#buffyversegiftexchange

[buffyandwillow]

i am, you know. yours. for @willowthewiccanwitch for the @buffyversegiftexchange 🌟💜

[mcgnagallsarmy]

BUFFYVERSE GIFT EXCHANGE 🎁

For Shelby, @womanaction!

​ ↳ Buffy&Spike roadtrip to the most haunted houses of the US

[jennycalendar]

“You don’t have to dance around the nature of the monster I became,” said Drusilla gently. “It’s almost a blessing, truly, not to be able to remember the details.”

this is for @reallyreal-madeingold , for @buffyversegiftexchange on tumblr! the prompts i used were "xander/drusilla, amnesia, angst, hurt/comfort," + "forced to work together" if you squint?

title from abba's "chiquitita."

[willowthewiccanwitch]

and they were roommates....

for @buffyandwillow for the @buffyversegiftexchange!!

[reallyreal-madeingold]

My contribution to the @buffyversegiftexchange, a fic for @jennycalendar!

Title: The Golden Light

Pairing: Jenny/Giles

Rating: E

Summary: Jenny and Giles chaperone the prom, but they're really much more excited to have their own personal afterparty.

Tags/Warnings (more spicy tags on Ao3): porn without plot, soulmate au, canon divergence, porn with feelings, established relationship

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, November 4

Spike sits slouched in his chair, watching TV. WOMAN ON TV: (screaming) Oh my god, the blood! Look at all the blood! Spike's stomach growls. He looks down at his stomach, puts his hand on it, gets up.

~~Gone~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Baby, Take Me Higher by madeingold (Angel/Spike/Cordelia, E)

Weekly Drabbles #36 — Turning Point by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Weekly Drabbles #37 — Conflict by veronyxk84 (Buffy, Dawn, R)

What Lao Tzu Said by Donald_comeon_America_was_never_great (Willow/Tara, G)

Reminiscing on the Unexpected by columbo (Giles/OC, G)

Whumptober 2023 - Ch. 11 [only BTVS chapter] by DelektorskiChick (Wishverse Xander/Wishverse Willow, Angel, E)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 399 by madimpossibledreamer (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure xover, T)

Every Rose - Ch. 1 by sunalso (Buffy/Spike, E)

Sunset Valley - Ch. 1-7 by dwinchester (Buffy/Stiles/Dean, Supernatural xover, M)

Self-Made Hero: The Infinity Mirror - Ch. 1-16 by arcanedreamer (ensemble, T) [older work, author posted other older works too] COMPLETE!

Kinktober 2023 - Ch. 31 by Greensword101 (various M/M, E) COMPLETE!

[French language] En l'an 2023 - Ch. 8 by FridayQueen (Buffy/Faith, T) COMPLETE!

The Freak Show - Ch. 2 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Dead End Plots - Ch. 12 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Twice Broken, Thrice Burnt - Ch. 18 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Drive - Ch. 18 by Holly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

What Happens In Quarantine... - Ch. 21 by bewildered (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Visions of a Father - Ch. 6 by Buffyworldbuilder (Stargate xover, Cordelia centered, FR7) COMPLETE!

Use It or Lose It - Ch. 6 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Giles - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Ch. 7 by flow (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

the Eyes - Ch. 13 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Twice Broken, Thrice Burnt - Ch. 18 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Here is the lovely Faith in all her glory by pocketsizedann (Faith, worksafe)

Artwork: more btvs toh au stuff [The Owl House] by pzyii (Buffy, Willow, worksafe)

Moodboard: faith/tara + a return from the other side... by sunbelieved (worksafe)

Comic: Paul Gadzikowski's The Hero of Three Faces by paulgadzikowski (Willow, Xander, worksafe)

Comics: Paul Gadzikowski's The Hero of Three Faces by paulgadzikowski (Buffy, worksafe)

Photo edit: Buffy the Vampire Slayer but it's Tumblr text posts by mycatismyfriend (various, worksafe)

Gifset: Angel season 4 episode 22 but it's just Lilah and Wesley looking at each other by gothamstreetcat (Wesley/Lilah, worksafe)

Gifset: Wesley, why can't I stay? by mycatismyfriend (Wesley/Fred, Wesley/Lilah, worksafe)

Gifset: Season 4, Episode 10 "Hush" BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER by endiness (The Gentlemen, worksafe)

Gifset: ANGEL THE SERIES (1.06) & (4.04) by cangelgifs (Angel/Cordelia, worksafe)

Gifset: [Buffy and Willow soul friendship] - Emily Rapp by andremichaux (Buffy, Willow, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

ReWatch: Angel (the series) S1, 7 - 9 by kimannebb

ReWatch: Angel (the series) S1, E10 - 12 by kimannebb

[Community Announcements]

Vidding Patron of the Arts [fanvids] by vidding

Welcome to the Buffyverse Gift Exchange 2023! by buffyversegiftexchange [Signups open until Nov 30]

Welcome to day four of this year’s I Will Remember Remember You Fic Marathon! by iwillrememberyoumarathon [This post is about the Revamped IWRY Marathon run on tumblr.]

