aadler | “An Eye to the Future”, End notes

[ Endnotes posted 31 Oct 2018 ]

Where did the idea for the story come from?

As I might have mentioned in previous comments, my original thought was to title the story “Useful Idiots”, with Willy and Andrew and Merl being the central focus. I can’t say where that idea itself came from, just a general interest in how these lesser and unimpressive characters could add background and meaning to the larger events and characters we already knew. When Madame Tiphaine elbowed her way into the story, things changed; the whole thing became less fundamentally comical, more introspective (in terms of pondering underlying currents in the Buffyverse narrative, and my own Backstage continuity).

Is there any particular significance to the title?

It was a working title; serviceable, but no source of either pride or regret. This wasn’t a major story, so I wasn’t going to waste major thought on just the perfect title. It references Tiphaine’s psychic foresight, of course, but without any particularly subtlety.

What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?

Tiphaine’s personality edged in and demanded center stage, of course, so I rather enjoyed that. Which means I should be very suspicious of it, but this was several years ago and I haven’t since been able to see where I dropped any clangers. Nor was there any real cause for especial doubt; I didn’t dare mightily here, so there wasn’t much room to fail spectacularly.

Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?

Seriously? Probably the entire thing could have been better done. As I said, however, I already knew this would be a lesser effort, something I wanted to get out of the way so I could proceed to what I saw as more important stories. As such, it didn’t have to travel very far to satisfy me, since my expectations were modest from the beginning.

Do I have any plans to follow up on this story, or to use the character(s) or situation in a subsequent fic?

This story ties back (and forward) to many, many other aadlerfics. Let’s see:

Madame Tiphaine herself was first referenced (however glancingly) in “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”, and mentioned also in “Hell Hath No Fury” and “Unbidden the Day”; since then, she was referenced as well in “Shock to the System”. Mention of Hank Summers’ ‘nightmare captivity’ refers to his brainwashed study by the supernatural operators in “Tip of My Tongue”. ‘Natalie Sparks’ made her first appearance in “Kirlian Logic” (and, yes, will be seen again). The Hakklusch demon mentioned here had already been referenced in “Otherwise a Perfect Sky”, and would later be cited in “Maxima Culpa” and “Rough Trade”. Merl’s proper name being given as “Moori-a’ueil” was repeated in “Rough Trade”, and he was also depicted favoring Dr Pepper in both stories. Finally, Kruciak the Merciless, first named here, was a major character (though never actually seen) in “the Other Night I Dreamt of Knives”. And there’s another link … but that’s in a story I haven’t finished yet, and so can’t list at this point.

And, oh yes: the ‘pale woman’ Tiphaine warns Willy to prepare for? That would be Nika, who first appeared in “Shadow and Substance” and has likewise featured or been mentioned in “In Ev’ry Angle Greet”, “Objects in the Mirror” , “Whisper of a Moment”, “the Still, Small Voice”, “Queen’s Gambit”, and “Echoes from the Battleground” (yeah, the lady gets around).

Any observations to add at the end?

For all that I didn’t take it very seriously, this story wove itself in with several other stories, and laid groundwork for more to come. (One is the not-yet-finished fic I mentioned above, and I can think of at least two others.) My output has slowed markedly since I got outside the Army and no longer had deployment to remove distractions from my life … but I still have long-term plans, and this story, lightweight in its internal structure, has contributed substantially to that plan.

As will be seen eventually. I just don’t yet know how long ‘eventually’ will stretch out.

[ One of the not-yet-finished (at that time) was posted in 2019 as “Jack Be Nimble”. ]