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Entry tags:
If It Doesn't Remind Me by beetle (R)
Fandom: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/FIREFLY
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Length: 3,438 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_beetle_
Author Website: Inchoatus Inchoare
Why this must be read: This story follows Spike and Xander, many years after leaving Earth-That-Was behind. The particularly striking thing about this fic is the size of its margins. By this I mean that I love the way beetle implies a vast wealth of backstory and rich texture in this; it feels like there's the weight of a whole series of novels behind the parts of the story we get to see. So many questions hang tantalizingly in the air in the space past the end, so many falling shadows hint at the shapes of stories that must exist before this one. That is a delicate feat to accomplish, and truly impressive. Besides this, there is also some lovely dialogue, and the grace notes of some beautiful turns of phrase sprinkled throughout.
Even though he's standing at the crest of a hill that's all weeds and mud, with an excellent view for miles around, in this moment, Spike simply can't believe what he's seeing.
Then, his vague and incomplete memory of a migraine pops up.
“Wo de-bloody-sodding-ma, pet--no playing in the mud!”
Xander looks up from deep contemplation of the mud puddles he's kneeling in, and swatting at with both hands, a daft, delighted grin on his face. That grin—usually accompanied by a hyena sort of laugh Spike's never liked—only sprouts more manic delight, and more teeth as Spike stares.
(He supposes he can only count them both as lucky that Xander's managed not to go into gameface in public for so long before this. It seems he remembers everything except the particulars that make their tenuous existence run relatively smoothly.)
If It Doesn't Remind Me
ETA: Although this story stands alone okay, you may also want to check out the prequel Out of the Blue.
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Length: 3,438 words
Author on LJ:
_beetle_Author Website: Inchoatus Inchoare
Why this must be read: This story follows Spike and Xander, many years after leaving Earth-That-Was behind. The particularly striking thing about this fic is the size of its margins. By this I mean that I love the way beetle implies a vast wealth of backstory and rich texture in this; it feels like there's the weight of a whole series of novels behind the parts of the story we get to see. So many questions hang tantalizingly in the air in the space past the end, so many falling shadows hint at the shapes of stories that must exist before this one. That is a delicate feat to accomplish, and truly impressive. Besides this, there is also some lovely dialogue, and the grace notes of some beautiful turns of phrase sprinkled throughout.
Even though he's standing at the crest of a hill that's all weeds and mud, with an excellent view for miles around, in this moment, Spike simply can't believe what he's seeing.
Then, his vague and incomplete memory of a migraine pops up.
“Wo de-bloody-sodding-ma, pet--no playing in the mud!”
Xander looks up from deep contemplation of the mud puddles he's kneeling in, and swatting at with both hands, a daft, delighted grin on his face. That grin—usually accompanied by a hyena sort of laugh Spike's never liked—only sprouts more manic delight, and more teeth as Spike stares.
(He supposes he can only count them both as lucky that Xander's managed not to go into gameface in public for so long before this. It seems he remembers everything except the particulars that make their tenuous existence run relatively smoothly.)
If It Doesn't Remind Me
ETA: Although this story stands alone okay, you may also want to check out the prequel Out of the Blue.