Favorite Stories of a Scooby Shipper

Title: Buffy and Xander: 2 Naughty and 2 Good

By: Brooke

In the introduction, Brooke makes two claims. First is that the story is ‘a big ole heaping helping of NC-17’. On this she really delivers, with some of the hottest B/X and B/W/X around. The second claim is that ‘there is no angst here’ and ‘a happy ending guaranteed’. Sadly, this story broke my Scooby shipping heart. It builds wonderfully towards turning B/X into B/W/X, and for one glorious night our three Scoobies become as one. But just as in real life, there are consequences to our actions and crossing the line from friends to lovers doesn’t always work out.

“Was there ever something you just wanted... something you for sure weren’t supposed to have but wanted it anyway? Something that you just know can make you happy... Consequences be damned.”

Title: Vampire Stories (series)

By: Crys Loch

In my book, Scoobies are the white hats who don’t have relationships with vampires. As such, I’m not much of a fan of stories where one or more of our Scoobies gets turned.

Except for this one.

One of the things that attract me to B/W/X is the close bonds between them. It goes beyond mere friendship and deep into areas that few talk about and even fewer go. In this story, that bond even transcends death. Crys has done some outstanding work in making the vampire versions of Buffy, Willow, and Xander recognizable as the people they once were and the demons that they have become. Crys also does great work in exploring new themes between the Scoobies (their demonhood and the added sexual dimension of their relationships) as well as looking at the age old ones (power and the need to belong).

‘They were right though, he belonged with them. The bond they shared after the trials of all those years could not be broken by any demon or calling.’

Title: Into the Desert

By: Lizbeth Marcs

This story made me cry. Powerful and touching is the best way to describe it. After Xander and Willow’s death, Buffy tries to go on with life without her friends and in the process learns just how much she needed and loved them. In the afterlife, Willow and Xander are on a road trip together, driven by the feeling of needing to find the... something... that is missing to make them whole.

If someone asked me to explain the bond between B/W/X that attracts me to the ship, I would point them to this story because this story is just what I see.

‘For a brief moment she wondered what it would've been like to make love to Xander. If Faith were to be believed, he wasn't half-bad, considering she was his first. If Anya were to be believed, Xander was nothing if not imaginative and adventurous in the sack. She wondered what it would've been like to make love to Willow. Would it be gentle and laconic, the kind of lazy touching that lasts all night? Or would it be frenzied passion as the redhead let down her inhibitions behind a closed door?

Buffy snorted and hugged the picture close to her chest. She felt stupid having such thoughts because she never had any sexual interest in Xander and certainly not in Willow. So why even ponder the notion when they weren't even around to answer the question?’

Title: Living History

By: Lizbeth Marcs

One of the best post season 7 stories around. So many stories forget that Buffy, Willow, and Xander are the closest of best friends (which isn’t surprising since Joss seems to have forgotten it at some stage too) but this story manages to recapture some of the great Scooby chemistry of the first three seasons. An outstanding plot which is well executed with an overall feeling of light hearted fun. It explores the post Sunnydale relationships in a refreshing way without overshadowing some of the more serious themes brought up.

Time travelers, a hunt for a grail, and the funniest giant snake in history. This story is well written and just plain fun.

“Their future is our past. Did it ever occur to you that our future is someone’s past, too? So while we look at everyone here and ask, ‘What happened? Why these people? Out of everyone in the universe, why were these people at just the right time and place for things to happen the way they did?’ Think about this: someone in the future will look at us and ask the same questions.”