Wow. I mean....holy shit. I've don't think I've ever seen reviews that were so infantile for any story in pretty much...ever. I have no patience for people who are so weak and childish that the very thought of Buffy and Spike not being in each other's arms for two minutes just ruins their entire life! I mean, buffynspike4eva! Jeez. Grow up people. Addie writes real stories, not fluffy unrealistic dreck. So if you want to read dreck, find a different author, okay? Generally I don't care for authors who whine when someone points out that perhaps, I don't know, they might consider using some punctuation, or not spell every other word incorrectly, that kind of thing, especially in the context of a review that is otherwise very positive. That's my thing. Reviews should never be only about 'you rock!' without any relevant feedback. Authors grow and improve and become solid thru genuine feedback. But that's about honing your craft. But these reviews? These are not constructive criticism at all. These are just childish complaints of people who can't stand that their infantile fantasies about the total perfection of spike and buffy together somehow has come to mean way too much to their shallow little lives. Angst. It's real. It's life. It's the mark of most of the best BtVS and AtS fic out there. Deal with it. And if you don't like it, then move on to some fluff piece that won't ruin your entire life because, god, 'Spike would never be mean like that' or they 'can't live without each other don't you know that' crap. And until a story is COMPLETE, no one has any business prejudging where it's gonna go. You don't know what the author has planned, and it's always fun to guess, to speculate, but to actually declare that you 'know' what's gonna happen, and then criticize the author for writing it that way, when the haven't even written it yet is beyond stupid. Sorry Addie for the long rant but when I read these infantile diatribes masquerading as 'reviews' my blood just boiled. And for the record, since this is my review of your story, I really love the direction you're taking this and think it is totally realistic and both characters, even though they are 'all human' are very much consistent with their canon characters, especially Buffy. Her entire thing, during the entire seven seasons, was an inability to communicate her real feelings in a love relationship. She did it with Angel, with Riley, and later with Spike. She is total subtext girl, working things out in her head, making decisions based upon that, and then acting on them. She has never been one to sit down with her boyfriend and really lay all the cards on the table and work things out in the open. So her decision to leave him without revealing to him the real reason is very true to form. And it also makes sense in a loving way. She had to know that if she told him what Travers said and why she was leaving him he wouldn't be able to do it. And since she believes it's for his own good, she is making that sacrifice of her happiness, and his too, in order that he can have the life and happiness she truly believes he wants and deserves. She doesn't want to wake up next to him one day and have him resent her for being the one who stood in his way of becoming the musician he wanted to be his whole life. So she took the decision on herself, sparing him that. It was what Angel did to Buffy in season three. She never forgave him for it, but Angel was right to do it, and she did move on and well...you know the story. Anyway, great job Addie. And I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope you're feeling better soon and please don't give up on this story. It's one of my faves of yours.

. Seems like I will be the only one to say how much this story is disappointing. Well , other readers might talk.. but they must be afraid to receive a ( virtual ) slap in the face, since you showed in the past how understanding and gracious you could be toward some of them who didn’t want to stroke your ego.

Anyway , I really tried to find something worth waiting for ( because we reached chapter 46 ! ! ) but I didn’t find anything valuable .
I’ve read very angsty stories, in which Spike and Buffy had to fight to be together , or were separated for a while.. but they meant something.
The way Buffy gives up on Spike just because Quentin told her that it would ruin Spike’s career is ridiculous.
« .. find someone who wouldn't ruin his career just with her existence. » Do you read what you write ?

They have struggled to be there , they are deeply in love , and like Spike rightly said , they « can find a way to fix it ». But no , you take the easy way , she leaves him for his own good.
Your readers never ceased to repeat : « This is real life ! Painful ! True ! » I disagree.
It’ so lame I can’t believe you used this plot device to make them break up and therefore make them suffer so much.

Then again it’s not about the break up , it’s about the reasons why Buffy takes this decision.
"I'm your stepsister, and the fallout from that can kill your one chance at a real music career…"


She doesn’t even talk to him about all her fears and confusion ? She doesn’t explain herself ? He doesn’t fight for her ?
After all they’ve been through ?
After the love , the passionate sex , the beautiful connection ?

Lame , lame , lame. And completely unrealistic.
Good choice for Spike’s career but his life ? What about it ?
I wonder if you have the slightest idea of what it means to be a couple.
Yes they were emotionally drained at the time , but Buffy leaving like this is wrong and not belieavable. She makes both of them miserable and she thinks she’s right ?
She’s not brave and generous , she’s weak , pathetic , out of character , and seriously needs to grow up.

