The Bloodshedverse :: Spuffy with Bite

11/05/2007 01:00 am

Did a fast read before I left for work yesterday but this deserves a cup of tea and time so I plan to reread tonight or tomorrow after work and sleep. I will say a few things though....it is haunting. I mean that literally because it has stuck in my mind and played over and over while awake and working and while I slept....it's a rare power to write a story that does that and you have it hon.

Also I was thinking of in interesting irony. In S7 the gang did the worst thing (other than the resurrection) to Buffy ever IMHO...they turned her out of her home ..... alone ... while the town was teeming with Turok Han's all intent on wiping out the Slayers and potentials. In this story Buffy turns Spike out of his home .... alone ... while the world was filled with Slayers intent on wiping out all Vampires and Demons.

Spike was by horrified by what had been done to Buffy and battled for her. Sadly it was Buffy who did this to Spike. The irony is painful, very painful.

You even have her remark that she doesn't even know if he's been staked by one of the Slayers who have no reason to know who he is. That makes her betrayal even worse IMHO.

The end is hopeful especially as Spike understood somewhat beause of Angelus but it is bittersweet because of her actions and her lack of faith. She no longer believed in him with the soul gone and that will likely always taint the relationship.

This is not a criticism mind you I can see her doing exactly this. I am one who DOES believe there is hope for this pair to have a happy ending but it is always contingent on Buffy maturing and their mutual ability to forgive. Your story had the forgivness and a degree of maturation, sadly not fast enough to prevent the pain though. Much like life.

Wonderfully told story. I know I'll comment further after a nice slow read through. You have always been a consistant quality writer and this one is one of your very best.

Kathleen

Thank you, Kathleen. I always look forward to your reviews and your thoughts on a particular story. This one did sort of grab me and refuse to let go until I had finished it. I think, perhaps, I could have shown her grieving a bit more over her decision through the years, but hopefully it did come across that she regretted it almost immediately.

I suspect they will have some issues to work out - just because they have kissed and made up doesn't mean all is forgiven or forgotten. And, too, with Spike being in contact with Xander, he could have swallowed his pride and anger to test the waters in terms of whether he would be welcomed back...It wouldn't have been the first time he had to forgive Buffy for something terrible.

I like to think that her seeming rejection of him without the soul was due to her emotional state at the time - having sat there expecting to have to kill a demon wearing the face of the man she loved. She had steeled herself for that, then found herself with Spike and didn't know what to think or do. I'm afraid it was the gut reaction of a slayer, rather than the well-thought-out assessment of the woman who loved him. A slayer's instincts are what keep her alive, and I think that reaction is pretty hard-wired into them - no matter how much they may know better when it comes to one particular vampire.

I'm so glad you found it believable and worth reading. :)