A Favorite Fic: Sands of Time (S/X)
Jan. 31st, 2006 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shakatanyIf you love Xander, Sands Of Time by James Walkswithwind and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wolfling is a fic for you. This is more than a Spander fic. It is a true Xander-coming-of-age fic unfolding in a long series divided into 7 stories so far. I believe this fic actually was begun very early into the run of BtVS possibly in the first season or very early in S2 as Spike, beautifully feral Spike, doesn't show up until midway through the second story. It also was probably one of the first stories to conclude that Xander lived in an abusive home--now a familiar theme.
In "Sands", when Xander is abused by his father, he finds refuge with Giles who eventually becomes his legal guardian. Spike also takes an interest in Xander and at length he and Xander become lovers. Giles finds out and puts an end to it or so he thinks. It's fun seeing how an unchipped Spike is partially tamed by Xander through love, confining his "meals" to bad guys. The series lightly parallels canon with bits of episodes like "Band Candy", "Graduation, "Pangs", "Hero" (Ats) and others happening in the background and sometimes affecting the storyline.
The relationship between the fatherly Giles and his adopted son is wonderful and includes his Giles relatives seen in a trip they take to England. Giles is the father Xander's never had and though Xander is a tiny bit attracted to Giles it's never acted upon (there is no daddy!kink). It goes truly AU after S3 as Xander, encouraged to do well in his studies by Giles, moves to LA to go to college. This is a Xander who matures and develops thanks to the support of his new father (and Spike) something that was never focused upon by ME. After reading this I thought it was a pity that ME never did anything similar but the show was titled Buffy and the other characters were incidental.
According to the website the series is a WIP with 7 completed stories. IMO I feel there should be one more story where Giles learns that Xander deceived him in resuming his relationship with Spike. After some initial anger Giles would come to see Spike's love for Xander and would finally accept him in Xander's life. Because the series was begun so early it has a different feel than other Spander stories written with the benefit of hindsight. It's witty and humorous and all in all a terrific fic.
ETA: "Sands of Time" is now complete
wolfling is a fic for you. This is more than a Spander fic. It is a true Xander-coming-of-age fic unfolding in a long series divided into 7 stories so far. I believe this fic actually was begun very early into the run of BtVS possibly in the first season or very early in S2 as Spike, beautifully feral Spike, doesn't show up until midway through the second story. It also was probably one of the first stories to conclude that Xander lived in an abusive home--now a familiar theme.In "Sands", when Xander is abused by his father, he finds refuge with Giles who eventually becomes his legal guardian. Spike also takes an interest in Xander and at length he and Xander become lovers. Giles finds out and puts an end to it or so he thinks. It's fun seeing how an unchipped Spike is partially tamed by Xander through love, confining his "meals" to bad guys. The series lightly parallels canon with bits of episodes like "Band Candy", "Graduation, "Pangs", "Hero" (Ats) and others happening in the background and sometimes affecting the storyline.
The relationship between the fatherly Giles and his adopted son is wonderful and includes his Giles relatives seen in a trip they take to England. Giles is the father Xander's never had and though Xander is a tiny bit attracted to Giles it's never acted upon (there is no daddy!kink). It goes truly AU after S3 as Xander, encouraged to do well in his studies by Giles, moves to LA to go to college. This is a Xander who matures and develops thanks to the support of his new father (and Spike) something that was never focused upon by ME. After reading this I thought it was a pity that ME never did anything similar but the show was titled Buffy and the other characters were incidental.
According to the website the series is a WIP with 7 completed stories. IMO I feel there should be one more story where Giles learns that Xander deceived him in resuming his relationship with Spike. After some initial anger Giles would come to see Spike's love for Xander and would finally accept him in Xander's life. Because the series was begun so early it has a different feel than other Spander stories written with the benefit of hindsight. It's witty and humorous and all in all a terrific fic.
ETA: "Sands of Time" is now complete
