![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dear Evil Brain...
Yes, I know we've been working on the work project from hell since we got back from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
writercon. Yes, I know we'll be stuck with it for at at least another week. Yes, this means much of our at-home computer time is curtailed because we hates to stare at a computer screen after our day at work.
Yes, we know that we have to plot and plan our Dark Xander Fic-A-Thon entry because it would be pretty weak if we didn't submit something to our own fic-a-thon. It also helps that it hit me the other day that I have a germ of an idea that's been sitting on the ol' hard drive for three years that would perfect for this little caper.
However, I want you to explain something to me...something that's a true WtF in my world.
The original notion (and the original scrap on the hard drive) is from Xander's point of view. It would be tough to pull off, true, if only because you'd have Xander with holes in the ol' memory, which means he'd be fucking clueless about his state of affairs.
[Excuse me while I pause for a Cassie Claire-ish aside and quote Babylon 5: "There is a hole in your mind!"]
Explain to me, O Brain, how the hell Faith wandered into a story designed to have an all-singing, all-dancing, all-new cast of original characters? And what the hell is she doing in Toronto?
I mean, seriously...WtF?
And how did she plop her leather-clad ass in my office chair, and get those Doc Marten-clad feet on top of my desk? And why the hell is she informing me in no uncertain terms that this story belongs to her now?
I'm very sure this is a sign of mental weakness on my part. I do not go for this fluffy-bunny shit of other people's characters "talking" to me, nor do "muses" talk to me, 'kay? Maybe it makes me a weeeeee bit less of an artist and more of a journeyman writer, but I am veeeeeery comfortable in my blue collar writer's groove. You, O Brain, are fucking up my headspace. Stop it.
Is Faith, like, my avatar for the really dark shit when I write fanfic? Because that's the only thing I can figure out because I sure as shit had no plans to include her.
Unfortunately, making Faith the PoV character works better because: 1) the story will be that much shorter; 2) that much less complicated; 3) the mystery that much more interesting.
I hate you brain. I really, really hate you.
No Love,
Me
P.S., To everyone I owe emails and responses, work's been a-kicking my ass, not to mention I want to finish Facing the Heart in Darkness because...dayummmm...so close to the end that it's killing me. I will respond. As soon as RL stops using me as a chew toy, I'll be slightly more responsive.
*trundles off to bed*
writercon. Yes, I know we'll be stuck with it for at at least another week. Yes, this means much of our at-home computer time is curtailed because we hates to stare at a computer screen after our day at work.Yes, we know that we have to plot and plan our Dark Xander Fic-A-Thon entry because it would be pretty weak if we didn't submit something to our own fic-a-thon. It also helps that it hit me the other day that I have a germ of an idea that's been sitting on the ol' hard drive for three years that would perfect for this little caper.
However, I want you to explain something to me...something that's a true WtF in my world.
The original notion (and the original scrap on the hard drive) is from Xander's point of view. It would be tough to pull off, true, if only because you'd have Xander with holes in the ol' memory, which means he'd be fucking clueless about his state of affairs.
[Excuse me while I pause for a Cassie Claire-ish aside and quote Babylon 5: "There is a hole in your mind!"]
Explain to me, O Brain, how the hell Faith wandered into a story designed to have an all-singing, all-dancing, all-new cast of original characters? And what the hell is she doing in Toronto?
I mean, seriously...WtF?
And how did she plop her leather-clad ass in my office chair, and get those Doc Marten-clad feet on top of my desk? And why the hell is she informing me in no uncertain terms that this story belongs to her now?
I'm very sure this is a sign of mental weakness on my part. I do not go for this fluffy-bunny shit of other people's characters "talking" to me, nor do "muses" talk to me, 'kay? Maybe it makes me a weeeeee bit less of an artist and more of a journeyman writer, but I am veeeeeery comfortable in my blue collar writer's groove. You, O Brain, are fucking up my headspace. Stop it.
Is Faith, like, my avatar for the really dark shit when I write fanfic? Because that's the only thing I can figure out because I sure as shit had no plans to include her.
Unfortunately, making Faith the PoV character works better because: 1) the story will be that much shorter; 2) that much less complicated; 3) the mystery that much more interesting.
I hate you brain. I really, really hate you.
No Love,
Me
P.S., To everyone I owe emails and responses, work's been a-kicking my ass, not to mention I want to finish Facing the Heart in Darkness because...dayummmm...so close to the end that it's killing me. I will respond. As soon as RL stops using me as a chew toy, I'll be slightly more responsive.
*trundles off to bed*
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Wheeee! *who just saw B5 for the fourth time, but the first time uncut since it's initial run thanks to Netflix!*
no subject
no subject
Ah well.
no subject
no subject
Um, sorry. Had a Moment of Bi-ness there. Faith does that to me.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Sorry. Couldn't resist. :)
My own entry feels half-done (prolly a quarter, I tend to maunder on at length), but I had to put it down because I was creeping myself out.
