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angeria's fanfiction novel Thought You Should Know. A Work in Progress fanfic that combines laughter, suspense and pathos fairly brilliantly.
It's basically the writer's take on the S8 comics and does a rather good job of underlining my difficulties with Whedon's Buffy Comics, which I've been struggling to describe.angeria tackles many of themes that the comic book writers leave hanging or seem to be oblivious to, and she dismisses many of themes/character bits that the comic writers seem obsessed with exploring (but have been explored ad naseusm elsewhere). angeria also demonstrates how you can write a female centric adventure tale, from a strong and empowering female point of view, and still pass the Bechdel Test - where women have conversations, many many conversations that have nothing to do with men. While Spike and Angel enter the tale and are players, they are not the central focus of the story - Buffy's universe does not revolve around them, they aren't the featured player or villain. Nor are Buffy's dreams centered on them. They are supporting players. Add to this, the fact that angeria's plot comes organically from the characters. She's deftly taken ideas/concepts from the comics and woven them into a tightly plotted and engaging tale that has kept me on the edge of my seat in a way that the comics themselves have thus far failed to do. It's not predictable. I have no idea what she'll do next. And the characters feel like they are in jeopardy and are making decisions that not only make sense under the circumstances but are one's I'd make if I were them. I find myself loving all the characters.
Thought You Should Know takes place after the Buffy S8 comic Predators and Prey. Directly after actually. And comments to an extent on most of the events that happened up to that point. It ignores everything that happened after Predators and Prey (which in my opinion is not a bad thing, because I'm currently on the fence as to whether the comics jumped the shark in Retreat and then kept on going. I'm waiting to see issues 34-40 before I conclusively make up my mind on that score.)
In Thought You Should Know, the author manages to utilize and fully develop an ensemble cast of at least twenty characters. For the first time, I care about the new slayers - Buffy's sisters in arms, they do not feel like cannon fodder. I know and remember their names. There's a rather fascinating scene between Buffy, Faith and Simone (the Rogue Slayer) in Thought you Should Know that explores what it is to be called as a slayer, how it feels to be alone, to hate yourself and everyone around you. Through this story, the author is actually exploring themes of self-disgust, loneliness, disconnection, and the struggle to be in control/to lead.
Buffy and Dawn actually have conversations that have nothing to do with romance or men. Shocking. I know. There's no distracting and somewhat cliche not to mention cringe-worthy love triangle that seems to come out of nowhere...but rather an ordinary relationship between sisters. Dawn and Xander's camaraderie and potentially budding romance is still a possibility, but we don't have the implausible and out of character Buffy/Xander flirtation going on. Buffy and Xander have the same relationship that they had in S7 - a very close and abiding friendship. I actually like Xander and Dawn again.
The voices of the characters? Spot on. All of them. No exceptions. And she's doing everyone in the comics - she even has created new characters with distinctive voices.
I hear Buffy in this story. And Buffy is a tough character to write well. I know, I've written her. She is a character that I fell in love with a long time ago, when I was 28 years of age, back in the 1990s. So I'm a tad protective of the character. I've realized there are two types of fans - those who ship real people - ie. actors, writers, directors, and those who ship fictional characters and fictional stories and don't care that much about the invisible people behind the curtain and sort of wish those folks would remain, invisible, for at least as long as possible. I fall in the latter category, for the most part, obviously. For me, writers are flawed creatures and once their art hits the marketplace, it's out there, people can do with it what they will, and more often than not - what we do with it or how we choose to interact and interpret the work is far more interesting than the original work ever was. There's a school of thought amongst conceptual artists mainly - that the interaction with a work of art is what makes that work art, it's the goal of the art. It's what makes it viable and successful. Without the interaction - the meaning is irrelevant. The interaction is how we commune with the art. In other words - your story isn't successful until a fan/reader writes a piece of fan-fiction based on it or a meta/essay discussing it. Reviews don't count. Everything, good, bad, indifferent, gets reviews.
At any rate - this piece of fan-fiction is the author's hands on interaction with the Buffy comic books - it makes the comic books more interesting and provides them with a texture that is lacking on their own. It gives them another dimension. That is what fanfic does, when it is written well, it provides another possibility, another angle. Another dimension. It comments on the original work, expands on its themes and characters, hunts new layers of meaning, and provides the reader with yet another take or perspective on the work - one that either the reader had and could not articulate themselves or the reader never considered. This lovely fic manages to do both.
In Angeria's fic questions left unanswered in the comics...are contemplated. For example:
1. Does Buffy know Spike is alive and how does she react? Instead of teasing the audience, or acting as if it doesn't matter - this is addressed and taken care of at the very beginning. It's the starting point. As a result, it does not become a focal point - like it is ironically in the comics, always lurking in the shadows, whether Whedon intended it to or not.
