The Farmstead

So, this is it! The end. Dum-dum-dum... I've had a blast writing this; I hope anyone who's made this far with me has had fun too! brutti_ma_buoni has been excellent, naturally, keeping me going to the edge of doom, and all that. There'll be an index post in a minute, but just to reiterate this is Spuffy and PG-13, basically. It's about ~4200 words (~550 lines) and warnings of this book are the general death and denial of agency that's been going through everything.

The party returns home.

[XI]

XII

      The future, when it really happens, feels
A certain way. A single second comes
That knots together all the past before,
So every nudge of inclination, cause
Set out for consequence, they settle, stop.
( ... )

Yes, this would be the weekend of a massive slew of Spikeid stuff from me! Although this is something like a teaser, really. ;)

I put half this soundtrack up a while ago, but I think it's easier to have it all in one place, which is why it's all here again. The only thing I have to apologise about is that my copy of Take the Veil by The Mars Volta got a scratch on it back in about 2005, but it doesn't affect the song too much, I hope.

( I-VI )

( VII-XII )

[Play/Download at Box.net]
(where you can also find the minimix I made for stultiloquentia when I did that minimix meme thing)

It's with this that I herald the beginning of the end, pretty much. The P required to complete this WIP is vanishingly small now, and so in hope that people might be interested in reading the whole fic now it's done, I present the 2011 version of book I, in which the tone is more in line with the rest of the poem and the syntax should be more natural and easy to follow! If you have some sort of nostalgic preference for the old version, it's still here, but this is what I'm going to archive etc.

After I've posted book XII (with an ETA of maybe sometime towards the end of next week, with X and XI over the weekend/beginning of next week? This is dependent on other things also, though X and XI are ready to go with just a couple of final once-overs), I'm going to put up an index post with a proper blurb, but suffice to say this is a ~50,000 word Spuffy-gen parapocalyptic jaunt set a short while after the AtS finale, rated either PG-13 or R depending on how much blood they put in on the film version. ;) General warnings for issues and events concerning death, agency, gods and violence. Also, it's all in blank verse, which I think of as being slightly more petulant in demanding attention than prose, so you might like to get a cup of tea and a comfy chair.

This first part is ~4300 words (~535 lines). Humongous thanks to gillo, who did masses of beta work for me on this back in the day - without her I doubt I'd have ever started, let alone finished. Also thanks to stultiloquentia, who cheerled (and kept on cheerleading) the idea from its inception.

The situation in LA unfolds.

I

      Of bloody awfulness and fallen towns,
O Calliope, would I sing if you
Would lend your aid. And, wow, I sound a bit
Pretentious, don’t I? Sorry ‘bout that – what
I meant to say was this: ( I've got a plan... )

Yay! I achieved my goal of getting these three books posted before my birthday! (Heh, it seemed laughably easy back in January - apparently my rational brain knows me much better than my intuitive one...) This book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, so I hope it won't be too irritating to wander back into the abyss between updates again. I'm definitely looking forward to finishing this, never fear - just need to recover my poetry brain.

Let's get to it! Spuffy (as in actually a bit); PG-13; ~4300 words (~550 lines); warnings for the series of death and denied agency, with only brief mentions in this book, but added for this book is reasonable amount of stylised gore. Big thanks to brutti_ma_buoni for the butt-kicking beta!

Illyria shares a memory and other preparations are made.

[VIII]

IX

      She’s caught by light, by pain that magnifies
Light brightly, feels her body fall away,
Keep falling, rushing wind against her skin,
Until she’s fallen into dark and cold.
For minutes then Illyria can’t move,
Her muscles trembling with shock and pain,
Stone hard around her gushing acid blood;
This does not feel as her flesh feels, but then
She can’t remember who or where she is.
There’s light again( ... )

Yep, we're back on the road with the next three books! The other two for this section are in beta, so I think it's time we pootled on. :) (Even if it is Saturday night; I'm in the mood for achieving something, so humour me here...) Big thanks to brutti_ma_buoni and verity for beta-ing this!!

As always - Spuffy-gen; PG-13; ~4000 words (~520 lines); warnings for the series of death and denied agency, with only brief mentions in this book. (There is also, dare I say it, a dragon...)

The group return to the shelter, where someone unexpected is waiting.

[VI]

VII

      Hey, Calliope, it’s Quinara here;
Just thought I’d try to get in touch again,
Because you never answered when I called
Before? At least, I never felt it when
The ‘spiring came in… ( ... )

Sorry this took a little longer than anticipated! But now it's here - and is possibly my favourite book so far. There's Spuffy! Meta-chat with Virgil! A cameo by a character I love! Not to mention that this book means we are HALFWAY THROUGH!! (Hooray for visible milestones!!)

Many many thanks to my betas for this book, brutti_ma_buoni, fulselden and ladyofthelog, who were excellent in their comments. I hope people enjoy. :)

PG-13; ~4000 words (~530 lines); warnings for the series of death and denied agency, with lots of issues around death this book.

Spike and Buffy deal with where they've landed; Illyria is tempted.

[V]

VI

      The vastness of the darkness all around,
The plangent loneliness which fills the black
And, biting at his tongue, the bitterness
Of acrid air: it feels like it should be
Too much for Spike. ( ... )

!!! I know, I know, it took long enough, didn't it? Still, I have a new plan of attack called doing chapters in groups, to make the reading experience a little more pleasant. V will be posted this evening as well and VI is COMING SOON in actual real terms (like maybe the weekend?), rather than Spikeid terms of soon meaning maybe a year...

THANK YOU a thousand times to my awesometown betas of these books, brutti_ma_buoni, ladyofthelog and fulselden. Your critiques were awesome! Thanks also to ariss_tenoh for discussing with me the scansion of some words in this book I don't often hear.

Warnings: we are still very much dealing with the fallout from death and denial of bodily agency. A less important pseudo-warning is for the prevalence of OCs and minor characters in this book - we return to our favourites in Book V, so this evening, but I think this is an important book nonetheless and they haven't been completely forgotten, so I hope you still enjoy it!

As usual, it's around ~4000 words (~550 lines) and rated PG-13, with a touch of the swearing.

The Slayers meet another group of people who are fighting in LA.

[III]

IV

      The Slayers run on hearing Buffy's cry,
Retreat without co-ordination, turn
About and almost trip on all the feet
Around them. ( ... )

Do I want to post this now? About 24 hours before the whole world vanishes to WriterCon? Really? Ahhh!! Forgive me, gillo, for I am weak. And it's quarter to two in the morning, so I am weaker than usual.

Yes, it's Book II of the Spikeid, the first book of which I posted nearly a year ago. I didn't forget about it after all! Indeed there is a lot in the works - my possibly ambitious goal is to have Book VI written and posted by the end of the year. IV is probably more likely...

First off, THANK YOU gillo, QUEEN OF BETAS, because without her this would be pretty bloody awful (and I mean that). Second off, if you're scared by the idea of epic poetry I promise it's basically like prose, just in a funny pattern on the page. Though I do try and give nods to The Gang aka my beloved epic predecessors (mostly Virgil, whose structure I am borrowing mercilessly), it should be understandable if you've seen to the end of AtS.

Vital stats for this book: 4000-ish words (500-ish lines); PG-13; Spuffy, natch; warnings for death/grief and consent/agency issues (non-sexual).

Buffy begins the tale of how she came to LA.

[I]

II

      “The story’s not that long, you know.” She sniffs.
“I guess, I only said that ‘cause that’s what
You’re meant to say when it’s like this: too much
To tell. And complicated. ( ... )