Velveteen vs. The Aftermath.: seanan

Velveteen vs. The Aftermath.

So it's done: the story is told, and we've all had time to sit back and digest it. There was a lot of evolution, growth, and change between "Velveteen vs. The Isley Crawfish Festival" and "Velveteen vs. The Epilogue," and I like to think that was a good thing.

The character of Velveteen has been with me for a long time; there are sketches of her dating back to high school, which puts her in about the same era of inception as Toby Daye. That may explain some of their similarities: the parental issues, the trust issues, the perpetual poverty and fear of going hungry. These are all things that I was struggling with during high school, and for several years after. While I don't base my characters off of myself intentionally, there's an aspect of "write what you know" that is simply unavoidable. She didn't have a civilian name for years, but when the time came to start writing her story down, I named her Velma, after a friend of mine who needed a pick-me-up. And thus was Velma Martinez properly born.

The first "Velveteen vs." story had a weird genesis. See, I was getting ready to go to Worldcon in Melbourne, Australia, and I realized that going to Australia is expensive. Like, it costs a lot. So I started doing things to save money. I cut back on caffeine and new book purchases, and I began selling blog sponsorships. I did the math on how many dollars I would need to save every day, and said "pay me this much money and that day is yours." And people did!

My very first sponsorship was for an anonymous group called The Crawfish Minions. Wanting to start the sponsorships off with a bang, I decided I'd write them a little story about crawfish. Velveteen seemed like the perfect character to fight river-dwelling crustaceans, and somehow my "little story" grew into the first Velveteen adventure. This is also the reason for the early installment weirdness in that one: I hadn't paused to think things through just yet. The shape of the world was there, but there's more snark in the narration (the characters would always remain snarky, I wrote them), and Velveteen monologues at the Claw for no apparent reason (something which she thankfully never did again). Still, people liked it a lot, and it was fun, and things progressed from there. As they always do. To quote Amy: "Where'd those 10,000 words come from? Did you trip?"

I did at least sit down to figure out a bit more of the shape of the setting before the second story. I knew who Sparkle Bright and Action Dude were, their relationships to Velveteen, and what had really caused their falling-out before I wrote "vs. The Coffee Freaks," although it wasn't until "vs. The Flashback Sequence" that I realized just how deeply Sparkle Bright had been, and still was, in love with Velveteen. You can see the signs if you go back to Yelena's early appearances; she's very clearly dealing with a crush, and very clearly has no idea how to handle it. Whereas poor Aaron was just clueless from day one.

A lot of the secondary characters were unplanned, including several who became incredibly important. Jackie Frost and the Princess were intended as one-offs, showing that Velveteen had friends outside of The Super Patriots, but once I'd allowed them into the story, they refused to leave. The Princess was always transgender; it's part of her origin story. I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to reveal that on screen until the scene with Jolly Roger's ship, which gave me an opportunity to force everyone into stating their birth names. Tag was introduced because otherwise Velveteen's inevitable reunion with Action Dude would be too easy. Um. Sorry, Action Dude. Didn't mean to break your happy ending.

Maybe the most important of the accidental characters was Victory Anna. I knew that Polychrome needed to have a girlfriend, and I knew that I wanted her to be a gadgeteer, because we didn't have one in the main cast. I wanted to show that power set, even if it was only for one story. So I introduced a time-traveling steampunk gadget-girl, and just sort of ran with it. Because Yelena is described as looking a lot like my friend Torrey, I described Victoria as looking a lot like Vixy. Yes. I just built in the opportunities for cosplay.

Victory Anna was supposed to be a one-off. She absolutely wasn't supposed to become the first character other than Velveteen to have a story focusing on just her (and remains one of only two who have been given their own narrative: the other was Jackie Frost). And she definitely wasn't supposed to turn into a member of the "core team."

Whoops.

On the whole, this series of stories evolved into something larger, more complex, and more honest than I could ever have intended. It's about figuring out who you are and being willing to fight for it, because nothing comes free; it's about forgiving people who hurt you, and sometimes even letting them back into your life; it's about love. Because love is good, and we need more of it.

It took me a long time to tell Velveteen's story.

I think it was worth the wait.

faecat

March 8 2013, 18:56:31 UTC 4 years ago

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Velveten's story was amazing and beautiful and wonderful. Very glad you shared her with us. :)

seanan_mcguire

March 13 2013, 17:34:34 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you.

shanejayell

March 8 2013, 19:01:16 UTC 4 years ago

*claps wildly*

LOVED the series. I would ALMOST say I love it more than Toby or NEWSFLESH.

