All Summer Long by Science

05/28/2010 12:12 pm
Chapter 6         
I really enjoyed this!

I love stories that fit easily into canon. And
I think you did a good job establishing a
realistic dynamic between Spike and Dawn.
They don't just hug each other and cry it out,
though there's some of that – they also snipe
and lash out at each other and then make up.
Grief is sad and lonely, but also frustrating,
and you caught that here. And the sweet
moments between them are rather nice, too. :-)
Thank you so much!

calminthechaos
05/23/2010 04:04 am
Chapter 6         
Holy Cow! This was GREAT!!! Loved the bit: "He felt panic spread its wings in his chest". All I can say is WoW!
Thank you! So glad you liked it.

05/23/2010 01:19 am
Chapter 6         
Very nice. I really enjoyed this very believable glimpse into what was a long miserable summer for Spike and Dawn.
Thanks so much!

05/22/2010 06:28 am
Chapter 6         
What is WONDERFUL about this story is that it could really have happened in the canon version--this sweet summer interlude with Spike and Dawn.  What is AWFUL about this story is also that it could really have happened in the canon version--everything could still get so messed up in seasons 6 and 7 and he and Buffy still have their destructive relationship, and he and Dawn's relationship could implode just as it did in canon.  And that breaks my heart because I want the beautiful relationship you created to continue and a happily ever after ending for the three of them.  Much as I wish for your story to change history and leave me with a feel-good ending, I admire the artistic, clever way you brought your story full circle back to the TV plot.  Very well done.

Please, please, please write more stories--you are a shining star among the Buffyverse fanfic writers!
Thanks so much for a lovely review. I really wanted to keep this canonical, because I knew from the outset that I was going to end the story with Buffy's return. Yeah, it'd be nice if whatever they had over the summer had survived - maybe I'll get to that in a story someday. ;)
I am working on some more stories, although it's probably going to be a bit before I post them here or at EF. I just got a new job (no commute - huzzah!; no more catching babies - boo!), and I'm taking a bit of a vacation before it starts. So, not sure how much time I'm going to have in the next month or so, as well as internet access while my little bits & I are at Grandma's house. However, I have the first couple chapters of my two current WIP posted at my Live Journal account. They're f-locked, so feel free to friend me if you want to read what I've got so far. 
Thanks again for all the reviews & encouragement. It's greatly appreciated!

05/22/2010 05:33 am
Chapter 6         
I too was hoping for a more Spuffy conclusion, though I get that that wasn't the point of the story so I understand why you left off where you did. Overall very sweet story.
Oh, thanks for being understanding. :) I was a little nervous about posting it on Spuffy sites because it's not so Spuffy as it could be.
Glad you liked the story.

05/22/2010 05:22 am
Chapter 6         
This story is very satisfying and realistic, love it! very nice read. I was sorry to see it end. Nice work!
Thanks, glad you liked it!

nojiri23
05/22/2010 04:19 am
Chapter 6         
what a great ending to a very touching story of those 148 (147 1/2?) days!  thank you! 
Thanks for the review!

Jeleyne
05/21/2010 11:33 pm
Chapter 6         
Very, very nice look at the Spike & Dawn friendship - and heartbreaking, too,  because Dawn will soon be barely a blip on their radar. I've always wondered if things would have gotten as bad as they did if Dawn hadn't been so shut out of their lives after Buffy's resurrection. A little trust and attention might have made a world of difference to the girl and she in turn might have become not just a responsibility but the friend they both so desperately needed. This series vividly shows what we were cheated of in canon.
Thanks so much for the review. Glad you liked the story.

05/21/2010 10:32 pm
Chapter 6         
Oh, I was hoping for a Spuffy ending after the resurrection. Turned out to be more of a Spike& Dawn friendship story inserted between seasons 5 & 6 albeit a very sweet one.
I know, a little light on the Spuffiness here. But I wanted to explore the summer & what might have happened.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Nice one. :-)
07/02/2010 02:12 pm
Chapter 5         
 

05/22/2010 06:03 am
Chapter 5         
I've been away from home for two weeks, so I'm excited to be back and find two chapters waiting for me to read!  I continue to love your Spike and Dawn relationship, dialog, and interaction.  No one, I mean no one does it better than you!  I laughed out loud at the line "grotty little pig".  I grew up using that word and haven't heard it for years; I'm so glad to know people still use it!
Thanks for the review! Glad I could give you a laugh.

