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Hee. And ‘hee’ some more. This is a Buffy/Harry Potter x-over featuring my favorite Watcher. Nifty idea! It actually makes some sense that Giles is a wizard and went to Hogwarts. Well, it makes as much sense as the respective source materials do. This is set post-Buffy’s death (no ‘potentials’ storyline), and Giles has gone back to take over the DADA post. Like I said- nifty idea. This is really just a vignette, not a full blown story, but it lays out some interesting history and I liked the style. I cracked up at:
I’m not facing two hours of dinner conversation with Severus Snape by myself.”
“You’ve had years to work up to it. I’d think you’d be prepared by now.”
“Albus, I was on the Hellmouth, not in Hell. I am absolutely not prepared.”
On the negative side, not much story here and I just cannot, or will not, imagine Giles and Albus as a pairing (thank you baby Jesus there was no sex). Still, worth the read- I just had to scrub my brain out afterward.
Wow- this future fic, set post-s7, simply has a breathtaking style. It’s very bleak, very Giles focused, and told with a sparse, detached air. The story starts at the funeral of Giles’ mother, where he meets a woman he slowly falls for. Over the course of the shortish read, we discover what the Watcher has been up to after the destruction of Sunnydale. I loved this section, the way the story is peeled back in layer after layer, each bit revealing more about Giles and the woman who becomes his lover. It works beautifully. When Giles’ father dies, it brings a new/old player to the scene in the form of Buffy. Unfortunately, Buffy is not simply there for a visit. She’s been having dreams, and Slayer dreams are rarely happy ones. Giles is into an attempt to bring his lover into a world he has tried to shield her from. The last of the story plays out in an apocalyptic storm, and Giles and Buffy do what they always have- make do with what they got. Great story- I’d love to see a sequel to it, because there are many unanswered questions. I envy this writer’s style.
Woot! While I’m not so big on the x-overs, Buffy/Smallville gives me a happy. Well, sometimes it does. This would not be one of those times. If I had to pick one word to describe the story, it would be ‘random. Very, very, random.’ Which is more like 4 words, but whatever. Set summer 2002 for both series, it kicks of with Spike and Xander road tripping down to Smallville so Spike can borrow some cash from his old buddy Lex. About half the story is the opening dialog between Xander, Spike, Lex and Clark. It’s not that the dialog is particularly bad- it’s just really random. I’m reading along wondering why Xander is going on about ‘the gay’ and then the long discussion of what names mean and who is a better protector of humanity- Lex or Xander- and… Yea, just random. However, bonus points for a mutant attack about 2/3’s through- nice touch of the bizarre. Also, major bonus points for the fact monster movies get Clark hot- and it was cute that a real monster attack did the same. Of course, then it turns out that Lex and Clark have just reached the heavy petting stage of their relationship, and Lex wants to wait before ‘going all the way’. Which is completely cool and actually a characterization I like, except the story had led me to believe otherwise so it just felt… wait for it… random.
Eh- overall, the story could use a beta, pov drifts, and it’s kinda random. On the plus side- well, I like Buffy and Smallville and there are some nice touches to the story. I’ll leave you with one of my favorites- this little Spike quote: For the last six years, Xander here has fought by her side. Why? Because he’s stupid. Or brave. But mainly stupid. Hee- good Spike voice! Overall, however, a bit uneven.
Caught this one via a crack van rec, and damn, it’s quite interesting. Just a short little snippet of story (which is why it’s not going to be rec’ed), but intriguing all the same. I do recommend you go read it BEFORE continuing to read this, because it’s a story best read cold.
Still here? Okay then. It’s told second person pov, which works in this case, and is set sometime in the undisclosed future where Sunnydale never fell into the Hellmouth. It seems Sunnydale high is infested with ghosts- 4 ghosts who sound a lot like Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles. ‘You’ decide to intervene. Like I say, just a snippet of story, but that’s all it should have been and it’s well worth the read.