[Fandom Discussions]

You see, in MY canon Faith and Xander eventually have... a mature conversation [about assault] by hersterical

what if Cordelia was actually a potential slayer and no one ever knew? by elizabeth-dicewielder

Injured Girl [which potentials survived with Chosen novelization info] by oveliagirlhaditright

BtVS "4x15" -> AtS "3x06" [parallels gifset] by mycatismyfriend

Can men be lesbians? In reality… probably not... In fiction? Hell yes... [spike] by girl4music

One of the main reasons why I'll never really respect ATS is because of... The Powers That Be. by faraige

So like, the love triangle/extremely complicated shape timeline in the buffyverse is... by evilwickedme

I'm cookie dough [gifset] by coffygifs

Wesley and Lilah by Tueuse de Vampires and others

FFH: Wesley's Relationships by nightshade and AlphaFoxtrot

Cangel(Cordy and Angel) appreciation thread updated by Tueuse de Vampires

Buffy's Beaches [filming locations discussion] by NoShip and others

Why weren't the Slayer (Kiersten White) and In Every Generation (Kendare Blake) novels given the Buffy branding? by 1r3act

Giles [in the comics] by Dependent_Break4800

Do you think Sam & Riley are still married? by cashmerescorpio

Studio says audience loves Snyder and... you’re pressured to make him likeable? by Lobothehobosexual

Why is William ‘beneath’ Cecile? by Certain-Apple2373

Xander Vs Spike. [good interaction] by Syn_33

Favorite One Episode Character by Gouryellan

Was rewatching Scream Queens, and Cordelia was part of the cast. [Charisma roles] by george123890yang

Why did Anya continue to go to Sunnydale High after she lost her powers in "The Wish"? by jdpm1991

Buffy the show [Tara and Buffy as friends] by Sudden_Horse771

Tara and Jasmine by magic-400

So why do you think Wesley went to get Faith without talking to Cordy about it first? by Boring_Ad_597

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters Comic Con Brussels 2023 Reports, Pics & Videos via dontkillspike

Comic Con Brussels 2023 Schedule (inc James Marsters) via dontkillspike

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[toyhdgehog]

"what am i gonna do with you?"

my gift for @mushroom-elf as part of @buffyversegiftexchange !! i hope your holidays were great and you enjoy your gift <3

(will add alt text later!)

[womanaction]

when that three-way mirror meets your eye (on a slow night)

gift for @mcgnagallsarmy for the buffyverse gift exchange! @buffyversegiftexchange x-posted to ao3 & ef. hope you enjoy!

no warnings, rating is pg, ship is spike/buffy.

summary: in a world where sweet is never summoned, buffy and spike remain on their crash course to...something. features family!buffy&dawn&spike, awkwardness, and building something better.

Buffy’s hand was tingling.

Not because of anything happening at that exact moment, though. The day was about as *blah *as it could be. It was even raining, which felt a little too on the nose given the way she’d been feeling lately.

Lately, ever since…

Not thinking about that.

She was holed up in the Magic Box with Xander and Anya, biding time until the sun went down. Dawn was still under house arrest, under Tara’s watchful eye. Willow was in class, and Giles was…wherever he’d been a lot, lately. “Getting things in order,” he’d said. So it was just the three of them – Anya, pretending to mind the empty shop while she actually read more wedding magazines (which seemed to multiply like the animal Anya would not find it funny for her to mention), and Xander and Buffy, pretending to look through the books for some talisman Giles had found while they actually spaced out. Or, she was spacing out, anyway. Xander seemed to have a twitchy, nervous energy that she didn’t want to attribute to the recent engagement announcement, fiddling with the talisman anxiously.

It was pretty much the least tingly situation she could imagine.

But the more she tried not to think about the thing she was trying not to think about (the other, more recent thing), the more it intruded in her mind, like a big, albino elephant. How the night before, on an otherwise routine patrol, they’d been fighting this big hulking demon guy and without words they’d decided on this sort of spinning launch thing that led to Buffy successfully kicking the guy’s head off, clear across the cemetery. It had been the kind of fight that, for a moment, had made her forget.

Forget so hard that she also forgot that they were still holding hands, on account of the spinning launch attack, until he got quiet and did this gentle sort of swipe across her hands, and her heart stuttered and she remembered again hard enough to know this was what it was like to be alive.

And she couldn’t even blame him for once, for making it something it wasn’t, because it had been. It had been a Moment, involving her, and Spike, and what’s worse is it wasn’t even an isolated incident. They’d been getting dizzyingly close, which was a bad idea for all sorts of reasons, but it was hard to tell herself that when for whatever perverse reason he was the only one to make her feel.

See above, re: tingles.

She looked at Xander, wishing somehow she could tell him in a way that didn’t make him think she was crazy. Maybe she was crazy. But then they’d probably just assume that hell broke her brain, and if there was one idea worse than having Moments with Spike it was telling her friends the truth about where she was, so that was definitely out.

He caught her eye and smiled, the kind of smile that meant he probably thought he knew what she was thinking. She tried to remember how to smile back.

He sighed and put the talisman down, drumming his fingers on the table instead. “Have you ever caught yourself at the last minute before doing something monumentally stupid?” he asked, conversationally.

She tried not to think about almost kissing Spike. “Um. Yeah. I think I know what you mean.”

Of course, he was there, just like she knew he would be.

“Bit early for you, innit? Big plans for the night, or just trying to catch the break in the rain?”

He was feeling her out, she knew. Not trying to cheer her up, which was…something. Something that made his presence more tolerable than anyone else’s these days, only “tolerable” had recently taken a sharp turn into Dangersville.

She wondered, for a second, what things would have been like between them if she hadn’t…

“Dawn’s pretty much stir crazy, so I told her we’d have a movie night.”

It wasn’t an invitation. She wondered if he’d take it like one, anyway. Or was that the old Spike? The one that died when she did?

“On a school night and all,” he said, faux impressed. “Warden’s loosening the shackles, eh?”

Buffy shrugged. “She’s suffered enough.”

“I expect she’s not the only one doing the suffering. Can’t be too fun, cooped up with the grumpy, hormonal teenager.”

