Birthday greetings and a meme about my stories

[speaker_to_customers]

Belated Happy Birthday to buffydub. Happy birthday to strange_f.

and Happy Birthday to the fantastic manoah

Thanks for all your feedback and encouragement!

Revealing fanfic meme - gakked from liz_marcs

Most of these stories would probably rate around PG-13, maybe up to R; I've marked the ones that would require a higher rating.

My favorite story (of my own):

The Cloak of Mist.


Story most tragically under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

The Cloak of Mist. I’m not saying that it hasn’t been appreciated; the feedback that I’ve had for it has been more enthusiastic than that for anything else that I’ve ever written, and it has been recced in buffyversetop5. Those who have read it appear to share, in the main, my belief that it’s far and away the best thing that I have ever done. However I know that many of you haven’t read it because it is pre-season by almost a thousand years and is completely devoid of Spike.

What really upset me was when it was nominated (by me, alas, but self-nomination is legitimate at that site so I don’t feel too guilty about it) for an Original Character fic award and it was beaten by one of the most ghastly Mary-Sue fics, of the “I want a character who is pretty much me to be a better Slayer than Buffy and to copulate with a canon character” school, that I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t have minded had I lost out to, for instance, quinara’s gorgeous Ancient Roman Slayer story, to “Not Even Jimmy Olsen”, to rahirah’s wonderful Evie or Tanner, to nihilistbear’s “Cold and Broken Hallelujah”, or to one of enigmaticblue’s delightfully well-drawn OCs. But the story that did beat me was, frankly, just crap and I was not only upset but also really annoyed about it.


Most fun story:

Sunnydale Passions.


Story with the single sexiest moment:

Merry Sport (NC-17), probably. Although some of the Spike/Willow scenes in Angel of the Morning (R) are quite sexy too, but in a less overt way, and there is one Riley/Harmony scene in Pandora’s Boxer (varies from chapter to chapter but NC-17 in places) that I think is pretty damn hot too. I’m not really a smut writer.


Most unintentionally telling story:

I don’t know. Maybe Smells Like Teen Spirit. My suppressed hatred for late-series Buffy suddenly boiled out in that one and it burned onto the page like vitriol. Warning; extremely NC-17.

"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for me" story:

Smells Like Teen Spirit. Warning; NC-17. Very, very, NC-17.

Hardest story to write:

You’ll probably be surprised by this, but it’s Savage Beauty. The hard part isn’t so much making the characters stay true to their canon Buffyverse versions, or coming up with the weird plot; it’s making it stay funny as the plot develops. In fact I’ve been bogged down with it for a while now because the conclusion is in danger of being too serious.

I’ve had problems with Life in Shadow too, and Pandora’s Boxer is hard for a different reason. It’s just so damn big, and I’m so short of time.

I’m also struggling with the Holiday story for enigmaticblue’s current ficathon. Odd, because last year’s And Glory Shone Around was one of the easiest stories to write, but this year it’s just not happening. Probably because of the pressure of work.


Worst story:

A couple of the Roxyverse stories don’t really work, especially “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, but nobody reads them anyway so it doesn’t matter.

Apart from that, I’d have to say I Am The Walrus. It’s probably the story that really brought me to public notice, and I wouldn’t say that it’s bad, but it’s riddled with errors and awkward writing. The Holiday ficathon story is looking ominously as if it won’t be very good either, I’m afraid.


Easiest story to write:

The Lonely Goatherd. It took shape the moment I read the comment about Lithuanian goat-herder Spike fic on rahirah’s journal and just flowed onto the page.


Story I'd like to revise (but probably won't):

I Am The Walrus. See above.


Story I wish I'd finished:

I Was Made For Loving You Baby. I do intend to finish it, eventually, but I have to admit that if any of my WIPs does end up getting abandoned this will be the one to suffer that sad fate. I’m no longer convinced that I was going in the right direction.

And “Alone”. I’ll never write that one now. It’s a shame, as I think that it would have been good. I posted a snippet as a teaser and someone was so impressed that they nominated it for an award (I can’t link to it; I didn’t put it into Memories and I can’t even find it myself now, although I’ve still got the Word file). However it’s an answer to one of kantayra’s challenges, and she’s just announced that she’s left the fandom, and so there doesn’t seem to be much point as she wouldn’t even read it.

Story I didn't write but swear I will, someday:

“In Bloom”: Giles/Ilona Costa Bianchi, in the Nirvana-verse. The sequel to “The Cloak of Mist”, in which Bahey Dhone travels to Sung Dynasty China. And a Spike/Maggie Walsh fic that is intended to be extremely disturbing.

Comments

[itmustbetuesday.livejournal.com]

I haven't read "The Cloak of Mist", yet, even though I've been meaning to for some time. I've heard only good things, though. And I love your silly stories (Sunnydale Passions and Savage Beauty).

And I agree, a Spike/Maggie Walsh fic would definitely be disturbing. But I'd probably read it, anyway.

[itmustbetuesday.livejournal.com]

Huh. I didn't ask for that icon. I asked for this icon and LJ gave me Dick instead.

And because it's three am and I'm incredibly immature, I did giggle at that.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I haven't read "The Cloak of Mist", yet, even though I've been meaning to for some time.

Which I guess kind of proves his point! In the nicest possible way of course!

