{ I can't take the blame, honey. }

[delga]

Remember that time I recced Freedom's Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose by synecdochic? And how completely awesome that fic was, and how heart-breaking? Well, thanks to twincy, I've found another one. It hits all the right kinks - crossover, apoca-fic, strong narrative, beautiful prose and a plot that aches.

Sailor's Delight by general_jinjur (BtVS/SGA/Night of the Comet)

The fic takes the premise of Night of the Comet which follows two girls who survive an apocalypse caused by a comet; it inserts Dawn Summers (with a voice that makes her so much more likable than the series ever did - which nearly always seems to be the case) and Jeannie Miller (Rodney's sister - come on, keep up!), and it finds them struggling to find a way out of the dead earth.

The dialogue is spot on; general_jinjur has the voices down pat. And the entire fic is just wonderful. You must go and read it; you won't be disappointed, I promise.

She's on the front landing before she realizes that it isn't just the upstairs that's quiet. The whole house is hushed. Weird. Even in emergencies, even in an all out crisis, there's someone left behind, sitting in front of the TV or griping over Froot Loops about still being on the injured list. But there's no one here.

A banana and half a pot of coffee later, and Dawn's left puzzled behind and is sitting smack dab in the middle of bored. She hasn't been able to find the morning paper, and she doesn't want to be in front of the TV when people get back, so she's loaded the dishwasher and wiped the counters and feels like she's done enough penance. She pulls her cell out of her jacket, hanging by the kitchen door, and hits the auto-dial for Buffy.

Twenty-two calls later, Dawn's considering panic. Every number rings and rings and then goes to voicemail. And she's heard four of the phones ringing inside the house.

She searches the rooms, top to bottom, floor by floor. Then she pulls on her jacket and heads out.

She's backed the little rental car out of the driveway before she remembers she hasn't got a clue where to start looking for everyone. Back into the house and she's checking the tracking system, the street map screen display scattered with the eight dots that comprise the council fleet. None of them are moving; five of them overlap, centered on the garage they'd dug out underneath the old carriage house that serves as training space. Of the other three, one's out in West Park, the other two are on the east bank, in the Flats. The better odds mean that's where she's headed.

She snags one of the duffle bags on her way out, tossing in a few stakes and one of the protection charms that are heaped on the table next to the front door. She's got at least three hours to sunset, but better safe than sorry.

Dawn stands next to the car for a moment before she gets back in. The whole neighborhood is silent. There's a bite in the air, and the sunlight is the bright warming gold of late autumn. A breeze picks up, and the sound of it stirring the heaps of dry leaves along the curb is startling.

The fic also puts me in mind of a fic I read aaaages ago, so I'm going to direct you to that one, too: The Rapturous End by Annakovsky. Buffy, Xander, the end of the world. It hurts. (Set in the same verse as Seeing Africa by huzzlewhat which is one of the best Xander fics ever, and I don't even look for Xander fics. There's also Contrite Spirits by Lizbeth Marcs, a Xander and Faith fic that I love. Check them out.)

Psst. I only have 5 drabbles left to write. This is too haaaard.

Comments

[twincy.livejournal.com]

!!!

Oh, dude, this is too creepy. I'd finished reading Sailor's Delight, and I was trying to do other things with it still resonating in my head, and I was thinking how much this was like Freedom's Just..., which didn't let me go for DAYS. Sailor's Delight is still echoing.

I hope you told jinjur how awesome she is?


(I still haven't found it in me to reread Freedom's Just...; while excellent, it tears me absolutely to shreds.) (I also recced it in my journal after I first read it, which is something I rarely do. I can't find the post now, unfortunately.)

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

i can't believe you mentioned my fic and freedom's just... in the same post, much less comparing them! i am...i don't know. floored. and honored. and i can't see that sailor's delight is in the same league, but wow, thank you for saying it.

good call on the rapturous end! i love annakovsky's stories, and i was certainly influenced by the strange, claustrophobic empty silences in that. and contrite spirits, with all the helpless reflective regret, the feel of being between events.

this is just such a nice rec. i read it at work and i teared up and had to go do other stuff. i'm all embarrassed and thrilled. thank you.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Well, they're very much comparable; it was the last good fic I read and yours came next. They're both very clever, I think, they both play well with character and they both hold the reader. Five stars!

The thing about The Rapturous End is how the apocalypse is a coda to the actual story and I love that so much. You're right about Contrite Spirits - there's all this negative space that fills up the narrative.

Aw! That's actually pretty sweet. I'm glad I made you cry? :)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

I think it's just the effect both fics had on me, which is why I draw them together, because now I have all these images traversing my head and coming to me in random flashes. I love that feeling, but both stories feel haunting.

Indeed I have :P See below.

Ah, the thing about it is that it's difficult to read, emotionally. I get about half way and have to stop. Then I go back and start again. The further I go with it, the more anxious I become. It's a wonderful experience.

[twincy.livejournal.com]

Dude, since when do you two have eachother friended? F'list incest, man.

(needs to stop saying dude)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

...I don't think we do? I mentioned in my comment that I was going to rec, jinjur came to see aforementioned rec...and so on :)

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

yes - i am lurky like that. except for the part where i left a comment, so you totally know i'm here.

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

dude. saying dude is addictive. i just barely manage to avoid saying it to patrons at work.

[general-jinjur.livejournal.com]

:)

i am very flattered, and will try to stop arguing.

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Hee, post-it note -

To do:
buy groceries
do laundry
learn stealth
tape atlantis

[twincy.livejournal.com]

Ah! Je comprends. I was under the impression that all your posts were f'locked. Apparently, not so.

& I have mail! From you! Which I'll be opening after this comment. Hopefully no scandalously early Christmas card? 'Cause I haven't even begun to think about mine. & for future reference: my postal code = CP, not Cl. It got here fine, but just in case. :)

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

No. Only the terrible emo stuff. Or the things I don't want my sister to see ;)

Yay, wow, that got there quick. And I have made a note of the postcode, so thanks for the heads up.

[twincy.livejournal.com]

*tackles you with hugs* Thank you for the fantastic card! & yes, the Virgina Woolf would be fab, if you can spare it. Unless it's Orlando, which I already own.

♥;

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

*G* It's not Orlando, it's A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas in one; I also have To The Lighthouse but unfortunately that's promised in another direction.

You know you added and extra semi-colon, right? That you only need one? Yes?

I don't know if you're a fan of Michelle Yeoh but someone has just posted pics in hires_hotties and now I am v. v. happy.

[twincy.livejournal.com]

I totally hoped you'd notice that.

I don't watch hires_hotties because it tends to take over my f'list completely (with 70% people I don't care about), but yay! Still haven't seen Memoirs of a Geisha, sadly, but Michelle Yeoh = gorgeous. But then I think asian women are gorgeous in general. *hurries off to look*

[delgaserasca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's that. But I totally watch for the pretty dresses. Michelle Yeoh = &hearts. And when you get the chance, see that movie. And Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Loooove.