National Fanfic Appreciation Day 2004
Nov. 7th, 2004 10:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thedeadlyhookOkay, it's Fanfic Appreciation Day, and in honor of that occasion, I went back into my archives of saved stories and sifted through to find the ones that made large impressions on me and whose authors haven't already heard my blather (probably more than they ever wanted to - ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
herself_nyc, rahirah, fer1213, you guys know who you are, although that doesn't mean you don't still deserve all the praise there is). But the spirit of this thing is outreach, so here I go.
First up, I want to talk aboutirfikos's Chain (most of the links I'm pointing to here are at All About Spike, but you'll probably find them in other places too). This is an alterative Season 6 story which picks up right after "Dead Things" and explores the issues that Season 6 originally seemed to be shaping up to be about - the importance of making choices and how that feeds into the difference between good and evil. Because those lines were indeed getting blurry in S6, and "Chain" explores that blurry line by takings the geek "Trio" seriously.
In "Chain," the Trio, previously established as having survelliance on Buffy, witnesses the alley beating in "Dead Things" and takes advantage of the situation to capture Spike. (This is just the setup, so not really a spoiler.) The story then has Warren experiment with Spike's chip, picking up that dangling plot thread. So yes, this is one of those Warren-controls-Spike's-chip stories.
What makes this one is exceptional is its razor-sharp focus on ethics. Spike having a V-chip is great starter material, andirfikos really sinks into it, reminding us of the Clockwork Orange origins of the idea as well as the overarching slave imagery - the chip as high-tech choke chain. The characterizations are all fabulous and nuanced - there are no cartoonishly evil or stupid people in this story. Warren is evil but understandable - he's just as much of a repulsive toad here just as he was in the show, but even though you don't like him, you get him... even when you wish you didn't. The Scoobies and the Trio are presented in similar terms, people with ability to make good and bad moral choices... and that was always the potential story lurking behind S6's human villains, the real difference between good people and bad, and in "Chain," that question has a payoff that satisifies far more that Buffy's bland statement in "Villains" about it not being okay for Willow to turn Warren into a grease spot because it's not okay to kill humans (although blood revenge just happens to be the plot of just about every kung fu movie/shootout Western/rogue cop drama/you killed my ___ prepare to die story there is - sue me for thinking a little more extensive thought on the subject might have been called for - gee, Buffy, what's your position on capital punishment? Grumble, grumble).
And so, as an embodiment of all this, there's Spike. Originally introduced as a strong character with a firm identity, Spike's arc throughout the series was one of diminishing power, of fewer and fewer choices. Caged by the chip, used by the Scoobies and then by Buffy, Spike was boxed into smaller and smaller corners with each passing season... and "Chain" just extends this theme to its logical extreme, the unwilling slave. Spike becomes property.
It's grueling transformation, too - Spike is really put through the wringer in this story. He's stripped of possessions, home, dignity, sanity. His own body doesn't belong to him. He's starved and subjected to aversion training. By the end, the only freedom he has left to him is the power to say no, and using that power comes with a heavy, heavy cost.
And then, there's Buffy. As the story charts a sort of parallel course to the events of S6 as they occurred onscreen, we get to see how Buffy might have handled things in Spike's absence - him going missing after "Dead Things" puts her own moral choices back on the front burner, and by the end of the story, you're really aware how lost Buffy is on that ground most of the time. She stands strong against villainy that assaults her directly, but given grayer choices? She really has little to say. One feels kinda sorry for this Buffy, and a little proud too - you don't hate her. It's goes without saying that "Seeing Red" does not happen as such in this fic, but other things do, and the core conflict of Buffy's own personal ethics isn't lost in the shuffle. "Chain" is a masterful piece of work that stayed with me for days and days as I read it as a WIP - if you haven't read it, do. It's a dark, absorbing, angsty story that ends up in some ways in a similar place to the end of S6... but it's the route that makes all the difference. Check it out.
