Summary: He knew evil – understood evil. Evil was a thing of humankind. The Good People were no such thing; they understood as little of morality as they did of airplane engineering, or taxes. In the stories they were cruel and generous by turns, took what they wanted and cast it aside uncaring, and the rules they obeyed were strange and unfathomable. Rules of home and hearth, of salt, blood and running water, of cold iron and ceremony.
 
Above all, though, they always kept their bargains.
 
 
A alternative S5, starting from just after Triangle. This story is about fairies - but definitely not the Tinkerbell kind. The kind that are much older, and bloodier, and have teeth. 
 
Be careful what you wish for.
Beta and Sensitivity Readers: None
Artists: None
Categories: Season 5, Alternate Reality, High Fantasy
Characters: Anya, Buffy, Dawn, Ensemble, Giles, Joyce, Other, Spike, Tara, Willow, Xander
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fighting, HEA/HFN, Romance, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Violence
Completed: No Chapters: 8
Word count: 26,486 Hit Count: 8,594 ePub Downloads: 54
Published: June 08, 2021 Updated: October 28, 2024


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Story Notes: This story will update at bi-weekly intervals on Tuesday. Currently it sits at 7 chapters completed and edited, outlined to the end; at the moment I expect it to run to about 12-15 chapters.
 
With enormous love, lots of BONKs, and only occasional trips to pronoun jail this time, to my wonderful editor NellInHell. And thanks to lex_hex for the thoughts on the opening chapters.
 
The painting in the banner is by Johann Wilhelm Cordes, 1857, and the title is a reference to Clarice Lispector's novel of the same name, thanks to NellInHell.
 
 
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 by toooldforthis - Likes: 24 Comments: 14 Word Count: 3,002 Hit Count: 1,421 Published: June 08, 2021

Well - I caved. I've been working on this story basically since I published World Enough, and Time, and I found I wasn't revisiting my finished chapters here in anything like the same way I did with that fic, mostly because I know what's actually going to happen in this one...! So let's start publishing as I go, because I'd love to hear what you think of it.

2. Chapter 2 by toooldforthis - Likes: 19 Comments: 10 Word Count: 1,939 Hit Count: 948 Published: June 21, 2021

Thank you so much for comments on the previous chapter – it means so much to me that someone is reading, and hearing what you think as we tick along! I've completed another chapter and a half in the last couple of weeks, so maintaining my 7-chapter buffer. There's so much to come that I can't wait for you to see!

An early update today, as I'm busy tomorrow. This story will continue to update on every other Tuesday, normally.

Love as always to NellInHell, my editor.

3. Chapter 3 by toooldforthis - Likes: 17 Comments: 8 Word Count: 2,876 Hit Count: 2,391 Published: July 06, 2021

Thank you so much for all of your kind comments so far – I've been raring to go to get this one out and see what you think, but I know I'll be kicking myself later if I don't keep up with my massive multi-chapter buffer. As always, edited incredibly by the wonderful NellInHell.

The illustration that accompanies this chapter (at the bottom!) is my original work. You can find more of my Spuffy drawings on my tumblr. I do not allow my drawings to be replicated without written permission.

==

A quick note that user mcgnagallsarmy has made a wonderful fanmix for my completed fics World Enough, and Time and Circles. I've added a link to the chapter notes in both, but you can also find it here! Thank you so much, I love it!

4. Chapter 4 by toooldforthis - Likes: 16 Comments: 8 Word Count: 3,203 Hit Count: 982 Published: July 19, 2021

I just couldn't wait until Tuesday – been excited to post this chapter for a good long while now!

5. Chapter 5 by toooldforthis - Likes: 16 Comments: 8 Word Count: 3,315 Hit Count: 943 Published: August 02, 2021

6. Chapter 6 by toooldforthis - Likes: 13 Comments: 8 Word Count: 3,205 Hit Count: 914 Published: August 17, 2021

7. Chapter 7 by toooldforthis - Likes: 18 Comments: 11 Word Count: 4,709 Hit Count: 903 Published: August 31, 2021

A long update today – this was originally Chapters 7 and 8, but Chapter 7 didn't have quite enough going on in it and raised one too many extra questions for me, so you get them both together! This does mean that I may skip the next update to maintain my buffer. I'm still working a good few chapters ahead and planned out all the way to the end, but I like to stay far enough ahead that I can make sure all the loose threads are nicely tucked in. I'll post an update in the shout box if I skip.

Just a quick note as well, to say thank you so much if you're leaving comments. This is definitely a long-haul type situation, working on this story, and to hear your thoughts and encouragement as we go is so incredibly motivating as I fit writing this around my busy old life! There have been lots of questions - don't worry, they'll all get answered. But there's plenty more of this story to go...

8. Chapter 8 by toooldforthis - Likes: 9 Comments: 9 Word Count: 4,237 Hit Count: 92 Published: October 28, 2024

Um, hello. It's been a while, hasn't it?

So, I had a baby, and my hyperfixation faded, and a whole bunch of other stuff happened. But a few things came together today - I got a kudos on one of my other stories, and I idly googled this fic and saw someone mention it, and I have been reading some bad fantasy romance and thinking that I could probably do better...

Anyway, I reread this story, and far from feeling embarrassed, I'm actually surprised that I still think it's pretty good (even if maybe a little too plotty), and that I had nearly a full chapter left that I didn't post. So I polished it up, and filled in a few gaps, and I thought even if I don't write anything else, I would put this chapter out into the world. If you're still out there and you see this, drop me a note, and try and help me wake up that sleepy muse.