summary: Sam decides to take a break from Avengers business after Age of Ultron. He puts out an ad for a roommate on Craigslist for his new apartment in Delacroix. He gets one response from a "Dr. Buffy Burnes". | AO3 |

#sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky fic #sambucky fic recs #happy birthday bucky barnes #my fics

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aingeal98 · 1 year

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RIP Batgirls you were mid to bland for the most part and I don't think you really knew what themes or storylines you wanted to write about other than vague girl power and the power of Steph and Cass's love for each other. But you gave us some of the best stephcass queerbait in a long time from the love letter to Steph dying in Cass's arms and Cass kissing her face when she comes back to Cass talking down a monster Steph with the power of love to the Buffy/Faith dance recreation. You may not have understood them fully as individuals but you managed to make some fun wink wink nudge nudge gal pal romance despite that.

Also I hope the writers get to write Gotham Academy again because that was truly where they shined.

#dc #dc rambles #stephcass

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lilacsandorangeblossoms · 7 months

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Photo by the amazingly talented Gia @l0veisntbrains this story is inspired by her photo.

Buffy wakes up snuggled next to Spike. She smiles for the first time in a while she is waking up next to Spike. She has Spike back and they love each other, bonus they are not living on a hellmouth. They both have been busy and today is the only day they both have off together.

Spike half asleep half awake brushes his lips over her bare shoulder. “Happy Valentine’s Day Buffy.”

She glances over her shoulder at him. “Happy Valentine’s Day Spike.”

He opens his eyes and smiles at her, he rolls over and opens the nightstand drawer on his side of the bed. He turns back to her with a little square box. “Your first prezzie.”

She gasps excited. Buffy loves getting presents. She quickly unwraps the little box and inside the little box sitting on a tiny pillow is a silver skull ring with ruby eyes.

Buffy glances up at him. He takes the ring out. “So many years ago we were under a spell and got engaged but we’ve come so far from then and now under no spell I want to ask you if you would marry me and make me the happiest man on earth.”

“Oh Spike of course it’s yes!” Buffy tackles him back onto the bed kissing him. They both laugh as they remember they both said that under the spell too. He slips the ring onto her finger.

“Happy Valentine’s Day luv.”

She pecks him on the lips again. “Happy Valentine’s Day honey.” She frowns and he tucks a piece of hair off her face. “What’s with the face

“I feel like my gift to you fails in comparison now.”

“What did you get me?” Spike loves getting gifts and especially from Buffy.

Buffy leaves his embrace and moves about their bedroom Spike enjoying the view of Buffy in her little sleep shorts and tank top. She comes back from their living room with a wrapped present.

When he unwraps it he smiles she knows him so well she got him a book of poetry a first edition limited edition. “Here’s the best part.” She flips through the pages looking for the page she wants. She stops and points to one of the poems.

“By William Pratt.”

He looks over at her and she smiles so proudly at him. He can’t believe he is seeing his own name in this book he is a published poet.

Spike leans over and kisses her passionately. “You don’t know what this means to me, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, it took me forever to find it, I eventually found it in this little shop in London that sold rare books.”

He places the book on the nightstand and wraps an arm around her bringing her underneath him. Peppering her with kisses their hands entwine. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Xxx

As they are getting dressed it hits Buffy she sits down on the footstool they have in their closet. He finishes getting dressed and finds her looking at her hands and at the ring very in her head. “Hey what’s going on in that brain of yours.”

She shrugs and he bends down In front of her and kisses her on the temple. “I just remembered the last time we told everyone we were getting married or when we told them we’re together. Nobody except Dawn was happy for us. I know our last engagement was spell induced but still us becoming a couple wasn’t, I love you and that never changes but you and Giles have come far but no where as far as you used to be, Wood doesn’t want to be in the same room as you. You and Faith are good and you help out with the Slayers in training. Giles and I have come far in our relationship since sunnydale. I just want them to be happy for us.”

“Want me to take them out?”

She chuckles. “Knew I could get a grin.”

“I love you, I can’t wait to be Mrs. Pratt.” He entwines their fingers.

“You’ll have to be waiting a long time because I’m taking your name, I’m becoming a Summers.”

She smiles down at him. “William Summers. I like it.”

“Sounds better than Buffy Pratt.”

She shrugs. “Do you think they will be happy for us?”

“Dawn will, Connor will be happy because Dawn is happy, Faith will probably say it’s about time. Willow will be happy. Xander no matter how much time it’s been to him I’m always going to be that guy. Wood probably not. He might even pull you aside and ask if there’s anything wrong with you. Like he did when we announced we were dating. Giles it’s iffy on if he’ll be excited. He’ll be happy that you’re happy. When the news gets back to captain forehead he’ll be pissed, that will be fun.”

Buffy side eyes him and looks down at her ring. “One thing that hasn’t changed is we still have each other.”

“That’s never going to change, come on it’s time for breakfast, and if we don’t go down Dawn will barge in again.” Spike pulls her up off the footstool and kisses her. They both remember after Buffy came back from helping out in the battle against the senior partners. She came back with Spike. Him and Buffy were up all night talking about everything, and figuring out what their relationship is going to be. They fell asleep after the sun came up. They were snuggled up together. They didn’t go down to breakfast, next thing they know the door to their suite is being slammed open and Dawn is shouting, “‘Stop doing it like bunnies, you missed breakfast.’”

Xxx

Buffy didn’t want negativity so she told a few people of her engagement and they were all happy for her. As they are leaving the dining room Buffy slinks her arm around his waist. “What do you say we go back to our suite and stay in bed all day we could order champagne and chocolates celebrate our engagement and Valentine’s Day.”

