SPN/BtVS: Under Darkening Skies part 1

[rivkat]

Sigh. Someday I will learn astolat's trick of posting the story at her site with the LJ comment link simultaneously with the posting of the LJ entry, but today is not that day. So here's the first part of my Sweet Charity story for giandujakiss.

Under Darkening Skies
Summary: The Winchesters take a job involving a demon-influenced woman and a powerful witch. Explicit heterosexual content (not, amazingly enough, involving Faith).
Word count: ~35,000.
Notes: Written for Sweet Charity for giandujakiss. This goes AU early in SPN Season 3 and right after the first “episode” of Buffy Season 8. Thanks to geekturnedvamp for beta and giandujakiss for accepting a shift in her scenario!

Edited: Read it here.

Comments

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

ooo, you've got me hooked, and I don't even watch Supernatural. THough I seem to have absorbed a bit via osmosis from my friends list.

Looking forward to more.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I hope you like the rest! It's pretty SPN-heavy, though we do get more Buffy later.

[tahariel.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, awesome! Really looking forward to seeing the characters interacting, and I love the set-up. Great stuff :D

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I hope you like the rest.

[azephirin.livejournal.com]

Oooooo, what a setup! I can't wait for the next part.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I hope it pans out!

[rogue-planet.livejournal.com]

There... There's going to be more of this, right? And soon?

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Posted!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I am literally bouncing with excitement at this story. I can't wait for the next part.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I put the whole thing up now; I hope you like it.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

I am SO all over this. You're making it look efortless!

Why no second part yet? Waaah.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

All up now! I enjoyed the prompt and I hope you like the rest.

[jcalanthe]

This is a wonderful setup! I'm on the edge of my seat to see what happens next.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I hope it pays off for you.

[brownbetty]

Wow, I'm impressed with how tight you've got them trapped, and look forward to seeing what you'll do with that.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

These guys can't seem to catch a break, can they?

[grand-sophy.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, plotty goodness! Super-powered badasses squaring off! Looking forward to more.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I hope it fulfills your expectations!

[shiba-inu.livejournal.com]

Wow. Lots of implied coolness there. This is going to be interesting.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

It was a challenge to revisit the BtVS ethos -- SPN really is its opposite in many ways. But I hope I did Buffy & Willow justice.

[pershin.livejournal.com]

Wonderful start!

And I read it.. even if there was no pairing written LOL

Avidly waiting for the next part!

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy it, even without a promise as to the pairing.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

***********SPOILERS if you haven't read the whole story****************


OH. MY. GOD.

I couldn't love this more if...words fail me. This is like ficCRACK to me. It pushes all my buttons.

- A gen crossover between two alluring worlds that exploits the strengths of each? Check.
- The tone shifting effortlessly between sections to match the original tone of each show but never losing overall coherency? Check.
- The collision of gendered-worlds handled in a way that is empowering for both sides? Check.
- The completely in character emotions and dialogue? Check.
- The thrilling fight scenes--- like a TON of them!!! ---with imaginative opponents? Check.
- A genuinely tempting hell demention department store (I actually HAVE pumps like that!!!)? Check.
- The incredible world building pulled off in a relatively short amount of time--oracles, the mind-blowing merger scene, the hell dimension, even the Slayer bunker? Check.
- No lack of hotness? Check.
- And a cameo by my favorite lawyer? Check.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

If you are planning to write a sequel, I highly encourage it!

*goes to check Sweet Charity to see if you are listed.*

ETA: Huh. I think I followed the link at the end of the story, but it posted on the first page of the story. Putting spolier warning at the top of my comment just to be safe.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you saw what I hoped from the story (especially the gender stuff). And that you liked the department store from hell! Lilah was one of my favorites, and I always wanted to see more of her.

You did follow the link at the end of the story; I just haven't figured out what magic astolat uses to make the story and the LJ entry linked to in the story appear at the same time.

[tahariel.livejournal.com]

Oh, totally kick-ass awesome. I love, love, love this! The character dynamics and the way you slotted the two relationships together are perfect, and the Sam/Dean brother relationship just worked so well for me. Left me wanting more, but satisfied at the same time :)

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was happily surprised that they seemed to play well together, and I'm glad you agreed.

[brownbetty]

Oh man this is shiny. I love Dean's choice at the end, and I think Dean's the only one who could have made it-- Sam would let himself, because he knows how Dean chose last time.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it! I really wanted it to be something that they could only do together; either alone would get it wrong.

[rogue-planet.livejournal.com]

Never have truer words been spoken about these two shows than "You were done. You fought hard, did good, died well. But now you're back, and 'the end' turns out to be just the last scene before the preview for next week's episode."

