Where the Plot Puppy Gambols, Our Muses Will Follow

[red_satin_doll]

Dawn Summers writes the Great American Memoir.

1) Funniest AU non-penguin Buffyverse fanfic of 2013? In my School Hard/Chosen  post the other day  rebcake  tossed out a witty suggestion about Buffy & Spike's final conversation in the Hellmouth taking a very different turn. beer_good_foamy   took up the challenge and ran with it  in his usual brilliant way; here's the longer finished version, "Not in the Brochure" .  I haven't laughed this hard since - since I read his newest AU penguin fic two weeks ago.  Start polishing those fanfiction awards statuettes buttons now, y'all.

2) eilowyn ' s recent post "Thoughts on Spuffy and Fandom"  sparked a fascinating conversation about the 'ship wars,  focused specifically on the labels and the invention of  "smushnames" Bangel, Spuffy, etc.  (I'm going to copy/paste my smushnames rant from the thread because I'm lazy: I hated "bennifer" etc long before I got into fandom because I find the concept loathesome - merging two people into one identity. It's ironic because I think the show is pretty consistent on the idea that losing oneself in another person is a bad idea. Buffy and Angel are a direct critique of this notion - magical snow notwithstanding.)  But I enjoy reading about the history of this fandom, in part because it makes me grateful to be a newbie fan and have missed the bloodbath. Kumbaya and all that jazz.

Somewhere along the way comlodge mentioned "Bike" as a tongue-in-cheek alternative to Spuffy and I - did the thing I promised I'd never do and wrote a prompt about Buffy and her menz and bikes, with lots of fluffy-Spuffy. If I were as brilliant as BGF I'd have actually turned it into a story but since I'm not I'm letting comlodge 's muse do the work for me. (I'm sneaky that way.) She gave me leave to repost it here so someone else could also have a crack at it. So without further ado - or a don't:

Spike and Buffy (post-series) with one of those old-fashioned "bicycles built for two" (which Spike would want to give a go because that was state-of-the-art technology in 1880) but they'd argue over who got to sit in front and where they were even going; then she'd insist on having her own bike, and he'd' say "Fine, whatever! I didn't want you breathing down my neck anyway!" or snark about her bad driving:"You want to get yourself killed? Your funeral, Slayer." (Substitute "motorcycle" there and it still works.) Then they'd try to outrace each other and end up pretty much in a draw but squabble over who beat who by a hairsbreath. And then tease each other and laugh about it, and shag in a semi-public place, and kill the demons who interrupted them, then shag some more. (Because what's fanon Spuffy w/out snark and laughter and demon-killing and copious shagging? Bangel.  Just sayin'.)

OTOH If it were Angel he'd insist on sitting up front, because he wants to be the chivalrous BDH, and she'd go along with it for a while because it's nice to let someone else take over for a while - until she realized he was lost and had to take over from him, despite his objections to the contrary. ("Angel, this is the tenth time we've passed that hill. Yes I know it's the same one!")


Whereas Riley would completely insist that Buffy sit up front and of course he didn't mind at all because he only wanted what she wanted and he loved her strength and competence - then spend the entire trip grumbling just under his breath that he wanted to sit on the front seat and she would have been able to read his mind and know what he wanted if she really truly loved him.

I forgot Parker, btw - Buffy would make the arrangements, be waiting with the bikes and the picnic basket and he'd never show up, then give her some crap excuse a day later about visiting his mom and "I'm sorry you assumed I wanted to go out on a picnic with you, I didn't think you'd take it so seriously."

You can tell by the relative lengths of the various paragraphs where my heart lies, right?  If not I'll gladly explain - at length, with finger-puppets or flashcards, your choice.  Anyone want to add Scott Hope to the mix be my guest, because I don't give a damn and can't be bothered to rewatch S3 just for him.  But if memory serves, he's kind of a proto-Riley anyway. Have at it, kids.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I love that prompt. I'm giggling madly.


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Coming from you, Gabrielle that HIGH praise indeed. If I've made you smile I've done my job. Also - gold star for first comment!

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Scott Hope can't be Riley because he's all into Buster Keaton, which shows taste. Anyway he's gay, so if he did show up, it would be with some sort of thoughtful quirky gift, but then he would spend the whole time talking about how the passing "serious" cyclists look in their bike shorts, while Buffy tried hard not to fume about being passed by any other cyclists in the first place.

(I'm assuming he's come out by this point in the scenario.)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

*grinning like a madwoman over here*

Which proves how well I remember Scott which is not at all! (comlodge didn't remember him either so I don't feel so bad!) Poor Scott. And I love Buster Keaton too.

it would be with some sort of thoughtful quirky gift, but then he would spend the whole time talking about how the passing "serious" cyclists look in their bike shorts

Perfect.

[baphrosia.livejournal.com]

Heh, so glad I followed the link to BGF. Gotta love it.

I love the bike comparisons. Hee. :)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Did you also read BGF's original? both versions are hysterical. the last line of the longer version? OMG.

I love the bike comparisons.

Comlodge gets the credit for tickling my brain.

BTW - it's good to see you again! *hugs* You haven't been over here in a while I think? The convo threads for my last two posts have been insanely fun. How are you doing?

[baphrosia.livejournal.com]

I'm putting off writing the last few chapters of that AH, which means I'm looking for distractions. And good fic, cracktastic or otherwise, is always such a pleasant distraction. :)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I'm putting off writing the last few chapters of that AH

RL getting in the way or muse has up and left you temporarily? (Or beta-abandonment, which is pretty serious too.) Or just bored with the story? (I get bored with a story I'm writing the minute I know how it's going to end, as if my brain mentally closed the cover and walked away.)