I really don't want to know what part of my brain can even think like that.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Don't listen to her, she's just cranky because of work. We love you, little brain full of convoluted plotty goodness. If you want Faith, go with it.
Faithfully yours,
Brain of
no subject
Adding Faith is never a bad idea, and I happen to love your Faith-voice. In fact, it was what made me like your stuff, email you, get that nice reply with all of those helpful links and reading your LJ and consecuencially[sp?] get my own Journal and writing more fanfic than I should. As you see, I owe much to your Faith-voice.
I'm not one for muses either, the whole skitzo vibe of that deal gives me th creeps, but I think that when something happens to you that has never happened before, you should at least check it out. An I so 100% sure I've heard that before, somewhere.
So yay, please listen to the voices in your brain!!! unless they're telling you to go kill something, then don't.
Loves your brain,
Faith [who was actually named that by her parents].
no subject
Faith.
no subject
That said, I've learned not to argue with my evil brain when it insists that what I intended be thrown out the window in favor of a different approach. Go with the flow, resistance is futile. :)
no subject
I tend to be leery of folks with active "media fandom" muses, as they seem too close to the "Otherkin" fringe and make my teeth grind.
Oddly enough folks with "imaginary friend" original character muses don't give me that visceral "omg, get away from me you flake!" reaction--possibly because it's enough like role-playing that it doesn't give me the jitters.
I myself use "muse" in the creative-process/world building/characterization sense as I don't have the slight dissociative traits that make imaginary friends possible.
[Insert Random Zathrus Quote (probably the one about 'the One') Here]
no subject
About Dark Xander
It's one of those concepts that I wish the author would have put more time into developing, especially because I would have loved reading about just how you try someone for doing precisely what the Powers that Be wanted him to do.
The reason why I wanted to mention it to you is that I feel it almost qualifies as a Dark Xander story, cause in it he hates Spike and Angel.
That's it, that's all he does.
Discussion of what is going on, he hates Spike and Angel.
Big battle going on, he hates Spike and Angel.
Quiet moment, he hates Spike and Angel.
When he hates Spike and Angel, he hates Spike and Angel.
He's just a hitching post for a horse that's named 'I hate Spike and Angel.'
His sole purpose in the story is to keep hating Spike and Angel so none of the Scoobies stops for a moment to seriously consider what the hell they're doing. Which really isn't necessary because most of them are acting like absolute idiots to begin with in trying to capture/kill Spike and Angel even as the battle against the Senior Partners continues all around them.
Wanna bet that he does something really dumb at the worst possible moment because he hates Spike and Angel?
I won't say that I cared too much for the Xander character during the last two years of BTVS, by keeping him tied so closely to the Scooby Gang they missed any number of wonderful storylines that they could have used with the character. But he was one of the primary reasons why I started watching in the first place and reading him reduced to such a bitter, empty individual still hurts.
pgavigan
Re: About Dark Xander
Don't get me wrong, that Xander hates Angel there's no doubt. I'm less sure about him hating Spike.
But even in canon, no matter how much Xander dislikes or has disliked either one of them, he is more than willing to take advantage of their presence and work with them when the need arises.
Now, could I believe that Xander would be actively working to get them arrested and tried in the story you've described? Sure. But based on canon, it would seem to me that he'd more than "because he just hates them" as a reason.
If the Council had a good reason ("they're knocking out the balance of power and that will spell a lot of dead people") or came up with a lie that sounded like a good reason, sure. I can see it. I can even see him doing something stupid thinking it was the right thing to do.
In short, a motivation is what separates a bashing story vs. portraying a character who's behaving poorly.
I mean, I may be a Xander fan, but I've definitely had Xander behave badly (to the point where I've been accused of bashing him a few times), but there's always a motivation.
By the way, I won't even take your bet that the author is going to have Xander do something stupid. I'll even go you one better and say that the author is going to make Xander "pay" for what he's done in the form of death, debilitating injury, insanity, and/or getting tossed out of the Scooby club and/or Council before the author is done.
And by the way...that the PtB wanted Angel to take out the Senior Partners is pure fanon. All Cordelia's kiss gave Angel was a vision of a plan that he had to stop. Angel came up with the notion to take out the Circle of the Black Thorn all on his own. Just IMHO. :-)
no subject
(Anonymous) 2006-08-13 11:12 am (UTC)(link)Well most Canadians would have no problem believing that Toronto is the Hellmouth. In fact Sunnydale was probably framed.
D
(currently re-re-(etc)-reading Living History while waiting for a certain writer whose name rhymes with Mizbeth Larcs to continue posting a certain story that brokes off at chapter 46a.)