Table of Contents
First Light Twilight in the Vale
- Gravity
- Crimes
- Pet
- Lullaby
- Weak and Powerless
- The Package
- Epitaph
- A Stranger
- Vanishing
- The Nurse Who Loved Me
Description
For those of you that are new to my worlds, Thirteen Steps was an early attempt of mine to write Buffyverse fiction. It was pretty immature, but there was a certain charm. The setting is Season Eight.
The above pieces have been entirely reworked for this site. They bear some similarities to my previous offerings under the same titles, but make no mistake, this is all new stuff with a new plot. I attempt to work around a few of the plot flaws and retcon in Joss’s world and create something quasi-original and interesting.
The first truly striking difference you’ll notice is that the Buffy Summers in my world rides. I did this because it made sense to me. And because it was a combination of things I was very familiar with. They went together well.
Riding a motorcycle has much in common with dancing. It’s more of a full body experience than driving a car. Where you put your weight matters. I could see the combination of being grounded miles away from civilization and the influence of the TT filtering through into Buffy’s life.
The Outsider
Buffy Summers at her misanthropic best. She has a little scuffle with an old friend and runs off to misbehave.
You’ll notice some strong parallels between this and the original. As with For Marie and Epitaph, I wanted to keep the existing themes, but completely rewrite the story.
The Noose
Picking up at the end of The Long Way Home, this is a divergence of the canonized story where Willow doesn’t damsel.
I’m not a huge fan of damsely Willow. It just doesn’t track to my mind. The ‘most powerful witch in the Western Hemisphere’ shouldn’t damsel. It’s a thing. Sorry Joss.
Blue
It’s kind of silly to ask if you’ve ever had one of those days. We all have. They just sorta come with being a sentient life form on planet Earth. It’s an imperfect world.
Gravity
The truth.
It’s something we all crave. We believe it’s something we’re due. We’re even angered when it doesn’t come or falsehoods are offered in it’s place.
But how often does the truth disappoint us? How often is it painful? The truth, in extreme cases, can even drive us insane.
Joss Whedon took this very simple concept and developed some of the most wonderful dialog around it. The episode is called Lie to Me. I count the exchange between Giles and Buffy in the graveyard among my favorite of the entire series.
In honor of that I give you a similar animal.
Crimes
Welcome to the intermission. Close your eyes and imagine the dancing popcorn buckets, candy bars and drink cups.
Next, visions of ‘No Future for You’ should pass through your mind. This is a very similar story, though I think you’ll find it quite different.
And no, I have no respect for the canon timeline.
Epitaph
From victim to assailant. It’s an intriguing transition, one that we make through the eyes of an unknown character. Then the camera turns and we view her through a very familiar pair of eyes.
Author’s Notes
My team of pre-readers and betas might be a bit more extensive than most. Pretty much everyone listed leaves a mark on my work. As the author, I choose the marks.
The new Thirteen Steps series has a three pass cycle. These are the people that make me look like I know what the heck I’m doing.
The pre-readers get it first. They are Em, Whedonist and Angie. Angie is my control group. She knows nothing of the story plot. I use her as a sounding board to determine audience reaction. Em reads to improve punctuation and for general input. Whedonist is my tough sell. If something seems off, Whedonist calls me on it.
The second phase is Howard Russell’s beta pass. He also represents the average male reader. Usually, he forces me to clear up some of the vaguer points.
The final beta pass is then handed over to Em. She adds that last little bit of polish.
For The Noose I also received one-on-one assistance during the initial pre-read phase from Kina and Lost. Whether this trend will continue remains to be seen, but…much appreciated and enjoyed nonetheless.
From Crimes forward the final beta pass belongs to Howard Russell. Sadly, Em has left the team.
Dedications
This may seem a bit silly to some of you, but it occurred to me while I was writing Epitaph that giving something back to the people who influenced me was a nice idea. I have since then been assigning a minor token of my esteem to each piece in this series. There are thirteen pieces outlined and I don’t foresee myself having any difficulty finding thirteen people who are deserving of my thanks.
The Outsider
It’s a really special thing when you find someone that believes in you. I’ve been blessed with a few. My friend De is one such a person. Rewriting this piece is a tiny token of gratitude. The Thirteen Steps series is still lists among her favorites. God knows why. Giving her something fresh and new, but at the same time old and familiar was the least I could do.
The Noose
It’s been a little over a year since Howard contacted me to ask if I would like his services as a beta. He took the time to actually teach me, rather than just make changes. It seems appropriate that in appreciation for all of his help, I should dedicate one of the most technically challenging and complex pieces of fiction I’ve ever written to him.
Thank you, Howard.
Blue
I held off on this one because I felt it should go to someone who loves Xander. Frankly, the person who came to mind has been out of contact with me for over a year. He was one of the first people to tell me that something I wrote was good. In retrospect, I can’t think of a better reason to dedicate a piece to someone. King of Cretins offered me encouragement at a time when not many were. For that, he has my gratitude.
