My Five Favorite Drabbles For 2012

In no order :
...

1. Colder Than Death by [livejournal.com profile] alwaysjbj

He shivered; the alien sensation raced down his spine. He never felt the cold, not since that long ago night in a dank London alleyway. Vampires don’t, not really. There’s an awareness of temperature, obviously, but they aren’t affected the way humans are.

Now he lay alone in the rubble awaiting the sunset, with the scent of their pleasure hanging heavily on the air and the memory of her soft, pliant body draped across his, and the absence of her warmth chilled him to the bone just as her heat had scalded him to the very depths of his being.

2. Escape by [livejournal.com profile] dralf_burns

Anne is her escape. Anne is a normal, troubled girl who lives in a crappy room and works a menial job. She doesn’t kill demons and she most definitely doesn’t kiss vampires.

Except… When she spots a couple exchanging kisses, memories of graveyard kisses and That Night assail her mind. Her eyes clench shut as the images and sensations crash against the wall she’s built between her old life and her new one. These aren’t Anne’s memories; they’re Buffy’s and Buffy wants to be forgotten.

I am Anne. She takes up the mantra, hoping that one day it’ll be true.

3. Put It All On Him by [livejournal.com profile] kudagirl

He struggled to stand after she fled the alley.

His body wracked with pain from her fists.

His heart suffered even more damage.

His poor Slayer, she was breaking into shattered pieces.

Most demons believed the Slayer was as tough as a diamond.

He knew better. She was just a girl under that all that bravo.

The thought she killed that girl drove her to destroy herself.

She had taken out her anger at herself on his body.

He understood her better than her friends.

He just wished he could take her anguish as he took her violence.

4. Who Came Back by [livejournal.com profile] kudagirl

The thing wearing Buffy’s body sneered at him as he got close.

Willow brought back the body, but the inside system was wrong.

At first, she sounded and acted like their Buffy.

Then the rages began. They made excuses for it.

She’d been in a hell dimension so it was expected.

Then she had snapped Dawn’s neck.

Spike didn’t know who was behind the face of the woman he loved.

It wasn’t Buffy anymore. Didn’t matter who it was now.

Somehow his third kill of a slayer didn’t bring him any pleasure.

He cradled her cooling body as he sobbed.

5. Courting Sin'verse. post alt S3 by [livejournal.com profile] leni_ba

“Rupert Giles,” the grave older man started, laying down the thick file he and the other Council leaders had been perusing. “Your duties as a Watcher have been mismanaged from day one. Just the thought of allowing these… children… such liberties…”

Giles let them list his transgressions against the ancient code, heard the disdain in their accusations. Having been called on the carpet on account of Buffy’s defection had been no surprise. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself, he knew, but if he were to be given the chance, he’d turn the tables on them with one word:

Cruciamentum.

[identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com 2013-01-07 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent choices!


Gabrielle

[identity profile] spuffy-luvr.livejournal.com 2013-01-07 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
All excellent, but the fourth one? *whimper*

[identity profile] red-satin-doll.livejournal.com 2013-01-18 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh god I know, right? I have this weird kink for "Buffy came back really wrong" fics (which feels all sorts of wrong but there it is), I think part of it is that the writers willing to brave that territory are unafraid of darker themes and from what I've seen are generally very mature and talented writers. And this one? Just, whoa.

[identity profile] slaymesoftly.livejournal.com 2013-01-07 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent choices!!!

[identity profile] kudagirl.livejournal.com 2013-01-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm very surprised to see two of mine here. Thank you so very much.

The other three drabbles are wonderful. So many talented people share our fandom.

[identity profile] leni-ba.livejournal.com 2013-01-08 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks for including mine!

[identity profile] zanthinegirl.livejournal.com 2013-01-08 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
OOh, good choices!

[personal profile] kikimay 2013-01-08 12:08 pm (UTC)(link)
These are beautiful! Lovely choices.

[identity profile] dralf-burns.livejournal.com 2013-01-08 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for including one of mine!

The other four are excellent choices.
shapinglight: (Solar flares)

[personal profile] shapinglight 2013-01-09 12:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Great drabbles.

[identity profile] red-satin-doll.livejournal.com 2013-01-18 02:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think I was familiar with any of these writers or stories before so thank you!