Forward to Time Past by Unbridled_Brunette
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Nine

LindsayH
06/01/2007 10:39 pm
Great relationship between Angelus and our William! It seems a lot more realistic than most I've seen set during this time in their lives. Plus I think it's good you didn't go the sex route. Angelus just isn't all that sexy to me. What can I say, I'm a sucker for blue-eyed men!
Blue eyes are so lovely, aren't they? It's one of the reasons I fell for my hubby. Thanks for the review. :)

04/12/2007 07:39 am
i love how you're exploring spike's darker side.
Spike is so multi faceted, it's a lot of fun to explore all the elements that make up his personality. Thanks for the review!

04/04/2007 05:04 am
Very interesting POV. Not used to this kind and generous Angelus. Mentor not tormentor. Thanks for keeping her ring a secret and taking along her book. Is this Drusilla insane or a seer? Just like a mother cat teaching her babies to hunt and play with it's food before eating it. Excellent interpretation for Anne's demon being so vicious, William's demon was to young to become a sire. I like it! Great work, thanks UB.
Thanks for the review. :)

04/03/2007 03:42 pm
WOW just getting to see this glimpse into what made William Spike is great. I am glad that he let Matthew go. He could have just taken all of his hatred out on the man but he didn't. And to not let Dru into Elizabeth's room shows he still has his feelings and compassion. And what a way to show the relationship between Spike and Angelous from the beginning. Just loved it.
Thanks! I'm so glad that you did. :)

04/03/2007 03:11 am
Playing catch up as I have been all flu-y and not able to concentrate... Wonderful, brilliant, fantastic! I LOVE how you have depicted William's first days as a vampire. I love that you kept things mostly true to canon, with just the right deviations due to the changes that took place before his turning. Just fabulous, my dear... I can't wait for more!
lol. I'm playing catch up with my review replies, so that's fine. :P Thanks for the nice comments!

04/02/2007 10:19 pm
find william's early reaction to angle fascinating. the update was a very good read, thank you. loved the preemptive author's note.
Thanks, vladt. I'm glad you like it.

Deb
04/02/2007 12:45 pm
What great fun you are having with this story. Truly it's a winding path. Am impressed at how you are able to get into this perspective. It's interesting that William is able to use his despair over Elizabeth to fuel his vampire hatred. Although I love my William/Elizabeth affair, I'm intrigued by his time as he becomes Spike, and I'm definately looking forward to your reuniting the characters eventually. Please definately stick this story until the hopeful(ly not bitter) ending. Lovely writing!
Thanks so much, Deb. I really appreciate your support and the feedback you offer. :)

gdo
04/02/2007 03:54 am
Very good chap. I like how William's feelings for Dru was changing. Can't wait for William to start hating Angelus though...he might like Angelus now, but Angelus is too much of a bully to be likeable.
I've always felt that the Spike/Angel(us) relationship was very love-hate. I've never forgotten, in "School Hard," the almost hurt way Spike yells at Angel (when he realizes Angel was trying to trick him) "You're my SIRE! You were my YODA!" (I'm paraphrasing, here, but that's the basic idea.)I wanted to incorporate the teacher/student dynamic suggested in that scene. I'm glad you're liking the direction of the story, and thanks so much for the review. :)

04/02/2007 02:42 am
This is so deliciously chilling. I have no problems at all imagining this was exactly how his early days went. I cannot WAIT to see more!
I'm so glad that you like the direction the story is taking, Coquine. I was a little worried that the darker tone of Part II might scare some readers off, but for a couple of reviews on SR, the feedback has been overwhelmingly supportive. I'm really happy about this, because I couldn't change the plot if I tried. Thanks for the review!

kim
04/01/2007 08:05 pm
Yeah, I'm pretty sad the fic I mentioned won't be finished. There were chapters, though, that were almost stand-alones, so it was still worth reading. I don't think she put anywhere but her LJ, since it was a Fanged Four fic, with William/Spike being the main focus. That's the only other fic I've read that's heavily detailed William's early time as a vampire, so it's stuck in my mind.
I've found the link to it through google and might look into it, in the future. However, I don't want to read any William fics until my own is finished. I don't want anyone else's perception of the character leaking into my own. I'm weird like that. :P

petuniahortense
04/01/2007 04:46 pm
I am really enjoying this story. not much else to say at this point, other than my heart broke when Buffy realized what was happening to her during the pony ride.
I'm glad you like it. Thanks for taking the time to tell me so. :)

04/01/2007 02:56 pm
Hee! You can tell from the reviews that this chapter resonated with everyone. Watching him become the vampire we know he will be is going to be quite an experience. :)

Thanks for explaining the no-invitation-needed bit. A good proactive move.