I read this fic quite some time ago and then forgot to bookmark it. So… lots of random Google searches for ‘Giles’ and ‘tree’ and I finally stumble across it again. Yes, tree. This is a very different story, told from the pov of a tree. Well, I simplify. This is a story steeped in magic. It begins with falling in love: When he was eight years old, he carved his name into her skin with a penknife. She was green and wet with spring, and the cut burned deep, bled clear. When she’d finished screaming, she thought, ‘So this is love, then.’ Shiver. The story, which is fairly short, carries us all the way past the end of the series and offers a wonderful glimpse of Giles and the events that shaped him. It’s a unique story, lyrical and lush and I teared up at the end- but in a good way, not a sad one. Highly rec’ed.
Damn, but this is some good fic! I’ve seen it rec’ed before, but it wasn’t until a ‘Crack Van’ rec mentioned Snape’s importance that I actually checked it out. It’s a long Buffy/HP x-over, set during the early 80’s, and it focuses on Giles and the Marauders in the final months of the first war against Voldemort. Now, I love me some Giles, but I’ve never been much interested in the Marauders nor have I ever been into MWPP era fic- cause hell, I know how THAT all ends! However, my biases aside, this fic just plain WORKS.
It starts off with Giles reuniting with Ethan for a night on the town. However, Giles ends up a bit disgusted that Ethan doesn’t seem to have grown up any, even after their experiences with the darker side of magic. Both Giles and Ethan are in for a bit of a shock when they set off to investigate a magical sign (in the shape of a skull) burning in the night sky, and they tumble into a world filled with magic of a kind they never knew existed. The story follows along as Dumbledore and his crew attempt to persuade Giles and Ethan to teach them about ‘muggle magic’ in order to aid the side of light. Voldemort and the DEs also see the potential usefulness of these ‘muggle wizards’, and the stage is set for an action oriented tale where loyalty is priceless and trust is a weakness that can lose a war.
There’s just a ton I liked about this story. The author did a great job of exploring the two different kinds of magic and it was a nice basis for integrating the two fandoms. The writing itself is excellent, and the story reads like pro work. I also adored the characterizations. Giles and Ethan both rang very true, and the story provides some nice backstory on them- exploring both the antipathy and the bond between the two men. Snape kicked all kinds of ass, and my only real complaint about him was the fact that I wanted more! Ethan and Snape sniping at each other simply made me grin:
Ethan lifted the pad and stared glumly at the bruise-mottled skin beneath. The needle marks tracked from the crook of his elbow down to his wrist, stopping about an inch above his watchband. “I look like a bloody junkie,” he complained.
“And you sound like a bloody nuisance,” Snape said irritably. “Take off your shirt.”
“Huh?” The sudden change of subject actually rendered Ethan speechless for a few seconds. “What?”
“Did I use insufficiently short words? Which one did you fail to understand? Take off your shirt.”
Ethan folded his arms and thrust out his chin. “I want flowers and candy first.
HEE! It was great to see Snape in spy mode at this rather young age (the HP guys are in their early 20’s), and I thought his relationship with Dumbledore was touching.
Now like I say, I don’t care so much about James and that crew, but they were well done as well. I thought the author did a particularly good job of exploring how the seeds of suspicion and distrust began to brew between the members of the Order, and it provides one of the more plausible explorations of how the whole ‘secret keeper’ thing worked out as it did. Lastly, this story did a hell of a job keeping my interest and making me wonder what was going to happen- when I already knew what was going to happen! That was impressive, and the author really does a flawless job of weaving the past and present of two different canons to make something completely original. Think on this prophecy, told by Sibyll Trelawney to Giles:
“You mustn’t leave them,” she repeated, grabbing his wrist as he tried to brush past her. Her fingers looked like twigs, but her grip was surprisingly strong. She was wearing a cloying, fruity perfume that made Giles’ nose itch. “They need you. The red-haired witch is a danger, she will lose her way when she loses her love. She will take the world into darkness. Only the boy can bring her back. You must keep her on the right path! You mustn’t leave them!”
That’s some bloody clever writing! All in all, this fic simply kicks ass. My only quibbles with it were that it focused a lot on characters I’m less interested in (MWPP)- but that’s just me and my very narrow focus.
