Fic: Drink and the Demon (BtVS)

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Title: Drink and the Demon
Author: chevron17
Rating: PG-13 for minor cursing and violence.
Text/Font Conventions: Italics represent emphasis.
Length: Approximately 6920 (8070 with Author's Notes)
Characters: Primarily Drunken!Giles! (of course), plus the Demon, with a smattering of Buffy and [Ethan Rayne] <(highlight to reveal at your own spoiled peril

Comments

[antennapedia]

This was fan-freaking-tastic. Ethan being mischievous but not actively evil, Buffy being her usual distracted season 4 self, Giles being seduced by an interesting puzzle and then sozzled by it, and the researching demon reaching a truce with him!

[chevron17]

Thank you! In my heart, Ethan would not put Giles in a situation where he had no escape from death - one, because I like to think Ethan cares more than that, and two, it's more consistent with his nature as a chaos mage - there has to be an element of unpredictability, meaning Giles _could_ survive.

Glad you liked unable-to-resist-puzzle Giles and his new pal, the demon with a Giles-like nature. Call me weird, but I'm actually thinking of writing a Giles/Yrarbil slash at the moment (it could be done, really!). I've seriously got to get more sleep!

Thanks for commenting and for running the ficathon!

[littleotter73]

Excellent story all the way around! Well done! I particularly liked how you wrote the part about Giles and the demon as they started to understand each other. Very clever and visual, and done with patience and humor. I definitely could see this story being a "lost episode" in season 4.

[chevron17]

Thanks for your kind comments! Glad you liked the how the two librarian/researchers came to an understanding. I had fun transposing elements of Giles' personality and mannerisms onto the demon, and having him essentially face himself. I was definitely going for the visual, since I decided against the possibility of spoken language between them.

Glad you enjoyed, that's what it's all about!

[gilescandy]

That was brilliant, as usual. I was so looking forward to this prompt, and you hit it out of the park. Poor lonely Giles. And Ethan, just trying to help in his own bizarre way. And God, the librarian demon, so perfect. Thank you for this. It was a great read.

Oh, and the challenge... I got one, maybe two, but I'll leave it for someone more library savvy than me.

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Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad I could come up with something that worked for you with the prompt. Ethan and bizarre, two great words that go great together! Glad you enjoyed the librarian demon, I had great fun with him. As mentioned in the AN, it was important to me that Giles' "adversary" be someone he could still cope with in his inebriated state - meaning by patience and understanding, rather than fighting skill.

On the challenge, thanks for having a go at it. I'm starting to think I made it more obscure than I originally realized. Answers is a couple of days, hope it makes sense then!

Thanks for commenting!

[thisiszircon]

What a fabulous story! I adore the concept of the librarian demon, and your writing was terrifically visual. I haven't chortled so much while reading fic for quite some time.

Thank you very much; I enjoyed this immensely.

[chevron17]

Thank you very much for your kind comments. I'm glad the librarian/research demon worked for you, I've grown quite fond of him myself! I'm glad it came across as visual for you - I was definitely going for that, because it had to be realistic that in the absence of common language, Giles and the demon could still find a way to communicate, and they did, because they were both ultimately patient and willing to "listen."

Good to hear the chortle-oscity factor was high for you. My understanding is that the Drunken!Giles ficathon tends toward the lighter side of BtVS fic, and since I love humor, that certainly fit in with my secret plot. I especially loved putting in the tickle scene. Goofy drunk human = poor confused demon! :-)

Thanks again!

[il_mio_capitano]

I put my comment in the wrong place. I see that now. Have just re-read and it's still making me smile. Lovely work.