Yet it oddly provides the title to the story. {ETA: I state oddly because while the story grabs its title from a letter that Spike writes to Buffy, the story is not about that letter.) Spike writes a letter to Buffy before he heads into the epic fight at the end of Angel S5. He says in the letter that he wrote it, because he thought Buffy should know he was alive, assuming Andrew didn't already tell her, and how he felt about her. She gets the letter a year late - due to the fact that it was sent to the Buffy decoy in Rome, who in turn sent it to Giles - who neglected to give it to Buffy.
[ETC - The title "Thought You Should Know" is an underlining theme in the story that works on two levels - as a sort of meta underlining what is missing in the comics and the purpose for writing the fanfic, and a through thread on relationships, the truth's we don't tell, the pain we hide, the fears and desires we are afraid to share...the darkness inside us all that lies hand in hand with the good. It is a title that rings inside the mind long after the reading.]
2. Whatever happened to the Buffy decoy in Rome who is hanging out with the Immortal. What is that girl's story? And how does someone handle playing Buffy 24/7, until they literally lose themselves. All to protect Buffy's whereabouts? What is the moral guagamire of doing that to another person? What are the consequences?
3. Does Buffy know Angel has a kid, and how would she react if she did know?
4. Who is the Immortal? Is he real?
5. Who is Simone, the rogue slayer, and why did she go rogue? What is her story?
6. What about the other slayers...who are they, how are they being affected?
7. Why are humans turning on slayers? Who is killing the slayers and torturing them?
8. Where did Buffy go wrong? Was it with the Chosen spell? OR the bank robbery?
9. How does she feel about robbing the bank? Does it eat at her?
10. How do Angel and Spike react to the whole vampires cool, slayers bad bit?
These questions and more are explored here. While new questions are raised.
The action sequences unlike the comics and other stories I've read - are gripping. Suspenseful. She has a rather long one in Italy that takes place over the course of two or three chapters, possibly four. My one criticism is it appeared to go on forever. But, it is done well, and she does accomplish the task at hand, and keeps it emotionally focused. We feel Buffy's pain here. And the sacrifices of her friends. And her fear regarding Willow. While there are sex scenes, they are rather understated and I'd describe as PG-13 in character. This is NOT an erotic fanfic, it is not a romance. There is a romance, there are two sex scenes - but they are there to push forward plot and explore character, and are secondary to the main story. If the writer chose to remove these scenes - I'd miss them, but it wouldn't hurt the plot too much. The goal of the story is not the romance. It's a subplot.
The issue of torture is examined and in more depth. It is not calmly tossed aside. We get to see it from various angles - the Immortal tortures Spike, Spike tortures Christy, Buffy tortures Lara, and Lara tortures Buffy. In all the different versions - it is demonstrated that torture accomplishes little other than sadistic pleasure of the torturer and great pain to the victim. It does not result in accurate information. This may well be the most accurate depiction and examination of torture that I've seen. Another issue that I have with the comic books and most stories nowadays...the view that torture accomplishes anything remotely useful.
It does not. People who have actually been forced to do it - have written extensively on this.
Do I have quibbles with her fic? Few and far between. I found myself roaring with laughter during a sequence that involved Andrew, Spike, Xander, Giles, Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Faith and the gang and a bunch of Porn DVD's - or what appeared to be Porn DVDs. The dialogue ricocheting back and forth, like an action sequence, spot on, and quite funny. Each character doing exactly what you'd expect. I could hear Anthony Stewart Head's cadences as Giles, and see him taking off his glasses. My only quibble with the story may be the same one I have with the comics and that is not entirely the writer's fault - and that is there are too many characters. We get glimspes of them. But it is hard to get enough. I give her a great deal of credit for building on the Faith/Buffy relationship - which we got little of, and explaining the two characters coming to terms in a manner that never quite works in the comics. Espenson tried in Retreat - but it didn't quite play. Too quick a jump from No Future for You to the events of Retreat. We brought Giles and Faith in - without any confrontations. Here, the author is wisely ignoring No Future for You, but she does address the tension between Buffy and Giles and Buffy and Faith, head on. Asking the same questions I have. [And I just finished reading a sequence between Connor, Spike and the Buffy decoy - a character named Lara, who is quite fascinating, that had me laughing so hard that I had to put the Kindle down. I don't think I laughed this hard reading the comics. Angeria has a great sense of comic timing. And a deft hand at creating new characters.]
I admittedly wanted more on Angel and Spike's reactions to the whole vampires cool/slayers evil bit. But I'm not really sure what she could have done there. I don't like how the comics have dealt with it - which is making it all Buffy's fault for giving the slayers power. And am hoping that this is a huge mislead, because if it's not and Twilight's actions prove in any way shape or form to be justified and Buffy's in Chosen prove to be misguided because sharing her power with other slayers and not being the only slayer under the thumb of a watcher, is a bad thing - then I'm done reading the comics or anything else Whedon puts out there. I'm pretty sure it's a mislead. But I can't tell.