Your Buffy characters were spot on, something I've actually stopped expecting in BtVS crossovers. This was truly excellent, and it's only right that for Sam and Dean "In the end, there is only the Huntsman and his heart."

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I have loved Buffy since episode 1, and it was really interesting to revisit them in the aftermath of the show. I adore Willow, but Buffy PoV is always hard for me, so I'm glad the characters worked for you.

[vaznetti]

Excellent -- I really enjoyed this. SPN/BTVS is a crossover which is harder to pull off than it looks, but I bought it here, and I liked the way you played around with the characters.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was wary at first, but I figured if you bought "used his soul to power a resurrection spell" then the rest of it could follow ok, as long as they didn't have to fight any vampires. I'm glad you liked it!

Under Darkening Skies

[yourlibrarian]

Such an interesting premise! I particularly liked the astral sequence with Dean and Sam, and Dean being literal :> Great the way so many pieces tied together.

Re: Under Darkening Skies

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

mustangsally78 taught me to blow the budget whenever possible, so I just went wherever my fancy took me. I'm glad you liked it!

[jinkamoo.livejournal.com]

Very well done! Bravo! You have some great skill, especially for sex scenes which normally turns me off in fic. Not that sex is bad, it's just usually written that way.

And amazing integrity of characters, the voices of Dean, Sam, Willow and Buffy. As well written and as in sync with both shows as far as dialog, wit and plot line.

Excellent job! I enjoyed reading this very much!

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[fryadvocate.livejournal.com]

This is the best BTVS crossover with SPN that I've read ever. Period. Really well done, the flow is awesome and I love the ending - it felt like there was another story waiting to be written underneath it.

The characterizations in this were pitch perfect - Dean and Sam almost too close, but also so misunderstood. I loved getting the outsider pov on the Winchesters, and I also loved getting it on Buffy and Willow. The flirtations were so on point and I truly believe that Dean could bring Will back from lesbian into bisexual.

Again, so well written.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I don't actually know what happens next, but I imagine it involves saving the world, again. I was a little surprised that the parallels seemed to work so well, and I'm glad it made sense to you. I've long held the opinion that Willow is capable of desiring men and women -- her sexual attraction to Oz was and remained sincere -- so I didn't feel too bad about letting her have a fling with Dean. And of course he is very pretty.

[r-becca.livejournal.com]

Very nice -- these two universes just fit together really well, and you worked that perfectly. Lilah examining Dean's contract with the crossroads demon was PERFECT. Loved the action and mystery elements especially, and the way that the plot came together. Dean and Willow is a pairing I haven't seen before, but I admit that my favorite by far was the Sam/Buffy interactions -- it was great to see them breaking into government buildings and fighting angry dwarves together. :)

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was worried about making the universes fit, but I figured that keeping vampires out of it -- and trying "powered a resurrection spell with his own soul" -- would help, and once that was done, they did seem compatible. I'm thrilled that you liked the Sam & Buffy parts -- they are characters that I have a harder time with.

[justabi.livejournal.com]

I cannot even say how much I love Willow getting all blushy and having some sexy fun time with Dean. Which is the least of the things I love about this. The thing with the maps over maps. The puppy demons. Ethan using the US government as an instrument of Chaos. Topless wrestling for the enjoyment of pervy little slayerettes. Just ... *flails* I don't know why I'm still surprized you are able to rock this much.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The story was a huge romp; I took the prompt and threw in all the things I'd like to see -- topless wrestling being high on the list. And Willow was always my favorite; thus it's not surprising that she got a Dean Winchester Special.

[brynwulf]

Seems like I'm always late to the good stuff, but I just finished this and wanted to be sure to let you know what a great ear you have for the characters of both 'verses voices. Buffy was spot on, but Dean and Sam were right there with her and Willow was her usual adorkable self. congratulations. That is so hard to achieve in a xover. And I really enjoyed the story.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! It's been a while since I tried BtVS, so I'm glad that Willow and Buffy worked for you (I love Willow to bits) and that the crossover worked; I wasn't sure it would when I started.

[twistingflame.livejournal.com]

Oh very cool. Love the mixture of so much back canon for both shows.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was very pleased when I figured out that the ritual from S4 of Buffy created a yellow-eyed being--I'm glad it worked for you.

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

I guess I am incredibly late to the party, but I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this story. I've read a lot of SPN/BtvS crossovers, and very few worked for me quite as well as this one did. Thank you!

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's awesome to get feedback a while after posting--LJ especially tends to sweep the old away, and it's nice to know the story is still out there!

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

Wow great story - beautiful merging of the two AUs. Dean and Sam stayed true to who they were very nicely as did the BVS crowd

Thanks for sharing

Zaz

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's a scarier crossover than it seems at first because the worlds are so different, and I'm glad you thought they both worked.