The Dressage Ring

so, i just got done watching season 7 of buffy - as in, two minutes ago - and, um, wow.  and also, sorry for scaring everyone in chat when is said i knew now how Xander lost his eye (one of our chat-friends is 'XanderOpalDragon', who has two eyes, thank you very much).

but i'm thinking that i like a lot of the last couple of seasons better than the first couple, a lot of times.  the last season kept getting more and more intense, and there was no let-up until the very end - the last few minutes of the very last episodes.  and oddly enough, i think it was the right choice - sometimes life is like that.  and at the end, as they're standing there over the Hole That Was Sunnydale, i thought 'aww, you can't end it like this! what happens next?!' 

which is... kind of the exact note you want to end a series on.  Giles says something about the Hellmouth in Cleveland, and Willow mentions that all the Slayers in the world have woken up.  so there's a pointer of where to go - you can just see the next season poking around the corner, but really, what's left to say?  we know now about the life of a Slayer, the pressures they're under, the issues they face in their personal, professional, and Slayer lives, and that the Watcher's Council, which had a number of problems, is now defunct.  and i'm sure this is the reason Buffy-fandom is still going strong.  they have a foundation on which to build a 'future' after the season ends.  in addition, there's a ton of new 'characters' around every corner - all the demons and slayers that are still in the world.  there's a ton of stories in buffy-land, both with the 'original' characters from the series, and with fanauthor-created characters.  the buffy-verse can support a full range of 'story styles' from 'could have been an episode' all the way to 'original story with original characters in a fannish 'verse' - fan-stories like the Star Wars fandom trends towards.

i don't usually read buffy-fic, but i can completely understand why the fandom is still thriving. 

i was watching buffy primarily for 'research' on Xander, the best way to get to know a character being to watch the show.  when i read buffy-fic, i tend to read fic about Xander.  i shall continue to write on my Xander-in-FC crossover fic.  it's good fun, and a good pick-me-up during these time of joblessness.

still, after the intensity of season 7, i needed a break, so i popped in 'Renegade', because i like drooling over Lorenzo Lamas. :-)  already, it's a choice that's paid off, because i realize that Bobby's left ear-ring is supposed to be a tomahawk, but it sure looks like there's a phallic symbol swinging from his ear, there.  maybe we can set him up with poor Andrew, who just needs a little love, really. *wicked grin*

-bs

The Seventh Gift

Header Information - Please read first if you didn't get here from that post.

Prologue

Part 1: Past Tense


( Part 1: Past Tense, Continued )


TBC in Part 2: Present Progressive


-bs

Additional Notes:  I'm handling this story a bit differently than I normally would, due to the fact that I'm trying to find the correct line between over-warning (which I hate), and not putting in a strong enough warning, and accidentally causing people to stumble into something they're not ready for.  Therefore, I'm making a specific request to everyone to link to this post instead of the story post proper.  I'll link all story sections to this post, but I do want to make sure everyone reads the warnings information first.  I'm not entirely sure, even now, that I'm not going overboard, but given that I wrote the Prologue specifically to get a gut-punch of emotion, I felt this was the best course. 


Title:   Seventh Gift
Fandom: Mag7, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Universe: Seventh Gift AU
Pairing: No Pairing
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.  I'm just having fun here, and mean no disrespect to various sandbox owners.
Summary:  The Scoobies are destined to sacrifice themselves in the fight against the First Evil, but Willow works a desperate spell that may just be able to save Xander - if he can bring himself to accept the gifts her spell has given him.

*************************************

My Warnings Policy Post is here.

Warnings:  Child Sexual Abuse (M); Child Abuse (M)
Kinks: 
Rating:  PG-15 to R for mature issues and themes, see notes.
Archive Information: Feel free to archive, just drop me a note if you do so.
Additional Links/ Notes:  Although this particular fic does not deal with it directly, I have decided on a fairly ugly childhood abuse situation for Xander (Universe Notes here).  There are some more notes here detailing where this AU falls in and swerves from Buffy canon.  There will undoubtedly be references and flashbacks to Xander's abuse, although as of this posting (3/23/2010) I have not written anything very specific.  However, the abuse comes up fairly quickly in the Prologue and I ask the reader to take whatever cautions she or he deems appropriate.  Just in case, I've also decided to separate the Prologue section under a separate link.  They both go to the same post, but, if after reading this you decide to skip the Prologue, click on the second link, which is labeled 'Part 1: Past Tense'.


Prologue


Part 1: Past Tense


Part 1: Past Tense, Continued

-bs

occasionally, i have to wonder about my writing process.  i'm waiting for my betas to get back to me with Green Day, and in the meanwhile, have another story pinging my brain.  i never thought i'd be into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but i'm currently writing a Buffy/Mag7:OW cross.  and i'm going along and it occurred to me i'm still on 'Part 1', and i'm 10 pages in.  Green Day's Part 1 is less than 5 pages long.  also, i wrote the prologue of Green Day in one shot - i've got the basic concept of the Buffy cross's prologue down, but it's been half-finished for a couple of weeks now while i concentrate on the rest of the story.

i apparently have a thing for kids, or for 'fix-it' fics, or something, as the the only character i'm really working with from Buffy is Xander, and he's been de-aged to 8, although not de-scarrified or had his experiences taken away.  and i have a thing for Chris, because i write an awful lot from his point of view.  i think this is the first time i've tried to write anything from Nathan's point of view at all.

any way, my brain is weird, my writing process is weird, and my obsessions are weird.  i just wanted to tell everyone that i wear the cheese, the cheese does not wear me.  yeah, that's it.

-bs, pondering imponderables