Dawn makes the decision to jump (author's choice of title) by flootzavut +15
Responses: 1
Categories: None
Characters: Buffy, Dawn, Spike
Summary:

For some reason, I was pondering today how things would've turned out had Dawn jumped before Buffy had a chance to stop her. It was Dawn who understood first that her blood must close the portal/that there wasn't another way, and although she didn't immediately take a running leap, she was evidently ready and willing to do so to save the world.

Buffy said to Giles that she would be done with slaying if Dawn died, but we've seen how hard it is for Buffy to leave slaying behind despite her best efforts. Would it have been different if Dawn had died not as a sacrifice "for the greater good" or killed by a hellbeast, but of her own volition? What if Buffy hadn't had the chance to stop her? Or what if she had the chance but had failed to do so?

It's your choice exactly how it plays out. Spuffy goodness always welcome, and I love Dawn, so if you wanted to bring her back or have flashbacks to a time when she's alive, more power to ya. (After all, she is a mystical object as well as a teenaged girl, and she will have died in an unnatural way, so it's not cut and dried.)

As far as possible, keep to canon surrounding the events on the tower; after all, Dawn was tied up until Buffy arrived. Ideally, up to the end of The Gift, things should play out (or be assumed to have played out) as in canon, and Dawn's action should be what changes things. You can play with the final actions on the tower, for instance Dawn could jump without telling Buffy what she had planned, or they could have the conversation as in canon, with the possibility arising that Buffy's blood might also do the job.

All that needs to happen is that Dawn chooses to jump, and Buffy fails to stop her either through misunderstanding or indecision or just being too slow to take the leap herself, or for some other reason you have dreamed up. Ideally, changes should flow organically from Dawn's decision and Buffy's failure to stop her.

Given Dawn is going to die, there's obviously a lot of room for Buffy to be depressed and for that to have similar impacts on S6, so you can include canon S6 stuff if you want but you don't have to.

Dawn (at least a cameo) and Buffy are obviously must-haves for this challenge, and this is a Spuffy site so clearly Spike needs to put in an appearance, but besides that? Include whomever you like!



Summary: It’s been 147 days since the night that Dawn died. Since she jumped off the tower to save the world. 147 days since Spike jumped after Dawn with the promise to bring her back. Buffy is miserable and just barely hanging on. She had long given up hope that Spike would be able to save her sister. Her friends don’t know what to do with her and Buffy is close to ending it all. When all of a sudden Dawn is walking through the door and in desperate need of her help. Where has Dawn been this whole time? How did Spike manage to get them both out of a Hell dimension? And what has Spike and her been through to make them so close and protective of each other? One thing is for certain Buffy’s life will never be the same again.
Beta and Sensitivity Readers: None
Artists: None
Categories: Season 5, Challenge Response, Claim
Characters: Anya, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Spike, Tara, Willow, Xander
Genres: Angst, Drama, Fighting, Romance
Warnings: Adult Language, Blood Play, Sexual Situations, Torture (Physical)
Challenges: Dawn makes the decision to jump (author's choice of title)
Completed: No Chapters: 1 Table of Contents
Word count: 11,417 Hit Count: 1,342 ePub Downloads: 28
Published: March 20, 2017 Updated: March 20, 2017