Next rec! Sangga's Feel So Different was one of the first fics I ever read that really made a serious emotional impact on me - I mean, not just "it made me cry" or "wow, that was really touching/exciting/romantic/whatever." "Feel So Different," from that summer after Season 5 when everone and her sister had a theory about how Buffy would be brought back... that story stayed with me. It was the first fanfic I ever read that gave me actual chills. (It was also my first exposure to a challenge fic, the idea of coming up with something based on a list of random elements that must be included. Looking at the starter list for this fic, I had no idea how one would get from there to here. Now, having tried my hand at writing a few things myself, I have a little better idea.)
Anyway, the key scene - you'll know which one - put a shiver through me as if I felt it happen. And I swear, given the way a lot of Season 6 shaped up, I spent the whole of the following year expecting to see it happen onscreen. In some ways, we almost did. Brrr. And Sangga's other fic is also v. good - Demons and Dharma is a particulary happy piece of fun from early S5. Oh, those halcyon days of snark-filled sexual tension...
God, there are so many more, of course. I lovebuffyx's fic - Way of the Warrior comes to mind, a sharp portrait of Buffy as the Slayer, and she does indeed write bittersweet Spike/Fred... she has a fabulous melancholy "voice" in all her stories. Highly recommened. I also don't think I've ever mentioned before that cousinjean has turned out work that's made me sob like an idiot, like Hers to Remember and also to laugh and cry simultanelously, like Getaway, which, now that I think about it, might darn well have been a sort of back-of-the-brain spiritual or mental ancestor, along with herself_nyc's "What She Deserves," to my own "Dirty Back Road" story. There's just something about road trip fic, I think, that gets to me. Maybe someday I'll figure it out and write why.
Enjoy.
Now I should go take some pictures for that fun post-a-non-political-picture meme...
herself_nyc, rahirah, fer1213, you guys know who you are, although that doesn't mean you don't still deserve all the praise there is). But the spirit of this thing is outreach, so here I go. First up, I want to talk about
irfikos's Chain (most of the links I'm pointing to here are at All About Spike, but you'll probably find them in other places too). This is an alterative Season 6 story which picks up right after "Dead Things" and explores the issues that Season 6 originally seemed to be shaping up to be about - the importance of making choices and how that feeds into the difference between good and evil. Because those lines were indeed getting blurry in S6, and "Chain" explores that blurry line by takings the geek "Trio" seriously.In "Chain," the Trio, previously established as having survelliance on Buffy, witnesses the alley beating in "Dead Things" and takes advantage of the situation to capture Spike. (This is just the setup, so not really a spoiler.) The story then has Warren experiment with Spike's chip, picking up that dangling plot thread. So yes, this is one of those Warren-controls-Spike's-chip stories.
What makes this one is exceptional is its razor-sharp focus on ethics. Spike having a V-chip is great starter material, and
irfikos really sinks into it, reminding us of the Clockwork Orange origins of the idea as well as the overarching slave imagery - the chip as high-tech choke chain. The characterizations are all fabulous and nuanced - there are no cartoonishly evil or stupid people in this story. Warren is evil but understandable - he's just as much of a repulsive toad here just as he was in the show, but even though you don't like him, you get him... even when you wish you didn't. The Scoobies and the Trio are presented in similar terms, people with ability to make good and bad moral choices... and that was always the potential story lurking behind S6's human villains, the real difference between good people and bad, and in "Chain," that question has a payoff that satisifies far more that Buffy's bland statement in "Villains" about it not being okay for Willow to turn Warren into a grease spot because it's not okay to kill humans (although blood revenge just happens to be the plot of just about every kung fu movie/shootout Western/rogue cop drama/you killed my ___ prepare to die story there is - sue me for thinking a little more extensive thought on the subject might have been called for - gee, Buffy, what's your position on capital punishment? Grumble, grumble).And so, as an embodiment of all this, there's Spike. Originally introduced as a strong character with a firm identity, Spike's arc throughout the series was one of diminishing power, of fewer and fewer choices. Caged by the chip, used by the Scoobies and then by Buffy, Spike was boxed into smaller and smaller corners with each passing season... and "Chain" just extends this theme to its logical extreme, the unwilling slave. Spike becomes property.