March 13 2013, 17:36:29 UTC 4 years ago

That's high praise!

beccastareyes

March 8 2013, 19:09:37 UTC 4 years ago

It is an awesome story. Also, as I think Firefly comments in-universe (but a lot more meanly), it's a story about the various friendships (or not) women have with each other. While there are some cool male characters, most of the memorable ones in the story are women. Who are friends. And can fight over things that are not guys. And the 'love triangle' is totally made up by Marketing because Love Triangles Are Interesting. (And I'm kind of glad Vel didn't get back together with Action Dude, because... well, she's not the same person she was when they were broken up, and she's allowed to both feel nostalgic about the relationship AND not want to continue it once she and he are both on the same side again.)

tapati

March 8 2013, 21:09:22 UTC 4 years ago

^^^THIS. :)

4 years ago

martianmooncrab

March 8 2013, 19:15:27 UTC 4 years ago

I am talking to Peter about ordering the Velveteen books for me..

March 13 2013, 17:41:08 UTC 4 years ago

Yay!

anne_d

March 8 2013, 19:19:15 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for the background stuff, it makes the story even more special. I loved the friendships and comradery of the women especially, as it's a rare thing to find, let alone to find done well.

So to some extent, you wrote what you know? Ouch. Now I want to hug you, in a motherly or big-sisterly way. But failing that, I'll send you fluffycat purrs, and most heartfelt thanks.

March 13 2013, 17:41:26 UTC 4 years ago

Purrs make everything better, and you are very welcome.

$kazuhiko04: Baltan (\/) crayfish$

kazuhiko04

March 8 2013, 19:20:08 UTC 4 years ago

(\/) ^_^ (\/)

Thank you from the Crayfish Minions!

March 13 2013, 17:41:41 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you so much for accidentally starting this mess!

herewiss13

March 8 2013, 19:44:15 UTC 4 years ago

_Well_ worth the wait. I look forward to getting these on my shelves someday.

March 8 2013, 20:14:45 UTC 4 years ago

Me too. I am praying we get a MMP edition eventually...

markbernstein

March 8 2013, 19:45:31 UTC 4 years ago

I think it was worth the wait.

So do I.

March 13 2013, 17:42:08 UTC 4 years ago

saoba

March 8 2013, 19:51:25 UTC 4 years ago

Victory Anna's 'voice' in my head was pretty much always Vixy. And here I'd thought it was because I was re-reading Velveteen in the room at cons. Why? Because they felt to me like people I could bump into at a con.

Which is a compliment, because I describe con-going as my 'decades-long sporadic weird family re-union'.

March 13 2013, 17:42:25 UTC 4 years ago

Vixy, but British and annoyed.

liret

March 8 2013, 20:07:05 UTC 4 years ago

I've loved Vel since the crawfish story, but the reasons changed along the way - I never would have expected what I thought was an extremely silly story about a superhero with bunny ears would turn into something that broke my heart as often as it made me laugh.

March 13 2013, 17:42:39 UTC 4 years ago

That means I did it right. :)

taldragon

March 8 2013, 20:13:25 UTC 4 years ago

it was totally worth it (and i came in half way through so now i can read the first half of the adventure!)

thank you for writing these!

March 13 2013, 17:51:12 UTC 4 years ago

Very welcome.

briargrey

March 8 2013, 20:31:25 UTC 4 years ago

Thanks for the extra history on the genesis of the stories! I found them super-engaging, and I am thrilled you shared them with us.

March 13 2013, 17:51:21 UTC 4 years ago

Aw, yay. :)

mrs_norris_mous

March 8 2013, 20:35:50 UTC 4 years ago

Once more thank you for writing these and if the opportunity for sponsorship comes up in the future....

landley

March 9 2013, 19:53:50 UTC 4 years ago

Amanda Palmer just gave a Ted talk about how artists who connect with fans can ask said fans for support. There's also the "thousand true fans" essay that's been around forever. Alas, if I post the URL to either one livejournal goes SPAM and shoots down the post.

I got her mailing address back during the original sponsorship, and have intermittently abused it to send random care packages from the other side of the country ever since. (It is _surprisingly_hard_ to arrange bulk diet dr. pepper deliveries remotely. You'd think there would be a thing for this, but no...)

jillheather

March 8 2013, 20:41:51 UTC 4 years ago

I really love Vel's story. I look forward to buying the second half, when it comes out. And I will hope that perhaps one day we will see more of her story (without putting pressure on you to do that).

March 13 2013, 17:52:06 UTC 4 years ago

Maybe!

melchar

March 8 2013, 21:10:59 UTC 4 years ago

I think the reason I adore the 'Velveteen' stories is that -all- of the characters are so real. Vel makes me want to be a better person. Victory Anna's love for Yelena just rips at my heart. Jackie's love for Velma is much the same. I love these women. Thank you for letting them live.

k_crow

March 9 2013, 03:12:02 UTC 4 years ago

This. So much this.

kohi_no_tora

March 8 2013, 21:19:18 UTC 4 years ago

It was one heck of a ride and I was glad I was on it (even if on occasions I did start bouncing off the walls while waiting for the next chapter).

