An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Zulu at ao3/author website
Zulu was my first foray into Buffy femslash! I found her when looking for Buffy/Tara fic. She wrote a lot of Faith femslash, in particular. Here are five fics that demonstrate her range in theme, tone, style, and pov.
Deserted by Zulu at ao3 and the author’s website
Pairings: Buffy/Tara, Buffy/Faith
Content Notes: mention of bleeding, pretty references to sex, a sort of voyeurism
"Did it happen like this?" she asks, and Faith says, "It was like a dream, every time."
Summary: Tara dreams, too. Restless.
A neat look at why Tara might’ve been chosen to speak for the first Slayer, Sineya, in “Restless.” The writing is soft and lovely, but sharp--fitting the tone of the episode. It was my first Zulu fic and it always makes me happy.
Quietly Become Strong at ao3 and the author’s website
Pairings: Buffy/Faith, Kennedy/Faith, Buffy/Kennedy
Content Notes: sex, surprise magic-induced mental telepathy
After an eternity, they drew apart and gazed into each other's eyes. Buffy smiled, slow and sweet, the way she had when the Hellmouth had collapsed in front of her and her entire life stretched out ahead of her like something wholly new, and wholly hers.
Faith turned to me, with a lazy-dangerous smile on her face. I knew what she was thinking, and not because of the Slayer connection, either. I mean, I'd gone off like a rocket earlier, and she'd barely touched me. Add Buffy to the mix, and the hotness factor in the room shot into the stratosphere.
Summary: Willow’s spell didn’t work exactly as planned.
Smut! Characterization, and life-affirming smut! I like the Kennedy pov as she tries to figure out what’s going on and pushes first Faith, then Buffy. She’s confused and aroused and sweet, even if she’s not that nice. Her growing understanding as the story builds hits a perfect climax. This is a joyful take on something that could have happened with the Slayer spell, and the voice is right.
Pairings: Tara/Faith, past Tara/Willow threaded throughout
Content Notes: sex, blood, drunk sex
Tara bites her lip and checks the dashboard. She's going safely two miles above the speed limit, the oil was changed last week, the engine is cool enough, and she is going to pick Faith up from prison. She didn't tell anyone what she planned, because there was no one left in Sunnydale to tell. Silence surrounds the subject and sometimes it's hard to believe that it's Tara who ended up with Faith's contact information. Harder, too, to decide how she came to be writing her phone number at the bottom of a long letter, telling Faith to call if she wanted to. "Angel told Mr. Giles," she wrote, "and he let me know, just in case."
Just in case: because if Buffy dies (she does not want to live) again, and forever (unless Willow thinks she is powerful enough), then it's likely that Mr. Giles will be dead with her, and someone has to tell Faith. This time, Tara thinks, she wants to tell Faith. She doesn't want--what happened before.
Summary: Tara makes her own choice.
Who is Tara without Willow? Set between “Wrecked” and “Dead Things,” Tara wants to know. Her and Faith are very sweet and very painful. There’s an emptiness throughout, brought up through the Southern California desert and the way the characters talk. Spare. Also, Tara remains a nerd for invertebrates.
Failed Attempts to Fly at ao3
Pairings: Buffy/Faith, Buffy/Faith/Giles, mention of Ethan/Giles
Giles held the briefcase out, moving it away from his body. Stepping quickly into his office, he set it down. Even among the parchments, the demonaries and grimoires, it looked utterly ordinary. Giles hadn't so much as noticed it, years ago when he had first seen it--sitting in Father's study, where he took his lessons in dead demon languages. The first memory he had of it was Father clutching it, his hand fisted and white around the handle, as though it contained a terrible weight. It was the only time Giles had seen him cry.
Summary: He set the crystal before you and asked you to look for the flaw at its center. You trusted him. You looked.
Right before Giles starts poisoning Buffy for her Cruciamentum. Giles pov as he remembers his father’s Slayer, and sees himself echoed in Buffy/Faith. I like the deliberate, increasing tension. It’s sad and alarming and soft. Part one of an abandoned story, but I think it works very well on its own.
Lover of the Raw at ao3 and the author’s website
Pairings: Buffy/Angel(us), Buffy/Faith, Buffy/Spike
Content Notes: right at the borderline dubcon (not at all in a romanticized or sexy way), miserable sex, intrapersonal violence, depression
He is inside, sleeping, restless with the coming of night and the rushing course of your blood.
Summary: He, she, he loves you.
Possibly the unhappiest of the fic collected here. Buffy’s relationships, in moments that might have happened in canon. Not a positive look for any of them. (Especially B/A and B/S, I think.) It’s awful to read. Downright nasty. Buffy is hurting and the story lives there, brings you home to her. She tries to leave it behind. It hits me hard.