It's grueling transformation, too - Spike is really put through the wringer in this story. He's stripped of possessions, home, dignity, sanity. His own body doesn't belong to him. He's starved and subjected to aversion training. By the end, the only freedom he has left to him is the power to say no, and using that power comes with a heavy, heavy cost.
And then, there's Buffy. As the story charts a sort of parallel course to the events of S6 as they occurred onscreen, we get to see how Buffy might have handled things in Spike's absence - him going missing after "Dead Things" puts her own moral choices back on the front burner, and by the end of the story, you're really aware how lost Buffy is on that ground most of the time. She stands strong against villainy that assaults her directly, but given grayer choices? She really has little to say. One feels kinda sorry for this Buffy, and a little proud too - you don't hate her. It's goes without saying that "Seeing Red" does not happen as such in this fic, but other things do, and the core conflict of Buffy's own personal ethics isn't lost in the shuffle. "Chain" is a masterful piece of work that stayed with me for days and days as I read it as a WIP - if you haven't read it, do. It's a dark, absorbing, angsty story that ends up in some ways in a similar place to the end of S6... but it's the route that makes all the difference. Check it out.
Next rec! Sangga's Feel So Different was one of the first fics I ever read that really made a serious emotional impact on me - I mean, not just "it made me cry" or "wow, that was really touching/exciting/romantic/whatever." "Feel So Different," from that summer after Season 5 when everone and her sister had a theory about how Buffy would be brought back... that story stayed with me. It was the first fanfic I ever read that gave me actual chills. (It was also my first exposure to a challenge fic, the idea of coming up with something based on a list of random elements that must be included. Looking at the starter list for this fic, I had no idea how one would get from there to here. Now, having tried my hand at writing a few things myself, I have a little better idea.)
Anyway, the key scene - you'll know which one - put a shiver through me as if I felt it happen. And I swear, given the way a lot of Season 6 shaped up, I spent the whole of the following year expecting to see it happen onscreen. In some ways, we almost did. Brrr. And Sangga's other fic is also v. good - Demons and Dharma is a particulary happy piece of fun from early S5. Oh, those halcyon days of snark-filled sexual tension...
God, there are so many more, of course. I love
buffyx's fic - Way of the Warrior comes to mind, a sharp portrait of Buffy as the Slayer, and she does indeed write bittersweet Spike/Fred... she has a fabulous melancholy "voice" in all her stories. Highly recommened. I also don't think I've ever mentioned before that cousinjean has turned out work that's made me sob like an idiot, like Hers to Remember and also to laugh and cry simultanelously, like Getaway, which, now that I think about it, might darn well have been a sort of back-of-the-brain spiritual or mental ancestor, along with herself_nyc's "What She Deserves," to my own "Dirty Back Road" story. There's just something about road trip fic, I think, that gets to me. Maybe someday I'll figure it out and write why.Enjoy.
Now I should go take some pictures for that fun post-a-non-political-picture meme...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-07 07:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-07 07:45 pm (UTC)kind of makes me think once again about the relationship the Slayer has to have with her appointed enemies
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-13 12:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-07 07:51 pm (UTC)I was originally going to talk about the ending in this rec in some kind of spoiler-free hidden text, but it would've run too long... I found it terribly satisfying myself because, again, of that focus on the moral choice. You see Spike being put in the position of having to make a call in which either choice is not going to have fun consequences for him, and so the final result is... interestingly ambigious without stooping to obvious misdirection. Tough going getting there, but to me anyway, it was worth it.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-09 04:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-09 04:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-10 08:04 am (UTC)i've started posting the sequel in the raw here:
http://www.naturalblues.org/irfikos
Great News!
Date: 2004-11-10 06:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-07 07:34 pm (UTC)Just read Feel So Different. Wow. Just...Wow! Great fic! Thanks for the tip.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-07 07:56 pm (UTC)Ah, good fic. Such a wonderful thing to share...
