Where everyone knows your name

[thedeadlyhook]

Wow, guys! I'm just blown away by the reaction to my weird little stream-of-consciousness fic post. I promise I'll respond to everyone individually to everyone when I get a minute, but in the meantime, I just wanted to say Thank You in general. One of the biggest issues of my current circumstances is that my online time has been rather severely limited, and as a consequence I know I've lost touch with the community and my friends here. But you just all made me feel like I just came home.

On the fic: I should warn you, though, about what you're getting into: I don't actually have a specific ending in mind for this story yet. (This is actually typical for me - as I recall, I started out "Dirty Back Road," this way.) This has to do with the main reason I wanted to write this fic, and why I think I keep returning to it. I want to work out what I would've like to have seen or experienced through these characters instead of what I did see onscreen. A lot of times, weirdly enough, I don't really know what that is until I start to write it.

I may end up posting a few ruminations on all this in between the fic posts, which may be.... a little spaced out. (See above note about limited Internet time, although there won't be too long a wait for the next part, as that's mostly finished and has been for some time now.) How stories are built, what attracts my attention and keeps it, and what I find satisfying by way of resolutions and endings are topics that are sort of obsessing me right now, so I'll be trying to see if I can put some theory into practice over the course of this story.

I would love to hear some of your opinions about the characters, though, if people have time. I guess it's pretty clear from this opener that one of my frustrations with Season 7 was the status of various relationships, which I felt needed some serious clarification. How are Buffy and her sister getting along these days? What's the deal with Xander? And shouldn't everyone be a little more weirded out by the re-opening of the high school? Etc.

Any questions that you always wanted to see answered from Season 7? Hit me with your thoughts!

Comments

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty darned thrilled that you are having impulses toward the fic, for structural, meta, or any other reasons. It's all good...

Also, if you think you need some inspiration of a more tangible sort, I'm not above plying you with baked goods, and I'm local!

I also have some issues with missing relationship bits in S7. Let me show you them!

1. When, why, HOW does Xander stop with the the Spike antipathy? It's somewhere between Him and Sleeper...but wha--? Some people say he just starts to have faith in Buffy after Selfless, and is keeping mum about his own opinions, but that doesn't scan for me.
2. Spike and Dawn — is there anything after her threat in Beneath You? Anything at all?
3. Dawn's friends Kit & Carlos — Can they please do something? Also the kid who was a friend of Cassie? Dawn is a high school sophomore (ahem, like Buffy in S1), so where's the friends?
4. What makes Giles go all paternalistic party-line guy? Must he? It bugs me.
5. Hey! I wasn't done!

Oh well, I could go on, but I'm sure you already have plenty of stuff that you're planning to focus on. And lo! It will be good!

P.S. I wish I could help with a title, but it's not my strong suit. Let me know if you want a summary at some point, though!

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Hey there! I'd actually forgotten that you were local. (*headslap*) And I'm certainly not above being plied with baked goods. : ) My schedule's pretty super-tight these days, but email me. There could be coffee and conversation.

On your bullet points: ooh, good stuff.
1. Yes, that was baffling. I remember feeling relieved to see the back end of the hate fest, and not wincing every time I saw Xander so much anymore, but it would've been nice to see the turning point played out, I agree. I may have an idea cooking for that one.
2. I think Chapter 2 kind of covers this one. Like the above relationship, I really feel the need to lay down some markers on how she feels, and if there is a turning point, to show it.
3. On principle, I agree completely, but I might not use the same particular characters, as I'm not going to be adhering to the plots of the individual episodes like, at all. If anything, it'll be more of a general vibe about Dawn being the same age as Buffy in S1, and tailoring her circle accordingly.
4. Yes, the Giles problem. Working on that one. I have big problems with the Giles-as-Dumbledore image with Willow as well. Expect something different.
5. I'm still listening! : )

At some point, I'm sure I'll need a summary. I guess I should wait until I have more of it written, tho!

[herself_nyc]

I am SO on board. :)

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Halfrek! Her return looked so promising and she was killed so quickly and brutally.



If this old vid by Settiai will inspire you, could you develop an arc?

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

I'd never seen that video! Huh, the song is pretty on the nose, isn't it?

You've definitely given me an idea about Halfrek. I'll see what I can develop. S7 probably could've used more subplots anyway - there was a lot of empty space in the season, IMHO.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, Kali Rocha who played Halfrek was in a Broadway play, so she could spend only one day on the set. All her scenes in season 7 were shot in one day.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Huh! I had no idea. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about such restrictions. (Although that still doesn't satisfy me as a reason for reintroducing her and then doing away with her so abruptly - just to upset Anya? Feels a bit cheap, dramatically speaking.)

[shapinglight]

I'd be grateful if anyone could explain the whole 'it's not time for Spike yet' comment by the First. Not time for Spike to do what?

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good one! I'll definitely keep that in mind. Not that The First's entire plan didn't need explaining, but it'd be good to know what the precise idea was in spending so much energy and time tormenting Spike.... and then just letting him go, more or less.

[kassto.livejournal.com]

I find the whole Spike/Dawn relationship problematic since the previous season... the relationship mattered a lot to both of them, in fact Spike was practically in loco parentis in Bargaining. But then it just got dropped. Xander spills the beans to Dawn about Spike attacking Buffy.. but I can't believe Dawn isn't more conflicted about the whole thing. Spike meant a hell of a lot to her.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

I agree, especially about the familial vibe in "Bargaining."And in "Wrecked," when they find Willow and the car wreck, Spike, Buffy and Dawn almost seem to form a family unit. I really felt the lack of follow-up to their relationship - even estranged, I would expect more interaction, if only to show her avoiding him. But of course we also had the Potentials there as ideal foils for a Q&A on the subject of Spike - I could never fathom why that wasn't taken advantage of.

So yeah, I'll be tackling that one, definitely. Stay tuned.