Well, I was right, it wasn't just a lucky shot on "The Playground," you can write. This story just about blew me away. Your Xander POV was spot on, and his desperate humor stuck with him all the way through, just right. You had me laughing in places where it felt awkward to be sharing a sense of humor, just the way it should be. Well done.
And Angel was great. Manic in a truly devilish sense, but even though Angelus shone through from time to time, it was obvious with a little thought that it was Angel in the house, not Angelus. Which made it all the worse, because as Xander said, he's supposed to be one of the good guys, so it's harder to understand with him in charge.
I'm very drawn to dark fic, as you have probably figured out by now. I find it's difficult to do well, but when it's done right, it can be excruciatingly erotic and "The Void" is an excellent example of that.
I'm another of those who love the "Stockholm Syndrome" senario, and I have to admit, I almost wish I could have seen the story you originally intended to write, the one in which Xander formed that attachment - that dependency - on Angel. I'm sorry that the story itself led you in a different direction, but I understand that, as I've been there myself. And of course it works the way it is, so I'm not complaining.
I have to admit, I was expecting the Willow/Xander scene to have more of an erotic tone to it, but the way you handled it makes perfect sense. For one thing, it's Xander's buried attraction to men that moves this fic on, makes it work so well. That scene has no place in the homoerotic world that you've built around Angel and Xander, and it's like slamming your face into a suddenly opened door - shocking you back into the "real world."
In my perfect universe, there would be just a couple more scenes between Xander and Angel, where you see more of the disintegration of Xander's will as he gets more sucked into the small kindnesses and occasional care Angel offers him - driving him a little closer to that point you were aiming this story in the first place. Then Willow can show up, and Xander can still leave with her, but even slightly more broken than he is now.
And then, there could be an entire h/c story that revolves around how Xander survives with help from the other third in this triangle - the only person who can understand how Xander's feeling right now. Yeah, I have to admit, I'm a S/X fan. And since you're remaking canon anyway, what the hell... *g* Since Spike's pre-soul, it wouldn't be an easy relationship, but hey - at this point, Xander would be ready for anything Spike could throw at him, wouldn't he?
Wow. I just went off in my own little world there, didn't I? Sorry. Your fic is wonderful just the way it is...I wasn't hinting - that's just my overactive imagination at work. So yeah, great job. I'm glad I wandered by.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-20 11:47 pm (UTC)Well, I was right, it wasn't just a lucky shot on "The Playground," you can write. This story just about blew me away. Your Xander POV was spot on, and his desperate humor stuck with him all the way through, just right. You had me laughing in places where it felt awkward to be sharing a sense of humor, just the way it should be. Well done.
And Angel was great. Manic in a truly devilish sense, but even though Angelus shone through from time to time, it was obvious with a little thought that it was Angel in the house, not Angelus. Which made it all the worse, because as Xander said, he's supposed to be one of the good guys, so it's harder to understand with him in charge.
I'm very drawn to dark fic, as you have probably figured out by now. I find it's difficult to do well, but when it's done right, it can be excruciatingly erotic and "The Void" is an excellent example of that.
I'm another of those who love the "Stockholm Syndrome" senario, and I have to admit, I almost wish I could have seen the story you originally intended to write, the one in which Xander formed that attachment - that dependency - on Angel. I'm sorry that the story itself led you in a different direction, but I understand that, as I've been there myself. And of course it works the way it is, so I'm not complaining.
I have to admit, I was expecting the Willow/Xander scene to have more of an erotic tone to it, but the way you handled it makes perfect sense. For one thing, it's Xander's buried attraction to men that moves this fic on, makes it work so well. That scene has no place in the homoerotic world that you've built around Angel and Xander, and it's like slamming your face into a suddenly opened door - shocking you back into the "real world."
In my perfect universe, there would be just a couple more scenes between Xander and Angel, where you see more of the disintegration of Xander's will as he gets more sucked into the small kindnesses and occasional care Angel offers him - driving him a little closer to that point you were aiming this story in the first place. Then Willow can show up, and Xander can still leave with her, but even slightly more broken than he is now.
And then, there could be an entire h/c story that revolves around how Xander survives with help from the other third in this triangle - the only person who can understand how Xander's feeling right now. Yeah, I have to admit, I'm a S/X fan. And since you're remaking canon anyway, what the hell... *g* Since Spike's pre-soul, it wouldn't be an easy relationship, but hey - at this point, Xander would be ready for anything Spike could throw at him, wouldn't he?
Wow. I just went off in my own little world there, didn't I? Sorry. Your fic is wonderful just the way it is...I wasn't hinting - that's just my overactive imagination at work. So yeah, great job. I'm glad I wandered by.