#boomverse

“So, help me puzzle out the Dawn thing, Angel,” Buffy begged, as the two of them hung-out in her room after this new Slayer had been activated—or Buffy assumed that Dawn was a Slayer, anyway; that was part of the mystery of her—right when they’d started dating.

Oh. Perhaps “right when they’d started dating” should have been her first thought here, Buffy allowed. But she’d had so many doomed relationships, she didn’t want to put too much attention on this one and jinx it, too.

And the Dawn thing was such a conundrum, that her brain was definitely doing mental gymnastics in trying to figure that all out right now.

Angel shrugged—absentmindedly pulling at Mr. Gordo’s ears, Buffy saw (she kind of wondered why he was doing that. Maybe in detecting with Angel Investigations all the time, Angel now had to constantly being doing something with his hands?). “You did a DNA test for her, right? And she came back having your blood? She must be your long-lost sister, Buffy… I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there must be some secrets in your family. People are rarely as squeaky clean as you would hope they would be. And as for why she doesn’t remember anything… she must have some sort of amnesia. My guess would be because she was traumatized by something big. Unfortunately.”

“I mean, that is the logical solution, Mister-Logic-Guy,” Buffy agreed, spinning around in her swivel chair, that was right beside the beanbag chair that Angel himself was in. “But they said that her DNA is the same is mine. Like, an exact match. We’re talking identical twin type match. Except that Dawn isn’t identical to me.

“And I know that genes can mutate and do weird things like that, so maybe that could explain it. But the really weird thing, is all the doctors think that Dawn is way, way younger than me. So how do you figure that one, Angel?” Buffy asked, getting up and stealing Mr. Gordo from his arms, just so she could cuddle the little guy herself. Seeing him with Angel had just made her miss him, that’s all. And watching Angel grin at her as she did so, was pretty cute, too. “I guess their best guesses could be wrong, but it’s still wonky to me. And that’s not even getting into some of the things that Willow thinks she’s found out with her magic. Which just makes my already crazy life, all the more batshit.”

Willow’s theory—and Buffy couldn’t even believe that she was entertaining it—was that Dawn was somehow a created human being.

Or, moreover, that she had somehow been created as the next Slayer from Buffy’s blood, when Buffy had died recently had just barely been brought back to life… by one of Angel’s “children” Penn (something that Angel was still of miffed about. Not that Penn had saved Buffy, of course. But that he’d “finally found a way into Buffy’s life”, as Angel had put it, but he hadn’t been the one to save her. Just because out of all of them, he’d been the one closest to her and the defibrillator. And Penn had only rescued her, because Angel had promised him that he’d eventually give him his death if he did: a contract Buffy would find a way to break, if it killed her).

“Willow told me about some of that,” Angel told Buffy, with sympathetic eyes alighting the somewhat dark room. “She thinks that since the last Slayers—Kendra and Faith—were created when their predecessors jumped into the Hellmouth, it somehow made the system think that Slayers should be created that way from now on. So, when you- when you died, and triggered the activation of a Slayer the old way, the magic freaked and didn’t know what to do anymore, and created a Slayer from scratch. And she thinks that it’s Dawn.

“Buffy, if I’m being honest… that’s as insane a theory as I’ve ever heard one. Not that I want to storm into town and start doubting your friends’ abilities. You’ve all done a great job as guardians of the Hellmouth. So, if Willow believes this is the case, who am I to judge her? But if that is the truth, and Dawn really has nothing to remember, then you have to make her life now really something special.”

No one had to tell Buffy that one. She’d been considering it for a long while now. When Willow had first told her about her nutty hypothesis (one that Giles was now starting to backup, as well), Buffy had thought back to the sheep, Dolly… Not that Dawn was a clone or a sheep, of course.

But Buffy knew that animals had souls and emotions—and were far more intelligent than people ever gave them credit for—and she’d wondered and feared if the poor thing had somehow known when people were calling her a copy, or treating her differently and with maybe less respect (surely with some poking and prodding) than a usual sheep would get.

And she didn’t want that for Dawnie—who her mom and Eric had already decided to adopt the moment she’d appeared and saved Buffy from a nasty vampire, after she’d tried Slaying too soon after her heart surgery—so anything she could do for the young girl to make her life something extravagant, she would do.