He smiles down at her and kisses her hair bringing her even closer to him as she snuggles into his side. “I would love to but I have to put the finishing touches on your surprise.”

“My surprise? What did you get me?”

He chuckles. And kisses her on the nose. “If I told you it would ruin the surprise.”

She pouts up at him and he smiles down at her kissing her pout away.

Xxx

Buffy and Spike’s suite is the biggest in the castle, when Giles bought the castle for all the new slayers to stay in. He gave the room to Buffy as a show of affection and forgiveness. When Giles originally gave her the room some of the still new slayers were not happy that Buffy, a then single woman and Buffy being Buffy, got such a big room. When she came back from LA with Spike he moved in with her. Their suite consists of two bedrooms, a walk in closet, a huge bathroom and a living room.

While Spike was off on his secret surprise mission Buffy took a bubble bath, painted her nails. As her toes her drying Spike comes back. “Buffy come with me.” He goes to pull her up.

“Spike! My toes are not done drying. I don't want to mess them up.”

He sighs he really wants to show her his surprise, but he knows not to mess up fresh nails and especially a Summers mani/pedi. She has painted her nails pale pink.

“Where are we going? Am I dressed ok?”

She’s in blue jeans and a blush lace tank top she hasn’t put her sweater on yet, she was just lounging around their suite. “You look beautiful. I've always loved this outfit on you.”

She blushes even when he first saw this outfit when they almost ran into each other outside the bathroom all those years ago in Sunnydale he complimented her on her outfit saying she looked nice. “Can you get my shoes when you come back my toes should be dry.”

He comes back with a pair of white heels. She raises an eyebrow why did he choose those shoes. She watches him bend down and blow on her toenails to make sure they are dry then slowly slide the heel on her foot.

When he’s done he takes her hand and they walk out. She has put her black sweater on too. He brings her hand up to his lips. “So where are we going?”

Instead of ruining the surprise he tells her. “Shortly after I got her I couldn’t sleep one night nightmares of what I’ve done and of the battle with the senior partners. I didn’t want to wake you so I slipped out of bed and was wandering around the castle. I found this beautiful hidden area. It looked like it was taken out of a book. I would go there at night if I couldn’t sleep or wanted to think.”

“That was seven years ago, you found a secret place in the castle and didn’t tell me.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Recently I wanted to know if this place was just as beautiful in the daylight as it is in moonlight so I enlisted Spike's little helper and was informed that it is just as beautiful in the daylight as it is at night.”

“Spike’s little helper?” Her tone evidently teases him.

“Sod off.” She chuckles.

They are in the back hallway and go through a shadowy arch which leads to a heavy door behind that is a private chapel, they go through the private chapel but stop at the marble statue of a head, Spike moves the head back to reveal a secret passage. They go down a hallway, and they stop at the end.

Dawn and Willow come out of one of the secret rooms at the end of this hallway. Buffy looks at them then at Spike. “This was your surprise?”

“No, this is only step one of my surprise. You need to change for the second part.”

She goes to open her mouth but he puts a finger up to her lips. “You were dressed for this part but not for the next part. Don’t worry I have it all figured out. Trust me.”

Buffy nods. “You go with them and I will see you soon.”

He kisses her on the lips delicately and goes into the room opposite the room Willow and Dawn came out of. “Do you know what is going on?”

“We’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

Buffy looks at Dawn. She is in a suit and Willow is in a nice floor length champagne colored dress. Then she enters the changing room and there’s a white dress hanging up.

“Oh my god! Just have to ask, am I fighting the master again and am I dreaming?”

Dawn and Willow shake their heads. Buffy’s face breaks out into a huge smile she knows what Spike’s surprise is. She can’t believe it. “Spike, I love him.”

She looks over at Dawn, “You’re one of Spike’s helpers?”

The younger Summers smirks. “I can’t say I’ll lose my helper title.”

“I never thought all those years ago when we first encountered Spike that we would end up here. He’s really changed. He did all of this for you.”

“We all have, I know the vampire who when we first met said on Saturday I kill you would become one of my best friends, my boyfriend, and soon my husband. Spike is always trying to make me happy or laugh and he does I’m so happy with him.”

Dawn and Willow help Buffy into this floor length strapless white wedding gown. The top of the dress is beaded, there is a light pink ribbon around her waist, and the rest of her dress is very flowy. While Willow goes to do Buffy’s hair Dawn goes to leave but Buffy stops her rushing over to give her a hug and whispers to her. “I wish mom was here.”

Dawn nods and hugs her sister. “She would be so proud of you, she hoped you would get married one day. Plus she has always liked Spike.”

Buffy chuckles. “Yeah I remember coming home from college and there would be two cups of hot chocolate in the sink, mom had said Spike came over to watch Passions and they had hot chocolate.”

Dawn laughs. “Is there anything you want me to tell him?”

There’s so many things Buffy wants to tell him she closes her eyes and takes a breath. Trying to collect her thoughts. She smiles when she whispers in Dawn’s ear.

Dawn squeals as she nods and is so happy she practically bounces out of the room and across the hall.

Xxx

Spike is tying his black tie, to match his black suit and white dress shirt. “Wow Spike you look amazing.”

“Thanks Niblet. Is she mad at me for surprising her like this?” Spike knows Buffy hates secrets in a relationship and he kept her in the dark about their wedding location but also the wedding so he wants to know if he’s going to be marrying a mad Buffy or a happy Buffy.

“Not at all actually she has a message she wanted me to tell you. ‘She can’t wait for you to be a Summers.’”

“I can't believe you’re taking our name.”

Spike looks over at Dawn; she has always been a little sister to him and soon she will be officially. “Your sister radiates Summers. I couldn't take that from her.”