This writer appears to be addressing that little quagmire of a plot head-on - and is asking the question, where did Buffy go wrong? What's wrong with this picture? Was the choices made in Chosen that problem? OR was it how they handled the situation afterwards - when they rounded up the slayers and created their organization? Could they have handled that differently? Did the power of leading over 400 slayers go to her head? Cut her off? What should they have done instead? How do you lead a large group of powerful warriors - without losing control or without looking like a terrorist.
Perhaps my love for this story is a bit subjective? Since it sprouts from the fact that I appear to see/view the characters and story thread the same way that the writer is? That I want the same questions answered? Well not completely. I admittedly don't care that much about the bank robbery and felt it was addressed in the comics, at least to my satisfaction. But the author's exploration of it - does add something to the mix. As do her explorations of the other questions.
The story isn't finished yet. And I have not completed my reading - about 81% through - which means I'm on Chapter 30? Downloaded it to my Kindle and am reading it on that - took it with me to the park yesterday, and to the laundramat this morning. Have kindle, will travel.
At any rate - if you want to read a different take on the Buffy comics, and you like the character Spike and his relationship with Buffy, than this fic is for you. If you hate Spike and the Spike/Buffy relationship - you probably want to avoid, even though there's a lot going on in the fic and it is by no means the main focus. This is what surprised me, normally I don't like fanfics that don't focus on Spike. I get bored with the other bits. But not here. I'm engaged all the way through.
angeria clearly knows these characters, she's clearly spent time with them inside her head, listening to their voices. She describes them - so you can see them. Feel them. Touch them. Hear them. And she clearly has something to say outside of them and through them. She loves all of them...equally. I think. Even Angel and Connor - who she has decided to include and make a player. Developing a relationship between Connor and Spike that is to a degree reminiscent of the one between Buffy and Dawn or Buffy and Willow. And Buffy's interaction with Angel in this story is far more believable and interesting than the ones in the comics - both characters have obviously moved forward, progressed, as opposed to regressed. Their interaction in a way is a commentary on their interaction in previous episodes. There's a scene in which Angel tells Buffy that he has come to say goodbye, and Buffy thinks to herself that this odd and new, usually he leaves without saying it - is gone before she knows he is gone in order to avoid doing so, as if that means it never has to be. An astute commentary on Angel. Here, he's obviously let her go. And when he talks to Spike - encourages Spike to pursue her, it is with regret and reluctance but also acceptance and understanding that they've moved on. And why they all had to move on. It makes sense in a way that what is playing out in the comics doesn't. And feels off somehow, in much the same way it felt off that Warren had not really gone poof even though we'd seen it and the writer clearly forgot.
Here's the thing about fanfic - the fan spends hours looking over the episodes, studying them, to get everything right. While the writer who continues his serial trust his memory and doesn't bother to re-watch or relook or re-read before doing so. As a result, the fan will often get the small details down, while the original writer will forget them. I've seen it happen a lot with serials, particularly soap operas and comic books with multiple writers - often you'll think, but wait that's not possible and go back and check and say, yup, not possible - the writer clearly forgot what he wrote, and forgot that the fan could go back and check. Fanfic while enriching and commenting on a work of art, also will often unwittingly point out its flaws - often that's why fanfiction exists - as a means of explaining or filling in gaps of logic, a way to cement over the flaw or fix it. A way to explore the work to see the continuation of the story to provide a satisfying ending that the original writer can't provide for the simple reason that the original writer isn't writing the tale for the same reasons. So what we end up with is two takes instead of one. Perhaps 50 takes. A multitude. From many different points of view. Making it clear to us that none of us are the lead players in this drama called life, nor are we the sole gods and authors of it. We each have a role, each a perspective. And it is unique unto us. Sharing fanfic, reading stories such as this one - even if it is about or from a story being told by someone else - merely adds texture, dimension, and
provides us with a way to commune with one another - to understand each other better, to have a meeting of minds...to the degree that such a thing is possible. It is finally for this reason, this desire to share on this level - that I came online to begin with and chose to write and discuss Buffy and still choose to do so. It's fun, true, but it is also a way, to connect to others...to feel less alone inside my own mind. And I think that's the message of this fic in a way - how to feel connected, less alone.
