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rhodrymavelyneFor most of the 1990s, I lurked around fanfic sites; shocked and secretly delighted at what I found.
Here LaCroix of Forever Knight got to express his passion for his Nicholas without reservation. Here Mulder of The X-Files didn’t just romance Scully, but let the unresolved tension between himself and Krycek loose in steamy ways. Here the Gua of First Wave weren’t exclusively heterosexual and neither was Cade Foster. Here Derek Rayne of Poltergeist the Legacy didn’t might be Alex Moreau’s mentor in a classical sense, but he’d once been mentored in a similiar fashion by Victor Arkadi. Here Ivanova and Talia of Babylon 5 could explore their romance in more depth. Here Methos and Duncan from Highlander could not just live together, but do so like a married couple. Here Buffy and Faith, the Slayers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer could express their intimate rivalry in other ways than their fists. Here the Watchers from Highlander and Buffy the Vampire Slayer could interact not only with the Legacy, but the Talamasca.
Fanfiction was a deep, guilty pleasure I dared not indulge in myself, even if I lurked obsessively. I was warned if I wanted to see any of my original stories published, I couldn’t be caught writing fanfiction. To make it even more of a guilty pleasure, two of my favorite writers spoke out and took legal action against those who wrote fanfic about their characters.
This crushed me. I felt as if my lover had revealed herself as religious right in the middle of making out, to expose me to a hostile, homophobic public.
Thank every higher power in creation for Storm Constantine. She saved me. I turned to her writing when trying to turn away from my former favorites’s writing. There was a void where they’d been. Storm’s exquisite, poetic prose, rich in slashy characters filled that void.
Storm Constantine had a site with fanfic links. In a moment of bravery, I told her how much I loved her writing. I presented her with a couple of fanfic stories and a poem.
Her thanks and acceptance was a release for my repressed creativity. Being able to write fanfic spurred me on in my original works, breathing life into them once more.
Now I’ve found Archive of Our Own, a wonderful site which feels just right to post on. I’m able to share some of those ideas which have been brewing in my head for years.
As I go through my files of unfinished stories, I find fragments of story I never dare to share. I find stories about Micki Foster of Friday the 13th: The Series and Cade Foster of First Wave being cousins (on the opposite side of the family as Ryan Dallion and Uncle Lewis Vendredi) along with descendants of Nick Knight from Forever Knight. There are stories where Natalie Lambert and Tracy Vetter of Forever Knight find themselves roused from death as Immortals part of Highlander’s Game while Janette Du Charme turns Tessa Noel into a vampire. Duncan MacLeod starts having flashbacks of both Janette and Nicholas feeding on him while Methos recalls how much he teased General Lucius, a.k.a. LaCroix when he was Death.
Colonel Grace of First Wave reveals that she’s not only part of the Illuminati, but Kristen Adams’s aunt in Poltergeist the Legacy; as well as having connections to the Syndicate in The X-Files. This is why Kristen Adams died on Poltergeist the Legacy, after dying previously as Faith’s Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kristen was cloned, but why do none of her clones have the acidic green blood of a human/alien hybrid? Why does she disappear like a Gua, something everyone who witnesses her deaths have trouble remembering? Why was Alex in her fluctating vampire state able to not only drink Kristen’s blood, but have some of her humanity return?
All of these stories have been brewing in my imagination for years. Now some of them are finally taking shape in stories.
I’m reminded of them as I watched Kristen Lehman in Midnight Mass and Altered Carbon, remembering some of the crazy crossover ideas I had for Kristen Adams of Poltergeist the Legacy. I’m reminded of them as I sort through my files, finding old fanfics I wished I could share, but didn’t dare.
Thank you, Archive of Our Own, for being a place where I can at last share these stories. Thank you to everyone who ever gave me kudos there. You gave me the courage to stop lurking and start writing.
Thank you to all the fanfic writers I was too shy to thank when I was lurking, secretly savoring your stories. You led the way. You were brave. You are amazing. You inspire others to be amazing, too.
Thank you to Storm Constantine for being the divinely creative and supportive force that you were and are, even if you’re no longer with us. Your words are eternally charged with that spirit. To read you is to remind me of that spirit.