Dawn wraps her arms around her vampire brother. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

Xxx

Willow has fashioned Buffy’s long hair in a low messy bun. She also French braided some of her hair and wrapped it around the top of Buffy’s head and left two pieces of hair dangling on each side of her face. “One more thing then you’re ready.”

She places a long veil at the back of Buffy’s hair. “You look beautiful Buffy. I’m so happy for you and Spike.” Willow dabs at her eyes trying not to cry and mess up her makeup.

Xxx

Buffy and Willow come out of the room and go down another hallway and Giles is waiting for them at the end of that hallway he is in a black suit matching Dawn’s. “Giles?”

“You asked me all those years ago if I would give you away I would be honored.”

Buffy blinks trying not to cry and mess up her makeup. “There is one thing I have to say….. Spike and I are getting married!” She holds up her Skull ring. Buffy throws her arms around Giles and he hugs her back. “I’m so proud of you Buffy and I’m so happy for you, I know in the past I haven’t been the biggest supporter of your relationship with Spike but seeing you together for the last seven years, I can see how happy you both make each other.”

Willow hands her a tissue to dab her eyes; she also hands Buffy a silver ring with a red ruby in the middle. She smiles at her. Willow leaves through the door and Giles looks down at Buffy. “Are you ready?”

She nods.

They open the door and Buffy gasps; she can’t believe what she is seeing. It's breathtaking, majestic and beautiful. It’s this wooded garden filled with fairy lights shimmering everywhere in every tree and on the ground. The sun does not shine directly on this garden; it's shaded by all the black trees.

Underneath the tree at the end of the aisle made of fairy lights is Spike in a suit with a light pink rose on his suit jacket, Dawn is behind him and Faith is also in a suit and she is next to him as the officiant.

This is not a big wedding so the guest list is short and it’s only the Important people and Andrew is their only guest outside of the wedding party. Andrew is also the videographer; he has his camera and is recording the whole thing.

As Buffy and Giles walk down Buffy mutters. “A daytime ceremony in the park underneath the trees indirect sunlight only.”

“What was that?”

Buffy looks up at Giles and shakes her head. “Nothing.”

Giles walks Buffy up to where Spike is and places her hand in Spike’s outstretched hand. Buffy hugs Giles again. He takes his seat in between Andrew who has already started crying and Dawn’s boyfriend.

Spike squeezes her hand and they both mouth I love you.

Faith smiles at the happy couple, she was surprised that Spike was asking her to officiate the wedding. After everything she has done to Buffy and that one time she hit on Spike in Buffy’s body. Maybe because she knows them but is still an outsider in their relationship she is the perfect person for this.

“I’ve known Buffy longer than I’ve known Spike. When Willow brought me back to Sunnydale one of the first people I ran into was Buffy and Spike. I punched Spike thinking he was attacking a young girl we got into a fight and then Buffy punched me in the face. She checked on Spike before she had her quippy line for me. They watched as the young girl was actually a vampire attack me I took care of the vampire. The next day Spike and I were talking in the basement smoking and needed a little breather from the wannabes we were getting along. Buffy came down and you could feel the shift in the room. Buffy was jealous, Spike tried to assure her he could pick up on it immediately. They always could read each other and knew what the other wanted from just a look. When Sunnydale collapsed I saw Buffy take Spike’s hand. I saw the look in her eyes and she did not want to leave him. Like I said I’ve known Buffy a long time I’ve never seen that look in her eyes for any one of her than Spike. That pure love and trust. Buffy knows whatever happens she always has Spike and when you look at Spike you can see the same look of pure love devotion Spike knows Buffy will always have his back. That’s real to find someone like that in this world. That's incredible. They have had so many people tell them that this would not work or that Buffy deserves better. When you look at them they make each other better. There's been ups and downs like every relationship but they make it through together.”

Neither Buffy nor Spike knew where Faith was going to go with her speech. Buffy is surprised it was actually a touching speech. Spike wipes a tear off Buffy’s cheek and she softly smiles at him.

“Did you write your own vows?”

Buffy’s eyes widened when she just found out she was getting married half an hour ago. She didn’t know they were writing their own vows. Spike swallows. “Buffy, I have loved you even before I knew I loved you. I’ve lived in the shadows for so many years. Meeting you, fighting beside you, falling in love with you, you are my own personal sunshine. I've seen the best and worst of you and I’m still here, you're the one Buffy, I will always be next to you, I’m not leaving you.”

Buffy sniffles that was beautiful she is going to take her lead from Spike. Words and Buffy sometimes are not mixy. “William, I loved you even before I could admit it to myself. You have always been there for me and I’ve been there for you too. You turned my world upside down and it has never gone back to normal but I wouldn’t want it to. You fought the monster inside of you and you won you’ve done things nobody ever would do. I’ve always believed in you. I’ll always be next to you too, I’m not leaving you.”

Spike smiles at her and it’s genuine and full of love his eyes sparkle in the fairy lights. “Do you Buffy take Spike to be your wedded husband for richer or poor.” Faith went to continue but realized sickness and in health Spike doesn’t get sick and till death do you part Spike is already dead. “For the rest of your life.”

Buffy side eyes Faith and she noticed that pause and the words for the rest of her life. “I do.” She places the ring that Willow gave her on Spike’s ring finger. The ring is from the same gem that the ring of Amara was made from.

“Spike, do you take Buffy for rich or poor in sickness and in health for the rest of her life.”

He also side eyes Faith, maybe he should have asked Andrew who is still crying, Giles handed him a tissue. “I do.” Spike places a silver ring with a diamond in the middle on her finger.

“By the powers invested by me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Spike cradles Buffy’s face in his hands and passionately kisses her. One of his hands has gripped the back of her neck while her arms wrap around his neck pulling him even closer to her. His tongue licks her lips asking for entry and their tongues caress and they continue to kiss.

