The Bitch Club by KineticKid

Fanfiction link

I appear to be addicted to reading fanfiction. hmms. Weird. All those years I'd avoided it, and now...

Right, so, this is another fanfiction book using the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This one directs its attention onto Tara and Faith. And, later, to Buffy.

There's quite an interesting dynamic going on here more on that later, need to set it up. Faith is an ex-con, having spent two years in prison after killing the deputy Mayor, and is back in Sunnydale - she's actually been back for about 2 months now, but most of the 'Scoobies' don't know she's back. Faith had called Buffy to let her know, but Buffy cursed her out and told her to get lost. Faith asked the council (who she's now good with) where else she should go, and they tell her to stay there. So Faith is patrolling later in the night than Buffy normally does, and in a different part of town.

Meanhile, Tara and Willow have split up - Willow has used her magic on Tara one too many times, even after promising to stop doing so. Tara is literally afraid of Willow, and fears that she won't be able to stop Willow from forcing her to get back together with her. She, Tara, has lost so much weight that she's quite bone-y. Skin and bones.

And that's the interesting dynamic - two women with issues run into each other; one is an ex-con who doesn't think she desires to be forgiven or befriended - while at the same time not using that as an excuse to fall back down the path of evilness. The other suffers from the abuse she suffered from her father and brother, and from her ex-girlfriend - to the point she does nothing but got to school (college) and study; to the point she forgets to feed herself. And because of her break-up with Willow, Tara herself is also on the outs with the 'Scoobies'.

As part of her 'keeping away from Buffy and her gang', Faith works in a bar she just knows none of them would step foot into, a bar called 'The Bitch Club'. It's a lesbian bar that has a certain . . . BDSM vibe (which rarely gets seen in this story, but does graphic get displayed somewhere along the line; though still more hinted at than seen).

One night Faith notices a blonde woman drinking - throwing back shot after shot of whiskey. She's not the kind normally seen in the bar, but she still sits there drinking. Faith watches as a regular approaches and forces themselves onto the blonde woman. Faith 'saves her', and literally tosses the aggressive woman out of the bar. When she wanders back to see if the blonde woman is okay, the first words from the blonde woman's mouth (and yes, I do notice I keep saying 'blonde woman'), indicates that she knows Faith. Then it becomes clear to Faith why the blonde woman looked familiar - it's Tara. Before things advance any further, Tara passes out. Faith brings her back to her place and nurses her back to health.

And thus begins a long budding friendship that leads to more between Tara and Faith. Both helping the other creep back from the edge.

And then Buffy gets in on the action by popping up in the story, and interacting with an original character who had been present in the first half of the book as someone both Tara and Faith bumped into. Then that dynamic unfolded.

Then, when the book was almost over, Spike had to show up, making it appear we were going down a particular road of 'let's remember and include some of the more important characters from the show, instead of just sticking with two somewhat on the fringe players (Tara and Faith)'.

Right, so - quite enjoyable book. Includes romance and graphic depictions of a sexual nature. Though the first graphic depictions were of a more barely clothed in public kind (it was theme night at the bar that Faith worked at as a bouncer - and Tara wanted to go (well, she wanted to spend time with Faith, Faith had to work, it was theme night, Tara was reluctant, still wanted to spend time with Faith, etc. etc. Faith's naked breasts were on display, then hidden behind a belt, etc. etc., it is something of an S&M club).

I may have lost track of what I was going to write next, distracted, as I was, by images and remembrances of that particular series of scenes.

Right, so, liked the book.

Rating: 4.78

October 26 2017

Je me souviens by zulu

Fanfiction link.

Je me souviens by zulu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a fanfiction for the show based on, I believe I saw, an episode in season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whenever it was that Faith ended up falling into a coma, this story takes place 8 months later (that 'Faith in a coma' story line is very popular, I've found, in Buffy fanfiction). The story is from the point of view of Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane (though I don't think 'Lehane' was ever used in this book, instead she was called 'Faith Wilkins' (not sure if that means that the Mayor, Mayor Wilkins that is, 'adopted her' or if it's just a 'thing' they did in the story)).

Well, as noted, it is 8 months after Faith fell into that coma after being attacked, stabbed by Buffy, and falling to her . . . non-death. She's awake now, though she has amnesia. She doesn't recognize herself, nor this 'Wilkins' person, who is her contact person (Guardian might have been used), nor this 'Rupert Giles', who is her emergency contact. She's bored with resting on a bed, so she cleans herself up in a shower, and slips out of her room to watch some television. But but . . she was in a coma for 8 months! Well, she's also a slayer, and they heal quite fast. A lot faster than medical personal think is possible, but that's not really important. Just the part where she's not in her room when Giles and the Scooby squad turn up (Scooby squad being Buffy and her friends).

Faith giggles to herself as she hears the strangers talking about some missing woman. The words they use, the anger, hate, fear. That is until she overhears one of them calling the older man 'Giles' and she realizes they might just be talking about her. So she wanders over, they immediately start yelling at her, she's confused because, as noted, she has no memory. One thing leads to another, and Faith ends up going home to Joyce Summers home.

Meanwhile: Story involves both multiple LGBT couples, and two hetero couplings - Buffy's with Riley, and Xander is with Anya. (Meanwhile Willow is with Tara, though she is just now being introduced to the gang, and . . . Buffy's with Faith, eventually; there's also some vague comment about some Giles/Spike thing going on, but I'm not sure if I misread the one liner or not - that never comes up again and Spike is not in this story, so it basically doesn't matter).

This was a rather interesting and entertaining short novel. With much humor, some fluff, some angst, and much sex. Graphic sex. Good enjoyable story.

Rating: 4.56

October 24 2017



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