"You are not alone." Buffy reassures the slayer Simone. "Even though you legitmately feel alone. No one can know what you are feeling. I don't know. I can't..." And Simone accuses Buffy of being perfect. Until Faith interrupts and says she's not, then Faith nods to Buffy as they agreed and says, I've got this one. She hugs Simone to her and tells her - her own tale, so that Simone will never become as lost as she, Faith, had become.
angeria's fanfiction novel Thought You Should Know. A Work in Progress fanfic that combines laughter, suspense and pathos fairly brilliantly. It's basically the writer's take on the S8 comics and does a rather good job of underlining my difficulties with Whedon's Buffy Comics, which I've been struggling to describe.
angeria tackles many of themes that the comic book writers leave hanging or seem to be oblivious to, and she dismisses many of themes/character bits that the comic writers seem obsessed with exploring (but have been explored ad naseusm elsewhere). angeria also demonstrates how you can write a female centric adventure tale, from a strong and empowering female point of view, and still pass the Bechdel Test - where women have conversations, many many conversations that have nothing to do with men. While Spike and Angel enter the tale and are players, they are not the central focus of the story - Buffy's universe does not revolve around them, they aren't the featured player or villain. Nor are Buffy's dreams centered on them. They are supporting players. Add to this, the fact that angeria's plot comes organically from the characters. She's deftly taken ideas/concepts from the comics and woven them into a tightly plotted and engaging tale that has kept me on the edge of my seat in a way that the comics themselves have thus far failed to do. It's not predictable. I have no idea what she'll do next. And the characters feel like they are in jeopardy and are making decisions that not only make sense under the circumstances but are one's I'd make if I were them. I find myself loving all the characters.Thought You Should Know takes place after the Buffy S8 comic Predators and Prey. Directly after actually. And comments to an extent on most of the events that happened up to that point. It ignores everything that happened after Predators and Prey (which in my opinion is not a bad thing, because I'm currently on the fence as to whether the comics jumped the shark in Retreat and then kept on going. I'm waiting to see issues 34-40 before I conclusively make up my mind on that score.)
In Thought You Should Know, the author manages to utilize and fully develop an ensemble cast of at least twenty characters. For the first time, I care about the new slayers - Buffy's sisters in arms, they do not feel like cannon fodder. I know and remember their names. There's a rather fascinating scene between Buffy, Faith and Simone (the Rogue Slayer) in Thought you Should Know that explores what it is to be called as a slayer, how it feels to be alone, to hate yourself and everyone around you. Through this story, the author is actually exploring themes of self-disgust, loneliness, disconnection, and the struggle to be in control/to lead.
Buffy and Dawn actually have conversations that have nothing to do with romance or men. Shocking. I know. There's no distracting and somewhat cliche not to mention cringe-worthy love triangle that seems to come out of nowhere...but rather an ordinary relationship between sisters. Dawn and Xander's camaraderie and potentially budding romance is still a possibility, but we don't have the implausible and out of character Buffy/Xander flirtation going on. Buffy and Xander have the same relationship that they had in S7 - a very close and abiding friendship. I actually like Xander and Dawn again.
The voices of the characters? Spot on. All of them. No exceptions. And she's doing everyone in the comics - she even has created new characters with distinctive voices.
I hear Buffy in this story. And Buffy is a tough character to write well. I know, I've written her. She is a character that I fell in love with a long time ago, when I was 28 years of age, back in the 1990s. So I'm a tad protective of the character. I've realized there are two types of fans - those who ship real people - ie. actors, writers, directors, and those who ship fictional characters and fictional stories and don't care that much about the invisible people behind the curtain and sort of wish those folks would remain, invisible, for at least as long as possible. I fall in the latter category, for the most part, obviously. For me, writers are flawed creatures and once their art hits the marketplace, it's out there, people can do with it what they will, and more often than not - what we do with it or how we choose to interact and interpret the work is far more interesting than the original work ever was. There's a school of thought amongst conceptual artists mainly - that the interaction with a work of art is what makes that work art, it's the goal of the art. It's what makes it viable and successful. Without the interaction - the meaning is irrelevant. The interaction is how we commune with the art. In other words - your story isn't successful until a fan/reader writes a piece of fan-fiction based on it or a meta/essay discussing it. Reviews don't count. Everything, good, bad, indifferent, gets reviews.
At any rate - this piece of fan-fiction is the author's hands on interaction with the Buffy comic books - it makes the comic books more interesting and provides them with a texture that is lacking on their own. It gives them another dimension. That is what fanfic does, when it is written well, it provides another possibility, another angle. Another dimension. It comments on the original work, expands on its themes and characters, hunts new layers of meaning, and provides the reader with yet another take or perspective on the work - one that either the reader had and could not articulate themselves or the reader never considered. This lovely fic manages to do both.
In Angeria's fic questions left unanswered in the comics...are contemplated. For example:
1. Does Buffy know Spike is alive and how does she react? Instead of teasing the audience, or acting as if it doesn't matter - this is addressed and taken care of at the very beginning. It's the starting point. As a result, it does not become a focal point - like it is ironically in the comics, always lurking in the shadows, whether Whedon intended it to or not.