Giles, Andrew, Faith, Dawn, Dawn’s boyfriend Connor, And Willow all clap for them.

Xxx

Wind beneath my wings begins echoing through the trees and Buffy looks up at Spike, surprised. “You remembered?”

“Of course I remembered.” He places a hand out for her. “Can I have the first dance Mrs. Summers?”

She chuckles and smiles at him, placing her hand in his. “Of course you can, Mr. Summers.”

Buffy and Spike sway to Bette Midler singing. Buffy asks. “How did you do all of this? I can’t believe you remembered so many things from when we planned our wedding so many years ago in Giles' living room.”

He kisses her hair as they sway to the music. “Before we left to go find Red I put our notes in my pocket and I kept them all this time in my pocket. It started out as a reminder of when we were truly and deeply happy but as time went on it became sentimental, something I had to have with me.”

She kisses his neck lovingly. “Thank you Spike. for giving me the best wedding I could have ever asked for.”

“I wanted to give you everything you deserve.”

“And you have I just married the man I love. I can’t picture my life without you in it.”

He presses his lips to her forehead.They sway to the music and Buffy cups his cheek and looks into his piercing blue eyes. “This has been the best Valentine’s Day ever. I love you.”

Spike leans his forehead against hers and smiles. “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way. I love you so much Buffy.”

#buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #spuffy #spike #spuffy fanfic

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herinsectreflection · 2 years

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A New Kind of Bad, Just In Time For Christmas (Amends)

Holiday episodes are a dying art form in the televisual world of 2023. With the domination of on-demand streaming services, the exact airdate of an episode has come to matter less and less. Modern shows might still centre episodes around certain holidays, but rarely can they be considered true Holiday Episodes. By virtue of being easily available outside of one specific date and time of airing, they cannot have the same inherent link to a specific temporal point that the Holiday episodes of years past did.

Things were different in 1999. Episodes were tied to specific points in real time, which affected the fiction. Buffy is no exception. The show progresses at a linear rate of one in-universe year to one real-world year, and all on-screen events occur within the nine-to-ten months we would recognise as an academic year. Buffy herself notes the hellmouth’s tendency to become extra-apocalyptic each May in Get It Done. The show moors itself in the chronology of our world, a choice which benefits television’s personable nature.

As far as traditional holidays go, Buffy is slightly more indifferent. The closest thing to an annual holiday the show has is Buffy’s yearly birthday disaster. Outside of that, we have three Halloween specials, one Valentine's Day episode, one wildly misguided Thanksgiving story, and this - Buffy’s first and only Christmas episode. This episode has no shame in wearing its Christmassiness on its red-and-white sleeve. Everything from the advertising, to the carol singers that open the episode, to the saccharine snowfall of the climax, to the Santa hat placed on the Mutant Enemy demon during the credits, all screams Christmas. ‘Tis the season, screams the Buffyverse, and of course that means that this is a time of warmth, community, and coming together with the people you love - for other people. For the inhabitants of the Buffyverse, it is a time for demons, loneliness, and seasonal depression.

The Scooby Gang discuss their plans for the holidays, and each of them seems progressively more bleak. Buffy has probably the best time of it - a low-key Christmas with just her and her mother. Willow is alone, still flagellating herself over the Xander incident, and trying to make things up to Oz. Xander is planning an escape from his abusive family’s violent arguments. Cordelia claims she is going skiing in Aspen, but given that we are now in the mystery zone where Cordelia’s father may or may not have been arrested yet, there’s a good chance she’s lying and is spending the Christmas penniless and friendless. She would have this in common with Faith, who is stuck hanging a sad single string of lights in a dingy motel room, inventing fictional parties that she can claim to be invited to so as to not lose face in front of Buffy. And then there is Angel, who, in addition to being a vampire stuck in a Christian holiday, and having recently been dumped, is also being tortured by the incorporeal manifestation of pure evil.

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs meta #angel #ats #jenny calendar #the first #meta #essay #insect reflection #s3 #amends

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breezybeej · 6 months

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Faith season 4:

The Jonathan episode. Adam makes a statement that is very interesting in the broader theme of the season. He is not susceptible to Jonathan's spell because he knows himself. He is aware of who he is and is therefore immune to Jonathan changing that awareness. Down to the molecule, he says.

Buffy is the only member of the team who becomes aware of what Jonathan is doing. Once she starts unraveling the thread, the rest of the Scoobies gradually join her. But that's a fun indication that Buffy really is starting to know herself. And who she is is the Slayer. She first notices something is wrong when Jonathan is better at fighting than she is. That is her role. That is who she is.

Let's go back to this year's girl. Isn't it crazy how Buffy has an episode with Faith where they literally become each other, feel each other's emotions, and afterwards Buffy has a more complete awareness of herself.

On Faith's end, she started her body swap plan not really giving a shit about her role as the Slayer. She only killed the first vampire because she wanted to drag the charade along farther until she could get the hell out of Dodge. (Which by the way Buffy said she would do if she were in Faith's position. Funny how faith tried to take that advice in the end before succumbing to her better self.)

Over the course of these episodes , faith embodies Buffy's attitudes more and more until at the end she is almost indistinguishable. She is the spunky one-liner throwing blonde Slayer girl who fights evil. We see that if faith has a chance at redemption, she just is Buffy.

And when she is faced with her own body again, she reacts with violence. She doesn't want to go back, she is disgusted at herself and what she has done. Who she was and will have to be again.

What emotions do you think lingered when Buffy got back into her own body after this tantrum? Do you think she could recognize the feeling of "fear that you will have to go back"? Do you think she could feel the desperation to cling to Buffy Summers? The desire to continue being her? (She is basically looking into a mirror and screaming "you're nothing! Disgusting! Murderous bitch! You're nothing! You're disgusting!") All of those things are what people said of faith to her in Buffy's body over the course of the episode, btw.