And good fic, cracktastic or otherwise, is always such a pleasant distraction. :)

Isn't it though? I've actually not be reading as much fanfic lately but have been gorging*cough* I mean enjoying *ahem* fan videos.

I don't know if you'd consider it a "pleasant distraction" (more deliciously heartbreakingly angsty) but have you read Snowpuppies' AU Who are You fic for the Big Damn Love Fest?
http://snowpuppies.dreamwidth.org/319848.html

[baphrosia.livejournal.com]

Just trying to get those words out right...

If you're watching AftertheBattle vids over and over, then I totally get where you're coming from. :)

I can't do angst right now, because that's the part I'm stuck on. The requisite angst that comes right before HEA. I think I already read that one though.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Just trying to get those words out right...

What I said - your Muse is NOT doing his/her duty, flighty thing.

If you're watching AftertheBattle vids over and over, then I totally get where you're coming from.

YEEESSSS. I discovered Afterthebattle a few weeks ago; she(?) and nvrbnkisst (Spuffy Productions) are two of my favorite vidders and the ones I go back to most frequently.

The requisite angst that comes right before HEA.

HEA???

[baphrosia.livejournal.com]

Yes, Spuffy Productions is great too. I can watch Sail by AtB on repeat for hours. It is the perfect Anthem for Spike. I love Radioactive too. And of course all the ones featuring Spike nekkidness. :) And somebody, can't remember who, made a Spike vid set to 'You Can Call Me Al' by Paul Simon. Which you'd think wouldn't work, but it really does.

HEA is a romance industry term - the Happily Ever After. :)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I love vidders who are talented editors - that is central to vidding after all, but the ability to match images not just to lyrics but to the mood and rhythm of the music is hard to find IMO. (I'm probably a snob on that account because I started learning film editing in college and considered taking that up as a career, but the switch to digital vs film; which is much more tangible and precise - and also, I almost had seizures twice in front of video editing docs because the pixel become like little strobe lights.) Also how much I like the song has a lot to do with it of course; I tend to prefer vids with music I wasn't familiar with previously (and hence no prior baggage on my part), and then I tend not to prefer ones set to really "hard" rock songs because they also tend to have very very fast edits that are hard on my eyes (and seizure disorder). The "Radioactive" one you mention is the best vid I've seen that uses that song, though.

I may be even pickier about vids than I am about fics in some ways!

My favorite Afterthebattle vids (thus far) are probably her most recent "epic" Buffy tribute finished for International Women's Day this year - I don't know if there's a title for it (the music by Ennio Morricone is a great choice), "Once" (Buffy as tragic hero - I love that she emphasizes Dawn and Joyce in it); and "Rolling in the Deep" - trust a self-proclaimed "Spuffy" to make a watchable Bangel video that gets the 'ship right. And then there's that one that focuses on the darkest parts of B/S in S6 "Tell me I'm wrong". I know from her other vids that she is a "Spuffy" but I always appreciate someone who can look at that relationship in it's totality. That said I don't watch that one a lot, but I appreciate that it exists.

My favorite Spuffy Production vids: "No Longer Feels Like Home" (about Buffy's depression in S6, one of the first buffyverse fanvids I saw - and right after I watched S6 so it helped me process that season, along with gabrielleabelle's "Buffy Came Back Wrong" meta series); "The Ones Who Stand", "Someone Like Me", and her B/S vids "The Wait", "All We're Good For", "Setting Fire to Our Insides".

Have you seen Queen Blair B's "My Whole Heart"? set to the Mumford & Sons song? (I'd never heard of them until I saw her vid.) Spuffy mostly from Spike's POV; and I've seen other vids use that song but none so well as this one.

HEA is a romance industry term - the Happily Ever After. :)

Thanks, I'm clearly not "in the know" on that account. Are you also working on original fic to try for publication or still focusing on the fanfic at the moment?

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Hee! The bike comparisons are quite funny.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks hon! It's all comlodge's fault for the muse-tickling. :)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Heee!

Owen from "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date" would wax lyrical about a bicycle made for two and the futility of it, but would fall off and scrape his knee the second he tried to actually ride it.

And Faith would act tough and mumble about how bikes are lame, and constantly fight with Buffy over who gets to steer, and be secretly overjoyed that she finally had that bike she's wanted since she was a kid. (Yes, Faith is Grouchy Smurf.)

And thanks for the rec! ♥

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

And Faith would act tough and mumble about how bikes are lame, and constantly fight with Buffy over who gets to steer, and be secretly overjoyed that she finally had that bike she's wanted since she was a kid.

OMG YES she SO is! Now that I've got that image in my head I'll be grinning all damn day, thank you!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

And Faith would act tough and mumble about how bikes are lame, and constantly fight with Buffy over who gets to steer, and be secretly overjoyed that she finally had that bike she's wanted since she was a kid.

And now the evening update - rereading this I realized it isn't so funny and in fact it makes me want to cry a little bit. DAMN. It's really painful - like the story you wrote about the shop employee who gave Buffy the coat no charge, and it seems warm and fuzzy until the reader considers the context of S6? Like that. Which is - nifty.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh dear. The things that come out of taking things too literally. ... I love fandom.

Satsu would gladly let Buffy sit in front, but then sadface the entire trip because Buffy can't see her. She's too shy/noble/in love to say anything though.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Satsu would gladly let Buffy sit in front, but then sadface the entire trip because Buffy can't see her. She's too shy/noble/in love to say anything though.

I LOVE this, and I don't even like the comics. But that 'ship was kind of sweet anyway, so I'll add this to my head canon.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!