“I think I’m going to try and get her into ‘Power of the Pen,’” Buffy spoke, daring to be a bit braver now, and to sit beside Angel on his bean bag now. Maybe she was even sitting on his lap a little bit, too.

…There was a part of Buffy that really wanted to throw herself into her relationship with Angel, the way she had Pike, Robin, and Cordy in the past—they were well past her distrust his being a vampire and his being possessed by the Hellmother and attacking her, after all; the former was even kind of a turn-on for Buffy now, because she must have been some kind of horrible Slayer or something—but since she was only nineteen and had bad relationship, after bad relationship, after bad relationship (not to mention all the deaths in her young life already), she was determined to take this slow and pray that in doing so for once, things would finally be different for though… even though it was killing Buffy to do that.

There was just something about Angel that drew her in. Maybe there always had been.

“Power of the Pen?” Angel asked, cocking his head to the side and bringing Buffy back to reality once he did so.

“Oh, yeah! It’s, like, a writing group that schools have. Moreso for writing novels, but I’ve noticed that Dawn likes to write a lot in journals, since she doesn’t talk a lot yet. And maybe writing stories is something that could help her find herself—whatever her story ends up being—too.”

Angel smiled at that: a thousand-watt smile, that instantly had Buffy’s heart beating a mile a minute, the moment he got even closer to her (were they not going to take it as slow as Buffy had hoped? She’d known coming to sit with Angel here had been playing with fire), and she hated him for it. Hated that that, and the twinkle in his eyes, made her have to knot her hands in her jeans, so she could keep her hands and breathing under control.

And damnit! Angel didn’t even seem to be thinking about their relationship, like she was! His mind still seemed to be completely on the Dawn thing!

“I think that’s a really sweet idea, Buffy. I’ve only met Dawn a few times. But when she was in one of the Scooby meetings… you’re right. She seemed to write more than she spoke. She was writing battle strategies on little post-it notes. I imagine a club like that would be good for her. And someone taking pictures of her new life, too, and putting them somewhere for her to- Buffy, what’s wrong? What’s with the face?”

She didn’t know what was wrong. That was the problem. Buffy was telling herself over and over again that she and Angel needed to be safe and rational about this (as much as a Slayer and vampire dating could be safe, of course. There were definitely still days where she thought this was just plain madness and a horrible idea. It probably was).

And she’d had the idea of just coming back to her apartment for their first date (as opposed to somewhere fancy), but staying in her living room, with her crappy furniture here, in thinking that it would keep them on the straight and arrow.

But already, that was proving to be impossible. Buffy’s mind was going into the gutter over and over again, like she’d thought she hadn’t wanted it to. Except now she was finding… that maybe she did want it to, and was a little offended that Angel wasn’t right there with her?

“I- I don’t know, Angel. I really don’t. I wish I could. I feel like I need a dictionary here to define myself.”

At that, they both chuckled. And as they did, in some magical way, Buffy found that they’d both grabbed each other’s hands in the same instance (Buffy’s breath might have hitched in her throat when that happened).

And that, at least, allowed her to get a handle on her emotions some, so she wouldn’t sound like a raving, crazy woman—jealous of her newfound sister—when she told her new boyfriend what was in her heart now. “I’m thrilled that you’re so interested in Dawnie’s happiness. I truly am. That poor, sweet girl deserves nothing less. God… you’re such a sweet guy, Angel. Really. But I guess I’m just wondering… uhh, are you feeling anything for me right now?”

Just like that, any semblance of the easygoing, friend-like night they’d been having, disappeared… if they had really ever been having that to begin with. There had always been some sort of undercurrent here, Buffy knew, and now that jumped up tenfold.

“Buffy, how can you even ask me that?” Angel gasped, pulling her into his arms.

At some point during all of this, he’d gone from sitting on the beanbag, to laying on his side there. And now Buffy was in his arms on the thing, lying flush against him, and she could feel every inch of him pressed against her, and knew for sure just how much he wanted her; she gasped. “I’ve felt for you since the moment I met you. But you- I- it wasn’t our time, then. And as painful as that was, it’s probably a good thing that you pushed me away then, and I didn’t see you again for years after that.