It is almost exactly the same arc that Spike followed where he hung out with the Scoobies individually and learned about himself via the physical manifestations of Buffy's psyche AKA the Scoobies. By the end, he had a much better understanding of himself and was taking control of his life again. At the end of this arc, faith has left Buffy in a state of knowing more about herself and we don't see where she goes after that. I get the feeling that I'm going to be a wreck when I find out.

The reason all of this has driven me insane over the past few days is that Buffy was in Faith's shoes literally. She had no hope of anyone believing her, and her a deranged psychopath but she still managed to be Buffy. She still converged with Faith at that chapel to kill those vampires and rescue those people. In Buffy's shoes, Faith did not become her own self again. She became more like Buffy. But she could not convey this change to her. It wasn't until Buffy experienced faiths physical emotional responses that she understood.

I know it's the same thing when Faith had sex with Riley. You could see the confusion as the physical feeling swelled up within her from Buffy's body responding to Riley. By experiencing those emotions, she realized that Angel was not "just some guy" she threw off and Riley was not "some random guy" she picked up.

All of these things add up to Buffy reaching some level of self-actualization. When she has nothing, she still knows who she is. When everyone else in the world has forgotten her role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she knows. Even in the No-Shrimpverse. And of all of the people, it was her own shadow that shined the light and revealed this to her.

Once I actually finish the series, I really want to go back and reorganize all these thoughts and actually lay them out in an outline and collect evidence and quotes and things. I'm disgusted with myself. I hate this show.

#btvs #faith lehane #buffy summers #and this is not even beginning to talk about the Star Trek bullshit again. I want to peel my skin off. it's so insane #it's going to be so long before I can like get all of this information collected and organized and formatted in a way that makes sense

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cobalt-knave · 1 year

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Fanvid Rec List #1

Ah, fanvids, my most beloved and underappreciated medium. Fanvids are video edits often done to music (though not all fanvids are music videos). They take an absurdly long time to make. If you check out any of the vids on this list, be sure to comment to give some appreciation to these great vidders!

General warning that fanvids often include flashing lights in their transitions, so take caution if that is an issue for you.

Fresh Blood: Vamp Willow & Tara by brunerousse

Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Song or concept: Constructed reality in which vampire Willow sires vampire Tara.

Rec: This is THE constructed reality to me. It really opened my eyes to that as an option. It’s got evil gay vampires and some great visual parallels using footage from a couple shows other than Buffy to create the AU!

Sibling Rivalry by brihana25 ( @brihana25 )

Fandom:Stargate SG1

Song or concept: “Oh No!” from Veggie Tales, humor

Rec: This is a seminal work to me. It’s one of if not the first fanvid I ever saw. I loved it when I first saw it, was one of the things I always thought of regarding fanvids, and now I make my own vids and hold this one partially responsible for that. It’s hilarious and delightful. I was just rewatching it with a big goofy grin on my face. I finally started watching SG-1 recently (I saw this vid like a decade ago the first time), and I’ve consistently referred to the sarcophagi as “scrabble tables”. I also get absurdly excited when I spot a clip in the show that was used in this vid.

Will Scarlet | F*cking Awesome ♛ by Maria M.

Fandom: Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

Song or concept: “Fucking Awesome/Thrift Shop”, humor

Rec: This is a fun vid and the thing that got me to watch Once in Wonderland, which is now one of my favorite shows.

[AVATAR] Katara // River by Force Captain Tilly

Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender

Song or concept: “Like A River”

Rec: A brilliant character study of Katara, her ferocity and kindness and passion. The transitions in the vid are excellent as one scene’s bending flows into the next fluidly.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell || I'm Dark Matter by KnittinGirl

Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Song or concept: “I’m Dark Matter”

Rec: This vid is grand, magnificent, and cascading. The use of short cuts and beautiful visuals creates a sweeping sense of grandness and magic in an uncontrolled storm. Beautiful video.

Buffy and Faith (BTVS) - We Must Be Killers - HD Version by JESS9191

Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Song or concept: “We Must Be Killers”

Rec: This video is a brilliant study of Buffy and Faith’s relationship and parallels. “You kill me? You become me.” A stunning video in its visuals with a smattering of dialogue from the show punctuating its every point. The clips are well cut to perfect move from one to the other.

Angel the Series | Rescue Me by 1SnoWhiteQueen1

Fandom: Angel The Series

Song or concept: “Rescue Me”

Rec: Now there’s a vid that will make me want to laugh and cry. A focus on the relationship between the early Angel Investigations crew; Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn. It so perfectly demonstrates how much this team loved and cared for each other and how their relationship still fell apart as time went on and circumstances and hurt came between them. This covers the whole team, but I associate the song/vid most strongly with Wesley and Gunn. It’s a song I think of when I think of them.

Buffyverse but it's a heist movie by SlayerVid

Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel The Series

Song or concept: “A Good Song Never Dies”, humor, heist, constructed reality

Rec:This is exactly what it says on the tin, and it’s GLORIOUS. Grab your balaclava and your climbing gear and get ready to crawl through the vents because it’s heist time, baby! Absolutely excellent and perfect and hilarious.

Rockstar - a Buffy video by Jasmin

Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Song or concept: “Rockstar”, humor

Rec: An absolutely hilarious video; I couldn’t stop giggling the whole time I was rewatching this. It lines up video to lyrics in the most literal way possible. We all just wanna be big rock stars!

