After the Fall is unlike any other fanfic I've ever read. At its core, it is a story about people attempting to go on in the wake of a tremendous loss. It's very interesting to consider in light of canon season 6, where the characters become much more insular and secretive than they were in previous seasons. Everyone in this fic is dealing with their own problems, and they're not necessarily aware of or concerned about anyone else's. They try to help each other, but it's remarkable (and completely believable) that they all manage to miss so much, even while they're all living in the same house and spending most of their time together.
The first perspective we're given is Xander's, which is presented in normal first-person point of view. He's heartbroken and depressed, but he's more or less processing things normally, and his view of the scoobies and their relationships is an excellent starting point. After that, we get Spike's perspective. He's got a very different attitude about many things and has access to information that Xander doesn't, but again, his point of view is more or less normal, and his story is told in a fairly straightforward manner.
From there, things get progressively weirder and significantly darker. The styles get more experimental- Dawn's section consists of a series of counseling transcripts and letters written by her therapist, and the device that defines Tara's point of view is both heartbreaking and highly disturbing. Narrators become unreliable, events are interpreted in vastly different ways, and whether the scoobies will ever manage to recover largely depends which perspective one is considering.
All in all, After the Fall is a great ensemble piece that examines the inner turmoil of all of all seven remaining characters. In some places it's optimistic. In others, it seems like everyone is hurtling headfirst towards destruction. It is, from the first section to the last, a very emotional and effective piece, and it successfully captures a wide range of ways that people cope with extreme stress (or in some cases, fail to).
Unique and Inventive Ensemble Piece.
After the Fall is unlike any other fanfic I've ever read. At its core, it is a story about people attempting to go on in the wake of a tremendous loss. It's very interesting to consider in light of canon season 6, where the characters become much more insular and secretive than they were in previous seasons. Everyone in this fic is dealing with their own problems, and they're not necessarily aware of or concerned about anyone else's. They try to help each other, but it's remarkable (and completely believable) that they all manage to miss so much, even while they're all living in the same house and spending most of their time together.
The first perspective we're given is Xander's, which is presented in normal first-person point of view. He's heartbroken and depressed, but he's more or less processing things normally, and his view of the scoobies and their relationships is an excellent starting point. After that, we get Spike's perspective. He's got a very different attitude about many things and has access to information that Xander doesn't, but again, his point of view is more or less normal, and his story is told in a fairly straightforward manner.
From there, things get progressively weirder and significantly darker. The styles get more experimental- Dawn's section consists of a series of counseling transcripts and letters written by her therapist, and the device that defines Tara's point of view is both heartbreaking and highly disturbing. Narrators become unreliable, events are interpreted in vastly different ways, and whether the scoobies will ever manage to recover largely depends which perspective one is considering.
All in all, After the Fall is a great ensemble piece that examines the inner turmoil of all of all seven remaining characters. In some places it's optimistic. In others, it seems like everyone is hurtling headfirst towards destruction. It is, from the first section to the last, a very emotional and effective piece, and it successfully captures a wide range of ways that people cope with extreme stress (or in some cases, fail to).
Final Verdict: A+