“Now, though: now is our time, Buffy. And if you don’t push me away now… I’m afraid to tell you, you’re never going to get another chance to, lover.”

That should have frightened, Buffy. She knew it should have.

After she’d faced Angel in the Hellmouth, she’d come back and read all the horror stories about Angelus, to assure herself she’d made the right choice in cutting him out of her life.

And while now Buffy could differentiate between the two of them, and knew that Angel wasn’t Angelus—at least not entirely—she was still aware of all of Angelus’ numerous past sins.

It was always those he had had some sort of obsession with—or loved, if Angelus could have been able to love at all—that he hurt the most.

But his words here just made Buffy ache for him all the more.

She just felt for Angel too much.

Loved him too much, already.

And had been fighting these feelings for him for too long.

Perhaps even since the Hellmouth, back when she’d felt that connection to him and thought that he was just like her.

Angel said that he was glad that she had thrown their chance away and that nothing had happened with them then, but Buffy wasn’t so sure she felt the same anymore.

Maybe if she’d kept him with her, she would have had one more person in her corner and she wouldn’t have had to face all the pain that she had. Angel was the one always telling her she needed people with her, after all.

And so Buffy definitely wasn’t ready to tell him to depart now. Quite the opposite, really.

“Angel… I don’t want you to go away. When I look at you—maybe it’s because of your immortality making me think of it, and some silly schoolgirl daydreams, I’ll admit it—I see forever. Please stay and give me that. At least for tonight.”

Angel’s lips descended onto Buffy’s own then, so fast it was like lightning had struck and they danced with with her like the most skilled partner she’d ever known. Then, one of his hands went up to free her hair from a hairband it had been trapped in, while another crept up under her shirt.

And Buffy found herself wrapping her legs around her angel’s waist, while one of her nails traced the vein in his neck.

She actually wasn’t sure she was going to give Angel everything tonight. But she must have been a horrible Slayer… because she thought that she might just reward him for some of his kind ideas for Dawnie, by trying to drink from him.

Author’s Note: I know Dawn being a Slayer in this gives us Way. Too. Many. Slayers. In. Boomverse. But I really have no other ideas as to how she may be introduced there (if she’s ever introduced). Unless they just do the Key thing again. So, to avoid the Slayers being too OP, just imagine they’re deploying some of them other places than the Hellmouth, or that some of them have died and have not activated other Slayers when dying for Reasons.

Buffy and Angel don’t quite have sex at the end, because I don’t want them to deal with Angelus yet (they just started dating, I mean). I’m not THAT cruel. They do do other stuff, imo, though.

And the ending is, of course, foreboding to hint at Angelus stuff (maybe even some slight Buffy corruption, or her wanting to be a vampire some or something?), and some of the stuff that Boom’s already said: how Angel will fall in love with Buffy, but it will lead to the kind of pain that only love can cause and she’ll have to kill him (probably because of Angelus again?):(

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!

I tried to put a different spin on some stuff here, since the Boomverse IS an AU, of course, and also try to guess at what they might eventually do (though we all know I’ll be dead wrong, but that’s kind of the fun of it). But also still have them be Buffy and Angel, and add nods to the OG verse, too:)

I also wonder how it will affect Joyce. The weight of raising a teenage daughter alone and then find out she is a Slayer. It has hard, but now she doesn’t have to do it alone I wonder if it will be easier for her to wrap her mind around it when she finds out everything.

Hello Cordelia!!! Not gonna lie, at first I was confused. Why is Cordelia being so nice? Is this a ploy? But when I realized it was real I was mind-blown. It’s genius. Original Cordelia raised above the “mean girl” trope by evolving beyond that. But making her outright nice from the start is completely subverting the trope and I love it.  

I’ve always loved Cordelia and I think her being nice won’t take away from her usual direct and no nonsense attitude. It will be great. 

At first I focused on this panel because of Willow and her girlfriend. Cause, I’m a simple lesbian and wlw love will always catch my eye.But then I saw Xander behind them and that became the focus. I didn’t think before about how Willow being out from the start, with a girlfriend would affect Xander. And of course it would. 

