feliciacraft

From "The Unchanging" by Sara Teasdale:

Two thousand years—much has gone by forever,

Change takes the gods and ships and speech of men—

But here on the beaches that time passes over

The heart aches now as then.

This perfectly captures how fandom feels, how this space feels, to me. An anchor in a changing world where not even gods could be counted on, but Buffy—Buffy is timeless. :)

For those of you still here: Hope you're all doing well, my friends! *waves enthusiastically*

I'm good, all things considered. Just busy, almost unrelentingly so, and only part of it can be called self-inflicted. I'll do a friends-only post soon (I hope) and give more updates.

I'm almost afraid to ask: Are people still writing fanfic in the Buffyverse?

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Hi! In 2016 I created the following fanwork in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom, including fiction, artwork, and meta (link defaults to Dreamwidth when available, with fallback to and alternative on LiveJournal, AO3, and elsewhere):

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Announcement: I've moved my fandom home from Livejournal to Dreamwidth (same username), with crossposting enabled for now. That may change if LJ continues to erode any trust I have left in it. Just a heads-up.


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Happy holidays, everyone!

Sorry for being MIA for most of 2018. I've missed all of you terribly. NO, REALLY! You are all part of the family that I chose, in true Joss Whedon style. Should anyone be curious about the details of my RL, uhm, drama, they will be shared in a Friends-Only post soon. Regardless, know that I PROMISE to be more present in 2019, and do MOAR fandom things (it's almost time for new year's resolution, right?).

How's life treating you? I hope everyone's doing well as we wrap up 2018!

To those who celebrate, merry Christmas! Under the cut is a closeup photo of our tree, with Hedwig as tree topper, and the 13th Doctor making a special appearance.

Once again, happy holidays!

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It's really not intentional, but for some reason I only seem to get into old shows — either (long) over or facing imminent cancellation.

This time, it's the British comedy Black Books (2000-2004), about a misanthrope of a bookshop owner, Bernard Black, who seems to tolerate customers only when they don't want anything (including help) from him. I'm only a couple of episodes in, but already I can tell it's going to be fantastic. It's on Hulu and Acorn.tv.

Some funny bits that totally resonated with me:

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I feel quite undeserved to ask anyone to read a WIP from me, but I wrote a thing for Seasonal Spuffy! A mystery/drama featuring Buffy and a newly chipped, pre-"Something Blue" Spike. Would love love LOVE to hear what you think. Anything from "interesting" to "not sure how I feel yet" to, well, if you can think of something higher on the enthusiasm scale, be sure to let me know. :)

Behold —



CHAPTER 1

“Hi-yaaah!”

Buffy unleashed another kick at the door, this time aiming her heel right above the antique brass knob. If the door itself didn’t give, the lock should. But just like her previous attempts, the door didn’t so much as shudder. No convenient clean break from the hinges, no satisfying dent in the size and shape of her cute yet sturdy pleather boot, not even a consolatory scuff mark.

“I don’t get it. This is wood, isn’t it?” She drummed her fingers lightly on the painted surface. It thudded convincingly. “I was expecting the same stake-explosion as the front door.”

Spike glanced at the pile of splintered wood blocking the entrance, and shrank away in distaste, almost bumping into her.

“If you’re aiming to dust me, Summers, there’s no need for an elaborate cover story. Drag me half way across town on some poorly-disguised witch-hunt. Here, I’ll make it easy for you. Don’t miss, alright?”

Before she could figure out what he was playing at, he’d already unbuttoned his maroon shirt and pulled it back, revealing a chiseled chest so smooth and pale in the vibrating fluorescent light that it almost glowed.

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Something I posted to Tumblr recently, because in procrastinating on writing fic (for [Unknown LJ tag]), my brain insists on producing meta instead.
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After all the RL interruptions, I'm so excited to share this completed short story, "Dreamless", with all of you! :D



Buffy woke up the same way she always did these days, a blank alertness overtaking sleep, without the harsh interjection of an alarm clock whisking her into action, without the dying whispers of a dream urging her to stay. Neither sudden nor gradual, instead it felt inevitable — like birth; yet always decidedly out of place. What was life after death in a nutshell, if not that?

On AO3:   Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Epilogue

Early season 6 AU story with a canon opening and a happy Spuffy ending. Note content warning for depression and suicide ideation. (Please prioritize self-care and proceed only if you are comfortable to do so.)



A heart-felt "THANK YOU!" to my talented team of betas: All4Spike, rahirah, il_mio_capitano, dhw, and freecat15, who went above and beyond the usual duties of beta reading to help me navigate writing about such a sensitive topic. You're all amazing!

Feedback welcome! :) And have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
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...is the headline of the imaginary newspaper featuring my life. :)

For reasons too stupid to get into, I streamed the pilot of "The Good Wife" on Hulu, and instantly got addicted, despite my previous prejudice against the show. Courtroom procedural drama featuring the wife of a politician imprisoned following a political/sex scandal was exactly what I didn't want to watch for "fun".