Addicted To You by AurumCalendula

Fandom: Synetic Theater’s Phantom of the Opera

Song or concept: “Toxic” by Anthony Willis

Rec: I was delighted to find a vid for Synetic’s Phantom. It uses the visuals well as they flow eerily together with the slow instrumental version of “Toxic”.

Way Down We Go || A Zuko tribute by The Stranger Artist

Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender

Song or concept: “Way Down We Go”

Rec: An excellent character study for Zuko. The clips sync up beautifully with the beats of the song. The video is full of movement, and the transitions are quite good.

Whedonverse Women - So What by Stefanie (valamd)

Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel The Series, Dollhouse, Firefly

Song or concept: “So What”

Rec: A vid full of movement and quick transitions and ladies (+Clyde) being badasses. What is not to love?

Believer - Sense8 by absolute_maximus

Fandom: Sense8

Song or concept: “Believer”

Rec: Man, rewatching this made me want to rewatch Sense8. An epic video with every clip fitting perfectly with the beat. I think of this vid every time I hear this song. This perfectly captures the show.

Come Together by Rosemarycat5

Fandom: Good Omens (season 1)

Song or concept: “Come Together” by Gary Clark Jr.

Rec: Fuck it, this is one of my own fanvids. Sue me. This is the fanvid I made that I am currently most proud of. It was so fun to make.

If you have any fanvid recs or want to share your own, reblog this and add or make a new post and tag me so I can watch them!

#recs #fanvid #fanvids #btvs #angel the series #firefly #dollhouse #good omens #sense8 #once upon a time in wonderland #avatar #stargate sg1 #jonathan strange and mr. norell #music videos

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explosionshark · 1 year

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For Character Game: Faith, obviously.

General opinion/How much I care about them: she IS my poor little meow meow! My favorite character after Buffy herself. A deeply sad gay girl with a rough home life who can't quite tell the difference between love and power and wants them both so badly she ruins her own life about it? Fucks over the girl she's in love with in her rage and desperation? Undergoes a redemption arc underscored by penitent suffering? Fucking catnip for me. Good lord.

A ship I love: YOU ALREADY KNOOWWWW

A non-romantic relationship that I love: Faith and Angel! They're best friends! He's her Murderers Anonymous Sponsor! They give each other pep talks and have a deeply fucked up sense of shame that they can never overcome only mitigate through perpetually atonement! WOOO!

The NOTP: idk. I think the only thing that I really hate the idea of is Wesley/Faith.

My biggest headcanon about them: I feel like there's a fine line between true HC and 'details implied by canon that I have decadently elaborated on in my own mind.' One thing I have no real basis for but like the idea of is that Faith's birth dad is alive, but went to prison very young for something violent. Maybe even a murder charge. In my HC she never really knew him but "you're just like your father" was the exact type of thing her mom would say to make her feel horrible. I like the idea of this weighing down on years later when she's doing time herself. Someday I'll use it in a fic, I'm sure.

An idea for a fanfiction I would like to write/read about them: (if I have none in my WIPs I'll make one up on the spot!) I've got this one premise that doesn't really even have a full story behind it yet (though it DOES have a title) but - I like the idea of Faith getting dosed with a truth spell (probably s4? Could be S3 though or s7). But instead of doing the goofy love confession angle it's a terrifying metaphor for consent, because I think there probably isn't anything in the world scarier for Faith than the idea of being forced into vulnerability she can't control. I think if we're doing S3 or s4 it presents an interesting conflict for Buffy too - she could use the advantage to find out what Faith is up to, but could she live with herself after? Idk. I haven't worked this one all the way out but I've been rolling it around in my head for like two years now.

Something that makes me think of them: (a song, a character in another fandom, an animal, anything) "I Got Punched in the Nose for Sticking My Face in Other People's Business" by Boys Night Out (""Baby the blood's already been spilled / and no amount of crying will wash the red from your guilty hands") makes me go fuckin craaaazyyyy as a Faith track

#faith lehane #i love how all my other answers were p normal but when it comes to faith im like HERE'S A DETAILED PLAN OF HOW I WANT TO TORTURE HER :)

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catty-words · 1 year

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Also, I hear you. Buffy is bigger than all of us, really. My feelings and opinions about it are definitely wrapped in thick layers of nostalgia and whatever personal tribulation I happened to be going through while watching etc. and I realize people have written entire master’s thesis on this but just for fun what would you say about the faith/buffy dynamic—like, just for kicks

'whatever personal tribulations i happened to be going through while watching' - isn't it beautiful that buffy is Like That? blah blah the monsters are metaphors, we've all heard it. but truly, what gets to me about the show is how well it captures the human experience. the way you settle into a picture of your life only to have that shredded again and again. you have to piece it back together so often and it can never look the same because you're missing scraps and you're picking up bits that don't actually belong in the picture and AHHH. when i first watched the show, i had just been excommunicated from my family and i needed buffy. full-stop, i wouldn't have made it through without her.

ANYWAY. god. buffy and faith. what's on the tip of my tongue right now is their relationship with power & the way they both feel the seduction of having that kind of physical advantage. buffy takes Pride in her slayerness as often as she feels hard done by it. and the moments she indulges her own power are so. idk. they make my spine spark like a livewire. the fantasy of beating a bitch down when they're in your face is REAL and it belongs to WOMEN.

but the thing about buffy's relationship with power is that she also has an innate sense of responsibility to humanity, because humanity has cared for her back. she was raised by a loving - if criminally willfully ignorant - mother and she has her scooby community and before that she was a popular girlygirl. like, she's been embraced by humanity in a way faith never was.

and that 'what has humanity ever done for me' mentality getting superpowers. of COURSE faith was going to develop a superiority complex, of course she was going to become a little vindictive. because she's OWED something good for once and she was just given the means to CREATE that for herself. good-for-her.jpeg.

but also the way slayerness is so alienating and therefore connects faith and buffy by a string of 'recognition of the self in the other' that they literally cannot have with anyone else?? and that's the thing that saves faith, eventually? they don't need to kiss on the mouth when they're THAT deep in each other's souls. though of course they should have kissed on the mouth. as a treat!

