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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 10, 2005 2:53:17 GMT -5
Tell her what you thought!
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Post by Karen on Aug 10, 2005 6:23:50 GMT -5
Spring -- You made me cry.
Thank you.
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Post by Cal on Aug 10, 2005 9:03:52 GMT -5
Spring -- You made me cry. Thank you. {{Karen}} You made me cry too, Spring. A beautiful, moving piece of work. Thank you.
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Post by Sue on Aug 10, 2005 10:23:21 GMT -5
Spring,
You really have quite a talent!
Analysis AND fiction! (In a scientist yet. What an all round woman. (I couldn't spell renaissance.))
The whole story was lovely, but my favorite lines were:
What satisfaction was there, in twisting a knife into already deadened flesh?
Very Spike---not that he feels any sympathy for Xander (altho, given his own humiliations as a human maybe he's got more of a subconcious motivation than even he recognizes)--just that it's no fun for him if Xander is beyond reacting.
And the scene of him scoping out Xander's baby mementos. Reminds me just a little of the scene in "Him" where he looks at the angels on the bookshelf.
And this: “Yeah,” he replied. “Sure he does. It’s betrayal, innit? Betrayal leads to hurt which leads to anger which leads to hate. Which leads to more anger, and more hurting all around, and more anger and more hate. It’s a bleedin’ merry-go-round, is what it is.” Spike sighed and sat back in his chair. The beer and hate-talk was making him feel a little nostalgic.
Ah, Spike the truth-teller. Maybe he is giving lame-ass answers to Jessica's lame-ass questions, but he's still not going to sugar coat the truth. And the hate-talk/nostalgia link, Ha!
Very excellent.
I hope some of our LJ-ers mention it so the LJ community (which seems to be pretty voracious in it's appetite for fanfic) come by.
Sue
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 15:42:01 GMT -5
Spring -- You made me cry. Thank you. You're welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it, and took the time to let me know. Oh - and if you want to send donations, you know my address.
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 15:46:32 GMT -5
Spring -- You made me cry. Thank you. {{Karen}} You made me cry too, Spring. A beautiful, moving piece of work. Thank you. Thanks, cal. I got inspired to write it when, for some reason, I got to wondering how Spike ended up in those clothes - it seemed so unlikely he would pick those clothes out. And then I started thinking about how angry he would get when he saw the shrunken clothes, and the noise he would make, etc. The title is a quote from The Zeppo - Xander says it to Jack when the bomb is about to go off.
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 15:56:02 GMT -5
Spring, You really have quite a talent! Analysis AND fiction! (In a scientist yet. What an all round woman. (I couldn't spell renaissance.)) The whole story was lovely, but my favorite lines were: What satisfaction was there, in twisting a knife into already deadened flesh?
Very Spike---not that he feels any sympathy for Xander (altho, given his own humiliations as a human maybe he's got more of a subconcious motivation than even he recognizes)--just that it's no fun for him if Xander is beyond reacting. Exactly what I was going for. It's not believable to write Season 4 Spike as a character who wouldn't get a kick out of tormenting Xander. But there is no kick to be had - plus, yes, I was deliberately paralleling Spike and Xander the whole way, so I did mean to be suggesting that maybe there was an eensy, weensy bit of unconscious sympathy in Spike, for Xander. I deliberately paralleled the reason Jessica gives for being cruel to Xander (basically, it's the alcohol talking) to the reason Spike's mom is cruel to him (it's the demon talking). Spike and Xander are a lot alike, and feeling betrayed by their mothers is something I was guessing that they shared at this point. It reminded me of this, too. Thanks for these great comments, Sue. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Yes - any and all pimping is appreciated.
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Post by makd on Aug 10, 2005 17:09:38 GMT -5
Hi, Spring
Just to let you know that I liked your story. It's very real, very in-canon, and it would've been sweet if we'd seen the scenario you wrote.
I'll be reccing this (as I have your other fanfics) on LJ later this month.
thanks, again; it's a lovely story.
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Post by Onjel on Aug 10, 2005 19:59:48 GMT -5
That was a wonderful piece of work Spring. Very moving and true to character. Thank you very much for writing it and sharing it with us.
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 20:00:22 GMT -5
Hi, Spring Just to let you know that I liked your story. It's very real, very in-canon, and it would've been sweet if we'd seen the scenario you wrote. I'll be reccing this (as I have your other fanfics) on LJ later this month. thanks, again; it's a lovely story. Thanks, makd! I appreciate the positive feedback and the pimping.
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 20:01:03 GMT -5
That was a wonderful piece of work Spring. Very moving and true to character. Thank you very much for writing it and sharing it with us. You're welcome, Onjel. I am glad you enjoyed it, and let me know you did.
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Post by Squeemonster on Aug 10, 2005 20:04:43 GMT -5
Oh, Spring--this was such a wonderful little story!! I teared up reading it, imagining how rough Xander's home life has been. And you did such a great job portraying Spike's frustrations at that time ;D. My absolute favorite line is: "What satisfaction was there, in twisting a knife into already deadened flesh?" That was so brilliant and touching that it gave me chills. And you put Spike in a towel. What more could a reader want? Thank you for this sweet and moving little story, Spring!
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Post by SpringSummers on Aug 10, 2005 20:15:06 GMT -5
Oh, Spring--this was such a wonderful little story!! I teared up reading it, imagining how rough Xander's home life has been. And you did such a great job portraying Spike's frustrations at that time ;D. My absolute favorite line is: " What satisfaction was there, in twisting a knife into already deadened flesh?" That was so brilliant and touching that it gave me chills. Thank you. You guys are such great readers - Sue mentioned this line too, and yes, it was a line that I put quite a bit of thought into. Yes, the towel. Though I left it up to the reader to picture this, I gave a great deal of detailed thought to this particular imagery. Thanks, Monnie. You are very welcome.
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Post by Rob on Aug 10, 2005 22:38:21 GMT -5
I was honored when Spring asked my opinion on this story. Here's the review I sent, (almost) verbatim:
It took me 3-4 minutes to read this story...and about an hour to stem the emotions that flowed through me upon finishing. Everything about this rings so true. Spike's brutal honesty, Wanda's beer-fueled despair...she wants to be a better mother, but hasn't the slightest clue how to go about it. Codependency is all she knows...though I doubt she's ever heard the term. It's just what is, and alternatives aren't in her frame of reference.
All that remains is her love for Xander...and in this case, that alone isn't enough to overcome her own weaknesses. Still, the half-hearted effort she made in subsequent months says something. That love will probably never win out...but it's never going to quit, either. This quality is the one (and possibly only) positive aspect of her character that passed from mother to son...but what a trait it is, huh?
Spike, of course, is completely ill-equipped (and disinclined, especially in Xander's case) to offer any sort of help. That's not who he is at the time this story is written. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that's not who he'd be at the present time, either. He (and Xander, when not emotionally involved) can spot and identify problems without effort, but actually curing them? Not their department.
Still, how great is Spike when he tosses aside pretense and lays it all out there in a few sentences? Nobody (again, save Xander) does that like quite like he does.
I loved how you showed that bare smidgen of humanity that somehow maintained its signature within Spike the demon. His simple "thanks" - even faced with the worst clothing imaginable - was his unwitting recognition that someone even worse off than him was reaching out.
That last paragraph is simply perfect, and ties everything together. I wish I could write something half that good.
It's a little masterpiece, Spring. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Aug 11, 2005 8:13:06 GMT -5
Sweet in its way. And terribly sad. You have to pause when you finish. Silence is good then, so you can listen to it.
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