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So, any fans of The Good Wife here?
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I'm very excited to have found a feature that allows me to subscribe to my LJ friends from DW. Supposedly that means your LJ posts will show up on my DW reading page. We'll see how that works. Hopefully that allows me to keep up with LJ people not on DW. :)

If you have a different handle on DW as you do on LJ, in some instances I can't figure out who's who across the two sites, and may have subscribed to you twice. Which should become self-evident once I start reading your posts. So if you crosspost on both LJ and DW, get a subscription (i.e. follow) notification from me on LJ, and then a few days later an unfollow notification, it's not because I don't want you as a friend. It's because I'm getting your posts twice. :)

OTOH, I may turn off LJ commenting on my posts and redirect everyone to DW, if only because it's too confusing. I keep visiting one website after receiving a comment notification for the other, and can't recall how long it's been since I've visited either website.


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Title: Customer Service
Characters: Anya, Giles
Rating: PG
Last line to be used as my first: “Too big for the sink.” (Thanks, il_mio_capitano )
A/N: A bit of silliness written for Summer of Giles drabble challenge.

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Too big for the sink. Luckily, she’d come prepared. Anya grabbed the chainsaw.

“What in the world are you doing?” Giles bellowed.

Human expressions were so tricky sometimes. Case in point, Giles looked furious, but why?

“I'm preparing a sale, obviously. Serving our customer base. Paying your rent.”

Giles edged closer, then jerked away, covering his nose and mouth in — disgust — Anya ventured a guess.

“Good Lord! Is that a Kungai demon? In my kitchen?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Anya patted the Tak horn through her steel-reinforced glove. “The whole demon’s eight-foot tall, five hundred pounds. This is just the head.”



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Summer-of-Giles is currently running a last-line-first-line drabble challenge. Taking the last line of any previous drabbles as your first line is my idea of fun. I wrote the following (also posted at the comm):

Title: Anticipation
Characters: Giles
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 100
Setting: BtVS Season 2, Episode 17
Last line to be used as my first: “Giles started counting.” (Kudos to wakeupinacoma for the zinger!)

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Giles started counting.

Thick with anticipation, the air congealed around him, almost immobilizing. He needed to focus on something tangible to calm his quickening breaths, to tame his bursting heart, to rein in his mind, racing wild.

So he narrowed his focus on the immediate: The stairs he could no longer feel beneath his feet. The gentle sways of his arm, the soft clicks of the bottle against the wine glasses in his hand. The scattered rose petals, a deep maroon almost black in the darkness. The flickers of the votive candles that illuminated his path.

To where death awaited.




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I'd loved one of nmcil12's banners and approached her to see if I might have it for my BtVS Buffy/Spike story "Those Three Little Words."

I wouldn't have thought it possible, but she came back and offered me an even better version, fully customized for the story. Check it out — it's absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much, nmcil12!

The story, written on a deadline (for last year's SeasonalSpuffy), is in need of a final review — to be worthy of such a stunning banner — before I upload to more permanent archives. Meanwhile, be sure to check out nmcil12's other works. She's an amazing artist!
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Dear friends, would anyone be willing to help me beta a scene centered around a self harm prevention conversation? It takes place in a Buffyverse fanfic. You don't even need to read the short story -- I'll fill you in on the very simple plot. Given the sensitivity of the matter, I really want to get the conversation right. I mean, it's imperative. It may help if you're familiar with BtVS just to make sure I'm not wildly out of character, but honestly, even that's secondary. I should have the scene done Saturday night at the latest, and I need it back by Monday night, say 11pm Pacific Summer Time (UCT - 7hours). Anyone willing to help? I'll be eternally grateful.

TL;DR: Need beta for very short self harm prevention dialogue in BtVS fanfic for reality check. Draft to you by Sunday, May 13. Need feedback by Monday night, May 14. I'll be eternally grateful. Any takers?
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Hi everyone! This is my goodbye post to LJ.

You may (or may not) have noticed that ever since the new ToS on LJ came out, I've been posting on Dreamwidth only — same username, feliciacraft.dreamwidth.org. Long story short, I don't want to go, but I can't really stay, since my stay would be contingent upon my acceptance of the ToS. For the same reason you've read so many times from people flocking to LJ-alternatives, I'm leaving too. There's a personal aspect to this, resonant of a bit of family history, as involuntary as triggers, which I won't get into here. I suppose in the end, it doesn't really make any difference.

For those not in Dreamwidth or Tumblr (where I'm registered under the same username), I shall miss you. I've built a nice home on LJ, with my friends — all of you — and my extended fandom family, my communities and my obligations. Uprooting is not fun, so I'm grateful that DW has been so welcoming.