Though there's one question that's been bouncing around in the back of my head since Velveteen vs The Multiverse and now seems an appropriate time to ask.

One of the earlier chapters (I think it was vs the Flashback) you mention that Vel once stumbled across a piece of explicit Velveteen/Sparke Bright fanfiction involving bad, rabbit related puns. It wasn't Yelena who wrote that was it?

March 13 2013, 17:52:40 UTC 4 years ago

No. Yelena is not a writer.

hasufin

March 8 2013, 21:32:48 UTC 4 years ago

It was a heck of a ride. I'm very glad you wrote it.

March 13 2013, 17:52:49 UTC 4 years ago

anna_en_route

March 8 2013, 21:33:13 UTC 4 years ago

Again, thank you for this=)

It reminds me a little of The Sandman in that Neil Gaiman also claims he didn't know where he was going with the entire story and yet somehow manage to produce a beautifully complete narrative where even the first stories fit in.

I'd love to see an illustrated version some day (there's so many set pieces in there that cry out for illustration especially Victory Anna).

droewyn

March 9 2013, 03:20:16 UTC 4 years ago

A Velveteen graphic novel would be the best thing ever. I'd contribute to a kickstarter in a heartbeat.

groblek

March 8 2013, 22:02:41 UTC 4 years ago

I've had the tab for "Velveteen vs. The Epilogue" open since you posted it, hoping for enough time to give my reactions. I'm still too short on time, so I'll sum up. Thank you, these have been a wonderful ride, and I love all the characters. Victory Anna is my personal favorite - I'm a sucker for gadgeteers, and she's just so much fun to read. This and Midnight Blue-Light Special both clarify to me the biggest reason I love your work so much - you populate your universes with so many people who are loads of fun getting to know, I want to hear all their stories and see how they interact and grow and change. For me, that makes a story more real than any amount of universe-building (though you do that well too). Thanks again for this series!

March 13 2013, 17:53:16 UTC 4 years ago

You are so very welcome.

gwaihiril

March 8 2013, 22:03:30 UTC 4 years ago

Definitely worth the wait. Thank you so much for posting it so we all could read it.

March 13 2013, 18:05:21 UTC 4 years ago

yellowblackhaze

March 8 2013, 23:01:50 UTC 4 years ago

It's wonderful to find out how Velveteen came to be and I am very glad that she did and that you shared her and all her friends and enemies with us, because it was a fantastic ride.

March 13 2013, 18:05:32 UTC 4 years ago

I'm so glad. :)

offcntr

March 8 2013, 23:08:08 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for so many wonderful stories, and for insight into how they get written. Are you considering including a version of this post as an afterword for volume 2?

Every now and then I read the recruiting scene from "Patrol" out loud, just to hear all the teddy bears in my house bursting into cheers.

March 13 2013, 18:05:47 UTC 4 years ago

That makes me happy. :)

herefox

March 8 2013, 23:49:09 UTC 4 years ago

So worth the wait...something that was made much more apparent when the first collection came out and it could be read as one narrative! Thank you for telling this story, it's one of my favorite things I've ever read on the net.

March 13 2013, 18:05:59 UTC 4 years ago

Aw, yay!

sparrowpunk

March 8 2013, 23:59:01 UTC 4 years ago

I really enjoyed it, thank you for sharing. I wish I could sponsor you enough that you could get some sleep.

March 13 2013, 18:06:09 UTC 4 years ago

Thank you for the thought. <3

jenfullmoon

March 9 2013, 00:08:13 UTC 4 years ago

That whole saga was awesome.

How many stories is book 2 going to cover?

dr_zrfq

March 13 2013, 01:06:24 UTC 4 years ago

A very rough word count analysis leads me to believe that book 2 will have half of the remaining stories, and we have to wait until summer 2014 for the final "third" to appear in hardback. But I'm not Seanan. (Among other things, she lives on the opposite coast from me, and is much cuter.)

Seanan -- I've been reading these since the very first one came out. My kid sister was kind enough to get me Book 1 for the winter holidays and I'm looking forward to getting the rest in bound dead tree format. You did break my heart a little at the end... but only a little because I could tell in advance that this was the only right way to wrap it up. As Frodo Baggins found out, oftentimes when you save the world, you're not saving it for *you*. I can but hope that there will be further stories in the Velveteenverse, even if they don't feature the core characters of this series.

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Velveteen vs. The Aftermath.

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