[itmustbetuesday.livejournal.com]

Hee, well I try to do things nicely.

[thirdgorchbro.livejournal.com]

I read The Cloak of Mist! I don't remember if I commented on it, because sometimes I am real bad about that, but I loved it.

I for one hope you don't abandon I Was Made For Loving You Baby, which is more than a little presumptuous of me, considering almost all my stuff is WIP's that I haven't the faintest clue how I'm going to finish. But it was the first story of yours that I read, and I really enjoyed it a lot.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

You didn't comment on The Cloak of Mist (I've been back and checked); glad to hear that you liked it.

I don't want to abandon IWMFLYB, but I'm not happy about what I had planned and I've got so many other things to do that I can see that I might not ever get it re-plotted and completed. It's been such a long time that I worry that I might have lost Vi's voice.

[thirdgorchbro.livejournal.com]

You didn't comment on The Cloak of Mist (I've been back and checked); glad to hear that you liked it.

Eep! Sorry about that. Well, better late than never I guess. I (usually) enjoy the use of historical settings in Buffyverse fic, even when it doesn't feature the characters from the shows. I especially like it when authors work various "real" myths and legends into their stories, and you did a fantastic job with that one.

I also liked the one you did with that band of mercenaries during the Thirty Years War, where one of them becomes a vampire and just keeps doing what he's always done. And the others in his company don't care, 'cause they're all a bunch of rogues anyway. I, uh, probably didn't comment on that one either. I've also forgotten the title. I should be ashamed of myself.

I don't want to abandon IWMFLYB, but I'm not happy about what I had planned and I've got so many other things to do that I can see that I might not ever get it re-plotted and completed. It's been such a long time that I worry that I might have lost Vi's voice.

Well, I can understand that. It happens sometimes, I know. I think I discovered that story early on in my fanfic-reading days, and I think it's also the first Buffybot story I ever read. Or at least the first long one. For some reason, I was really able to lose myself in the story, and it pained me to have to stop right when the Scoobies are broken apart and everyone's unhappy. I have a mental picture of them piteously crying out, "Save us, speakr2customrs! Don't leave us like this!"

The doctors tell me the medication will help with the hallucinations, though, so no worries!

Buffy

[averageshmoe.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about what you said about your post series feelings towards Buffy and while I agree with it my unhappiness lies more with the writing staff of Mutant Enemy than towards the character. By the time season six rolled around the Scoobies were much more complicated charaters than they had been with much more history that had to be reconciled to their actions. They seemed poised, particularly in the case of Xander, to put aside 'childish things' and move onto adulthood. Instead we were treated to a season of 'Dynasty' level operatics that left us precisely where we began, Buffy pulling herself out of a grave.

It's not like ME hadn't dropped the ball in the past and there were certainly good aspects to season six, it's just that they had never been so obvious in their attempts to manipulate the viewers response towards the characters before. Someone other than myself pointed out that Buffy has a pattern of behaviour regarding her boyfriends, a means of getting them to leave without putting her in a bad light. This was effective in season three because the writers invested time and thought over the seperation of Buffy and Angel. It was less effective when dealing with Riley as they had to manufacture a spliting device that clearly put him in the wrong, his visits to the vampiric brothel (where the hell did that come from?) With Spike it blew up in their faces as she was clearly the dominant partner in a SM relationship and the bathroom scene couldn't have been more obvious a sympathy device.

That's where I stopped watching. I only came back when I heard that the seventh season was to be the last and I wanted to see just how they were going to kill Spike. Yup, I was convinced he was going to dust long before I saw the finale.

Buffy isn't a character without great dramatical potential. Unfortunately she has a creator who is determined to 'protect' her from the consequences of her actions. That's why I fear the Joss Whedon written 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comic book that should be out in a year or so. It's set during her Rome stopover and I'm willing to bet that it will be all about how we were silly not to have faith (no pun intended) in our little Slayer.

If Whedon had been honest, truly honest and done a post Chosen story about Buffy rather than 'The Girl In Question' about the Slayer moving on with her life I would have had much better feelings towards him. Rather they produced something that took up a much needed hour of dramatic development, something that would have been much better spent setting up the final episode of Angel. He wanted something that would make it possible to keep the Angel/Buffy/Spike triangle alive for future stories and I feel that it backfired badly.

So for me it's not so much hating the character as hating what was done with her. What should be one of the most complicated individuals in the history of television is the perpetual teenager at the dance.

pgavigan

Re: Buffy

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

We've talked about this before. Yes, it was the writers who wrecked Buffy's character through lazy writing and the protection from the consequences of her own actions thing (as they also did with Willow) but it's the character who has to suffer the fanfic consequences.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I've always thought "Cloak of mist" is your best work, too. I can see why it might not be your most popular though; it requires a little more active participation from the reader. Plus of course there's the whole "No Spike" thing!

My favorites are sill "Working for the Yankee dollar" and "Pandora's Boxer" though. Yeah, I'm a big old sap!

And I'm dying to know which Mary Sue beat you for best OC? Come on, just a hint?

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

No, I'm not going to reveal the title of the award-winning fic; I'm not going to slag off someone else's story in public, and I don't want to Friends-lock the post. Even if I did, one of my Friends might be a friend of the author in question without me knowing it.