Fic notes and comment post
Nov. 4th, 2010 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fluffernutter8I'm really excited that today is my IWRY day, and I hope that you are too. So, if you can, please leave a review for my IWRY story, If I Forget Thee.
The following liberties have been taken with facts and descriptions:
- The baggage claim in Ben Gurion Airport is actually after passport control.
- The apartment is only based on an actual apartment on Keren Kayemet Street, off of King George, where I stayed during July of 2009.
- The description of the exhibits in the Israel Museum comes from a visit in October of 2010, not August 2004. I don't know if they were the same then.
- The caption for the burial society plates (which are really currently on display in the museum) is snagged from wikipedia. So is the Ammunition Hill description.
- There was a terrorist attack on a bus driving on Jaffa Road, but it was on June 11, 2003, not in August 2004.
- I have no damn idea about medicine, skin or healing. Medical professionals beware.
- There is little to no mention of the side of Arab-Israelis, Palestinians or any of the many cultures and nationalities that live in Jerusalem or Israel in general. This was not meant to ignore them, but just because I am Jewish and what I'm surrounding myself with now is a lot of Jewish culture, and not so much Muslim or Christian or Armenian.
Most of the things in this fic have a source. Ask me about it and I can probably tell you.
General authors note: This story is not meant to be offensive. I apologize if we have different political/religious views. This simply stems from a feeling that I've had that shipping is a lot like religion in that it's difficult or impossible to change someone's mind about these things with logic. I chose to use Judaism because it's the religion with which I am most familiar. I chose to use Israel because I was there in 2004 (I didn't take notes because I didn't expect to write a fic, but I've got pretty clear memories) and because I'm there now. I chose Jerusalem because that's exactly where I am, and because I honestly cannot think of a city that has so much history, that people have fought over and died for less than fifty years ago. Maybe it's just a gap in my knowledge, but I don't know of a city that arouses more passion, and that's just the city I needed.
Citations- here are the sources of the quotes, in order (Zion is Jerusalem, by the way):
Psalms 137:5 (Title. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let me forget my right hand")
Psalms 137:1
Psalms 20:2
Lamentations 1:8
Lamentations 1:1
Lamentations 1:4
Lamentations 1:17
Lamentations 2:10
Nachem (couldn't find another source, sorry)
This is what people say when they leave a shiva house, a house of mourning. I've been unable to find a textual source for it, but if you know it, I'd love to be able to cite it properly.
City of Gold, Blue Fringe
Psalms 122:3
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Blue Fringe
Psalms 122:6
Jeremiah 50:28
Jeremiah 33:10-11
Passover Hagaddah
I didn't think this needed mentioning, but I'll do it just in case: I love comments, but if you leave anti-Israel comments, I will delete them and get very angry. So don't do it on my journal.
The following liberties have been taken with facts and descriptions:
- The baggage claim in Ben Gurion Airport is actually after passport control.
- The apartment is only based on an actual apartment on Keren Kayemet Street, off of King George, where I stayed during July of 2009.
- The description of the exhibits in the Israel Museum comes from a visit in October of 2010, not August 2004. I don't know if they were the same then.
- The caption for the burial society plates (which are really currently on display in the museum) is snagged from wikipedia. So is the Ammunition Hill description.
- There was a terrorist attack on a bus driving on Jaffa Road, but it was on June 11, 2003, not in August 2004.
- I have no damn idea about medicine, skin or healing. Medical professionals beware.
- There is little to no mention of the side of Arab-Israelis, Palestinians or any of the many cultures and nationalities that live in Jerusalem or Israel in general. This was not meant to ignore them, but just because I am Jewish and what I'm surrounding myself with now is a lot of Jewish culture, and not so much Muslim or Christian or Armenian.
Most of the things in this fic have a source. Ask me about it and I can probably tell you.
General authors note: This story is not meant to be offensive. I apologize if we have different political/religious views. This simply stems from a feeling that I've had that shipping is a lot like religion in that it's difficult or impossible to change someone's mind about these things with logic. I chose to use Judaism because it's the religion with which I am most familiar. I chose to use Israel because I was there in 2004 (I didn't take notes because I didn't expect to write a fic, but I've got pretty clear memories) and because I'm there now. I chose Jerusalem because that's exactly where I am, and because I honestly cannot think of a city that has so much history, that people have fought over and died for less than fifty years ago. Maybe it's just a gap in my knowledge, but I don't know of a city that arouses more passion, and that's just the city I needed.
Citations- here are the sources of the quotes, in order (Zion is Jerusalem, by the way):
Psalms 137:5 (Title. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let me forget my right hand")
Psalms 137:1
Psalms 20:2
Lamentations 1:8
Lamentations 1:1
Lamentations 1:4
Lamentations 1:17
Lamentations 2:10
Nachem (couldn't find another source, sorry)
This is what people say when they leave a shiva house, a house of mourning. I've been unable to find a textual source for it, but if you know it, I'd love to be able to cite it properly.
City of Gold, Blue Fringe
Psalms 122:3
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Blue Fringe
Psalms 122:6
Jeremiah 50:28
Jeremiah 33:10-11
Passover Hagaddah
I didn't think this needed mentioning, but I'll do it just in case: I love comments, but if you leave anti-Israel comments, I will delete them and get very angry. So don't do it on my journal.
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 10:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-06 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 08:55 pm (UTC)Lovely story hun :)
no subject
Date: 2010-11-06 11:01 pm (UTC)Also? I LOVE your icon.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 11:40 pm (UTC)It was a beautifully built world, very realistic. The structure between emotional Buffy and her experiences works wonderfully as well.
