This is actually a review of all your work. I enjoyed it, although I found the middle a bit less angsty than I go for, the Scoobie bashing tiresome (especially the fact that Xander's issues with demons have, IMHO, a lot to do with Jesse's death), and the porn a bit gratuitous. The most frustrating thing about your story is that they all have basically the same plot, just with different spins. Despite that, I read every single one, so they are awesome. Also, it would be great if the claiming was different, story to story, and maybe try something with less bashing. I enjoyed it overall, and you are a good writer - excellent style, enough angst to keep it believable (most of the time) and an ending that is satisfying, if sappy. If my criticism is unhelpful, my apologies. I haven't attempted this much concrit before, and I don't want to be flamey. They are generally good stories, but more variety would be nice. Thank you for contributing to the fandom.

Author's Response: Thank you for enjoying my stories. I write romances and the plot therefore is inevitably the same: hero and heroine meet, something gets in the way, all ends happily. One can add spins to try to change that, but in a romance the dynamic between the hero and the heroine is the only thing that can really be made different and since the dynamic between Buffy and Spike cannot be changed without making them into other people, one has a problem. If you want variety, there are many other writers on SR who can provide you with adventure stories, magical hijinks, power boosts, etc. I do romances and am pleased that every one of my stories has been nominated for an award and 13 of them have won awards, so people do seem to appreciate them despite the similarity. I don’t indulge in gratuitous bashing, but I do point out what I consider moral and ethical errors in even our favorite characters. If they act badly - and all of them often do - they should be condemned for it. Jesse’s death does not provide sufficient reason for Xander’s bigotry, bullying or cruelty, his shabby treatment of Anya, his attempt to rape Buffy (out of lust not love) and his later convenient pretence that he never did, and his refusal to let anyone forget Spike’s attempt (made out of love and desperation). I could write an essay about Xander’s meannesses, but someone has already published one - 17 pages of it. And let’s not go into Buffy’s abusiveness in Season 6. If a man had been put into Buffy’s role during that season and a woman into Spike’s, people would be screaming in outrage. I love BtVS and I love these characters. But when I place a story in a certain time period in the seven-season arc, I depict the characters as they are at that point of their personal arcs in canon - whether good or bad. My stories are about getting Spike and Buffy together, but they are also about pointing out the serious ethical flaws that the ME writers never seem to notice or deliberately gloss over. If you want to discuss this in more detail, email me at jopattas@eagle.ca - I love talking about Spuffy. Porn? Hey, I write NC17 stories and that’s the fun part. But my porn’s based in the love between the two of them, not just graphic or gratuitous sex. Believe me, there are way many more writers far more graphic and gratuitous than I am, starting with Nautibitz, Jackofspikes, SpikesDeb, Niamh, tons more, all terrific writers. :)

I loved this story! You're very good!

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! I'm learning the craft by writing Spuffy. :)

Congratulations! You've been rec'd!

The Reader's Have Chosen is a fanfiction recommendation community dedicated to finding the best of the best in fandoms across the boards, and sharing them with other authors and avid readers.

Your story, "Hide and Seek", has been rec'd and is now being voted on in the Monthly Poll: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fellow fandom-aficionados will vote for their favorites of all the recommendations, and the stories with the most votes will be posted on the front page.

You can find our website at (without spaces): http : // thereadershavechosen . eternflame . com You can find the Buffy Monthly Poll at (without spaces): http:// thereadershavechosen. eternflame. com/ forum/ index. php? topic= 1596.0

Author's Response: I'm honored. Thank you!

I'm so happy to see a new dreamweaver story and this seems to be like another good one. I'm glad Buffy finally realized how much she loved Spike and all that she lost. That last scene in Chosen was pretty callous IMO. And anything that has Spike in "S8" is OK by me, :) And what in the name of pete is going on with Spike? Hide and seek seems like a good title.

Great beginning...I'm hooked! :)

Author's Response: Oh, I felt the same about that last scene in Chosen! It seemed incredibly callous - Buffy smiling and Xander joking about Anya's death and everyone riding happily off into the sunset, not caring that people who loved them had just died for them. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thank you!

It's always good to get a notice from Elysian Fields that you've posted a new story; this way I get to know it quicker (sadly TSR doesn't have it).
BTW if you want to tell it: How many chapters does this story have?
For the lack of a better word: I like the twist of Buffy finally finding out what kind of feelings she has for Spike and regretting lost opportunities.
Hard for her not to have one to talk about it.

Ohhhh ... Spike is back now? Teasing slayers. Makes me wonder why he is back there and what he remembers.
Looking forward to more.

Author's Response: I'm so glad you're liking it! Thank you! Everybody joking and being so happy as they drove off into the sunset after people who loved them died for them made me so mad and I wanted Buffy to at least realize what she really feels about Spike. There's going to be 7 chapters - that seems to be becoming my pattern. :)