<p>Buffy and Spike’s night out might be date-like, but it is most definitely not a date! A fresh take on Life Serial, told in comic fo
You guys! It's only been a year. No big deal. But @dustyfics and I finally posted the finale to our comic book! We are so proud, and hope you enjoy this really fun tale that Dusty whipped up, and seeing my artistic progression as it went along. You can, maybe, tell that I was trying to find a style I liked and then settled into it HARD. Also, fair warning: there be nakeds in this.
Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don't be shy and share anyway!
All fics are Spuffy!
the Eyes
Standing alone in the school library, just inside the door, Buffy remembers abstractly that innocent, romantic song that played as her mother lit one little candle for her birthday, just a few hours ago.
She should’ve made the wish.
Instead she let the candle burn. Wishless.
“You must be so disappointed in me… this is all my fault.”
“No. I don't believe it is.”
Giles was wrong.
Everything was burning now, and it was all Buffy’s fault.
Queen of Everything
Sweet’s Hellsville isn’t what she’d imagined.
Violet skies, thick with stars. Cherry blossoms in the dark. Dance and jazz spilling from bars.
Everything is art.
Buffy walks on cobblestones, holding her own arms, feeling apart.
“I’ll always feel this strange estrangement.
Nothing here is real, nothing here is right.
I don’t need my home ‘cause it’s no home,
back there where no one knows—”
“I know.”
“What’re you doing here, Spike?”
He swallows hard. “Rescuing you.”
“I’m no damsel.”
“You’re dressed like one.”
“... I’m the queen.”
Happily Ever After
“The sink is clogged again.”
Buffy rushed over to inspect the sink. “What?! No! The sink can’t be clogged again! I’ve been so careful!”
“It can be, and it is,” Dawn said, folding her arms authoritatively as she gave the inches of undrained water in the sink a disdainful glare.
Pouting, Buffy said, “I was gonna make Hamburger Helper.”
“You can totally make Hamburger Helper without a properly draining sink, but please for the love or your sister and your boyfriend who have taste buds, do not make more Hamburger Helper.”
I Do!
“Bloody fuck yeah, I do.”
Buffy giggled and looked into Spike’s eyes dreamily. “I do, too.”
His grin was devilish, his blue eyes gleaming hot. Based on how he kept biting the tip of his tongue as he looked at her, he seemed to want to slurp her up in her white gown and veil right then and there on the altar. Buffy had to admit that his mischievous predatory gaze and the way he looked in that tuxedo were giving her some dangerous thoughts of her own.
But they were in a place of God.
Or maybe the government. She didn’t really know, and she didn’t really care.
Sounding remarkably low on caring himself, their graying officiant stated, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Make sure you sign and pick up your license at the door, and… you may now kiss the—”
Spike grabbed her and pushed his tongue into her mouth before the officiant could finish. Buffy dropped her bouquet and clung to his face, kissing him back with a massive smile on her face.
She’d never been this happy.
Frostbite
“Absolutely bloody not.”
“Please, Spike!” Dawn put some extra whinge in her voice as Spike did his best to ignore her and focus on retrieving the blood from his refrigerator. “I never ask you for anything!”
Spike scoffed as he untwisted the top of the jar and gave it a sniff. “That’s bollocks and you know it.”
“I don’t!” she protested, voice squeaky, eyes big.
He crooked one brow at her and took a sip of his breakfast without comment.
Not a Date
Artwork by @dampersandspoons
Fresh
It’s a medical room. He’s recovering in bed. Because he survived.
There should be a reassuring beep… beep… beep…
But it’s Spike, so of course there isn’t. Pulses are required for that.
There are machines, though, with glowing red numbers that mean nothing to Buffy. Needles in his veins connected to bags of something. He’s in a weird hospital gown that’s too white. Spike doesn’t wear white. He looks wrong in white. Everything here is so white.
She doesn’t like this place.
Aglow
The boozy burn felt good and hot in Spike’s throat.
It wasn’t quite enough to temper the sting of Buffy’s final words, her flippant tone, her fireless eyes— but it was better than nothing.
“Spike, you have to move on.”
Like hell.
Spike didn’t move on. It wasn’t in his nature. Spike held the hell on. He fought tooth and nail for what he wanted. It was the only way he’d ever gotten a bloody thing.