I have a ‘thing’ for Wishverse fic, particularly when it focuses on Giles. So, I was mucho happy to find this index of Wishverse fic. Unfortunately, much Wishverse fic seems to be utter crap. What’s the deal with the whole ‘puppy torture’ genre? I mean, yea, sometimes I’d like to smack Angel too, but DAMN, how many different ways can the same bloody vignette be told? Anyway, this ain’t a ‘puppy torture’ fic, thank you baby Jesus. It’s an episodic- I got through the first two episodes- based on the premise that nothing changed once Giles smashed the amulet. Actually, the premise is a bit more clever than that. It’s based on the idea that everything happened just as it did on the show, but instead of the Wishverse timeline being destroyed, it continued as a parallel timeline. Kudos for that idea.
However, the writing on this one is a bit simplistic. It has a very ‘script-like’ feel to it, though it isn’t in script format. It also seems to try to juggle too many characters and subplots, using very short scenes. I was somewhat confused at the beginning and somewhat bored by the time I got to the second episode. Eh- the characters just didn’t come alive for me. Damn. Off to look for more Wishverse.
So I’m browsing through the ship_manifesto, and I spot this rec (the only one) for Giles/Angel fic. It’s not a slash fic, and it’s not really long enough for a rec, but it IS very interesting and more than a bit disturbing. In other words, I liked it! It’s just a short vignette that has Giles thinking about Angel and Angelus and the things Giles has suffered- and what he’d maybe like to do to Angel in return. That’s definitely a theme I like to see explored- the effects of the torture Giles suffered at Angelus’ hands. I like this portrayal of Giles, the depiction of the darkness that lurks within him, the intelligence that allows him to know how to really hurt Angel- in the same way Giles was hurt. I also really like the writing style, the author has a nice way with words- subtle and creepy and just detached enough to really ‘feel’ like Giles.
Ethan would have a clever plan, and Giles is afraid he knows what it would be.
After all, it’s not Angel’s body that’s vulnerable. All the torture Giles can imagine (or remember) would only be kicking a corpse. But there’s a human soul trapped in that body, and there’s one way to make it bleed.
And Ethan doesn’t like Buffy at all.
Much goodness! And as a side note- authors should really put their names on every page of their stories!
This is a very long gender-swap fic, set during s5. Gender-swap isn’t a kink of mine, but when it’s played for humor it can be fun. Since this was a crack_van rec, I figured I’d give it a shot. The story kicks off with a fight- always a good thing- but when the ‘demon’ is slain, it unleashes a powerful bit of magic. The result? Buffy, Spike, Xander, Anya and Tara are all turned into the opposite sex. While Giles and Willow hit the books to figure out a cure, the rest of the crew attempts to deal with their new bodies. If you think this is going to result in a lot of sex, you’d be right.
There is a lot to like in this story. It’s well written, though the dialog isn’t as LOL funny as my favorite Buffy humor fics. Still, it has it’s moments when it plays up the absurdity of the situation:
Buffy nodded sympathetically as she swallowed. “I’m starting to understand why guys seem so dumb. It’s distracting having this thing popping up between your legs all the time. And it doesn’t even do anything useful. Like point north or find water or something.”
I also thought the author did a very nice job with the characterizations. A lot of thought was given to how the characters would differ when it comes to dealing with a sex change. It’s not that I couldn’t imagine a different response (I personally could see Spike being a big whiny baby about it)- but the responses the author decided on worked. The story also raised some interesting issues about sex and gender. Finally, ALL of the main characters in the story receive a fairly even focus. (Really, this needs to be labeled as both het and slash, and the pairings should be Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya and Willow/Tara. Yet another indication I need to work on the coding a bit to handle multiple pairings in my categorization.)
However- two things didn’t work for me. First, I’m not all that interested in all of the characters! While the author did a good job with them, I’m just not into Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara. As secondary characters? Sure. But I just wasn’t that interested in what was going on with them, and that resulted in me getting a little bored. The second issue I had? Too much sex. Yea, I know that’s a draw for some, but I DEFINITELY found myself skimming a lot of the later chapters. In short- more with the ‘bored now’.
Overall- a good fic at what it does, but it does a whole lot I wasn’t all that interested in.
