Beginning of "Lover's Walk" but goes off-canon right from the start.
Posted as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Artists: None
Characters: Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Giles, Joyce, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, Mr. Trick, Oz, Spike, Willow, Xander
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluffy/Comedy
Warnings: Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Event: 12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge
Completed: No Chapters: 7
Word count: 16,431 Hit Count: 4,711 ePub Downloads: 157
Published: October 31, 2018 Updated: April 17, 2019
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Summary: Buffy is having a strange night. The usual baddies are nowhere to be found, Spike is back in town (without Drusilla and on a drunken mission to use magic to make her love him again), and the feathers are flying... though not any time that Buffy is actually there. She just finds them blowing around town near Spike's abandoned car. And when she finally finds Spike, it is not at all what she expects.
Beginning of "Lover's Walk" but goes off-canon right from the start.
Posted as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4). Challenge text in Chapter 1 is (hopefully) in Italics.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
1. Chapter 1 - Buffy's Strange Night by SzmattyCat - Likes: 23 Comments: 15 Word Count: 1,797 Hit Count: 1,382 Published: October 31, 2018
First time posting! I am so excited! And cutting it really close to the challenge deadline for Chapter 1, but it's still October, at least for a few more hours. Hope you all enjoy!
Huge thanks go to the amazing Sigyn and MiseEnPlace, who beta-read this chapter and made some much-appreciated suggestions. Thanks also to my brother, my best friend, and my sister-in-law, all of whom also read and commented on the drafts. Any errors now are due to post-beta edits and my own stubbornness.
Posted 31 October 2018 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4). Challenge text is (hopefully) in Italics.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
2. Chapter 2 - What Hell Is This? by SzmattyCat - Likes: 20 Comments: 13 Word Count: 2,569 Hit Count: 642 Published: December 06, 2018
Phew, finally managed to get out Chapter 2. I had planned to try posting at the end of each month, at least, so this one is late. The good news is, I have Chapter 3 almost set to go as well, so it shouldn't be as long for the next one.
I have a flashback in this chapter, and I hope it will be easy enough to know when it happens and when it ends. I didn't want to have a really long section of Italics, or offset with extra character, so I just tried to make it work with the wording. I went a bit rogue with this after the final draft was returned by my beta, so if it seems confusing, it's all on me. And if you do find it reads wrong, I would totally appreciate the feedback so I can do better next time!
The humblest of thanks goes to my betas for this chapter, MiseEnPlace and bewildered, without whom this chapter would have been an awkward, confusing mess. Thank you so, so much!
I am quite happy with how this chapter turned out, though I may be a bit biased, since it's my baby and all. Hope you enjoy!
Posted 7 December 2018 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
3. Chapter 3 - Staying In by SzmattyCat - Likes: 19 Comments: 10 Word Count: 2,040 Hit Count: 547 Published: December 14, 2018
Woohoo, another chapter out before Christmas! Posting is my treat to myself (and hopefully you) for having an exhausting but productive few days.
Heartfelt thanks go to my betas for this chapter, MiseEnPlace and yellowb, who were kind enough to point out where I went wrong and offer suggestions to fix things. Any remaining errors exist purely because I was too stubborn to follow their sage advice.
Posted 14 December 2018 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
4. Chapter 4 - Going Out by SzmattyCat - Likes: 16 Comments: 11 Word Count: 3,467 Hit Count: 650 Published: February 16, 2019
I am terribly sorry for the delay. I have no plans to abandon this story! I had deadlines for work at the end of the year and, well... they went a bit off the rails, along with some spectacular sleep deprivation and round the clock work-eat-work-nap-work-etc. I'm all caught up on sleep now and feeling human again; hopefully, that won't happen again for a long, long while!
I was so fortunate to have yellowb beta this chapter (weeks ago, at that, but life got stupid before I managed to post). Heartfelt thanks go to her, for her input and support.
Hope you enjoy! There are a few of the answers in here! :)
Posted 16 February 2019 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
5. Chapter 5 - Moodswings by SzmattyCat - Likes: 20 Comments: 12 Word Count: 2,209 Hit Count: 539 Published: February 25, 2019
Once again, my undying gratitude goes to yellowb for beta-reading this chapter.
Hope you enjoy!
Posted 25 February 2019 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
6. Chapter 6 - Research by SzmattyCat - Likes: 14 Comments: 7 Word Count: 2,287 Hit Count: 530 Published: March 03, 2019
Yay! I get to post another chapter today. Many thanks go to MiseEnPlace for the crucial beta read that ensured you don't have to suffer a short chapter with a terrible cliff hanger. You can all thank her for this! I would have been (unintentionally, but very thoughtlessly) evil and mean. 😄
I will try to get on with the next chapter in a reasonable time frame; I need to do some major plotting work now. I am very happy to say that once again, Mise has stepped in to help save the day - she has given me lots of help on ideas and I will be letting things percolate into a (hopefully) decent brew in the next few days while real life gets super busy for my family.
Hope you like this chapter!
Posted 3 March 2019 as part of the "12 Years 12 Seasons Challenge" (Prompt 4).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
7. Chapter 7 - Confessions? by SzmattyCat - Likes: 17 Comments: 7 Word Count: 2,062 Hit Count: 421 Published: April 17, 2019
Finally, I have another chapter ready! Many, many thanks to MiseEnPlace, who provided the best beta support. She really rocks!!!