Wonderful chapter - as always. :)
Well, I have a certain beta to thank for that, lol. Thanks for the review. You know I always love to hear your opinion. :D

04/01/2007 12:15 pm
I think this is the first time I've read a story that dealt with details of Angelus teaching Spike...very well done! His affection for Dru makes sense as well under this particular set of circumsances it was tricky to be believeable but you did it quite well.

Kathleen
Thanks, Kathleen. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

04/01/2007 09:40 am
I thought if the person lived there, then they could enter regardless if they owned it or not- like how Dawn invited in Harmony, so no plot holes even if he didn't own it ;)

Anywho, are you going to stick to canon with the whole wedding bit- the beating of the groom with his own arm and so forth?
Scarlet, I had Patti ask me to explain to bits why William could walk into his house without an invite (rightfully so; I'm sure someone would have asked, canon or not). So, I took my little self out and researched property laws in Victorian London. This way, I've got ironclad proof to back up my plot. lol. :P

04/01/2007 07:01 am
Great update! I love reading all the missing pieces we never saw on the show... as gruesome and descriptive as it is, I'm still enjoying it.. a lot!! :) It's all part of what makes him Spike after all. Looking forward to more!
Thanks, YourMyDream. I appreciate the review. :)

04/01/2007 06:53 am
Again another fab chapter. Thank you for updating so quickly after the last one.

Immortal Beloved said everything that I wanted to say and more. I love how you show us his moments of despondency and then in turn his growing embracement for his inner demon.

Wonderful begining to the love/hate realationship that is Angel/Spike. It makes complete sense that William would see Angelus as a big brother or a father figure for that matter. I love how you begin and end every chapter..always making me hunger for more.
I'm so happy that you enjoyed it that much, AC. I absolutely love to read detailed reviews, and yours has been a pleasure. Thank you. :)

hellbound
04/01/2007 06:24 am
i like the way you're portraying spike (actually i like the whole story), somewhere between william and the slayer of slayers slipping towards the later, but i'm having trouble understanding the charater relationships now. Especially dru and william. Maybe more dialogue would help?
What are you having trouble understanding? There will be some more dialogue in later chapters, so hopefully it will explain things for you. For this one, I wanted to stick mainly to narrative and William's internal monologue, to help set the scene for things to come. Thanks for the review. :)

Onyx
04/01/2007 05:31 am
Ah....now THIS was quite entertaining. Very gothic. I especially love your Angelus. Too often he is this relentlessly cruel bastard to the point of being a characature of evil. Granted, he IS a cruel bastard....but not JUST that.
Oh, I knew that YOU would like it. Being evil yourself, and all... :evil:

Thanks for the review!

BT_
04/01/2007 05:21 am
I LOVE the way you are telling William's life as a vampire. Very visceral.
I've had a couple of reviews on a different site that complained it was *too* visceral, but I'm not here to offer a bowdlerized version of William's transformation into a vampire. I'm glad to hear that you appreciate that fact. Thanks so much for reviewing. :D

Shanna
04/01/2007 05:18 am
Good chapter...in a bloody, grisly way. A good vision as to what Spike would have felt for Angelus back then...realistic.

Ah Ha!! See, I said that Spike would keep the book Elizabeth gave him!!!! Love it.
I'm happy you enjoyed it, Shanna. I know it got a little graphic, toward the end. Glad to know it didn't scare you off.

Thanks for the review!

04/01/2007 05:15 am
That’s a really good point about William and Drusilla not needing an invitation to enter the house. I never really thought about it, but they do enter the house without Anne’s invitation in LMPTM. Your explanation makes sense.

“It smells of daisies and viscera.” I love Drusilla. She walks a fine line between innocence and the macabre. That’s a perfect line for her.