“I left fun a few exits ago,” she said softly.

There was a sharp intake of breath from him, like a wince. She didn’t want to look at his face. “Let me finish up here,” he said shortly. “Don’t keep the Bit waiting. She’ll probably pick bloody Titanic just for the runtime.”

She cracked a smile, in spite of herself. “So you too have been subject to the two-tape wonder?”

“Not like she even pays attention the whole time,” he muttered, stomping out the butt of his cigarette. “Lose her right when it starts getting good.”

She didn’t really want to know what that meant in Spike’s world, which left her at a loss of what to say that wouldn’t be an actual invitation. Not that she wanted him to come, but…Dawn would, and a Buffy who wasn’t having delusions of kissage would have sucked it up and dealt with it. In a way, wasn’t it more suspicious for her to keep him at a distance? It would be like keeping him uninvited, just because of his feelings. They’d moved past that. They were…friends?

Of the two options that made room for what had become their late-night routine, friends was definitely the saner.

“You should come,” she said, mouth making up her mind before she had a chance to really think it through. “She’d like that.”

Like was too mild a word for how Dawn reacted when Spike followed her into the house.

“I guess I’ll take my rightful place right behind chopped liver,” she quipped weakly as Dawn yammered to Spike all about the gossip at school she didn’t have all the details to and the awful cable movies she’d been watching.

She poked at the veggies in the fridge, which squished sadly against her touch. “Pizza or Chinese?” she yelled back to the living room.

“Pizza pizza!” was the immediate reply.

Buffy plucked the menu off the fridge and made her way back to the living room. Spike was already sprawled on the couch, watching with amusement as Dawn picked through the tape selection. “No weird toppings this time,” she said firmly, pressing the paper menu into her sister’s hands.

“You’re boring,” she groused. “Any requests, Spike?”

“Sure, ask the guy who doesn’t need to eat.” Buffy rolled her eyes and curled up on the far end of the couch. Even though it did sting a little to see Dawn still hero-worshipping Spike and blowing her off, it was admittedly refreshing not to have to absorb Dawn’s full…Dawn-ness on her own.

“As long as I can get a few extra of those pepper things, I’ll take a bite of whatever disgusting thing you pick,” he said agreeably.

“Extra pepperoncini, extra red pepper flake, extra garlic sauce, I know,” Dawn said, with a well-practiced air.

“Doesn’t that sting?” she asked as Dawn dialed the number, apparently by heart.

Spike waggled his eyebrows. “It hurts so good.”

Buffy pretended not to be amused, up until the point she realized Willow had come in and her serious face became real. “Oh, hey, Will,” she said in her most normal tone.

If Willow was surprised to see Spike in the living room, she didn’t show it. “Has anyone seen my umbrella?”

“You want any pizza?” Dawn asked, covering up the receiver.

Oh. Right. Human behaviors, like offering food. Just normal, being alive customs.

“Nah,” Willow said quickly. “Tara and I are going out. Once I find that umbrella – oh!” She dashed to the corner and retrieved the offending item.

After the front door clunked shut, Dawn looked at Buffy and Spike earnestly. “I’m glad they’re not fighting anymore.”

A quick, silent conversation resulted in which she confirmed he also hadn’t been aware of any fight between Willow and Tara. Which made her feel slightly better and not like a shitty friend. Although Spike wasn’t really Willow or Tara’s friend at all, she guessed.

“I’m glad you guys aren’t fighting, too,” Dawn added quickly, turning her attention back to the all-important movie decision. “You’re like, actual friends now.”

His look was intense, although she could tell he was trying not to be. “Yeah,” she said, meeting Spike’s eyes. “Friends.”

Being friends with Spike apparently entailed a lot of saving his ass from creditors. Although, she supposed, she’d saved him a lot even before they became friends, so in a way this was actually making their relationship more normal, even if it did involve a guy with a shark head.

She resolutely avoided the development of further Moments until things were imploding with Willow and Tara (Dawn had been right about the fight, after all), and Giles was leaving for good, and she’d sought refuge on the back porch. If she’d thought about it at all she probably would have realized it would seem like an invitation. Like it was their place, now.

“We have to stop meeting like this, love,” he cracked, but the look in his eyes was sympathetic. When had that started? If not the sympathy, her looking into his eyes instead of shutting down when she heard his words?

But they were friends now, so it was okay for her to lean into him and let him gently stroke her hair as her thoughts swirl around everything that’s falling apart.

Buffy wondered if there was such a thing as a calm after a storm. If not, maybe this was the calm between one storm and the next, because things had been unusually quiet.

Patrol had been so slow that they’d called it early more than once in favor of movie night. She had a feeling Dawn didn’t mind, and weirdly enough, she didn’t, either. It was kind of nice to have some normalcy, in an extremely low-stakes environment where nobody would mind if she spaced out for an hour or so.

She felt a little guilty to be spending that time with Spike, instead of her – other friends. But it wasn’t exactly like Xander would jump at the opportunity to hang out with Spike (and disinviting him felt wrong, now – plus Dawn would sulk, and she was just starting to smile again like she meant it), and Giles was gone, and Tara was a no-go for obvious reasons.

Of course, there was still Willow, whose sulking put Dawn to shame.

“Dawn picked Bring It On for tonight,” Buffy told the lump that vaguely resembled Willow in front of the computer. Cute cheerleaders had to be cheer-making, right? Although she wasn’t sure cheerleaders were really Willow’s type…

Willow made a “meh” noise. “Too peppy.”

Fair enough. “We could switch? We’ve kind of letting her do all the picking, but since she’s not grounded anymore it’s probably time to end her reign of terror.”