Spike. Giles. Two great tastes that go great together! Well, actually they don’t hold a ton of appeal as a slash pairing, but I love the guys individually, I love stories that feature them interacting, and I don’t mind the slash as long as there’s a lot of story. Which would not be the case in this short, porny, pwp. It’s well written and has dominant!Giles and a nice touch of humor, but pwp ain’t my thing.
I was wandering around the Spike/Giles entry on The Shipper’s Manifesto, hunting for some good fic, checking the links, and generally being bummed because most of the stories were really short. Me, I like really long. However, found a link to this, and though I’d read it before, I enjoyed reading it again. Hence- a rec!
This story begins in 2007, but diverges from canon post-s5’s ‘The Gift’. In the story, Buffy didn’t come back to life, Giles returned to England, and Spike mourned. The action begins when Giles gets a visit from Spike, who routinely contacts the ex-Watcher when he comes across magical artifacts. The two are hardly friends, but given Spike’s chipped nature, they do manage to do the occasional bit of business. On this particular visit, Spike gives Giles a particularly valuable manuscript, and all he wants in return is for Giles to owe him a favor. Well, you just know that’s going to come back to bite Rupert in the butt, and it does. Spike calls in the favor, leading to some action/adventure, and eventually providing the means for Spike to get ‘de-chipped’. NOT what Giles had had in mind. However, de-chipped Spike isn’t quite the bloodthirsty ravager of humans both Giles and Spike had expected, and the two again form an uneasy alliance. When an old friend of Gile’s runs into demon problems, the two guys head off to once again prevent an apocalypse. Along the way, they make some new allies, some new discoveries, and some new history. Not bad for a couple of old dudes.
Obviously, this is a long fic. Actually, it’s released as independent stories in a series, but I think it stands together best as a whole. The writing is good, and works very well for the action/adventure focus. While this isn’t really a compelling mystery, there’s definitely enough plot to keep me wondering what will happen next and how it will all work out. I enjoyed the characterizations and I particularly liked some of the ruminations on the nature of a ‘soul’. Spike wasn’t as snarky and amusing as I generally prefer, but that probably would have been out of place in this more mature and subdued post-Buffy world. For those who simply like a nice, long, well written adventure story, this is a good one. Word of warning, some might find the ending sad. I didn’t. Then again, I liked how BtVS ended.
This mid-sized AU straddles the line between gen and het. It starts out post-s6, when Buffy unthinkingly makes a wish in front of vengeance demon Anya. “I just wish I could go back and do it all over, knowing the things I do now.” Well when it comes to vengeance demons, it appears that ‘ask and you shall receive’ is SOP, whether there’s any vengeance involved or not. So… Buffy goes back to the beginning, her 16 year old self meeting up with Rupert Giles for the first time. This time, however, her 21 year old, been dead and back, mind is in charge, and this version of Buffy doesn’t intend to make the same mistakes again. She starts off by coming clean with Giles, who is more inclined to think his new charge is a nut case. Buffy soon convinces him otherwise, and the two of them take up the challenge of keeping Sunnydale safe from the ghouls that plague it. What changes this time around? Buffy fills her mom in on her Slayer duties, finds Angel more annoying than sexy, and decides that she wants a relationship with her Watcher that is a little less filial and a lot more sexy.
Note, nothing actually happens between Buffy and Giles in this story, and that’s part of what I liked about it. Buffy is physically a 16 year old, she’s still in school, and she is simply not at a place in her life where ‘dating’ Giles is a reasonable option! That said, and as much as I do like the idea of Buffy/Giles, I think it’s a hard pairing to make work. I was never exactly convinced as to how Buffy got to the point her feelings for Giles were romantic in nature. I liked the idea that one of the main things she’d like to ‘fix’ is her relationship with Giles. As much as I liked s7 Buffy, I really thought the Giles related bits fell flat. However, this story just didn’t convince me of the Buffy/Giles love. Still, it’s an interesting idea, the writing is generally solid (a few quibbles), I though the author did a nice job with the dialog- particularly the last Buffy-Willow bit. It’s worth a read. I just didn’t buy the romantic feelings as they were presented and I wish the story had capitalized more on how Buffy’s new knowledge might have altered plot events in s1.
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