Gravity
I would like to present this piece to my darling fiancé as a token of my affection. I wish I had something to offer her besides a tragedy. It’s good prep though, ’cause if she ever makes it to the States and tries to live with me, the full meaning of the word will become perfectly clear.
Kidding aside, I don’t think I’ve ever been paid a higher compliment than when Charlene read The Outsider and asked me to marry her. It was purely tongue in cheek, but I was flattered. After all, it’s not every day that a pretty girl asks you to marry her ’cause of something you wrote.
But one need only look around to understand how generous Char is. And she really is just marvelous fun to spend time with. Offering her another peek inside her favorite character’s addled brain is the least I can do in return for the friendship she’s shown me.
Crimes
Very early in my development as a writer I stumbled into a wonderful person who took the time to read and offer advice. Zain is the one who initially suggested that Buffy hang Xander from a coat hook on her door in The Outsider. I believe she may’ve said that on a lark, but I liked the detail so much that I carried it over to the rewrite. It just wouldn’t have felt like Steps without it.
I’d like to offer a token in return to which you may be able to relate. I hope you enjoy it.
Namaste!
Epitaph
Emily challenged me by showing me a plot flaw with the original For Marie. I reworked it expressly for her because it was one of her favorite pieces of Buffyverse fiction. I knew I could make it better. And I knew it would make her happy. I hope that it brought a little ray of light to your year from hell, dear.
The funny: this dedication became for engrained in the piece that the Sunnydale Memorial Award I was given for it bears her name. I edited it out for this site, but it’s there if you go look.
Awards
Past Awards
Reviews
Didge : Chapter: 1
Thank you.
Thank you for giving me something to read on Christmas Day.
Thank you for a good description of how riding a bike hard in a certain mood can, to some extent, alleviate that mood and improve things.
Thank you for concentrating on Buffy’s feelings and almost ignoring the supernatural surrounding her.
Thank you for not having her fall into Willow’s arms, or the other way round, but having them reach some kind of start to a beginning.
Basically thank you for a good piece of descriptive writing, keeping it in character and reaffirming what the majority of Wiffy fans know of your ability.
BTW. One question. How autobiographical is this?
Anon : Chapter: 1
What a wonderful surprise on Christmas. Thanks for giving us this little present. Buffy's anger and the description of her loosing herself whilst biking were very believable. Willow's strange silence towards the end was really quite interesting. Glad to see you back and I hope it's for the long term but, if not, thanks again for this.
japmap : Chapter: 1
Great prequel! I feel like I understand Buffy's heart and mind so much more (gives an even clearer context for her re-connection with Willow), and how therapeutic riding is for her. Maybe the rush of pushing her instrument (Bernadine) is in a way similar to how she can push her own super-slayer body in the adrenaline-charged lead in to a big fight (or when she's being badly beaten, and draws on her inner strength to overcome)... And the flirting with death, with chaos, it's both a rush and a way of teasing, testing those pesky suicidal tendencies...
Dark : Chapter: 1
I'm glad you started posting fics again. Yours are really good because you always give Willow and Buffy an edge that I think was always present in them, but that pretty much no one else dares to put in their stories. I hope you'll continue this one, it's too bad the other ones you wrote can't be found anymore, because you are a great writer!
Shadowcub : Chapter: 1
Angsty prezzie, I like it.
Chris : Chapter: 5
Y'know, that was rather impressive. You managed to make me smile, disappoint me, disgust me, intrigue me, leave me very, very curious and leave me most definately wanting more in a very short space of time. I'll clarify. Smile: a new chapter from you is always cause for a smile. Disappoint: it wasn't about Buffy and Willow...I want to know how that turns out! Disgust: drain cleaner. 'nuff said. Intrigue and curiosity: what are they actually after and what will happen as a result of this character development. Wanting more: As I said, I want to know about the Wiffy...I want to know what happens with this Fuffy.
All told, you don't disappoint, even when you do, if you follow :)
Chris : Chapter: 5
It's a little difficult to know what to say after parts 5 and 6. The section towads the end was kinda creepy, which is what you were going for, I guess. I'm still uber curious to find out where this quite substantial reimagining is going. Can't wait for more.
M : Chapter: 4
Damn fine story so far. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Chris : Chapter: 5
You don't pull any punches when it comes to the bearing of a soul, do you? You say you don't like writing fights, but that conversation has to be the highlight of this piece so far, to my mind. Even if I don't think Buffy's being honest with herself. Or with Faith. If I remember right, last time we saw Buffy with Willow, it was Willow that turned Buffy away. "I'm damned" or something to that effect, I think. Kinda makes me want to know what happened in the intervening period all the more. Oh, and also to know what happens next. I'm generally not a fan of Fuffy, but I'm enjoying this rather a lot. Kinda not enjoying that it will almost inevitably lead to Faith getting hurt (which this version certainly doesn't need or deserve) if I get my way, though. Keep up the good work.
Chris : Chapter: 5
For all the impatience on my part for this to get all wiffy, I'm really liking this series of heart to hearts that Buffy and Faith are having. It fits the characters very well. I can't wait for more :)
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- © Valyssia Leigh 2009
