Fic Trivia Meme
eowyn_315 came up with a meme last night that asked for "ten things about my fics you probably wouldn't know unless I told you." I tried to include a fairly wide selection of fics, and also a comment or two on fics that got away or were never completed. For all the writers on my flist, I encourage you to do this meme, too! I'd read it =)
1. “A World of Yes,” an unfinished collaboration that
jdkitchen,
twilightschild9, and I were working on last summer, was inspired by a trip we took to the Museum of Sex in New York. Part of their exhibition was an intricate flow chart representing the various categories kinks fall into. It was our grand idea to feature some of the odder choices in our fic, including pony play, furries, balloon popping, cannibalism (in which you truss up someone like a turkey), latex fetish, etc. Talk about crack!fic. It was a loss to fandom that we never did write Harmony riding around on Riley's back at Xander's wedding. You know how the girl likes unicorns...
2. This summer while I vacationed in Cape Cod, I was having a late night discussion with a friend of mine in our kitchen. He commented that sticking cloves of garlic up a vampire’s ass would be fairly brutal. That was the idea behind “Not Yours.” Bless his perverted little heart.
3. In "Window-Dressing," Faith muses that the only thing that’s been filling her lately is cock and that maybe vamp wang is the ticket. I spent hours trying to figure out an appropriately Faith-like synonym to use that was not dick, cock, prick, penis, etc. so it would be different and colorful.
4. In “Not Yours,” I wanted Angelus to insult Spike by questioning his sexuality/masculinity. As it turns out, most British slang for homosexual I associate with Spike. I had to peruse at least two different Victorian-era Irish slang websites to try and determine a word that would sound uniquely like Angelus. Ultimately, I used capon, which is a young neutered rooster.
5. The fic I did the most up-front research for was actually one that I never finished entitled “La Fee Verte” ("The Green Fairy" in French). I took a challenge that called for an all-human Spike/Dru who have a romantic interlude after the consumption of absinthe. I did a ton of research on the subject - the effects, historical background, who consumed it, social practices of men versus women - and even found period poetry on the spirit itself for Spike to quote. For those interested, the poem was “Five o’clock Absinthe” by French poet Raoul Ponchon.
6. “Tea for Two” is a throwaway scene from a Spander fic I was once considering writing. It was meant to follow Spike’s breakdown after Buffy’s death and Xander’s reluctant support to get him back on his feet and engaged with the mission. In my defense, I only intended for there to be kissing.
7. “Beneath Us” was not a story I intended to write; it wrote itself. I woke up at 2AM one evening, turned on my computer, and dashed it off while I was still half-asleep. To this day, it is still my most awarded, commented on, and emotive stories.
8. My beta did not feel as though the reader was connecting enough with Faith in "Window-Dressing," so before posting it I spontaneously added 1000 words to further flesh out her motivation. A good part of the extension occurred while they are still dancing with each other prior to the bathroom sex. I also added the fight scene since there hadn’t been any violence up until that point.
9. There are two complete Spuffy shots and two chapters in longer Spuffy fics I have written, but never posted. I just couldn't get them to a place that I really liked.
10. “The Heart of Her,” my first Spuffy fic, generated a really positive response and there was much clamoring for a continuation. I had envisioned it as a stand-alone, but I wanted to appease fans and wrote more (mistake…). "Show Me How" to this day remains one of my least favorite fics because of it. I struggled to write it since I didn’t have a very clear concept. It started out humorously, but I revised it to keep the angst going. The entire scene with Buffy in her room reflecting on her life in high school was a late edition to the story and still remains my favorite part. Because I felt adrift on that fic, I drew on a lot of personal experiences to help me ground myself.