WIP's I am reading

[snick_backup]

Both by people I've never read much of before.

At Your Service, by dampersnspoons
human!Buffy/vamp!Spike AU (6/? chapters posted)
This is a bit of an oddball rec, especially considering how I'm usually all about canon, but: After years on the run from some nasty supernatural folks who've just killed the very last person she cared about, Buffy sells her soul for the services of a demon who can protect her. That would be Spike. The worldbuilding here is interesting stuff, coherent and quite different from the Buffyverse mythology, but the best part of the fic is Buffy. This is not weepy, helpless Buffy, who appears all too often even in fics where she is the Slayer. Though "just" human, alone, and justly terrified of the creatures after her, this Buffy's still doing her darndest to survive on her terms.

All Summer Long, by yakimama
post-S5 (5/6 chapters posted)
It's Spike&Dawn surviving the long sad summer. Y'all know how I am about Spike and Dawn, and it tickles me pink whenever I kind find someone willing to spend more than a one-shot on them. This is them figuring out together how to survive without Buffy, one day at a time.

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I've been following All Summer Long. I'm a bit of a fan of Spike and Dawn, too, and this seems to be capturing them well. Haven't tried the other one, but maybe I will off your rec. I've dipped into a few other human Buffy, vamp Spike and found them very readable.

[snickfic]

I tend to avoid AU's that don't branch off from canon someplace, but I've really liked this one and goldenusagi's Sideways.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Sideways and Verity Watson's Meet the Pratts series are enough for me to give one a chance. I don't generally read that author, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

[snickfic]

I've tried a couple of her other things, but mostly what she writes just isn't what I'm interested in. This one's really working for me, though.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I'm already reading the first one (though I think I'm a chapter or two behind), but I had no idea about the second one. THANK YOU.

[snickfic]

You're welcome! spike_fics FTW!

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

All Summer Long is excellent, isn't it?

[snickfic]

I think so. Then again, it's got my favorite Buffyverse relationship of all in it, so I might be a bit biased... *g*

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs. I really like All Summer Long. I'm such a sucker for Spike & Dawn!

[snickfic]

Me, too! Their friendship is my very favorite Buffyverse ship.

[seapealsh.livejournal.com]

I'm actually reading the first one, even though non-slayer Buffy AU is something I rarely tackle. I like it so far. I may have to try out All Summer Long.

[snickfic]

Yeah, I rarely read AU's that mix up the canon elements much; I pretty much my AU's to break off from canon at point. It's elegant, yanno? But in this case the reinvention of the elements is creative enough to be worth it.