“Family Skeletons”, End notes
[ Endnotes posted 15 Jun 2018 ]
Since this is a remix, what prompted the direction this story took in differing from the original?
The biggest difference, of course, is that I didn’t even try to re-tell the original, I just used a concept from it to jump off in an entirely different direction. Some of this was the nature of the source story: “Loose Ends”, as I noted in the story index, showed a single, brief event in eilandesq’s larger “Slayer Central” series, whereas I made my adaptation a one-shot, complete in itself.
Because of how that worked out, in this instance the better question would be the one I pose myself in my non-remix stories: Where did the idea for the story come from? And the answer is that it came from the convoluted craziness of the Buffyverse itself (in which I include the persons and events of Angel), and my efforts to think through some of the many ramifications, puzzles, and - yes - loose ends.
Is there any particular significance to the title?
It’s just a familiar phrase, is all. In most cases I’ve tried to use a song title or lyric as the title for a remix story - a playoff on the original ‘remix’ concept - but for some reason I didn’t make the effort this time, possibly because I was at Fort Dix on my way back to Iraq, and other things kept making claims on my time. It’s a serviceable title, even if it lacks originality or deeper meaning.
What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?
What I like most is that I managed to make the story funny. I can write a comic line, or even a comic scene, but my sense of humor tends not to be reliable for larger efforts. This one was a welcome exception. I’m fairly pleased with my eventual rationale for Dawn’s and Connor’s birth/parentage, too, but since I used it as a framework for the mounting wackiness, it winds up counting as part of the first point.
There really isn’t any part of this story that I don’t like, or about which I feel uneasy. Doubtless a blind spot in my perceptions, but there it is.
Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?
If there is, I can’t see it. (See ‘blind spot’, above.)
Was there a different direction I could have taken the story, and what would have been some of the advantages of the not-taken path?
I didn’t even notice till my most recent re-reading, but - though this story took place post-BtVS and within the A:tS chronology, it briefly mentioned but didn’t actually feature any A:tS character except Connor. Could Fred, Gunn, or Wesley have offered anything to Dawn’s and Connor’s night on the town? Might Lorne have listened to Dawn sing (and perhaps had to scramble to keep his head from exploding as a result)? That would have made a larger story, and ultimately a different one. Maybe better; maybe not. And we’ll almost certainly never know.
Any observations to add at the end?
It may be noted that Xander and Buffy seem … particularly close, at the end of this story. Looking over my entire oeuvre, both Backstage and Independent stories, I realize that I’ve tenuously or explicitly paired Xander with many other characters - Buffy, Tara, Nina (A:tS), Faith, Joyce, Marcie Ross, Dawn, Kennedy, at least two OCs, and no less than three gender-benders - but have never paired Angel with anybody.
To clarify, Angel’s canonical relationship with Buffy was background for “ Walking After Midnight”; he and Buffy had sex - but weren’t really what you’d call ‘together’ - in “ Bitter From the Sweet”; and his prior relationship with Cordelia-the-Slayer was alt-canon history for “ God Save the Queen” and “ Queen’s Gambit”. It’s not like I never had Angel involved with anybody, but none of those were ‘pairings’ as I did them for Xander.
Does this say something about me? Well, I write more Xander than I do Angel, and I definitely like Xander better … but I’m not against Angel, I just focus on his heroic role rather than his personal life. On the other hand, I actively enjoy hooking Xander up with various women, showing that the Zeppo-everyman may not get his due respect but he keeps getting the babes (at least in my writing).
… Nah, that doesn’t say anything about me. Nothing at all.