But the worse is waiting for us in the last chapter .. « three years later.. » I see that you’re happy to break the heart of your readers , again and again. But they sound .. satisfied. Hurt and satisfied. So eveything is fine.
Spike is dating Eve.. How to say this ? From the beginning you weren’t always convincing with your characterizations , but I have to say that you win the gold medal with this one.
Oh it’s surprising. . But not in a positive way.

And you promise a happy ending ?

What kind of miracle is going to happen ?
Buffy will suddenly cease to be his step sister ?
It won’t matter anymore in Spike’s career because he ‘s now a rock star and doesn’t give a shit about his reputation ?
Buffy will have a revelation ? She can’t live without him. Oh my God ! !!!

Lame..
You can torture your readers for the following chapters, I’m not interested anymore.

i sure hope the management problems were with a certain "manager". this story just gets better. now can B7S get back together, pretty please.

Ugh. Eve Hart. Eeeeeve. I love the name Eve, actually =P. I adore how Buffy's all good-counselor-y, and now, "what do you want to do with your life" and "how do you feel about that" and "get your ass into gear and don't you dare whine to me anymore". Hemm, looking forward to the spuffy meeting!

Oh my.. when I first skipped this chapter I hadn't read it has been three years already. I wanted to ask you how much time had past.
How do I live without you / I want to know / How do I breathe without you / If you ever go by LeAnn Rimes. I heard this song at my breakfast today when I skipped the story. Seems live has gone on *sniff* The thought makes me very sad. Three years *sigh*
There is a problem with the management because of the second CD? I still blame (are mad) because of Travers. I wouldn't mind if he got fired now. (Though I'm not sure if things would have gone better without him.) And I want to kick Spike for giving up so easy. (But then we're back to his insecurities.) ~ I don't find my second note I maybe I lost the paper. To your question and the rest out of my memory: What I want? I want them to be happy together and the past only a bad nightmare. And Spike's moving on a publicity gag. But we don't always get what we want.. Buffy wanted Spike to be happy, but it isn't easy for her. She's hurt when she sees he moved on. ~ I'm glad to know that your stories (that I read so far) have happy endings. That gives me faith. I even survived 'Living Vengeance' ;-) I know you write the chapters like they are because of a reason. And yet *sigh* it's so heartbreaking. I don't guess that Buffy thought is was so hard. And what about her family? In a way they are related, have the same family even if they aren't blood related.
I won't stop reading because of some angst; when you post the next chapter I'll read it. I promised myself to be patient. *sniffle* When the time gap was necessary it's easier to read about in flashes. Like how long Spike was drowning in the bottle... I end my ramble now before I get to emotional. Good chapter, that's sure .. just sad.

I haven't been here for a while, and so I missed the latest going -ons, and I have to admit I'm not very sad about that... Some people just have too much freetime.

So they finally seperated. Mhm... I understand Buffy's fears of ruining Spike's career by being with him, but why the hell don't they talk to each other?! Meanwhile, things are so confused that there's no easy way out anymore. Honestly, I don't see any solution to this at the moment, and I'm excited to see how this is going to end. Their last love time was really heart-breaking.

Lucky for me, there's another chapter to read - which I'm going to do right now.

Ouch. That really hurt my heart.

Very well done, but so heartbreakingly sad....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Have Spike and Buffy get back together! I can't take the heart break! I cried when I read the other chapter! Spike and Buffy are perfect for eachother! Like salt and pepper, cookies and milk, bread and butter!

I think this is really unrealistic. I mean they were in a great relationship in New York, living together etc. Then after moving to California, they start to have problems yes. Then Buffy tells Spike she doesn't want to be with him anymore and he just accepts it and moves out? NO. The Spike we know would have forced Buffy to tell him what the hell is going on and they would have talked it out once and for all instead of moving this forward 3 years into the future. It just seems really unrealistic to me. I think this story went downhill after you had them go visit Joyce for the Christmas holidays and it's never recovered.

Author's Response: Thank you for your delightful flame! I hope you also had something as positive and cheerful to start your morning!

POST UP TO 52 lol or dus that totally defeat the purpose? I am so desperate to read more

Author's Response: Well, if I did that, then there'd be no more chapters for a long time while I spent the time writing new ones, so I don't think you really want that. lol

I do like that you skipped ahead, rather than pulling us through the horrendous healing process after a major relationship ends. I had no idea you were jumping that far in the future-- so I sort of did a Keanu Reeves impersonation-- "Whoa." Great chapter to see what Buffy's been up to, with an indirect glimpse into Spike's life. Looking forward to seeing some of Spike's internal dialgogue about his new girl.

Can't wait to see where this goes. I know there will be some confrontation soon but how and when is what keeps me reading. Great job.

Given all the possibilities of those three years, Skipping ahead was probably the most merciful decision. Not that any of us believe that they're really over one another, even after three years. Looking forward to more, however much that may be. Glad she's a counsellor here, too.