“Beneath the Bitter Snows”, End notes
[ Endnotes posted 19 Apr 2023 ]
Where did the idea for the story come from?
I can’t say for sure, but I believe it might have come from my reading of the Walking Dead graphic novel, the segment that showed Laurie Grimes’s death in the prison siege. Something about that had me wishing for some correction, and that eventually resolved into the thought of an unexpected Slayer awakening allowing her to eventually recover from otherwise non-survivable wounds. That part obviously never made it into the final story, but I’d say that was where it began.
Is there any particular significance to the title?
It’s from “the Rose” as sung by Bette Midler (who I don’t like, but I do like her rendition), and it definitely seemed to fit this situation.
What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?
Liked most: The depiction of Buffy’s ‘death’. I put effort and attention into that. Also, Buffy’s disillusionment, bitterness and cynicism, overruled in the end by her drive to do what a Slayer does (protect people who need it).
Liked least: I set this in the world of the Walking Dead, but can’t fail to recognize that I didn’t include anything to center the story there. Ultimately, it could have been any zombie-apocalypse situation. A story designated as a crossover should give adequate emphasis to all fandoms contained therein, and I can’t really claim I did so in this instance.
Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?
No more than is contained in the preceding observation. The story that came to me is the one I did, but it doesn’t do proper justice as a crossover.
Was there a different direction I might have wanted to take the story, and what would have been some of the advantages of the not-taken path?
There is, of course, the one I originally intended. That would have been an entirely different tale, and would have resounded a bit too strongly on the “fix-it fic” side. It would have satisfied the ‘not-really-crossover’ problem. The disadvantage is that I wouldn’t have had the story I did write.
Any observations to add at the end?
I like this story, and produced the one I set out to do. Really should, probably, have made it a non-crossover.