#you got very stream of consciousness i hope it was follow-able #devi(l) anon #replies #btvs #fuffy

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iwillrememberyoumarathon · 11 months

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Bangel fans, we want to hear from you! During the run-up to the IWRY Fic Marathon in November, we’ll be getting to know each other through our Meet the Fandom series. Answer the questions here to join in.

What is your name?

aboutafox

Where do you hang out?

Tumblr: @aboutafox, Discord, AO3 - I have the same username everywhere.

Do you create any fan works?

I started with LJ icons way back when, I sometimes make gifs, but mostly I write fic

Funniest Bangel/Buffyverse moment?

Wesley's return as a rogue demon hunter

What Buffyverse opinion would have you chased through the village with pitchforks?

Buffy's and Faith's relationship is kinda boring. Faith and Angel on the other hand…the AI team should have kept Faith in LA. She fits right in.

Share a headcanon you have about Bangel or the Buffyverse?

Angel has serious middle son energy and his older brother died a useless (or preventable) death. TBC or getting run over by a carriage.

How would you have given Buffy and Angel their Happily Ever After?

I already wrote it. As far as I'm concerned Far From Home is canon.

Last fic you read?

Wherever You Stray I'll Follow by @calenlily. Which is exceptional and I should have read sooner.

Slay, Lay, Obey: Halloween Edition - Ethan Rayne, Gachnar, Lorne with his sleep removed?

Slay: Gachnar. He might make me his Queen of Nightmares, but I’m shallow. I can’t deal with that tiny skinless face

Lay: Ethan Rayne. At least he’s human 🙈 And he might have learned a trick or two in London with the Ripper

Obey: Lorne without his sleep. Angel couldn’t stop him, so what chance do I have? I’ll just hide and hope ambien returns him to his gentle self

Fill in the quiz so the fandom can meet you!

#meetthefandom #iwryficmarathon2023 #bangel #buffy x angel

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coraniaid · 4 months

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Top five btvs headcannons?

Hmm. Lots of options to choose from, but let's go with:

Of all the deaths we see on the show that the characters are weirdly blase about and never talk about again (which is most of them) the one I feel should matter most is Kendra's. The writers very obviously don't care about Kendra at all (in a way that makes me pretty angry if I think about it for long) but, at the same, the only way I can reconcile my idea of Who Buffy Is As A Person with the events of the post-Becoming seasons is to try to persuade myself that Buffy is thinking about Kendra a lot of the time, and that this meaningfully affects her relationship with Faith in Season 3 (and, for that matter, with Dawn in Season 5 and the Potentials in Season 7 too). Because, yes, Faith represents a lot of Buffy's own supressed thoughts and desires, and yes, there are lots of parallels in Season 3 between Faith and Angel. But the very fact Faith exists as a Slayer at all should be enough to remind Buffy of the Slayer who was called after her and died before her. How could that not bleed into her relationship with Faith as a person? How can Buffy not look at Faith and be constantly thinking of the Slayer she failed to save? (According to the show's writers, the answer is: very, very easily.[1])

Sort of a meta-headcanon (a headcanon schema?), but: as far as possible, I like to believe that the Buffy characters who are meant to be friends might actually talk to each other sometimes. And when we don't see various personal conflicts get resolved on screen, yet everything seems back to normal later (especially between seasons), I tend to assume they just talked things through a bit off-camera. Probably Buffy and Xander had a conversation after Dead Man's Party which involved him offering a grovelling apology, which is why they're still on speaking terms later that season. Probably Joyce and Buffy actually talked a bit about her being the Slayer before Faith, Hope & Trick, so that Joyce's claim to have "tried to march in the Slayer Pride Parade isn't as absurd as it seems to be on the face of it". Probably Giles and Buffy talked about the Cruciamentum a bit after Helpless, which is why she's forgiven him by the time the next episode starts and she never brings his role up in it again. In particular, this is why I kind of hate the reveal in Season 7's Selfless that Xander never admitted to his Lie in Becoming, and that Buffy just spent the last five years thinking Willow decided to try to cast the spell to restore Angel's soul again without asking Buffy's permission or giving her any warning she was about to try it beyond "kick his ass".

There really isn't any evidence for it in canon and I suspect it's ultimately purely the invention of one of the early 2000s Fuffy writers, but I really like the popular fanfiction conceit that there is some sort of mystical connection between Slayers which (in a way that varies a little depending on the writer) gives them some additional awareness of the other Slayer's presence or emotional state. Not just because I'm enough of a sap to think that that's kind of romantic (although I am and I do), but because it's a nice way to explain away some slightly contrived bits of plotting in the show (all three Slayers have a way of finding each other very quickly when the plot requires it). In the same spirit, though with perhaps a little more evidence in canon, I like the idea that Buffy and Faith's shared dreams don't just happen when we see them, but have basically been going on ever since Faith arrived in Sunnydale (or at least since Faith's coma). Also, relatedly, I still like this headcanon I posted last month.