“I think I’m not really feeling the movie night thing. I kinda felt…third-wheely last time.”

Buffy laughed too loudly, which was probably not the appropriate reaction. “Third-wheely? There are no wheels. Or thirds. And besides, without you, I’m the third wheel, since Spike and Dawn have their whole…wacky dynamic.”

Willow made a noise that might have been a “mmhmm” of agreement, a suspicious “hmm” of thought, or something else entirely as she clicked back to her email homepage.

“Oh, hey, is that the news?” Buffy asked, happy enough at the distraction. “Huh. A robbery.”

Maybe tonight might not be the night for cute cheerleaders, after all. Darn.

“So, what do you think did this?” she asked absently. The scene was…not exactly full of clues, besides what she’d read in the paper about a frozen security guy.

He looked around and sniffed. “Human,” he said decidedly.

“How can you tell the human smell of the perps from the human smell of…everyone else?” She waved her arms, vaguely.

Spike shrugged. “Can’t. Just an educated guess. Not many demons that like freezing people, shiny things, and not leaving a trace. Pity.”

She frowned. She really didn’t get him sometimes. Which shouldn’t be weird – if anything, it should be weirder that more and more of the time, she did. “Pity there’s not more sneaky ice dragon demons?”

He looked at her and scoffed, but his eyes were doing that weird soft thing where she didn’t want to look at them too long. “Pity I’ll have to leave all the interesting parts to you, pet. No spot of violence for Spike. Damn inconvenient. You’d think the military would have at least been okay with me taking down criminal types.”

Buffy considered this for more seconds than she probably should have. “Maybe…”

“What?” he asked quickly, eyes suddenly gleaming.

“Hold your horses, mister. I just…I know we were able to kind of spar, before.” Before a lot of things, but she wasn’t going to mention any of those now. Before she died. Before her mom died. Before he said he loved her. Before he even thought it, maybe?

“Knew I couldn’t touch you,” he said, with a slight smile.

“Right. But I – the person you’re fighting – wouldn’t know that. They might think they’re just a really good fighter. You could hold them off, at least, enough to get your…spot. And if there’s more than one of them, it could really help.”

Spike contemplated this. “Doubt whoever’s sneaking in here to steal shinies is a particularly good fighter, or they wouldn’t bother with the stealthy bit,” he said glumly. “It’s one thing when it’s you, love, but to be that on top of my instincts…not easy, especially when things have been so damn quiet.”

“Maybe I can help you be on top.”

She was going to cut her own tongue out.

“I mean – maybe if we spar, you can practice. Like you said, you know I’m fast enough, so I can just wait until the very last second if you need it.”

A slow grin spread across Spike’s face, and he lunged.

She almost didn’t get out of the way in time, dodging his attack at the last second. She could tell he was holding back a little, but it still took her by surprise how fluidly he moved. It had been so long since they fought, she could almost pretend it was for real.

Not that there was any reason she’d want to pretend that, of course.

They fell into an easy rhythm, her heart pounding for reasons not all from the cardio. Punch, dodge, return, dodge, neither landing any hits but coming close. His eyes were narrowed, more intensely focused than his usual devil-may-care, almost playful style while fighting.

She smiled despite herself, and took a sliver of a second too long to move.

The punch connected.

Buffy staggered slightly, but was about to laugh it off when she realized. Spike was still standing, not leaning over in pain. Belatedly, one hand moved up to his head, maybe to mime the pain, maybe just to wonder why it didn’t happen. But either way, it was too late for excuses.

He stared at her. She stared back.

And ran.

The last thing she’d expected when she got back was to see Amy again. Human Amy. She mumbled some excuses to her and Willow before escaping to the back porch again, knowing this time she would have it to herself.

What the hell had she been thinking? Abandoning Spike when he could do real damage to humans again.

But in the moment, she hadn’t been thinking about the danger. Weirdly enough, she kind of felt like he wouldn’t do anything, which didn’t make sense at all. Sure, they were friends, but that wasn’t a good enough reason.

And he loved her, her brain reminded her traitorously.

That couldn’t be enough, though, and if she’d learned one thing in her life (lives, at this point, she guessed), it was that trusting vampires led to badness.

That look in his eyes, though…he’d looked just as shocked as she was, and Spike had never been a good liar. Plus, if he’d been hiding this from her, there was no way he would have gone along with the sparring idea, unless the peroxide had finally gotten to his brain.

She breathed out, trying to center and slow her racing thoughts. If Spike couldn’t be trusted, a conclusion that seemed so obvious it barely deserved an “if,” then she had nothing to gain from letting him know she was suspicious. He’d just put his guard up, maybe finally leave town like he’d threatened to do so many times, and the blood of all his future victims would be on her hands. And if he could be trusted, she’d destroy whatever was left of their burgeoning friendship by expressing that doubt.

So. Time to act like things were normal. She’d done a lot of that, lately.

The veneer of normalcy lasted about as long as it took for them to stumble into the first trouble of the night, which, irony being what it was, happened to be a normal human mugger. Maybe some kind of silent communication passed between them, or maybe Spike was just being an impulsive idiot like usual, but he was still doubled over in pain by the time she could spare him another look, mugger already running down the street.

So maybe it had been a glitch. But she didn’t think so. She thought...

It was just her.

She wasn’t sure if that was comforting or terrifying. What did it say about her? What did it mean for them?

But when he looked at her, blue eyes impossibly wide, she knew one thing. He had kept Dawn safe and sane all summer. Even now, he was the one who knew how to calm her stormy teenage emotions, how to (mostly) keep her out of trouble and let her think it was her idea, and where to get that weird popcorn seasoning she loved that none of the grocery stores ever seemed to sell.