05/22/2010 06:02 am
Chapter 5         
I've been away from home for two weeks, so I'm excited to be back and find two chapters waiting for me to read!  I continue to love your Spike and Dawn relationship, dialog, and interaction.  No one, I mean no one does it better than you!  I laughed out loud at the line "grotty little pig".  I grew up using that word and haven't heard it for years; I'm so glad to know people still use it!

05/17/2010 04:11 am
Chapter 5         
So if he screwed things up, he could just claim ignorance and inherent evilness, and the Scoobies would probably let him off the hook.  Hee hee - that is so Spike - looking for an out when he's about to do something bad.  Also, loved the chewing nicotine gum and smoking at the same time for the rush.

Spike and Dawn are great together.  You can really feel that they're friends. 

Thanks for the review!

05/12/2010 01:49 pm
Chapter 5         
A lovely interlude of domestic bonding.
Thanks!

:-)
07/02/2010 02:05 pm
Chapter 4         
 

calminthechaos
05/18/2010 06:07 am
Chapter 4         
Loved that last bit about how it was like a ritual. Last two lines made my throat catch. Great stuff!
Thanks for the reviews. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!

05/04/2010 06:34 am
Chapter 4         

PS Your reply to the first person who reviewed this chapter makes it sound like you've written other Buffy and Spike stories.  If so, where are they posted?  I'd love to read them--and any other fandom you've written in, too, or original stories.  I just love your writing!

05/04/2010 06:31 am
Chapter 4         
You did it again!  Tore at my heartstrings with the end of this chapter when Spike repeated he'd be there for Dawn til the end of the world, but made me laugh out loud with the line, "Her voice went all squeaky, up into dog-whistle territory."  Bloody brilliant, your writing!!!!  On the show at times the scoobies seemed to accept Spike, then at others they treated him terribly; I never could understand how they couldn't see the real him and his devotion to Dawn.  You've caught their attitude perfectly--makes me want to go bite them myself!
Again, thank you so much for your lovely words!
I just got into BtVS in the past year, and started writing fanfic in the past 6 months, so I don't have a lot posted right now. I have a few stories posted at Elysian Fields. I also have a LiveJournal account - my name there is yakimama -  where I would post anything original (if I ever write anything original....). I do have some research papers I'm rather proud of, but unless you really have a yen to read about breastfeeding and childbirth, I'm just going to keep those to myself. ;P
Thanks again for your reviews - they give me warm fuzzies!
 

05/04/2010 04:01 am
Chapter 4         
Council would spring that Faith bird. Or off her - oh yeah.  There's the Spike we know and love.  Stealing burba weed and get on every body's nerves.  Very nice.
Thanks, so glad you're enjoying it!

05/03/2010 04:20 pm
Chapter 4         
Lovely chapter showing the growing tensions within the group perfectly.
Thank you!

nojiri23
05/02/2010 06:54 am
Chapter 4         
 so sweet!  you've established their relationship so well:  it feels so real!  I can't wait for the rest!
Thank you!

Jeleyne
05/02/2010 04:53 am
Chapter 4         
Lovely series - the delicate and yet subtly desperate friendship between Spike and Dawn as they mourn Buffy.  Perfect Spike 'voice'. The little flashback to William and his mother is heartbreakingly sweet. This is the real Dawn, I think, the one we barely got a glimpse of, much more than the whiny brat we saw. A girl struggling to cope with grief and fear and questions about herself while wavering between childhood and having to grow up. Plus, Anya being Anya and Giles being an ass. I like Giles but sometimes I just want to slap him.
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I was a little nervous about this chapter, because I haven't written a lot of other characters outside of Spike & Buffy (I have one AH fic that I was intending to use more characters in, but never quite managed it). So, I'm glad Anya came across as herself and Giles as kind of an ass. Because I think that's sort of his default setting when dealing with Spike. It's the Wanker... I mean, Watcher, in him. :)

:-)
07/02/2010 02:00 pm
Chapter 3         
 

05/04/2010 06:17 am
Chapter 3         
You are such an incredible storyteller.  You have me going from tender, sweet feelings one moment to laughing out loud the next and then in tears a few sentences later! 
NO ONE HAS EVER, EVER DONE SUCH A MARVELOUS JOB WITH THE SPIKE-DAWN RELATIONSHIP AS YOU HAVE.  I just adore everything about this story! 
Okay, blushing now.... Thanks so much for your enthusiasm!