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Date: 2004-11-08 04:30 pm (UTC)and perhaps the longest, most in-depth review i've seen of it. for which i am tremendously grateful. i'll stop short of licking your face and just say, "thank you!"
not that i mind the "mmm, spike torture!" sort of comments. those are fun too. but it's good to know that it's maybe also a think-worthy story as well! observe as i swell with pride. or maybe that's just bloating. either way… happy!
:-)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-08 06:42 pm (UTC)And believe me, this is a fraction of what I really have to say on this story, but I had to hold off on most of it because of spoilers - specifically the ending, and how you really dig into the whole question of moral responsibility, amoral responsibility (nice animal analogy!), and the final choice Spike makes... it's so subtle and layered. And I loved how you use Willow in this story, and how Buffy's hands remaining clean becomes sort of a point about how it's easy to be a hero you're aloof and above it all, while Spike is stuck in the uneviable position of having to make choices he shouldn't have to make because his own body has turned out to be part of the battleground... brilliant stuff.
I haven't commented all this before, because when I read this story originally, I didn't have an LJ, didn't feel comfortable sending gushing emails to authors, and was just generally shy. Which was why I picked it for a rec - it's the most deserving story I could think of, and kudos to you from me for writing it are seriously overdue.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-10 08:00 am (UTC)at the risk of being wanky… i would really love to hear more of your thoughts on "chain." good and bad. after i read your post i went back and read it again and it really helped me to figure out some of the stuff i've been working on in the sequel. you know how you can write something and at first, you can read it over and keep contemplating it and it helps you work out everything in your head? but then you find that you've gone over it so many times with the proofreading and the re-reading that it's like you read over it and can't remember what line you just read even though you've picked up that line 3 or 4 times?
well it really helps to have somebody else pipe up with some fresh insight to help you to be able to comprehend your own writing again.
so feel free to post the rest of your thoughts in some sort of spoiler-warning post. or just email me. because, wow! just the tidbit you posted has helped me out so much. i was able to get over yet another of the thematic stumbling blocks i've been having with the sequel just by revisiting my themes from "chain." YAY!
as for the rec itself, i too am pretty shy about commenting on fics. i always feel that i come off sounding like an idiot. so i'm very hesitant to do it. but i really probably should, huh?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-10 08:16 pm (UTC)And I tried in the original review, but I can't praise your depiction of Warren enough. Like a flipside of the Scoobies, who chose "good," Warren chooses bad, and keeps going on it propelled by sheer anger, and his little buddies get dragged along for the ride. The contrast between the nerds and Scoobies feels like one of those psycological experiments about "what would you do if you found a wallet? keep the money? turn it in?" - you zeroed in on something I found uncomfortable about S6, the way former outcasts (the Scoobies) turned into oppressors of the less fortunate (or lower on the food chain) themselves, and really made it clear how this happened. Buffy and her friends don't see themselves as oppressed anymore, so they don't think about the topic at all anymore. The Trio, especially Warren, obsess on it, see slights everywhere and want to take revenge against everyone for it. Buffy can't seem them as dangerous because she's forgotten what that feels like.
There's more. A lot more. If I think of cool ways to lay it out for you, I'll definitely email you. I love getting analytical about this stuff. Can you tell? : )
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-14 01:30 am (UTC)i think that attempt at drawing parallels worked the best in "time," "shock," and "chained." those are probably the 3 favorite sections of the story. i wish some of the other sections could have lived up to those three. i struggled so much with the buffy & tara conversation and i'm still not satisfied.
and i am not unconvinced that the ending is melodramatic and hokey. not just the epilogue but the stuff after "shock." i really, really struggled writing that…
i think mostly because i had written the story dissatisfied with the way season 6 ended (cave demon buggy fights to get a soul? deus ex machina much?) and knowing spoilers for how season 7 would begin, so i knew where everyone would end up… but by the time i actually finished, season 7 was nearly over and that hadn't gone quite as i had hoped either. ::sigh:: hence the necessity for a sequel which veers away from the canon season 7 entirely.
i loved your thoughts on the scoobies/trio. it's true! and now i wish i'd developed that a little further maybe in "chain." ah, well. c'est la vie.