And if Buffy took that away from her, Dawn might never forgive her.

He could hurt her, but not Dawn. He wouldn't hurt Dawn. And for now, that was enough.

She swallowed her feelings and held out her hand to help him up. “Let’s see if we can find something out there you can fight.”

Later, when Dawn was backseat-driving Spike’s attempts to make cocoa (“You’re doing it wrong, let me – ” “No bloody wrong way to put whipped cream on, Bit, and how many times have I made it for you? Not once did it come out wrong.” “Well, except that one…” “That was your fault for getting the cups mixed up.” “Blech.” “Relieved to hear you haven’t acquired the taste for pig’s blood. Getting bloody expensive as it is.” “I meant the marshmallows. They’re so…squishy.”), Buffy knew she made the right call.

[juanabaloo]

Here is a gift for @backwvengeance for the Buffyverse gift exchange! @buffyversegiftexchange

Rating is T. Ship is Faith / Buffy aka Fuffy. (approx 24K words)

Title: Praise Her Blindingly Scrumptious Luminescence

Warnings / tags: Graphic Depictions of Violence. Fluff and Angst, Hurt / Comfort, Blood and Injury, Kissing, Petty Theft, Canon-Typical Violence, Shared Dreams, Swearing (additional chatty tags in the AO3 summary)

Description: A Fuffy Enemies to Lovers story, in a Canon Divergent AU. A slightly milder-than-canon Faith doesn't wake up from her coma until S5, and she and Buffy talk about their shared dreams. (additional canon divergence notes in the link)

Preview: And the jacket. The jacket smells like her. Buffy remembered how last night, before she went to bed she had sniffed the jacket, inhaling it deeply. It smelled like leather but something else too. Maybe the perfume Faith wore? Or her shampoo? Buffy frowned. She was pretty sure rivals didn’t sniff the war trophies they took after they won.

read it on AO3

[backwvengeance]

For @toyhdgehog for the @buffyversegiftexchange

[sidgifs]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Season 2, Episode 3: School Hard

Angel (1999-2004)

Season 5, Episode 7: Lineage

Season 5, Episode 10: Soul Purpose

Season 5, Episode 11: Damage

I wrote a story for the @buffyversegiftexchange and wanted to make some gifs of the ship it focused on, Spangel. I only signed up for the writing part but I just HAD too. For @highonbandcandy mwah.

[buffyandwillow]

for her. to be hers. for @willowthewiccanwitch for the @buffyversegiftexchange ⚔️💜

[dumbfuck-mojave]

Warm: To Do and To Feel

Characters from the Buffyverse (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series) 

 Main Pair: Angel and Spike (Spangel) 

Also Featured: Wesley, Gunn, Fred, very disgruntled mall worker, tired™ apartment receptionist.

Warnings: It’s just that good ol’ fluff. Spike is himself but it’s really nothing serious. Way too much italicizing and use of “onto”. Switches POVS but it’s made clear when it does. Retconning but it's expected in fanfic let's be real.

A/N: A gift for my beloved friend @highonbandcandy as part of the @buffyversegiftexchange . When I found out it was you, I freaked out. Then freaked out a little more knowing I couldn’t tell you for a whole month. Anyways, this was such a fun event and I’m so glad it got organized. Gif made by me, also posted on my own gif blog (@sidgifs) because I made a few extra goodies for this :). 

Word Count: 1,834 

-Spike POV-

Thank God for 24 hour shopping malls. Or, in actuality, thank God for the store employee that was letting Spike roam around the store 9 minutes before closing. She was getting more and more agitated as Spike hummed to some 80’s song playing on the retail radio, completely ignoring the time and stretching his head up to see the novelty items lining the top shelves. Wasn’t his fault the mall opened during the day.

“What?”

“Hey, can you just make a choice already so I can close up and go home.” She hissed near the end of the sentence, but Spike didn’t even look her way when answering. 

“What? Don’t have the night shift?” 

“We’re in a 24 hour mall, love. Perhaps you didn’t realize that.”

The girl looked at him with a confused “Are you stupid?” expression, “ This isn’t a 24 hour mall.” 

Spike turned around then, “What.”

“Uh, yeah. This store closes in 5 minutes and the whole thing closes about a half an hour from now.” 

Spike smiled, “Yes, I did. Thank you for the enormous amount of help you didn’t give me.” 

Spike paused for a moment, then jumped to swipe something off the top shelf. He picked up the various bags on the ground surrounding him. Walking up to the counter, he placed a wooden craft owl down. 

The worker sighed, “Did you find everything alright.. after you spent 40 minutes in here-”

“Didn’t know who you were shopping for. I was being ignored for Run-D.M.C featuring Aerosmith on the radio.”

“Is that book store down a way open any later than you are? Need to pick up somethin’ I saw earlier.”

“You going to annoy more retail workers?” The woman handed him a neatly wrapped box, which Spike put into one of his bigger bags, “They’re open until the mall closes and knowing how long you took here, you better get a move on, less you become distracted by a shiny bookmark or something.” 

“You’ve got spunk, I like you.” Spike paid and made his way towards the door, “Also, it’s lest. Lest you forget that.”

-Angel POV-

Truth of it was, Angel was deeply upset with the way things were in the present. He wanted Spike, desperately. In the romantic sense. He tried to articulate it into words but every time he fell flat. The sentences were too short. He got flustered too easily. Blah. 