May your spirit continue to guide and inspire us all.
Here LaCroix of Forever Knight got to express his passion for his Nicholas without reservation. Here Mulder of The X-Files didn’t just romance Scully, but let the unresolved tension between himself and Krycek loose in steamy ways. Here the Gua of First Wave weren’t exclusively heterosexual and neither was Cade Foster. Here Derek Rayne of Poltergeist the Legacy didn’t might be Alex Moreau’s mentor in a classical sense, but he’d once been mentored in a similiar fashion by Victor Arkadi. Here Ivanova and Talia of Babylon 5 could explore their romance in more depth. Here Methos and Duncan from Highlander could not just live together, but do so like a married couple. Here Buffy and Faith, the Slayers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer could express their intimate rivalry in other ways than their fists. Here the Watchers from Highlander and Buffy the Vampire Slayer could interact not only with the Legacy, but the Talamasca.
Fanfiction was a deep, guilty pleasure I dared not indulge in myself, even if I lurked obsessively. I was warned if I wanted to see any of my original stories published, I couldn’t be caught writing fanfiction. To make it even more of a guilty pleasure, two of my favorite writers spoke out and took legal action against those who wrote fanfic about their characters.
This crushed me. I felt as if my lover had revealed herself as religious right in the middle of making out, to expose me to a hostile, homophobic public.
Thank every higher power in creation for Storm Constantine. She saved me. I turned to her writing when trying to turn away from my former favorites’s writing. There was a void where they’d been. Storm’s exquisite, poetic prose, rich in slashy characters filled that void.
Storm Constantine had a site with fanfic links. In a moment of bravery, I told her how much I loved her writing. I presented her with a couple of fanfic stories and a poem.
Her thanks and acceptance was a release for my repressed creativity. Being able to write fanfic spurred me on in my original works, breathing life into them once more.
Now I’ve found Archive of Our Own, a wonderful site which feels just right to post on. I’m able to share some of those ideas which have been brewing in my head for years.
As I go through my files of unfinished stories, I find fragments of story I never dare to share. I find stories about Micki Foster of Friday the 13th: The Series and Cade Foster of First Wave being cousins (on the opposite side of the family as Ryan Dallion and Uncle Lewis Vendredi) along with descendants of Nick Knight from Forever Knight. There are stories where Natalie Lambert and Tracy Vetter of Forever Knight find themselves roused from death as Immortals part of Highlander’s Game while Janette Du Charme turns Tessa Noel into a vampire. Duncan MacLeod starts having flashbacks of both Janette and Nicholas feeding on him while Methos recalls how much he teased General Lucius, a.k.a. LaCroix when he was Death.
Colonel Grace of First Wave reveals that she’s not only part of the Illuminati, but Kristen Adams’s aunt in Poltergeist the Legacy; as well as having connections to the Syndicate in The X-Files. This is why Kristen Adams died on Poltergeist the Legacy, after dying previously as Faith’s Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kristen was cloned, but why do none of her clones have the acidic green blood of a human/alien hybrid? Why does she disappear like a Gua, something everyone who witnesses her deaths have trouble remembering? Why was Alex in her fluctating vampire state able to not only drink Kristen’s blood, but have some of her humanity return?
All of these stories have been brewing in my imagination for years. Now some of them are finally taking shape in stories.
I’m reminded of them as I watched Kristen Lehman in Midnight Mass and Altered Carbon, remembering some of the crazy crossover ideas I had for Kristen Adams of Poltergeist the Legacy. I’m reminded of them as I sort through my files, finding old fanfics I wished I could share, but didn’t dare.
Thank you, Archive of Our Own, for being a place where I can at last share these stories. Thank you to everyone who ever gave me kudos there. You gave me the courage to stop lurking and start writing.
Thank you to all the fanfic writers I was too shy to thank when I was lurking, secretly savoring your stories. You led the way. You were brave. You are amazing. You inspire others to be amazing, too.
Thank you to Storm Constantine for being the divinely creative and supportive force that you were and are, even if you’re no longer with us. Your words are eternally charged with that spirit. To read you is to remind me of that spirit.
May your spirit continue to guide and inspire us all.
