Faith (little f!) in the Buffyverse

[snick_backup]

In a comment to the last post, someone asked me for links to the Buffyverse/faith pieces I'd encountered, and I thought they might be of general interest:

Angel in Church, by hello_spikey - post-Grave, Angel takes Spike to church for the good of his soul.
Ingression, by his_luv_pet - mid-S6, Spike decides Buffy and Dawn's lives need divine intervention, even if Spike himself doesn't believe in it.
Ministers of Grace, by penny_lane_42 - Drusilla, before. Remember, she didn't want to be an evil thing...
Contrite Spirits, by liz_marcs - Post-series, Xander and Faith go looking for a nun who's now a Slayer, and also they talk a lot. (Sorry, it's been a while since I read this one.)
How to Be a Christian in Sunnydale, by Shadowscast - Riley's faith wavers, part I
Stumbling on the Fields of Praise, by dipenates - Riley's faith wavers, part II.

Comments

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Oh, awesome! This is such a great idea, and I haven't read any of these (except mine, obvs.), so I can't wait to check them out. I'm so excited! *does a happy dance*

[angearia.livejournal.com]

That's so egotistical of you -- only reading your own fic. *huffs*

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

What can I say? I'm the only person worth my own time.

[snickfic]

I figured it was about time - it's a theme I end up talking about a lot, which means I always have to go back and find the pieces again. This way, they're already all in one place. :)

[deird1]

Oooh...

Must read these.

[snickfic]

Enjoy! :)

[mabus101.livejournal.com]

Since you didn't mention reading it, do you mind if I pimp DeadWar to you a little? (I think you might've commented on some part or another, but it's hard to remember.) The "Schism" sections deal with faith the most (as might be expected with a fundamentalist-Pentecostal, a Sikh (vampire), and a Wiccan living under one roof (and a very young Catholic popping in from time to time)). But there are other faith-related parts, including an atheist vampire in the "Haven" sections who's having a hard time figuring out what's going on and why she should care about not having a soul.

It also has a fair amount of Illyria-Dawn interaction, for bonus points. (Illyria actually wants to be friends, insofar as she understands the concept. Dawn sees "hellgod" and is unthrilled.)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Clearly I need to read Deadwar. (I tried once before, but for some reason had trouble finding the start and ended up really lost...) The whole concept of a vampire sikh intrigues!

[mabus101.livejournal.com]

Well...Sadha is somewhat lapsed, as might be expected of a vampire. (As a matter of fact, she sometimes had difficulty reconciling her faith with being a Watcher, too, when she was human.) She's been attempting to reconnect, which is difficult after over a hundred years and while living in Houston. (One such problem, or at least peculiarity--the kirpan, or short dagger, is the one item from her faith she kept as a vampire. But styles of kirpan have changed--most of them are now purely symbolic, sometimes even sewn into the clothes, while Sadha's is large and fully functional, as was the norm in her time. It attracts attention.)

The DeadWar links can be found here (http://mabus101.livejournal.com/33416.html#cutid2). I think I've got them arranged a little better now, but if you have trouble let me know. They start with "Shadow Sun", which is a little different in style from the others.

[snickfic]

Pimp away! The only part I've read is the very first - "Shadows of the Sun," I think? And then I hadn't gotten back to it. I didn't realize it dealt with issues of faith, though. I now have new motivation! (Not to mention the bonus-points Illyria and Dawn.)

Can you give me an idea of the structure of the series? Is it meant to be read as chapters of a WIP novel, or as a series of short stories set in the same universe, or...? Like, do you have a specific concrete goal for it, at which point you'll be finished, or is it more a universe in which to play with ideas as you have them?

[mabus101.livejournal.com]

"Shadow Sun", actually. Initially it wasn't planned to have a great deal to do with faith, but I was, for other purposes, delving deep into the personalities and motivations of minor characters, and faith was one of the useful "handles" I had on them. I think the first reference was to a former Southern Baptist vampire who is running a blood bar in the second chapter, "Damn Nation", and she speculates that her actual soul is currently in heaven, hanging out and having fun.

There are some other storylines that deal with faith in a more metaphorical manner, too--for instance, many of the new generation of souled vampire look up to Angel as a prophetic figure. Angel, however, has not the slightest idea how to be a messianic archetype or even whether he can do anything for them at all.

Although I've written a few sidelines, mostly drabbles, DeadWar is essentially a long novel-in-progress. However, at some point I got the notion to separate out a pair of side-storylines to deal with some original characters I'd produced, "Schism" and "Haven". ("Haven" has been more popular, as it also contains Angel. Oz is in "Schism", but I haven't had the best success writing him.) These two storylines will eventually feed back into the main plot, but right now they're running parallel. The only substantial work I have set in the same timeline besides the main story is "Shell Games" (not to be confused with deird1's "Shell Game", although it's about Illyria), but if I finish it before the seas boil I might eventually write more in the same world.

While we're on the subject, darlas_mom prompted me a while back to write "Lama Sabachthani (http://mabus101.livejournal.com/128981.html)", on the prompt "Can a goddess lose her faith? And what does a goddess put her faith in, anyway?" (from my favorite comic series, Earth X). It is, of course, about Illyria, and is set near the end of Wesley's treatment of her during NFA.

[snickfic]

Excellent! Thanks for the info; it all sounds less intimidating to wade into now. I'll look forward to reading it. Heh - Angel as a messianic archetype is a rather amusing concept.

I think I did read Lama Sabacthani. At least, I remember really liking your use of the Biblical quote - how entirely appropriate!

[mabus101.livejournal.com]

Heh - Angel as a messianic archetype is a rather amusing concept.

Well, as one of my characters points out--they don't write prophecies about nobodies. ;)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

thanks for digging out the links! I'd read a couple of these before but several of them were new to me. Very thought provoking; I'm not sure if the fact that I found the Riley story compelling says something meaningful about me or not.

[snickfic]

You are most welcome. You're right about the Riley stories - I find the second one extremely well-written, if pretty dark and twisty in its conclusion.

[dipenates.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, and thanks for gathering these together. I'm really interested in Buffy and faith just now and will read these avidly.

[snickfic]

You're welcome! FYI, mabus101 also mentioned his DeadWar up in the comments. I haven't read it yet, but it sounds like it'd be of interest to anyone looking for Buffyverse/faith stuff.