But Buffy was sure as fuck testing all that. His hands were exhausted and trembling from the white-knuckle grip he had on his love for her. It hurt. All of him hurt. From his fists to his cold, dead heart.
He just needed it to stop.
A Very Bad Man
Pacing the kitchen, Buffy shouted dramatically, “Spike is capital ‘E’ Evil, Mom! God, why do I need to explain this? He is a vampire! Vampires are bad! And you served him cocoa?! We do not serve the undead cocoa under any circumstances! You could’ve died! He has no soul—”
“Well, of course he doesn’t,” Mom said, drying one of the offending cocoa mugs while she spoke. “What other kind of vampire is there?”
“None! No other kind exists or has ever existed! Ergo and thus, they are all very soulless and all very dangerous. Should make it real easy to remember not to invite one in and give it warm treats when it shows up at your doorstep like a mangy stray cat.”
“Oh, Buffy, you are completely overreacting,” Mom replied, setting down her dishcloth as Buffy folded her arms resolutely. “And while I appreciate your protective spirit, I am still your mother. And… I’m a woman.”
“Excuse me, what is that supposed to mean?”
Her mom smiled and shrugged. “It means I know when I’m in danger and I know when I’m not. And that man—”
“Vampire.”
“ — is not so bad.”
Buffy sighed heavily and stared at the ceiling.
Pick Me Up
How dare Mr. What’s-A-Macchiato? tip her with a fortune cookie? Buffy had real bills to pay!
Irritated, she snapped it open and crunched on the insulting cookie.
“You’ll win a zillion dollars!” she declared, unfolding her paper fortune.
Love isn't something you find. Love finds you.
“Guess China’s never heard of me.” The has-been slayer who destroyed magic and watched every lover go.
The doorbell jingled.
“We’re closed!” Well, nearly.
“Not here for coffee.”
That voice…
She looked up. “Spike…?”
“Buffy.”
Vision blurry. Heart beaty.
“Missed you,” he uttered.
Burning hands. Her quiet confession…
Shattering glass jolted her back.
“Spike.”
I can't believe 10 fics back only takes me to a year ago 😲
"Once upon a time, a hero slayed a dragon.
A kiss saved the day."
THE FAIRYTALE by @dustyfics
This is me attempting to my first fanfiction binding cause every now and then I need to change the direction of my creative projects to keep me sane.
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[Please note: Selling fanfictions is illegal, this is ONLY for personal use. If you see people selling bound fanfictions, please report them.]
So because I'm a nerd, and because I was curious, I compiled a list of the credited Buffy writers and their episodes, mostly to check for their own consistency, haha. And because I thought it was interesting enough to share:
WRITERS:
Joss Whedon
Welcome to the Hellmouth
The Harvest
Nightmares (with David Greenwalt)
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (with Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden)
Prophecy Girl
When She Was Bad
School Hard (with David Greenwalt)
Lie to Me
Ted (with David Greenwalt)
Innocence
Becoming, Part 1
Becoming, Part 2
Anne
Amends
Doppelgangland
Graduation Day, Part 1
Graduation Day, Part 2
The Freshman
Hush
Who Are You?
