You are so, so sweet! Really, that comment made my entire day, you do not even know. Thank you so much.
That's a really great question. III was inspired by all those fics in which Buffy is claimed by Spike and thus becomes immortal. In all of those fics (some of which are otherwise really good), she has a moment of "Oh, no! I'm gonna live forever!" and then she discovers that she loves Spike so much that she decides living forever is OMG SO GREAT!!1! I don't buy that. At all. Buffy's never been the kind to be so caught up in her romantic feelings that everything else goes by the wayside (well, sometimes with Angel, but she was just a teenager; my Bufy's long ago outgrown that tendency). I cannot imagine any scenario in which Buffy would react well to the idea of watching those she cares about growing old and dying. Her relationships are what make her who she is. She'd not let go of them easily. So the story was really about her not reacting well.
But at the same time, I so desperately want Buffy to be happy. So I wanted to end the story with some hope. It took me a while to post the final chapter because I wanted the balance to be between the fact that Buffy's never going to be okay with this...and some real, genuine hope that she will be okay anyway. I'm still not entirely sure I accomplished that, but that's what I was going for.
I also like the idea of Slayers being sort of the inverse of vampires. In that way of thinking, it makes sense that Slayers have the potential (heh!) to live forever: vampires do, too. But just as (I imagine) most vampires live short lives, Slayers do, too, because of the violence. Buffy's the first one to not be the only Slayer; thus, it makes sense that she'd be the first one to see what living forever feels like.
And honestly, I actually have considered writing a prequel to it, mostly because I've always wanted to read a story in which Angel Shanshus and Spike doesn't...but Buffy chooses Spike anyway. I don't know that I've read any like that. If I did write a prequel...that's what it would be about. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.
Thanks again for the lovely compliments and the insightful questions!
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That's a really great question. III was inspired by all those fics in which Buffy is claimed by Spike and thus becomes immortal. In all of those fics (some of which are otherwise really good), she has a moment of "Oh, no! I'm gonna live forever!" and then she discovers that she loves Spike so much that she decides living forever is OMG SO GREAT!!1! I don't buy that. At all. Buffy's never been the kind to be so caught up in her romantic feelings that everything else goes by the wayside (well, sometimes with Angel, but she was just a teenager; my Bufy's long ago outgrown that tendency). I cannot imagine any scenario in which Buffy would react well to the idea of watching those she cares about growing old and dying. Her relationships are what make her who she is. She'd not let go of them easily. So the story was really about her not reacting well.
But at the same time, I so desperately want Buffy to be happy. So I wanted to end the story with some hope. It took me a while to post the final chapter because I wanted the balance to be between the fact that Buffy's never going to be okay with this...and some real, genuine hope that she will be okay anyway. I'm still not entirely sure I accomplished that, but that's what I was going for.
I also like the idea of Slayers being sort of the inverse of vampires. In that way of thinking, it makes sense that Slayers have the potential (heh!) to live forever: vampires do, too. But just as (I imagine) most vampires live short lives, Slayers do, too, because of the violence. Buffy's the first one to not be the only Slayer; thus, it makes sense that she'd be the first one to see what living forever feels like.
And honestly, I actually have considered writing a prequel to it, mostly because I've always wanted to read a story in which Angel Shanshus and Spike doesn't...but Buffy chooses Spike anyway. I don't know that I've read any like that. If I did write a prequel...that's what it would be about. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.
Thanks again for the lovely compliments and the insightful questions!