Your picks for everything fannish

Caught in a Bad Romance....a meta of Buffy's Romantic Relationships by shadowkat67
http://shadowkat67.livejournal.com/506872.html
Spike is S6 reminds me a great deal of that metaphor. Their dance feels like a dance between life and death. Buffy wants to die, she is literally dancing with death, over and over again she throws herself into its arms, but death can't take her - because in doing so, death extinguishes the very thing he wants to possess. It's a bad romance - both characters can't have what they want. Buffy wants death. Spike wants life. She wants the fire, but doesn't want to be burned. He wants it to, and seems not to care if he gets burned. This can't end well.
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Prism by penny_lane_42
http://community.livejournal.com/seasonal_spuffy/356065.html
PG-13, Season 7, episodes "Bring on the Night" through "Chosen". Buffy and Spike as seen by Potentials and Faith. Sharp, insightful character study; inventive use of POVs; great voices - Potentials have more interesting personalities in this fic than they have in canon. From Molly, who initially thinks that

Spike must be a dog ("Buffy talks about Spike being the only one strong enough to protect everyone and Xander’s jibes about him attacking people combined with Dawn’s sarcastic
comment about him needing to be put down made her really think it must have been a dog") to Faith who tries to convince Buffy that she shouldn't run away from her emotions ("I know you think anything that feels good is big-time evil. But that ain’t true."), it's a powerful and gripping story.
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In my humble opinion anaross is one the finest BtVS ficwriters. Her works are a happy marriage of intriguing plots, sharp observations of human behavior and, often, reflections on the creative process.

Unspoken R
Spike/Buffy. Post-NFA. One day Buffy finds out that somebody gave her a garden... You may read the story as a straightforward Spuffy reunion fic or as a wry reflection on verbal and non-verbal communication between people.
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There are so many wonderful stories that I'm incredibly glad that petzipellepingo has already posted her Top 5 Favorite Spike/Buffy Tales For 2007 thus making my choices less agonizing. I recommend first of all check her entry because all her choices are excellent.

( And here are mine... )

Joss swore many times that he'll never use time-travel in his stories until he finally caved for a while in Timebomb (AtS5x19). But ficwriters love time-travel stories. Why? Obviously, because Buffyverse characters change and time-travel fics are the best way to highlight these changes. Also - because it's fun and it tests authors' skills in plotting and character development.

1. Brave New World by jamesmfan

http://www.spikeluver.com/SpuffyRealm/viewstory.php?sid=19153

WIP, AU post-GID. After the confrontation with Shadow Men Buffy gets back only to find herself in 2033 where vampires are accepted as members of human society. When she stakes a vampire, she gets arrested and is accused of the murder. Spike, who works in a Humanoids United organization, is charged with her prosecution. The author focuses on characters but manages to create a very consistent and logical picture of the world in 2033.
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1. "Domino Effect" by anaross.
http://anaross.livejournal.com/65185.html
Post-Chosen. Buffy time-travels back to the moment she sees Angel and tries to convince Spike that he shouldn't take hard their kiss. The first try is unsuccessful so she tries again only to make matters worse...
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