If anything both Willow and Xander were outsiders, outcasts, dare I say it, Losers. But they had the comfort of being all of those things together. I’m sure Willow still loves Xander and their bond is still there. but Willow having this other aspect of her life resolved, giving her security, it’s of course going to make Xander feel more isolated and insecure. 

Not gonna lie, I don’t really care about Willow’s girlfriend that much right now. Like I don’t have any connection to her like I do all the other characters I Knew from before. I barely remember her name. But I loved this moment. Not because of them, or the romance. No. Because at it’s core, what Buffy has always been praised about and what had resonated so much has been it’s message of empowering women, of empowering teenage girls. 

This moment is small. But I think it can really hit hard. So simple, all women can be different, and still be strong and smart and beautiful in different ways. Just because you don’t look like the popular girl or like what TV tells you is hot, doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable and all those things on your own. 

Not gonna post pictures of it but couple moments that also stood up:

- Buffy killing it on track (nice switch from her trying to be a cheerleader) and then having to pretend to be tired. So funny

- Wood being around and a potential love interest for Buffy...interesting. Really interesting.

- Drusilla calling Anya a Demon Witch, not a Vengeance Demon. 

So, the Boomverse is technically a post-apocalyptic fantasy. Magic has returned to our world with... well, with a boom! In the process, it’s clouded the skies and knocked out most existing higher technology (internet, electricity, phones, etc). Civilization broke down and regressed. But another thing that’s happened? The dragons awoke.

They had put themselves into hibernation when magic was snuffed out of the world centuries before. And now that magic has had its vengeance, the dragons have returned to fulfill their purpose.

Y’see, dragons are, themselves, magical creatures. Their magic is different from the wild magic and the magic that humans born post-Boom are suddenly being able to wield, but it runs along the same basic foundations. Dragons can teach humans - those who have the affinity for it anyway - how to do magic.

Just one problem: dragons can’t speak. Not in any human language, anyway. But what they can do is to find a kindred spirit amongst the humans and bond with them. The bond is for life (literally, as if either partner dies, the other does as well - good deal for the human, given that dragons are damned hard to kill; less good deal for the dragon, given how squishy humans are) and it allows the two to communicate telepathically and understand one another.

Thus, the dragon can use this bonded human to relay their teachings to the would-be mage. That’s why these bonded humans are called Voices - they are the dragon’s voice, after all. Each dragon can only have one Voice. 

But teaching mages is sort of the dragons’ higher purpose. It’s almost, almost on the level of a biological need. Some dragons have little regard for humans of any sort and simply refuse to ever take a Voice. Most of them wait to take a Voice until they feel they need one. (Some seek out Voices as soon as they’re able!) But, as a whole, dragons feel like part of what makes them better than mere animals is that higher calling to teach magic and help stabilize the world. Few of them want to refuse it entirely.

A mage is born with the ability to do magic (and only children born after the Boom have this ability), though they generally aren’t doing it straight out of the womb. Technically every mage has the same range of capabilities, but, in practice, people tend to gravitate towards certain fields. There are certain abilities they just seem to innately pick up on, for whatever reason. 

The problem is that casting spells can be... dangerous. Especially when you don’t know what you’re doing and extra-especially when you’re a child/teenager/anyone more prone to emotional outbursts. A frightened mage might lash out at their fear, for example, and Bam! You just lit your brother on fire, without even meaning to.

People born without magic usually fear mages and either kill them or cast them out of their settlements. Mages usually come to fear themselves and what they’re capable of. But if they can find a dragon and its Voice, there’s hope.

Most people don’t know why the dragons are back, and they don’t know that dragons can help them - and usually even want to help them. Dragons are terrifyingly huge, and every now and then, you’ll see a human riding one, talking with it like a friend or a sibling. Long story short (too late), most Voices don’t live in settlements either, because it’s just too strange and scary for the normies.

And dragons must train mages because a trained mage is capable of dispelling Chaos Zones - areas of wild magic. You avoid chaos zones because most people who walk into one don’t come back out the other side. Those who do come out... changed. Usually not in good ways. The chaos zones drift slowly in certain areas, but they’re not sentient; they’re just pockets of magic gone bonkers, like a lump in the fabric of reality. A trained mage can smooth that out, spread the magic out evenly through the landscape. (Dragons and anyone riding on them can go through chaos zones without effect.)