Restless
Family
The Body
The Gift
Once More With Feeling
Lessons
Chosen
Dana Reston
Witch
David Greenwalt
Teacher’s Pet
Angel
Nightmares (with Joss Whedon)
School Hard (with Joss Whedon)
Reptile Boy
Ted (with Joss Whedon)
Faith, Hope, and Trick
Homecoming
Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
The Puppet Show
The Dark Age
Phases
Killed By Death
Matt Kiene
The Pack
Inca Mummy Girl (with Joe Reinkemeyer)
Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden
I, Robot… You, Jane
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (with Joss Whedon)
Ty King
Some Assembly Required
Passion
Joe Reinkemeyer
Inca Mummy Girl (with Matt Kiene)
Carl Ellsworth
Halloween
Howard Gordon
What’s My Line? Part 1 (with Marti Noxon)
Marti Noxon
What’s My Line? Part 1 (with Howard Gordon)
What’s My Line? Part 2
Bad Eggs
Surprise
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I Only Have Eyes For You
Dead Man’s Party
Beauty and the Beasts
The Wish
Consequences
The Prom
Living Conditions
Wild at Heart
Doomed (with David Fury and Jane Espenson)
Goodbye Iowa
New Moon Rising
Buffy vs. Dracula
Into the Woods
Forever
Bargaining, Part 1
Wrecked
Villains
Bring on the Night (with Douglas Petrie)
Elin Hampton
Go Fish (with David Fury)
David Fury
Go Fish (with Elin Hampton)
Helpless
Choices
Fear Itself
Doomed (with Marti Noxon and Jane Espenson)
The I in Team
Primeval
Real Me
Shadow
Crush
Bargaining, Part 2
Life Serial (with Jane Espenson)
Gone
Grave
Sleeper (with Jane Espenson)
Showtime
Lies My Parents Told Me (with Drew Goddard)
Thania St. John
Gingerbread (with Jane Espenson)
Jane Espenson
Band Candy
Gingerbread (with Thania St. John)
Earshot
The Harsh Light of Day
Pangs
Doomed (with David Fury and Marti Noxon)
A New Man
Superstar
The Replacement
Triangle
Checkpoint (with Douglas Petrie)
I Was Made to Love You
Intervention
After Life
Flooded (with Douglas Petrie)
Life Serial (with David Fury)
Doublemeat Palace
Same Time, Same Place
Conversations with Dead People (with Drew Goddard)
Sleeper (with David Fury)
First Date
Storyteller
End of Days (with Douglas Petrie)
Douglas Petrie
Revelations
Bad Girls
Enemies
The Initiative
This Year’s Girl
The Yoko Factor
No Place Like Home
Fool For Love
Checkpoint (with Jane Espenson)
The Weight of the World
Flooded (with Jane Espenson)
As You Were
Two to Go
Beneath You
Bring on the Night (with Marti Noxon)
Get it Done
End of Days (with Jane Espenson)
Dan Vebber
Lovers Walk
The Zeppo
Tracey Forbes
Beer Bad
Something Blue
Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Out of My Mind
Listening to Fear
Tough Love
Tabula Rasa
Hell’s Bells
Help
Potential
Touched
Steven S. DeKnight
Blood Ties
Spiral
All the Way
Dead Things
Seeing Red
Drew Z. Greenberg
Smashed
Older and Far Away
Entropy
Him
The Killer in Me
Empty Places
Diego Gutierrez
Normal Again
Drew Goddard
Selfless
Conversations with Dead People (with Jane Espenson)
Never Leave Me
Lies My Parents Told Me (with David Fury)
Dirty Girls
So the conclusion I've come to is... in my own fanfic writing projects, I sometimes have works that I know are very good and are received well. And there are some that I know just stink, and the lower interaction reflects it. It's pretty comforting to know that for professional writers, the same thing is true.
Jane Espenson, for instance, beloved by Spuffies everywhere for being our man on the inside, ALSO co-wrote "Gingerbread," my least favorite ep ever.
Douglas Petrie is, in my opinion, absolutely an undercover Spuffy, or at least understood the assignment well enough to fake it. And I love him for being the first to write Wesley, for breaking Bangel up one of the times in S3, for writing "Fool for Love," for strengthening Spike's character in every ep that included him.
And David Fury... look, I know he gets a lot of flack, but I think he doesn't actually hate Spike as much as it seems. Looking at his list of episodes and the messages I know to be in them, I think he's just VERY pro-soul, and can't wrap his head around a vampire being good without one. But once Spike does get his soul... well, we need look no further than "Showtime."
But really, let's all bow down to Rebecca Rand Kirshner. For "Out of My Mind." For "Tabula Rasa." For "Help." For "Touched." For some of the sweetest Spuffy moments in all her other eps.
Buffy really did the FUNNIEST thing possible with Spike. usually when a villan becomes part of the found family it's because 1. they're already on a redemption rc or 2. there is an even bigger evil and they need to join forces.
with spike they just put a muzzle on him like he is a rabid dog they don't want to put down, dressed him with some Hawaiian shirts and started feeding him blood out of a straw.
ellievsbear
gracieabrams
kianamaiart
gummygunk
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
origamiaround
