Hard Times in the Buffyverse (Buffy & Spike Edition)

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

To restate: I read plenty of light-hearted fare, but that’s not all I love in a fanfic. Some stories involve real-life issues, the struggle to make a relationship work, facing your own shortcomings, or just plain bad timing. Here are a few stand-outs from 2009.

The Fall of the Year by st_salieri
Ten years after Chosen, bad plumbing and the day-to-day threaten a relationship that has withstood multiple deaths. R

Deja Voodoo and The Hero of the Piece by rahirah (Barb C)
Companion stories about memory and identity in the Barb!verse. In the first, a demon causes a 35-year-old Buffy to revert (mentally, though not physically) to her 16-year old self. Imagine her surprise when the vampire claiming to be her husband is NOT Angel. In the second, Spike wakes up with no sense of his identity, and tries to work it out from the crazy things that people tell him. They can’t all be telling him the truth. PG13

Look At Me by larabeckinsale
An intense first-person, present-tense moment in season 6. NC17

Paper Promise by Jess Marie
Spike makes a last ditch effort to get through to Buffy on her birthday during Season 6. He unknowingly succeeds, but their poor communication skills threaten to leave all parties feeling like failures. Begun in 2006, and just finished last month, this story deals with Buffy’s violence in a very balanced and non-bashing way, and brings in interesting perspectives from Xander and the evil Trio. NC17

None Other Than You: A Spuffy Story by tibialisant
A few years post-Chosen, Buffy has all but quit the slaying business, until an especially stinky (and strong) vampire almost has his one good day. As more demons start to show up, her almost-fiance begins to suspect that Buffy's past (junkie? prostitute?) is coming back to haunt her, along with the "old friend" hanging out in the basement. WIP (but close to the end), R

Comments

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Good to see Look at Me recommended, thanks for posting.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I've recced it before, but it can always use more love (like everybody).

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Another great list. The fics I read are really outstanding. I never heard of "Paper Promise" - the description sounds very intriguing, I'll definitely check it out.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Paper Promise popped up out of nowhere on BSV, and it impressed me with it's subtlety. I think it's the only non-LJ thing I recced this year!

[yourlibrarian]

Just went through two of these, great recs!

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed them! The last two are multiple chapters, so it will take awhile to get through them, but they are both worth the time.

[rahirah]

Thanks. :)

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I couldn't let those two go by unremarked! Great stuff!

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh-- great list! Thanks for the recs. I looked at "Paper promises" and realize I started reading it years ago. Probably when it was first posted. And now it's finished-- cool! Off to read :D

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

¡Yay! The beginning chapters pre-date my fanfic reading, so it was totally new to me.