Christmas drabbles! Deird, Shapinglight, and a bonus

[snick_backup]

Merry Christmas, deird1 and shapinglight! (Deird, yours may ring some distant bells - it's in answer to a prompt you gave me back in, like, March that I never responded to. :p)

Also included is a drabble I wrote for the (Ex-)Housemate as part of her Christmas; I figured you guys wouldn't mind if I posted it, too.

For deird1: Buffy, Faith
Some Burnt, Some Rebuilt

“Faith,” panted Buffy, “we burned down a house!”

“Wasn’t it great?” Faith’s grin faltered. “That’s okay, right? I mean, abandoned, only vamps living in it, obviously a fire hazard...” She scowled. “Am I supposed to feel bad now?”

Buffy glanced back at sky-high flames and leaning timbers. She wondered what vamp dust smelled like as it burned. She looked at Faith, hunched, eyes still lined dark as Cleopatra’s – apparently reforming didn’t fix everything.

“Naw,” Buffy said. “Not the first private residence I’ve brought down. But hey, the flamey part is new.”

“Cool.” Faith grinned again.

That part was new, too.

---

For shapinglight: Spike, Giles, post-"The Gift"
In Many Forms

Too often, finding some demon on patrol too much for their Slayerless band to fight, Spike leapt in anyway, roaring through his fangs, battering the thing until it was pulp. Eventually Giles would send the children away – they’d no need to witness this maniac grief – and when Spike had exhausted himself, ribs rebroken, knuckles bared to the bone, Giles guided him to crypt and bed and saw he had blood ready to hand.

And if on some less bloodied nights Spike ended up on Giles’ couch instead, Giles matching him glass for glass, better the children didn’t see that, either.

---

For Housemate: Kendra
New Lessons

When Kendra was home on the island again, Mr. Zabuto asked her about the mission: about Angelus (she said he was not yet dead); about Mr. Giles and his library (there, at least, she could tell the whole truth); about the Taraka.

He didn’t ask whether Kendra was ever angry, or if the anger helped her in battle. He didn’t ask if she liked the boy she met. He asked about Buffy’s training, but not about her friends; if she focused, but not if she smiled. He didn’t ask what Kendra had learned from her.

And Kendra didn’t tell him.

Comments

[gillo]

Brilliant - I love all three of them, though the Spike and Giles story is particularly poignant. Thanks for sharing.

[snickfic]

You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

They were all great, but I have a real weakness for Spike, Giles friendship and shared mourning, so that's my favorite.

[snickfic]

I seem to have a thing for shared mourning, too. This is at least the third or fourth drabble I've written set after "The Gift," with shared mourning in.

I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

[angearia.livejournal.com]

Love the Buffy/Faith!

But hey, the flamey part is new.

Haha, only new for private residences though. She's very well-versed in burning down public residences. :D

Aww, Spike & Giles. Not in front of the children.

Oh god, the Kendra one is perfect. Perfect. I'm tearing up.

[snickfic]

She's very well-versed in burning down public residences.

Very true. :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the lovely comment. :)

[seapealsh.livejournal.com]

Those were awesome. I love Spike and Giles; this was a nice glimpse at their grief. But the Kendra one really hits you. Poor poor thing.

[snickfic]

Kendra really did get the short end of the stick in so many ways. I really am sad we didn't see more of her.

And thank you!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Kendra really did get the short end of the stick in so many ways. I really am sad we didn't see more of her.

Agreed. They really mishandled her story in a lot of ways - and of course killed her off quickly to make way for another white Slayer. I'm not saying it was deliberate on the part of the writers, just badly done. (But you knew that.)

I was intrigued by the notion of a Slayer who even in the 20th century lived in a culture where Slayerness was somehow honored, was part of the community and needed to be trained as a shaman would be. The gist we got on the show was that the way Buffy did things was superior - although in some ways the show also undermines that. (And Buffy's dismissive "You're not the boss of me" in Restless is something she regrets later. )

Actually it is sort of complicated (Buffy going from someone who lives entirely in the "here and now" to having to connect with the origins of Slayerhood) but it's still all about Buffy. Ok, it's her show, so duh, but it means once again, the black girl is not important in and of herself, except what she represents to the white girl. (Which is also true of the First Slayer.) And it's interesting because that's the way the dynamic has usually worked in terms of men and women in movies/tv (esp in certain genres like "buddy" or "action" films), and BtVS reverses this in terms of gender but not race.

