A writing Whinge (because I haven't done one of those for, oh, at least a week and a half)

[shapinglight]

to misquote Joyce from School Hard, and with further mention of various thoughts I've had during my BtVS rewatch.

And I would've put all of that in the title of my post, but LJ wouldn't let me.

Anyway, yes. I'm supposed to be writing something for seasonal_spuffy at the beginning of May, but have no ideas whatsoever. I suppose I should ask for prompts. Prompts, anyone?



I'm wondering when it was I became primarily a Spuffy writer (which has sort of happened by default, must admit, because even before the Buffy comics stomped all over the very idea, I didn't think Buffy meant the ILY in Chosen - not that she has to have meant it for people to be able to write Spuffy, but still...).

I think it must be down to sb_fag_ends as much as anything. I try (though I failed miserably last year) to produce at least one drabble or ficlet for the comm every month, and my fic ideas are so thin on the ground now that I don't have any left over for seasonal_spuffy.

:Gloom:

It's not just something for seasonal_spuffy I'm struggling with writing either. I had every intention of getting on with my abandoned Spangel story while S was away last weekend, but ended up writing a measly 1500 words that didn't advance the plot much at all.

I started the story in 2007 (I think). The part I'd already written had some bits and pieces of slashy stuff in it. I think I'm probably going to have to remove them wholesale.

This is because I'm finding it very difficult to even entertain the idea of Spangel these days, thanks to the comics showing the relationship between Spike and Angel as nine parts raging hatred and one part gay panic (on both their parts, but especially Spike's), not to mention when re-watching the Spike/Angel interaction in BtVS season 2 I couldn't for the life of me see where the dynamic between them, as so often written in old slash fics, ever came from in the first place.

There aren't many of the old slash writers around these days, and the ones that are're probably not on my flist, but if anyone has an opinion on the subject I would be quite interested to know what they think that dynamic was based on back in the day (you know, the sire/childe stuff, which I freely admit to enjoying a lot at one time, not to mention writing it myself). Was it based solely on the fact that Spike originally said Angel was his sire and people just took that and ran with it, and then people read their stories and a huge body of fanon developed which lots of people confused with canon, or what?

Returning to the subject of me not being able to write anything, sadly, much though I'd like to put it down to disillusionment with fanon tropes, I'm afraid it's far more down to me just being out of ideas. I can't work out how the plot of this Spangel fic should go forward to the end I envisaged for it (at least I do have an end envisaged), and generally writing is just all hard and stuff and makes my brain hurt. :(

:More gloom:

Comments

[shapinglight]

I dunno. Not long after that, we learn that Angel has been hiding a lot of stuff from his friends (and Spike) in order to set his crazy master plan in action. I'm afraid I don't see much trust there. Or friendship. Unless the fact that Angel lumps Spike in with his other friends in being not in the know counts as a sign of friendship?

I'd like to think otherwise. I really would. But I can't quite do it. In fact, I can do it better in the run of episodes from AHitW through to TGiQ than in the final ones. ;(

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

I see your point. As for the whole slash and Sire and Childe fandom I think that people saw two handsome men and just wanted to fantasize about them because there is absolutely nothing that suggests that they have the hots for each other. Well, maybe I do see a slight tremor of fascination on William's side the first time he meets Angelus. And Spike does say "Except that one..." but apart from that I see no chemistry or anything slashy at all. People see or hear what they want to hear and in Spangel's and Spander's place, they see a whole lot more than what there is.

But that said and done, I've read plenty of fully belieable post series slash fics and those that convince me are the best written stories I've encountered in this fandom. Because it's just so damn easy (in a way) to write believable Spuffy or Bangel fics. We can all imagine some sort of scenario where the two or three of them will end up one way or the other. But Xander??? or Angel and Spike??? No way. Which is why I like to read m/m fics or dabble in writing them myself.

That being said, I have read good Spuffy fics too. Unfortunately I'm severely allergic to the words claim and bond and Sire/childe. A lot of fics out there love those words which sadly make them totally unreadable to me.

[shapinglight]

As for the whole slash and Sire and Childe fandom I think that people saw two handsome men and just wanted to fantasize about them because there is absolutely nothing that suggests that they have the hots for each other. Well, maybe I do see a slight tremor of fascination on William's side the first time he meets Angelus. And Spike does say "Except that one..." but apart from that I see no chemistry or anything slashy at all.

I'd have to agree with this assessment. That one scene in Destiny with the holding the hand in the sunlight pissing contest is the only exception. I wish I could say otherwise, but where I've got to in my rewatch (early BtVS season 6, long past the season 2 scenes that got the Spangel 'ship afloat in the first place) I just can't see it.

I suppose you can extrapolate from the fact that they were vampires and didn't care about the norms of the society they lived in, that they might have experimented.

I've written a lot of Spangel fics, as you know, but it's been a while. Maybe, if I wanted to keep on writing them, I shouldn't have rewatched the show? ;)

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

Ha, well I don't know about that. I still believe it could happen. But all good things concerning Spike will definitely have to take place post series.

Any slash going on during the series or pre series would have to be either abuse or a drunken mistake.

The series show us a very hateful Xander until the last few episodes regarding Spike. And Angel seems to loathe and distrust Spike but Spike never seems to hate Angel back. At least not nearly on a level with Angel's hate or disgust with Spike.

I can and will buy the idea of Spike being willing to accept and embrace love whenever and whereever it's from, as long as it's not from Harmony! And like I said, in my opinion romantic or intimate slash could happen post series which is why I still believe in it and write it, I guess.

[shapinglight]

And like I said, in my opinion romantic or intimate slash could happen post series which is why I still believe in it and write it, I guess.

I think Angel would need a personality transplant first. If I do manage to finish this story, he'll have had at least a partial one by the end of it, I think.

So tired of the dynamic as portrayed in my icon.