Fic year in review.
Dec. 30th, 2018 10:10 pmAs is the case for the last few times I've done this question set, I only finished and posted one major fic this past year - no drabbles, no ficlets, no chat logs cleaned up and edited to be read as short narrative sketches. Just the one long fic.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Set Off Like Geese, 80855 words. Gen-focused all-human AU.
Summary: There's still a Sunnydale. There's still a Buffy Summers living on Revello Drive. There's still strange people with business of their own coming to town. Except this time around, Spike and Drusilla didn't come for the Hellmouth or the Slayer. They weren’t looking for power or fame or glory, and they weren't staying so they could end the world. This time around, it was just as good a place as any other to stop for a while until they were ready to move on again. They weren't expecting anything more.
This time around, they stayed because they found out it was a place they might have a chance at a future.
What was my inspiration for this fic? How did it come to me? My usual tactic is to add some metaphor or fantasy to a mundane canon in order to externalize an inner trait and offer a clearer explanation for my given reading of the text or a character. This time around, as I said to![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
petra, "Strip away the metaphoric conditions to show people exactly what it is in the characters that whispered to me." She replied, "The pain shows better without the metaphors."
Other things which pushed me to roll up my sleeves: disability representation, the flatness of all-human AUs, and vampires' liminal status.
When I got into Buffy in 2016, I began looking around for fic and meta dealing with its depiction of mental illness and disabilities - physical or mental. I didn't find much, and most of what I came across didn't have the depth or detail I was hoping for. I kept searching, and kept coming away dissatisfied at the lack of attention people gave to one of the more nuanced aspects of the canon. I sat down and gave some thought to what I wanted to construct, talked it out with some people, and did what I could with it.
Another trend I noticed was for all-human AUs to flatten out the characters and situations. Maybe everyone's a high school student, even Angel and Darla. Maybe they're all so far removed from the canon the story isn't saying much about the canon itself anymore. Nothing much seemed eager to explore the depth and complexity of the relationships that existed even without the fantastical aspects - consider all the pieces both in and outside of fandom written about the strengths of the friendships between the core Scooby gang, and Giles's paternal support for Buffy. It seemed a shame to give that all up.
The liminal space vampires are presented with has a way of echoing back to me and my own life, and what I wanted to say about social perception of the disabled. Vampires are beings of great power and danger, and they hold virtually no societal standing. Spike and Drusilla are massively well-educated but have no practical methods to turn their disorganized skill sets into practical labor. They're trusted with the well-being of other people, but they don't even have the civil responsibility of library cards - Dawn checks out their library books on her card, so while they're looking after her, she takes care of them.
There was a lot I wanted to say, and I think I managed to say most of it.
( The rest of the questions are under the cut. )
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Set Off Like Geese, 80855 words. Gen-focused all-human AU.
Summary: There's still a Sunnydale. There's still a Buffy Summers living on Revello Drive. There's still strange people with business of their own coming to town. Except this time around, Spike and Drusilla didn't come for the Hellmouth or the Slayer. They weren’t looking for power or fame or glory, and they weren't staying so they could end the world. This time around, it was just as good a place as any other to stop for a while until they were ready to move on again. They weren't expecting anything more.
This time around, they stayed because they found out it was a place they might have a chance at a future.
What was my inspiration for this fic? How did it come to me? My usual tactic is to add some metaphor or fantasy to a mundane canon in order to externalize an inner trait and offer a clearer explanation for my given reading of the text or a character. This time around, as I said to
petra, "Strip away the metaphoric conditions to show people exactly what it is in the characters that whispered to me." She replied, "The pain shows better without the metaphors."Other things which pushed me to roll up my sleeves: disability representation, the flatness of all-human AUs, and vampires' liminal status.
When I got into Buffy in 2016, I began looking around for fic and meta dealing with its depiction of mental illness and disabilities - physical or mental. I didn't find much, and most of what I came across didn't have the depth or detail I was hoping for. I kept searching, and kept coming away dissatisfied at the lack of attention people gave to one of the more nuanced aspects of the canon. I sat down and gave some thought to what I wanted to construct, talked it out with some people, and did what I could with it.
Another trend I noticed was for all-human AUs to flatten out the characters and situations. Maybe everyone's a high school student, even Angel and Darla. Maybe they're all so far removed from the canon the story isn't saying much about the canon itself anymore. Nothing much seemed eager to explore the depth and complexity of the relationships that existed even without the fantastical aspects - consider all the pieces both in and outside of fandom written about the strengths of the friendships between the core Scooby gang, and Giles's paternal support for Buffy. It seemed a shame to give that all up.
The liminal space vampires are presented with has a way of echoing back to me and my own life, and what I wanted to say about social perception of the disabled. Vampires are beings of great power and danger, and they hold virtually no societal standing. Spike and Drusilla are massively well-educated but have no practical methods to turn their disorganized skill sets into practical labor. They're trusted with the well-being of other people, but they don't even have the civil responsibility of library cards - Dawn checks out their library books on her card, so while they're looking after her, she takes care of them.
There was a lot I wanted to say, and I think I managed to say most of it.
( The rest of the questions are under the cut. )