It’s interesting to see William crossing over to the dark side. He lets Matthew escape out of what seems like part affection, part apathy. He kills his mother, but in an effort to save her life. His Elizabeth was the most important thing in his world, and (he thinks) he wasn’t able to save her. So, he tries to save his mother in the only way that he can. It reminds me of how Spike feels guilty over not saving Buffy, and he tries to make up for it by protecting Dawn. William still loves, but he’s starting to embrace his darker urges. It seems as though losing Elizabeth—and his soul—have given William that sort of selective compassion that we see in Spike

I like how you’ve written the interaction between Angelus and William. I’ve always seen their relationship as older brother/younger brother. William looks up to Angelus with the wide-eyed admiration of a little brother, and he seeks his approval in everything that he does. Angelus takes William under his wing and tries to show him how to play with the big boys. They start to turn everything into a competition, and eventually wind of resenting one another. It’s a very love/hate relationship. But, I’m getting ahead of the story…

Anyway, looking forward to more!
lol. Well, IB, what can I say. I have a wonderful beta who challenged me to explain *why* they could enter without an invitation. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for the review. :)

Carole
04/01/2007 05:07 am
What did one take with him, when he became a vampire? What did one leave behind?

I love it. This is what you're showing us. All the parts that will make William into Spike. This is a hell of a ride. A monster with a lover's ring in his pocket and a book of poetry in his hand. The "let me go, let me go" broke my heart. That he wouldn't, could have the power not to, made me think of HER. I look forward to every part of this. Thank you.
Carole, you are the first person to point out the significance of that line. I'm so glad you noticed it! :)

I know the scene at the end, with the girl, was hard to read. It was incredibly creepy how easily that scene came to me, given its disturbing content. I'm still bothered by it, but I think it's absolutely necessary to the plot. I'm glad that you think so, as well. Thank you for the review.

04/01/2007 05:07 am
Vampire William is very creepy. Hmm - wouldn't William have a good stout Gladstone bag?
I'm sure he did have luggage, but I included the pillow case for two reasons. One is that I wanted to convey how quickly he wanted to get out of the house, once his mother was dead. He didn't want to take the time to drag his luggage out of some closet; he wanted to throw some stuff into a bag and go. Also, 19th century luggage was incredibly heavy and clumsy--particularly if it was expensive luggage, which would have been made out of wood and leather. I doubt William would have been eager to drag something that unwieldy all over London.

I hope this clears it up for you. Thanks for the review. :)

04/01/2007 04:03 am
Oooohhhh I love evil William! :evil:

I like how you pointed out that Dru and William are different. AlsoI think you've described his relationship with Angelus perfectly. This story is only getting better and better. I already can't wait for the next part. :)
I'm glad you're still hanging in there, Lady. Thanks as always for the review!

bluebird
04/01/2007 03:58 am
I love your story Please write more soon!
Thank you. I'll do my best. :)

04/01/2007 03:49 am
Wow, UB. The moment that totally got me was when William saw Matthew and told him to run. Oh man...

I'm glad you didn't include the scene with Anne after she rises. I think we all know what happened in the show, and it seems more poignant to just have William walking away from it afterwards.

I was surprised at how quickly William took to Angelus. I expected that to be a rockier relationship - perhaps that's coming, but the immediate love was something I wouldn't have expected, especially from this William.

Awesome update, UB. This just keeps getting better.
I'm glad you appreciate my decision not to show the scene with Anne from LMPTM. I just felt that not only would it be redundant (since we all know how it turns out) but also almost painfully intrusive. Unlike on the show, we would be privvy to everything William saw, smelled, felt, and thought during that scene. It would have difficult for me to write, to say nothing of how hard it would be for my readers.

Thanks for the review. :)

04/01/2007 03:44 am
This is starting to explain Spike and Angel's distaste for each other.
Thanks

kim
04/01/2007 03:32 am
Very close to what we know...well done. I loved the "Too young to garden" line. Perfectly Dru, and poetic.

Did you ever read Frimfram's "The Other Side of the Tracks"? It's a permanent WIP, but wonderfully covers William's first few months as a vampire in London....you're doing just as well with the imagery. It pains me to see sweet William like this, but the story is still so good. It's like I want to read with my eyes closed....

Thanks for the quick update!
I've never read that fic, kim. It sounds intriguing, but if it's not going to be finished, I probably won't read it. I'd go crazy wondering what happened, lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like the chapter. Thanks for reviewing.