Yet it oddly provides the title to the story. {ETA: I state oddly because while the story grabs its title from a letter that Spike writes to Buffy, the story is not about that letter.) Spike writes a letter to Buffy before he heads into the epic fight at the end of Angel S5. He says in the letter that he wrote it, because he thought Buffy should know he was alive, assuming Andrew didn't already tell her, and how he felt about her. She gets the letter a year late - due to the fact that it was sent to the Buffy decoy in Rome, who in turn sent it to Giles - who neglected to give it to Buffy.
[ETC - The title "Thought You Should Know" is an underlining theme in the story that works on two levels - as a sort of meta underlining what is missing in the comics and the purpose for writing the fanfic, and a through thread on relationships, the truth's we don't tell, the pain we hide, the fears and desires we are afraid to share...the darkness inside us all that lies hand in hand with the good. It is a title that rings inside the mind long after the reading.]
2. Whatever happened to the Buffy decoy in Rome who is hanging out with the Immortal. What is that girl's story? And how does someone handle playing Buffy 24/7, until they literally lose themselves. All to protect Buffy's whereabouts? What is the moral guagamire of doing that to another person? What are the consequences?
3. Does Buffy know Angel has a kid, and how would she react if she did know?
4. Who is the Immortal? Is he real?
5. Who is Simone, the rogue slayer, and why did she go rogue? What is her story?
6. What about the other slayers...who are they, how are they being affected?
7. Why are humans turning on slayers? Who is killing the slayers and torturing them?
8. Where did Buffy go wrong? Was it with the Chosen spell? OR the bank robbery?
9. How does she feel about robbing the bank? Does it eat at her?
10. How do Angel and Spike react to the whole vampires cool, slayers bad bit?
These questions and more are explored here. While new questions are raised.
The action sequences unlike the comics and other stories I've read - are gripping. Suspenseful. She has a rather long one in Italy that takes place over the course of two or three chapters, possibly four. My one criticism is it appeared to go on forever. But, it is done well, and she does accomplish the task at hand, and keeps it emotionally focused. We feel Buffy's pain here. And the sacrifices of her friends. And her fear regarding Willow. While there are sex scenes, they are rather understated and I'd describe as PG-13 in character. This is NOT an erotic fanfic, it is not a romance. There is a romance, there are two sex scenes - but they are there to push forward plot and explore character, and are secondary to the main story. If the writer chose to remove these scenes - I'd miss them, but it wouldn't hurt the plot too much. The goal of the story is not the romance. It's a subplot.
The issue of torture is examined and in more depth. It is not calmly tossed aside. We get to see it from various angles - the Immortal tortures Spike, Spike tortures Christy, Buffy tortures Lara, and Lara tortures Buffy. In all the different versions - it is demonstrated that torture accomplishes little other than sadistic pleasure of the torturer and great pain to the victim. It does not result in accurate information. This may well be the most accurate depiction and examination of torture that I've seen. Another issue that I have with the comic books and most stories nowadays...the view that torture accomplishes anything remotely useful.
It does not. People who have actually been forced to do it - have written extensively on this.
Do I have quibbles with her fic? Few and far between. I found myself roaring with laughter during a sequence that involved Andrew, Spike, Xander, Giles, Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Faith and the gang and a bunch of Porn DVD's - or what appeared to be Porn DVDs. The dialogue ricocheting back and forth, like an action sequence, spot on, and quite funny. Each character doing exactly what you'd expect. I could hear Anthony Stewart Head's cadences as Giles, and see him taking off his glasses. My only quibble with the story may be the same one I have with the comics and that is not entirely the writer's fault - and that is there are too many characters. We get glimspes of them. But it is hard to get enough. I give her a great deal of credit for building on the Faith/Buffy relationship - which we got little of, and explaining the two characters coming to terms in a manner that never quite works in the comics. Espenson tried in Retreat - but it didn't quite play. Too quick a jump from No Future for You to the events of Retreat. We brought Giles and Faith in - without any confrontations. Here, the author is wisely ignoring No Future for You, but she does address the tension between Buffy and Giles and Buffy and Faith, head on. Asking the same questions I have. [And I just finished reading a sequence between Connor, Spike and the Buffy decoy - a character named Lara, who is quite fascinating, that had me laughing so hard that I had to put the Kindle down. I don't think I laughed this hard reading the comics. Angeria has a great sense of comic timing. And a deft hand at creating new characters.]
