Please, feel free to self-importantly babble at any time if it means we get a great chunk of analysis like this. I have to say, I enjoy reading your essays on writing almost as much as your actual stories. Your Faith/Xander ship_manifesto contribution blew me out of the water, and I love the smaller bits you throw out in posts and your responses to comment.
One thing that really struck me in this was Xander's view of alternaXander and vice versa. It's interesting that you were talking about how Xander sees himself--that he sees the weaknesses but not the strengths--but didn't really follow through with how that connects to how he sees alternaXander. I'd say that he also notices the faults but not necessarily the strengths of his double (one exception is that Xander has recognized alternaXander's woodworking ability, and I hope this could maybe be something you pursue with our Xander later on), and I think that might have something to do with how alternaXander treats him in turn. After a lifetime without the encouragement that Xander has received from the Scoobs, I'd imagine alternaXander would be more insecure and sensitive to criticism than Xander. He resents the way Xander passes judgement on his life and his choices, and that plus the lack of help Xander offers (as I'm sure he sees it) must remind him of the way he was treated back in Sunnydale. While Xander sees it as criticizing himself, in a way, alternaXander feels like Xander is just another person in a long list who doesn't care about him and thinks he isn't good enough. I don't know if you'd agree with me (since they are your creations), but I am looking forward to seeing the world from inside alternaXander's head. His motivations have been a bit fuzzy to me until now, and I'm very curious.
Anyway, in conclusion, thanks for the babbling. I enjoyed it. As for your heat-stricken self, one thing always helped cool me down (when playing soccer tournaments in 102-degree weather, for example). Try taking a bunch of rags and soaking them in ice water (if you let the water sit in the freezer a while before adding the ice, that's even better), then draping one over the top of your head and swiping others over pressure points (ears, wrists, insides of the elbows, over the carotid, the back of the neck, and the tops of the thighs are best). Change out the rags for others that have been soaking once they start warming up. Water changes body temperature ten times faster than air of the same temperature, so you'll get wet, but it feels great and cools you down quickly.
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One thing that really struck me in this was Xander's view of alternaXander and vice versa. It's interesting that you were talking about how Xander sees himself--that he sees the weaknesses but not the strengths--but didn't really follow through with how that connects to how he sees alternaXander. I'd say that he also notices the faults but not necessarily the strengths of his double (one exception is that Xander has recognized alternaXander's woodworking ability, and I hope this could maybe be something you pursue with our Xander later on), and I think that might have something to do with how alternaXander treats him in turn. After a lifetime without the encouragement that Xander has received from the Scoobs, I'd imagine alternaXander would be more insecure and sensitive to criticism than Xander. He resents the way Xander passes judgement on his life and his choices, and that plus the lack of help Xander offers (as I'm sure he sees it) must remind him of the way he was treated back in Sunnydale. While Xander sees it as criticizing himself, in a way, alternaXander feels like Xander is just another person in a long list who doesn't care about him and thinks he isn't good enough. I don't know if you'd agree with me (since they are your creations), but I am looking forward to seeing the world from inside alternaXander's head. His motivations have been a bit fuzzy to me until now, and I'm very curious.
Anyway, in conclusion, thanks for the babbling. I enjoyed it. As for your heat-stricken self, one thing always helped cool me down (when playing soccer tournaments in 102-degree weather, for example). Try taking a bunch of rags and soaking them in ice water (if you let the water sit in the freezer a while before adding the ice, that's even better), then draping one over the top of your head and swiping others over pressure points (ears, wrists, insides of the elbows, over the carotid, the back of the neck, and the tops of the thighs are best). Change out the rags for others that have been soaking once they start warming up. Water changes body temperature ten times faster than air of the same temperature, so you'll get wet, but it feels great and cools you down quickly.