04/29/2010 03:23 am
Chapter 3         
Wonderful story so far. Loved this chapter, the ending had me in pieces, (in a good way) so sad and touching at the same time.
Thanks for the review. Glad you're liking it.

04/26/2010 10:01 pm
Chapter 3         
So Spike's nipped the shoplifting in the bud. That's good. Love Spike scared of the flirting teenage girlies - so realistic!  Sadly sweet chapter.
Thanks for the review. Yeah, I love the idea of Big Bad Spike having no clue what to do with a passel of teeny boppers ooh-ing and aah-ing over him (because who wouldn't - especially 15 year olds!)

nojiri23
04/26/2010 04:47 pm
Chapter 3         
 love this story!
Thanks!

04/26/2010 03:35 am
Chapter 3         
Oh boy turn on the waterworks.  You had me tearing up there for a minute.  :)
Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're liking the story.

Love the nail polish. Such a hoot. :-)
07/02/2010 01:48 pm
Chapter 2         
 

calminthechaos
05/17/2010 06:39 pm
Chapter 2         
Just started reading your fic and I LOVE it!!! Your Spike/Dawn interaction and all the little things are so perfect, I can SEE them! Great stuff!

04/26/2010 08:56 am
Chapter 2         
The nail polish color--what a cute surprise!
I really admire your writing and the way one thought or paragraph flows so smoothly into the next.  I checked your bio page but it doesn't say what you do--literature major in college, professional writer, etc.  Whatever it is, you are an amazingly talented writer both in style and in your characterizations.

This story is wonderful!  Any idea how many chapters it will be?
Thanks for the review, really glad to hear you like the story.
Thank you also, for the kind words. I'm actually a labor & delivery nurse, although I started college (about a lifetime & a half ago) as an English major, with a strong focus on creative writing.
I don't have the entire story plotted out, but I don't see it being more than six or seven chapters. We'll see what happens. I know how I want it to end - just sometimes getting there surprises me.

04/26/2010 03:21 am
Chapter 2         
You've nicely drawn the misery that Spike and Dawn are enduring. 

04/23/2010 06:07 pm
Chapter 2         
Wonderful beginning demonstrating how close Spike & Dawn are becoming. More please
Thank you! More is on the way...

04/22/2010 10:07 am
Chapter 2         
Sweet chapter -- low key is very effective.
Thank you.

Purr
04/22/2010 01:16 am
Chapter 2         
 This fic is just so original. I LOVE DAWN! I would like to stake her on the show. Great job. Im sure this is going to become one of those old Spuffy fic classics in a couple of years, seriously :)
Wow, thanks so much! I know I've read some Spike & Dawn friendship fics from this time period, so I was hoping this wouldn't be too redundant. Glad my Dawn is moving out of the stake-able zone for you.

04/21/2010 11:14 pm
Chapter 2         
Great writing, and love the cotton-candy pink nail polish and details of his relationship with Dawn. The emotions of Spike and Dawn are obviously deep, though it seemed the others were moving on, though Tara at least followed after him. Thanks for updating.

Is this story only about the summer, or are we going to see Spike interacting with Buffy after she's back? Is it following canon or will things change?
Thanks for the great review. I'm having a lot of fun writing this fic.
Glad you're interested & have questions, but I'm really not one to give away what's coming next. Enjoy!

:-)
07/02/2010 11:19 am
Chapter 1         
 

04/26/2010 03:12 am
Chapter 1         
Poor Spike - what a terrible thing to run into the Bbot.

Purrfect
04/21/2010 10:57 pm
Chapter 1         
That was seriously beautiful. I LOVED it! Cannot wait for more, please update soon!

I liked the part about snot. Lmao.
Thank you! Glad I made you laugh. :)

04/19/2010 05:32 pm
Chapter 1         
Oh, I love Spike and Dawn friendship stories--but there aren't enough of them. Thanks so much for writing this.  You have done such a marvelous job with their relationship and dialogue.  I also really like the flashbacks to conversations he had with Buffy.  You are a good writer, and I can already tell this is going to be an outstanding story!
Thanks so much! I really hope this lives up to your expectations. :)

04/18/2010 10:36 pm
Chapter 1         
interesting start, like your Spike, voice and actions are true. looking forward to the next chapter.
Thanks so much!