Bragging, with commentary

[bobthemole]

(Some background for non-fandom people reading this: There was recently an online contest for writing fanfiction based on characters from Joss Whedon shows. Since I'm a fan of said shows and miss doing creative stuff, I decided to try my hand at it. The outcome was four stories inspired by literature from four different eras.)

The January  still_grrr  challenge was to create fiction or art inspired by classic literature throughout history. After hearing that anyone who answered all four prompts (one each week) would get a cookie participation banner, I wrote the four stories below.

Week 1: Ancient to Renaissance literature.
Parable of the Artificial Duck

This one's based on characters from Dollhouse. It's a scene with two scientists and a man whose brain they recently reprogrammed to save his life. Now the guy's paranoid (for good reasons) that they made some changes to his "software".

Week 2: Neoclassic to Victorian literature.
Ghazal for a Slayer

I intertwined a classical Urdu poem with scenes from a dysfunctional (but compelling) relationship between two characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This story will probably make the least sense to someone not familiar with the show, but poetry fans will want to check out the references in the author's notes.

Week 3: Edwardian to Modern literature.
The Barter Economy

I think I'm most proud of this one. It comes closest to a classic short story in flavor, and the mood was inspired by Heart of Darkness and The Gospel According to Mark, both stories that begin in the alleged light of civilization and move toward a creepy and very human darkness. This is also the story that has kept me up at night - I think I committed race-fail in my depiction of the Lanai-ur tribe, and intend to rewrite it at some point.

Week 4: Anything before 1960
Battlefield of the Gods

I did not expect this story to get the positive response it did. There must something about  watching fallen gods acting like spoiled, self-centered twenty-somethings that resonates with our most primitive instincts. Readers not familiar with the Buffyverse find this inaccessible, though it's probably the in-jokes that make it work for those in the know.

I'm hugely grateful to whoever nominated this story for the No Rest For the Wicked Awards (In two categories! WOW!). Wednesday was the worst day I'd had in months, and learning about the nomination gave me a much-needed boost. Thank you, anonymous saint!

Comments

[snickfic]

I just want to say, that is not bad for one month writing fanfic. The last two are definite favorites I've mine. You know, I'd spotted the Heart of Darkness influences in The Barter Economy (or maybe you mentioned them?) but The Gospel According to Mark wouldn't have occurred to me. (Then again, I only read it once and it was a long time ago.) Very interesting!

(Also, I'm amused by the careful explanation of fanfic and still_grrr. I spend so much time in fandom I forget sometimes how mystifying it must look from the outside.)

[bobthemole.livejournal.com]

The explanation for non-fans is kinda necessary since 77% of the people on my f-list are people I know from RL :D

I read "Gospel...Mark" a long time ago - long enough that I forgot the title AND the author, which is why I didn't list it as an influence in my original post. But the story itself stuck in my brain; especially the foreshadowing, the naive but well-meaning protagonist, and the lamb-to-the-slaughter ending.