Summary: All's swell here in Sunnydale, CA. Ragtime plays. Hotsy-totsy flapper Buffy Summers slays. The bootleg giggle waters flow, and what happens in the military "internment camp" known as Hellville only the HSTs really know. But there’s some kind of phonus balonus on the Hellmouth that’s making the Slayer feel screwy. Not that Buffy wants to be a wet blanket or cast a kitten, but she’s no chump and she’s about to get sore. She can’t toot the wrong ringer, so she’ll have to put the screws on that grifter, Spike - Hostile #17 himself. He’ll either give her the rap, or earn another poke right in the kisser. Savvy? That’s the crop! Written for the Artistic April Challenge, Banner #10 by OffYourBird.
Beta and Sensitivity Readers: None Artists: None
Categories: Season 5
Characters: Anya, Ben Wilkinson, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Glory, Harmony, Joyce, Riley Finn, Spike, Tara, Willow, Xander
Genres: Action/Adventure, Dramedy, Historical, Romance, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Event: Artistic April Challenge 2021
Completed: No Chapters: 3
Word count: 24,975 Hit Count: 702 ePub Downloads: 27
Published: April 28, 2021 Updated: May 17, 2021
Print or Download Story:
View All Chapters
Characters: Anya, Ben Wilkinson, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Glory, Harmony, Joyce, Riley Finn, Spike, Tara, Willow, Xander
Genres: Action/Adventure, Dramedy, Historical, Romance, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Event: Artistic April Challenge 2021
Completed: No Chapters: 3
Word count: 24,975 Hit Count: 702 ePub Downloads: 27
Published: April 28, 2021 Updated: May 17, 2021
Print or Download Story:
View All Chapters
Story Notes: I've never researched for a fic so much in my life, but thanks to the amazing prompt by the best beta/fan/pal ever, OffYourBird, I knew had to take this on. I've always been fascinated with the 1920s. I loved hearing the stories from my grandparents about those roaring days. I love the music, fashion, art, and attitude of the whole era. When I saw her incredible banner and read her challenge, I was intent on making it mine:
Must have:
1. The Monks messing up time when creating the Key, and turning all of Sunnydale into the 1920’s, but with all its current-day inhabitants and villains.
2. Buffy fulfilling her Restless dream by being a flapper (and still the Slayer)
3. The same as with the Dawn ret-con in canon (“Dawn’s always been here!”), no one initially realizing that reality has shifted. They must think they’ve always lived in the 1920’s.
Can have:
1. Reality never resetting and Sunnydale remaining in the 1920s (while the rest of the world is in the modern day)
2. The Key being the reality itself, or still a version of Dawn, or someone/something else entirely
3. Spike’s chip gone, since that tech wasn’t around in the early 20th century. Potentially replaced with something more era-appropriate
Can’t have:
1. babies/pregnancy
2. human or souled Spike
3. A tragic ending
Hope you enjoy!
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.
Must have:
1. The Monks messing up time when creating the Key, and turning all of Sunnydale into the 1920’s, but with all its current-day inhabitants and villains.
2. Buffy fulfilling her Restless dream by being a flapper (and still the Slayer)
3. The same as with the Dawn ret-con in canon (“Dawn’s always been here!”), no one initially realizing that reality has shifted. They must think they’ve always lived in the 1920’s.
Can have:
1. Reality never resetting and Sunnydale remaining in the 1920s (while the rest of the world is in the modern day)
2. The Key being the reality itself, or still a version of Dawn, or someone/something else entirely
3. Spike’s chip gone, since that tech wasn’t around in the early 20th century. Potentially replaced with something more era-appropriate
Can’t have:
1. babies/pregnancy
2. human or souled Spike
3. A tragic ending
Hope you enjoy!
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. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out by kats_meow - Likes: 13 Comments: 8 Word Count: 8,855 Hit Count: 341 Published: April 28, 2021
The first two chapters of this fic are pure self-indulgence on my part to figure out how, exactly, the monks mistakenly lobbed Sunnydale back in time. Wouldn't you know, that a lot of it was thanks to getting lost in translation. While I was at it, I also had to dig deep into the whole Glory/Ben/Key mythology and make sense of that for myself, too. So - spoiler alert! There is no Sunnydale for the first two chapters. Sorry! If that's not your bag, please feel free to skip straight to chapter three. When it's posted, that is. 
Many thanks to OffYourBird for helping me steer this wild ride and to all of you who choose to read! I appreciate you and Elysian Fields so very much.
2. Here Comes My Ball and Chain by kats_meow - Likes: 12 Comments: 9 Word Count: 11,168 Hit Count: 215 Published: May 07, 2021
Gentle reader, thanks for indulging me on my fanwank regarding the history of Glory and the Key. Have you ever wondered how the Key got made? Where it came from and why? How the Key was magicked into a real human girl? Well, have I got a story for you... Thanks bunches to the sweetest OffYourBird, who supported this super-side-bar plot. Don't worry, we'll see what happens in Sunnydale as a result of all of this when we get to the next chapter.
3. Young Woman's Blues by kats_meow - Likes: 13 Comments: 4 Word Count: 4,952 Hit Count: 146 Published: May 17, 2021
Sooo - wondering whatever could be the fallout from Harold's misguided magic? Time to find out what's shaking in Sunnydale. Thanks so much to OffYourBird for getting this introduction to our new (old?) world just right and beta-ready!
Canon-wise, this picks up right around the end of Season 5 Episode 1 "Buffy Vs. Dracula" and goes pretty wildly AU after that, although there is a line here from Episode 2 "Real Me."