Great addition to IWRY this year!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-06 11:00 pm (UTC)Thanks a lot for leaving a comment!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-04 11:45 pm (UTC)Loved the way your wrote all the characters. Loved the way that the way that Buffy and Angel behaved made sense.
Loved that you gave us a happy ending.
“I came here and I was broken. I assumed you were healed.” Great stuff babe.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-06 10:59 pm (UTC)THANK YOU FOR MY FAVORITE COMMENT! I always worry about this. It's a principle concern; you can ask my betas. So I thank you so much for specifically noting.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-07 02:23 pm (UTC)It was great though that she decides pretty quickly that she needs to go back and take the risk, and that she's pretty much grown out of running away.
"God, she loves him. So she tells him so. His smile exchanges for an unwilling vulnerability and she wonders how she could not have told him yet, how she could have just left, knowing personally how much it hurt to wake up alone"
Loved that you put this in here. Buffy would know how it feels.
Although, it was also great when Angel fakes stumbles into kissing. Sweeet.
Can't even come up with a favorite...
no subject
Date: 2010-11-05 06:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-06 10:59 pm (UTC)Of course! That's how I roll! Thanks so much for commenting!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-09 07:07 am (UTC)I have no idea what I'm doing on this livejournal thing, but I'm so far behind on the IWRY marathon, that I joined up just so I could leave comments.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I read If I Forget Thee, and I found it really wonderful. I loved how you incorporated real life into Buffy's world; it was a beautiful story. And thank you, thank you for the happy ending. I just loved it.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 02:10 pm (UTC)Yay! I'm happy that you liked it. And it's a general rule of mine to always give B/A a happy ending. See icon.
I joined up just so I could leave comments
I am so glad you did! Comments seriously make my day. Life. Whatever.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 06:57 pm (UTC)Pardon my repetition if this sounds like what I already said to you about it privately, but now that I have a chance I want to gather my thoughts with more clarity.
What makes this story so powerful is the same thing that makes it one of a kind: your personal experience becomes your source for understanding and portraying what the characters are feeling, even regarding a matter that at first glance appears drastically different than yours. It's not just that your religious background and your familiarity with Jerusalem lends you the tools to create vivid detail for the setting, it's the way you've forged a connection between what you feel and what Buffy feels: the fundamental search for meaning.
Although we know that Buffy is not a religious person, she's not lacking in depth, and part of that is in her ability to devote herself to people rather than ideas or principles. While someone like you or me might look to our ancestry or holy texts for guidance in finding ourselves, it's natural and even healthy that Buffy's path is Angel-- and also natural that she might lose her way on that path and need examples from outside herself to get back on it.
Thank you for the citations. The metaphor of the Holy Land is strengthened by the way Zion and Jerusalem are so often personified as suffering or celebrated loved ones. Such beautiful language; I went back and read some of them multiple times.
You may call yourself Fluff but in my opinion you'll never be a straight-up fluff writer. Every time you give Buffy and Angel a happy ending, they have well and truly earned it, and we know their love is going to endure and grow because they went into it with the understanding that it wasn't for their own gratification: it's the right thing to do in every aspect. Just like Rachel says, it hurts but it's worth it.
Finally, I'm sure you won't get any anti-Israel comments, but if you do, you take care of the deleting and I'll take care of anyone whose face needs severe punching. Deal?
no subject
Date: 2010-11-18 10:37 pm (UTC)your personal experience becomes your source for understanding and portraying what the characters are feeling
I was wondering whether this would be acceptable. There's such a thing as putting too much of yourself into a story, and I was afraid I made it more about me than about the characters. It's what happens after a million and a half rereads.
it's natural and even healthy that Buffy's path is Angel
How many different ways can you think of to say "hell yeah!"?
and also natural that she might lose her way on that path and need examples from outside herself to get back on it.
One of the things I love about your reviews is that you see so much more in my fic than I intended. It's the Kairos deepening effect- you just make it better. :)
Thank you for the citations...Such beautiful language; I went back and read some of them multiple times.
The quotes were one of my favorite parts of this fic. Some of the quotes- the title, the first verse of Lamentations (which is one of my favorite verses ever. Maybe you remember my obsession with Eicha reading in the summer?)- I had laid out in my head from the beginning. Others I searched for, literally taking a concordance and looking up all references to Zion or Jerusalem, or keeping an eye out in my life. It made me focus more on the prayers as I said them, looking out for the real meanings of the verses and if I could use them.
You may call yourself Fluff but in my opinion you'll never be a straight-up fluff writer. Every time you give Buffy and Angel a happy ending, they have well and truly earned it
I'm not sure if this is something that was always true or developed. As I watch episodes, I'll see the two of them together and in my head think "...and then they got together and lived happily ever after with only minor, but easily solved, complications." But I know that that's not the way it's supposed to be. It would be rude to the characters that I love, it would undermine their struggle and their traits to let them just settle everything easily. Because I'm a crazy person who feels like these people are real.
I'll take care of anyone whose face needs severe punching. Deal?
Kairos-hulk smash, yeah? Of course we have a deal. :)
I have to be honest, I thought that maybe you were too busy to comment on my fic, but I shouldn't have doubted you. You totally outdid my expectations with this, so thank you. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-11-19 07:50 pm (UTC)I recognize the illogic in hoping that someone gets more out of your story by reading something other than the story itself, but I couldn't help it. :)