I admittedly wanted more on Angel and Spike's reactions to the whole vampires cool/slayers evil bit. But I'm not really sure what she could have done there. I don't like how the comics have dealt with it - which is making it all Buffy's fault for giving the slayers power. And am hoping that this is a huge mislead, because if it's not and Twilight's actions prove in any way shape or form to be justified and Buffy's in Chosen prove to be misguided because sharing her power with other slayers and not being the only slayer under the thumb of a watcher, is a bad thing - then I'm done reading the comics or anything else Whedon puts out there. I'm pretty sure it's a mislead. But I can't tell.
This writer appears to be addressing that little quagmire of a plot head-on - and is asking the question, where did Buffy go wrong? What's wrong with this picture? Was the choices made in Chosen that problem? OR was it how they handled the situation afterwards - when they rounded up the slayers and created their organization? Could they have handled that differently? Did the power of leading over 400 slayers go to her head? Cut her off? What should they have done instead? How do you lead a large group of powerful warriors - without losing control or without looking like a terrorist.
Perhaps my love for this story is a bit subjective? Since it sprouts from the fact that I appear to see/view the characters and story thread the same way that the writer is? That I want the same questions answered? Well not completely. I admittedly don't care that much about the bank robbery and felt it was addressed in the comics, at least to my satisfaction. But the author's exploration of it - does add something to the mix. As do her explorations of the other questions.
The story isn't finished yet. And I have not completed my reading - about 81% through - which means I'm on Chapter 30? Downloaded it to my Kindle and am reading it on that - took it with me to the park yesterday, and to the laundramat this morning. Have kindle, will travel.
At any rate - if you want to read a different take on the Buffy comics, and you like the character Spike and his relationship with Buffy, than this fic is for you. If you hate Spike and the Spike/Buffy relationship - you probably want to avoid, even though there's a lot going on in the fic and it is by no means the main focus. This is what surprised me, normally I don't like fanfics that don't focus on Spike. I get bored with the other bits. But not here. I'm engaged all the way through.
angeria clearly knows these characters, she's clearly spent time with them inside her head, listening to their voices. She describes them - so you can see them. Feel them. Touch them. Hear them. And she clearly has something to say outside of them and through them. She loves all of them...equally. I think. Even Angel and Connor - who she has decided to include and make a player. Developing a relationship between Connor and Spike that is to a degree reminiscent of the one between Buffy and Dawn or Buffy and Willow. And Buffy's interaction with Angel in this story is far more believable and interesting than the ones in the comics - both characters have obviously moved forward, progressed, as opposed to regressed. Their interaction in a way is a commentary on their interaction in previous episodes. There's a scene in which Angel tells Buffy that he has come to say goodbye, and Buffy thinks to herself that this odd and new, usually he leaves without saying it - is gone before she knows he is gone in order to avoid doing so, as if that means it never has to be. An astute commentary on Angel. Here, he's obviously let her go. And when he talks to Spike - encourages Spike to pursue her, it is with regret and reluctance but also acceptance and understanding that they've moved on. And why they all had to move on. It makes sense in a way that what is playing out in the comics doesn't. And feels off somehow, in much the same way it felt off that Warren had not really gone poof even though we'd seen it and the writer clearly forgot.Here's the thing about fanfic - the fan spends hours looking over the episodes, studying them, to get everything right. While the writer who continues his serial trust his memory and doesn't bother to re-watch or relook or re-read before doing so. As a result, the fan will often get the small details down, while the original writer will forget them. I've seen it happen a lot with serials, particularly soap operas and comic books with multiple writers - often you'll think, but wait that's not possible and go back and check and say, yup, not possible - the writer clearly forgot what he wrote, and forgot that the fan could go back and check. Fanfic while enriching and commenting on a work of art, also will often unwittingly point out its flaws - often that's why fanfiction exists - as a means of explaining or filling in gaps of logic, a way to cement over the flaw or fix it. A way to explore the work to see the continuation of the story to provide a satisfying ending that the original writer can't provide for the simple reason that the original writer isn't writing the tale for the same reasons. So what we end up with is two takes instead of one. Perhaps 50 takes. A multitude. From many different points of view. Making it clear to us that none of us are the lead players in this drama called life, nor are we the sole gods and authors of it. We each have a role, each a perspective. And it is unique unto us. Sharing fanfic, reading stories such as this one - even if it is about or from a story being told by someone else - merely adds texture, dimension, and
provides us with a way to commune with one another - to understand each other better, to have a meeting of minds...to the degree that such a thing is possible. It is finally for this reason, this desire to share on this level - that I came online to begin with and chose to write and discuss Buffy and still choose to do so. It's fun, true, but it is also a way, to connect to others...to feel less alone inside my own mind. And I think that's the message of this fic in a way - how to feel connected, less alone.
