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Breaking the Law, Breaking the Law...
Jan. 9th, 2004 12:11 pmOkay - the part about when I said I was this close to getting my be-all, end-all survey of the Buffy series being done? Lied. Lied, lied, lied. Work - although I'm hoping this won't be an issue for much longer - has once again become the equivalent of a crying baby I can't ignore. So just a bit distracted, here - not so much with the kind of uninterrupted hours I really need to get all these thoughts down. Sigh. It's written in the head, just not in browseable electronic form. Sorry about that. And a big "hanging head in shame" to anyone I haven't responded to lately through email, this journal, or what-have-you.
So yeah! Six months and more, and I'm still chewing this cud. At this point, I need to get it out and over with so I can clear my head. Things to say on the current Angel season that I'd prefer to get out before the new eps start... hopefully this weekend will bring a session of white-hot productivity.
Things to Do on the JustStakeMe! Site: Provide a link to this journal. Create a Links list, which I've been planning to do for ages. Post some fanfic (yes, I've written a few). Make a Fic Recs list, because god knows I've seen some awesome, jaw-dropping fic out there, and no amount of plugging is too much when it comes to good writing. Huzzah.
And yes, I've also got to post the icons Zerographic made for me - haven't figured out how to show them all at once on this journal yet, although it seems it can be done. One of those interface programs, or some html trick I haven't learned yet, no doubt. But anyway, I should have them up online this weekend on JustStakeMe!. Give me a day or two, then take a peek.
Therapy Through Fanfic: Current fic consuming my brain is Mary S.'s "Journeys: Awakenings" - you can find it on either All About Spike, or the Bloody Awful Sandlot, both linked above, or lots of other places, probably (I'd drop in direct links here, but I'm still a bit rusty on the pointer html - apologies). This one's fascinating because it basically rewrites Season 6 and takes it in another direction - yes, there are plenty of fics that do this, many of them excellent - but I'm particularly intrigued by this one at this moment because it's taken a wholly different approach to Buffy's resurrection trauma. In this fic (possible fic spoilers follow), she's not just depressed, but disoriented to the max - shock from the combo of digging out of her own grave and the fact that her perception of time in heaven ("longer") was something like hundreds of years, which would indeed make it a little difficult to reintergrate to normal functioning right away. So what we get is a Buffy who is spacey, flinchy, passive.
What I love about this is that it redirects our attention to Buffy's gang, and their expectations of her. How much of a factor is Buffy's personality as kick-ass, outgoing girl is integral to their friendship? And how is that different from Spike's fascination with Buffy being tied to the fact that she's the Slayer?
I'm only up to Chapter 7 right now (sue me, they're long chapters), but so far, we're already getting a better take on how much of Buffy's personality comes from her Slayerness than we ever ultimately got in the show. I especially like the handling of Buffy's returning "fire" that doesn't require her to turn into some kind of morally preachy, hypocritical superbitch - a take on the character I really could have done without. There've been plenty of good fanfics that deal with this "superiority complex" version of Buffy - which is canon now so we're stuck with it - but every now and then, it's nice to remember that there were other places the story could have gone. Making Buffy unlikeable was a story choice. And nothing wrong with exploring other choices, eh?
So yeah! Six months and more, and I'm still chewing this cud. At this point, I need to get it out and over with so I can clear my head. Things to say on the current Angel season that I'd prefer to get out before the new eps start... hopefully this weekend will bring a session of white-hot productivity.
Things to Do on the JustStakeMe! Site: Provide a link to this journal. Create a Links list, which I've been planning to do for ages. Post some fanfic (yes, I've written a few). Make a Fic Recs list, because god knows I've seen some awesome, jaw-dropping fic out there, and no amount of plugging is too much when it comes to good writing. Huzzah.
And yes, I've also got to post the icons Zerographic made for me - haven't figured out how to show them all at once on this journal yet, although it seems it can be done. One of those interface programs, or some html trick I haven't learned yet, no doubt. But anyway, I should have them up online this weekend on JustStakeMe!. Give me a day or two, then take a peek.
Therapy Through Fanfic: Current fic consuming my brain is Mary S.'s "Journeys: Awakenings" - you can find it on either All About Spike, or the Bloody Awful Sandlot, both linked above, or lots of other places, probably (I'd drop in direct links here, but I'm still a bit rusty on the pointer html - apologies). This one's fascinating because it basically rewrites Season 6 and takes it in another direction - yes, there are plenty of fics that do this, many of them excellent - but I'm particularly intrigued by this one at this moment because it's taken a wholly different approach to Buffy's resurrection trauma. In this fic (possible fic spoilers follow), she's not just depressed, but disoriented to the max - shock from the combo of digging out of her own grave and the fact that her perception of time in heaven ("longer") was something like hundreds of years, which would indeed make it a little difficult to reintergrate to normal functioning right away. So what we get is a Buffy who is spacey, flinchy, passive.
What I love about this is that it redirects our attention to Buffy's gang, and their expectations of her. How much of a factor is Buffy's personality as kick-ass, outgoing girl is integral to their friendship? And how is that different from Spike's fascination with Buffy being tied to the fact that she's the Slayer?
I'm only up to Chapter 7 right now (sue me, they're long chapters), but so far, we're already getting a better take on how much of Buffy's personality comes from her Slayerness than we ever ultimately got in the show. I especially like the handling of Buffy's returning "fire" that doesn't require her to turn into some kind of morally preachy, hypocritical superbitch - a take on the character I really could have done without. There've been plenty of good fanfics that deal with this "superiority complex" version of Buffy - which is canon now so we're stuck with it - but every now and then, it's nice to remember that there were other places the story could have gone. Making Buffy unlikeable was a story choice. And nothing wrong with exploring other choices, eh?
