Rec: Reassembling by texanfan
Jun. 9th, 2020 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
isabellerecsTitle: Reassembling
Author: texanfan
Canon: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Xander Harris/William 'Spike' Pratt
Rating: Explicit [NC-17]
Word Count: 80,953
Summary: What if both Buffy and Anya died at the end of The Gift?
Recommendation: This was awesome! I've been a fan of Reconstruction by Wordsmith for quite a few years now, but this is the first time reading another story that builds an AU from this point in time that I feel works and works well. I love all the little touches; including the genuine seeming grief and coping (or lack of coping) that goes on [i.e.; Willow's ill-advised magic use, Dawn's stealing, etc.], the family-building even with the miscommunication that comes with families, the inclusion of Jonathan and the resolution of the situation with Warren and Andrew, the slow build between Xander and Spike, the elephant in the room that is the Scoobies trusting Spike on a gut level for a long time, and the whole group working together to protect the Hellmouth without Buffy. I love that it allows all of them to grow, in a realistic way, beyond where the show had always seemed to leave them in favor of Buffy's narrative. All in all, this was super enjoyable and I stayed up way too late trying to finish it and it has already rocketed itself to my top ten Spander.
Recommendation #2,085