Since Spike had become corporeal again, he and Angel had been sharing an apartment. Angel can’t quite recall how it was agreed upon, or any of the details after for that matter, but it was nice to have Spike around. Despite it all, it was nice to have someone who’s seen all of you there. All of you. Angel cast that thought out of his mind rather quickly. They both got along just fine, despite the tension.

Which is why, of course, Angel was in the kitchen struggling to finish up a romantic meal for Spike’s homecoming. 

The gang had come over a bit earlier, just after Spike had left, trying their best to help their inarticulate friend not make a fool of himself. He wanted it to be perfect. A perfect dinner and a perfect confession. He’s had Spike in the past, but this time he wanted it to be different. Needed it to be different. Which was what he was trying to explain to Wesley as Fred and Gunn started cooking those fucking onion things Spike loved so badly. 

“I know we don’t technically need to eat but I just think-”

“Angel, that’s the third time you’ve said that. I know you’re nervous, but trust me. We’ve all noticed what’s going on between the two of you. Quite frankly, it’s surprising nothing has happened before this. Even for you and Spike.”

“The will they/won’t they is getting embarrassing at this point.” Gunn piped in, just as Fred screeched, “She dropped it into the fryer too fast.” 

“Sorry.” Fred shot an embarrassed smile towards Gunn, who smiled back at her. She stepped back and took a seat at the table, “I think it’s going to go great! Oh, maybe you could write some poetry for him! Wait, maybe he won’t like that, are we not supposed to talk about it? I know you told me about it, but that was before he actually came back and I don’t know if it would be appropriate if I suggested that. Unless you just took the credit, which I assumed you would do anyway. Not like that! Not in that bad way…..I’m rambling, I’ll stop now.” 

Wesley was looking at Fred with a small smile on his face, then turned back to Angel. 

“It’s going to be alright.”

-Spike POV-

It was almost pitch black out by the time Spike returned home. On his way back from the mall, he may have gotten a bit distracted by a few more stores. Just a few. Okay, he bought a full backseat worth of gifts between them and the mall. Wasn’t his fault he wanted the best for his man. 

“And I keep ignoring you! Now come on, help me with this.” 

“Axel, my main man, can I get some help with a trolley!” Spike poked his head into the front door of his apartment building. The receptionist looked up, noticing the pile of presents near pouring out of Spike’s car. 

“I keep telling you not to park your car in front of the door.”

One long trolley packing period later, and the removal of Spike’s car from almost being in the front lobby, he stood tapping his foot impatiently while bright red letters changed before him. 

Thoughts whirled through his head. What if he says no? What if he laughs at me? What if, what if, what if. It was almost too much to bear. But he couldn’t back down now. After years of aching to have Angel back, he finally did and this was the time. The perfect moment. Maybe after he gets showered with his thoughtfully picked out gifts, Spike could take him out for a blooming onion. Yeah, this was about to be the best night ever.

At last, the elevator dinged and opened onto his floor. The sound of the wheels on the trolley rolling was dampened by the thin layer of carpet laid in the hallway, only to fade out completely as it rolled to a soft stop behind him. Standing right in front of his door, he took a deep, unnecessary breath before gripping the door handle. Now or never. Would be really embarrassing if the door was locked right now, he didn’t bring his keys. He began to turn the knob.

-Angel POV-

As he heard the door start to open, Angel fumbled with the lighter in his hand. Quickly slapping it down onto the kitchen counter, Angel turned right as Spike entered their shared apartment. 

“Surprise!” Angel exclaimed, shaking his hands over the table for dramatic effect. A full meal was laid out on the kitchen table, with candles replacing the normal lighting. Soft music played from somewhere hidden, and Spike stood frozen in the living room. Well, this was unexpected. 

“Do you like it?” Angel’s voice wavered, eyes looking to the side awkwardly. 

There were a few more moments of poignant silence until Spike started laughing out. Laughing hard, so hard that he started skipping breaths and had to focus on slowing it down. Angel was staring in shock as Spike straightened up and met Angel’s eyes, a bright gleam in his own. Then, he moved towards the kitchen, only stopping when he was mere inches away from Angel, who had just knocked a fork to the floor with his shocked stumbling. It clanged on the tile as Spike smiled up at him. 

“You, you-” Spike gave up on words, instead opting to smash his lips onto Angel’s own, one hand coming up to hold his neck while the other wrapped around his middle. Angel snapped out of his trance then, his own hands slowly wrapping around Spike as well.

 In that spot they stood for what felt like eternity, illuminated by the low light of the candles scattered around the room. They could’ve stayed like that for much longer, theoretically, but Spike pulled away suddenly, Angel trailing after him. Spike moved his hand slightly up and grabbed the back of Angel’s head, pressing their foreheads together. 

“I had a whole speech planned.” Angel whispered. 

Spike chortled breathlessly, looking a little surprised himself, “Me too.”

He gestured to the door, “Was gonna present you with those, give a whole lovey-dovey speech about how much you matter to me, whatever, see how it went.”

Confused about what Spike was pointing at, Angel looked at Spike and noticed his brow starting to crease. He put his hands to Spike’s cheeks, rubbing his thumbs on his prominent cheekbones, “Hey, look at me. This is fine. This is perfect. God, I can’t believe this actually happened.”

Spike looked into his eyes once more, and how beautiful they were. Like two blue gemstones, Angel wanted to look into them forever. Until Spike sniffed and those eyes snapped past him. 

“You made blooming onions?!’ Spike smacked himself on the chest, “A man after my own undead heart.” 

“Anything for you.” Angel said sweetly as his hands loosened from around Spike’s chest. Spike moved to sit down at the table and gestured for Angel to do the same. Everything seemed settled until Spike shot up, running to the still open door and rolling in the large trolley of gifts. 