To show that I did learn something from countless hours researching the ToS, etc. I have two possibly original pieces of info to contribute:

1. If you are staying on LJ, and its revised ToS make you uncomfortable, there is an escape clause. Paid users remain customers of the California company, which makes you exempt from all the Russian bits. All the US laws regarding freedom of speech, privacy (what we have left, anyway), protection for transformative works (i.e. fanwork), etc. would still stand and apply to you, as long you pay for it. (Financially, that is. Not any kind of metaphor.) If you're otherwise at-risk, and are financially able, this may be a prudent option.
2. For anyone curious about what I learned about censorship in the new home of free LJ (free as in beer, not free as in, well, the other thing), I posted a summary about it here on DW. I barely scratched the surface, but I found it rather fascinating.

Did I say that I'll miss you? I really mean it. If we're not already connected elsewhere, please let me know your username so that I can add you. I'm also still compiling the Sunnydale Herald, usually on Wednesdays, under a shared herald handle, but soon to be without access to my friendlist.

Lastly, a signal boost. SeasonalSpuffy is currently taking place, for which I just clicked "I accept" on LJ so that I can post next week and leave feedback for all the lovely, lovely content there. Come join the party!

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(x)

I bet every Buffy fan can recite this piece of dialogue verbatim from "Halloween" (2x06). It’s often quoted as a testimony of Spike’s devotion to Drusilla. She's wasting away at this point, we're told, a mere shadow of her former glorious self, while Spike gets no nearer to restoring her on the Hellmouth.

But do you recall the scene leading to this avowed devotion? What may have prompted Drusilla's insecurity? Just Dru being her crazy self? Let's consult the script [x]:

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(Originally posted on my Tumblr blog. Endured Dreamwidth's teeth-grindingly painful image-uploader to bring it to you here.)


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My LJ account was suspended on Friday and reinstated this morning after I filed a request for review. Here's what happened, how I got it back, and lessons learned.

Before I start, though, I just want to say that I realize I am immensely privileged that these are my problems. That I stressed over being denied entry to a website, over the injustice of the implied accusation of wrongdoing, over being separated with my online friends, when there are many who have faced the same ordeal only in the physical world, at a real border, of being physically cut off from their family and friends, barred from returning home or coming into what they hoped would be their new home. I cannot imagine the desolation, magnitudes more real and more devastating. At least in my story there were no lives at stake, no families torn apart, no futures destroyed.

I. From Suspended to Reinstated




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Disclaimer: Joss's characters; not mine (except the OC).
In this chapter: (Season 6 AU) The first day after Buffy's resurrection continues. Everyone has a mission of their own (and possibly a theory or a lead). Buffy confronts the Scoobies. (If you've never read this story, this is actually a good point to come in. Enough context is given in this chapter to get you all caught up.) :) Or, if you want: Previously on AO3
Beta: The wondrous All4Spike!
Feedback: Yes, please! (I'm a big girl; I can take it.) Specifically, who's your favorite character in this one? (Anya? The Buffybot? Lol...)

Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence.
...
I am here
or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning.

-- T. S. Eliot, East Coker
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Apologies in advance for the flurry of political posts. Curiously enough, I find it hard to focus on fictional vampires when my country's on fire.

I'd like to share resources made available by amazing people. First, for protesting the Muslim ban, signs in 33 languages that say "Immigrants Welcome", in PDF format. All translations have been vouched by native speakers. File name specifies the language (other than English) used within:

--> Google docs folder for "Immigrants Welcome" signs

Second, a spreadsheet containing a comprehensive list of US senators, AGs, governors, and representatives and their positions on the Muslim Ban, their public statements, along with their party, state, re-election year, phone numbers, email addresses, social media contacts, and local office addresses.

One of the tabs, "template for response", gives you a script for calling anyone silent or in support of the unconstitutional ban.

--> Spreadsheet of US Politicians on Muslim Ban

Feel free to share and signal boost!

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I finally got to the Legion of Honor last week to see this: the first major exhibition in the U.S. about the Le Nain Brothers (Antoine, Louis, and Mathieu), painters active in Paris during the 1630s and 1640s. Some of the artworks haven't been in the public view for decades, and many have traveled a long distance — from Paris, London, etc. — to be here. Photos and my sometimes-irreverent interpretation below.

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Wow, didn't know I had this many thinky thoughts about this exhibition. I'm going to have to continue in a separate post or two (probably in a few days — this post has taken me two evenings!). Will tag future posts as "art exhibitions" so that you can follow or skip as you wish. :) Would love to hear from you if you have knowledge or thoughts about anything I wrote here. Interpretations are my own unless specified otherwise, and may just be misinterpretations. For example, I'm 100% sure that the Le Nains did not take my college experience of Dead Week, however similar, into consideration while painting The Penitent Magdalene. :)

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