(no subject)

[shapinglight]

Away for the weekend again. See you - not sure when.

In the meantime, gabrielleabelle's blast from the past post from yesterday got me thinking about my writing. Most of my stories have featured Spike in some capacity and I've written him in various incarnations: unsouled, souled, brain-washed, brain-damaged, completely off his trolley, human (still evil, though). Hmm, I thought to myself, never once IMO have I fallen into the trap of writing 'saint' Spike. See default icon.

And then I remembered that I had - literally.

:snorfle:

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Do you know I'd completly forgotten about that fic. *g*

[shapinglight]

Yes, me too. It's a 'conceit' fic, if you like, and about the only time (I think, unless I'm kidding myself) that I've gone the path of fandom wish fulfillment.

Not that I would have done it, I don't think, if it hadn't been that I wrote it for a ficathon, the title of which was The Happy Wesley Ficathon.

Everything had to work out for Wesley's greatest happiness, and of course I couldn't conceive of anything that could make him happier, once all the obvious stuff had been sorted out, like his problems with Angel and his dad and Lilah etc than having Spike all to himself. :) Of course that meant shunting Fred out of the way, but at least she didn't die.

Still doesn't read too badly, I don't think, and I did try to make sure Spike was a grumpy, foul mouthed sort of saint, if that helps.

:still vastly amused:

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Still doesn't read too badly, I don't think, and I did try to make sure Spike was a grumpy, foul mouthed sort of saint, if that helps."

The best kind to be by the sounds of it. *g*

Got your Spike fig yet?

[shapinglight]

No not yet, and we have to leave soon.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Oh well. Maybe while you're out? Or Tuesday?

[shapinglight]

Hopefully Tuesday. Don't want it coming while we're away.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

How lates your last post today then?

[calturner.livejournal.com]

Enjoy your weekend! :)

I don't think I've read that fic, but hee to St Spike! :D

On a more serious note, the one thing I would never have wanted is for Spike to be perfect. I love him because he's such a complex character.

[cozzybob.livejournal.com]

Hee! I remember that one, and I actually thought it to be on first reading very interesting. I mean, the way you interpreted the whole Cup Of Perpetual Torment bit--if it were real--it had me thinking, almost nearly as much as Family Reunion did via the connections between The Master & Connor, which I still retain was utterly brilliant... I won't gush too hard, but my favorite fics from you tend to do that, taking some small bit of canon and twisting it into a very interesting AU I really wish had happened. You have an interesting way of looking at things, especially canon aspects I wouldn't have considered otherwise. *hugs*

But anyway, if the saint!Spike fic was pure wish-fulfillment, I'm sure thinking wouldn't factor in my enjoyment. I mean, most of the time, my wish-fulfillments are pretty lame. And kinky. ;)

Seriously, though, I didn't want to comment on that rant I because it found it pretty ridiculous. Sure, there are fics out there that make it seem like Spike is a saint--which is silly--but I'm not sure how Spike being a bad boyfriend to Dru plays in--more sillyness--nor how it's all worth flailing about, really. Spike was a complicated character, neither saintly nor satan, and I think that trying to portray him as solely either takes away the sort of character Joss made him into--which is say, the sort that fans still argue and drool over in equal measure, years later.

Blast from the past, indeed. xD


I saw your new fic, read the first chapter. Hawtness! Sorry I haven't commented, though. *hugs more* How's the hands?

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

And then I remembered that I had - literally.

Oh my goodness, I hadn't read that story of yours before! That was just gorgeous. And kind of hilarious in the context of the Saint Spike discussion (truly, you do nothing by halves).

Actually the story gave me warm fuzzy feelings all over. Best wish-fulfillment ever. Happy endings for everybody! Sweet. (And I really liked the explicit comparison with Jasmine, and the way this was different from her world.)

[rahirah]

I'm pretty sure that I write Saint Spike by some people's definitions. :shrug: Oh, well. Can't please everyone.

[just-kumi.livejournal.com]

Hey there lady!

A person takes 2 years off and comes back and fandom's still as crazy as it ever was. snerk.

I'm going to have to check and see what I've missed in your writing. can not wait!

[shapinglight]

Hey yourself! So nice to see you. I thought you were gone for good, what with the dreaded line through your LJ name.

How's things with you?

As for fandom, it'll never really change, but our little corner of it is a lot quieter than it was. We leave the major kerfuffles to the 'live' fandoms now.

[shapinglight]

It didn't come while we were away, unless someone nicked it off my doorstep.

Hopefully tomorrow?

:crosses fingers:

[shapinglight]

On a more serious note, the one thing I would never have wanted is for Spike to be perfect. I love him because he's such a complex character.

So say we all!

Oops! Wrong fandom. :)

[shapinglight]

Thank you and this I mean, the way you interpreted the whole Cup Of Perpetual Torment bit--if it were real- is what I meant when I said to Sue it was a conceit fic. Given that, I then tried to extrapolate what might happen and how it could end up making Wesley happy. If I wrote it now, I might not have made Wesley's ultimate happiness dependant on a relationship with Spike, because I was way more Spike-centric in my fic writing back then than I am now (which may surprise you), but at the time, I couldn't think of anything poor old Wes could possibly like better. :)

but my favorite fics from you tend to do that, taking some small bit of canon and twisting it into a very interesting AU I really wish had happened.

Thank you. They're kind of my favourites to write too. And my hands are a little better at the moment. Weird how it comes and goes.

[shapinglight]

And kind of hilarious in the context of the Saint Spike discussion (truly, you do nothing by halves).

Must admit, it did make me laugh when I remembered it. Up to that point, I had been counting on my fingers all the times I'd written Spike as evil/morally grey etc etc and feeling quite pleased with myself. Then this. :)

I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway. I think it still does read okay.

(And I really liked the explicit comparison with Jasmine, and the way this was different from her world.)

Yes, that was very important. Also, to make it clear that turning everything bad in the world around wasn't going to happen overnight. 'Saint' Spike hadn't waved a magic wand or anything (erm, or not much).

Also, at the time I posted the story, because of the grim nature of most of what I was writing, a lot of people read this expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment.

[shapinglight]

I daresay that according to some sections of the fandom (who thank f**k, are generally speaking fairly easily avoided these days), we who actually like the character, rather than claiming we do against all evidence to the contrary, all write 'saint' Spike all the time.

[just-kumi.livejournal.com]

Life is going good for me. And your kids? Although at this point I'm guessing adults is a better word.

We leave the major kerfuffles to the 'live' fandoms now.

Snerk! Such rookies!

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

a lot of people read this expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment

Ha, I can imagine!

Really, though, it's a very nice imagining of a sort of ... anti-apocalypse. :)

[shapinglight]

Thank you. :)

[shapinglight]

And your kids? Although at this point I'm guessing adults is a better word.

Yep. One's 24 and the other's 21 at the end of September. They're both fine, thanks. The older one's working for a big cancer charity in London and the younger is in her final year at uni.