Comments | clawofcat: In Dreams ~ Drabble (1/4)

clawofcat

In Dreams ~ Drabble (1/4)

Apr 30, 2008 16:19

It was suggested to me that I experiment with my style, so this is an exercise in doing just that. This drabble is the first in series of four that will each focus on a member of the Fanged Four and what they dream of when they think of possession. The idea was partially inspired by Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

Title: In Dreams (Drusilla)
Author: ( Read more... )

fanged four, drusilla/angelus, fic, in dreams, drabble

Comments 22

snowpuppies April 30 2008, 21:12:46 UTC

Oh, nice.

clawofcat April 30 2008, 21:28:35 UTC

Poor Dru. Daddy likes to hurt her so. We see Dru sort of complicit and even asking for Angel's attention later in the series, but I feel like it must have been dreadfully hard for her early on, being his favorite dolly and all. One of my favorite Dru/Angel moments is when she ties him up to her bed in "What's My Line?" and pours the holy water all over him, clearly angry and upset for what he did to her and her family. I wish we had seen more of her feeling vengeful and not all ga-ga. He did her such a great wrong.

eowyn_315 April 30 2008, 21:56:56 UTC

Not surprisingly, Drusilla's dreams are as fucked up as she is. Really nice imagery, with just a touch of crazy. :)

One thing that occurred to me while reading this is that we don't know what Dru was really like when she was first turned. If I'm not mistaken, we don't see her as a vampire until she turns William... that's 20 years for Angelus to shape her. He made her crazy as a human, but I wonder if she wasn't as wicked as she became until after he'd tormented her as a vampire, too. (And the thing that set me off on all this was "Daddy likes to hold her head under water," since we see later (TGIQ) that Drusilla asks to be held under water.)

I could see a similarity between her and Spike, both driven by love for their sire immediately after turning, and later molded by Angelus to become the monsters they were.

clawofcat April 30 2008, 22:13:38 UTC

I wonder if she wasn't as wicked as she became until after he'd tormented her as a vampireThat's what I'm banking on. I envisioned this Dru as young, tormented, still scared by everything that Angelus wrecks on her. If you read my response to Snowy up top, we know from "What's My Line?" that a part of Dru hates Angelus for what he did to her and her family. She tortures him for it, and not in an affectionate way either. After such an extended period of abuse, Dru obviously learns to like and even desire the fucked up things that Angel and Darla can cook up for her, but I'd be surprised if it was always that way. And yeah, the head under water thing was a shout out to TGIQ. Except here she doesn't like it so much. Spike didn't either when the Turok-Han did the same to him in BtVS while the first hovered over him as Dru. Coincidence ( ... )

sevendeadlyfun April 30 2008, 22:09:15 UTC

I'm not a big fan of drabbles just because I prefer my stories to have more meat on them. Drabbles are, to me, just the opening paragraph of a longer story and I hate to be cheated out of a good tale. That said, I can understand using them to experiment with and your experiment certainly did turn out interesting.

This is a view of Drusilla I prefer, personally. Fandom has somehow forgotten that she took out a Slayer with just her fingernails (okay and a bit of hypnosis) and got the better of Wolfram and Hart. Somehow fanon has warped her vicious insanity into child-speak and fairies...I have no idea how this happened. Your Drusilla is much closer to canon and just as interesting.

clawofcat May 1 2008, 18:13:05 UTC

I suck at drabbles. I've tried to write true drabbles before, but I'm far too verbose for 100 words. This is about 200, but I think of it more as a POV character study than a "drabble" that tries to convey a scene. Trying to maintain crazy, disjointed Dru-thought for much longer would have been rather hard ( ... )

spankulert May 1 2008, 04:35:17 UTC

Oh wow. Poetry in motion.

clawofcat May 1 2008, 16:10:42 UTC

Thanks. I liked writing the disassociated dream-imagery.

spankspike May 1 2008, 05:49:39 UTC

That's simply fantastic. I think you've captured Dru very well there. She's a very unique package madness and brilliance. I've always thought she saw to the core of everyone and everything. Angelus broke her quite spectacularly.

I sometimes like to think of what she might have been if Angelus had not come along. Part psychic, part Mother Theresa? That incredible power she had used by someone who was good and innocent with pure intentions... yeah, I wonder.

clawofcat May 1 2008, 18:23:47 UTC

Thanks. I imagined this dreamy recollection of hers as part reality (Angelus literally making her into a bloody fountain) and the rest a nightmarish congolmeration of figurative thought tied into snarls by her vision of herself, her tormenter, and her desire for contol and escape.

I agree. Dru's a smart cookie, deeply insightful, and clever. I feel like I never know what to think about her. She's evil, bloodthirsty, vicious, manipulative, but also a victim, caring, and childish. I think in many ways she's turned her weaknesses into strengths. I wish there were more pre-series Spike/Dru stories because there must have been something wonderful in her to keep Spike by her side for so long. I think she genuinely did love him, but like all things about Dru, it became warped and twisted over time.

I sometimes like to think of what she might have been if Angelus had not come along.Interesting! Yes, I do wonder if she would have been this benevolent force of good. It seems like she could have been. I think that potential is really what ( ... )