Story Help

[cornerofmadness]

Hey guys I could use some story help and you've all been so helpful in the past I figured I'd ask again. I have three things I need help with.

1) What did Andrew say Buffy called the Imortal (please save me from brain damage from having to read that horrible script)

2) For those of my friends in England, how prevalent is Santa Claus there if at all? I'm doing a Christmas story with Sorcha here in the States and it occurs to me I dont' know what I normal christmas for a 2 year old would have been like in England. Are there Santas in the mall? Some other creature? Special holiday traditions there that we don't have in the States?

3) I'm trying to get some of my WIP's cleared out. First on the list is Dream within a Dream (especially since it's holiday fic). The problem here is I've brought in Lindsey and I'll be damned if I know what to do with him now that he's here. I don't want to retconn my own work and axe him but he's just sitting there. He's on Angel's side in this (well he still hates Angel mind you but he's a good guy because well I like Lindsey and I hated what they did to him in S5). I know what's going to happen to Connor and Dawn in this but I need something to be going on  with Angel/Buffy/Lindsey/Faith etc etc. Sometimes getting another perspective will kick my muse in the butt like she needs every so often.

Comments

[fickledame.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I can do this one!

2) For those of my friends in England, how prevalent is Santa Claus there if at all? I'm doing a Christmas story with Sorcha here in the States and it occurs to me I dont' know what I normal christmas for a 2 year old would have been like in England. Are there Santas in the mall? Some other creature? Special holiday traditions there that we don't have in the States?

Well, first of all, it's Father Christmas, not really Santa Claus. Not saying that no one calls him Santa, but it's mainly Father Christmas. Yes, he is pretty much everywhere. In main shops and we would say "shopping centres" not mall. If you are doing a story set in England, a couple of famous shopping centres are Lakeside and Bluewater.

Um, traditions. Like, on Christmas Day, or leading up? We do the same thing you do I think, decorate the house, carol singing etc. We also celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve that I believe the rest of Europe does. The usual meal is turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, yorkshire puddings etc. Christmas cake (a weird and horrible fruit thing, traditionally has different objects put which if you get in your slice, all means a different thing.)

I'll dig out an old LJ entry I made about Christmas traditions actually, hope that has more info.

Just give me an idea of anything you want to know.

[fickledame.livejournal.com]

Ahh, found it:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/fickledame/31030.html

So yeah, holly and ivy, Poinsellia's, mistletoe...

Christmas is my favourite subject, I can go on forever ;)

[fickledame.livejournal.com]

I also don't recall Andrew telling anyone what Buffy called him. Ducks named him Marvin, are you thinking of that?

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I knew it was Father Christmas but I wasn't sure if Santa had replaced him or not as he has in other countries, insidious critter. The story will be in L.A. but Sorcha would have celebrated CHristmas in London the year before (she's 2 at the time so what she remembers is probably not much). This will all be helpful.

No, haven't really read much of Ducks. I could have sworn there was a line about him being Barry or Bob or something like that but that might have been someone else's fanfic.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's all I needed to know. Then I don't have to name that ridiculous creature.

[makd.livejournal.com]

Word on The Immortal. I don't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy or a good/bad guy. I just want Buffy with a normal guy, not with a vampire. Still: no nickname for him. A couple of S/B 'shippers have called him, "Morty", which I think is pathetic.

fanfic writers are just making up names for him. I'm waiting for someone to write a crossover tale, and it's Buff and Duncan MacCleod, which I would totally be interested in reading.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

It must have been fanfic though I can't recall reading any fanfic that mentions the Immortal except in passing. Sigh. You know I've read Buffy/HIghlander crossovers but none with quite that bent (and don't be giving me ideas)

[rahirah]

Andrew never gave the Immortal a name. I've seen fics with several naming trends: the Duncan McLeod ones, the Random O-Name ones (Paolo, Carlo, Vincenzio, etc.), and the ones where he's just The Immortal. I usually see "Morty" used to refer to him in discussions about the show, not actual fics.

[rahirah]

Somehow I doubt that a guy called "the Immortal" is all that normal...

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I must have been hallucinating. I guess since he's just mentioned in passing I can just leave it as the Immortal (I just can't see BUFFY calling him that. Surely you don't sleep with someone with no name...oh who am I kidding, that happens every day on Jerry Springer.