Sort of an anti-headcanon in some ways, but I refuse to accept that Buffy's memory of trying to tell her parents about vampires back in LA -- and being briefly institutionalized as a result -- (which was revealed/retconned in Season 6's Normal Again) is real. I think that (whatever the show claims) it had to have been a false memory implanted by the same demon that was giving her visions of still being there. Say what you like about whether or not the Joyce we see on the show was a good parent, but this is just blatant character assassination of the worst sort. It completely changes how we have to see Buffy's relationship with her mother and makes several scenes and outright plot points absurd (even if Joyce is the sort of monster who could forget about having her doctor locked up, even after learning that actually Buffy was always telling the truth, why would a Buffy who had been through that still keep a diary in the house she shares with her mother where she talked about the supernatural or prominently put up crucifixes in her house or make jokes about 'saving the world from vampires' when her mother asked her what she was thinking? why would she care about her mother's opinion of her at all? why would she wait until Season 2 to run away from home, and why would she ever come back?). Taken seriously, this just totally undermines a major part of Buffy's character and one of the most important relationships in her life. And for what? A stupid "maybe this is all a dream?" ending to the episode that means nothing and never goes anywhere. No, fuck that. Didn't happen and I simply refuse to believe it did. (I also strongly dislike the idea that it's a false memory caused by Dawn's presence; Dawn doesn't deserve to be blamed for that and her existence isn't meant to have had that big of an impact on the world.)

[1] Actually if I'm being totally honest I suspect that if you polled most of the show's writers with this question the answer you'd get back would be "who's Kendra?"

#btvs #thanks!#asks

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lightdancer1 · 1 month

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One of the bits I'm really enjoying with In the Company of Witches and Slayers:

The Tara Maclay of this AU does duplicate a few of Willow's canonical notes, namely the equivalent of Something Blue, and resurrecting Willow in the same way that canon Willow resurrected Buffy. I also, like in my other works, use the gift that Amber Benson left of the evil Tara with Andrei Kurgan's grimoire but in a way more like what canon thought it did but didn't quite.

Instead of the magic addiction thing Tara goes on the same power trip I treat canon Willow's Dark Willow phase as and from her POV she's a victim of physical abuse who gains the power to actually hurt Glory instead of being hurt by her (there's a bit of a theme that the two villains that hurt her worst in this canon actually vehemently dislike her AU counterpart because she actually literally hurt them and made them feel it). As with canon Willow her worst traits are the results of Black magic corrupting her and less as addiction and more like the One Ring.

This AU's Dark Willow, by contrast, is a long-standing problem of suppressed rage and a combination of multiple hits with a trauma nailbat for someone with reality warping powers which is an explosive combination....and in each case the idea that there ever really WAS a Dark Willow or a Dark Tara is rejected by both Willow and Tara for very similar reasons but staunchly believed by their friends.

And since it's an unreliable narrator effect here each is equally right and wrong. Black magic really is innately corrupting because it grants the power to twist reality on a whim without any concern for the consequences and as power tends to corrupt, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. Does this have the equivalent effect of DID or Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk?

At least in my stories at a Doylist level, no, but in that Watsonian level the contrast between a very powerful sorcerer in full 'My Precious' mode with the One Ring and their ordinary selves is so much like it that people without the arcane knowledge to understand it can be easily forgiven for believing that's what they're seeing.

It's also that good old fashioned Scooby double standard, too. Amy Madison in particular is 'Willow if reality handed her only the bad cards and none of the good ones'. This AU's Willow recognizes that and has sympathy for her within limits and keeps trying to appeal to her good side, which is a note missed with the canon Willow where they just forgot that Amy was one of her closest friends who turned to evil. And until the Twilight war Amy is seen in-universe through Willow's eyes but after it she's seen through the eyes of other characters and she's a murderous evil witch who tries to wield human sacrifice, blood magic, and is every bit as power hungry, petty, and jealous as her canon counterpart.

Equally since this AU's Willow is invincible unless she's facing foes capable of using her weaknesses (which naturally I tend to do precisely to add creative tension) her standards of threats are skewed and what to her is a nuisance is an existential threat to everyone else. Amy and Tara, unlike in other cases, are by no means weak, they are exceptionally powerful. Since Willow is the most powerful being in the *universe*, mystically, everyone else is second rate. Second rate to the most powerful being in the infinite expanse of a single universe allows massive amounts of leg room and Tara is the second most powerful sorceress in the entire setting and Amy the third.

And Amy, if she's not facing Willow or Faith with a friendly weapon that nullifies magic like the Scythe or Olaf's Hammer, is a murderously creative juggernaut who can and does steamroll multiple enemies at once with trivial ease. This is for the villains is Buffy on hard mode, the villains that last are more badass than their canon counterparts by default.

And where canon only hinted at the worst things Willow did indirectly and in a way where people can ignore it, which was IMO one of the most foolish things it did, because if you're going to go there, go all the way or not at all, this show makes it explicit and in a way that parallels Faith and Tara just as canon pairs Faith and Willow.

And just as with canon Willow these particular aspects are explicitly a case of 'Dark Side brain rot' and very directly NOT what the actual Tara would do, and it's one of the things that haunts her most. Where canon Willow never really had to face the consequences of her actions due to the bullet (and that too is one of the best reasons for the Tara resurrection storyline) , this AU's Tara very much does face them and grows into fully being the person she could have been. Much like how canon Tara made major mistakes and was the rare Buffyverse character allowed to actually grow and become wiser from them.

This is also why a couple of my other AUs hinge on 'Willow looks into the future, sees her canon path, goes 'Hell no' and rejects it and it turns out that rejecting it works but there are some steep prices for trying'. Essentially when the characters look at canon Season 6 they balk and go 'gross, no thank you' but this setting being what it is, it fucks them up with a different nailbat because it's the Whedonverse and his characters only get yea tier nice things.

#buffyverse fanfic #lightdancer's fanfics #in the company of witches and slayers #willow rosenberg #tara maclay #amy madison #this particular AU is something of a grimdark inversion of canon #but not an inversion in the sense of killing people for shock value #that is how a hack does it JOSS FUCKING WHEDON you FUCKING HACK

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