“Oh, no. No!” Angel shook his head as Spike grinned and mimicked his earlier hand action. He reached into the top bag and pulled out something, holding it behind his back. 

“Jus’.... I want you to see this one at least.”

Angel sighed and held out his hands, waiting for his gift. Spike nodded towards his eyes, and he closed them. He felt something get pushed near his hands, gripping the weight accordingly. 

“It’s special editions of Sherlock Holmes. Gold pages, leather cover. I know you like them.” Spike shrugged. “I love them, I love you. Thank you.” 

“Okay, open.” 

As candlelight entered his vision once more, he looked down at his hands. Three books, neatly bound together. He moved to the table, setting them down and pulled the binding away. 

Spike leaned in for a quick peck and pulled away smirking. He looked at the table.

 “Well, let’s tuck in then. Then, we can have some more ~fun~ after.” Spike wiggled his eyes as Angel rolled his eyes and sat down, a small smirk on his face. 

Later that night, when all the presents had been opened, the money spent chastised, and at least parts of original confessions whispered quietly, Angel laid in bed with Spike in his arms. Warm. Somehow, two dead bodies made each other warm. Maybe it was the souls. Regardless, Angel never wanted this feeling to go away. It never would. 

[via-whitmore]

Fic: you’re too intact (Giles/Ethan PWP)

Oneshot for the @buffyversegiftexchange and @ Aspasiathebloody

CONTENT WARNINGS: Consensual breathplay/choking, powerplay, nonconsensual voyeurism, magically infused sex

Read on AO3 

The truth of it was Ripper was never cut out for glam. By the time Bowie killed Ziggy, he was grateful the sequins and feathers were drifting to the stadium floor in spotlight and fading smoke. Ziggy was the beacon out of the dark of archives, tea rooms, and graveyards but he had no desire to start dressing like a peacock and learning to apply lip liner. He believed his mask  was more subtle. The working class hard knocks dropout was easier to live in until he could forget everything they’d wanted him to be. So what if his parents hadn’t run a grocery? When he said anarchy he saw the Council building going up like Guy Fawkes day. He had his tower to pull down, same as any of the born East Ender. The death he’d seen would wake these alley brawlers screaming in the night. He deserved London. He deserved punk.

Ethan, on the other hand, would not let glam die even if he had to keep it alive single handedly under his own skin. Ethan taught Ripper much of this--the deserving. Ethan had the ability, with magic or without, to be so a part of London that he could wear its shadows like a skin while simultaneously being a bonfire in the gray rain. He wore the safety pinned leather jacket and the pink boa and lipstick. This was not always good for his safety. And much of their gang’s lives were taken up with cracking skulls over Ethan’s appearance. But he taught Ripper about dancing on the line between wanting to disappear and demanding to be heard. It was Ethan who stole Ripper his second guitar and their record player. It was Ethan who suggested Ripper sing lead vocal while he took the role of mosh pit disciple.

Now here they were. There was no place to fuck in the one room squat they were calling a flat unless all six of them were doing it together. Nominally, nebulously, the lines broke down into Deidre and Tommy, Randall and Phillip. Now, Ripper supposed, he and Ethan. One or the other had decided they wanted to fuck alone together. Ripper couldn’t remember who’d set his eyes on whom amidst the tangle of limbs and made the decision. He would never be able to even after it all turned to ash. They might still get pulled in on public indecency but this was the first year sodomy itself wouldn’t get them arrested. At least on paper. 

“Someday we will all be free,” Ethan had said, tone flippant but eyes shining. 

It was the kind of thing one could only say without irony at eighteen, no matter how disaffected one was trying to look. Ethan always believed in a future and his ability to move into it. Ripper was trying only to think about the now.

And now had Ethan up against an alley wall, the boy’s legs wrapped expertly around his back. Ethan was biting into the leather that covered Ripper’s shoulder to stifle his moans. It was not the first time, but one of the first. The first time, Ripper never would have done what he did next.

“Stop my breath,” whispered Ethan.

Ripper didn’t know what he meant. He covered his inexperience by reaching down into Ethan’s jeans, where the two of them rubbed together, and pinching the bare cock with two fingernails. He hushed Ethan’s scream by shoving his thumb into the boy’s mouth. Ethan could smell himself on fingers that were callused not only from guitars and fistacuffs. He would never ask where they came from. He pulled at the hand and placed it over his nose and mouth as Ripper expertly got his own jeans down just enough, Ethan supporting all his own weight. Something flashed in Ripper’s eyes, the barest spark of a question. Ethan nodded. Ripper reached into his pocket, smeared his fingers with lube, and began to play expertly against Ethan’s hole.

“Oh God! Oh God!” 

Only Ethan knew what he was saying against Ripper’s palm. Sex was the only time he ever called down what was a fiction at best and an old bastard at worst. 

What could I call down and move through this man’s hands? Ethan thought distractedly. What could I make with them? What could we make?

Ripper was rod-hard against Ethan without so much as a kiss in return. Ethan rubbed against him like a cat, slid down, and turned against the wall; presenting his ass. He never wore underwear. He reached into the pocket of his lowered jeans and pulled out a black scarf, tied it around his eyes, and listened to the sound of unzipping. The deep grunt Ripper gave as he pulled his cock out and slicked it thrilled through Ethan’s body. Under the layer of body heat and the cool mist, Ethan could feel the low current of dormant magic rolling off the other man’s taut body and touching deep inside to meet his own. In his personal darkness, he felt Ripper reach out and brush a fingertip against the scarf and into his curls. Then he slid a palm under Ethan’s silk shirt and stroked up his spine. Ethan’s breath deserted him at the shockingly tender touch, his jaw falling. He wanted to buck away from it and dissolve simultaneously. There was someone gentle underneath all the fury roiling in this man. Ethan had no use for gentleness.

