my consistent post-series headcanon

[deird1]

My post-series Buffyverse tends to be full on contradiction. If you look at my fic, you'll find all sorts of couples, Buffy dying before Faith, Faith dying before Buffy, Giles dying before everyone... It's all a bit of a weird mess. (And I like it that way.)

There are a few things, however, that I definitely think happen. They always happen, no matter what else my fic does – and I get irrationally irritated every time someone else's fanfic contradicts them.

Here's my headcanon:

- They all end up where Andrew says they are in Damage, for at least that year. (Buffy and Dawn in Italy, Giles in England, Willow and Kennedy in South America, Xander in Africa)

- Only one person (don't care who) survives the battle at the end of AtS.

- Buffy and Faith are joint Head Slayers. They are also besties (or a couple).

- Willow and Kennedy never break up. Kennedy never stops feeling like Willow's heart still belongs to Tara.

- At least once, Kennedy and Buffy got extremely drunk together and had a massive session of complaining about relationships, exes, and romance in general.

- Dawn goes to university in Boston, and studies languages and ancient texts.

- Dawn and Andrew are best friends.



Minor things, but important in my head. I'd be interested to know what the rest of you have as your headcanon absolutes.

Comments

[out_there]

I don't have any incredibly strict post-canon absolutes, other than Buffy and Dawn were in Italy (but that's AtS canon so I kind of feel like that should be taken as show canon still).

For a show that I was so invested in, I'm very relaxed about what might have happened afterwards.

[deird1]

For the most part, I thoroughly agree. It's one of the reasons I like "closed canon", with definite endings followed by a world of possibility. (And I tend to dislike sequels that want to ruin my fun by telling me what "really" happened.)

I just find it funny how very clear my fanfic has always been on the subject of Dawn studying in Boston, or Buffy and Kennedy's drunken bitch session. Such trivial stuff, and yet I care deeply. :)

[beer_good_foamy]

I made a post about my tentative post-canon 'verses a bunch of years ago that I'm tempted to revisit (if nothing else because the links don't work anymore). Since then, I think I may have added the Willow In England 'verse where Willow goes on her entirely own thing at some point post-NFA.

But yeah, especially as canon disappears in the distance and people stop trying to remember the *spit* comics, it's useful to have some ideas to lean on. Not to mention liberating.

[maia]

I made a post about my tentative post-canon 'verses a bunch of years ago that I'm tempted to revisit (if nothing else because the links don't work anymore).

Oh, oh, please please please update this with current links? Pretty please?

[beer_good_foamy]

:)

I'll try, but in the meantime you can find most of them at my AO3 page: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beer_good/

[deird1]

I remember this! (And yes, the working links would be nice...)

But yeah, especially as canon disappears in the distance and people stop trying to remember the *spit* comics, it's useful to have some ideas to lean on. Not to mention liberating.

Indeed. :)

[elisi]

- Only one person (don't care who) survives the battle at the end of AtS.
I've had this open in a tab for like, an hour, and this does still not compute...

But then most of my headcanon uses Not Fade Away as its starting point, and features Spike and Angel in some way. Often Illyria too.

How things play out after that tends to depend on who I feel needs Spike more - Buffy or Angel. (If I HAD to choose, it'd be Angel.) Although Buffy/Spike/Angel also features a lot.

Overall it's a Schrödinger's headcanon, with several timelines existing simultaneously.

[deird1]

Interesting!

I have, admittedly, got wonderful fantasies in my head of Spike and Buffy ending up together, Angel being rueful and slightly sulky (but coming to all their Christmases), Illyria training Dawn in portal use... But the problem is, my brain is somewhat convinced that it is just that: a wonderful fantasy. When I'm writing, I can't quite manage to make it work - I always find myself defaulting back to a single survivor (usually Spike or Illyria).

[beer_good_foamy]

Illyria training Dawn in portal use

Yes pls

[elisi]

But the problem is, my brain is somewhat convinced that it is just that: a wonderful fantasy.
I think my thing is that it looks like a fantasy from the outside - the Happily Ever After that the Shanshu is supposed to be - but my interest lies in exploring that. How WOULD they get on? Could they make it work? If, say, Spike shanshued, how would he cope with being human? And could they make it work as a couple? Or if he didn't, how would they cope with the fact that she would die? And so on and on. (Don't get me wrong, sometimes I totally go for the OTT Happily Ever After...) But mostly I love exploring the complexities of the characters and the relationships. Which isn't possible if most of them are dead.

Illyria training Dawn in portal use...
Heh. In one of my stories, Illyria almost kills Dawn, trying to turn her back into energy.

ETA: This whole discussion prompted me to finally start uploading my long Spike/Buffy/Angel fic to AO3. The whole where I delve into allll the issues, and that quite simply wouldn't work if only one survived! :)

[beer_good_foamy]

Schrödinger's headcanon

Take me down to the paradox city
Where the box contains both a live and dead kitty
Oh won't you please take me home

...sorry. But I do love that phrase.

[elisi]

*claps* I love it!!