Your Kendra drabble reminds me (in spirit, not style) of Lizrael's Potentials fic, "Prism"
http://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/356065.html?replyto=11955169

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

Such a contrast, and I like them all. Love to see Buffy and Faith enjoying life, but you have a nice line in pain for Kendra and Spike both.

[snickfic]

Yay, thank you! I, too, really like seeing Buffy and Faith healing and maturing together.

[quinara]

Awesome! I think I love the Kendra one in particular, mostly for being Kendra.

[snickfic]

There is not nearly enough Kendra in fandom. The housemate asked if there was lots of fic about Kendra, seeing as she was so interesting, and I had to say, "Not so much."

I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

[deird1]

YAY!

I am loving these drabbles...

:)

[snickfic]

Yay, I am so glad! And I'm very pleased that your old prompt ended up giving me Buffy-and-Faith, whom I hadn't written together before. I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Can we please talk about how brilliant you are? And how you make me instantly invested in anything you write? Like, Buffy and Faith should always be BFFs, and you should always write them. And clearly that tentative Spike-and-Giles relationship while Buffy is dead is now part of my canon. And you just made Kendra so real and her death so very tragic it makes my heart hurt. You are awesome.

[snickfic]

Oh, yay! This comment makes me so happy. Reader investment is like gold, and it is hugely encouraging to know that my writing can generate some, especially for scenarios the reader (you!) isn't automatically inclined to invest in.

I would dearly love to write more Faith-and-Buffy, if I can figure out how. I'm thinking about it.

Thank you, thank you for your lovely comment.

[shapinglight]

Those were all wonderful. Thank you so much for the Spike/Giles. It's a pairing (in the loose sense of the word) I adore. It's very, very kind of you to write it for me.

[snickfic]

You are so very welcome! I knew I wanted to write Spike and Giles for you, and this is the scenario that popped up, but then I worried that the drowning of shared sorrows maybe wasn't the most appropriate Christmas present. So I'm glad you liked it anyway. :)

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got killed (stupidly, again), cuppa something stronger than tea. Giles has plenty of ammo for comebacks to Spike's barbs, but oh he understands the pain too well to wield it when they're so raw.

I do love to see girls having fun, and vamp nest flambé is like a spa day for Buffy and Faith. Well done.

Dear Kendra, who was an excellent student, but barely got to put her lessons to the test. *sniff*

[snickfic]

amp nest flambé is like a spa day for Buffy and Faith

Hee! Pretty much.

And yeah, Kendra learned fast and then was gone before she could do much with what she learned. I'm sure glad the next Slayer who showed stuck around longer.

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

Oh, *sigh*. Poor, broken (literally, figuratively) Spike.

How you make me want to write that summer again. The pain is exquisite, my dear.

*sigh*

[snickfic]

The pain is exquisite, my dear.

Coming from you, this is high praise indeed. Anytime you want to revisit that summer, you have readers who will be happy to revisit it with you.

[vala3.livejournal.com]

Great drabbles. Really like the angsty feel of "In Many Forms'. I can somehow see Giles and Spike using each other to avoid the sorrow. And the last made you feel even more sorry for the slayers that didn't have Buffy's support system. Glad Kendra held back saying anything to her watcher.

[snickfic]

And the last made you feel even more sorry for the slayers that didn't have Buffy's support system.

So very much, yes. It was pretty clear from what we saw of Kendra that her life was pretty constricted.

I'm so glad you enjoyed. Thanks for the lovely comment. :)

[treadingthedark.livejournal.com]

All awesome!!

[snickfic]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

[relurker.livejournal.com]

I remembered the Kendra one!
These are all very nice.

[snickfic]

Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed. :)