Liar, liar, he thought. That’s okay, beauty, we can make you anyone you want to be. All masks become real with enough time.

He was forgetting the drab surroundings, retreating into a plane of only sensation under the hands. Then Ripper pinned him with all his weight to the wall and slipped inside him. He exhaled a hot breath on the back of Ethan’s neck. When Ethan howled, the palm came back against his lips. He licked it playfully. Ripper gave him a moment to adjust, to just let them feel one another, before he drew out slightly and struck into him. 

“Faster,” Ethan begged after the third such movement.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” growled Ripper, but he picked up his pace.

Maybe he could sense how best to please Ethan. But it was a shaky assumption. He wasn’t used to this, Ethan could tell. No dirty little quickies in the hay with the stableboy at the country house. Maybe there had been a mean older boy in the dormitories. Or maybe there hadn’t been anyone at all. The thought added another layer of delight over the mounting pleasure and the low scald of magic.

“I could do anything to you,” Ripper hummed hotly against his ear. He sounded less commanding and more incredulous at the idea. Seeming to sense the slip in his guise, his voice assumed a harder edge. “Leave you here blind in a heap. Like a rat in the gutter.”

Ethan nudged the hand away from his mouth. Ripper obviously didn’t know enough to hold his turf.

“You’re in the gutter with me now,” he answered breathlessly.

Ripper didn’t know how to reply and so licked the back of Ethan’s neck. He crested Ethan further and further towards release but it wasn’t quite enough. He knew how to put the cherry on the cake.

Ethan knew how to bend a lover’s will with a spell. It did absolutely nothing for him. Devoting himself to chaos had been a way to rid himself of the controlling impulse inherent in magic. Molding the world to one’s desires was too...available. Ethan wanted to be Puck, not some Old Testament god.

He wanted the chance to give himself over to this mess of a man walking between selves. But sometimes, one had to grease the wheels just a little to see what the outcome would be.

He sent the message to Ripper’s hands where they pressed on the wall above his head, not to his mind exactly. The idea needed to be Ripper’s. Ethan was no beggar. The hands slid down and began to gently massage the sides of Ethan’s throat. He sighed encouragingly.

There was the barest instant of a halt while Ripper considered and even the fear Ethan felt added to the closeness of orgasm. 

“That’s what you want?”

“Hurt me.”

“I--”

The illusion of Ripper broke for just that breath. Ethan wasn’t worried. All things with time.

“I’ll teach you.”

It could easily have been a disaster. Ethan might have had to think through the brink of orgasm to loosen a less experienced partner’s hands and avoid danger. It was his own fault. He hated asking for what he wanted; all the discussion. But he certainly didn’t want brain damage. But Ripper knew and somewhat hated that he knew. Old combat training came back. He mentally worked backwards from the desire to subdue an opponent, placing cupped hands on either side of Ethan’s neck again. The flutter of his rapid pulse beneath his fingers excited Ripper and pulled him back into the moment. He squeezed gently, moving his forefinger to apply some moderate pressure just below the trachea. Ethan’s legs tightened spasmodically around Ripper’s body and he bucked as he came. Ripper released his hold quickly, clutching Ethan close as he shuddered and muffled his cry in Ripper’s neck.

“Got you,” Ripper gasped. “I’ve got you.”

It was a long moment before Ethan wrapped his arms around Ripper in return.

“You’re good,” he gulped.

“You’re a manipulative little shit. And if you ever control me again, I’ll break your fucking jaw.”

“Promise?” 

Ethan batted his eyelashes. Ripper pushed him away with a sneer. As Ethan stumbled backward, Ripper disguised catching him by the shoulder by steering him onto his knees.

“I gave you what you wanted.” His voice caught, then turned hard. “Your turn.”

Ethan grinned. As he obliged, neither of them knew someone out in the night rain had watched the moment with a hidden set of animal eyes. He admired the look of the two punk lovers. Watching them in the first fumblings of sticky submission almost made Spike wish he could still breathe. He did not know he stood several feet from a boy trained in every way to tear him apart. He did think perhaps it was time for a new look for such new and brazen times; something to lure such kids in their dark clubs. 

It’s not the place of this work to ask if the boy would have done so had he caught the vampire staring. He only tossed back his head with a silent cry against the brick and let the cold air expand his lungs before he did up his pants and offered a hand to the one on the ground. Then they walked through the mist past the one who had been watching. 

They raced each other up the stairs to their squat like children. They took off their damp clothes and didn’t bother to put on new ones. Ethan covered his surprised squeak when Ripper pulled him down to lay at his side on the mattress. If they fell asleep together, it wasn’t anyone’s business.

[idabbleincrazy]

Made for @buffyversegiftexchange There was a last minute drop out by one of the participants, so rather than try to find a pinch hitter, I decided to take up the giftee myself. Sorry, @runnfromtheak that I wasn't able to write anything for you, but I hope you enjoy these aesthetics!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, June 24

MOLLY (to Kennedy) When you staked him, seriously, the rush was like— KENNEDY (to Amanda) So you took one out solo? MOLLY Yeah, what was that like? AMANDA I don't know. I mean, when I saw the vampire, vamp— KENNEDY Vampire's good too. AMANDA Cool. Yeah, when that vampire attacked me, I felt this kind of charge, you know?

~~Potential~~

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