"You are not alone." Buffy reassures the slayer Simone. "Even though you legitmately feel alone. No one can know what you are feeling. I don't know. I can't..." And Simone accuses Buffy of being perfect. Until Faith interrupts and says she's not, then Faith nods to Buffy as they agreed and says, I've got this one. She hugs Simone to her and tells her - her own tale, so that Simone will never become as lost as she, Faith, had become.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-04 11:10 am (UTC)1/2
Date: 2010-04-04 01:08 pm (UTC)I also feel the need to apologize for there only be some six posted chapters left. I'm still very much writing, but it's become a process where I'm writing backwards so it's going to be a while. So apologies for that. *writer's guilt* But I also think the next upcoming chapters are some of my best writing, so I do hope you continue to enjoy it.
Beyond greatly enjoying reading your interpretation (which made my day!), I'm nodding along with your philosophy over the comics, fanart and fiction. Especially where you noted how fanfic writers are more familiar with their source than the professionals--this has never been more evident than with the characterization blunders and mythos discontinuity lately over at IDW, but also in the Season 8 blunders you cited (Warren being the biggest cock-up).
One bit I did want to comment on:
Yet it oddly provides the title to the story. The story grabs its title from a letter that Spike writes to Buffy before he heads into the epic fight at the end of Angel S5. He says in the letter that he wrote it, because he thought Buffy should know he was alive
It was the 'oddly' that struck me because I tend to think of the title as a driving theme for me when I'm writing. That Thought You Should Know--beyond being a theme about honesty, truth and how we hide from it even as we're searching for it--is also meta commentary on the existence of the story. All those questions explored that Season 8 dropped, all the relationships they didn't develop, they're all part of that statement--I thought you should know. So in a way, it's a direction from me (though veiled a bit, I hope), but also a commentary on what you go on to describe as fanfic's purpose. To show another perspective or fifty more perspectives. So this story is my saying I thought you should know these bits that aren't covered in the comics, my own spin. It's very strongly influenced by my belief that Season 8 introduced 'Vampires in Public/Slayers on the Outs' storyline and utterly failed to treat it as the complex situation it truly is. It's used as background fodder, inadequately established fodder at that, while it's rife with all sorts of more interesting questions (to me) than what's actually being explored in the comics.
Re: 2/2
Date: 2010-04-04 01:11 pm (UTC)+ Thoughts (http://angearia.livejournal.com/52354.html) on one of the story's themes--distortions of truth--and it's connection to the title.
+ Musing (http://angearia.livejournal.com/73987.html) on the symbolism of the fight with the Immortal. (And I greatly appreciate your perspective on how it felt like the fight dragged on, something for me to ponder.)
+ Dream analysis (http://angearia.livejournal.com/63581.html) for Chapter 27 (the one in which Buffy keeps killing everyone--Lara, Faith, Willow and then Spike). I love, love, love doing dream sequences. Because I love symbolism and what's a fictional dream if not an excuse for unfettered symbolism? That might be a tad indulgent on my part, but I swear there's a point.
Thank you for all your thoughts. I appreciate them immeasurably, especially the concrit. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when I saw my story was on your To-Read list. The idea of the story being scrutinized to such a degree that I've come to expect from the depth of your literary analysis--well, it was a slightly daunting prospect. The audience for fanfic doesn't tend towards that level of reflection. But still, thank you very much.
Re: 2/2
Date: 2010-04-04 06:46 pm (UTC)Oh no reason to be nervous...I was actually a tad nervous about posting it. I'm always nervous about posting things online. That never goes away.
And I've lost count of the number of posts I've deleted.
I only write metas on stories or things that move me or generate a major response or teach me something I want to share with others. (I read more fanfic than people realize, I just don't mention most of it or tell anyone that I've read it.) And if I had a really negative response? I'd never have posted anything on it. Most fanfic doesn't really lend itself towards reflection. Not everyone who writes has something to say - or so I've noticed (and this includes about 99% of the writers on the NY Times Bestseller List unfortunately).
I'm of two minds about sharing some links to my own reflections on what I've been writing. Because I do believe in 'The Author Is Dead' stance of literary analysis. And that your (the reader's) viewpoint trumps my intentions, that the story exists on its own once released into the wild.
I'm of two minds about this - myself. I believe that the author's views co-exist with the readers. Sometimes they commingle and intertwine and when that happens -- it is magic. But in order for it to happen, the reader has to be able to step outside themselves to see the story, and that's not easy to do. We interpret everything through the web of our experience, which in most cases is not anything like the author's. Stories that succeed are those where the experience is a universal one and not too specific to just one person.
That said..
That the writer's role is to tell the story, not tell the audience how to perceive and ascribe meaning to the story. (Something the comics spokespeople don't get and just refuse to shut up about.)
