avrelia

I wasn’t sure whether I should post it, and then I did it – filtered and all, because sometimes I need to see my thoughts written to clear them out of my brain. There were several (or one big) kerfuffles the last summer about constructive critiques vs. hate vs. being nice, and I was thinking about what I love and don’t love and why…

And sometimes my dislikes have nothing constructive in it – I just don’t like the author’s version of the Universe or the characters. And I see no good reason to write the author about it.

Ok, here it is. I strongly dislike herself_nyc’s Bittersweets series. I read all up to the “Buffy in Italy” story – I don’t remember its name precisely – and then I stopped. I realized two things: 1) I really don’t like it. 2) I don’t have to torture myself then.

Why did I read it so far? Well, it is an amazing story. I have a deep respect for the skills and craft, and I admire the style and plotting – in the abstract way. Besides, every new story is an event in fandom from the first chapter with all the revisions and discussions, and I, being a sheep, wanted to know how it is going. Plus, the sex scenes are good. ;)

Also, I quite liked Herself’s “What she deserves” and “Lovingkindness” Universe.

But I don’t like Spike and Buffy there, and I don’t like what is going on with them. It is not even all the babies… it is all the mental torture, and how they don’t change forever, and other characters are pale shadows without making sense to me. They never change. Spike is always a martyr of love; Buffy is always a broken girl who doesn’t really deserve him.
And even the Victorian story, that everyone loves and which was one of the first fics I read ever, apart from amazing period details doesn’t rub well with me.

I don’t like Herself’s Spike and Herself’s Buffy. They are not bad, but they feel utterly alien and wrong to me. Recently I understood why: they belong to high tragedy; or, since their story ends reasonably well, to classical moral drama. They are deadly serious – in bliss and sorrow, in trouble and everyday life. Humour doesn’t exist in their universe.
Now, my Spike and Buffy make fun of each other – from School hard to Chosen and beyond, more over, they make fun of themselves. They mock and tease and laugh; they could be cruel and gently, and they changed. They are still changing.

So, yeah… not much sense, but I feel better.

Since it is nice to give people presents, and I have nothing tangible that I don't need myself, I decided to invent some stuff and give it away. :p
So, if you like something: take, have. And have great holidays!

( Holiday presents from Sunnydale excavation site )

I am writing my recommendation for the Graduate School (strength – originality; weaknesses – passion for procrastination; how to describe yourself believably as a future academic genius, anyway?), while listening to The Doors .

I like it, but I am not a real fan, and I know almost nothing behind the songs. Why am I writing this? One of the songs, The Crystal Ship eerily reminded me of Drusilla. The melody, the lyrics

( Read more... ) – brought her image to my mind. Then weird plot bunnies appeared. Dru does have a taste for poets, right? She’s had something of a “flower child” image; Spike mentioned having been at Woodstock; Jim Morrison died young.

They could have known each other. Very closely. In the world where Spike and Dru actually exist.

Now, as I dumped this “brilliant” idea here, I can go back to serious stuff.


Just got my TOEFL score. I needed 5 for writing, I've got 4.5. I hate 30-minutes essays on the silliest topics ever. Will have to do it again. Shit.