Agreed. The writer can yell and scream all they wish about how you should interpret their story - but all they will achieve is alienation with the reader. I've had this happen to me quite a few times - both in writer's workshops and online. Where a reader will say - this what you wrote and I'll insist they are crazy. In some cases? The reader is bonkers and projecting their own issues onto the text. In others? the reader has a point. But there's not much the writer can do about it, but sit back and listen. It's one of the lovely and scarey things about writing, I think, getting feedback. I know I feel it every time I write a post on lj - the weird anticipation of just what type of feedback I'm going to get. Will they hate my post? Will they love it? Will it get comments? Will it be ignored? There's no way of knowing. Posts - I think will go over quite well - often get blasted or ignored. Posts - I think won't get any comments, get 100s.
PS: I rather enjoyed the dream sequences...which depict Buffy's fear of destroying everything she loves. The dream sequence where she slices off Lara's hair, and relives stabbing Faith - is interesting in that it motivates her to go help Simone.
Re: 1/2
Date: 2010-04-04 06:17 pm (UTC)A little clarification: I wrote this rather quickly and off the cuff last night without a solid read-through or any editing. So some bits may be rather unclear. This sentence was certainly one of them:
Yet it oddly provides the title to the story.
As I read the story, it becomes clear that the title "Thought You Should Know" is the driving force behind it. The Immortal's letter to Buffy - hits on that theme as well - "just thought you should know this is how I see it". And in a way it's also a commentary on the comics themselves - just thought you should know these are questions that I'm having which need to be answered.
Re: 1/2
Date: 2010-04-04 07:08 pm (UTC)I also feel the need to apologize for there only be some six posted chapters left. I'm still very much writing, but it's become a process where I'm writing backwards so it's going to be a while. So apologies for that. *writer's guilt* But I also think the next upcoming chapters are some of my best writing, so I do hope you continue to enjoy it.
No apologies necessary. I wrote a WIP fanfic that I never finished. I hope you do finish this one. And your writing of it has improved qreatly. It gets better as you go. I think fanfic is a way that we can try new things and improve our writing along the way.
Sorry for all the typos in the post above - I wrote it off the cuff last night and I saw lots of errors upon re-reading it this morning, which I haven't had a chance to correct.
It's very strongly influenced by my belief that Season 8 introduced 'Vampires in Public/Slayers on the Outs' storyline and utterly failed to treat it as the complex situation it truly is. It's used as background fodder, inadequately established fodder at that, while it's rife with all sorts of more interesting questions (to me) than what's actually being explored in the comics.
Nods. Yes. Exactly. This is one of the reasons I'm loving about your fic. And why I'm so frustrated with the comics. They've spent a lot of time telling us about Vampires in Public/Slayers on the Outs - but not bringing it up front, keeping it in the background. Instead the comics are beginning to feel more and more like a snide commentary on Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, with Angel as Edward and Whedon's snarky comment about Spike not being a werewolf. Since I neither read nor care about that series, I'm finding it a tad annoying. I want story, not commentary on an unrelated series that I've managed to ignore, dang it. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-04 03:59 pm (UTC)I'm a big fan of TYSK and I always look forward to the next chapter. The last two years I am torn between two seasons 8 - by Joss and by Angearia. It may sound blasphemous but it's the truth. TYSK gives me what official story fails to provide: complexity, consistency and characters I can relate to.
So, while I wait for the next chapter of TYSK, I read your meta abd relive the best momsnts of the story.
Sharing fanfic, reading stories such as this one - even if it is about or from a story being told by someone else - merely adds texture, dimension, and provides us with a way to commune with one another - to understand each other better, to have a meeting of minds...to the degree that such a thing is possible. It is finally for this reason, this desire to share on this level - that I came online to begin with and chose to write and discuss Buffy and still choose to do so. It's fun, true, but it is also a way, to connect to others...to feel less alone inside my own mind. And I think that's the message of this fic in a way - how to feel connected, less alone.
So true.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-04 06:52 pm (UTC)TSKY gives me what official story fails to provide: complexity, consistency and characters I can relate to
Exactly. I feel much the same way. The comics were actually giving me a little of that up until Retreat. I rather enjoyed Predators and Prey - where Buffy and Andrew go visit Simone. Then the comics just went off the boards. The story is making less and less sense. And I'm starting to wonder what is in the water over at Dark Horse. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-04 10:52 pm (UTC)This makes me so ridiculously happy, I cannot tell you. Emmie deserves love and puppies and rainbows for "Thought You Should Know" and I love seeing someone appreciate it in such a thoughtful and insightful way!
I'm also kind of wanting to jump up and down yelling, "I beta for her! I know her!" ;D
Anyways, I know that this absolutely made her day, and you have some great insights to what makes the fic so unique. Thanks for sharing with us!
As I like to say: why do I need the comics? I've got "Thought You Should Know"!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-07 11:29 am (UTC)Five entries that don't fall into categories
Date: 2011-01-17 11:46 am (UTC)